bunnyshop shopping fashion blog

Reader Mail: The Gifts That Keep On Giving

We are finding it very difficult to get any work done this week, what with the tone all warm and holiday-y. Why can it not be the first week of July every week of the year, is what we're asking ourselves.

We march on with our Jocasi giveaway: Once again, the question with the most comments wins. Easy peasy!

Today's question, from K.:

What is the best gift - big or small - you have ever given someone AND do you have a good fall-back gift that is 100% guaranteed to please when you are otherwise out of ideas?

Our answers: She may disagree, but we feel the answer was an inspirational message for our BFF at Christmas last year, written by a cookbook author and framed. We were very pro this gift because it didn't cost us anything, and it was thoughtful, unlike basically all of our other gifts. Speaking of: Our default is always, inevitably a book, and the one we love giving most is the one above: It's short and just perfect, which makes it appropriate for all sorts of readers.

Above: The Bridge of San Luis Rey, $10.36

Jocasi Giveaway Fabulousness!

The Jocasi reader mail contest continues. In brief: You email us a question (with the word "Jocasi" in the subject for easy sorting, perhaps), we run it here, and the best question—measured in this one instance by the number of comments it receives—wins a fabulous Jocasi bag. (Not exactly this one pictured.)

Today's question:

If you had your dream body what you would you buy immediately to wear and why do you think you can’t wear it now?

J.

We will answer that we would buy knee socks. We may just go buy them anyway, right this minute! This is a very complicated question, we're thinking. Answer! And let's get J. on her way to the Jocasi bag.

Above: the Jersey bag, was about $220, now about $110

The Jocasi Reader Mail Contest: The Beauty Sin

In today's entry to the Jocasi giveaway—remember, whoever's Reader Mail question garners the most comments, wins the bag.

What are your top 3 Beauty "sins" [this part of the message is cut off, but we're guessing it says something like, "you regularly commit?" or something similar]

1) Thou shalt not Pop Pimples
2) Thou shalt ALWAYS wear sunscreen.
3) Thou shalt remove make every single night.

N.

Great question! Our are quite similar: we never wear sunscreen or remember to take vitamins (these are beauty-via-health issues, we feel.) Also, we are extremely lax with the maintenance haircuts. Just. So. Expensive!

Anyhoo: What are yours? Fill us in!

Above: Bare Escentuals make up remover, $14

The Beach Book: Reader Question

In today's Reader Mail (and please! send us yours!)

Dear BS:

I know this is a bit off-topic, but I'm going off to the beach today and looking for a book to bring. Advise!

Love,
A.

Well! Other than the one we wrote (currently available for purchase at Amazon, Powells and the occasional neighborhood bookseller!), we will say—all we ask for a beach book is, you know, any good book. This, above, is the last book we brought to the beach: Eye on Europe, from our fave-ever MoMA show. This is for when we are in those moods when even words just feel like too much effort. Honestly, this is a difficult question for us on two level—one, we can never really read successfully on the beach (too bright) and we've had trouble lately finding books we're really wild about. Who has some better ideas than our really bad one?

The Break-Out Free Sunscreen: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail (and send us yours!)

Dear BS:

We are only one week into summer, and I'm already breaking out from my stupid sunscreen! Fix!

love,
C.

We have this same, exact problem, which is why—horrifying truth be told—we rarely ever wear it. (Don't take our advice! It reminds us of this day in art school when our video teacher was like, Don't worry about paying your taxes, and we actually raised our hand and were like, Do not listen to Martin today.) We use Becca tinted moisturizer, which has SPF 25, even if it's not as heavy duty (sweat resistant, etc).

We thought we'd look around for something a bit more intensive, and what we came up with was powder sunscreen:

Actress Cameron Diaz is known for her impressive resume of movie roles, but until recently she was becoming just as famous for her battle with acne, as highlighted by unflattering close-up shots of her bare face in tabloid photographs. ... Diaz revealed that she had finally detected and defeated the cause of her break-outs: sunscreen. She now uses sunscreen in a powder form. "Powder sunscreen!" exclaims Diaz in the interview. "I'm not using lotions any more, and my skin is completely different. I haven't had a pimple since!"

