Tag color

No Pink Please!

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PinkUnlike many women who seem to gravitate towards the color pink, I hate the hue with a passion, regardless of whether it’s baby, bubble gum, rose, magenta, hot, blush, fuschia, or any other shade in the pink portion of the spectrum. It bothers me to no end when people, especially men, assume that every female likes pink and that all females should identify with the color since it is a “girl’s” color. I am not a fan of gender stereotyping, and find myself delighted when I hear a woman say she hates pink, or that she refuses to dress her young daughter in pink. Amen to that!

My mother certainly fell under the gender constraints which dictated that her daughter should wear pink, but thankfully she allowed me to assert my personality and hatred of pink when I dressed in regular day to day clothing. However, I did not win the battle when it came to my yearly portrait sitting. In fact, there were SEVERAL years in which I was made to wear baby pink chiffon dresses to my portrait sitting. This was utter torture for me, because I felt like a poof of pink cotton candy, ultra-girly and completely unlike the tomboyish girl I was. My mom would point out that I would only have to wear a dreaded pink garment for a few hours, and that pink was SUCH a good color on me. Truth be told, many shades of pink flatter my complexion very well, but the mere sight of pink has always turned my stomach.

I also remember one item of clothing which was given to me one Christmas (I believe it was when I was 4 years old). The item was my first bathrobe, a baby pink, polyester quilted number which I wore for many years, until it literally began to fall apart, and of course I was thrilled. When the robe was finally retired, it was no longer a full length garment, but hit my knees. When the time came to pick out a new robe, I selected a vibrant blue robe to erase the memory of having that pink monstrosity.

Some people may regard pink as a happy, calming, comforting color, but to me, it is just plain UGLY. Even purple, which is one of my favorite colors, has to have a strong leaning away from the pink spectrum in order for me to choose it. If it’s too pink, I will opt for red or black. I look at pink and I think of Pepto-Bismol and weakness. It is very safe to assume that I will reject anything (that includes clothing, accessories, decor items, etc.) that is pink. I can guarantee that I will never have logos or merchandise which have the color pink in them. It was difficult for me to pick an image for this blogpost because I knew it had to be pink. My hatred of pink is consistent and pervasive.

Pink is NOT for this girl!

Depotting MAC Eye Shadows Is Not Fun

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Mac-Depot-Before

Despite the fact that I hardly wear any makeup in my daily life, I have an enormous collection of makeup which I accumulated mostly during 2006 through 2010, when my love for MAC Cosmetics was at its peak. My collection of eye shadows is particularly impressive, with over 80 MAC eye shadows, about a dozen NARS, Chanel, and Chantecaille eye shadows, and roughly 60 MAC loose pigments.

My collection of eye shadow pots was neatly organized in bins, but because I had so many, the shades at the bottoms of the stacks were neglected because I couldn’t see them without digging through the plethora of pots. I kept thinking that I would eventually depot these eye shadows and organize them into palettes, but my busy schedule prevented that from happening for years.

I finally decided last month to depot my MAC eye shadows, and also thought it would be a good idea to depot my MAC blushes, MAC Mineralized Skinfinish bronzers and highlighters, and press the pigments. For those of you who know what all that means, I am sure you are groaning at the idea of depotting that many eye shadow pots, 12 blushes, 17 MSF domes, and all of those pigments. Nevertheless, I was determined.

Before I began the project, I asked a number of professional makeup artists if they had any tips on how to easily depot the eye shadows, and every single one of them told me that it was very challenging.

I decided to start with my MAC blushes. An hour later, I had depotted six of them, but not without denting the pans they were in and crumbling a couple of them, which meant that I was forced to master the art of re-pressing crumbled powder makeup pans. Oh joy. I was so frustrated that I took the rest of the blushes off the list.

MAC blushes depotted and in a MAC Pro Palette Duo.

MAC blushes depotted and in a MAC Pro Palette Duo.

About a week later, I decided to depot my MAC eye shadow pots, which meant sorting them out in groups of 15 by color family, then heating up the pots on my straightening iron. The setup for this project took up the entire dining room table:

Here was my setup for the MAC eye shadow depotting session I had. The larger pots in the top left of the image are my MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes. The other pots and small palettes comprise only about half of my MAC eye shadow collection. The knives, cookie sheet, rubbing alcohol, and magnet sheets you see in the image were used in the depotting process.

