Style Fix

Natalie Imbruglia - remember her? The late 90s Australian pop singer that ruled the international radio waves with her hit Torn? She’s still around. Last week she attended the launch of the David Jones clearance sale in Sydney, Australia. And check her out! How adorable is she (still)? She’s taken her look to a new grown-up level.
I must have this dress … and then somewhere to wear it. It screams “I’m single, but mature; Classy, fun, and your perfect hostess all in one.”

Did you check out my plaid clad guessing game yesterday?

Well it’s time I let you in on who this man that chose to wear grandpa’s golf day pants is. He is luxury streetwear designer Christian Audigier. Yes, this man designs and sells fashions for hundreds of dollars. The women in his crew are his wife Ira Audigier (far right) and their daughter (the one attempting to sex it up betwixt them). The oddly draped family mugged for paparazzi at the designer’s Christmas Eve Winter Wonderland party at a private residence this Christmas Eve in Los Angeles.

Here’s another game for you: Can you guess the career of this plaid pants-wearing man? How about the relationship between him and these two lovely women (and no, the one in the middle is not Jenna Bush)?

When I brought up the movie Clueless last week, did you think about what scenes pop to mind? (It’s a witty take on Jane Austen’s Emma in case you are one of the few who hasn’t seen the iconic teen comedy.)

For me, I was always jealous of Alicia Silverstone’s character Cher’s wardrobe and specifically her computer-operated closet that helped her match outfits.

This may explain why I am quite excited to try my hands at Polyvore, the Internet’s version of Cher’s program.

After you sign up and create an account, you can add clothes to your virtual Polyvore closet from anywhere on the Web. You can also browse through popular and recent items in other people’s Polyvore closets, enter contests, join themed groups, and select from pre-coordinated matching sets.

Cher and Clueless lovers will like, so totally go crazy over this site! It’s classic, for sure.

alicia silverstone, clueless movie, polyvore, virtual closet, cher horowitz, jane austen emma

Paris Hilton is learning! Look at her tilt her knees to the side like a lady as she exits the car in Los Angeles, California, Monday so as not to show her secret spots. She is even dressed pretty cute - not everyone’s taste, I know, but I’d wear it. And certainly she is looking more mature and less skanky than a year ago.

… if only she’d hadn’t have been making out in the car, or hadn’t have put her lipstick on before pulling on a white shirt, or hadn’t have done whatever it was that caused this makeup catastrophe. Where are girlfriends when you need them?

Hmm … actually, her on/off BFF Nicole Richie is pregnant doing the couple thing; Nicole’s temp replacement Britney Spears is (not) going to court … somebody, please be Paris’s new BFF so that next time this happens you can tell her, politely, that she needs to excuse herself to the ladies’ room. She’s getting so close.

paris hilton, nicole richie, britney spears

Project Blog will be taking a holiday break, but until then, voting for this week has been extended for an extra day since results are so close - and I am one of the ones hanging in between getting points and not.

So… please VOTE FOR ME in Project Blog

Once one celebrity does something, all of them seem to feel the need to jump on the bandwagon. I’m not talking about all of the DUIs that we have been seeing lately - Kiefer Sutherland, Lindsay Lohan, Ty Pennington, Nicole Ritchie, Ray Liotta, Vivica A. Fox, Mike Tyson, Michelle Rodriguez, Kiefer again, Lindsay again, and of course … Mickey Rourke on a scooter.

No, I am not going to talk about the trend of celebrities getting DUIs. The recent trend to note is top-dollar stars filming TV commercials.

They are on a rampage, trying to get into our homes despite the writers’ strike. There has always been plenty of well-known names backing well-known brands, but right now it feels like more than ever.

Beyonce is on double duty, dancing for Samsung and Emporio Armani Diamonds fragrance.

Keira Knightley spritzes the scent on for Channel’s Coco Mademoiselle; and Charlize Theron continues to do so for Dior j’adore.

Even after having yet another ad banned, Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/Sean Combs is now backing Ciroc Vodka as “the official vodka of New Year’s Eve.”

And who can even count the number of celebrities that appear along side Martha Stewart in the Macy*s holiday promotions?

Makeup and skin care lines always seem to be popular for earning celeb endorsements. Hayden Panettiere has been the fresh teen face for Neutrogena for awhile, following in the footsteps of Kristen Kreuk, Mandy Moore, and Mischa Barton. Cover Girl went for ladies like Rihanna and Drew Barrymore this year.

So is this influx in celebrity endorsements just a coincidence? Is it something that I just never noticed before? Or does it have something to do with a struggling, unstable work field for actors and actresses?

Please VOTE FOR ME in Project Blog

celebrity duis, celebrity endorsements, celebrity tv ads, tv commercials, celebrities in commercials

Check out this photo of Britney Spears. I’m not a huge fan of trashy gossip blogger Perez Hilton, but this was a great catch on his part. I am also not a fan of bashing Britney Spears, but this was a pretty funny mistake on her part. How new do you think these glasses are? I mean, we’ve all been there with the size sticker and a new pair of jeans, right? But how can she even see around it? Maybe she was hoping to get a sponsorship/spokesmodel contract?

Please VOTE FOR ME in Project Blog

perez hilton, celebrity fashion donts, britney spears

It’s no mystery to consumers that mercury is harmful. We know that pregnant women, and even those who might become pregnant, should keep their intake to a minimum. The element causes developmental delays in babies and children. It can be harmful to adults as well because our body accumulates and stores it until poisonous level are reached - which can be immediate or profound, long-term central nervous system effects.

We know this, though. What we don’t know is what all this has to do with fashion.

Minnesota officials have determined that undetermined amounts of the toxic element are being used in certain mascaras and other beauty products.

