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.

Bloomies!

I've been totally stuck in hearing hell the past few weeks, so to my total delight, I received an invite to the "private opening" of the new Bloomingdale's in Chevy Chase.

Let's just say that the place was packed, despite my efforts to make an early departure from work.

However, the place is fantastic.

Seriously.

I had recently been going to the Bloomies in White Flint which...well, it blows. This one...it's like night and day.

The merch is gorgeous, and they carry pretty extensive selections of designers that are harder to find in D.C. Big Sonia Rykiel section, loads of M Missoni, and a Tory Burch section I plan to hit like a ton of bricks once my birthday gift money starts rolling in.

The shoe and bag section is notably good. Spotted: Mulberry and Anya Hindmarch, two of my favorite stops in NY, and a solid collection of Theory shoes. And yes, they are as cute and classic as the clothes.

Also, my mother will be so happy, I checked out the home section and liked it enough to pick up some information about registering.

Not that I've ACTUALLY registered or anything (unlike Heidi on "The Hills," who feels the need to shop for a dress and register in the same week) don't get crazy....

If you are in the hood...stop by and check it out.

News! News!

I've been hearing grumblings from people who are in desperate need of some Project Runway.

And by people I mean me.

Well, some others too.

I noticed that Bravo has been doing some sneak peeks at the Season 4 designers during Tim Gunn's new show and that just whetted my appetite for all manner of sewing and bitchy craziness wonderful. A quick Google seach for the new start revealed nothing official.

But, I did a little digging on my favorite place for all things PR, Blogging Project Runway and hit pay dirt.

They state that Heidi Klum got all out ahead of Bravo and posted that the start date is November 14. They quickly issued a ceasse and desist and she took it down.

Sooo...Nov. 14th people! Set the Tivo! And tune in here for loads of my early morning cranky recaps!

So, so guilty...

Of watching "Gossip Girl" on the CW last night!

I can't help it! As an alumna of a New York City private school, I had to check it out.

My verdict...definitely guilty pleasure trashy tv worth watching. It's like "Cruel Intentions" with out the knowledge of what happens to Ryan and Reese in real life. I also appreciate the unfake shots of the characters at my favorite haunts, like Bergdorf's and Bendel's.

Also, the clothes are fabulous! I'm dying for everything in Serena's wardrobe, especially that leather jacket and the sparkly dress.

I never could have gotten any boys I knew in high school to wear a tux though....

Oh Zoe.

For a little light reading with your coffee this morning, I recommend heading over to an article printed in the New York Times Magazine section this Sunday about stylist extraordinaire Rachel Zoe.


And by "stylist extraordinaire," I mean, freakishly skinny wrinkly woman who has some how transformed actresses into walking billboards for her friends and managed to talk them into dieting until they practically make Holocaust victims look rubenesque.


Some of the highlights:


Rachel will only drink Starbucks coffee. Even in Paris. A city with one of the greatest cafe cultures in the world. But, if you don't drink it there, you may as well just be a terrorist and hate America. You pinko Commie freak.


Zoe brusquely sends back a plate of steamed vegetables at a Paris restaurant because there is a small dollop of some kind of sauce. Rachel, apparently, cannot tolerate sauce or calories of any kind.


Also consumed in the article: diet Snapple and tea.



Rachel is in shock to hear that vegetables actually DO contain calories.

Readers are informed that her last name is pronounced "Zoh," like "No." However, when she was just a babe in Jersey, people pronounced her middle name "ZOH-ee" like everyone else. Oh, she also dropped the surname "Rosenzweig."

Clients will not be dressed in any color that does not flatter the stylist herself.


We discover the mystery of the Marchesa explosion. It's what you thought. Harvey Weinstein decided that people should wear his girlfriend's clothes and Zoe made it happen.


Her ring tone is "Riders on the Storm" by the Doors. 'Cause that's not cliche in a look-at-how-highbrow-recherche-I-am way.


Nicole Kidman is one demanding crazy person.


The author of the article does not seem to disguise a sense of amusement and distaste for Zoe. Great reading though....

photos courtesy of nytimes.com

Emmylicious

Ahhh...the Emmys.

A total non sequiter in the awards season, as it occurs months ahead of all other awards shows, but whatevs! On to the snark.

