Painfully Hip » Painfully Trip Travel

Check ‘Er Out: It’s Me Time [CONTEST!]

amber — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 01:50:02 +0000

To say this month so far has left me over-stimulated would be a massive understatement. It’s gotten to the point where if a unicorn waltzed up to me in a pair of vintage YSL pumps and started doing a shockingly accurate Philip Seymour Hoffman impression, I would say, “Yeah, that looks about right” and then take a nap. So woosh, just like that, my friend Nico invites me to his ‘rents empty beach house in San Diego for some R&R. “I am so there, I’m already there,” I say. I’m in desperate need of some ME time.

CONTINUE READING for a chance to win $100 worth of Mary Kay Cosmetics!

Do I look well-rested? I’m not (I can nap when I’m NOT on the beach, thankyouverymuch). What’s doing a sincere approximation of “naturally glowing” is my new Mary Kay compact. Not just for your aunt anymore! I am obsessed.
I’m wearing:
• Mineral Eye Shadow Kit for Hazel Eyes
• Mineral Cheek Color in Shy Blush
• Tinted Lip Balm
• Ultimate Mascara
I’m also wearing a touch of liquid eyeliner, a little brow pencil, and some mineral foundation.
This compact has cut my makeup necessities in half! I feel polished yet natural, youthful and sophisticated, and the colors work perfectly together. I also feel complete knowing that I don’t have to wrestle four different compacts into my makeup bag in order to look human whenever I get The Wanderlust. It came with three shadows: a perfect putty that gives just the right definition, a deep, almost eggplanty brown that brings out the green in my eyes and adds a just a pinch of drama (perfect for day-to-night ease), and a champagne shimmer perfect for the inside corners and for highlighting the brow bone.
Of all the colors, the Shy Blush is my favorite. It leaves a peachy glow with a smart golden shimmer that somehow knows exactly where my cheekbones live. It’s crazy. This stuff makes my cheeks look like they belong to a pregnant teenager who just spent a week in Såo Paulo on a Beach Yoga and Hydration Retreat. I could pretty much survive without my entire makeup kit with this blush at the ready.
Long story short? Treat yourself. Do your aunt proud and grab this compact. Who knows? Perhaps you can help your sister-in-law’s daughter’s babysitter earn her first bubblegum pink Mary Kay car! CUTE.

In the meantime, you may want to enter this contest to win a a gift basket of Mary Kay® products worth about $100! Visit the Promotions & Prizes section at BlogHer or visit the official site. Contest ends June 30th, 2011.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER TO WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Mary Kay® Sweepstakes Official Rules: Sponsored by BlogHer, Inc.
Four ways to enter:
1) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post;
2) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post;
3) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post;
4) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules and follow instructions for an alternate form of entry.

No duplicate comments. Limit to 2 entries per household. Begins June 1, 2011 at 9 AM PST and end ends June 30, 20011 at 5 PM PST. 10 Winners (one from each participating blog) will receive a gift basket of Mary Kay® products (ARV $100 per basket). Odds of winning will depend upon the total number of eligible entries received. Initial Winners will be notified by email and will have 72 hours to claim prize before it is awarded to the Alternate Winner. Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, including D.C. who are 18 years or older. For complete official rules, click here.

Painfully Hip Does Iceland – Slideshow and Video!

amber — Thu, 26 May 2011 22:19:15 +0000

Travel to Iceland! In my world, layers are unnecessary!
Enjoy. Fullscreen please!

And here is a video! The finale is cut off, but hopefully I’ll have full documentation soon. Enjoy!

2010: The Year of the Maillot

amber — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:56:08 +0000

It’s been decided. I’ve found 3 of my most favorite (and most comfortable) swimsuits to date in the last few months. So I took it as a sign that I should go ahead and spend one month this Autumn on the island of Oahu, land of coconut breezes, misty rainforests, overpriced milk, and my favorite gay couple. So I’ll definitely be putting my swimsuits (here is the first) to great use, since lounging on the beach eating stolen coconuts with Bradley will be all I can afford to do.

Deep V Monokini, Kmart – $39.99
I am beginning to be mildly over the tribal print trend, but it’ll be totally be a go in swimwear for at least the rest of the year. Perhaps the colors are a little, “Body Glove SS1994″ but I’m having this total mid-90s throwback phase right now and I think I like it. This monokini can give me an awkward tanline anytime. It fits well, stays put, and, get this: you don’t have to peel the whole thing off when you need to pee!

