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Well heloooo there! Yes, it's been a while. Things have been a bit hectic lately, but today I managed a quick run out to the back shed to take a few snaps of this badass shirt that I'm wearing today. I'd been stalking this Ryan Michael shirt that I'd seen in a couple of places online, but it was always just too dang expensive for me for something that I didn't really need. It was getting harder and harder to find (almost impossible now), and I had sort of given up on it, when one day, one of the few eBay alerts I've ever set in my life pinged at me, and there it was, about a third of the price, and in my size. Yes please. It's a combination tie dye and plaid, combed cotton, western snap front, fully plaid-lined, double-layer tiered wide bell sleeve with an unfinished hem. Whew! There's a lot going on here. I know, it's wild, and granted, this shirt is what I would call a specialist shirt. You do not want to reach over a bowl of cheesy Ro-Tel dip in this baby. You certainly do not under any circumstance want to pass the potatoes over a votive candle. I've actually seen this. My dad and mom used to host my dad's foreign university students for dinner when we were little, and I watched wide-eyed as a girl from England lit her chiffon bell sleeve on fire at the dinner table. Everyone made a huge fuss, but for my 9 year-old self it was totally amazing. Chiffon really goes up you guys, I'm serious. Such drama. Maybe that's why I like this weird, wild shirt so much. THE DRAMA. Without the fire. Ryan Michael Shirt (sold out), similar / thrifted J Crew denim skirt, similar / Dune sandals (old), similar / Shyanne earrings (old), similar / turquoise and chrysocolla rings (old), see similar in images below

I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting pretty sick of skinny jeans. I'm sick of the acrobatics involved in trying them on, I'm sick of looking at them coming and going on every single person on the street, and most of all, I am so very sick of constantly hiking them up. Yes, even the so-called "high-waisted" ones. And just to add insult to injury, skinny jeans, like a lot of terrorists, tend to take hostages - their chosen hostage taking the form of your underpants as they are dragged-down with the lycra-assisted gravitational pull of the jeans, revealing your hidden plumber-butt shame. Typical of a dysfunctional relationship, I guess skinny jeans figure that if they're going to literally go down, they're taking whatever they can with them. Eventually you'll start to wonder what's wrong with you that these skinny jeans that aren't even that old are doing this, and you'll start to worry that maybe you got a fat pandemic booty when you weren't looking (because no way it's the beer), then skinny jeans will gaslight you and be all like "See? This is why we can't have nice things..." Okay, perhaps I'm exaggerating just a tad, but I stand by my complete and utter ennui with the whole skinny jeans thing. Granted, I acknowledge that they are a wardrobe staple, and I don't think I'll ever be able to completely leave them behind, but these days, I'm pretty damn choosy about which ones I'll wear. If they even so much as hint at making a southbound move while they're on my body they're gone. I do not negotiate with terrorists. So let's talk about my new obsession, my pieces of flare, if you will. Or flare(s) in this case - full-on bell bottoms. Flare-leg trousers are flattering on just about every body type, but are a particularly rewarding choice if you're tall, because it's a lot easier to find super-long inseams with flared jeans. These have a cool, retro vibe about them, and manage to look quite feminine without the trying-too-hard, "sausage casing" effect of skinnies or leggings. This particular pair is from Free People, and I love them. They're super-stretchy without being restrictive (no acts of terrorism here), making it so much easier to express myself. And I do like to express myself. Free People Just Float On flare jeans / H&M blouse (old), similar / chandalier earrings (old), similar / sterling silver cuff bracelet (old), identical / Hagit Gorali sterling silver and pearl ring (old), similar (same designer) This post has been shared with: High Latitude Style

Like everyone else, I've been enjoying a pared-down pandemic beauty routine. Not that I really have a huge routine to begin with, but somehow even my minimalist ways seem too "done" for our current situation. This week I realized that nowadays, I only wear mascara when I have to go somewhere (which is basically to work and back), and I didn't even catch the fact that I no longer own a proper eyeliner pencil until I needed to make an audition video a few weeks ago. I still haven't gotten around to ordering a new one (I went with my last pair of 3/4 length false lashes instead, which worked quite well, actually). That said, I want to be very clear that I haven't completely jettisoned makeup, beauty routines, or fun little bells and whistles like the occasional fake lashes or a midnight inky-blue pedicure (my current toe status). No, I'm not throwing it all away...I'm just using everything I have now. Literally everything. Every bar of soap, every tube of lotion, I use everything until it's gone, and not just because not to do so means a trip to the store. Really, I think that focusing on our habits as modern humans is The Great Cosmic Lesson of this whole pandemic, for