Posts from — March 2008

Nothing makes a girl happier than playing with new makeup. O.K maybe not you tomboys out there, but you girls don’t have anything in common with me so go chase a ball or something and leave me with my new goodies.

I got ColorOn in the mail this week. ColorOn are these nifty disposable pads with mineral eyeshadow applied to them. The idea behind them is that any girl can easily get professional looking makeup at home without fussing with it too long. I have been playing with makeup since I was about three and even I can’t get my makeup like this. I got the jewel tone kit which includes three different color combinations, Amethyst & Gold, Emeralds & Gold and Sapphires & Gold. There are a bunch of different color kits available and these colors are on the brighter side of the spectrum.

They look exactly like they do in the picture above — a soft cotton pad that is an oval shape slightly larger than your eyelid. The first one I tried for photo shoot I was posing for (figured it was necessary to have perfect makeup). I tried the pair of Amethyst & Gold shadows. The directions are pretty straight forward. Place on eyelid, centered on lash line holding in place with your index and middle fingers in a “peace sign”. Use your free index finger to rub the pad carefully where you want makeup applied and peel pad back. Since the package said “mineral” makeup I assumed it was a powder on the pad but it really is more of a cream shadow. This is pretty smart because the next step is to smudge edges with a clean finger a little bit for a natural edge and cream makeup works well for this. Cream eyeshadow also lasts a lot longer but I felt it was necessary to dust translucent powder over my lids so it lasted longer and didn’t crease.

The Amethyst & Gold looked like an old black eye at first (the whole purple and yellow combination) but once I smudged the dark purple a little it actually looked really nice. The box said that you can actually get two applications per pad which is nice since a box cost $16. Being the frugal type I am, I put the pad back in the plastic covering it came in and used it again the next day. It was a little more subtle but there was plenty of makeup still on the pad. So you can really get 4 applications per pad if you want.

This is what the Amethyst & Gold looked like on me the first day. While the exact color is a little hard to see from the picture you can see that the overall effect is much more subtle than what is on the box.

So this weekend I had a bridal shower and was wearing this really adorable green cardigan. So I figured that the Emerald & Gold pad would match well. The “Emerald and Gold” is really green and orange. They were really bright and I looked like I was going out for Halloween. I wiped it off. Although I loved how ColorOn worked not all of these color combinations are the best. I would go for something more subtle.

Above is the jewel tones “Emerald and Golds”. Looks nice here but not so great in person. Below is the “Animal Instincts” color option. Now where exactly would you wear these out??

I talk a lot about saving money on this site because bad decisions when I was younger sent me into more debt than I could handle at one point – mostly credit card debt.  Credit cards are a slippery slope.  One car repair pops up and you think, “Hey, this is an emergency so it is safe to put this on the card.” This is followed by a shopping trip to the mall when “what’s twenty more dollars tacked onto the card going to make a difference” pops into your head.  Before you know it you are paying minimum payments with no end in site.  For me this was on a high interest card that I got in with during college… I was one of many 18 year-old suckers that fell for that. 

I could handle all of this debt ok until a few years ago when I had some medical issues pop up that required a lot of tests.  Just out of college with a part-time job, and on one of the worst insurance plans ever, I racked up more debt than I could handle.  I was sending out $10 checks once a month to as many outstanding bills as I could afford in order to avoid collections on my ass — which happened anyway because I still couldn’t keep up.

I have my debt under control so it is no longer the “bad” debt that seems to suffocate and I work really hard not to ever be in that position again. My credit is finally reviving itself  — rule #1 is check your credit report so you know where you stand.  So it doesn’t bother me that my friend calls me the “queen of coupons”.  Doing little things like avoiding online shipping fees, comparison shopping and decorating using recycled items I have refurbished make me feel really good about my financial position. 

I guess I wanted to share a little bit of optimism to the bloggers I read in positions similar to where I was.  I hated feeling the stress of debt and trying to hack at it little by little with no end in sight.  And this will sound lame, but being debt free is achievable if you aren’t a reckless spender.  I read about your guilt and your stress every week and I guess I want you to know that I empathize because I was there and trust me when I say… it will end.

This is a paid post.
 

This may sound naive but I have always thought that reality TV was actually real.  Don’t get me wrong, I know editing and splicing has a way of reality seeming a lot more interesting than it really is but I didn’t think you could market something “reality TV” if there was a script.  I am laughing right now at how gullible I am!  Since I am obsessed with television and have way too much time on my hands these are some of the fake reality tv shows that bother me.