This list is in no way exhaustive. I have opinions on lots of other gowns, but these are some of my own highlights and lowlights.

Here are my least favorite ensembles of the evening.

Seriously? I swear Debra Messing wore this exact same dress two seasons ago.

I think Hayden Panettiere might be hiding small children under her skirt like Mother Ginger in "The Nutcracker Suite."

I see Rebecca Romijn rocking the Tyra arm chub. I can't figure out where it came from though since she usually has such a slamming body. It's like stunt chub or something.

Again with the dress you've worn a thousand times before?!? What the eff? Ugh, I'm so bored with Teri Hatcher with her pneumatic boobs and botoxed forehead.

Ok, this really hurts. I have loved Elizabeth Perkins since "Big" and adore her show "Weeds." Basically this was fabric for a skirt at Anthropologie gone awry.

The outfits I liked!

While I'm a little confused by the massive influx of mermaid tail gowns and I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy when they started interviewing a neurosurgeon and a cardiothoracic surgeon for the chief of the GENERAL surgery department (hint, the chief is usually a general surgeon. Couldn't they find a real doctor to consult on that show?). I happen to love Katherine Heigl in this gown. The red lip was nice, but not scary and the neckline is super sweet.



My feelings on Wisteria Lane extend only to the following noise: (insert cacophonous vomiting sounds here). However, Eva Longoria looks stunning in this dress, I love the spangles and I happen to think short for evening is so modern.

Whoa, Heidi's not preggers! For once! Well, she looks amazing and I think this is the best color ever. I would wear a muumuu in this color. The neckline is more interesting than a typical strapless gown, and she was the only person who pulled off the leg-poking-out-of-her-slit look. I just wish Seal had buttoned his collar.

I happen to think Edie Falco looks good at most ceremonies. Not breaking ground or anything, but also doesn't look like mutton dressed as lamb. Just classic elegant and beautiful looking. See also: Sally Field.

So, office faves? People you trashed? Because, let's face it, no one is doing any work today.

photos courtesy of style.com

Quick Question

I was curious to see how people who read the blog found me, and I am experimenting with polls!

Look at me all down with technology and such.

Anyhoo, if you wouldn't mind...



Off to New York this afternoon for some shopping and a meet 'n greet with my florist!

Wish me luck!

UPDATE: So, clearly I forgot to add that a way to find me was through another blog! Also, please let me know where you read about me...unfortunately, people in publishing don't seem to keep you updated when they write about you. I'm always the last to hear!

Your Civic Duty

Not about beauty, but I could help myself from sharing this article in the Washington Post:

"It would be hard to find two bigger advocates for jury service than James and Maxine Moore.

They met 17 years ago while serving on a jury in D.C. Superior Court. They got to know each other in the middle of a medical malpractice case, later fell in love and have been together ever since.

The trial ended in a hung jury. But the Moores offer themselves as Exhibit A that something good can come out of jury service.

Yesterday, they returned to the courthouse to help unveil a new U.S. postage stamp depicting 12 multicolored silhouettes and framed by the words, "Jury Duty" and "Serve With Pride." The Postal Service has printed 40 million of the 41-cent stamps and began selling them nationwide yesterday."

As an attorney, I fully believe in jury service. DC has a terrible time filling juries and I encourage everyone to fulfill her civic duty and show up for jury duty.

And NOT because you might meet your future husband there!

Seriously?

If people start showing up to jury duty looking like they are ready for a skanked out night at Tom Tom because they think they can hook up with someone during the voir dire, I might just have to hand in my bar card and call it a day.

Maybe the couple should have spent less time making mooney faces at each other and paid attention during the Allen charge. Maybe they wouldn't have had a hung jury.

Oh, also, what's with the Post using the term "rap session?" That's like your grandmother saying that she's "jiggy" with something. It's just wrong.

Back to the Republic

I don't know what's going on, but I'm heavily in lust with Banana Republic's fall line.



Don't get me wrong, I own plenty of BR staples, but lately I've found their stuff a little lame. The colors always seemed a shade off...like they had been washed too many times before being put on the hanger. Or they were pushing those uber long shorts as a work outfit. And that's something I just can't condone.



But I was in the store recently on one of my fall shopping recon missions and found myself grabbing at things like Bob Packwood on three Viagra with a Cialis chaser.