Stay tuned for one last swimwear post!

Check Me Out: I Can Leave the Desert.

amber — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 20:27:38 +0000

Have you ever purchased a garment that managed to change your entire outlook on life? A garment so wearable, functional, comfortable and versatile, you can barely bring yourself to remove it? I went from moving myself to the desert, in denial that temperatures below 40F exist, to hanging out in Iceland and Lithuania in late fall for fun and not even bothering to complain about the weather.
This little coat by Merrell is responsible.

This is me after being stranded overnight in a heinous snowstorm in a convertible with no heater. I am not even kidding. Yes, I may look a tad bit FRAZZLED, but I am miraculously ALIVE.

It’s not just the cute toggle buttons that make this coat amazing. It is the warmest thing I’ve ever sported, but it is also breathable, and compact enough to fit in my backpack or drape over my bag while shopping. It has deep, numerous and hidden pockets for passports, bicycle keys, train tickets and stolen pub coasters. It even looked chic with the $14 mall dress I bought at the mall to meet a Lithuanian president in.

Berlin

Reykjavik

I am in love. Copenhageners say that there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. I am starting to believe them.

Know what else I was a genius for bringing to Europe? These little numbers from MustHaveShoes:

Supplemented with some amazing arch supports (from Foot Petals), these boots were perfect for miles and miles of walking. They were warm, but low profile in the suitcase, gave me jusssst enough height to feel slightly more Giselle-like but still be comfortable, and melded seamlessly with every outfit I brought.

What is the best thing you ever packed for a delightfully impractical vacation?

Painfully Merry: Tis the Season for a Mofo-ing Ebay Giveaway!

amber — Sat, 11 Dec 2010 00:28:43 +0000

Hit the full screen button in the bottom right corner of the player to zoom.

Wow. That was some trip I went on. In fact, I’m pretty sure I left a ventricle or a valve scattered in every crumbly, rococo, baroque cobblestone portal I ventured through.
Unfortunately, solo travel in Europe doesn’t allow for much outfit photo taking opportunities… or free wifi. So I’ve kept my updates sequestered to lowly 2 minute Facebook posts and the occasional Twitter outbursts. It is coming! No doubt! So in attempt to make up for my absence, its time to give in to the Spirit of Giving.

This part of the post is called:

THE PART WHERE I GIVE AWAY $100 in EBAY GIFT CARDS!

Ebay has been running this hilarious “Love To Give” holiday campaign where Ebay fans send in videos of themselves or loved ones having an “unwrap attack (aka, losing their sh*t)” over The Perfect Gift. Pretty much the most fun part of capitalism in general. My contest, however, is much more suited toward the lazy and greedy among us. I mean, who wouldn’t want a freaking Ebay gift card?? It’s kinda like being granted one wish and just asking for infinity more wishes. Disclosure: In accordance to the FTC Guidelines and WOMMA Code of Ethics, I am disclosing that the gift cards from this giveaway have been provided by eBay. Although I have a material connection to eBay, any publicly stated opinions of eBay remain my own.

To enter, just answer the following question:

What gift would give you an unwrap attack this holiday season?

Answers other than $100 in Ebay gift cards will be considered first, Smartass.

Enter either in the comments of this post, or by Twitter-er-ing your response, using the #unwrapattack hash tag and my handle, @PainfullyHip.

CONTEST ENDS FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17th, 2010 at NOON PST!

Internationally Painfully Hip: Reykjavik Street Style

amber — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 12:45:22 +0000

So it turns out I love taking photos of strangers in adorable outfits after sufficient Heineken intake. The following were taken at the Mount Kimbie show at Iceland Airwaves in Reykjavik.

I’m currently inhabiting Copenhagen, Denmark, land of my family heritage for the first time. A big thank you to Johan, Vivian, Stephen, June and Julie for making me feel right at home here. Copenhageners have fantastic style in dressing and, most importantly, in being awesome.

Follow my travels in painfully real time at my Facebook page!

Internationally Painfully Hip: The West Coast to Reykjavik

amber — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 22:54:24 +0000

I think I left my brain in Reykjavik, but I’m attempting to write anyhow. PHEW! Read on, if you please, it has been quite the adventure thus far.

