Elegant or Prom?

<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >My mom recently came back from a wedding in Sydney and she got me a dress. On the phone she made it sound really fabulous, "it is a evening dress in a pale sea green color, that goes just below your knees with a matching shawl/scarf. Everyone, even your dad, thinks it is very elegant and gorgeous!" It never occurred to me that I'd want a pale green dress, but seeing as it IS Christmas, maybe it'll be just the thing for a Christmas party!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/STF6eUJzwMI/AAAAAAAADiM/nKn6I_bRF_Y/s1600-h/dress.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5274131299852075202" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/STF6eUJzwMI/AAAAAAAADiM/nKn6I_bRF_Y/s400/dress.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 400px;" /></a>When I first laid eyes on it, my first reaction was PROM DRESS. The whole pastel color and the jewels at the bodice, with the length ....you got to admit, it's a bit prom like. If not prom like, then at least bridesmaid like. Or just... kind of old (esp with the matching shawl). Don't get me wrong. I love my mom for remembering me on her holiday and buying be stuff out of the blue. I DO know how lucky I am and I do appreciate the gesture. And as much as I am complaining now, I will probably end up wearing it. This is just not something I'd pick on my own... I'd probably pick something more vibrant with funkier jewels, more modern. As an economist, I'm always thinking about opportunity cost.<br /><br />Having stared at it for quite some time now though, I'm starting to come around to it a bit. The pale sea green color and simple bodice design can be considered as goddess-like and elegant. And while it is not modern, I guess it is classic. I can't go <span style="font-style: italic;">too</span> wrong in a classic dress, right?<br /></span>

Elegant or Prom?

My mom recently came back from a wedding in Sydney and she got me a dress. On the phone she made it sound really fabulous, "it is a eve...

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Ctrl BG: A Shortcut to Financial News 11/29

<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving weekend and got some great bargains yesterday! With the official start of the holiday season, the markets are also looking a bit brighter. Kind of.<br /><br />On Monday, Citigroup was bailed out from its recent troubles, with a $20 billion capital injection from TARP in exchange for preferred shares and a government agreement to guarantee over $300 billion of their troubled assets. The shares went from $3.77 last Friday (as I remember, but could be a bit off) to $8.29 yesterday. It would've been an easy way to double your money quick! Citi was simply too big and international to be allowed to fail.<br /><br />On Tuesday, the latest economic data were released, citing a 0.5% decline in GDP from July-September, more than the 0.3% announced a month ago. Home prices also dropped a whooping 17.4% from a year ago, a record decline. Along with this bad economic data however, the Fed also announced a new<span style="font-weight: bold;"> $800 billion </span>program to support asset-backed securities including consu<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">mer loans and mortgage-backed securities:<br /></span></span></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">$100 billion to buy up debt issued by </span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">government-sponsored mortgage enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">and the Federal Home Loan Banks</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">$500 billion to buy up mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><strong></strong></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">$200 billion facility to support consumer finance, including student, auto, and credit card loans and loans backed by the federal Small Business Administration</span></span></li></ul><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Designed as a life line for consumers, it is supposed to help consumers get home, car and credit card loans easier. I haven't figured out all the implications of this program is. I am still astounded by the sudden $800 billion splurge. Last time they announced a splurged $700 billion, there were long congress hearings and deliberations for at least a week. Where was the hearing and deliberation here (or have I just been unaware of the politics?)? Regardless, this has run the financial crisis tab to $7.36 trillion- double what was spent on WW2 adjusted for inflation!<br /><br />Overseas, the latest headline to up the pirate fiasco last week (not that it has gone away), is the terrorist attack in Mumbai, India. I thought that Mumbai and Delhi were pretty civilized and safe these days with their strong economic growth and development. That is why I was so shocked to hear that the city was attacked by terrorists who randomly shot at people on the streets and hijacked 2 of the most luxurious hotels there, the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi, and a Jewish center, taking and killing many hostages! The latest death toll as of Saturday evening was at least 183. The terrorists, were well trained and in their 20s. They arrived in Mumbai by boat and the whole thing appeared to be very well planned. They suspect that the gunmen are from Pakistan and that this may have something to do with the dispute in Kashmir. </span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span>

Ctrl BG: A Shortcut to Financial News 11/29

Hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving weekend and got some great bargains yesterday! With the official start of the holiday season, t...

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear all,<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqB-YeVAlEs6rB-EthY-pWn3v5dzlXyebTTJZKBCi2QOrOMUpXsqV1iQNsFfFWRQT6F9pkGDeY4ppChARyRF1SlIyL50aDQkRo6HK_CMtVx6LMhe3DmoUt2n_0JJ1aR20ux7iBaG9iAOQ7/s1600-h/DSCF2610.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273060434077012466" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqB-YeVAlEs6rB-EthY-pWn3v5dzlXyebTTJZKBCi2QOrOMUpXsqV1iQNsFfFWRQT6F9pkGDeY4ppChARyRF1SlIyL50aDQkRo6HK_CMtVx6LMhe3DmoUt2n_0JJ1aR20ux7iBaG9iAOQ7/s400/DSCF2610.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size:180%;">Happy Thanksgiving!<br /></span></div><br />Besides Christmas, Thanksgiving probably is the best day of the year for me. It's a unique holidays for those who live in the United States and Canada. In Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October while in the United States, it is on the fourth Thursday of November. Usually, people gather around to give thanks to the harvest and express gratitude.<br /><br />This year, there are several things that I am thankful for. After several months of debating whether I should open another blog, my friend NH told me "if it makes you happy then go for it!" I registered an account here in May but did not blog until the end of June. The rest became history: my blog got readers (you guys), and I get to know a lot of other wonderful beauty bloggers online.<br /><br />Also, I would like to thank the individuals who have contributed to the outlook and nifty widgets to this blog. Without them, My Makeup Blog would be really boring!<br /><br />Last but not least, I would like to thank my friends and family members who have always been there for me during my ups and downs as well as my readers who have given me the most wonderful feedback. They are my rewards and the fuel to keep me moving!<br /><br />Now, I can't just leave without giving you something to prepare for Black Friday (aka the day after Thanksgiving when lots of things are going to be on sale!) If you'd like to shop online, I gathered some coupon codes and sales information for ya:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://lisahoffmancosmetics.com">Lisa Hoffman</a> (wife of Dustin, the Academy Awards winner) gives a 25% discount when you buy her stuff at her online website: use code <span style="font-weight: bold;">LHBBDB</span>, good until 11/30</li><li><a href="http://shuuemura-usa.com">Shu Uemura</a> gives 20% off + free shipping: use code <span style="font-weight: bold;">SHUFRIENDS</span>, good until 12/01</li><li><a href="http://smashbox.com">Smashbox</a> also gives 20% off as a part of their Friends and Family Sales: use code <span style="font-weight: bold;">SBFF08</span>, (expiration date unknown)</li><li><a href="http://shop.duwop.com">DuWop</a> has a 25% off for you purchase as a part of their F&F Sales: use code <span style="font-weight: bold;">HOLIDAY25</span>, expired on 12/01</li><li><a href="http://toofaced.com">TooFaced</a> has free shipping for now</li><li><a href="http://stilacosmetics.com">Stila</a> gives a 20% discount on your total purchase of $30 USD or more + free shipping: use code <span style="font-weight: bold;">ECYX12</span>, good until 12/16!</li><li><a href="http://eyeko.com">Eyeko</a> will give you a free minty lip balm with any purchase when you use code <span style="font-weight: bold;">FREEMINTY</span>, plus a surprise full-size item when you use code<span style="font-weight: bold;"> E129</span>.</li><li><a href="http://adornedwithgrace.com">Adorned with Grace Minerals</a> (my favorite MMU store) is having a 15% off sales on their mineral makeup sets. Plus, you'll get 7 new eyeshadow samples with purchase of 20 dollars or more. (It's a dollar per sample, so you get 7 dollars worth of free stuff, sistas!) The deal is good until 12/01.<br /></li><li><a href="http://silknaturals.com">Silk Naturals</a> also offer gifts and free stuff if you spend more than 10 dollars at their website.<br /></li></ul>Again, happy Thanksgiving and I'll see you again next Monday!<br /><br />Love,<br />Dao<br /><br />P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Dear all, Happy Thanksgiving! Besides Christmas, Thanksgiving probably is the best day of the year for me. It's a unique holidays for th...

