Mason Pearson: Boar Bristle & Nylon Brush

I am completely not kidding when I tell you that I have been lusting after this hairbrush for 4 years. I can tell that I'm on my way by the fact that I actually own this wonderful piece of haircare paraphernalia .

Because I have thick and long hair I opted for the boar bristle and nylon mixture. Any brush that comes with a booklet on proper hair brushing technique and it's own brush (as in the brush has it's own brush!) has to be a good thing. And really it is. After employing the proper brushing technique laid out in the booklet the other night I just marveled at the shine this brush brought out of my hair.

I have no idea how it would fare on curly hair, but for those rockin it straight, this is the Rolls Royce of hair brushes. I really suggest you test brush one.

HRH

Lancome: Hypnose

I decided the other day to expand my collection of mascaras. It wasn't a hard decision my any means, kind of like asking a junkie if they'd like a couple hits for free. Um Yes!

I wandered around looking for something that showed promise. I nearly opted for some of the Christian Dior Showtime line, but all that was left was Navy. A keen idea if you have blue eyes, but do I? No. So it was back to try more of the Lancome line of mascaras. Flextencils impressed me greatly, some years ago as I made the important shift from Maybellene to premium, even though my lashes are Naturally curly. This time I went for volume and I opted to make it extra challenging by buying it in Brown.

Challenge met. Hypnose is my new option for daytime. Thick lashes, but because it's brown it looks deceptively natural. Mwa ha ha.

Good makeup should always incite an evil laugh.

HRH

Benefit: Mr. Frosty

White eyeliner? When did it become 1997 again?

White eyeliner can actually be very much your friend. Using a light colour instead of dark you can make things look bigger, softer... sexier? Depends. Mr Frosty can do some wonderful things. Like if you use him on your lower lid you're that much closer to being a walking vision of a starlet in soft focus. Use him around the inner corner of your eyes and you'll be thanking him.

I know I am.

HRH

Look who's back

More Team Laser Explosion! Designers may enjoy the logo bit.

And the piepod may be the next big thing. It really is hard looking likie a cool dancer with no limbs.

HRH

Was life better when I talked like Buffy Summers?

One of the things I've been spending my precious vacation time doing has been watching early episodes of Buffy, or as I like to call them, the good episodes of Buffy. Ahh blessed season two. Anyway, looking back at these old episodes that I watched in University I remembered something Mike said to me once "I'm not sure if you talk like Buffy or if Buffy talks like you." Indeed, back in the day I had my own little lingo going on. Yes, I spoke like valley girl, but I spoke like a well educated one.

Total tangent: Early BtVS Angel is just the hottest thing in pants. I see him on screen and literally swoon. Swoon I say!

I've been indulging in a good bit of isolation these past few days. In my world, of course, isolation means lunch with Alasdair, multiple phone conversations with Mike and my mother, many hours of IM conversations and, you know, a lot of time with that guy I love and live with, M. Anyway, I've had a lot of me time. Watched a handful of really fantasically bad movies, read the Harry Potter book, walked a lot and had some quality time with Zeus.

My brain is becoming less like pudding and a lot more like my brain. It's enabling me to get some clarity about the things that have been bothering me. I keep thinking about the things that I'm not. Now these aren't necessarily things I want to me, but they're absolutely things that I'm not. When I watch those old episodes of Buffy and think about the person I was the first time I watched them and what I thought my life was going to be like the differences are really interesting.

Anyway, the most important thing I've come to realize is that there are a lot of things I have to just stop thinking about. Just stop, chill and stop wasting the little time I have in each day stressing about things I really can't change or control. I am going to endeavour to become zen. That you cannot control, you just need to let go of and try to find all the joy you can in life.

I think that approach will work for now and hopefully result in a less whiny me. I think we'd all enjoy that.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Virgin State of Mind" by K's Choice

HRH

Sephora: Jumbo Eye Pencil & All Over Colour

Sometimes the house wine really is good.

I can be a snob sometimes. Almost always when it comes to makeup. However on a recent shopping trip a more open minded friend got me looking at some of the Sephora line of makeup. Less expensive than your average premium brand and a veritable rainbow of available colours. This is the ideal line for impulse/costume/last minute ensemble related purchases.

For example, I purchased a bright blue combo of Jumbo Eye Pencil and turquoise Iridescent All Over Eye Colour without a twinge of guilt. Not a twinge of regret for getting colour that I won't wear very often, but will look outstanding when I do.

