Jukebox Hero

I stopped listening to the radio a long time ago, but somehow I still managed to (kind of) keep abreast of the albums released in 2012. Ironically, I spent more time listening to albums from years past (like Rizzle Kicks’ Stereotypical and The Rolling Stones’ Rarities), but I still picked my 5 top albums that were released this year to share with you all.

Rock of Ages soundtrack

Okay, so it’s a movie derivative, but this soundtrack is actually surprisingly good. If you like 80s hair metal, Tom Cruise, and mashups. I spent most of the summer listening to this album on repeat, to the point where if I heard the actual Bon Jovi version of “Wanted Dead or Alive” I would do a double take. If there’s one track that I can’t get enough of is the remake of “Here I go Again” because it’s a little bit more up-tempo than the Whitesnake original and it always seems to describe my life…

Example Evolution of Man

This album is one that I’ve only gotten recently, but I’ve spent so long listening to the singles that it definitely deserves to make the list even though I don’t know all of the tracks. So far I’m still really into “We’ll be Coming Back,” but I’m confident that Example’s blend of Brit-rap (seriously it’s a genre of it’s own) and dance pop will win me over.

Tiësto Club Life vol. 2: Miami

The first volume of Club Life (Las Vegas) made the list last year, so it’s only fitting that volume 2 makes it this year, since Tiësto just keeps getting better. I’m less fond of his solo tracks this time around, but I found that the remixes were so excellent that I didn’t really care. “Can’t Stop Me” and “Somebody that I used to Know” were my top tracks from the album, since they made awesome songs even better.

Dragonette Bodyparts

My most listened to song of 2012 is by far “Let it Go,” and the rest of the album is equally as delightful. It’s still electro-pop (my main genre of music besides rock), but it’s got a more “girly” playful sound than Tiësto and Example, so I don’t feel at all bad about over-dosing you guys on dance music. Plus, who can stop from being amused by Dragonette’s crazy dancing in the “Let it Go” music video?

Green Day Uno/Dos/Tré

To round out the selection of 2012 albums I give you the latest from Green Day, a trio of albums full of sarcastic lyrics, classic punk-rock melodies, and the temptation to wear too much black eyeliner (though when is there ever too much black eyeliner)? Green Day seems to have gone back to their roots with this album, as the sound is much simpler than American Idiot or 21^st Century Breakdown and more reminiscent of the Dookie stylings. I’m loving “Oh Love” and “Sex, Drugs, & Violence.”

Of Eyes Bewitched

One of the key motifs of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is sight; specifically how people view the world, and how their perspective can be changed by the influence of others. How we see the world is no different, and many illusions affect our sight. Like Puck in MSND, I decided to experiment with something to make my eyes glitter.

Thanks to Elizabeth, who gave me the first of these fabulous effect powders from Gosh for my birthday! Gold isn’t a colour that I usually choose in make-up (since I don’t wear gold jewelry), but “Paradise” is so subtle that it’s perfect. It’s more of a subtle shimmer than an actual gold, since it goes on quite light. In the bottle it doesn’t actually look gold, until you hold it beside the actual silver, and the effect is quite similar; it picks up the gold in makeup, or stays relatively neutral. I combined it with some blue glitter liquid eyeliner from Ardene’s for a neutral tone sparkle, and with Maybelline Expert Eyes trio in Tasseled Taupes (which they apparently don't make anymore...) for a more gold shimmer (both below).

I decided to get a few more of the Gosh powers in colours of my own choice, so I picked up “Steel” and “Aquatic.” Obviously I couldn’t resist a sparkly silver, and I’m rather fond of turquoise. “Steel” didn’t apply quite as dark as I usually like my silver eye makeup (the eyeliner you’re seeing isn’t “Steel,” it’s a liquid application of Electra eye shadow from Mac). But I do like the shade of light silver, and the subtle effect.

Just to see what would happen if I did a liquid application of the Gosh effect powder, I used some q-tips dipped in water to put on “Aquatic,” and then worked the colour in with a brush. I tried doing a dry brush application of it first, but I wasn’t impressed with how light it went on. Subtle eye makeup is soooo not my style obviously. It was a bit tricky to work with, but that was kind of my own fault for attempting a dry application then doing a wet application of powder. But it turned out pretty well considering I think, and I got quite a few compliments on it! 

