Lip Makeup!
(Man, I LOVED the old school Sephora Favorites sets! Cheap and you got a lot of stuff for your buck. And RIP to the OG Bite Beauty.)
When I had more free time, if I was feeling for some glam in my life, I’d wear a full face of makeup. Being busy with my day job took away those full-face days, but no amount of work can never take me away from my lippies! And, to keep my pout smooth, I like to use a lip scrub every other day and I apply unscented Lanolips balm as an overnight mask.
Sparkly nail polish!
If you follow me on my socials and noticed a common thread with my manicure posts, yep, I like my nails to sparkle sparkle sparkle. The last time I wore a polish sans glitter was almost a year ago, as the nail spa I go to has this solid deep berry color (think Chanel’s Vamp) I like to wear during November. Old habits die hard, however, as they recently got a glittery version of that shade. 😏💅✨
90s Fashion!
(For women, to be specific. Like I follow men’s fashion.)
Those who think 90s women’s fashion was all crop tops, wide-legged jeans, butterfly hair clips, and Spice Girl-style platform shoes probably got their 90s fashion history from a Tumblr on vintage Delia’s catalogs and that’s it. As someone who owns many issues of Vogue, Elle, W, and Bazaar from 1990 to the December 1999 issues, I can safely say there’s way more to 90s fashion than that. There were traces of the 80s from the early 90s (top left pic), peak grunge and dowdy realness from 1992-1993 (top right pic), a short but memorable shot of disco glam to get rid of the grunge in 1994 (bottom left pic), hip-hop influences and retro comebacks in the mid-90s, and minimalism and nightclub-inspired attire in the late 90s (bottom right pic).
Fashion in the 90s truly had it ALL, but, more remarkably, designers placed more quality and creativity into their collections. That decade also gave us landmarks collections, such as John Galliano’s Spring 1995 (I know JG is a dubious mofo but his clothes for that season were just wow), or Tom Ford for Gucci’s Fall 1995. What happened to moments like that? Nowadays, a fashion moment involves an overpriced plain t-shirt from some fast fashion label that went viral on TikTok because some celeb wore that shirt. Yawn.
20th Century Fashion Photography!
(Top to bottom: fashion served by Richard Avedon (from the 90s and 50s), Herb Ritts, and Ellen Von Unwerth.)
The creativity and quality of the top fashion photographers of the 20th century has yet to be matched by their modern-day equivalents. Pick up an issue of Vogue or Bazaar from 30 years ago and compare the imagery in the editorials then to the ones from today, and the contrast is clear. I do have my favorites within this favorite: Avedon, Penn, Newton, Ritts, Meisel (probably the only OG still shooting quality work today), Von Unwerth, Demarchelier, Lindbergh…All masters at their craft!
Amazing Vocalists!
Aretha, Shirley, Whitney, and Christina…if vocals were energy, their pipes would power a metropolis for days.
I will always love me down a singer that can sing. Having listened to pop and R&B during the 90s, I got spoiled by singers of the time. Whitney, Mariah, Celine, Toni Braxton, Faith Evans, Leann Rimes, Christina Aguilera…While I don’t mind an artist who may not boast the best pipes (but at least make catchy songs), what a great singer does with their voice–on top of making good songs–is next-level art that seems to be a rarity nowadays. (Really, who is the vocalist of the current generation of pop stars?)
Also, if you don’t know who Shirley Horn is, give her a listen! My favorite jazz station played one of her songs a while back, and I got hooked by her voice. She’s an underrated vocalist, IMO.
My Sports Teams Winning!
Today marks the 10th anniversary of this hit, this home run, this MOMENT that sent the Giants to the 2014 World Series! They would go on to win that World Series, the day before my 30th birthday, and that win was an amazing, albeit unexpected birthday gift. (I thought they’d lose that Game 7 to the Royals.) This sports fan got FED during the 2010s, honey. Giants Dynasty, Warriors Dynasty, the Pens going back-to-back…it all makes up for the ongoing drought my teams are currently having. At least I’m not a Buffalo sports fan. (I had to say it.)
All Things Peanuts!
Snoopy and the gang never fails to please the kid in me! (Just ignore this account, however.)
Inside The NBA on TNT!
This is the one true Best Damn Sports Show Period. (The Emmys seem to agree, too.) It’s been on air since 1989, but I feel like it didn’t become that show until Barkley joined the crew in 2000. Since then, it became more than your standard pregame/halftime/postgame show. What other sports show would allow segments like Chuck changing a diaper, Kenny spelling “you’re” as “yo’re”, Chuck thinking the Congo is in Europe, Shaq choking up after eating spicy chips, Dyngus Day, “Mr. Sensitive”, “po-lice presence”, Chuck vs. Shaq, Chuck vs. Bavetta, Chuck vs. San Antonio women, “Gone Fishing”, and the always-hilarious annual editions of “Who He Play For?” Other sports shows have tried being like Inside *eyes ESPN’s NBA coverage* but can’t come close.
I’m saddened to hear that TNT will no longer carry NBA games after the 2024-25 NBA season, meaning no more Inside after this season. Not sure if the Inside crew will start something new with NBC or elsewhere, but that deal is proof that all good things eventually come to an end for the sake of money. For a long-time fan of the show, to quote Chuck, it’s turrible.
The OG Dynasty!
This pic gives me more fashion, beauty, and glamour than the past 10 years of all the fashion glossies.
This show defined the 1980s, hands down. Greed, excess, family drama, uber-wealth, power suits, shoulder pads, high glamour, big hair, bigger egos, shade fests, and, of course, thee Alexis Morell Carrington Colby Dexter Rowan! For the uninitiated…
Almost everyone on that show was a victim of her acid tongue, from Krystle and her ex-husband Blake to even her daughters Fallon and Amanda!
And this clip when Alexis first meets Dominique Deveraux remains a masterclass in shade and reading.
Twitter battles could never!
90s Simpsons episodes!
If you want a definition of “Peak TV”, The Simpsons during the 90s is IT. (Especially from Seasons 4 to 9.) And if you know what those GIFs are about, you know!
Lex Writes On 