MAC Holiday Collection - Lip Glosses Galore!

I know I briefly toyed with the idea of starting a make-up blog but since I'm so bad with updating the other ones I already have, why bother? (The only reason I'm being pretty good now is because I'm home but not working.) So I'm going to post my make-up related nonsense here...

I went crazy this season with MAC's holiday collection! I already bought some items early in the season but then right before Christmas, everything was marked 25% off! And MAC stuff never goes on sale (unless you go to the outlet), so I jumped on this. Personally, I love getting "sets" since I'm still experimenting and stuff.

You may have recalled from my earlier post that I was digging the lip gloss collections. Well, my sister came through and got me the one I wanted the most (the neutral lips) for Christmas. I then treated myself to the pink and coral ones using the MAC discount (did I mention they offered free shipping too?)

So here they are!!! It's like my own little lipgloss counter display :)



And here are swatches of all the colors on my hand:



Neutral (top row, from L to R): Languish, Love Nectar, Beaux, Mouthwatering, C-thru

Coral (middle row, from L to R): Wonderstruck, Budding, Ola Mango!, Pink Grapefruit, Underage

Pink (bottom row, from L to R): Flashmode, Little Vi, Song and Dance, Magnetique, Fleur de Light

Also, I'm starting to learn that MAC has their own special way of naming things. For example, these aren't really "lip glosses"... they are "lipglasses" and "lustreglasses". I think lustreglass is pretty much a lipglass with a sparkly shimmer. Also, the lipglass has those "doe foot" sponge applicators while the lustreglass uses a brush. I'm sure you are all glad that I've enlightened you on these details.

Anyway, in each of the sets above - the first two are lustreglasses and the last three are lipglasses.

So far, I've worn Love Nectar, Beaux, and Song and Dance and I've liked them all. I'm really excited about having so many different options now for different looks and stuff :)

Audrey's Top Ten Songs for 2008

OK, to be honest, I didn't spend that much time compiling this list so I'm not even sure if most of these songs came out this year - but after taking a quick scan of my playlists on iTunes, here are my favorite songs of the year.

The funny thing is that most of these songs were ones I downloaded after hearing them on one of the dance shows.

1. Don't Stop the Music - Rihanna

I think I fell in love with this song when they used it for the opening number for the "Idol Gives Back" special when they combined the talents of the contestants from "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance". It's just a fun song that always makes me want to boogie which also makes it good for running.

2. Forever - Chris Brown

Another song that makes me bop around... whenever this played in my car, I would find myself bouncing around and rocking to the beat. :)

3. Single Ladies - Beyonce

This is a totally catchy song - I got this song stuck in the heads of both my co-workers (male ones at that!) and my sister - haha.

4. Mercy - Duffy

I love the nostalgic sound of this tune - definitely different from what you normally hear.

5. No Air - Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown
6. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

These two are songs that I liked when they came out, but I really grew to love them when they were used on SYTYCD. And I think both were used in routines by two of my fave choreographers - Tabitha and Napoleon.

7. Say - John Mayer

Normally, I don't like John Mayer tunes - or maybe I just don't like him and his playboy ways. :P But when they used this song for that rumba routine between Mark Ballas and Kristi Yamaguchi on "Dancing with the Stars", I immediately had to download it. I like the romantic feel of the song.

8. Live Your Life - TI featuring Rihanna

Dude - I love this song. It always makes me start bobbing my head and sometimes I want to start waving my arms, too. (I know, I'm a nerd.)

9. Womanizer - Britney Spears

Aww... Britney is making a comeback! I wouldn't say she is 100% back but I loved seeing her sassiness back in this video.

10. Flightless Bird, American Mouth - Iron & Wine

And of course, there had to be some Twilight-related contribution since I now have possession of both the soundtrack and the score and have been listening to both obsessively.

This is the song used in the prom scene, aka the romantic ending of the film. I love the romantic sound of the song - it makes me feel all warm and mushy. But then I made a mistake. See, I normally don't really pay attention to the actual lyrics of songs - I'm kind of clueless that way. And then one day I realized I had no idea what this particular song was about so I went ahead and looked up the lyrics. My initial reaction? WTF!???? So now the song has lost a little of the magic for me, but I still love it. I'm sure this will still make my playlists one my Twilight obsession fades... although considering they're targeting November 2009 for the release date of the sequel, I don't think that will happen anytime soon.




