Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Am I really going to look beautiful?


Welcome to my own personal version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory:

Seriously, if I could find someone to pay me to play with makeup all day long I would be the happiest person on the planet.

Gordon Espinet, VP of makeup artistry, and Nadine Luke, director of makeup artistry at M.A.C. Cosmetics spend weeks preparing for fashion week and the new collections that will eventually go out to the public and NY Mag has a pretty cool article and slide show that takes you through a little bit of the process.

Here are the some of the photos that made my heart skip a beat or two:

Metal pigment mixed with gloss. "It's like gold paint" that you can put "all over the body" according to Gordon.

Oh.Em.Gee. I want some. Immediately.


"The glitter is going to give you the sparkle. The bling. There is always room for glitter."

Ah, Gordon... A man after my own heart.











These are creams... Look at them all! I wouldn't know what to do with myself! The phrase "kid in a candy store" would not even begin to cover it.

Le Sigh. Maybe some day. For now? I'll enjoy the pictures and take myself down to the MAC store to play as much as I can.

In the meantime, I leave you with Gordon's final thoughts:

"Women, at the end of the day, we can tell them until we're freaking blue in the face about the cool factor of makeup, but ultimately she's going to look at you and say, 'Am I going to look really beautiful? Are people going to want to do me?' Basically that's what we're all looking for, right?"

Why, yes, Mr. Gordon. I believe it is.

[photo credits: nymag.com & melissa hom]

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Cause You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman


All-in-one products make me happy.

When you give me a whole kit of pre-matched eye-shadows complete with little cards to tell me the goof proof way of getting a fabulous "natural eye"? I'm freakin' thrilled.

So here's my newest favorite thing ever:

Too Faced Natural Eye Neutral Eye Shadow Collection





















This kit pretty much covers all the basics - color, highlight, smudge and mix and match to get the perfect natural (and not so natural) look.

I'm pretty lazy when it comes to my eye makeup a lot of the time. I tend to stick with either one color all over or a slightly darker color on the lid and then a quick highlighting color under the brows, add tons of mascara and viola - looks like I spent way more time on it than I did.

But when you idiot-proof it for me and I don't have to think? SWEET.

That's what this kit does. Sure, they give you those cute cards with a couple examples and they're great basic looks. But they give you NINE very pretty shadows. You can mix and match to your heart's content and still not come out looking like a crazy MAC ad (as much as I adore MAC, nobody needs fuchsia eye shadow. Why would you want to make yourself look like you had a raging case of pink-eye? I just don't get it.)

So the kit isn't all that cheap, but you do get nine shadows for $34 bucks, which is an average of about $3.78 per shadow - that's totally a drug-store price. Just pretend you went on a splurge!

I definitely think it's worth it and I've been using this little baby almost every day since getting it.

Plus, I just love the names of the eye shadows. Can someone hire me to come up with names like that? How awesome would that be? Almost as fun as being the one to come up with the OPI or Essie nail polish names.

Here's what you get:


Heaven (matte ivory)
Velvet Revolver (matte taupe)
Sexpresso (matte deep brown)

Silk Teddy (peach champagne shimmer)
Push-Up (light bronze shimmer)
Erotica (soft charcoal shimmer)

Nude Beach (champagne shimmer with gold glitter)
Honey Pot (gold shimmer)
Cocoa Puff (warm chocolate brown shimmer)

The directions stick using the colors together by row, but I've pretty much just been picking whatever colors I want and going for it and so far it's worked pretty well. My favorites so far are Silk Teddy and Erotica. Sexpresso is also a pretty awesome shade to use as an eyeliner. All of the shadows have a great silky texture that blends effortlessly, never flakes, and stays on all day. The best part is really that all nine colors are practical and easy to wear. I love Urban Decay palettes as much as the next girl, but the chances of using all of the colors on a regular basis in those is slim to none. You'll definitely get much more use out of this.

So yeah, basically... GO GET THIS! You won't regret it. I promise.

Check out this review from Karen at The Makeup and Beauty Blog for a ton of color swatches and more info.

[photo credits: sephora.com]

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Hey... J-J-J-Jaded...



"Yeah, I'm talkin' about you..."

That's right, Chanel. I'm lookin' at you.

