I rarely take outfit photos these days, mostly because I have a basic uniform that I wear all the time. But my birthday was in July, and I pre-ordered the beautiful Neroli Dress from DÔEN. It arrived recently and I wore it out to lunch with my family. The fabric and construction are so pretty that I thought it should be shared!
DÔEN is a gorgeous online store based in California, with pieces made with care in India. All of the dresses, tops, and skirts are feminine and romantic with vintage-style designs and fabric. I don’t wear floral patterns as much as I did years ago, but the Neroli Dress caught my eye with its small florals on black fabric, which is perfect for the cooler months here. Best of all, this dress can be layered with tees and cardigans to create lots of different looks as the seasons change. Since my new dress was made to order, I wanted something I’d love and wear for years to come, and I’m thrilled with my birthday present.
Leah wrote recently about Livia Firth’s #30Wears Campaign and featured her own beautiful sundress. I know I’ll get at least 30 wears from this dress and I’m excited to find new ways to style it.
(The beautiful tassel belt.)
Many of DÔEN’s pieces feature tassels, and my dress is loose-fitting and comes with an unattached belt. It’s a lovely accessory that can be worn different ways on its own, and is pretty enough to wear as a statement necklace, too. Before I ordered, I emailed the company with questions about sizing, and they graciously replied. I settled on a medium based on the measurements, but the relaxed fit of the dress makes it rather oversized. I’ve read that most of DÔEN’s designs run small, but this dress definitely runs large enough to size down. I probably should have done that, but the belt helps to define my waist well.
This was my first order from DÔEN, though I’d love to add more pieces from their collection from time to time. The fall line will be available soon, and I’m excited to see what will be released.
(“Sisters — Ruth, Grace, Bridget, Bonnie, Auckland.” Photo graciously shared by Lonely Girls.)
My boys are back in school and I’ve been trying to find a regular writing rhythm again. I always look for inspiration in my reading, so here are a few things from an ethical perspective that caught my eye this week.
Lonely Lingerie’s lovely photographs of real women wearing the brand in the ultimate comfort of their own homes. I first read about this project here, in reference to the picture of Lena Dunham and Jemima Kirke.
Artifact Bags has a new site, new products, and a new vintage section, too.
Sarita Coren shares a very sweet post about her mother.
Pineapple leaf fiber as an alternative to leather. It looks very interesting!
A profile of Herbivore Botanicals products by Faye of Sustaining Life.
Raven and Lily’s beautiful fall lookbook.
And a detailed look at fast fashion’s devastating effects on the environment by Alden Wicker.
When my two sisters and I were little, we used to take turns hanging upside down off the bed or couch, making silly faces to entertain each other. It always amused and freaked us out a little that our eyes and brows looked so different upside down, like strange versions of our own faces. When you think about it, eyebrows are really weird and seem almost vestigial. I was curious enough about human brows to look it up, and this entertaining video explains that our eyebrows are, in fact, leftovers from a time when humans had a lot more hair on our bodies. Now, eyebrows act as umbrellas, along with our eyelashes, to help protect our eyes from dust particles and debris.
But, as any makeup lover already knows, eyebrows and eyelashes are so much more than that, and these days, everyone wants very full eyebrows and lashes. It seems like the eyebrow trend rotates through each decade, alternating between thick and thin. I remember playing with a Brooke Shields doll as a child in the 1980s, complete with a tiny pair of Calvin Klein jeans and her signature thick eyebrows painted on the plastic doll’s head. As a teenager in the 1990s, I was warned by my wise mother not to overpluck my eyebrows, in case they didn’t grow back. She knew from experience as a child of the 1950s, when body hair was completely controlled and restrained. My husband comes from a family with very dark and heavy eyebrows, not unlike those of Cara Delevingne, and my mother-in-law swears that her mom actually plucked her eyebrows when she was a baby! Eyebrows and their shape are obviously a thing, and always have been.
While I’ve read about lash and brow serums for years now, I never wanted to try one, mostly out of fear of infection and strange reactions, which seem common with chemical serums. When MakeupTIA mentioned a natural brow serum in one of her videos, I became interested and decided to give it a try. Plume Science’s Lash and Brow Enhancing Serum, created in Canada and sold by Credo Beauty in the United States, is made with 100% natural ingredients and is free of all toxic ingredients. Designed by a chemist, Plume claims to “enhance what you already have,” and at $95, it comes at a steep price. The good news is that it works. Sort of. And that’s the bad news.
I purchased and used Plume regularly for the recommended two months, applying it to my brows (and sometimes lashes) before bed, and often using it in the mornings, too. My goal was to increase my eyebrow growth, especially along the outer edges, where some hair loss is common as we age. What I learned after using this serum for two months is that our eyebrows need moisturizing, just like our skin, and regular, everyday applications of natural moisturizing products, all of which are in Plume’s serum, will slowly help to encourage natural hair growth. I didn’t notice any remarkable difference in my eyebrows in the two months of regular use, and from the reviews I’ve read online, other users didn’t either. To be completely fair, Plume isn’t advertising hair growth with their product, but asserts that it “promotes the longevity and fullness of brow and lash follicles.”
While doing a bit of my own research, I ran across many articles suggesting that regular application of castor oil and essential oils like lavender work to promote hair growth and protect eyebrows and eyelashes. I already add a drop of lavender oil to my mascara, a tip I read a few years ago, and it doesn’t seem to hurt. In all honesty, I think you could easily apply these more affordable options daily and have the same results. Plume contains both castor oil and various moisturizing oils, and it’s a safe option when compared to other brow serums that use harmful ingredients. Also, increasing brow growth goes hand in hand with just leaving them completely alone, as explained in this article by brow guru, Kristie Streicher.
In my very unscientific opinion, I don’t believe most natural products or serums will help to increase lash and brow growth or give you Brooke Shields or Cara Delevingne brows. But regular moisturizing will protect your eyelashes and brows, hopefully keeping them strong and healthy. Plume is a good option for those who want to spend the money on a natural moisturizer, or you can experiment with the same ingredients on your own.
Have you tried Plume or another brow and lash serum? I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences, too.
(Affiliate links are used in this post.)
