Beauty musts and lust-haves of 2010

2010 has been the year of perfecting my beauty routine. Before this year I was a uni student that slapped on a bit of makeup when I went to my casual job or out on the weekend. My makeup at uni included some mascara and bronzer and maybe a bit of foundation underneath, if I was lucky. 

Once I started my big girl job in November last year, I realised I needed a look that was a little less hey-I'm-going-to-the-beach and a little more hey-I-work-in-an-office-now. 

That said, I still don't do much but the basics are important to here are my tips (most are freebies from work or beauty sales that just happen to be my dream products).

2011 will be the year that I rock the bold lip, try different eyeshadow and branch out in the fragrance department.

I thought I had found the perfect foundation in Chanel, and that it was normal to end the day a little shiny with some of your makeup coming off in the hot weather. I realised this wasn't normal after Clinique was suggested to me. It's my absolute saviour. It's soft on your skin and doesn't clog your pores and I feel that for me, it might even prevent blemishes. I love the Even Better Makeup with SPF 15 and the Almost Powder Compact. 

My skin has been so clear lately, I think this is also thanks to using Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel and Daily Energizer Lotion. My skin used to be quite oily with dry patches and this skin routine seems to have sorted that issue out. When I want to switch up my skincare or if I have had some sun, I love Kora Day & Night cream. 

Even though their foundation wasn't right for me, you can't go past Chanel Kohl Intense Eye Pencil. It seems excessive but it's actually well priced and is longer than normal eyeliners. I use it on the top and smudge it on my eye lids before applying eye shadow.

When it comes to mascara you can't go past Dior Show Extase or Clinique High Impact. Even better? A combo of the two. 

Another freebie? David Babaii hair polish. It's perfect for my long hair which can sometimes get wild if I don't give it some serious ghd action. In terms of shampoo and conditioner I switch it up with anything form Dove and Palmolive to John Freida and De Lorenzo. Basically, I use what I can get for $1 a bottle at beauty sales.

I'm a sucker for any L'Oreal eye shadow and have been known to splurge on a creamy pallet of colours from Dior. A lazy day sees me just going with a blue eye liner on the top lid and lashings of mascara. 

Still searching for the perfect bronzer/blush. I generally use anything I can get my hands on that is under $10 as I chop and change so much. At the moment it's Sportsgirl but would be open to any other suggestions that give you that sun-kissed glow. 

And the bold lip? Nothing beats a MAC lippie, especially one in a super hot colour like Morange. 

Nail poish. Any one that knows me well, knows that I am absolutely obsessed with nail polish. The collection is probably up around 30 bottles which include brands like OPI, Rimmel, Sally Hansen, Revlon and Sportsgirl. Pet peeve? I hate wearing red nail polish when I am wearing a red top and visa versa. I'm known to paint my nails 2-3 times a week. It's just my thang. 

Absolutely obsessed with my Balenciaga Paris fragrance. Mindful to not use it too often so alternatives include Alberta Ferreti, Dior J'adore, Marc Jacobs Daisy and DKNY Delicious.

What are your beauty musts and lust-haves?

Bright is the new black, baby!

MUST all be BRIGHT.

From a sea of black, I am now obsessed with BRIGHT shoes, bags, clothes.

NEED. RIGHT. NOW.

Hollywood darlings of 2010

It was a massive year for the entertainment industry in 2010. We saw the rise and fall of a number of celebrities, models and reality TV stars. Can you tell your Harlows from your Honors? Can you tell your Rosie Huntington-Whiteleys from your Lily Aldridges? Are you a Khloe or Kourtney fan?

By the end of 2011 the entertainment industry will be worth more than $2 trillion. It consumes every minute of our day and leaks into every morsel of our being. We are obsessed with the invisible line that separates us from these people which are so unattainable.

I am a bit of a cheeky celebrity knowledge whiz. I know all their names and the names of their kids. I know the models and who has worked for which magazine or appeared in which advertising campaign. Before I even read the credits of a photo shoot I can generally tell you who the model is, what they are the face of and which agency they are with. This is just one of results of my general knowledge. After blogging for a site which is now owned by People.com I can recite all sorts of facts about celebrities.

Here are my notable celebrity picks for 2010.

