Bootleg Twilight clips

One of the reasons that I've seen Twilight so many times is that there are so many scenes that I just love and want to see over and over again. (When was the last time so many of us ladies absolutely swooned at the movies?)

So I know I'm one of the many that can't wait for March 21st to roll around so that we can finally get our grubby hands on the DVD.

Until then, I came across some totally ghetto bootleg clips of the movie - as in clips that people recorded while sitting inside the movie theater. Totally funny to watch but still, I'll take what I can get! Enjoy!

Introduction to the Cullens in the Cafeteria


First Encounter in Biology Class


First Conversation in Biology Class / Accident Scene


What If I'm the Bad Guy?


Port Angeles


Dinner for Two


Forest Scene


Going Public


Meeting the Cullens


Frolicking in the Trees / Playing Bella's Lullaby


First Kiss (eeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!)


Vampire Baseball


Prom Scene


Who knows how long some of these will be up so enjoy while you can!

Victim of brand marketing...

I've recently come to the realization that I'm a total sucker for certain brands. Those sneaky marketing people! (Which I say with respect since that does happen to be my profession - except I do it for much less exciting products)

I'm talking about brands that I consistently buy products from - even if competitor products may be better quality, price, etc. I just love the brand!



I'm definitely not a coffee connoisseur (had to "dictionary.com" that, by the way) but I love getting a Starbucks treat from time to time. I don't even think to try out other coffee places. I remember being at a fair once and I saw a girl drinking from a clear plastic cup with a green straw and immediately I thought "Starbucks!". (Alas, it was not.) And I love when the red holiday cups come out, too.



Personally, I think Nike hands down has the cutest running apparel for women. But I think I might be one of the few that actually like their running shoes as well. I also like their NikePlus system (although I have been relying more on my Garmin in the past year). But Nike is always my go-to brand for workout gear. I almost bought a Nike golf glove for my dad as well!




I became a MAC addict last year - they definitely have a good thing going. They've got me tricked into thinking that $11 for a single eyeshadow is a good deal! That $30 for a single brush is well worth it! But I will say this - I use products from a bunch of different brands as well (both drugstore and high end) and I truly believe that at least in terms of eyeshadows and eye brushes, MAC stuff is well worth the price.



I love all my Apple products! I've had iPods for some time now but just recently acquired a MacBook Pro and an iPhone last year. I also use iTunes as my go-to music store - and I'm thrilled about this DRM-free thing! I just realized I can't burn my iTunes songs to a disc more than 7 times. Lame! Anyway, I've already expressed my love for my new Apple products in my post below but I just can't get over how slick everything is on Apple products. So fun to use!

********

What brands are you guys suckers for?

All About New Moon

OK, so I think it's only mildly inappropriate that I have a crush on 22 year old Robert Pattinson. Actually, to clarify, I only have a crush on his portrayal of Edward Cullen (more on that in a separate post).

Now on to Jacob, aka Taylor Lautner. To be honest, I was pretty much indifferent to the actor although I was happy to hear that he was able to secure his role in the New Moon film.

But did you see Pink is the New Blog post this?



YOWZA! We had heard that he had been bulking up since finishing Twilight... I have to say, this is very impressive. But he's only 16! I just hope that come November when New Moon comes out, I won't be developing a wildly inappropriate crush. I mean, he's a teenager!!! Ick!

ANYWAY, on to Vanessa Hudgens, aka Gabrielle from all those High School Musical movies. Supposedly, she auditioned for the role of Leah Clearwater. I think that would be very interesting. I mean, she looks the part although I never pictured Leah as a cute girl since she's such a brat in the books. But can Vanessa pull it off? One of the reasons I loved Twilight the movie was the quality of the acting. And I've only seen Vanessa in the HSM movies which I know I enjoy, but c'mon, they're fluff!

I guess we should find out the cast soon since they're supposed to start production in March, right?

