This article, from USATODAY.com, Beauty obsession unites divided Venezuela, sure brings to light some debatable topics.   Here is a snip:

In Venezuela, beauty isn’t necessarily something you’re born with — it’s a pursuit that has evolved into an industry, a national obsession, a staple of daily life.

Beauty salons and spas outnumber drugstores in Caracas telephone listings; women unabashedly apply full makeup in packed subways; teenagers are known to get breast jobs as their traditional “quinceanera” coming-of-age gift at age 15; Venezuelans consistently place among the finalists in the Miss Universe pageant.

First, I wonder what about Venezuela (and much of South America, for that matter) has turned them into such true “slaves to beauty.”   I have no idea really.  This article also brings to light how they value beauty over intellect.  I was just, last night, talking to my 11 year old daughter about how very important it is to chose a boyfriend/husband for what is inside of their head, rather than on the outside.  Sure, if you can get both brains and beauty, all the better, but what is inside is what are going to make a relationship lifelong and satisfying.  After all, even Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are divorced.  It reminds me of a poster that I saw one time that had a gorgeous man pictured, and the caption said something along the lines of:  “No matter how gorgeous you are, there is someone in the world that is sick of your shit” (pardon ).

I don’t know, maybe these types of people are happier living with themselves than with anyone else, and looking at themselves in the mirror gives them more pleasure than the company of another person….

Since the whole world is recapping 2005, from CNN to the Beauty Addict, I thought I should join in the fun! Here is my top 10 list of favorite beauty finds for the year:

• 10. Shiseido’s Luminizing Brush Powder
• 9. The O2 Spray Tanner
• 8. Shu Uemura’s gorgeous eyelashes
• 7. Christian Dior’s Pure Poison fragrance(!)
• 6. Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Plantidote
• 5. “Permission” to use a scrub every day!!
• 4. Shiseido Sun Protection Foundation
• 3. Alcone’s Fast Lash
• 2. Bioque’s Serums and Moisturizers
• 1. The Panasonic Pore Cleanser

Seems a bit silly to recap a week where I wasn’t here to keep an eye on everything going on, but I guess it makes sense too – this is the best way to catch up on my beauty fix! Here is what others are talking about this last week of 2005:

The Beauty Addict reveals her top 10 of 2005 beauty list (with no. 1 being the birth of her Godson–there is nothing more beautiful!!). Check out the links to her friends that are doing the same thing. I bet you will find a myriad of new products that you would like to try!

Agathe is back from her Christmas break with articles on polka dotted fashion and gorgeous and sparkling New Years Eve fashion. Check out the picture of Norway in the wintertime. Quite a stark contrast to Texas in the wintertime!

Kim, at iamprettynyc.com has got it going on talking about beauty being so much more than the newest cosmetic. She says in 2006, “invest in your body, mind and soul.” I am all about that, and will surely join her!

Don’t miss the hilarious story of Jackie, from Jack&Hill, and her adventures to Shavata’s (at London Harrod’s) to have her eyebrows “therapized.” She sounds like me–people hate me in salons, because I know exactly what I want done, and how I want it done, leaving them not a whole lot of room for creativity. I don’t know that the article was meant to be as humourous as I found it, but…. LOL

For all of you who received the fabulous Shu eyelashes in their Christmas stockings this year, we need to figure out how to apply them. These type of eyelashes are called “strip” lashes, as opposed to their cousins, the individual lashes, and can be a little tricky to apply. My dear friend Suzzann confided in me that she has always had a very hard time applying them, so I thought I would talk about the basics this morning.

The most important thing about strip eyelashes is to practice. You will not get them on correctly, or even sometimes at all, the first time you try. So here are the steps you need to know, the skill will come with practice (which means, wear your eyelashes often!):

• 1. Prepare your skin as you normally would (Moisturize!), and apply your makeup.
• 2. Apply a fairly heavy coat of eyeliner, and smudge it well. This will help cover the false eyelash line, and make it blend with your own. You can put one coat of mascara on if you wish, but I recommend that you wait until the end to apply mascara if you are not well practiced at applying false eyelashes.
• 3. Put a drop of eyelash adhesive (Shu Uemura’s is great, and inexpensive) on your finger, pick up one of the eyelash strips, and lightly drag it through the drop of adhesive on your finger, then wipe the adhesive off of your finger with a tissue (so you don’t get it into your eyes!).
• 4. Starting at the outer corner of your eye, lay the strip as close as you can get to your natural lash line, being very careful not to get it tangled up in your natural lashes, and let it dry for a few minutes. You can press carefully on the ends of the strip (at the same time) to get better adhesion across the whole strip. I use my fingers for this, because I just know that I will poke the heck out of my eyeball with a pair of tweezers, and a big wound on your eyeball is NOT pretty. Ha!
• 5. With any luck at all, your false eyelash line is within that nice smudged eyeliner line, and you have got it goin’ on now. If not, then you have to start over. We do not want two visible lash lines. Either keep practicing until you can get the strip within the eyeliner, or, make your eyeliner a little thicker. We are indeed going for drama here, so don’t be shy about wearing pretty thick eyeliner.
• 6. To blend the whole kit and kaboodle together, use an eyelash curler and a coat or two of mascara. Be sure that your eyelash adhesive is nice and dry before doing this, or you will ruin the whole thing! You may find you need to shorten the length of your strip eyelashes (either the strip itself, or the actual length of the individual lashes)- do NOT do this while they are on your eye! Either remove them and snip them, or just wait until the next time and do it before you start.

