Archive | October 12, 2011

Oh, This Song.

By on October 12, 2011 in The Diva

This is a long clip. It’s also from a musical.

If either of those things bother you or leave you disinterested, cool. There’s PUHLENTY of cat videos on YouTube to keep you occupied.

I watched this production (a 2006 revival) of Company on PBS some time ago, and it’s currently available on Netflix Instant, so I rewatched in in the last month. It’s .. amazing. John Doyle is known for his revivals of Sondheim’s works mainly because he has the cast serve as their own orchestra. Which, seriously, JAW DROPPING AWESOME.

This song in particular shakes me to the core for two reasons. 1) Um, duh, it’s a great song. Sung by a confirmed bachelor who suddenly realizes what he’s missing in life – yeah, it hits home to 24-year old me. 2) My senior year, one of my serious BFFs sang this for his recital piece .. also for our graduation .. and tons of other events. Just the first few chords reminds me of the chills that he gave me. Every.Single.Time.

(Said BFF will be in town again soon to perform a fundraising event for an up-and-coming songwriter. More info on that later.)

Here is Raul Esparza knocking the hell out of “Being Alive” from Company.

 

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Some Stuff I’ve Bought Lately: DON’T BUY THIS

By on October 12, 2011 in The Challenge

I needed a pick-me-up yesterday so I visited our local drugstore for a bunch of cheap stuff. Except one thing that wasn’t cheap. But regardless, here’s what I thought about it.

I have a horrible time with facial hair. I am italian, so I have dark and ambitious facial hair. Threading promised weeks of unnoticed hair, and to threading’s credit, they were mostly right. Waxing is an issue because I am also very fair skinned, and waxing leaves BIG OLE RED STREAKS that take HOURS to fade. I literally have to make sure I have nowhere to go for hours after I’ve been waxed, lest I look like I’ve been kegstanding some Kool-Aid. So I thought I’d give the new Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Remover a go. I’ve used home depilatory creams before – Sally Hansen, I think? – and that’s what this was, except it comes with a “skin protecting balm” that you apply beforehand. Short story – I left it on for the recommended time (instructions suggest 6-8 minutes, I went for 7) and 1) my skin still was horribly irritated and 2) only 1/4 of the hair was removed. Perhaps most irritating was not the actual product, but the fact that it cost me $27.00 (!!), which is two visits to have it waxed. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU AVOID THIS PRODUCT.

I am a sucker for easy and shimmer, and the CoverGirl Intense Shadowblast liquid-ish eye makeup promised those things.  And – meh. I bought the Gold Shimmer (shown above) and it’s very, very subtle. Like, why even wear it? Maybe the brighter colors would do more, but I certainly didn’t get the eye look that Drew Barrymore is sporting in the ads for this stuff. Maybe you can layer it? I dunno. My recommendation: stick with Benefits Creaseless Cream Shadow/Liner in either RSVP or Birthday Suit if you want something neutral but a little shimmery. It may be a little more expensive, but I’ve been using the same pot for almost a year now – daily – and I think I’d run out of the Shadowblast in a month or two.

Sometimes I get a little out of sorts and need to feel girly. I don’t know why I decided to show this side of myself through my shaving cream, but I did. I decided to buy a shaving cream for women, which sounds really stupid now that I type it, but nonetheless. I picked up eos Shave Cream/Vanilla Bliss which is supposed to be luxurious enough that you can shave wet OR dry. Well – I wouldn’t use it again in either situation. It was incredibly thin, not at all luxurious, and gave me razor burn. My recommendation is, instead, to stick with my MOST FAVORITE SHAVING CREAM EVER FOR YEARS NOW, HeadSlick Mentholated Shave Cream. Seriously, been using it for years and it is the most amazing stuff.

So – my trip to the drugstore was a total bust, and I’m TOTALLY returning the hair removal kit. I mean, ALMOST $30 FOR SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T WORK? Yeah, screw that.

Anything I should look for when I go to return it?

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