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Face Contouring and Highligting: Slimmer and Shimmer

Hi ladies,<br /><br />How are we doing today? It's T-1 to Thanksgiving, aka Turkey Day, in the United States and I'm excited! Tonight I'm heading up to get the last few items for tomorrow's big dinner as the prices are always significantly cheaper on the night before. That way I can save a little bit more cash for Black Friday, aha!<br /><br />Yesterday I posted the <a href="http://mymakeupblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/face-contouring-getting-nose-job.html">first part</a> of the contouring technique where it concentrated more on the nose and today it's for the rest of the face. Also, I would like to touch base a little bit on the highlighting technique as these two are intertwined to each other.<br /><br />For the rest of the face, there are two things to do: hollowing the cheek area for a sculpted and chiseled look, and shading the perimeter of the face to make it look slimmer. Using the same brush and powder as the previous part, let's get started, shall we?<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Cheek Contouring</span><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedfLZXRRDRHxL7f5SWTBeOY445ll9-cWDwLYS4eA-m5PIfESMv3PNDYUm2ZCyvQjqzwllHo-5ggCmmZzvDcU6wHDUWhRNcX5TvFwg8s4rSrrdFpY0J8XAfTpIOwXLSfczHwR06LrY_eB2/s1600-h/nov+013.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273048328611315410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedfLZXRRDRHxL7f5SWTBeOY445ll9-cWDwLYS4eA-m5PIfESMv3PNDYUm2ZCyvQjqzwllHo-5ggCmmZzvDcU6wHDUWhRNcX5TvFwg8s4rSrrdFpY0J8XAfTpIOwXLSfczHwR06LrY_eB2/s320/nov+013.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a>Making a fish face and find the hollow area just below the cheek, then apply the powder from the hairline towards your mouth.<div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>If you can't find where it is, the safe bet is to apply the contouring powder a little bit below your blush.</li><li>When others like to have a contouring line, I prefer to have things looking soft and blended. Therefore, I use the same brush to blend it up toward the blush and down toward my chin.</li></ul><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Face Perimeter Shading</span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1rJdwIwBQWDLmJs027VZ3mjv12aiZ22Z1uZfqjUh_4KkVQb8x5Ascl-21hNtlenowsminFznFMvIX6xzXRjBTEnB-Fryw2JXQvbFD9nYRk2qv_1vBEfwCLeFNkKdUW9P2ZO5zsPWBlg4/s1600-h/nov+017.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273048328244989378" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb1rJdwIwBQWDLmJs027VZ3mjv12aiZ22Z1uZfqjUh_4KkVQb8x5Ascl-21hNtlenowsminFznFMvIX6xzXRjBTEnB-Fryw2JXQvbFD9nYRk2qv_1vBEfwCLeFNkKdUW9P2ZO5zsPWBlg4/s320/nov+017.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">The proper caption for this picture is: "Why so serious?"<br />and the answer is: "I don't know why!"<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">This step is really simple: you just dip your brush to the contouring powder then brush it all around the hairline and jawline of your face<br /><ul><li>I always concentrate more on the jawline and if you want to look slim, a little bit of dark contouring powder will make your face look much thinner. Try it!</li><li>Again, blend blend blend! Unless you want everybody to see those dark lines and wonder what happened, blending is the way to go. I advocate for the natural-looking makeup, not clownish makeup, btw.</li></ul></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlighting</span></span><br /><br /></div><span id="fullpost"><div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiNcFVRYhJMU1W0yNApkC3QcyZWhO8L1p1dUj0j_8lKBCD_-4wE4dOUfSXs_Cf3DnFvB1ywbjrX5ptjlTiYWcMQQrD9LF9fmupEMRoiFFIYWrjhdQhUoAGwFcgE_dYPhFYf0dkuKEPFVwU/s1600-h/nov+021.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273048331848881026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiNcFVRYhJMU1W0yNApkC3QcyZWhO8L1p1dUj0j_8lKBCD_-4wE4dOUfSXs_Cf3DnFvB1ywbjrX5ptjlTiYWcMQQrD9LF9fmupEMRoiFFIYWrjhdQhUoAGwFcgE_dYPhFYf0dkuKEPFVwU/s320/nov+021.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The highlighting chart for your face<br />NFL players: feel free to replace gold or white highlighting powder with your black powder<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Seriously, after drawing the points for highlighting, I wonder if the first NFL player who ever painted his face was born in a family with a lot of sisters! So if you're in doubt of where to highlight your face, you can just take a look at your favorite football player.<br /><br />Areas to consider:<br /></div><ul><li>Underneath the eyebrows: this will make you look like you just had an eye lift. Seriously, if you're brave enough, do it to your mom. She'll be really surprised!</li><li>The inner corners of your eyes: take a lot at any of Beyonce's photos and you'll see this trick used many many times. It opens up your eyes and especially on those tired days, it makes your eyes look much brighter.</li><li>On top of your cheek bones: who wants higher cheekbones? I do! Just smile it and apply it above the apple of your cheeks. Coupled with cheek contouring and you have the killah cheekbones, I'm telling you!</li><li>The bridge of the nose: the oldest trick on the book, period. If you want a high bridge nose, it's the way to go. But a word of warning: too much of it and your nose is going to be really shiny!</li><li>The cupid bow of your lips: who wants luscious lips? Then get your brush in there, girl!</li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQiVpSQ_Xq1c_FMBQ7A5sWzftGH_-jW8IaYBz3wTX95DOIcZxKBdzaTcWGcJr135XoLmWcu1HgSqtgIHkTThI49h040wzZSaiQRvz_5wZyazJHsuPIC7DZauaQ-zKKyhTgEeI67DKGw2g/s1600/nov+008.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQiVpSQ_Xq1c_FMBQ7A5sWzftGH_-jW8IaYBz3wTX95DOIcZxKBdzaTcWGcJr135XoLmWcu1HgSqtgIHkTThI49h040wzZSaiQRvz_5wZyazJHsuPIC7DZauaQ-zKKyhTgEeI67DKGw2g/s1600/nov+008.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 328px;" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The "Before" picture<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsW3bTma2jN_avcdGl9UfxCYL0mHrtXcEpOFdGnvLTpH-U2nOB6BALJaI9qraC9bHfsORDrH1KNbJ1qNRkVm9vmmLU1Lx5pAgNBJc8GQlrJ7obCwvhXCPLesllW8dujzlgO9ARNClATAeF/s1600-h/nov+024.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273048342474418882" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsW3bTma2jN_avcdGl9UfxCYL0mHrtXcEpOFdGnvLTpH-U2nOB6BALJaI9qraC9bHfsORDrH1KNbJ1qNRkVm9vmmLU1Lx5pAgNBJc8GQlrJ7obCwvhXCPLesllW8dujzlgO9ARNClATAeF/s320/nov+024.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a>The final result, tada!<br />It didn't take me that long to apply the makeup but in between putting my makeup on and taking pictures, I was doggone tired. Hence the tight lips.<br />Beside the blush, highlighting and contouring powder, I had no other makeup on my face.<br /></div><br />That's all for today, folks! Have a happy pre-Turkey Day!<br /><br />Take care,<br />Your Makeup Blogger<br /><br />P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!<br /></span>

Face Contouring and Highligting: Slimmer and Shimmer

Hi ladies, How are we doing today? It's T-1 to Thanksgiving, aka Turkey Day, in the United States and I'm excited! Tonight I'm h...

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Happy Turkey Day

<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">While you wait for Thanksgiving dinner, here is something to oogle over.....</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SS7gvJhCLcI/AAAAAAAADiE/JzXvGenmggA/s1600-h/thanksgiving.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273399314310376898" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SS7gvJhCLcI/AAAAAAAADiE/JzXvGenmggA/s400/thanksgiving.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 230px; height: 345px;" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Happy Turkey day everyone!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Image Source: </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.net-a-porter.com/product/33445">Net a Porter</a></span>

Happy Turkey Day

While you wait for Thanksgiving dinner, here is something to oogle over..... Happy Turkey day everyone! Image Source: Net a Porter

