[Make-up is wonderful, but it can also be confusing. There are so many shades and colors and sheens and reasons to wear it that a girl can get completely lost attempting to find what fits her face best. What’s the best blush color for a redhead? How do you really put on lip-liner? Is there such a thing as too much eyeshadow?

In this weekly series, actress / model and fabulous CC blogger, Jen, will be using her make-up know how to teach us all how to look flawless in class, out at a party, or grabbing coffee with that cutie from Psych 101.]

Everyone is always talking about long, luxurious lashes, but how do we get em without getting clumps? And do we really have to spend $40 on a tube of mascara to get that sexy lash we covet? This week Jen gives her expert advice on the best mascaras on the market (in all price ranges) that are sure to get you lookin’ like a Cover Girl.

Pack your bags—you’re going to China with America’s Next Top Model!

The drama began almost as soon as the girls arrived, when the six of them fought over the five beds in their penthouse. And by “fought,” I mean that Saleisha grabbed a bed for herself that was clearly huge enough for at least two people or an orgy or something. She refused to share it with Heather, which the rest of the girls, namely Bianca, found soooo funny.

Heather failed to get the joke, as did I.

The models head to movie studio where the girls are taught martial arts, and then are immediately put to the test when they have to do the poses…on wires, suspended in air. Bianca continues to annoy me when she manages to come across bitchy talking about her fear of heights and how she’d rather be shopping.

I guess I agree with her on something—I’d rather she was shopping than in the competition too! She refuses to go up and it’s Heather that wins the challenge. And her prize, ironically, is a shopping spree.

The next morning, the girls head to shoot a CoverGirl ad and commercial, which always makes me cringe with second-hand embarrassment. Saleisha is first shooting the commercial, and totally kills it. Heather fell flat, even with Mr. Jay feeding her the lines, and I died a little bit inside watching it. Chantal makes it work too, but when Lisa gets up there, she looks like she’s about to cry.

And then she does. I wish I could make fun of her, but I’ve been known to throw up from nerves before reading a speech in class, so I’m not really one to talk here. Read More »

Heather in last week’s photo shoot

In case you missed it (shame on you!), here’s your America’s Next Top Model recap!

I know it’s trendy to hate Tyra, but I think I kind of love her. Who else would make a ANTM challenge out of having models serve as muses for seemingly crazy student fashion designers creating dresses out of an Easter-blue three-piece skirt suit? The designers all seem confused, but all of the dresses actually come out looking great.

Once the models all have to do a runway walk showing off the designs, coupled with saying a few lines about how they inspired their dress, it becomes clear what the actual purpose of the challenge was—cringe-worthy awkward NEVERENDING silence from Heather, who draws a blank when she gets to the end of the runway. Seriously. Longest silence ever.

Silence that went into commercial. Read More »

There were reports last week that us women are absorbing copious amounts of chemicals from the cosmetics we slather on our faces each day.

And, yeah, that’s scary and all, but for one reason or another, everything I read about it really lacked the real-life scariness needed to really light a fire under my ass.

Until I read this.

We are all aware that lipstick goes on our lips, right? Which are fractions of inches from our mouths? Which can easily absorb whatever comes near it just as easily (and much more understandably) as our skin can?

Do we all live in a third world country? Why are companies like L’Oreal and Dior (Dior for God’s sakes!) letting us ingest lethal chemicals?

Personally, I think lipstick feels obnoxiously fake and heavy on my lips (Ha! I wonder why…) and so, I’ve never been a fan but almost every other woman in the world most certainly is. Read More »

Let’s put something out on the table. I’m pale. Year-round, unless I am recovering from a painful sunburn, any healthy glow I may have is courtesy of Cover Girl and a fluffy blush brush. I’m also not a fan of leather-face a la Rachel Zoe, so I’ve become quite intimate with the self-tan aisles of various department and beauty stores.

But there’s a problem with most self-tanners I’ve tried. And that problem is that they suck, in various degrees and respects.

I had high hopes for Jergen’s Natural Glow, the daily moisturizer that gives you gradual, but the color was so “gradual” that I gave up my daily application routine after a week of no results. I decided to try Mark bronzing self-tanner and spent the next day furiously scrubbing it off after looking like my tan was applied by a child painting with watercolors.

And Victoria’s Secret must be that she moonlights as an exotic dancer, because the only glow VS Bare Bronze gave me was that orange “my work uniform consists of 4-inch clear heels and glitter” glow.

I’d been mourning the loss of my summer tan on a daily basis since the beginning of the semester, until I came upon Elizabeth Grant Soleil Smart tinted leg lotion. And after a week of slathering it on, I’m just about ready to bathe in it. Read More »