Deck the Nails, Part 2: Essie Leading Lady

We're filming a follow-up to The Night Shift over the holidays, which means I get to reprise my role as Claire, and I am beyond excited! In addition to being a really fun, strong character, she's also rocks a kooky, kitschy, neo-pinup style, and I'm  more than ready to start pulling out the red lipstick and nail polish. Because the film is set at Christmas, and because the nail polish we used for the original doesn't exist anymore, the director wants Claire's nails to be a festive, glittery, ruby red, so I'm on a mission from gahd to find it.

Photo Credit: Essie.com

This isn't it.

Well, it might have to be, but only because I'm running short on time. I'm sorry, but I really, really hate this nail polish. It's pretty, but it's a royal pain. Allow me to explain:

The first coat that I put on was a streaky, jelly-like, non-glittery mess. Seriously, only maybe one to two pieces of glitter made it onto each nail, and it looked like I'd dipped my hands into cherry Kool-Aid. It was bad.

To make the glitter show up, I had to kind of pile on the second coat. It was goopy, gritty, and just not fun to deal with. It did dry quickly, though, so that's a plus. To make matters worse, after less than 16 hours--eight of which I spent asleep--the polish had already begun to chip. Granted, I hadn't used a topcoat, but that's because I wanted to see how it did on its own. Not too well, apparently.

It's not all bad. I mean, I do adore the color. It's a deep berry red, and the glitter reminds me of Dorothy's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz. It is sparkly and merry, and all of those happy adjectives that describe the holidays, and the name, "Leading Lady", is so on-the-nose for what I need it for that I actually squealed in the store. Plus, the price isn't terrible. It was less than $8 at Target. I can't see myself using this for anything other than filming, but if you're looking for a red glitter, and are willing to put in some serious work, you might be happy with the results.

Me? I'm gonna put my sunglasses on, hop back in the BluesMobile, and keep on the mission.

Magic Bag O' Samples: GlamGlow Mud Mask

I'm about three and a half weeks out from filming in High Definition. That means that I need to 1) learn my lines (whoops...), 2) lose about ten pounds (not happening), and 3) get my skin HD ready. I might actually be able to do that last one.

About a week ago, I was able to get my hands on a deluxe sample size of GlamGlow Tingling & Exfoliating Mud Mask. It's, supposedly, this miracle product that you slather on, and when you rinse it off fifteen minutes later you're Christie Brinkley circa Uptown Girl. Yeah...right.

Here's what Sephora has to say about it:

This mud mask leaves skin noticeably radiant and glowing. It activates moisturizing collagen synthesis, provides gentle resurfacing exfoliation, and helps to leave skin smoother, brighter, and softer. While providing tighter skin texture and tighter pores, it provides a more youthful appearance and absorbs impurities without removing natural oils.

And GlamGlow, themselves:

Designed for Hollywood’s Entertainment, Music, Fashion and Award industries for camera-ready soft glowing skin. Dredged off the coast of Southern France, home to glamorous Cannes, St. Tropez and Monaco. GLAMGLOW is an amazing rapid gentle exfoliant mud mask for men and women, high in ancient volcanic pumice rock, super antioxidants and minerals.

Those are some serious claims! I figured, I'd try it now, and at worst, I'd break out and have a month to get over it. At best, my skin might look nice for Thanksgiving, and I might save the rest of the tube to use before filming for a little extra oomph.

Um...I bought a jar.

Well, to be more specific, Thomas and I went in together on a jar, and we got it through Amazon for about half the retail price. I'm sorry, but the day I shell out almost seventy bucks for a face mask is the day you can cart me off to the looney bin. Not that it isn't worth it, but I just don't have that kind of money. Anyhoo, back to the story.

I put on the mask, which is very pleasant and natural-smelling, and has large bits of green tea leaves scattered throughout. It's very scrubby, and left a lovely cooling feeling, but I wasn't seeing any magic, yet. After fifteen minutes, the mask was very dry, hard, flaky, and downright uncomfortable. In fact, it had begun to itch, so I ran back to the bathroom to rinse it off. That's when I saw it. The pores on my nose were, dare I say, clear! Actually, all of the skin on my face was clear, save for one pimple that showed up as a result of the mask, and was quickly dealt with (with an extractor! Be careful, folks!). I could tell an immediate difference in the look and feel of my skin, and even ran into the living room, yelling for Thomas to feel my face. Why he puts up with me, I'll never know...

The effects lasted for almost three days. I did feel the need to do a "touch up" mask after two days, but probably could have gotten by without it. Thomas has trouble with the pores on his nose clogging up, so he used a little just in that area, and was really happy with the results. After a couple of days of discussing it, we decided to go in together on a jar.

This is, easily, the best mask I've ever used. I have a fancy-schmancy one from Basin, the tried-and-true Queen Helene Mint Julep, and have slathered on more strawberries and avacados than you can shake a stick at, but this one tops them all. My skin is smoother, brighter, more supple...it glows. I'm still a little too young to be able to tell if it tightens or helps with wrinkles, but even if it doesn't, it's still worth trying out--especially during holiday party season! My advice: go to Amazon. Prices are considerably cheaper, the sellers are generally reputable (mine came from Amazon, directly), and you can find smaller sizes.