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Saks Girl

<span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >I think I need to convert to Saks girl, because they are officially my favourite department store this season. After having walked through Barneys and Bloomies (judging from the crowd, I assume Neiman Marcus to be the same), I can officially say that Saks is offering the BEST deals this sale season! Earlier this month (when I was pondering over my pink skirt), they had that weekend of extra 40% off already on sale items. While everyone else is currently doing <span style="font-style: italic;">that</span> however, Saks has moved on to taking 50% off already on sale items, there are also a LOT more on sale items too! This sale began last week (privately) for Saks card holders and I heard the Saks New York was flooded with customers, literally fighting over each other for the latest stocks as they unpacked the boxes. This week it is open to everyone and it's craaaazy (I believe they are having a "black week" instead of black friday, so better get there early!).<br /><br />To begin with, the traffic on their website must be phenomenal, because the website is constantly down and I'm led to a "Sorry we're experiencing technical problems" page every few clicks. And when I DO get onto the page, it appears that many sizes are already out! </span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SS4Gm_9rONI/AAAAAAAADh8/11kAnCASgsU/s1600-h/Rebecca+Taylor+dress.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273159480772344018" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SS4Gm_9rONI/AAAAAAAADh8/11kAnCASgsU/s400/Rebecca+Taylor+dress.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >Luckily for me, Saks Fifth in Chicago is not exactly the busiest department store in town (this honor belongs to Nordstroms and Bloomies) and there were still some stuff left in my size (kind of) when I visted today. So I swiped this Rebecca Taylor dress for 1/3 of the price!! I believe it was 40% off and then another 50% off. I was considering it when it was at 40% off, but when I saw it was another 50% off, it was almost a no brainer. It's not super special, but if you look at it more closely, it has mini dark purple polka dot prints on it in felt. And when you swirl, the dress swirls with you. It just feels so cute and fun! The back is also a racer back design, which I thought was very intriguing. I am super happy with this find (besides the fact that I had to get it in a 4 instead of a 2, but I figure that the dress is supposed to be a bit loose!).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SS4Gm29x_OI/AAAAAAAADh0/Nb9ratO4R9w/s1600-h/Stuart+Weitzman+platform+pumps+1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273159478356868322" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SS4Gm29x_OI/AAAAAAAADh0/Nb9ratO4R9w/s400/Stuart+Weitzman+platform+pumps+1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a>What got me super psyched and smiling all the way home and then dancing around wearing them like a crazy person (in the privacy of my apartment of course) though were these Stuart Weitzman pumps (except mine are actually sling backs). I've been eying them for a week now, ever I caught sight of them on the sales rack. I asked HG what she thought and we agreed that they were very classic looking pumps and would be worth it (it was at 40% off back then). So today when I passed the shoe floor and saw that the racks (and the whole floor for that matter) was literally empty, I had to stop by and check out my shoes. Lo and behold, they were also another 50% off. I was SO psyched, I immediately picked them up and tried them on even though the store was closing then. Unfortunately they only had a size 5.5 left (I'm a 6). But since they're sling backs, I didn't think half a size mattered as I can adjust the straps. Also, I tried them on and made sure that my feet isn't sticking out the back (a big no no). While I was waiting for the sales guy to get me the full pair, I watched women all around me in a flurry grabbing and trying on shoes, furiously sweeping up 70% off Jimmy Choo boots and Louboutins in a mad rush to buy all they can before the sales people refuse to serve us. It was quite an amazing sight. THIS was what I'd imagined black friday to be- I guess there won't be much left now for black friday (we asked and they're not planning to restock, they've been on this mode all week). It's a good thing I got to my pumps on time!<br /><br />It's amazing what a good bargain can do for one's constitution. As you can tell, I am still super hyped about it :D<br /><br />Image Source: <a href="http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/Entry.jsp">Saks</a><br /></span>

Saks Girl

I think I need to convert to Saks girl, because they are officially my favourite department store this season. After having walked through B...

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Face Contouring: Getting a Nose Job without Surgery!

Hi y'all!<br /><br />How are you doing? I hope you're having a good day so far. This is a way-overdue post and my shameless self decided to spit it into multi-parts just because it's more convenient that way :] I'm a fan of face contouring as it does make a big difference on how my face looks. Many moons ago when I just started wearing makeup, one fine day I decided to have some fun and put some makeup on. Then I realized I had a lot of time on my hand and contoured my face. After that, my camwhore self took over and I snapped some pictures away and put it online. A friend of mine saw it and asked me if I "had any work done!" That was a moment that I would never forget because I realized I finally get the contouring technique down!<br /><br />Perhaps face contouring and highlighting are the oldes makeup skills in the book. In fact, Chinese opera actors have been using this technique for centuries.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUGYfGr9B_rqvuOa1kIMJH_nVrl1FEMuGnRFfTOiQILl33u-9QMuK0SxKYKhWZrCnegsePUWkWLvwQNobpf2tm4gzR_fMFh72BiLHTy_W8eJExuwRNjJR8I6htc543Enka_CYYoLaSmNI/s1600-h/opera4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272453184273508034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKUGYfGr9B_rqvuOa1kIMJH_nVrl1FEMuGnRFfTOiQILl33u-9QMuK0SxKYKhWZrCnegsePUWkWLvwQNobpf2tm4gzR_fMFh72BiLHTy_W8eJExuwRNjJR8I6htc543Enka_CYYoLaSmNI/s320/opera4.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 320px;" /></a>Image from <a href="http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d79/dakota-narak/opera4.jpg">Photobucket</a><br /></div><br />The contouring technique has changed dramatically from the early days when people actually looked like the above's picture. Now, it is much softer and natural-looking. When contouring your face, you are walking a fine line between looking ridiculous and chiseled. Just think the difference between a drag queen on Mardi Gras and Tyra Banks and you'll get the idea.<br /><br />The first part of the face contouring series is all about the nose. For those who are blessed with a high bridge nose, you can skip this post and read something else more interesting. However, for the rest of us, a little bit of dark powder can really change how you look and since we're near Thanksgiving, I just think it'd be nice to share some tricks with you.<br /><br />What you need:<br /><ul><li>a medium-size brush: if it's the size of a small strawberry, it's good enough to use;</li><li>some dark powder: MAC has their sculpt and shape powder which is quite nice. However, if you have a foundation that's one or two shades darker, you can use that.</li></ul><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQiVpSQ_Xq1c_FMBQ7A5sWzftGH_-jW8IaYBz3wTX95DOIcZxKBdzaTcWGcJr135XoLmWcu1HgSqtgIHkTThI49h040wzZSaiQRvz_5wZyazJHsuPIC7DZauaQ-zKKyhTgEeI67DKGw2g/s1600-h/nov+008.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272448072642932194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMQiVpSQ_Xq1c_FMBQ7A5sWzftGH_-jW8IaYBz3wTX95DOIcZxKBdzaTcWGcJr135XoLmWcu1HgSqtgIHkTThI49h040wzZSaiQRvz_5wZyazJHsuPIC7DZauaQ-zKKyhTgEeI67DKGw2g/s320/nov+008.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a>I started with a fresh face, only foundation was applied<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NGRr53MUQZh5YZ71tslnOYzh2BQp0PiOPM850tEgEuTklYnyeaF0k3OUpKXRlsKkP4HubgTjgZ4tigKGWT1n9wsdCLedtoY4ObVluQJipIWKYZWiqkacKdewUW6lqakn5lVYxKpfTiRj/s1600-h/nov+009.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272448077013461442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4NGRr53MUQZh5YZ71tslnOYzh2BQp0PiOPM850tEgEuTklYnyeaF0k3OUpKXRlsKkP4HubgTjgZ4tigKGWT1n9wsdCLedtoY4ObVluQJipIWKYZWiqkacKdewUW6lqakn5lVYxKpfTiRj/s320/nov+009.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a>Then I apply some blushes to the apple of my cheeks<br />I find it easier to locate the contours of my face this way<br /></div><br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span id="fullpost"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOfSZ6_9kJI61s3Ao4jBQ_8x5hmrjxOLHBho9iIvQkGiXClkf3GAOv_nF8MZwKoDj1gOQ5tfDb5aN67FYy8Rn-ol_l0yo6OYCv4AJghcMP3zqUTORfMOQKKMdNynIvd4i_c1cqJfXBLaj/s1600-h/nov+010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272448076192978946" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguOfSZ6_9kJI61s3Ao4jBQ_8x5hmrjxOLHBho9iIvQkGiXClkf3GAOv_nF8MZwKoDj1gOQ5tfDb5aN67FYy8Rn-ol_l0yo6OYCv4AJghcMP3zqUTORfMOQKKMdNynIvd4i_c1cqJfXBLaj/s320/nov+010.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a></span>Using the contouring brush, apply the powder as above:<br />From the inner corner to the eye to the side of the brush (both sides), and the tip of the nose.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Darkening those areas do two things: make your nose look slimmer and make it look taller. If you still don't believe me, take a look at this picture:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4BGadW91kI7RfvNedQf4icdckamUckphfvTy_92i60hTXm-AC4ZemW6inbTbTIUHVzTdYimXRZU9qAy-XB7vMHfYpPql_OHnt85o7svtMXjTO6Z4q_20l3d8csc5vWh0rKD5RWC49f4d/s1600-h/nov+011.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272448086038230914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX4BGadW91kI7RfvNedQf4icdckamUckphfvTy_92i60hTXm-AC4ZemW6inbTbTIUHVzTdYimXRZU9qAy-XB7vMHfYpPql_OHnt85o7svtMXjTO6Z4q_20l3d8csc5vWh0rKD5RWC49f4d/s320/nov+011.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a>The nose looks different, see!<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />If you really want to go the distance, you can apply some highlighting powder on the bridge of your nose. It will make your nose look a lot taller as if you just had a nose job. This is a powerful technique that I think everybody should know. The first time I did it, I could not stop staring at my reflection in the mirror. My nose and the rest of my face looked completely different.<br /><br />Since I took a whole lot of pictures, it's much easier for me to break it into different parts. So stay tuned for the rest of them as I'm going to post them up soon!<br /><br />Enjoy your day,<br />Your Makeup Blogger<br /><br /></div></div></div><br /></div>P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!<br /></span>

Face Contouring: Getting a Nose Job without Surgery!

Hi y'all! How are you doing? I hope you're having a good day so far. This is a way-overdue post and my shameless self decided to spi...