Well, if Cameron Diaz says so, it must be true! Er, anyway: this is the one that we found to be most popular, but we haven't tried it, for the reasons above. Has someone out there given this a go—or other, skin-friendly sunscreens?

Above: Peter Thomas Roth Instant Mineral SPF 30, $30

Hiking in Europe: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail (and send us yours!)

Hello Bunny:

I know you will be able to help me.

My friend and I plan to go to on a tour of Europe in a few weeks. We plan to hike and bike and climb mountains (maybe not). We also want to look reasonably cute. We don't like shorts, but feel we may need to wear them—or at least (gasp!) skorts or something (hiking in a skirt is not practical). We also NEED to get a cute pair of brown sandaly-things that are comfortable to walk in for hours and then go right out to dinner. We've encountered mostly ugly practical-shoe-lady sandals in our quest.

Any thoughts??

Thanks!
S.

This is perhaps one of our most difficult questions ever, as there may be no good answer. This is our fear. We have done quite a bit of hiking around at least the British part of Europe, and we mostly did so in entirely inappropriate jeans or leggings. (Equally ridiculous: the former, hot, and the latter, just annoying). Our favorite hike ever here was along the Channel coast, and we (and we really do mean "we" this time) ran into the famous Naked Walker, who was, true to the name, completely unclothed. We are really tempted in this situation to just say: hiking clothes for hiking, going-out clothes for going out, because the transition is going to be tough.

That said, we gave it our best shot—this picture above (again, sorry about the glare) is from a window of  Field & Trek, as far as we can say the nearest British equivalent of EMS \ REI. So much clothing, so much not-cuteness. We would personally be happiest in more athletic-y choices like these Nike shorts—it is what it is, we're thinking, and we like these, even if they're not, like, tailor-made for hiking:

Nike track shorts, $28

Our opinion is that there are plenty of circumstances where function should trump form—we mean, yes, let's definitely avoid the knee-length shorts horror ... but: wicking. We demand wicking!

These are officially trail shorts. We just refuse to go down the khaki road. North Face trail shorts, $40

As for shoes—this is definitely another situation where we're just like: We give! We give! And go with function. We usually hike in trail running shoes, but you say you're looking at sandals. Really, we feel as long as you avoid the Crocs, we're with you. These are definitely the closest we could get to a happy medium—they're Tevas, with a cork sole—not specifically made for hiking, so definitely on the going-out side of the going out\\hiking divide, but ... they're the best we could do. We worry that they're neither here nor there, but we actually like how gladiator-y they look. Teva Venturas, $70

Anyone else with some ideas?

The Perfect Cotton: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail (and please, send us yours!):

Hi, Bunnyshop -

My favorite casual, functional chic thing to wear during the summer is extra soft, lightweight cotton tops and dresses. I don't have a bottomless budget, but I'm willing to spend a little on the perfect indulgent cotton with a bit of style to wear all summer long. Do you have any suggestions?

Thanks!
S.

This question tripped us up a bit, because we immediately had three different, and not entirely on-point, ways to answer it. We love our cotton goods, and the huge majority of them are from American Apparel. Indulgent, though? Nope. Basic, more like. We love James Perse for our fancy cotton goods (we always find loads of it at the Painted Bird, our favorite vintage shop in SF)—if you can handle $41 for a tank like the one above, this is our top choice. Above: the long tank, $41

And then our final answer: cotton is cotton—and then there's jersey. Our favorite jersey is somehow always by Velvet—this, for example, is 94% cotton and 6% Lycra. Just swooshy and lovely. We swear we can tell a Velvet piece just by touching it. Anyway: Velvet tunic, $75—and $37.50 in gray.

Who has other cotton-centric favorites?

