Fashion Boing! Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga loves to do very in-your-face, avant-garde fashion intended for high shock value. She tends to wear outfits that look like she forgot to put on pants. She loves leotards. She carries odd accessories (remember the teacup?).

I honestly don't know what to make of this.

Seriously?! SERIOUSLY.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Muppets. I love Animal. That doesn't mean I want to see his monobrow across a pop queen's crotch.

At least she didn't wear this in the Love Game video. She just went nude-ish - rhinestones don't really count as clothing unless they are much thicker.

Lady Gaga - LoveGame - Watch more Music Videos at Vodpod.

By the bye, I love this video. I see references to lots of 80s videos in it. And maybe I have fuschia on the brain, but I think the whole shag-do leather-clad dance in the Love Game video is an homage to Samantha Fox's Naughty Girls (Need Love Too). What do you think?

Samantha Fox Naughty Girls Need Love Too - Watch more Videos at Vodpod.

Man, I wanted SFs pink hair!

Pic Luv: Blooming Hibiscus

Well, this sucks! It's the middle of May, and it is snowing in Edmonton.

Spring session schedule of two night classes is kicking my ass. Three hour classes four nights a week after a full-time job is just as bad as it sounds. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. On the bright side, I'm enjoying the course material, and it is very relevant to what's happening at work.

May is half over, wow! The schedule makes the days fly by. I'm completely wiped out when I get home. Poor sweetie is lonely all night and then just watches me crumple onto the couch. For once, I'm the one going to bed first.

When I am tired lately, I think of the great flowers that I saw in Punta Cana in February, and how there will be beautiful flowers all over the yards here very soon. Here's a hibiscus flower I photographed while I was there. They grow so plentifully at the resort we stayed at that the staff picks them almost daily and leaves them on the pillows of guests who tip them. In February!

I hope it brightens your day like it does mine. What is your pick-me-up on a crappy day?

P.S. This was taken with my trusty Sony CyberShot DSC-W30. I love this little camera and I take it everywhere with me, but I can't wait until I get my new DSLR. I really want to play with lenses and fields of focus!

Icon Luv: Barbie

I was a tomboy as child. I loved Tonka trucks and camping equipment. But since I'm such a conundrum, I also loved dolls. I played with Barbie until I was much older than was fashionable, under the pretense that I was playing with my sister.

My favourite doll was Beauty Secrets Barbie (1980 model is shown in the photo). I loved that she was so articulated, and that she had so many items. I loved that she could hold her little powder puff and dab it on her face. I loved that she had a stocked beauty kit.

When I grew older, I realized that Barbie didn't look like me. I was a thin girl with a small bust and hips, and Barbie was, well, pneumatic. She was not like me, so I put away childish things, but I couldn't get rid of them completely. I still had a secret love of Barbie.

When I studied Clothing & Textiles in university, we had a lecture in one class by a Barbie doll collector. She explained to us how Barbie had influenced and been influenced by fashion and popular culture. I was amazed because my little Barbie connection from childhood suddenly had a connection to feminism and pop culture in ways I'd never considered. Despite her unnatural dimensions, Barbie had many positive career roles, including:

• Astronaut
• Doctor
• Volunteer candy striper
• UNICEF ambassador

Barbie was a beauty and she and her friends represented many cultures, always with a great sense of style and a killer makeup look.

Others know the fun of Barbie too. MAC released the MAC Loves Barbie cosmetics line in 2007 with beautiful doll-like shades like bright pink. This was one of MACs most successful collections, and Barbie was brought back to the minds of women who grew up playing with their dolls. In turn, Barbie released a MAC Barbie Doll, which was sought after by not just Barbie collectors but MAC collectors as well.

In 2009, Barbie celebrates her 50th anniversary. At New York Fashion Week for Fall 2009, 50 designers contributed to a 50-look Barbie runway show. Stila released the Stila Loves Barbie line, containing more doll-like shades in cute little paint can kits. Lou Lou magazine published an article showing a few examples of Barbie's fashion influences over the years.

I have to admit I still long for some of the Barbies that come out every year. Face it, Barbie is still hot. Hot pink!

Sephora is carrying the limited-edition Smashbox palettes released in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Young Survival Coalition, an international non-profit network of survivors and supporters dedicated to the issues unique to young women and the fight against breast cancer.

Get pretty for a good cause!!!

