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Comments
· June 1, 2007 7:21 PM by
Colleen Shirazi
· June 1, 2007 9:35 PM by
cmm
· June 1, 2007 11:35 PM by
TheLipstickPageForums.com
· May 15, 2007 12:21 AM by
Colleen Shirazi
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The Lipstick Page Forums Beauty & Fashion Blog: May 2007
Rambles (5.31.07)
Posted by Dain, Thursday, May 31, 2007 8:46 PM (Eastern)
It's been a while. I was gone during "Dead Week", a Yale tradition in which seniors go to Myrtle Beach for a week after finals, except that my friends and I are not really the sort to go White-Trash Heaven (as it was later described to me), so we went elsewhere: first, camping in the Adirondacks, and second, Montreal! And then it was "Senior Week", i.e. continuous drunkenness at so-called events. And then, graduation itself, which was simultaneously tedious and exciting, but mostly tedious. So, I've been busy.
Not much to speak of on the beauty front, but I had the opportunity to go to Holt's while in Montreal, and discovered a few things.
Camping is not my thing.
We had the misfortune, after brilliant weather in New Haven, to encounter rainy and chilly weather in the Adirondacks. I refused to sleep in a tent, and slept in Tiffany's Jeep instead. I mean, honestly... do I seem like a camper to you? The only great beauty moment, was taking a shower after two days of wallowing in damp dirt: MOR lemongrass soap, the magic of toothpaste, and Nuxe Creme Fraiche.
But we crossed the border...
And Montreal is a very urban landscape. It's got a bit of a depressing air, a city that thinks constantly of winter, but the people are warm and open, maybe because they spend so much time indoors with each other. It's incredibly ethnic, bars and boutiques and restaurants everywhere, all from myriad origins: Lebanese, Szechuan, Alsatien, Ethiopian, Greek, Peruvian, Belgian, you name it. And it's weird, stepping out of British North America; it's still America (in the broad sense), but it's also kind of French. Great city. We all had a fantastic time. I brought: BVLGARI BLV Notte pour Femme, a crystalline musk-iris-ginger-chocolate (in order of declining strengths) cold cold cold scent that I thought would be perfect for Montreal.
But onto the beauty stuff. I went into Holt's, the Canadian equivalent to Neiman Marcus. Here were the bright moments:
1. Hermes Un Jardin Sur La Nil would make the perfect everyday summer splash, and is going straight onto my wishlist. It's citrusy and green, but with ever-so-slightly unexpected notes: green mango (milky and crisp, more sour than sweet), grapefruit, and lotus. There's something slightly bitter and unripe about the scent that I like, though I don't think "Egypt" at all. It's preppy, not exotic.
2. NARS Spring 2007: Both Habenera and Sugarland are gorgeous. I'm not sure I would personally get much use out of Sugarland, but Habenera, in the vein of many NARS duos, I simply want, want, want.
3. Sisley and Stella McCartney CARE samples. I've only tried the Botanical Intensive Day Cream (wanted to try the night version, but they were out) thus far, and it is certainly intense: aromatic herbal scent, a sticky texture that's hard to spread but sinks in quickly, bright, radiant skin (very quick results). But hardly justifies the $300 price tag, I think. I'm excited to try the Stella McCartney skincare, though.
4. Giorgio Armani Armanisilk Lipstick #46, a bright raspberry-red in the fabulous Armanisilk formula, may just be my perfect red lipstick. A blood red is a standard necessity, but there's something about the raspberry red that is really unusual but classic at the same time.
And dark moments:
1. Forgot to bring blush. Can't live without blush!
2. Lost NARS Gothika Lip Gloss, my absolute favorite lipcolor. Isn't that a bummer?
Labels: beauty notes, giorgio armani, hermes, nars, perfume, sisley, skin, stella mccartney
Rambles...
Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Saturday, May 26, 2007 9:05 PM (Eastern)
This is an old applet I wrote...have no idea when. I don't remember if it was written on the Windows 95 computer or the Windows 98 one. I'm fortunate to have copies of the original text files (once they're semi-compiled, you would basically have to rewrite the entire code if you needed to change anything).
Never did get around to implementing Advanced Kitty, sorry about that.
I've come to realize that much of the makeup I currently own, is, in a word, old. Not yucky-old, like a rancid lippy, which I would toss without compunction. But, simply, old.
This is a new phenomenon for me. In my pre-Internet-beauty-forum days, I never owned enough makeup for it to age. Sometimes my blush (note the singular form) would get a tad hard toward the end; it was an inexpensive drugstore blush, so I replaced it. Sometimes my lipstick (again: one) would start to look a tad ratty before it was finished. Since it was a Bonne Bell Frosty Gloss or a Cover Girl LipSlick, it was simply a matter of buying a new one.
