On the Street: 5th Avenue at 41st Street

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I was doing some research at the New York Public Library’s main reference branch yesterday, and when I left the library and crossed the street, I spotted this mural. It’s painted on a pair of doors off to the side of the Andaz Fifth Avenue, a hotel that I’d never really noticed before.

The painting is signed by artist Aimee Cavazzi. I looked her up when I got home and learned that she is “artist in residence” at the Andaz. She painted this work just a few weeks ago, and she says,

“I would take the train in the spring time and early summer as a young teenager and felt, just as the picture depicts, inspired, overwhelmed and in awe of the immensity and intensity of the city.”

I know what she means, and I’m glad I still feel the same way in New York sometimes: energized, happily astonished, percolating with ideas, drawing inspiration from my surroundings.

You can see some photos of Cavazzi (and her students!) at work on the mural here.

Image: photo by Tinsel Creation.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm: Kim Kardashian at the Met Costume Institute Ball

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There are many things I could say about outfits worn by various guests at last night’s Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The title of this spring’s Costume Institute exhibition is “PUNK: Chaos to Couture,” and invitees were encouraged to dress accordingly.

Kim Kardashian, who is the very first person I think of when I think of art, culture, and fashion history, showed up wearing a floral gown designed by Givenchy.

Not very punk, you might say. Not at all transgressive or deconstructed or what have you. And then again. . . .could she possibly have been making an obscure allusion to a costume worn to the Met by another risk-taking visitor, some twenty years ago?

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Covet: Korres Greek Yoghurt Nourishing Lip Cooler and Cheek Butter

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I don’t need another lip color or blusher, but if I did, I’d be scooping up a few items from Korres. I’ve had an eye on their Cheek Butter in Philia Rose for a while; actually, I’d probably use it as a lip color instead. And now there’s a new lip product called Greek Yoghurt Nourishing Lip Cooler, which seems to be a tinted conditioning balm in a tube. My pick would be Raspberry.

Continue reading “Covet: Korres Greek Yoghurt Nourishing Lip Cooler and Cheek Butter”