I don’t want to be one of those boring people that complain about the weather, but I’m going to be one of those boring people. The weather in March was so frustrating. We had an icestorm. The disgusting, tar-soaked ice piles lingered for weeks. It was cold and disgusting. All I wanted was spring and it couldn’t be found.

This was OK, because I needed to focus on finals. I wrapped up another term. Like weather, I know people get sick of hearing this too: Time flies. But, time does fly.

I ended up having a “Spring Break”, now that I’m a university student again. I went to Charleston to visit family and to eat. I did that. I sniffed wisteria, gathered heritage recipes and ate everything. It was nice to see flowers, blue skies and coast.

Here’s my favorites from March:

Wearing (fragrance) – I featured “Purple Flowers” in March and I was in a purple flowers mood. My iris of choice was Coolife Le Sixième, a buttery suede-like iris. My violet was aroma M Geisha Violet, cocoa powder and candied violets. My lilac of choice was the cheapie Pacifica French Lilac. (Photo above is wisteria in Charleston. It smelled great).

Summary – I was into spring fragrance even though it sure didn’t feel like spring.

Wearing (cosmetics) – For the first time in months, I wasn’t that into makeup. My most worn items:

• Eyes: Everyday I wore Makeup Revolution Ultra Eye Contour Light & Shade Palette (AKA the Kat von D dupe). It’s so good. I recommend it for anyone that likes neutrals and/or has hooded eyes. Actually all of the Makeup Revolution Palettes that I own (various Chocolate palettes) were in heavy rotation. They’re really good for the money. I also really liked Smashbox X-Rated Mascara. Reading online reviews, apparently I’m the only person in the world that likes it. It seriously gives me a false lash look (no clumps, dramatic lashes!) I always like the mascaras that everyone else despises and always hate the ones that I everyone loves. I guess I should buy mascara based on low-ratings.
• Face: I rarely wear compact foundations but Edward Bess Flawless Illusion Transforming Foundation has such a natural finish. It’s so easy to use with a brush and I like how it looks. For blush, I was all about the peaches ‘n cream looking RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek in Smile. After trying this in a Boxwalla, I want all the colors!
• Lips: It was so weird but I was into neutral lips. I wore Revlon Super Lustrous in Mink (a medium pinky brown) and Bite Beauty Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Pepper (a dusty pink). I did go through a random orange phase and wore bright obnoxious oranges like MAC Lipstick in Morange and Inglot Freedom System Lipstick in #97 (an electric coral).

Summary – It was an odd month for me. I was all about neutrals instead of cray-cray colors!

Wearing (clothes) – I’m so sick of winter. I’m sick of wearing the same things. I put up my snow boots only to have to get them back out. I just want to wear linen and socks that aren’t made of wool. I’m sick of wearing my “gear”. (I just want it to be nice enough for Gucci Princetown mules).

Summary – I’m so whiny. I’m sorry.

Using (skincare) – I had a facial at Osswald using Valmont skincare. If I were a rich lady, I’d smother my skin in overpriced Swiss skincare lines like Valmont, La Prairie and La Colline. I didn’t realize my skin was so thirsty until after this facial. My skin glowed for days. My favorite Valmont products are Priming with a Hydrating Fluid (a luxurious rose-scented mist) and Moisturizing With A Mask (wash-off cream mask that I’m pretty sure you could use as a sleeping pack too).

I also started adding some of The Ordinary products to my routine. I have a feeling you’ll see me talk about these next month when I use these more. Right now I’m only using a few of them because I didn’t want to add them all to my routine at once.

Summary – My skin was thirssss-tay. But, the power of Swiss mountains fixed it.

Eating/Drinking – I ate myself around Charleston and the Lowcountry. This left me extremely happy and fulfilled. Food is identity and for the first time in a long time, I felt satisfied. Not to get into a long backstory, but there are nuances in Southern food. I don’t think a lot of people outside of the South understand this. For me, I’m of Lowcountry/swamp food culture (and there are nuances in that too from one side of the family to another). This cuisine varies from Appalachian or inland cuisine. It definitely varies from the “catch all Southern” food found at restaurants in NYC (seriously, Popeye’s is better than any of the “elevated” Southern here that look at you like you’re stupid if you ask for hot sauce). My joke when I got back was that I spent a week not complaining about anyone’s hot sauce choices or inability to cook something as basic as cornbread. It was like I was writing the menu. It’s like how I cook at home but with better ingredients and arguably more love. Having a kvetch-free week was nice. (Bad and bougie pimento cheese at Husk, Charleston).

Summary – I ain’t happy unless I have shrimp-induced iodine poisoning.

Listening – This is so random but I really got into listening to country from the 70’s-80’s. There’s a radio station that my grandmother would always play. Like there was a radio on the porch and it would just play this station (which is as weird as it sounds; don’t think this is the norm, OK). They’re now available for streaming online for all one’s instant nostalgia needs.

Summary – I was knee deep in marshes and knee deep in my feels.

Watching – I’m so hooked on American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson. We totally binged watched that. I guess this is what being old is like. You actually remember some of this stuff but it’s still entertaining to see how the story is told today on FX. I actually thought the show would be so corny, but they did a good job. I mean David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian? It somehow worked. I do not think that Cuba Gooding Jr. worked as O.J. (too whiny of a voice) but whatever.

Summary – Reality turned almost fiction featuring slightly fictional versions of people that went on to revolutionize reality TV…

Reading – I read “Intentional Dissonance” by Iain S. Thomas. It was OK. It’s no fault of the book which is like sci-fi free verse poetry. It’s that I’m in no mood for dystopian novels. It’s just too much for me to immerse myself in right now. It’s a good book but I wish I read it when it came out. I didn’t feel like reading about depression and totalitarian themes right now.

Summary – I guess I just need to read coffee table books filled with pictures of French bulldogs wearing tiny hats.

Wanting – I want space for an actual vanity to put on makeup and be glamorous.

Summary – I think you have to move to the ‘burbs to have space like that.

Overall, I really enjoyed March. It was nice to get out to somewhere without ice and with rice.

What were your favorites from March? Did you do anything inspiring? Go anywhere inspiring? Eat anything inspiring?

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*Sephora, Nordstrom and Amazon contain affiliate links. Thanks. All pics are mine except for the book (Good Reads), Gucci mules (Nordstrom), oddly “natural” Dolly Parton (Listal), American Crime Story poster (FX), Gillian Hills applying makeup (vavavoomrevisited.tumblr.com)