stylist

#HARAJUKU

September 27, 2017luxorlivingandstyle 1 Comment

I learned a lot when deciding what to title this little post. It’s not really a specific look with an official style name. However, it is an Asian inspired Yokito blouse from Johnny Was… so for some reason, Harajuku Girl came to mind. From that I learned the following;

1. Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando….
2. Harajuku has gained a reputation for being the center of alternative fashion such as decorer, gothic lolita, and punk. But in reality, it’s much less strange than you’d think!

Basically, the Harajuku girl alternative fashion is a rebellion against the expected status quo and I can get behind that. 🙂

Meanwhile, here I am back in Texas…constantly being told that I don’t fit in or look like regular people do. I guess that I’ve always had a weird, fun, I don’t give a shit type of streak that has never gone away. My brother claims I still have a Cyndi Lauper look ever since she popped on the scene back in the day. I guess she was the original Harajuku girl if we were ever to trace it back.

When I get dressed quickly, the wildest things get worn together. Another person might throw on a white t-shirt with gray sweat pants to run out the door, but I do not own those things. I guess that’s how fun and quirky looks get created. I want to be cute, but I want to be comfortable, but I want to…never wear cotton…it’s just super common to me…yet I’m rushing, yet I then grab a nice pair of glasses and then it is all ok because they are a force field between me and the world.

Then there’s the gold thing. My cross never comes off. The pendant was a gift from my husband. It was his father’s and if I lose it, I should just run away from home. In an effort to not have to run away from home…I just wear it most every day. Plus, it has Jesus on it so there is that. The mini krugerrand coin was a find at a Pawn Shop last year. I believe in gold. I believe the dollar will fall and it’s amazing that it hasn’t done so already. Whatever the new currency will be… it will be backed by gold. Period. So gold is my thing for a lot of reasons. I feel like the value of gold is clearly being held back, and once it can’t be held down anymore, gold will be better than cash. Cash in the bank will take a huge haircut so gold is a hedge.

Basically, what I am saying is that gold is fashion but it’s so much more. I try not to be attached to things but I enjoy them while I have them.

During the visit from Hurricane Harvey a few weeks back, I heard that you only get to take one bag with you if you are rescued by boat. One night, in the middle of the night, it rained so hard nonstop…so I decided that we needed a plan. I have two hands…there would be a dog in each one and everything else could go to hell for all I cared. Possessions are not everything and once you’re dead – they are nothing, so we can’t get too wrapped up.

We ended up fine with no flooding and we are very thankful. Others were not so lucky. The whole thing really makes you think about possessions and things and how much we spend as well as how it could all be gone tomorrow so we can’t invest everything in any one area.

That being said…nothing shown here is new! The really cool silk top is from Johnny Was last year, and I have only worn her a few times. the Calvin Klein blazer is previously shown, as are the shoes from Gianni Bini and the Tory Burch bag.

I’m super behind on posts and have a closet full of super cool things to share that I’ve gotten over the past year!

My Bosscat Beauty eyelash line is set to finally launch in October so I really want to continue with the blog, but also adding in videos and posts for Bosscat so stay tuned!

-SDS

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BLACK SUMMER 2017

June 16, 2017luxorlivingandstyle

Black is for summer. Especially pool side because its so forgiving! Typically, when I get home from work, I throw on a swim suit – typically the black “Granny” suit you see above. I then go outside to water my flowers and plants, let the girls float on their floats – sometime I do it with them, and together we suck what daylight, peace and joy is left out of the day!

I actually bought one of those huge pink swan floats and the dogs get excited when I get a towel and drag it to the pool. Its very undignified but its relaxing and it has become our thing. Of course we take pictures for proof of our fun together, but it’s so eccentric in appearance to be sunbathing on a swan float with dogs, wine and catching up on the day’s infowars.com Youtube videos…

The black Johnny Was Kimono is a summer staple for me. I wore it to work over a sheer, black mini dress, then threw it on while outside over the black swim suit. As to the mini dress… it’s just a few inches above the knee. I have about 1 1/2 more years before my knees will sag to the point of needing to be concealed forever, unless I get a knee-tuck.) Its versatile, light weight and has great colored embroidery. I try to not totally fry my transparent skin in the sun, so its a perfect cover until the sun goes down!