those who are willing to shut up, sit still for a minute and listen. The Universe is telling us in no uncertain terms that we need to change the way we live; from the way we treat the Earth as a resource to be exploited instead of a habitat to be preserved and honored, to our endless consumptive, toilet paper-hoarding consumerism. We cannot continue to exploit our world and each other like it is something we are owed. We need to become better stewards of our world, and of each other. To apply this, which all seems very high-concept, to one's beauty routine is actually pretty easy. Most of us have endless little tubes and jars of stuff lying around in our caches. Use them. You will be shocked at how much play you can get out of these things. It's a small thing that can have a big impact. During the last few months, I've completely stopped buying shower gel or pump-style hand soap in favor of bar soap. There simply is no need for all those plastic bottles, there are tons of soap choices on the market to suit your needs, and the bar variety lasts so much longer and literally leaves no trace once it's gone. That's the sort of stuff I'm talking about. Adjustments that are small, but because they're easy, will eventually lead to real change in the way you approach your own personal consumption. That said, in all my assessing and using and emptying-out of various products in my cache, a few have stood out. These are the quiet, stalwart products that are just somehow always there, at the back of the cabinet, ready to go, and they never let me down. They last a long time, they travel fairly well (not exactly a problem at the moment), and most importantly, they work. DHC Deep Cleansing Oil (US) / UK While I still usually lazily use bar soap when I'm in the shower, this DHC oil cleanser is remarkably effective at getting makeup off and leaving your face squeaky-clean without tightness. I use it at the end of the day when I wash my face, or before getting into the shower if I'm not feeling too lazy. It's not the cheapest, nor is it the most expensive, but one single pump is all you need. No fragrance other than the natural oils it is created with, and it does not leave your skin greasy or clogged. It's simple, effective, and it works. Marcelle City 24H Anti Pollution Day & Night Emulsion US & UK I know I've spoken about this lotion before back on the old platform, so I'm not going to repeat myself with a review of how it makes my skin feel and whatnot, which you can read in the archive if you like. What I will say is that when I'm looking to get ready in a pinch, and just need to put something on my face to give it a bit of moisture, this is my go-to. I'm on my third (fourth?) tube now. Supposedly it protects against environmental assaults, including blue light, and moisturizes for 24 hours. I've not actually put either of those claims through any serious or rigorous testing, because I don't really feel I need to. This lotion has a really nice finish that doubles as a primer, and it sort of blurs your pores. It's great for the fine lines in the undereye area, and I often use it to get my eyes ready for concealer...which reminds me... Becca Undereye Brightening Corrector This is one of the best brightening concealers I've used. I'd been dithering about with those wand-style "brightening" concealers like Touche Eclat, L'oreal Magi-Lumi, and Revlon Photoready, but I always found that they were thin (which I initially liked for spreadability and a natural finish) and didn't last. This concealer has managed to combine the moisturizing spreadability of the thinner-consistency wand concealers with the more opaque coverage of the cremes, and the result is a long-lasting, brightened look. This product also comes with its own setting powder, which I also happened to purchase at the time, and I think it is worth the investment. You need just a tiny amount, and the powder is milled so finely if never sinks into my fine lines. The concealer lasts all day, or all night if I'm on night shift. This product, in addition to the setting powder, also has a moisturizing base product that they sell to go on before the concealer and powder, but I just use my own moisturizer to achieve the same effect. I can wear this without any other makeup and it looks natural! This is certainly not an inexpensive concealer (however, it lasts and lasts), but once you try it you'll likely never go back. Not Your Mother's Blonde Moment Leave-In Conditioner (US) / UK Yes, it's true I'm not blonde, but I have gone through a few bottles of this stuff now, and I love it. It has a bit of a violet tint to it to prevent yellowing of blonde and silver hair, and it leaves my coarse, wavy hair really silky. I pretty much always need to put a leave-in product in my hair, even after an intensive conditioner, and this one is easy to get in there, smells lovely, and really keeps things tamed, even when I'm in the Florida heat (at least, that's how I remember it...goodness knows when we'll get to get back there again.) I find that when I have a bottle of this on hand, it really doesn't matter so much which shampoo or conditioner I use. I feel like this is one of my "safety net" products; it will always get my hair back to a manageable standard, no matter what I may have done or what products I've been experimenting with. That works pretty well when you've decided to use-up all of your aforementioned little trial-sized bottles in your beauty cache.