You and your absurdly priced, quality-lacking, easily-chipping nail polish.

Pardonnez-moi, I mean Le Vernis Nail Colour.

Well, okay... Maybe I was a little harsh. Only some of the Chanel polishes I've tried have been easily-chipping... But still. $25 bucks for a nail polish? I can get a pretty snazzy uber-manicure with a stellar massage for $25 bucks.

And yet... I LOVE this color. It's from their latest and greatest collection and matches this Jade-bead necklace my mother always wore when I was little to a tee. It comes in this lovely pale-seafoamy-green-with-a-slight-shimmer shade called Jade and an equally pretty pale pink shade called Jade Rose.

I've heard a ton of mixed reviews about it already, and every time I convince myself that it's not worth the money or that it's a useless color (I mean how often will I want to wear GREEN nail polish??) I just keep looking at the little bottle and sighing. I still want it.

Somebody just smack me over the head, would you? PLEASE?

But look how PRETTY!!

Melanie Parker over at the wonderful Blogdorf Goodman has concerns over the streakyness of the polish (even after three coats) while a Teen Vogue beauty blogger wishes she could tattoo this color on her nails forever.

And then there's the inevitable comparison to MAC's Peppermint Patti from the Sugarsweet Collection.

Unfortunately, I've never seen it in person, but luckily enough the entire internet has made up for my goof.






So thanks to All Lacquered Up for this:

So what's a girl to do? Shell out $25 bucks for the double-C's? Hunt down some Peppermint Patti on eBay?

Or remind myself that having seafoam green nail polish is probably a waste of money and forget about it?

You tell me!

[photo credits: misslovely.com, chanel.com, teenvogue.com, alllacqueredup.com]

Monday, September 21, 2009

Emmy 2009 Rundown: The Fabulous Fashion


I love award shows. I watch almost all of them and I'm not afraid to admit it. I love the red carpet pre-shows, the constant questions about "who are you wearing?", the cheesy acceptance speeches, and especially watching some of my favorite shows and movies get the credit they deserve (YAY Mad Men!). Or boo-ing really loudly when they lose and other shows sweep awards year after year... *cough* 30 Rock *cough* (I have nothing against 30 Rock, I just don't watch it)

The best part, for me at least, is the fashion. I always wonder how some people manage to look so fabulous while others have me concerned for their mental states. I mean... How some of these people look in the mirror and decide they look red-carpet-ready is truly beyond me.

Let's start with my favorites for the evening (in no particular order):

January Jones in Versace

Okay, it's a teensy little bit Jane Jetson, but I think she looks gorgeous anyway.













Girl really needs a sandwich (or twelve) but I won't hold that against her. She looks absolutely stunning and the dress gives her hundred-pound figure tons of curves - bravo!










Cat can do no wrong for me. I love just about everything she wears on So You Think You Can Dance and this is another home run.












Do you see a trend here? Drapey, light, and flowy? Yeah. Apparently I have a type. Anyway, I love this dress by the Project Runway winner. I think the color is great and her hair is cute and youthful. I'm a fan.








Purple was a popular color last night and I think Lindsay's was one of the best. As you can see, her dress fits in with my favorite trend of the night. Goddess-like indeed.











Absolutely love it. She looks like a little gold statue herself.













Wow. Feminine ruffles and tons of layers and a gorgeous color... Awesome. I'm impressed.













I wasn't sure I liked this when I first saw it... I wasn't even sure I understood it. But you know what? If I had a body like that? I might try to wear as little fabric as possible. Although, she certainly makes up for the lack of fabric up top with the dozens of layers at the bottom. I really like it, though. It's girly and frilly and different from anything else we saw last night. I like that she took a chance.



[photo credits: instyle.com, nymag.com, gofugyourself.celebuzz.com, eonline.com, headlineplanet.com, cdn.bussnet.com, starsareblind.com]

Emmy 2009 Rundown: The Faux-pas Failures


The Emmy's were not all fun and games. There was a whole ton of FAIL going on there.

These are my biggest disappointments of the night:

Leighton Meester in Bottega Veneta

I wanted to like this dress. I love Leighton and I think she hits more than she missed with award shows... But honey... Two knots of toilet paper on the shoulders? That is not okay. Neither is wearing a dress that doesn't fit.

