Monday, March 30, 2009

Keeping up with the Kardashians...

*ugh* Just caught up with yesterday's episode... between the up close and personal coverage of Kim's laser eye surgery and Bruce's colonoscopy, I no longer have the appetite for dinner.

Ick...

(oops - did anyone catch that I posted this on the wrong blog originally? heehee)

OK, sorry another Twilight post

But this has me laughing in tears so I had to share this. Thanks for the heads up, Amanda!

Not sure what Twilight is all about? Read this take on it.
Saturday Night Drive-in: Twilight Theater (RedBlog)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I *heart* EW almost as much as I *heart* Twilight

If I could pick a dream job, I would love to work in the offices of Entertainment Weekly. The writers there crack me up! I already mentioned their entertaining coverage of American Idol, but I also want to highlight some highly entertaining posts on Robert Pattinson.

As I mentioned on my other blog, yes, I *loved* and totally swooned over Pattinson's performance as Edward Cullen but he also cracks me up because he seems like such an awkward, funny, goofy guy. And I think the EW writers did a good job of picking that up as well.

- EW Article: Robert Pattinson GQ cover story read along!
- EW Article:
'Twilight' DVD: Best of Robert Pattinson's audio commentary


(I just realized both were written by the same writer, Mandi Bierly - LOVE HER!)

Note: I don't know if this will be entertaining to those that didn't read the article or get the Twilight DVD or even know who RPattz is (Hi Ryan!)

Friday, March 20, 2009

Sugarsweet-inspired Look

I saw a fun post on Makeup and Beauty Blog with a MAC Sugarsweet Face of the Day. I decided to do something similar however I only purchased one item from the collection. I substituted other colors that seemed similar.



Here's the one item I did purchase - the Lollipop Loving lipstick. It's considered a glaze so it's actually pretty sheer and coral in color.








Here's my Sugarsweet-inspired look:


I tried to use eyeshadows that were similar to the ones that came out with the collection:


EYES
MAC Shroom - Similar to Sugarshot e/s
MAC Creme Royal (from Hello Kitty Lucky Tom palette)
MAC Paradisco (from Hello Kitty Lucky Tom palette) - Similar to Dear Cupcake e/s
Dior Greenish Brown (sorry - this is from the Chic Palette and I can't figure out what the name is of the shadow) - Similar to Club e/s
MAC Graphblack Technakohl Liner
Maybelline Full&Soft Mascara

FACE
MAC Petticoat Mineralized Skinfinish

LIPS
MAC Popster Tinted lip conditioner
MAC Lollipop Loving lipstick

Thursday, March 19, 2009

EEEK!!! I'm scared of vampires now...

Just click to 2:22...



BTW - I'm scared that I will be SOL for the Twilight DVD. I'm too old (meaning I get too tired too early) for the midnight parties and I didn't pre-order it because I didn't want to wait for it to be shipped. I'm hoping I can just go to Target on Saturday and pick one up but I heard they were already backordered at Border's and the 3-disc set on Target.com is no longer available. I did ask Target (guest services) if I could reserve a copy for in-store pickup but they said that was not an option. I think I should be able to find a copy somewhere though.

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On a separate note, isn't it fun to see the Karate Kid on Ugly Betty? I think his thing with Hilda is so cute.

Benefit Sale & MAC Sugarsweet collection

In addition to Bobbi Brown, Benefit Cosmetics is also having a sale - 20% off purchases of $50 or more. Enter HOTCORAL at checkout (expires at 11:59PM PST tonight).

I was thinking about ordering a couple of things, but when I thought about it, they seem to be very similar to products I already own so I actually stopped myself from continuing with the check out. So proud of myself!

But in case you were wondering, I was planning to purchase the following:

smokin' eyes: sexy eye & brow makeover kit


hoola: bronzing powder


And one product that I absolutely love and highly recommend is this one:

big beautiful eyes palette: an eye contour kit


I bought this awhile back before I really got into make-up. This was my go-to eyeshadow palette - love it! The colors are really subtle and neutral but work so well together for a very pretty, work-appropriate look. The little box even came with instructions on where you should place the different colors to contour your eyes. Perfect for newbies, like me! I loved this kit so much that I used it all up within a few months. I'm on my second one right now and I've pretty much hit the pan on that one, too. The concealer isn't bad, either, but I usually don't wear that on a daily basis. The best part is that the mini brushes that come with the kit are pretty decent brushes! Not sponge applicators like you get in other high end kits. You get two and one is double-ended so you actually have three brushes: a basic eyeshadow brush (soft, too!), a liner brush, and a concealer brush. I bought one for my sister as well and she loves it, too.