Update:

I saw the video clip where the above screenshots were taken and I don't think I'll be crushing on this kid anytime soon. Two reasons:

1) He went all "Oh SNAP!" when he flexed his biceps (really?)
2) He said "Jacob is in. Edward is out." Blasphemy!!!

See for yourself:

Random thoughts from the Golden Globes...

• I didn't realize Kate Winslet had never won a major award before
• Bruce Springsteen still looks pretty good!
• Along the same lines, Rumer Willis is quite pretty now as well - now that she is out of that awkward stage (as she wasn't bad in "House Bunny" either)
• That bit with Sally Hawkins and Emma Thompson was pretty funny
• Was Tracy Morgan on something during the 30 Rock acceptance speech or was that just part of the gimmick? Either way, it was funny...
• Loved the Steven Spielberg montage - he really must have the golden touch! (although his speech was a little rambling, right?)
• I thought it was a little odd that Danny Boyle didn't even turn to thank his stars when his name was announced as best director for Slumdog Millionaire. I mean, they were right next to him at the table! (But yes, he did thank them in his speech.)
• Kate Winslet is so cute! And how about that profession of love to Leo during her speech?!
• How did Blake Lively and Rainn Wilson get to announce one of the more prestigious awards of the night? (And what a weird combo!)
• I'm excited that Slumdog Millionaire won for best drama. Normally, I've never seen the nominated drama films :)
  

Thoughts on SNL...

I thought Neil Patrick Harris did a pretty good job last night. I think my favorite sketch was the Broadway one where he revived his role as Mark in Rent.

But the main thing that left me scratching my head is Taylor Swift who was the musical guest. Admittedly, I'm not familiar with her music but I am aware that she is a pretty big thing even outside the country music world. So I had some decent expectations of her and after her two performances, my thought was "Huh?" I mean, she's totally adorable but her vocal skills are pretty weak and I didn't think either of her songs were that memorable either.

But that's just me - maybe I need to hear them more. Although to be honest, I don't think I will be using any of my iTunes credits for her music anytime soon.

Click here for Entertainment's Weekly review on last night's episode...

Neil Patrick Harris to host Saturday Night Live!

This weekend - January 10th! So excited... will definitely set my DVR for this.

More info

Playing with Make-up: Blue / Turquoise / Lime Green look

Lately, I've been following a lot of make-up/beauty websites (ex. MakeUp Geek, Temptalia, Pursebuzz, Makeup and Beauty Blog)and I love when they do "look" posts. Basically, they show pics of a certain make-up look and then break down what products they used to achieve that look.

So please don't make fun of me... but I decided to try it myself! My disclaimer: I know I'm not a make-up expert or anything, I'm just *playing* here :) I'm not going to call these tutorials or anything, I just thought it would be fun to show some of the looks I've been playing around with.

I decided to do a bold and bright look for New Year's Eve. I tried this out on my sister once and it was really pretty so I thought I'd give it a try on myself. To give it an extra "kick", I added false eyelashes!

Blue / Turquoise / Lime Green Look



What I used (eyes only):

• Mary Kay eye primer to prevent creasing
• MAC Blackground paint pot on lid to help deepen color and make the eyeshadows really pop (otherwise, they don't show up on my skin...)
  
• MAC Deep Truth (royal blue) eyeshadow (e/s) on outer third of lid
  
• Prescriptives Marine (turquoise) e/s in middle of lid
  
  

• Mary Kay Lemongrass (light lime green) e/s in inner lid
  
• Repeat colors along lower lash line with a pencil brush
  

• MAC Carbon (matte black) in outer corners for more depth
  
• MAC Shroom (shimmery off white) as highlight under brow bone and in tear ducts
  
  
• Bobbi Brown black ink gel eyeliner on upper lid
• MAC Engraved power point pencil to line bottom waterline
• Modlash false eyelashes in #21 (super cheap at the drugstores) - second time wearing them, still getting the hang of it. They definitely finish the look better than my skimpy lashes!
• MAC Cork (light brown) e/s to fill in my brows
  

Another shot of the finished look:



I really liked it. A lot bolder than what I normally feel comfortable wearing, but I figured NYE was a perfect time to give it a try!

