Smell ya later, 2020. (This is an old photo from Smell ya later, 2020. 

(This is an old photo from this summer when I did my Harley Quinn makeup, but the energy felt right.)

I’ll be honest, I think the first half of 2021 is gonna be brutal but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, babes. We are almost there so stay safe and stay diligent.
I posted an embarrassing photo in my stories so I I posted an embarrassing photo in my stories so I have to balance it by posting a hot one here 😂 Also wow I haven’t posted since HALLOWEEN. I’ve been spending most of my IG time on my candle account, @brennancandleco, but I truly MISS Y’ALL. I formed so many great relationships over the years and I want to get back to that. So you’ll be seeing more of me, probably in a less curated way than you used to. I might lose some of y’all but I hope the ones I call friends will stick around because I really do miss you. 

And lastly, if you ARE into more business-y content from me, follow @brennancandleco, there are some pretty awesome things happening over there if I do say so myself.

Photo by @narirophoto
I may be at home, but I wasn't going to miss out o I may be at home, but I wasn't going to miss out on transforming into Furiosa. 

2020 has been a heck of a year, and I think we're all feeling a bit like we're stuck in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Ready to turn things around and kick our own Immortan Joe to the curb.

Happy Halloween. Stay home.
My latest project: @brennancandleco 🖤 My latest project: @brennancandleco 🖤
Welp I think this negative space mani is my new si Welp I think this negative space mani is my new signature look so prepare to get sick of seeing it in different colors. 💅🏻
Our tomato plants finally started flourishing and Our tomato plants finally started flourishing and thennnnn there was snow in the forecast 🙃 Tomorrow we are supposed to get quite a lot and I’m very cranky about it. Hoping our plants survive but more importantly, I hope the snow puts out the wildfires that seem to be never ending. It’s been a brutal summer for many reasons, but it’s still pretty cool to look at this bowl and know we grew these tomatoes from seeds. Also there’s currently zucchini bread in the oven from our garden ☺️
I am so so so grateful to @crispy.ray for designin I am so so so grateful to @crispy.ray for designing this and putting it on my body, y’all 😍 They are SUCH a talented artist and all around great person. I felt super comfortable and they executed my vision perfectly. 👽 I’ve been a diehard X Files fan since I was a kid (swipe for evidence and a photo of me and Gillian Anderson where I have never felt uglier lmao), so this means a ton.

Re: COVID-19. Truthfully I felt super nervous to get my tattoo and super nervous to post it here. I’ve still been doing my best to stay home but am also (like many of you, I think) struggling mentally. So where is the balance? Honestly I don’t know. I haven’t had a haircut (besides doing it myself), had my nails done, or sat down to eat except for once (and it was a place with no servers). I barely see anyone except my husband. Some days it’s fine and others it’s “how much more of this can I take?” So anyway. I took a risk, but @blackbirdinktattoo was taking everything very seriously. All were masked and sanitized (duh it’s a tattoo place) and I specifically chose a leg tattoo so Christa and I wouldn’t be breathing on each other. I long for the day when things are normal again. I long for the day when I can see my family again. But for now, I’ll try to safely find small pockets of joy and normalcy and ride those little waves until the next pocket of joy.
Dennis and Sweet Dee are here to help ward off the Dennis and Sweet Dee are here to help ward off the Sunday scaries 🐾 In case you missed it in my stories, these are our newest fosters! (We just decided on names today - I think having to name two slowed us down 🤣) Usually we only have pups for three nights but we had to keep these little pals for an extra week before they’re ready to be adopted. 

Also I PROMISE I am going to record a video/write a post about fostering this week so keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Annnnd last but not least if you’re in the Denver area and looking for a puppy, message me if you want more info on either of these little ones! 🥰
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is still one of my f Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is still one of my favorite movies from the past five years, please don’t judge me 😂🙈 “Hey! You’re Rick f*cking Dalton. Don’t you forget it.” (that line was improvised btw - it was based on something someone told Brad Pitt once when he was struggling 💕 I just love that.)

Print by @rbrunoill
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Fashion · April 23, 2018

Diversity Matters

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and/or make a purchase, I may earn a few cents at no additional cost to you. Any products gifted by a brand will be marked "c/o." Thanks for helping make this blog possible! <3

Okay I’m going to dance around some things today so as not to get my butt sued, so try to bear with me. This past weekend in Dallas, there was a huge influencer conference hosted by (probably) the largest and most well known influencer company. They’re based in Dallas. Tons of bloggers use their product on Instagram. You get my drift?

