Manolo for the Beauty

Once upon a time, I wore headbands. All the time.  You see, I was growing out my bangs and the only way to survive that very grueling and traumatic experience was to simply push those puppies up and off my forehead altogether.  There was, of course, an unfortunate month when the bangs were exactly the wrong length and would stick up from behind the headband.  On those days, I would refuse to leave the house and instead quietly weep in a corner.

Supposedly the 50’s inspiration is here in a big way, and that includes the use of headbands as an accessory.  For some reason, though, when I think of headbands I think of Hillary Clinton, not the 1950’s.  That could be good or bad.  Upon reflection of Hillary’s personal style, (as much as I admire her) it is most likely bad.

I like headbands because there is an infinite variety of them.  Wide, thin, leather, fabric, glittery, tortoiseshell, lace… You name it and there is a headband that has it. An Etsy search comes up with over 250,000.

It’s been a long time since I’ve broken out a headband, but I’m wondering if it isn’t time to start experimenting with them again.  However, I do seem to remember that certain kinds can give you quite a headache if you wear them for any length of time.

So what is your verdict on headbands?  Stylish or frumpy?

50% of you oppose animal testing, but admit you’re a bit hazy on the details of who actually performs it.  22% say it isn’t on their radar, 14% refuse to buy from companies that do test, and 12% are OK with it.  I’m going with the majority vote on this one.

And now, dears, it is the last fashion-oriented poll we will have for a while, since awards season is over.  I’ve got lots for you to choose from for best-dressed of the night.

could make this 90’s era Vogue cover work.  And she is absolutely gorgeous, IMHO.

I don’t know what happened, but I never hopped aboard the Mad Men crazy train.  Not the first time I’ve been left out in the cold during a cultural phenomenon, and certainly not the last.

Estee Lauder has sort of belatedly tried to capture the frenzy with a teensy, tiny Mad Men Collection.  They should have just called it the Mad Men Duo and been done with it.

You’ve got a cherry red lipstick and a rose cream blush.  Nothing earth-shattering.  Although I have come to appreciate a nice cherry lipstick, it just has to be a bit sheer.

OK, confession time.  When I was a young lass back in the late 1980’s, I totally wore gold lipstick.  And I rocked it.

Today, probably not so much.

Hmmm, maybe on top of another color?

I’ve no desire for the nail polish, and the bronzing palette is cute.

Not pictured is a gold eyeliner that would actually work well on me.

via

Aaaand it was Adele for the win with 75% of the vote!  It’s funny because her makeup looked flawless, but almost TOO flawless, if that is possible.  Kudos to her makeup artist, I suppose.

Today’s poll was inspired by commenter Babs, who left a comment on the lead in lipsticks post. Thanks, Babs!

Well, we sorta already knew that, but the list was oh so very short.  Now the FDA has come out with a longer list, although there is a lot of brand repetition, there are scads of brands that weren’t even sampled once.  Which is a shame, because I’m dying to know how much lead is in my Guerlain Rouge G.  I’m a little weirded out that a brand I have never even heard of is represented multiple times, yet not one Urban Decay or Stila.

Go here for the full list.

Basically what I take away from the list is that the amount of lead you get in your lipstick is a total crap shoot.  Ranging from a high of 3.06 parts per million (ouch, Cover Girl!)  to a low of less than .026, there are some interesting numbers, indeed.  Wet n’ Wild, one of the cheapest brands, comes in with some very low ppm levels, while NARS comes in with a very high number.  Color isn’t a factor, a pink is as likely as a deep red to have high lead levels.  It isn’t color saturation, either, as the Burt’s Bees lip shimmers come in embarrassingly high for a brand touted as “natural” and therefore more healthy.

Eh, yeah, I don’t want to hear that lead is a natural substance.

I did learn, however, that M.A.C. is part of Estee Lauder, which I hadn’t known before.

Aside from that, throw caution to the wind when applying your lipstick ladies (and possibly men)!  There is absolutely no rhyme nor reason to the variance in lead levels that I can figure out, although admittedly my brain capacity for these types of things is low.

Have we all just decided that we don’t care about lead in our lipstick?  Or is this an area of concern for you?  Does the random nature of the lead levels annoy you as much as it annoys me?

Liz Marie thought of a great way to keep her most-used makeup handy, yet still technically out of the way.  She glued small magnets on the bottom of her makeup, attatched them to a lovely mirror, and voila!  Creative and pretty, too!

No matter what your romantic status, there’s a product for you!

Soap and Glory Scrub ‘Em and Leave ‘Em

Carol’s Daughter Love Butter

Laura Mercier Lingerie Eye and Cheek Palette

Stila Love At First Blush Set

NARS Wicked Attraction Set

Fresh Brown Sugar Affair Set

philosophy Sweet Talk Trio

Kat Von D Everlasting Liquid Love Lipstick

tokidoki Adios & Ciao Ciao Rollerball Duo

I’m less of a person than I was a week ago (har, that’s surgical humor right there) but I’m back and hopefully better than ever.  Not having cancer=very good thing!  Now I can focus on the important things in life, like the reintroduction of cult fave Clinique’s Black Honey Almost Lipstick.

Viola Davis beat Zoe Saldana in the fab-off by an embarassingly large margin.  You go, Viola!

And you know, I had a very hard time finding someone that looked truly awesome from the Grammys last night, but here are my top two picks.

VERSUS