Envious

One of my favourite ways to accessorize (as I’ve said before) is to paint my nails. It’s a subtle and simple way to add some sparkle to your outfit. But having nice nails is kind of a requirement if you’re going to have them be the focus. I used to have really good nails (not long ones, but acceptable and durable), but lately they’ve been prone to chipping, breaking, and worst of all peeling. No, this isn’t a result of painting my nails on a more regular basis, it’s actually a direct result of an increase in my stress levels. Obviously I am not impressed.

photo from here

Luckily, along with some of the Katy Perry OPI collection, Aina also gave me a mini bottle of OPI Nail Envy. Nail Envy is meant as a treatment to strengthen nails, which is exactly what I’m in need of. So I decided to experiment; between every manicure I would do a manicure of Nail Envy and see if it could fix my nail woes. I kept this up for about 2 weeks, and it did seem to improve my nail quality. It also worked rather well as a basecoat for some of the polishes that I knew were prone to staining.

I was planning on having some pictures of my new and improved nails, but I’ve been lazy as of late, and haven’t been painting my nails, much less using Nail Envy, so they’re all short again… But I swear starting tomorrow I am going back to using Nail Envy religiously before I have to do some more swatches. Longer, stronger, prettier nails here I come!


Post Script: Apparently there are different kinds of Nail Envy available now, that are tailored to specific nail problems! I'm kind of stoked, since usually problem-tailored products work better than general ones! YAY!

The Straight and Narrow

As someone who likes things to be perfectly ordered and neat it’s no surprise that my unruly, curly, frizzy hair was a constant bane to my existance. No matter what curl-controlling products I used (gels, mousses, or hairsprays; I tried everything) my curls would not not be tamed. I wasn’t about to try a chemical relaxant on my hair, since they’re very damaging to thin hair like mine, but I figured that maybe a straightening iron might be the solution to my hair woes. In Grade 11 one of my friends (who also had unruly curls) let me try her flat iron, but the results were less than pleasing. My hair was poufy, fried, and looked a mess, so I was convinced for years to come that my hair couldn’t be tamed by heat.

But a few years later I discovered that a curling iron could control my curls (though it took far too long to be a practical solution). The time to attempt a flat iron again had come, but this time I would try a higher quality styling tool. I was happy to find that my sister’s flat iron was capable of straightening my curls like it promised to, and with no damaging consequences.

they're changed the basic flat iron a bit since I bought mine,
but this is the present equivalent.
photo from here.

So I ran out and bought my very own Babyliss flat iron that was exactly the same as my sister’s, since we don’t really like sharing in my family. The brand that I bought (I was later informed by my hair stylist) was not a super good straightener, but it was still a medium-level professional brand. Babyliss may not be considered one of the higher-level professional styling tool brands (like Paul Mitchell and Chi for example), but it works well on my hair without damaging it (which can be a problem with flat irons that are 250º+ capable). I’ve had it for about 3 years, and it still works just fine, and my hair isn’t damaged from the constant heat. I have nothing but compliments to give abour the Babyliss brand based on my experience, and that should say something considering how prone to whining I am :p

Bright Eyes

One of the easiest ways to add a pop of colour to any outfit is to focus on makeup. One of my favourite techniques is to emphasize the eyes with brightly coloured eye shadow. I prefer to use dry eye shadow compacts, instead of liquid eye shadow or mouse or eyeliners because the application isn’t difficult, and if you screw up it’s not too hard to fix. You can stick to a single colour, or use a soft brush to blend two colours together.

photo from here

In this example I used Rimmel London’s Three-sum eye shadow compact in Breath Taking. It has a gorgeous lavender on one side of the disc, bright pink on the other, and a light shimmery gold in the middle. I don’t usually buy Rimmel’s eye shadow sets because I’m not a big fan of their colour choices, and the texture isn’t always the best (some are a blend between mouse and dry eye shadows yuck). But I lucked out with Breath Taking, and it’s definitely become one of my favourite palettes!

What are all of your favourite bright eye shadows? Do we like doing crazy bright colours, or is it too much?

Parched

Today’s review is a makeup staple, but one that is often overlooked because of its simplicity. It’s handy in the depths of winter (the driest months of the year), and the heat of the summer. Most of us have been using the product in various forms since we were children. I’m talking about chapstick!

As a child of the 90s, simple chapsticks were a makeup norm, and going without my handy Lipsmackers stick was considered a crime. The selection may have been limited as to flavours, but we were always dazzled by the new glittery-packaging of the Christmas limited editions, and craved the Dr. Pepper and other pop-flavours like they were the actual drinks. Every year my sisters and I would ask for packages of chapsticks, and when we went shopping with my mum we begged for the newest flavours. Until high school these simple chapsticks were what I considered “makeup.”

Thankfully my tastes have progressed since then, but there’s always a tube of chapstick in my purse, just in case. Most people my age have progressed to using more professional or scientifically proven brands, but I’m going to stick with my childhood classics! At the moment I’m using a tube of Lipsmackers Skittles Banana Berry, and I have to say it suits it’s purpose just fine in comparison to more upscale brands of chapstick.

What kinds do you all use? Do we like to keep the remembrances of our childhood in our makeup cases, or are we above having “fun” makeup?