When I’m buying beauty products the first thing I think about is how hot they will make me. Then I consider if they’ll make me break out and, finally, look at the cost.

What I don’t think about is where the product originated from. And, it seems, most of them are imported goods.

With Independence Day approaching and American Pride on the rise, I decided it was time to start buying more home-made goods. I don’t really need a car anytime soon, so I thought my makeup bag would be a good place to start. And what I found were tons of great companies – some you may recognize and some that could really use our support – right here in the U.S.of A.  So in honor of the fourth, stay true to the red white and blue and test out some products made in this land of the free (from imported makeup).

Lady Liberty would be proud.

- Adesign: Professional cosmetic brushes made from the finest materials. And they’re even having a sale! Nothing says “America” like a good sale!

- Amazing Shine: Anything and everything you need for the perfect at-home mani or pedi.

- Bare Escentuals: You know this stuff (who doesn’t), but did you know it’s an American company? Keep buying it and you may singlehandedly (single face-edly?) save the economy!

- Essie: Everyone’s favorite polish is made right here in America. Phew, I didn’t want to have to give up my Wicked. I’ve been using it for years.

- Fruit of the Earth Inc.: If you’re looking to go natural, you don’t have to cross the border. This company makes awesome natural skincare and suncare products.

- ISO: Need a new straightener? Yes, the CHI is quite popular, but that is because people don’t know about ISO. These are professional grade straighteners straight out of the U.S. No need to import.

- Jordana Cosmetics Corp.: High quality makeup at a low price. From California.

- Murad: Skincare and acne solutions.

- ORLY International Inc.: More nail polish! And their neon line is awesome – you can’t get that from China!

- Tweezerman Inc.: The best tweezers ever obviously come from America. It’s amazing that there are still unibrows in this country.

-Burt’s Bees: An all-natural company of balms, creams and salves. It’s some of the best stuff out there, so it should be easy to buy American with this one.

Yup, they’ve thought of it. The toilet seat scale. In case you don’t have time to stand up and wait about three seconds for your weight to show up. You can kill two birds with one stone by checking your weight and peeing out your recommended eight daily glasses of water at the same time. And everyone knows, we Americans love to multi-task.

That was my initial reaction to the news of the toilet seat scale.

But then I got to reading about the inspirations for the TSS.  Poor, naive, non-toilet-humor sharing little me didn’t consider the fact that this was actually created for consumers who might want to see how much weight they lose each time they relieve themselves.  It makes sense, but I’m a bit uncomfortable with that.  Sure, there are times when I’m at a seedy bar and refuse to risk getting the clap from the bathroom stall, and wait to get home to piss out approximately three gallons of beer.  And there are times when I indulge in some Olive Garden or Taco Bell and some unladylike shizz goes down in the bathroom.  It doesn’t help that I tend to get bladder (and bowel)-shy around people I don’t know and have to hold it for long periods at times, and at the end of those excruciating intervals, yes, I feel like I’ve lost about five pounds.

But do I actually want to know?  I don’t think that’s necessary.  Besides, one of the criticisms of the TSS is that it’s an open invitation to struggling bulimics.  Can you imagine that locker room convo? “I just puked up three pounds of Sushi.  You?”  Gross.

So, if its a convenience factor, I say bring it on.  Build a scale into the tiles immediately in front of my bathroom sink so I can check my weight at a glance while I brush my teeth.  But I’m perfectly content to refrain from monitoring how much skinnier I become after taking a massive dump, and I certainly don’t want to find out that when I “drop the kids at the pool,” I’m talking about quintuplets.

My personal consumer’s conclusion? Thanks, but no thanks, Toilet Seat Scale.

Each week I’ll be putting together a cute and affordable “going out” ensemble guide (that you can tweak to your own personal style and body type, of course) so that maybe that age-old question can be answered a little quicker than usual. And your friends aren’t waiting - for hours - for you to emerge from your room. Just consider me your own (free) personal Rachel Zoe.]

We’re just one week away from one of the most historical inaugurations in American history. So, in honor of that, I thought why not go a little patriotic when I’m out and about this weekend…

A cute top in blue with silver embellishments is definitely a fun and easy way to show some U.S. pride. You could also just wear an American flag as a dress, but this is probably a classier and chic-er option.