Learn from my mistakes. Don't let snobbery come between you and good, affordable makeup.

HRH

Chanel: Purifying and Age Delaying Skin Care

Mum and I were shopping awhile back for some of her makeup at the Chanel counter. It brings me such joy to share my love of makeup with my mother. Anyway, while we were there and I was getting some very shiny lip gloss, the sales lady introduced me to some of the Chanel skin care line.

The first thing they did was correct some of my misconceptions about their lines. I used to believe that companies like Chanel and Estee Lauder were for older women and hence only had products for older skin. Out came the testers and I learned first hand about the System Purete Deep-Cleansing Foam and Oil Controlling Lotion. I use the cleanser in the evenings to take all the evil of the day off with some exfoliation (I use Cetaphil cleanser for oily skin in the mornings)and the lotion on mornings when oil control throughout the day looks like it's going to be a challenge. The cleanser was a little abrasive at first, but once my face adjusted, the results have been wonderful.

Another thing Chanel seems to be big into is Age Delay. Moisturizers and nightcreams that are said to help postpone the signs of aging a little further. There are two sides to this debate. Some say never start using anti-aging creams because then you'll always have to use them. Others suggest that the moment it occurs to you that you might actually turn 30, you should be face first in a vat of night cream.

The jury is still out for me. I'm still dealing with the skin challenges of youth (cursed acne), so the issue of wrinkles doesn't torment me too much (save lines around the eyes. Why oh why!). Taking care of your skin and making sure your daily moisturizer has sun protection in it should do for now. That is, unless we're talking about the eyes. Eye cream is a must.

As such I've been trying the Chanel Age Dealy Eye Rejuvenation Serum. I can't honestly say if it's been making a huge difference right now. I've been putting so mnay concoctions on my eyes of late the scientific method went out the window a month ago. Between that and the Darfin serum, things appear to be improving... at least until the next allergy attack.

Anyway, the moral of the story. Never assume that a company is only good at one age group. Shop around and see. You never know what you might find.

HRH

Pout: Wet Lash

Brow tamer and lash conditioner in one? Madness. This is a great product for people with dark brows that aren't as much looking for added colour as they are trying to keep everything in it's right place. A clear lash/brow conditioner like Wet Lash can do the trick for ordinary days. And it comes in an adorable turquoise tube.

When you are adding colour to your brows, it can still be used to keep everything in place, though a product like Benefit Browzings is perfectly suited to both tasks in one little compact. Either way, it's important to take care of your brows. Yes, I'm talking to you. Make an appointment for a brow wax now. No. I won't stop staring at you until you pick up the phone and make the call. Wax I tell you! Do not underestimate the effect of well groomed eyebrows.

HRH

Rumours of my death have been greatly exaggerated

So I know my posting last week was a little on the dark side and that it was clear that things could have been better, but I hadn't fully absorbed how miserable I sounded until my mother called today to make sure I hadn't killed myself. I guess it's bad Internet etiquette to wail on and on about the all consuming misery that can be life and then not post for a long time. Sorry Mum.

I'm on "vacation" now. Which means I'm still mopping up some odds and ends from work. I spent both Saturday and Sunday working and a bit of today. But now I think that's done and I can rest. Maybe have a good cleansing cry. Maybe when I'm less of a pudding-brain this yen to understand and sort out every detail of my life will go away.

I haven't come to this point in my life down the usual path, I wish I could understand why there's this part of me that wants the rest of my life to suddenly be on the road more travelled. Thoughts for when I've rested.

HRH

Alterna: White Truffle Private Reserve luxury shampoo & conditioner

I was given this shampoo and conditioner set as a gift. "Who puts truffles in shampoo?" I wondered. I gave it a try and I can safely say that the term luxury is not a misnomer. Just massaging it into my scalp felt exquisite. My hair was baby soft after I dried it. Fantastic for touching, but not exactly the consistency I'm going for when styling. As such I keep this stuff as a once in awhile treat.

HRH

Benefit: Bum Deal

Let's talk about buffing your bum. It's summer time, which also means its bathing suit time and unless you're one of the genetically fortunate there are bumps and lines on the areas that swimwear cruelly exposes. Things you could really do without sharing.