My husband came out, and we decided to shoot a mini blog post in 5 minutes and I literally still had on the large Kate Spade earrings because I had simply not removed them yet! They are super light and I think they are fun!

It is getting super difficult to take blog photos lately. I am trying to make it about the items and not about me because I am not that interesting or lovely. There are a lot of posts on decor or other things that do not require I be in photos and that makes me happy.

Initially, when I started the site, I had decided that there would be no future run for a senate seat so I could post whatever I like and it wouldn’t matter in the end. However, I am beginning to feel over qualified for a seat somewhere after seeing the insane ramblings of people such as Nancy Pelosi, Maxine Waters and Sheila Jackson Lee. And where is the part in which they pack up and go home? Maxine Waters is 78. She’s been accused of ethics violations in the past, which basically all stem around using her position for personal gain. Yet, she continues to throw out baseless claims and shout “impeachment” about Trump. I do not think she knows what impeachment actually is, based on her interviews about the subject. At a certain point, these people need to be shown the door. A cognitive understanding assessment needs to be given to people past a certain age, period. For her to question his mental health, s insane when she exhibits less mental capacity than he does by far.

Interestingly enough, a bill is to be introduced by Rep Ted Lieu to subject the president to mental health evaluations. I wonder if they realize this should be across the board? A lot of people wouldn’t have positions anymore, and that would be a great thing.

Enjoy your summer and try to suck a little joy out of every day!
-SDS

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#undefined

August 22, 2016luxorlivingandstyle

I love doing makeup sessions. I really love taking photos for people. I have not ranted and vented much lately. I guess because I’ve been happy. Well, happy, busy and educating myself on world events. (OMG…do you realize everything going in in the universe right now?!?) Ugh, stressful!

I don’t want to quit my website, photography, makeup work or anything else I do that is fun…but I am spending a lot of time learning and studying in other areas. I find it amazing that there are very successful people in my world, that make a lot more money than I do and are seemingly more refined and accomplished, yet do not know or care anything about world affairs, government issues, do not have any idea who George Soros is and why they should care,what Brexit is and why it happened, what’s up with Putin or how the mainstream media candy coats reality at best, hides reality at worst and why we should care. I find that a majority of people are just zombies who do not want to be bothered with reality because it’s scary and inconvenient. If you don’t believe me, just ask someone who they are voting for and why…and most can’t articulate a real and meaningful answer with any depth or true knowledge of the facts they spew. Zombies I tell you!

Because of this, I am thinking of adding a news tab to the blog so that I can share things that I feel are interesting and important. If you don’t care, then don’t click on the news link! There are just so many interesting things going on that I’d like to share.

Back to the blog at hand…it’s titled #undefined. There’s a lot of reasons for this. This post stemmed from a long overdue photo shoot that TJ wanted. She also wanted a fun and glammy makeup lesson. I decided to do both, and combine the results for a mini blog. The dress is one she purchased from Johnny Was Houston, which is also the company that I currently work for…so we were hitting a lot of issues here. We are not really trying here to fit her into a defined fashion category or look here. Personality flavors any fashion and sometimes takes it around the corner and down the street from where the original concept was born. So with this session, we just let her own person shine through. Never mind that she had on a boho dress. You should wear a dress, it shouldn’t wear you.

