Oscars Fashion 2011 Best

Hello dear readers!

Anyone who knows me really well will be aware that the Oscars is probably my favorite event to watch on TV. It's such a glamorous awards show, and not only does it award me the opportunity to root for the films I've actually seen or know deserve the honors, but, of course, I get to examine everyone's dress in the pre-show and the Awards show. This year's Oscar wardrobe was more elegant and classic than in the past. As such, I'm choosing to post only my favorites, because there were very few I outright disliked, and the rest I am on the fence about. If you'd like me to post my least favorites, let me know. Otherwise, here are some of my absolute favorites, in no particular order whatsoever:

Image from http://www.slate.com/id/2286558/pagenum/3 

I thought Nicole Kidman's Dior dress was beautiful. The cut was interesting but not too weird, and the details were lovely. I'm not so sure about those shoes, but besides that she looked stunning. I'm glad she chose to wear white and not champagne because white tends to look better on really pale girls.

Image from http://www.slate.com/id/2286558/pagenum/2

Though this look was a bit more simple than expected at the Oscars, Jennifer Lawrence looked great in Calvin Klein.

Image from http://www.slate.com/id/2286558

I normally don't like such plunging necklines, but Gwyneth Paltrow looked very elegant and slim in Calvin Klein without being revealing.

 Image from http://www.twirlit.com/2011/02/27/oscars-2011-best-dressed-fashion-winners-on-the-red-carpet-photos/oscars-best-dressed-sandra-bullock/ 

As usual, Sandra Bullock was absolutely stunning on the red carpet in Vera Wang.

Image from http://www.shinystyle.tv/2011/02/oscars-2011-red-carpet-fashion-natalie-portman-gwyneth-paltrow-and-reese-witherspoon.html?pid=4881

Reese Witherspoon is getting mixed reviews for her choice to keep it simple in this Giorgio Armani Privé, but if you are an Oscar fashion follower and can recall Angelina Jolie's black dress and minimal jewelry for the 2009 Oscars, you'll remember that everyone loved it! It seems unfair that Witherspoon should be put down for wearing the same basic, classic, style that everyone lauded Jolie for only a couple of years ago. Personally, I think this look is simply charming.

And then there were the many dresses of Anne Hathaway. Here are the hits:

                                     Image from http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/02/27/anne-hathaway-dress-oscar/

This Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci [whew what a name!] was breathtaking. The color isn't too close to her skin tone, so it doesn't was her out, and the jewel embellishments are gorgeous. I think it's fitting considering her history of portraying princesses in films. I think it's my favorite of her dresses.

Image from http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2011/02/28/anne-hathaway-oscars-dresses-2011/

Normally I don't think I'd like a dress in a material so shiny it reminded me of rain boots, but the beautiful color and the way Anne Hathaway carried off this Armani Prive dress made me change my mind. I actually quite like the look.

Image from http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2011/02/28/anne-hathaway-oscars-dresses-2011/#314320-5-63720819

Despite the strange ruffles on the skirt, I think the color was gorgeous and she pulled off this Valentino couture gown beautifully. If not for the ruffles, this would have been a competitor for my favorite of her looks.

Those were my favorite dresses of the night. I really enjoy reading all the reviews of the fashion in the papers the next day, and I loved the Oscars tonight. Congratulations to the majority of the actresses for wearing elegant, chic dresses instead of some of the strange concoctions seen in the past.

Love and gorgeous gowns.

xEsther

P.S. Please excuse the odd difference in font sizes and spacing. It didn't show up while I was creating the post, and I am not sure how to fix it!

Would You Rather: Makeup

Hello lovely readers!

To solve the dilemma of a strong desire to blog and very little time to do so, I've decided to take on the challenge of a tag that was going around on YouTube and blogs since at least last summer. This is the Would You Rather Makeup tag.

Here goes:
1. Would you rather go out with messy hair and nice make-up, or nice hair and no make-up?  

I don't really wear a full face of makeup, but I can't live without at least concealer. My hair has been messy loads of times, as you may have seen in pictures in my other posts, but I feel if my skin looks good and I've got lip color on, I can just throw my hair back. So messy hair and nice make-up it is.

Would you rather shave your eyebrows or have your eyelashes fall out?                                   

This is a very difficult and rather strange question. I guess if my eyelashes fell out, I could use false lashes [much as I am averse to them] until they grew back, whereas eyebrows are really hard to make real-looking without any actual hair there.                                             

Would you rather be forced to shop at only MAC or Sephora for the rest of your life?

I actually don't shop at either. Shock! Horror! I've been curious to try MAC, and maybe someday I will, but I'd choose Sephora because it has a variety of brands and products. Personally, I prefer Ulta because it's like a less expensive Sephora

Would you rather wear lipgloss/lipliner look or 80's perm?

