It Was All Done in Vain

          Behold the vanity – the heart and soul of every girl’s bedroom, bathroom, or closet. This is the place where us females (and some guys, too!) take themselves from tired to glam, from simple to stunning, or from ho-hum to ravishing. It’s not to say that we don’t look smashing without the addition of makeup, but there is something about the application of a little powder and rouge that makes you feel much more ready to face the big, beautiful world.

          Upon my arrival in the bay area in June, my mom surprised me with this fun vanity she won in an auction at the Alameda Antiques Faire and painted. The mirror is also from the auction, and you may remember the Virgin Mother pictures from my antiquing post back in January. The rest of the items have come together over the past few months. The lamps are from Target, the jewels on top are from my vintage collection, the silver box was part of a Godiva gift set, and the rest of the accessories are vintage from various little antique/flea markets all over.

          When seated upon the white, frilly stool, I get a rush of joy: it’s my favorite time of day – makeup time. I keep most of my cosmetics, hair accessories, and nail polishes in the drawers (the pulls are from Anthropologie) but allow my brushes and prettiest cosmetics to sit on top. It is a delight to have such a wonderful space for daily “beautification”, and I think it will become the site of filming for future Youtube tutorials.

          Oh, and sorry about the looooooong absence! Essentially, I had very little to blog about, as my life at the moment is quite a makeupless non-event. Thankfully, things are getting back in gear, and I will share some updates as soon as I can!

Oddities Abound at the Alameda Antiques Faire

Strange, strange troll

           New Years Day is typically spent comfortably in bed, soaking up the last bit of holiday relaxation and nursing a hangover. Instead of rising at 12:00PM or later this year, however, I was up bright and early and 4:00AM and in a car heading towards the tiny, naval base island near San Francisco called Alameda. Every first Sunday of the month (which just so happened to be New Years Day) a gigantic antiques fair with over 500 dealers is held on a large lot on the island, and diehard antiquers (and giddy newcomers, like my mom and I) arrive before 6:00AM to get first access to the best goods.

The scene, Oakland docks visible

         We ended up arriving around 5:30 AM – which allowed us primo-parking and a few minutes to apply a tiny bit of makeup before getting on line. A word of advice – don’t forget your flashlight! We ended up walking around looking at antiques in complete darkness until 7:00AM hit, which can be a little difficult. However, since I have properly trained myself to apply makeup in complete darkness, I was able to get a feel for the “good stuff” and scooped up a bunch of vintage rhinestone necklaces – which I’m planning to paint electric colors a la Tom Binns – bright and early.

            As the sun rose, we realized what a wonderful event we’d discovered. From the picturesque view of San Francisco to the unbelievable deals ($50 for a full set of stunning antique silverware, complete with box! Still kicking myself for not picking that one up), it’s an event to remember, regardless of whether you buy anything. This sheer oddities of the place are enough to make your mind begin to wonder the stories of the people who once owned such strange little things…

I ended up finding some fun little items:

•        -  Two vintage pictures of the Virgin Mary in hand-decorated frames – I love the sparkly, handmade quality and I’m always attracted to art featuring Mary. Blame Catholic School.
•           A lipstick holder in the shape of a girl – as a makeup artist, I’m always looking for new storage ideas. My grandmother gave me several mirrored trays that hold lipstick and perfume beautifully in a bathroom or on a vanity, and I think that this fun, sixties girl will compliment them well in the eerily-cute sort of way
•        A bunch of vintage rhinestone jewelry – Love vintage rhinestone necklaces! I own a ton in weird colors and shapes and I love to layer them. The clear ones in this batch I want to paint with neon nail polish for even more of a Tom Binns look, as I mentioned before. The poodle and rabbit pins were just too cute (and cheap - $4 for both!) to pass up, and the snowflake pin would make a great pendant on a necklace once painted. The green and crystal earrings reminded me a lot of the over-exagerated, toy-like jewelry Miu Miu has for spring. 

          The biggest find of the day was this vintage MCM men’s leather overnight tote. MCM has recently had a bit of a revival, and I adore how this bag is worn in and it’s size and shape (which you can’t tell in this photo). I think it will be great to take with me to India.

It was a unbelievable steal at $40!

If you live in the Bay Area or are visiting San Francisco on vacation, I recommend checking the Antiques Faire out.

Alameda Point Antiques Faire, operates the first Sunday of every month. Located at 2900 Navy Way, Alameda, CA, 94501.