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The "S Dress"

<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Just because HG is taking a break from blogging doesn't mean that we've stopped overanalyzing fashion in our free time (our gmail chain frequently goes above the 100 limit). Our latest topic of obsession?<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SStJxb8bc9I/AAAAAAAADhU/usJTArLRJfI/s1600-h/S+Dress.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272388902430929874" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SStJxb8bc9I/AAAAAAAADhU/usJTArLRJfI/s400/S+Dress.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px;" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I like to call it the "S dress," because when HG first showed me, it reminded me of S. And when we showed it to other friends, they also thought it looked like something S would wear. I guess we all had the same look in mind- the two toned dress S wore to the Dean's dinner party at Yale (btw, it is a<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>totally inappropriate dress for a college recruiting event).It's form fitting, sophisticated and sexy, but youthful and modern at the same time.<br /></span></span><div style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><div><span style="font-size:85%;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSsttD6RZ3I/AAAAAAAADg8/lBAkwybgzp0/s1600-h/S+Dress-+Thanksgiving.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272358040934377330" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSsttD6RZ3I/AAAAAAAADg8/lBAkwybgzp0/s400/S+Dress-+Thanksgiving.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 350px; height: 400px; text-align: center;" /></a>S continues to favour this style later in the season for Thanksgiving. Granted the skirt is overly tight and short and not exactly the most flattering dress on her (or on <span style="font-style: italic;">anyone </span>I should think), you can see how the concept and style is very similar. And thus, the "S dress."<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSsttD6RZ3I/AAAAAAAADg8/lBAkwybgzp0/s1600-h/S+Dress-+Thanksgiving.JPG"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SStH0v5jAEI/AAAAAAAADhM/-lnVMiPlE2E/s1600-h/S+Sdress-+Ted+Baker+%2B+FCUK.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272386760303902786" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SStH0v5jAEI/AAAAAAAADhM/-lnVMiPlE2E/s400/S+Sdress-+Ted+Baker+%2B+FCUK.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;">In particular, we are loving this two toned dress by FCUK (left). I love this yellow/black contrast, while HG is thinking of the red/gray-or silver combo. The contrast and shapes makes it cute, colorful and young, but the style and cutting lends it sophistication. It is dressy enough for a nice dinner, but not so formal that you can't drop by a club afterwards. It's really quite a clever design! Sadly for me, I must be deformed, because I tried it on the other day and the fit was way off. While everywhere else fitted tightly (so tightly in fact that I couldn't even twist to zip up!), the chest part was loose. HG is still in love though and she's thinking of getting it tailored.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">We also found a very similar version of this dress over at Ted Baker, though with the white t shirt top, it is much more casual and is perfect for a day out.<br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Image Source: <a href="http://gossipgirlonline.net/">Gossip Girl</a>, <a href="http://www.asos.com/Ted-Baker/Ted-Baker-Colour-Block-Drop-Waist-Dress/Prod/pgeproduct.aspx?iid=439406&cid=3336&clr=CreamAndBlack&sh=0">ASOS</a> and <a href="http://usa.frenchconnection.com/product/womens+dresses/71G8N/star+dress.htm">FCUK</a></span> </div></div></div>

The "S Dress"

Just because HG is taking a break from blogging doesn't mean that we've stopped overanalyzing fashion in our free time (our gmail ch...

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Happy Monday and a Healthy Living Tip for You!

Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was full of good tea and furious writing. This week is very exciting for all of us in the U.S of A because Thanksgiving is coming! I actually love Thanksgiving more than Christmas and this year I get to cook a turkey ;)<br /><br />Since the weather got colder, I found myself drinking less and less water. One day I only drank two glasses of water for the whole day and that was not so good. Water is the best moisturizer for our bodies and dehydration can lead to a lot of things. One year I did not drink enough liquids for a long period of time and ended up at the hospital with a kidney stone! It was an eye-opening experience for me and after that, I made a pact to self-monitor my liquid intact. However, within the past week or two, it became harder and harder for me to drink plain water. Even water with a piece of lemon was not that enticing anymore.<br /><br />Turned out I was not the only one who had the problem. I talked to my roommate and found out she was not that interested in the pure and crispy taste of water either. How strange, right?<br /><br />But I searched high and low for the solution of making myself drink more water and voila, here it is: juice-infused water! If I have time, I can cut up fruits and pour water over to infuse it with the flavors, minerals, and vitamins from the fruits. However, as much as I want to make my water to be spa-like, I don't really have time so I resort to a much sorter cut. It is simple and I get to drink water a lot more again. Moreover, I also get a part of my daily vitamin C and antioxidants in every glass of water.<br /><br />What you need:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtjYT0dKcnkJPiBlnJxJgifoEie8ZPXbNUi4XjUofwiAI4h-lP7HeRQqDFcJpligunyRQplr8ziYJPsWUFOwlMfrTnVBR0Jf6xE8QLwT4vtIp2ib6pbohiORby3io1R8yKBXbh3seEYNZ/s1600-h/water+002.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272074233521769426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWtjYT0dKcnkJPiBlnJxJgifoEie8ZPXbNUi4XjUofwiAI4h-lP7HeRQqDFcJpligunyRQplr8ziYJPsWUFOwlMfrTnVBR0Jf6xE8QLwT4vtIp2ib6pbohiORby3io1R8yKBXbh3seEYNZ/s320/water+002.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" /></a>Juice of your choice: I love cranberry juice and yeah, that's a gallon-size bottle of juice!</li><li>A glass and some ice (optional)</li><li>Some water to dilute your fruit juice: filtered water is fine.<br /></li></ul></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlSnVR93_FRjeFyZ2n-3VBLATabvQI82fVkgxAWptqRIsOkF-TURUYfkYaVWgN-YucaSPgZz4T-cSb6YzYMAOMZleuK2hVjnuEtIq39joPe36F-V49s_sWCMzSAqmZ_pkkDm0NPD_tBGe/s1600-h/water+003.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272074238477921634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAlSnVR93_FRjeFyZ2n-3VBLATabvQI82fVkgxAWptqRIsOkF-TURUYfkYaVWgN-YucaSPgZz4T-cSb6YzYMAOMZleuK2hVjnuEtIq39joPe36F-V49s_sWCMzSAqmZ_pkkDm0NPD_tBGe/s320/water+003.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a><br />Pour some juice to the glass: don't go too crazy with the juice. You're not supposed to drink lots of juices though, it's there to spice your water to make it more flavorful. I usually add 1/4 to 1/3 juice to the glass<br /><br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjZMxCycmPPeKSKhxAYU6vdFU2wNApAl62hdbC6_PILtTiy2LxmZsUKVs17prLuGvK58IZTChOooXj92T45IWbYacMQH1OR8z0rD9LqaReAPfz_5f1INYudK6ELeD_1S6oLdeBqPgmAFy/s1600-h/water+004.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272074240592742114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOjZMxCycmPPeKSKhxAYU6vdFU2wNApAl62hdbC6_PILtTiy2LxmZsUKVs17prLuGvK58IZTChOooXj92T45IWbYacMQH1OR8z0rD9LqaReAPfz_5f1INYudK6ELeD_1S6oLdeBqPgmAFy/s320/water+004.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a>Pour water to the glass until it's full. Then swirl the glass around a little bit to make sure the juice and water mix well together.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKh6iS9PT4YMFC2LGl8w0_Rn6rwH-TTo0AwJ-BBswC8ROeOHOSi7aHzsWi4JH7-JnQLMFIxhEi92nl9AAPZZkol8_mUq38KSEdf420FWIKldC_rdowsEgyorw0Xx5G_0PC85Z_CKJMsAqp/s1600-h/water+006.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272074245505423042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKh6iS9PT4YMFC2LGl8w0_Rn6rwH-TTo0AwJ-BBswC8ROeOHOSi7aHzsWi4JH7-JnQLMFIxhEi92nl9AAPZZkol8_mUq38KSEdf420FWIKldC_rdowsEgyorw0Xx5G_0PC85Z_CKJMsAqp/s320/water+006.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a>Drink up!<br /></div>Without makeup, I look like a kid, haha! I find the juice-infused water very tasty and get my water intake this way. If you want to give this method a try, here are some things you should be aware:<br /><ul><li>I make sure the total amount of juice I drink is not more than a glass a day as some fruit juices may contain a high concentration of sugar.</li><li>I always check the label to make sure the juice I bought is 100% juice and <span style="font-weight: bold;">do not</span> contain <span style="font-style: italic;">high fructose corn syrup</span>. The syrup is really cheap and is a sweetener to fruit juices. However, fructose is a simple sugar molecule that does not require any breaking down once inside our bodies. It's just empty calories and spikes the blood sugar up very quickly. So by all means, make sure your juices do not contain this ingredient.</li><li>Once opened, I try to consume the juice within a week: some vitamins like vitamin C will lose its potency within a short amount of time. Also, an opened container is prone to unwanted bacterial growth. So if you buy a big bottle of juice, either share it with people or divide it into smaller containers and freeze the unused portions.</li></ul>That's all, folks! I hope you're having a wonderful week ahead and stay healthy!<br /><br />With love,<br />Your Makeup Blogger<br /><br />P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!<br /></span>

Happy Monday and a Healthy Living Tip for You!

