My MAC expedition

Oh my goodness. As a treat to myself for feeling pretty confident that I passed my test (I forgot to mention that I got the minimum number of questions. Basically I freaking rocked the NCLEX. I did the BEST that is even possible. And I am VERY proud of that!), I decided to stop by the MAC store on my way home from getting my haircut. By the way, I LOVE my new haircut. Its kinda short, but I am kind of in love with the way it moves. My hair was getting SO LONG and unmanageable. Plus I had horrible split ends. The curse of using a straightening iron all the time. While I love it, it is HORRIBLE for my hair. I never had split ends until I started using it. Lame. I have yet to embrace and love my very very curly hair. Although, my hair has a bunch of layers in it now, so I might be able to pull it off. (I'm obsessed with Jillian Lewis, from Project Runway (I HOPE SHE WINS) and her curly hair is FABULOUS!)

So anyway, I love my hair right now. All adding to the amazing day I am having.

So I had this giftcard to MAC...YAY! AND I had a ton of empty product to bring back. MAC is fab, they have this recycling program, so you bring in 6 empty cases (of anything) and you can get a lipstick, eyeshadow, or lip glass, for FREE. Anything except the Viva Glam collection. Up until yesterday, I only thought you could get the lipstick. It has been a while since I brought stuff in. Probably about 2 years. Back then, it was just lipstick. I was SO EXCITED to have more options. As a MAC Addict, I have a lot of empties. I brought 12 this time. So 2 free things. YAY!

I had so much fun. I swear, buying and playing with makeup is the best therapy for me. Plus I love MAC artists. They are always SO FUN. The woman helping me last night was amazing. She was so cute, there were a bunch of little kids in there last night (different families, I've never seen so many, if ANY kids in there) and she would put a little makeup on them. It was so sweet. I loved playing with makeup as a kid. My mom did a lot of theater and I played with her makeup case all the time. One time I drew on my grandma's wallpaper with mascara. Its still there. Oops. (P.S. I love how oops doesn't come up on the spell check thing on here). Anyway, I think makeup is a fun way to express yourself. It makes me feel good. I don't go crazy with it. But I think its fun. It was that early interest that made me love it so much today, so I just thought it was cool that the little girls were getting a taste of that too. But Madeline, the MAC artist, didn't put too much on them. She would only put on a little bit. Which I thought was awesome. We don't need any more Jon Benet Ramsey cases in this world. Beauty pageants for little kids make me sick. The false teeth, the fake tans, just bad. No kid should have to do that. (Except in the movie, Little Miss Sunshine, because Abigail Breslin is amazing. And I think she should have won an Oscar. Because "Superfreak" is an incredible song. And that dance was amazing. That whole movie was amazing. Best picture of that year in my mind). I might name my daughter Olive after her in that movie. I kind of looked like this as a kid.




Anywho, the MAC store is like my Heaven. I also scored an invite to the Heatherette show in March. This MAC store is one of only 2 stores on the entire west coast that scored this show. I kind of hate Heatherette, but it should be lots of fun! I am excited! Heatherette makes ticky tacky clothes, but I can see them merging with MAC and making some fun makeup to play around with.

I took a look at the new Fafi for MAC collection. It did not excite me. I was kinda like, oh, thats nice. I guess she's a Parisian graffiti artist.

Here's what I scored yesterday: Brush cleaner, concealer (both needed, boring but fabulous), 3 eye shadows (Orb, Samoa Silk, and my new FAVORITE color to use as liner (I use shadow as liner 9/10 times), Embark), a paint pot (Painterly) which might become my new everyday staple, a lipstick (Please Me), and my new very favorite blush in the entire world, Brit Wit.

I am in love with Brit Wit. I am in love with creme blushes. This one is gorgeous. It looks purpley in the container, but it is more pink when on the face. LOVE IT.

All of this, and with my freebies, and my giftcard, I only spent like $36. Thats kind of awesome.

For Christmas, one of my nearest and dearest friends, Drew, gave me the most amazing gift. He always rocks in the present department. Seriously, straight men are never this thoughtful. Last year we saw 'The Devil Wears Prada' together, and when I saw Anne Hathaway (LOVE HER) wearing this outfit



I leaned over to Drew and said something like: I NEED that. And that was in early summer. So come Christmas '06 (I had completely forgotten how much I loved this), what do I get from Drew, oh basically this entire outfit. Minus the hat. I look terrible in hats. I love Drew. Who remembers things like that?