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Anyway, the other reason I refrained from buying Benefit is because I plan to stop by MAC tonight to check out the Sugarsweet collection that just launched today. I know I said I wouldn't get anything but I am really intrigued by the Lollipop Loving lipstick - the shade looks so pretty!

As usual, I got the lowdown from one of my favorite sites, Temptalia.com. If you're interested in what the collection has to offer, check out her very informative posts with product photos, swatches and reviews.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Random make-up tips from a make-up novice

Thanks for the comments on my last post! I wanted to respond to some of them so I'll just post them here.

For Marcy: I have bald patches in my eyebrows too! My brows are naturally thicker on the outside and kind of sparse on the inside (I have scary high school pics to prove it.) I also have some uneven patches from times I went a little overboard on the grooming. So now I always fill in my brows with eyeshadow - it's subtle but I think it really improves the overall look. I take a small angled eyeliner brush (ex. MAC 208 brush) with a light brown eyeshadow (ex. MAC cork e/s) and fill in my brows use short, light strokes starting on the inside where it is the most sparse and working my way out. Now I have jet black hair and used to use a darker eyeshadow, like a darker brown, but then a MAC make-up artist recommended using the lighter color and I like it so much better! Otherwise you can look kind of scary if your dark brows are screaming at you.

Now for the look I just posted, I actually did try to make the brows a little darker and more defined than normal since I had darker lips and thicker eyeliner. For this I also used a brown eyebrow pencil (ex. MAC Spiked brow pencil) to sort of outline the brows and fill in the baldy areas. Sometimes I go a little overboard so then I use an eyebrow brush to lightly brush out the brows and soften the look.

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For Jackie: First of all, thanks for stopping by and I hope you return! For me, I needed a lot of practice with the gel eyeliners. I love them because they don't budge and are a little darker compared to pencils but aren't too sharp and defined like liquid liners. I think the trick for me is the brush, the amount of product you put on your brush, and how you apply it.

I've experimented with a lot of brushes and I personally like angled eye liner brushes the best. Currently, I use the MAC 266 brush. I try to be careful with how much I get on the brush - I usually try to get enough so that I can do one eye without re-applying product from the pot. Now for the application... I always point the angled tip of the brush out. For example, I start with the outside of the lid first, with the point of the brush at the outer corner and line the lid to the halfway point, staying as close to the lash line as possible. Then I flip the brush so that point is now facing the inner corner. I continue lining the lid from the halfway point toward the inner corner although I usually only line to the midpoint (i.e. I don't usually line the inner 1/4 of the lid). For the second half of the lid, you shouldn't have as much product on your brush so you should be able to sort of thin out the line from the halfway point. And yes, sometimes the line isn't so clean, so I'll just take the brush (with most of the product gone) along the line to try to clean it up.

Anyway, hope this helps! Usually I just play around with different techniques to see what works best for me. If you want an even thinner line, you might want to try one of the more pointed brushs like the MAC 209 or 210.


Update:

By the way, there's a 25% off discount for all Bobbi Brown cosmetics, only good for online purchases using code "Instant". Free shipping for $60 or more. Ends on March 19th.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Another make-up look... Bronze-y eyes with red lips

So this post is for my friend G who I boogied down with this weekend. I tried out a new make-up look and G liked it and was curious about what eyeshadows I was wearing.

Well here you go, G! (This gave me an opportunity to play with my new-ish Photoshop elements software which I am still getting the hang of... the whole layers concept always throws me off.) These are all MAC eyeshadows.



And here's the pic without all the graffiti:



Open eye... I tried to add a little bit more of a dramatic "tail" to my eyeliner. And don't you just love my non-existent eyelashes?



Face shot!