Happy Monday, everyone! How was your weekend? Mine was full of good tea and furious writing. This week is very exciting for all of us in the...

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ANTM Cycle 11- Spoiler!

<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >At this point, I think I've come to accept ANTM as part of my life. Something I just mindlessly watch when it's on. You must admit, it's a nice indulgence. *spoiler alert*<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd6Lc1es1I/AAAAAAAADg0/CwMeeiAiEMc/s1600-h/ANTM-+1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271316225998107474" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd6Lc1es1I/AAAAAAAADg0/CwMeeiAiEMc/s400/ANTM-+1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 204px;" /></a>Now that I've "come around" to this way of thinking, my expectations are lower and thus I thought this season's show was not bad! There was a bit of drama, there were pretty pictures, some cool themes (voting booths, award accidents, underwater eye level shots, hanging on hot air balloons etc), a bit of traveling (to Amsterdam)and some sweet prizes. They had fashion show opp prizes, shopping sprees and free designer clothes- it was pretty awesome! The window display challenge in the red light district of Amsterdam was refreshing. Plus they had a REALLY gorgeous Willy Wonka like pink runway in the finale. There was a mini "hill" at the beginning and the models had to <span style="font-style: italic;">run </span>up it in their heels (otherwise they'd fall backwards), it was quite an entertaining scene! Though I thought at the beginning the whole space theme thing and turning a new leaf because it's the 11th cycle was a bit overplayed.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd563yXi8I/AAAAAAAADgs/4-QjPZiDTP8/s1600-h/ANTM-+McKey2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271315941175036866" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd563yXi8I/AAAAAAAADgs/4-QjPZiDTP8/s400/ANTM-+McKey2.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 400px;" /></a>And the winner of Cycle 11 of ANTM is- McKey. She does have very stunning modelesque features and towards the end, I thought her pictures were one of the strongest.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd56SGoA_I/AAAAAAAADgk/9sX5Xkw7Swg/s1600-h/ANTM-+McKey.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271315931059454962" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd56SGoA_I/AAAAAAAADgk/9sX5Xkw7Swg/s400/ANTM-+McKey.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 400px;" /></a>I mean, you got to admit, she has <span style="font-style: italic;">definitely </span>improved from her first photo at the voting booth. It looked like she had no idea....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd56EcUYHI/AAAAAAAADgc/0MuM7nUYVaI/s1600-h/ANTM-+McKey3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271315927392346226" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd56EcUYHI/AAAAAAAADgc/0MuM7nUYVaI/s400/ANTM-+McKey3.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 315px;" /></a>...and then bam! Here we are. I thought she had some of the most interesting and varied poses in her shoots. She always tried new things and they worked. And did I mention her amazing features? Once they got to final 2, it was obvious who the winner is. Granted she's not who I was vouching for, I thought out of the two she deserved to win (she was a bit too tomboy for me and her walk <span style="font-style: italic;">was</span> a bit "lurch" like as they said). By the way, I thought renaming herself McKey at the beginning was a genius move. It is SO much more interesting and memorable than Brittany.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd5HLpoGGI/AAAAAAAADf0/XYbMdyhfZ7c/s1600-h/ANTM-+Samantha.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271315053153884258" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd5HLpoGGI/AAAAAAAADf0/XYbMdyhfZ7c/s400/ANTM-+Samantha.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 314px; height: 400px;" /></a>As you may be able to tell by now, Sam wasn't my favourite girl. Everyone else loved her though, because she had the whole sunny, free California girl next door personality. Maybe I just prefer more serious, subdue personalities. Also, she just didn't LOOK like a model to me, because this girl absolutely cannot dress herself for her life. I still remember that horrible salmon colored v neck sweater and straight skirt she wore to panel, that even Tyra couldn't do anything *shiver*. I also didn't think this picture was as "all that" as all the judges thought. Though I didn't realize that she had only just turned 18 on the show, so I guess I should cut her some slack. Making it into the top 2 is pretty good (her walk was not much better than McKey's). </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd5Hgg4aLI/AAAAAAAADf8/7acWtgmol5E/s1600-h/ANTM-+Analeigh+1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271315058754349234" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd5Hgg4aLI/AAAAAAAADf8/7acWtgmol5E/s400/ANTM-+Analeigh+1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 400px;" /></a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >My favourite girl was Analeigh. Maybe I just have a preference for girls with long hair? She was just so SWEET. I loved her personality. She was sweet and cute in a more subdue and quiet kind of way. She also improved dramatically. I remember how she struggled at the beginning and I totally thought she'd be sent home. Her hot air balloon picture was absolutely tragic. Her legs look cut off.<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd5H7HzeEI/AAAAAAAADgE/lBVBkYhzzh8/s1600-h/ANTM-+Analeigh+2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271315065896925250" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd5H7HzeEI/AAAAAAAADgE/lBVBkYhzzh8/s400/ANTM-+Analeigh+2.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 313px; height: 400px;" /></a></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">But then she survived being in the bottom two and she finally got the hang of modelling. This is my favourite picture of her. You can see the skater in her and it's so edgy even though she looks so sweet normally. Another thing I loved about her was that she knew how to dress. She's mastered the shift dress and I'm amazed at how versatile her peace pendant was with all her outfits! Too bad about the Cover Girl commercial. It really was quite awful, especially considering how she ROCKED the other commercial! </span></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd5IWt5r6I/AAAAAAAADgM/ndsCyv_L-Xw/s1600-h/ANTM-+Marjorie.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271315073304473506" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSd5IWt5r6I/AAAAAAAADgM/ndsCyv_L-Xw/s400/ANTM-+Marjorie.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" /></a>A strong contestant that got weak in the end was Marjorie. I think she <span style="font-style: italic;">actually</span> has that natural model potential that would lead her far in the real world, just not in the world of reality TV. She has that perfect awkwardness and European-ness that makes her so model- she looks modelesque just STANDING there in her windmill photo. Just don't put her in any role where she needs to speak. Her jitters really would not work... But she DOES take some AMAZING photos. I loved this one here. It is so completely convincing! Though she was visibly weaker when she turned a "new leaf," like she lost her natural ability to model (though at times I found her hunchback signature pose a bit <span style="font-style: italic;">too </span>much and she really looks like the hunchback of Notre Dame!).<br /><br />Another contestant of note was Elina, the control freak. She started out strong and she thought she was so good, but her pictures were getting a bit monotonous. The whole cultural difference and Europeans don't express themselves was a bit too much. Clarke also did not see her elimination coming after she got best photo at the under water eye level shot. I liked Sheena and how she didn't play the whole Asian card on us like Gina did. Nikeysha reminded me of Saleisha, except Saleisha is pretty IMO (they even have the same haircut and similar names!). I remember being surprised by the whole drama with Hannah even though I don't quite remember why anymore (race?). Oh and of course there was Isis. She was strong at first! I'm very impressed with how feminine she looked given that she was a man. Her attitude was also very open, brave and admirable. Wasn't there a really similar contestant before, who kind of looked like her too, took great pictures at first and then dwindled?<br /><br />I liked how they showed little clips of what other contestants from past cycles are doing now in between too. It's interesting to be reminded of them and see what they're doing now. It sounds like a lot of them signed with Elite anyway, even though they didn't win. Are Elite contracts that hard to come by then?<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >Image Source: <a href="http://cwtv.com/">CWTV</a></span>

ANTM Cycle 11- Spoiler!

At this point, I think I've come to accept ANTM as part of my life. Something I just mindlessly watch when it's on. You must admit, ...