The Emergency Ring: Reader Mail

In today's reader mail:

Hey there Bunny,

So this question is about personal adornment. See, I am newly single and so have cast off the wedding and engagement rings that I have worn for the last few years. But, of course, now my fingers feel naked and I don’t feel very pretty overall, so I’m looking for a little present to myself. And yet, I don’t want to fall into that sad clichéd trap of either a) the “right-hand ring” forced down our throats by the DeBeers company or b) jewelry with messages about “the journey” or “strength” etched into it.

Do you have any suggestions for a beautiful ring that is worth a not-too-big investment, makes me appear like a stylish, confident girl and will also fit my freakishly small hands (the biggest ring size I can wear is a 5)?

E.

Oh dear! This sounds like a very stressful episode!

First, we will say: The best medicine we have ever provided to ourselves or anyone is travel. It is our favorite cliche, that travel is transformative, and in our opinion, one of the most accurate. It heals all wounds, if you will indulge us in another one.

That said: We also despise the marketing campaign known as the right-hand ring, and believe in a world without power-messages inscribed upon our jewelry. We are hoping that LB will chime in here (as well as anyone else with a suggestion, of course) but we love Melissa Joy Manning's rings. We're not sure if this qualifies as "not-too-big," but this ring definitely does come in a size 5 (or 4, or 4.5) and we just love it—the entire collection, but this one in particular. It completely sidesteps that ridiculous right-hand-ring stuff—it's not a pathetic replacement for anything. It's just gorgeous. Melissa Joy Manning druzy agate ring, $485

We also really like this one: You're a star! It's a better statement, in our opinion, than a whole shitload of other rings. We're pretty sure it's harder to be a star than it is to get some guy to hand over a ring. Adina Reyter star ring, $238

The Waterproofness: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

Dear BS,

I am going on a Fourth of July weekend with my boyfriend's family to their beach house. We will be spending a lot of time in and around the water and I wanted to know what sort of makeup I can wear that won't come off easily.

Thanks,
E.

Oh! We know the feeling. We once spent a first weekend at a new boyfriend's family home and bizarrely spent the entire time crying, desperately missing not our own parents, but our friends' parents. (It was weird.) We got over it. We are sure you will have a much better time than we did. We would pack these essentials—basically our MO is to wear stuff that's all summery but won't look amiss if it's suddenly not there, post-swimming. (We'll leave the ruby lipstick out for the weekend.)

1: Sunscreen, but we're total liars who only get an SPF with our Becca tinted moisturizer ($42). (SPF 25+!)

2: We also wear a Becca bronzer, as it happens—a nice bit of color without getting all blush-y. Becca bronzer (we like the Calypso), $38

3: And finally: Fiberwig mascara (above, $22). We are so happy with this for a number of reasons—not least that we actually found out about it here! We swear this stuff never comes off—and even better, it doesn't smudge. We'd stopped wearing mascara because the smudging was too annoying, but now we're back to daily application.

4: Er, one more thing. Personally, all we'd add to this would be a bit of lip stain, and Benefit says Benetint is waterproof. We're not sure our personal use bears this out, but that's the official word. Benetint, $28

Reader Mail: The Pity Party

Today's reader mail is close to our heart:

Dear Little Bunny,
I got some pretty crappy news today that totally bummed me out and made me feel sorry for myself, hate the world, and silently cry at work for an hour. In the grand scheme of things, everything is ok - so it's just me feeling sorry for myself. Any recommendations for  a quick pick-me-up?
Thanks,
Bridget

Well, Bridget, we feel you. We often feel a little sorry for ourselves, mostly work related. Like the time we got an email addressed to us, in which we were called by a name that is nowhere near our actual, given name. Or the time we had a spot of something on our shirt that no one seemed to tell us about. Generally, when we are feeling sorry for ourselves, we think two things: FUCK YOU to the world at large, and I WANT.  We then get the urge to run wind sprints uphill, and then we come to our senses and think, what do we want? Well. We have a few rules. One, we don't want rejection - so we don't want to have to try anything on. We want it now, and we don't want to get stuck in traffic on our way. We also don't want to drain our bank account, which would be not hard to do at all.