Final Verdict: 9 out of 10. The price is the only thing keeping this from being a freaking 11.

What's In the BAG??!!!!!!

*Editor's Note: This post was originally planned to contain a list of fake spoilers to The Dark Knight Rises, such as, "We finally answer the question: Whose baby are you, Batgirl?", and silliness like that. Unfortunately, in light of this morning's tragedy, it seemed in poor taste. Instead, I kind of threw together a look at what goes into my set bag when I'm acting on location. My thoughts and prayers are in Colorado today. Thank you, Erin.

Might I offer a cute puppy?

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This morning, I had the extreme pleasure of hanging out on the set of Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford. It's a nationally-syndicated home improvement show (think: Tool Time from Home Improvement) that's filmed in my town, and I was called in to help product test a popular "As Seen On TV" item. Of course, if you want to know what it is, or if it worked, you'll have to tune in to the 15th season premier! (And I will totally tell you when that is, when I find out. Probably should have asked...oops...)

For this, I was doing my own hair, makeup, and wardrobe, so I needed to make sure I had a few essentials on-hand, in case any adjustments needed to be made, and for touch-ups, in general. I didn't take much, so this shouldn't be a super-long post; the long post will come when I show you the same set bag, only when I'm in the producer's role. Hoo, boy!

This is the set bag. It's from Open Sky, and I can't recommend it enough. It goes for $28, but I had a coupon for $20 off a purchase of $40 or more, plus free shipping, so I added a $12 makeup bag to the order, and got both for $20. You can't beat that with a stick. Seriously, if you haven't checked out Open Sky, you need to. You can see there's an outside pocket where the "ful" logo is, and there's a side pocket, too, just large enough for a water bottle or sunglasses.

Here's a shot of the inside. The center section is a zippered pouch. The top compartment is very roomy, and the bottom compartment (also roomy) has another zippered pouch and several small sleeves for pens, cards, and whatnot. Construction of the tote is extremely sturdy, and the handles are comfortable on your shoulder.

So, what's inside? In the bottom compartment, I have some extra hold hairspray (Aussie Freeze + Shine), a Marilyn teasing comb, a hairbrush, and a ponytail holder and bobby pins (not pictured). In the center pouch, I have a makeup bag (the $12 one. Why not?). The top compartment holds a bag for miscellaneous stuff. Really, that's just there for when I'm managing other actors' personal effects. I can hold onto my own keys and phone in my own bag without putting it inside another bag first. Probably.

The makeup bag is a Jane Marvel, and is coated in plastic inside and out, so it's durable and super easy to clean. I thought the silver sequins would A) make it stand out in a sea of makeup bags when I'm backstage or behind the scenes, and B) allow it to double as a clutch if we're on vacation and go somewhere nice. No sense packing an extra "in case of emergency" purse if you can avoid it.

So, what's in the makeup bag? Not much, actually: dental floss, a travel brush/mirror, Burt's Bees lip balm, travel brush pack, Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, Luna Twilight palette in Rosalie, and a Rimmel pressed powder. Oh, and a lipbrush. I missed that. Basically, it's just the essentials.

This is the look I came up with for the shoot today. Because it's a home improvement show, I needed to keep things natural and minimal. (I also needed to find someone else to take this picture for me. I know I say it every time, but boy, do I suck at self-photography.) However, because it's a television program with lights and cameras (and action! I'm sorry...), I had to make sure it would show up. Here's the result:

I won't bore you with every product used. The main components were a good, full-coverage foundation (MAC Studio Sculpt), setting powder (Rimmel Stay Matte transluscent), an HD finishing powder (E.L.F. HD Powder). Then, I just had to make sure that I had enough color to keep from being washed out, and that all features were defined. A little contouring and highlighting keeps the face from appearing flat on camera, too. And, yes, I curled my hair. Couldn't go on tv with it all scraggly, now, could I?

If you'd like the full details on my on-camera look, let me know in the comments. Thanks!

Thumbellina Would Be Quite at Home

Today, I'm just going to let the picture do the talking. Below is a photo of Fairy Castle, a 9-foot tall dollhouse, created by silent film star Colleen Moore. The 83-year old castle's ornamentation includes jewels dated at over 500-years old, original artwork by Walt Disney, himself, and, in 1947, was estimated to be worth almost one-half million dollars. Obviously, that estimate would be considerably higher in today's economy, but it hardly matters, as this piece resides in a museum, where it rightfully belongs. You can take a mini-tour of the castle here, and I promise, you'll be breathtaken. If you're in Chicago, see it yourself for only $15 (discounts for kids, seniors, and residents).


Photo Credit: Mail Online

 **Edited to Add--I just found out that during the Great Depression, Ms. Moore sent her beautiful Fairy Castle on tour. It graced toy stores and county fairs, all in the name of charity. Between 1935 and 1939, Moore's Fairy Castle raised more than $650,000 for children's charities. Now that's really beautiful.