Category: career

How to make use of old perfumes and scents!

~ Emmie ~ Leave a comment

I started this journal with an entry about perfumes and scents! This was all the way in 2013 when I was working in fashion retail and started learning more about the cosmetics world! There is lots to know about cosmetics and make-up and I feel it continues to be an important tool for self expression in today’s confusing world of hustle and bustle for the bottom line and political power. None of these worldly ideals have the power to make us happy or feel well adjusted with our bodies or with our soul. While the perfect lipstick colour will not make world domination anywhere closer, for most people, feeling good about our appearances is a good place to start. And in that sentiment, a lovely scent that completes our look is also essential. We have to enjoy our image physically to help tackle the daily stresses that our lives put us through. Whether it is political, professional, personal or psychological conflicts, something doesn’t change; we are connected to the public world and the face we put on matters…and even the pandemic of epic proportions that imposed extreme social isolation a few years back has not erased the need for beauty.

This is my current mish mash of scents that I relocated to another bottle!

I went through a troubling break up earlier this year. One that was so difficult it caused me to lose some of my hair, question my ability to deserve a long-term fulfilling relationship and distract me from what matters the most: How to be a happy person. It’s not about who I’m with. Who I am with doesn’t give identity, elegance or a sense of feeling whole. These things are found emotionally within and manifested externally. They are the things that give strength and enable us to be useful and helpful to those we care about. Together with all of my own aesthetic experiences and now that I practice working professionally in the beauty industry as a hair stylist…one thing is constant. It has to come from within first. We have to feel beautiful inside first, before we can manifest this beauty outwards. There has to be a sense of wellness. There has to be respect for our time, bodies and minds first. I feel that you can seek advice from any professional, but to be honest, it all begins with how we view ourselves.

What does my ramble have to do with perfumes and scents? I wonder this myself as I write this. I am saying that we all have that pile of cosmetics that we bought on impulse, thinking they would make us happy, but for some reason, the pile sits as a rarely used collection of dusty intentions. Wanting to feel sexy or pretty or fun has made us buy these things: the beauty industry is guilty of ramming products down our throats. Business and marketing makes us buy it, but that’s not how these cosmetics work…technically it all starts with a connection to ourselves. Even the most beautiful people in the world have had adversities to overcome; failed relationships, cheating partners, addictions and been flawed in the most human way. But it’s about how we over come obstacles that make us unique and beautiful. In that way the dusty perfume collection can be seen as some of the ways we tried to escape our troubles, and soothe ourselves.

Instead of buying new scents to feel beautiful, make a “Frankenstein” scent. Gather unused, uninspired scents and mix them all together into an empty spray bottle! The singular scents that I thought I liked, but later stopped wearing can now have new life breathed into them by mixing them all together! Most perfumes have the same alcohol base. That means different scents can be combined and blended seamlessly. There is no recipe or order. Only that most perfume bottles can’t be uncapped. So it may mean tediously filing another bottle spray by spray by spritzing it in! But it’s worth it to not waste the leftover scents! Blending them all together will make something that smells amazing. Like a rebirth, lifting us from the ashes of our mistakes. It’s a renewal on the smallest most simplest level just by spritzing it on and donning a smile.

This is the spray bottle I’m using. I suggest using a glass one for perfumes, but a small plastic one will do! I will probably decorate mine by putting in small crystals!
From my many years of wearing and blending perfumes, I believe I learned that historically, perfumes and a lot of modern day cosmetics originated in Ancient Egypt! And so did cats! This is Shady.

How I try to look like an off duty model…

~ Emmie ~ Leave a comment

I grew up in the 90’s where the now familiar term “super model” was coined. The fashion model was not only an unattainable example of female physical beauty, but it was also a lifestyle that was coveted by many teenagers in my days. Travel, fashion, culture and a way for young women to make good money was the image the modeling world was trying to show off. We all know later on, that the truth of the industry was far from glamourous; a lot of exploitation, eating disorders and mental health horrors bestowed onto young women that were just barely finished childhood. The pressures of the beauty and fashion world combined to crush the souls of the small percentage of girls that fit the super thin, super tall, and not ethnic look and standard of the runway model.

The trauma of the model culture backlash has since subsided, I feel. Or it could be later in my life as a more experienced woman, I just don’t have the ability to see it as much. But I still remember the fairy tale glamour the modeling industry used to supply me. After two decades of being a mom and living in the biggest city in Canada, traveling and being creative, I feel cultured, educated and worldly. I didn’t have to be a model to get that achievement. As much as the dreams of being a model did charm me in the past, in a way I am glad I never did it. We can find everyday ways to channel our inner diva, our inner model.