My hair is curly and has a lot of natural volume as it is, but 80's perms terrify me. I guess I'd have to choose lipgloss/lipliner, horrifying as that is. 

Would you rather leave the house with an obvious foundation line or overdone blush?

Another tough one. I don't actually wear either. The most I ever wear besides concealer is powder, but I think overdone blush would be my choice simply because I'm so pale and have some redness in my cheeks anyway. Obvious foundation line would be truly awful.

Would you rather wear MC Hammer pants or biker shorts in public?

To be quite clear, I would never wear either of these in public. For the sake of this tag, however, I'll say MC Hammer pants because I've always been quite self-conscious of my thighs and would never go about in skin tight pants. I personally don't understand the whole leggings as pants trend.

Would you rather have a bad orange-y spray tan or really weird tan lines that can't be covered?

When I tan it's so unnoticeable that I actually would find weird tan lines amusing because it would mean I could actually get noticeably tan. I've also had weird tan lines on my feet, and a watch tan so I've already experienced that. A bad orange-y spray tan would be so embarrassingly and glaringly obvious that I'd look like one of Willy Wonka's new Oompa Loompas. Weird tan lines for me, thanks!

Would you rather have a bad haircut or bad hair color?

I've had so many bad haircuts in my life that I've sort of gotten used to the pain of it. I guess I'd rather have a bad cut because it would just grow back [as it has time and time and time again]. Bad hair color would mean re-dying and more damage.

Would you rather have youtube or twitter taken away forever?

I don't have a Twitter, and my YouTube account is purely for subscriptions. I'd definitely prefer Twitter being taken away because I honestly think the way that some people use it is a bit ridiculous. I understand how it's useful to communicate quickly, but personally I don't think everything I do at every second of my life is so important that it must be documented. I also don't follow anyone's twitter.

Would you rather give up using makeup brushes or mascara?

I don't use mascara, so I guess I could live without that. Alarming, I know. But the few times I've worn it for performances, no one's been able to tell I'm wearing it. Maybe it was the mascara I was using, but I've lived until now without it, so I think I'll be fine.

That is the tag. Anyone who wants to do this and hasn't yet is welcome to. I'd love to see it!

I've also written a skincare tips post, but I haven't put it up yet because it is so unbelievably long and picture-less that I might split it in two. I have to figure out how to organize that.

Thanks for reading!

xEsther

Red Lips for Day?

Hello dear readers!

This post probably has more pictures than necessary, mostly because the lighting in each one was slightly different, and the lighting on my webcam is never good. So why not give you bad lighting in multiple different situations? But in all honesty, I was too excited about this lipstick to wait for time to take good pictures of it. This lipstick is Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick in number 860 Rosette. It was a Valentine's Day gift from my mom, and though I love Rimmel lipsticks, I'd never seen this before. All I could think of when I tried it on was, I finally have my own wearable red lipstick. 

I know it's often seen as a faux pas to wear red lips during the day, but this, as you will see in some of the pictures below, is rather sheer and can be built up as much or as little as necessary. You'll see in the first picture that it looks almost peachy, but it's actually a rather cool-toned red color. It's not berry or pink, but pretty close to a true red. On me, even when I don't build it up a ton, it still shows up quite bright. My lips are naturally a muted reddish pink, so I like the way the red stands out. As for me, I have no problem wearing this out during the day. It's got a glossy sheen and lasts several hours without completely disappearing, though it does fade. It's really moisturizing and it has SPF 18, which is always a bonus. So here are some shots of me attempting a good representation of Rosette:

Please excuse the neverending expressionless faces and crazy hair.

You can see it's built up quite a bit more here. This is probably the most true representation of the color. I love the Snow White effect it gives.

The reason I swatched this on my index finger is not because I felt like scolding my readers, but because swatching on the pad of your finger actually gives a better representation of what it looks like on the lips, and you can see it comes out stronger than the swatch below, which is just on the back of my hand. 

This is a pretty true representation of the color as a stand-alone. You can see the sheen in the lipstick.

I hope you enjoyed this "quick" post. As always, I write too much. But hopefully there were enough pictures to break up the monotony this time.

Thanks a bunch for sticking with me! So what do you think: Would you wear red lips for day? 

Love and red lipstick. 

xEsther

Update!

Hello everyone!

It's been quite a while since I've spoken to you. Well, I suppose it's only been a week and a half, but in the beauty blogging world it feels like eons. This semester is quite a bit more challenging than the last, and I have midterms beginning this week and a huge amount of reading and essay-writing to get done. I will be back with regular posts as soon as possible. More than likely, I'll write a post in order to avoid homework for a few minutes at some point this week.

Much love and many blogs to come.

xEsther

Makeup Story Tag

Hello dear readers!


I've been quite busy as of late with homework and classes and all that jazz, but I saw this tag on Hannah's blog and thought it would be a fun and quick way to get another post out there. I was not specifically tagged, but she did tag all of her readers, and since I'm one of them I thought I'd give it a go.


