NOTD: sofistica'ed

Not a word I love, sophisticated. Like "sexy," to me its usage usage denotes the opposite of its actual meaning. But I can't think of a better description for OPI's Boris and Natacha. Wine creme shades are ten a penny but this one has purple in it which makes it unique:

Where Three Dreams Cross

I promised a longer post on this exhibition and here it is:

I went to see this photography exhibition at the recently extended Whitechapel on Friday. I hadn't been for years, but the extension was much needed: now it feels like a proper gallery as opposed to popping round someone's house!

The exhibition features photographs from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh taken by photographers from the region from the last 150 years. I think the curators' choice to focus only on regional photographers was a good one: there were no voyeuristic shots of extreme poverty (though there were portraits of people who are poor) and despite the massive scale of the exhibition there was a sense of intimacy.
The exhibition was divided by theme rather than country or chronology. Again, a good curatorial decision that mirrors developments in Partition Studies, which is now focusing on a comparative approach to the history of the subcontinent, recognising that the stories of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India are inextricably entwined. It was nonetheless gratifying to see such a major inclusion from Bangladesh, often the poor, politically irrelevant cousin in South Asian studies.

If Kamila Shamsie's eye was drawn to the pictures of Bangladesh, the nation that had once been the distant wing of her own, I confess mine did too. I couldn't help but be struck by the beauty of the many images supplied by the Drik Archive in Bangladesh (I looked up Drik when I got home: it's a fantastic initiative to collect and exhibit Bangladeshi photography, and I look forward to visiting their stunning gallery when I'm next there). Photos from the 1990 coup also had a major resonance for me, given that my family and I arrived in Dhaka right in the middle of it (what my father was thinking, I shall never know).

I was utterly charmed by early black and white photos of royal families that had been intricately hand-painted with watercolours. One even had glitter sprinkled on the borders of a sari. These were beautiful, but also strange: some examples used cut out photographed faces that were pasted onto Mughal-style paintings, giving a bizarre, hyperreal quality to the overall pictures. And though done at the turn of the century (last), they seemed very modern, of the age of Photoshop. I was intrigued to discover that my mum had had a photograph of hers hand tinted in this way: sadly, like so many things I would dearly love to have as heirlooms, it is lost. It underlines how rare these exhibited photographs are: stuff is ephemeral there, it gets lost in upheaval or fades in the heat. What remains is all the more precious for that.

There are many points of interest I could mention, and indeed, the strength of the exhibition is in this diversity: grand photographs of Jinnah alongside a sobering image of a Bangladeshi farmer against the backdrop of a climate-change devastated landscape alongside an art image of Krishna chilling in a swanky hotel room . It's on until April 11th: go see it, and see which images stay with you.
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FOTD: Peach Melba, or making the most of what you've got

This was what I wore yesterday to take my mum to the Where Three Dreams Cross exhibition at the Whitechapel yesterday which I mentioned some time ago (longer post coming up about the exhibition itself). I haven't worn MAC's Expensive Pink shadow in ages even though it's one of my favourites! Same goes with my Bobbi Brown Violet Shimmer gel liner, and my NARS lip lacquer that I bought from the fabulous Vexinthecity's blog sale after lemming it for ages. I clearly have too much makeup!

What I wore:

Base:
MAC Moisturecover Select concealer
Urban Decay Primer Potion

Eyes:
MAC Expensive Pink shadow over lid
Bobbi Brown Violet Shimmer gel liner on lashlines and waterline
YSL Faux Cils mascara
MAC Vanilla pigment as highlighter

Face:
MAC MSF in Dark
MAC Springsheen blush
MAC Spiked brow pencil

Lips:

NARS Lip Lacquer in Zazou (bit sticky for me but I love the shade and it has fab staying power!)

Closeup:

The makeup went with the print on a dress I also haven't worn in ages. I'm not liking much stuff in the shops right now (too many pastels, yuck!) but as with my makeup it's making me look through what I do have and wear stuff that's been lingering in the back of my wardrobe. I'm not so keen on brown based prints but I love the 40s vibe of this fan print:

NOTD: Particuliere alternative for women of colour

From one end of the nail spectrum to the other! Today I'm wearing OPI's Over The Taupe.

Now, I really really wanted Chanel's Particuliere when it came out. But as with all my purchases I researched and researched it, and after checking out swatches and reviews from other women of colour, I got the impression that it wasn't very flattering on darker skintones. It's a very cool shade (in both senses of the word) and whilst the tone works on paler skintones, I don't think it has the same impact on darker skin. I can't quite explain it but it doesn't quite "sit" right.

The same goes for some of the Particuliere dupes out there - Essie Mink Muffs in particular (geddit!) I began thinking taupe wasn't for me. But one greige polish that got positive reviews from WOC was OPI's Over The Taupe. Funnily the I've read many reviews on OTT that are lukewarm - many think it's a boring, flat shade and argue it is too brown. But the brown in it is just what makes it very wearable for WOC - that and the distinct purple tone to it.

Very usefully, blogger Stephscloset has provided a comparison of Particuliere vs. OTT. As you can see there's not much in it, OTT is just a bit pinkier/purplier:

If you have yellow-toned or darker toned skin and are still hankering after Particuliere, I thoroughly recommend OTT as an alternative - which might even suit better. I'm loving my muted taupe nails!

Sugar and spice and all things nice... and bugs (FOTD and outfit)

This is the makeup I wore for Bartimaeus+plus twin bro's birthday lunch on Sunday:

I was keen to use the Urban Decay Peacock palette my sis bought me for Christmas - and I love the shadow called YDK! It's a super-shimmery perfect neutral on my skin and really makes my eyes pop. I used Twice Baked on the crease. I'm also wearing the cream pearl bow earrings I got from Miss Selfridge - I've had so many compliments on these little lovelies, they really frame your face nicely.

Makeup breakdown:

What I wore:

Base:
MAC Moisturecover Select concealer
Urban Decay Primer Potion

Eyes:
Urban Decay YDK shadow over lid
UD Twice Baked in socket
L'Oreal HIP cream liner in black on lashlines (this is totally dry, need to buy a new black gel liner!)
YSL Faux Cils mascara

Face:
MAC MSF in Dark
MAC Breezy blush
MAC Spiked brow pencil

Lips:
MAC Slimshine in Prudeaux




I wore one of my favourite dresses - from a distance this Topshop jersey dress looks leopard print (old pic):

but the print is in fact....

Ups and Downs

Though I'm [unusually] not on a train, I do find myself at a loose end, so here are my current ups and downs:

Up

Bartimaeus

It'll be a year on March 13th for us (the luckiest Friday 13th ever) and I can't believe how quickly it has gone. We've gone from strength to strength and our friendship's blossomed into something so wonderful, I feel really blessed.

Pub Quiz

Organising this with Bartimaeus and friends - really looking to this being a regular thing!

Work

Really enjoying it at the moment: the project website is almost done and I had a lot of input into its design and it looks fantastic, so I'm quite proud. Momentum is building with the events so it's busy, which I like!

Life

Also busy, and whilst somewhat stressful and fairly exhausting, also rich, varied, and wonderful.

Down

Estate agents

When they're good, they're pretty good, but when they're bad, they're horrid!


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NOTD: spangly purple

 

One quick coat of OPI Mad as a Hatter over OPI Merry Midnight (which is sparkly enough anyway!) Possibly not the most sophisticated nails in the world but a lot of fun! I'll try to post another pic when it's a bit darker outside so you can see the colours in the glitter properly - there's a lot of green and purple in it which makes it lovely over green or purple creme polishes.