The Kardashians
The craziest reason for being a celebrity is because you want to be one. The Kardashians are fame whores and Kris Jenner pimps her kids out like they are going out of style. Kudos to the fam though - they have given me some serious laughs this year.

Bambi
She opened and closed the Top Shop show in London, has walked for Chanel, is the face of Ksubi, Review, Myer, Cue and too many other brands to mention. Those eyebrows are fierce and apparently so is her 'tude. Gotta love a gal who has the world at her feet.

Ryan Gosling
He melted our hearts in The Notebook and left me unsteady on my feet after his portrayal as the protagonist in Half Nelson, a drug-fueled heart-wrenching story. The trailer for Blue Valentine and his sweet voice already proves that 2011 is going to be a big one for this tortured soul.

Abbey-Lee
This girl is a force to be reckoned with. She is Karl Lagerfield's new muse and is rocking that blonde bob like she owns the joint. From when she first revealed her pierced nipple in Vogue, I was mesmerised. This bold-lipped beauty ain't goin anywhere.

Alexander Skarsgard
His portrayal of Eric Northman in True Blood sends chills up my spine. He is a male vixen. Couple that with fangs and some serious amounts of blood. Oh, and Kate Bosworth as his girlfriend. Who dares argue that Swedes are the best race?

The Stefani-Rossdales
This family is almost too cool to handle. The kids wear leather jackets and Gwen and Gavin look rock n roll even when doing the groceries. What 4 year old is treated to weekly mani pedis? I die, this family is amazing. Adopt me please?

Kerr-Bloom
With a baby on the way and a pregnancy that is just all belly, Miranda received all her wishes this year. With Orly by her side and the baby due to arrive in January, this Victoria's Secret model is definitely not bearing anything but a halo.

Olivia Palermo
This gal's fashion is one of the most understated stories of the year. She makes me sick with how stylish she is. Whether it's rocking cons on the New York City pavement or a cocktail dress for a pool-side event in the Hamptons, this girl has got the style factor figured. My New Year's Resolution? Become Olivia Palermo minus the catty personality (though who says reality TV is really 'reality'?)

Which entertainment stars did you dig in 2010? Who are the big ones for 2011?

One week...

Until I will be drinking cocktails at this swim-up bar in Bali.

Love and Other Drugs

It's been awhile since I have seen a movie that really touched me. The kind of film which gives you goosebumps and takes you on one of those crazy emotional I-love-you-I-hate-you rides.

This movie is Love and Other Drugs.

It had me in fits of embarrassing cinema laughter and then the next thing I knew tears were streaming down my face. It included the drama you could only wish to have in your life and the love that one hopes to experience just once in a lifetime.

It was gushy and sad and everything a chick flick should be. But it was more than a chick flick and less than a guy's movie. It had sex and a lot of sex. And it had jokes and jerks and fight scenes.

And the soundtrack. Sometimes this is what can make a movie. That is not the story in this case, but the tunes were perfect for every scene. Like Muse matched the baseball scene in Twilight, the music in this one was like two peas in a pod. I couldn't decide if the scene matched the song or if the song matched the scene. They seemed synonymous. I have been singing The Kink's Well Respected Man all night.

And then the giggles. When Jamie is on the phone to Maggie and uses the ultimate line that all guys think works and all girls pretend to hate, I melt. "I like the sound of your voice," he whispers to her. And his brother who overhears, takes the big LOL award with his response to degrade him; "Were you molested by a Care Bear?"

When Jamie confesses his love for Maggie you can't help but swoon. I swear I heard male voices around the cinema crooning at this one.

"I love you," he says.
"Now you're even more fucked up than I am," she replies, "but I once said that to a cat!"
"Okay, you can hold me now."

I have not loved a rollercoaster movie like this since Candy. I love a movie that is not just about love, it's about the obstacles and the dire situations and overcoming all these little hurdles. And in the end, the love lasts and it's beautiful and scarier and harder to imagine happening to you.

And that's when it's meant to teach you this amazing lesson that life is great and perhaps our love and lives can be influenced by things like literature and film and music. And just perhaps they make us stronger, and wiser and better equipped to deal with that tough little reality that we call life.

French Vogue 90 ans

French Vogue celebrated their 90th anniversary with the launch of their iPad app in October. The app comes with an amazing behind the scenes video from the below fashion shoot.

