Hot or Not Beauty

Most of the time I rave and rave but there are those times when a good rant becomes a sort of public service.
Sometimes there are those products that we really want to love, because it looks cool or you just want to think that it will deliver all those things they say it does.

Although I control my shopping impulses a lot better, sometimes I succumb to them and well sometimes it works, while sometimes it doesn’t.

My daily makeup look is just to look as natural as possible and I’m constantly on the look out for stuff that makes me look good BUT doesn’t make look made up or like a wax figure, we guys need texture in our skin more than women otherwise we look… weird.

Although my Holy Grail pressed powers is MAC’s Pressed Blot Powder, during the harsher winter months the powder just takes longer to set and it’s not that convenient to apply at work because even if it applied sheerly, I will have a sort of powdered nose for the next 30 minutes or so.

Check this older post out (if you haven’t) for my thoughts on pressed powders, if you still haven’t.

With all that in mind, I thought that it was time to give Smashbox’s Anti-Shine Compact a try. I mean, why shouldn’t I? The compact was small and super convenient with a small mirror that would allow me to touch up in 10 seconds in the bathroom and return with a matte complexion and no powdery residue. Plus it also said that it contained “tea tree oil to help combat breakouts, and vitamin E to help repair skin damage”, so I was like “YES! MARRY ME!”. So I dropped by the nearest Sephora and bought it.

That afternoon, the oily shine struck, but I was ready for it! So I softly patted the product on my forehead and nose careful not to swipe and ruin my makeup, after all this balm type product isn’t supposed to apply like a powder. And it was miraculous, my skin was matte and no one was the wiser.

The next morning, when I woke up my skin texture was odd, I seemed to develop some bumps and it looked irritated. Well, I have been under a lot of stress lately and didn’t give it much thought and decided to keep using my new found friend, until he stabbed me in the back.

To make a long story short, my forehead and nose broke out (precisely were I had been applying it) and it took me almost three weeks and lots of TLC and pampering to normalize the texture and make the blemishes disappear (I did end up making a new friend in the process) and the pretty cool Smashbox compact is on top of my pile of stupid purchases. Oddly enough for the following weeks I had to use a bit of more concealer while I was going for a natural flawless look, even I loved the irony on this one.

Do yourselves a favor, oily skin? Acne-prone? Sensitive? Just steer away from this compact and wear something else to blot away the oil because sometimes when it looks too good to be true, you should rethink it over and over again.

Take a look and then read:

Was it just me that was shocked by Britney’s opening act? Yes, indeed, I am writing about a celebrity, that’s how much it shocked me.

Usually these award ceremonies have pretty interesting opening acts (some pretty outstanding), but Britney’s wasn’t. She didn’t seem to be back in shape (note I didn’t say fat, I said out of shape) and her dancing was too slow and forced making it a completely non-natural way to move.

The clothes she was wearing were beyond awful, show some dignity girl, sexy doesn’t have to be skanky. Everything was wrong, that hideous top and shorts (they kind of looked like a glamorized version of grandma panties) plus with those boots…

But on to the makeup, Britney was wearing a sort of winged smoky eye in black with some neutral shades on her crease. Her foundation and blush or whatever she was wearing were oddly applied to say the least, she seemed dirty as opposed to polished. I also didn’t like her lipstick plus gloss, maybe the shock was so intense that I ended up not liking anything. And her hair seemed like it hadn’t been washed in 5 days and fallen victim to a bad bleach/dye job.

I was hoping for a great comeback, instead got a below average performance, a song that sounds like “I’m a slave for you” and what can’t possibly have seemed like a good idea in any personal stylist’s mind. This my dears, is a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge not when you want to look hot.

Back to the drawing board, I shiver at how that music video is going to look like.

I was having a hard time getting my creative juices going about what’s hot in beauty. Or even what’s not hot in beauty. So I thought I would do a retropsective on some of my favorite posts.

First there was the Lucy Lawless post about her transition from Raven Xena to Blonde bombshell that stirred many a comment. Since this going to the light side is a trend in Hollywood, it’s no wonder that the majority of readers went the way of fair haired Lucy.

My favorite post immediately followed the infamous Lucy Lawless post. When Did Baby Get Back on the Red Carpet. A look backward at the classic poses of silver screen godesses over the years. And how the red carpet has turned into an arena for who has the maximus gluteus maximus. I guess all those lunges in the gym are worth it if you are wearing a skin tight dress that’s exposing every inch of your back side. Vida Guerra, Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez take the prize on Baby’s that got back. Beauty is all in the booty it seems.

Of course, who can forget the fabulous Raquel Welch. That was a memorable post. For quite a few men that is.

Last but not least, Golden Globes, Hot or Hot Mess was one of my favorites. I love sitting at home in sweats and glasses with a wine glass in one hand and a bowl of popcorn in the other, making fun of celebrities who look a hot mess on the red carpet. That’s what they get paid for, right?

I’ll get back on track tomorrow. Until then, have fun looking at those great celebrity photos.

Hot or Not Beauty — HOT!

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Did you check out the 2006 Billboard Awards last night? Oh boy. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Musicians with celebrity status were looking pretty strange indeed. What happened to just looking pretty, sexy or even elegant for that matter. Noooo, half of the women looked like they went shopping in the land of the bizarre and the men just looked like yuck. Maybe I’m getting old, but I just don’t see the attraction to weird dressed folks with ugly hair and too much makeup. What the heck happened to cute little Rihanna?
All that flat chest exposed is jut not hot. And that part down the middle of that too long weave with a big huge bulb of a head underneath is just plain ugly. Rihanna is young and could be lovely. Scrape off half that war paint girl! Rihanna, you were one HOT MESS! Now, on the other side of the spectrum, a woman who is still “showing what ‘cha workin’ wit”, Carmen Electra knows what’s hot and what’s not. She’s still working the red carpet. Maybe she can show these youngsters a thing or two. The dress works. The poses work. The hair works. The makeup works. Carmen Electra - HOT!

Now on to hugely bad hair. Who the heck told Denise Richards that she needed a birds nest floating on top of her head? And what about that intricate conch shell style that Gwen Stefani had perched on her head? But funny girl Kathy Griffin takes the cake with those awful, worn out, flat bangs and fluffy hair. These 3 ladies are NOT HOT!

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