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Ctrl BG: A Shortcut to Financial News 11/21

<div style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-family:trebuchet ms;" ><span style="font-size:85%;">It's been another exciting week! <span style="font-style: italic;">Almost </span>comparable to that week in September/October, except no major banks collapse (yet) and there were no big mergers. The DOW finally broke the 8000 point after hovering around it for a month, on Wednesday, tumbling 5.1% in a day to yet another more than 5 year new low. The downward momentum continued into Thursday, until it finally went back up to 8000 levels towards the end of Friday.<br /><br />The week started off with Pandit's speech at Citi, announcing their plan to cut 52,000 jobs (yike!) and cut expenses by 20%. Citi's share began falling as investors worry that these measures will not be able to revive Citi from its current situation- they lost $20.3 bn in the last year and some don't expect it to be profitable in 2009 as they worry about Citi's exposure to credit card/mortgage losses and toxic debt. On Thursday, Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia announced that he was boosting his shares in Citi from 4% to 5%. That didn't give other investors much confidence (not everyone's Buffet), as Citi shares broke the $5 point that day (a 13 year low). This is a very dangerous level to be at, because many institutional investors are not allowed to own shares below $5 and this could trigger a wave of selling before year end. On Friday Pandit assured employees that he would like to keep the company together and does not wish to spin off its Smith and Barney brokerage unit (their crown jewel I guess?). Still, there are rumors of them finding a merger partner or raising capital in the future. Citi is also pressing members of Congress to put back the ban on short selling, as they claim that it is hurting their stock price. Citi's stock price ended $3.77 on Friday, down from $20 a month ago and $30 a year ago!<br /><br />Following the lead of Golman and UBS, other Wall Street banks are being pressured to foregoe execute bonus this year. JP Morgan also announced that they will be cutting 10% of their workforce.<br /><br />The other big driver this week was the auto industry. Discussions started looking bleak on Wednesday (and thus the huge drop on concerns of an even deeper recession if the auto industry collapses), as Congress members continue to bicker with the Big 3. I'm not too sure about the details (cars just don't interest me that much), but it sounds like they're concerned about whether taxpayer's money is going to waste since the auto industry was already not competitive <span style="font-style: italic;">before</span> the this financial crisis and they want to see a sound plan to change them into healthier companies before they come to their aid. I believe the catch phrase of the week is, "You show us the plan, and we'll show you the money." Makes sense to me. They will be meeting again in December for the Big 3 to <span style="font-style: italic;">prove</span> to American that they are worth saving. Oh and they seemed to have came up with a good source of where the $25 bn will come from too. Instead of from TARP, it will come from the money already approved in July to help make more environmentally friendly cars. They will give them this money in advance and the Big 3 will slowly pay back this amount into this pool of funds. Makes complete sense to me. That way, we're not creating extra debt.<br /><br />Speaking of politics, Bernanke has not been very popular recently. His abrupt change of the use of TARP surprised many, leaving them to wonder what exactly they voted for. His annoucement that he doesn't plan to use the rest of the $350 bn of TARP until Obama's administration comes on board, making one question whether he's given up already. Claiming twice in the last week that the government's efforts have succeeded in stabilizing the financial system does not make it true- especially given the crazy market movement this week.<br /><br />Another major factor contributing to the drop this week is the Fed slashing its outlook for the economy through 2009. They lowered the 2008 GDP forecast from 1-1.6% to 0-1.3% and forecasts that the economy could shrink by 0.2% in 2009. They also raised their unemployment projections sharply higher to 6.3% to 6.5% for 2008 and 7.1%-7.6% for 2009. In addition, the consumer price index also fell by 1% in October, the biggest drop since 1947, suggesting deflation. Many expect this recession would last longer than the middle of 2009. This is gloomy enough news to send anyone running.<br /><br />Even Berkshire Hathaway was not immune to this market turbulence. On Wednesday, Berkshire plunged over 12%, its worst day since 1987's market crash. They've been getting a lot of bad press lately, with declining earnings in their insurance operations and stocks. They had 9 straight days of decline after they published their third quarter earnings report. Goldman Sachs and General Electric, Buffet's most recent purchases, also went below the price he got them for. Some suggested that he needed a new crystal ball. But on Friday, it Berkshire bounced by 16%, to $90,000. This week, Berkshire also got over $1 bn for its shares in Anheuser-Busch, a brewer, as the acquisition of it by InBev was formally completed. Buffet says he's not worried. Incidentally, Berkshire also significantly boosted its shares in ConocoPhillips this quarter, indicating that he's bull on oil.<br /><br />On Friday Obama finally decided on the next Treasury Secretary- Timothy Geithner, the current president of the NY Fed Reserves. This appointment was welcoming news to Wall Street as it rallied back up into the 8000 levels. I'm not going to go into his history but he's had a LOT of experience and is widely seen as a good candidate for the job.<br /><br />Overseas, Iceland finally got a $10.2 bn loan on Thursday, from the IMF, Dutch, British and the Nordic countries. And did you know that we still had pirates in this day and age? Earlier this week, it captured the Sirius Star, which has an oil cargo of about $100 mn worth. Apparently piracy is still very prevalent these days, there has been a record of 199 since the beginning of the year- most prominently in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia. </span><span style="font-size:85%;">On Thursday, an Indian navy warship sank a Somali pirate vessel. It's like the Pirates of the Caribbean in modern times!<br /></span></div>

Ctrl BG: A Shortcut to Financial News 11/21

It's been another exciting week! Almost comparable to that week in September/October, except no major banks collapse (yet) and there wer...

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Gossip Girl, Last Season?

<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">It's a bit of a late rant, but I've had it on my mind for a looong time now and I simply must just get it out of my system. Remeber the episode this season when they went to visit Yale? </span><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271119392391522194" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSbHKOgrZ5I/AAAAAAAADfU/Dbohym56Ynk/s400/GG-+S.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Serena had on this pink and white striped blazer that is just absolutely gorgeous. The design is classic and preppy, while the color and stripes is pretty and flirty. And I REALLY wanted it. Like seriously. I immediately went online and looked up Gossip Girl websites trying to figure out where I can get myself one of those (which frankly, is <em>not </em>one of my fortes). Finally, I found it labelled as a Ralph Lauren blazer. Doh! I should've known. It is so obvious now, I wonder why I spent so much time searching for it to begin with. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">Of course, I then hurried onto the Ralph Lauren website, crossing my fingers that it'll be from the RL label that is within my price range- and I couldn't find it! Not deterred, I told myself I'll stop by the RL store next time and ask if the sales person has it. Before I got myself there though, I showed it to my cousin who is positvely a RL expert and he told me that it was a blazer from <strong>last season</strong>. You have no idea how disapopinted I was (AM!). WHY would they style the characters of such a hot TV series in last seasons clothes? It doesn't make sense. Isn't the whole point of such publicity for labels is to convince viewers to buy these clothes? How did they think we can buy it when it's not even available? </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271254903443626722" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSdCaAhLGuI/AAAAAAAADfc/fE1_w8Wt_Ec/s400/GG.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Speaking of which, it reminds me of the second episode of this season (which aired in September) when Blair was coming back from the Hamptons with "the lord." She was in THE orange Marc by Marc Jacobs dress of SS08, which is so completely recognizable I was surprised they chose this dress at all. I'm sure a LOT of thought was put into their outfits by a hoard of stylist, so I don't know what they were thinking.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">Because it has been publicized as such a stylish and trendy hot TV series (which I LOVE), I expect to see the latest fashions and style. I was sorely disappointed in these two instances. I am sure there are lots of other instances I haven't caught yet. Maybe the sponsors are getting cheap. Or am I expecting too much? </span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><br />Image Source: </span><a href="http://www.instyle.com/instyle/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">In Style</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> and </span><a href="http://gossipgirlonline.net/"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Gossip Girl online</span></a></span></div>

Gossip Girl, Last Season?

It's a bit of a late rant, but I've had it on my mind for a looong time now and I simply must just get it out of my system. Remeber ...

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Obsessed with Johnson's Softwash Gentle Exfoliating 24 Hour Moisturizing Wash

