The left one is new and untreated; the right one happily conditioned

The Norwegian Constitution Day, or “17. mai”, is almost here, and suddenly Norwegians seem to obsess over the state of their footwear. The rest of the year most seem not to give it a second’s thought, but this one day makes shoe-shining mandatory, and blister band aids harder to find than a free Chanel bag. With that in mind, I thought it appropriate to write a blog post about shoe care.

I didn’t really start treating my shoes (or bags, for that matter) decently until I moved to Oslo almost three years ago. Firstly, because I didn’t really invest in shoes; plastic and canvas doesn’t need much attention. Second, because I felt it was just such a bother. Nowadays, though, I look for footwear that will only improve with age, like my Dr. Martens boots. Breaking in shoes is such a pain (yes, literally). I also tend to fall badly in love with my favourite accessories, so I want them to last as long as possible. Here is how I do it.

Buying shoes

A blog post about shoe care would not be complete without a section about buying them, I think. As with buying clothes, it’s important to know which shapes to look for so they’ll fit properly. I avoid anything that’s too narrow in the toe-area, as I’m flat-footed and have wide feet. I also prefer chunky heels over narrow, spindly ones. Heel height has to be just right; I can’t stand kitten heels, but anything higher than 10 cm/4 inches means I’ll never bother to wear them.

Also, I just can’t do plastic shoes any more, or those ballerinas with a cardboard sole. My feet deserve better. Leather is the way I roll, which surprisingly makes the buying process a bit more tricky. As leather stretches, the shoes need to feel a bit too small when I buy them. My Dr. Martens boots were so tight I worried a lot about whether I’d gotten the right size. The same thing happened when I got the brogues in the picture at the beginning of this post. They still feel a bit tight, but I no longer worry that they were a bad purchase. Which is good, because they were much more expensive than what I’m used to spending on shoes!

The cobbler

Judging from fashion magazines and blogs, you’d think everyone had their own personal cobbler and took all their shoes and bags there once a month. Based on my actual experience, though, not many average Johns/Janes visit the cobbler that often, if ever. It’s too bad, really, because they can do so much magic. Things like stretching shoes that are too narrow, fixing a loose seam, and replacing those worn-down heel stubs (you know, the little plastic bits at the bottom of high-heeled shoes). There are soles/inserts for almost every kind of problem. Slippery shoes are no more. Not to mention that they sell many things that make shoe care easier, such as leather conditioner and shoe brushes. It’s not as expensive as you might think, either. I just used Sofia rens here in Oslo to widen a pair of shoes and fix a ripped seam in a bag, and they did an excellent job.

Breaking in shoes

I have never been able to just buy a pair of shoes and start wearing them straight away. As annoying as that can be sometimes, I also find the process oddly satisfying. Perhaps it reminds me of when I broke in my first (and only) pair of pointe shoes – in fact, some of my go-to tricks I discovered when researching pointe shoes. The first thing I do is wear the (brand new) shoes inside the apartment for a little while, to discover where they feel uncomfortable. That tells me where to apply blister band aids, which I do regularly in the beginning. Once you’ve got a blister, wearing any shoe is painful, so there’s no way you can break in shoes then.

Next, I’ll add socks. Thick ones if I’m dealing with winter shoes – I used a pair of normal cotton socks and a pair of thick woolen ones for my Dr. Martens boots – and 40/60 denier tights if it’s summer or party shoes. The trick is to wet your socks. Not so they’re dripping wet, but just making them slightly damp makes the whole process much easier. I’ll wear the (still clean) shoes with the damp socks while doing things around the apartment. In the beginning I’ll just wear them while working on my computer, then while doing things like cooking or cleaning. I don’t wear them outside until I can wear them for at least a couple of hours without any pain, because once I’ve worn them outside, they’re not coming back in again. People wearing “outside-shoes” inside drives me straight-out insane.

The Internet is full of quick-fixes for breaking in shoes, involving everything from a hair dryer to rubbing alcohol, wet newspaper or even the freezer. Still, I’d use caution on quick-fixes, especially if you wish the shoes to last for a long time. Many of the aforementioned methods can dry out leather or dissolve glue, so you shoes might not live as long. If I’m really desperate, I’ll take the shoes to a cobbler for stretching, especially when the shoes are too narrow. This, too, can shorten the lifespan of your shoes, but it’s better than not wearing them at all.