Here we are:


1. How old were you when you started wearing makeup?
I wore stage makeup at performing arts camp starting the summer before fourth or fifth grade, but I was about 12 when I began wearing lipgloss to school and cream eyeshadow and [GASP] eye glitter on special occasions, such as my Bat Mitzvah.


2. How did you get into makeup?
Honestly, I don't know why I got into eye glitter or eye shadow. I know I wasn't yet allowed to wear lipstick, so I chose to go crazy with lipgloss as an alternative. Though now that I think about it, I did own three lipsticks [one of them purple, one brownish red. Not. Flattering]. I guess I was just really into lipgloss at the time. I also started reading my sister's magazines, Seventeen and YM, I believe. Maybe I got inspiration from that, or maybe it was the influence of my friends starting to wear makeup. I'm really not sure. I was actually very against face makeup such as foundation and concealer at first because I thought it made people look fake. Needless to say, I've changed my tune on that one.


3. What are some of your favorite makeup brands?
 As for face makeup, I really only wear concealer, though I do use a few different ones. I'd recommend Physician's Formula. As for lip products, which at the moment make up the rest of my makeup, I like Avon, Rimmel, NYX, NYC, and L'oreal. Granted, I haven't tried hundreds of brands and I'm on a drugstore budget and completely fine with that. I don't think lipstick is something that needs to be splurged on. I can't really justify spending loads for cosmetics at the moment. But again, I never wear a full face of makeup or do anything fancy. 


4. What does makeup mean to you?
I love it because it means that I can conceal my perceived flaws and emphasize what I like about my features. I don't feel the need to hide behind it, because it's not a mask. To me, it's like a filter that lets my confidence shine through. How cheesy can I get here?


5. If you could only wear 4 products on your face what would they be?
 I just need concealer, spot corrector, lip balm, and lipstick. 


6. What is your favorite thing about makeup?
It's so fun to play up one feature, and I like the way it makes me feel good about the way I look. I don't feel ugly without it, and I am comfortable enough to not wear any around my family and my best friends at college. It just helps me focus on the good things about my appearance.


7. What do you think about drugstore makeup vs. high end makeup?
To me, high end makeup seems luxurious and fun if you can afford it. There are good and bad products in both. I own maybe one or two high end lip products, but to be honest I like the drugstore ones better. Like I said, I personally cannot justify spending a lot of money on makeup, but I honestly think it's just personal preference.


8. What is one tip of advice you can give to a beginner?
I would most definitely not consider myself an expert, but I will agree with Hannah in that you shouldn't use bright, bright makeup when you're starting out. I also think that you should only follow the makeup trends that suit you. Case in point: Purple lipstick may have been hot when I was in seventh grade, and seems to have crawled back since then, but that didn't make it look good on me at all. I also agree that Youtube videos are wonderful for tips and tricks.


9. What is one makeup trend you never understood?
Nude lipsticks that make one look like a corpse. If I wanted to look dead, I'd dress up as a zombie on Halloween. 


10. What do you think of the Beauty Community on Youtube/Blogger?
I'm not a part of the Youtube Beauty Community, though I do like watching the videos. I feel like part of it's very supportive, and much of it is very catty. The Blogger community seems to be less catty so far, and I really enjoy it. It makes me feel like a part of something big, and I'm so glad I finally decided to join it.


11. Who is your style icon?
I love Audrey Hepburn and Anne Hathaway. Two very classy ladies.

Image from http://www.princessmonkey.com/audrey/part3.html

Image from http://www.tvguide.com/PhotoGallery/Red-Carpet-Standouts-1013488/1013493

I tag all of you lovely readers to do this! I'd love to read your makeup story!

Until next post...

xEsther

A Little Website I Stumbled Upon...

Hello everyone!

So after a week of snow days that did nothing to lighten the load of homework and studying on my agenda, I've almost survived. One more class and I'm off on a whim to Cincinnati, Ohio, with a couple of friends for one of their school activities involving student government. I thought I'd do a semi-unrelated/different post for today because I want to share with you a website I quite literally stumbled upon on my Facebook newsfeed. The site is called, wait for it, StumbleUpon. 

Image from Mashable.com

I'm hoping this picture shows up, as it's the welcome page for the website. Now I'm sure some of you, if not all, have heard of it, but here's the rundown just in case:

StumbleUpon is a website that allows you to create an account and choose the subjects that interest you. Simple as that. Once you choose the subjects, you can choose to view "All Topics" or choose just one. What this does is lead you to websites it thinks you might like. And it does an excellent job.

A few of the categories I chose to browse were the following: Books, Clothing, Shopping, Music, Movies, Celebrities, Health and Fitness. Ok, so that's quite a bit more than a few. 