There is nothing more American than a pair of boot cut jeans. They also happen to look great with heels and are a good way to elongate/slim your legs. I’ve always been a fan of Gap’s boot cuts.

To add some real all-American pop to your outfit, go with one red detail, be it shoes, a clutch, or even red lipstick.

Just don’t go too overboard with the red. If you go for the lipstick or clutch, wear a muted silver shoe.

And because the embellishments on the top are an accessory in themselves, all you need is a simple pair of earrings (like some hoops) to avoid looking like a decorated Christmas tree.

Now you’re ready to get out there and create your some fireworks. You know, to celebrate your freedom.

This includes people in China, in Africa and in rural parts of South America.

How is this happening? And is it our fault? Many people used to believe that obesity was caused by Americans and was exported worldwide through the sale of fast food, high calorie beverages and other fatty American foods. But it seems that is only part of the problem.

Popkin says:

“What’s happened is that from 30 years ago to today, we’ve had an exponential explosion in what we can think of as the “obesogenic environment.” You see food available everywhere. You can’t move more than 100 feet without seeing a caloric beverage. In most of the world, it used to be that people mostly drank water, and today they’re consuming more and more sweetened beverages…Then you match that kind of diet with human biology. We naturally prefer sweet and fatty foods because of what those foods used to mean for survival when we were hunter-gatherers. They had the nutrients we needed, and they let us store more energy for the hungry season.”

Add the increased availibility of food to the fact that people are moving less (thanks to the advancement of technology) and weight gain is inevitable.

Individuals can combat obesity by doing the obvious – moving more and consuming less – but Popkin argues that there needs to be a global initiative to fight this problem. The only question is: what can we do? If this is the natural progression of things, is there really anything anyone can do to stop it? Is the world just going to keep getting fatter and fatter?

I’m going to say what everyone is thinking. Ludacris is a modern day Shakespeare. Yeah, I said it, someone had to. If you don’t know every word to “Roll Out (My Business)” then I’m not sure you can be considered an American.

What could be better than a modern day Shakespeare? Pair him with today’s JFK or some other awesome leader of yesteryear. That of course, is Barack “Yeah I did coke, so what?!” Obama. Luda plus Obama? It’s like Batman and Robin, peanut butter and jelly, Paris and Nicole, boxed wine and passing out on a sidewalk! They just make sense together.

Naturally I was psyched when Barack and Luda first met up to talk about AIDS, empowering the youth or bling. My hopes were built up by a conversation that I could only assume they had.

Ludacris: YOU’S A HOOOO, OHHHHH!

Barack: Together… we can change America, Ludacris.

Ludacris: Yeah man, you’s going for that number one spot.

Barack: I want you, to be… my running mate.

Ludacris: YEAHHH Baby. Hells YES we CAN OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! LUDA! YEPPP!

My dreams started to become closer to reality when Ludacris dropped his new song “Obama’s Here”. Brilliance, sheer brilliance. I’d even call it poetic if poetry wasn’t so boring. He even dropped the idea of him being the Vice President! I felt faint with excitement, Ludacris said all the things I simply couldn’t articulate. My personal favorite line? “Hillary hated on you, so that bitch is irrelevant.”

However, things have taken a turn for the worse. Obama wasn’t as crazy about Ludacris’ single as I was. He formally REJECTED Luda’s delicately put-together song. I’m crushed. According to Ludacris, Obama would’ve even give him a “special pardon if [he’s] ever in the slammer.”

Barack! You’re going to pardon him for a future drive-by or shoot up of a club, but you won’t accept his praising lyrics? Ludicrous.

The women’s responses were varied: some said they are more romantic, better looking, the obligatory “hot” accent and a few other examples. It got me thinking though; how different can they really be? I personally have never dated someone from a different country, being born and raised in the Tri-State area myself, but listening to these women go on and on about men they dated, fell in love with, married…made me wonder if there really was a substantial difference.

Most females in any country would agree that David Beckham – shirt or no shirt (preferably no shirt, am I right?) – has a sort of lust that seems to pour out of him with every move, breath or goal he kicks. I’ve also read countless interviews with Vicky Beckham stating her man – due to his British heritage – is well equipped in that area. Are British men known to be packin’ more than our American men?