Here was my setup for the MAC eye shadow depotting session I had. The larger pots in the top left of the image are my MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes. The other pots and small palettes comprise only about half of my MAC eye shadow collection. The knives, cookie sheet, rubbing alcohol, and magnet sheets you see in the image were used in the depotting process.

The pans were so difficult to wedge out that the pans became dented once again, and shadows crumbled. So I once again had to re-press some of them. I spent about two hours working on the palette pictured below, and became so frustrated with the poor design of the MAC palette and inserts that I moved all the pans over to the Makeup Forever palettes I purchased.

The first palette I attempted. No more MAC palette nonsense for me! I got rid of this MAC palette duo, and switched to Makeup Forever palette tins, which are great for the standard MAC eye shadow pans. The Z-Palette brand is excellent for pressed pigments and domed makeup pans.

The first palette I attempted. No more MAC palette nonsense for me! I got rid of this MAC palette duo, and switched to Makeup Forever palette tins, which are great for the standard MAC eye shadow pans. The Z-Palette brand is excellent for pressed pigments and domed makeup pans.

My first Makeup Forever eye shadow palette with MAC eye shadow pans

My first Makeup Forever eye shadow palette with MAC eye shadow pans

After completing the first eye shadow palette, I got lazy and removed the inner tray from the pots without bothering to remove the pans from them, and placed the trays into the palettes. Less work, and much less frustration meant a happier Stacey.

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I spent a third day using my lazy depotting method on the domed MAC eye shadows. I thought it would be easy and safe. I was wrong. I sliced my fingertip and jabbed my right hand three times with the knife I was using to snap the domed shadows from their pots. But after placing them in the domed Z-Palettes, I was a pretty happy camper.

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Finally, on my fourth day of makeup organizing hell, I pressed all the small sample jars of MAC loose pigment which I had collected over the years. Those turned out beautifully:

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After all that, you would think I was done, but I am still planning to press a portion of the full sized MAC loose pigments I have:

My collection of MAC full sized loose pigments

My collection of MAC full sized loose pigments

I am also considering depotting the MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes, but the thought of them cracking and crumbling worries me. These things are beautiful!

One of my MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes

One of my MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes

A long row of MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes

A long row of MAC Mineralized Skinfinishes

Letting My Personal Style Show Through

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The past several months have been fun for me with respect to my personal style, because I have been changing things up. However, everything I do with respect to putting outfits together tends to be a bit more understated, with neutral colors favored over bright colors, and solids over prints. I reserve the wilder expressions in smaller elements like jewelry and nails.

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After getting French manicures for six years straight, I got completely sick of the look, despite the fact that it photographs well. I guess you could say I got a bit tired of being constrained by a certain look, even though the work I do requires it. I have been rebelling completely, turning to dark polish shades like eggplant, espresso, navy, black. I was a bit concerned when I got a last minute call for a cover shoot a couple of weeks ago, but it turned out that the look was dark, sultry, Goth-inspired, which meant that my black and pewter nails lent themselves quite nicely to the whole vibe of the project. Phew!

I have never been comfortable with the idea of changing things up on a permanent or semi-permanent basis, which is why I have no tattoos or pierces (nope, not even my ears). That’s why I prefer the idea of changing the look of my nails, wearing different pieces of jewelry, exploring a different color in a cosmetic (maybe deep eggplant and black in a lip look?), or maybe even wearing small clip-in hair extensions in a wild color.

My wardrobe has also undergone a bit of a shift. I just got so bored with items which had been in my collection for so long that I had to shake it up a bit with a few new tops. I also was so fortunate to get two pairs of SquatPants from Beleza Brazil Fitness, which makes the most amazing pants ever! I cannot stop wearing them, because they are so comfortable, the colors are vibrant and distinctive and work well with other wardrobe items, I can work out in them or wear them for my day to day activities, and they make my booty and legs look AMAZING! I am not kidding when I say that I am completely obsessed with these pants.

(In case you’re curious about these incredible pants, please check out: http://belezabrazilfitnesswear.com/#_a_NAITO
At checkout, be sure to enter discount code NAITO)

squat

Finding That Perfect Suit Is Like Finding The Perfect Wedding Gown…

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Ever since I began competing in bodybuilding contests in 2009, I have had a fixation on suits. My fixation became a bit extreme during the time I was chasing after an IFBB Pro Card, and resulted in the purchase of a total of NINETEEN suits from 2009 through 2014!

Here is the breakdown of all the suits I bought each year:

2009:
Luli Fama off-the-rack suit – Bought through Victoria’s Secret Catalog. Wore for my first contest.
Royal blue Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Tournament of Champions.
White and silver Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Border States.
Black Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at NPC Nationals.
Lilac Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Excalibur.

