Bruno pug is very serious.

Mr. Bruno Sprinkles likes cheese, spinning around, and stealing socks. His favorite time of day is bedtime, when he gets to nap with his humans. He believes the tv is real and often looks for football players behind it and down the hallway.

ARTIST’S RENDITION:

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I didn’t used to be so into purses. The previous residents of my home are to blame. THANKS A LOT, LESLIE WILKERSON. Your misdirected Nordstrom catalog featuring brightly colored purses let to me googling some purse blogs which led to a new obsession.

I really love bright colorblock purses. I picture them standing out against neutral colored clothes or looking bright and spring-like with a floral dress. I must have one. Pay no matter to the fact that I can’t actually afford any of these bags right now.

Five colorblock purses that I wish I owned:

1. Coach New Willis, $298

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2. Marc by Marc Jacobs Bob’s Memphis Trip, $528 (this bag looks like Valentine’s Day!)

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3. Fendi Silvana, $2300

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4. Reed Krakoff Boxer, $990

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5. Yves Saint Laurent Muse Two, $1895

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And I suppose if that is too much COLOR for you, you could always get one in more neutral tones. Such as these:

Reed Krakoff Boxer, natural/black, $1090

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Coach Pinnade embossed exotic Louisa, $898

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I guess I better start saving.

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Seriously, these are really good eyeshadows.

I am a little late in reviewing these new eyeshadows from L’Oreal. I just recently bought way too many Revlon Lip Butters and was trying to avoid buying any more makeup at the drugstore. But after seeing some L’Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow reviews, I knew I had to have it.

Midnight Blue and Perpetual Purple

L’Oreal’s website describes the formula as fusing “the ease of a powder with the velvety caress of a cream to create a unique hybrid that glides on effortlessly.” I don’t know about it being a velvety caress, but this shadow is one of the smoothest you will ever use. I applied it without primer, my lids just prepped with moisturizer. It was easy to blend, no fallout, and lasted all day. L’Oreal’s claims this shadow wears for 24 hours, but… I personally don’t need to wear makeup for 24 full hours. The colors are super pigmented, especially considering that this is a drugstore product retailing for around $7.99 (but don’t pay that, get it on sale!).

I must have every single shade.

More pictures:

There is a little stopper in the jar (leave that thing in there!) that squishes the powder down or keeps it from drying out. I'm not sure.

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Midnight Blue

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Perpetual Purple

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I barely touched the powder. This is pigmented stuff.

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Midnight Blue, Perpetual Purple

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Full range of shades that I will be buying very soon. (click to enlarge)

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Revlon makes the good stuff.

Buying a new lip product is incredibly rewarding to me. If I’m having a bad day at work, I like to buy one on the way home. Though, I can’t quite bring myself to spend big bucks on high end lip products. I know many of them have wonderful formulas (read: Guerlain Rouge G) but I’d much rather have a handful of Revlons than one high end lipstick.

Revlon makes some decent stuff. I love their Super Lustrous lipstick, their matte line is excellent, the ColorBurst gloss is great, and the Lip Butters are to die for. Here are some of my favorites:

Matte Lipstick

• Strawberry Suede – I find this bright pink matte much more interesting than standard reds. This is a great color that I also like to use as a lip stain under gloss.

Super Lustrous Lipstick

• Demure – This is a sheer nude pink with the tiniest amount of shimmer to it (it is listed as a creme though). Some are put off by how sheer it is, but I really like how I don’t need a mirror to reapply this lipstick. I wear this to work almost daily.
• Siren – Bright orange cream. A cute, trendy orange lipstick. I love this.
• Temptress – Sheer, light cool-toned pink with a tiny amount of shimmer. Another great lip color for work.
• Gentlemen Prefer Pink – Bright pearly pink, more pigmented than Temptress but the color is somewhat similar. This is super flattering on my skin tone.
• Pink in the Afternoon (not pictured) – My favorite Revlon lipstick that SADLY I HAVE MISPLACED. This is a warm, pink creme with good pigmentation. Reading reviews on this I am afraid that Revlon may have changed the shade slightly. My old tube seemed more neutral-toned than the pictures I have found on MakeupAlley. I will have to buy another tube and report back to you.

ColorBurst Gloss

• Crystal Lilac – A light, neutral pink with purple shimmer. This is the most flattering shade of lip gloss I have ever owned. I love it. It has purple shimmer, not glitter. So it is smooth and lasts on me. A HG for sure.
• Decadent – A bright purple with blue shimmer. This is a holiday Limited Edition shade that I am still seeing in stores. So if you like it, you better hurry up and find it. This isn’t a shade that everyone can wear, but I think it is really fun. It reminds me of the first lipgloss I ever bought when I was 5 years old.
• Strawberry – A bright pink with silver glitter. The shade is similar to Strawberry Suede lipstick. I love the color of this although I don’t always love glitter in lip gloss. But there isn’t too much of it and it doesn’t feel gritty. A very cute shade!