There is a whole lot of Fail going on here.





This dress had too much skin showing. Period. Too much with the boobs, too much with the legs (not in this shot, but the skirt is barely held together with a single string and the wind was threatening to blow it open the entire time she was on the red carpet), and way too much with the entirely open back.

Fail, Blake. Big time Fail.




Mila, Mila, Milaaaaa... What are you doing? You are such a stunningly beautiful girl... What in the world could possibly make you wear this ankle length ballerina dress?

Okay, from the waist up, it's actually kind of pretty... But the bottom? I just... Ugh.

No words, Mila. I have no words.




Sarah Silverman in... I have no idea.

Nobody seems to be able to stop talking about atrocious this dress was to figure out who designed it.

Why, why, WHY would you ever want to triple the size of your hips?

She looks like she's being swallowed alive by this monstrosity.

Ew.

Major FAIL.



Kyra, you are an old pro at this whole red carpet thing... Why in the world did you think it was okay to show up in a bridesmaid dress in a color that resembles Pepto Bismo?

Hop onto the Fail-train. This is a wreck.







This does nothing for her. It's too tight across the chest and makes her look much bigger than she is. Normally I love layers and flowy draping but this is just... Bleh.

And the one shoulder? It kind of just looks like they forgot to put the second shoulder on.

Weird.




Pheobe Price in... I don't care.

Is this a joke?

No, seriously... Is it?












[photo credits: instyle.com, nymag.com, gofugyourself.celebuzz.com, eonline.com, headlineplanet.com, cdn.bussnet.com, starsareblind.com]

Emmy 2009 Rundown: The Beauty

Last but not least, I've got to talk about the beauty at the Emmy's.

There was good and bad, as always, so here we go:

Olivia Wilde's smokey eyes and simple up-do are stunning.














Leighton Meester's undone up-do, porcelain skin, and bold lips almost make up for that tragedy of a dress.












Christina Hendricks = Perfection

Glamorous waves, gorgeous eyes, and pretty pink lips.

There's nothing I don't love about this look.









January Jones looked flawless, but unfortunately there was a lack of great close-ups. Her look was very natural and her hair was a slightly messy bun.

It seems like she made the choice to let her dress do the talking and I think it worked really well for her.




Oh, Blake Lively... How gorgeous and glowing your face was last night... To bad you decided to channel Lara Croft in the hair department. What in the world were you thinking?

You have such amazing hair... Is this necessary? Did you intend to use the ponytail as a weapon? Look in the mirror from all angles before leaving the house next time, 'kay?


[photo credits: nymag.com, tvguide.com]

Saturday, September 19, 2009

This is How We Roll at a Polo Match - Upper East Side Edition


I have to confess that the closest I've ever been to a polo match is living vicariously through Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. So, my frame of reference for what one should wear to an end-of-the-summer charity polo match is roughly limited to this:

Preppy dress. Large hat. Pearls. Gloves.

Got it.

Only... My favorite Upper-East-Siders have pretty much shattered that image for me.

Not that I'm surprised or anything. I mean, Julia didn't exactly have a stylist to prepare her, did she? And even though she's lookin' pretty WASP-appropriate here, the Gossip Girl gang has shown me the light in this week's season premiere.

For example... You might think that an evening gown is not suitable attire for a daytime event such a this, but you would be very wrong.

The lovely Serena Van Der Woodsen (Blake Lively) clearly shows us that she can totally show up in this stunning peach-colored, pleated, and flowing Grecian Marchesa dress and not feel the least bit out of place.

I can't lie... I adore this dress. I don't think the pictures do it justice at all. I believe it's from Marchesa's Spring '09 line, at least according to what I've read, but I can't find any photos of it on the website. Definitely check out the Marchesa site though - the Spring '09 line is beautiful and one of my favorites from this designer.

Ahhhh... Here we go! Ever the proper WASP, Ms. Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) brings back the hat! Not to mention a gorgeous Walter double-layered silk chiffon dress. Love it!

From the flutter sleeves to the ruffled scoop neckline, this dress had me at it's Tiffany-Box-Blue (which is really more of an aqua/sea-foam type shade, no?) color.

