love this cut

I don't watch the show, but I must admit that I've lusted over almost every single 90210 cast member's haircut or color at some point in recent months. Case in point: I love love love LOVE Jessica Stroup's chin-length haircut, but probably would never have the guts to chop off a foot of my own hair. It's cute but somehow also sexy and looks easy to style - that is, unless you have a mop of frizzy waves like I do, which is why I could never EVER pull this off. When it comes to hair COLOR, you guys know how experimental I am. But come near me with scissors and I'd probably try to set them on fire. It's quite sad...

ANTM "ty-overs"

A new season of America's Next Top Model is upon us, and this time around, I'm SO excited because Tyra has chosen girls under 5'7 to compete. I don't know why she kept calling the ladies "petite" during last night's 2 hour season premiere, because the last time I checked, 5'6 is not petite.

Anyway, I was beyond ecstatic that that the fierce Miss Tyra decided to do makeovers in the very first episode. Makeovers, or "Ty-Overs" as they were called, are the absolute highlight of the entire ANTM season. This time around, I was shocked that there weren't more tears of despair shed - the only drama I spotted was the whole Bianca and the bleached eyebrows thing. Sweet pea, you have not one strand of hair on your head, and you're complaining about the shock factor of bleached brows? Come on now.

Then, we have Erin. Sweet little Erin who had beautiful golden brown hair - that is, until Sally Hershberger's team got their hands on her and bleached her hair until it couldn't be bleached no more. I suppose they were so pleased with the results that they gave Rae the same white-blonde treatment. I love the whole platinum look, but could never ever pull it off. My face would probably look green and I'd be in the salon every 4 days touching up my roots.

Other notable changes: Sundai's (I love her name, it reminds me of ice cream) weave went bye-bye, and she got a cute little Rihanna bob. Lulu went from hairless to weavetastic with her new blunt bangs and long, straight hair. Some of the underwhelming changes of the evening involved Nicole, Kara and Lisa. Boooring.

Sidenote: I'm so bummed that Jesus girl, Amber, went home early. Although I firmly believe she was deliberately planted in the premiere by producers, I would have liked to see her stick around for a few more shows because the girl was a loony bird.

Discuss!

enjoy an evening with Benefit!

And so NYFW has begun. Since I'm not one to follow high fashion (my income doesn't really allow for that), I like to follow beauty happenings instead. Check this out...(click invite to view the deets).

more liner notes...

So, the topic of lip liner came up yesterday. Lip liner! Someone had asked me if I've ever worn it. Um, only from 1996-2000, otherwise known  as my bleak years of beauty. I've seen better days for sure, but I'm not going to totally dismiss lip liner. After all, it was my color choice (Wet n Wild #666! Now I realize why it was so aptly named - it was truly the devil reincarnated into a pencil) and application technique that made me a beauty "don't" all those years. Why the liner lunacy? Selena. I remember trying to emulate her dark liner look because I was so obsessed with that movie. Unfortunately, what worked for her (and for J.Lo) didn't work for me. 

I abandoned lip liner for many years after that, and it wasn't until about a year ago that I realized its magical powers. Case in point: a nude or creamy pink lip liner filled in the lips and topped with lip balm gives a beautiful daytime lip look that lasts a few hours - much longer than any creamy lipstick or gloss would. I also like to do this when I wear a smoky eye at night. Then, there's red. A matte red pencil is BEAUTIFUL for getting that old Hollywood look (or new H-wood: think Gwen Stefani). But you're probably asking - why liner when you have a lipstick? When you're doing a red lip, precision is key - lipsticks are sometimes too runny, too thick, too creamy, and before you know it, lipstick is everywhere - teeth, chin, corners of the mouth, tip of the nose. Disaster. 

Here are some of my favorite lip liners:

NARS Jungle Red

NARS Salsa

MAC Whirl

Smashbox Palm Beach

No matter which you choose, remember the cardinal rule of lip liner - don't forget to fill!

liner notes

Eye liner can be very transformative in that it can take me from dead-looking to drop-dead gorge in seconds flat - even without a stitch of other makeup (true story). Thing is, perfecting liner can take YEARS - it wasn't until 2002 that I mastered lining my inner rims, which totally changed my life. There are tons of formulas and techniques to be learned, but what I'm about to tell you works like a charm every. single. time. To make it work for day, I stick to brown or deep copper shades, but for nighttime I'll go with plum, gunmetal, or black for a more intense look. But no matter which shade you pick, I promise it'll stay on all day and give you an amazing, non-smudgy, defined look, like Rachel Bilson here. This girl is like the queen of perfect eye liner. She ALWAYS gets it right.