The Benefit wonderbod collection's Bum Deal can't hide the fact that you haven't been to the gym in months, but it can help you prepare for the sun and the pool my exfoliating and firming the flesh on your backside. It smells lovely too. I've taken to using it on me knees and elbows too. It softens the skin without causing damage and the loss of dead skin cells at least gives the appearance of things being, well, a little firmer and brighter.

HRH

MAC: Fluidline

Summer can be an icky time for makeup. Especially for lovers of eyeliner. Kohl is usually my choice for bringing out my big browns, but come summertime (and the cursed allergies) it's just not feasable. That's when items like MAC's new fluidline eyeliner come in very, very handy. All the drama and precision you need, but in a formula that dries and stays put.

And have I mentioned the colours! Weeeee. Never before have I been so thrilled at owning purple eyeliner. While it looks very intense in the jar, a modest application can even work during the day. People just think something looks a little different.

Make sure you get an eyeliner brush to go with it. As always, your makeup only looks as good as your brushes are.

HRH

Benefit: Lyin' Eyes

The end of Emperor Eyes?

I recently picked up this product, in the hope that it would help conceal the horrible, red under-eye circles I get when my allergies act up. Redness leads to itching, itching leads to scratching and scratching leads to suffering. Suffering in the name of dry, peeling skin. Ew. Dry eyes is a new thing for me, so the cream concealer I usually use was just making the problem worse.

Enter Lyin' Eyes. They claim it's intended to cover up a multitude of sins from the night before, which is good, but at the same time makes me feel a little lame as the only sinning I tend to do is rub my eyes. Lame. Anyway, the coverage isn't as opaque as my MAC Cream Concealer, but the semi-liquid consistency has an bit of a soothing effect on the under-eye area. All in all, it makes for a decent alternative on dry eyed days.

Allergy season can end any day now.

HRH

Why don't I drink more?

Had a bad day yesterday. I think if you'd looked at me and squinted, you know, so you can see that little bit beyond reality that you could only see clearly when you were seven, you could see a little black cloud, steadily raining on me all day. I have this little problem where I don't have enough compartments in my life. Everything is just kind of heaped into one being. So when something goes wrong in one part of my life, it's pretty much all wrong, and all bad, everywhere.

I'm not having a dramatically better day today, but I was bolstered yesterday by the thoughtfulness of my friends. Sometimes a phone call, e-mail or an SMS gets me to lift my head out of the pit of despair just long enough to get some perspective. So thank you guys for that. I may be feeling blue about many things, but my choice in loved ones has me feeling redeemed about my decision making processes for sure.

I did have some reprieve from the black cloud. I left it waiting at my front door last night and it dared not come in the house or M would have given it a proper trouncing. Instead he only had to get me to laugh and I was able to remember the things that make life wonderful.

The cloud is still around me today, but not directly on me. When I see it coming I give it "the point" and it backs off. I've even found that every time I laugh, it gets a little lighter.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Don't rain on my parade" by Barbara Streisand.

HRH

A slight complication

Sunday was to be work day. I would spend Saturday in the company of friends, see the zoo, sleep in, enjoy my spanking new Mason Pearson hair bush (OH MY GOD it's amazing), a complete what needed completing on Sunday.

Today arrived and I set about my task. I got a couple of things done and then M wanted to put the final air conditioner in the guest room and did I have a couple of minutes to help him? The humidity had become unbearable and I figured if I was having trouble breathing, it must have been ten times worse for him. So I say yes. Three hours later, we had lift off and a wonderful cooling sensation throughout the house. No more air conditioning behind closed doors. I'll admit, there was anxiety on my part as I watched the seconds tick by, but I tried to keep all of that inside and help where I could. It did go well. There were complications of course, but no one yelled and no one threw anything around the room. Could it be that we're maturing?

So that's done and then I see that the fridge is basically empty. I look at my schedule for the week and I don't see a time where I'm going to be able to get food into the house. What is it about the week before you go on vacation? So I dash to the store, and in record time have the shopping done. I get home, have a plate of veggies and am about to really get down to it.

And then the power went out.

I kid you not. Apparently the addition of another air conditioning unit and the use of the microwave and the kettle for some noodles being made tripped the breaker for everything in our apartment, save the stove. Again, I tried very hard to be calm. I knew I had lost a good bit of work in the power outage, but freaking out wasn't going to bring it back any faster. We had to wait for the residents of the basement unit to come home so we could get to the main breaker box. I had decided that I was going to spend that time hoping to die or determining if it was possible to run my computer off the outlet on the stove.