Well, if you checked out the hashtag for the event, you’ll see lots of beautiful photos. Tons of well dressed ladies, lots of flowers, props…it’s influencer catnip. But you probably also noticed something that (should be) glaringly obvious…..a HILARIOUS lack of diversity. I scrolled through the hashtag after day 2 of the conference and saw ONE person of color. She wasn’t an influencer though. I wish I was joking. There’s also a major lack of diversity in body size and even personal style!!!! (I probably shouldn’t type this but here I go) My friends and I joke sometimes because I have a bit of “face blindness” for a lot of influencers. They all look the same to me and dang, as I scrolled through the hashtag I was basically looking at photos of the SAME people.

And it’s a freaking JOKE.

It’s shameful.

It’s the reason you won’t see me linking ANYTHING on my site or social media with their links anymore. I won’t support them as a company by putting their name on my content, and I SURE won’t support their pocketbook anymore.

As Marrica (aka @flauntyourfro) discussed on her Instagram stories yesterday, this conference is not only a place to be seen, it’s also a place for actual networking. The influencers there get personal meetings with three brands, which almost guarantees them amazing partnerships that other influencers will never get. This company is continuing to boost up those who are already doing well (because SUPPOSEDLY only the top 200 earners attend the conference but….well, I won’t comment any further on that). It’s systemic oppression, plain and simple. The ladies who attend the conference work hard, and I’m not trying to diminish what they do, but it’s the same women who get featured on Instagram all the time by this platform. They’re getting one opportunity after another, while women of color (and anyone else outside their cookie cutter mold) are left in the dust.

What can we do about it?

Honestly, I think the BIGGEST thing you can do is to support bloggers that you love who *don’t* get the love and recognition they deserve. Give them likes and comments (seriously that is a HUGE help), share their posts with friends and family who might be interested (an even huge-r help lol), and ESPECIALLY be generous with likes and comments on sponsored content. We work hard for partnerships and they’re keeping our blogs afloat. Also if the influencer is doing things right, their sponsored content should be just as good as all the rest of their content!

If you’re feeling REALLY generous, support your favorite bloggers financially. Ask if you can send them a few bucks via PayPal as a thank you for their awesome content. Most bloggers give away a TON of helpful information for free on a regular basis, if you find it helpful you can give them a little tip! It’s common practice for artists and other content creators, but for whatever reason it hasn’t become common practice for bloggers. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but hey, you asked what to do about it (well, really I asked in a rhetorical way, but….ya know).

SO ANYWAY. Let’s focus on the positive.

There ARE bloggers out there that are diverse. They are inclusive. They are interesting. They look like you. They thrift some of their clothes and/or shop the clearance racks. They write MEANINGFUL posts. They shop ethically. They only use cruelty free beauty products. They live in your city. I promise you these bloggers exist and I’m really sorry that you have to dig a little harder to find them. If you’re reading this you might already know about the Diversity Chic ladies, but I promise you there are many more out there in Dallas and beyond. It’s hard to not get discouraged, but if we give up now it’s only going to get worse. Seek out the creators who are making content you love!

It’s been a while since we’ve done an actual Diversity Chic post, but these photos just felt “right” for this particular subject. I know we don’t do these posts monthly anymore, but I hope it’s still okay that we pop in occasionally 🙂 Also, say hello to Caro Merino – she was kind enough to lend her beautiful self to our Diversity Chic shoot!  This time around, everyone is wearing one of the newest shirts in my shop (Fiercely by Valery Brennan) and it’s DEFINITELY a new favorite.

“The future is female” shirts always make me cringe a little bit. I know it’s based on a feminist shirt from the 1970s, and back then it probably felt revolutionary….but today it feels outdated. It excludes trans women and I’m not down for that. So, I created one of my own – a shirt that represents all women. I’m so thankful Sevi (and her sweet baby, Delilah!), Denise, Stephanie and Carolina were willing to model, get up early and look fierce AF on this unseasonably cold April morning.

If you want to shop the shirt yourself, you can find the adult version here and the little ones version here.

xoxo
Valery

In: Fashion

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Comments

  1. Whitney says

    April 24, 2018 at 7:57 AM

    I actually found your blog for the first time because of a Diversity Chic post forever ago! Thank you so much for writing this blog post. It really, really needed to be said.

  2. Tanea says

    April 24, 2018 at 8:04 AM

    You are so right about this. Diversity is important and it’s sad that….a certain company….chooses to be that way (especially when Dallas is such a diverse city?!). I’m already not “good” enough to be part of their program but I suppose that’s for the best.

  3. Ali A says

    April 25, 2018 at 10:05 AM

    Thanks for writing this! A few bloggers have brought my attention to your post and it’s so, so important.

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Smell ya later, 2020. (This is an old photo from Smell ya later, 2020. 

(This is an old photo from this summer when I did my Harley Quinn makeup, but the energy felt right.)

