Dear DIVA

In what I hope might be a recurring segment* on the DIVA Domain, I bring you the first of DIVA's spin on Dear Abbey, in hopes that practical answers to real life questions might entertain and educate our readers.  Names have been omitted to protect the not-so-innocent.

Dear DIVA,

I need to find a new lip gloss/chapstick with color that isn't sticky or drying.  Recommendations? I know you use to like the Fresh Sugar stuff.I kissed a boy the other night (yes, that's correct) and my lip gloss was extremely tacky and not pleasant. Since you're an expert in this area (yes, making out and lip gloss), I am seeking your advice. Thanks,

Sticky in Steamy Makeoutville

Dear Sticky,

Let me ponder... Yes, sticky, tacky lip glosses are no bueno when it comes to tonsil hockey.  I do really love the Fresh Sugar - there are multiple shades, and it smells fresh and lemony, and goes on creamy and smooth- however, it is NOT a gloss.  It just moisturizes your lips and gives them a soft stain of color.

If you want something glossy that isn't sticky, I like the C.O. Bigelow glosses.  I know Bath & Body Works sell them.  There are several "flavors" and again, just light sheer color, but this way you get the gloss.  I will say the tackier the gloss, the more staying power it seems to have.  These C.O. Bigelow ones don't seem to last long, so I would definitely start with a lip primer and/or lip liner and fill in your entire lips before layering the gloss to help it stay put.

The Juicy tubes by Lancome aren't that bad either as far as stickiness goes.  But if you're planning a makeout session, plan ahead and line your lips and go for a subtle lip color like the ones I mentioned above, or even Burt's Bees wax has some nice cheap tinted glosses and stains.  Point is, don't wear super glossy, sticky gloss (or red lipstick!) if you're planning to smooch right away.  You could wear these types of lip gloss at the beginning of a date and just not re-apply through the night, so that by the time dinner and a movie is over, the color has worn off enough that it won't be all over your guy.

However, if you're kissing from the moment you see him, you hussy, then he clearly doesn't need a glossy lip to draw him in, so forgo the gloss and go for the subtler stains as mentioned above.  

Yours truly,

the DIVA

*Have a question for the DIVA?  Send me your questions and your question/answer might get published.  You know where to reach me.

Getting Gorgeous

We all know I'm a huge cosmetics-addict. Well on my recent trip to TN (that blog is coming soon!) Laura, mom, Bradley, and I snuck away to Green Hills for some girl time on Saturday afternoon. Our destination? Sephora, of course!

Laura and I each had gift cards to spend, but mine was not spent without a little legwork ahead of time. You see, I had the unfortunate luck of accidentally throwing away my gift card, so I had to get the receipt from mom and dad, and hound the Sephora people until they agreed to re-issue me a new gift card. What a nice surprise though, to get the automated answering message each time I called the Green Hills store.


"Hello, gorgeous" the voice said each time I dialed.
"How did they know I was calling?" I thought cheerfully to myself.


Then you listened to the different menu options before choosing the appropriate one. I however, found it was such an ego boost to hear some unrecognizable male voice on the other end of the phone referring to me as gorgeous, that I kept calling and hanging up right after the greeting!


Hello gorgeous!... Hello gorgeous!... Hello gorgeous!... well you get the idea...

Anyways, we three ladies and the bebe spent a good amount of time perusing the aisles of the store, before I finally settled on 2 items:


Bare Escentuals Well-Rested, an under-eye concealer I have already been using, and Bare Escentuals Rare Minerals- a Best-of-Sephora-voted product for blemishes, and one I have been wanting to try. (MA, I'll let you know what I think about the Rare Minerals- it's still too early to tell)

I had so much fun looking at all of the new products and daydreaming about an unlimited makeup budget, and sampled a few powders and lip glosses along the way. And of course, we had to record Bradley's first trip to the Makeup Mecca for posterity!

Sephora, so good

I have a confession to make.  Is it bad that the 2nd most exciting highlight of my day was the new Fall 2008 Sephora catalog coming in the mail??  (The first of course was that Brian got home from his work trip)

No longer do I live the carefree life of a single, early twenty-something where Sephora treats were regular and unabashed, but still I pore over every catalog and marketing email they send me about new products and update my wishlist on their website regularly.  Funny how life works out though, because with more and more of my days being spent at home, the need to get all glammed up is lost on a 2 month old!  Still, I can't deny how good a new eye shadow or lip gloss can brighten one's mood and make a girl feel gorgeous, so I continue to look and save up for those special occasions when I can purchase a cosmetic pick-me-up.

weekend tid-bits

A nice low-key weekend has come and gone. (Today was still part of my weekend- call it a mental health day if you will). A few thoughts on the 3-day weekend:

