If you gave up on Project Runway this season, you're missing out! This week's episode was a beautiful one. If you just jump in and watch this one I don't think it will mean as much as if you've gotten to know the designers and feel a bit of love for them, but it's still worth watching. The 5 most recent episodes are still available online. If you want to catch up you can watch them here on mylifetime.com.

( Lots more discussion and SPOILERS below the cut! )

So what do you think? Have you been watching? Who do you think is going to make it to fashion week???

My icon is all I have to say regarding the winning design. It's such a bummer to discuss the negative aspects of the episode, so under the cut you shall find only squeeage about the things that made me smile this week!

( spoilers spoilers spoilers )

Sorry this is not super eloquent or thoughtful. None of my friends watch Project Runway, so this is the only place I can come to spout my random impressions!

( Spoilers (and random musings) below the cut! )

Yay!Project Runway!

Project Runway Season 8 is starting THIS THURSDAY!!! I didn't know this until just a second ago!! Yippee!!!!

I just got the most adorable pair of shoes for $12 today! I am so excited! Wanna see them?



*dances in the new shoes*

A confession:
I've worn mascara maybe twice in my entire life. I've worn makeup maybe a dozen times. I am 25 years old.

Pertinent facts:
1) I am going to be a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding on Saturday.
2) She has decided that our makeup will consist of foundation, bronzer, and lots of black mascara.
3) I do not own any of those things.
4) I've been instructed to get them.
5) I'm freaking out a little.

Question:
What kind of black mascara should I buy?

More pertinent facts:
1) I do not want to spend too much. (I've already spent so much money on this wedding!)
2) I will cry a lot during this wedding.

Disclaimer:
I've been instructed by a fellow bridesmaid to go to Clinique and get them to help me pick out foundation and bronzer and show me how to use it. Therefore, I only need advice on mascara at this point in time. After I actually go to Clinique I might come back and post and cry and freak out and beg for more advice :)

Is anyone else watching Project Runway? If so does anyone else think the judges are on total crack this season???

( spoilers if you haven't seen this weeks episode yet )

ETA: I just read Tim's Blog. He agreed with me about this episode. I feel somewhat vindicated.

I offer no opinions as to the products being advertised, but this commercial cracked me up :)

I can't decide whether to give Sensai Kanebo Cellular Performance Total Lip Treatment a huge thumbs-up, a qualified "may not know for sure yet," or a disappointed thumbs down.

I suspect if it didn't cost so much, the decision would be an easier one. It definitely makes my lips fuller, smoother and even a little darker, which is kind of nice. But for this much money -- $60 -- I thought it would also quickly eliminate the crusty dry skin ridge that I'm constantly battling on my lower lip.

I like and look good in darker lipsticks, but you can't wear them if your lips are cracked. I'd heard raves from trusted sources about this stuff, so I cracked out the big bucks and bought it.

Combined with my new favorite lipstick, my lips are clearly softer and, had I never heard a word of hype about this product and not known how expensive it was, I might be raving about it here. Nothing has ever made my lips look and feel better than this combination.

It's just that I expected more.

Best. Lipstick. Ever.

I'd never even heard of this company when I read about this new lip product on my favorite beauty blog of all time, The Non-Blonde. This is what she had to say:

This Cle de Peau lipstick is one of the softest, smoothest lipsticks I've tried. It's almost like a balm, but with great coverage and excellent pigment (though some of the lighter shades are a bit more sheer). The staying power isn't as amazing as the regular lipsticks, but there's only so much you can expect from a super moisturizing lip color. I chose no. 117, which as you can see is a reddish plum, but I already see a couple of others in my future.

My lips were cracked and miserable, so I headed out to Neiman-Marcus, the only place in San Francisco with a Cle de Peau beauty counter. I took vl_redreign with me, and they did a complete skincare and makeup makeover on me -- and it was lots of fun! I like all the products I've tried so far, but this lipstick is truly the softest, silkiest, most balm-like lip color I've ever used, including some of the best "natural" and some of the most expensive designer brands on the market.

I, too, am a non-blonde, and I ended up with 117, the same color in the photo above. I also bought 114, which was basically the same color as my natural lips, to use mostly as a lip balm. It works better than my actual lip balm! There's a new color, 123, which I haven't tried yet, but looks nice in the sample colors on the website.

