Mascara or Motoroil

brand new hurr do (or, my life as a My Little Pony)

jessy — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:05:58 +0000

Hey there.

I was doing some organizing on the ol’ internet machine (that’s all laptops are, right?) the other day when I found these pictures from a very special day a few months ago. I went in to get my hair done by my good friend (and the most amazing hair magician) Phillip Saunders and once he finished doing my color he decided he wanted to add it to his portfolio. Being the well-connected and sweet man that he is, he called one of my favorite Cincinnati photographers, Annette Navarro and set something up for that night. Needless to say I was about to jump out of my pants with excitement. I still wanted to get some blog pictures in my new bag dress though, so the boyfriend and I stopped by the park on the way home.

I finally found a fake Chanel quilted bag and I was so happy to debut it with my fake Armani shades, and fauxlex watch. I guess you could consider my Jessica Simpson Danys fake Jeffery Campbells too, that’s pretty much what they are. I’m all about the fakes. Then, I got a completely random urge to climb the tree I was standing next to. Don’t ask me why.

Must’ve been something in the Kool-Aid that day.

And then, that night…..

It was a lot of fun and very relaxed atmosphere working with them two of them, which always helps. Especially since I am certainly no model. Annette shot me in three or four other looks, but she wanted to start with this one. Being the good little stylist girl that I am, I brought an Ikea bag stuffed full of pieces that I hadn’t yet worn. I’ll share some of those next time though.

WHAT: fake armani sunglasses, yard sale

plum sack dress, gift from friend

sash (made from two ties), NYC street vendor

fauxlex watch, pixel 19

fake chanel bag, thrift

dany platforms, online

WHERE: hair appointment and photo shoot (normal tuesday NBD)

new year, new look

jessy — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:56:32 +0000

HELLO! It’s so good to see you again! Today is an exciting day for a lot of reasons, one of which is that this is my blog’s 2nd birthday. For my second year on the interweb, I thought that a new look for Mascara or Motoroil would be just what I needed to restart my momentum. I’m ready to be a multiple posts a week blogger again, I hope you guys are still interested in seeing my stuff! Here goes nothin…..

This was from a particularly rainy gross evening, hence the basement pictures. I just scored that amazing lip bag at H&M thanks to the dedicated internet hunting of a few friends, surprisingly I couldn’t afford the Lulu Guinness original. $12>$200

WHAT: white tank, h&m

black bra, victoria’s secret

chains, nyc street merchant

fauxlex, pixel 19

gold chain bracelet, on loan

lip bag, h&m

faux leather pants, forever 21

jessica simpson dany’s, online

WHERE: evening out with my boy

WHEN: thursday, september 22

Thank you very very much to my wonderful, talented and incredibly handsome boyfriend for all his hard work on my site! Expect more posts from me very soon!

no bummer summer!!

jessy — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 21:53:46 +0000

From Merl aka Clyde’s Rebirth’s latest post: “Dressing in a way that makes you feel confident and happy is a profoundly powerful tool, and shouldn’t be discounted as frivolous or meaningless. But when the latest trends, the allure of designer labels, and the popularity struggles begins to take over what used to be a joyful experience -ie expressing your personality through your attire- it’s time to check yo self.. before you wreck yo self…. Everyone has bad hair days, bad skin days, bad ensemble days.. hell even hot mess weeks. So stop comparing yourself to others and simply do what makes you happy. Wear what you want, and thumb your nose at the newest trends if that’s what trips your trigger. Or.. wear them if that rocks your boat instead. Don’t be afraid to actually look happy in your outfit photos!”

*Sigh* Oh Merl, this was the post I was needing to read today. Not that I get caught up in the designer game or hoping to be a famous blogger, but I do get down about how little time I get to spend on my blog. Then it becomes a never-ending circle of guilt and feeling obligated. I temporarily forgot that I started Mascara or Motoroil as a fun way to document and share the things I wear. On that note, lately I’ve been spending a lot of my time poolside drinking and moped riding! First things first though, I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned or shown my little baby yet! I picked up this amazing Motobecane moped on Craigslist a few weeks ago and since I got it I can’t stay off of it. It’s my favorite stress relief right now, makes me forget all my worries. There’ll definitely be more pictures of it soon!

