Damn you, Central Processing!

Last Friday, feeling particularly low due to the torrential downpour (yes yes, I know we all needed the rain, but dammit, my shoes were ruined!) I decided to take an afternoon spin up to Nordstrom's to check out the latest entry in the Lancome Pout a Porter collection, PS Kiss for Peter Som.

I also really wanted to play with the iPhone, but Apple was having some kind of nerd party, so I didn't go in.

Now, considering the drubbing I took for shamelessly telling the world that I actually liked the Proenza Schouler lipstick in the zinc-oxide-pink, I was a little wary of trying anything this trendy-limited-edition-overhyped-expensive. But I started hearing rumblings of positive reviews from Blogdorf Goodman, the Beauty Addict, and All About the Pretty.

Normally I steer clear of dark lipstick shades, since it makes me feel a little like I'm walking down K Street. At night. On a Wednesday.

But, in the name of research I stalked the Lancome lady and begged her to let me try out the tester, since they were totally sold out.

It looked good on me. Definitely a wine color, but with a little extra brown. Requires a lot more maintence than my favorite glosses to make sure that it's in the lip line and even across my mouth. Not unlike the Robert Palmer girls from the Addicted to Love video, but interesting.

The surprise happened later, after the lipstick stayed on through an apple (mmmm, Honeykrisp apples, how I love thee). At dinner, a very tired fiance looked up at a frizzy haired me and stated, "You look really pretty today."

I asked, is it the lipstick? He took a second look (always careful, this one) and said, YES.

Since I knew that Nordstrom's was inconveniently sold out, I spent the weekend trying on other shades to see if they could reproduce the effect on said fiance, but no dice. On Sunday night I broke down and ordered it from the Nordstrom's website.

And now it sits...taunting me with it's "order in process" sneer despite my constant refreshing of the page. (Shocker, I know)

Ship it! Please! Pretty please??? My future marriage might depend on it!!

Just kidding. Maybe.

UPDATE!!! Ok, everyone, you may have said that Halloween miracles don't happen, but they do! I'm proof positive. At refresh #12,547 today, it told me that my lipstick was on it's way too me...This is better than the 8 tons of sugar that I ate today. Actually, that makes me feel a little queasy.

Huh???

Is anyone else continually baffled by this picture on the Trend Spotter section of the Washington Post?

Is this Suzanne D'Amato, hater of shorts and definer of trapeze dresses?

Is she jail bait?

Because if this is her, and she's not, then WaPo had better update their images STAT.

I feel like a creepy old man when I see this picture everywhere...

Just throwing it out there.

Baby Got Taken Back

In response to many comments...I did take back the evil pink nail polish.

In a flood of guilt about buying such an expensive product that was NO GOOD, I had my explanation about exactly why I needed to bring it back, complete with charts and diagrams, but the salesperson at Chanel was so distracted she did the transaction in a matter of seconds without a second glance.

I blame my Eastern European jewish mutt heritage for my guilt.

So now I have $20 to spend and no idea what to buy!

So, so wrong

I recently decided to go indulge myself in a Chanel nail polish color.

I typically stick to the Essie/OPI section, since they are (a) a lot cheaper, and (b) they have really good colors, and (c)they are a whole lot cheaper.

However, armed with my Bloomie's promotional gift card which was set to expire, I trotted off the the Chanel counter and forced the saleswoman to pull out all of the nail polishes so I could pick one.

I was debating between Ballerina and Pink Satin after deciding that Black Satin, the shiny black polish that caused blog-steria last year but is now totally available everywhere, was way too Goth for my day job and my skin tone.

Ballerina is a soft pink matte shade, very similar to Essie Mademoiselle or OPI Sweetheart, and Pink Satin was a baby pink color with silver sparkles.

Well, let's just say I chose poorly.

Pink Satin won the prize of getting toted home with me and discretely admired on the bus. With the little sparkles floating in the bottle, it looked like a baby lava lamp.

I did a home manicure when I got home and started realizing that I made a bad decision.

First of all, the polish is totally sheer. As in, almost a topcoat sheer. I put on two coats and I could still see straight down to anything that happened to be caught under my fingernail.

Second, the pink color on my fingers was a horrible shade of pink. Like Hello Kitty My First Nail Polish pink.

And third, the sparkles overwhelmed the color, making it look like I had little disco balls on my hands. I felt like I was going to a rave, not a markup, the next morning.

I wore it for a few days, fighting the urge to GET IT OFF ME, which was being screamed by every fiber in my being, but it didn't improve.

So, ladies and gentlemen, back to the store it goes. But now I'm at a loss...what to try next? I think I'm off nail polish, maybe I'll splurge on a pricey mascara recommended by the Beauty Addict in her new Encyclopedia of Mascara?

Help a sister out!

As God as My Witness

i have grey jeans too. can we be friends?

I refuse to be ashamed of my love for Gossip Girl.

That's right, I said "suck it!" naysayers!

I also refuse to hide my cubi-giggles* at one of the greatest features on New York Magazine's site, the Gossip Girl recap where they judge how accurate the episode was.

