Oscars 2013 Red Carpet Radar

The Oscars premiered over the weekend and I decided to do a post on my favorite dresses/outfits of the night. 

Jennifer Aniston
The blonde beauty never fails to impress. Her streak did not end Sunday.

Jennifer Garner
Her gorgeous purple/plum dress is accessorized perfectly and is an incredibly  flattering fit. I unfortunately could not find a picture of the incredibly fluffy backing of the dress, but you can somewhat imagine the layered frock. 

Helen Hunt
Her dress isn't exactly the most jaw-dropping, it's simple and yeah, maybe there are a little wrinkles. But it's from H&M. Yes, that's right. H&M!!!! Apparently they are trying to be greener and they are associated with an environmental organization that she has been collaborating with. I mean, she did accessorize with $700k worth of jewelry but her decision to wear an affordable dress (in our standards) is still pretty dang awesome. 

Naomi Watts
Watts's hair and dress is absolutely gorgeous. The picture speaks for itself.

Amanda Seyfried
Honestly, I feel like this dress is for those who are older than Seyfried but her youthful complexion manages to pull it off! 

Eddie Redmayne
Seyfried's "Les Miserables" co-star is a stud. Period.

Zoe Saldana
The "Avatar" actress pulled off her fashion forward dress in a stunning manner. I love her dress. Hers is probably my favorite dress of the night.

Amy Adams
Her very feathery dress compliments her ginger hair color and fair skin tone along with her cute hairstyle. I'm still waiting for Enchanted 2.

Bradley Cooper
And of course, I'm not going to leave my husband out. I've been trying to tell him to cut his hair lately but he just won't listen!

P.S. What was up with the "Jaws" theme song cutting everybody off?

Top 5 Favorite TV Shows of ALL TIME

In case you did not know this, I am a HUGE TV junkie and love obsessing over TV shows old or new. I always end up finishing an old show or catching up on shows in a very short period of time, it's scary really. Anyways, I decided to share what are my favorite TV shows of all time. This post was slightly inspired by my good friend, Ahem It's Emme, so go check out her blog. 

1. Friends (1994-2004)
In case you have never watched Friends before, you are really missing out on life. I'm not kidding. One episode of this Emmy-winning comical show will turn anybody's depressing day around. The sitcom focuses on six New Yorkers who never seem to work. The story follows the drama and hilarious events that accompany these amazing characters. Watching the last episode broke my heart to let go of these lovable characters but then you re-watch it from episode 1 and get to relive the comedy once again. If you have netflix or any other sources to watch this legendary series, I definitely insist that you do. They also play re-runs on Nick at Nite from 11pm-1am every night (I still recommend watching it in chronological order though).

2. Lost (2004-2010)

Ah, yes, Lost, probably one of the most bizarre shows of all time. The synopsis consists of a plane crash on a mysterious island and the survivors must face weird happenings around them. The series finale did not tie up any loose ends and left their viewers confused more than they have ever been before. So why do I like it so much? The strangeness of the show and the attachment to the characters and their background are intriguing and captivated a majority of its fan base. To be honest, I don't even know why I like it so much, just ask any other Lost fan and I guarantee you they will most likely say the same thing. It's difficult to convey the storyline of this series without making the show sound absolutely stupid but you just have to take my word that this show is for a lack of better word, awesome.

3. The Walking Dead (2010-present)

Now I never in my life would have thought I would be watching The Walking Dead. The incredibly suspenseful show has dominated my Sunday nights (mostly my Monday nights since I procrastinate my homework Sunday). This is not just some zombie show, the script embodies the sacrifices the characters must make to survive the apocalypse. Consequently, there are dark character developments that truly epitomize what humans would become in dire circumstances. The fact that this show is only three seasons in and has become my third favorite TV show of all time means that I highly recommend anybody that can take gore to watch this epic show.

4. How I Met Your Mother (2005-present)
The CBS comedy show shares a striking resemblance to Friends, but still does not live up to the famous sitcom. However, that still does not mean this show is far from as Barney would say legen-wait for it-DARY. This show's definitely pulling on its last leg here with another season coming up. I truly hope for the cast and crew's stake that season 9 will indeed be the last since the creativity on this show is lacking. Nevertheless, How I Met Your Mother has been a wonderful journey to see five New Yorkers get on with their lives and further (or delay) their career. The star of this show is none other than Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) and his flirtatious ways, but it is nice to see him settle down for the one and only--don't want to spoil it, so you just have to watch it :)

