Jena Kingsley

Jena Kingsley was my first “twitter crush”. I feel lame as I write this but I considered Jena my friend even before I met her or even emailed her or even talked to her on the phone.  Hell, we never even exchanged text messages but we were twitter friends and for some reason I knew we were meant to be.  As soon as we realized that we had a mutual friend we had our first setup. Hands down the BEST first date ever and we closed down the restaurant.  The universe was aligned and I am so happy to have Jena as a friend.  She is hilarious and crushworthy beyond belief.  This is the start of a beautiful friendship…

Jena is the writer of the popular blogs Darcy Dates & The Darcy Report.  She also has a Huffington Post column and is a new contributing writer to beautyblitz.com.   Look out for her article in the September issue of The New York Observer’s children magazine, Scooter,  exploring the online world of kids!  You can always crush on Jena on Twitter @jenakingsley!

Jena’s Crushworthy Secrets  

Crushworthy Makeup  and Hair Secrets:

I don’t wear a lot of makeup. I believe in moisture! Moisturizer all the way! I could swim in buckets of La Mer I love it so much! But good old fashion Oil Of Olay also does the trick! I was born with a ton of freckles. I don’t think freckles and foundation go well together, so I go for light tinted moisturizers to give myself a dewy glow (or at least I like to believe that). I also love the under eye highlighter, Toucle Eclat by YSL. I use a tiny bit of blush and on my lips I love La Mer Lip balm. While it is colorless, it gives my lips a youthful glow and it tastes great! Mascara always gives me a finished look when it isn’t running down my face, which used to be often, until my friend told me to blot a bit of powder under my eyes and voila! Problem solved.

I have really thick hair and don’t have the skill or the patience to sit and blow dry my hair or get regular blowouts. My best friend suggested I try the Con-Air blow dryer with the built in brush. It saved my life, and I can’t live without it since. It’s like blow-drying for dummies. Anyone can do it and you just can’t do it wrong!

Crushworthy Tips and Tricks:

Running in the park is a great way to keep myself relaxed and sane. For me, it’s better than therapy.

Also great friends are high on my list for keeping me crushworthy. I have some of the best friends a girl can ask for. Truly. I don’t know what I would do without them and I believe they make my world a better place. I also know they will always have my back 100% of the time, which is pretty darn crushworthy.

Crushworthy Uniform:

1) Skinny jeans! I wear them every day.

2) I have an extensive collection of vintage concert t-shirts. Truth be told I hoard them. Some girls are bags, I am t-shirts. I think an awesome t-shirt (Chaser being my current fav) can be worn with jeans and flip flops, or dressed up with skinny black pants, patent Louboutins, and a hot little leather jacket for a night on the town. (Did I just say night on the town? Soon I am going to start saying slacks and dungarees.)

3) This year I was hooked on my leather Rick Owens jacket. I am a big fan of anything with ¾ sleeves.

4) My bright blue Goyard tote. I never thought these words would leave my mouth. My best friend swore by hers and I mocked her for years about her “lady bag”. It couldn’t have been less “my style”. Until I picked one up one day and it was the lightest bag I had ever held. It was love at first carry. I always say there is a fine line between being a mother, and being a Sherpa. This bag fits everything. It’s like a clown car. I had to of course give it a little bit of me by adding some bright racing stripes and over sized initials but I haven’t used any of my other bags since!

5) Finally, my watch. It’s the only piece of “fancy” jewelry” I wear. It’s a men’s gold watch. Something about it is so chic to me.

Oh wait, I know it’s only supposed to be 5, but I had to add a bonus!

6) I just bought the best pair of boots ever from Fiorentini + Baker. I love them so much I want to marry them, and I know I will LIVE in these every day this fall and winter.

One thing I can say about crushworthy style is it doesn’t matter what you are wearing, it’s how you wear it. I was raised by a fashion designer, so style risks were always encouraged in my house. Crushworthy outfits, in my opinion, are when you are able to mix a bunch of random things together that don’t really match and you are able to pull it off. Like my favorite pair of dirty slip on vans with a pastel Proenza Schouler boucle jacket, a lot of people wouldn’t think to combine the two, but I think that’s what makes it crushworthy!

Crushworthy Restaurant or Date Night:

Eating at the bar at Joseph Leonard in the West Village. For a second you can forget you are even in Manhattan.

The most crushworthy restaurant for date night with my son? The Mermaid Inn. It’s totally kid friendly! They give you fortune fish at the end of dinner, and my son and I love to see our fortune!

Crushworthy Guilty Pleasure:

How much time do you have? I’d say my number one guilty pleasure is reality TV. I watch The Real housewives of everywhere. To be completely honest, I would watch The Real Housewives of the van down by the river if they had it.

I also go to concerts ALL THE TIME. It’s almost a disorder. I like to sit incredibly close and dance the entire time. It’s good for the soul.

And live games at MSG! I am a HUGE Knicks and Rangers fan. I go to as many games as I can. My friends joke that I can move in there and be totally content. They are right.

Crushworthy Trip: 

I love beaches and warm weather. However, this year my most crushworthy trip was skiing out west. I am a bit of an adrenalin junkie and like to spend the day skiing crazy bumps. My favorite moment was when my son turned to me and said “I only want to ski moguls from here on out.” That’s when I knew he was my kid.

Crushworthy Kid Product:

The Perplexus. Have you seen this toy? It’s genius. Every child should have one. Parents will love it too!

Crushworthy Home:

I think it’s important to have some great pieces you love. Things that resonate with you for one reason or another. I also think your apartment should show your character. I play the guitar and I love music like crazy. I have four guitars in my living room (two of them are my sons). I like to say it looks like the Partridge family exploded in there. But it makes me happy.

I also have an enormous black and white picture by Terry O’Neill hanging in my dining room of Frank Sinatra and his body double walking down the boardwalk in Atlantic City with their bodyguards. I don’t know why, but I love this picture. I could stare at it for hours.  I also have a stuffed alligator head on one of my coffee tables. I like creepy things. What can I say?

Oh! My son and I spend a lot of time watching movies in my bed, so I’d have to add a high thread count! That makes my bedroom crushworthy!

And what makes someone Crushworthy to you?  

Someone who knows who they are, and they embrace it. They are real. Someone who is a great friend. Oh, and funny! To me, FUNNY is super crushworthy!