eyes - The Seventh Sphinx

May 19, 2013May 20, 2013

turquoise + stripes

Striped dress from American Apparel, sash from American Apparel, TOMS suede wedges, Skagen watch, Pearl Paradise studs, Solange Azagury-Partridge ring, eBay faux pearl bracelet, eBay fox ring (do we not love this ring? We love this ring). On the lips: Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang. On the nails: Sally Hansen Jaded.

It’s incredible how lopsided my lips and nostrils are. Even more incredible that I only notice in photos/video. Actually the entire right side of my face seems to have a slightly larger version of everything. This is standard, I know, nearly everyone has asymmetrical elements in their face and body. It is even a little disturbing when someone doesn’t, or when all of the asymmetry has been photoshopped away. Still. It looks so strange, this unmirrored version of myself. I don’t look like that.

Only of course, I do look like that. That is what I really look like. And to others I would look strange in a mirror, or possibly they wouldn’t notice either way.

I understand that I can fiddle with the lipstick to balance my lips out, but I honestly can’t even see it in the mirror, my face looks so familiar and normal to me. I keep trying to remember which side is which, which side is more rounded and which more flat on my top lip, but looking in the mirror I guess wrong about half the time. I suppose this is also a testament to my poor memory.

Start taking a bunch of pictures of yourself and you learn about all of these strange things you do with your face.

Here, for example, is this thing I do with my mouth evidently all of the time. I am forever making this kind of dubious face. And often lifting my already lopsided lip into a kind of sneerface. Not ideal, face. Not ideal.

[Side view. Sneerface omitted.]

And finally you see why I like this dress.

May 13, 2013May 13, 2013

a tale of two brows

I have never done anything beyond brushing my eyebrows (I really love brushing them, though). No plucking, dyeing, threading, waxing, trimming…the occasional penciling-in to darken them. They are naturally level and quite fair, the color of the lightest blonde shades in my hair rather than the darkest. I like them.

It is probably due to some tacky 90s advertising (I am thinking Jordache could be a culprit, the closest modern equivalent I could find is Amber Heard for Guess – very much the same look. Trashy gorgeous.), but I quite like the look of brows that are several shades darker than the hair. Even platinum with dark brown eyebrows…as long as they are good eyebrows. Actually I think I am, at heart, a bit trashy. And I have a thing for contrast. And for eyebrows.

So I bought an eyebrow dyeing kit, on a whim, on Amazon the other day. A basic, popular one around $12 in a light brown shade. Nothing too crazy. I imagined how well this would compliment the impending natural bleaching of the hair in summer sun, contrast-wise. I looked in the magnifying mirror at the brows.

…hm. Was it me, or did they seem, upon scrutiny, rather haphazard? No wonder people pluck them. Mine are unobtrusive, so you can’t tell that the odd hair is out of line with the natural shape. I do not want to pluck, though! I cannot be bothered, and I don’t like the idea, besides. I would have to keep it up indefinitely, and like them looking casual, as big as possible, not overly groomed. The odd out-of-line hair is key. I like the look of quite scruffy eyebrows on some, and dense Mediterranean brows, gender irrelevant.

Hm. Their natural color is lovely, too, gently bleached on the top ridge from the sun. And would never get it back…I could just use makeup when I want them darker…

So I returned the kit.

The End.