Every Month is Black History Month

Even though Black History shouldn’t be limited to one month a year, I mean each time you pair jelly with its life-long partner peanut butter, or reach the last of the ink in your fountain pen, or throw that wrinkly shirt on an ironing board, you are using a black invention. Though, it is nice to have a calendar reminder to explore black history in America.  With that being said, can we just talk about how I want to die and come back as Dorothy Dandridge?!

The lady could sing, dance and act. She appeared in movies along side some the greatest actors, like John Wayne, headlined shows in Las Vegas and the Apollo Theater, and was the first black actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.  She gave serious meaning to the term “Triple Threat” and all while looking so damn exquisite.

Dorothy got her fame during the 1930’s and 40’s when women’s wardrobes were delicate, luxurious, feminine and just slightly sexy.

Dorothy appeared in “Lady from Louisiana” in 1941, and I caught her in an JAX beer ad!

Thanks Miss Dandridge for being beautiful, talented and well-dressed. – E.Sage

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Carol of the Belles

Mark your calendars, bitches, it’s gonna be a good Christmas.

At 7 p.m. on December 28, right here at The Revival Outpost, southern belles Elli Perry and our very own Ashley Monaghan will join forces for an amazing night of folk music, Christmas cookies, shopping and more!

Elli Perry is a musician from Georgia whose had quite the adventurous life traveling from city to city music-making and soul-searching. She moved to New Orleans where she produced her fourth album, The Salt & The Sea, and is returning to her southern second home on Dec. 20 to grace Revival with her vocal badassery.

Ashley Monaghan, our blogger, is currently living in Baton Rouge to attend LSU, but her body and soul are from New Orleans. She spent most of her elementary and high school years performing. From 2011-2013 she was the front lady for Bonnie&Clyde. Check out Monaghan’s recent musings here.

See you there.

 

Local Loves: Lipscape

My girl Ingrid over at Lipscape is an absolute doll and sent over some of her products for us to try out!

Lipscape is a local lip product company.

Ingrid sells lipsticks and glosses in almost every color under the sun. They’re vibrant and bold just like us NOLA gals. She also carries Bedrock, my new favorite Chapstick that has more moisture in it than any Chapstick I’ve ever tried multiplied by ten. Coming from a girl with a big bottom lip that always chaps, this is a big deal.

It even helps your lipstick stay on.

What more could a girl want?

PS Lipscape carries vegan products!

GO LOCAL!

I’ll list some of my favorite and my likes and dislikes! Tons of obnoxious pictures for y’all. I went a little crazy.

THE STICK

 Lipscape, to me, is experimental and fun. The colors are bold and expressive and stay on for quite a while. Watch out for napkins when you eat, though! Wiping the lipstick off with toilet paper or napkins is super easy (thank god…I wouldn’t want to stain my face blue with PRIDE). It’s almost like magic. It stays on for some objects and wipes off with others.

Maybe it was the weather, but when I first opened them, the lipstick’s consistancies were very waxy and tough to apply. Quick solution: I ran it under some running water and it went on super smooth and lovely!

The texture is that of a matte lipstick; if you put enough pressure on it while applying, it becomes more paint-like, making the application process easier and a lot more fun.

PS Make sure you put on Bedrock before applying anything! It leaves your lips smooth, buttery and crackless.

First up: INDUSTRIAL

Super pale. I’m super pale. Not the best combo, but I liked the color.

It’s a nice nude for those days where you need to have minimal makeup on your face! Super interesting.

 SUFFERAGE

 Obviously my all time favorite because it’s a dark red.

Give me any lipstick darker than blood and I’ll love you forever.

I’m convinced these lipsticks make you internally sassy. It just happens.

IMPERIAL

 

Isn’t this shit cray? I love it. There is a darker blue called PRIDE that you absolutely need if you want to channel some inner goth.

This is more of a green color, but it definitely packs a punch. Statement lipstick! Why don’t more people do this?

You can coordinate with your outfits, even.

(My roommate said I looked like I came from the future…but why wouldn’t you want to look like a character from Zenon?)

Likes: colors, consistancy and permanence

Dislikes: taste (organic chocolate?) and how many layers it takes to cover everything (I’m just impatient).

————————–

THE GLOSS

Wetscapes (Lipscape’s lip glosses) are super gooey and wonderful. Remember the ones you used when you were twelve with the twistable bottom and paintbrush applicator?

Wetscapes are that, except you’re an adult.