Aside from riding my moped (and that dumb ‘work’ thing) most of my time has been spent at the Coney Island pool. It’s been SPECTACULAR. I decided early this spring that this was going to be a No Bummer Summer, and it has been working out pretty perfectly so far. This last time we went was my friend’s Megan’s birthday so I decided to dress up a bit with my biggest hat and of course, my super-fake Prada bag.

Myself and the gorgeous birthday girl! (Note: these poses may have been influenced by lots of alcohol in the sun.)

Megan is definitely more of a flats kind of girl but I got her these awesome vintage wedges as training heels, and thankfully she loved them! AND looked super hot obviously.

WHAT: floppy hat, flea market

yellow clip ons, chicken lays an egg

vintage bathing suit, chicken lays an egg

skirt, rainbow

bangle, thrift

ring, h&m

faux prada, nyc

wedges, somewhere when i was in high school?

WHERE: coney island, cincinnati

WHEN: wednesday june 8

a casual day and cheeseburger filled evening

jessy — Thu, 26 May 2011 19:35:29 +0000

Some days I wake up and it looks as if I gave myself swirlies all night instead of sleeping, thankfully I discovered the amazing equation of crazy hair + sheer scarf + pea-sized head = giant bow to distract from crazy hair! It works smashingly well if I do say so. Last Tuesday was definitely a bow-of-distraction type mornings so I opted for some cheetah print to liven the whole thing up a little.

Nothin’ fancy, just a casual day at work

C’mon now, don’t leave a girl hangin’!

The real fun got started when my adorable boyfriend picked me up and we headed to Terry’s Turf Club, a restaurant I’d been hearing about for years but had never made it to. Wow, I was missing out BIG.

I immediately knew it was my kinda place.

We sat at the bar which was great because we got to watch them make fresh french fries (from whole potato to plated fries) and see our burgers cooking.

There was definitely no shortage of other things to look at while we were waiting!

And right when I thought my mouth could water no more, this came out.

It was INCREDIBLE. Probably the best burger I’ve ever had.

Of course before we left I had to snap a few more pictures of this haven.

I’ll definitely be back to Terry’s again very soon. As long as my arteries can handle it.

Thanks for reading!!

what ever happened to spring?

jessy — Thu, 12 May 2011 01:48:32 +0000

Cincinnati is kind of known for it’s crazy weather patterns, at least among locals. This week was a perfect example of why- Sunday it was cold enough to need a jacket and be nice and cozy by a fire, today it was 90 degrees! We didn’t get any spring this year at all, just winter to summer. Since I heard yesterday it was going to be so hot, I had a feeling it was going to be tent dress weather.

I finally busted out the earrings I bought in New York, they were the perfect little pop that the outfit needed.

Unfortunately I got a parking ticket about 10 minutes before we took pictures, so I was still a little salty.

The warm weather did give me a chance to but out my favorite summer shoes though!

WHAT: feather earrings, street vendor in nyc

scarf, stolen from my beautiful friend Jeni (i’m bringing it back next time i see you!!)

jersey tent dress, gift from my friend nancy

bracelet, chicken lays an egg

ring, gift from my gramma

wedges, aldo

WHERE: work all day

WHEN: wednesday, may 11

cincinnati fashion week

jessy — Thu, 12 May 2011 00:14:26 +0000

Hey out there, sorry it’s been so long since you’ve heard from me it’s been crazy in Cincinnati lately. This week is our second Fashion Week, and it has been a total blast. They kicked the week off with an INCREDIBLE Warhol themed party at this lofty space downtown. It was a totally wonderful evening full of photo booths, fabulously dressed people, and free drinks.

How could anyone possibly have a bad time at a party like that and people like this??

