i want to stretch myself out
beneath the layers of your skin
unfurling your youness
so that i can piece together
where you’ve come from and
what you are
in relation to who i am
and how i feel
Friday Faves!
I'm going to be honest - since moving to LA, I very rarely wear makeup anymore. I was raised in a household where things like, "That woman's so beautiful when she puts makeup on. I don't understand why she runs around all day with a bare face. Why doesn't she fix herself up?" were regularly muttered. So, it's no wonder that I got my first pro-sized makeup kit at the age of five (to play with - purple eyeshadow up to the brows, fluorescent pink blush, and white lipstick, anyone?), and started wearing full-on primer, foundation, blush, bronzer, powder, eyeliner, eyeshadow, and mascara daily by the age of 16. The feminist in me, or at least part of her, cringes at this, but I've also always defended women for having the right to choose to wear makeup without it having to be about feeling insecure or not good enough as they are. Makeup can be a ton of fun. To me, experimenting with it from a super young age was just like experimenting with painting, music, acting, dance... another art form. But since acquiring my LA perma-tan, plus living in a beach town with relaxed, sunny vibes year-round, I just don't feel like experimenting most days. I still love makeup and I've never felt better or worse for wearing it or not wearing it. I think, on the whole, we should stop judging other women and beating ourselves up for wearing or not wearing makeup. Play, experiment, don't. Do what feels good to you and eff what anybody else thinks. I'll totally admit that while being bare-faced in LA year-round feels right to me, stepping out in Toronto in the middle of winter without at least some light foundation, bronzer, and a solid amount of eyeliner just feels wrong. To me, obviously. I'm sure there are plenty of people who'd feel ridiculous wearing foundation and eyeliner anywhere, anytime. But it is something I've noticed - my hair, makeup, and clothing choices shift every so slightly between cities and seasons (or lack-there-of).
That being said, here are a couple of my favorite foundations:
Zuzu Luxe is a medium to full coverage sheer, certified gluten-free, oil free liquid foundation that makes my skin extra glowy. It's super lightweight, 100% vegan, and cruelty free.
Kjaer Weis foundations are formulated with incredibly moisturizing ingredients like sweet almond seed, coco, and jojoba oils. It goes on super smoothly and can be applied by hand or with a foundation brush. Produced in Italy, a minimum of 95% of the ingredients used in this product come from organic farms - the foundation if CCPB Certified Organic, contains no petroleums, parabens, artificial coloring or fragrance, or petrochemical emulsifiers. It's also certified gluten-free. I especially love that the metal case it comes is in reusable - you can simply order refills online, remove the old insert, and pop in your new one as needed.
Last year, I had the pleasure of hosting a dear Italian friend for several days. There was even more activity than usual in my kitchen during his stay - he insisted on cooking for me daily and well, it would've been rude to refuse, right? We made several meals together and ended up improvising one serious "big ass salad" for lunch late one afternoon based on whatever we had left hanging around in my fridge. It ended up being one of the best salad's I've ever eaten and I make it pretty regularly now. Do as we did (instructions below), or try your own BAS improv jam & let me know how it goes :)
Wash, chop, and combine in a giant bowl:
Jicama, several slices, cut into small cubes
Celery, 2 - 3 stalks
Carrots, we thinly sliced a handful of baby carrots
Fennel, 1 bulb, cut into small slices/cubes
Red pepper, 1 medium, thinly sliced
Spinach, a generous handful or two
Cucumber, 1 half to 1 whole, cubed
Onion, diced
Fresh basil & fresh mint, a few leaves
Blueberries
Almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, a small handful
Sea salt, to taste
Hummus, a tablespoon or two
EVOO, a drizzle
I have, on occasion, also added a few shakes of cayenne pepper for a little kick, and/or a sprinkle of caraway seeds... because... I'm really into adding caraway seeds to things.
Mix and enjoy!
This article on creating unlikable female characters really hit me in a good place, in the best way. It's something I've come up against a lot in my own writing - I often get feedback, mostly from my male counterparts, pointing out that x behavior makes my female characters really "unlikable" and, well, I kinda don't give a fuck. In defense of unlikable women covers many of the reasons behind why I don't believe that female characters should necessarily be wholly likable, that their actions and behaviors shouldn't always be black & white, clear-cut. Because, women are, afterall, in real life, flawed and messy and complex in myriad ways. Shouldn't we be mirroring that in our art?
That's all for this week, loves!
xo,
The curls are loving this humidity today 👌🏼🙌🏼✌🏼️
Styling effort level = 0 😁☺️😍
Anyway! It's #bikinirebellion day four -- the last two days asked us to cover things I just happened to have written & posted about super recently, so I just went back and tagged those posts (find 'em on Instagram).
Today's jam isn't a huge departure from those past shares either, so instead of revisiting what's already been said, I'm gonna share some of Neg's email of the day:
"Bodies inevitably change, and the more attached we get to their form, the more likely we are to suffer. This is life. It's beautiful and it's natural, and you are not alone. All of our bodies change. We cannot and should not fight the changes—not if we want to be free. You don't have to resign yourself to the changes, throwing up your hands and giving up on yourself. But either way you do need to accept them. Why? BECAUSE REALITY. You might need to realign yourself with your intentions for your body, change or restart your workout routine, adjust your nutrition to allow for more nourishing foods, or get your hormones tested. Do what's in your power, and let the rest be what it is: reality. Some things you might not have the power to change, and that's okay too. Either way, beating yourself up over your body's changes will only bring you more pain." ---> less pain, more love (gain) 👊🏼💪🏼💖
Also, my Women In Film LA membership approval came through today -- time to get crackin' 📽💥💋👭
the truth is, i want to be wild. i want sand between my toes and paint-covered fingertips running over berry-stained lips. i want battle wounds that cry love and terror and weakness and all things beautiful. and i want stardust and a tenderness that looks like the softness of the moon, full in its iridescence and sweet in its shimmery night-lit lullaby. i want freedom. i want peace. but most of all, i want you.