One of the fascinating ideas and life styles that I want to adopt from fashion models is the look of when they have days off. Not on the runway. Where once glamourous modelled looks are only suggested by the bare bones look of effortless “cool”. Models on their off days I learned, often have to audition for jobs in what is called “go-sees”. That’s when models often are dressed very basically, very simply…and run around the city to go visit big designers to interview for jobs. In a way, models have to look like a blank canvas, fresh faced, and ready to represent/sell any campaign. They have a daily look that is still polished, but so pure. I like to achieve this look in various ways:

  • Don’t wear make-up. A made up face is a finished, polished product. I like to show my raw potential. So I don’t cover up with any make-up. Just show off a nicely hydrated face. Sunscreen is always flattering because it has a naturally dewy look
  • Have clean, un-styled hair. The reason for this is hair is also a form of expression. So having the hair natural shows texture, colour and potential for different ways of styling. It shows an ability for a range of looks. And that’s exciting.
  • Clothes for go sees are very basic. Tank top and jeans, a white fitted tee, jean skirts. They show off the silhouette of the body without speaking too loudly and distracting from the shapes and forms that already exist. They are casual, carefree clothing. Not sloppy, but not dressy.
  • I try to channel a youthful spirit with my “off duty model” look. I try to show off some humanity, some quirkiness. That’s because I believe even the most beautiful models in the world, are truly very ordinary people. Those that have the right to execute this mundanity in the purest, most effortless way. Daily life in the city as a common person can be very exotic if viewed by top model!
So this is me. My everyday look. Unpolished effortless cool. Would I be hired at a “go-see”? Maybe? haha

Stay classy, stay cool, girl…have better karma

~ Emmie ~ Leave a comment

Mean Girls? That movie that was made in the 2000’s that described the modern day climate of girls/young women’s relations with each other was mostly Hollywood drama, or was it? I feel in a lot of industries including the one that I am in, there is a lot of volatile competition and a lack of sisterhood. But where does this culture of women not helping each other, but instead are secretly hating/jealous/competing come from? Why is it not shunned, and why is it accepted as norm? Movies like Mean Girls glorify cattiness between girls like it’s entertainment. The truth is, it’s just sad…the world is a messed up place; There are murders, there are political scandals and corruptions, there is rape, assault and all kinds of pain. So why add to it by competing with your fellow peers, just because they are women? Aren’t there enough men to go around…aren’t there enough jobs, resources and love to go around? Why do so many young women turn to manipulation/scheming/passive aggressiveness towards their female peers? If looking at the male population, their culture is “bros before hoes.” They help each other out…but why doesn’t that make sense  for women? What is it about the female gender that makes it impossible to be genuine with each other?

Ways to Solve Female Animosity and build  community:

  1. Don’t get jealous: Girls are often afflicted with the crippling emotion of jealousy and envy of others girl’s fortunes. Think about all the work they had to put in to get where they are and how they deserve their current status. There is never really anyone who succeeds on looks, or charm alone. That woman that has it all probably worked her butt off for it and deserves respect.
  2. It’s not enough to focus on yourself: Ever met a girl who was a mess and needed some help and guidance? A girl who needed a friend because she wasn’t fitting in? It’s a fellow girl’s duty to help out by fostering her and not judging her. It’s about thinking about others in relation to ourselves.
  3. Don’t distrespect/overlook girls that are below rank, or are not in power: In a world where power dynamics can change at a snap of a finger, that girl that was beneath can come out on top literally the next day. Be nice to her at all times to maintain personal integrity if ever faced with rank changes and just to be cool in general.
  4. Be competitive, but be fair: Yes, often there is only one spot for a job, and yes often there is one guy that is awesome enough to attract a few women, but in the end, let the best candidate win. Don’t resort of bad mouthing, passive aggressive attacking, or snide actions that sabotage other women vying for the same thing. Have peace in performing to one’s best abilities and playing fair in competition. Talented people have feelings too, and deserve to get what they deserve.

All of these things are so important when living in a community of female peers that have similar talents and aptitudes as each us. So why not celebrate everyone’s excellence instead of trying to get ahead of the woman who is perceived to be a threat…in a real sense, befriending her could be a chance at an ally in our own times of need.