First up, shoes. A pair of shoes from a company that is fairly standard in size (Nine West has rarely let us down), on sale (less to regret later), free, overnight shipping (thanks, Endless), and they're just so silly and cheerful. We love the gold, we love the mary jane, we love the peep toe. They're a little bit showgirl, a little bit safe, but we wear gold shoes with everything and we think these would be nice for the days that ballet flats are a little too casual.  There's a really cute orange pair for even less that we're also contemplating.

Nine West Forgoes peep toes, was $79.95, now $55.97

A Most Stylish Friend told us about her hare ring from Digby + Iona. She said it could be used as a weapon, and we were all, not likely, it's a bunny. And then she showed us and we realized that we need this. This would be like our secret golden lasso, if we were Wonder Woman.

Digby + Iona Hare Ring, $150

An old boss, who is also a friend, once bought us a surprise present from The Small Object. The entire website is full of handmade things with these guys on it, and we find it impossible to be in a bad mood when looking at them. We think we're going to order this notepad for our desk - for $5, it's worth the laugh and feeling like we've got some backup.

Stick 'Em Up scratchpad, $5

Failing any of this, we suggest running up hills as fast as you can. We will be doing this first thing in the morning and while we're not happy about it, we know it'll make us feel better. As Most Stylish Friend said to us, hang in there, tiger! We want to hear other suggestions! What do you do to make yourself feel better?

-LB

The Hated Thing: Reader Mail

So we've never smoked pot, but we have been on the loser's end of a gas leak the last 13 hours, so ... we're really not sure if we can assemble a subject-verb sentence at the moment. We are wondering if this is what smoking pot is like. We are guessing no, but with significant loss of brain cells. Anyhoo, in today's Reader Mail—and by the way, more than ever, you'll be helping us out if you have a reader mail question to email us:

Dear BS:

I know I've read here before that you hate capri jeans. Me too! But I'm obligated to wear them at my summer job. Can you find one pair you like, please?

Thanks!
B.

Oh! We do hate them, and fiercely. They are designed to make short people look shorter, an unpleasant situation by any measure. But we will say we particularly hate the shorter ones, that come right below the knee. We were in Dubai last week, and noticed loads of fellow Westerners in them, skirting by the whole no-bare-knees thing. (We very grumpily wore ankle-length jeans the entire time.) But if we were forced to wear them, we'd wear these—these are practically ankle-length, in any case.

We do love those chunky heels as well, btw.

We're wondering: Does anyone else hate capri jeans as much as we do?

Above: William Rast capris, $190

Frenchy: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

can you read the la redoute site and see if they ship to the us?  found a bag i like but my french isn't good enough to navigate. either way, could you recommend an easy way to get some french basics here?

Voila! La Redoute has a US site. Unfortunately, the only thing we want there is this hoodie. ("Hoody".) It is cheap, but it is not sufficient. LR hoodie, was $29.99, now $14.99

Otherwise: our first choice for French basic-y things is Zadig et Voltaire, which is about a billion euros out of our price range. Which leaves us with Petit Bateau:

Nothing fancy, but everyone needs tee shirts. Petit Bateau "chemise pointelle," $22

Kirsten's Lipstick: Reader Mail

One last bit of reader mail:

I am still on the hunt for the perfect red lipstick to wear on special occasions. It has to be blue based, not orange. And the one everyone talks about, Mac Ruby-Woo, is just too pink on me. I walked around all of Sephora and couldn't find anything that worked. I think I might be looking for something like this.

Being such gloss stalwarts, we have no answer for this—but we are sure someone out there does. (And can we say we loooove this image of KD, and it almost makes us ready to give up our Benetint.) Any ideas?

This Post Is About So Much More Than Mascara

Lil Bunny answered C.'s original reader mail in March. She sent in an update which we are of course delighted to share. We'll add, preemptively, that the MFA waitlist is the only place to be this year.

