2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards - Hits & Misses

Did you catch the SAG awards? Overall, it was a bit underwhelming, but there were still some pretty outstanding dresses on the red carpet. Here are my hits and misses.

BEAUTY MISSES

(photos from LIFE)

left to right: 

- Natalie Portman: Fabulous makeup, but the flat hair just takes away from the entire look.

- Angie Harmon: Again, it's the hair that ruins the look. Whoever coloured her hair clearly didn't choose the right shade. Her roots really stick out like a sore thumb.

- Paz de la Huerta: Matching your makeup to your clothing is hardly new, nor is it always a hit. This particular shade doesn't do her any justice and she could've used some liner on the upper lash line.

- Eva Longoria: Oh, Eva. Please get your makeup artist to blend your foundation better. 

- Naya Rivera: Suffering from the Eva Longoria curse. Her foundation is much too light and her hair looks like a mess. Perhaps she was going for a tousled look, but I feel she missed the mark.

BEAUTY HITS

(photos from LIFE)

left to right:

- Mariska Hargitay: Her skin looks absolutely beautiful! I love the mauvey lipstick, as well.

- January Jones: This is what Natalie Portman's hair could have been. 

Love the old Hollywood vibe, it definitely suits her well.

- Jane Lynch: Proves shimmery eyeshadow isn't just for younger women. 

I also love her false lashes, they're so gorgeous and fluttery.

- Christina Hendricks: Absolutely gorgeous smoky eye! Her hair looks a bit darker than last I saw her, which was at the Golden Globe awards. I have to say, I prefer this auburn shade more.

(photos from LIFE)

left to right:

- Jennifer Lawrence: Love the winged out eyeshadow! A bit of a risk since this look would be more suited for the likes of the MTV awards, but she pulls them off well.

- Dianna Agron: She doesn't typically wear such heavy eye makeup, so I was a bit taken aback when I first saw the photo. But the more I looked at it, the more I loved it. Choosing a soft brown / taupe 

eyeshadow is a good way to soften the look a tad.

- Mila Kunis: Mila's makeup is always on point! I love the navy eyeliner, it defines her eyes beautifully but without the harshness of a black eyeliner. 

- Amber Riley: Straight, glossy hair, blunt bangs and magenta lips... 

This was definitely my favourite beauty look of the night!

FASHION MISSES 

(photos from LIFE)

left to right:

- Dianna Agron: This Chanel dress is lovely and romantic, a look Dianna Agron always goes for on the red carpet. However, I feel it was a bit ill fitting for her. This dress would look better on someone curvier, I think.

- Christina Hendricks: The opposite situation from Dianna. Actually, if they had swapped dresses, it might've worked better. This L'Wren Scott dress, while gorgeous, does nothing for Christina's lovely curves.

- Nicole Kidman: Again, I don't feel like this Nina Ricci dress is doing anything for Nicole's body. It doesn't give her any shape and and the necklace makes the neckline much too busy.

(photos from LIFE)

left to right:

- Kate Mara: This Hervé Leger dress is beautiful and it fits Kate wonderfully. However, I think that the colour washes her out too much and that headband is just awful. Plus, she looks completely uncomfortable.

- Naya Rivera: This Aurelio Costarella dress is a bit too lingerie for me. 

- Jenna Fischer: Love the colour, but the design and fit makes her look too frumpy.

FASHION HITS

(photos from LIFE)

left to right:

- Jayma Mays: Love this Jenny Packham dress. The vintage vibe, the peach / blush shade, the shoulder detailing 

are all beautiful.

- Hailee Steinfeld: This Prada dress is gorgeous, a lot of fun, and totally age appropriate for 14-year-old Hailee.

- Jenna Ushkowitz: This Badgley Mischka beauty looks fantastic on Jenna! The nude shade compliments her slight tan, love the gathering on the bust, and ruffles on the skirt create just enough detailing 

to make the dress more interesting.

- Eva Longoria: Eva was really channeling the Grecian goddesses in this beautiful Georges Hobeika dress. I've always been a fan of this style.

