Jessica Simpson: make-up and retouching free

In the upcoming issue of Marie-Claire magazine, Jessica Simpson is featured. The thing that makes this photoshoot different from all of her other ones, is that the photos taken for this feature were taken without Jessica wearing any make-up, and her photos were not retouched at all. Before I saw the pictures, I was happy to know that something like this was done in a magazine. However, once I saw the pictures, I was surprised by the way Marie-Claire magazine went about it. The cover shot is beautiful. Jessica Simpson looks totally natural, and she is a gorgeous girl without make-up on. The rest of the pictures of her, however, seem to cover her face in some way. The magazine boasts about their ability to make her look beautiful with no make-up or retouching, however the covering of her face in the pictures makes it look like they are hiding something.

This frustrates me, because however famous Jessica Simpson is, we are still not allowed to see any flaws in her face. Also, they do not show any pictures of her body. We all know that Jessica has been through a weight struggle lately, and it would have been interesting to see how she looks now.

Here are some of the pictures, you can judge for yourself:

Lady Gaga: Fad? or Musical Genius?

Everyone knows Lady Gaga. She is known for her daring wardrobe, outrageous dance moves and music videos, and weird antics. However, a lot of people are speculating whether or not she is actually musically talented, or if Lady Gaga is just a musical fad. Do people like her because she has a great voice and has invented a new genre? Or do people like her because she is trying to shock the world with her outfit choices?

Personally, I adore the woman. People who have just gotten into her music, do not know about her amazing voice, and breathtaking piano skills. The world today is focusing mostly on her outrageous clothing and costume choices, and less on her actual skills. Although she is definitely trying to shock the world with her clothes, she also seems to be just trying to get people's attention to actually listen to her singing voice. Here is a video of Lady Gaga performing her song "Speechless" on the Ellen Degeneres show. This song really shows off her singing and piano skills. (Click on "Here).

Although I really am one to commend her for her beautiful voice, I also really am enjoying her wardrobe. I love to watch award shows and look in the magazines to see what crazy outfit she has come up with next. Most people think that her clothing may be offensive and too weird for the general public, but I think that she is being brave and making a statement. She is not trying to be a role model for anyone, and she is just experimenting in the public eye. Here are some of my favorite clothing choices by Lady Gaga.

The 2010 Academy Awards Fashion

The Academy Awards happened this past sunday, and there were a lot of interesting choices of winners this year. To see the complete list, click here.

The most important part about the Academy Awards, obviously, is the fashion! Celebrities go all out for the Academy Awards, and like to try new things. This award show is all about glam and a "wow" factor. The men try to look dashing and handsome, and the women try to come off as beautiful and goddess-like. Some of these actors and actresses achieved this goal, while others, not so much. Below, I have posted pictures of my personal best dressed and worst dressed of the 2010 Academy Awards.

My best dressed choices:

My worst dressed choices:

There weren't many dresses at the Academy Awards that I didn't like this year. Even these 3 dresses aren't that bad. I just wish that Kristen Stewart wore some jewlery, that Jennifer Lopez didn't have a tail, and that Charlize Theron didn't have cinnamon buns for breasts. All in all, this was one of the best dressed Academy Awards to date.

Thinking About Going to the Movies?

There are a lot of great new movies out lately, and although I have not gone to see every one, I have read many reviews about them. I love going to the movies, and I am very open to many different genre's. I wouldn't judge a movie just by the reviews, but I would definitely take the reviews into consideration before I saw it.

Daybreakers

Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig

Starring Ethan Hawke and Willem Dafoe

I went to see this movie right when it came out a few months ago. It is definitely for a person who is into horror, and vampires. It definitely is following the new vampire "craze", but in a completely different way. It is set in the year 2017, and the undead are in a far bigger number than the alive. Everyone in the world has become a vampire, and the last few humans are struggling to survive as the vampires are running out of food. This is a movie for people who do not mind a few scares, and a lot of gore.

Dear John

Directed by Lasse Hallstrom

Starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried

This is a movie for the true romantic. It is a love story to the fullest extent. If you choose to go see this movie, don't be surprised to shed more than a few tears. It is the story of a young soldier who falls for a girl in a short amount a time. It is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks. I liked this movie, however, as I mostly say with Nicholas Sparks novels turned into movies, that the book was better. The ending in the movie was changed from the ending in the book, so it doesn't feel as authentic. I would not see this movie again, or even reccomend it, however, I do believe that this is a cute movie about a young couple that is relatable to young adults.

Up In The Air

Directed by Jason Reitman

Starring George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick

"Up In The Air" was one of the most talked about movies of 2009. It was nominated for many awards and was praised highly among the critics. It is based on a comic novel by Walter Kim. The story is about a man who travels a lot for work, and he is about to accumulate 5 million frequent flyer miles. Suddenly, his company decides to cut back on travel, and he won't reach his goal. This movie is about relationships, technology, and satire. I reccomend this movie to people who enjoy good dialogue and witty humor. Jason Reitman, who also directed "Juno" is known for that.

Shutter Island

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, and Michelle Williams

This is a movie that I have been waiting to come out for a long time now. It was originally supposed to come out last October, but the date got pushed back with the opening of "New Moon" around the same date in 2009. This was a smart choice because as of now it has made over 75 million dollars at the box office, and has only been out for a week. "Shutter Island" is about two U.S. Marshals who have come to a remote island which has a facility on it for the criminally insane. A murderer has gone missing, and no one knows how or where she went. "Shutter Island" is aesthetically pleasing, as well as entertaining, and thrilling. The camera work is beautiful and you will leave the theatre in awe.