I can't find it online but if you have an iPad download the app for this piece of fabulous fashion history in closer detail.

Check out French Vogue's 50 most iconic covers here.

I sink I needz dis dress

Can anyone lend me $1000 so I can make Dion Lee a little richer?

Must-see movies of the summer

Love and Other Drugs
Blue Valentine
The King's Speech
The Town
Black Swan
Tamara Drewe
127 Hours
Somewhere

The coordinators book club

You have previously heard me talk about our little coordinator group. We do lunches in Hyde Park and noodle market visits and drinks on Friday nights.

Our pow-wow sessions are officially moving into a more serious area with "The Coordinator Book Club".

Fishy suggested that we start a little book club to catch up, have wine time and discuss a pre-selected book.

Ever since finishing uni I have been dying to use my brain for something educational.

It starts in January, so our first book has been chosen and we are all to read it over the holidays.

And the chosen one? My Booky Wook by Russell Brand. Fitting since we work in a celebrity/entertainment based industry.

Do you have any suggestions for future book club reads?

Belle, you are a darling

She's the kind of gal you can lean on. The kind who you can call at any time, during any moment, for any reason. She is sweet and kind and crazy and beautiful all at once. Like any girl out there, she is insecure about love and wonderful in life and scared of having her heartbroken.

She's nowhere near a typical gal but that's why I love her.

We met because we both are slackers when it comes to driving. Well not really. We met when we had to do a forced social activity of introducing the person next to us in a random uni class. Turned out she had just gotten her Ps and I was yet to even go for my Ls.

She gets crushed at the fact that something has crushed me. She feels what I feel and cries when I cry. She is the kind of amazing person that you could only hope to raise your own child to be.

She is a talented writer and a witty personality and a sassy, sensational person. She is achingly beautiful both inside and out.

I am so blessed to be able to see her five days a week. We work together and are each other's rocks. I comfort her in the stairs when she cries and she gives me great bear hugs when it all becomes too much.

We both secretly plan when to leave work together to catch the train home as it's our one time to vent and have a debrief from the day.

I honestly don't know what I will do when we go our separate ways and get new jobs. Or maybe we will stay working together forever. Otherwise, I think we will have to live together so we can get our daily fix.

Who said you need drugs to feel high? When you have friends in your life that are this much of a pleasure to be a around life can be no sweeter.

And with that, pick yourself up a Frankie this month and read the Best Friends Forever article. This article inspired this piece as well as a blog at Lowbrow Hoo-ha. It might just inspire you to tell those special friends in your life just how amazing they are.

Belle, you are a darling.

I am free

I saw an awesome t-shirt the other day and this is what it said.

Go to work, send your kids to school, follow fashion, act normal, walk on the pavements, watch TV, save for your old age, obey the law. Repeat after me; I am free. 

If only life was this simple.

Movie making magic

I'm a self-confessed Apple-aholic. When the iPod touch came out, I had to have it. When the new Macbook came out, I had to have it. When the iPhone 4 came out, I had to have it. Alas though, my obsession has been reigned in a little and I did not go all out and purchase an iPad.

But trust me, once you go Mac you'll never go back. I loathe using a PC at work and love coming home to the simplicity and speed of my Mac baby.

I'm a bit of a pro with iPhoto and have recently started exploring iMovie. This past weekend Belle and I had a fun little shoot at the work photo studios for her Channel V campaign. I took my Canon along and filmed a few little parts of the day. An hour of bliss with my Mac baby later and this is the result.

Make a movie, I dare ya!

Fashion faux pas? Hair extensions

Okay, so it's not exactly a fashion faux pas. It's more a beauty one but still contributes to your overall style.

There is nothing more gross that seeing someone's glued extensions on the back of their head or the lumps at their scalp. Even worse? When they don't match the colour of the hair which is actually growing from your scalp.

No one ever seems to be happy with what they have. We dye our hair because we hate the colour, we straighten it if we have ringlets and add GHD curls if we have dead straight hair. It's a crime in my books however, to wear tacky hair extensions. If you love the thought of having long hair so much, spend the dosh and get the real deal.

From where I'd rather be part 2

On the beach with some ahhh-mazing Canadians in Fiji.

Da book or de movie?