- Rosario Dawson: She really brought some sunshine to the red carpet. This pale yellow dress by J. Mendel is absolutely gorgeous and was a breath of fresh air on Sunday.

(photos from LIFE)

left to right:

- Natalie Portman: Showing the world you that pregnant women can still be glamorous in this icey white Azzaro dress. I can't wait to see what else she'll be wearing for the rest of the awards season.

- Sofia Vergara: How impossibly tiny is this woman's waist? I can't even... I absolutely love the gorgeous blue shade of this Roberto Cavalli dress.

- Annette Bening: I cannot believe she's 52 years old. Her body is out of this world! Love the gold shade, love the draping, and love the neckline.

- Tina Fey: I don't recall ever seeing Tina Fey in red, but I'm loving this! The flowery detailing on this Oscar de la Renta dress is just beautiful.

(photos from LIFE)

left to right:

- Lea Michele: This Oscar de la Renta dress is just perfect. It fits Lea's petite frame beautifully and thin, gold belt compliments the silvery-white dress wonderfully.

- Amber Riley: Helloooo glamour! Amber Riley's really stepped up her fashion game and this Anne Barge dress does her fabulousness justice. One shoulder, sweetheart neckline, flowery detailing on the skirt = absolutely gorgeous. The ruching on the bodice and the mermaid silhouette really compliments her curvacious frame.

- Heather Morris: Heather, like Amber, is really wowing me on the red carpet lately. This nude Romona Keveza dress has such a gorgeous bodice. I see some sequins and feathers, among other things. Always a plus in my book!

- Hilary Swank: First, let us all admire Hilary's amazing arms... Anyway, nude was big at the Golden Globes and as you can see, it's still well represented at the SAG awards. This Versace dress is has some gorgeous details - ruching, layering, and the neckline is fab!

BEST DRESSED

(photos from LIFE)

left to right:

- Claire Danes: The print on this lovely Louis Vuitton dress is so gorgeous. Love the addition of the belt as well.

- Mila Kunis: Another belted, printed dress; this time by Alexander McQueen. 

The fiery red colour is absolutely fierce.

- January Jones: This Carolina Herrera dress is just stunning. The black and gold lace combo is so high-glamour. 

I love it!

- Jennifer Lawrence: Hot pink! Love, love, love the colour! And the strap action going on around the shoulders are lovely. Love the black bow as well. Oscar de la Renta did well on this red carpet!

- Julia Stiles: *sigh.* This Monique Lhuillier dress just inspired nothing but longing sighs. The ombre effect is just so beautiful! It's a simple design, but the fabric definitely brings the house down! 

My absolute favourite of the night, for sure.

Any favourites from the SAG awards?

Collection Spotlight: Nina Ricci - Resort 2011

(photos from style.com)

How romantic are these pieces from the Nina Ricci Resort Collection? 

I love the slouchiness of the trousers which definitely softens the look of menswear, but it's the dresses that really grab my attention. They're all so feminine and just utterly gorgeous.

In particular, I quite like the pink dress in the first set. The tiers on the bodice and draping on the skirt are very pretty and I really like the belt buckle, it makes quite a statement. The black cocktail dress in the second set is also absolutely gorgeous. I love the detailing on the shoulder and the skirt, it makes the LBD more interesting. The full length dresses in the third set are so beautiful. The knots in the pink dress are so unique and the tiers on the white dress harkens back to the Victorian era, which I love. 

Do you like any of these Nina Ricci pieces?

BathTime Diaries: Lush - Waving Not Drowning Bath Bomb

Waving Not Drowning is said to be "good for insomnia," because of its sleep inducing ingredients. Namely: lavender, ylang ylang, cardamom, and fennel.

Personally, my insomnia is a bit more severe than what a bath bomb can help with, but I can't deny that the bath itself was pleasurable. It smells wonderful and you can really feel the essential oils on your skin when you dip in.

