On first glance, I thought it looked like a pretty and practical going-out bag that could last at least four seasons. But right in the centre of the bag, there's gold piece of metal that says 'Louis Vuitton'. In my mind, that's a con.
or Marc Jacobs. Honestly, when I first saw those Marc Jacobs bags in real life, I remember thinking, 'That's ugly. Why would MJ add that brand-named-metal on such nice, contemporary bags?' And is it really necessary? It's usually pretty obvious when a bag is by Marc Jacobs (to me anyways.) 
MJ seemed to have started these metal tags a few seasons back with Vuitton's canvas bags. I remember really not liking the tags back then. The thing is, it's understandably harder now for designers to differentiate their bags in the market from high street ones, especially when high street stores manage to produce the bags so quickly and some stores (eg. Zara) actually manage to make the bags to not look cheap. But is this really what designers are offering us now?
This season, Marc by Marc Jacobs has shrunk their metal tag smaller into this 'standard supply' tag, which is kind of an improvement from last season's metal plates (literally). (If you've visited a Marc boutique last season, you would have probably noticed some of the bags had HUGE Marc metal plates on them.)
Gucci has stitched on italic 'Gucci' on some of its bags in recent seasons too. But for some odd reason, it seemed more artistic and prettier than the Louis Vuitton metal tags -and I'm not even a fan of Gucci bags. (The picture here has a huge 'Gucci' name on it. The Gucci bags I'm referring to have smaller ones stitched on.)
The theme of this SS08 collection by Gucci Westman is L.U.C.I, Luminescent Colorless Color Intelligence (And yes, I am aware that Colorless starts with a C and not a U. *shrugs* Maybe its a french thing?). The idea is to have a collection of colorless shimmery make-up that changes color all the time adjusting to different skin tones and the reflections of light. Doesn't that concept sound so awesome???
To begin with, the make-up artist did the whole usual cleaning, moisturizer, toner, pore minimizer (it is such a Lancome thing!) routine with me. Then she introduced me to their new make-up primer, La Base, which she applied to my face/nose (to fill in the pores) and under my EYES! Apparently, this is a special oil free formula that is even suitable as a eye primer! I'm not sure I follow the logic of oil free --> suitable for eye thing, but I LOVE the idea of undereye primer. It is SO annoying when the skin there is dry/flaky (even my eye cream has been applied!) and thus looks AWFUL when you apply concealer there. This product is genius. And it might be my imagination or the foundation, but I felt that my pores did look smaller. After all that base, foundation and concealer, she finished off the face with the Photonic Illuminating Powder, which is just loose powder with the sparkly light reflection stuff that is suppose to help highlight and sculpt your features. I really didn't feel the difference.
Moving on we had the eye make-up, where I daresay is where the whole luminescent thing should be at it's best. One of my favourite products out of the whole collection is the Illuminator, which is basically cream eye shadows. that goes on clear but reflects color when light hits it. How totally awesome is that??? I LOVE it. I got the "ray of pink light" shade. You can also use it as a base before you apply powder, but personally I think the powder would just mask the effect. If you get the more neutral apricot shade, you can also use it to highlight your features. After all, it DOES say it is an illuminator for the eyes and face.
To complete my eyes, she applied the Courbe Virtuose mascara on me (after the mascara booster of course). This one is suppose to make the lash curve and give divine length, but to me it just felt like any old Lancome mascara for me.... like Hypnose. 
Another thing I LOVE about this collection is the lip stuff. Even though the packaging is a bit bulky, I really like the Color Fever Shine (left). Especially since they came out with THE perfect ice pale pink color (Pink Flora) that I've been dreaming about. I love it. It applies quite smoothly too. They also have a collection of photonic Color Fever Gloss (right). They have this nice sheer shade that gives the perfect shine by itself and over lipstick. But one must be careful with these lip colors though. They have these two shades that are completely white that are loaded with photonic stuff that when you put it on your lips, it becomes a scary glowing alien color- not good.
