Beauty product reviews, makeup tips and news from your friendly neighborhood beauty addict.
November 4th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Hair, Just For Fun
Jared Leto became the object of many teenage fantasies in the mid-’90s when he was cast as heartthrob Jordan Catalano on the TV show My So-Called Life.
Born the day after Christmas in December of 1971, the vegetarian artist/actor/musician is a man of many talents.
Before hitting it big, he studied painting at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts. He originally moved to Los Angeles in 1992 to pursue music, only taking small acting parts to pay the bills.
After his stint as resident hottie on My So-Called Life ended in 1995, Jared went on to star in several films including American Psycho, Fight Club and Panic Room.
These days Jared stays busy singing lead and playing guitar in the rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. The band’s third album, This is War, arrives next month.
Before picking him for today’s poll, I had no idea how adventurous homeboy was with his hair! I’m liking most of the styles, except for the braids. Those bring back too many bad memories of K. Fed in his heyday. 
Oh, and while I’m not normally a fan of guyliner, how HARD does Jared rock that black liner on his waterline?
I wonder how he feels about MAC Fluidline…
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Karen
October 30th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Hair, Just For Fun
Halloween is but a few hours away, and I’ve been watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer reruns to get fired up!
I’m a huge fan of the show and have been for years… Love all of the characters, but a favorite’s Willow the witch (Buffy’s BFF), played by actress Alyson Hannigan.
Alyson Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974) was 23 in 1997 when the pagan stars aligned and she landed a job on the show. Even though she appeared in several commercials and even a feature film (My Stepmother is an Alien, LOL!) before Buffy, it was her portrayal of Willow that made her a star.
This one time, at band camp… Fans may remember Alyson as the nerdy flute-playing vixen from 1999’s American Pie or recognize her from How I Met Your Mother (in season 5 now on CBS).
Buffy also played a fateful part in Alyson’s personal life. She and actor Alexis Denisof (who played the bumbling Wesley Wyndham-Price) married in 2003 and just welcomed their daughter, Satyana, on Alyson’s 35th birthday.
I’ll always have a soft spot for her red hair from the Buffy years, but I think she looks great as a brunette, too.
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Karen
October 30th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Beauty Tips, Hair
Today the fantabulous Christina Olson of Too Pretty For This (a great blog!) shares the ins and outs of hair donation.
I have been having a series of amazing hair days.
This is big news, because curly-haired me got a haircut last week – just in time for Virginia’s wet weather to begin.
If you’re a curly girl, too, you might be wondering why I’m thrilled with my “amazing” huge, frizzy hair. It’s not a look I normally attempt or embrace.
What makes it different is the reason: I cut off 10 inches last week for Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a non-profit organization that provides custom-made wigs to women fighting cancer. If you’re anything like me, hair can make or break your attitude toward the day and really affect your self-image. So while I might have a few rough run-ins with the mirror, I’m honored by the opportunity to help provide some good hair days to a brave woman I’ll never meet.
According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 1.5 million Americans will be diagnosed with some form of cancer by the end of the year, and more than 500,000 people will die of it before New Year’s Day. I’m not smart enough to figure out a way to prevent, cure, or better treat cancer… though I wish I could. So while other people are working on that, I cut off some hair.
October 28th, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Hair, Just For Fun
Through the magic of Hulu, I’ve been watching old episodes of My So-Called Life, the mid-’90s TV show that made Claire Catherine Danes (born April 12, 1979) a star.
Claire was just 15 years old when she landed the role of Angela Chase on the show, which fans loved for its authenticity, but her work was short-lived as the show only lasted a season. Despite the short run, it earned her an Emmy nomination and won her a Golden Globe.
Life as a teenage actress led to her first onscreen kiss, which incidentally occurred before her first one in real life. NOTE: I wouldn’t complain if 1) my first kiss was with Jordan Catalano and 2) they paid me to do it, haaaay.
After the show ended, Claire’s career took off, with roles in more than two dozen films, including Little Women, Romeo + Juliet (with Leonardo) and more recently Stardust, opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro.
FUN FACT: Claire turned down the role of Rose Dewitt Bukater in Titanic, which later went to Kate Winslet.
On a bizarre note, Claire is a bit notorious among Filipinos as a result of remarks that appeared in a 1998 article for Vogue. Claire’s comments led to her being declared persona non-grata by the government of the country.
I still remember the e-mails from my mom with the subject line, “BAN CLAIRE DANES!!!” and thinking, “What the heck did Angela Chase get herself into?”
While I forgive her for her comments about my birthplace (she was just 19 at the time), as a die-hard Terminator fan, I’ll NEVER forgive her for Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, bluh!
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Karen
October 23rd, 2009 | Karen | Filed in: Drugstore Beauty Finds, Hair, Product Reviews
Silicone-free drugstore conditioners are like pop stars who write their own songs — few and far between.
That’s why my eyes lit up when I read the ingredients on this bottle of Garnier Fructis Body Boost Conditioner ($5 for 25 oz.) at Tar-ghay.
I’ve been searching for a new product to condition wash my hair with, and I wanted something silicon free (for an explanation of condition washing from an old 2007 MBB post).
Why no silicone?
Because I’ve been hearing good things about silicone-free condition washing. From a hair performance point of view, silicones are said to add smoothness, slip and shine (from my experience, I agree), but many women refuse to use them, believing that they build up and weigh hair down over time.
