Grunge and androgyny in make-up

Several strong themes seem to have emerged from the New York fall 2013 fashion collections, including a strong trend for grunge and androgynous make up, reports the New York Times fashion page today:

Grunge: “With its basic theme of anti-glamour, the grunge revival that has lasted several seasons now has been tricky for beauty. ‘There is this thought to try and give grunge more polish, maybe for a more

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considered woman,’ said James Kaliardos, a makeup artist who works with brands like Maybelline, M.A.C. and NARS. “Last season, a lot of brands paid me a lot of money just to put moisturizer on the cheeks,” he said with a wry chuckle. Continue reading “Grunge and androgyny in make-up”

Danger in the shower

“The other morning, I escaped unscathed from a dangerous situation. No, an armed robber didn’t break into my house, nor did I find myself face to face with a mountain lion during my bird walk. What I survived was my daily shower.”  Thus writes Jared Diamond, whose recent book The World Till Yesterday was recently released. Diamond makes some good points, a few of which are excerpted below:

“You see, falls are a common cause of death in older people like me. (I’m 75.) Among my wife’s and my circle of close friends over the age of 70, one became crippled for life, one broke a shoulder and one broke a leg

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in falls on the sidewalk. One fell down the stairs, and another may not survive a recent fall.

“’Really!’ you may object. ‘What’s my risk of falling in the shower? One in a thousand?’ My answer: Perhaps, but that’s not nearly good enough. Continue reading “Danger in the shower”