Yes it's true, this is my second consecutive OOTD post featuring a pair of wild trousers. Ya got me - I have a thing for trousers that leave those who might come into contact with me with the impression that they might actually be talking to someone who has escaped an asylum somewhere. Warmer weather sort of brings-out the girly prints; both in the world of retail and in our own sensibilities. I know that this is probably nothing more than a reaction to months of wooly opaque clothes adorning our bodies, but even so I find myself being drawn to florals and lace and cutesy little embroidered things at this time of year. I am probably one of the last people who would describe herself as a "pink girl" or into lace or any of the other hyper-feminine trends that surface this time of year, yet there we are. Life hack: mix your hyper-feminine pieces with a few edgier ones for balance. With anything I wear, I always feel more comfortable if I put a look together, then sort of mess up its hair a bit. What do I mean by that? I guess I've always felt that for my lifestyle, dressing head to toe in a perfectly-finished high end look is a bit too "done" for me. I need to add a bit of an edge. Jeans, cowboy boots, a funny t-shirt, chunky jewellery - whatever it takes. Consider this look. This blouse is a really feminine eyelet material with slightly puffed sleeves. The trousers are a form-fitting lace pattern. I suppose this look could go pretty high-end with a pair of stilettos, some high-end jewellery, a nice watch and Chanel-type handbag (I might actually have to get a handle on taming my hair to pull it off)...you get the idea. But in order to mess up this look's hair a bit, I wanted to add some tougher leather accents - an obi cinch belt and my favorite pair of cage wedge booties. Sure, it's still perhaps a bit much for pandemic life (which is going to be the name of my next band BTW), but for me, it just sort of settles into the sweet spot where I feel balanced. blouse: Oasis / trousers: H&M (old), similar / shoes: Kelsi Dagger (old), similar / turquoise bead bracelets: from my Etsy shop, similar / silver bracelet: Brighton (old), similar / obi belt: ASOS (old), similar / earrings: Shyanne (old), similar / turquoise rings (old): similar, similar This post has been shared with: Away from Blue

Yes, that's right. I did it. My hair was getting so long in the back and heavy up top it was driving me nuts. So I watched a few videos, and just went for it. Hey, it's just hair, right? Some of the videos I used as a guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykkLUsJPdtk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw5HH5z3z4o

Okay, now we're gettin' down to it. It's time to do something fun again, you guys. Enough obsessing about the news, enough worry, enough stress, enough despair. Let us take these few moments to ourselves, forget all that, and gaze upon my sassy pants. If ever there was a time where you could just say "you know what? screw it. I'm gonna buy those bats**t-crazy red serape stripe bell bottom pants I saw that I liked, and I'm gonna wear them, because why not?" - if you have ever caught yourself saying this, now is your time. There really is nothing like the spectre of one's own mortality to really dial-up the sartorial bravery factor by a couple of clicks. Although that said, I do feel the need to apologize for the less than artistic background composition this week, what with being stuck shooting out by the woodshed on account of all the people out exercising (or in some cases, "exercising") on this, the one nice day we've had in a long while. That said, these pants sort of do stand up on their own two legs without a fancy-schmancy background. And no, I do not mean that literally. You still have to put your legs in them. So really what else is there to say, other than you should absolutely be partaking in things that make you happy right now. If that thing that makes you happy is a pair of high-waisted, bright red serape bell bottoms with an unfinished hem, or your vegetable scrap garden that just so happens to be thriving right now since you're home all the time, or your new rebounder exercise trampoline...so be it. I truly believe that at the end of this, we will be forever changed, and right now, we have a choice. We can learn from what is happening and learn how to be at peace with ourselves, live more slowly and mindfully and make ourselves happy and whole as a matter of priority, or we can spend all of this time we now have agonizing over when we can go back to the way things used to be, if we can at all. Personally, I wholeheartedly choose option A. L&B serape pants (sold out), similar, similar, similar / thrifted Prada blouse, similar / sterling feather bracelet (old), similar / red jasper ring (old), similar / ruby in zoisite necklace (old), similar, similar, similar