The performances with the Nashville Symphony for the Philip Glass piece are over and done. I never thought I would say this, but I actually ended up liking the music a lot, and am sad because all that hard work and months of preparation, and I am 95% sure that i will never sing that obscure work ever again. Most of the choir never warmed up to the piece so I'm sure there were a lot of happy people once the final note had been played on Saturday. I am a self-proclaimed music geek though, so I was giddy at the fact that the composer was there, a man whom I first studied in Dr. Pen's music history class in college, a man whose music I hated, then grew to appreciate through film scores such as the Truman Show, the Hours, and then this choral work he composed for the Nashville Symphony. I even went to the lecture Philip Glass gave Saturday night and he talked about the process for composing a film score, an opera, and finally the Passion of the Ramakrishna, which was the new piece of his we were performing that night. To have a living legend of a modern American composer sitting in my midst I was, in a word, Starstruck.

Riddle me this: Nashville goes multiple days in a row where it doesn't get above the freezing temperature mark, yet when it decides to snow the better part of Saturday, it's all of sudden to warm for any of the snow to stick- what gives??!!

Vanderbilt beat Florida, and Joakim Noah got into a near-fist-fight with Vandy coach Kevin Stallings on the sideline-- I laughed my tail off! Especially humorous was when you could hear the Vandy crowd chanting "Noah Sucks" at the end of the game!

Then I sighed in frustration as my Wildcats lost their 3rd SEC game in a row to Alabama. We're not ranked anymore, and we're 3rd in the SEC east behind Florida and Vanderbilt. "Is it football season yet??"

My best-friend-Heather-from-home was in town this weekend. She, her sister Angie, and I hung out, watching the Departed (my second time to see it- man, I LOVE that movie!), we killed time in Sephora and I played with the makeup but did not purchase a single thing (major breakthrough!). Also, it is important to note that both of the new products I blogged about not too long ago on here were both front and center on the first tabel when you enter the store, I felt quite pleased that Sephora took my advice and featured these 2 items. :o)

Our blonde trio also went to see Music & Lyrics. I loved it. Angie hated it. Heather fell somewhere in between. To me, the opening sequence of the entire 80's-esque video of Hugh Grant's has-been 80's band POP was worth seeing the entire movie. The songs are catchy, I laughed a lot, and I left the movie theater after seeing a romantic comedy all warm and fuzzy and not depressed. Is it going to win an Oscar? Don't count on it, but if you are female, wanting to enjoy some feel-good, mindless entertainment, then this movie is for you. Except for Ari, who can't stand Drew Barrymore. It's unfortunate, since the movie revolves around music and songwriting, but you will hate this film if you can't put up with the leading lady. Sorry.

I am giddy because tonight was the first weeknight I've had in 3 weeks with nowhere to be. Tomorrow night promises more of the same, Hallelujah!

In the Pink

Probably one of the best days of my life was my 18th birthday. It was just a perfect day. But coming in a close second was the day that Sephora opened its doors in Nashville, TN. Seriously, I would say that I was like a kid in a candy store, but having never been a big candy eater, I'll say I was like me as an 8-year-old in a store full of Barbie Dolls.

Some of the newness of Nashville's Sephora store has worn off, but I still have a twinge of unhappiness if I am for some reason in the Green Hills area, but can't swing over to Sephora for a visit. In fact, I have a Sephora gift card that I got for Christmas that has just been burning a hole in my pocket, but I'm holding off as long as I can before I spend it.

To tempt and tantalize me, I get weekly emails from Sephora with new product reviews, and this week's email featured a few rose-colored hued makeup palettes I thought I'd share with you all!

The first is a delicious combo of colors from Too-Faced. I am a sucker for all-in-one pallettes because I am anal retentive when it comes to co-ordinating my eye, lips, and cheek color. These pinkish-hued neutrals go well with the majority of my wardrobe, and okay, I'm also slightly drawn to this product because of its pink packaging. So sue me. For just under 30 smackeroos, you get 2 concealers, blush, 2 powder eyeliners, a brow duo, 3 eyeshadows, and 2 lipglosses. Best of all, you save time when packing for the gym by tossing this baby in with your foundation and you're good to go! (Is anyone else as sick as I am of those annoying Taco Bell commercials??)

The other item that popped out to me was Benefit's Hopelessly devoted to pink. Quite simply, it's a pallette of pretty pink shades for the eyes and lips, and again, goes well with the bulk of my wardrobe.

Disclaimer (and I don't even know 'er): Wearing pink eye shadow can be a tricky feat, as you don't want to look

a) like you're suffering from uber-contagious conjunctivitis, or

b) like you're posing as an albino rabbit.

The trick is to keep the pink on the eyelids light, and play up the pink lips and cheeks to achieve an eye-catching monochomatic look that's fresh and fun without being scary.

Happy Beautifying! (and PS, MA- look who finally got the hang of linking pictures to their respective websites? wahooo!)