Back at work, I began perusing the website for more lustworthy togs and stumbled upon a neat perfect "work" bag.



A little background:



Work bags for professional women have to be one of the most difficult fashion conundrums. Do I buy a man's briefcase and try to rock the androgeny like Madonna in the "Express Yourself" video and basically end up looking like a huge dork? Or do I carry a purse which simply looks wildly inappropriate in most professional settings and can't carry half of my essentials for surviving a day in the urban jungle?



Oh, and I also want to be able to fit a redwell in there. Maybe even, gasp!, a laptop.



GOOD LUCK!



Well...hello, Somerset Vertical Tote!




Isn't she pretty?



Available in black and brown, it also looks suspiciously like the Mulberry Elgin tote that I wish I could afford. While this one isn't exactly cheap, I think it looks like a nice addition to any fledgling professional woman's wardrobe.



Start making Christmas/Chanukah/Whatever lists now!

photo courtesy of bananarepublic.com

A Green Pioneer

I was really sad yesterday when I read a small blurb in the New York Times about the passing of Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop.

Like most girls of my generation, or anyone who was interested in beauty during the early to mid 90's, I was head over heels for The Body Shop products when they first came out. Not only were they just the coolest products that you just HAD to have, you felt even cooler knowing that they were "green" before green was cool.

Or at least, before it was as cool as it is now.

Anita Roddick was always the driving force behind the brand that promoted all the ecofriendly-fair trade-sustainability ideals. She was a cool, rebellious looking woman who was always traveling and protesting. She was like your hippie mom, if she hadn't grown up and become a Republican.

I recall visiting the big store in Boston during day trips from my summer camp, and spending my daily allowance on vanilla perfume oil (I thought smelling like a cookie would make the boys come running!), multicolored bath beads, and that pink peppermint foot lotion that would spawn a million copycats for years to come.

The article talks about the sale of The Body Shop to L'Oreal just last year. It was always an odd choice, since L'Oreal is widely known among environmentalists for their not-so-super animal testing policies, but Roddick stated that she hoped the sale would spur the company to change their policies.

Honestly, I haven't been in a Body Shop in years, but I will always remember the brand for making me aware of issues bigger than my middle school life and for being the first to make it cool to be green.

You can read the full obit here for another week or so.

Any classic beauty faves or favorite memories from The Body Shop?

I think I'm in Love

with this jacket...

and it makes me kind of nervous to say so.

mostly because of the price tag. ouch.

photo courtesy of bananarepublic.com, lyrics ripped off from Beck.

Shoes, Glorious Shoes!

I have a teensy weensy confession to make.

I've never actually been in a Payless Shoe store.

Maybe there are others out there too, but a girl in my office looked at me like I had three heads when I told her this. Seriously, three heads. And maybe as if I had acne on them too.

Honestly, I've always been a shoe snob. I walk a lot, I don't want disposable shoes, and frankly, I just plain like expensive shoes.

But when I heard Lela Rose did a collection for Payless, I began reconsidering my boycott. So yesterday, I mustered up all my energy and headed out to Wheaton, Maryland, to find these shoes.

WHEATON, Y'ALL.

As I've said before, as a full blown east coast girl, things have to be dire for me to use the word "y'all." So, you know I'm serious here.

I was hoping that my tackling a far away store I might be able to snag a pair of the T-strap pumps from the collection, but alas, that was not to be.

I don't actually think they exist. They were a myth, like the Loch Ness Monster or a compassionate conservative.

But I did try on the other shoes from her collection. I really liked, and actually purchased, the Finsbury pump in black and the Chancery peep toe in red. They were surprisingly comfortable.

Ah, ha ha ha. Soon you will be on my feet my pretties!

What were not comfortable were the Addle Hill flats. Ugh! I pitied the modeles who had to wear these for the collection.



But all in all, I think I'm most excited about the Finsbury pumps. They play into the menswear, buttoned up theme for fall and will certainly be worn around work as soon as the weather turns crisp. I'll wear them with pants for a little masculin-feminin action, and with pencil skirts and stockings for a sexy-librarian chic vibe.



And they cost less than my weekly latte-habit. And less than the amount of gas I probably used getting to Wheaton. Oh well, maybe they weren't such a good deal after all...

photos courtesy of payless.com