Conditioning leather

One more thing is required before you wear those shoes outside: they usually need some protection. Any kind of leather should be impregnated (“Impregnate” |ˈɪmprɛgneɪt| 1. soak or saturate (something) with a substance – 2. make (a woman or female animal) pregnant). Leather conditioning is my new favourite smell, actually, and I use it on all my leather shoes and bags. Suede shoes get treated with a conditioning spray. The more often you do this, the happier the shoes will be.

Leather has pores, just like your skin, and will lose moisture with time unless you take proper care of it. Leather conditioner replenishes the oils, which means it’ll stay soft and supple, and repel water, at least for a while. The worst you can do is get your leather wet, then dry it next to high heat. Remember: wet leather = dried out leather = hard leather = cracked leather = damaged goods. The picture of my bag above illustrates this perfectly; I hadn’t protected it enough, so the lid is more cracked and dry because of rainy weather.

Treating other materials

Glitter shoes can “moult” glitter, so I have a spray for that as well. As for canvas shoes, you can make them more water resistant with special sprays or beeswax. As for plastic that pretends to be leather, it doesn’t need anything extra.

Keeping them happy

After a while, repeat the impregnating/conditioning process, especially with new leather goods. Give them a good clean first; use a brush for suede and a soft cloth for other materials. There are various shampoos you can use as well, if things have gotten very dirty. If you discover a flaw with your shoes, like a hole or a tear or worn-down heels, get them to a cobbler as soon as possible. Those people can pretty much do miracles, but still, it’s best to stop the damage as soon as possible.

In-between those proper treatments, there are quick-fixes that work well. I’m a big fan of this quick shine sponge I’ve got. It removes dust and gives a quick shine, which is perfect for when I need to look extra polished.

As for storage, there are many ways to do it (just ask IKEA). For most shoes, it’s important to let them breathe between uses, so use cardboard boxes or plastic ones with ventilation holes. Many people praise the invention of shoe trees, and I can see how they can be helpful – I just don’t own any shoes with a shaft high enough to require them. Everyday shoes get so much wear that dust isn’t a huge problem, but those party heels might be happier inside a box/closet than on top of your shelves. Unless they’re so pretty they’re more like home decorating items, of course. In that case, just wipe away dust once in a while.

Get it done

My impression is that it isn’t really lack of knowledge that causes people to neglect their shoes, it’s more a question of simply getting it done. I keep all my shoe care things in a pretty box that’s placed easily within reach. I also like to make it into something of an event; I’ll listen to the soundtrack of Chocolat while feeling like such a good, stylish little thing.

Also, as with everything, it helps to have a routine. Whether that routine is based around packing away your winter/summer shoes, on the last Sunday of each month, or on the yearly 17. mai-preparations, well, that’s entirely up to you.

My shopping guidelines for 2013 are still going strong, but I’ve had to allow the purchase of three wardrobe staples. One of them was a perfect pair of jeans, and at last, the hunt is over. After rummaging through countless shops, keeping an eye out for several months, I found these in KappAhl yesterday. They’re called Magic Jeans, and although marketing tricks like that usually turn me very much off, in this case I simply have to agree, they are magical.

Because I have a short torso, but also short legs, it can be very hard to find high-waisted pants that fit my rise (from where my legs start up to where my waist is). Most high-waisted items are simply not high-waisted enough for me. As many of you know, I’m not usually a Wearer Of Jeans, but I do like how they look. They just need to have a perfect fit, and for me that means a high waist, a slim, but not straight-out skinny leg, a dark blue wash and look nice when I fold them up to just above my ankle. No wonder I have trouble finding pants that fit, huh?

The Magic Jeans miraculously ticks all the boxes, and are rather comfortable, too (4% elastane will do that to you). As I’m borderline plus size, I always have to check both the “normal” departments and the plus size ones, and I found this is the “normal” (what a silly word) one. The sizes go all the way up to a 46 (I have a 44), and down to a 34 – just beware that they do stretch a little bit with use. If they hold up well, I might allow myself a black pair as well (bringing my total number of pants up to an impressive four).