Hello Miss Bunny...
I thought I'd give you a bit of an update on me and all the help that you (and your beautiful readers) lovingly suggested...
I didn't make it into the grad program here in Houston but I'm totally fine with that.
The program was too generic.
I've actually set my sights even higher and am going to a HUGE mass audition in New York in February (you audition for about 40 schools all at the same time).
SO hopefully next summer I'll be living somewhere else and taking the necessary steps to get my MFA.
Don't know where, it's all up to who wants me...
Kind of exciting when I think about it. In a roll of the dice, go where the wind blows you, romantic type of thing.

As for everyone's suggestions...
Here are the things (from the suggestions as well as your other reviews) that have made it into my daily line up:
Diorshow Blackout mascara: LOVE IT!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE. It now lives in my purse and goes everywhere with me.
Philosophy skin care: I don't think I can say enough about the Makeup Optional set. My skin is soft and all glowy (is that a word?) and I have had very little problem with sensitivity. I do have one small issue and that is that Hope in a Jar seems to give me a TINY amount of breakout on my forehead every now and then. So what I've been doing is using Hope in a Jar a few days a week and then a lighter moisturizer from Origins (the one with mushroom in it) the other days and that seems to be working fine.
Cosmedicine's Opti-mologist Eye Cream: I don't know how much of a difference this is making, but I continue to use it anyway because it seems  to be doing something. I also really like how soft it makes the skin around my eyes feel.
Smashbox eyeshadow in flirt: This has become another purse dweller. I feel it's a bit too sparkly for work, so I've been doing the Stila smokey eye palette in bronzes  for work wear, and then after work, adding the flirt over the Stila... works like a charm and I actually had one of the Houston Grand Opera makeup artist go crazy over my eyes the other night. (One caveat about the Stila palette... It talks to you. Seriously. You push this little button and it tells you how to use it. Weird. I find that very very weird.)
Clinique's Almost Lipstick in Black Honey: As you can guess, this one is an every day staple as well. It works on SO many levels with all different outfits and eye shadows and moods... In fact I've let many a friend borrow it while we were out and I've made a believer out of four of them.
Fresh Sugar: This makes me very happy. Happy like when I was a little girl and my mom would dab her perfume on my wrists so we could smell the same. It makes me feel special and light and radiant. It's so odd that something so small that does nothing for how you look makes you feel so different. I don't use it on a daily basis, only when I'm going to dinner or out or feeling a little down. It's kind of like that drug high that people talk about, I don't want to use it so often that it loses it's euphoric effect on me.

Some things that I have added on my own:
Stila Lip Glaze in Grapefruit: Perfect for work. I also love to use it if I do really dramatic eyes, it give just enough pale glimmering gloss to the lips without adding TOO much and taking away from the eyes.
Smashbox Brow Tech in Taupe: I am really fair and have almost non-existent eyebrows. The wax/powder combo scared me at first, I didn't want to look like I had the forties shaved and drawn back in eyebrow. My fear was totally unfounded. It does take a light touch, but with a little practice mastering a natural look is quite simple.

As for clothing:
I followed Z's advice and took all my expensive clothes and the clothes that I love to a tailor and had them all altered. Yes it cost me about 400 bucks, but I feel like I got a WHOLE NEW WARDROBE! And if I had try to purchase everything again in my correct size I would have had to spend ten times that. (BTW, I went from a size 14 to a size 4!!!! I cried when the tailor told me.)
I'm choosing brighter colors (jewel toned blues, fun bright pinks) and more fine fabrics (I have discovered an obsession with silk/cotton blend blouses).
I bought two pairs of jeans that have become my wardrobe staples:
A skinny jean from Forever 21 and, to my surprise, a higher waisted flared legged jean from Banana Republic that makes me look really tall and thin.
AND although my body will most likely pay for it later, I have restocked my collection of high heels. I choose mainly wedges, but the higher the better.
Nothing feels better than to put on some slim dark jeans, a feminine (but form hugging) blouse and some sky high heels... it's become my superhero uniform.

I know that was a lot, but I really wanted to let you know that I took your advice seriously and appreciate every bit of it.

