Frame of Mind

If you've followed my blog over the last couple of years, you know I love my Warby Parkers. I got my first pair back in September 2011, and since then, I've become a huge fan of the brand. (Miss my previous posts? Check 'em out here!)

Aside from the frame designs, there are two more things I love about Warby Parker.

1) Buy a Pair, Give A Pair: For every pair of frames purchased, Warby Parker gives a pair to people in need. So far, they've distributed one million pairs of glasses with the help of their nonprofit partners. Click on the link to watch their video. It's pretty awesome. You can look good, and feel good about it.

2) 5 Pairs. 5 Days. At Home Try-On: Looking at glasses online and trying to figure out if they will complement the shape of your face, eyes, etc. is a daunting task. Fortunately for me for all of us, Warby Parker has a solution. You can pick five frames (that will be shipped to you for free), wear them around for five days to figure out which you like best, buy your faves online, and ship back the samples. (Return shipping: also free. Winner, winner.)

I have the Huxley frames in Whiskey Tortoise

It's been a couple of years since I've picked up a new pair of frames, but I think it's about time. Warby Parker's new Beacon Collection (which launches today!) is the perfect reason to step up my frame game. 

The Beacon Collection is inspired by those days that start out with no plans, but end up being all-nighters full of memories. Those days that seem to pass us by too quickly, and turn into those nights that you wish could bottle up and re-live again and again. 

It's basically a collection that describes my ideal summer: too many good memories to count, and not enough days to fit it all in. They're a lifestyle... a frame of mind that's open to anything, up for adventure, and never ready to call it a night.

Images provided by Warby Parker

Warby Parker describes the collection as frames that "make a similarly fine companion to late night dates, rooftop sunrises, and everything in between." The collection is unexpected, unsupervised, and easy.

GJU Gets the Inside Scoop

I was lucky enough to get the inside scoop on WP's new frames in the Beacon Collection before the launch. Love eyeglasses but don't need them? Not to worry. Several of the styles are available in sunglasses.

I did my homework, and here's my summary of the Beacon Collection. Get in-the-know, get on their website, and find your Beacon frame of mind.

Garrett

Distinctive. Smart. Refined.

These frames are perfect for the work day/happy hour/night out on the town transition. The Oak Barrel pair reminds me of my Huxley's.

Oak Barrel

Blue Slate Fade

McKee

Easygoing. Sprightly. 

I am obsessed with the McKee in Moonstone. The round frames and grey matte color are a cool combo that I think would accent any gal on the go.

Whiskey Tortoise

Moonstone

Ingram

Shades of leisure and revelry.

Something about these frames reminds me of Ferris Bueller. And I think that's perfectly fitting. 

Revolver Black

Tiger Tortoise

Nancy

Cosmopolitan, world traveler. Oversized frames to match and oversized personality.

The Lemon pair? Be still my beating heart. 

Tourmaline

Lemon

So, which pair speaks to you and your lifestyle? If you couldn't tell from my editorial comments, I am swooning over the McKee in Moonstone and the Nancy in Lemon. 

Let me know which one's get you in the right frame of mind. Once we have our Beacons, let's go out. See you there.

GJU Featured in the WSJ

Remember my blog post about bold and beautiful brows? (Here's a reminder: The Bold and The Beautiful: Brows) 

Well, on Halloween, my thoughts were included in a broader piece about the bold brow trend. Elizabeth Holmes, style reporter for the WSJ, found my blog while doing her research for the piece. I was so excited to share my opinions with her, and flattered to see that some of my comments made it into the article!

Here's the link to the article: http://t.co/rgMYxLaZXl

Bits and pieces of the article

Read up! This is some good stuff! And that includes you, man friends. "Guy-brows" are in. 

I'll leave you with this thought:

The Bold and the Beautiful: Brows

I'm a firm believer that eyebrows matter.

Sometimes I see people who have over-waxed or gotten a little too happy with the tweezers... and honestly, they run the risk of crossing the fine line over into trashy-town. Thankfully, it looks like the trend is moving away from barely there brows.. and I think it's for the better.

Gwen Stefani

See what I'm saying?

The good news is that full brows are "in" for fall. They're sultry. They tell a story. They draw people in and bring attention straight to your eyes. Think of Brooke Shields a la her Calvin Klein days. Sex. Pot.

Brooke Shields

We're seeing this bigger, bolder brow on our favorite celebs as well:

Diane Kruger

Camilla Belle

Chloe Moretz

Keira Knightley

Sofia Vergara

This goes for men as well:

Mr. Beckham, himself

R. Patz

I've always been on the bolder brow bandwagon. I have a thick head of hair, so for me, I didn't really have a choice but to the go with the fuller brow flow:

How do you do your brows? Do you like to keep them a little fuller in the fall? 

(p.s. This article in Elle gives some fabulous tips on shaping your brows to achieve the perfect arch!)

Until next time,

GJU

Photos: Glamour

Mirror, Mirror....

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend, I had a lot of free time. In that free time, I got bored and started looking through my photo albums. As I was skimming through my blog photo album to delete old pics & get rid of the clutter, I noticed that I had a good amount of what I call "self portraits."

Now if done in a funky way, like my girl over at LLYMLRS... self portraits can be artsy, and unique. Mine all look the same. Womp.

So, in the spirit of poking fun at myself, I've decided to share some of them with you. If you can't make fun of yourself, you lead a boring life.

Below is a compilation of some of the good, bad, and ugly self portraits, or probably more accurately coined mugshots, since the start of GJU.

Also.. a few realizations..

After looking through all of these at once, I picked up on a few things:

1. I make the same squished, pursed lips look. Often. I'd like to name it. I'm open to suggestions.
2. I wear my hair up in a bun, still wet from my morning shower, almost every day. (However, there is a reason for that. Drying my mop of hair takes a good 25 minutes, and then I have to straighten it if I don't want to look like a lioness...)
3. I've decided there's one part of myself that I'm not self-conscious about: my eyes.
4. Make that two. I like my hair, even when it's ratted up in a bun or clip.
5. I have thick eyebrows. I guess that's better than drawn-in, super thin ones.
5. I discovered that most of these pics I took right before I have the blog photos taken. Evidently, I like to test how my make up/face looks on camera each day. Too funny.

Note: Many, if not most of these are unedited. Be gentle. 

I have nothing else witty or spunky to say this morning. Still tired from the tryptophan.

Happy last week of November, y'all.