Thursday, May 26, 2011

2011 Billboard Music Awards

While the Billboard Music Awards aren't as prestigious as the AMAs or the Grammys, some folks still bothered to get dressed up and attend the festivities.

Taylor Swift is a lovely girl - certainly prettier than her singing ability - but she's a boring dresser. This dress was probably once one of Liberace's shower curtains.

Kelly Rowland's choice is also pretty boring, but that's a great color on her.

Keri Hilson was a little bolder with her choice. I love the dress and the belt, but I'm wondering if that mustard color doesn't clash with her hair?

Kesha. Well. The girl looks uncomfortable in this nightmare of a dress. While the color is interesting, the fit is terrible - she looks thick and stiff. While this is a bit better than her usual black garbage bag with neck and arm holes, wouldn't a sleek gown be better for this moody gal?

This is a model called Nayer who apparently brings her own wind machine to red carpet events. Guess that expenditure forced her to make her own garment out of neckties sourced at the Goodwill.

I understand that this Nicki Minaj character is known for her crappy unusual dress sense, but this is just hideous and unflattering. And I'm sparing you the photos of her giant ass.

Also rather unflattering is what appears to be pockets on Nicole Kidman's dress. They make her look hippy in a bad way. With the sloppy hair, she looks like she's not really trying. Her face looks beautiful though.

I don't get the Ronald McDonald red hair that Rihanna has been sporting recently, but I do love it in this style, coupled with the pants suit. She looks like a young and sober Whitney Houston.

I know Selena Gomez is like, almost 19, now, but this dress is a little slutty. Would be great on Kesha though.

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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Just Dotty

LuAnn de Lesseps of the Real Housewhores of New York attended the 11th Annual Paws For Style Fashion Show Benefiting The Humane Society Of New York. While I'm not a fan of any of Bravo's RH franchise, I am a big fan of polka dots (and animals), and I love the outfit that LuAnn is wearing! So chic, so cute!

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Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Sister Wives at Cannes

So when did Bryce Dallas Howard become a Mormon?


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Thursday, May 12, 2011

64th Annual Cannes Film Festival Opening Ceremonies

It's Cannes Film Festival Again, folks, and as always, the celebs and not-so-celebs smoked a little crack before hitting the red carpet. Let's have a look, shall we?

French actress Vahina Giocante wore a voluminous black gown that was part 60s part peignoir, and 100% too matronly. Perhaps if it were in a color other than black, it might have worked better.

...or maybe if Faye Dunaway had worn it, it would be more appropriate. Better than the shroud Ms Dunaway did wear.

Robert DeNiro's wife, Grace Hightower could have done better than this too-tight mes that's obviously pulling across her hips and showing off a belly pooch. Plus, she looks neckless thanks to the too-high neckline and hair worn down.

There's something cheap-looking about Karine Lima's white gown that I can't put a finger on.

Cheap is better than trashy, like Rachel McAdams in a tacky red lace Marchesa. Maybe this was a good idea on paper, but the wearer can't help but look like the love child of a cat tangled in a ball of yarn and a Wild West madame.

Salma Hayek is a gorgeous woman, but I can't help but want to see her wearing some color, rather than this taupe Gucci. A pretty dress, sure, but I don't think the lack of color really works for her.

Ditto for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Elie Saab. It's a pretty dress, but in yet another non-color. Pale taupe-y shades like this remind me of old white t-shirts that have been washed 100 times but have never been introduced to a bottle of bleach. I guess the best word for it would be "dingy."

Here, ladies, let Uma Thurman show you how it should be done. Her Versace gown is simple and elegant and though white, looks nothing like a wedding gown. Love the simple emerald cascade earrings, which keep the attention on Uma's face; while not her best feature, it is the most polite place to look.

Bianca Balti also wore emeralds, and tons of them, but in no way do they work with her somewhat twee bedruffle of an Alberta Ferretti gown. With such dramatic baubles, one needs to wear a simple sheath gown, with no ruffles, bows, or other gee-gaws to detract. This gown would have worked better with more delicate jewelry.

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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Spring Sniffapalooza 2011

I spent the last two days of April in New York doing two of my favorite things: eating and sniffing perfume. (You can read about my dining adventures here, here, and here.)

I took the train up on Friday the 29th, and after a nice lunch at Ma Peche, I checked into the Fitzpatrick Manhattan. For some reason that I didn't quite catch, I had been upgraded from a standard room to a suite that had two flat-panel tvs and a wet bar. I must be living right! I dumped my baggage and headed back out, intent on testing as many fragrances as possible before meeting up with my friend David Dust for dinner. Lunch took longer than I had expected, so I had to scrap the original plan to hit Barney's and the Hermes boutique on the same block; instead I headed straight to Saks.

