There are items that we like, and there are items that we love. There are items we collectively laugh over, bond over, swoon over, and there are definitely pieces we are singularly obsessed with. We have decided to dedicate a weekly declaration of love to particular fashion and beauty items that may not forever be iconic or relevant, but are currently making us feel some type of way. Enjoy the latest obsessions of our editorial team. Welcome to Fräulein’s Crush!
In our 7th installment, we have our culture queen and femme fatale editor Janna Shaw giving us her current obsession. With a penchant for all things black and a mix of dark hues, she brings our gothic sweet dreams into reality… all done in a cute way, obviously. If she is not at a soirée of some sort, or inside a gallery in Neukölln, you can find the New Yorker around her local area of Kreuzberg digesting obnoxious philosophy books or listening to something noisy… or being fanned at the Berghain garden. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but for Janna, beauty is a magic black caviar collagen tonic drink drunk at her desk each day. Bewitching.
“Readers, I am conflicted. It brings me no joy that of all the thousands of products floating around in the hemisphere (and not to mention our studio supply room), I choose something as simple as a drugstore product. At the same time, I am also very happy to reveal that amongst all of the tried and true products, one of my favorites in existence is an entirely accessible product that can be snatched up at any Rossman for the cost of an iced oat milk latte. Or whatever. Allow me to start this off by saying, that in no way is this post sponsored. I just really love it.
I am fairly particular when it comes to what I put on my face. As I get older, I take my rituals more seriously. And I totally delight in serums and toners and moisturisers and quartz rollers. When it comes to make up, however, I do not typically wear much of it. I have never felt comfortable with a contour. Even daytime mascara is a bit too theatrical for me (I keep that for special occasions.) But the two things I do wear on a near-daily basis, are a small drawn on beauty mark to the side of my left eye (a little glamour goes a long way) and a bold lip. My choice in lipsticks is typically higher end: NARS Powermatte Lipgloss (the shade Don’t Stop is the perfect hot fetish pink), classic Dior reds in that creamy, silky, sexy formula, and for lasting power, the Armani vinyl lipglosses are the holy grail of luxury. I am a lip snob, blinded by designer packaging.
And then one day, everything turned upside down. I accidentally tried on a L’Oreal lipstick at the office. Leaving my desk to meet a date, I realized I had left my lipstick at home. A cardinal sin. I rummaged through our beauty cabinet, and found a very dark brown, unopened tube. I didn’t think much of it. But I twisted it open, and immediately wanted to lick the applicator. It smelled like sweet chocolate (the Powermatte collection we received was called Les Chocolats- the color I picked out was Cacao Crush). I swiped it on and one coat totally wrapped my lips. Reader, when I say it lasted me through three glasses of wine and three courses of dinner and a few kisses in between and after, I MEAN that. The next day, I walked directly back to the beauty cabinet and grabbed the rest of the shades, granting them to friends like a dark fairy godmother and stashing away a couple of the darkest shades for myself. Since this discovery, I am pleased to say that these lipsticks have carried me through some very long nights into some very early mornings. They have stuck with me through stressful days at the office, when I can’t stop biting my lips; they have persevered sweaty weekends at clubs (remember clubs? remember kissing in them?); they have outstood lemony iced waters, hot coffees, face masks, late night döners, jumps into the lake, and disco naps. They are so good that sometimes I question what makes them so good, but I try not to think about that too much. (Is formaldehyde legal?)
So this is my obsession, as well as my confession: drugstore lips. Your secret is safe with me. Your lips will look incredible. They will smell good, too. And if your preferred colors are not in the darker chocolate swatch, they also have a Macaron collection of sweeter, brighter shades. Now whatever you do with your stamina dark or bright lips, that is up to you…”
