ARS AROMATICA

2. Country of origin:
Canada, specifically Upper Canada.

3. How many red lipsticks do you own?
15-20, depending on how strictly you define "red".

4. Most worn, beloved item of clothing in your closet?
It's a toss-up between my much-abused black Repetto BB flats and a pair of lightweight, wide-legged jeans from Paige. I dread the day when these give up the ghost.

5. How do you take your coffee?
I have a Bialetti moka pot and Nespresso milk foamer at home -- the latter being a mildly absurd item that I use daily, while more practical items like spatulas languish in the drawer. At home, I make lattes with skim milk, a little cinnamon and a teaspoon or two of sugar. When I just need a caffeine boost at work, it's Java Blend dark roast with 18% cream.

6. Pet peeve, just beauty:
Unblended eyeshadow, especially when it's dark. It invariably looks uneven and awful, as if you scribbled on your eyelids with a Sharpie. Actually, stretch that to any dramatic makeup that's ineptly put on.

7. Which product has kept your loyalty for longest?
The Body Shop's cocoa butter lip balm has been my favourite for a long time.

8. Skin type:
Normal/combination: a bit oily in the T-zone, a bit dry elsewhere, and not at all sensitive.

9. What was your undergraduate major?
I started out in English, then switched to history. I'm not sure that was actually a good idea -- I adore litcrit -- but there's nothing quite so bad as a bad English class.

10. Have you ever cut your own hair?
Many times. I can't say I was ever particularly skilled at it, but my hair is long and wavy, hence forgiving.

11. What blogs do you check daily?
The Last Psychiatrist, The A.V. Club's TV section, The Non-Blonde.

12. The five most extravagant things on your wishlist:
- A lustrous Italian leather briefcase, in dark brown, that isn't monogrammed with anyone else's initials.
- A decent pantsuit: I don't aspire to the highest quality at this point in my life, but even J. Crew will set you back some.

- I've developed a crush on Le Metier de Beauté's lipsticks. The one I ordered from Neiman Marcus (Ken Downing's coral, btw) came broken and I still love it (and I am too lazy to complain to NM, though I really should.) I've decided that $32 USD is a stupid price to pay for a lipstick, but I still want more. Alas.

- Really lovely underwear. I spend my actual life in Liz Lemon-style T-shirt bras and pyjamas from Joe Fresh: everything else shows through clothes or is too costly and high-maintenance. But someday.

- And all right: I love the Hermès Kelly. It doesn't matter how many trashy celebrities carry it; I love it. It is highly unlikely that I will ever be able to afford a new one, and that's okay, but maybe, just maybe, there will come a day when I can splurge on one secondhand.

13. Signature scent:
I don't think I really have one because my job requires me to spend a fair amount of time in "scent free" buildings. Applying perfume is no longer part of my daily routine. But: Mitsouko. I treasure my bottle of the discontinued PDT.

14. Fashion and film---which inspires you most?
The Fred & Ginger movies, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The Graduate. (Mrs. Robinson is hot.)

15. When you binge on snacks, do you prefer salt or sweet?
Usually sweets. I like to chew on Gummi Bears and Twizzlers when I'm studying for an exam.

16. How do you highlight your best feature?
I like eyeliner and mascara, a lot, and I think my fondness for red lipstick has a lot to do with the way it contrasts with green eyes.

17. Where is your favorite place to shop for makeup?
Online, definitely online. Canadian prices are jacked up from American ones -- not to the obscene extent Australians experience, certainly, but enough that it's often cheaper to order from elsewhere and pay shipping than to pay the markup here. And I live in a small city where a lot of brands are unavailable in the brick-and-mortar stores.

18. Dream vacation:
Oh god. There's almost nowhere I don't want to go, but I really, really want to visit France again.

19. Worst habit:
In a beauty context...I touch my hair way too much. I twist it, run my fingers through it, otherwise expose it to unnecessary friction, and then I'm grossed out when I get split ends.

20. The beauty maxim you live by:
Sunscreen. Always sunscreen.