Golden Globes recap January 19, 2010

I love the black evening dresses. There are not many occasions that one can wear a formal  evening gown. I think it may be the reason so many of us are so fascinated by these award shows. A walk of the red carpet allows you  have the complete look as well. Designers are throwing dresses at them. Harry Winston is actually giving them diamonds to wear.  I would love the chance to wear such beautiful jewelry, but for now I sit in my jammies and critique.

Everyone looks fabulous in this picture, but Penelope Cruz is my favorite. Her hair is elegant, but not too uptight. Heather Graham could have worn more movement in her hair, but what a bod, huh?

Julianne Moore looks fabulous. Her date for the evening was the fabulously beautiful Tom Ford. Now one thing that could make my red carpet experience even more perfect than wearing Harry Winston diamonds… having a gorgeous gay friend who happens to be the most incredible fashion designer that ever lived on my side.

January Jones- Yuck! I hated the hair and the neckline of that dress. Worse – Tina Fey. It looked like they took material from a lounge chair to make her dress.

Sofia Vergara in Carolina Herrera. Fabulous. I love everything Carolina, but you know what makes Sofia  look so different here? It is her makeup. It is totally softened up from her “Modern Family” look. She looks so fresh. The dress color is also subtle. Bravo.

Lots of light dresses. Nothing excited me in this trend. Really not my favorite, but some are looking  lovely.  Jennifer Gardner looked by far the best, but has she gotten really thin? Am I just imagining it? Maggie Gyllenhaal looked great as well.

Christina Hicks – What went wrong here? I didn’t like any of it. She is so gorgeous and she totally missed with this one. Even her hair… wrong.

Favorite trend of the night… purple. Fergie on my top 5.  Sandra Bullock looked awesome and absolutely my favorite hair of the night. Look how is cascades down her neck without looking a mess. Her hair looked great all night. Loved it.  So glad that I just ordered a purple dress as well. How right on I felt.

Mariah – All I can say, this girl has no good girlfriends. She constantly wears stuff that any good friend would never let her leave the house in.

What’s a DAME to do? January 8, 2010

New Years Resolutions? I have made just one this year. It is to have more fun. More Fun! Doesn’t that sound good?

Ladies, I have the perfect answer. My friend, Kerri and her sister, Patty, actually invented this game to connect with other women and relatives to have FUN.

2-8 people can play at a time and you are given a dilemma card.  Example: You are walking in the crowded restaurant with your smokin’ new high heels and you go face first in the dessert cart. What’s a dame to do? You are given response cards and a couple hilarious cards to respond.  It just gets down right funny. I like playing with my friends and even people I do not know very well.  It is just what the doctor ordered.  Hilarious.

Hey, that is my revised New Years resolution.  Have more hilarious.

Now for even better news. The game is only $29.00, but you can get added 15% off of that great price when you type “Elizabeth” in the promotional code.

Go now, www.gamesfordames.com .  Hilarious FUN awaits. Go now.

A red lipstick that is perfect for you. December 8, 2009

Anyone that knows me knows that I love, love , love red lipstick. I could talk for hours about finding the right shade, but no worries about that now.

DuWop Perfect Red Lipstick is made to change tones of red to match your own personal coloring. It actually uses the technology of the mood lipstick from the ’70’s. I thought this just can not work.  I was the fourth grader with blue lips with that stuff. Much to my surprise, this stuff really is nice. I like the shade of red I got when I put it on. The reviews on this product have been good.  You can buy it at Sephora and many other places. It costs $22. No worries about the right shade of red anymore.

I love this lip plumper. If you have never tried one before, it tingles when you put it on and actually makes your lips fuller. I would never  use this with a deep colored lipstick. You would look like you were about to go to Studio 54 with Halston and Liza, darling. This is a great product solo or with a lighter shade of lipstick, especially if you have thinner lips. It is one of those things that puts alot of confidence in your smile.

The key to long,long beautiful hair December 4, 2009

 

Winter is great time to grow your hair out a little, give it a little break from the high lights, and deep condition your hair. The only way to get length in your hair is to get it cut and deep conditioned on a regular basis.  This really helps counteract all the damage from color.

I have a professional line of deep conditioners that I can personalize to your unique hair care needs that I use under a hood dryer, but you will need to deep condition once a week or every other week depending on your hair’s condition.

I have found the my new favorite deep conditioner.  Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment.  After one treatment your hair feels stronger and full of moisture. I love it. It shampoos out, so the hair does not feel weighed down. Just make sure that you do not use it 6 days before or after a hair color. It ranges in price from $22-55 and you can get it at QVC, sephora.

www.ojon.com

Enjoy. Looking good…

What Anna Wintour reminded me to do. September 19, 2009

 

Don’t you love when you walk out of a movie with a friend and you have a great discussion brought on by the content of the movie. I actually had that experience the other day with a surprising movie. “The September Issue.” is a documentary about the what it takes to put out the September issue of Vogue magazine.  Biggest issue of the year with over a million issues sold. It gives you unpresidented access to Anna Wintour… the editor of Vogue magazine since 1988. She is single handedly the most important person in the fashion industry. Designers hold their breathe to see if she gives her nod to their collection. 

Anna was the what the villian of “Devil wears Prada” was based. I heard that no one over a size 8 works with her.  I have had issue with her for years. I went into this movie expecting not to like her,  but I came away from the movie actually respecting her a little more with a reminder why I love fashion so much.