My stash is quite a bit larger now, and largely higher end, meaning the stuff tends to last a lot longer in both senses of the term. The use-it-up factor, and the toss-the-ratty-item factor, are for all practical purposes now gone.
Plus, they're good items, meaning the "product that never gets used because it doesn't work" factor is not so much there either.
What to do? As I'm resurrecting the entire TheBroadroom.Net site--which hosts The Lipstick Page Forums site, among other things--I have weeded out a few items, like my method of replacing lost preferences in Netscape, that aren't going to work for 2007.
I put a little bit of Flash on the new pages...and I think it's good to add a new makeup item to your stash once in a while; something different, not a retread of a shade you already own.
Hence my notion of "replacing" MAC Strawberry Blonde with Nars Sexual Healing (or some other, equally irrelevant Nars lipstick)...and Prestige Expresso with Urban Decay 24/7 Bourbon. Those are my next two planned purchases btw.
Ultimately though, I am going to keep most of the site content as is. As long as it still works, who cares if it's old?
Labels: beauty notes
Hum.
Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Saturday, May 19, 2007 3:21 PM (Eastern)
Blogging for Truth and Beauty
bugmenot.com
I've never felt obligated to like anything. To me it would defeat the purpose of blogging.
shrugs
Labels: internet
Ramblings... (5.14.07)
Posted by Dain, Monday, May 14, 2007 5:49 PM (Eastern)
I sometimes wonder why I crave expensive skincare. I know magazines like to talk about the latest thing, but that is more often than not an excuse for product placement, is it not? Have you ever picked up a fashion magazine? Let me find an issue of Lucky... Ok, I have in my hand February 2007.
Here is what it looks like:
Rosario Dawson on the cover, a beautiful girl but for whatever reason, not a memorable actress. I remember seeing her in 25th Hour, but it's easy to get upstaged by Ed Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman and Anna Paquin. Except when in silver, in which case you can't take your eyes off her. Rosario Dawson is down-to-earth eye candy. Lucky subtitles her: "Gorgeous and supercool". Hehehe... they really must find people with writing skills. In every issue, they do an "interview" with the featured cover girl, but instead of a standard interview it's celebrity product picks (something they call, rather cheesily, "her way"), which I usually find really interesting, because I like looking at other women's tastes. And looking at Rosario Dawson's choices: "down-to-earth eye candy" seems like a good estimate. She wears a gorgeous red silk dress, simply cut but with a cascade of ruffles like flower petals. It looks great on her, because she's got a beautiful body, and looks like a big red rose. She cites Bianca Jagger as a style icon, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, too. She likes terracotta rose blush (Benefit Dallas), a Japanese fashion superstore, a cashmere Bottega Veneta scarf that looks like leopard print till you come closer, and it's butterflies. And Chucks. And Smith's Rosebud Salve: though Lucky, I suspect, has replaced it with one from BBW as a product placement. O, how very New York.
There's an over-quoted saying by Freud: "Anatomy is destiny". Now, maybe Ms. Dawson is a raging, egocentric bitch, or she could be of saintly mien (rather than my own description of her as down-to-earth eye candy), hard to say, given that I don't know her. We all know that appearances can be deceiving, but they are responsible for first impressions, and it is easier to play the role of our first impressions than otherwise, so perhaps it is often true, that anatomy is destiny. My point being, that we, especially we women, sometimes seek to enhance our destinies by enhancing our anatomies. This is not a great philosophy, I might add, because first impressions don't last. Style should be a reflection of substance, rather than the other way around, or you'll bore. But I think it is easier to buy a pair of shoes as a way to boost self-esteem than learn from the mistakes we make in life. Shopping is fun: it's entertaining, not at all serious, it has immediate gratification built into it, and whether it's high-end or low, it has the thrill of waste. But there's such a thing as taking things too far, and when magazines are more interested in profit than taste (people call Anna Wintour a good businesswoman as if it's a good thing), it's hard not to see how these same magazines are exploiting female insecurities.