Personally, Jude Law has always been a favorite of mine, but I never thought of how a non-celebrity Brit would be as a partner. Would they really be more romantic? Or are females just so tired of American men letting them down, they expect the Brit boys to be different? I’d never thought I’d say this, but Elvis Duran and the Z-morning show got my brain cranking way before it should’ve been this morning.

I’ve visited the streets that would be crowded with these so called “better catches”. Like SJP always said about squirrels in Sex and the City: “they’re just rats with a better outfit,” I think a Brit is just an American man with a better accent. I may be biased, but I’d take my American boyfriend, sexy and wonderful, sans that accent any day.

Do we romanticize them because we’ve never had them or because they truly are a better breed?

[Photo of Mr Hottie from www.david-beckham.ws] 

Why is everyone talking about taxes?

Taxes are a way that the government can inject money back into the economy.

A way of reversing the chain—you buy something at a store= store owner buys something at another store= etc.

President Bush and Senator McCain believe that continuing the current economic trajectory with regards to taxes is the proper response. They feel that this is all merely an economic downturn, — not the R-word.

Both Senators Obama and Clinton call for tax reform in the form of restructuring the system – placing the burden of taxes upon the upper echelon of people and giving more breaks to the middle and lower classes.

While the politicians continue their debate over tax cuts/ breaks/ rebates/ and whether the term recession should be employed, you and I are daily facing the economic reality—whatever you choose to call it.

Recessions really hurt us twenty-somethings: that part-time job you were going to get to cover your car loans suddenly disappears because the store that was going to hire you decided to stick with it’s current staff; a creative project which you, a freelance artist, were going to contract suddenly gets indefinitely postponed as the company realizes it really doesn’t need a 20 ft mural in its entryway… etc.

So, while dealing with tax reform and providing economic stimulus packages will potentially help the situation, it is important for us to take measures to protect ourselves against this economic downturn.

How can I protect myself?

I’m glad you asked!

1. Cut up your credit cards!

No seriously—this could save your butt for two reasons:

→ First of all, as I mentioned in the first part of this article through the text-book buy back example, in a recession, the economic slow-down means that the money you thought you were guaranteed suddenly is not there—for example, you may have expected to work 40 hrs a week and planned your finances around that inevitability but now, thanks to job cuts, you’re only working 35 hrs/ week. Therefore, in a recession don’t spend money you don’t currently have no matter how certain you are that you’ll have it by the time the bill rolls around.

→ Second, credit rates tend to increase during a recession, especially if you are late paying a bill. This means that if you miss a payment, you may end up owing far more than you thought you did.

2. Cut back on your spending

Wait! Before you tune out—this doesn’t mean eating just rice or shopping at thrift stores! Here are some basic ideas:

→ Try walking to the corner store rather than driving or taking public transportation. Even if it’s only a dollar or so you save, multiplied out over a month, you’ll find you save a fairly significant amount.

→ Go shopping in your closet. You’ll be surprised how many shirts and sweaters you forgot you owned. Try making new outfits using the old stuff with some of your newer stuff for a totally different look. Take your well-worn shoes to your local shoemaker—for a comparably small sum they can dye, re-sole, and renovate until you won’t even realize they’re the same pair you wore all last fall (meaning your co-workers won’t either).

→ Instead of ordering a pizza, buy a frozen one and heat it up. Seriously—and I speak from personal experience now, you’ll be amazed at the price comparison.

3. Start your own business

Diversify your income:

Check out the gigs section at craigslist– from writing to housekeeping, from modeling to printing up 250 labels– there are people willing to pay you to do jobs they don’t have time to do themselves

Mary Kay Cosmetics offers a great chance to bring in a few spare bucks

Like pets? Have a few hours to spare in between classes? Become a dog-walker!

Become a professional babysitter– seriously– Check out babysitting opportunities in your area.

So, to sum up:

Bad News: We are in a recession/economic downturn which sucks and may hurt you financially.

Good News: Now you know what you’re talking about and, in addition to meeting hot economists (let me know if you find one– they’re an endangered species) you can take steps to protect yourself.

Good Luck!!

Half-way through dinner, she was feeling pretty good when suddenly, out of nowhere popped the R-word. During a lull in conversation a pompous 30-something guy suddenly said to the guy next to him “So, Tom, are we really heading for a recession?”