Today I wore it with one of my other “allowed” purchases; this basic, black cardigan. It’s from Lindex’s plus size department, made of 80% viscose and 20% polyamide, and soft as a newborn kitten. To finish it off, I added my Dr. Martens, sunglasses from H&M, that necklace I always wear, the vintage bag Maja gave me, headphones, and Maybelline Color Sensational in 906 Hot Plum.

I’ve had a pixie cut for about six months now, so I thought I’d share with you what I think are its pros and cons. Oh, and if you’re considering the cut yourself, you might want to check out the post I wrote when I cut my hair, and my 8 ways to style a pixie.

The Pros

The way it makes you feel. If you’re ready for it, it feels extremely liberating to get rid of all that hair. Also, especially if you’ve had long-ish hair previously, the reactions you get when you suddenly show up with an inch or two of hair, can be very amusing. Call it what you want: brave, gutsy, daring – it just feels good.

Easier everyday life. It takes me about three minutes to wash my hair, and that’s including conditioner. Depending on the style, I can spend as little as three minutes on styling it as well; dry with a towel, comb into shape, add a tiny bit of gel or spray, then leave to air dry. I also don’t have to fret about ruining my hairstyle if it’s windy or rainy, or having to tie up my hair to get it out of the way.

How it transforms your style. All my cute, vintage dresses suddenly look less sweet and girly, and more gamine. The short hair provides an excellent balance, and instantly makes any outfit look more stylish. Perhaps it’s because hair this short is quite a statement, so it gives the impression that you’re conscious about your personal style.

How it transforms your face. I’d heard people say how short hair gives a “lift” to the face, but didn’t really understand it until I chopped off my own hair. Still, when I did have long hair, I usually wore it up and away from my face, so perhaps I’d subconsciously realized it anyway. Short hair also puts all the focus on your features, so it really shows off brows and eyes. I’m very happy I decided to grow out my brows last summer, as they work so well with the pixie.

The cons

It can be rather high-maintenance. Depending on how fast your hair grows, and how long you can stand it before you desperately long for the scissors, you’ll probably have to cut it every six to eight weeks. My hair grows quickly, so I’ve had to work out some strategies for the weeks between the haircuts. When I get it cut, I usually ask them to make it very short. In the picture above I’d had it cut about two weeks ago. In the beginning I just keep it smooth and sleek, and then wear it more textured as it grows. After eight weeks, though, I either need a cut or a hat. Frequent cuts require both time and money, but you might find it’s still worth it; I certainly do.

Frequent hair washes. I can maybe stretch it to two days between washes, but only if I’m not meeting people on the third day. Every other day seems to be my usual routine, though I might have to wash it the very next day if I’ve applied a lot of product.

Less to play around with. Even though I can probably do at least fifteen different styles with my pixie, it’s still quite limited in comparison to when I had longer hair. Anything that involves braids, or teasing, isn’t doable, and on days when I really ought to wash my hair, but can’t/won’t, I can’t just pull it into a top knot or a braid.

People have odd ideas about females and their hair. This one isn’t really a con for me, but it might be for some of you reading this, so I thought I’d include it. We’ve all read articles about how men (and quite a few women) prefer women with long hair and yada yada yada. Here’s how I see it: anyone that aren’t okay with me having short hair, aren’t going to stay in my life very long. But in fact, every single reaction to my pixie has been positive, so maybe I got away easily.

Four pros and four cons… if this was a math equation, my blog post would be utterly useless for anyone considering the pixie, wouldn’t it? Fortunately, this isn’t math, it’s hair. And hair grows. If you’re still undecided, here are some questions for you: if you have long hair, do you normally wear it up or down? Are you comfortable with pulling all your hair away from your face? Do you have the time and budget to get your hair cut as often as it will require? Do you think a pixie will work with your wardrobe and lifestyle?

If you do decide to join the club, do your research. Look for hair dressers that really “get” short hair; it might help to find someone that’s up to date and not stuck in the 90s (I don’t care how in the 90s are now, 90s short hair was bad). Next, do research on what kind of pixie you want. I actually made a mood board to show the hairdresser – oh, how my students laughed at me! – with one half showing the style I wanted, and the other half with styles I definitely wanted to avoid.