As they said, "Enjoy it while it last." Unfortunately, I did not realize how long it would last and now freezing my behind up. If you guess "it" is the warm weather, you are absolutely right, my friend. While last week I was prancing around wearing short sleeve t-shirt, this time 'round I'm bundling up from head to toes. The cold weather brings with it a different set of problems and perhaps the one that everyone really complains about is dry and scaly skin.<br /><br />When it gets colder, the skin also becomes drier as there's less moisture in the air. Also, those who have dry skin tend to experience a more severe level of dryness. This year, I anticipated this and did some preventive work before the temperature dropped. While the creme cleanser from Bath and Body Works has been my cure-all for the cold season, it does not seem to rinse clean and leaves my skin feeling a little bit balmy. Like my body lotion, I am very particular about my body wash: it has to be gentle, moisturizing, and rinses clean. Anything that makes my skin feeling strange is a big no-no.<br /><br />While alligator bags are cute, alligator skin definitely is not. When the skin looks flaky, the only way to cure the flakes is to exfoliate. Unfortunately, most exfoliators I have experienced either felt like sand paper on my skin or were oil-based, which made my skin feeling really funky after the wash (again, I'm very particular on what's I use to wash my body!) So I was very delighted to find this during one of my shopping trips:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxD-QTXkF22JXAD4UFydwLNSMq-r_iW4tOkZSNUEzVNKiXHrrLYeo7mp9M6ZNN4aPEvcSDaqwRk6o_Jc-u_hdh5ER6jH-GBAm9hXYaMsYNhr3AbbechW_kbk8a4CQRLwE0cnjggJdQJIf/s1600-h/JnJ+002.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270952745407097730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirxD-QTXkF22JXAD4UFydwLNSMq-r_iW4tOkZSNUEzVNKiXHrrLYeo7mp9M6ZNN4aPEvcSDaqwRk6o_Jc-u_hdh5ER6jH-GBAm9hXYaMsYNhr3AbbechW_kbk8a4CQRLwE0cnjggJdQJIf/s320/JnJ+002.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a>Introducing Johnson's Softwash Gentle Exfoliating<br />24 Hour Moisturizing Wash<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I remember when Johnson's Softwash came out maybe 2 years ago, one of my friends deliberately jammed her arm to my nose to show me how wonderful her new lavender body wash smelled (it smelled wonderful, by the way!) However, I never seemed to pay any attention to Johnson's adult line of body care. After all, I am too grown up for Baby Johnson, I guess.<br /><br />Wrong! You can run, you can hide, but you can't escape what your mom used to wash you when you were a baby. Except now the thing is developed for adult folks, except it still feels and smells as comfortable as I remember.<br /></div></div><span id="fullpost"><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBtEDV2DDuDZLmUXnJ1nlkusUrFp9Yru3N7DWKNuF7Z3L6PktjpTa5kQHMXWi-U0LV5bXTTru67UyCUqjaCzu43mfcmGZ0rEes5ftaYM04Y0xmR22fdUYcuiv0gSjRRQwhelRjwHQGcnfU/s1600-h/JnJ+004.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270952745727098226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBtEDV2DDuDZLmUXnJ1nlkusUrFp9Yru3N7DWKNuF7Z3L6PktjpTa5kQHMXWi-U0LV5bXTTru67UyCUqjaCzu43mfcmGZ0rEes5ftaYM04Y0xmR22fdUYcuiv0gSjRRQwhelRjwHQGcnfU/s320/JnJ+004.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a>My hand holding the bottle just for size preference<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">At less than 5 dollars, this product is quite a steal. Just look how huge it is! The bottle is 18 fl oz (532 ml) and that's a lot of body wash to go around. I hesitated to buy it because knowing myself, it will take many moons to finally finish a bottle of body wash that big. However, I took a sniff and I was hooked. The thing does not smell like baby shampoo at all but kind of sensual to me. Very grown up, indeed!<br /><br />As they advertised, this body wash is gentle enough to use on sensitive skin and the beads are dissolving, which is a big factor for me. Since most of the beads in scrubs are made from tiny polymer particles, they do not feel rough on your skin. However, once washed away they may become an environmental hazard as fish and other aquatic animals may ingest them and develop tumors. While I fully expected the sand paper scrubs, I was quite happy to be proven wrong: I could not feel the beads at all as they are so tiny!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipneS-LNvK6RafaFHdcKxS8Q_yE_ErxrdfjI9HrZZK4beM23vqbWfo9cZHmnuc6QmqDkjl3W0Ja0pMxXFy1UCzSMQ1zkWHHH1Ohmz0Cq4yK1GdmjMZCRJF7LXFV78FzuAot1FxjoBB_IIf/s1600-h/JnJ+010.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270952749777598546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipneS-LNvK6RafaFHdcKxS8Q_yE_ErxrdfjI9HrZZK4beM23vqbWfo9cZHmnuc6QmqDkjl3W0Ja0pMxXFy1UCzSMQ1zkWHHH1Ohmz0Cq4yK1GdmjMZCRJF7LXFV78FzuAot1FxjoBB_IIf/s320/JnJ+010.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" /></a>I squeezed a whole bunch of body wash just to see only one tiny bead!<br />Notice how dry my hand was, I already see the effect of dry and cold weather.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The body wash is quite a delight to use, beside the lack of beads. It feels pretty much like whipped cream once lathered up. The wash rinses clean and I was afraid that it would not moisturize enough. However, the surprise came after I toweled my body dry: it felt smooth like a baby's bottom! I've been using it for about three weeks and am very delighted to tell you that my legs are smooth, not alligator-y looking!<br /><br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2wtNdf2E-fdup1XP1akeDhPjVu3jaPNiez5Dbt36I29Z-CqL7aH19wzykM1GSeXm-bn04B2NBkZMUg7PnueFoVmNlLHQm3yi7_d-ShAjOv0uujJwPh59N8LV_ZJoUv0lls3Dovxy9LvO/s1600-h/JnJ+006.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270952752697264658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2wtNdf2E-fdup1XP1akeDhPjVu3jaPNiez5Dbt36I29Z-CqL7aH19wzykM1GSeXm-bn04B2NBkZMUg7PnueFoVmNlLHQm3yi7_d-ShAjOv0uujJwPh59N8LV_ZJoUv0lls3Dovxy9LvO/s320/JnJ+006.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" /></a></div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">A snap shot of the ingredients for those who can read it sideway<br />(Thank you, Picassa!)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Ingredients (for those who prefer to read horizontally):<br />Water, acrylates copolymer, sodium laureth sulfate, glycerin, sodium cocoyl isethionate, coco-glucoside, lauryl betaine, styrene/acrylates copolymer, fragrance, citric acid, DMDM hydantoin, sodium hydroxide, ethylhexyl palmitate, methyparaben, disodium EDTA, polyquaternium-7, mineral oil, polysorbate 20, petrolatum, polyquartenium-10, polyethylene, red 30, talc, iron oxides.<br /><br />If you are as <s>anal</s> specific about your body wash as I am, I suggest you to give this new body wash from Johnson and Johnson. Baby Johnson finally grows up indeed!<br /><br />I'm still feeling the effect of the lack of blogging. Not writing here for a week makes me feel like a sloth. Only frequent blogging can cure it, I guess.<br /><br />Have a nice weekend everyone!<br />Your Makeup Blogger<br /><br /></div></div>P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!<br /></span>

Obsessed with Johnson's Softwash Gentle Exfoliating 24 Hour Moisturizing Wash

As they said, "Enjoy it while it last." Unfortunately, I did not realize how long it would last and now freezing my behind up. If ...

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I'm Back!

Hi pretty ladies (and gents!)<br /><br />I'm back on the web again! It feels really good to be back, let me tell you that. I could have been blogging since Monday if the free internet that I use did not decide to take a short vacation. The truth is since last Sunday, I had no internet at home :( I was so ready to post and then when I dialed into the system, I only received the busy signals, bah! So the internet port at school decided to get a switcharoo to a new one without telling us and until very late last night, I could not go online at all. But now thanks to the invisible internet God (and some technicians), I'm able to check my email again!<br /><br />So what happened during the internet-free period?<br /><br />Let me tell you ladies it's a boring world and I wished I had more games installed in my computer. The all-mighty machine that I called my laptop all of the sudden became this most mundane instrument. For many days, I only used it for one purpose: to type my NaNoWriMo novel! So without further ado, I'm really happy to be back!<br /><br />But if you're wondering what else happened besides the NaNo typing? Well, let me tell ya, a lot!<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />1. I got a new camera and it's a sexy beast!<br /><br />About half a year ago, I broke my old camera, a very ancient Fuji Finepix. It was an accident: I was using self-timer to take a picture of myself (that's level 10 of camwhoring for those who are into "the art" hehe.) When I just turned my back away from it, the camera toppled and fell on the floor. A mechanical part inside the lens broke and since it could not retract, it decided not to let me take any pictures either. The bad thing is that's my first camera. The good thing is I got it for free since it came with my laptop.<br /><br />So after half a year of pondering on what to get and where to buy, the day finally came and I got this sexiness from <a href="www.newegg.com">New Egg</a> for a very bargain price. New Egg also threw in a 2MB SD card and a camera bag, that's really generous of them. Also, they shipped my stuff super quick and packed them really well. So yay to New Egg!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuxz0bVItJ0HvLS6ZvGvrpV5KNt03XELZldV9ThGsKkWJ5PQmwaFSUkyIPDygBybY1YHyodrZ9w1vkCoddfm3w1RCL48Vht0jltShKnFXFDJLGajjWogi5v2uwUxEOfFup08s8Um5oFWJ/s1600-h/powershot-a590is.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270765752535617074" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKuxz0bVItJ0HvLS6ZvGvrpV5KNt03XELZldV9ThGsKkWJ5PQmwaFSUkyIPDygBybY1YHyodrZ9w1vkCoddfm3w1RCL48Vht0jltShKnFXFDJLGajjWogi5v2uwUxEOfFup08s8Um5oFWJ/s320/powershot-a590is.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 249px;" /></a>The Canon PowerShot A590 IS<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I was pondering between the Ạ590 IS and the SD1100. The second one is Canon's more expensive point-and-shoot model with the ELPH technology (don't ask me what it stands for, I have no clue!) It's about 60 dollars more expensive than the A590 and has virtually the same features. The Ạ90, however, has a bigger screen, an optical view finder (which is kind of useless for me), more optical zoom, and takes wide-screen photos, all for 60 dollars cheaper!<br /><br />The only complaint I heard from people who uses the A-cameras from Canon is the short battery life. This line of camera all uses AA batteries and the ones you get from dollar store won't make it. However, I use my rechargeable AA and it's doing really swell. So if you need a simple point and shoot digital camera, the Ạ90 IS is a good start. If you have more money in your pocket, as that's where I consult first, go ahead and get an SD750 and above. Canon makes really good cameras and the picture quality from this one is truly wonderful.<br /><br />2. I went to some NaNo write-ins and met some really wonderful writers in my area:<br /><br />After 2 weeks of just writing at home, my word count got quite a beating. While other people got to 20-30K of words within days, yours truly was lagging behind with merely 10K. The low word count was actually a week ago and since then I trippled my productivity. Now I'm comfortably in 30K and beyond zone, which pushes me to a very bright potential of completing this challenge altogether.<br /><br />At the first few days, I barely made it through 1000 words per hour, which is quite slow in my opinion. Then as the word count kicked me in the butt, I madly typed like an insane person and last Friday completed my first 5K challenge (sounds like running to some of y'all!) It all went much much easier from there: 1K here, 2K there and I get around 3,000 words a day much easily. Yesterday I decided to take a break to let my creative juice flow and today I'm writing again, aiming for that elusive 35,000 words goal.<br /><br />Writing with other people is much more productive than I expected. After a session, each of us stepped out of the room with three to five thousand written words under our belts, can you believe that? During this NaNo, I've learned so many things about writing and hope to one day teach people, especially science students, the whole process. It's very easy, actually, now that I realized the whole damn thing! (Please excuse mi lengua!)<br /><br />3. It finally gets cold in herrre, brrrr!<br /><br />This time last week I wore short sleeves t-shirt and now I'm bundling up head to toes with my heater turned on. For the past few days, it was 20-something degree Farenheit at night (that's waaaay below zero degree Celcius for folks who uses the SI.) Yesterday morning, I woke up to see nothing on my paper thermostat that had the lowest temperature at 54 degrees. The room was ice-cold and it took me and my heater a while to bring the room back to 54-and-beyond.<br /><br />So everyone, let's bundle up and save some energy, ok? I actually feel fine when the room is in the low 70s now.<br /><br />What else? Oh, I got a haircut and found out my hair was dry. A dose of moisturizing shampoo at Aveda and my hair shone again!<br /><br />I think that's pretty much it, other stuff I won't dare to put online. But anyways, I'm glad to be back. Blogging will resume as normal as of today. Mr. Internet, don't go wonky on me again. I need you!<br /><br />Take care everyone, I'm so glad to see all of y'all again!<br />Dao<br /></div></div><br />P.S: If you like my blog, please <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"><img alt="" src="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/images/pub/feed-icon16x16.png" style="border: 0pt none ; vertical-align: middle;" /></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/MyMakeupBlog" rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml">subscribe to my feed.</a> Thanks a lot!<br /></span>