Like Lush's other bath bombs, this doesn't give you much bubbling action (if any), so if that's what you want, this bath bomb is definitely not for you. Instead, try out their bubble bars, which are also fab!

I purchased Waving Not Drowning because I wanted to try it out, though I can't say I'll re-purchase it again. Although I just might so I can "cocktail" it with Lush's A French Kiss bubble bar (which also contains lavender) to see what kind of experience that will be.

Do you cocktail your bath products, 

or do you use them one at a time?

The Lap of LUUUXury

A few weeks into blogging, I discovered LUUUX through a friend's blog. Like most people, I was a bit skeptical at first. The premise of LUUUX is that you blog and earn points which you can redeem in their online shop. "Well, they probably don't have good products in their online shop," I said. Lo and behold, this is what I saw:

I couldn't believe my eyes, to be honest. Their online shop is full of amazing items which I'm sure is on a lot of peoples wishlists. Signing up is free and all you have to do to see your LUUUX$ increase is write posts that coincide with LUUUX's mission of "new, exciting, & trendy content." Each post earns you 7 LUUUX$ with bonus $ if you add shop-links and each comment posted by you or another member earns 1. 

For those of you who are still skeptical, let me just tell you that I have seen photos on Twitter of LUUUX members who have indeed redeemed their LUUUX$ and received their products. This website is legitimate and if you persevere with your posts, you can be the owner of one of the fabulous products in the photo above. 

There are 8 different LUUUX universe's (Fashion, Technology, Beauty, Design, Sports & Fitness, Entertainment, Places, Food) where you can earn points and one (Community) where you can post entries that don't fall under the "new, exciting & trendy content" motto. This Universe does not award points, however; entries such as tag's and any other personal content will fall under this Universe. 

Aside from the awesome premise of this site, I have to say I'm really impressed with the staff at LUUUX. A few months ago, there was an large influx of new members and unfortunately, this included a few "bad apples" so to speak. A lot of people abused their privileges which caused the points system to be reduced dramatically. It was a nuisance, to be sure. But LUUUX employed new moderators to clean up the site and through their diligence in deleting/moving posts and educating members on how the site is supposed to work, the points system has gone back up again. 

My only gripe with the site is the commenting section. They've installed a captcha system which is good for discouraging spam, but it glitches quite a bit. Sometimes I'll need to post a comment multiple times before it actually appears on the site. I also have trouble posting entries once in a while when the photo uploaded glitches and will take forever to upload one photo. 

Aside from that, I don't have any problems with the website. If you want a fun way to earn points, points that you can redeem for amazing luxury items, then it's definitely worth it to check LUUUX out. 

Some tips on making your LUUUX experience the best it can be:

• Don't ever plagiarize. You may feel tempted to take the easy way out by copying other people's work. But rest assured, the moderators and other members will find out and your account will be deleted.
• Post good content. The better the content, the more advertisers will want to be involved. That means a better points system and great products in the online store.
• Be patient. Unless you're a "guru" with a huge following or an extremely lucky person, you probably won't be redeeming your points for that iPad or the the Louis Vuitton tote anytime soon. But if you persevere with your posting, you will definitely get there!

Check out LUUUX now!

*disclaimer: I was contacted by LUUUX to write this review, although I am not being compensated. I wrote this review because I enjoy the site.

Collection Spotlight: Gucci - Resort 2011

(photos from style.com)

According to Style.com this collections theme was "stylish travel." Not hard to understand why, is it? Considering how much I love to travel and how badly I want to travel again, it was no surprise that this collection really resonated with me. 

First of all, the outerwear is just gorgeous! I want them all, especially the super chic printed one in the second set. I've been loving all the slim trousers showing up in collections lately so I'm definitely still on board that trend. The rust coloured one in the last set is really lovely.

My favourite pieces are the dress on the last set (champagne = love) and the aviator style jumpsuit in the gorgeous olive colour. And can I say how much I'm coveting the white bag with the tan handles in the second set? Well... I am... Coveting it, I mean. It's the perfect size for plane rides. I'm sure that can handle all our beauty products, no?

