“In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth.”

- Mahatma Gandhi

For as long as I can remember, my mind has always been filled with blinding and painful insecurities. Was I too talkative? Did I need to lose weight? Was my hair ugly and dry? Did people think I was stupid?

I would continuously torture myself with these thoughts without any justification. I’d sit for hours on end wondering why I wasn’t perfect enough - not for other people - but for myself. I was never satisfied. I never thought that who I was fit the mold I had dreamed for myself.

So, this is your next contest - but it’s more of a challenge. It requires deep thought and absolute love for yourself. Are you game?

Tell me through a post (or a paragraph you can write here as a comment) what it was that you never liked about yourself and then demolish those demons with what you LOVE about yourself. Be as specific as possible. Be as egotistical as possible. I want you to feel good about yourself and inflate your ego. Be conceited. Everyone deserves a dose of their own arrogance every once in a while.

And do me a favor: remember why you love yourself and tell yourself every day.

Why am I doing this, you ask? It’s crucial to accept yourself as you are and highlight features and talents that you possess. Healthy thoughts can lead to a stress-free life and lowered anxiety. It keeps you grounded, confident, and faithful.

You are your worst critic - and you can be cruel to yourself sometimes. So, give yourself a break, and tell me why you are so fantastically amazing

So, what do I love about myself?

• I like that I learn from my mistakes. I’ve matured to a point where I know when I did wrong.
• I’m an open person. I’m understanding and giving. I believe that everyone deserves a second chance.
• My writing is exquisite. I won’t deny that. I am so grateful to be able to captivate people with my words.
• Although my legs are short, they are in pretty great shape. I can walk, jog, run like a mother fucker.
• I believe in peace, love, and truth. And I think it’s this belief that keeps me stable.

Now - it’s your turn.

I will choose the winner at random! The lovely coeur will win two out of three items of their choice. And all items will be made by me. Yes, that’s right. Think of it as my handmade gift to your magical existence

Choose two of these three:

A neck wrap similar to the one below:

The above image belongs to Necklush.

A puff skirt similar to below (with a gathered waist for a more “puffy” effect):

A shredded tee similiar to the one below. This is actually a long sleeve tee, but I’ll be using the regular Hanes t-shirts & will shred it anyway the winner wants!

If you are the winner, I will contact you about sizes & discuss all the deets!

For a chance at extra entries, you can choose to twitter with a link to this post only once a day with a reply to my username (@sydentherese). I’ll keep track of all these tweets & hopefully, YOU’LL be the winner!

The tweet should say, “RT: @sydentherese; A chance to win yummy goodies by realizing how wonderful you are! http://tinyurl.com/mmyv7b”

*Please note that the creation of these items take time & it could take up to a week for them to finished and ready to ship out!

This contest will end on July 15th. I understand it’s more than a week from now, but I’m vacationing with family next weekend. I also think contests are too short sometimes, so this is ample enough time for you guys to get crackin’! Use your twitter & your own blog wisely. (I’ll count a blog post [solely on this give away] as two entries.)

Don’t forget to leave a valid email address!

Good luck, darlings,

You took care of us, loved us, held us.

You were so full of love and faith.

Watch over us in heaven.

<3

As many of you have seen on twitter, I finally received my Mark shipment a few weeks ago! It took about seventy years (thanks UPS), but I got my impatient hands on that box and I literally attacked. I did a quick shower - moisturized the face - and was ready to tackle the treasure that was Mark.

What exactly did I order?

1. mark Go With The Pro Mini Brush Set;

I actually got this for free with my representative package, but I highly reccommend these brushes when you are on the go! They’re small, light to carry, and STURDY. The brush hair is top quality & isn’t flimsy nor does it do that “shedding” thing that most brushes do.

2. mark Just Pinched Instant Blush;

This wonderful product is exactly its name. I ordered the blush in Nude and when the product was applied, it was smooth & blended in very well. It does give you that “pinched” look that looks natural and fresh. It also fades into your skin, and by this, I mean that it blends so well with your foundation base and skin tone.

3. mark Matte-nificent Oil-Absorbing Powder;

I was a bit hesitant with this because I’m such a mineral make-up lover, but this was light & airy and because of it’s matte finish, it fused into your skin without looking cakey or obvious. I didn’t need much at all to cover up - just a light sweep of the face.