This year, he topped it.

I said, probably about 2 years ago, that I needed something like they have at the MAC counters, a stand for all my eyeshadows. I looked everywhere and could not find one. I gave up, forgot about it, and moved on.

Well Drew had one custom made for me. He has the best memory. Alas, I think I need to get another one, because I have accumulated a lot more shadows since then. Yeah, its February.

I have a problem, but I'm not going to makeup rehab any time soon!

xx,

Nicole

I feel so much better!

I am on cloud nine this morning. I took my nursing state boards, and I passed! I had failed them before which I have been dealing with since November. That was a terrible feeling. But passing, passing is an amazing feeling. It has been 2 hours since I found out, and I still haven't come down from this high. I don't know why people do drugs. This is SO MUCH BETTER.

Here's my chain of reaction to finding out the fabulous news:

1. SQUEALED very loud, and I think I shouted yes!
2. Tears of joy. Big crocodile tears of joy.
3. My face felt like that feeling when your foot falls asleep. It was very weird.
4. Euphoria mixed with tears of joy for about 20 minutes.

And I'm still feeling it.

I am SO HAPPY! I have been alienating myself from my friends for far too long, and now I can actually have a life!

xx,

Nicole

How can it be wrong when it feels SO RIGHT?

Is it normal, that I am 22, and I enjoy listening to crappy pop music? Example:I've been listening to Britney Spears A LOT lately.

And singing along. At home. In the car. Yeah. I'm 13.

I wish I were 13 actually.

I miss Britney. Once she got Federlined and Frappucino-fied, she went nuts. Although I THINK she is getting better. A least she LOOKS better. She still has a bad weave, but its a better bad weave. At least we can't see where its attached anymore.

Britney...why do you make it so hard to love you? Lets go back to when it was almost acceptable (depending on who you ask) for me to listen to your music. To love your lip-synching. Lets go back to the days of Timberlake and good Rolling Stone Magazine covers. And your amazing abs. When your hair was semi-natural. And your makeup was flawless. The days of Fe, and the days of your amazing choreography. The days when you were not a girl, and not yet a woman. Lets go back to when the worst thing the media said about you was that you wear skimpy clothes and you might have fake boobies.

A girl can dream right?



xx,

Nicole

I'm lovin' it...

So I thought I'd post a blog about beauty products that I'm LOVE LOVE LOVING right now. I'm kind of obsessed with beauty products. Whether its makeup, bath products, haircare, or my new obsession skincare, I'm obsessed. (Side note (I do these a lot I've noticed) I got a MAC giftcard from my parents for Valentine's day, I am super excited about it).

So here's some things I love right now.
1. L'Occitane Verbena Shower Gel



I am kind of in love with this stuff. It smells SO good. Very citrusy and I like that in a shower gel. It makes my skin feel so clean and soft. I literally don't feel the need for lotion afterwards. A little bit goes a long way. So, while its kinda expensive for body wash, $20 for 8.4 oz, it is well worth it. I haven't even used a third of it, and I've had it since before Christmas. And, as a girl that usually ODs on bath products, that is amazing. Especially since I use it EVERY day.

2. Kiehl's Epidermal Re-Texturizing Micro Dermabrasion


Oh. My. Goodness. This stuff WORKS. My skin feels amazing. I got a sample of this the other day and I am in love with it. I am buying it ASAP, but I still have a lot of the sample left. One of my co-workers said my skin looks brighter. Mission accomplished! I get really dry skin around my nose and this really helps. Plus, you know, I'm pushing the big 2-3 and I don't get carded anymore (not shocking, since people thought I was 21 when I was 16. I was offered booze with meals more than once) so I need to start the anti-aging process (totally being facetious).

Also I love the Kiehl's store on 23rd. They are awesome. They will give you a sample of anything and its not a one time use sample. I've used this stuff 3 times already, and I probably have about 3 more uses. They also gave me a sample of the Centella Recovery Skin Salve that you're supposed to use after the micro dermabrasion process. I'm not sure if I really needed it. It was kinda greasy, but I guess that's the point. So I dunno if this stuff is worth buying.

3. Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask



I know why the spa is called Bliss, because I am in pure bliss with this product. Seriously. Screw having a valentine. This can be my valentine. You put this on, and it kinda tingles a little bit and foams up. Leave it on for 5 minutes, no longer, they said its not necessary, but I wish I could, and rinse. Seriously. My face feels so amazing after this. I wish I could be dipped in a giant tub of this stuff. If it weren't expensive, I might attempt this. This product is an at-home version of the spa in NYC's famous Oxygen Facial. When I go to NYC, I might have to splurge and go there. Heaven in a bottle. It has a lot of Vitamin C, so it smells citrusy amazing.

4. Dior 'Diorskin' Airflash Spray Makeup



So my friend Drew (yes, Drew is a man, don't judge gay men that wear foundation. So not a drag queen. He just loves flawless skin, as do I. And I can't even tell he's wearing anything) got me hooked on this stuff. Its expensive, so I dunno if I'll buy it again. But its lasted so long! Drew said it may last me a month. Its lasted 2. And I can't tell whether or not I'm running out. That's the bad thing about aerosol. It can be confusing if its such a small bottle. I just spray some of this on a wedge sponge and smooth on. It is SO LIGHT and so fresh looking. Plus I am excited that my paleness is not the lightest color they offer. I saw a lighter one at Sephora. So there. I am always the palest in everything else. I used to use Dior Sculpt, and I find that that one stays on longer, plus the bottle lasted over 6 months. No way I can squeeze that much out of this little can.

I love how Carmindy (the FABULOUS makeup artist on What Not to Wear. Kinda obsessed with her) uses aerosol foundation. She uses Classified Cosmetics (which Drew used to order online, because it isn't sold here, and he said he prefers Dior) but it is the same concept. I like harnessing my inner Carmindy when doing my makeup.

So I have a dillema. To buy again or not to buy again. That is the question. Drew has moved on to Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. I dunno if I wanna go that route. I am debating. I'll sample it I guess. Spray foundation is just SO fun! Also, it smells good. Sometimes foundation smells like old lady. Dior sculpt did. But Dior Sculpt was so good! I think it was just a little to heavy for me. I don't really have much that needs covering up, I just need to even out.

5. MAC Studio Finish SPF 35 Concealer


*SO NOT MY COLOR* I'm NW 15 (PALE PALE PALE).

Foundation, eyeshadow, mascara, they can all come and go. This concealer is forever. Wears so long. Covers so much. Only $14.50. LOVE IT. I've been using this for years. I tried other concealers and nothing compares. Seriously. I can't say much more about it.

6. Max Factor Volume Couture Waterproof Mascara



Any beauty obsessed girl will tell you that mascara is one of the most important things to have in your makeup repertoire. I have loved many mascaras. I switch it up based on when I need new ones. This one I've bought a few times, and I am in love with it. It is black black black. I love that in a mascara. I think I could not wear eyeliner and it would still look amazing.

The iFX brush is awesome. Application is so easy. And it delivers the volume. I haven't tested out the waterproofness though. It doesn't rub off easily though. Which is amazing.

7. Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion



I read about this on Beauty Addict. Creasing in shadows has always been a problem for me. In general I HATE Urban Decay. It reminds me of 1998. But this is the best primer ever.

The packaging sucks though. I guess it ends up being wasted product, but Beauty Addict read on Clumps of Mascara, how to disassemble it and get more bang for your buck! Its not expensive anyway, but probably about half of it is wasted if you don't cut it open. Stupid.

But the product is fab!

Well that's all for today, I'm sure I'll have more obsessions to post about!

xx,

Nicole

Project Runway is detrimental to my health

I think I had a minor stoke last night at the end of PR. For reals.

Ah. The judges drive me NUTS.

Okay, so the designers got to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and look at three exhibits. Fabulous. I am SO jealous. I cannot wait to go there. When I go to NYC, I'm not sure if I'll be able to go to both there and the Museum of Modern Art, but I would love to do that. If I had to chose, the Met. Definitely the Met. I love "the Mets" so I can't go wrong. Plus, according to my dream man, Tim Gunn, the Met is kind of like his church, and he goes there all the time. Love it. (Tim also wore a damn sexy pinstripe suit last night. He looks fabu in stripes. It is making me forget the time when they made him wear denim. Its just not right. The man belongs in suits!)







