I’ve never done this before, but I think it makes for a decent post. I’ve seen it done by other bloggers, but never by a male. So think of it as a guy’s (not-so-manly) take on beauty products. You’ll notice none are fancy products, but they still get the job done. And well enough for my liking. Descriptions are eft to right, first row then second.

C.O. Bigelow Lemon Lip Balm (Bath & Body Works / $7.50) — I recently discovered this chapstick and fell in love. I had previously used Bigelow’s Mentha lip balm (great for anyone who loves mint…and soft lips) but decided to give this a try during a five-dollar-lipcare sale B&BW was having. Yum yum, this stuff tastes literally just like super sugary lemonade and does a great job at keeping my lips unchapped. The only complaint I have is that it’s so tastey, it’s sometimes hard to resist licking it off my lips right away.

Nivea A Kiss Of Moisture Lip Balm (Target / $2) — A nice secondary chapstick. It’s flavorless, but has a slight fresh scent. I have a few of these everywhere—my car, bedside table, work apron, etc. It’s a little pricier than your old 99-cent chapstick, but both the quality and design make it worth it. The glue-stick-like tube is the same as the Bigelow stuff and has not yet once twisted itself into a mess like other lipbalms have in my pocket/bag.

Clean & Clear Advantage Spot Acne Treatment (Target / $6) — This tiny tube seems a bit pricey for its size, but does what it claims (that being ‘reduces pimple redness and size after just one use’ or something like that). After washing my face in the shower and in the morning before work, I dab little bits of this directly onto zits and problem areas. It’s clear and doesn’t dry crusty like other similar products. Downside: I’ve learnt that if you use it more than twice a day (just like stated on the package) it will dry the heck out of your skin. Sure, the pimple is gone, but you’ll be left with flakey, peeling skin which admitedly looks worse.

Clean & Clear Continuous Control Acne Wash (Target / $5) — I seriously live by this stuff. Every day in the shower, I scrub my face with this using my rough Axe loofah. Not going to lie, it seriously feels like it burns the top ten layers of your skin off (I’m sure it actually does) but it’s the only thing I’ve found that keeps those pimples away. The only reason I have the occasional zit here and there is because I miss a day of using this.

Clean & Clear Blackhead Cleansing Scrub (Target / $5) — This only gets out occasionally when I have a blackhead or two. It also seems to help keep my backne (ugh) under control.

N.Y.C. Coverup Stick (Target / $1) — I’m not big on makeup. However, I do use this coverup stick to help hide red blemishes. It’s only ninety-nine cents and as a result, it’s definitely not the best. But for a boy who isn’t too concerned about his skin, it does the job to slightly hide imperfections. And seriously, you can’t beat the price.

Tigi Bed Head After Party (Target / $18) — Okay, so this stuff is pretty pricey but it’s definitely worth it. As of the holidays, I’ve recently acquired a collection of Target giftcards so I don’t even feel bad about the price. The label says to use a dab on dry hair. I, however, like to use it while I’m blowdrying my hair. I wait until I’m almost close to being done but the hair is still a little damp. Leaves my hair feeling incredibly soft and smooth and the smell is absolutely heavenly.

Herbal Essences Shampoo & Conditioner (Target / $3 & $3) — I’ve heard bad things about this brand of shampoo, but have never had a problem with any of them. I mean, they’re definitely not the best, but they’re cheap and smell too good to pass up. This past week, I started using Color Me Happy and I’m not going to lie—the smell isn’t the greatest, but it seems to be helping maintain my haircolor. I’m accustomed to using Drama Clean or None Of Your Frizzness (both which smell heavenly) and will probably switch back when the dye wears out of my hair or I run out of shampoo (whichever comes first).

Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly Cream (Target / $5) — Recently disovered this gem. Some days I’ll go for a messy look, and while that usually comes naturally for me, this stuff helps keep it together. What I like to do is put a veryyyyyyy tiny amount in my hands and rub it around then go over my entire head of hair. To keep ends clumped together, it’ll go in with a bit more. One thing that drives me nuts, is the container it’s in. I wish it were in a squeeze tube isntead of this obnoxious tub. I seem to make such a mess with it.

Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine Serum (Target / $3) — I’ve seen this for a while but only recently decided to try it. This stuff makes me hair SUPER sleek and soft—so much that it almost feels thinner. I like to keep this for days when my hair is super thick and wirey (especially when it’s humid). This works similarly to the Bed Head cream, but when using this a very tiny bit goes a long way. The first time i used it I joked with a friend, saying “I swear this stuff is just scented vegetable oil” due to it’s slick runny feeling. Vegetable oil or not, it works fabulously. While nearly all the stuff I listed smells good, this along with the Bed Head cream smells the most fruity and delicious.

Vidal Sassoon Nano Straightening Iron (Target / $25) — Oh man, I love this little guy. I’ve been using a flat iron for years now. Usually (some days, but not nearly as much as before) not to get pin-straight hair, but rather to get rid of out of place curls/waves. For some reason, the right hair on the right side of my head curls, while the left doesn’t. I fell in love when I saw this at Ulta a few months ago and was joking “it’s so cute I’d even get it being that it’s pink”. Soon after, found it at target in more than just pink (blue, green, etc) and picked it up. Surely it’s no CHI, but for what I’m using it for, I don’t need anything fancy. The best thing about it other than the sleek design is it’s small frame and ability to stay to cool on the outside.

I’m not sure why I never posted this. I think it might’ve been because I hadn’t finished getting pictures together for this post. I’m tired of seeing it sit in my drafts folder, so here it is. I’ll edit it later to add the missing photos.

Really? I’m resorting to writing about things I think smell delicious? So what.

Spiced pear (by method): Discovered this gem during the holidays this past year. At first, I hated it and ignored it for a while. And then it grew on me. It’s so sweet and spicy it’s almost much sickening. But a good sickening. Burning the soy candles gave my room such a warm, cozy feeling with a Christmasy smell that wasn’t too obnoxious.

Mandarin Balm & Pearls (by Herbal Essences): My new favorite shampoo scent by the brand. It’s a little fruity, a little clean, and all soothing. It’s just a really nice haircare smell, I suppose. Makes me sleepy kind of. Maybe because I shower before bed and it’s just an association I’ve made!

Satsuma & Strawberry (by The Body Shop): Sold as separate scents, these two little guys create the world’s most intoxicating scent when mixed. A few years ago, I got a wiff of this combination at the King of Prussia Mall when passing The Body Shop and have been married to it ever since. The concoction beats any other scent I’ve ever had the pleasure (or displeasure) of sniffing. I burn the two home fragrance oils almost everyday. The bottom line: it smells like candy—so much your mouth will water. Okay, some people might think I’m exaggerating (Beth thinks it’s way too sweet smelling, but I say the sweeter the better) but I stand by my opinion.

Black Currant Vanilla (by Bath & Body Works): The newest addition to my olfactory favorites list. Krista has a collection of things in this scent and I drive her crazy by constantly using the lotion everytime I visit. She says it makes me smell like a woman. I don’t care. I love it. I can’t pinpoint what memory it is that is triggered, but I think I’m reminded of my great grandmother’s house or my great grandfather’s shaving soap or something—I’m not sure. It’s definitely a vintage smell for sure, though.

Mango Mandarin (by Bath & Body Works): The cheapest/tackiest of all these scents probably, but still a goodie. You know how pretty much everything at B&BW smells the same—strongly like alcohol with a pinch of perfume. Yeah, this is just like that. But it smells like mandarin oranges and I adore it. I keep a bottle of this in my car to use both on myself when I’m feeling stinky or just to freshen up the car. It works great as a room/car spray.

Grass (by Gap): Oh god. I remember seeing this stuff a few years ago and thinking, “oh god, why would you want to smell like lawn clippings.” Well, I’ve developed a taste for this stuff. This (and also method’s Cut Grass) literally smells like…grass. It smells like you’re laying out in the yard on a summer evening. For real.