The Kit includes:

• Pink Power Eye Palette in Celebrate (ivory sheen/ pink champagne shimmer/ olive shimmer)
• Pink Power Lip Palette in Inspire (pink shimmer/ neutral pink shimmer/ pink beige shimmer)
• 1 dual ended eyeshadow applicator and 1 lip brush
  

Pink Bites: Oakley Ravishing & Enduring Sunglasses

I love glasses and sunnies, when they have good quality lenses. Oakley always has a lot of sweet colours and awesome looking, lightweight frames. They have released two special edition sunglasses to support the Young Survival Coalition’s mission of action, advocacy and awareness.


Oakley is donating US$20 from each sale of the special YSC breast cancer awareness edition sunglasses to the organization. The YSC’s core purpose is to improve the quality and quantity of life for all young women facing the challenges of breast cancer.

The special YSC breast cancer awareness edition Oakley Enduring™ and Oakley Ravishing™ sunglasses feature lush contours of lightweight O Matter® frame material that is accented with a pink ribbon design. The breast cancer awareness ribbon is also laser etched at the corner of the lens with Oakley’s pure Plutonite® lens material filtering out 100% of all UV rays.

Oakley’s High Definition Optics® takes clarity to the edge of a wide peripheral view with impact protection and is also available with Oakley authentic prescription lenses.

Enduring has a pearl white frame with pink temple sleeves and pink G20 wraparound lenses. The Unobtainium frame was designed for a woman's head, and the adjustable nosepad makes the fit even more comfortable.

Ravishing has a polished black frame with multicoloured print. The shape is a larger, Jackie-O style. The grey lens is perfect for medium to bright light.

Each pair of sunglasses comes with a specially designed pin, an eyewear case, plus a custom MICROCLEAR™ bag for lens cleaning and frame storage.

Oakley retails Ravishing for US$130 (CDN$155) and Enduring for US$160 (CDN$195). That is cheaper than the regular line sunglasses, and they donate $20 from the purchase to YSC.

Pink Bites: Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook-Pink Plaid

My favourite cookbook of all-time is the Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook. Everyone knows it as the red plaid cookbook, so named for the slammin' red plaid tablecloth-style cover. I learned to cook using this book under my Mom's instruction, so I naturally bought a copy for myself when I moved out on my own.

They released a new version now called the pink plaid in support of breast cancer. In support of the fight against breast cancer, Meredith Books will make a minimum $250,000 donation to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

It still has the basic cooking essentials for every aspiring chef: equivalencies tables, table settings, use of utensils and simple foundation recipes. It also has 64-page section devoted to living with breast cancer. I was thinking about buying a new one to get the newer chapters on low-fat cooking, 20-minute meals and slowcooker meals.

I'd held off before because it seemed silly to buy a book I already owned, but I felt completely justified because my purchase add to the $250,000 contribution to The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. The recipes are a mixture of the originals and new versions.

Pink Bites: Sony Pink Shopping Affair

Sony is da bomb, baby! I love their electronics, and have ever since my dad bought me my first Walkman that folded shut the same size as a cassette tape case.

Sony Style is proud to present The Pink Shopping Affair to fight breast cancer.

Beginning on October 1st until the 31st, proceeds from every pink purchase made on sonystyle.ca will support Breast Cancer research in Canada. As a token of our appreciation we will send you a Pink Ribbon Keychain with every pink purchase you make.

Some of the donations are quite decent in size:

Shop Sony Pink to find the cure!

Pink Bites: Clinique Great Lips, Great Cause Lipstick Set

You may notice that I'm posting in pink all month in honour of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Not only are there already lots of great pinks out there in Beauty Land, there are also special edition products that companies release, donating a portion of the proceeds to charities.

One of my favourites this season is Clinique Great Lips, Great Cause Lipstick ($17). The Colour Surge Butter Shine lipstick is a beautiful shade called Ribbon Pink, the case is a pink bamboo shape, and it comes in a nice silver package with a mirror in the lid. Exclusive to Sephora, $10 from each purchase is donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Sometimes with products like this, you read the fine print and find out the donation is going to "Bob's Charity" or the money all goes to administrative fees. BCRF is a good organization: at least 85% of donations goes to research and awareness campaigning, and this October they are awarding over $34 Million in research grants to 166 scientists. Take a look at their website to see some of the work they do and see all their corporate partners.