ColorBurst Lip Butter

• Cherry Tart – This shade is sheer (as are all the lip butters) cherry red with red shimmer. The shimmer is pretty subtle though. I really love this color. I am sometimes afraid to wear red lipstick and this is a nice way to wear a red that isn’t too much.
• Sugar Plum – Sheer plum with subtle shimmer. This is a shade I wasn’t sure about but it is actually very, very flattering. It is a nice my lips but better shade.
• Tutti Frutti – Sheer bright orange. There is no shimmer at all in this shade and because it is sheer, it tends to look slightly more peach on me when worn. I love this! This might be my favorite lip butter so far.
• Strawberry Shortcake – Light pink creme with decent pigmentation, actually.
• Gumdrop – Lilac with silver shimmer. I love this color and wear it often but it is probably too light for some. Overall, this is the color I wear the most even though I do like Tutti Frutti better. I still want to try Pink Truffle, which I suspect may be my new HG lipcolor.

More Pictures:

Strawberry Suede, Demure, Siren, Temptress, Gentlemen Prefer Pink

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Strawberry Suede, Demure, Siren, Temptress, Gentlemen Prefer Pink

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ColorBurst Gloss: Crystal Lilac, Decadent, Strawberry

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ColorBurst Gloss: Crystal Lilac, Decadent, Strawberry

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ColorBurst Lip Butter: Cherry Tart, Sugar Plum, Tutti Frutti, Strawberry Shortcake, Gumdrop

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What kind of company changes their name without getting the twitter name first?

So, this isn’t really a beauty related post but I found the whole thing so funny I’m posting about it anyway. Today I got an email from the CEO of Netflix that was part apology and part LOLFEST.

Dear Lovelyandroid,

I messed up. I owe you an explanation.

It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. Let me explain what we are doing.

For the past five years, my greatest fear at Netflix has been that we wouldn’t make the leap from success in DVDs to success in streaming. Most companies that are great at something – like AOL dialup or Borders bookstores – do not become great at new things people want (streaming for us). So we moved quickly into streaming, but I should have personally given you a full explanation of why we are splitting the services and thereby increasing prices. It wouldn’t have changed the price increase, but it would have been the right thing to do.

So here is what we are doing and why.

Many members love our DVD service, as I do, because nearly every movie ever made is published on DVD. DVD is a great option for those who want the huge and comprehensive selection of movies.

I also love our streaming service because it is integrated into my TV, and I can watch anytime I want. The benefits of our streaming service are really quite different from the benefits of DVD by mail. We need to focus on rapid improvement as streaming technology and the market evolves, without maintaining compatibility with our DVD by mail service.

So we realized that streaming and DVD by mail are really becoming two different businesses, with very different cost structures, that need to be marketed differently, and we need to let each grow and operate independently.

It’s hard to write this after over 10 years of mailing DVDs with pride, but we think it is necessary: In a few weeks, we will rename our DVD by mail service to “Qwikster”. We chose the name Qwikster because it refers to quick delivery. We will keep the name “Netflix” for streaming.

Qwikster will be the same website and DVD service that everyone is used to. It is just a new name, and DVD members will go to qwikster.com to access their DVD queues and choose movies. One improvement we will make at launch is to add a video games upgrade option, similar to our upgrade option for Blu-ray, for those who want to rent Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 games. Members have been asking for video games for many years, but now that DVD by mail has its own team, we are finally getting it done. Other improvements will follow. A negative of the renaming and separation is that the Qwikster.com and Netflix.com websites will not be integrated.

There are no pricing changes (we’re done with that!). If you subscribe to both services you will have two entries on your credit card statement, one for Qwikster and one for Netflix. The total will be the same as your current charges. We will let you know in a few weeks when the Qwikster.com website is up and ready.

For me the Netflix red envelope has always been a source of joy. The new envelope is still that lovely red, but now it will have a Qwikster logo. I know that logo will grow on me over time, but still, it is hard. I imagine it will be similar for many of you.

I want to acknowledge and thank you for sticking with us, and to apologize again to those members, both current and former, who felt we treated them thoughtlessly.

Both the Qwikster and Netflix teams will work hard to regain your trust. We know it will not be overnight. Actions speak louder than words. But words help people to understand actions.

Respectfully yours,

-Reed Hastings, Co-Founder and CEO, Netflix

p.s. I have a slightly longer explanation along with a video posted on our blog, where you can also post comments.

Why would an extremely popular, well known company suddenly up and change their name to something like Qwikster? It sounds so stupid. Those in charge at Netflix seem to be dead set on running the service into the ground. They might as well have named it Flippy McDickster. I mean, WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS? I find the whole thing hilarious.

But the best part is that they did not even ensure that they owned the twitter username, Qwikster. Jason Castillo has the name and up until a little while ago, had a user picture featuring Elmo smoking a joint. He is up to 8365 followers currently and has been getting offers on the name. Way to go, guys.

The Wall Street Journal blog reports that customers are more annoyed than ever and aren’t buying the apology. CNN Money wonders, “Can Qwikster safe Netflix stock?” I am going to go out on a limb here and say NO.

