Candlemas is coming

This Friday, February 2nd is the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Temple (also known as “the Purification of Mary” and as “Candlemas”).

In place of the Holy Hour, which normally takes place on first Fridays at St. Alban's, we will have a special Mass to keep the feast at 6pm in the church. In keeping with ancient customs, it will be a candle-light service which begins with a special blessing of candles (hence the name “Candlemas”). Click here to read the prayers of blessing for candles. A short blessing of throats (prayer for good health) in honor of St Blaise will follow the Mass.

All are invited and welcome.

My First Online-Buy

Hmm, how to start? OK, to begin with, I am extremely cautious shopper. I analyse over every little detail of item -like the colour, the cut, the weight, the practicality, how often will I wear it, when will I get sick of it etc., until even my parents get fed up with me and tell me to just buy whatever it is. Also, even though I spend an abnormally large amount of my line window-shopping online all the time, I have never been brave enough to actually buy anything online -that was until a few weeks ago.

So a few weeks ago at the end of my Christmas break, I was looking through the net-a-porter sale. I looked at clutches first, since I figured if I was ever to buy anything online, it would be a bag, and clutches are usually cheaper than other types of bags. Plus I haven't bought an evening bag in almost two years and I'm terribly picky. So imagine my surprise when the first 'sale' page that I looked, there was a Miu Miu clutch that I actually liked and most importantly, it was affordable! So after imagining myself using it for a few days, encouragement from my sister and mum, and knowing that net-a-porter is extremely trust-worthy, I clicked the buy button.
The package arrived one day later than estimated, but it was all good. The clutch turned out a tiny bit smaller than I thought -it could just fit my already-tiny Samsung mobile phone. But I have come to accept that it is one of those little lipstick clutches. I love the velvet, which makes it look so classy. It's small, chic and girl-looking without being too cutsey. All in all, it was a fantastic experience. Now I really feel like I'm living in the twenty-first century!

Tell me about your online-shopping (or online-window shopping) experiences! Are you as obsessed as I am?

Ski like the wind

Andrew and I were up shortly after 4 a.m. today. The bus carrying mostly varsity members of the MPHS ski team was to leave at 6, for an invitational meet at Treetops.
Andrew was invited to that meet. He's on the "B" team, but an invitational is an invitational.
As he left, I told him, "Ski like the wind!"
Go Oilers!

Chloe Bags SS07

Since the Paddington, Chloe bags have been on everyone's radar. Well, it has been on mine anyway (although I've always liked the style of their clothes as well). I especially liked the Betty bag. But now, its time to look forward to their newest offerings in SS07. Here are the two I like best.
The Bay Bag. Isn't it a little reminiscent of the Balenciaga Motorcycle bag? But I quite like this version of it. It still fits everything and its more rounded, cute, feminine and just different. I find the two huge zips on the pocket really adorable too! This is a really fun and classic bag.
Then there is the Ava. Although similarly rounded, this bag is less structured and I think more elegant, ladylike and feminie. Definitely more sophisticated.

I can't quite decide which one I like better, they are so similar and at the same time so different! I adore them both. Et toi?

SAG Awards 2007 Fashion

Award show again, but this time it's the SAG Awards. The winners of the SAG are pretty much the same as the Golden Globes so I'm not going to bother much with who got the awards. Actually, this award seemed so similar to the Golden Globes I wasn't even going to blog about it, but some dresses were so pretty that I couldn't resist.

OK, wow. Katherine Heigl's outfit was pretty disappointing at the Globes, but this dress just looks stunning on her. Plus she carries that old Hollywood look really well. Look at how gorgeous that hair and makeup are...

Sandra Oh (and her stylist) seem much better at selecting the right dresses for her now. She looked elegant in this Armani dress. One thing worth mentioning, Armani (or Armani Prive) totally upped the fashion-meter at the SAG yesterday. A few of the stylishly classic dresses were by Armani -more below:

I love Cate Blanchett's whole look here, from the dress to necklace to the earrings. The dress is such a great fit and cool look on her.

Anne Hathaway in Marchesa -uh, so-and-so I guess. Teri Hatcher -I usually hate Hatcher's fashion, but this dress looks really nice on her, (thanks Armani). At the very least, she doesn't look her usual tacky self.

Sara Ramirez -not bad. The green silk suits her skin tone really nicely. Diane Kruger in Dior -ahh, what can I say? Diane K practically looks pretty in everything.