I'm happy to say that we have a new addition to the crew this season. Joanna Garcia (RIP Privileged!) plays Bree Buckley and I'm already a fan.

This floral maxi dress (couldn't find the designer anywhere!) was surprisingly pretty on screen; and though I apologize for the odd closeup on her chest, I wanted to show the detail on the top part of her dress.

It was very pretty and very flattering (at least for girls lucky enough not to need any support up there) and I give it a thumbs up.

Oh, the boys... How I love the boys on this show. They really don't ever need to speak. Just stand there and look pretty. If it's absolutely necessary to speak though, I really wish they would let Ed Westwick use his natural British accent even though his character, Chuck Bass, is a native New Yorker. I have a serious thing for accents.

I'm loving the casual suits. Ed's fellow cast members, Sebastian Stan (who is actually Leighton Meester's real-life boyfriend) and Chace Crawford are just as dashing, if less fashionably flamboyant, than Ed and I think it's a hit.

Now for the bad news... Taylor Momsen is still pissing off somebody in the wardrobe department, only now she's bringing fellow cast member Jessica Szohr (Ed Westwick's real-life girlfriend) down with her.



Little Jenny Humphrey needs to wear some more appropriate clothes and much less makeup. She also needs to get rid of those ratty bleached-blonde extensions. Any more episodes like this and she's likely to get kicked out of the upper East side and end up on The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Tacky, Jenny. Just stop being so freakin' tacky.

As for Vanessa Abrahms (Szohr)... Ugh. More ratty extensions. And the girl clearly has very curly hair. Can't they do a little bit better job of smoothing it out? It just looks frizzy and stiff and ugh. Bad. Really, really bad.

This dress did nothing for her figure (when you're that tiny, shouldn't everything look good?) and the pattern was just... Bleh. I'm just not a fan.

So there you have it. Season 3 of Gossip Girl is underway and I'm pretty excited to see what's in store for the gang.

Want to hear more about the (mostly) fabulous style on the show? Gossip Girl Insider has a few videos from costume designer Eric Damon. He talks all about the style for the upcoming season for Serena, Blair, and Jenny. Enjoy!

[photo credits: cwtv.com, gossipgirlinsider.com, gossipgirlonline.net, seenon.com, pret-a-party.blogspot.com]

Friday, September 18, 2009

Très Irrésistible


Everyone familiar with Snow White? Good.

Well, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Ms. Skin-as-White-as-Snow herself... Minus the Seven Dwarfs to cater to my every whim (I also don't bake, so that pie is a no-go).

Now, when I say white as snow, I'm talkin' nothing higher than Mac NW15 is gonna cut it (on rare occasions that I get a little color in the summer it might go up to a 20 shade, but that's pushing it). I once had one of my favorite sales reps at a Chanel counter escort me over to the Prescriptives counter because he said they just didn't have a shade light enough for me (it was the dead of winter - no hint of color to be found on my face). How tragic is that??

Photos are an awful prospect without proper precautions. I can very easily look like a ghost beside all of my lucky non-tanning-challenged friends - damn them and their lovely olive-toned mostly-Italian skin!

Sooo... What's a Snow White girl to do?

Bronze, of course! Not everyone can pull off the Dita Von Tease pale look, and as beautiful as she is, it's just too severe for most of us. So bronze away, darlings!

But pale girls UV-Challenged girls beware... Not all bronzers will make you glow like you just jet-setted your way back from a long weekend rendezvous in St. Tropez.

Actually, most of them will just make you look like a muddy Oompa Loompa.

Not such a good look.

And if they don't turn you into a citrus fruit, they will likely have SO MUCH GLITTER that you'll feel like you fell into a disco ball with no way to escape.

Not such a good feeling.

The solution? NARS Bronzer Powder to the rescue!

Now, I'm not talking about the much-loved, cult-status Laguna bronzer. Oh no... As much as I really wanted to love it, there was just no way... It achieved the disaster-trifecta for me. I looked dirty, orange, and glittery all at the same time. I was truly distressed, especially since each and every one of my friends looked AWESOME with it. How depressing is that?

Anyway, I moped around a little and went about my daily life. Tried a few other bronzers, drug-store and high-end alike and still never found one that truly gave me a healthy glow instead of a fake-n-bake tint. Until now.