Welcome to the first post of my pandemic life, which to be fair, looks a lot like my pre-pandemic life. I'm still working because as a nurse practitioner, I'm considered essential, as is my husband, who is a ferry skipper. So essentially our life is the same, with much drier hands and a much cleaner house. And the whole social distancing thing? Yeah, that's sort of my lifestyle anyway here in the Highlands. Funny that only when there's a global disaster that you learn your choice of lifestyle actually has a name, and that name is quarantine. Pandemic Dressing for Comfort, Ease, & Simplicity - Sans Sweatpants In less complicated times, I would likely never have even given this dress a second look. It's a sort of unexciting color, a style that isn't exactly groundbreaking, and made from a material that essentially renders it an oversized t shirt. What I'm trying to say here is that this t-shirt dress is totally basic. I almost didn't keep this dress when it arrived in my every-other-month Stitch Fix delivery. I realize that we're all on a bit of a budget right now, and shopping is not exactly a priority, but I've found that my Stitch Fix subscription was one of the things that I did not want to let go of just yet. If you are unfamiliar with Stitch Fix (and no, they're not paying me for this), it is essentially a personal style-edit delivery service that you can set-up to suit your budget and timing. I get one every other month - for now. Sometimes they send me some cool stuff, other times, meh. But what it does do is get me to try things outside of my comfort zone, so if it's within your remit to give it a try, do it! Plus, right now while we're not going anywhere (except the same old back yard to shoot posts), It's kind of nice to get something in the mail. It's like a little reward. Right. This totally basic dress. We are all having a hard time getting ourselves to find the will to even put on pants these days, am I right? I mean, why bother - it's not like my fireplace or my television, or even the locker room at work cares if I turn up completely groomed and ready to take on the world. But let us all remember why we are here. If you're reading this, like me, you really like fashion. You find it fun, and enjoy expressing yourself through all things sartorial. Is this something that's gonna cure COVID19? Of course not. But there's a hell of a lot of good science behind the art of doing things that make you feel good. Turns out, it's good for you! Apparently there really is some truth to the old saying "if it feels good, do it!" - and all the better if that thing is every bit as comfortable as those sweatpants that you're having a hard time putting down right now. So once you're ready to bust a move out of those quarantine sweatpants, try something like this basic dress; it's a comfortable alternative to those pandemic sweats that won't be a complete shock to the system, and better yet - it layers really well! Editor's Cut dress (exclusive to Stitch Fix), very similar / Happiness Boutique necklace (last seen here), similar (US), similar (UK) / Circle G boots / Grace in LA jacket, similar (US), similar (UK) This post has been shared with the following style link-ups: Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, Not Dressed as Lamb

I've written extensively about leopard print and how over the years it has sort of become the sartorial harbinger of all things courgardom. You can find a lot of those posts over in the archive if you're wanting to add some leopard print to your life but perhaps are needing a bit more reassurance or inspiration than offered by this post. And I suppose to a certain extent, if we're being completely honest we have to admit that there is some truth in The Leopard Print Cougar Parable. However. I have always truly believed that as with anything else in this life, a sartorial accent like leopard print is all down to how you use it. This little flutter-sleeve blouse is a piece I found on eBay after seeing a similar cute leopard blouse in a shop online that was all but sold out in every size except ultra-microscopic. I really love this little secondhand find, and was even more excited when I realized that it looked pretty cool paired with some turquoise for a boost of color. The Three Key Ingredients for Selecting a Flattering Leopard Print Garment I don't have a ton of leopard print in my wardrobe any more, but the pieces I do have I very carefully selected based on a few key elements. 