Valentines Day

Directed by Gary Marshall

Starring Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, George Lopez, Jessica Alba, Jamie Foxx, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Garner, and Emma Roberts.

As you can see, this movie was highly talked about because of its star studded cast. It is a romantic comedy that has many different stories all entangled into one plot, like "Love Actually". This movie has gotten horrible reviews, saying that it is cliche, boring, silly, and cheesy. I have yet to see this movie, but after seeing some clips and the trailer, I think it looks cute. It is definitely for people who are into cheesy rom-coms, and who enjoy a good love story. I am looking forward to seeing this movie, even if it just to see some great actors who I respect.

The new young faces of Hollywood?

There has been some controvery lately about one of the latest covers of Vanity Fair. It is their annual "Young Hollywood" issue, and it shows the up and coming young ladies that Vanity Fair believes to be the new stars in Hollywood. Usually Vanity Fair is good about including women of all races and sizes. However, this year, all of the girls on the cover look very similar; skinny and white. The actresses in the photo above are Amanda Seyfriend, Anna Kendrick, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Rebecca Hall, Emma Stone, Mia Wasikowska, and Evan Rachel Wood. I do believe that almost all of these young ladies deserve a spot on the cover of Vanity Fair, but they all seem so "cookie cutter" actress. These women are fabulous actresses, and worked on some of the biggest movies last year, but there are some young actresses that are left out that led people to question Vanity Fair's motives. For example: Gabourey Sidibe. She is the star of the movie "Precious" that came out last year. "Precious" was one of the biggest movies of the year, and definitely one of the most talked about. She was even nominated for an upcoming Oscar. That leads me to the question, why wasn't she involved with the Vanity Fair shoot? She of all people definitely should have been on the "Young Hollywood" spread, because she was one of the most influential young actresses of the past few years. Another actress that comes to mind that was left out was Freida Pinto from "Slumdog Millionaire". "Slumdog Millionaire" was the first bollywood film to truly go mainstream, and it was one of the most important films from the past few years. I believe she definitely should have been considered for the Vanity Fair cover.

As I said before, I truly believe and agree with Vanity Fair that the actresses on the cover of their current "Young Hollywood" issue are very talented, they just should have considered other actresses besides just thin, white, and cloned.

RIP Alexander "Lee" McQueen

On February 11, 2010, Lee McQueen was found dead at his home in London, where paramedics found him dead at the scene, from a suicide. Lee McQueen was the designer for the brand "Alexander McQueen". He was known for his shocking yet sophisticated women's wear, and for his bold, yet classy designs. Lee McQueen was personally my all time favorite designer, so this news is devastating to me. I have always been in awe of his work, and his genius in the fashion world. He never followed a trend, and he was always coming up with interesting and unique looks for women. He loved playing with strucure, size, and colors in his designs. He never played it safe, and he was one of the most controversial designers of the past couple of decades. Lee's designs were very popular on the red carpet, for celebrities who wanted to make a statement.

Here are a couple of my favorite looks from "Alexander McQueen". Although they are very bold, they are completely striking to me, and beautiful in their own way. RIP Lee McQueen.

MAJOR photoshop errors

Photoshopping pictures is standard in media today. Even the most beautiful women and men are edited to look like something that they do not resemble in real life. In magazines and advertisements, every photo is put through photoshop to get airbrushed, slimmed down, and tweaked until it looks perfect in the editors eyes. However, sometimes those eyes seem to be skewed. Sometimes, the photo-edited picture turns out to look weird, funny, or even disturbing. There has even been some major controversy when it comes to models getting photoshopped to look too thin. The most recent controversy I have heard about, was about the Ralph Lauren advertisement pictured below. The editor found nothing wrong with it, until people started to complain and notice that she looked emaciated. Here are some photos that photoshop has turned into disasters.

Valentines Day

Okay, so Valentine's day is coming up in 2 weeks. I have never been a big fan of Valentine's day, even when I have someone to share it with. This upcoming Valentine's day will be my third with my boyfriend Frank, and we never make it a big deal. We usually go out to dinner, at a somewhat romantic place, but not on February 14th. We also are trying not to spend a lot of money, so we are always looking for a way to save. I would definitely call myself a romantic, but I don't think that Valentine's day needs to be a big deal. I think that true love should be shown every day, and not just on a day made up by a card company.

So here are some inexpensive ideas that you can do with your guy or gal on or around Valentine's day, that aren't TOO "Hallmark-y"

1. Spend the day taking photos of each other, and make a photo album of all the pictures you took together.
2. Play video games together! (I suggest guitar hero).
3. Go camping for the night.
4. Have a cheesy movie marathon. (Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail, or you could throw in The Godfather).
5. Go on a picnic! Simple, but classic.
6. Make a list of why you love each other. (kind of Hallmark-y, but you can make it goofy too).
7. Go ice skating.
8. Go to a wine tasting. (They usually only cost about five dollars a person).
9. Make dinner together.
10. Babysit. (I know that sounds ridiculous, but it's actually fun to babysit with your loved one.)
11. Make fondue together.
12. Make eachother homemade cards.
13. Go see a cheap play at a college or high school.
14. Get happy hour drinks at a bar that you've never been to.
15. CUDDLE!

SAG Awards Fashion

This year at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the actors and actresses really gave it their all in the fashion department. All though I did not agree with a lot of the winners, (you can see the list of winners here), most of the fashion choices were definitely winners in my book.

Here are some of my favorite dresses from the event:

And here are some of my favorite men's outfits of the night:

It seems like the celebs went all out this year to dress to impress. My favorite dress was Jenna Fischers's blue Pamela Rolland gown, (3rd from the left). The color is radiant and the sparkles were just enough, and didn't distract from her natural beauty.