Dear NARS - you have redeemed yourself. Irresistiblement is my new favorite product EVER (don't quote me on this, I say it a lot).

According to the NARS website, this is a "golden terracotta" shade and has all the same benefits as their other bronzers. I actually find it to have a more "peachy terracotta" color, but it's definitely more golden on a friend of mine, so I guess it just depends on your individual skin tone. Either way, it brightens up even the dullest of complexions.

This baby is completely matte. Seriously. Not a fleck of shimmer to be found. And even for someone who loves sparkle as much as I do... I don't want it anywhere near my bronzer.

I have used this every single day since I got it and I've actually gotten compliments on how radiant my skin looks - this NEVER HAPPENS. Ever. I haven't been this excited about a product in a long time. I recently went on vacation and actually did get quite tan, but since I'm a sunscreen-junkie (especially on my face) I ended up with a tan body and a VERY white face.

Irresistiblement saved the day! Actually, all the days and weeks that have followed. It can be applied sheer enough to give me an all-over glow even when I'm super-pale, yet pigmented enough that it works when I'm already a little tan or even for those girls lucky enough to be blessed with darker skin tones.

So, that's my verdict. If you're unfortunately unable to jet off to the Caribbean to get a golden glow, go out and treat yourself to the next best thing. Irresistiblement is a little pricey - it retails for $30, but it's completely worth it and it will last you FOREVER. I've had mine for almost two months now and you can barely see a dent in it.

UV-Challenged girls rejoice!

[photo credits: narscosmetics.com, jeezits.tumblr.com, freetheunicorns.wordpress.com]

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Consider Me Gleek-ed


In case you've been living under a rock and haven't seen the 87-gazillion promos that Fox has been running for the last four months, or the posters and ads all over every mall, magazine, website,etc, I'm here to tell you that Glee is pretty freakin' awesome.

It follows a young teacher, Will Scheuster (Matthew Morrison), who resurrects a high school's glee club in an attempt to regain some of the joy he got from his own high school experience. I personally think he just needs time away from his atrocious wife (played perfectly the lovely Jessalyn Gilsig). But regardless, he's got his work cut out for him with a quirky, but talented, group of kids.

Now, okay, I admit that the level of campiness is cutting it pretty close to even my personal threshold... But I love it anyway. It's fun, it doesn't take itself seriously at all, and come on people! There is singing and dancing! In the middle of high school! And spaz-tastic nerds, evil cheerleaders, and tons of talent. Sure, the performances are all clearly lip-synched, but hello... Half the performances on MTV or anywhere else are lip-synched, too.

The bottom line is that once you get past all the surface cheesiness, you end up with a fun show that has some great actors and will have you tapping your feet along with their performances. Besides, it's from the creator of Nip/Tuck and Popular (oh, how I miss this show!) so how can you go wrong? It might be crazy, but you can bet it will be entertaining.


Here's a taste of what you get on the show:

The Glee club performs Journey's "Don't Stop Believing"

A rival club performs Amy Winehouse's "Rehab"

Both are pretty awesome. So get to watchin'!

Anybody else a fan?

[photo credits: fox.com, impawards.com]

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Hermione Granger Grows Up


Wow, Hermione Granger really has come a long way, hasn't she? How gorgeous is this ruffled red dress on the lovely Emma Watson? So I know these pictures are kind of old (I think this was back in April of this year) but apparently I missed the memo the first time around. This is from the set of the latest film in the series - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Our favorite wizards were shooting in London's Piccadilly Square and I just couldn't get over how much I love this dress. I don't so much love those bridesmaid-ish shoes, but since it's technically a costume for Hermione I suppose I can let it slide.

I searched far and wide but nobody seems to know who the designer of this might be, however it does remind a lot of people of the Vogue Italia photo spread she did last year. What do you think?

The dresses are very similar in style, but obviously the Vogue dress is substantially more ornate. My guess would be that the Harry Potter costume designers specially made the dress just like they made the dress she wore in the 4th film - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Irregardless (yes, I know this isn't technically a word, but I like it anyway - sue me), I think the dress is beautiful and so is Emma.

[photo credits: justjaredjr.buzznet.com, entertainmentwise.com, beautyconfessional.net]

Monday, September 14, 2009

Who Dressed to Impress at the VMAs?