1. Color Make sure that the undertone of the leopard print is flattering to your skin tone. There are all sorts of variations, from brown to tan to grey, so there's some wiggle room here. This one has a bit of a peachiness to it that works well for me. The gradient in the color also gives it a more expensive, finished look than if if were just a flat print. 2. Print Scale Depending on what kind of a look you're going for, scale is important. Too big and it will overwhelm you - particularly if you're petite. Too small, and it doesn't read as leopard, but rather just a dingy, ditsy brown print. I liked the scale of this one, which I would class as "medium". I suppose it depends on what you're using as a control group. 3. Fit This is really the key ingredient when choosing a leopard print garment. You don't need a lot extra bells and whistles with a leopard print garment. It doesn't need to be as tight as a sausage-casing, or super low-cut, or super duper short (if it's a skirt), or encrusted with bling....it's leopard. It doesn't need our clumsy help being eye catching, it was born that way. Like me, leopard does not even have an inside voice. It's loud, and it's not sorry. So pick a piece that's flattering to your particular body type and that's comfortable to wear, then just get out of its way. It really is that easy. Have fun with it! Charlie One Horse Highway Hat / seondhand blouse, similar / duster cardigan (old), similar / Shyanne belt (old), similar / Dingo Laurel boots (sold out), similar / gemstone bracelets from my Etsy Shop / Turquoise rings (old), similar, similar / Vigoss skinny jeggings This post has been shared with the following link-ups: Elegantly Dressed and Stylish, Not Dressed as Lamb

Okay, first of all - yes. I play the saxophone. For real. It's in the bio. But you probably didn't even notice that aspect of this photograph, because you were too busy wondering just what in the hell is going on with my hair. We all have some odd, if not downright regrettable hairstyles somewhere in our histories. Some of them will have been influenced by the styles of whatever decade they were from, some of them were just a really poor fit for the needs of our particular heads. I'm pretty sure the one pictured above has enough reach to cover both of those categories, and more. I couldn't have been more than 16 or 17 in this photo, but my hair is easily pushing 80. I call this style the Lamb Dressed as Mutton. It goes without saying that this wasn't the ideal style for my face shape, and in fact I'm not sure that there actually is a face shape that would support this particular brand of mushroom-cap volume up top. I probably saw this style in a magazine on some wraithlike model and thought, "yes. I'll have that." Of course, not all of my hairstyles were deeply regrettable. Some of them were perfectly lovely, just not right for me. I've had this chin-length bob several times in my life - most recently when I finally grew out the last of my dyed hair and wanted to cut the last few centimetres of dye off. This hairstyle is actually one of my husband's favorites. Me...perhaps not so much. I call it The Not Quite. Not quite long enough to pull back, but not quite short enough to not be in your face when you exercise. It also requires a lot more maintenance than one might think for a "carefree" shorter-length hairstyle. Having wavy hair, it required a decent amount of flattening, product, and blow drying to get it to not look like a slightly longer version of the Lamb Dressed as Mutton. Too much work. Old Photographs Can Betray Your Darkest Past Hairstyle Shame This hairstyle, which I had in the mid to late 90s, clearly wants to speak to the manager. This was at the height of the Christy Turlington boyish pixie cut craze of the 90s, when all the models were toothpick-thin and had boy cuts. I was living in Seattle at the time, and this was my professional headshot. Would you believe I was only in my mid twenties in this photo? This hairtyle transformed me into a middle-aged soccer mom who in reality was too young to actually play a middle-aged soccer mom. This hair was a casting nightmare, and a pretty bad call on my part. I'm calling this one the Coupon Clipper. Lastly, where would we be without the obligatory high school yearbook photo? With apologies to my 1989 high school classmates who shared this page with me (along with our rooster-comb "mall bangs"), feast your eyes on the glory that was my kinky perm. I call this one The Permaculture (see what I did there?) I'm not sure you can even still get a perm in the year 2020, but man I can still remember the smell coming off of that thing. My hair reeked of ammonia for MONTHS and never really grew-in straight again, such was the extent of the trauma it had endured. I know... weird, right? Got a regrettable hairstyle story? Share it in the comments!

