June 29, 2008 12:08 AM,  Dain said...

I want to try those Avalon Organics now. I really need to get myself to a Whole Foods soon, and root around the products section.

June 29, 2008 2:20 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

There's a lot of bath & body at health food stores...and some of it is really good. Some of it is bad--Jason shampoos are terrible, imo, and Kiss My Face is only eh.

Avalon, Alba Hawaiian, Giovanni, Nature's Gate Organics...all good. There's one I always look at called Desert Essence. It costs a bit more but it smells stupendous.

I rotate shampoos, since I wash my hair every day. Otherwise there's no way to prevent buildup. I like to have three shampoos in the shower at a given time, and two conditioners. :D

April 24, 2008 4:16 PM,  Dain said...

Cool. I've been curious about this product for a few years now, but I never took the plunge, because it's so expensive. Though I hear it's much more cost-effective when you buy it by the liter. Have you tried the Gentle Shampoo?

April 24, 2008 10:16 PM,  EZE said...

I haven't tried it. I have tried the Seaweed shampoo and it dried my hair out. Creme de Coco (?) shampoo is all right, though.

I don't think the price is too bad. It's not great - $20 for 8 oz. - but it's a concentrated formula. The liters are definitely a better deal. They're just so big that I find them vaguely intimidating. I start panicking: "When will I ever use this much conditioner?" :)

March 9, 2008 12:53 AM,  ~Joy~ said...

The bottles in the pic look like hotel toiletries to me.

March 9, 2008 4:36 AM,  Dain said...

You are very likely right. They must have done the photo shoot in a hotel!

January 31, 2008 2:54 PM,  Dain said...

Hm, it looks a little messy and matted to me, but I agree that the first thing you notice are those vivid green earrings. My first thought was, "Oy, great color on her." I adore Cate Blanchett, truly one of the finest actresses we have today. It makes me really angry to think Gwyneth Paltrow got the oscar that one time for Shakespeare in Love and it's like, PALTROW!!!? HOLLYWOOD NEPOTISM!

January 31, 2008 5:08 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Weeellll...I saw Shakespeare in Love. It was good, there's no doubt about it. Most American actors can't do English accents, for the same reason English actors usually end up doing American Southern accents--there isn't quite such a thing as a generic English or American accent. The only way to emulate is to choose a specific region, and that takes more time to study.

There is a definite "shmooze factor" in Hollywood. Spike Lee always got passed over. It's not a reflection of the quality of work by any means.

January 31, 2008 5:52 PM,  Dain said...

It's a fine movie, but the day that they pass up Cate Blanchett in favor of Paltrow is the day I stopped watching the Academy Awards.

January 31, 2008 7:36 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

To me it's like a soccer game anyway...unless you're hanging out with a bunch of people and drinking beer, there isn't much point watching the entire show. You can always catch the highlights later on. :)

There's a stone called chrome diopside that looks sort of like those earrings--at least it does on the Net. I've never seen it in real life.

January 31, 2008 7:50 PM,  Dain said...

Yeah, they've been giving the wrong awards to the wrong people since the very beginning, eh? Judy Garland never got hers for A Star is Born and neither did Bette Davis for either All About Eve or Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?

Perhaps malachite might do? I know it's a deeper green, but...

Hm, the box I sent you should arrive in a week. I've included to tiny pearls, perhaps they could go atop a deep purpley amethyst in a similar style, though perhaps less dramatic. And in gold, since that would match better.

February 1, 2008 2:43 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

I did a little digging, there wasn't much info about the green earrings on the Net. Unusual, since part of the point of having celebs wear jewelry is to publicize the jeweler. I found one article which said they were "natural jade and diamond." That's some jade!

February 2, 2008 4:39 AM,  Dain said...

Playing with color combinations:
rose quartz + labradorite
lavender amethysts + amber (I like the idea of this one)
deep pink + rich blue (good on a brunette, I think)

February 2, 2008 2:34 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Ya know, the more I'm doing this, the more complicated it seems to get. Odd, because I always thought it would get simpler. The mechanical aspect of making the stuff has definitely become far easier, but the design part just gets deeper and deeper.

February 2, 2008 4:14 PM,  Dain said...

I think that's probably true of anything. Look at people who design clothes, for chrissakes. Karl Lagerfeld sends a model down the runway in a denim bra and everyone's like, "Oh, that Karl. He really knows how to demonstrate the French attitude for play. Of course, he's genius. I love him."

February 2, 2008 5:16 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

Eh...people can become lazy once they become successful. They tried much harder when they still had to struggle. It can backfire though. People get bored if you keep churning out the same old thing, no matter how prestigious your name has become.

It is odd though...before, I thought, all I have to do is get good at the mechanics, and come up with a few really good "templates." Then just plug in different stones. lol I have yet to be able to do that. Each stone and cut and size seems to require its own design. I suppose I should see it that way...start with the stones, then figure out what to do with them.

February 2, 2008 8:15 PM,  Dain said...

What I found intriguing about jewelry design is how it's not intuitive, in a sense. You take a little bit but you can use it many, many ways. That's kind of cool, in the sense that I've always really liked jigsaw puzzles. Jewelry design is rather like that to some degree.

