Wednesday, September 30, 2009

O-H!

I-O!

And I didn't even go to that school. I went to THE Ohio University. Go Bobcats!

It is buckeye season in Moscow, however. Well, I think in Europe it is horse chestnut season, to be precise. Conker season if you're a Brit. Even my girls call them conkers now. Hell, I call them conkers now.

The first time I realized there were buckeyes in Europe, was one evening, a million years ago, when I was sitting in my car (back when I still had a car) in The Spouse's office parking lot (back when he worked for a company with its own parking lot). I was waiting, languishing, like always, and looking up at the trees along the side of the parking lot.

Suddenly, I realized that the leaves were familiar. They are very distinctive.

Sitting there, in my Skoda, in a parking lot in Bratislava, I was looking at the State Tree of Ohio.

Freaky.

Since then I have come to love conker season (I just can't call them "buckeyes" here). The girls do too. There is something so lovely about the feel of them. We are compelled to gather them, and we don't know why. They dry up eventually and lose their sheen. But until then they are smooth, almost slippery. Something wonderful to have in your pocket on an autumn day.

There are plenty of  trees in the park. And two in front of our building. So we have amassed quite a collection. Which the cats chase around the apartment at night.



Changing Topics: Today, on the Metro, I sat across from two young women. They were not traveling together. Both wore fashionably-torn jeans with, and this is where it gets interesting, black fishnet stockings underneath.

They had fishnets under their jeans, but on purpose. So you can see the fishnet through the rips.

Is this IN?

Oh, and while I am on the subject of "What's Hot!" can anyone explain this mineral make up to me? It was everywhere I looked over the summer. I bought some. But it is MESSY! If I don't get it all over the bathroom sink, I get it all over whatever shirt I have on. I mean, I don't object to how it looks on my face.

(An aside: nothing can compare to Prescriptives in the old days when they custom blended a foundation for you at the counter . . . did anyone else love that loose powder they used to make that had water in it? You brushed it on, and felt it splash almost. But if you kept it too long, the moisture in the powder evaporated . . . just felt like regular old face powder.)


But the mess.

Anyhow, if anyone has any tips about how best to use this stuff . . . I'd be much obliged. I feel like I missed the memo or something.

8 comments:

Tina in CT said...

What is mineral make-up? I own Mary Kay face make-up but almost never wear it - just Mary Kay moisturizer on my face and eye make-up.

The Expatresse said...

MK does a wonderful matte moisturizer for oily skin. They used to anyhow. I swore by it.

This mineral stuff . . . everyone has it. Look in the drug store/Target and at any cosmetic counter. I happen to have L'Oreal.

katbat said...

I see a lot of fishnets too - and embelleshed nylons - not sure what to call them - nylons with lots of designs - lacy-ish? We have tons of acorns by our building - I will look for some buckeyes!

I have mineral makeup from costco -(yay kirkland signature!) I like it - I have VERY sensitive skin and it doesnt make me breakout as much - and the minerals block uv rays - supposed to be good for your skin too - anyway - it is a mess - I put the powder eye makeup on with my finger instead of a brush - or I wet the brush a bit first - that works too. The powder makeup makes a mess with a brush- not so much with one of those flat circle pads.

valentina said...

When my younger brother and I were kids in Pittsburgh we had several Buckeye trees or Horse Chestnuts, in our back yard so this time of year we would be collecting them like mad. He would take them door to door in a grocery bag and try to sell them. He could not understand why no one wanted to buy them as they were so beautiful! So my mom would discover bags of shriveled up old Buckeyes in his closet...

I always loved them too. The contrast of the leathery spiny green outsides with the silky soft white insides sheltering those shiny, smooth brown nuts was a real lesson in texture for a child.

These same trees, which I fell out of more than once, in the spring, produced the most fabulous canopy of huge umbrella like palmate leaves with panicles of soft yellow centered and pink dappled white petals that snowed down. To gaze up through them at the blue sky was grand. And the perfume was lovely.

So I can certainly understand how compelling it is to remove them from their prickled shells and stuff your pockets full. And how nice is it that the cats enjoy them too? xov

Just Lisa said...

I am a fan of mineral makeup (especially Bare Escentuals). Yeah, it's a little messy, but I love the light coverage!

I came by to welcome you to SITS!!

MoscowMom said...

I use the Mary Kay mineral loose powder foundation. The key is to use the brush that comes with it--and to tap it again and again on the top of the container before lifting it and sweeping it on your face. You only need a very small amount, and this way you don't waste it. I love how you don't get any lines with it, and it does last pretty much all day without looking "make up-y".

p.s. My kids LOVE chestnuts, too! They used to come home with KILOS of them in their pockets from the playground at their old school here.

The Expatresse said...

I do use the brushes that come with, and I tap like the late Gregory Hines. But I still end up with a messy sink and powder on what was, inevitably, a black sweater. I suppose I should put on the make up before I get dressed.

I like the finish, too. The way it minimizes lines and has an SPF.

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