Too Much Skin

Now that the weather is finally warmer, everyone has been taking their summer dresses out for a stroll in the sun. And its nice. Adds a lot more color and shape to the monotonous winter hues in the streets.
Unfortunately for me though, I've also been seeing a lot of skin. Too much skin. Maybe I am just conservative, but it really is not a pretty sight. A girl in class the other day was wearing a thin cotton summer dress with a very low v, very similar to the one shown above from UO. And for the three hour duration of the class, I could NOT stop staring at her chest! I am not being perverted here, its more like how people are drawn to look at a car wreck even though they know its going to be gruesome. The dress was just so LOW, it looked like her chest was going to spill out any minute with one of her wild gestures- and I don't think she was wearing a bra!

Personally I don't really have this problem because a) my chest is non existent b) I don't have a dress like that because I think it is too low cut, it doesn't fit me well and there is not a bra I can think of that will work (and going bra-less feels weird) c) even if I DO have such a dress, I'd probably wear something like a laced spaghetti strap underneath. Not that I am saying there is anything wrong with a dress of this cut. It can be very flattering on the right body shape. What I AM trying to say is that should you be wearing one PLEASE be aware not to expose too much skin. I don't mean to be a prude, but it is just not sexy or in any way aesthetically pleasing. Take in the straps. Wear something underneath. Anything.

And while we are on the subject of over exposure, if your summer dress happens to be super sheer like the one above, please remember to wear a slip or under-skirt underneath. We don't need to know what underwear you are wearing or the shape of your legs under the dress.

Image Source: Urban Outfitters

ANTM Cycle 10- Spoiler!

Its hard to believe that it has already been 10 cycles, but it has. And frankly, I'm surprised I still watch it. It used to be exciting and fun. But after 10 cycles, it has become repetitive and tame. Its hard to keep it fresh. We all expect extreme makeovers, awesome custom designed houses, cool photo shoots, fabulous prizes and exotic destinations. I guess its just habit and for lack of anything better to watch. So yes, spoiler alert.
After ten rounds, the talent pool in America must be getting thin, because I swear the quality of the girls just seem to get worse. One girl, Kimberly, managed to make it into the house and ended up quitting during the first elimination because she doesn't get the whole designer thing and wasn't interested in fashion.... um hello, wrong industry? It was unbelievable. And really, how can ALL the girls screw up their Covergirl commercial in Italian when 9 seasons of girls before them have done it, if not perfectly, at least passably? Looking pass the comparison though, it was not a bad show. There was just enough drama between the girls to keep it interesting (with alarm clock episodes, passport dramas and lots of ganging up) and the photo shoots continue to be fun to watch. And Rome was nice. I want to go around in a segway too! But is it just me, or did they already go to Rome? Didn't they do a photoshoot at the Colosseum once, in the season where Shandi was in and she had that whole thing with the Italian guys?