Saks used to be a regular stop on the Sniffapalooza tour, but for some reason that's no longer the case. I've heard many complaints about their pushy sales associates, but I've only ever had pleasant experiences. I've found that if you are polite and speak to them as a knowledgeable consumer, they fall over backward to be helpful, doling out samples and even recommending fragrances at other counters. Remember - SAs are people too. They are not lesser beings and deserve as much respect as the rest of us. Anyway...I spent some time at the Hemes counter, sniffing the new Jardin fragrance and testing out Eau De Gentiane Blanche, which sounded like something I'd like and was already sitting in my Amazon.com shopping cart but I didn't want to buy blind. (I did like it, despite the "bell pepper" note.) I also schmoozed the very cute Thierry Mugler SA (whom I have dealt with before) and got a sample of the new A*Men Pure Havane for Mr Minx. I also got a sample of Angel Sunessence, which is much more compatible with my skin chemistry than any other version of Angel I've tried so far, but unfortunately still smells like Angel. And I spent some time chatting with the Penhaligon's SA, finally trying Amaranthine. It's really quite lovely on paper, but something about it just doesn't work on my skin.

That's ok - I didn't need to spend any money. There was still Aedes de Venustas to explore.

I had Aedes pretty much to myself, so sniffed just about everything they had, including the new Lubins, most of the Frederick Malles and Serge Lutens, and various other niche scents. I walked away with several bits of scented paper plus a sample of Odin Nomad to try at a later date. I really love the incense-y L'Artisan Parfumeur scent custom-blended for the shop, but at $185, it's a bit spendy for me.

After Aedes, I walked across 6th Avenue to Bigelow and explored their eclectic fragrance department. There I found scents from Acqua di Parma, Juliette Has a Gun, Robert Piguet, and Trance Essence, as well as Chanel and Geo. F. Trumper. I picked up a bottle of AdP Blu Mediterraneo Fico di Amalfi to share with my BFF Andree, a Bigelow-branded fragrance called Winter Lemon, and a lovely home fragrance by Belle Fleur called White Orchid Tea.

The next day was the start of Sniffapalooza proper, and I made sure to get myself to Bergdorf Goodman well in advance of the 8:15 am start time for their famous breakfast. Last year, I got stuck at a table full of rude strangers; this year, I planned on snagging one of the little tables for two at the back of the room. Once seated, I was able to enjoy some fruit salad and pastries before the presentations began.

The breakfast is always my favorite part of Sniffa because the various reps show off the new scents in the line, handing out scented cards and ribbons. It's a good way for me to decide which counters to hit right away, and perhaps which to avoid. Nothing I sniffed was a must-have this season, so I merely wandered around and gossiped with my friends, makeup artists David Aikman and Donna Muzio at Estee Lauder, and Jason Beers at Guerlain. Donna put on some new lips for me and I purchased a liner and gloss, and I also bought some hair and skin products from Kiehl's. No fragrances this time, but then I had already done puh-lenty of damage earlier in the month during their gift card sale. 'Nuff said.

Because last year's lunch made me homicidal crazy, I skipped it this time and did my own thing. After eating, I still had almost an hour to kill, so I wandered up and down 5th Avenue before stepping into the next shop on the schedule - Henri Bendel. They carry a lot of fragrances, but the amount of real estate they give to them is ridiculously tiny, so I took the opportunity to sniff as much as possible before the rest of the gang arrived. During this time, I caught up with perfumer Neil Morris and got a personal tour of the several Vault fragrances he brought along with him. While all were quite nice, I really fell for the fabulous coffee-scented Izmir (papaya, orange, cinnamon, rose, fig, geranium, coffee, vanilla, agar wood, sea air, patchouli), and I have to admit I liked the semi-strangeness of Fetish (myrrh, ambergris, rosewood, musk, oud, leather, benzoin, patchouli), particularly the unusual vinyl note.

I spent some time sniffing the Memoire Liquide scents, and fell in love with Soleil Liquide from their "Reserve" collection. That went into my shopping cart, along with the embarrassingly-named ELDO scent, Don't Get Me Wrong Baby..., so I could score the usually-fab GWP. This time, it was a vinyl Bendel's tote bag with lots of samples, plus a full-sized Kai body lotion.

At this point, I was already sniffed-out. I found a couple of friends whom I had met last year and walked with them to The Plaza, initially to sit out the Krigler presentation and have a drink, but we couldn't find the bar! (I guess we were already drunk on perfume.) Instead, we partook of the free wine at the presentation, where I found another friend. Honestly, one of the best things about Sniffa is chatting with other like-minded fragrance aficionados.

