Thursday, July 18, 2013

Marriage

No, I'm not getting political.  Also I should apologize for such a slow week.  It's been a busy one - great time to start a blog. I do have some fun posts coming up - a the debut of a series of reviews of the Me Smooth at-home hair removal system and a latest LV purchase/what's-in-my-makeup-bag reveal (no prizes for guessing what the LV purchase is).  But I did want to drop in and highlight this piece on the marriage of my two favorite things!  It's not particularly intellectual or detailed, but it makes a statement.   

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Introductions

Welcome!  A little bit about the blog.  And myself.  First Impressions is so called because this is a blog about image and my reviews of various beauty, fashion, and health products.  I realize this is a bit of a superficial objective, but for better or worse, first impressions and image are important.  Fortunately they are also something we can all have fun with.  The purpose of the blog is really just that - to have fun.  To provide some new ideas, helpful hints, and sometimes just eye candy and hopefully help each other out.  I enjoy sharing perspectives and products I like, and I hope my readers will have fun experimenting and trying out recommendations and avoid product pitfalls that I encounter as a somewhat high-volume consumer of beauty and fashion products.  I also hope to glean tips, advice, and lessons from readers who comment - just as we all benefit from online reviews of products, services, and places to go these days, my hope is that this blog will foster collaboration, creativity, and new ideas for all of us. 

Before kids I would have described myself as a professional in her late twenties for whom fashion, beauty, and health is a full-blown extracurricular activity.  I used to spend a lot of time on celebrity gossip sites and even more time in the gym.  Now I have two toddlers and that's the first thing I talk about when I talk about who I am.  I love them more than life.  But this blog is emphatically NOT about my kids or family issues.  I won't even mention them.  Well except maybe once.  Or twice.  But it will be for context, like:  "so I'm potty training my extremely reluctant 3 year old son which means I need an extra 15 minutes in the morning so I have to decide whether to wake up earlier (hint: not happening) or forego the part of my makeup routine where i put on primer."  Or "omg can you believe they make manolo's that fit my two yr old daughter?! and here's a ridiculously adorable, albeit self indulgent picture." 

Post-kids I am still a full-time professional (but now in my early 30's with a fabulous c-section scar), still obsessed with fashion and beauty, and trying to keep up my workout habit in my spare time.  Luckily I sit in front of a computer all day which allows for plenty of online shopping and product research.  I am also fortunate enough to live in and area with a number of high-end shopping opportunities including stores of major fashion houses like Louis Vuitton, Prada, Miu Miu, Michael Kors, and Burberry.  These are always fun to explore and I admit to having a dangerous LV habit, but you should know that I am not independently wealthy and plenty of my product recommendations and choices and reviews will be colored by my own budget which is slated to shrink in the next couple years due to a planned career change.  This pending career change is why I have chosen to remain anonymous for the time being - I don't want to risk not being taken serously by potential employers because I have a "fashion blog."  But my hope is that the anonymity won't last long.  I look very much forward to vlogging about all manner of things and putting a face to this blog as I feel those things add a lot to online exchanges.  Also I think videos are also close to essential when giving makeup tips or reviews of products.   

So enjoy!  And don't be afraid to speak up.  I really want this to be a forum for discussion.