The Most Spoiler Free Face/Off Finale Post EVER!

(ed. note: The Management apologizes for the lack of creativity in the post title. She's had a long day, and it's only 1:40pm. Thank you.)

Last night was the Face/Off finale, and I'm sure all of you were just as interested as I was to find out...what little body-conscious one-shoulder dress would McKenzie Westmore be wearing!

'Cause you knew she would.

And my favorite contestant got ousted last week, so I no longer cared.

So, in honor of Ms. Westmore, I have found a budget-friendly, body-conscious, almost one-shoulder dress in her signature lavender. I'm just going to leave it here:

Photo Credit: Forever 21

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go nosh on some rice cakes and try to calculate the exact number of Spanx I would need to wear to pull off that look. Have a great Wednesday!

Out To Lunch...Back In Five...

Hey guys!

I'm working on a really cool DIY project right now, have some upcoming Halloween makeup ideas, and hopefully very soon will have a link to an article I'm writing about Haven's third season. I got to chat with the cast yesterday (for real! I still can't believe it!), and the result of that will be on ParanormalPopCulture.com as soon as I get it all polished up and pretty. Until then, I'm taking the day off. I hope you lovlies have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see you Monday!

Thanks,
Erin

Just When You Thought You Had Enough T-Shirts...

I want to be Ashley Eckstein when I grow up. Yeah, I know, I'm 32, but that hardly makes me a grown-up. This woman is amazing. She's a talented actress and voice artist, gets to hang out with the Star Wars crowd for a living, and designs some of the most beautiful "geek tees" I've ever seen. Recently, Her Universe (Eckstein's design house) branched out to partner with SyFy for some adorable Warehouse 13, Battlestar Galactica, and SyFy Original Movie products. Starting July 11th, though, Her Universe will be broadening its own universe by taking on that captain of time and space, himself, The Doctor.

I am going to be so very broke.
 

The new Doctor Who line currently consists of three shirts, and I can't decide which is my favorite! Two of the shirts are v-necks with flattering, elongated torsos. The TARDIS blue shirt features a white sketch of the little blue box in one corner, with the curlieque inscription, "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue". A black tee shows off a pair of bright red killer pumps, bearing the words, "Hell in High Heels" on one sole, and a minature TARDIS on the other. The last shirt is a navy, wide-necked box-tee. The Van Gogh painting of an exploding TARDIS that was so prominent at the end of 11's first season is centered on the front, detailed with gold foil. Doctor Who shirts are $28 each, and will be available online beginning July 11th.



Photo Credit (All): Her Universe



This is Halloween! This is Halloween! La La La La La!

*Editor's Note: This was written early in the day on Monday. Unfortunately, the editor was well in the car, on her way to deliver tricks or treats, when it dawned on her that she had completely and totally forgotten to post her blog. She is an idiot. Please use this as a reference for what to look up on Hulu or YouTube in the future. Our apologies, The Management.
 

Happy Halloween!! I know everyone is super busy finishing their costumes and...oh, who am I kidding? It's Monday, and we're all at work. Because of that, as far as I'm concerned, 5pm is the new "Witching Hour". My costume (#2 o' the day. See below.) is hanging on the closet door, the jewelry is laid out, and the makeup is packed up to take to my Mom's. I am ready and rearing to go!

So...did anyone remember to set the DVR?

Here's what I'm recording tonight (all times Central):

6pm: SyFy, Ghost Hunters Live. This year, the TAPS team investigates a former asylum, Pennhurst State School and Hospital. Online viewers can help with the investigation via a "panic button"--see something? Hit the button! If enough people hit it at one time, the team'll go check it out. The show runs until midnight, so you can watch other shows and catch up as needed.

7pm: CBS, How I Met Your Mother. Ted finally reconnects with the "slutty pumpkin" (oh, it's a day for quotation marks!), played by cutie-pie Katie Holmes.

7pm: Fox, Terra Nova. I love this little show. It brings back fond memories of Jurassic Park, and mixes them with a sweet family drama. If you haven't watched it before, I urge you to give it a shot. While it's not specifically Halloween-y, this week's episode features a murder mystery...murder by dinosaur!

11pm: Nickelodeon, Cry Baby Lane. Honestly, I have no idea if this is going to be any good or not; I'm just curious. See, the only time this has ever aired was October of 2000, and, according to urban legend, parents were so outraged by the scary content (on Nickelodeon? Really?) that it was never re-shown, never released on video, and only recently made it to the Interwebs. The film has developed a cult following online, so Nick has decided to air the movie one more time. According to a synopsis on Wikipedia, the basic storyline concerns conjoined twins--one good, one evil--who were left by their parents to die. Now, thanks to a seance (those are always a great idea, right?), the evil twin is possessing everyone in sight. If nothing else, a banned Nickelodeon show should qualify as an oddity. It might be fun to check out.

Alrighty. So, I mentioned above that tonight's costume would be the second of the day. The first came early this morning, when I went on a local morning show to give some last-minute Halloween costume and makeup tips. Talk about an honor! I'd do that again in a heartbeat! Anyhoo, since we were discussing things that could be thrown together in a minute, I went as an 80s High Schooler, and my friend and model, Soren, was my zombie companion. I tell you, it's a good friend that will let you put zombie makeup on them at 6:00 in the morning.