Let me know what you think! (interesting? lame? ok, maybe not that harsh - hahahaha)

Audrey's Top Ten Entertainment / Pop Culture Stuff for 2008

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve celebration.

Just wanted to do one more wrap up 2008 post on stuff that entertained me this year - I came up with this list while on the way to the mall over Christmas vacation so can't promise this covers everything but I think I got the main stuff. So here goes!

1. Facebook

Where do I begin with this? It's totally changed my life! Not only does it make my busy-body lifestyle so much easier in terms of stalking my friends :) but it has been an amazing tool for reconnecting with friends and family. I feel so much more connected to my "network" - even if I don't talk to them, I know what people are up to and it's such a nice feeling. And I love seeing friends from school all grown up and stuff.

Of course, I also laugh at how much extra "grief" it can cause. Friend requests, for one. My sister jokes that it is harder to get on my friend's list than to get into some fancy club. HA! Or knowing people's relationship issues based on their "status". Etc Etc. But I still love it and I check it obsessively. If you're not on it (I'm looking at you, Mr and Mrs G!) - just join already! I promise to "friend" you :) - yes, it's a verb now.

2. iPhone

#1 and #2 are actually a toss up because I really love both so much but I only got my iPhone recently so I made it #2. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my iPhone. It's just so slick and fun. Even when I was in Japan and didn't have access to the networks, I still had my phone at all times. I watched videos and listened to music while traveling to different customer sites or just played Sudoku.

I love the GPS capability because I am always getting lost. Yesterday, I was running with my friends in Danville - an area I'm not too familiar with. We wanted to go to Starbucks and I just used the Yellow Page application to find the nearest one to my "Current Location". Love it! I don't even need to know where I am anymore- haha. I feel very high tech with so much information at my fingertips.

I even love the little things - like the little sounds it makes when you take a picture or lock it. Sure, it has some limitations compared to smartphones - like no video or modem capabilities (for now, maybe?) but I don't mind because it is such a fun toy. Even my mom owns one and she loves it!

3. YouTube makeup tutorial videos

OK, I know this one really only makes sense to me but I've really learned so much this year about applying make-up from watching various YouTube tutorial videos. It sounds vain, I know, but I see it as almost a form of artwork and a place to practice creativity. It's really been fun for me this year to play with "new looks" and stuff, especially since I used to never wear make-up that much. But even just little basic things like lining your eyes and filling in your eyebrows just gives your face a more polished, cleaned up look.

The one drawback is that it definitely has had a big impact on my credit card - but oh well! At least it's not an unhealthy habit, right?

If you're curious to check some out, here is a sampling of my favorite "guru's". A lot of them do looks that are a little too bold for me but it's fun to modify them for a more conservative approach - heehee:

• AllThatGlitters21
• Fafinettex3
• MakeupbyTiffanyD
• MakeUpGeekTV
• MakeupbyRenRen
• MissChievous
• SarahVictor

4. Election - specifically Saturday Night Live coverage

OK, obviously the 2008 election was a huge moment in history and should be at the top of the list but I'm strictly speaking from my entertainment perspective. I loved SNL this fall with all their election "coverage". Who didn't die from laughing every weekend watching Tina Fey take on Sarah Palin? So hysterical! Or that one spoof of the presidential debate that had the guy playing John McClain aimlessly pacing back and forth in front of the camera blocking "Obama". Heehee!

And of course, watching the celebration once the results were announced was just awe-inspiring. A beautiful moment in American history. Can't wait to see the inauguration coverage!

5. Twilight

I really don't know if I've ever obsessed over any books / movie as much as this one! Sure, I loved the Harry Potter books but I literally could not put the Twilight series of books down - I devoured all four in less than two weeks. I initially thought it was just another crazy Audrey thing but then I kept discovering that other ladies my age were the exact same way!