I mean, hey, it's great that women are earning the money to spend on themselves the things that once we had to depend on men for. Great, but the money that we earn, at a greater cost than men, I might add, goes straight back to the man. And that doesn't help us, because a new lipgloss will not make you a better person, and it doesn't help the guys, either, one, because women need men anyway and the feeling (but not the nature of the need) is mutual, and two, because you're only making a handful of men very rich. And if you don't think that's true, the popularity of Lucky itself attests to that fact, though it may just be the tyranny of Condé Nast. The pages of this magazine look like a catalogue, not a work of journalism. Ok, it's not supposed to be serious journalism: Jean Godfrey-June's column is risible, though Andrea Linnet's editorial work, though hardly impeccable, is often so spot-on. There's an editorial, a "stylish & sexy guide", and it is just fun and impeccable, and you really couldn't demand more of taste: the cover is a plain and monastic black silk blouse, but with a v-down-to-there and feminine sleeves, paired with simple gold hoops and opera-length pearls. The editorial draws inspiration from Jane Birkin, Lauren Hutton, Anita Pallenberg, Catherine Deneuve, and Ava Gardner. In the same issue, Ms. June exalts Dior L'Or de Vie, like any banal press hack, whose only interest in Château d'Yquem is the exorbitant price.
So we return to my original conundrum. Why do I desire expensive skincare? My current interest is in Sisley Botanical Intensive Night Cream, which is $300 or something. I have really nice skin, you know, I hardly need the exaggerated desires. In my experience, for example, I've found that Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser works better than anything else because it's gentle and simple. And lately, I've been enjoying very soft, smooth, clear skin, but that's because I've been using olive oil as a mask and then a wipe-off oil cleanser, the way that Eve Lom's cleanser works. Which means my skincare budget really ought to be closer to $30, rather than $500. So why do...? I don't know. The more you own, the more you owe, but necessity has little to do with it. I can't blame the magazines, exactly, for that.
Anyway, here is my cheapie-vision of a skincare routine:
1. Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser, because, I might as well face it, it is a holy grail.
2. Burt's Bees Repair Serum with Attar of Rose, it's for eyes, but I suspect that it is also perfectly suited to dry, sensitive skin on the face. The ingredients: Rose Hip Seed Oil, Jojoba Oil, Lavender Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate (vitamin E), Evening Primrose Oil, Borage Seed Oil, Wheat Germ Oil, Hazelnut Oil, Neroli Oil, Rose Oil, Calendula Extract, Green Tea Extract, Beta Carotene, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate (vitamin C), Retinyl Palmitate (vitamin A). I would like to compare this to the Decleor Rose oil, which is not the same product, but it would be nice to find something comparable for a mere $20.
3. I must face the truth: I need two moisturizers. Lightweight? I really like Decleor Harmonie Emulsion, Better Botanicals Dandelion, and Nuxe Creme Fraiche. The Nuxe, I think, is the best. It makes you glowy, and a jar, though expensive, goes a long way. As for richer moisturizers, I think it's time to finally invest in Body Time's Lavender cream, or at least, I will when it gets colder. Won't need it for a few months.
4. Kiehl's Blue Herbal Spot Treatment
TOTAL? About $100. Ok, that is not $30, but $100 for a year? I guess I could do worse.
Labels: beauty notes
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More rambles... (5.13.07)
Posted by Dain, Sunday, May 13, 2007 11:54 AM (Eastern)
Waiting for my lunch to arrive (pizza). I've been extremely dissolute for the past week, and certainly for the last day, because I've been done with school (and hopefully graduating) and celebrating my friend's birthday. I'm a little foggy, so I'm gonna make some café au lait.
This ramble will be more in the nature of a wishlist. Not as if I have the economic wherewithal to do much more than list wishes. Though I'm thinking of working with cosmetics in some professional capacity. Not sure how to get started on that, though.
Black nailpolish is so big right now, but aren't you sick of it everywhere?
My antidote is Essie Wicked, an old shade from another Chanel-inspired trend, Vamp. It's deliciously dark, like some sort of secret Aztec ritual, unsweetened cacao and the sacrificial blood of heroes (a deep, deep, deeeeep burgundy), looks fantastic on short nails. I'm wearing it on my toes right now, and the combination of Essie with OPI Nail Envy and Seche Vite results in a pedicure that lasts at least two weeks. And for fingers? Chanel Lilac Sky, but I'm hankering after some pastel blue, and what could be better than the original, Hard Candy Sky ($7), another retro throwback? I don't know why I crave this color, but I do. It seems the perfect pastel counterpoint to Wicked, but an unexpected one.
La Prairie and Decléor are so expensive!
Recently, I purchased La Prairie's most basic moisturizer, the Cellular Day Cream ($120) and Decléor's desensitizing treatment, Aromaessence Rose D'Orient ($63.50). I thought the combination would be perfect for my dry and sensitive winter skin, but frankly, I don't see such a huge difference. In fact, I was still parched, in spite of rubbing pure shea butter on my face. Don't get me wrong, these products are superbly formulated, but I'm not certain they were appropriate: I should have gotten instead the Aromaessence Neroli and Cellular Time Release Moisture Intensive ($135). But my curiousity is piqued by other things: DHC Deep Cleansing Oil ($24), Burt's Bees Repair Serum with Attar of Rose ($20) (a copycat of the Decleor?), and Sisley Botanical Intensive Night Cream ($292).