I just LOVE the new designs for the collar. They are so refreshing (if not very practical. I can just HEAR my mom telling me how my neck is exposed to the cold and I will catch a cold....). I especially LOVE this one from Add Down (left), with the wide neck and the belt that gives it shape, it was the puffer that inspired this post! To "protect" the neck, there is also this one from Marc by Marc Jacobs (right), where you can adjust the neckline as needed. 
I LOVE this puffer as well. Also from Add Down, you can convert the wide collar into a hoodie!!! How CUTE! I also love the neat simple cutting that gives a more flattering body shape. 
Some other cute designs, there is this high necked puffer from Vince (left). Judging from the puff, it may also be warmer. And for a more biker-ish look, there is this one from Theory (right). 
For something more classic, we have these ones from Burberry. I've tried on the beige one on the left, and the cutting is actually not that bad and quite flattering! And I think the black one over here is perfect if you want something simple but still with a little bit of a twist (double breasted and high neckline)- your neck will definitely be warm!
My favourite was surprisingly Kate Hudson's dress. OK, so her hair is admittedly a bit werid (-it's so shiny and sleek but it looks like something's off about it,) but I love her dress! It's so pretty and flowy-looking. Plus it's got that graceful, bohemian feel to it. 
Marcia Cross was gorgeous as usual. Her hair is so perfectly curled. And even though she's wearing green again, that dress has got such gorgeous draping. 
Not sure about that hairstyle on Eva Longoria, but this white, backless dress fits her amazingly, as usual. Not a particularly interesting dress though. 
Normally I'm not a fan of Debra Messing's red carpet outfits, but I thought she carried off this Oscar de la Renta dress well. I think it's because the gold colour and those embellishment compliment her skin and hair colours well. But the point is, she's looking great and sparkly!
Both Kate Beckingsale and Vanessa Williams wore yellow, but the effect turned out to be very different. Kate looked really elegant and lady-like; kind of Valentino-esque. Vanessa looked feirce -the power of Versace!
I'm not sure how to feel about Amanda Bynes' outfit here. The dress is pretty and fits her well. And her hairstyle is very fun and elegant. But for some odd reasons, the dress kind of reminds me of American prom dresses, (a riduclously well-made prom dress of course.)
Michelle Pfeiffer's outfit looks plain, but everything fits so well and match perfectly. Maybe it's not the most interesting outfit around, but she looks fantastic. I can't get over how she's almost 50 years old! 
Becki Newton's white dress is my other favourite dress. I love how it's got such a classy silhouette, but the tiered skirt bit gives it a much more youthful and stylish touch. Loves it!! Plus, I love her perfectly curled and styled hair! (And her Amanda smirk!) As for America Ferrera, I really think she could have done better. Grey and lacy dresses like that should be left for the more mature ladies. 
To end this post, I chose this fun photo of Olivia Wilde. I actually really like that dress, and the cool tone matches her cool brunette hair so perfectly!
Just the name 27 Dresses is a selling point for me. And this cute poster with mention of "Devil Wears Prada" helps too! 
The actual plot is about how Jane (Katherine Heigl) is a professional bridesmaid, who has willingly donned on some pretty horrible dresses in order to "be there" for her friends on their special day.
In fact, she has 27 of them. Usually I'm quite envious of people's overflowing wardrobes in movies (think Clueless), but I think I'll make an exception in this case.... 
The story revolves around how Jane's sister, Tess (Malin Akerman) comes into town and falls in love with Jane's boss George- who Jane happens to be in love with for a loooong time! I thought it was quite amazing how they managed to make Katherine Heigl (whom I always thought looked quite pretty in Grey's Anatomy) look like the "plain Jane" in this movie compared to Tess.
During that time, Jane also meets Kevin (James Marsden!) the wedding journalist for the New York Journal- and the chick flick romance begins.
I've loved James Marsden since his appearance in Ally McBeal many years ago (where he sang Frank Sinatra...sigh!) and his recent Prince charming role in Enchanted was not bad either (if a bit dumbed down). But I LOVE LOVE LOVE his look here. While in his other roles, he'd always had that clean, preppy pretty boy look, his role in this movie as a journalist is ruggedly handsome and charming...sigh............ :)