I do have a of follow up question though:
1. I know you don't do the eyeshadow thing often, but I'm looking for a combo that will make my blue eyes SCREAM blue... I mean at the top of their tiny, non-existent lungs!

Thank you again and keep you the wonderful work!!!

C.

The Lotion That Lasts: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

So I also would love to smell good all the time, but I've been thinking that maybe some sort of lotion or conditioner would work better, and I'd be more likely to actually use it. Your thoughts? Do you know a wonderful-smelling lotion or shampoo of some sort that might fit the bill? Does the scent fade more quickly? I've been eyeballing some of the Fresh products, but I've never actually tried them.

This was in response to our A+ review, last week, of Chanel Chance eau de fraiche. This may be the first reader mail question in a week we've had an answer to, and it is: Kiehl's musk body lotion. Our only complaint is that we can't get it to last for long at all, which is incredibly annoying. Does anyone have a suggestion for one that does have staying power?

Above: Kiehl's musk body lotion, $19.50

The Bermuda Short: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

Dear BS:

Are you wearing Bermuda shorts this year? I keep seeing everyone wear them, but I keep thinking they're all wrong. I can't believe these are actually back in style. Are they? Tell me it isn't so.

Love, B.

Ah! It is, we feel, and they are. But like with so many other trends, we're saying bah, humbug, and are sitting this one out. We'd be much happier with high-waisted shorts—equally unflattering, but totally sexy, in our opinion. Are other people welcoming Bermudas into your summer shorts wardrobe?

Above: ticking stripe Bermudas, $58

Jocasi Bags: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

Hi Bunnyshop!

I discovered the lovely Jocasi bags from viewing your site.  Recently I fell hard for the Bond Street bag in black but the exchange rate from dollar to pound is kinda hard to swallow (its double!).  I wanted to know if you think they are worth $250 American dollars in terms of quality and looks. Granted it looks good enough to eat on the website, but since I've never seen a Jocasi bag in person...  If you had the money, would you buy the Bond street bag for $250? Btw, I own bags from a wide range of brands from cheapo $25 bags to one and just one Chloe Paddington in a metallic aubergine (purple). And lately, I've been searching for a stylish and good quality everyday black bag so that I can spare the Paddington and still look stylish.

Thank you so much for your input.
S.

As you might have guessed, we could not be bigger fans of Jocasi—so the short answer is yes. The long answer: We totally would. We have bought several, in fact—not the Bond Street bag but another, for Lil Bunny, who we hope will chime in here. And we own one ourselves. It is our go-to bag. We have plenty of $12 tote bags, and to be sure, they're what we'll use 70% of the time. However, tote bags just won't work for all situations, professional, social, or otherwise, which is where, obviously Jocasi comes in. We think there's so much logic for the $250 bag: We had an $800 Luella bag that stressed us out so much every time we took it outside that we ended up selling it on eBay. Our Jocasi bag is excellent enough that it looks completely professional, but not such a financial loss, should anything untoward happen, that we're scared to take it out. And Jocasi, specifically, is even better than its contributors in this price range because it's English and has yet to be widely available here. So it's the best of both worlds: reasonable exclusivity at a price that is generally not measured as a proportion of one's rent.

Also, they wear well, and they are just super nice.

This seems as good a time as any to announce that in three weeks—just in time for July 4!—we'll be giving away a Jocasi bag(!). We could hardly be more excited.

In the meantime, we hope other Jocasi buyers will chime in.

And this is not the Bond Street bag pictured, but our choice for our next Jocasi purchase: the Montana bag, about $240

Sensitive! Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

Dear BS:

This is a disturbing story. I followed a recommendation I found here for Philosophy's Purity cleanser—but it totally made me break out! Argh! I guess my sensitive skin is even more sensitive than I thought. Does anyone have any suggestions for something even milder? At this point I'm willing to take dirty over acne.

Please help!
A.

Oh, dear. Purity has always worked for us, but we suppose nothing works for everyone. We've heard great things about Dove's cleansers—in particular the one shown—but we don't have personal experience with it. Does someone else?