What were your favorite songs of the year? I got some iTunes gift cards for Christmas so I'm always looking for some new songs to download.

The Office Ringtone!

I'm so excited - I just got the theme song from "The Office" as a ringtone for my iPhone. And for free, too! (I'm easy to please.)

They have it in other different formats as well. Right now I'm using the ringer for just my work contacts. At least then when they're bothering me on my cell phone, I'll at least be in a good mood because of the ringer. :)

The Office ringtone

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Over the holidays, I saw "Slumdog Millionaire" with my family. It was my brother's pick - I didn't know much about it other than it was getting rave reviews. I ended up liking it a lot and hope it does well during award season.

It's a film set in India but by a British director, i.e. it's primarily in English with a few subtitles here and there. It's basically about an 18 year old street kid who finds himself on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire". Surprisingly, he is able to answer every single question correctly so he is accused of cheating and ends up being tortured and interrogated.

We find out that each answer is related to something that happened in his life, some tragic, some celebration-worthy. And ultimately, he just wants to be reunited with his childhood love - who by the way is absolutely beautiful. Alternatively, the lead actor doesn't exactly have movie star looks but he did a great job in this role and you really rooted for him.

Some of the tragic parts were hard to watch and at some points, I had to look away. BUT it was those moments that made the ending that much more meaningful. And as an extra bonus, they added a Bollywood style number at the end during the credits which seemed a little out of place, but we stayed to watch it anyway and it was pretty entertaining.

On a side note, the grand prize of their version of the game show is 20 million rupees. In case you're wondering, that is the equivalent of ~$400,000 USD.

What is with the 'do?

I've just really never understood Kate Gosselin's hairdo. I remember how it started - you know, when she got that makeover after her tummy tuck. But it's like she's modified the 'do to take the front and the back to two different extremes. The front got longer, the back got shorter and spikier... some have referred to it as a reverse mullet.

I'm just glad that it hasn't caught on with middle America. At least I'm hoping it hasn't.



On a related note, I haven't been watching the show as religiously as before. I think all those Wedding in Hawaii episodes were too over the top for me. Too many freebies - no family present -what's become of them? And I hate seeing episodes where Mady and Cara have crying fits - they deserve some privacy. Well, all the kids deserve some privacy... especially now that they are all in school and other kids could be making fun of them and stuff based on what was on their show that week.

But the little kids still are a bunch of cuties.

Makeup and Beauty Blog Monday Poll, Nov. 17

I found this on a fun blog so I thought I'd play along.

Mood: Happy - 5 more days until Thanksgiving vacation :)
Mascara: Cover Girl LashBlast
Last movie I watched: In a theater - Quantum of Solace, on TV - Center Stage: Turn It Up (reviews coming)
Lipgloss or lipstick: MAC Burgundy lip pencil with MAC Pink Air lustre lip color
Outfit: short sleeved, cream-colored sweater with light brown slacks (both from Ann Taylor / LOFT, which is where 80% of my work wardrobe comes from, 99% of which was bought on sale)
Shoes: Aerosoles brown loafer pumps
Blush: MAC Blushbaby
Eyeliner: Bobbi Brown gel liner in chocolate shimmer ink
Breakfast beverage: 20 oz of water on the way to work
Goals for the week: Go running at least once, pack for trip home, tie up loose ends at work so I don't have to stress about it while on vacay

How about you? Post your inputs below! :) Here's the list -

Mood:
Mascara:
Last movie I watched:
Lipgloss or lipstick:
Outfit:
Shoes:
Blush:
Eyeliner:
Breakfast beverage:
Goals for the week:

SNL spoof on Beyonce's Single Ladies video

Catching up on last night's SNL... Paul Rudd hosted with Beyonce as the musical guest.

Justin Timberlake stopped by... he did a bit during Weekend Update which was kind of funny, kind of gratuitous. By far, my favorite sketch is the one that combined the talents of JT, Paul Rudd, and Beyonce... so hilarious!


(Hopefully this one doesn't get deleted!)

Update: Make sure to check out Paul Rudd's moves in the last 25 seconds of the clip. I missed it the first few times I saw this - and it was worth watching over and over again.

I actually love this song and the original video (below). I just wish it was available as a single on iTunes. (Update: I just got it! It became available with the release of Beyonce's new album - yay!)

