Paris. Just Paris.

Fashion and as it relates to Paris at this time of year will be the subject of forthcoming posts, but first a note to relay what I've been up to since my arrival via American Airlines and the Roissybus. For the past 36 hours, I've been doing/saying/thinking things that sound barf-worthy to anyone who isn't in my head (so, like, everyone), but now it's time to put them on the blogue.

I started writing this post on my phone earlier when I was standing on the corner of Rue Jacob and Rue Bonaparte (namedropping Parisian street names = pretentious) because I had a thought that I didn't want to forget: Paris rocks. I knew that it rocked but I had to come back to make sure, and yep, it still does. I've switched up my priorities in life a bit since I've been here and made marrying a French man and raising our French-American-Iranian offspring in Paris an utmost priority. I can't decide what I should do first though--find the French man or move to Paris? Must strategize.

Aside from looking like a nutter and smiling to myself on the streets, I've practiced self-control in ways I never thought I knew how--by which I mean not following every pastry I eat with five more. It's one of the unspoken downsides in life that when faced with ten different varieties of breakfast pastries you can only choose one. One of my favorite almond croissants in this city resides at the Grand Epicerie in the 7th arrondissement, but once I arrived at the counter, I couldn't decide if I wanted the almond croissant or the CHOCOLATE almond croissant. I opted for almond because it was bigger than its chocolate counterpart, and thus would last longer. Had I no self-control, I would've taken both of them.

I've also been tempted to buy every pair of shoes I see, but that's easier to control because I usually just don't have enough money in my bank account.

Hmm, what else can I tell you?

I went to City Pharma today, a discount pharmacy in Saint-Germain-des-Près. City Pharma is one of my favorite places here and the site of a meltdown I once had when I thought my hair was falling out and couldn't figure out which vitamins I needed to take to make it grow back. I got tons of skin care goodies at prices cheaper than they would be on the American dollar. I also decided that the only instance it's socially acceptable for someone other than your mom to point out your acne is when it's a beautician at a French pharmacy. Products of note in my shopping bag and now on my face include Caudalie Vinosource moisturizer, Bioderma Créaline makeup remover (for 3 euro!!), and Caudalie cleanser.

Okay, tata for now.

The Braid

I've undertaken a couple of writing projects lately, each of which requires me to sit down and look at a Word document for about an hour each day, and every time I do, I suddenly remember all of the things I wanted to do with my day that have nothing to do with writing an essay or article. Similar waves of procrastination used to hit me in college, like when I would find a Beyonce video ten times more entertaining if I had to hand in a chapter of my thesis the next day than if I had nothing else to do.

In the years that I've been chugging out essays by the page, I always fall back into the same procrastinatory habits, by which I mean activities that are only fun when done to put off something else more important. My top two include pretending that I'm going to a fancy event and trying on clothes in my closet until I find an outfit that works, and playing with my hair. I stand in front of my bathroom mirror and brush my hair out until it resembles a hair ball, then I braid it and twist it into a hairstyle fit for Shoshanna or Kirsten, my first American Girl Doll. It's very fun and I always rediscover that I'm better at braiding hair than I thought. When I finally get back to my paper, I ask myself why I haven't dropped everything and gone to beauty school instead.

So, what's the point of this post, you ask? To discuss the merits of braided hair, duh. Actually, not much to discuss here, but a good braid, when not likening its wearer to a pterodactyl, can really pull a lewk together. It's sporty and low-maintenance, and looks especially cool when worn in a non-soccer practice situation. A few braids below, see my Pinterest page for more.

Purple Lipstick

Blame it on Lorde, but I think we're in the midst of a lipstick shift from red carpet red to full on purple. Though the shift is happening full force in my head, lipstick aficionados are meeting in the middle with a berry trend. I, too, am still stuck somewhere between plum and red thanks to the cheapo lipstick I bought on an impulse at Broadway Discount World a couple of months ago.

Elle posted a berry lipstick themed slideshow earlier today, which led to me scouring Style.com archives and Google image to find an example of the perfectly hued purple. The Fendi Fall 2013 RTW showcased some good purple lipstick (below), but it still isn't purple enough for my imagination. I like Lily Collins' look below, but is that something that those of us who aren't Phil Collins' offspring and one-time Nickelodeon slime time host can pull off?

Red Lipstick

I meant to write about my foray into red lipstick a while ago, and I even started drafting a blog post about it, but more important things, like *NSYNC music videos, came to my attention. I decided when I turned the ripe age of 23 last month that I would start wearing red lipstick. Late to the party, I know, but the only time I've worn lipstick in my life before deciding to go rouge was when I dressed as Whitney Houston for Halloween and made a conscious effort to look like a prostitute in a non-slutty way, if that makes sense.

Red lipstick has a lot of merits, the most important being its low maintenance quality. Opting for red lipstick often means limiting layers of eye makeup and bronzer to pull together a look. It saves time and leads to a more natural complexion--a total win-win, no?

I was feeling impulsive, rushed, and broke when I decided to enter the lipstick jungle (haha?), which is why I stopped at "Broadway Discount World" on my way to a friend's house one Friday night. I don't usually buy a beauty product before doing heavy research, but I really couldn't imagine my night ending without a red tint on my lips, so I stood in the beauty aisle and chose a lipstick shade based on name alone. I decided on "Cranberry Crush," which didn't end up being as matte or as red as I had hoped, but it was a good start. Also worth mentioning that I didn't realize that lipliner is to lipstick like socks are to shoes (I'm really bad at analogies), so I had to go back to BDW the next day and find a matching lipliner.

I'm sticking with Cranberry Crush until the day after Christmas, when I will hopefully have a Sephora gift card in my pocket to fund a tube of YSL Rouge.

The Hobby

I'm taking up a new hobby and I'm really excited about it, but before I tell you more (do you feel the suspense?), let's talk about the importance of hobbies. For those of us who may or may not find ourselves doing entry-level work that seems a little devoid of meaning at times (don't blame me, blame our #generation), it's important have both a personal project and a hobby for the sake of our mental health.

What's the difference between a personal project and a hobby, you ask? A personal project is an ongoing project that you pursue outside of work--it's what you wish were able to support you financially, and it usually has something to do with your passion. If you're really lucky and successful, your personal project turns into your career, at which point it ceases to be your personal project. Hobbies, on the other hand, are activities that you like to do for fun. You don't dream that your hobby will become your career. If/when you do, it becomes your personal project. Ya know?

I've had a few hobbies over the past couple of years. My first one was collaging, because what does a teenage girl do with her old magazines if not collage them? I've also dabbled in friendship bracelets, which was fun until people stopped wanting them. I returned from my year abroad in France two years ago with the intention of taking up impressionist painting as a hobby, but a walk down the paint supplies aisle at Michael's made me realize that I wasn't ready to commit financially to buying canvases. Most recently, after lamenting my existence one day this past summer, I decided to take up acting. I signed up for an acting class with the hope of finding myself on the stage, but all I found was that I'm a really awful actor.

My new hobby taps into my artistic side, is affordable, and doesn't require me to, well, act. Are you ready?

It's...nail art!

I happend upon it at a dollar store in Japantown in San Francisco the other day. I was browsing the aisles and munching on dried seaweed strips when I came across a nail art kit. I have yet to buy the kit, but I've fully conceptualized my future nails, and I've even created a Pinterest board for inspiration. If that's not dedication to my new hobby, I don't know what is. On a side note, shoot me if I ever let nail art become my personal project.

Readers, I know you're out there. What are YOUR hobbies?