Style Diary: Cynthia

Sometimes you do not have to look far for style. Our Style Diary fashionista today may live in Maryland but is much closer to home than we think. I have been Addicted to Etsy for a while now, little did I know that the brains behind this amazing blog was my very own home girl! You know me, I wasted no time in grueling her and getting her to spill it all out on our favourite Style Diary segment.  But before, we begin perusing her styles, I’d like to take a moment to say kudos to Cynthia for creating such an amazing blog. There is something for everyone no matter their taste. It is honestly worth checking out.

Meet her…Name is Cynthia. Born in Maryland, raised in Douala, Cameroon, returned to live in NYC about 15 years ago. I practice Law, so during the day its all serious,Nah my job is pretty laid back except when in the middle of litigation or court appearances. In my downtime, I love travelling, reading and baking. (gimme a beautiful cookbook any day).

ABY: What is your dressing style? What influences your style choices? I think fashion blogs have been great, especially in terms of translating high end to high street- they are definitely great inspiration. Mainly I’m not into labels for the most part- I can appreciate it, but I seldom shell out for that. I like what I like, and I’m glad that I’m finally better at figuring out what suits me. In terms of style aesthetic, I like it all. Some days you want clean and polished, others you want more bohemian or ethnic, even fun and sporty. It depends on the weather, the season or even where I am.

Loving the diversity. Do you have any favourite clothing brands though? Well, I generally look to Zara, H&M for everyday work clothes. I might swing by J.Crew. I recently fell in love with uber-affordable UniQlo skinny jeans- best fit ever. And in the summers, I shop at Forever 21 a lot. I do flea markets, Etsy and the like every now and then, especially for accessories, and this is NYC, so theres a bunch of little shops you run into and find something nice. 

ABY: What is the secret to your glow? Cleanse and moisturize. Thats about it. I use minimal makeup. Mostly concealer with some powder. I like a good mascara. After years of trying every which mascara possible and spending loads of moolah only to be disappointed, the mascara I use now that works best for me is BLack Radiance Lengthening. I purchase several at a time online  at 88cents a piece. I know, but it works.

ABY: Any brands you prefer when it comes to make-up? Black Opal – Surprisingly, their concealer and powder match my complexion perfectly. I tried others in past and I liked them best…If it ain’t broke, why fix it. I know most ladies swear by MAC, but I havent had any reason yet to move away from what’s working. I own only one lipstick and its the TARTE lip pencil in Fiery for special occasions), otherwise, all I use is Burt’s Bees.

What is the most beautiful thing about you? Oh wow, I would have to go slightly cheesy on you, but I would like to think that better than my hair, eyes etc,it’s my heart. it’s the one thing I have worked on the most.  I really do want the best for people, I can hardly bear seeing injustice or suffering. I think because I am shy and reserved, sometimes people don’t see it. But in my life I strive to be the kindest person possible, I try to remember to smile, to treat people well, to love wholly, to care and to be better. Staying clear of negativity always. 

ABY: That is one precious trait. We’ll make sure to be stealing that attitude as well, apart from the style that is! If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not famous, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be and why?  First instinct, someone like Leymah Gbowee of Liberia– people who could be so strong, so selfless- even when not physically or financially strong, that is the most difficult thing to be. That’s more interesting to me than say an Oprah, Bill Gates or any of the more powerful or rich people. But thinking about it some more, I’ll have to say my mum, I would like to see myself through her eyes. I think it’ll be interesting to say the least.

ABY: Your favourite music track would be…?  ouch, that is an at the moment question, it changes everyday. So I’ll go with a standard on my playlist: Sam Cooke: “Bring it on home to me”. Oh and Adele’s version of Bob Dylan’s “Make you feel my love” and …..I’ll stop. I could keep going and going and going…

ABY: What is the last book you read? The last book I finished was Mockingjay (last of hunger games trilogy) but I am currently reading Game of Thrones. For such a big book, its a really fast read, as the pace never lets up. 

ABY: I like how you said ‘finished’. We all start books and don’t finish them sometimes. What would I find in your handbag right now?  You want the full rundown? well, there’s Burts bees lip balm, 3 pens I picked up from who knows where, my Ipad, headphones, sunglasses and generally way too much crap. 

ABY: Haha! Your house is in flames, what one item would you save out of your closet and why? See above, I don’t have any investment pieces or anything like that in my closet. If there’s a fire, I’m not running to my closet, instead I’ll be grabbing- all my tech (my Ipad, my phone, my Laptop and my hard drive). All my music, books, movies, pictures etc stored there. Oh and I have renters insurance- clothes I’ll replace. 

ABY: Your all time fashion icon is… I just adore Audrey Hepburn. I adore her gamine style, her eyebrows…its not my style, but I adore her and it worked so well on her.

ABY: Your favourite quote.  I just read this one and I love it. “Ever tried. Ever Failed. No matter. Try again. Fail Again. Fail Better.” by Samuel Beckett.

ABY: Where can we can catch you at?  Catch me at www.addicted2etsy.com 

What’s your advice to young people? Don’t ever sell yourself short. You’re better then you think, you’re smarter than you think, you’re capable of so much more than you think. 

Didn’t you just fall in love with Cyn? Thanks for stopping by my blog. If you have any questions or feedback, just drop them below or email artbecomesyou@yahoo.com. While I was completing this post, I couldn’t help but notice Cynthia’s full head of natural hair. Now, natural hair is a topic I love blogging about, so if you have any questions regarding that please drop them and I will have Cynthia give us her regime. 

Stay tuned,

Peace n Love 🙂