My latest addiction... and possibly the start of yet another blog

(TO MY IMMEDIATE FAMILY: Feel free to scroll down to the pictures - heehee)


So as most of my friends and family know, I have gone make-up crazy this year! I used to be a foundation + blush girl for most of my life. My mom would ask me why I don't wear eyeliner. In the last few years, I would wear some eyeshadow but pretty much the same colors every day, maybe something different at night. My make-up collection could fit in a couple of cosmetic bags.

And then this summer, I stumbled across these YouTube videos of make-up tutorials and I was fascinated! It was like watching someone paint a picture (speaking of which, remember Bob Ross?) You would see someone with their bare face looking pretty drab and then ten minutes later - they looked like a model! I was - and still am - completely hooked. My interest went beyond just the tutorials - there are also product reviews and my favorite, "hauls". Hauls are when people show their new product purchases - and let me tell you, these people spend some serious $$$$. And it's contagious - because then I want to go out and buy all these fun items!

(On a related note: Just to warn you - not all the make-up videos on YouTube are worth watching. Some are quite clown-y, but that's just my personal opinion.)

Anyway, I started practicing some of these "looks" on my own... it was quite scary and embarrassing at first. But slowly I'm getting better. The right kind of make-up and the right kind of brushes help a lot. Since this summer, my make-up collection has probably quadrupled. It's an addiction people! So I'm trying to cut back... but there is still so much more out there that I want to play with *sigh*

Luckily for me, holidays are around the corner - yay, Santa! In my family, "surprises" aren't always welcomed (I can confirm this as both the receiver as well as the giver), so we usually just tell each other what we want.

So without further ado, my Christmas wish list:

MAC Products

Available at free standing MAC stores as well as select Nordstrom's and Macy's

In general, I love little make-up sets. It's a good way to try stuff! And I have been seriously loving MAC's holiday collection. I'm embarrassed to think of all the products I've already purchased.

But yet - there's more! First off - lipglosses. I'm not a big lip gloss wearer but I like it from time to time. And this is a great deal - you get to try five different colors!


Little Darlings Collection:
5 Neutral Lipglass and Lustreglass
$29.50

Limited edition

* I hear Love Nectar (included in this collection) is to die for!



Little Darlings Collection:
5 Pink Lipglass and Lustreglass
$29.50

Limited edition

* This could go well with the rose lip set that I already purchased.




Up next... eye pencils. On a day to day basis, I stick with my basic brown and black eye liners but I think it's fun to try new colors to spice up a look. Plus you can smudge them on your eye lid (with your finger or a small concealer brush) to act as an eye shadow or maybe even an eye shadow base.

Little Darlings Collection:
5 Softsparkle Eye Pencils
$29.50

Limited edition





Now pigments (loose powder make-up) are something I've been scared to use. So I figure these little samples could be a good way to try them out.

Little Darlings Collection:
5 Warm Pigments and Glitter
$29.50

Limited edition





My two favorite things to buy are eye shadows and brushes. Now yes, it is crazy that I would pay $20-30 for one brush. But I can honestly say - they are worth it! I am a MAC brush addict. Now usually I take the cheaper approach by buying their brush sets but the individual brushes are just a tad higher in quality (handmade vs. machine made). The only full sized brushes I own are the 217 and 208 (yeah, I know the numbers) and I *love* them. Here are some other ones that I would like to add to my collection:

Large Fluff Brush #227
$30.00

* Great brush for highlighting under the brow. Currently, I use my $1 ELF eye shadow brush which works fine - but this one looks more fun to use :)



Tapered Blending Brush #224
$28.00

* Because I don't have as much lid space to work with, this brush should help blend color in the crease better since it has a more tapered end than my 217.


Eye Shading Brush #239
$24.50

* I've been using a cheaper version which is a craft brush you can buy at Michael's. But this is a brush I use all the time, so the more the merrier!




Other Fun Stuff

I love these little cute Benefit sets - they have so many fun products that I want to try but I don't necessarily want to buy a full sized version. What if I don't like it, you know?



Benefit Realness of Concealness
$32.00

Available at Macy's, Sephora








Benefit Justine Case
$32.00

Available at Macy's, Sephora






I've never tried anything from Make Up For Ever yet - they get great reviews online. I definitely want to try their eye pencils. If I was more adventurous, I would try out their eye shadow color #92 (bright purple) which gets raves from the make-up world.

Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes Collection
$35

Available at Sephora








I really like my bareMinerals foundation make-up... so I'd like to try out some of their other sets.