1. Pick your color of choice, then get that shade in a waterproof pencil formula and a liquid formula (I like felt-tip ones the best because they're great for liner virgins AND pros).

2. Dust a taupe shadow all over your lids from lash line to right under your brow bone to even skin tone and give liner a good base to adhere to. I use MAC Omega for this, but it'll only work if your skin is fair or medium. If you're dark, pick something closer to your skintone.

3. Sharpen your pencil so that it's super pointy. The finer the point, the easier it is to be precise with your line. Now it's time to tightline - a trick that makeup artists have been using forever that I swear by for getting a professional look. First, apply the eyeliner right to the lash line, kind of like you're lining your lashes rather than your eyes. Many recommend even pushing it down into the line or even making little dots in between the lashes to get as close as possible. Hint: if you see a white space between the line and your lashes, you made a boo-boo - so start over! When finished tighlining, go over the line with your liquid liner pen to emphasize and darken the line even more.

4. Now, tightline the bottom lash lines starting at the inner corners. When you get to the outer corners, extend the pencil outward a bit, then smudge with a Q-tip to get a look like Rachel's. This will be a bit easier than the top, since you have a more flat, visible surface to work with. Just be careful and try not to jab yourself in the eye. Beauty may be pain (sometimes), but it isn't blindness.

5. Finish with two coats of mascara on top lashes only. I never was a big fan of mascara on the lower lashes for this look, since you want to keep smudging to a minimum. Definition is key.

Ta-da! You're done. Now, as with any dramatic eye look, go for a sheer dusting of blush and a light lip color.

DIY haircutting - a DI-don't?

According to a recent article from The Wall Street Journal, people have been chopping off their hair at home. I have impeccable control with scissors, so I've never been one to shy away from trimming my hair (especially the bangs) in mi casa. Perhaps my many years of watching people get haircuts was like visual practice for me, I don't know.

You may be wondering what would drive someone to the point of taking scissors to their own head. One reason might be that a trim in Manhattan costs as much as lunch for two weeks and quite frankly I'd rather have my lunch. How about convenience? I mean, who wants to wait a week for an appointment when the job can be done in your own bathroom in seconds? If you're like me and can skillfully cut a 1/2 inch off your ends, then I say, go for it.

On the other hand, you have people with major trust (or lackthereof) issues. You figure "I don't want some scissor-wielding FREAK coming at MY beautiful hair! Let me do it myself and it'll come out MUCH better." I dealt with this for many years and thankfully, got over it - there are tons of talented hairstylists in this city (the ones at Antonio Prieto, Julien Farel, and Pierre Michel make the top of my list). If you want a cut - and I mean a real, pretty, layered, quality cut that grows out stunningly and frames your features - you must drag yourself to a salon, just like I do twice per year.

Would you (or have you ever) cut your hair at home? Give me all your stories of triumph...or utter disaster!

terms of endearment

On my daily visit to BellaSugar yesterday, I came across an interesting post about being called cute, pretty, beautiful, or hot. Most of us have been called at least one of these at some point in our lives, but one of the four is probably used more than the others. I tend to hear "cute" a lot (due to my round-ish face and freckles) and I used to HATE it. Care Bears are cute. Yorkies are cute. I worked way too hard on my beauty routine to be called "cute".

But then, I realized that cute probably isn't a bad thing, especially when one gets older. I'm also in good company - think of all the so-called cute celebrities out there: Kate Hudson, Zooey Deschanel and little Lindsay Lohan circa the Mean Girls era. See? It's cute to be called cute.

I have to admit that "hot" isn't on my wishlist. In fact, I HATE hot. Hot is what you're called by construction workers when you're teetering down the street in high heels. Hot makes me feel...trashy.

But pretty or beautiful? More of that, please!