In case you're still fumbling for ideas, here's what went into each costume:

80s High Schooler: I already had a second-hand letterman's jacket from 1984, and that's where the inspiration for this costume came from. It's not the greatest costume in the world, since it had to be put together with stuff from my closet, but I did the best I could with what I had to work with. I wore the jacket with a jean skirt (Old Navy), white t-shirt (Mudd), bright blue tights (Missoni for Target), black legwarmers (gift), silver sequined belt (not a clue. I'm sorry), big hoop earrings (Target, but ages ago), and purple Converse tennis shoes (Ross, actually). I curled my hair with hot rollers, then teased as high as I could and sprayed. The humidity killed it by the time this picture* was taken, but for a while, I was hot. (No, not really)


 *A picture was supposed to go here, but it refuses to show up. Should I ever get it to work, I'll add it and a picture of the zombie makeup. Sorry for the inconvenience. (Blogger! I give up!)

Makeup was baby pink and plum shadows from Smashbox (Burlesque collection), and holographic lavendar (Desire) from LORAC. Liner was the plum Smashbox on bottom, and a deep black with purple (After Party) from LORAC on top. Black Buxom Lash on top and bottom lashes. Hot pink blush (Delight) from LORAC (all LORAC from the Be Mine collection). Hot pink lipstick (Mauvelous) from MAC.

 Zombie: For the show, we did easy peasy zombie makeup. I used all Ben Nye products, since that's what I had on hand, but the entire look could be achieved with drugstore foundation and eyeshadows. Basically, I brushed on pale foundation (one shade lighter than actual skin tone), then used a plummy brown in the eye sockets and hollows of the cheeks. I also applied a little white highlighter to the cheekbones to help them stand out a bit more and make the hollows look more sunken in. The same plummy brown was then layered on to darken the eyelids and define the most sunken areas of the eyes. A little red was used as liner under the eyes and blended. Then I stippled a little of the plummy brown (very little), along with some ice blue and pea green onto the face with a sponge, then blended lightly with a fluffy brush. This was to add a little texture and create some discoloration from decay, but that's a very optional step. The lips were colored in with the ice blue, then layered with plummy brown. I finished the look by creating a bruised cut with smeared blood on the forehead, and another blood smear at the lip. The bruise was created by blending red, purple, plummy brown, dark blue and lime green into a circular pattern (start with the red in the center, and blend in the other colors as you move out. Kind of like a warped rainbow). Then the cut was made by drawing a gash with black eyeliner. The smeared blood was red that I, well, smeared on. Finally, I sprayed a little silvery-gray hair paint (Not Ben Nye! Walgreens!) onto a messed up hairstyle, to create the illusion of dust and dirt. This looks crazy hard written out, but I swear, the whole look took 15 minutes, and I made up most of it as I went along. As long as you look sick and gross, you're probably doing just fine. The costume, itself, was a plaid shirt, blue jeans, and an undershirt made to look like a skeletal chest cavity. All came from Soren's closet.

Good luck, and I hope you end up with tons of candy!

Just Another Morbid Monday

I ran a Google search for Personalized Pencils, and came up with this: "12 Weird Things to Do With Your Cremated Remains". Happy Monday!

 

The sick, twisted sense of humor inside me forced me to click the link, and I have to say, I've never had so much fun with death before in my life. Some of the ideas I actually already knew about (I just made a zombie movie in a cemetery. I did a lot of research. Plus, I'm weird), but some, like being made into fireworks or a set of pencils (Ha! There's the correlation!), were new--and hilarious!--to me. I'm all for honoring final wishes, but some of these are just downright creepy.

 

Well, as long as we're on a death kick (I repeat, Happy Monday!), how about a review of the new Syfy series, Being Human?  

 

I've been a fan of the original BBC series since it premiered two seasons ago. I even made a total fool out of myself at Comic-Con, gushing to each actor about how wonderful they all were, while they, mildly terrified, signed their autographs and nodded for the nice moderator to usher me away. It's a fantastic series, with fabulous acting, well-written scripts, and an intriguing (and somewhat addictive) plot. Of course, that's not even mentioning the irresistible premise of a Vampire, Werewolf, and Ghost as roommates, just trying to get by as normally as possible. In an attempt not to bore you any more with the BBC version here, this is a link to a recent post I made about it.

 

Now, for the US version. The pilot, which is all I've seen, is extremely close to the BBC version. There are a few slight exceptions, of course. Some of the events are presented a wee bit differently, at least one new character has been added, and the dialogue has been updated and Americanized, but the story is the same.

 

Unfortunately, all that does is prove just how superior the BBC version is to the Syfy. The leads are bland, as I dearly love Sam Huntington (Josh, the Werewolf), and was really looking forward to seeing him play this role. The writing (by no less than a Supernatural alum!) seems to rely too heavily on the Vampire character and his sensuality. We get it. Vampires are sexy. Let's move on. I'd like to see if this guy can do something besides pout and "smolder". Almost nothing is said of our little ghost, Sally. 

