Not too long ago I received an email from one of the many online shopping sites I subscribed to and it was fashion story I just could not ignore.

90’s GIRL

It was a natural transition from the 80’s incarnation in past collections but it seriously made me feel my age when I noticed  a very strong 90’s reference hitting the Fall season very hard, especially with younger fashions.

The collage above describes how I dressed my Sophomore year in high school, 1990.

Well actually I went through different periods through each grade. Freshman was more New Wave/Punk, Sophomore was still a bit New Wave but leaning on a European Sade kind of vibe, Junior year was influenced by my growing interest in Hip Hop and Senior year was a blend of all of the above. It was also helpful that I worked at Contempo Casuals to provide the wardrobe of my ever growing needs.

A few disclaimers, I did not include any Freshman photos because that 1989 and I wanted to stay true to the 90’s and the middle pic was well after high school but mid-90’s.

Here’s are some visual references that I looked to often during my high school years:

But what really had me feelin’ the 90’s? Lipstick. It’s nothing new - it shouldn’t be a real surprise but what is a surprise to me is that I haven’t been craving my usual (safe) pink nude shades. If you noticed in my collage of old photos, you’ll notice that I was wearing only red or a wine. Honestly, I didn’t wear start wearing nude pink lipstick or gloss till well into my twenties. Like Gwen Stefani, I didn’t leave the house without a deep colored lip and now, it feels foreign to me.

I did dip my toe in the deep end again recently, I started buying lots of red and even bright pinks. I am now obsessed with collecting wine/berry shades. Dark lips also allow for less eye makeup. I didn’t get into detailed, contoured, 4 blended shadow looks till my late 20’s if not early 30’s. I can get away with a nude shade, a slash of black liner on my top lash line and a few coats of black mascara and let me lips take the spotlight.

I also get an extra five minutes of sleep in the morning - WIN!

Here are a few of my current favorites:

The first two are by MAC. All out Gorgeous is a warm deep red and Lush Life is cool tone plum. These two are part of the Mineralize collection, which is my favorite - nice, moisturizing and great pigment payoff. The last two are by NARS and on the matte side - 413 Bleeker (deep brown wine) and Amsterdam (deep maroon red). This shade evokes memories when I would try to create the perfect maroon red by blending Prescriptives lip pencil in Fudge with MAC’s Russian Red in 1993 - it’s also a very Truth or Dare Madonna shade. Matte lipsticks were also my finish of choice in high school probably because the lipstick never moved off my lips and teachers frown upon pulling out your compact to see if your lipstick is bleeding or feathering every 10 minutes.

This is probably why I stopped wearing bright and deep shades - the upkeep. I’m so lazy that I avoid sandwiches and burritos the days I’m not wearing nude lip glosses. Sorry but smeared red lips after demolishing a BLT or a burger - not sexy. So lucky for me I found matte and long wearing shades that last on my lips for more than three hours.

The shade I’ve been wearing the most is NARS 413 Bleeker:

It’s the latest shade that’s exclusive to the NARS boutiques and online. It’s a semi-matte formula that’s actually comfortable on the lips and stain the lips with lots of color.

It makes me happy and feel youthful if you can believe. The annoyed look on the right also hasn’t changed over the years - just ask my little sister and my husband.

I’m really glad I discovered my love for deep lip shades again. I’m just mad at myself that it took a 90’s inspired fashion story to rediscover the awesome power of a sultry wine stained pout.

Looking back at my young self, I know a simple thing like lipstick stirred controversy in my family and probably among my teachers. These dark colors are very edgy, if not mature and what the hell is it doing on a fifteen year old? Is she about to do a tap dance recital? But like a lot of teenage girls, I wanted to be 18 or 21 right at that moment. The closest thing I could do to speed up that process is to wear a racy lipstick shade. And now I’m doing everything it takes to slow down the aging process - lip balm, sunscreen and anti-aging serums are my new best friends!

Ugh, I’m constantly praying the my daughter will outgrow her girly Princess phase and will turn into one of those girls that just can’t be bothered with cosmetics. Yeah, I know…karma is a bitch!

The next thing I want from my 90’s past - great black motorcycle or cowboy boots. Or even oxblood Dr. Marten boots - I think I can pull that off. Okay now I’m jumping way ahead myself. And, I promise I won’t bust out any floral baby doll dresses. God, I loved me a baby doll dress. Help me if I ever run into a clearance rack of them.

Flip phones are back

Flip phone; or smartphone?  Why choose when you can have the best of both worlds with the Samsung Hennessy.

The Hennessy marries the “retro” (can four to five years ago be retro?) looks of a flip phone with the modern technology of a current smart phone.  It boasts not one but two 3.3-inch 320×480 touch screens, with the outer screen bordered by the same three capacitive buttons found on many of Samsung’s other phones.  The rear of the phone has a 5 megapixel camera.  Inside there’s a 1.2GHz quad-core CPU powering Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) along with the standard assortment of things you’ve come to expect in a smartphone these days: a micro SD slot, GPS, WiFI, Bluetooth, a 1,500 mAh battery, and support for either CDMA or GSM SIM cards.

The Samsung Hennessy will be available in a chocolatey brown color this fall.