I hope this was helpful, if you have any more suggestions, please feel free to add them to the comments! And let me know how it goes!

I surely hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas holiday, got some good beauty R & R (it really is SO good for you!), and ate some great holiday fixin’s! Now that the relatives are gone, the leftovers have been cleaned out and the gifts have been put away (yeah, right), it is time to get back to talking beauty. I really don’t like taking vacations from blogging (or the computer at all, really-I am definitely addicted!), but my family surely does appreciate seeing me, so we have to find the happy medium. But it is time to get back to work, so I hope you will come back and join me!

Its been a little bit of a slow week in beauty this week!  The DeLush gals are reviewing Bibo skin care and Stevie at Fashion Tribes has a great mascara and lip gloss review .

Tia Williams at Shake Your Beauty has an “embarassingly late holiday gift guide”, and the Beauty Addict falls hard for some Shiseido eyeshadow!

I finished the Polish That Lasts! section at Nail Tech Secrets, so go there and find out all of the tips and tricks to make your polish look great and last as well as a professional job.

I am officially signing off for a few days for the Christmas holidays, because my mother and brother have arrived from Tennessee and I think they would like to see more of me than the back of my head.    I might be wrong…ha!  I hope you all have a very very very Merry Christmas, and I will be back next Thursday, December 29th, with lots more beauty-full things! 

Stay pretty!
Love, Christina

Doctors Say Yes  is a plastic surgery network guaranteeing financing to everyone who wants plastic surgery.  From the website:

Doctorssayyes.tv guarantees that you will be approved for financing for all or part of your Cosmetic Surgery procedure. This is not a gimmick, Doctorssayyes.tv has organized a group of Board Certified Surgeons who guarantee that they will finance all or part of your Plastic Surgery procedure. Upon your being approved you will also receive a free consultation with the surgeon who has extended financing terms to you.

Soooo, am I to understand that we are choosing our plastic surgeons according to who has the most liberal financing?  No thanks.  I will choose my doctor according to who does the best looking job and is the most concerned about cleanliness and infection control.  But that is just me.  And what is up with the .tv extention on their web address?  What do you think – would you pick a plastic surgeon this way?

The London Telegraph published an article yesterday -  Make-up Meccas, about the beauty halls in London department stores – that is interesting to read.  They review several of them in London, but the information there is interesting to everyone who wants to know what is going on in the business, and what brands are winning the fight to be included.  I bet it is a vicious fight…. 

From the Telegraph article:

The big test for department-store beauty halls these days is to accommodate a never-ending influx of new brands – a phenomenon that has caused some to morph into commercial temples where brand rivalry is so brutal it is palpable.

You could say that this is to be expected in an age when novelty and profit are king. But surely the challenge for beauty halls now is to give us the sense that we are being looked after while still managing to account for every square inch of counter space.

Read the rest of  the article and the department store reviews:  Make-up meccas

Here is a great looking bath product to try–made by a mother and her son–too cute!  From their website:

Bizzy Fizz is a family owned and operated company. It was started by the brilliant mind of a six year old boy, who decided he loved bath fizzies so much he wanted to make them available to everyone. He came up with names, ideas, ingredients, and we worked together to design and present the most wonderful product we could. After a lot of hard work, many flops, and wanting to quit–we made it happen.

We are dedicated to offering high quality natural bath treats designed to create a spa at home! Our products are handcrafted with the finest natural ingredients and the purest essential and fragrance oils. We would never put anything laden with chemicals in the bath with our children, and we would not sell them to you. When you try our exceptional products, you will understand there is a difference.

Go check them out, and let me know what you think!  BizzyFizz.com

This is a great article about the effects of “Memoirs of a Geisha” on beauty and fashion this year, from the Salt Lake Tribune:

It’s certainly not the first time that the West has borrowed Eastern styles, but a number of the fashion and beauty looks that credit the new film ”Memoirs of a Geisha” as inspiration are quite literal in their translation.

Banana Republic, in conjunction with Sony Pictures, launched a line of kimono-style, sash-tie tops and dresses. Fresh, a skin-care and cosmetics company, has its own ”Geisha” line that touts rice- and sake-based products. And Icon, an accessories manufacturer, printed actual film scenes onto purses and cosmetic bags.

Read the rest….