Some of my favorite accuracies that totally take me back to high school:

Playing field hockey at Asphalt Green. Been there, done there, nursed turf burn. Man, I miss my field hockey outfit...

Elevators that open into the foyer of the apartment. That's how you know exactly how loaded these people are.

Parties where boys play video games and nurse watered down booze.

Ahhhh, Elizabeth Street. How I miss you and your shopping wonders.

* cubi-giggle: to burst forth with a snicker when reading something while at work in a cubicle. Often related to procrastinating/non-work related items on the internet. If work makes you cubi-giggle, well, you are a dork. My condolences.

photo courtesy of nymag.com who got it from someone else.

Bobbi Brown-anza!

Ok, I completely apologize for sitting on this post for a few weeks now, but with the impending fall weather, I'll just claim that I intended it that way.

So, I received an invitation from Diron at the Bobbi Brown counter to come check out the new fall colors. Now, thinking that, sweet Jesus, it's still like 92 degrees out, I was in no mood to slather on dark and vampy colors on my own, I dragged my friend to Nordstroms in Pentagon City with me.

Actually, she dragged me since she knows how to drive there and I don't. The Virginia roads remain a complete mystery to me.

We plopped ourselves into the makeup high-chair and let Diron get to work.

He did a fabulous job on both our makeup, was patient with my incessant blinking when instruments get near my eyes, and talked my friend down off the ledge when he started putting bright pink blush on her cheeks. He explained how Bobbi's line is first and foremost about skin, and when your skin looks beautiful, all the other makeup will look great.

He also gave me a great tip about layering two kinds of blush. He says that Bobbi always teaches them to put the base color on as normal and then dust a bright shade just on the apple of the cheek for a "pop" of color.

We both walked away with products galore. I chose the Pot Rouge in Blushed Rose, which looks great on my cheeks and lips, the Corrector for undereye circles, and my absolute fave, Galaxy long wearing cream shadow.

rouge!

Seriously, I don't know if I can rave enough. This is an exclusive color to Nordstrom, a grey shadow with gold flecks and almost a green undertone. It sounds bizarre, but looks like heaven.

First of all, it lasts for. ev. er. Much like Donald Rumsfeld, it just doesn't know when to quit. It doesn't crease and fades after about 8 hours in the heat, but leaves only a hint of the gold shimmer. Second, it is such an interesting color, and it happens to bring out the green in my eyes, which is pretty rare.



My friend walked away with one of the eyeshadow palettes that everyone raves about each season...Midnight Metallics. A gorgeous trio of silver, blue and white shimmery shadows, it's perfect for a night out on the town.




Now we just need to figure out a place to go!!



photos courtesy of nordstrom.com

Help Me Help You

Ok, I've been in a little rut lately since I've been running around working non-stop for the past few weeks.



I keep taking breaks to run into a Sephora or Blue Mercury for inspriation but find myself walking out emptyhanded!



So, I want your help, dear readers.



I have a $25 credit at Bloomingdale's and I'm stopping by the Chevy Chase store tomorrow evening for a registry party. Sooo, tell me what you think I should buy!



New mascara? Yet another lip gloss? Maybe a new Chanel nail polish color so I can fit in with the girls on "The Hills?"



Let me know!!



Also, here is the info on the registry party for all you brides-to-be out there!

A Little Light Reading

Just in case you were worried about how you would slog through another Tuesday at the office...





Entertainment Weekly has posted a guide to the new season of Project Runway.





It features each designer and give you a glimpse into Tim Gunn's take on their style and chances of winning, oh-so-cleverly entitled "Gunn-entary."

There is also an interactive Project Runway dictionary for those of you who really have too much time on your hands.

It is certainly getting me pumped up to watch the new season, although I thought last year's was killer.





Also, while you are over at EW, check out their high-larious recaps of many TV shows, especially the well styled train wreck that is "The Hills."

photo courtesy of ew.com

Found It!

The perfect white camisole.

Yup. That's right. It's all mine....


Ok, so most of you are probably all, "This chick is out of her mind. All she hears about all day is doom and gloom, the world is ending, there is no money for brilliant school children whose talents are wasted in below average schools and they are getting fat because the evil Farm Bill subsidizes high fructose corn syrup and then we have crappy health care to take care of their diabetes and then no one pays for their elder care because we are at war and she is concerned about a freaking TANK TOP?

Well, yeah, kinda.

I don't like to have to have those meetings and worry that I am contributing to the downfall of society because people are staring at my see-through shirt.

Anyhoo, Club Monaco has recently debuted a stretchy camisole in white and black that is just phenomenal. It's thin enough to fit under a button down, but isn't transparent. Nice spaghetti straps that don't cut into your shoulders. Comfortable, and minus the completely superfluous "shelf bra" found in most of these so-called camis.

Seriously, wear a bra! We live in a civilized society!

Not exactly cheap at $29 a pop, but I would warrant that one white and one black should last you solidly through a few seasons of sheer blouses and itchy sweaters.

If only they came in nude....

Well, I guess that's like wishing for world peace and for everyone to have access to 5 fruits and veggies a day.