Sweet Water (by method): The entire Sweet Water line is absolutely fabulous overall, but I feel like the laundry detergent smells a little different than the rest. A little better, too. Something about it smells like my aunt’s pool which I frequently swam at as a kid. Another childhood memory reviver.

Oh yeah, and when I want to smell manly (or like a highschool boys’ locker-room), I enjoy Kilo by Axe. It is by far their best scent in the series. And that’s that. My favorite scents. So um, now you know. Wow, did I really just write eight paragraphs on this? Somebody slap me!

Yes, it’s what you’ve always wanted. A stalkerish account of my daily wardrobe and activities. I try to keep these as accurate as possible—but I’m constantly changing my mind so there’s a good chance I’ll change outfits 3 times in a day.

Remember (like eighteen years ago) how I said I was doing an independent study on window display designs? Well, I finally set up my first installation last week. It’s not exactly how I wanted it, so I’ll tweak it a bit when I head out this week to set up window two, but it came out fairly decent, I’d say.

Here I am halfway done. What I expected to take only an hour or two turned out to be a much longer job. All the windows in the store had hooks for hanging things, except the first one which I was working with. After two trips to Lowes, lunch at Panera, and a stop at Michaels, I was finally getting to it. Can’t say that I’ve ever been on a fifteen-foot ladder before installing drywall toggles and hooks from an eighteen-foot ceiling before…but I liked it for some reason. The best part was everyone outside (and inside the store) watching and saying, “ohhh look at that!” Thanks for raising my self-esteem, Promenade shoppers.

I’m pretty sure Sage stole my iTunes library. While working my butt off, I heard a ton of Imogen Heap, Frou Frou, The Postal Service, Jem, Eisley, and Regina Spektor. Unfortunately a Fall Out Boy song came on every once in a while (which stuck out sorely in the playlist). I lived, though.

I painstakingly cut the letters out of foamcore and built them up with little chunks for filler to give them some depth (I think an inch and a half or so). Super77′ed the heck out of them, and then go to wrapping. “Spring” is made of a grey, white, tan, green, and chartreuse yarn, spanish moss, and twigs. “Forward” is straight up yarn.

I drew my inspiration from birdnests and the good little stuff they find that they decorate with. I remember as a kid always seeing birdnests in the backyard that had fabric, strings, or a ribbons in them and thinking, “I wonder where they found that…”

Ugh, it was so hard getting a decent shot. By the time I got done, it was dark and the lighting was terrible—glares galore. I borrowed Beth’s XT but it had a fixed-length lens on it and it made things even harder. That stenciled on patterns are (or will be soon) gone hopefully.

Okay, that’s about all I feel like saying. Long story short: I love designing window installations, but just for fun. It’s tiring. Oh yeah, and the store I’m working with is amazing. It’s sort of like an urban outfitters or something trendy, but also for a more mature audience. I saw a ton of older women come in and check out designer stuff, as well as a bunch of teenagers.

PS: I’m a bit behind on prepping things for this week’s window with all this portfolio work. I’ll get it done. Eventually.

OH GOD. My computer must be screaming for help (and some vicodin)! I’ve been beating the heck out if it more than ever lately.

Why? My finished portfolio is due a week from today! And you know what? I’ve waited til the last minute to finish getting things ready. Surprised? Don’t be. That explains the lack of updates latelty, and I’m apologizing in advance for the next week or two. I’ll try to whip up a little bit of stuff every now and then if I can.

Anywho, here is a few little snippets of some things that are going into the portfolio. @_@

Okay. Time for bed soon, I think. Tomorrow will be another long day of working.

i’ve been slightly busy on my day off—you know…

dying my hair darker and making an EVE (WALL-E) keychain. i bought an EVE figurine and then used a size 216 hookeye to make it into a keychain. luckily she was made of hard rubber/plastic, so i could did it all by hand. and here’s my little baby now:

ps: jiggly and gengar have since retired from my kechain.