 

I made it through the entire episode, but it was difficult. Yes, this is a melodramatic show, but let's not turn it into Chekov, please. I went into the show expecting some soapy fun, and left depressed. Thomas didn't make it past the opening credits. 

 

The second episode airs tonight. I'm going to give it another go, and see if things turn around from here, but right now, my opinion is that these monsters need to stay hidden under the bed.

Search Halloween and Get...Star Wars?

Today's post can be seen as either an exercise in stream of conscious, or possibly as an ad for Bing! You know, the annoying ads where people suddenly become search engines and start spouting off everything that pops into their heads. Yeah, this is a little like that.

See, with it being eleven days till Halloween, I wanted to do a post on ghosts. Well, I googled "ghosts" and ended up with some haunted house stories. Well, that seemed like a promising avenue, so I decided to run with it. I googled a little deeper, and ended up with fewer hauntings and more info on Bill Murray's Scream Awards appearance, where he showed up dressed as Venkman from Ghostbusters. Okay, let's do a post on Ghostbusters 3. Well...googled Ghostbusters, and ended up looking at Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventurers...and this. Well, this...this was neat.

So, yeah, this has nothing to do with Halloween, but I always love a chance to spotlight enterprising women, and this girl seems pretty darn awesome.

Ashley Eckstein is an actress and voice artist (kindred spirit!) currently working on the animated series, The Clone Wars. Ashley noticed that female sci-fi fans (like herself) were becoming more and more prevalent, but were still somewhat overlooked on the merchandising front. She and her partner, the Araca Group, founded Her Universe, a place where ladies can get their geek chic on. Ashley received a license from Lucasfilms, and has a precious line of Star Wars gear, specially designed for fashion saavy fangirls. She's also working on jewelry, accessories, and beauty products.

This is not your average slap-a-logo-on-a-baby-tee merch shop, folks. Yes, there is a Star Wars logo tee--that's burned out, supersoft, purple, and goes great with skinny jeans. My favorite (if anyone--ahem, Thomas--is looking for Christmas, I wear a medium) is a heather gray v-neck with what looks like a pencil drawing of Han kissing Leia, surrounded by flourishes. It was designed by Star Wars artist Cat Staggs, and was inspired by, oddly enough, cookies the actress who voices Padme brought to The Clone Wars on Valentine's Day. They were decorated to say, "I love you," and, "I know". Heh. The shirt is titled "I Know", and runs $35. All shirt designs (including hoodies!) run between $30-$50 and are available at heruniverseshop.com. She also attends cons, so next time you go to one, keep an eye out for her.

Now, here's the coolest part--and the reason she showed up when I googled "ghost": Syfy has teamed up with Her Universe to create a line of fashion conscious women's apparel based on Syfy's original programming. That's right! We're talking Ghost Hunters, Warehouse 13, Destination Truth, Caprica...the works. All items will be sold under the Syfy Gear banner, and will be available at Her Universe and Syfy.com. You'll be able to find them at conventions through 2011, and in retail shops in 2012. I know where my Comic-Con spending money will be going.

What ho! The magic bag o' samples has reappeared! Well, sort of. Still can't find the bag, but I got in a shipment from Sephora, and with it, some new treats to try. I know, I have a problem. I'm okay with that.

Today, I have for you Buxom's Big & Healthy Lip Stick in Amsterdam. $18, Sephora. According to Sephora:

Buxom Big & Healthy Lip Stick works three full-time jobs—it defines the shape of lips like a liner, fills them in with creamy velvet color, and then plumps them to their full buxom potential. It's a three-in-one lipstick that's quick and convenient for defined, colorful, buxom lips anytime, anywhere.

I'm a gloss girl. Sure, if I'm going to be on camera or on stage, I know to use lipstick (at least under the gloss) because it shows up better, but honestly, I'm too lazy for lipstick. With gloss, you can just put it on--no mirror, no brush, no liner needed. You can be in the process of walking from your car to...wherever...and put gloss on at the same time and it still look good. If it goes out of the lines, you can fix it with a finger. If it doesn't make it all over your lips, you can press them together and fix it. Plus, it's shiny, and I like shiny. I'm a gloss girl.

That said, this doesn't suck. Yes, you do need a mirror, so it's not as easy to apply as gloss, but it's still fairly simple. The stick is really a large pencil, so the tip is pointed to allow you to use the product as a liner. Then you fill in the rest of your mouth. Voila! Done.

Amsterdam is a rosy nude shade that really just accentuates your natural lip color. I paired it with neutral and rose-gold eyeshadows and naturally-flushed blush for a really pretty I-didn't-even-think-about-putting-on-makeup-today look. It's matte, which translates to "a little drying", but applying over a balm really helped. The color is also longwearing, so touch-ups are minimal. Matte's the big look for Fall, by the way.

Does it plump? Eh, maybe a little, but it does have the trademark Buxom tingle we all know and love. All in all, I'd call it a winner. You get the matte look, the Buxom tingle, longwearing (flattering) color and easy application. And hey, who says you can't dab a little gloss on top, you know, just for fun?