I consider myself a cynic when it comes to romance so when I read the first book, I was constantly rolling my eyes at this crazy passionate love story between Edward and Bella. Mostly at how perfect this Edward was - so beautiful and god-like and so passionately and selflessly in love with Bella. He is described as so perfect, I thought how they heck can they live up to this in the movie?

And wow - Robert Pattinson was AMAZING as Edward Cullen in the movie. The movie in general has become a separate obsession in itself. Yes, I'll admit to have seeing it multiple times - it has so many swoon worthy scenes! But they also just did a wonderful job with staying faithful to the book while even enhancing the enjoyment of the story with all the amazing shots of "Forks, Washington". And it was definitely a movie for the "fans" - including a cameo by the author, a shot similar to the cover of the Twilight book, and having a great soundtrack that features scenes using music from one of the author's favorite bands (Muse) as well as two songs from Pattinson himself.

6. So You Think You Can Dance

I think this year was my favorite season yet - which says a lot, because the show is always amazing. My two favorite dancers were Katee and Mark and I was thrilled with the addition of choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon. I loved how their hip hop routines still had so much passion and emotion in them.

Also - I was so excited that we were FINALLY able to see Nigel and Mary shake their stuff during the finale show. We always hear about their dance background but we never get to see it so it was fun when they finally showed off their stuff.

My friends and I got to see the tour when it came to San Jose and we had such a blast!

7. Olympics

Beijing definitely didn't disappoint. The opening ceremonies were amazing! (Did you guys catch it when they showed an encore presentation last weekend?) But it really was about the athletes - hello Michael Phelps! It's so fun to cheer on with the rest of your country.

8. Lost

Lost was amazing this year! They whole flash forward thing added a whole level of excitement and intrigue to the show and kept us glued to our TVs trying to figure out who made up the Oceanic 6 and stuff. I also have to note that Jin and Sun episode because it was just so touching for me... when we thought we were seeing a flash forward for both Jin and Sun but it really was a flashback for one and a flash forward for the other, making us realize that only one of them made it to the Oceanic 6 (as far as we know).

I'm so excited for it to come back this month - I feel like a lot of my usual favorites (Grey's Anatomy, 30 Rock, Office, Ugly Betty) have sort of been blah for me this season. I hope Lost continues to keep us thrilled!

9. Beyonce's Single Ladies

The song is catchy, the video is slick, but it was really the spoof on SNL that made this song a top entertainment source for me for 2008. I literally watched that SNL spoof half a dozen times in a row - cracking up everytime and spotting some new dance move that I hadn't seen before. All those boys just killed me. People seem to dog on Beyonce a lot, but c'mon - she's a good sport, isn't she?

10. Britney's comeback

Awww... Britney, I'm so proud of her. She didn't make me cringe this year! Like I said in my earlier post, I wouldn't say she's 100% back but she's doing great and her songs are super catchy. I just hope she stays on the right track. That MTV profile on her was kind of sad at times so hopefully she finds more happiness while still being healthy.

***********

So that's all I've got for now. What do you think? Anything I missed?

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!

DWTS

Who cares abut Jessica Simpson performing? We got to see Pasha and Anya dance! Yay for Dancing with the Stars bringing our favorite So You Think You Can Dance ballroom dancers back to TV!


P.S. Rocco has a funny laugh by the way.

P.P.S. I love Len Goodman's cranky old bit.

P.P.P.S. I'm rooting for Lacey and Lance all the way!

Tonight

Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, The Office... ohmigosh, I can't wait to see all my "friends" return to my TV tonight :)

But I will have to DVR them for now as I already have a date for this evening.

Speaking of SYTYCD, I am really happy to see Lacey Schwimmer dancing on TV again. She's so fun to watch!

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Mad Men

After hearing a lot of buzz on FX's It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, I finally decided to check it out and DVR a couple of episodes. I've only seen one episode so far, "Mac & Dennis: Manhunters".