Would you travel in any of these Gucci pieces?

All About Eyes - Forest Floor and Random Bits

I have a confession to make...

I completely forgot what I used to create this look... I'm pretty sure I used a forest-y green eyeshadow from Sleek MakeUP's Original palette, Coffee eye pencil from MAC, and possibly L'oréal Voluminous Mascara (which is on its last legs, so to speak).

But, I still really like this look so I thought I'd share it with you guys anyway. I wanted to create something kind of murky and a little bit dirty. Don't ask me why... Sometimes inspiration just hits and I know better than to question it :p. Maybe it's because it was winter and I was thinking of dead leaves?

Anyway, I quite like the combination of the gold and the green eyeshadows; it's definitely very earthy.

In Other News

Hooray! Thanks again to all you lovelies who follow Call It Beauty! I really appreciate all the comments and even if you don't leave one, I appreciate that you follow my humble little blog. So if you haven't, please don't hesitate to say hello :). Since I've implemented a new commenting system, it's much easier for me to reply and I always do my very best to reply to all the comments.

I wish I could've held a giveaway to celebrate with you all. But alas, it's just not possible at the moment. However, I do plan on doing a giveaway sometime in the future so stick around, will ya?

Again, thank you all for being a part of Call It Beauty.

If you have Facebook, then come join me at the Call It Beauty Facebook Page. Is it weird to say, "if you have Facebook?" I mean, who doesn't have Facebook? :p. 

Have a fabulous Tuesday, lovelies!

Josie Maran's 100% Organic Argan Oil Is Like Magic In A Bottle

I've always been intrigued by Josie Maran's Argan Oil ever since her brand debuted in Sephora. But, like a lot of people, the word "oil" makes me want to run for the hills (even though I have dry skin). It makes me think of grease, PAM, and that slippy-slide feeling when you walk by the kitchens of a restaurant, fast food or otherwise.

But I tried some out on the back of my hand when I was in Sephora and was pleasantly surprised that it truly did sink in quickly and didn't leave any oily residue behind. So on Boxing Day, I decided to try out the travel size bottle...

... Which I spilled on my carpet within a week of owning the damn thing. There goes half the bottle! So, with a quarter of the product still left, I decided to use the last of my gift card to purchase a full sized bottle.

If you're big on green and sustainable products, then definitely check this out. The Josie Maran brand is all about "luxury with a conscience" and I think it's absolutely fantastic that a natural skincare and makeup line is made so readily available to the public.

Although it's got multiple uses, I've only been using it as a facial moisturizer and occasionally, as a finishing treatment for my hair. It does wonders for both. A little bit definitely goes a long way, so if the $48 USD / $58 CAD price tag bothers you, know that a regular sized bottle will last you a long time. 

It's 100% organic, which you will notice in the ingredients list. Yes, you're reading that right. This product has only 1 ingredient. Which means you're getting the purest form of this oil. 

PROS

• It's lightweight and absorbs quickly, leaving your skin moisturized well and never oily.
• You only need 1-3 drops to cover your face and neck.
• It's completely natural.
• It's fairly odourless. Sometimes you get a whiff of something I can't really place, but it's definitely not offensive.
• Gentle enough on the eye area.

CONS

• The stopper is great for dispensing the right amount of product but the fact that it doesn't have a pump makes it difficult for people like me who are clumsy. I've already dropped the travel size and I'm so scared I'll drop the regular size bottle. That's a lot of product to lose! In the future, I think the people over at Josie Maran should consider putting a pump on their smaller bottles and not just the jumbo size.                                                                                                                                        

I have to say, I'm absolutely loving this product! My skin has been extra radiant after I started using it a little under a month ago and it's been softer and smoother as well. I've also noticed a slight evening out of my skintone. I have darker skin around my mouth and it's looking a bit lighter as of late. 

