Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Mad Love

I noticed that my mascara project is making my blog look Mad Love-esque. Go to the 1:53 mark.


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Tarte Lights Camera Lashes

Tarte's Lights Camera Lashes claim: “A Paraben-free 4-in-1 (lengthening, curling, volumizing, and conditioning) dermatologist-and clinically-tested mascara that gives dramatic, thick, and sexy lashes.”

Morning Application: I had to pump the wand a few times to get any product on it. The brush is nice and dense though. Lashes were weighed down a bit, which is natural for my type of lashes, but they were still curled. I agree with Tarte's claim that it is lengthening and curling. I disagree with the conditioning claim because it really was rather dry. I had to coat the mascara on a bunch in order to get any results. This was tricky too because it almost went to that dreaded "tarantula lashes" place.




Overall Impression: I don't recommend this mascara it was dry and ultimately gave an unattractive spikey look.




Monday, October 26, 2009

This calls for more than just exercise!


The zipper on my pants just bust open.


Enough said.


Saturday, October 24, 2009

Oh how I covet thee!

Here is more insight into my money-spending brain. If I am not out buying stuff, then I am thinking about buying stuff. This is such a vicious cycle.

For fun, I like to think of the things I would buy if I were to get published. One thing jumps to mind. This beauty:



Oh be still my Balenciaga loving heart! MSRP: $1,695. I love this bag. It has been out for years, but I am still in love with it. I will not rest until it is in my hands!

This is why I shouldn't be allowed to handle my own finances. I covet things I can't afford. Even though I am in thousands of dollars of debt, the first place I want my lotto winnings to go to is a purse.

Hello, my name is Melanie and I am a shopaholic. The last time I went on a shopping spree that I couldn't afford was last Tuesday. I have been "sober" for 11days now.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Anastasia Lash Lifting Mascara

The first mascara in the sampler is Anastasia's Lash Lifting mascara. For those of you that may not know Anastasia, she is famous for eyebrow shaping among Hollywood's elite. I have never tried any of her products myself, but a friend of mine, Germaine, has used her eyebrow kit. I remember noticing Germaine's eyebrows one day and complimenting them because they looked well-kempt and perfectly shaped. She informed me that she had used Anastasia's eyebrow kit and said it was easy to use.

Anyhoo, onto the mascara...

Anastasia Lash Lifting Mascara's Claim: “Great for allergy sensitive eyes, this creamy mascara coats lashes with an elastic veil to provide body and volume without clumping.”

My morning application:
The brush was full but didn't have a lot of product on it even after dunking it in a few times. I had to coat them a lot in order to get the full effect I really like. In the end, my lashes were very natural looking but you could still see that they were enhanced. They were fluffy, almost feather-like. It is a light formula that didn’t weigh my lashes down, so they stayed curled. Their promise of a non-clumping formula was certainly true.


Overall Impression:
If you are looking for a very natural look, this is the way to go.











Monday, October 19, 2009

Side Project - Mascara Sampler

One of my favorite materialistic girlie things in the world is makeup. I love makeup. If I had the nerve to wear crazy ass Rhianna-esque type makeup everyday, I would. Sephora is my favorite store in the whole world, and I should work there just for the opportunity to wear unusual makeup on a daily basis.

Now, just because I love makeup doesn't mean I am amazing at it and should take it up as a profession. I do alright for everyday makeup and can sometimes glitz it up pretty well too, but it is not at a professional level by any means.

So, this brings me to my "side project" on this here blog 'o mine. I have desperately been wanting a mascara sampler from Sephora. it has 11 different mascaras from different brands. I am always on the lookout for new wonderful mascaras, so to me, this sampler is the best invention ever!

Everyday that I wear a new mascara, I will take a picture to show the differences between each product. As a starting point, here are my lashes sans mascara (and concealer - eek!).




As you can see, my natural lashes are nothing to covet. A couple of things to keep in mind is that I have a hard time holding the curl in my lashes no matter what mascara it is - curling or otherwise. Also, my lashes are fairly long (they are no Kim Kardashian lashes tough), but they are so thin at the tips it is hard to tell through the pictures - basically, this means that no matter what mascara I am wearing, it will always look like they are lengthening mascaras when really they are just putting some density on my thin lash tips.

Ok, tomorrow's sample is Anastasia's Lash Lifting mascara. Let the mascara sampling begin!!!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Minor Setback

Ok, not doing so well on the goals right now. Had a minor setback on Tuesday. I took a day off to take care of some personal stuff (doctor appointments, flu shots, car stuff). Taking a day off from work is dangerous because I end up going shopping.

After I had my daughter in 2005, I was a stay-at-home mommy for 2 1/2 years. Online shopping was my thing since it was a hassle to get my baby in and out of the car seat all day. But I missed shopping in the stores. I like to try clothes on.

I started shopping during the day, while most people were at work, and it was great. The stores were empty, I didn't have to deal with any lines, the stores were neat and orderly - a shopaholics dream. But this did awful things to my wallet, which I am paying for to this day.

I am still too ashamed of my debt amount to put it out there. Let's just say I have started making minimum payments on my multitude of credit cards, totaling around $530 a month. I still have not made a dent and my credit cards are pretty much maxed out. On Tuesday, I ended up using a total of $346.65 of the available credit I had on a couple of store cards. Dammit!

My problem is that I have this ability of justifying all my purchases, but whether I have the money to buy it never factors in. For example: I found a pair of Cole Haan wedges, originally $229.00, marked down to $89.90, marked down again to $59.90! How could I not buy them?!