Bare Escentuals Face Fashion
$34.00

Available at Macy's, Sephora








Bare Escentuals Ruby Collection
$54

Available at Sephora







And finally... a random product. I saw one amazing review and now I want to try it out. Apparently, it makes any cheap drugstore mascara work wonders. Although I have the skimpiest eyelashes so I might be a hopeless cause.


Shiseido Makeup Mascara Base
$22
Available at Sephora









So as you can see... I love talking make-up! And based on comments from my friends, they do, too. It got me thinking that it might be fun to start yet another blog... specifically about this new addiction. I would probably send it out as an email since my target audience would be my girl friends who do not use Google Reader to stalk blogs all day long like I do.

Let me know if this is something that might be of interest to you!

Thursday night TV thoughts

Ugly Betty

I am so embarrassed that it took me two episodes to realize Karate Kid plays the councilman! Identifying cameo appearances is usually my specialty. (In my defense, his voice sounds so different to me!)

The Office

Dwight absolutely killed me at the end of this episode! I seriously busted out laughing. You know - that romantic reunion between Jim and Pam... that Dwight cluelessly interrupted. I can see why my sister loves this guy.

Grey's Anatomy

Seriously, where are they going with this Izzie and Denny storyline?


OK, I'm sure there is more to say but I am already up way too late. TGIF :)

Jon and Kate plus Eight wedding commercial

Does anyone else find this commercial funny?



I mean those two bicker and snap at each other all day long. OK, sure, they have some sweet moments but that's once in a blue moon. This is the real life of real people.

But then they throw together this totally staged lovey dovey look at each other / walk hand in hand nonsense... too odd for me!

On second thought, I guess it's similar to all those staged engagement/wedding pictures that couples take. As if my sister would stroll with her husband under a parasol in real life.

Kenny from Dancelife returns to my TV

One of my favorite movies is "Center Stage". One of my favorite shows is (was) MTV's "Dancelife".

So imagine my excitement when I flipped through the pages of my Entertainment Weekly and discovered that there is a sequel, "Center Stage: Turn It Up", featuring my fave "Dancelife" dancer, Kenny!!!

It looks like the only returning cast members are Ethan Stiefel (horrible actor, amazing ballet dancer) and Peter Gallagher. Oh, and it looks like the winner of Bravo's "Step It Up and Dance", Cody Green, also appears in the movie.

I missed the movie debut on the Oxygen network but have set my DVR to record an encore performance Friday night at 7:30PM. They are also showing the original "Center Stage" right before it at 5PM, so I'm recording that, too.

Yay! The review in EW was horrible, but who cares! There will at least be good dancing, right?

Thursday Night TV comments

Look, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is great and all but I am soooooo tired of the Denny Duquette storyline.

*sigh*

Other thoughts on my must see TV tonight...

Ugly Betty
- Bummer! Why did the cute neighbor dude (aka guy from Cougar episode of 30 Rock) have to make out with Amanda?


The Office
- Loved the sales call simulation with Dwight, Michael, and Jim
- Pam cheering, "That's what she said!"
- The whole Dwight-Angela thing is getting creepy, I mean, creepier

30 Rock
- Oprah!!!

Movie Review: High School Musical 3

Look, I realize I am way too old to be watching this movie, but I don't care because you know what? This movie was super cute and I totally recommend it to any musical fan.

My cousin had introduced me to High School Musical which I caught on DVD on a babysitting gig (yes, people trust me to care for their children. suckers!!!) It was cute but I didn't think much of it.

Then High School Musical 2 debuted on the Disney channel and I made sure to catch that. Again - cute silly musical. Oh, that Sharpay!

So of course I had to make sure to catch the third one when it opened on the BIG SCREEN. Woohoo! I went with my cousin and our 12 year old niece - she was our cover, but we totally would have seen it on our own. Well worth the $10.50.

The plot is predictable but the musical numbers were awesome! The dancing is amazing and the songs are kind of catchy, too. Several of them are already on the Top 100 list on iTunes. I am very impressed with Zac Efron, who plays the male lead. He is truly committed to this role - as in, he goes all out in the super cheesy musical numbers. You have to see it. And he totally rocked in Hairspray (another fave!).

I will warn you - there is a super cheesy, borderline-cringy moment in the opening musical number where Troy is at a critical moment in a basketball game and looks to his GF to give him strength. Do NOT leave the theater! The rest of the movie is not that bad.