I’d had kind of a weird and crappy week last week. Basically, a person tried to define me based on appearance alone. I realized that she wasn’t really judging my appearance, she was judging my appearance – and therefore my entire person, based on hers as being the guideline. This doesn’t work like that. My life is different than most women my age. I’m fun, burden free, artistic, love nail polish and hair products but the most important things about me are not visible. I am smart. I don’t need to appear smart. It’s not a concern of mine. I am deep, caring, I have integrity, am multifaceted and these things are not definable by appearance alone. I can carry on a semi intelligent conversation with anyone from anywhere in the world. That’s not any less true because I may do it in a fabulous shoe.

That being said, if I were seeking employment at the front desk of a brain surgeon’s office, I would surely take more of a simple approach in how I present myself to the universe. Friends and I have this conversation all the time. All. The. Time. Everyone wants to make more money, yet they dress and present themselves on the daily as if they make $19,000 per year and then want to wonder why better opportunities do not come. So I understand bending and blending with the masses, I just don’t have to.

I got that from my mom. My friend’s mom’s would be rude and ask, “Why is your mom always dressed up?” or “Why is she always fixed up?”… as if there was something wrong with it. They were trying to define her based on their own appearance and lack of daily effort. She didn’t work, she was fancy because she knew my dad liked it and she enjoyed fashion, the end.

Which brings us back to TJ…the woman in the photos. She is not a boho girl in the typical sense. She works out, and drinks healthy smoothies. She is independent. Single. Trying to grow a career and build her life. She’s not exactly black or white. She is an extremely nice person who tries to help people to a fault, always putting herself last. I’ve never met anyone who even almost resembles her. She is a bit of a cat lady though…there are three. Of course you would never know any of that if you never took the time to know her. Whoever she is going to end up becoming is not defined as of yet. Unspecified boundaries. Undefined possibilities.

-SDS

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED….

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SIX SHOTS OF THE MONTH

May 16, 2016luxorlivingandstyle 1 Comment

PARIS.

Ever since I met my husband, he has always expressed desire to take me to Paris. It was never anything that was on my personal bucket list. He suddenly decided at Christmas that we were actually going to go within a few months.

As for me, I decided to let his dream become a reality and after all…if a man is dying to take me to Paris who am I to snuff out his dream? It seems like we could just hop on a plane with little planning since we do not have sucklings (as my brother calls them) but actually it’s a hassle when you have jobs, business, pets coming out of your ears and a home you don’t want to worry about when gone. My brother come to babysit the girls when we’re gone and house sit as well. (Be ware and don’t show up unannounced when we’re gone because he’s like me in that he will shoot and ask questions afterward.) As it should be. But back to the joy of travel…

Paris was not what I’d expected. The French were kind. The art was amazing and the Palace at Versailles was sad to me. Every indulgence was magnificent in it’s beauty, yet disturbing at the same time because of where the money came from origianlly to fund it. Just sayin. My heart is for the people of France, yes…even the ones who lived hundreds of years ago and were suppressed by a greedy governmental system with a hand in the pockets of the people who work. Oh wait…that sounds familiar.

Of course the Eiffel Tower is the beautiful symbol of Paris and France. The romantic, cultural city and country. While I was very glad to go and share time with my husband while he showed me around…I realized in many ways they are just like America. Tittering on the edge of financial health and worrying and wondering what the future hold for the globe.

LOVE.

He took me to Paris. He wanted a romantic time. I was that girl for once. I was the girl who never had a Valentine or a boyfriend. It was as if there was no one else on the planet except us. I had decided before we left that this was a once in a lifetime trip, so I’d wanted to be that couple in front of the Eiffel Tower, all dressed up and living the life. It sounds stupid, but as a person who dabbles in photography…I just had to get him all dressed up and ready for a mini Paris photo shoot. I figure pictures are the best souvenir.

The really funny part, is that we chose a day in which the wind was crazy and the air was bitter cold so truthfully, we could barely hold our eyes open due to the wind and icy cold tear drops flying out of our eyes. This is sort of why he has squinty, tight looking, Kenny Rogers type of eyes but that we got a halfway decent photo in at all is a miracle.

