You may have noticed a new section at the top of this website that links you to an Etsy shop...my new Etsy shop! I am so excited to begin this journey. I have toyed around with the idea of opening a vintage shop for quite some time, but have only become serious about pursing this for the past couple of months. During that time, I have been planning, shopping, creating a shop name and logo, as well as overall aesthetic. Then comes the photography and the research. There is quite a bit that comes into it.

A small collection of about ten items are up right now, but more will be coming soon. I have some shopping trips planned and am hoping to recruit live models in the future.

I love vintage clothing. I started getting into thrifting in college and I have a decent personal collection. I feel very fortunate to be able to curate a collection for others who have less time, energy, and resources to sift through thrift stores.

My friend Sheena, who owns Ruby Threads Vintage has been really helpful and supportive in this whole process. She has answered a lot of my questions and walked me through how she has grown her business. I also read #Girlboss, which is by no means a "how to start a business" book, but it has a lot of insight and was encouraging to read.

I encourage you to stop in to the shop periodically and to follow my account on Instagram (@214Broadway), where I will post pictures of some of my best thifting finds. Here's to new adventures!

 Halloween just might be my favorite holiday. I work up to it in the same way that people do for Christmas. I watch scary movies and television shows. This year I have been reading a lot of creepy books in October (The Graveyard Book, The Devil in the White City, Psycho), which will undoubtedly turn up in in a #2015readingchallenge recap. Whenever possible, I decorate. I go to haunted houses and corn mazes. When I was a child, I was unusually into witches, ghosts, and the supernatural. I just love this holiday.

I did not want to have to buy a bunch of stuff I would never use again for my Halloween costume, and being a moderate francophile, I came upon the idea of a French mime. The only extra makeup I had to purchase was the white foundation, and the only clothing that I needed was a bib, beret, and gloves, all of which I purchased on Etsy from vintage sellers. I paired it with a striped gray and black sweater, black pants, and black ballet flats.

For the makeup, I began with a clean face, popped in my contact lenses, and pulled back my bangs. Because I do not want my makeup rubbing off, I began with a primer (I used the ELF primer) then I used the Manic Panic Virgin Dreamtone Gothic Foundation in Vampire White. I found that with this foundation, I had to build it up, applying about three layers. To achieve a more opaque white, I would use this as a primer and follow it up with the Manic Panic "Goth White" Powder Cream foundation.

Since my brows are dark, the foundation alone did not conceal them. I decided that instead of drawing brows on higher than my natural brow pattern, I would accentuate what I had using the Kat Von D Tattoo Liner in Trooper. I gave them a worried expression. Next, I tight-lined my eyes (lined the inner water line of my eyes, top and bottom) with Smashbox eyeliner and added a Harlequin style lip with a bright red Stila lip stain, I also used the tattoo liner around the border of my white face makeup (which I tied up with coconut oil).

Since this is a trial run, I decided to try out two eye looks to see what would work best. I learned that my liner pen did not work super well over the foundation. I also tried the Smashbox pencil eyeliner, and that did not work too well for details either. After all of that trial and error, I found that black eye shadow applied with a brush worked best. I used an ELF eye shadow and a peach colored blush in a circle at the center of my cheeks from the same palette. I topped the look off with some of my favorite mascara (Too Faced's Better Than Sex).

A good tip is to reference photos on Pinterest to help come up with looks. Trials, like this one, are always great because they allow you to see what works and what does not. I am in no way a makeup artist, but I find this stuff really fun, and that's what Halloween is about.

Because I am against animal testing, all of the makeup I used is cruelty-free. Even though I love scary shit, I am in no way interested in the cruel practice of animal testing. I hope you have a fun and safe Halloween. What are you planning on dressing up as for Halloween?

Though I have been reading at a ferocious pace, I have not kept up with posting about the books I've been reading for this challenge (see Part 1 for more information). That means, this post is a double edition: 20 books! These were read in a little less than two months. I'm hoping I will be able to keep up the pace and read all 54 for the challenge.

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