I am increasingly recognizing the fact that I look better in cooler shades
Which might seem counterintuitive, given that I'm Asian, and you would think, golden undertones = warm makeup. Not so. Browns look muddy on me, a sure sign that warm colors are not my forte. And blush, I think, reflects coloration preferences better than any other product, and I've never worn peach blushes with any success, though I've given Orgasm at least three trys. Rather, I've always used bright pinks, for a doll-face effect, but I've noticed that cooler pinks, like Becca Wild Orchid (like my beloved NARS Desire but with a touch of violet) are even better suited than the straight neutral pinks. The highest incarnation, I believe, is NARS Sin ($25), a soft rosy-plummy with flecks of gold. When I apply it, it doesn't look blushy, just flattering, a sign that the blush matches well.
Labels: beauty notes
Rambles (5.11.07)
Posted by Dain, Friday, May 11, 2007 10:50 AM (Eastern)
Humph, I have my last final ever at 2 pm. I'm quite tired by the notion of classes, so the last ever cannot have come soon enough. So I blog, and drink coffee.
SONGS THAT CURRENTLY OBSESS ME:
The Four Tops - What Becomes of the Brokenhearted
Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire
Bob Dylan - Lay Lady Lay
The Mamas and the Papas - I Call Your Name
The Beatles - Golden Slumbers
A little retro, I admit, but then, I am a little retro.
Now that the weather has taken a turn for the better, my skin is normal, no longer dry. Hallelujah! As much as people bemoan the existence of oily skin, and oily skin is strangely popular these days (contemporary culture is youth culture), dry skin is such a task. It's like wearing a mask of irritation at all times. And nothing helps. I've tried some very rich creams.
I tend to wear the same face every day, or at least, the same eyes. I don't know why my eyeshadow use has become so particular, but no matter. Maybe today, I will try something else, like NARS Cleo. But back to the signature look, which I've blogged about before. It's especially nice on Asians, because it's the closest look to false lashes, and you can wear it clean, graphic, or smoky with little effort.
1. Undereye concealer: The essential, it also smoothes out shadows on the lid and gives the eyeshadow something to grab. If you have oily lids, make sure to dust with powder afterwards.
2. Fleshy highlight: I really like NARS All About Eve, the cooler, frostier right side. I've always thought that golden champagnes would suit be better, but I'm slowly accepting the fact that I'm a "cool Asian", and this platinum-champagne is far better. It looks more natural, like there's more light, so I look awake rather than like I'm wearing makeup. You wouldn't think that such a subtle touch is essential, but I find myself reaching for this every day; the whole look looks imbalanced without it. It adds light, but also gives a backdrop for intense black lashes. The only problem with AAE is that it tends to congeal throughout the day, so I'm looking for a similar shade that is longer lasting.
3. Lash curler: Shu Uemura, for unstraightening lashes.
4. Black, black, black mascara: I use L'Oreal Carbon Black Voluminous, and don't really see a need to switch, because I think expensive mascaras are nonsense. The trick is to find a really intense black, especially if you already have black hair as I do, so that your lashes stands out in high relief. Make sure to get every lash, from outer to inner corner.
5. Black, black, black eyeliner: Too Faced Liquid Lava Gloss Extreme Black Gloss is my preferred choice. It's a very intense black, with a gel-like slippery texture that's soft and gentle on the inner lid. And that's where you apply, making sure to blend well into lashes. The combination of intense black mascara and eyeliner is a bit like false eyelashes, without the hassle.
That's it, but there are a few variations:
A) Graphic liquid liner, for some cat eyes.
B) Blend a bit of darker shadow, like NARS Ashes to Ashes, smudging on outer lid along lash line (called a "wedge") into crease, for a Marilyn Munroe bedroom eyes effect. Looks especially good paired with liquid liner.
C) Smokey eyes with MAC Teddy Eye Kohl, and this is not only easy and attractive, but it has the added virtue of hiding mascara mistakes.
D) A hit of color: I like, especially layered over Teddy, a lilac shimmer like Chanel Lavande.
That's it, for now.
Labels: beauty notes
Hairstyle picture gallery websites
Posted by Colleen Shirazi, 2:07 AM (Eastern)
I've often recommended this beauty board chestnut: UKHairdressers. Don't remember when or even where I got the link. But it's easily the most comprehensive website I've seen for modern hairdos that range from practical to cutting edge.