I’m terribly sorry its been awhile since my last update, but you would not believe the trouble I’ve been getting into. You’ll have to excuse the length of this post, as we have a lot of catching up to do! At the end of September, I moved out of my apartment, sold all my stuff at like four rummage sales, and drove off into the sunset. Literally… my bestie, Abraham and I started off my 2 month long journey in a rickety old Volvo without AC driving toward the sun to Los Angeles on the hottest day in its recorded history (115 degrees to be exact). I think it was symbolic or something.

In Los Angeles, on a much nicer day, I did an awesome shoot with the adorable and talented Nicole Hill. The next day we made a sweet stop in the beauteous Santa Barbara and the legendary La Supa Rica Taco Stand. With a bellyful of queso ambrosia, we made our way through the foggy cliffs to the gnarly, dusty dirtroad hills of San Simeon, where our lowly rental Hyundai proceeded to get lost (on our way to a friends’ addressless address). But after some spontaneous car camping, our achey bodies awoke to be offered chicory coffee, bacon, eggs, and a melty cliffside soak in a flame-heated cast-iron bathtub overlooking morning ocean fog.

After some quick but heavy stops in Big Sur, Santa Cruz and Carmel-by-the-Sea, we arrived safely and with relief in stunning San Francisco. A very good friend put us in his cozy murphy bed to prepare our road-weary bodies for a romp around The Haight, Golden Gate Park and a hike up Telegraph Hill. When we returned to our rental after five hours, we found it towed to the tune of $475 for a very slight overlap of a curmudgeon-owned driveway. OUCH. There went our already too measly travel budget.

Not to be defeated, we kept on keeping on. Luckily my sister, her husband and my ambrosial nephew were happy to see us in Sacramento, where we laid low and saved up our resources for a week. From there we flew to Seattle to stay in the hippest apartment in the PNW, with my dear high school friend David and his incredibly welcoming beau, Charles. They put us up in their cozy, Versailles-worthy living room, fed the shit out of us, bought us expensive drinks at a bar straight out of Mad Men, and saw Abraham off to British Columbia and me off to Reykjavik.

Reykjavik! I said goddamn. Nevermind the remarkable architecture, the stunning, hipper-than-thou women (every venue felt like a modeling convention, I kid you not) and the genetically perfect men (who I assume must all share the same talent for kissing via the liquefying way they coo their consonants… unfortunately there wasn’t enough time to sample them all), the mysterious light, and the otherwordly landscape…
The Iceland Airwaves Music Festival alone is worth all the jetlag, chilly wet weather, unpronounceable street names, and undrinkable beers in the world.

Bands of note that broke my brain with their sheer proximity: The Antlers, Junip (I was drunk enough on Heineken to think it was a good idea to climb on stage with them, which, astonishingly, no one seemed to mind), and Dan Deacon. Also? Every Icelander must be born with an instrument in his hand. Amazing.

On our last day in Reykjavik, my dear librarian friend, Barrie was too jetlagged to use her pre-paid horse-riding excursion, so miracle of miracles, she let me go in her stead (steed?)! So I had a very special day galloping through some very special lava fields on a very special breed of Icelandic horse in some very special freezing rain. Apparently, I must have packed an extra brain to blow.

If you need a higher visual/blathering ratio, here’s a slideshow for you:
Hit the full screen button in the bottom right corner of the player to zoom.

I am now in Copenhagen, but have yet to see any sights as I have been forced to be tethered to my computer with work stuffs all day. Not complaining though! Tomorrow holds a long walk to through a botanical garden and to check out David Lynch’s paintings at the GL Strand Gallery. Huzzah!

I got a wild hair and changed my mind in the last couple of days, so the rest of my itinerary looks like this:
Oct 18: Copenhagen, Denmark
Oct 26: Berlin, Germany
Nov 5: Vilnius, Lithuania
Nov 11: Brussels, Belgium
Nov 17: Antwerp, Belgium
Nov 18: London, UK
Nov 22: San Francisco, CA
If you’d like to keep up with my blundering escapades in real time, follow me on Facebook.

Tomorrow! Photos of stylish Europe-dwellers. WEE!!!