Hey everyone. If you've been here a while (or perhaps even been here only once before), you're likely aware that I'm still in the process of migrating the blog. It came to my attention today that my Bloglovin feed was not updating properly, as were some of my RSS feeds for the blog. If you've been subscribed for a while, especially via RSS or Bloglovin', you may not be getting updated feeds (particularly on Bloglovin'). So while I work to sort out the feeds, you may find you need to re-subscribe. The best way to do this is at the bottom of the site either via email, or if you are a diehard fan of RSS, there's a wee link to my Feedburner there as well. Once the rest is sorted I'll have the Bloglovin' option up and running again too. Thanks for your patience! K.

Who would have thought that a total impulse purchase of a pair of weathered turquoise Laredo Maddox cowboy boots (that looked so delicious online and were such a bargain) would turn out to be one of my emerging wardrobe staple items as we head (hopefully) into spring, but that is exactly what is playing-out over here. In writing this post, I realized that these are on sale for even less than I got them for (doh!), so if you like 'em, get 'em while you can. As it turns out, this shade of boot is actually sort of a neutral when you pair it with denim. It's lighter than black, less expected than brown or tan, and looks pretty darn cool as it weathers. Here I've paired it with a thrifted top (tunic? dress? Who really knows!) that I found at Goodwill the last time I was home in Wisconsin. I wear this outfit a lot when I'm bumming around in the city. Sure, it's not the most urban chic look in the universe, but it's comfortable, and it weathers the storm(s) of the Scottish climate. And yes, I do mean that literally. I was also pleased to have an excuse to trot-out this turquoise chip bead necklace that I made for my Etsy shop, then promptly kept because I liked it so much. But don't worry, this was the first of its kind, so if you like it, by the time you will be reading this, I will have undoubtedly made a few more to add to the shop. And I will have gotten better at it too, so there's that. Laredo Maddox boots as above / Spanx denim leggings (US), similar (UK) / thrifted tunic, similar (UK), similar (US) / turquoise chip bead necklace from my Etsy shop / Nicky Butler gemstone cluster ring (old), similar / turquoise east west ring (old), similar (UK), similar (US)

Greetings fashionistas! During the ongoing process of migrating nearly a decade's worth of posts to this, the new platform, it dawned on me that I have not done a hair post in what appears to be quite literally years. The posts I originally did back in 2012 (ish) about my journey of ditching the dye and making the transition to my natural gray hair are, to this day, some of my most popular posts, so I suppose I've been a bit negligent in the area of aftercare for those of you who may have been looking for a follow-up after all this time. I'm guessing that like me, those if you who have been living with your natural hair for a while now have long since ditched any insecurities about it. I know I certainly have. But that's not to say that I haven't had to rethink quite a lot of my overall style game in the wake of the transition. It's always been my belief that when you have long (too long as of right now), naturally unruly salt and pepper hair at middle age, the rest of your style game has to have a bit of bite to it as to not accidentally mimic that most tired of middle aged woman archetypes, The Crazy Cat Lady. Mind you, it's completely acceptable to actually be a Crazy Cat Lady, it's apparently looking like one that has become some sort of emblem of a portion of society's desire to erase middle aged women from the sartorial paradigm. But I digress. Some of us wouldn´t go quietly anyway, as you could probably guess. Defining Your Brows at 40+ Let's talk about what I think is the most important part of cultivating a finished, eye-catching, and at times dramatic look on the backdrop of natural gray and silver hair, middle agedness, or really wherever you happen to be on your journey. The secret ingredient? A strong eyebrow game. A well-proportioned, gently-defined brow has the power to