I’ll be honest, I think the first half of 2021 is gonna be brutal but there is a light at the end of the tunnel, babes. We are almost there so stay safe and stay diligent.
I posted an embarrassing photo in my stories so I I posted an embarrassing photo in my stories so I have to balance it by posting a hot one here 😂 Also wow I haven’t posted since HALLOWEEN. I’ve been spending most of my IG time on my candle account, @brennancandleco, but I truly MISS Y’ALL. I formed so many great relationships over the years and I want to get back to that. So you’ll be seeing more of me, probably in a less curated way than you used to. I might lose some of y’all but I hope the ones I call friends will stick around because I really do miss you. 

And lastly, if you ARE into more business-y content from me, follow @brennancandleco, there are some pretty awesome things happening over there if I do say so myself.

Photo by @narirophoto
I may be at home, but I wasn't going to miss out o I may be at home, but I wasn't going to miss out on transforming into Furiosa. 

2020 has been a heck of a year, and I think we're all feeling a bit like we're stuck in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Ready to turn things around and kick our own Immortan Joe to the curb.

Happy Halloween. Stay home.
My latest project: @brennancandleco 🖤 My latest project: @brennancandleco 🖤
Welp I think this negative space mani is my new si Welp I think this negative space mani is my new signature look so prepare to get sick of seeing it in different colors. 💅🏻
Our tomato plants finally started flourishing and Our tomato plants finally started flourishing and thennnnn there was snow in the forecast 🙃 Tomorrow we are supposed to get quite a lot and I’m very cranky about it. Hoping our plants survive but more importantly, I hope the snow puts out the wildfires that seem to be never ending. It’s been a brutal summer for many reasons, but it’s still pretty cool to look at this bowl and know we grew these tomatoes from seeds. Also there’s currently zucchini bread in the oven from our garden ☺️
I am so so so grateful to @crispy.ray for designin I am so so so grateful to @crispy.ray for designing this and putting it on my body, y’all 😍 They are SUCH a talented artist and all around great person. I felt super comfortable and they executed my vision perfectly. 👽 I’ve been a diehard X Files fan since I was a kid (swipe for evidence and a photo of me and Gillian Anderson where I have never felt uglier lmao), so this means a ton.

Re: COVID-19. Truthfully I felt super nervous to get my tattoo and super nervous to post it here. I’ve still been doing my best to stay home but am also (like many of you, I think) struggling mentally. So where is the balance? Honestly I don’t know. I haven’t had a haircut (besides doing it myself), had my nails done, or sat down to eat except for once (and it was a place with no servers). I barely see anyone except my husband. Some days it’s fine and others it’s “how much more of this can I take?” So anyway. I took a risk, but @blackbirdinktattoo was taking everything very seriously. All were masked and sanitized (duh it’s a tattoo place) and I specifically chose a leg tattoo so Christa and I wouldn’t be breathing on each other. I long for the day when things are normal again. I long for the day when I can see my family again. But for now, I’ll try to safely find small pockets of joy and normalcy and ride those little waves until the next pocket of joy.
Dennis and Sweet Dee are here to help ward off the Dennis and Sweet Dee are here to help ward off the Sunday scaries 🐾 In case you missed it in my stories, these are our newest fosters! (We just decided on names today - I think having to name two slowed us down 🤣) Usually we only have pups for three nights but we had to keep these little pals for an extra week before they’re ready to be adopted. 

Also I PROMISE I am going to record a video/write a post about fostering this week so keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Annnnd last but not least if you’re in the Denver area and looking for a puppy, message me if you want more info on either of these little ones! 🥰
Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is still one of my f Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is still one of my favorite movies from the past five years, please don’t judge me 😂🙈 “Hey! You’re Rick f*cking Dalton. Don’t you forget it.” (that line was improvised btw - it was based on something someone told Brad Pitt once when he was struggling 💕 I just love that.)

Print by @rbrunoill
Complementary 🧡💙 If you have hooded lids and Complementary 🧡💙 If you have hooded lids and/or you’re scared about mixing colors, this is such an easy way to do it, y’all! Monochromatic on top (I incorporated an orange shimmer but you could keep it super simple and just blend out one shadow), and then a different color on bottom. I was worried the blue would look too heavy on me since my eyes are a bit downturned but I think it turned out just fine! 

I’m using a @shopaltergo palette again here, this one is a dupe for the Natasha Denona Metropolis palette ($129). The Alter Ego palette is a whopping $22….and so far it’s a GEM. I don’t have ND so I can’t compare them directly but I didn’t have any issues with these shadows at all.

Lips are @lagirlcosmetics liner in Keep It Spicy + @flowerbeauty lipstick in Spiced Petal
Brows are eyeshadow and a bar of soap

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