Her mind froze in terror: would her dirty secret be revealed? The fact that despite three econ courses she still had no clue what a recession actually was… luckily, she was able to pull of the role of the politely-interested-looking-yet-silent-nodder until the topic once again changed…

Her story got me thinking—how many of us are clueless when it comes to the word recession, knowing nothing except that mentioning it in politics is akin to yelling fire in a crowed theater?

With this in mind, I present, (drum roll if you please), A Girl’s Guide to Recessions

What’s the definition?

A recession simply refers to a greater than normal decline in economic activity throughout a certain economy (in this case, the US), occurring for more than a few months.

How did it happen?

Ok now it gets a bit complex so brace yourself:

A. The overall ratio of how much the average American owes to how much he or she’s makes is %130. Sadly, as most of us found out with our first post-shopping spree credit card bill, when you owe more than you make, things tend to get a bit stressful. You might cut back on eating out or restrain yourself from buying that amazingly cute Coach bag.

B. You may have heard on the news a huge fuss over the downturn in the housing market last summer. What happened was that the amount a house was worth (think of intro econ supply and demand) dropped suddenly by 8%..

So what’s the relation between the two?

→ Say it’s the end of the semester. You are looking forward to getting some spare money by selling your textbooks back. Your roommate, who’s in your math class, sells her book back for $100—you get excited and plan to sell yours back tomorrow. That evening you go to the mall and treat yourself to $100 cashmere sweater that under normal circumstances you wouldn’t have been able to afford but you know you’ll get the $100 tomorrow so it doesn’t matter. BUT the next day when you go to sell back your book, the price has fallen by %8 and you only get $92 back.

In this example $8 is not really a big deal. But imagine what would happen if you were selling a house you thought was worth $100,000 and suddenly drops by %8. Not Good! Especially if you are one of those Americans who owe more than they make.

C. Imagine this happening to a whole bunch of people all at once. What happens? They stop spending superfluous money= stores get less money= the owners of the stores spend less money= other stores get less money= You get the point right? This pattern represents an overall decline in economic activity and if it continues for more than a few months it is called a Recession.

Stay tuned for Part 2: I’ll talk about the various political reactions to the current recession and if you should be worried!

I say this not to brag about my exotic foreign catch, but rather to expound upon the humor that can come out of dating a non-native English speaker.

For instance, he doesn’t say “development,” he says “devil up mint.” Why this is so funny to me remains elusive to him, yet he insists he’s pronouncing the word correctly.

“One billion Indians can’t be wrong,” he says.

Well, OK, he may have a point. For me, at least, my international relationship is so much more engaging than dating, say, another American.

American guys? BO-RING! First of all, they pronounce every word the same way I do (unless they’re from the South, I guess, but that’s another story entirely). Secondly, they think drinking and video games are the be-all and end-all of existence. And finally, their cooking repertoire consists almost completely of Easy Mac and Hot Pockets. Yeah, that’s appealing.

Again, not to brag (well…maybe just a little), but my guy’s idea of a great time is actually spending time with me. That may be partly because we have a long-distance relationship and seeing each other in the flesh happens so rarely that it’s a huge privilege when it does, but he realizes that and acts like he’s won the lottery whenever I show up.

PLUS, he cooks. I’d probably be hungry enough to even enjoy a bowl of Easy Mac after a two-state drive, but he always has a chicken curry or exotic pasta with coconut sauce hot off the stove and ready just for me when I get there.

And finally, he makes it impossible for me to get bored. Everything that I take for granted every day as a fact of life from growing up in America is a new and tantalizing mystery for him. I Love Lucy? He’s never heard of it. Deer? Nope. To him, they’re not backyard menaces, they’re beautiful and rare mammals. Thunderstorm warnings on TV? The first time he saw one, he called me up panicking because he thought the whole state was going to be electrified to a crisp.

And all that, to me, is sexy.

So thanks, but no thanks. I’ll take my Indian over an American any day.

It’s not new that people are chasing fame via YouTube with their crappy videos and bad covers. Usually this fame is sought after.

However, UK resident Bryony Matthewman has built a huge international fan base doing what us Americans do best! Making fun of people for no reason! Check out her tips to Jamie Lynn (as if she’s Britney).

Enjoy!