 The reason that my friend and I decided to sneak away in the first place was that we were both feeling the need to take a breather from our lives and just have some fun. We both have been experiencing our own stress  and have had a hard time putting ourselves on the priority list. My friend actually feels burdened by fashion at times.  Why do I have to put on makeup and decent outfit to be taken seriously?

Anna Wintour says that it takes courage to be fashionable. I have seen this for years cutting peoples hair. They want something different, but then when it comes time to change, they talk themselves right out of it. They never do change their style. Anna also says that her best quality is that she is decisive. She makes up her mind what will be the next look and never looks back. She is always looking forward.

Have courage, be decisive, and look  forward. This just might be the key to self care. You do not have to have the latest fashions, but taking the time to put on a nice outfit and put on a little mascara could just be about caring for yourself and asking the world for what you want.  The actions that I take for myself teaches everyone else how to treat me.

Anna is not the team player I would like to work with nor would she likely be my friend, but it is probably good to have someone around to remind me to have courage, be decisive, and look forward.

I am now following her on twitter.

Could you use a little makeover? August 17, 2009

We have all felt like we need a little jump start. Francy was feeling that herself. We have all been there. Hair gets dull and our eyebrows overgrown. You need a new style, but you are not sure what to do about it. So I might have an idea… what am I talking about… I always have ideas.

Idea #1: Color, color, color. It gives your skin so much more glow. It is just more flattering. Francy has never colored her hair, but she wanted a natural look.  She needed depth and shine.  Solution is highlights with a creamy blonde, a strawberry blonde, and a pretty light copper. The result is WOW. Natural shiny touchable hair.

Idea #2 The cut. Francy wants to grow her hair longer, but her hair was one length, which gave her no body or movement to  her hair.  We put in a lot of loose layers to bring out her natural body plus she has a lot more options for different looks.

Idea #3  Eyebrows: Francy has nice full eyebrows, but they need to be shaped. Why? Because it gives them control and opens up the eye. When brows are too heavy they weigh down your eyes, no matter how young you are. It is even more important the older we get.  After grooming them, you need to think about making sure that they have some color. Francy’s are naturally really light, but the older we get we need color in our brows. Color fills in your eyebrows or creates them where they do not exist.  In this instance, Francy has the fullness, but no color and they just blend into her skin. I have a lot of gaps in my brows and I need color to fill in where I am lacking brows.You can achieve this with a eyebrow pencil or brow powder with an angled brush.

Now hear this: PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR EYEBROWS. SHAPE AND COLOR THEM. YOU INSTANTLY AGE YOURSELF WHEN YOU DON’T. From twenty to eighty years of age. Everyone needs pay attention to their brows.

Idea#4; Francy’s complextion is really nice and does not need foundation. If you are like 95% of the rest of the population, you will need some kind of foundation to even out your skin tones.

We went for natural browns for the eyes. They are a beautiful blue and actually pop more with a subtle constrast, not by putting more blue around the eye.  We lined the eye with a rich brown shadow. By using shadow, you create a softer line. Highlighting the below the brow and the lid with a soft creme color brings the eye out, while a medium brown on the brow bone helps make it less pronounced.

We also put on some false lashes. How fun is that? They really add a punch and open the eye. Give yourself a break and take the time to learn how to put these on. You will love them.

*Important Note: Do not put on false eye lashes without also lining the eyes and putting on some shadow. Without the rest of the eye makeup, your lashes look fake! Just plain bad. Having eye makeup on make the lashes just blend.

Cheeks are done in soft tawny beiges and peaches to give her cheeks some definition and color again.

*Important Note:  Cheek color is something a lot of women fear, especially as we get older. They do not want to look like they have big rouge cheeks, so they do not put any on at all. Put some on. You will feel better.

Lips are lined with a neutral and a peachy gloss were applied.

Fabulous, but not over done.

Photographs by Eric Hoffines Productions

Kicking up the eyelashes. July 23, 2009

 

 

 

I am obsessed with proper shaped eyebrows and beautiful lashes. I could talk about this for hours. They just make you look so good. You can also vary your type of application to express the look that you want to convey.

One nice trick for the subtle kicked up is adding individual lashes to the outside corner of lash area.

       a. Purchase these at the drug store. There is no need to spend a ton. Ardell individual lashes at about $5 and last a while. Make sure that you have some glue as well.  Dou is my favorite brand.

      b. I curl my lashes and then put on several coats of mascara. Then I put the individual lashes on the corner edge and work my way in, stopping when I like the look.

    c. When you are putting them on, I use a tweezer to hold the lash and place on by holding it above my eye and then going down into the lash line. If you go straight in the lash area, you will not get proper angle.

Have fun with it. You will love the way you look.

Looking good, Elizabeth

One trend that is not so new. July 9, 2009

One new trend that is not so new

 I was in shock. Fingerless lace gloves were present at many of the fall fashion shows this week. It was 1982 and Madonna’s Borderline album was all that I played and I just stared at the cover, trying to figure how to copy her style. Her video rocked. I bought my first pair of black fingerless lace gloves and also got super long acrylic fake nails and painted them deep red.

I never thought  that I would see the this trend recycled and I never will repeat it, but if I was in my twenties again I would. Too bad the extremely big hair that I wore then hasn’t recycled itself. I would definitely wear that again.

Just Like Every Other American Couple July 8, 2009

Do you know any other couple that could recreate this photo? I just laugh picturing my friends trying to do this. Bravo Beckhams!