Wow. Whoever is behind this show is one sick bunch. Seriously! I mean, it's kind of funny, but kind of gross! I actually was in shock by how much these guys get away with. This particular episode dealt with cannibalism and tea-bagging (and I also learned about a new Gorilla thing that I totally didn't need to know about!)

I might check it out again... but I'm not sure if I'm cool enough to really embrace the sick wackiness of it all.

Over the weekend, I also finally caught up with this season of Mad Men. Love that show! I was so excited to see them win the Emmy for best drama series. It's a slick show and very fun to watch. I'm so grateful to not be a working woman in that era but it's still interesting to see how business places worked back then.

I heart Chuck and Blair

My friend PH and I were recently discussing one of our fave shows, Gossip Girl, and our love for Chuck and Blair. Seriously, this couple is awesome - I really believe this is/will be a legendary couple in TV land. Their tortured love / hate relationship is so fun to watch!

Welcome back, Gossip Girl! XOXO

Christian Bale and Kermit the Frog - Separated at Birth?

I found this on According to E ... this is so hilarious, you have to check it out.

Thoughts on 90210

Yes - I'll admit it, I had to watch the premiere of 90210.



Oops - I meant this version:



The premiere was TWO hours long and I watched ALL of it. They got me with that Entertainment Weekly cover story. Overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... though, I'm not sure I'll add it to my DVR list.

Some random comments:

• I do like the little tie-ins to the original show (besides the obvious Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty thing), like news girl "Hannah Zuckerman", Kelly's sister "Erin Silver", etc
  
• It's nice to see Jennie Garth back on TV... even if she isn't ballroom dancing! (She's much better without Amanda Bynes, as well) She looks great, too, doesn't she?
  
• The new "Brenda Walsh" girl (Annie) is way too skinny... and I think her teeth are too big, too. I'm just sayin'! Although she totally looks like she could be related to Lori Loughlin
  
  
  
• Ethan is not enough of a dreamboat to be dating the "It Girl" - actually, there's no dreamboat on this show at all! Where is the Dylan McKay of the new generation?
  
• "It Girl", Naomi, looks wicked old - she's supposed to be 16? OK. She also kind of looks dated, like she's from the 80's or something.
  
  
• I think they try too hard to be over-the-top... I think it's ridiculous that a girl would, um, you know! in the school parking lot with all her classmates walking around nearby plus the drug stuff plus Lori Loughlin's suggestion to Naomi's mom that they exchange stories about her husband's man stuff, etc
  
• Totally don't care about the story line with the druggie actress
  
• A reunion of Nat, Brenda, Kelly - wowsa! Didn't even notice the tension between Shannen and Jennie
  
• I actually like Dixon as the adopted member of the Walsh-like family - it's kinda cute
  
• Are there really high schools with principals as handsome as Rob Estes?

That's all I got. Did anyone else catch it?

On a related note, I missed the premiere of Gossip Girl! I'll catch the repeat this weekend...

Jedi Training

One of the cutest things I've seen - Jedi training at Disneyland.

The Hills on TV Guide

I was so mad at TV Guide when I saw this at the grocery today:



But then I saw there was also a matching cover:



But still - Heidi and Spencer on a cover? Bleh.

When will Jessica learn?

This makes me cringe. I mean, if she is truly that happy, good for her. But I wonder what Tony thinks about this? For some reason I feel like we will be soon seeing a picture of her and Tony Romo on the cover of People with those big slash marks between the two of them. I guess this is all to promote her new album but I have a feeling she is going to regret this cover story.

Williams v. Manning

It's a commercial but kinda cute!

DWTS read my mind!

I recently commented to my friend "Madame McTuffy" that I would love to see ballroom dancers from So You Think You Can Dance make the move to Dancing with the Stars as one of the professional dancers.

Well, it looks like it is going to happen!