Yeah, I’m a bit obsessed, but the hairdresser said it made her job a lot easier, and the cut turned out exactly how I wanted it. Since then I’ve even gone a bit shorter, especially in the fringe-area, and it looks wonderful. In short, the pixie and I are still very much in love.

All Polyvores by me, and clickable

Don’t you all just long for summer? Warmer weather, green grass, crisp cotton dresses and splashes of colour everywhere? I know I do. So I wanted to blog about the LWD, the little white dress, because although it isn’t as popular as the LBD, it definitely deserves some attention. The polyvores are inspired by different kinds of girls and women, who all look for certain qualities in their LWD.

Babydoll‘s outfit is definitely inspired by childhood memories, but is still not juvenile. The dress itself is soft, feminine and rather plain, with playful details like the Peter Pan collar and wide skirt. She pairs it with glossy ballerinas in a delicious red, a bag that is both fun and slightly ironic, and details in delightful colours. The hair and makeup is important, though, as it adds some freshness. If the outfit was topped off with lots of bronzer, perfect curls and a ton of lipgloss, the general impression would be very different. Instead, choose natural makeup, balanced with lots of mascara, and simple hair. The gamine-like pixie is perfect, and longer hair looks best if worn loose, or perhaps in a soft bun at the nape of the neck.

My Individualist chooses a more dramatic silhouette for the LWD, in a stiffer fabric that will hold its shape better. Accessories are picked purely based on what she finds appealing, without worry about whether it will match or follow “the rules”. A colour palette is helpful, though, with warm greens and yellows that complement the white. Instead of choosing just a single shade of green, which often looks very matchy-matchy, pick several that are within the yellow-green spectrum. A bright turquoise adds a modern pop.

Soft, muted colours are the choice of Coppola’s girl – we’re talking about Sofia Coppola, of course, not her male relatives. This LWD is an oversized, crisp cotton shirt that’s long enough to remove any doubt of it functioning as a dress. Shoes and bags have more to do with practicality than making a statement, although they still work with the overall feeling of ease and comfort. The jewelry is personal and delicate. As with the Babydoll-look, the beauty element is important. Keep the skin natural and glowing; a highlighter can make all the difference. Hair can be of all lengths and colours, as long as it doesn’t look overstyled. A true Coppola girl might play around with her hair, but she does it because it’s fun, not because she feels that she has to.

Ah, minimalism. I’ve grown closer and closer to it over the past year, both because it’s practical, and because I like how it tends to look. The spring/summer trends this year are also heavily influenced by it, so it’s win-win-win. My Minimalist is far from boring, though, and can definitely make a statement. What matters most is that shapes and fabrics are simple and clean, without any frills or fuss or lots of detailing. The silhouette and colours can be bold, though; look for lines and shapes that mimic each other to make the outfit look cohesive. The minimalist’s LWD is plain and slightly 60′s, but the pockets and placement of the seams add interest.

I must admit I felt awfully clever when coming up with the title Sport it, as it both alludes to the verb “to sport” (that is, to wear or display something) and to the sportswear/sporty attitude of my outfit. Though it’s a trend that hangs on from last year (when I wrote about it), it still feels very appealing to me. This LWD looks rather like a tennis dress, especially with the black edging and the sharply pleated skirt. The shapes, colours and lines have that sporty feeling, but the materials and textures give it a more fashionable touch. Those shoes look straight out mouthwatering, don’t you agree?

A more eclectic, grown-up ensemble where everything centers around some very dramatic footwear – one does indeed have to be fearless to live in those. This LWD, although easy and comfortable, still makes a statement, and the knitted texture prevents it from swallowing the shape of the body beneath it. Mixing metals is something I personally do almost every day, as I think it makes each of them look even better than when worn alone. The sunglasses aren’t of the I-want-to-hide-from-the-world-kind, but rather an accessory that enhances the colour palette and adds interest.

The Artist is definitely more about her own personal taste than trends. Her LWD is of the draped kind, but it still looks sleek because of the slightly luminescent material (I strongly suspect it would be silk). Red and green are chosen as accent colours. The green echos her eyes, and red, the complementary colour of green, brings out her eyes even more. Accessories are simple, but of excellent quality, and all materials must feel good as well as look the part. The dress becomes a backdrop, but an important one, because it oozes luxury and elegance.

