Doe Deere Blogazine

Every time I look at this beautiful weather and realize we’re in the middle of winter, a fit of inward maniacal laughter comes over me. My first L.A. Christmas was glorious — 70 degrees/sunshine, bright blue skies, sandals and, finally, NO SNOW!!! (I often joke that if I liked the snow I’d still be living in Russia. Seriously, I’ll take the fake stuff at the mall over real any day!)

Anyway, this post is about the dress. I found it at a flea market in July and decided right then and there that it’s going to be my Christmas Dress. Do you ever do that? Buy something knowing it won’t get any wear until months later? I do, especially with Christmas it’s important to have the perfect frock stashed away…

The dress is vintage, possibly a square dance dress. It looks really good with a petticoat. My favorite part is the silver lace edging on each ruffle — so dainty and sweet!

The rest of the outfit came together spontaneously, mostly out of Christmas gifts. I got the red hat from Mark’s aunt, vintage muff from my sister, a tiny deer brooch from Mark’s mom. It all worked together so perfectly!

By the way, this holiday season I’ve resolved to wear a different shade of red every day — red lipstick, that is. Let me tell you, I did not regret it! It made me feel festive and upbeat every day, definitely doing it again next year. :)

Haha, someone said I look like a Raffaello! (Which incidentally happens to be my favorite candy. ;))

Is this the biggest lemon you’ve ever seen or what?!

Dress, hat, muff: vintage
Shoes: Poetic License
Socks: ASOS

I was about to exit the thrift shop when I saw a black dress hanging on a rail. It had the most peculiar pattern; at first I mistook it for vases. Upon closer examination it turned out to be snuff bottles: glass jars painted from the inside, an artform originating from Asia.

Being Eurasian myself, I am mystically drawn to all things Asia; the motif is frequent throughout my dwelling and belongings. This dress has a traditional mandarin-style collar and slits all the way up to the waist — stunning. I paired it with pale blue boots, marabou feather jacket from the flea market, gold bunny belt (gift from my sister), and a stack of bangles. I wore thick red tights and pretended not to care when the panels flapped wildly in the wind: my bold red lips said it’s ok.

P.S. If you’re wondering where I’ve been, it’s Tumblr. I’m addicted!!!

Carousel Gloss is finally here! Almost a year in the works, it went through too many development stages I care to remember and many ruined tubes, haha. You can see the swatches, participate in the Cyber Monday sale, etc. by clicking here.

I won’t lie, my favorite part about my job is dreaming up campaigns. I love letting go and allowing my imagination to take me places I never thought existed… I wanted Carousel Gloss to capture the essence of Holidays and winter in a whimsical but not-too-Chistmas-y kind of way. I thought of my favorite dark fairytale: Snow White, and specifically her (mis)adventures with apples. Combined with another unlikely inspiration — True Blood poster — we had a concept together that required a model with nice lips, some liquid gloss and an apple prop. The final image turned out so wonderful that we actually ended up making a Limited Edition poster out of it.

By the way, lipgloss mass is the messiest (and most mesmerizing!) substances in the world. I asked the lab to pour me some into a jar for studio exploits, and was instructed to heat it up like fondue before pouring over any props. It was funny to see something so expensive and that is normally distributed in small amounts, in tiny containers, in such massive quantities and displayed so prosaically in a plastic tub.

Hope your Thanksgiving was good, I got some pictures from mine that I’m planning to share this week. xo