On another board, got this new link for some Asian hairstyles: Rasysa Hairstyle Gallery. It's in Japanese, but enough English to navigate with.
Cheap hair...
Posted by Dain, Thursday, May 10, 2007 10:56 PM (Eastern)
Lately, I've been subsisting on a diet of high-end hair care: PHYTO, Terax, Kerastase, Philip B, Frederic Fekkai. But times have gotten a little tough, and when you have long, thick hair, you go through product like it's water. What is a girl to do?
The answer is olive oil. It is so cheap, and it works better than any deep conditioner I have ever, ever had the grace to use. Just saturate your dry hair, concentrating on ends, leave on for thirty minutes, blow dry on LOW (you don't want to fry your hair) until it warms up, then shampoo and condition as usual. I don't really worry about residue, because I don't put much oil near the scalp, and conditioner, believe it or not, cleanses as it moisturizes, though you have to watch the ends so that you don't have too much oil left over. Olive oil also works brilliantly as a hair serum, when your hair is drying, but not quite dry. Applied to completely dry hair, the oil will repel moisture and dry your hair out more, but to slightly damp hair, it keeps the moisture in and gives you a little bit of style.
Cheap shampoos and conditioners, that I really like
Nature's Gate Herbal Hair Shampoo & Conditioner: I love the smell, though it's not to everyone's taste. But these are very natural, clean formulations that are very reasonably priced, given that a little goes a long way. The conditioner, especially, requires a lot less than you might think. It works better if you use less and leave it on longer.
L'Oreal Vive Pro Smooth Intense Shampoo & Conditioner for Thick Hair: I haven't heard very much about these, but they're really good and easy to find. My hair doesn't require extra conditioning from using this duo, and that's fairly miraculous. I don't know if build-up is an issue.
The Beauty Blog Network's Comments for a Cure
Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Wednesday, May 09, 2007 12:41 AM (Eastern)
Check it out!
A member of The Beauty Blog Network, Teri from Beautiful Makeup Search, created this lovely logo as part of the Beauty Blog Network's Comments4aCure campaign to raise money for cancer charities. (More on this to come.)
You may order this design on a range of items in the Comments For A Cure Cafepress store. All Cafepress profits will be donated to The National Brain Tumor Foundation, by Teri.
A few cool samples:
MAC Strawberry Blonde lipstick, saga continues...
Posted by Colleen Shirazi, Tuesday, May 08, 2007 8:17 PM (Eastern)
Thanks Arabella :) for the heads-up on MAC Flowerplay lipstick. This is from the Strange Hybrid collection...
image courtesy www.maccosmetics.com
It's purported to be quite similar to Strawberry Blonde, perhaps a tad pinker and less coral, but quite similar.
Still, it's limited edition, same as Strawberry Blonde itself. Why rush out to buy, then be stuck in the same predicament next year? How many "back-ups" would I want to buy?
My top candidate for a replacement remains Julie Hewett Gem Noir lipstick:
image courtesy www.juliehewett.net
Nars Niagara has been named favorably also:
image courtesy www.narscosmetics.com
But I'm leaning toward the JH one largely because it's sheer. Part of the charm of Strawberry Blonde is its sheerness paired with the slight brightness and the ever so slight orange tone. Bleh. Imagine waxing lyrical over a lipstick. Still it is all that and a bag of chips.
Here it is when I was photographing some earrings I made (pretty pleased with them, they're triple nested hoops, hammered goldfilled wire). It hasn't even been touched up for the pic! Still it is that cheery pinky coral color, no shimmer, a bit sheer, moisturizing...again with the lyricism...
Labels: lips, mac cosmetics
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June 1, 2007 7:21 PM,
Congratulations!!!!!
June 1, 2007 9:35 PM,
WOW! You graduated from college??
Holy smokes is that cool!!!!
I've been to Myrtle Beach and I think it was during Senior Week too. Not sure who what school's senior week it was done there, all I remember is that it was just crawling with drunk kids in various stages of undress.:\
Not my thing.
On the other hand, I do love to camp! LOL! I just tote along all my lippies and pretties and have a grand ole time. And get laughed at alot by the other campers. :)
June 1, 2007 11:35 PM,
Hey Carol,
I have invited you to the LPF Beauty and Fashion Blogs. As I was doing so, I realized they no longer have a place to add a message to the person you're inviting. So, ah, that's why there is no message on either invite.
By this you can write on the blogs and you don't have to wait to have your comments published. Just saying. :)
P.S. It's me Colleen.