Ellen Pompeo in Lanvin -I appreciate that she's got her own sense of style, but I'm really not liking the neckline bit of this dress. Kate Walsh -So summery and happy! It's not an amazing dress or anything, but she looks great in it, which at the end of the day is the most important thing.

Helen Mirren -I'm usually not interested what the older actresses wear to award shows, but Mirren looked so lovely and the dress was so suitable for her that I had to post about her.

The Ugly Betty ladies! Becki Newton -She's so gorgeous! Love the hair and makeup. And that dress looks amazing on her. This is definitely an improvement from that ill-fitted dress at the Globes. America Ferrera -Oddly, I don't like her as much as Becki, but she does look elegant in this dress.

Rachel McAdams -Ooo, I've been obsessed with her pink highlights for awhile. As much as the dress is young and cool, I'm not sure this super mini dress was the right choice for the red carpet, but she looks so cute that I'm going to ignore it and just declare her mega-cute!

Whose dress and whole look did you like the most?

The opening acclamation

The words of the liturgy are saturated with biblical themes, images, turns of phrase, and even outright quotes. The opening acclamation added to the Eucharistic rite in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer is "V. Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. R. And blessed be his kingdom, now and for ever. Amen."

I was aware that this was adapted from the opening acclamation of the Byzantine liturgy of St John Chrysostom ("V. Blessed is the kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and for ever. R. Amen."). But I was not aware until now of the source of that acclamation in the Byzantine rite. It is a trinitarian version of the opening line of Tobit's prayer of thanksgiving at the end of the book Tobit in the Old Testament Apocrypha.

Tobit 13:1
Then Tobit wrote a prayer of rejoicing, and said, "Blessed is God who lives for ever, and blessed is his kingdom. . . . "

A Protestant appreciation of Mary

Instead of asking what the real Mary was like, we tend to debate what she was not: whether she and Joseph refrained from sexual relations and whether she had a sin nature. A cursory reading of Jaroslav Pelikan's brilliant Mary Through the Centuries will acquaint any reader with the fulsomeness of such debates. Because Protestants have spent their time debating about Mary, they have rarely attempted to claim her as their own. Consequently, she has become little more than a delicate piece in a Christmas crèche, whom we bring out without comment at Christmas and then wrap up gently until we see her again next Advent.

But there are signs that those days are coming to an end. On the horizon today is nothing less than a Protestant reclamation of Mary, seen most completely in Tim Perry's new book, Mary for Evangelicals (InterVarsity, 2006). For the purposes of this article, we first need to ask, "Which Mary?" A good place to begin our search for answers is Mary's Magnificat. There we will discover not so much the Blessed Virgin Mary draped in piety, but the Blessed Valorous Mary dressed for action.

Read the whole article, "The Mary we never knew", from Christianity Today.

Amazing singing

I've heard Katherine say it before, and she said it again: "We sound amazing."
Truly, the Michigan State Honors Choir did sound amazing during its performance Saturday at Devos Hall in Grand Rapids.
For Katherine, it was her second straight year as an alto in the choir comprised of some of the best seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade singers in the state. The performance was tight, well-rehearsed, and I just closed my eyes and let the harmonies wash over me.
It also was a great time to get together with the part of the family in Grand Rapids. Fuzzy and Annie made it to the show, along with Ethan, who lives with Fuzzy and whom Katherine likes.
Dinner at the Olive Garden followed the event; Katherine asked along her friend Christiana. She's "like a fairy-tale queen," in Kissy Missy's description.
It's worth noting that 15 Mount Pleasant students tried out for the honors choir -- and all 15 of them were selected.
What an experience.

The value of listening

Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Among preachers there’s a saying—that you really haven’t preached a great sermon until you’ve gotten some death threats. And when you stand in the pulpit, don’t be afraid to be run out of town, for you'll be in good company. (Still, part of me hopes this sermon doesn’t rise to that level of greatness.)

Believe it or not, that is the kind of reaction that Jesus ended up with after giving his message on Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth. We heard the first part of the story last week. Jesus takes a scroll from Isaiah and reads, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

When he sits down, it is not because he is finished, but because this is the traditional posture of rabbinic teaching. All eyes are fixed on Jesus, waiting for his comments on the text, when at last he says, “Today this scripture that you have just heard has been fulfilled.”