They made an effort to spice things up though- and it was good. They got rid of the legendary style icon, Twiggy and replaced her with the legendary supermodel, Paulina Porizkova (even though I've not heard of her until now). It was a good move. She has Twiggy's grace and elegance but she also has Janice Dickenson's bluntness. It was hilarious (and so true) when she told Dominique that she looked like a transvestite. Plus, I was SUPER SUPER SUPER impressed that Versace deemed them worthy enough to sponsor. It is not quite an official Versace show, with dresses from last season, but its still quite a step up for ANTM.
Behold the newest America's Next Top Model- Whitney a *gasp* plus size model! I do think that it is about time a plus size model won and Whitney is not a bad choice. She is very gorgeous and well proportioned. And out of all the plus size models who have ever graced this show, she is the most confident about her full size figure and never had those rather annoying "oh no, I feel so depressed because I feel so fat compared to the other girls here" moments. Also, she did have the best Covergirl shot and did a good job on the runway (comparatively anyway, her walk was a bit too jaunty for my taste).
As much as I applaud them for finally choosing a plus size model to win though, I honestly didn't think Whitney deserved to win. Besides the last haul, she did not consistently do a good job. In fact, I thought she was quite mediocre and I really don't see any improvement in her photos. Does her model face not look the same towards the end of the competition (right) as she did at the beginning (left)? I also did not see how her personality got any less fake (one of the judges biggest criticism of her- and I agree) in the end either.
I thought Anya (who came in second) deserved to win much more. Her accent was a bit annoying at first, but in the end, I grew to really like her personality, its always very optimistic and infectious. She also consistently did a good job, winning loads of competitions, and taking really great model-y photos (very effortlessly too!). Her only downfall was her Covergirl photo and her runway walk, which was really not that great. Talk about bad timing.
Some of her more amazing shots. On a side note, I thought the idea to take photos underneath a plastic screen with water was really stupid. You can hardly see the model. They just look like blurry blobs. What's the point? And the photo shoot with the raw meat was just really disgusting. I'm not even going to post a picture of that.
Who goes into ANTM without a passport anyway, knowing that they will need to travel abroad? I was surprised she wasn't eliminated just for that. Fatima had her moments, and I do admire her for going through so much in her life (being a refuge and having underwent genital mutilation and all- talk about too much information!). But most of the time, I thought she played the victim a bit too much and she reminded me a bit of that very vacant looking model from last season (Ebony?). Admittedly, she does look remarkably like Iman and did improve in the competition. But looking at her last photo shoot, where she got extra frames (right), she didn't improve quite enough....
I was surprised Dominique (the transvestite), made it so far in the competition. That girl in the competition (remember Jade?), the only thing going for her is that she REALLY wanted to win and she tried REALLY hard. She really did improve a lot throughout the competition. This last photo of her (right) actually looks cool. But she really didn't have much talent. Even after the makeover, she looked old and unmodel-like. She can't dress for her life. And she is kind of strange with her alarm clock thing and habit of referring herself in the third person.
Some of my favourite girls were Katarzyna (left) and Lauren (right in green). I did not find Katarzyna boring and lacking in personality at all. I thought she was really likeable and really pretty! And as for Lauren, she really did take lovely photos. I kept on waiting for her to make a miraculous improvement on her absolutely tragic runway walk, but it just never happened. Doesn't she looks SO cute in that green coat in the jet setting photo shoot? She is the only one that pops out for me in this picture.

Amis was crazy. Aimee had a great makeover. She looked lovely with her straight bangs and auburn hair color. I don't usually comment negatively on people's looks because I know that beauty is supposed to be in the eye of the beholder and all that, but did anyone else thought Marvita looked really scary and wondered how she ever made it onto the show at all? No matter what angle I look at her, I just don't see it. As for the rest of the girls.... they were not terribly memorable. I think I have the show figured out now though. Up until the last four girls, it was really obvious at the beginning of each episode which girl is going to be eliminated, because they'd focus more on them at the start about their struggles and all. When Amiee got eliminated they focused on her struggled with being too young. When Katarzyna went off, they emphasized how she had no personality.

I wonder what they will do next time......they can have a competition for America's Next SUPER Model soon and have all the current "Top" models compete!

Image Source: CW

A Light Eye Cream

I started using eye moisturiser when I first started using skincare. It's always been an important part of my skincare regime since the eye area seems like the first area that aging can be seen obviously. I mention this because I know plenty of girls who don't use eye moisturiser. (Whenever I find out, I try to encourage them to start using eye moisturiser, sometimes even physically sampling and promoting eye creams at counters to them, but almost no one ever listens to me!) Since I have combination/ slightly oily skin, I always stick to oil-free eye gels. The two that I used a lot were by ~H2O+ and Laneige.

Anyways, ever since obvious fine lines have started to appear under my eyes last year, I have started to wonder whether my eye moisturiser wasn't enough. Logically, I know I am simply aging and have seriously bad sleeping habits. But it really hit home last summer, when the salesladies at various beauty counters stopped recommending me water-based eye moisturiser and started recommending me the slightly heavier creams. So it was definitely time for me to 'up' my eye moisturiser from eye gels to light eye creams.