4. mark Get A Tint Tinted Moisturizer Lotion SPF 15;

YES to sun protection! I liked this because I can substitute my regular facial lotion with this or mix the two. It’s very lightweight, feels like you have nothing on, and covers up nicely.

5. mark Face Xpert Flawless Touch Makeup;

Wonderful brush, great application. The liquid itself is extremely thin (not runny thin, perfect thin without the unnecessary thickness that is some foundations) and suited my skin tone.

6. mark Kissink Lip Tintmarker; in Red Siren

Perfect for the never-ending fresh-faced trend. It feels like I have nothing on whatsoever. It makes your lips look temptingly kissable. I kept having to look at the mirror to convince myself that I put something on. It truly makes your lips look like they’re that “I just bit my lip” kind of red that is hard to achieve.

7. mark Dew Drenched Moisturlicious Lip Color; in Skinny Dip

Best lipstick I’ve ever purchased. It honestly doesn’t even feel like lipstick. It’s not cakey at all. To sum it up, it’s a combination of lipstick and lipbalm. It slides on with ease and leaves this wonderous feeling of moisturization on your lips.

These products & more can be purchased here.

Buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy, AND BUY!

I got my new studs in. I screamed in orgasmic joy. Gushed for about ten minutes before I whipped out the necessary supplies and started studding everything in sight.

First thing I grabbed was a pair of boots I had gotten on sale for $10. I know. What a fucking steal. It blows my mind every single time I think about it.

Supplies you’ll need are:

• Studs (These are 1/2 size pyramid studs)
• Pliers (I used a REALLY old pair. They look awkward, but it’s all I had)
• Scalpel or kitchen knife (I didn’t have a scalpel on hand, and if you don’t either, a pointy kitchen knife will suffice)
• Lots of free time (I think it took me about 40mins to an hour?)

Start by mapping out your design. I wanted a straight line all around the top of the boots. Simple and uncluttered. If you’re planning on studding everywhere - then prepare yourself. It takes a while and closing the back of the studs is very difficult, especially with shoes. You’ll have to somehow get into the deep, dark caves of said shoe in order to close the jagged edges.

After figuring out exactly what you want to do, pick up your first stud, and press it HARD up against the exact area where you want it.

You want an indentation on the material so you know exactly where to slice.

My shoes are made of leather & suede, so I had to muster up every ounce of damn strength I had to leave a proper indentation. The indentation should leave two vertical marks parallel to each other. These are where you’ll cut with the tip of the knife. Cut all the way through.

(I apologize for the blurry pictures, I was in such a rush for some reason.)

Now the stud should go in easier. Both jagged points should be on the other side now.

Take the pliers and turn them into each other.

Voila! You’ve got your first stud in.

Continue these steps until you’re done. And there are your studded shoes!

Some tips:

• Go back and forth with silver & gold studs. The combination is an eye catcher.
• Try the shoes on and jump, skip, walk, go crazy for a few minutes and check if any of the backs are poking through. If so, fix them!
• Be careful with stockings - if backs ARE poking through, then it’ll slice and dice the fabric.

Enjoy!

So, Tino & I took a quick trip to the East Village for some roast chicken & cupcakes. First, we stopped by Mama’s Food Shop - which is such a wonderful place to sit, eat, & enjoy the retro feel of the decor. You just walk in, pick what you want in front of you, and they scoop AMAZING amounts of it on a huge plate. A great bang for the buck, too. One choice of your meat/fish with one side is $11. An extra side is $1 more!

I was way too hungry to take any actual pictures, so I snapped a real shot after devouring most of the food. Still so much left over, though, my dears!

Is anyone else excited to see this movie? I saw the trailer the other day & I was IN LOVE.

I spotted graffiti on a fire hydrant. That made the hour.

Then it was to Butter Lane. A delectable cupcake store. (I was also loving the gay pride they had going on!)

My cupcake above! Vanilla cake with blueberry icing. DELICIOUS.

Tino’s cupcake. Vanilla cake & coconut icing! ORGASMIC.

The one to the right was also my cupcake. Banana bread cake & cream cheese frosting. I won’t lie, the one to the left didn’t taste as great as the other ones. (Forgot what it was!)

And through the thunderstorms & rain, the sun shines through!

“Wait, I’m going to do something funny.” Oh, yes, you are a ho.

Adorable children’s store I was DYING to go into, but sadly, did not.

Done. Done. And done.

Next!

My dream ride <3

A great friend holds your purse without question. Love, love.

More photos at my flickr!