The Parlor Cat

My obsession with anything historical has run into pretty much every aspect of my life since I was a little girl. So it is not surprising that I own a coffee table book called ‘Parlor Cats’. My mother bought it for me years ago when we owned our first Persian cat, Taffy. Taffy was a poufy little thing that loved to be help, doted a belled collar and was an indoor cat; a Parlor Cat, for all intensive purposes.

Most recently, I reserved my own Persian cat (since our current puffy feline, Willow, can not come with me to my new house; she is the family cat) and I promptly named her Madeline. Maddy for short. She too, is a puffy, furry, Persian tortoiseshell cat that already shows promise of Parlor Cat status. I won’t get her until July when she has had her shots and is litter trained. What a long wait that is….

15 Beauty Items That Changed My Life

As expected, I am always asked various beauty questions because I work in the beauty industry. I see product pass my desk on a daily basis; new products, revamped products, foreign products, niche products, etc. I normally answer quickly with an obvious answer (I always attract towards vintage-y niche brands for effect). However, I had to ponder when I was recently asked, “What products have changed your life?” Life changing. That is a huge statement. That is beyond picking an item for image or stature. That is is asking what items I could not live with out.

So, to feed the minds of everyone, I have compiled this list. Not only is this list in existence from working in the industry that I do but, it is also from years and year of being a makeup and product junkie, having horrible skin and limp hair and to let’s not hinder the obvious: I am a perfectionist in beauty. (I have been known to spend 30mins yelling at liquid eye liner in order to achieve the perfect cat-eye)

Not only does the list below contain 15 items that changed my life but it also contains the all important reasons why they have changed my life….

1. Bloom Cosmetics Lip Gloss

I will admit, I have a lip gloss obsession. I own dozens of them, all packed away neatly in a makeup caddy. But no lipgloss has ever driven me to import it from Australia or buy out any Chicagoland dealer sans Bloom's Lip Gloss. It smells of vanilla, moisturizes your lips and comes in a great variety of colors!

2. Sampar Paris Equalizing Foam Peel

I received a sample of the this item (and the next) from my job. I think the term I used to a co-worker was "I have never been so impressed with a skincare brand in my life!" Dramatic, yes but, so truthful. This foam peel has done wonders to my acne prone skin. It doesn't sting while on nor does it dry out my skin.

3. Sampar Paris Lavish Dream Cream

As a continuation to #2, Sampar's Lavish Dream Cream has aided in my love affair for this French skincare brand. Although I only use it at night, it has changed my skin dramatically. I don't even blink saving the $125 to replenish my stock.

4.Smashbox Cosmetics Eye Shadow

Whether in a single, trio or palette, Smashbox's eye shadows are my favorite. They are true to pigment, silky and, they never crease. Plus, they have so many color options. I have found a color to match almost any outfit I needed one for. Smashbox is also Cruelty Free which is just a great thing.

5. Bourjois Yes to Volume, No to Clumps Mascara

I am one of those lucky people who have fantastically thick, long lashes. The only problem is, they are blond (even though I have brown hair). So, in order for mascara to look normal I need one that gets to the very root of my lash. Bourjois' Yes to Volume, No to Clumps is by far the best mascara for this. Its plastic comb looks difficult to use but, it is extremely easy and the result is fantastic.

6. Burt's Bees Baby Bee Dusting Powder

Ok so I know you are thinking, "What could she use baby powder for?" Actually, I use this as a translucent powder for my face. It keeps my oily skin shine-reduced and doesn't clog my pores.

7. Benefit Cosmetics Benetint Lip Balm

I just LOVE a red lip. It is so vintage. But, I hate lipstick and red lipgloss just does not work on my full lips (hey fishy fishy). I was upset always with my attempts at the infamous red lip until I meet Benefit's Benetint Lip Balm. It not only give my lips a sheer red tinge but, it moisturizes and smells like roses.

8. Pur Minerals Mineral Mudd Masque

I am such a fan of a true mud mask and this mask is it. I only use it once a week but, just once does wonders on blackheads and dead skin. It always leaves my skin clear and clean.