As for me, I’ve been looking for my LWD for a while now, but as white dresses can be tricky to purchase second hand (there always seems to be a stain somewhere, either from use or from its life in the shop), I suspect I’ll have to make it. I’m thinking… crisp cotton, a wide skirt, and some kind of collar. Oh, and pockets, always pockets.

The trench, skirt and bag are all vintage/second hand. Necklace from Glitter, top from Cubus, shoes from Bianco, and a fancy WordPress magazine I got at work.

The lipstick is a mix of Maybelline Moisture Extreme in 49 Passion Red and Maybelline Color Sensational 906 Hot Plum, and the nail polish is Essie’s Beyond Cozy.

I borrowed the T-shirt from Cookie (thank you!), and the bag was a gift-for-no-reason from Maja (thank you!).

Oh, and I bought myself flowers, because it felt like a BYOB (“be your own boyfriend”) kind of day. Flowers make me ridiculously happy.

Illustration by me – click it for a larger version

Ah, skin care – a temptress, a jungle, a friend, a foe. For me, the story so far seems to have three parts, which I’ve fondly named The Blissful Days, The Hunt, and The New Beginning. But before I get to that, let me just describe my skin a little bit, so you know what it’s all about. My skin has changed with the years, naturally, but it has always been more dry than oily, and often sensitive, too. After I moved south of the Arctic Circle, it also seems to dislike sun more and more, and I now can’t stay more than about fifteen minutes in the sun without burning. Still, it’s mostly been pretty well-behaved, and I know how lucky that makes me.

The Blissful Days

When I was a kid, mum would diligently cover me in sunscreen – the smell of Nivea sunscreen (in those blue bottles) is on my top-five-list-of-scents. As I got older, she’d still throw a bottle of the stuff my way, but I couldn’t always be bothered. I rarely got burnt, and fun things seemed a more reasonable way to spend time. I was born in 1986, after all, so sun protection wasn’t as much discussed back then as it is nowadays.

When I started high school I got intrigued by skin care; more for their feel of indulgence and grown-up-ness than because I thought I actually needed it. I got blemishes and such, as we all do, but not to the extent that I got serious about skin care. No products seemed to make much of a difference either way, really, so the moisturizers and body lotions I kept experimenting with were more for the experience than actual results.

The Hunt

Yeah, those days of ignorance couldn’t really last, could they? I moved further north to study, to a city with much harsher climate than my home town, and my skin started feeling very dry and uncomfortable. Around the same time I truly discovered blogs, and stumbled across a couple of Norwegian beauty bloggers that wrote a lot about the ingredients in skin care. Their mantra was one of simple logic: your skin can only benefit from great ingredients, and naturally, quality costs more than the bad or useless stuff. I now know that this logic is simply too simple, but back then, it seemed a gloriously easy way to find products that would really do something.

Dermalogica became my brand of choice, and I settled on their line for sensitive skin. It felt so good to be actually doing something, to make sure my skin would be as good as it possibly could as I got older. I almost ran away from drugstore brands, and was generally judgemental (if only mostly in my head) towards people using brands like Nivea and Garnier. I had seen the light.

Still, those Dermalogica products were a lot of hassle – a cleanse, a spray, a silicone-based gel, an exfoliant – and my skin didn’t feel much better. Every time I came out of the shower it would feel very tight, and during the (extremely long) winter it would flake, making it hard for me to play with my developing makeup skills. I tried other brands, carefully using them for a long enough period of time so my skin would get a chance to (possibly, hopefully!) approve. The expensive-is-good-mantra seemed to be failing me, and it wasn’t good for my student economy either. I kept searching, but mostly just felt annoyed at the whole thing.

The New Beginning

Like all good revelations, this one started with a date: February the 29th, 2012, was the day I purchased Paula Begoun’s The Original Beauty Bible. Just as the bloggers from my “hunting period” had based their advice on (albeit faulty) logic, so did this book – and I’m such a sucker for logic, blame Dr. House. The difference was that although Paula‘s logic couldn’t be summed up in one simple sentence, it was based on actual research. Even better: independent, solid research, not the kind that companies pay for to further their sales. Paula stressed the importance of good ingredients, but also explained how this wasn’t as automatically linked to price as I wished to believe.