completely elevate your look. This is even more important as we age. Thinner skin, graying hair, perhaps a bit of (dare I day it) sagging (gasp) of the facial structures all work to erase the definition we had in our youth. While it would be ill-advised to reach for the products we did in our 20s, we can still work with what we've got, in the context of where we are now. Those of you who have been with me for a while may remember a previous post I did about eyebrow pencils for gray hair. I still stand by the products that I recommended in that post. However, personally I have moved on to a different product, which I'm wearing in these photos. In fact, it is the only product I have on my brows in these photos. No pencil, no wax, no clear gel to "set" anything. This is what I'm into right now. And no, I hasten to add I'm not being paid for this post. Anastasia Dipbrow Gel - $18 USD / £25 GBP (varies) So first of all, don't get this confused with the Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel, which is a different product. This product, the Dipbrow Gel, is in the same line of products as their much-lauded Dipbrow Pomade, which I have also tried. Personally, I didn't have much luck with the pomade; I simply did not have a skilled enough hand to work with the little brush and waterproof formula to get a realistic hairstroke painted on my face before it dried down, and I always ended up looking a bit "painted-on." With that experience logged-away in my mental browsing history, I was a bit nervous trying the gel formula from the same line, but after giving it a go in Sephora in Tampa , I was hooked. It's essentially the same formula made into what is basically a mascara for the brows. But unlike mascara, you can also use this formula to do some shading. It's a lot easier than the original pomade formula, but some practice is still required to find the right amount of product and pressure of application to get the look you're after. The shade I use is Ash Brown, which I believe is the third from the left in the pic above. It's a really great cool option for a dark brunette without being inky black, or reddish when the light hits it. The following are a few tricks that I've come to learn about this product, which I love more and more with each application. Scrape off the excess product from the brush, as you would with a new tube of mascara. This will prevent accidental little blobs of color depositing more product than you may want onto your brows. Start with a very light hand. Don't press the wand into the base of your brows, as you do with mascara at the base of your lashes. Instead, just gently flit the wand in the direction of the hair. If you do make a boo-boo, you can correct it with a Q-tip dipped in makeup remover. The sooner the better, this formula doesn't budge once it dries. Pursuant to said waterproof formula, if you like a "feathered" appearance to your brow hairs like I do, make sure you work light and quick - it dries pretty fast. If you are someone who needs to fill-in your brows, the best way to do it with this product is to apply a light layer, let it dry for a minute, then use a brush to gently nudge the color into the space you want to fill. Most importantly, don't overwork it! Use a light hand - a little goes a long way! My favorite tool to use with this product is actually the brush I got when I tried the original pomade formula - the Anastasia Brush 12 Dual Ended Firm Angle Brush. Once the product has dried-down, I use the mascara end to comb-out any remaining blobs and spread the color out a bit. If you need more filling-power the angled end of the brush would work perfectly (being a rather thick-browed human, I don't do this.) Once you find your stride with this product, you can create looks ranging from natural to Ka-Pow! Today I did what I consider to be my standard application, which incidentally, also passes the nautral light test with flying colors. Now to do something about that frizzy hair. I should have paused for a handful of serum after I took the clip out. I clearly hadn't thought this through. This post has been shared with: Not Dressed as Lamb, Jersey Girl, Texan Heart, Living on Cloud Nine, A Labour of Fashion, Curly Crafty Mom, Doused in Pink Find it Here!