I've definitely spent the most of my time browsing the Beauty section. It brings up numerous beauty blogs and websites that I'd never before heard of, such as Makeup and Beauty Blog and The Hair Book, among others.

I've also browsed the Book section, which led me to this fabulous website here, which allows you to type in the author or title of a book you like and it comes up with matches of other recommended books. Personally, I'm very excited about this feature. If you want it to remember your preferences, you can create an account, but to be quite honest I've got too many accounts on different websites, so I'm happy just writing down/typing out the results.

The Health and Fitness sections lead to websites with great exercise tips and encouragement, as well as healthy eating, such as this website that popped up just this morning.

By this point, I bet you're getting an idea that I think this website is brilliant. Be warned, though, it's a huge distractor. But when you're sitting around waiting for your friends to show up, in between classes, or simply lacking the creativity to think of something else to do, take a look at this site.

I bet you'll be draw in, too.

xEsther

Skincare Staples

Hello Lovely Readers,

Today is an exciting day, because I'm actually using photos that I took, hence the horrible lighting.The reason everything is staged by the window is because that's the best lighting I could figure out at the moment. I thought I'd write about my staple skincare products. The reason I didn't title this "My Skincare Routine" is because I do not use each and every one of these products every single day. I should probably give you an overview of my skin type: It's dry/combination, sensitive and acne prone with a certain affinity for redness on my nose and cheeks. I've never had serious acne, usually just a few spots here and there or a clear face with the exception of one pimple. However, when I started taking hormones for regulation my face began to break out, drastically for my skin type, though really not that drastically, so I've only recently switched pills in the hopes that my skin clears up.

Here are the products I use on a regular basis:

Here's the rundown: 

Olay Foaming Face Wash for Sensitive Skin

I've already written about this product here, but this is my trusty face wash. I've been using it since the summer and I plan to stick with it, unless someone finds a miracle face wash that reduces redness. That would be nice.

Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer SPF 15 for Sensitive Skin

Again, this product was more thoroughly reviewed here. I use this every morning after I apply my spot treatment

Neutrogena Oil Free Moisture for Sensitive Skin

This is my nighttime moisturizer. I generally use it nightly, but I'll skip it occasionally if I don't want to dilute my spot treatment, because products penetrate the pores best at night. Also, my dorm room gets ridiculously hot because of the heating system, so if my face is sweaty I skip the moisturizer. This product is reviewed in depth here.

Finally, onto products I haven't previously reviewed. These are all prescription, so I can't really tell you to head on over to the drugstore and pick them up, but here they are:

Fougera Sulfacetamide Sodium Topical Suspension 10%

I first started using this product in seventh or eighth grade (so when I was about 13 or 14). It's meant to dry up acne and is a sulfur-based product. It tends to be less irritating for sensitive skin than other products. Salicylic acid, clindamycin, and benzoyl peroxide, some of the more common acne fighting ingredients, cause my skin to itch terribly. Reusing a product that's irritating can cause a serious adverse reaction, so I stick to this product. I apply it after cleansing every morning, and most nights. If I'm not using it at night, it's because I'm rotating it with one of two products, which I'll talk about next. This is not an overnight solution, but it does help reduce the size of the pimple within a couple days, and it prevents acne from coming up if you apply it right when the spot starts to show. It's never irritated me and it works pretty well.

Hydrocortisone Cream 2.5%

This is also prescription strength, but the 1% and I think 1.5% are available off the shelves in drugstores. This is an anti-inflammatory, anti-itch creme, and I like to use it when I have a large and/or painful red spot. It really helps reduce itching/hurting and redness. I occasionally use it on my red patches, but not too often because overuse of this product can thin the skin. With any acne product, you need to make sure you're using SPF because they all make skin more susceptible for sun damage. I sometimes use this in place of the sulfacetamide sodium suspension at night, or I'll apply it before or after that product. It really helps reduce the size, color, and irritation of the pimple.

Tretinoin Cream .05%

This is the most recent addition to my skincare family. It's the generic of Retin-A, which is a retinol. It was prescribed to me for acne, obviously, but it is also known to fight discoloration and wrinkles. It helps to reduce breakouts, but I only use it 1-3 times a week or it will irritate my skin. When I do use it, I use it after washing my face at night, and I may or may not follow up with my moisturizer depending on how bad the breakout. I haven't noticed a difference in discoloration, but it does a decent job clearing breakouts. This is the medium strength cream, and there is also a gel sold for oily, acne prone skin.

One last thing that is not pictured is an antibiotic I take twice daily called Cephalexin. It's an anti-bacterial pill which is meant to clear acne from the inside, but honestly I haven't noticed an improvement from this particular item. This may just be because my acne was caused by the pill I was on, so hopefully it will change.

If you made it through all the way, or even halfway, I am incredibly impressed.

Love and the promise of more interesting future posts,

xEsther