The red dress I was planning on wearing, was see thru red lace and it was so insanely cold and windy, I threw on a black feather dress that I’ve used for clients before in photo shoots, so the whole thing went pretty sadly. It’s so funny though, because in this photo, it seems as if all is perfect. My canon camera fell in the mud, because the wind knocked down the tripod, and I was just ready to go home with no great Eiffel Tower photo of us together…but a nice woman who was picnicking alone in the park decided to help us out and snap a photo or two.

The best thing about this photo is that he dealt with me on this terribly cold, and windy day and tried to help me get the shot I wanted. Is the picture perfect? Nope. We were too close to the Eiffel Tower. I’d wanted to be further away so that the entire thing would be off in the distant background. I didn’t want to be a whiny bitch because he had the taxi drop us off too close. I had the man put on a suit and tie and unless he’s getting married or buried he acts as if a tie is a straight jacket. Since he wore one for me, I figured I’d better shut up and hope he doesn’t begin to rip it off like the incredible hulk. We had to walk another quarter of a block in the wind just to get further away. My new red satin shoes got messed up in the mud as I ran to catch the camera that was falling to the ground. But we made a memory to last a lifetime and we have something to laugh about forever.

PRADA RED

The red dress I’d had created for Paris…didn’t end up in a glammy Paris blog session. We did, however use it immediately upon returning to U.S. soil. This is his favorite picture that he took and he’s very proud of his blog shoot.

You must understand my situation. You know how you can have a very impatient puppy that has the desire to please you, however…he’s just a hyper puppy so he can only control his rambunctiousness to a certain degree? Well, that’s who takes my blog photos. He’s a super hyper, well meaning, happy, athletic, high energy type. He’s the hare to my tortoise. So, since he did so well and enjoyed himself on the Prada Red blog session… he keeps asking when we can do more. That’s great! Finding time is rough. He was not jazzed about the red dress until he figured out that it was basically transparent. Well, and that it matched my new Paris Prada bag perfectly. And my red shoes. We went on to Sunday brunch afterward and I was the reddest woman in the room. I am glad he accepts me.

BOATING

Paris has amazing dinner boats. This was a last minute Paris boat ride in the cold and rain. It was our first night there. It was surreal. All you have to do is Google Paris photos and you can see tons of shots…many much better than mine. The shots I share are just ones that mean something to me…and they take me back.

THE ARTISTS AT MONTMARTRE

There were a few things on my bucket list once I realized that we were really going to Paris. One of them was to get an original artwork from Paris. As we looked around at the different art that the street artists were offering… my husband decides he wants me to sit for a portrait artist. I am terribly shy. Ugh. I wasn’t emotionally prepared. He’s very demanding, so the next thing I know, he’s discussing price with an artist and there I am. Alone. Sitting. For two hours. My husband leaves me to go have lunch and do more sightseeing in Montmartre. I was sitting trying to not let my lazy eye droop, because I wasn’t really wanting it documented in my art. I was trying to smile, yet not over smile.

I have to say…this village was my favorite part of the trip. It is an adorable village located at the base of the Sacre Coeur Basilica, shown below.

About the artwork above? Well, Ken thinks it’s beautiful and that it looks just like me. It’s framed and it’s in a corner of our living room. I say, she is beautiful and I only wish I looked like her. It seems the artist forgot to add wrinkles and lines. Either way, I got my Paris art and the memory is priceless.

CHURCH

Sacre Coeur Basilica is a Paris landmark. It’s a church dedicated to Jesus Christ. It’s an amazing sight from an architectural perspective. All of that, and it just feels like a good place to go have a conversation with God. While I am not Catholic, from a historical perspective…the building was amazing to see and experience. Must you be in a beautiful, luxurious place for God to hear and Jesus to come? No. Jesus can come to you when you’re in your modest garden in East Texas tending to your flowers. I support my church but I don’t believe it has to be decorated with fine art and gold to be sacred to God. But gosh this place sure was beautiful and majestic and I’m glad I got to experience it with Ken.