So it’s been a week full of fancy dresses for me! AND next Saturday is my much anticipated Spring Swap Hop with Molly of Sister in Second-hand Sequins. I absolutely cannot wait! We’re going to have food, music, booze, (possibly) a photo booth from the always amazing David Dewitt of Framester and much more. Clothing drop off is 1-3 at The Mockbee and then swapping starts at 3! Tell your friends!!

from the vault

jessy — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 01:16:26 +0000

While looking through some old blog pictures, I found these and realized that somehow they never got posted. Every year in Cincinnati there’s this big rollerskating party on December 26 and I look forward to it every year. So I figured, what says rollerskating and Christmas like a sparkly tuxedo?? I had just gotten these amazing sparkle shorts (that I now wear under most of my dresses) and I always love an opportunity to wear my tailcoat!

wingtips and hot pink skates (that used to be my Mom’s)

bowties and sparkles

WHAT: satin bowtie, my brother

tux shirt, thrift

tail coat, forever 21

sparkle shorts, forever 21

yellow Hue tights, Gabriel Brothers

wingtips, thrift

Rollerderby skates, my Mom

WHERE: Fun Factory roller-party

ruffles for days

jessy — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 00:41:23 +0000

Hello you stylish ladies and gents out in blogland, sorry again for such a long time in between posts. I recently picked up ANOTHER job (which brings the total to 4) so I have even less time for things like blogging and sleeping. It’s ok though, I really enjoy all of them and they enable me to do fun things so I can’t complain. I do sincerely wish I had more time to devote to this little blog, but c’est la vie. Thanks to the lovely Charley for the kick in the ass though, a little encouragement never hurts!

This is a little number I wore to an event called Art Is Gay, featuring local gay and lesbian artists. It was great to see everyone’s stuff and even more fantastic that it ended with a dance party!

I was also thrilled to finally get a chance to wear this sash belt, my Gramma made it for herself 50 years ago!

fauxlex, faux blonde

Sorry there are so few pictures, the lighting was really bad that night and most of them didn’t come out well. More soon!!!

WHAT: black clip-ons, my Gramma

ruffle tunic, forever 21

sash belt, my Gramma

knit skirt, Chicken Lays An Egg

fauxlex, thrift

red clutch, Chicken Lays An Egg

black tights, Gabriel Brothers

Jessica Simpson Danys, online

WHERE: Art Is Gay at the Northside Tavern

zigazig ha!

jessy — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 21:09:11 +0000

First of all I must address the title of this post- yes, I am listening to the Spice Girls. I’ve spent the last few days listening to really terrible music from my youth. It’s been AWESOME.

Speaking of awesome things- every year the local alternative paper, CityBeat holds a reader-voted Best Of Cincinnati contest for all kinds of things, food, music, nightlife, etc. Well, my shop Chicken Lays An Egg was voted #3 best new shop by readers and CityBeat staff voted us “Best Quirky Personality for a Vintage Resale Shop”!! I’m so flattered and honored! It means so much to win these, especially since certain members of my family don’t understand that my shop is like a real thing. And of course it’s always nice to be recognized for your work. :)

So things have been pretty great here, I just wish it would WARM UP already….. but I guess you can’t have everything. I guess I’ll just have to settle for being happy and wildly successful.

I love my Danys so much, I’d wear them every day if I could.

WHAT: fur collar (taken from an old coat), chicken lays an egg

green sweater, thrift

skinny belt, chicken lays an egg

lace dress, forever 21

tights, gabriel brothers

dany platforms, jessica simpson online

WHERE: work at chicken

WHEN: wednesday, march 30

it runs in the family

jessy — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 03:45:58 +0000

Having a big brother is kind of like having training wheels on being awesome- at least for me. For as long as I can remember my brother has been teaching me cool things, and style this is definitely notwithstanding. From an early age he was fascinated by antiquated things; cars, clothes, basically the entire 1930′s (and earlier) aesthetic. So for much of his life that was how he dressed- suspenders, fedoras, wingtips and bowties. As you can see, it rubbed off on me.

I was recently doing some cleaning at our dad’s house when I found an entire bag of bowties from Dan’s childhood! Needless to say I was pretty thrilled and immediately grabbed them to bring home. After I sent him some of these pictures he told me that he received that particular bowtie in first grade as a present from our Gramma. I’ve also taken to wearing a bunch of the antique watches that she gave me as bracelets, which is a great way to still sport them since none of them work! She knows how to make stylish grandkids for sure.

WHAT: fedora, thrift

oxford shirt, thrift

bowtie, my brother’s

leather belt, chicken lays an egg

pleated skirt, flea market

socks, chicken lays an egg

oxford heels, macy’s

watches, my gramma

WHERE: work at chicken lays an egg

WHEN: monday, march 21