Painfully Hip International: New York-Reykjavik-Copenhagen-Berlin-Beyond…

amber — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 22:39:48 +0000

Yesssss. That’s right. I’ve caught the wanderlust again. We’ll just try and forget that this idea is way beyond my means, that i just spent the hottest months of the summer in the southern Arizona desert, and that I’ve been keeping nothing but my pet flies in my wallet… The itinerary is set, the fingers are crossed and I’m headed north at the coldest time of year to some of the chiliest and most stylish cities in the northern hemisphere.

My mission? To see how I, a Bona Fide Desert Child, will keep warm and functional but still, er, Painfully Hip, while traveling solo with nothing but a tiny backpack for awhile.

Something tells me that this little number just won’t cut it.
via LOOKBOOK.nu: “woodland creatures, plaid, houndstooth, zigzags and argyle” by Painfully Hip

I’ve come up with some janky schemes in my life, but this one’s a doozie.

So far I have a one-way ticket to Reykjavik and enough dough saved to get me to Copenhagen if I couchsurf. Inter-European travel is ridiculously cheap, so if everything goes as planned, I would like to chase the sun all the way through Spain and/or Italy to Marrakech and/or Athens. My return ticket will just have to wait. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself now, I need a plan. And I can’t let this muggy, monsoon-baited weather make getting stranded in Iceland sound like a good idea.

First things first.
Ideas:

Read the new eBook, The Wanderlust Workbook by Sarah of Yes and Yes, who just happens to be leaving on a well-planned, perfectly executed 9 month long journey across the opposite hemisphere departing on almost the exact same moment as my janky one.

Seriously, this book rocks. If I didn’t pay heed to this delightful publication, I’m pretty sure I would have ended up in the fetal position in an shitty airport hotel in Copenhagen snotting into the phone at my mommy.

Throw a Fashion Show and Benefit for Hope Animal Shelter on Aug 27th at Club Congress and schedule a million photo shoots (yes, I realize these won’t help with either problem, but at least they’ll keep me distracted)
Start a Wardrobe Consulting Business – will travel (duh)!
Get a Second Job (ooh Arizona, your minimum wage makes me saaaaad)
Put myself under house arrest till October
Lend my body to medical studies (thanks, Sarah!) or sell my plasma in spite of my irrational fear of needles
Ask you guys what your best travel tip / get rich quick scheme is.

GIVEAWAY: The TOP TWO TIPS in the comments on this post will get a FREE download and mp3 of Sarah’s gem-laden eBook, The Wanderlust Workbook (plus some extra feel-goodies!

PHDC Painfully Trip: Edie Sedgwick Takes San Francisco

amber — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:47:22 +0000

Have you ever had that feeling that life is happening at you? That you’re suddenly caught up in a wave of good news, exciting prospects, turned corners and open doors?

I have.

How did I possibly manage to: score a room at an historic luxury hotel from the City of San Francisco), model for an incredible photographer in clothes dropped at my hotel by up-and-coming local designers, encase my face in faux lashes and whopping earrings courtesy of Mac Cosmetics and a collaboration with Wingflash Designs in bustling San Francisco locations, attempting to echo one of my favorite personalities, Edie Sedgwick…. and NONE OF IT WAS MY IDEA??

And that was only the beginning of this epic tour. Right now I’m in Chicago receiving more luckbombs, having a soul-illuminating few days with close friends and bracing myself for:

-another roadtrip, starting wed, with a rough and tumble all girl band who just happen to be as obsessed with thrift stores and fashion as I am.

-a stylist gig back in San Francisco with my first legit celebrity, the Hipster Prime Minister himself. I will not deny it if you guess correctly! Think ironic. A little Brilliant, slightly sleezy. Think vacant, traffic-stopping gaze…

I keep having to check for the horseshoe in my ass. That would be embarrassing…
Thank you all so much for reading.

photography by Cecilia Austin
couture fray dress by Abi McCannon, Your Crutch
t-shirt dress from Painfully Hip Vintage
other clothing by Danielle Due Citta, Dyno-Solo
earrings by Laura Adney-Kepner, Wingflash Design
hair by Addam Moreno, Iso Hair
makeup by Oaeza Pathan, retail manager at Mac Cosmetics, Nordstrom – Westfield Mall San Francisco
styled and modeled by Amber Mortensen

Painfully Trip: San Francisco

amber — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:36:04 +0000

I’ve lived in close proximity to San Francisco (as it has to my heart) for most of my life, but I’ve found only one way to properly explore its bohemian charms.

My trip to San Francisco, Day One.
Continue Reading…