Jeffrey Campbell’s Blue Button Beauty Boot

image source modcloth.com

I’ve been giddy these past few seasons in regards to the fact that Victorian-esque shoes and boots have been in style and thus easy to find. Our Auxiliary Magazine crew have been a buzz about the shoe designer Jeffrey Campbell and these Blue Button Beauty Boots for Modcloth by Campbell have made our little hearts skip a beat. These boots have been described by Modcloth as posh and I couldn’t agree more! The luscious soft grey leather is accented by sapphire colored buttons, these two-tone boots are a modern take on a classic vintage design. These blue beauties could be worn with leggings, skinny jeans, or paired with all those bustle dresses in your closet.

The Blue Button Beauty Boot is available online at www.modcloth.com.

- Meagan

By Nieves natural body care products are an apothecary influenced natural body products rooted in the traditions of herbal medicine and natural pampering. Their products combine a sense of old world ingenuity and simple elegance that reinterprets well into the needs of the modern beauty product consumer.

“C”Perfect Skin

This may be a magic potion for your skin. We live more active lives, deal with a great deal more air borne pollutants in our daily lives, and have skyrocketing stress levels. Needless to say, our skin is putting up with more than ever. Nieve’s “C” perfect skin, used regularly over a course of week, recovered our test subjects skin from everyday wear to the point that she now regularly goes out without makeup. Her skin is clean and smooth, in visibly better condition, and glowingly healthy. For all the benefits though, be in store for some shocking results the first few days you use it. Especially if you experience some of the effects we witnessed. Notably, the serum seemed to be so effective on blackheads that they seemed to lift up out of the skin pores they are clogging and slough off in a slightly gross but effective process. This is a must have product, and extremely effective. Its natural ingredients are often replicated in other serums and skin treatments. There is nothing to exotic here. But in these particular ratios it does seem to be a more effective treatment than many other natural skin serums I have seen on the market.

Cloud of Protection

Cloud of protection is advertised as a mood and immunity lifting area spray as well as a hand sanitizer. And while the smell is wonderful, calming, a lightening, and it does make a more pleasing hand sanitizer than some of the nasty antibacterial slimes that are out there, we have found an even better use for it. I have not found a single product, in years, that covers and removes pet odors more economically that Cloud of Protection. One or Two sprays near a breezy window or vent is more than enough to circulate it through a whole room. Its a wonderful floral/herbal, but not sickly smell that seems to neutralize several of the more noxious odors of domestic animals, “fragrant” kitchens, and ripe bathrooms. Its not a chemically invasive as nasty aerosol air fresheners, and the effects last much longer. Even after the scent has faded, the air in the room will continue to feel lighter and fresher for some time.

- Luke

While The Birthday Massacre’s new album Pins And Needles doesn’t get released until next week (9/14) they have released a new video for their single “In The Dark”. The video is captivating, as a story progresses along it is broken up by the band rocking out under strobes. The song itself is a shining example of what the album contains. Be sure to check out the upcoming October/November issue (releasing October 1st) to read my full review.

Enjoy.

- Mike

Dolly Valentine’s Lynette Love Birds Dress

image source catslikeus.com

The Lynette Love Birds Dress is the second exclusive release by Dolly Valentine for Cats Like Us. This darling dress features cute little love birds with pink hearts on a black background, a modified sweet heart neck line, and a darling pink bow at the bust. The black elastic belt is removable, but if worn it gives a nice emphasis to your waist line and really flatters the overall design of the dress. You can pair this dress with a little shrug on those cooler date nights or dress it down with a cute pair of flip-flops for a shopping trip to the grocery store. I really love Dolly Valentine’s designs because she really understands modern women who love vintage-inspired designs!  I’m looking forward to more Cats Like Us exclusive dresses by Dolly Valentine.

The Lynette Love Birds Dress is available at www.catslikeus.com.

- Meagan

photo : Jennifer Link
hair : Erin Moser
makeup : Leane Steck
interview : Zach Rose

As an original member of Auxiliary Magazine, Luke Copping’s background in photography, marketing, and popular culture helps Auxiliary achieve the success that it enjoys. Luke’s unique approach to beauty, style, and character photography lends an aesthetic of quirk and dynamism that is entirely his own. An internationally recognized photographer, Luke’s style continues to evolve and his contributions to Auxiliary continue to lend content that is both exciting in nature and provocative in its styling.

What do you do at Auxiliary Magazine?

What don’t I do? As the Associate Editor I work on all aspects of the magazine. On top of writing and photographing several articles each issue, I work on design, marketing, editing, and advertising issues, I also work in article and shoot production, and I work closely with the rest of the editorial staff on the direction of each issue. I also manage a lot of the blog content. I’m sort of the jack of all trades, I go where the work needs to be done and tend to fill a lot of different spots on the magazine’s roster, as well as providing content as needed to fill holes in our issue layouts.

As an individual utilizing several different roles with Auxiliary, which do you find to be the most rewarding and why?

Its all good, and all an outlet for what I do. Whether I’m creating imagery or writing for the magazine, or launching a new marketing idea or plan. I think too many artists have a poor concept of business. I like to pride myself on having the skills to do both. You can’t run a successful venture like this without being both creative and business savvy. That’s why I enjoy working with the team here so much, they take it as seriously as I do, and truly want this venture to succeed.

How does Auxiliary Magazine influence local fashion markets? Non-local?

I’m not concerned with us influencing markets as a whole. I think that Auxiliary, at least in terms of my perception, is much more about pushing people to create their own styles, rather than being mere slaves to the fashions we show. I dread us ever becoming a magazine like Gothic Beauty, one which I feel simply regurgitates the latest pseudo alternative trends and uniforms that you see influence the club scene. I think our readers are more intelligent than that, have a wider range of interests and don’t need to be told what to wear, merely shown what is out there so they can make up their own minds. I try to introduce elements of fashion and style from a variety of backgrounds that other magazines either tend to deride or ignore simply because these aesthetics and ideas do not fit into what I feel are the small and narrowly defined categories that it seems these magazines adhere to. High fashion runway shows, vintage and thrift, DIY, street fashion, and elements of the South American, Eastern European, and Asian fashion scenes are all present throughout our editorials and blog entries. I think the most important element in developing an alternative fashion magazine is to absolutely NOT play to the stereotypes. These are bad trends and poorly thought out fashion ideas that propagate within the mob mentality of several alternative countercultures. I have no time for elitist tribes that espouse individuality while only allowing social creativity within a limited scope. We owe our readers more than that.

(more…)