So they got to take pictures of the art and pick one as inspiration. One of the exhibits was the Greek and Roman sculpture area. Come on. You can't criticize Rami for draping a Grecian dress, (again, even though he always does it) when you let them go to that exhibit. Its like taking a kid into a candy store and not letting them eat candy. Mean.



Roberto Cavalli was the guest judge. I hate guest judges, in general. He is so weird. I can never understand what he is talking about. I remember an episode of the girls next door where he was having dinner with them. Comedy ensued as Kendra (I cannot stand her, but this was funny) explained to him (he's Italian obviously) that the best Italian food was from the Olive Garden. Not so much. The Olive Garden is fabulous, don't get me wrong. But its so not real Italian food. I have Italian relatives. Yeah. Not even close. REAL Italian food is so so much better.

Speaking of Italian food, I had dinner with my sister, Lindsay at the restaurant where she works last night. It was very very yummy. Its called Tucci, in Lake Oswego. The sea bass and calamari were amazing. As was everything else.

Anywhozzles, here are the looks:




Chris. Ok. Its nice. BUT. He basically
1. Made the same thing he did in the Avant Garde challenge with Christian (and that dress was better)



2. Made the same dress that was in the painting.
Its a little costumey for my taste. I like Chris as a person, but he doesn't have the best taste level as a designer. He is a freaking drag queen that designs for drag queens. Plus I've seen his Bryant Park collection, and it is weak sauce.


Christian. Uhm. He won. And I get WHY he won. Its DRAMATIC. But it seriously looks exactly like the painting. I mean exact. There's something to be said for well made clothes. Christian clearly has a point of view, puffy sleeves (I love how on my fave PR blog, Project Rungay, they call him "Princess Puffysleeves"). He seriously does it every time he can. And its good, don't get me wrong. The judges peed their pants with excitement over this. Yes its couture. But I also think its really ridiculous. And he has the most fug model ever. Seriously, I see this girl, and I cringe. Her face is fugged up. She looks like Nelly Furtado's ugly cousin whose parents were brother and sister.





Seriously. Troll like.


Sorry, I'm mean. But I get so bored of the models on this show. Heidi always says its a competition for them as well. Not so much. They act like it matters who wears these clothes. It really doesn't matter who their model is. And this season they didn't use them in 4/11 challenges. The menswear challenge, the now skinnier women challenge, prom dress and WWE tranny girls, I mean "WWE Divas". Stupid. There has never been a designer eliminated because their model sucks. The models aren't even interesting anymore. They don't show their personalities, if they have them. In season 1 and 2 there was model drama. But not anymore. The models have also become consistently less pretty since then. Except Nazri last season. She was beyond fierce.



I digress, I hate this look, but I see why it won. I think he might win the whole thing, because his Bryant park collection is a bunch of stuff like this. I like Christian, he cracks me up. But honestly, I don't like his collection that much.



Sweet P. was auf'd this week. Her painting was of a peacock. This reminds me of the NBC peacock. I agreed with Michael Kors (as usual, he really is the one judge who I think knows the most about fashion, and what its like to be a designer. Heidi=model, wears clothes Nina=bitch who puts clothes in magazines). MK said that its cute, wearable, commercial, but it has no wow factor. After seeing her Bryant Park collection, I agree. (she is the doppleganger this season). Its just kinda blah. Cute but blah. I wanna see a show if I'm gonna watch a fashion show!
(Side note, when I got this pic from Bravo.com, they had a typo. It said "sweat P". Tehehe it made me happy, because its a major website, and it makes me feel better if I have typos on my tiny little blog).


Jillian. I love this so much. I mean really so much. I think it should have won. It was like the painting she chose, meaning I could see where it came from, but it was not a direct copy. EVERYONE else made pretty much a duplicate. The back of this jacket is amazing. Those pleats in the skirt are GORGEOUS. I love Jillian. I hope she wins the whole thing. Her Bryant park collection is my overall fave.