Two funny awkward moments:

1. There was ONE kiss scene between lovebirds Troy and Gabriella (Efron and Vanessa Hudgens) - and right when I was about to think FINALLY! - I was interrupted by pockets of giggles from all the little girls in the theater. Geesh - way to ruin a sweet moment.

2. I liked how the closing credits tried to emulate a live stage performance by having the lead actors bow from a stage. However, they then did a close up on each actor smiling as if they were receiving applause from the audience - except in my theater, no one applauded - so it looked kind of silly. I'm not sure why I didn't clap - I'm pretty sure I applauded when I saw Chicago and Dreamgirls in the theater.

So anyway, if you like musicals - I highly recommend seeing this one. I could even be convinced to see it again.

Reach Out

Have you seen the new Hilary Duff video for her song, "Reach Out"?




I don't buy it. She's 21, she looks amazing, and the song isn't that bad BUT at the same time, I can't help but think - why is this little girl trying to act all sexy and grown up? It looks silly!

Thoughts?

Things that made me squirm on Monday night TV

1. Hip hop routine on Dancing with the Stars

2. The whole Audrina/Justin saga on The Hills - "Someone else has my heart." GAG!

Opie and Richie return

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Sarah Palin on Satuday Night Live

I've been DVR-ing Saturday Night Live lately and last night's episode was a huge winner. Hopefully, you've all seen the Sarah Palin clips - they were hilarious. I'm glad that we still got to see Tina Fey do her thing because she is hysterical.

Clip 1 highlights include cameos with Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin.
Clip 2 highlights - where to begin? Amy Poehler's rap was hilarious. And I busted out laughing when they brought the moose out. I know it's cruel, but c'mon, that was funny!

Sarah Palin is a good sport for sure.

I also loved the separate bit they did with Mark Wahlberg and Andy Samberg. I love how they can make great bits out of things happening right now.

The musical guest was Adele and she was amazing! I was glad to see her because I had caught her video on MTV once and I instantly loved her song. Here it is in case you don't know her. I just added it to my iTunes.

And next week's host is Jon Hamm - yay, hopefully more people will turn into his show, Mad Men.

Reading about "The Strangers"

When "The Strangers" first came out, I was totally freaked out by the commercials. I don't like scary movies in general, but this one especially gave me the shivers. At the same time, I was intrigued. Why are these crazy masked people terrorizing the cute Scott Speedman (always to be known as Ben Covington to me) and Liv Tyler???

Well the commercials are back because the DVD is out now. I decided to go to my favorite spoiler site and read the breakdown of the movie - "The Strangers".

So... I was totally freaked out just by reading a description of the movie!!! Creepy creepy creepy. You couldn't pay me to watch this.

Project Runway Finale

I was very excited to see an all-female Project Runway finale - go girls!

I wanted Korto to win but I'm cool with Leanne, too. I thought Leanne's collection was very innovative and well-executed (PR speak!) but like the judges said, so repetitive with the "waves" concept. I thought the color palette (PR speak!) was kind of boring, too. Korto's collection was just so bright and colorful and things I could see myself wearing. (If I was tall and stick thin, of course.)

As for Kenley, it was cute but not for me. And remember how Kenley freaked out when Korto and Leanne dared to design "short" bridesmaid dresses like hers? (As if she owns the concept of a short bridesmaid dress!) Well, I thought one of her dresses ripped off the shape of one of Leanne's previous dresses from that car challenge. Take a look:

Kenley's Final Collection Dress:


Leanne's "Car Challenge" Dress:


OK, it's kind of a stretch - but it's not a common shape to have the hips jut out like that, you know?

And as usual, they let some of the other top designers show at Bryant Park as well. But this is weird, if you go to the Final Collections section on the Bravo website, they list Jerrell and Joe as the other designers at Bryant Park. Joe! How did that happen? He was eliminated before Suede, right? (And I checked out his collection - not so hot.)

BTW - was that Naima (ANTM) at the model auditions?

Law & Order: Special Letters Unit

I am spending time with my 15-month-old nephew this week which means lots of Sesame Street time. My nephew is mesmerized by this show- it's quite fascinating! A couple of things I'd like to point out:

1) The actors that were there when I was a kid are still there today - and they barely aged!!!
2) Yes, the show is for kids but it's cute how they keep the adults in mind as well. Check out this homage to Law & Order.



They did such a great job with making the puppet versions of the real L&O actors. I would love to see how I would look!