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Rachel Shoshanna

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I thought as a nice, casual return to blogging, a roundup of my favorite things this fall would fit the bill. Below, I’ve curated some of the best fashion and beauty finds that have recently come into my life, as well as some TV picks that I’ve been enjoying recently. Enjoy!

   

     









Jacket - Topshop, ages ago; sweater - Land's End; pants - Madewell; boots - Sam Edelman; scarf - made by me! (yarn from Michael's)



Face - NYX HD Concealer (Fair), Bourjois Healthy Mix Powder (52 Vanille), Kevyn Aucoin Sculpting Powder (Medium), Inglot blush (30), Essence Pure Nude HighlightEyes - Tartlette Toasted Palette, Lancôme Monsieur Big mascaraLip - Milani Amore Matte Lip Cream in Striking and Wet n' Wild Lipstick in Dark Wine             








As you may or may not be able to tell from the photos, my favorite beauty trend at the moment is big lashes and a bold lip, with really fresh and natural skin. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy drama in my makeup when the situation calls for it, but most days, I let my skin breathe by just using concealer where I need it and a light dusting of powder. I like my drama to be in the eyes and lips. Clearly.

Reviews.com kindly sent me an extremely thorough guide to share with you about picking the right mascara for you to achieve a statement lash look. My favorite on the list is the Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes 4-in-1, and, seeing as my current mascara fave is another Lancôme mascara (the Monsieur Big listed above), I’d say the Lancôme Definicils is another safe bet - Lancôme is kind of known for really taking care with their mascara formulas and wands, so everyone can find a mascara that works for them. If you’re looking for more budget friendly options, my favorite drugstore ones are the L’Oreal Lash Paradise and the L’Oreal Telescopic mascaras. The Lash Paradise is great for both lengthening and voluminizing, and the Telescopic is perfect for those of you looking for some extra length.

Moving on from the fashion/beauty side of things, I have quite a few TV favorites. Of the things that actually started streaming this fall, I would be remiss if I didn't mention Stranger Things 2. While I think that narratively, it wasn't quite as tight as the first season was, I still really enjoyed it and the new characters (minus Billy. Gag me.) (Justice for Bob!) Also, though it's not exactly a new show, the US Netflix recently added the Australian Zumbo's Just Desserts to their lineup, and it's a trippy, fun, very delicious baking competition show that's worth watching for the overdramatic cinematography alone.

I also know that I'm very late on this train, but I finally watched Big Little Lies about a month ago, and let me tell you. It was easily one of the best television shows I've ever seen in my life. I just started reading the book, too, so we'll see how the two compare.

Music I'm enjoying right now that's new, or at least new to me, is reputation, the new Taylor album, and Kacey Musgraves. I'm also having a good time listening to some old favorites, like The Lone Bellow and Fleetwood Mac.

As far as fun things to do goes, there are two truly incredible exhibits open at the Metropolitan Museum of Art right now that anyone who is in NYC should try to go see. One of them is a Michelangelo and contemporaries exhibition, and the other is a David Hockney exhibition. It would be well worth your time to go check those out. Here are a few postcards I got of my faves from the David Hockney gift shop, as well as some photos I took in the Michelangelo showing.












As a bonus, I just saw the new Thor movie and had a blast. 5/5, would see again, for sure.

I think I'll leave this post here, before it gets too long. Hopefully you found some wardrobe or beauty inspiration going into the winter, and if you haven't already seen the shows or exhibits I mentioned, then you should, uh. Get on that.

I hope everyone's fall has been treating them well! Until next time 😊



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I'm back after again, after a... two-month long hiatus? Maybe I just shouldn't have a blog.

No, but to be honest, I've had tons of post ideas and just no time and/or energy to write them. I've been super busy with my paying job (holiday season in retail can, in fact, be quite draining) and with my other job as assistant stage manager to a new play produced by Theatre 167 and happening at the West End Theater (in the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew) on the Upper West Side.

It's a beautiful play called Mourning Sun, by playwright and actor Antu Yacob, about an Ethiopian girl named Biftu being forced into a child marriage and the physical and emotional scars it leaves her experiencing. Even with such a bleak premise, the show manages to convey a message of hope and perseverance, all intertwined with nuanced explorations of race, identity, female sexuality, and the immigrant experience. It's been a privilege to work on what I think is an extremely important production, and if you are in the New York area and have the chance, I would highly recommend going to see it. 

Though I guess I am biased.

Because I've spent so much time in the city these last few months, I've had time to explore new-ish parts of a city that I've known my whole life but never really took the time to appreciate in it's entirety until now. This is especially exciting to me now that I am (finally!!) moving into the city with one of my best friends since I was five in January. As a result I have a few general life favorites, in addition to my play, that have come as a result of walking around this amazing city with new eyes. 