It takes a while to make the color even, but it is bright and shiny just like a gloss should be.

For such light colors, the color shows very well.

#impressed

SEINE

The perfect light peach/pink for a spring picnic!

DANUBE

Gold and glossy.

This one was harder for me to get even across my upper lip. It’s definitely bold, though, and perfect for Saints games!

 Last but not least: TIGRIS

I’m so obsessed with this. It’s pitch black. Super intense.

Likes: applicator and glossy finish

Dislikes: inability to cover certain areas because of texture/movement of the gloss

Overall? A-

I want to wear these everywhere. All the time. There’s a color for any time, any season.

AND there is so much more!

Check out all of Lipscape’s products on it’s insta and website!

Local Loves: Bats on Tees

Are you charming, sassy and stylish but never over the top?

Do you like chic Tees, hand-painted accessories and cute, clear purses?

You should join the #BatPack.

I got a chance to sit down with the founder, Tiffany Napper, and her right hand gal, Amanda Clark to talk about the brand and how they got started.

They were dressed to the nines, obviously — perfectly clad in sequins from Amanda DeLeon; ringed up by Jess Leigh (Jewels); lips stained and puckered with the help of LipScape; all complete with voluminous curls blown straight from Dry Bar Bleu.

GO LOCAL!

When did Bats on Tees begin?

TN: It officially started in January and the clear purses started in August. Very new!

What inspired you to start Bats on Tees?

TN: It started as an idea that would bring all of my creative friends together. I’ve always loved fashion and I’ve been doing PR for the music industry for a long time, and I wanted to start a product that I could collaborate with them on. I wanted to work with some friends, create some cute shirts, and the clear purse thing came shortly after.

 

Did you start with only Tees?

TN: I started off with just some T-Shirt ideas! Like nothing really done. And one tote bag. The clear purse announcement came from the NFL and I saw the opportunity to make a cute, clear purse because when I started looking for one I couldn’t find anything I liked. I let it guide me and I’m now in a place where I really love making purses.

Do you have a manufacturer?

TN: It’s kind of this team that I’ve created. I have one girl in California who helps make the clear purses. I have two ladies here in New Orleans that help with the sewing and help with the leather goods that we’re about to debut. All the T-Shirts and things are made in New Orleans. I hand-paint the letters or work with an artist, like the one who painted the alligator that’s on this shirt. I use Purple Monkey for the screen printing and Orleans Embroidery for my embroidery work and I have two seamstresses that both work in the film industry and work with me because they like it!

What do you hope for the future of Bats on Tees?

TN: I see Bats on Tees becoming a brand that’s more than just a couple of Tees or purses. I really want it to become this lifestyle and embody the girl. We call our “clique” the Bat Pack. We use the #BatPack a lot because I think of this as trying to create a family of women who like to be fashionable but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on pieces. They like to mix high and low, like to have fun and be quirky, still be a bit sexy and sassy. We have a lot of collaborations on the table; ideas that could get us into other markets, other than just apparel and purses.

AC: It’s important to keep our clothes quirky and transitional. Our product can go from casual-to-dressy; from day-to-night. That’s the big thing for me, I like very transitional pieces and I think we try and show that in our photos and stuff. Yeah, you see a blogger wear something but we like to show, in our posts, that it can be affordable and cute either way.

You don’t have a physical store. Where are your products sold?

TN: Right now Bats on Tees is sold in about 20 boutiques across the south. We also have an online store. We’re continuing to try to grow and expand that. I’m going to try to go to the Northeast and the West coast, obviously, and show that it’s not just a Southern thing. Some of our shirts are Southern because I’m a Southern girl, but I’m trying to create a mixture of things that anyone could wear. I want people to know that I live in New Orleans and that we make this in New Orleans. This is another way to put New Orleans on the map and draw attention to the creatives and amazing things that we have going on here.

AC: And we do pop-ups every week!

That’s great! I think that really fits your brand. Do you want to stay in consignment or open your own place one day?

TN: I definitely have dreams of opening my own store one day — something very unique, not your typical store front. Something that really merges all my passions: music, fashion, film — kind of an interactive experience. But in the mean time, I love the pop-up shop! It gives me the opportunity for every event to be a bit different and we can have live music or beer!

AC: We’re reaching different markets, whether it’s the beer drinker or the stiletto wearer.

TN: We can cater to all the different people that we think our brand represents.

 Check out their facebook and insta!