My Latest Snag: The Undereye Concealer.
In my eternal quest for a great undereye concealer, I’ve just started testing out YSL’s All Hours Concealer. I am super impressed with its lightweight, non-caking formula. It glides on and blends in super easily (very liquid-like), and it stays for awhile. I think I’ll be sticking with this for a good long while now!
You’re Sooooo Popular: The Sundress.
The most popular items on Le Blog this week:
+This voluminous (chic!) sundress. (If they’re sold out in your size — this is similar and also amazing.)
+Super chic flutter wrap dress for $120. (Wear with white supergas — on sale! — for a fresh look!)
+The dress I wore to Magpie book club!
#Turbothot: Making Smalltalk.
Are you ever at an event where you know no one, and your options are either to stare at your phone or strike up conversations with complete strangers? Do you thrive in those environments, or is it your version of hell? I can’t say I’m comfortable in them — the introvert in me would much prefer to be at home with my loved ones — but I don’t mind them as much as I used to, and for two reasons: a) I realized that most people hate to approach strangers in social settings, but don’t mind being approached — in fact, in all but one encounter that I can recall, I have been warmly included in a conversation I’ve butted into, and b) I have two secret weapons that tend to work well. The first secret weapon is body language. In business school, a “networking expert” encouraged Mr. Magpie and his classmates to think critically about their posture, the positioning of their feet, their facial expressions. Instead of standing by a high-top table, belt inwards, she encouraged students to turn their bodies outward, toward the room of people, in a more open and inviting stance. She told them to avoid crossing theirs arms — possibly the universal signal for “do not talk to me” — and looking down or off into the distance. Instead, she encouraged them to smile and make eye contact. I have found these tips helpful and effective — consciously assuming a more “inviting” posture tends to help me fall into conversation more easily, whether that’s because people see me as more approachable, or I feel more confident in approaching others. My second secret weapon is my go-to question. While Mr. Magpie’s networking expert insisted that anything can be a conversation starter — the color of someone’s shirt, the crowdedness of the room, the hors d’oeuvres, the smell of the candle, etc, etc — I am occasionally not quick-witted enough to make such observations in any kind of interesting way, so I usually fall back on this: “Excuse me – I don’t know anyone else here, so I just thought I’d come up and introduce myself — I’m Jen.” People tend to take kindly to an earnest introduction and admission of out-of-place-ness. But if all else fails, and I’m just standing alone in a crowded corner, I excuse myself to the restroom, touch up my makeup, and return to the room to stand in a different spot and start all over again.
Are other people simply better at mingling than I am? Do others not need to rely on these tricks and strategies, I wonder? Am I flat-out anti-social in needing to lean on these crutches?
Please share your thoughts and advice! How do you make smalltalk?
#Shopaholic:
+These would look incredible installed by our tufted headboard.
+I want to own this in all of the colorways available.
+Another contender for my birthday dress.
+A great dress for a trip somewhere on the water — somewhere nautical and preppy — the Hamptons, the Cape…
+I love the generous size of this straw bag.
+My go-to sandal for evenings out, on sale!
+I must have these for mini.
+These would look adorable with a white dress or white skinnies.
P.S. This post was hard for me to write.