Thankfully a year ago, BG and her friend gave me a thank you gift -Caudalie Contour Cream Eyes and Lips. They were spending a term in Paris back then and said Caudalie products are cheaper and worth it there. So last fall (07), I started to use it and I really liked it! It was a great eye cream in that it was just what I was looking for: it was not just another water-based moisturiser since it was not oil-free, but it was light -it didn't feel sticky or thick and most importantly, didn't clog up the pores around the eye area. To be honest, I have no idea whether it actually helped with fine lines or other eye are problems, but it's not like I can tell with other eye products either, so I've decided to be satisfied with any decent preventive eye cream.

My tube of Caudalie is about to be used up and now I'm in search for my next light eye cream. Notice that I keep on emphasising 'light'. There are simply too many eye creams out there that are too heavy for my combination skin.

The description of Clinique's All About Eyes sounds like it's just what I'm looking for. But the reviews over at Makeup Alley make it seem mediocre, and All About Eyes Rich sounds too heavy. Plus I'm hesistent with Clinique products because I've tried a few out (like Moisture Surge) two years back, but I have to say I wasn't impressed with any of the products.

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avacado is another candidate. I've already tried it out from samples and well, I'm not too sure what to think about it. It's certainly not a very heavy eye cream so in that aspect, it should fit my criteria, but I think it's just slightly too heavy. And after testing it out for a few weeks, it didn't seem very moisturising.

If you know any good ones, please recommend me a light eye cream! I need to buy a new one really soon!

Image Credits: http://www.h2oplus.com/, http://www.laneige.com/, http://www.kiehls.com/, http://www.clinique.com/, http://www.caudalie.com/

Cravat Shirt

The other week during the Bloomies sale, I was struck by a need to buy something- anything- just to take advantage of the "40% on top of sale price" discount. Late for dinner and pressed for time, I randomly grabbed the first thing that caught my eye in my size: this black top with a white cravat from the Bloomies house brand, Aqua (below left). I figured if I really didn't like it I can always return it later.
Ever since I have been wavering between love and hate. On the love side, the cravat detail is really cute and very retro French chic (as HG describes it). And I imagine it would look really cute peeking from under a blazer. It doesn't look too flattering on the hanger, but it doesn't look to bad on me. On the hate side, the contrast is a bit too sharp and on first impression, the cravat looks a little bib-like and over all looks a bit waitressy (at least, that was the first reaction of one of my friends upon seeing it). Though the cravat does seem to work on this Isaac Mizrahi dress (right) making it look feminine and sophisticated.........
Another thing is that I can't decide how I'd wear it. I know I said it'll look cute from under a blazer, but if I pair it with black pants, it will look work-like, like the Valentino Red dress shirt here (right), which is not entirely bad, but if I wore it with a black blazer, I'd look very black ....... Casually I could try it with jeans like with the Marc by Marc Jacobs shirt above (left). I actually tried it with my khaki skinny jeans the other day, but it looked a bit odd. Maybe blue jeans? A skirts? Maybe I just don't know how to rock the retro French look.........I should really stop thinking so much about a $40 top.

But what do you reckon? Is this a keeper or not?