We sat at Krigler entirely too long and missed the festivities and the macarons downstairs at Plaza Beauty. At that point I was ready to go back home to Baltimore, sated both by food and fragrance, yet already ready for next Fall's event.

For more information on Sniffapalooza, check out their Web site.

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Monday, May 9, 2011

Chastity Bono is Becoming Chaz

Cher's daughter Chastity Bono has decided she is really a he. His story airs on Tuesday, May 10 at 9/8c on OWN.


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Friday, May 6, 2011

The Hat

This is a rather well-done Photoshop job.


Source: Afternoon Snooze Button

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Thursday, May 5, 2011

Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty Exhibit at the Met

I want to go to this:
The exhibition, in the Metropolitan Museum's second-floor Cantor Galleries, features approximately 100 ensembles and 70 accessories from Mr. McQueen's prolific 19-year career. Drawn primarily from the Alexander McQueen Archive in London, with some pieces from the Givenchy Archive in Paris as well as private collections, signature designs including the bumster trouser, the kimono jacket, and the three-point "origami" frock coat are on view. McQueen's fashions often referenced the exaggerated silhouettes of the 1860s, 1880s, 1890s, and 1950s, but his technical ingenuity always imbued his designs with an innovative sensibility that kept him at the vanguard.
Galleries showcase recurring themes and concepts in McQueen's work. "The Romantic Mind" examines his technical ingenuity, which combined the precision of tailoring and patternmaking with the spontaneity of draping and dressmaking. "Romantic Gothic" highlights McQueen's historicism, particularly his engagement with the Victorian Gothic, and dichotomies such as life and death. "Romantic Nationalism" looks at McQueen's patriotic impulses, including his reflections on his Scottish heritage and his fascination with British history. "Romantic Exoticism" explores the influence of other cultures on the designer's imagination, especially China and Japan. "Romantic Primitivism" captures McQueen's engagement with the ideal of the "noble savage," while "Romantic Naturalism" considers his enduring interest in raw materials and forms from nature.
Six McQueen collections that explore his engagement with the Romantic sublime and the dialectics of beauty and horror are featured as groupings in the galleries – Highland Rape (autumn/winter 1995-96), Number 13 (spring/ summer 1999), VOSS (spring/summer 2001), Irere (spring/summer 2003), Plato's Atlantis (spring/summer 2010), and Angels and Demons (autumn/winter 2010-11). "Cabinet of Curiosities" includes various atavistic and fetishized accessories produced in collaboration with the milliners Dai Rees and Philip Treacy, and the jewelers Shaun Leane, Erik Halley, and Sarah Harmarnee. The Cabinet also displays video highlights from ten of McQueen's renowned runway presentations, including Joan (autumn/winter 1998–99), What a Merry-Go-Round (autumn/winter 2001–02), and They Shoot Horses Don't They? (spring/summer 2004).


The spring 2011 Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, is on view May 4 through July 31. The exhibition celebrates the late Mr. McQueen's extraordinary contributions to fashion. From his Central Saint Martins postgraduate collection in 1992 to his final runway presentation, which took place after his death in February 2010, Mr. McQueen challenged and expanded our understanding of fashion beyond utility to a conceptual expression of culture, politics, and identity.

The exhibition is made possible by Alexander McQueen™.

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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Mother's Day at jcpenney

jcpenney is hosting a Mother's Day contest on their Twitter feed this week, giving away prizes to followers who respond to their daily, "Would U Rather" question. For a chance to win, follow @jcpenney and respond to their tweets by choosing one of the two options presented. Prize Winners will each receive two items from JCPenney’s One Kiss jewelry line and Meaningful Beauty Products, both by Cindy Crawford.

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What Happened to Madonna?

What happened to Madonna? She looks terrific. Of course, this photo isn't a close-up of her face, but her arms look less scrawny/muscular/scary than they have in the recent past, and she's not wearing anything inappropriately too young or revealing, and I love the steel gray color on her. The somewhat old-fashioned 'do, of soft waves, is really flattering as well.

Well done, Madonna!


Madonna on the red carpet at the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" Costume Institute Gala At The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photocredit: Wireimage.

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Monday, May 2, 2011

Royal Wedding Gown

I didn't watch the royal wedding (shock!) but did get to see shots of Wills and Kate on their happy day. While I thought his Irish Guards military uniform was a bit garish, it was what it was. Kate's duds, on the other hand, disappointed me. While I was happy to hear that it was made by Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen, it didn't have any of the potential over-the-topness that a proper McQueen should have. Instead, it was vaguely reminiscent of Grace Kelly's dress from 1956. Pretty, but a snooze. 

Gotta say, though, it's 100x better than the monstrosity worn by Will's mum when she married Prince Charles 30 years ago.

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