-SDS

YOU MAY HAVE MISSED…

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BIKINI POLITICS

June 9, 2015luxorlivingandstyle 1 Comment

During the summer, bikini sightings are an expectation by the male human being. Period. Your husband will never tell you that he wants to go hang out at the hotel pool wit you in hopes of seeing what amounts to basically naked women. But he does. They all do. Sorry. Maybe you’re super fabulous naked, so he wants to show you off to the world as well. A lot of my male friends often comment that they rarely see super hot model or playboy types at the pool. There’s a reason for that…they rarely exist. The vast majority of people do not look fabulous naked in the glare of sunlight. We’ve ruined ourselves with magazines, movies and television shows that use soft lighting, photo shop and perfect angles so it’s really hard to compete with expectations set forth by fakery. In light of this, I’ve never been one to hold a strong desire to go hang out at a public pool. I feel that if you’re sleeping with me, then you’ve earned the right to see me naked. Have I made it clear enough that I do not put great value on bouncing around naked in front of strangers, I just don’t.

That being said, I typically know far in advance if the daunting pressure of beach or pool occasions or vacations are coming, so I usually have time to prep and dump 15 pounds so I can feel more comfortable and I also choose clothing to cover with out looking covered, if that makes sense.

I saw a woman who was fully clothed at the pool, but was soaking wet in her floor length pants and t-shirt as she waved to her child and husband that were in the pool. She ended up looking like the grandma instead of the wife. I don’t want to be naked pool lady, but I don’t want to be fully-clothed-in-the-pool prude woman either.

Speaking of day light….it is so harsh on the naked body. Ugh. So, in a perfect world…a person loves you for the beautiful person that you are on the inside…yada yada.

On this particular week, we ended up on a quick jaunt and we knew we were going to unwind and share a cocktail at the pool area of our hotel. My husband even made the statement as we packed to go…that he couldn’t wait to see me in a bikini. Huh? I’m thinking to myself that he sees me naked pretty often so what’s the deal? The deal is this…men are fed photos and movies of bikini women their whole lives. It’s a fantasy. Some girls and women thrive on every opportunity to sit in a string bikini with the general public because they feel the power involved. Me? I just want to get through it, not look or feel too repulsive yet feel accepted by my mate.

Naked “fun” time for me, is at home, not in front of the universe. I wanted to let my husband feel relaxed and have a good time so I made up my mind to have fun and chillax.

Here is the lovely part. We decided people just don’t look that fabulous naked. They just don’t. Possibly about 5% of society might…but the rest of us are just acceptable. I could tell that my husband was shocked that there were no super model types lounging around…but it was instead…regular people, to my relief.

As for me and my poolside fashion, I think I am a product of my mom. She used to pull me out of school and we’d often fly to Miami to stay at the Fountainbleu Hilton. That was her hangout. There were models, movie stars, ball players, International fabulous types and mom would always be drenched in her diamonds, big hair done, sandals with heels and fabulous swim suits and cover ups. Yes, I’ve turned into her, minus the bipolar alcoholism. I realize this the more I think about it. She never once had on a t-shirt. Diamonds were for every day.

I threw together my poolside ensemble very quickly. I am so glad that you can buy bikini tops and bottoms separately now, because the bottom half of my body is a small and the top is clearly not. A large, halter style bikini top gives structure to my upper body that a string bikini top just won’t. The cover up was actually a top I purchased months ago which I had planned on using as lingerie. It was perfect! You’re in the required by law bikini, however covered up with just a peek of flesh showing through the lace. It is short and flirty, flowing in the breeze.