I find that it applies easier when I moisten my face a little bit first with some toner (Lush Breath of Fresh Air Toner). So after I've applied whatever blemish treatment I'm using, I spritz my face just a little bit with toner, and apply 1-3 drops of this argan oil and smooth it all over my face and neck. It feels gorgeous on the skin and keeps it hydrated.

I love using it around my eye area, as well. It's quite gentle and it doesn't irritate my eyes at all. It moisturizes my under eye area (which is pretty dry) so well and actually makes my Studio Finish concealer apply creamy; something that no other eye cream has been able to do. It moisturizes so well but leaves no sticky residue on the skin, unlike Philosophy's Hope in a Tube. I love that it's so multi-tasking, which means I don't have to spend even more money on an eye cream. 

I've also applied this to the ends of my hair just to get rid of some frizz. Imagine my surprise when I found it perfectly smooth but not oily at all! It works better than any of the finishing creams and serums I've tried. And as soon as we've moved into the new house, I'll definitely be trying some of this oil in the bath as well.

I just adore this moisturizer and I recommend that you at least try the travel size. It's got multiple uses, a natural ingredient, it's sustainable, and it works wonderfully. It's been absolutely fantastic for me and I can't wait to try more of Josie Maran's products!

Do you use any oils in your skincare routine?

Collection Spotlight: Marchesa - Resort 2011

(photos from style.com)

If there's anything I can attribute to Marchesa dresses, it's amazing and unforgettable detailing. There are some ultra-glam gowns, as always; but this collection also features some tribal-inspired details and colourful animal prints. 

The built-in bangles in the middle dresses of the first set are such a cool idea! They take an otherwise simple piece and gives it flair. I also adore the ruffled sleeves on the black dresses in the third set. The third dress is definitely a lot, but with the right attitude, anyone can rock it. The first dress is more wearable and I love the matching detail on the skirt.

The blue gown in the fourth set looks like something out of a period film (I can easily see this on Queen Gorgo from 300) and is my absolute favourite dress from the collection. 

Which piece is your favourite?

Collection Spotlight: Marc Jacobs - Resort 2011

(photos from style.com)

If there's any style I really love, it's vintage. Vintage inspired clothing, decor, what have you, I'm all over that! I love this Marc Jacobs collection because of that.

Polka dots, tweed, bandeau dresses & tops, and the 60s silhouettes all make this collection a plus for me.

My favourites are the polka dot top/striped skirt combo in the second set (mixing patterns is something I'd like to try my hand at), and the polka dot dresses in the last set; they're super fun and still incredibly feminine.

Are you a fan of vintage inspired pieces?

All About Eyes - Poison

From the moment I saw Nicole Scherzinger's album artwork for her single, Poison, I was immediately inspired and couldn't wait to rock the look at an event I was performing at. Well, for reasons I don't want to get into (lest I become frustrated again :p), I wasn't able to wear this look. So I decided to just do the eyes for the blog. 

I changed the shape slightly, though. I was feeling a more "wing-y" look so I elongated it just a tad and kept the edges a bit thicker. Hope you all enjoy it!

Products Used:

MAC Eyeshadow - Lucky Tom

Sleek MakeUP i-Divine Palette - Sunset (matte black, shimmery red)

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil - Zero

L'oréal Voluminous Mascara - Black

I started with Lucky Tom, which was from the Hello Kitty Collection; it's a sheer black eyeshadow with fine glitter shot through. I chose this to map out the shape I wanted because it would be easier to clean up should I make a mistake. Once I've gotten the shape I wanted (very rounded on top with a long, thick flick that connects down to the lower lash line), I deepened the black by layering a matte black eyeshadow on top. Next, I used the shimmery red eyeshadow to blend out the edges and swept a small amount over the black eyeshadow as well. Then I applied Urban Decay's eye pencil in Zero along the upper and lower water lines as well along the upper lash line for some extra definition. Lastly, I filled in my brows with a matte black eyeshadow & an EcoTools angled eyeliner brush and applied a few coats of mascara to top and bottom lashes. 

Are you a fan of dramatic eye looks?