5. Grey's Anatomy (2005-present)
I almost omitted the Grey's Anatomy from this list since the past two seasons have really spiraled down. Nevertheless, the amazingness from the first 5-6 seasons have made up for the mediocre episodes that Shonda Rhimes has been throwing out the past year. Before plummeting to inexcusable boredom, this intensely dramatic and at times heartbreaking medical drama  was a wonderful show that threw out suspenseful and original storylines to capture the hearts of its viewers. Like all shows that run too long, the writers/directors took some missteps in order to rejuvenate the series, but unfortunately, it backfired. I still have hope and will continue watching this series until the end. Despite my criticism of the recent seasons, you should definitely start this wonderful--and always will be---show. And if you still aren't sold, McDreamy (Patrick Dempsey) and McSteamy (Eric Dane) should be enough to hook you in ;) 

This was probably one of the most fun posts I've ever written. If you would like to see any other TV-related posts, please comment below (aka my fav reality shows, comedy shows, etc.)

Fashion Role Model: Blake Lively

Blake Lively epitomizes the Californian beach goddess with her amazing golden tresses and perfectly tan skin. Her legs and smile can make any woman jealous. Not to mention she is married to Ryan Reynolds. Can a person truly be this photogenic?

Her tall stature and toned body is able to pull off even Lady Gaga's bizarre get-ups. She usually keeps it casual/classy but will occasionally take a bold fashion step. My favorite part of her outfits is always her lustrous hair. I mean, really. Really. I would do anything for her hair stylist..and her face..and her body. Sighs.

Anyways, including the ones above, here is a compilation of all my favorite outfits from her (even though she stuns every single time): 

This is quite a daring dress but she definitely pulls it off with her old Hollywood glam look: 

Not sure if these are from  Gossip Girl but I think these are such classic outfits for a New Yorker :

At certain angles, this dress may look tacky but I happen to   Stunning and professional, Lively's little black dress is a
love the way the burgundy color contrasts with her hair and    contrast to the cocktail dress featured in the left photo.
skin tone

I'm a little mixed on this dress, especially the see-through drape bottom. However, I love her hairstyle, a messy side ponytail with an intertwined fishtail braid. 

And last but not least, some casual outfits:

Which is your favorite?

       

Covergirl Lash Blast Review

I'm just going to say right off the bat that this was the first time I tried taking a picture of my eye for this review and boy is it hard! They are not the best pictures but I hope they will suffice to see how effective this mascara is. Like always, this is just my opinion and products work differently for different people. Also, keep in mind I have short, straight lashes so the pictures may not make the product look as effective, but it really is!

 

Pro: The formula of the mascara is more on the drier side; hence, it doesn't wilt my lashes as easily as other mascaras do as long as I give my lashes a good curl. Like the name implies, this mascara definitely volumizes yet without clumping. However, two applications should be enough or else spider lashes may form. I really like this mascara because there are hardly any smudges (I'm very prone to smudging) by the end of the day. The brush consists or short, rubber bristles, which surprisingly works well combing through my lashes.

Con: This mascara does clump a little on my lower lashes so I never use it on them. The dry formula dries up even more as time progresses and if you are one to keep you mascaras a little longer than the 3 month mark (mascaras' expiration date), this will definitely be unusable after 3 1/2 months. Even though it volumizes, it doesn't do much as far as length goes. My lashes do wilt a little but I'll be slightly forgiving since it's not too significant and I have naturally straight lashes. And to be really picky, the tube is also plain/ugly and a little bulky.

Before w/o any mascara on, my lashes are already curled: 

Awkward you can see the camera reflecting off my eye

 After two applications:

Please excuse my unplucked brows. 

I've tried both the waterproof formula and the regular formula and they both account for my review, except the waterproof one does dry up your lashes after removing it (as most waterproof mascaras do). 

In spite of the minor critiques, I would still repurchase this (technically, I already did since this is my 2nd purchase).

How did lashblast work for you?

NOTD: China Glaze Dress Me Up & Revlon Sparkling

China Glaze's Dress Me Up is from China Glaze's Hunger Games collection. The polish is a nice dusty rose. This polish (China Glaze's polishes in general) is so opaque that one coat will suffice, but I decided to do two coats anyway because I'm OCD like that. I decided to dress it up (no pun intended) a little more by topping it off with Revlon's Sparkling, which is one of my favorite glitter polish of all time. Sparkling is a clear polish with rose gold glitter flecks mixed in. This combo would look absolutely stunning on those with either a very fair skin tone or a dark skin tone.

 These two polishes are definitely one of my go-to nail combos.

"The Vampire Diaries: Into the Wild" Recap/Rant

It's been a while since I've written about one of my favorite TV shows, The Vampire Diaries. 

Now that Jeremy has completed his tattoo, the crew (Stefan, Damon, Elena, Rebecca, Shane, Bonnie, and Jeremy) embark on their journey to find the cure on some island. 