Image Source: Saks and Net a Porter

Washington DC

Figuring that one should really see the capital of the United States at least once in their life, I stopped by Washington DC the other weekend. And I've got two words for DC, big and tiring! We spent the first day walking around the mall (the area where all the monuments were). Everything didn't LOOK that far on the map and in reality, you can actually see the next monument from one. But when you actually WALK the distance, it is much much farther. Factoring in the blazing sunlight (not that we're not grateful that it wasn't pouring rain), lack of efficient public transport and the lack of trees on the way, it felt like we were trying to reach a mirage in a desert. Besides the distant though, once we reached these mirages, they were actually quite pretty and picturesque. I love how everything is perfectly planned and symmetrical. It makes such a pretty picture. Above is a view of the Washington Monument (left) from the World War II Memorial (right). I think this is one of the best views of the Washington Monument, because its close enough to see and it is perfectly framed by the American flags and the fountain. And the World War II Memorial is absolutely gorgeous.
Another very good view of the Washington Monument is from the top of the Lincoln Memorial (above). Now we know why that strip of water is called the reflecting pool. Absolutely stunning and well....monumental.
The Lincoln Memorial (above) itself is not so bad either. Designed after a Greek temple, it was quite gorgeous.
Unfortunately for my legs, all these monuments looked ever more breathtaking lighted up at night. So that night, we retraced our steps that afternoon and went back to see the monuments. But I think the scene was totally worth it! At the other end of the mall there is Congress (left) and off to the side the Jefferson Memorial (right). So we didn't quite reach these monuments, but in our defense, we went too late to get tickets for Congress (they give out tickets every morning for visiting slots) and the Jefferson Memorial was all the way across those waters!! Besides, I think we managed to better appreciate its beauty from afar anyway- the overall effect of the architect is more visible this way!

Before you wonder, no we did not go to the White House nor the Library of Congress. Apparently you had to get permission and book one month in advance to enter the White House. And we didn't realize that the Library of Congress was closed on Sundays until Saturday night!
We did however visited a few museums. First the Museum of Natural History. I thought the elephant in the middle was from that movie, "A Night in a Museum," but apparently not. The most interesting thing in the museum for me though was not the special butterfly exhibit, but the Hope Diamond. At 45.52 karats, it is one of the world's most famous diamonds, known for its clarity, rare deep blue color and history. I was truly enraptured.
Then we hit the National Gallery of Art. The collection didn't quite compare to the Lourvre, but it was still a lot of fun. We especially loved the west garden. If I had time, I'd sit there and read and book and enjoy the ambiance.
We also loved their outdoor exhibit. It was a lovely artistic garden. It made for a really nice stroll. There was also a fountain in the middle, which I read turns into an ice skating rink in the winter. How cool! For dinner, we went to Cafe du Parc, which is an absolutely darling little French bistro next to the Williard Hotel, which according to the guidebook, is a historical landmark. It certainly was very pretty and quaint! We loved the atmosphere. The service was excellent- our waiter, Olivier, was awesome. And the food, by a celebrity chef apparently, was also great. Try the lamb and the fries!
During our tour of the mall and the old downtown, we did notice that besides tourists, Washington DC was really quiet. There were barely any people and we didn't even see any Walgreens or CVS! Where are the people? Turns out civilization was over in Georgetown on the weekends (It is also where the Ritz and the Four Seasons is- go figure). It is absolutely THE cutest and quaintest town ever. The shops were darling and actually interesting (Intermix, H&M, Zara and basically any shop you'd want to shop in, its there). And the college campus was just gorgeous (left)!
They also have this street called Canal Street, which is absolutely charming. They had an actual canal and the houses lining the canal were so quaint. There was even an old man on the boat (left), that completed fitted the picture.
Off the side, they also have a nice little waterfront, where some restaurants are. We stopped by there for lunch. The food was not exactly top notch, but it was decent and the atmosphere was excellent- especially with the perfect weather. Sigh... I just LOVE LOVE LOVE Georgetown. Wish I'd applied there for college.......

Over all I thought Washington DC was definitely a place I should visit at least once and I'm glad i did. A few tips though:

a) Try to land at the Regan Airport. It is MUCH closer and a LOT cheaper than Dulles.
b) Cabs here oddly work in zones and not meters. Going only 2 miles can easily come out to be $12.
c) Plan ahead and book tickets to see all the places (going up Washington Monument, into Congress and the White House)
d) Don't go when it is the height of summer or midst of winter. You'll never survive the walk needed. And bring sneakers. Try to go during Cherry Blossom season (April), I heard its pretty lined along the Jefferson Memorial.