Brownout

I have been in a brown study, which is why I haven't posted for a couple of days.  Never understood why sadness was described as blue--I hear "blue" and I think of the water off of Key West, languid, warm, sunny.  Brown, for me is the color of the condition just short of depression (which is colorless and cold, like concrete), where you spend a day or two meaning to do things and not doing them, including taking a shower.  It's a feeling of being slighly dirty, with the aftertaste of coffee in your mouth (I don't drink coffee unless I'm having trouble motivating myself).  In other words, brown.  Think about it--when was the last time you woke up feeling jazzed, powerful and up--and put on a brown outfit?

I've always hated despised that brown Bobbi Brown makeup look--and the dogma that went with it.  She was always such a little Maoist about her "look."  Why, tell me, is brown or "earth tones" the only "natural" color palette for makeup?  It is if you're a corpse, I suppose.  I like my earth contained beneath a layer of bright green sod, thank you, with some posies around the edges.

Why the brown study?  A sad friend triggered a round of sadness "flashbacks" for me.  Time to unearth (again a brown process) the unresolved issues.  I tried not to--went to the garden store and bought several flats of spring flowers to plant. But they're still sitting on the porch, accusingly wilted.  It never pays to fight the brown study.  Now that I've paid homage, maybe I can get those flowers in the ground.

Comments

[anemone]

Yes.. yes.. yes! Let's please do away with the lack of color in everything. After having spent the 90's and the first few years of the 00's in black clothes and neutral makeup, my subconcious has finally revolted and now I'm finding myself attracted to all sorts of hues. And what fun!

[Jack]

I remember a few years ago when Bobbi Brown started coming out with brightly coloured eye shadows and lip colours, everyone was a bit, "Whoa, what's going on?" She built her brand on the neutral, don't-let-the-makeup-wear-you thing that appealed to women who - like Bobbi - are middle class mothers, probably suburban dwellers. I think she's done a good job in that niche, but yes, let's move on the years of neutral everything and matte lips. The first time I played with colour on my own face, I found myself holding my breath: Would the world split into a fiery ball of flames? As I've said, it's more fun to play around, even if every look isn't a keeper.