2010:
Slate blue hologram print Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Emerald Cup.
Purple leopard print Fresh Peaches custom suit – Never wore this one.
Zebra print Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at Team Universe.
Tiger print Fresh Peaches custom suit – Never wore this one.
Deep blue shatterglass effect Fresh Peaches custom suit – Wore this at USA, Jr. USA, IFBB North American, NPC Nationals.

2011:
Blue Maison Lyle custom suit – Never wore this one.
Peacock custom suit made by me – Wore this at Team Universe, Master’s Nationals, IFBB North American, NPC Nationals.

2012:
Peach Tamee Marie cusstom suit – Never wore this one.
Red CJ’s Elite custom suit – Wore this at NPC Pittsburgh, Team Universe, Master’s Nationals.
Green CJ’s Elite custom suit – Wore this at IFBB North American. (I also wore this at both Pro contests I did in 2014).

2013:
Light blue CJ’s Elite custom suit – Wore this at NPC Metropolitan.
Tangerine CJ’s Elite custom suit – Wore this at Team Universe, Sac Pro.
Iris blue Jagware competition suit – Wore this at Irongames Pro.

2014:
Gold Ravish Sands custom suit – Wore this at Dennis James Classic Pro, Nor Cal Pro.
Bikini Front
I no longer have a fixation on buying the “perfect” suit and have sold most of my suits. However, there are a few suits I will never get rid of, for various reasons:
Zebra print Fresh Peaches custom suit – This suit turned out to be great for photo shoots.
Tiger print Fresh Peaches custom suit – This suit also turned out to be great for photo shoots.

This was from IFBB North American in Cleveland, Ohio in 2012. I hadn't seen this image until now! That was an amazing contest for me, in which I took a First Place Finish in Open Bikini C, beating out 27 other young ladies. I was 45 there!

This was from IFBB North American in Cleveland, Ohio in 2012. I hadn’t seen this image until now! That was an amazing contest for me, in which I took a First Place Finish in Open Bikini C, beating out 27 other young ladies. I was 45 there!

Peacock custom suit made by me – I have this suit in a shadowbox because I am very proud of the fact that I made this myself and took three first place national finishes in this suit.
Green CJ’s Elite custom suit – This is now my backup suit for IFBB Pro events.
Tangerine CJ’s Elite custom suit – I won my IFBB Pro Card in this suit and will never get rid of it due to its sentimental value. In addition, this is my main suit for IFBB Pro events.

I completely understand now the quest for a perfect suit can turn into an obsession! Over the years I managed to buy suits in green, various shades of blue, white, black, lilac, blue-purple, animal prints, peacock, peach, tangerine, red, and gold! Sometimes colors which look amazing on some competitors might not look as good on you, or maybe the color is perfect, but the cut isn’t quite right. I enjoyed trying out different colors and suitmakers, but I don’t think it was sensible at all for me to buy so many suits! Clearly I was a bit fickle about competition suits, hence the constant switching from one suit to another.

The entire process of selecting a suit is quite similar to the process of hunting for the perfect wedding gown. Yet even when I was searching for a wedding gown, I didn’t invest nearly as much time in that search, partially because I abhor shopping, but also because I was on a very limited budget when I shopped for a wedding gown. It was 1998 and I was in medical school, living off medical school loans, and paying for the entire wedding. What is amazing to me is that I have paid more for some competition suits than I paid for my wedding dress!

Believe it or not, I am still pondering the idea of having just “one more suit” made, but I keep pushing the idea aside because I know that would be frivolous. I know several competitors who struggle with the same suit frenzy that I have dealt with over the past eight years. Instead of spending major coin buying a bunch of different suits, you might want to consider just buying a couple of suits, one main suit and a backup suit. Your impulse may be to choose a favorite color to wear onstage, but make sure that the color/shade you choose looks good with your complexion and hair color! I have made that mistake a couple of times and ended up looking less than my best as a result. If you are indecisive, the massive selection of fabrics and connectors can be dizzying, so take your time when trying to decide on all the details. My absolute favorite suit designer is CJ’s Elite, not only because her suits always fit like a dream, but also because she has an extensive fabric and connector selection and is an amazing woman.

For those of you who want to try to save some money, a good option is to purchase used suits from a fellow competitor. I have two bikini division suits and a figure division suit for sale on my contest prep site: http://cutcurves.com/Storefront.php