MAC Swap? Young Punk MES?

My Wishlist:

MAC Young Punk Mineralize Eyeshadow

Does anyone wanna swap this for some other MAC stuff I may have?

My swap items:

MAC HOT Planet mineralize blush (LE)

Smashbox Blush in BARE

Smashbox Blush in Chiffon

& Many MAC 'Pan' eyeshadows that I could possibly swap

**you must have a Makeupalley account with positive swap feedback***

Thanks,

Awilda

awilda429 on makeupalley

FOTD: Just Something Cute, a la 1940's

Sing along...."anything you can you....I can do better!...."

 

 

Nars Dragon Girl Lip-stick

Laura Mercier Eyeliner Cake

Nars Desire Blush

Scarf:  Bebe

FIDM 18th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition: Nick Verreos Gets a Sneak Peak!

And The Best Costume Design Award Goes To...

Crinoline Happy: Nick Verreos at the 18Th Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit, FIDM Museum and Galleries

Photo courtesy of: Photos(c)Berliner Studio/BEImages

This weekend was Super Bowl Weekend, I know. However, me and football, well, not so much...I stopped watching after Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake had their now-infamous "Wardrobe Malfunction". Boy, those were the days!

Instead of going to some nacho-and-beer filled Super Bowl Pre-Party, I was invited to attend the 18TH Annual Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibit Party at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, the very school I teach at.
Where's Fergie? David Paul and Nick Verreos of Nikolaki, stand in front of the "Nine" Costumes

I always look forward to this particular exhibit since I am a big fan of movies and obviously, fashion. Also, my NIKOLAKI partner, David Paul--who holds a Masters in Costume Design from UCLA and is a member of the Motion Picture Costumers Union--has educated me A LOT on the art of Costume Design and all its nuances.
Be Italian: Colleen Atwood-designed Costumes from Nine. Costume Tidbit: One Million Swarovski crystals were used on these costumes!

The exhibit, which officially opens Tuesday February 9Th, features the costumes from four of the five Academy Award Best Costume nominated films: Bright Star; Costumes designed by Janet Paterson, Nine; Costumes designed by Colleen Atwood, the Young Victoria; Costumes designed by Sandy Powell, and The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; Costumes designed by Monique Prudhomme. The only one not present were the costumes from Coco Before Chanel.Time Traveler: Academy Award nominated Costume Designer for The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Monique Prudhomme and Nick Verreos

Photo courtesy of: Photos(c)Berliner Studio/BEImages

Canadian designer Monique Prudhomme was actually in attendance at the Gala last night receiving all the much-deserved praise for her Academy Award Best Costume Design Nomination. I introduced myself to her and we spoke at length on such diverse subjects as how she found one of the Corsets in the film to speaking a bit of French when one goes to France and finally we even touched on how incredibly ridiculous the hotel prices at the Vancouver Olympics are ($800 for the Best Western, I checked--trust me!).

Costume Divas: Nick Verreos, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus Costume Designer Monique Prudhomme, A Single Man Costume Designer Arianne Phillips, and Andrae Gonzalo

Photo courtesy of: Photos(c)Berliner Studio/BEImages

Also present at the party was the fabulously talented Arianne Phillips, who designed the costumes for Tom Ford's film A Single Man. I was chatting with my Season 2 Project Runway contestant-buddy, Andrae Gonzalo, when I saw Arianne and of course, I had to say "hello" and give praise to her retro-chic designs which also happen to be in the Exhibit. Arianne Retro: Arianne Phillips-designed Costumes for A Single Man

Also represented in the exhibition are costumes from Inglourious Basterds, Sherlock Holmes, Amelia, as well as Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces (Los Abrazos Rotos) among others. A highlight of this tableaux was the authentic Chanel gold-chain-detail black dress which Almodovar muse Penelope Cruz wore in the film.
A MUST for Trekkies around the World are the Michael Kaplan-designed costumes from Star Trek, which are also in the exhibit.
It was great seeing the furry over-sized creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Andrae and I were fascinated by the life-like nap in the faux fur.