One is Rock of Love for instance.  Bret Michaels goes on and on about finding his true love at the beginning of the season.  On the finale episode Jess confronts him as a fraud.  Apparently Brett disappeared after their final date and never talked to her again.  So obviously once she dumped his sorry ass he decided to do a second season of the show to find his real love.  But did you see the girls from the second season… these are not girls you try and fall in love with.  I can’t possibly believe that this is unscripted “reality” anymore.  Check out this cast info from Wikipedia …

• Megan and her partner Scooter were the winners of the third season of Beauty and the Geek. Clearly she is moving on the reality TV circuit now. 
• Megan is a Playboy model, and in February 2006 she was named the Playboy Cybergirl of the Week. Apparently she actually has a real job and doesn’t only make money on the circuit.
•  Angelique is involved in porn and has appeared on various television shows such as Howard Stern, Dr. 90210, Criss Angel Mindfreak, and Playboytv. Her porn name is Angelique Morgan.  It will be pretty interesting when shows up on Big Brother. That will shake up the house.
•  Inna tried out for MTV’s A Shot At Love With Tila Tequila, but wasn’t chosen for the final 16 girls. So she decided she likes guys for this show??
• Aubry tried out for a spot in MTV’s Yo Momma New York, but wasn’t chosen for the second round. Well at least Rock of Love is a step up from Yo Mamma. Wasn’t Wilmer the host of that show??
•  Kristy Joe has modeled for Playboy

Speaking of Beauty and the Geek, the the so-called male “beauty” from last season, Sam Horrigan played dumb the whole time claiming he was a club-promoter. That wasn’t true at all. He has made guest appearances on TV shows like One Tree Hill, Joan of Arcadia, Desperate Housewives , Still Standing, Grounded for Life, 8 Simple Rules, and Veronica Mars. He played Val in the 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie Brink! (which is a movie I actually remember). Everything on IMDB leads me to believe that he is an actor. We have all heard about the contraversy about the TV show the Hills. Lauren Conrad may not even have a real job at Teen Vogue? That isn’t just editing… that would be lying.

I liked the first season of Scott Baio is 45 and Single.While clearly a lot is staged this second season has gone a little too far. Do the producers of that show really think that I believe Baio found out his girlfriend was pregnant so he stole a catering truck and snuck onto a private golf course?

If you have ever watched Season 2 of Real Housewives of Orange County you may have seen another familiar face on the reality TV show circuit. The single mother Tammy Knickerbocker has a daughter, Megan struggling with the sudden death of her father. She is thrown a birthday party on a yacht and throws a drunken fit. You may have seen amongst her “friends” Tomich from Season 1 of “The Bad Girls Club”. You have to look carefully, but he is there.

Did anyone watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians last season. If you did you may have seen the episode where Kris hires a nanny to help Bruce with the kids so he can have some much needed R&R. She finds out that the girl is a total joke and fires her at the end of the episode. Well, Howard Stern listeners just heard last week that the “nanny” was a porn star, hired on by producers. There was nothing real in that episode. It was all scripted. My question is, if it is a script who was the one having Kim help her Mom with the sexy nude photo shoot for Bruce. Please tell me that wasn’t real as well.

What happened to the days of Real Worldwhere the “characters” were just idolized regular people? Now is the day of the “faux-reality show”? Anyway, I am glad the writers strike is over and we are finally getting some real television again. I think I am ready for a good ole fashion ficticious drama.

I have mentioned in the past that I really like American Eagle’s Aerie collection. Mostly because their underwear allow me have my ass covered comfortably, so I don’t feel like I have a wedgie all day, yet they are not considered hideous “granny panties”. Well, I am a little late in sharing this, but for the next two days (that’s March 12th) you can get $10 off one of Aerie’s bras. Plus free shipping and free returns. Just enter this coupon code at checkout … 34939822. Since I haven’t bought bras in over two years (I have been avoiding the dreadfulness of bra shopping) I already got one. Hmm, maybe I should buy two.

I really hope that I not only have a better dress than this on my wedding day but I also don’t look this strange.

iVillage sent me an email today that caught my attention. Brides-to-be can use iVillage’s “Build Your Dream Dress” web application to see what dress style will be most flattering on their body.

I headed to the site and put this lovely number together (top). The drawing is a little pitiful and the only thing slightly reminiscent of my figure on this chick is her slightly over-sized boobs.  But if you are bored at your job (like I was) this may entertain you for ten minutes or so.