Did I have the money for them? No. Did it stop me? Nope. My credit card was practically begging to be used in my purse.

I did experience a bit of buyer's remorse after I saw my bill, but not enough to turn around and return anything.

So, my climbing out of debt goal is is set back $346.65.

My weight loss goal is neutral - neither losing or gaining weight this week.

The book publishing goal is stagnant as well. I have given up on my first book and have two ideas currently brewing in my head.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Celebrity

Went to the Jamie Foxx concert last night. I am sorry to say that it wasn't all that great. I love Jamie's newest CD, Intuition, but it wasn't paced very well. About 2/3 of the show was all the slow songs packed in. The crowd was hyped in the beginning because he was doing faster paced songs. After a while though, it was slow song after slow song. The crowd started sitting down and for most of the show everyone was in their seats. I am not trying to say no one else enjoyed themselves, just that it was more of a slow jam session.

I was also really disappointed because Jamie Foxx kept teasing the crowd with "Slow Jamz" but never really ended up belting it out.

My experience was also marred because the seats we were in were by the side of the stage, so we didn't get the full stage view. A lot of a good concert is the atmosphere, the performed, the crow, and - I have now learned - the seats! I felt like we were pretty close to Jamie and could see him clear enough, but it would almost be better to have sat on the far end, opposite the stage so that we could see the whole picture.

Now keep in mind that my friends and I normally get general admission tickets and would push ourselves to the front of the stage so we really soaked up the entire experience. Sitting in the side seats was not how I like to enjoy my concerts.

I had also hear that his last concert in Seattle was off the hook and that he had integrated a lot of comedy into his show. This wasn't the case last night. There was a part where he was calling some ladies on stage and then did a little comedy routine with them - that part was definitely funny, but it was too short.

One of the other fun parts of the show was when he did every old skool dance under the sun (oh yes, the running man was included!) and then did the c-walk. Oh I do miss the ole c-walk!

Overall, the concert was alright, but I am still a Jamie Foxx fan and would definitely go out and buy his next CD when it comes out in December. And I am definitely going to have to check out his next two movies. He has the one coming out, The Gamer, and then another one with Martin Lawrence. Martin is reviving Shanaynay from his show "Martin" and Jamie Foxx is Wanda from "In Living Color". A must see for anyone in my generation!

Ok, onto the next subject ...

I was HEATED today when I read a blog by the ignorant Adrianne Curry, who was the winner of the first season of America's Next Top Model. She has had her fair share of controversial moments, so I shouldn't be surprised by the idiotic things she says, but she really topped herself this time. She claims that the illigality of drugs is to blame for her brutal rape. I feel for what happened to her, nothing like that should ever happen to anyone. But her argument is that if she could have bought her crack at a pharmacy, she wouldn't have had to go to the streets to buy her drugs and then she wouldn't have been raped. That if the drugs were legal, there wouldn't be any crack dealers on the streets and everyone can just buy their drugs legally.

Right Miss Curry. Sooner or later these "clean pharmacies" will be robbed because the crack addicts that swindled all their money on drugs can't afford the legal drugs anymore.

How about you blame your drug use on poor judgement and your addicition. The majority of the population seems to be just fine without legal crack.

The next thing you know she will a spokeswoman for child pornography and human trafficking. Stupid, stupid woman.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Pilot

I am a coward. Read on and you will see why.

I turned 28-years-old on September 12, 2009. I am 28 and haven't achieved any major accomplishments. No, I didn't go to college. Yes, I did accomplish the one task that a devout catholic mother dreads: my boyfriend and I have a 3 1/2 year old. Don't get me wrong, Grandma loves my daughter, but nothing would've pleased her more than if I had had a child with a husband instead of a boyfriend.

I have always been the type that hated aging. Twenty-one was a good age to stop at. Ok, maybe I could live with remaining 24 forever. Obnoxious, I know, but I can't help it.

So, obviously I lived past the age of 24 and obviously I didn't stop aging. But looking back on my life, I am suddenly irked by the fact that I haven't done anything amazing. I haven't "left my mark" in the world. I started thinking about what I would like to accomplish before I turn 30 and three things came to mind:

1.) Lose 80 pounds.
2.) Clear the credit card debt that I have racked up.
3.) Publish a book.

Here is where the cowardice comes in. I am too ashamed of my weight to publish it for the world to see. I am too horrified by my credit card debt to write down the actual figure.

One of the above three will happen this year. The other one will happen during my 29th year, if not sooner. The third goal, unfortunately, depends on other parties and isn’t a guarantee to ever be completed, let alone by my 30th birthday.

I know, compared to the first two goals, the third one seems random. And it is. I wrote a book. A fluff book I love and my friends and family love. But they are my friends and family, so they kind of have to love it. I have gotten over 75 rejections, and can certainly take a hint. That book has been laid to rest. I am starting another book though. Why would I start another book when the first one didn’t work out? The feeling of accomplishment. And that is exactly what my blog is about - accomplishments. But simply writing a book isn’t enough of an accomplishment for me. I want the book to matter and to be out there - legitimately. Not because I had to pay to publish it. I want it to be good enough, entertaining enough for someone else to say, “Yes, you are awesome, your book is awesome, let’s publish your awesomeness!”

So here is to day one of my two year plan.

Wait, it’s October already? But I turned 28 in September. Fine, here is to day one of my 23 month plan. Doesn’t have quite the same ring to it. Should’ve started on my birthday.

Damn, already behind.