9. St. Ives Mineral Body Wash

Considering this is sold for $4 at almost every drug store, it is possibly the best buy I have ever made. Trusting other washes for my oily skin for years, I mistakingly forgot one of them on a trip to Costa Rica and last minute bought this as a replacement to pour into my 3 oz travel bottle. It moisturized my skin so much and even stopped any break-outs I had for the rest of the summer. I haven't trusted my skin with anything else since.

10. Benefit Cosmetics Babe Cakes Eyeliner

Just like a red lip, I love a cat eye but, I have major issues drawing them with anything but a liquid liner. The only problem with most liquid liners is that they dry out in the tube. Enter Benefit's Babe Cake. I fell in love with this years ago when the brand first popped up in Marshall Fields Watertower Place in Chicago. It's dried into a cake (both in brown and black) and all you have to do is wet a liner brush, swish it around and VIOLA! Perfect cat eye liner.

11. Stila Perfecting Concealer

I will come right out and say it: This is the only concealer I use. Why? Because it is the only concealer that works. It stays all day and it is the only on I have ever found that matches my pale olive skin.

12. Desert Essences Blemish Stick

So, when I do get a major blemish, I use this. I hate other spot treatments, especially ones that bleach fabric and this one works really well.

13. Urban Decay Baked Bronzer

I love this bronzer. I was originally turned off by the sparkly look and weird mix of color but, it proved itself in being the only bronzer I have ever tried that didn't make me look fake baked.

14. Juice Beauty Oil-free Moisturizer

This is my day cream. Because it is light weight and oil-free it is perfect for going under any makeup or powder that I am wearing. As a plus, it is organic and smells like grass.

15. Joice KPak Rejuvenating Mask for Hair

I have really thin, static-y, easily breakable hair so anything that can 'rejuvenate' it in anyway is an A+ in my book. Joico's mask is just that. As a side story: it was the only thing that saved my hair when the stove in my old apartment blew up with a gas leak and burned a whole bunch of my hair off. (I pulled out chunks, enough said)

The Herman Miller

So, in a futile attempt to decorate our new home, I am faced with some challenges but, none are so impossible as the fate of the 1960's Herman Miller chair that my fiance somehow managed to aquire from his late Grandmother during our college years...Ok it is not to say that this fantastic mod chair (ours is dark brown, not pee yellow) isn't comfy but, something about it irks me. Maybe it is because of its little metal legs that squeek and squeal at every attempt of sitting down believing you may, in fact, fall out, or maybe it is because my alma mater (University of Illinois at Chicago)was a Herman Miller playground; all the lecture halls were lined endlessly with rows and rows of brightly hued Herman Miller shell chairs.

Since I can not just chuck the Herman Miller chair out the door (as it is vintage, in perfectly fine shape, and a piece of Chicago history as it was salvaged from the UIC Campus and saved from the landfills), I plan to keep it and have it prously displayed in our office. My only concern is attempting decor to work with the chair. I think the only option is working with similar design. Luckily, my fiance is a product of the Illinois Institute of Technology and is also an architect so I am hoping to plan my office around that fact alone. One idea (that Chris is sort of grimacing at) is to mount some of his fantastic models on the wall. We will see how that will go over. Hopefully I am creative enough to figure that venture out.

What in the hoot.......?

I decided that I wanted to get back into bloggin but, mainly about the thing I love the most: Fashion (and Beauty, of course. They go hand-in-hand).

Now you may be wondering, what does la couette en dimanche mean? In short, The Fancy Owl in French. You may ask why I chose this odd name for a fashion blog and honestly, there really isn't an answer to that. I like owls (a lot) and I say the word fancy (a lot) and I also am French. So I suppose that is where it came from.

So, there will be some changes to my blog as it moves along for anyone that was reading it before. I will still make recommendations for beauty but I will be adding some fashion and vintage finds into the mix. This is also true for home decor now as my fiance and I just purchased our first house in our home town. Me, the vintage one, and he, the modern one, are finding a compromise to for home decor. I allow him to chose major peices (such as furniture) and I have reign of accents (such as the vintage French blown glass bird of paradise that is going to joyfully reside on my chest dresser in our bedroom).

I hope to gain more followers and I want also to give kudos to great blogs I have found out there.