Working It in Red Shoes

Tory Burch Georgia Ballet Flats in Triple Red suede, on sale now for $129. I love the square toe, but admit they will look better on a demure foot than in my size 11. But still....

Pops of crimson footwear rocked two nights in a row this week at NYC events.

At a Work Like a Girl Q & A Tuesday on the Upper West Side (led by Erika Ayers Badan, kick-ass CEO and thinker, with trend forecaster Valerie Jacobs), a woman in the audience wore fresh red flats with dark neutral pants. The pants were the foil and the shoes were the pretty, energizing grounding. Like all flats, they looked good worn barefoot (or with low-cut, no-show Peds). Your pant hem should not drag or pool over the skimmers. Trim cropped or skinny pants work best. The shape of the shoe was feminine, the way it framed the foot, but not unprofessional. Fun. Work Like a (Very Smart) Girl and look good doing it, too.

For the on-stage discussion between Katie Couric and Bobbi Brown at the 92nd Street Y re the new book Still Bobbi, Katie chose strappy red slingbacks with a kitten heel. Bare legs, white button-down shirt, black and white delicately patterned midi-length skirt. The shoes were everything. Smooth-looking, shapely legs help. Made me think about how I need to moisturize more with a nice body butter. (Hello, looking at Homecourt's new body collection.)

And there was an audience question about red lipstick. Can everyone wear it?

"Absolutely not," Bobbi said. The color makes a strong statement and not everyone can or even wants to own that. It depends on your personality, she noted. On who you are.

"Does anyone in the audience have on red lipstick tonight?" she asked, to prove her point. One woman near the front waved her hand and pointed proudly to her mouth. But the auditorium was darkened.

Oh, and Bobbi had a clean, short mani in Poppy, her signature orange-red color. I've seen her wearing it on Instagram. I bought it in town at the Jones Road store and I love it, for pedis and manis. My home mani lasted for 5+ days without chips, and I do a lot of dishes and garden without gloves. The kit includes a two-in-one base and top coat.

I enjoy soaking up events like these not just for style and substance watching but also for being at the heartbeat of it all, New York, New York. 

The magical ruby slippers Judy Garland, age 16, wore in "The Wizard of Oz," 1939. Showing their age here, and drab and depressing compared to today's color-drenched footwear. 

Photo from The Smithsonian.

Bedtime

TCOY

1. Mass. 
2. Women's group. Music, prayer.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Nordstrom, Tom Ford Blush Nude lipstick, plus free sample-size lipstick, $46.50 plus tax, about $49. Nordstrom just moved to NYC! Look at all these places, below, including tomford.com, charging the full $55 and Nordstrom has the lipsticks at 15 percent off. Discounts on high-end beauty products are rare.

$55.00· Neiman Marcus
$55.00· Bloomingdale's

$55.00· Tom Ford Beauty

$55.00· Sephora

$55.00· Macy's

Pick up today

I REALLY promise to number-crunch soon.

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P.S. Nan and Liz: Thanks for the notes...I keep wanting to do longer posts and I will soon. I have been working full days in NYC as writer at a nonprofit. I like it, and it might turn into a staff position. I have also been keeping up with my freelance magazine writing, so two jobs.  [My comment function wouldn't work here now.] Yes, Nan, I am more conscious of my spending by tracking it. I am also aware that I will be reporting every dime here, so, say, a $300 price tag for perfume might cause me pause, or a $695 pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes, which I have always wanted and never had. xo

The Frivolous Lipstick Log

My lips aren't sealed. I followed the word of Elisabeth Moss all the way to the Barneys beauty counter.

Please scroll to bottom for running lipwear $ubtotal, not counting sales tax.

FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 2014:

• Koh Gen Do "Cinema Quality" Lipstick in Pink Rose, $39, and Lip Gloss in Blush Pink, $25. Made in Japan. Walked 17,000 steps on Friday per my fitbit tracker, including from Dr. B's office to the Port Authority with many stops to browse, etc. Hit Barneys on Madison Avenue because of a Barneys email April 6 titled Mad Men's Golden Girl: Shop Elisabeth Moss' Influencer Picks Now. Quoted the actress who plays Peggy saying, "Obsessed with anything Koh Gen Do and this is the best foundation in the world. Completely addicted." So I got the moisturizing foundation in a tube--not Peggy's beloved bottle, which is too much of an application commitment for me--and then the lip color and gloss too......it was a big investment and I don't plan to make many more big makeup buys any time soon, whether Peggy loves them or not. The word at the Barneys counter, though, was that the "Mad Men" cast loves the line because of the polished cinema finish even on high-definition screens that show every little line.....we'll see how it looks on a Plain Jane like me. 