I'm Back!

Hi pretty ladies (and gents!) I'm back on the web again! It feels really good to be back, let me tell you that. I could have been bloggi...

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FW08 Winter Hats

<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >Besides the classic newsboy cap, the beanie and the beret, the <span style="font-style: italic;">latest</span> winter hat twist to hit the scene this season are these half hoodies.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSTII07tRXI/AAAAAAAADe0/GRICHoPRDiw/s1600-h/FW08-+Hats+2.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270557517903906162" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSTII07tRXI/AAAAAAAADe0/GRICHoPRDiw/s400/FW08-+Hats+2.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 396px;" /></a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >I first caught sight of them at Marc by MJ (left) and I thought, "whoa it looks like an oversized turtle neck- without the shirt part," and I didn't know what to think of it. In fact, to be honest I still don't. I thought maybe it is an Marc by MJ abberation and I should just ignore it. But no. It seems to be creeping up a lot more lately on both Shop Bop <span style="font-style: italic;">and </span>Barneys. I mean, it's kind of neat in that it is like attachable hoodie you can put on any outfit you want and it serves as both a scarf <span style="font-style: italic;">and</span> a hat. And with the looser kinds, I guess it does look a bit cool (or not as weird as I initially thought it was). But I think the show a little fringe rule applies here too (I can see myself burrow inside the hood, if I ever got this, with a dark hole as my face). What is everyone's consensus on these?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSTIG1I9eFI/AAAAAAAADes/-Y6vKWuSK18/s1600-h/FW08-+Hats+1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270557483599755346" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSTIG1I9eFI/AAAAAAAADes/-Y6vKWuSK18/s400/FW08-+Hats+1.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" /></a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >While I am undecided about the loose hoodies above, I am however very decided about these tighter hoodies. I don't like them. It looks like those ski masks people put over their heads, where you can only see their eyes, except here they widened the hole a bit so you can breathe. It just looks weird- especially as an accessory to an outfit it is not part of. If the model doesn't look that great in this... what are our chances?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSTIJSr06FI/AAAAAAAADe8/4pi0rUqKZtc/s1600-h/FW08-+Hats+3.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270557525890361426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSTIJSr06FI/AAAAAAAADe8/4pi0rUqKZtc/s400/FW08-+Hats+3.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 257px;" /></a></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >Other hats of note. I just couldn't resist putting up this Sophia Costa floral knit beret (left). Even though at this point I have to admit that I am not a beret girl, I must say I love this hat. It just looks so artistic and pretty. I can totally see this on Gossip Girl. And speaking of morphing hat and scarf, I thought I'd throw in this Eugenia Kim combo (right). I think it works! Especially since the design is so simple but feminine. I imagine it would be very convenient to just grab this before you head out the door into the winter cold!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSTTWnR20ZI/AAAAAAAADfM/qGH41DoJC_0/s1600-h/FW08-+Hats+4.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270569849384784274" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSTTWnR20ZI/AAAAAAAADfM/qGH41DoJC_0/s400/FW08-+Hats+4.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 279px;" /></a>And for something a bit more conventional, I am in love with these two winter hats. The first one is a newsboy cap (left) with a twist, literally. The cap is designed to be on the side. Then there is this Mischa Lampert hat (right) which is simply adorable. Especially with the furry balls at the end. It's so festive! Plus, your ears will definitely be warm!<br /></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" ><br />Image Source: <a href="http://www.barneys.com/">Barneys</a> and <a href="http://www.shopbop.com/">Shopbop</a><br /></span>

FW08 Winter Hats

Besides the classic newsboy cap, the beanie and the beret, the latest winter hat twist to hit the scene this season are these half hoodies....

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Winter Berets

<span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;" >It snowed this weekend! Luckily, not the scary blizzard painful kind of snow (not yet anyway), but the movie kind, where they gently flurry down and then disappear as it hits the ground. As pretty as it is though, it is also deceivingly cold. In fact, it is officially freezing out there! A great time to bring out your winter hats to protect your ears from coming off.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSNfDnm2R_I/AAAAAAAADeU/Q1faMlK5xgY/s1600-h/hats-+UO.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270160504729782258" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSNfDnm2R_I/AAAAAAAADeU/Q1faMlK5xgY/s400/hats-+UO.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 302px;" /></a>I was actually excited this year, because I wanted to try wearing out my white popcorn beret (left) which I just bought from Urban Outfitters. I figured that it was very wintery and cute, plus since it is so loose, it won't give me hat hair (or less of it anyway). Apparently I only got it half right. The first two times I wore it, 2 of my friends told me that I looked like a cancer patient... the rest were too polite to comment. Of course I defended myself and told them that they don't know what they're talking about, but if I were to be honest with myself, I do kind of look like a cancer patient. Because unlike the models on top where the beret just sits atop their head, when I wear it, I pull it all the way down to my eyes and ears (such that no fringe escapes) and am fully bundled up from head to toe- hey it's cold out there! Unfortunately, as a result, one cannot see that I have any hair at all and I effectively do look like cancer patient. White was also an unfortunate color choice. The cute popcorn probably look like tumors on me too.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSNf2aFPVSI/AAAAAAAADek/_84m2ynlVBY/s1600-h/Eugenia+Kim.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270161377272485154" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSNf2aFPVSI/AAAAAAAADek/_84m2ynlVBY/s400/Eugenia+Kim.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 396px;" /></a>I'd like to think that this "effect" only applies to unstructured berets like the ones above and that if I got a more structured one, like this one from Eugenia Kim, I would look much better, because I'm totally in love with this hat. I love the little buckle and I love the subtly textured tones of purple. It is dark enough to match with many things, but there's still some color to stand out amongst the black hats around.I have a feeling that it might not provide as much coverage and warmth as the ones above, but it looks so pretty!<br /><br />Or am I just deluding myself into thinking that it will look better?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSNfD8Q0LbI/AAAAAAAADec/fQCDIQtXv30/s1600-h/hat-+UP.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270160510274514354" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NUbPhaVyuGs/SSNfD8Q0LbI/AAAAAAAADec/fQCDIQtXv30/s400/hat-+UP.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 261px; height: 400px;" /></a>Maybe I should just stick to a classic newsboy cap that looks good on everyone- maybe in red.<br /><br />Image Source: <a href="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/index.jsp">Urban Outfitters</a> and <a href="http://www.shopbop.com/">ShopBop</a><br /></span>

Winter Berets

It snowed this weekend! Luckily, not the scary blizzard painful kind of snow (not yet anyway), but the movie kind, where they gently flurry ...

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