Above: Dove Pro-Age Foaming Facial Cleanser, $5.49

Our Favorite Spots: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

Hi BS,

I feel like I should probably already know the answer to this, but! I was wondering if you could just give us your straight up answer: Where are the last five places you spent money online? And then I would be interested in what other people have to say. I bought sheets (really cheap!) at Overstock.

Thanks!
B.

Ours are totally weird and non-representative:

The Brooklyn poster we mentioned a while back
Mini DV head cleaner at B&H
A Powershot Canon camera at Best Buy
Fancy art paper at Dick Blick
and jeans at the Shopbop sale.

We love this question. What about everyone else?

If we thought about it, maybe we would have bought this dress: School of Women dress, was $154, now $61

The Daily Touch-Up: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

Dear BS,

This is going to seem like a pretty random question, but I must ask: How often do you touch up your make-up? I was just in the park and I saw this girl, at three in the afternoon, with the most perfectly made up face. I just can't bring a battery of make-up along to work with me. Am I in the minority here? I don't get it. What does everyone do?

Love,
F.

We know this type! We are always like, where do you get the energy from, to be adjusting and blushing and all this, all day long? We will say that when we leave the house, we will take with us (if we can find it) our Benetint, and that's about it. More general maintenance-wise, we stopped wearing mascara because it would just destroy us in a couple hours—though problem solved since we started wearing Fibrewig, hurrah! But other than that, there are just not enough hours in the day.

But we feel that we and F. may, indeed, be in the minority. What sort of make-up does everyone else leave the house with? Blotting papers? Finishing powder, pictured above? We're baffled.

Above: Make Up Forever finishing powder, $30

To Blush: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

Dear BS:

I know this is totally random, but: Do you wear blush? Something about it just seems so 80s. If so—what do you wear? And do you think it is weird? Can people make some suggestions for cheek-enhancing products that aren't too hardcore? Is it okay to use the same thing on cheeks and lips? I don't see why smearing a bit of lipstick on the cheeks shouldn't do the trick ... but I'm cheap.

Love,
C.

Oh! We do wear it, occasionally, as we find if we're wearing primer and tinted moisturizer will look a little washed out. (We don't really wear it much during summer, when our skin-destroying tan kicks in.) Anyway, we'll wear Becca's (love Becca) Pressed Shimmer Power ($38)—as seen above in a shade that's a lot browner than we're used to. We also, of course, get double use out of our trusty Benetint. However, we remain a little freaked out by the old-skool blush and the giant brush, etc etc. What say you all? (And all the other BSG fans who got that reference, we love you.)

The Nair: Reader Mail (Plus Gorgeous Pants On Sale)

In today's Reader Mail:

Has anyone ever tried any of that nair stuff? It frightens me but if it works that would be awesome!

We're terrified of it. We're the sort who stocks those $.99 razors in their bag and then cries in the shower when they realize they're completely ineffectual. (Both the razor and the person holding the razor). We were delighted to recently discover a Schick Quattro in the mail, which multiplied our shaving quotient by four (as the name would suggest) and dried our tears, as it were. But we remain terrified of the Nair. Is someone out there not sufficiently not-terrified that she's tried it? We want to know.

The picture above is of pants because we are too terrified of the Nair to show it here. Aren't those pants gorgeous? And so on sale! Alice + Olivia trousers, were $253, now $126.50

The Summer Sunglasses Dilemma: Reader Mail

In today's Reader Mail:

Dear Bunnyshop:

I'm currently looking for a new sunglasses style, having overdosed on oversized. Are you more excited about aviators or Risky Business-type?

Love, A.

Ah! We know they are quite the thing, but we are most excited about what we have learned—from the Sunglass Hut website—are called the "butterfly" style (above).

Above: Whitney sunglasses by Tom Ford, $360. (NB we will be buying the lookalikes at Old Navy that we can tragically not find online.)

These below (and can someone please remind us what they're called? It begins with a "w") look ridiculous on us, and this is true whether or not Keira Knightley is wearing them.

Ray-Bans, $139.95

What is everyone else wearing this summer?