If you throw on some Mac Morange lip color, you immediately look as if effort was applied, and don’t mess with me about my hurr! I just did my easy quadruple pony tail thing so it would be easy to maintain and I literally had the same hair later that night for dinner. It may appear to be work, but it’s very low maintenance. Gucci sun glasses make up for a pale pool face ( and keep me from having to make eye contact with all the naked pool strangers) and of course my “Guido” style necklace that my husband gave me that used to belong to his father was perfect for pool glam in my book. Honestly, if I’m wearing gold, I just keep it on, I’m not one to take of rings and necklaces and leave them around, my fear is losing them, so I just mainly keep jewelry on to keep from dealing with the stress of on again off again.

People, if I was swimming laps it would be different, but hotel pools are about relaxing and drinking and, in our case we had lunch poolside and enjoyed each others company. It was cool that I ate a huge hamburger poolside, because my cover up hid the burger in my belly. I probably would have been much more comfortable taking photos before our burgers and beer…but it was sort of an after thought.

I’m not perfect. Like, at all. So it’s a big deal to me to share this post. But something happens as you get older…well, in my case anyway, I’ve learned to love myself and be happy!

-SDS

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AMERICAN SUPERMODEL: MAKEUP TIPS AND TRICKS

December 27, 2014luxorlivingandstyle

This is the part where I am going to show you some of the makeup and cosmetics tips I used on Jennifer for her Next American Supermodel photo shoot!(You can also see more pictures from the shoot there.)

The eyes are the window to the soul so with that in mind, I decided to play up her eyes and strong brow area. We actually laughed so hard during our conversation about eyebrows, because a lot of salons want to end up giving everyone that walks into there doors…a cookie cutter, skinny half moon brow and she’s been smart enough to stay away from that practice. Eyebrows are so important! They can give your face the appearance of symmetry and a good brow is a rich feature.

FUNNY SIDEBAR: I went into my bank about a year ago, and the girl at the counter started talking to me about my hair or lip color…but the conversation turned into an eyebrow conversation, against my will. Hers were shaved off and then a thin line was tattooed on in place of them. She adamantly searched for the number to give me to the place that did it for her. EECK! I was polite, but I would never do that unless my eyebrows suddenly fell out into the street and I had no choice.

As for Jennifer’s lips did not need any help looking full, so we went with a barely there color and liner, to keep the main area of focus on the eyes.

I knew that I would be doing some black and white pictures, which can tend to make you look washed out if you do not enhance the architecture and bone structure of the face and define certain places well enough.

So lining the lips well, defining the brow and the hollow of the cheek, is important.

We also wanted some fun, real person shots that were full body shots therefore the makeup that may appear heavier close up, only looks more simple from further away.

My original plan was to use an old school, super glam red for the lip color, however, her eyes turned out so fabulous, and her lips are already perfectly photogenic, so we decided for a more reserved, pale and natural color.

Everyone’s face is different. People expect to walk up to a cosmetic artist, and ask for a Kardashian look, for example…when there’s absolutely nothing to work with in that direction. In makeup, you have to step back, assess the situation, and work with what you’ve got!

Here’s the listing of make up I used for Jennifer:

Additionally, a cosmetic look for photos will look different from cosmetics for say…a date. Have you ever noticed that when you look at a picture that was taken on a day that you thought you looked great…the picture was awful? Basically, the same highlighting techniques, just on a lesser scale.

-December 27, 2014

-SDS

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CONNECT

#HARAJUKU

BLACK SUMMER 2017

#undefined

SIX SHOTS OF THE MONTH

BIKINI POLITICS

AMERICAN SUPERMODEL: MAKEUP TIPS AND TRICKS

REBEL

PEEK-A-BOO

LA JOLLA !

THE ASHLEY MADISON PROJECT

JOHNNY GIRL

STREET GLAM

Are We Smart Enough to Vote?

CHICKEN COOP

SIX SHOTS DURING QUARANTINE

QUALITY QUARANTINE TIME

5 Things I Think I Need Right Now…

WYOMING