I don't know what the weather is like where all of you live, but here in Los Angeles the days are longer and the weather is definitely warming up. I actually put the top down for the first time this weekend! When I was making my plans to move out here from the east coast (8 years ago already!), I imagined myself driving around in the beautiful Los Angeles weather, in a hot convertible with the top down and the music blaring. Me, scarf over my hair, wearing huge shades, reincarnating some old Hollywood starlet. **sigh** I confess: I do that now, when the weather is like this, and some small part of me understands the meaning of success. It's defined only by you, and for me, when I realize I have actively manifested my fantasies into my realities, that's what feels like success. Among other things... Anyway, I digress.
I am now, admittedly, starting to freak out a little bit about the idea of swimsuit season. I am P.A.L.E. right now. I used to go to tanning salon's around this time of year to start "building my color" for the season. However, it's time to realize that not only does tanning majorly age your skin with sun damage, it puts you at risk for skin cancer. At home tanners have a bad rep, but I dont really have much experience using them. So over the course of Spring, I am going to start testing out at home tanners (on small area's of my body: I dont want to walk around for weeks looking like an Oompa Loompa!), and I also plan to try out something I have actually wanted to try for a while: airbrush tanning. That's when they actually airbrush your body by hand with sunless tanner, and can layer the solution until you get your perfect shade. I have also heard of places that do this, and can actually "contour" your body, by shading area's in a way strategic to hiding your flaws and flaunting your best "ass"ets (*giggle*, sorry... I had to).
Not only that, but it's time to TONE! And if I can get up off MY princess tush to make it that much better for those bottoms, so can you! I have recently started doing yoga (for the strength and stretching, in addition to toning), and tae bo (for cardio, to burn calories). Hopefully, I will be able to keep it up through the Spring, and I am hoping if I promise all of you that I will keep you posted on my progress, it will keep me motivated!
Also coming up for Spring here at Couture Cult, will be something new and fun! I don't want to tell you too much about it, but I am *very* excited! I'm working on a webisode of the same kind of content as I write about here on the site! I cant wait to get the first one up, but I am working VERY hard on it and want to make sure it's just PERFECT before I share it!
I am proud to say that I have officially completed my SPRING CLEANING! My house is sparkling from corner to corner! I find that when the season's change, thats the perfect time to do a a rotation of the clothes in your closet. Move your cashmere, cords, and coats to the back, and put your cottons and lightweight layering pieces towards the front. This is also a great time to go through your wardrobe. I suggest making a few piles. Try things on and make sure they fit properly. Create a pile to take to the tailor for hemming or mending, a pile for things that should be dry cleaned, another for the items you wont wear anymore but can probably resell, and another pile for things you will donate. This will make room for all the new Spring trends you are going to want to mix into your wardrobe as bright colors and new cuts start to make their way into the stores! Even better, taking your clothes to a resale store will give you some extra cash to help pay for that way hot but too expensive luxury piece that you've been eyeing. No matter what your budget is, it's always great to have those pieces to mix in with your more budget friendly ones. Try to get one thing each season. Look for a really great and timeless "piece" that will be worth the investment by staying useful to you as the years go by. And hey, if that's not in your budget, you can always do some shopping in the resale store you brought your clothes to. Sometimes, they offer you more money for what you brought in if you are willing to accept store credit.
ALANA JOY Los Angeles, CA alanajoy.tumblr.com
I work in the fashion industry in Los Angeles. This blog is a place for me to talk about all things fashion and beauty related, hopefully touching on the real art, emotion, and sometimes humor of the industry as a whole.