M had a better idea. Let's play chess. I've been wanting to learn this game for some time now, but since it's a game of much time and concentration, I've never really had the time. I guess I've always felt that chess was an indulgence. What better time to start then when you're stuck at home with no power.

I'd like to say that I held my own, but I didn't. I had no idea what I was doing and just kind of guessed my way through the game. Every time I did something good, I carried it a step too far. I'm going to keep trying this game, but I really believe that I just don't think the right way for it. I am not a brilliant strategist and I lack patience. And playing chess makes me feel like I'm in the class of intelligence that's proud if they remember to put pants on in the morning.

Anyway, I lost. It took about 15 to 20 minutes for the loss to occur and M pretty much got me into a position that every which way I looked I was toast. The power was restored mid-game, so I could at least retreat to my office afterwards and feel like an intellectual failure in private. And now I have two or three hours to complete a days worth of work.

Keen.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Everything you've done wrong" by Sloan

HRH

A couple of updates

Things have been pretty busy as of late, but I thought I would check in.

Zeus appears to be on the mend. Actually he's pretty much great. He's got a case of the sneezes, but I've been assured by a vet (or two) that he's okay. All that drama.

Through some reading I managed to learn the twists of two movies I was planning on seeing at some point; Batman Begins and Million dollar baby. When I was talking to M about Batman, he wondered why I didn't figure the twist out from watching the trailer, after all there was a moustache clue and everything. Silly me. As for Million Dollar Baby, I'm glad I know, because holy crap is that ever miserable. I can't really offer any thoughtful commentary about the controversy surrounding the twist, as I haven't seen it in the context of the movie. I can say that I'm glad I followed my instincts and didn't see it. There's too much misery in reality for me. I really don't need to pay to be subjected to more.

On another note, it's pretty hot. But everyone in Toronto knows that. I have a small tinge of paranoia about black outs and have been sucking back water and gatorade like it's going out of style. When it gets hot like this and I get dehydrated I get leg cramps. Really flipping annoying leg cramps. It's almost as annoying as the fact that it JUST WON'T RAIN!!!!

Brutal winters and brutal summers. Yay Ontario.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Hot in the city" by Billy Idol

HRH

Zeusifer and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Worst. Pet owner. Ever.

I've been really lucky when it comes to my cat. He's very affectionate, loyal, obedient and adapts pretty well. Sure he wakes me up in the wee hours of each day and is the master of the incessant meow, but he's the trustiest of side-kicks and has followed me across the world and back.

Zeus, like most cats, is not a fan of going to the vet. It's often been something he will endure with a growl or hiss, but usually everything that needs to be done gets done. Wednesday night was meant to be his annual check up. He's a decade old now, so he gets all kinds of exciting tests that tell me that he's still rockin' it hardcore after so many years. I went to our vet's office, predicting the usual fare as he's a pretty healthy guy, but things went awry.

For lack of a better way to describe it, Zeus went mental. It may have been because it wasn't his usual vet, or because he was there alone with me and clued into my anxiety or because the vet's office was absurdly busy. I don't know. What I do know is that I had never heard noises like that come from him. He was just not having it.

So it was decided that Zeus would come back the next morning and be sedated for everyone's sake. That way the vet could get a good look at how he's doing and hopefully less stress for him. He would have to be fasted that night.

I pretty much didn't sleep on Wednesday night. He was fine, but I was still shaken by hearing my beloved kitty so scared and angry. This knot developed in my stomach that just hasn't let go. I felt so awful in the morning when I couldn't give him his breakfast. As much as I like to think that my cat and I communicate in some way, it was glaringly clear that there was no way to express "You can't have food because they're going to knock you out today" though head rubs.

As I'm drinking my breakfast smoothie and Zeus sat beside me meowing "why, why, why?" I watched the reports from London on TV and felt like a fool for being so upset about my cat when evil like that just won't stop happening.

Anyway, Zeus and I made our way back to the vet. The vet decided that maybe we should try taking blood and things like that one more time before they try sedation. There's always a risk with it (and a cost) and if that can be avoided, then better for everyone. So we tried, but it was worse than the night before. I stayed calm, stayed composed though I just wanted to cry. Helped them put him in a cage and said what all pet owners whose pets are having a bad day say "He's normally never like this." To be fair to him, if you held me down and tried to take blood from me, failed, took away my breakfast and tried to hold me down and take my blood again the first thing the next morning, I'd be violently angry too. Seriously, what were we thinking? Let's examine a starved and tired cat.