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014:

• Sephora+Pantone Universe Lipstick in Radiant Orchid [Pantone's color of the year] @ JCPenney in Manhattan Mall, NYC; $18 + tax. Pantone predicts trends so this is of-the-minute. Also has nice vanilla scent. I used to think JCPenney beneath me, but they have a Sephora within the store, so that changed my mind [so did many fashionable JCP TV commercials during the 2014 Oscars broadcast--made me want to venture in].

LIPSTICK LOG STARTING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014:

• Estée Lauder Signature Lipstick in Dune Rose @ Town and Country Pharmacy, Ridgewood, NJ; $22.50 + tax.

Running subtotal before tax: $104.50.

The Frivolous Lipstick Log

LIPSTICK LOG STARTING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014:

• Estée Lauder Signature Lipstick in Dune Rose @ Town and Country Pharmacy, Ridgewood, NJ; $22.50 + tax.

TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 2014:

• Sephora+Pantone Universe Lipstick in Radiant Orchid [Pantone's color of the year] @ JCPenney in Manhattan Mall, NYC; $18 + tax. Pantone predicts trends so this is pretty of-the-minute. Also has very nice vanilla scent. I used to think going to JCPenney beneath me, but they have a Sephora within the store, so that changed my mind [so did the many fashionable JCPenney TV commercials during the 2014 Oscars broadcast--made me want to venture in].

Running subtotal before tax: $40.50.

What Helped Cate Blanchett Glow

Oooops, didn't even know fashion designer Giorgio Armani had a makeup line, but now that I received this beauty blast from a publicist last night, I may soon have another entry for My Frivolous Lipstick Log. 

The email included all products used by makeup artist Jeanine Lobell, but I've edited it down below to the all-important lipstick. If I can capture Cate Blanchett's beauty in a tube, why wouldn't I try? I can glide on that glamour? Will keep you posted.

THE LOOK: Modern movie star

Giorgio Armani Rouge Ecstasy Lipstick in #103 - Jeanine finished the look with this creamy, beige-y pink

Bye for now.....

The Frivolous Lipstick Log

The Lilly Pulitzer makeup bag is pinker than this--very cheerful gift* with purchase.

Time to take hold of my lipstick buying. In tony Ridgewood, NJ today [I had a Groupon offer for highlights/haircut/blowout at a deep discount], I emerged with perhaps-too-blonde highlights, slid more dimes in the meter and dashed into Town and Country Pharmacy at 60 East Ridgewood Avenue. It's a beauty mecca on Main Street, and I first found it [or it first found me] when Figgy was sick and we were in town for appointments. I still remember the Deborah Lippmann pink nail polish that lifted my spirits that day.

They carry great makeup/candle/fragrance brands for the NYC sophisticate: Prada, Tocca, Lollia, Seda France, Estée Lauder, Smashbox, Butter London nail polish. And today they had an Estée bonus: Spend $35 or more and get a pretty Lilly Pulitzer makeup bag with samples inside. So I had to bite. Chose a cleanser, but needed to hit $35, so added a lipstick. The nice woman helped me find a color: Dune Rose.

Which has prompted me to realize that I perhaps have a compulsive lip color and nail polish buying problem. Now it's not like a donut obsession or something, where I buy a dozen and eat them all at once, but I find it hard to walk by lipsticks in places ranging from Whole Foods to Bloomingdale's. I've recently bought new tubes from Nars, MAC, toryburch.com and at Bobbi Brown in Montclair--plus that lip gloss from the spa in Cape May.

I won't add all of those up. I will start with today, and keep a running tab. [The thing is, the right lipstick can make your eyes dance and your face seem less tired. Also, it shows you took a second to put some makeup on your otherwise bare face. Plus, it's a feminine touch, and the cases are stylish accessories unto themselves. It makes me happy to see them in my handbag--or my hand.] I think I'll also find this to be a useful record for favorite colors.

Good night. I feel better blonder.

LIPSTICK LOG STARTING MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2014:

• Estée Lauder Signature Lipstick in Dune Rose @ Town and Country Pharmacy, Ridgewood; $22.50 + tax

*A lipstick was also included in free booty in bag.

TCOY

1. Important reading.
2. That Groupon hair deal.
3. That cleanser purchase. I ignore my skin. Last night at bedtime, I moisturized it for the first time in a while. Felt good. About to go wash it now. Luxury!!!
4. Popped in to see Moey's mom, Mrs. C., who works right over the Ridegwood border, in Glen Rock. I saw her so much as a girl and young woman, and I miss her. I got her a couple things at Town and Country Pharmacy and had them gift-wrapped. It was nice to see her blue eyes and witness her kind heart.