Products used:

FACE
Chanel Pro Lumiere Foundation in Beige
MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer in NW25
MAC Mineral Skinfinish Natural in Medium Plus
NARS Orgasm blush

EYES
MAC Brule e/s
MAC Ricepaper e/s
MAC Woodwinked e/s
MAC Mulch e/s
MAC Texture e/s
MAC Smut e/s
Bobbi Brown Black Ink Gel eyeliner (although the MAC version is lower cost - Blacktrack Fluidline is $15 vs Bobbi Brown's $21 for the same amount)
MAC Smolder Eye Kohl (waterline/lower lash line)
MAC Carbon e/s (on top of Smolder)
MAC Cork e/s (brows)
MAC Spiked eyebrow pencil
Maybelline Full & Soft mascara

LIPS
MAC Burgundy lip pencil
MAC New York Apple lipstick

By the way, I can't stress enough how much I love primers! I took the pics above *after* a night of sweating on the dance floor and only had to re-touch the lipstick. For the eyes, I used Urban Decay Primer Potion (although I just got my hands on Too Faced Shadow Insurance so I'll let you know if that's any better) and Smashbox Photo Finish Light primer on the face.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Are you watching American Idol?

If so, I highly recommend Entertainment Weekly's Idolatry videos - they are hilarious. Basically the EW writers get together and provide some really funny commentary on the show. Some things I picked up from the recent videos:

- One writer's mission to put the "Go" in Danny Gokey (she refers to him as pimping his widow, which I suppose is true but I still like him)
- Kris Allen's side mouth singing thing
- Potential Simon Cowell fear of birds conspiracy theory
- Idol's need to caption relatives that speak perfectly understandable English

You can find the latest one here.

My quick opinion? I am digging Danny, Kris (the guitar playing cutie), Matt (the piano playing cutie), Anoop, and Allison (red-haired rocker teenager). I think Megan is interesting but I don't think she'll go far. I never liked Alexis and I think it's because she reminds me of Heidi Montag when she performs. Not her voice (obviously, since Alexis can actually sing) but her stage mannerisms. I'm indifferent to everyone else. And yes, I totally agreed with the first two eliminated contestants.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

*sigh*

Sunday, March 08, 2009

Deleted kissing scene!!! :) :) :)

Friday, March 06, 2009

Harry Potter trailer

So with all my Twilight-obsessed nonsense going on, I kind of forgot that the Book 6 and 7 Harry Potter movies are still to come. Here is the trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince:


I think it looks awesome! As soon as it began playing, I couldn't wait to get to see this in a dark theater on the big screen and really sink back into the land of Hogwarts. As much as I love Twilight, I'm excited to see a film with um, stronger special effects ;) It looks dark and gloomy just like the books. Ooooh... Voldemort is sooooo scarrrrryyyyyyy!!!!!

What do you guys think?

Thursday, March 05, 2009

Thoughts on Twilight deleted scenes?



Interesting scene... but I'm glad they left this out. It felt kind of cheesy to me. But maybe that's just because I just love Twilight the movie the way it is now. Or maybe because I'm not watching it in the context of the rest of the film.

But don't get me wrong, I am DYING to see the deleted make-out scenes! *wink, wink*

BTW - if you're a freak like me and watched the Comic-con panel discussion last year (on youtube, not in person), I think this is one of the scenes that Kristen Stewart named as one of her favorites from filming (the final cut had not been released yet).

UPDATE - More Deleted Scenes!



UPDATE #2 - Danger in the Woods

Monday, March 02, 2009

Movie Review: Confessions of a Shopaholic

I met up with the girls tonight to watch "Confessions of a Shopaholic" starring Isla Fisher. The trailer looked really cute so I was excited to see it.

Overall, I thought some parts were funny but most of it was just so ridiculously over the top. The lead character, Rebecca Bloomwood (played by Isla), is cute but I was constantly bothered by her roommate / best friend who seemed to be on a Red Bull buzz the entire time (not to mention her horrendous taste in bridesmaid's dresses). There was so much craziness going combined with the well-isn't-that-convenient type of nonsense. At one point during the movie, I turned to my cousin and said, "I feel like I'm watching something on the Disney channel."

Anyway, I think this movie is more ideal for the younger tween/teen scene since maybe they could appreciate the silliness a little more than the 30-something set. Plus, they could learn a valuable lesson about the dangers of overcharging!

I should also note that based on this movie, I have no interest at all in checking out the book.

Oh, another random note - it was nice to see Leslie Bibb as Rebecca's nemesis. I haven't seen her since the "Popular" days!

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On a different topic, can I just say again how annoying Olivia is on "The City"? I can't believe she took credit for the jacket that Whitney pulled for the Jessica Alba cover. BUT I love how the show made it so obvious that Olivia had nothing to do with it... heehee!