hipstress

Beauty Binge

Here are some of the latest products I am loving!  All products available at Sephora.  Extra bonus?  15% off for Beauty Insiders with code ‘CHIC.’

Bite Beauty Lip Layers - More info HERE.

Smashbox MegaTint Long Wear Lip Color in Mimosa - I have always been into matte lips.  I feel like glossy stuff just doesn’t stay put for bold colors.  This is the perfect coral hue - bright enough for a pop, but subtle enough to carry off at the office.

bareMinerals Skin Rev-er Upper - I use this as both a moisturizer (under my facial oil) & as a primer.  It evens out skin tone for a radiant look.

Living proof. Prime Style Extender - It pains me so to get on the bandwagon for any celebrity-endorsed product (in this case, Jenn Aniston), but this product is really fabulous.  I like to stretch days between washes & this product holds style & texture w/o weighing down hair.

Benefit Fake Up Concealer - a new product from local Sf-based line, Benefit.  I am into sheer coverage & this concealer provides just that, plus an extra dose of hydration & shine.  Because there’s nothing worse than a cakey concealer to draw extra attention to dark circles & fine lines.

Nails Inc. Matte Topcoat - give any color a hit, matte finish.

Such a cool project, part of Proxy SF (a temporary 2-block project in SF which ‘seeks to mobilize a flexible environment of food, art, culture, & retail’), the new Aether pop-up store in Hayes Valley is made of empty shipping containers.

More HERE.

‘Hamsa’ comes from the Hebrew word for five & is an ancient symbol believed to ward off the evil eye.  I picked up a simple adjustable cord bracelet at a little market in sf & I have been very superstitious about it lately.

You can find this one on Amazon. Etsy is loaded with tons I adore like THIS, THIS & THIS.

Craftsman & Wolves

This is one of my favorite spots.  I kind of don’t even want to tell you about it, but it’s clear the cat is out of the bag.  I love the exposed brick & ceiling beams.  I happened to stop by recently on a rare free weekday (read: no line down the block) on a sunny day in the Mission.  There’s nothing better than a sunny day in the Mish, coffee, pastry, & good company.

C&W is the first endeavor by Outfit Generic, a 5-person foodie team helmed by former Quince exec pastry chef, William Werner.  Whether you are in the mood for sweet of savory, you will not be disappointed.  It also recently took top honors for Best Desserts in 7x7’s Eat + Drink Awards (ousting Tartine from its long-held top spot).

Simple & darling arrangements lined the table (see another shot HERE).

Tasty coffee.

Bites

Quotes that adorn the polished concrete walls.

Nearby Dolores Park overlooking my sweet city, San Francisco.  I’m telling you, there is no better place on a sunny afternoon.

THIERRY COHEN

‘Darkened Cities’ series by Thierry Cohen

French photographer, Thierry Cohen, has blended city scenes—shot & altered to eliminate lights & other distractions—& the night skies from less populated locations that fall on the same latitudes.  So Paris gets the stars of northern Montana, New York those of the Nevada desert (a Burning Man sky over NYC…how incredible!).

The result is what city dwellers might see in the absence of light & pollution.  

Cohen’s work will be exhibited at the Danziger Gallery in NYC in March.

The loss of starry skies, accelerated by worldwide population growth in cities, has created an urbanite who “forgets & no longer understands nature.”

“To show him stars is to help him dream again.”

See more HERE via the New York Times Magazine.

The Julie Project

This is an incredibly beautiful project that my sister shared with me.  I found it riveting, as I have spent time in the Tenderloin in SF with this population.  I read the entire narrative in one sitting.  

Photographer, Darcy Padilla, followed Julie for almost two decades documenting her life & death.  The photos & the narratives are incredibly moving.  We all need to think about the poverty cycle.  Too often we make judgments without connecting to the humanity & complexity involved.  See the entire story HERE.

“The purpose of the project is to take the disparate arguments about welfare, poverty, family rights, AIDS, drug and sexual abuse by looking at one person’s life, Julie.”

“Julie’s story matters and should make a difference to us the viewer in our
understanding of the fractured world that many poor people struggle to exist in.”

“I realize this type of story plays out constantly in the world for many, many families. The pieces slip away or no one cares to remember the details.  We see the summation of cause and effect in a homeless face on the street every day.  It can be too complicated, uncomfortable and painful to ask why.”

“I hope you can’t stop thinking about Julie’s story, I hope it makes you feel.  I hope it makes you look at the world differently.”

“I first met Julie on February 28, 1993. Julie, 18, stood
in the lobby of the Ambassador Hotel, barefoot, pants
unzipped, and an 8 day-old infant in her arms. She lived
in San Francisco’s SRO district, a neighborhood of soup
kitchens and cheap rooms. Her room was piled with clothes,
overfull ashtrays and trash. She lived with Jack, father
of her first baby Rachael, and who had given her AIDS.
She left him months later to stop using drugs.

Her first memory of her mother is getting drunk with her
at 6 and then being sexually abused by her stepfather.
She ran away at 14 and became drug addict at 15. Living in
alleys, crack dens, and bunked with more dirty old men
than she cared to count.

For the last 18 years I have photographed Julie Baird’s
complex story of multiple homes, AIDS, drug abuse,
abusive relationships, poverty, births, deaths, loss
and reunion. Following Julie from the backstreets of
San Francisco to the backwoods of Alaska.”

Nate Silver Predicts a 49ers Super Bowl WIN!

This is good news!  Nate Silver, who accurately predicted Obama’s win in November (as well as LOTS of other things), predicts a 49ers WIN this Sunday!  

Read about it HERE.