The funny thing about this ep was that they ripped Rami a new one for draping all the time. All of the designers repeat their aesthetic over and over.
Rami drapes.
Christian puffs sleeves.
Chris creates drag costumes
Jillian makes amazing intricate jackets and loves short skirts.
Sweet P makes cute, simple dresses.

So get over yourself judges.




Rami. I have stated before my love for Rami. Yes. He drapes all the time, and I do want to see something else. But he does it damn well. I wish I had a picture of the back of this dress. It was heaven. Also note HOW MUCH PRETTIER his model is. The judges are so mean to him.
Again, kid:Rami candystore:draping. But its pretty. Chris made the same thing too! So its even I guess. But I like Rami's way more. The judges decide not to make it a double elimination. Chris and Rami both get to create collections for fashion week, but have to pick their three strongest looks to show the judges before the runway show.

Initially though, when Rami and Chris were both left on the runway, I was freaking out. Hence, mini stroke. Heidi says "Chris, you're in" and I was like "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO How could you do this???" But then she said "Rami, you're also in". Ok. Whew. Reminded me of last season though, when they almost got rid of my love, Michael Knight. That was a bad day. So they will have only 3 during fashion week. I am confident that Rami will make it. But I do like Jillian's overall collection best. I hope she wins, but really anyone could. I am so excited for Victoria Beckham to be the guest judge. I mean, who could be more perfect for that job? I think she should be a full time judge. Replace Nina. Nina Garcia smokes crack. And crack is whack yo.

Reunion show next week! I can't wait. I get to see my beloved JACK MACKENROTH! I love him! He better win the fan favorite, I voted for him bunches.

Also I am so happy that the writers stike is over. Even though, my fave shows won't be back on for a while, at least I know they're coming.

xx,

Nicole

I need a tv rehab

Why is it that I get so emotional when watching Celebrity Rehab? Its just SO sad. Especially Jeff Conaway. Remember how hot he was in Grease? I always thought that Kenickie was way hotter than Danny Zuko.




Now he can barely get out of a wheelchair. I won't even post a pic on here. Its too sad. He is totally the most famous person on the show too. I guess Brigette Nielsen (how the heck do you spell her name anyway?) is kinda famous in a "I was married to Sylvester Stallone and once was "in love" with Flava Flav" kinda way. But the other celebs not so much...Mary Carey (pornstar, ran for governor of California and lost to the governator), some UFC guy, Rico something or other, never heard of him, Some chick from American Idol (I don't think anyone remembers her except for her many arrests lately), the little girl from Family Matters (I can't remember her name either), and that he-she Chyna from WWF or whatever she did. Also from other VH1 reality tv shows. Daniel Baldwin was also on there for like 5 seconds. OH! And that guy from Crazytown, Seth or something. Remember that song...."come my lady, come come my lady. You're my butterfly, sugar, baby. Come my pretty lady, you're my pretty baby, I'll make your legs shake, you make me go crazy"? Yeah. That song has HORRIBLE lyrics. I mean just dreadful. I totally didn't look that up either. That song was played SO MUCH in (2001? 2002?) that it will forever be in my memory. I remember that it was in the movie Orange County (which is a GREAT movie). I'm pretty sure that, and mostly because I was 15 or 16 at the time, I really liked that song. The saddest moment last night was when that Seth guy talked on the phone with his son, who was probably, I'm guessing, 3 or 4. And he was talking to him and his son said something (in an extremely cute very optimistic voice) "You're gonna stop doing bad things?" Oh my goodness. Cue me welling up with tears. So so sad. Cute at the same time. He's a total crackhead btw. I will continue to watch this show, because 1. Nothing else is on anymore and 2. Its addicting and 3. Dr. Drew is a hot bitch. I've kinda had a secret thing for him for years. I don't know why. He's pretty funny, and very attractive in that Steve Martin white hair kinda way. Anyway, I will continue to watch these kinds of shows until the writer's strike is over. I heard they're signing contracts tomorrow! Yay! I'll keep my fingers crossed! xx, Nicole

Well, I'm takin' a greyhound on the Hudson river line...I'm in a New York State of mind....

I might be going to New York City! I am beyond excited! Trip planning is in the works. Probably around end of May, early June. My goal is to be there before June 1st so that I can go see RENT before it closes!

This is my dream come true! I am so excited!