Sophistication meets street with the release of  this simple (yet amazingly dope) Chanel quilted sneaker. Although the French fashion house is know for its high fashion garments and top of the line handbags, it does the lady sneaker lovers proper with this release. The sneaker’s mid-top upper resembles the coveted quilted double-C shoulder bags and sports a monochromatic color way. If you’re not sold because of the designer or look of the shoe, the details are sure to have you dipping into your “for emergencies only” account. The shoe’s tongue has a stitched Chanel logo while the silver eyelets are engraved with the brands name. On the inside of she shoe is a wool blend grey/black chevron print sure to be on trend for winter.

Got the currency for these kicks? Lucky you.

Image Layout: C_Rocka

NARS seems to be on a new item rampage and I’m the last person to complain. Honestly, for the first time I’m trying hard to keep up with all of their new launches. The one I’m reporting about today really piqued my interest. The Radiant Cream Foundation compact…

This isn’t a very compact compact. In fact, this will take up most of the space of your makeup pouch unless you like to ride around with a large makeup bag. A slight annoyance but isn’t a deal breaker. Especially since this is a refillable compact case.

I chose two refillable foundation shades: Barcelona (deeper medium with golden, peachy undertone) and Syracuse (medium-dark with brown undertone).

Syracuse is definitely the best shade since I am still holding on to the tan I got back in Florida three months ago and from running outdoors on rare sunny lunch breaks.

Syracuse locked into place on the left and Barcelona to the right for color comparison.

I didn’t receive the refillable foundation sponge so I improvised with my foundation brush and a foundation sponge I purchased from a beauty store. My preferred application is with a dry foundation sponge. I felt that I needed more when using the brush and it was too sheer when applying with a damp sponge. This is a medium coverage formula, sets in a few short minutes and it is comfortable on my face all day. I notice slight bumpiness but my face tends to react this way with any new foundation or tinted moisturizer I try out. I’m bumpy for a few short days and then my skin adapts.

Did you notice the lid on the refill itself? Keep that lid shut until it’s time to use the foundation. This formula is enriched with the NARS Advanced Emulsion Technology, the velvety cream formula blends seamlessly and uniquely allows for the modern artistic versatility of a wet or a dry application. The buildable formula delivers medium to full coverage leaving the skin soft, smooth and glowing.

Test results showed: 90% noticed their skin looked brighter and more radiant; 95% felt their skin was smoother; and 93% felt the appearance of dry skin was improved.

This foundation is air sensitive due to it’s unique texture. To ensure the integrity and life span of this product, make sure you close the inner lid of the refill securely and keep this out direct sunlight and extreme temperatures.

I have been using this for the past week and I’m very pleased. It stays on my skin all day and I still feel comfortable while wearing on my light workout days. I don’t like wearing foundation on days I run 3-6 miles during my lunch break - I wear tinted moisturizer on those days.

Since this is a two piece item, you have to purchase the compact and refill separately. The empty compact is $10/USD and the refills will set you back $38/USD. So yes, the two items together are $4 dollars more than the bottled foundation ($44/USD) and $6 more than a tube of tinted moisturizer ($42/USD) but when it’s time to purchase another refill it’ll be a money saver.

I’ll always be a NARS girl since the first time I discovered the Multiple and the colors always spoke to girls like me, on the warmer side of the color spectrum. Monsieur Nars always incorporated foundation shades to suit fair, tan and deep faces of the world. I use to have problems finding suitable foundations, I still do with certain luxury and drugstore brands but it’s never a problem with NARS.

The NARS Radiant Cream Foundation is available now at the NARS flagship boutiques and on narscosmetics.com

This compact set was sent to me by the NARS PR department for my consideration. Merci and keep doin’ what you do!

Maybe it’s him, not you.

Dear MISSter Simms,

I’ve been dating my boyfriend for two years.  In the beginning he was the pursuer, but as time went on I was the one falling head over heels in love with him.  However, now I’m not so sure how I feel.  Recently my boyfriend has been acting extremely shady.  He’ll get wasted at bars, then go stay at his friend’s house instead of coming home to me (because he’s too drunk to drive, you see).  This wouldn’t matter much but…his friend lives with a girl who my boyfriend once hooked up with.  He’ll also go out and lie about who he’s with.  Naturally my reaction has been to be suspicious of his every move and snoop through his things, but that only drives me crazy.  The other day he said the four dreaded words to me: “We need to talk.”  I panicked.  Was he cheating one me?  Breaking up with me?  Come to find out, the reason why he was being so shady was because I gained weight.  Was he really blaming our relationship issues on my 10 lb weight gain?  After telling me, he suddenly became more affectionate and loving, but I’m pissed.  Should I put up with his shallowness, or should I kick his butt to the curb?

Dead Weight

Dear DW,

Should you put up with his shallowness?  Definitely not.  But is that all you’d be putting up with?  Definitely not.  Let’s see…he’s also being mad shady, mean, and not communicating with you.  Is all that worth it to you?  I hope not.  It seems like right now you are not getting what you need out of this relationship to make putting up with this stuff even remotely worth it.  My inner Ms. Cleo tells me that your boyfriend is up to no good and came up with this weight gain excuse to shift the blame over to you and relieve himself of feeling bad about whatever he’s doing.  Rather than take responsibility, he’s created a “problem” for you to worry about that takes the heat off of him.  It’s a classic Jedi mind trick.  What you need to do is confront him and get the truth out of him to find out what the deal really is.  If he doesn’t fess up, drop him.  If he does…you should still drop him.  Because at the end of the day you want someone who can communicate their feelings and isn’t shady as hell, right?

Need relationship advice?  Send your questions over to ronsimmsjr at gmail dot com.