But I'll admit I find the idea of color combination with stones more intriguing. I mean, it's a little like playing with makeup colors, and in some sense, you need to have the stuff on hand to get a good sense, but that seems like the easiest, fun part. (Not the mechanics, poo!)

I was in Jo-Ann fabrics the other day getting a clasp for the pearl strand, and I noticed that these cloudy lavender beads would really work well with amber drops. They contrast perfectly with each other, and yet, they are slightly unexpected, no? It's interesting to me because you want the piece to look, somehow, whole, at a glance, so that you can wear them and not have to think about it too much. And yet, they should have some excellence as you draw closer in.

Ehhh... that's making no sense. Like a NARS duo. Lol.

January 9, 2008 1:57 AM,  Dain said...

Hehehe... Pleased to meet you!

January 9, 2008 2:28 AM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

lol! Yeah, I think it is kind of weird to see someone on video after all these years. :)

I hope to make more useful videos at some point; I think the potential for them has yet to be reached. Much of what you see is formulaic. I like Asian Beauty Blog's stuff, Pursebuzz, Michelle Phan...I can't think of too many others in the non-corporate category.

January 9, 2008 2:33 AM,  Dain said...

I thought the same thing... There might be a lot of possibilities in this.

January 3, 2008 4:45 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

This is amazing, it won't publish.

January 3, 2008 9:52 PM,  Dain said...

That's too bad. I hate it when companies discontinue stand-bys. Maybe it is a sign to explore a new color? Far be it from me to divert anyone from a signature hairstyle, as I've been wearing the same bangs for years, but might as well take a fortuitous turn to cosmetic disasters, I dare say.

January 3, 2008 11:10 PM,  Colleen Shirazi said...

I tried out the Mega Blondes today...I had it in my hair when I was writing the post. :) It seems to have come out well.

The thing is to see how long the color lasts. Feria lasted better on me than Preference, but then I never tried Mega Blondes, and it's been years since I used Preference anyway. It could have been reformulated.

I think with L'Oreal, they almost always replace whatever they "discontinue" with something very similar. It gives you less reason to switch brands even though you have to go through the aggravation. But if they keep this up, I'm thinking of trying Wella instead. I've read on various boards they have superior haircolor, particular for red.

November 3, 2007 3:57 PM,  Jenny B said...

A key to finding your own style (lifestyle, even) is to not care what others are thinking. There is a dual influence of what you see advertised in magazines and what people around you wear and promote. That can be a source of inspiration and/or of urgency that propels you into thinking that buying something new or more of the same is the answer. There is no avoiding wanting to have more, newer and better things. I think it's in our genes, and the constant barrage of ads, celebrity endorsement and acquaintances' bragging makes some of us more susceptible to the urge.

I myself have had long periods of being content with my wardrobe, library, wine cellar, scarf collection, and feeling no need to add to either of them. Still, I'd see someone on the street laden with shopping bags, and I'd think to myself "Ach, to be bringing home something new!"

When you stop comparing yourself to other people, be it celebrities or friends with more money, you wean yourself off being envious of what they have - that envy that tricks you into thinking that buying another pair of shoes will alleviate the feeling of inadequacy. "Not caring" can mean being happy for someone else and letting them enjoy what they have. For yourself, though, the most important part is finding what truly matters to you. Although fashions change, and to some degree I with it, I know now what styles I prefer in shoes, dresses, skirts, colours, silhouettes etc.

When you are secure like that in your own choices, you will care even less what others are thinking; about you, and about themselves. Their choices won't vex you, and you will feel no need to justify your own choices (publicly or internally). In fact, judging others' lifestyles will seem utterly silly, like yet another branch on the surge of self-righteousness fed by talent shows and reality soaps, that claims that anyone is in a position to judge other people's talents, social skills and clothes.

In my life I have found out what is important to me: what areas of life and what styles in those areas. Books, food, wine, theater, music, TV series, art, suits, and silk scarves are high on my priority list. Clubbing, interior decoration, and shoes are very low on my list. Shoes - I don't neglect them, I keep them on a maintenance level. But I remember that I was unable to procure a certain type of shoe that I love for the last ten years, and now it's on shelves again. I've bought two pairs and will buy more. Whether they go out of style for another decade or not, my taste for them will not waver. I won't let fashion whims detract me from wearing what I enjoy and what I think is beautiful.

I've always been of the opinion that quality pays, and since having the funds to try out my theory, I've found that it holds. Of course, I'm not too uptight to admit I've made fashion mistakes! As for shopping for more: at times I have the shopping urge, but I'm now very indiscriminate in what I actually end up buying, so the urge will sometimes pass unsatisfied. For the times in between, I'm very happy with the eclectic collection of stuff I've acquired over the years.

November 3, 2007 4:26 PM,  Dain said...

Brava, couldn't have said it better. It strikes me, however, that people, and perhaps women in particular, do want to be told what to think, what to expect, what to wear; a sort of two-way relationship. It's exhausting to be an individualist. Still, I would like to see more people tell themselves, "I have enough," instead of this more-more-more thing I see so often with, it must be stated, my generation. My peers are so greedy--for attention, for material