Good to be Back// Mouthwash Update

Remember the early 2008/2009 personal style fashion blogger? I do. I look back on those times with a smile. It was before bloggers were "sponsored"; before random gift packages from American Apparel appeared on doorsteps, and before the rise of the photographer boyfriend, who had an insane amount of talent in Photoshop. It was before fashion bloggers removed .blogspot or .wordpress from their names and before they were flown half way across the world to sit front row at fashion shows. Yes, the fashion blogger has come a long long way since those "early days". Now, we have professional full time fashion bloggers.

Beyoncé, Libya and Viagra

Screen shots (mine) from Beyoncé's new music video, (Girls) Run the World

Today I'm taking a break from nail polish tutorials, new purchases and outfit posts. Something has been weighing on my mind lately, and I'm angry. Is anger the right word? I feel helpless. I don't know which I feel more: anger or helplessness.

In Libya, a land where a woman's identity is largely judged by her sexual purity, rape is not only a personal nightmare (as it would be for all of us), but also a public shame. The way some families are responding to this shame, is through honor killings: Killing their family member who has been raped. Some women are pregnant.

With rumors of Viagra shipments, rape has become a weapon of war. This is a genocide that is being facilitated from the most unlikely place: the victim's home.

I'm angry. This makes me sick. I don't usually try to hold on to my anger. However for this I am not willing to let go of it. If it is my anger that has to keep me up at night, and drag me out of bed the next morning, so be it. I'm not going to sit here behind my computer, reading little snippets of news that pops up on my iGoogle homepage, and simply post to Facebook with "#smh" above it.

Understandably, women will often try to hide their rape from their families. However, if they are pregnant...

 Today dear readers, I am asking for your help. From my experiences in networking, I have seen time and time again the theory of 6 degrees of separation play true. If any of you know someone in Libya, or of someone who has ties to Libya, and would be willing to let me get into contact with them, would you please pass along their info? 
Also, I am trying to get a hold of as many birth control/Plan B/Emergency Contraception as possible. If any of you would like to donate what you can, I would be grateful. Right now I am working on getting in touch with as many emergency relief organizations as possible, and to get these medications into the hands of the victims. 

So why Beyoncé? I have nothing against her, her music, or this song. But rather, these screen shots are here only to pose the question, in the case of these victims of rape and honor killings, who runs their world?

New

 I have been carrying this bag non-stop!

Summer Solstice

Welcoming summer solstice...

Your Comments and My Quirks

Jennifer! Oh I do hope you get to visit France some day. It's magical. I know that everyone is obsessed with Paris (and with good reason!), but there are other amazing places;

Amber's Mouthwash received the Stylish Blogger Award!

Miss Jennifer Fabulous from I Know, Right? Has kindly awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award! 

What an honor. Thank you so much Jennifer! I highly recommended hopping on to over her blog - you will love her quirky writing and outlook on life, and her humorous spin on stories. 

BAM! The award:

As a receiver of the award, I am to make 7 little known facts about myself, known. So, in an act of good faith in my beloved readers, here you go:

The Man Repeller

"In life, there will unavoidably come a time when you are confronted with millennial concerns and problems that will beg immediate care and solutions. Questions like, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop? Which did come first: the chicken or the egg? Was God there when Margaret called? Are we human? Or are we dancer? And of course, do detachable studded collars fall into the category of man repelling or runway propelling?" - Leandra,aka The Man Repeller 

(quoted from Refiner29, featured post.)

For this and more, why I love The Man Repeller blog!  

PS A big welcome to my new followers Blonde Girl from Just Jump, [Treton],  Style is a Habit, and Michelle Lee! Thank you so much you guys and welcome to Amber's Mouthwash!

"I said don't stop, Do punk rock!" by Jennifer Fabulous [Guest Post]

Hello readers of Amber's Mouthwash! I am Jennifer Fabulous, one of the coolest bloggers in the entire world. (I'm not vain, just realistic.)

I have been through a roller coaster of emotions recently regarding this awesome blog. I was at first selfishly devastated that my bff Amber was taking a break. Then, I felt compassion that she needed a break. And then I was super duper excited that she wanted me to guest post while she was on the break!

I'm mentally exhausted now.

Today, I'm going to talk about a really fabulous style icon: Debbie Harry.

Quiet

I'm going to be going offline for a while. I've found that sometimes my happiness and quality of day depends too much on the number of hits Amber's Mouthwash gets per day/month, comments, or if a high profile blogger posts an outfit similar to mine before I do. Not too healthy I think.
Twitter, Facebook and whatever else will most likely go silent as well. It won't be a complete sign-off, probably just sporadic-visitation. Perhaps someone would like to guest blog for Amber's Mouthwash for a while? I've put in 3 years at this blog and would hate to see it all fade away. If so, send me an e-mail, and you can take over while I'm gone.
I truly value all my readers, and it really REALLY means a lot to me the support that you have given me. Please don't get me wrong - I'm not in the least complaining about my blog, or about my readers. I simply think that I have gotten caught up in a needless numbers game. That's not why I got into blogging, so I am simply trying to regain my morale. I will be back! Just need a breather. I would however love to post any guest-posts or articles you send my way. Just send me an e-mail at: ambersmouthwash@gmail.com 

PS.

On a rather ironic note, yesterday while at the mall with Megan, I was recognized! A guy came up to me in a store and said "Excuse me...but I feel like I have seen you before..Do you - are you- do you have a website?" HA!

On the Bright Side...

Esperanza Spalding for InStyle Magazine, May '11, images found

I've got a thing for girls with curls and Afros. It just makes everything all the more fun, wouldn't you agree? Esperanza won a Grammy for best new artist, at 23 years old. Talented and stunning! Also, makes me want hot pink pants.

P.S.

Thank you for all your support with the last post. For now, the behavior has stopped. But, not before someone else downloaded the image I put up of all the download activity. HA! I can see the humor in it, actually.