Boring Rebecca vs Elena tension throughout the whole episode and I was totally on Rebecca's side the whole time. I laughed when Rebecca said that everybody serves a purpose there except for Elena and goes on to say Damon has a nice butt ;). 

Meanwhile, Klaus is still trapped in Elena's house due to Bonnie's spell. Tyler visits to taunt him, which doesn't really work out because Klaus ends up biting Caroline, which nearly kills her. He refuses to save her (which I thought was a ploy because he definitely loves her). However, near death, Caroline convinces the angered Klaus to save her after saying that he is human because she knows he is capable of love since he loves her. *tear* In my opinion, the writers definitely did not help with the whole Klaroline progress in this episode, which was annoying. I think we've all been waiting for that to happen. I guess we will have to wait four seasons since it took that long for Damon and Elena to get together (even though they supposedly blame it on the sire bond). 

The fact that Shane is still alive is completely aggravating because honestly, nobody trusts this guy. It seems that only Damon has some common sense dealing with him. I mean, yeah yeah Bonnie wouldn't be able to control "expression" without him but let's face it, like Damon, I don't like her either. Of course, little goody-two-shoes Elena barely saves Shane from getting killed by Damon. The idiot that she is, she decides to release the untrustworthy Shane and of course, he disappears to capture Bonnie and Jeremy. It is also revealed that he came on the island to see the apparition of his late wife, who also happens to be a witch. Her ghost told him to revive Silas to resurrect his son and wife; thus, the reason for Shane's actions. Bonnie does a location spell to track Jeremy, who has been mysteriously captured. She ends up following a blaze of fire and ends up walking onto a trap by some unknown man and Shane along with Jeremy. 

At the end of the episode, it is revealed that everyone except for Stefan, Rebecca, and Elena (ooh...tension) are missing. The tombstone and Shane's belongings also disappeared (thanks to Elena). The final scene ends with Damon's neck being snapped by some unidentified man (he looks like a supernatural).

During the episode, Damon tells Elena that he does not want to be human again and does not want the cure (I predicted this). Elena seems shocked by the news (come on girl, really). Damon goes on to say that is not the problem, Stefan is. This conversation really annoyed me because it further crushed Delena fans' dreams of seeing the bad-ass vampire get the girl (even though she's superrrrr annoying). As stated before, Klaroline is going nowhere but backward and it's starting to really piss me off....

Nutella & Strawberry on Toast

A few days ago, I was studying and decided to put together this wonderful concoction consisting of nutella, strawberries, and a slice of bread to refuel my energy. The results were remarkable.

I had created (okay, this is probably a really popular snack anyway....) this simple yet delicious snack with common ingredients easily found in anyone's pantry that still satisfied my massive sweet tooth. I've been so obsessed with this creation that I've been eating it nearly once every day! Yikes. It does have strawberries so that makes it healthy, right? 

Anyways, if you've never tried Nutella, the most awesome invention on Earth, it is a decadent hazelnut spread. I have yet to hear anybody who dislikes the sweet treat.

Ingredients: Strawberries (or any fruit of your choice, I recommend bananas as a great alternative), Nutella, and a slice of bread (I prefer white)

Sorry for the shadows, I tried to beat the sunset.

Take a butter knife and spread the Nutella all over the bread (you can choose to toast it if you want, but I love it non-toasted)  and layer strawberries on top. Now you have one of the most simple and delicious snacks that anybody can create at home. 

 The mastermind behind the tastiness of this amazing concoction is the marvelous hazelnut spread. If you have been one of those unfortunate ones that have never had the chance to try nutella, I have come to tell you that it is imperative you try it for the sake of your own happiness.

*Angels singing*

I hope you give this snack a try. You won't regret it (unless you're allergic to one of the ingredients).

Fashion Role Model: Kate Beckinsale

The first post to kick off my "Fashion Role Model" series. I'm still unsure about the name, I was thinking either "Fashion Spotlight" or "Fashion Radar". What do you think?

Anyways, I wanted to start off with an actress who wears the most stunning gowns to compliment her envious figure: Kate Beckinsale. 

Nearly 40, Kate Beckinsale still manages to maintain a youthful look. Her deep eyes, well-kempt brunette locks, and high cheek bones make up her soft facial features. She could look good in anything, from Gucci to a potato sack. Her classy style never fails to impress me.

Gorgeous gown

Here are a few of my favorite outfits/dresses she has worn: 

Stunning dress and hair

Why is her hair and face so perfect?!

For whatever reason, this dress reminds me of Cinderella. 

She pulls off this biker chic outfit with finesse.

Brit Beauty

Amazing hair paired with a simple yet classy dress.

                                         

Which outfit is your favorite?