Now, the big drawback: The cost. I'm used to forking over $30 for Chanel lipstick, which dries out my lips if I don't slather balm over and under it. This stuff is FIFTY BUCKS, yo. But honestly, it's just that good.

I have now purchased Cle de Peau products three ways: In the store (fun but not convenient for me), on the N-M website, and by simply phoning the local beauty counter directly. Everyone's been very helpful, sends or gives me buckets of free samples, and seems to bend over backwards to let me try things and then exchange them if they don't work out. I'll write about their skin care line later, but for now, my verdict on the Extra Silky Lipstick is: worth the price and then some.

If you've been feeling bad about getting older...


I don't "slash" real people, but if I did...

Really really did not like "Coco Before Chanel." Audrey Tautou is gorgeous and I could have looked at her all day, but I found her character's motivations unfathomable, and I had no sense at all where Chanel's great talent and style came from, nor was there any sense of the force in design she would one day become.

This was nothing but an overblown romance that somehow reduced everything she did to being about some guy. Nauseating. I HATED it.

Beautiful, yes. But blech.

I wish someone would make the Chanel film that is in my head. Because this is DEFINITELY not it.



Crossposted at my journal.

I'm so in like with my new mascara Big Tease from Bare Escentuals. It makes make-up fun again for me. Buying it I saw that they have a (for me) new thing, brushless- mascara. Have anyone tried that? It looks SO difficult!

Oh please come to me my pretty pretty shoes...

I love the internet age. I don't own a tv. I don't pay for cable. But I still just watched the entire first episode of the new season of Project Runway on mylifetime.com. I only had to listen to one commercial before it started. This is even better than watching it on tv! There's also all kinds of fun stuff (pictures and tons of extra videos and a scorecard) on the Project Runway on Lifetime site.


Thoughts on the show:

* I almost forgot how much I LOVE Tim Gunn. I missed Project Runway and I'm so glad it's back on finally!
* I love that the show hasn't changed in any real way in the move from Bravo to Lifetime. The music when they went shopping at Mood made me squeee :D
* I really liked Irina's dress
( Spoilers below the cut! )
So have you watched it yet? What'd you think? Who was your favorite so far? *eee!* Project Runway is back!!

Am I wrong or is this the UGLIEST SKIRT IN THE HISTORY OF CLOTHES? WTF was Nordstrom thinking?

( Click at your own risk... )

So, testdog65  gave me a Sephora gift certificate for Solstikwanzanukkamas this year, and I used it to buy some new eyeliner pencils. I've been using Chanel, but they seemed just a bit too smeary for me. But all the others I've tried have been too hard and irritated my skin.

I bought the Sephora "Slim Pencil" for eyes, and it went on easily and didn't smear. It also lasted longer than the Chanel -- no doubt because it didn't smear, LOL.

Best of all? Five bucks each.

I'm thrilled! Thanks, testdog!

I don't know why I haven't tried this ever in my life because it seems somewhat obvious, but I recently read a tip on how to get your lips soft and smooth, particularly if you wear dark colors of lipstick. And I tried it and it worked!

First, gently wet your lips. The tip didn't recommend this, but I also softly dabbed them with Aveda Calming Composition.

Then take a very, very gentle scrub -- I'm using one that isn't made anymore, but it's literally made from ground rosebuds -- and use it on your lower lip only. BE GENTLE, but lightly rub until the chapped, dry, scaly skin is gone and your lips feel soft. Then rinse them with lukewarm water until the scrub is gone. Then while they're still damp, take a q-tip and put a single drop of eye serum -- I'm using Aveda Night Nutrients -- on the middle of your lower lip. Blot your lips to spread it around.

Your lips will instantly be smooth and you can wear dark lipstick right away.

This works MUCH better than all the lip balms I've ever used in my life! And you can do it every night if need be.

My lips have never felt nicer than this in the winter.

Is this man a god, or what?



Obey Tim. Donate to stop the hate, here.

Anybody else skip the debate in favor of Project Runway?

What did you think?

Becareful, spoilers might be in the comments.