So I left him there and drove into work. I listened to the CBC and thought a lot about the day that 9/11 happened. I got thinking that you can't truly have an impact someone's beliefs with a gun to their head, but at the same time how do you stop people from blowing you and your loved ones up?

I went through the day, kind of aware of what was happening, kind of not. I picked up Zeus, who was looking very angry about the whole situation. I tried to concentrate on all the instructions I was being given about getting further samples for the lab and about the blood they found in his urine (present thinking is that it's there from a combination of the urine extraction that was performed while he was under and something that happens to male cats when the are very, very stressed, all of which should be remedied by a supplement I'll be adding to his food this weekend). They told me thing after thing, that I was going to do and how we was going to need his teeth cleaned again and that one of his kidney's is slightly bigger than the other (nothing new there). She showed me the heart stopping bill, which I paid (thank goodness for pet insurance), still rather stunned at how stressed Zeus had been with the process and the patch of fur that had been shaved off his neck for sedation.

I quietly asked "Is he healthy?" There had been so much drama and stress around this. I just came in to get his vaccinations, his annual de-worming and some other tests, but it felt like it was a situation was far more dire than that.

He is healthy. They're still waiting on his thyroid (I think it would be odd if my cat had a thyroid problem like I do) and parasite tests to come back, which are 99% sure to be negative as he's indoor (which kind of makes me wonder why we went through the exercise at all, but that's just the tired pet owner talking, not the believer in preventive medicine). Apparently his heart is in fantastic shape. So yay for that at least.

I brought him home and the first thing he did was eat (a good sign) and he's been napping big time ever since (as usual after his vaccines). I think he has forgiven me. We spent a lot of time curled up on the bed together last night. He got lots and lots of rubs and I just kept saying "I'm so sorry" and wondered what I'm going to do next year. Having him healthy is so important, but if bringing him to the vet turns into a drama that is so hard on the both of us... I just don't know what to do about it.

At least we have a year to sort that out.

Today's sing-a-long song: "In your world" by Muse

HRH

Thoughts from the Loblaws parking lot

"... Just because you think you're cute in your relaxed jeans, carefully chosen generic T-Shirt and clearly styled to look messy hair it doesn't mean I won't run your ass over if you don't get out of my way..."

"...Oh, 'round here we ridin' slow, we keep it gutta, you should know, Gettin' crunk off in tha club we gets low, oh..."

"...What has become of me. I was just cleaning my glasses so that I could read the cover of US magazine better. Is this really what I got glasses for?..."

Today's sing-a-long song: "Big Yellow Taxi" by Joni Mitchell

HRH

Small town values

This past weekend took me and my men (M and Zeus) back to the K for some boating, shopping and holiday weekend revelry. It was a success on many fronts. M and I returned with a good haul of clothing, Zeus spent hours and hours outside. sleep was caught up on, large amounts of beef were consumed, time was spent on a variety of water crafts and M and I finally got around to seeing Mr. & Mrs. Smith and we are now in the midst of developing a plan to steal the entire wardrobe truck from the film.

Kingston was all good, but small. Beyond the fact that most things in Kingston are smaller when compared to Toronto (unless you look at house size vs. cost and the amount of lawn everyone has) I really knew I was in my hometown on my run this morning. Every person I passed said "Good Morning" to me. Torontoians are friendly enough. I don't agree with the common perception that they're grumpy or impolite and I suggest that anyone who thinks that should spend a couple of years in the Czech Republic (aka. Grumpyland) and get a realistic concept of what grumpy really is. People in the big city are nice enough, but in a small town like Kingston there's a different code of conduct. I like to think that I stick to it wherever I am.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Hometown Bringdown" by The Tragically Hip

HRH

A most terrifying silence

I just went more than 24 hours without being connected to the Internet. I don't know how I got through it. There were shakes, tears, many moments of denial, repeated restarts of the computer and the router, screams of frustration at the recorded Bell message of "There are service outages in your area..."

The moment the connection was restore M commented to me, as he walked past my computer, his laptop in hand "So now we go back to ignoring each other, right?"

Now the world is as it should be. The house is clean, the sun is out, it's the long Canada Day weekend and the Internet is back. Get me a Chipwich and I'm in heaven.

Today's sing-a-long song: "Stockholm Syndrome" by Muse

HRH