A law has been set in place that will ban the use of mercury in all personal cosmetics. Effective January 1, the law specifically points to mascara, eye-liner, and skin-lightening creams. Minnesota is the first state to set such a law, and will be following up on any cosmetic companies and retailers who knowingly produce or sell products with mercury.

So far, all news companies seem to be carrying the same Associated Press article which does not name names. So until brands are revealed, be safe my lash-ious friends - even the fumes are harmful and not all ingredients are listed on the label.

So if you wake up after a long night out (4 to 8 hour exposure time) having had vivid dreams; feel irritable, tired, and have flu-like symptoms; and are unable to remember the night before … you can blame it on your mascara.

mercury poisoning in mascara, mascara ban, mercury in cosmetics, poisonous cosmetics

Here’s my competition this week folks, and it’s getting tight!

1. Winnie, Watching the View: “I can almost picture it now…�
2. Kate, Babylune: “Here’s to a Slower 2008″
3. Sally, Style Fix: “Hunger Pains Drive My Goals for 2008″
4. Jodie, “Big (Dinner) Plans for 2008″

5. Kara, Colorado Review: “2008 - Bring it On!�
6. Mark, Get Incensed: “The One Habit of a Moderately Successful Person�

Please vote for me in Week Five of Project Blog.

In this week’s challenge, we had to define our goals for 2008 after a dramatic episode of Project Runway.

I am competing, along with the remaining five contestants listed above, inProject Blog in hopes of winning the following:

• An autographed picture of Jackie Warner, courtesy of Sky Sport and Spa (Jackie Warner’s gym from Work Out)
• A pair of shoes from the newest line from Jonathan Kayne (one of my favorite Project Runway Alums)
• A Soffe college hoodie, courtesy ofBCS Frenzy
• Gold-plated earrings from Aurora at Between the Sheets
• A pet portrait, courtesy of Intricate Art
• A set of bud vases from Top Design’s Jonathan Adler

And as a reader of Project Blog posts, YOU CAN WIN TOO! Every week, Reality on Bravo is teaming up with some awesome sponsors to offer prizes for lucky readers. Anyone who leaves a comment on Monday’s Reality on Bravo post or on the voting post will be automatically entered to win the astrological reading from Beth at Astrology Explored.

It is a basic reality that you need some money in life to pay for things like rent, food, and student loans. Currently, my job (plus my two side jobs) is not covering these life necessities. I’ve never been one to set New Year’s resolutions; however, hunger pains, this week’s Project Blog challenge, and the horoscope that I just read for fun - “All the wishing and wanting is about to pay off.” – have inspired me to set a goal for the upcoming year.

I hope that you can tell that I am actually a writer - as in that’s my daytime job, and that’s what I went to school to study. I love to write (hence two blogs) and always have. Thus, a lot of my goals come from childhood dreams that involve the written word and my being creative with it. Here are just a few:

1. Work at a magazine. Check. During college, I interned for six months, full time at Philadelphia Style Magazine

2. Be published. In today’s world, this has a much looser definition. Technically, I am published every time I write online. But, because of several experiences including the above, my work and my name have been in ink.

3. Write a novel that is successfully turned into a movie. So far away from this one, but it remains on my list because I know that I will be there one day.

4. Find a nice boy, fall in love, get married, have wonderful and beautiful babies (wait, that has nothing to do with writing. Hmm…) and write my own wedding vows.

If a novel is my main writing dream left to conquer, should I set the goal this year to dive in and start writing a page a night? Unfortunately, I know myself and know that this won’t work with my knitting-addicted, lazy butt that has to work non-stop just to make ends (almost) meet. Instead, I want to take it one (smaller) step at a time: find a full-time job that recognizes and respects my talent. In this instance, though I’m rarely one to chase the dollar, I’m talking about paycheck recognition.

I want a company to show me the money!

By this time in 2008, I will be in a position where I am able to work my 40 hours. Then, come home and write rather than run off to another moneymaking opportunity. I will earn a raise or accept a new, better-paying job: that is my goal for 2008.

Like this post? GO VOTE FOR ME in Project Blog!

The president’s famous-in-her-own-way niece, Lauren Bush, has been hard at work as the honorary spokesperson for the UN World Food Programme. On December 12, at Harrods in London, the fashionable Bush launched the campaign’s FEED 1 bag shown here. Available for purchase on Amazon.com for $59.95, each bag bought will feed 1 child for 1 school year. The tote - that would make a fabulous reusable grocery bag - is reversible natural color burlap and white cotton with a large “1″ on one side and “FEED the children of the world” on the other. It’s a great cause, and a great bag!

Let’s play a little game of association to see how much of a fashion addict you are, and how long you have been that way. How you play is easy, just by reading you are a player! You know the game, right? If we were doing word association I might say, “dress,” and you would quickly respond with the first thing that came to your mind, such as, “cocktail.” (To which I would say, “No thank you, it’s only 3 o’clock.”)

Got it? Here goes, I’m going to say a movie, you picture the first scene that comes to mind:

Clueless.

Now, in order for this to work, you have to play along. So leave me a comment on this post, or e-mail your answer to stylefix at gmail dot com.

What do you think? No, wait, don’t think. Just respond. Go!

Week Five Prize: A free reading from astrologer Beth at Astrology Explored

Whether you’re a believer or not, astrology can be really fun and interesting. Beth, from Astrology Explored, is an awesome blogger, and although time restraints have kept her from participating in Project Blog, she has graciously donated a prize - a free mini-reading.

Want a chance to win this week’s prize? As always, you can enter up to three times. But, in case you have newly discovered Project Blog, or never got around to entering before, go check out all the rules and drop your first entry in the running at Project Blog’s home - Allison’s Reality on Bravo.