In no particular order -


  • Duane Reade. Especially if you can find the ones with the huge beauty sections. In addition to affordable makeup, they carry more high end brands like Cargo and The Balm (their highlighters are seriously the BALM dot com. Ha.)
  • The Village, both of the East and West variety. Though vibe of the East Village is a little more my speed, the architecture of the West Village is beautiful, and the history is vitally important to the character of the neighborhood. Have some pictures from when I was walking around down there a few weeks ago:












At least the city of New York acknowledges her role in the Stonewall Riots!
(Ahem. Looking at you, Roland Emmerich/Hollywood.)


  • Amsterdam Avenue. Endless supply of delicious restaurants/bars, and some fun boutique-type stores. My favorite of favorites is Jacob's Pickles, because I love pickles. And comfort food. And good (wheat) beer. All of which they have in adundance. 
  • Any of the parks. Central Park is always a classic, but I also like getting a snack and sitting in Washington Square Park to people watch. 
  • The Guggenheim. I actually had never been there before, at least in my memory, until a few weeks ago when I went with my friend Celine and her friend Teresa. Not only is the actual building as impressive as it looks in pictures, but the artwork featured right now on the inside was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The exhibit is called Alberto Burri: The Trauma of Painting, and you should definitely take the time to go see it. It's there until January 6th, so hurry up!


  • Winter. This may sound silly, but New York really was just made for cold weather, hot drinks, and the holiday season. I may be Jewish, but it's hard not to get excited when you get to stumble on the Rockefeller Center tree being put up and see the build-up to the unveiling of the Saks Fifth Avenue windows. Snow might not be much of a thing here unless you're really lucky, but the atmosphere of the city at this time of the year is unparalleled for me.



Obviously this is open now. Hopefully my mom and I will take our
(mostly) annual visit to them soon!


Well that's it for today guys! It was kind of all over place, but it fits with my life right now, I guess. I've been doing a lot of reading recently, so up next is probably going to be a rundown/mini-reviews of my favorites that I've come across or revisited. Until next time!

Much love,
Rachel Shoshanna
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For me, Madrid could be summed up in about three words - museums, food, and fútbol.



Yes, I went to a Real Madrid game, and yes, it was amazing. And yes, Christiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick while we were watching. (!!!!!!!!!!!)

I'll be honest, Madrid felt a little too much like New York City for me to want to actively explore, which was disappointing. But I still enjoyed myself quite a bit because like I said, the food and the museums were incredible.

Restaurants

We got to Madrid around 7 pm, and went to our hotel to freshen up before heading out for dinner. The receptionist at our hotel - the very cool and funky Petit Palace Lealtad Plaza - recommended that we walk basically around the corner and into the literary quarter, or the Barrio de Las Letras, for dinner. It's a fairly sizeable neighborhood; there are a few lovely plazas to stop and have some drinks and tapas in, and all three major museums in the city are within close walking distance. It was home to many of the Spanish Golden Age writers and playwrights, such Lope de Vega and Miguel de Cervantes himself. 

We ate in this neighborhood every night we were there, we loved it so much. The first night, we decided to forego tapas for the first time and had a really nice, delicious full sit down dinner - unfortunately, I cannot remember the name of the restaurant and for the life of me cannot find it online. But god did I have some delicious lamb chops that night. Ah, the memories. Edit: The name of the restaurant is El Barril de Las Letras. Of course. How embarrassing.

The second night, we ate at a traditional tapas restaurant very popular with the locals called Taberna de la Daniela. It was a mouthwatering meal, and it was also where I had my first piece of Spanish meat - a few perfect little chorizos. Like I mentioned in my Barcelona post, my family is Jewish and the Spanish love their ham. It proved a little difficult to find meat on a tapas menu we could eat, but I decided to screw it and just try something not too similar to sliced ham (I had a bad experience in elementary school. It's scarred me to this day). It turned out to be a great decision, and definitely made the whole tapas experience easier afterwards. 

Our other two nights in Madrid, we ate in the Plaza de Santa Ana, which is bordered by the ME Madrid Reina Victoria Hotel (located in a beautiful 19th century building) and the Teatro Español. It's also surrounded by a bevy of tapas bars with promising menus. There was a restaurant called O Cacho de San Jose that had an Italian side and a tapas side - the first night (the night before we left for Sevilla), we did Italian, and the second night (our last night in Spain) we went back to good, old, classic tapas. It was a delicious pair of places to cap off different parts of our trip.


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About me

Rachel. Actor/singer/dancer/writer. Music, fashion, and beauty lover. Trying something new here.

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