Dancing with the Stars announced their new line-up today for Season 7 which will premiere on September 22nd. There are three new professional dancers - one of whom is Miss Lacey Schwimmer! She will be paired with Lance Bass from N Sync, or more recently, My Life on the D-List.

The rest of the line-up:

• Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito and Karina Smirnoff
  
• Beach volleyball Olympian, Misty May-Treanor, and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
  
• Track star Maurice Greene and Cheryl Burke
  
• Toni Braxton and Alec Mazo
  
• Kim Kardashian and Mark Ballas
  
• Cody Linley (Hannah Montana) and Julianne Hough
  
• Cloris Leachman and Corky Ballas (Mark's father and a World Latin Champion)
  
• Ted McGinley and new pro Inna Brayer (current U.S. Amateur 10 Dance Champion)
  
• Brooke Burke and Derek Hough
  
• Jeff Ross (TV's "celebrity roastmaster general") and Edyta Sliwinska
  
• Warren Sapp (football) and Kym Johnson
  
• Susan Lucci and Tony Dovolani

David Beckham's appearance at the Olympics' closing ceremony...

... felt kind of random, right? I mean, you've got Leona Lewis rockin' out with Jimmy Page and then David Beckham rises from the stage at the end - I thought he was going to join in! But no, he just kicked a soccer ball to the crowd. (He appears around the 2:50 mark in the video clip below.)



Anyway, I wasn't too impressed by London's "teaser" performance - hopefully, in four years they can come up with some better entertainment for us. I mean, China did raise the bar pretty high!

Bye bye Olympics - it was so fun having you here!

Random Youtube video I found entertaining

Is it possible that Miss Britney will redeem herself?

So I just caught some of the new promos for the MTV VMA awards with Britney Spears and I am quite hopeful that she is back on track with her life. I think she looks great - fit and everything.

I don't know if she's performing at this year's show, but if she does, I sincerely hope she can make up for last year's disaster.

Promo 1:


Promo 2:

(Watch how Britney squirms from Russell... pretty funny)

I've Got Olympic Fever

I didn't really pay much attention to the events leading up to the Olympics (other than the marathon events) but now that it's here - I'm fully on board!

I thought the opening ceremony was pretty cool. And it was so exciting to see Phelps win his first gold of these games on that 400m medley. I love that little green world record line that was chasing him to the finish - it had me on the edge of my seat! But that picture above - watching Phelps celebrate their win in the 400m relay had me crackin' up. And c'mon France, no more trash talking, OK?

I also watched the men's basketball team beat China so it was interesting to see them play China with Yao Ming. (On a random note, and I know this sounds crazy - does Yao Ming kinda sorta in a really remote way remind you of Tom Brady?) And you know, I'm no Bush fan but I think it is cute to see the President at the various events.

Today I caught some of women's gymnastics. I know they had a lot of out of bound moments during the floor exercise, but I was so fascinated with how they were able to line themselves up so precisely against the lines without looking. Silly, yes.

Anyway, it's now after midnight ... I wish they would air the events on the west coast simultaneously with the east coast. Like they do with the Oscars! It would be awesome to catch all the exciting stuff and be done by 9PM.

iTunes Update: Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls, Enur

I needed some new tunes for my running mix so I downloaded these three:

Rihanna - Disturbia: Rihanna's my girl - I've downloaded a bunch of songs from her current album ("Please Don't Stop the Music" is still one of my favorites). Rihanna also inspired me to chop off my hair :) I didn't think much of this song at first but it's grown on me after hearing it on the radio multiple times - this is the first time I've seen the video. Kinda weird!




Pussycat Dolls - When I Grow Up: I heard this on So You Think You Can Dance - it's catchy. By the way, is anyone else surprised that Nicole Scherzinger's solo career didn't really take off?




Enur - Calabria: I got this one from the Target commercial with the two young girls that seem to have a dance battle as they decorate their apartment. FYI - Yahoo Answers has been very helpful in finding the names of songs from commercials.