I'm picking up one for each of the special women in my life as an early Xmas stocking stuffer.

Product Review: Avon mark. Shine Tubes Hook Up Lip Gloss

Lip gloss. Yay! Always something new out there to try. Easy to layer over lipstick for a whole new look. Flavoured so you are sweet and tastier than usual. What's not to like about lip gloss?

Well, lots of them have no staying power, to the point where some are even runny. I'm always trying new lip glosses to find ones that stay put, but my biggest disappointment is when I find a colour I really like and it won't hold. I'm always finding little gems, and since most lip gloss isn't too pricey, it's a way to experiment and stay frugal.

I like Avon products. I can order them from a sales rep and give a girl some side cash, or if no-one I know is selling it, I can order it online. The prices are always fair, and they do a good job of staying current. While some of my friends think of Avon as higher end, I consider Avon products to be on par to drug store brands. This isn't a bad thing (it's not like they're dollar store quality), but they don't compare to high-end boutique products. At these prices, how could they?

I don't have a friend selling Avon right now, so I grabbed a flier at the last women's trade fair I attended and put down the name of a local representative on my online order. I thought it would be nice to gie her the commission. I wanted to bump up to the next freebie level, so I needed to spend another $12. I decided to try the mark. Shine Tubes Hook Up Lip Gloss in Crème Caramel. At $7 it seemed like a bargain, and you can combine it with a mark. connector (free with every two purchased) to make a little portable two-piece set. I added the mark. Crystal Shimmer Hook Up Powder (a review for another day) and hit my upgrade level.

The order arrived at my door within a week, complete except for the mark. connector. The lip gloss came in a cute little tube and was a pretty raspberry colour. Not what I consider Crème Caramel, but pretty enough to keep. I was sort of glad since I'd ordered another lipstick that was a mocha colour. This meant I didn't order two similar things.

Well, it was pretty in the tube, and it was pretty on the lips. It tasted like berries and was very sweet. The shimmer in it was nice; bigger flakes but not crazy-big. However, it was really sticky, and it only lasted about 10 minutes before it vanished into nothing. The flavour also turned out to be pretty strong, because I could smell it the entire time I was wearing it; even when the colour was gone. The colour looks nice layered over another colour, but forsuch a dark colour in the tube, it thins out to almost nothing on the lips.

The tube was small and worked without the connector, but at $7 was not the typical good deal you expect from Avon. I called the rep about the connector, but after playing phone tag with her for two weeks I gave up trying to get the doo-hickey. Since I wasn't carrying it around anyway, it didn't seem worth my time.

Overall, it wasn't a great purchase. I won't try Avon mark. Shine Tubes Hook Up Lip Gloss again.

Product Review: Avon Glazewear Liquid Lip Color

I love to wear lipgloss. I like that it makes my naturally thin lips appear fuller, and I find it's the best way to keep from chewing my lips until they are corrugated and sore. I unconsciously think that I'll ruin my pretty makeup and stop chewing. I am a lip-presser, though. I roll my lips and press the colour right off them.

Wearing ChapStick as a kid was my lips' best defense against myself. Mind you, they make such tasty flavours that it almost works the opposite way. When I discovered they still made Dr. Pepper Lip Smackers, I nearly lost my mind.

It's a tricky challenge to find lasting lip colour that doesn't dry my lips out even more. Most of the lipcolours marketed as long-wearing are either really hard to apply or really drying. The opposite end of the spectrum is that products that are shiny are often sticky and feel gross.

Avon has a nice gloss in Glazewear Liquid Lip Color. It's shiny, has decent staying power, and is enriched with Vitamins A, C and E. It has a nice, light cocoa flavour and goes on creamy, not streaky. It starts out a little sticky, but in about five minutes it's set and just has the sheen without the stick.

I especially like the Chic Mauve. It's nearly the same as my natural lip colour, but it gives a rosier hue to them and a little sparkle. Right now they are cheap-cheap: only $2.99 on the Avon.ca website.

Product Review: MAC Viva Glam VI SE

Okay, so I admit it. I'm a MAC whore like most of my friends. :) I loves me some MAC. The colours are rich, the face products are great colours and fine quality. And I love lip gloss, and I love MAC Viva Glam VI SE.

Forget how groundbreaking the program is; the colour is stunning. I prefer cool tones, and love silver and taupe. This colour is great over another colour, and I love how it looks against my skin.

All I can say is: get it!