I think Netflix and Elmo are smoking the same thing.

I need this nail set for... Halloween? Thanksgiving?

Urban Decay’s Holiday 2011 collection appears online today. There are some shadow pencil sets, some eyeliner sets, lip Stardust glittery lipgloss, Book of Shadows IV, a fun glitter body art set, but most anticipated for me is the nail polish kit shown above. I want. It seems odd to me to put out holiday products in early September. I cannot be expected to wait until Christmas for this one.

What is the deal with every store putting out Christmas merchandise in September? It feels like Christmas begins earlier every year. Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas! I just hope we don’t get tired of it too soon this year. How early will you be decorating?

THE HOLIDAY NAIL KIT SPECTRUM
Barlust – whiskey brown w/brown shimmer
Mars – emerald green w/ green and silver micro-glitter
Wrecked – deep red wine
Ziggy – gold and multi-colored glitter
Gunmetal – shimmery dark grey
Hot Mess – bright fuchsia w/ fuchsia micro-glitter

More holiday products and sets available on Urban Decay’s website.

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The crazed masses at Albertson's

I am sure you have heard about it by now, but there was a big power outage yesterday affecting something like 5 million people. All of San Diego county went out at about 3:40pm on one of the hottest days of the year. I waited a bit, thinking it would come right back on. When it didn’t, I checked the news on my phone to find out that the outage went from parts of Orange County all the way down to Mexico and into Arizona. Whoa.

Today the news is saying that it was human error that caused this massive outage. Imagine how much trouble that guy must be in today? Some people got hurt yesterday in car accidents, etc. Some people were stranded in elevators or on theme part rides (I can’t imagine! ugh).

San Diego Blackout 2011

I was fine and spent most of the time fanning my poor pugs, who do not like the heat. They didn’t really notice that their electric fan had been replaced with a human one. Later though, I realized that I had almost no food in the house at all. There was talk on the radio that the outage may last for days and I just was not prepared for that. I drove to Vons and found it closed, everything was closed. It was really spooky.

Across the street, Albertson’s was still open, their store being powered by a generator. It was packed full of scared San Diego residents buying water and supplies. They were out of many things by that time. I saw someone buying birthday candles after the regular ones were long gone. Another guy was buying frozen corn dogs… really, dude? Are you going to cook those on the BBQ?

The crazed masses at Albertson's

All of the check out lines went to the back of the store, with employees frantically working to get everyone out of there quickly. Things got a little bit scary. Some people were running through the store. Some were pushing. The police were called to keep order. They started restricting the number of people who were allowed into the store as it was a fire hazard. I was so happy to finally get out of there.

So what is the point to all this? BE PREPARED. It seemed like no one in San Diego was prepared. People were stranded all over town without gas. Many people didn’t have food and water (there is a boil water notice still in effect). Get an emergency kit together before this crap happens. Make sure you have enough food, water, and vital medications for your family. Get a car charger for your phone. Don’t wait until there is a riot at Albertson’s.

Gort and Klaatu bring you a wakeup call. (from The Day The Earth Stood Still.)

Are you prepared for an emergency?
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I don't know, man. I just don't know.

But can you imagine being 17 years old and reading news headlines that say, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO YOUR FACE?” I am kind of scared for her. I blame the mother.

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What do you think?

EDIT: Lindsay Lohan has officially denied that Ali has had any surgery. Ali’s modeling agency, Next Model Management, has put out a statement also denying any surgery.

“Contrary to recent reports, I can confirm that Aliana Lohan has not had any surgery. As a young girl who is growing up, it’s natural for her facial features to change slightly, and we see this with many of the younger models we represent. Aliana is a beautiful 17-year-old girl who is growing into her face and body, as is the norm for someone of her age. We take pastoral care of our models very seriously and encourage the models to maintain a healthy lifestyle and body shape.”

It is such a drastic change that I find that really hard to believe. Radar online has posted a story saying that Ali has had botox to raise her eyebrows but it really seems like she had a nose job too. And cheek implants. And who knows what else. FFS.

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Another palette YOU NEED RIGHT NOW.

Stila has just introduced a neutral eyeshadow palette with 10 shadows and a smudge stick eyeliner in Damsel, a matte chocolate brown, and an 6-page look book with detailed how-to tips and tricks. The eyeliner is full sized, so that gives you a rough idea on the size of this palette. Do you need another neutral palette?

I THINK THAT YOU DO. I am a fan of Stila’s eyeshadow (soft and pigmented) and I like the no frills cardboard packaging. The colors sound really nice for daily wear:

Shades include:
- Bare – matte ivory shade
- Kitten
- Bliss – matte beige pink
- Sunset – shimmery canyon pink
- Sandstone – matte light coco
- Bubbly – shimmery pale gold
- Gilded Gold – golden brown with shimmer
- Luster – dark aubergine with gold shimmer
- Night Sky – blue with shimmer
- Ebony – black

What do you think? Are you going to rush out and buy this one? I am kind of hoping it goes on sale. But I’m always hoping that.

Another image:

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