Of course, by this time I was also about as jaded as the aforementioned Dr. House. I’d read too many articles, too many blogs, and watched too much money swirl down the sink. There seemed to me not to be a single skin care method that I hadn’t tried, and rejected. Still, I couldn’t resist trying out some of Paula’s advice, even only to prove her wrong. She has a website, Beautypedia, where she rates beauty products from all kinds of brands and price ranges. After reading the book and deciding that my skin type was normal-to-dry, and also possibly sensitive, I switched to some of the products recommended at Beautypedia. I chose a cleanser and a moisturizer from The Body Shop, because they were easily available and affordable; also, The Body Shop was one of the brands those beauty bloggers would downright sneer at, so it would be a bit of a double triumph if the products worked well for me.

Funnily enough, they did. My skin was less dry and itchy. It didn’t flash red every time I’d “treated” it. It wasn’t as glowing as the PhotoShopped ads, that ideal that refused to fade from my retina, but there was definitely improvement going on. I read The Beauty Bible again, browsed Paula’s website on my phone before bed, looked up ingredients, and checked the Beautypedia ranking on every product I considered buying. I almost felt a bit embarrassed at how often her book and theories sprang to mind in conversations with my friends. I knew I must sound like I’d just converted to “Paulaism”, like I was too blinded by dedication and excitement to realize that this, too, must be too good to be true.

The thing about Paula’s philosophy is that it explains matters in a simple, logical manner, but it also acknowledges that skin care is a very tricky thing. Skin type varies greatly from person to person, and there are so many factors involved; everything from which products you use, to genes and hormones and environment and health and lifestyle. Everything would be much easier if there was one set of products that would work wonderfully for everyone, but that just isn’t possible. Also, there are many areas that needs more research before we can say anything for certain.

I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear. I truly wish I could tell you that “hey, I bought these two, super-affordable products, and now I look like a walking foundation ad – and those products will make any skin look flawless!”. I can’t, though, because I’ve promised to be honest in this blog. What I can tell you, are my personal principles about my skin care. They won’t work for everyone, but perhaps they can inspire you to figure out some principles of your own. Oh, and yes, they are very much inspired by Paula’s book, but that’s because they work for me.

My skin care principles:

– being gentle, gentle, gentle with my skin. I’ve actually stopped manually exfoliating/scrubbing, and use a chemical, BHA-based exfoliator instead. I suspect this is one of the most important changes I’ve made. Magazines and websites and ads are shouting at us to “scrub away that dead skin, and reveal a younger/more radiant you”, but my skin seems to hate violence of any kind. If skin is damaged at all, exfoliating risks making this much worse. Even that all-natural version of salt-and-any-kind-of-oil can do much damage, as it really is just like rubbing salt in a wound.

– avoiding certain ingredients. Mostly, I avoid alcohol (not all kinds, though, just the drying ones) and fragrances, as these always make me itchy and red.

– switching to a sulfate-free shampoo. Just as there are good and bad alcohols, there are different kinds of sulfates, and not all of them are bad. They certainly aren’t the devil juice the media claims them to be. I generally avoid the one called sodium lauryl sulfate, as every hair product I’ve tried with that ingredient has made my scalp sore for days.

– avoiding jar packaging for anything, as air and light are the worst enemies for many beneficial ingredients.

– not using a designated eye cream.

– lowering my expectations.

– not believing beauty myths.

– using sun screen every day. Yes, even in winter. This is especially important as I use a chemical exfoliator, because it makes skin more vulnerable to sun damage.

– remembering that natural ingredients/products aren’t automatically better than synthetic ones (you can read more about it here, too).

– being nice to myself. Because of life (and sometimes because of my CFS), some days I can’t do everything I want, including the two, three or four steps of my skin care regiment. There just aren’t enough spoons. Those days, I remind myself that it’s not world peace we’re talking about, and that my skin is capable of doing many good things all on its own; letting me feel things around me, and holding me together. Not bad for something that’s mostly just two to three millimetres thick.