My mantra is 'always read the book first!'

I normally love to read books first and then complain how the movie doesn't do anything for me.

My Sister's Keeper - I absolutely LOVED this book. I sobbed the whole way through it and thought it would be the same with the movie. Okay, I did cry but was then absolutely devastated when they changed the ending of the movie. I had been warned by a million articles complaining about it, but I saw it anyway. I guess when you love a book's ending so much it's hard to accept that someone out there decided that this ending would be better. Didn't they take a vote? Or sample a group of people?

Candy - This book was absolutely amazing and on a rare occurrence the movie shaped up to be just as pleasing. I can't say enough good things about the chemistry between Abbie Cornish and Heath Ledger in the film. The role suited him to a tee.

The Lovely Bones - One of my most recent reads, I had to bow my head on the train and pretend I had a snotty nose while quietly sobbing on the way to work. Probably one of the most emotional books I have read in a long time. Can't say the movie was amazing. New Zealand actress Rose McIver does a fabulous job as Susie's younger sister and who doesn't love Susan Sarandon? But the movie seemed to be all about Peter Jackson and his fantastical imagery. That said, read the author's follow up, Lucky and suddenly every part of the story becomes crystal clear.

Into the Wild - Another stunning one, where the movie ended up being just as amazing, if not better than the book. I remember watching the Oprah episode about Sean Penn filming this movie. The book is based on a true story and Sean was so passionate about it, he spent a decade convincing the family to let him make it into a movie. In his first major directing role, Penn brings to life the wilderness of Alaska and the desperation of one young boy to prove that following the sensible path is not always the best way to go. All music exclusively by Eddie Vedder. Nothing more to be said.

What book have you loved over the movie or visa versa?

Cashing up with Kim

Damn, I want $6M for letting a film crew follow me around and tweeting about Pepsi. That's right, ten grand every time she tweets about a brand. When I found that out, I instantly hit 'unfollow'.

That said, ya can't blame a girl for using what she has to roll in the cash.

KK earned $6M this past year, closely followed by LC from Laguna Beach/The Hills fame.

Imagine a legend: John Lennon

I wasn't even alive when you died but somehow you still managed to touch my heart.

LOLCats

Lately at work, among the coordinator emails requesting what is for lunch, there is a common theme occurring. Everyone seems to be obsessed with LOLCats.

Some of you might know one of the most famous ones..."I can has cheezburger?"

But they are all absolutely hysterical. Some that have circulated the coordinator emails between Belle, Chinny, Loh and Swifty include ones about being tired, hungry, bored, annoyed and the list goes on. 

You must say it in the silly accent with lots of zzzzs. 

They get me giggling at my desk and everyone in my office wants in on my silly jokes. 

A certain boss of one of the girls even walked past and exclaimed, "what is with the cat?!"

Belle now tells me there is a LOLcats book and she almost peed herself when her dear sis, Ed and her went through it for the first time. 

I'm excited. I'm buying this book tomorrow. Better take a change of underwear to work. 

Dobby hits the big time

I saw the latest Harry Potter movie on Saturday.

While I knew a lot of what was going to happen because of the book and endless media speculation it still shocked me when Dobby died.

What shocked me even more is when I came across this group on Facebook.

Almost half a million people have joined the "Dobby's Funeral" event.

Wow. One loved elf.

Mad Mex meet Pat, Pat meet Mad Mex

Tonight two awesome loves combined. Mad Mex and Mr Patrick Ward.

Mad Mex is a fortnightly tradition for the coordinators at work. We walk across Hyde Park and make our way to Crown St for a Friday feast. It's amazing.

That said, normally I get the burrito. I'm adverse to change. I like what I like and I like it because I like it. Tonight I decided to try the naked burrito (burrito minus the burrito in a bowl) and I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious it was.

Pat and I met earlier this year through a friend and one of the first times we hung out he took me skateboarding across the Harbour Bridge. A hilarious night especially because he was a pro and I had never been on a board before.

Tonight I combined these two and took Pat for dinner at Mad Mex. We people watched as we ate our mad Mexican meals and chatted all sorts of 'good talks'.

Pat is off to Canada tomorrow and while we don't get to see each other too often it is always so fun when we do.

I'll miss you Patsy, have an amazing time. Camel out.