I just read a piece on a American school for what should be a defunct trade. Nay, an art. The North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking teaches new craftsmen building and repairing watches in the Swiss tradition. We’re talking about those timepieces you put on your wrist and marvel at their heft, wondering what could… Continue Reading Fashion Undressed: Attention to Detail
It occurred to me that I haven’t yet detailed a timeline of what happened after the day my face went numb on my morning commute except to share that I found yoga, writing and a happier way of life. In a moment of despair, I googled “MFA creative writing” and instead found a less life-altering and… Continue Reading A Life, Replotted: on perseverance
I blame the Disney princesses. They started it when we were little girls. Their angelic cartoon faces, long flowing hair and optimistic outlooks made us believe anything is possible. They sold us on the magic of falling in love and happily-ever-afters. As a romance novelist, I still believe. However, being at what those of us… Continue Reading Product Review: Urban Decay Mascara Resurrection
It’s Fashion Week season; New York kicks it off. A week in the Big Apple, and show after show, row after row, model after model. There’s hair, there’s makeup. There are lines wrapped around the corner, eager – but pretending to be bored with it all – faces jostling for a position close enough to… Continue Reading Fashion Undressed: NYFW Trends Redux and Reinvented
I used to have a closet full of dresses. Expensive dresses. I justified the investment (doesn’t that sound better than splurge?) because not only were they appropriate professionally, but one dress required little thought in the morning, whereas a two-piece suit also required a blouse option, and three wardrobe components were two too many for… Continue Reading A Life, Replotted: Dressing the Part
Mr. Phyllis cannot tell a lie. Yes, really. The man doesn’t lie. For example, when asked how my size 14 butt looks squeezed into size 10 jeans, I went on a one-day green smoothie fast to fit into, his reply: “You might want to change.” Need another one? Me: How does my new lip gloss look?… Continue Reading Product Review: Boscia Bright White Mask
As a child, I was one of those (misguided) girls with a smidgen of artistic talent who sketched teal gown after teal gown (it was the 80s, after all). I dreamed of attending fashion school and presenting at runway shows in New York. But then I wanted to be a marine biologist, a biology teacher,… Continue Reading Fashion Undressed: From the Runway, with Reason
In my adult life, I’ve been an English as a Second Language Teacher, a school administrator, a Capitol Hill staffer, an environmental advocate, and an energy lobbyist. I’m also a single mother, a wannabe writer and an intermittent blogger with the best of intentions to post more frequently. I’ve toyed over the years with becoming… Continue Reading A Life, Replotted: Finding My Path
My name is Phyllis, and I’m a hard-core beauty junkie. An overflowing cosmetics bag and make-up littered vanity attest to this fact. Yet, most days my face does not. I feed my addiction regularly. There’s nothing I love more than filling department store and online shopping carts with flawless foundations, eye shadow palettes and mascaras… Continue Reading A ‘Good Enough’ Face