Victorian Couture: The Young Victoria Costumes

I especially loved seeing the stunning gowns from The Young Victoria. This display is pretty grand--mirroring the costumes. It's so interesting to see Queen Victoria in something other than what we are used to: Black, drab funeral gowns.
DO NOT miss getting up close and personal (as close as you can without a security guard escorting you out!) to these "Young Victoria" gowns. The Duchesse silk satin, the brocades, the embroideries, the cartridge pleating...Absolutely stunning!
Finally: We Are Cooking with...
the Ann Roth-designed costumes for Julie & Julia. I loved this film and couldn't wait to see them. David pulled me aside, as we got in front of these costumes and pointed out the wonderful play on proportion and length which Roth ingeniously devised to make actress Meryl Streep seem as tall as the real Julia Child, who was six foot two, thank you very much!
Check out these wedges: On the left are when she was by herself in the film. The higher and much more stacked ones (right), were the ones Streep wore when she had to stand next to her co-stars. How can I get a pair of those??

*The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design Exhibition runs from February 9Th to April 17Th at the FIDM Museum and Galleries, FIDM Downtown Los Angeles. And it's FREE and Open To The Public. Click HERE for more info.

Jelly Pong Pong- First Impressions

It has been a while since the sight of pretty cosmetic packaging has really excited me! However, yesterday morning while sleepily tearing open a parcel my heart was sent aflutter.

I hadn't heard too much about Jelly Pong Pong before, but had wondered about the brand as the prices were not low enough for it to be geared towards teens, as it's name would suggest. I was therefore excited to be given the chance to try some products out.

Susan Chyi, the founder says "Jelly Pong Pong.. a name which will always be strange to many, was born from the notion of wanting to invoke the eccentricity that is innate in all of us." According to the website "Jelly Pong Pong places an ardent emphasis on creating products which evoke the dreamer in you and which clearly define what it means to be passionate about cosmetics. With such pride in our creation comes a focus on product integrity & efficacy. Great-quality products that work."  Also, all their products are made in Italy and they don't test on animals :)!

Now, let's get to the fun part of this post. The photos!! The packaging for these cosmetics is absolutely adorable, probably not the most practical, but it sure does look pretty on my dressing table.

The first thing I was sent was the Lip Orchid in Petal Pink, a soft pink gloss in a beautiful orchid embellished pot.

 

(Without flash)

 

 (With flash)

The Lip Orchid contains Aloe Vera extract and vitamin E to heal and reduce the appearance of fine lines. As you can see the top layer of the gloss is a vibrant hot pink, but below it's a much softer and lighter pink with silver shimmer. This seems a little strange, but as I actually prefer the lighter colour I can't complain too much. 

The gloss itself has a slight floral scent, is well pigmented and feels light on the lips. I would compare it to a MAC tinted lip conditioner, but less creamy and slightly more opaque.

My favourite (probably all time) packaging has to be this Shadow Taffy. A beautiful soft pink bird cage tied with a lilac ribbon with a white bird inside. Yes, I almost forgot it was makeup too.

 

The Shadow Taffy is described as a 'melted-down eyeshadow thicker than a cream, more long lasting than a mousse'. However, I would describe it as a very smooth cream eye shadow. I have yet to try it on my lids, but given that it contains beeswax as its main ingredient, closely followed by palm oil and coconut oil, I envisage this is one that needs to be worn on top of a good primer and set with a powder eyeshadow. The pigmentation of the shadow is good and it is very smooth and blendable. I will therefore be trying the pink side for use on the lips and cheeks too!

The shadow taffy and lip orchid can be purchased as a set for £10 here.

Next up is the fairy lashes mascara which promises to 'make eyelashes flutter & flap". It has a thick water resistant formula to make lashes thicker, curvier while still keeping them soft and light. 

  

  

I was sent the shade Maiden, a warm deep purple. I can't wait to try it as the colour looks rich and the wand is just the right size, tapered and bushy. I have high hopes :).

  

 The last product is the supermodel stain in No Breakfast.  This is designed for use on lips and cheeks. It is well pigmented, smooth and has a light sweet vanilla scent. I have tried it on my cheeks and it created a lovely natural soft flush. A little of this goes a long way!

I hope you guys enjoyed this review! I will be writing a more in depth one after I have played with these for a couple more days. So far I am very pleasantly surprised as, like the brand promises,

these products are innovative, original and the packaging is absolutely adorable!

Jelly Pong Pong can be found on their website, as well as ASOS.

Have you ever tried Jelly Pong Pong? What do you think of the brand? Do you think packaging is important? xxx