MTV brought their biggest stage back to New York City last night and rolled out the VMA red carpet in front of Radio City Music Hall. It looked like one hell of a party and the big names were certainly out in full force. Everyone from Green Day to Madonna, Janet Jackson to JLO, and P!nk to Muse were in the house and there were some spectacular performances.

The only thing I'm going to say about Kanye-Gate-09 is that he's a disrespectful and disgusting human being and both Taylor Swift and Beyonce handled themselves very graciously and with all the class that a certain someone is severely lacking. Congratulations to them both.

Here's my red carpet rundown:

The Hits:

1. Miss Taylor Swift herself. She looked beautiful in this goddess-like gown by Kaufman Franco, the perfect shade of red lipstick, and her signature curls loosely swept up.


She also looked adorable during her performance of "You Belong With Me" in a red vintage 1950's dress and Louboutin pumps. Side note - did anyone else see her run up the staircase from the Subway in high heels, jump up on top of a cab, and keep right on singing live without so much as one lost lyric? Girl is in shape! I would have been puffing and wheezing up a storm!

2. Any other award show and I probably would've thought that Katy Perry had lost her damn mind... But honestly? This spiked and studded mini-dress screams VMAs, and I think she looks fab! Silver, sparkly, short, and boobalicious. It's exactly what I would expect from Katy and she delivered the goods. Her dress is by The Blonds and her shoes are [bedazzled] Louboutins.


I absolutely adored Katy's makeup! The pictures don't even do it justice. The look was created by makeup artist Jake Bailey and you can get the whole beauty report on what he did to make her look like the rock star she is at Splendicity.com.

3. A surprising favorite of mine is the former star of The Hills, Lauren Conrad. She's wearing a simple, yet beautiful, Diane von Furstenberg mini-dress and peep-toe Jimmy Choos. I think that Lauren usually looks pretty good but she's usually pretty safe in her choices. This is definitely not a Katy-Perry-style-crazy-VMA look, but I love it anyway. DVF is one of my favorite designers and I think the dress is elegant and fun and gives her figure a great shape. The finger-waved hair is cute and the makeup is simple but pretty. Thumbs up, LC!


4. I've got to hand it to the Twilight kids. Rob Pattinson is devastatingly handsome in his simple Dries van Noten suit (uhm, when is he not devastatingly handsome?). Jail bait cutie pie, Taylor Lautner, is definitely making fans out of all of us in an exquisitely tailored suit from the Calvin Klein Collection. Even Kristen Stewart, who is a pretty standard fixture on my worst-dressed-ever list, managed to clean up in a gorgeous Valentino dress and some edgy Rock & Republic studded heels. She even brushed her hair! I've never seen her hair look that elegant and shiny... She didn't even touch it the entire time she was on stage! That is quite an accomplishment for her.

















Now, if she could just figure out how to look a little bit less awkward in photos that would be awesome...


5. I, for one, am having trouble not drooling on my keyboard over Gossip Girl hottie, Chace Crawford. What can I say? Gorgeous guy, classic black D&G suit - how can you go wrong? Keep it up, Chace. Can't wait to see him in the new Footloose remake!


The Misses:

1. Lady Gaga. In Jean Paul Gaultier and some random designer who makes fancy neck braces. WHAT??? No. I cannot condone this.


2. Jennifer Lopez. In Louis Vuitton and Louboutin. I don't get it. I'm not even sure I want to get it.


3. Adrienne Bailon. Channeling her former Cheetah Girl self in Giuseppe Zanotti. Oh, honey, no... Just no.


4. Whitney Port. In a craptacular Christopher Kane skirt and ill-fitting bustier top. With booties. I have SERIOUS hatred for booties worn with dresses (actually, I kind of just hate them all the time). I just can't handle it. I also can't handle clothes that intentionally look like see-through undergarments.


5. Drunken Douchebag and that thing he calls a girlfriend in a snakeskin bodysuit. So wrong on so many levels that I'm not even going to open my Pandora's Box of insults.
All I can say is: NO.


Really, a lot, NO.

[photo credits: mtv.com, justjared.buzznet.com, people.com, dailymail.co.uk, sawfnews.com, robsessedpattinson.com, splendicity.com]