Jesus' public ministry began with this proclamation of the kingdom of God. The text he read was an Old Testament prophecy of the coming messiah. Jesus then tells them explicitly, the Messiah has now come; the messianic age you just heard about is dawning right here in your very midst. What good news! Or is it?

I’m sure there was a period of stunned silence. Then whispers begin: “What did he say?” “Did you hear him?” “Isn’t that Joseph’s boy?” The mood is amazement, but not without some growing hostility. He appears to be saying some extra-ordinary things, but they are skeptical of their truthfulness. Perhaps there is a turning point in their reaction. They start to wonder, Who does this guy think he is? Where has he gotten such supposed wisdom? Isn’t he just one of us . . . some guy who grew up down the street? What makes this preacher so distinguished? “Anointed by God”!? “This scripture has just been fulfilled”!? You've got to be kidding me.

Jesus could not help but overhear their whispered reactions. He says, “I’m sure you’re about to quote to me the old proverb ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ Or, 'Why don’t you show us some of these Messianic powers others may have seen?' Very truly, no prophet is accepted in his hometown.”

Jesus is articulating their own rejection of him. A variant reading of this verse makes the meaning a little more direct: “No prophet is acceptable in his own country, and no physician works his cures on those who know him.” Something about familiarity may block God’s work. Now we see the cause of their rage. Jesus just announced the coming of God’s kingdom and his Messiah, but they are becoming keenly aware that they don’t fit his description. It is a curious thing that so often we interpret good news for others as bad news for us.His sermon might well have been: “God’s real people look nothing like you.”

“The poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed . . . okay, but what about me?” We know that this is the message their getting because of what Jesus says next. He tells them it should not be so surprising for God to bypass us and go to those we least expect.

Jesus gives two examples. Once there was a drought in Israel, and during that time of scarcity of food, God only sent his Prophet Elijah during that time to a Shulamite woman (that is, to work a miracle for a non-Jew outside Israel). Again, his successor Elisha ignored all the Israelites with leprosy, but was sent to heal Naaman the Syrian instead (another miracle reserved for a non-Jew outside Israel).

But the kicker is that Jesus seems to indicate that God would be more than happy to work wonders among them, except that their own pride has made that impossible. This was just too much to bear. When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill where their town was built, so that they might throw him off the cliff. But he slipped through the crowd and got away.

It would not be the only time he would slip out of the hands of an angry mob. Ultimately, when the time was right in God’s plan, Jesus surrendered himself to a mob's demands for his life, and in doing so worked wonders among them at the cross . . . showing his Messianic identity to those once spiritually blind, healing the broken-hearted, releasing those held captive by the chains of sin, liberating the oppressed, and ushering in the kingdom of God.

What ought to get us a little upset this evening is that perhaps the saints of God don’t look a whole lot like you and me. Or to say it the other way around, perhaps you and I don't look a whole lot like the saints of God. And that needs to change. Perhaps some of our pride—our preoccupation with ourselves, our needs, our wants—has blinded us to God’s wonders among us. That's something about us that can change with the help of God's grace.

It has enabled us not to recognize and appreciate the good work that God is doing right now among those who are not . . . (fill in the blank--Americans, middle-class, Episcopalians or even Christians). But the greater danger is that our spiritual blinders may not only keep us from recognizing God’s goodness elsewhere, it may keep us from being a part of it right where we are.

This was the case for all but one of the twelve when it came to Jesus’ final hour. All but one were unwilling to heed the message of suffering which they simply did not agree with nor want to be a part of. All but one scattered, ran away, and even betrayed Jesus. Each of us today is lucky that in this case; their involvement was not a necessary for God to work the mighty wonder of salvation at the cross, where Jesus atoned for the sins of the world, and released us from the captivity of sin and death. It was something he did for us on his own. But now is the time to make our own.

Let us pray for the grace of humility, that the next time the Lord has a word for you in your life (especially a message that you may not like hearing), you may not be like his townspeople who refused to hear Jesus and tried to throw him off a cliff. Let us be more like those he went to next in capernaum who listening to his message and recognized his authority. Let us answer God's message like the little boy Samuel who responded to God’s voice saying, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

Interpretation of tongues

This Sunday's epistle touched on the practice of speaking in tongues. Which reminds me, I don't think I've ever come across the practice of tongues being exercised according to the Scriptural pattern (that is, always with an interpreter). But then, I don't spend a lot of time around people who are speaking in tongues.

Anyone out there witnessed or engaged in interpretation of tongues?

1 Corinthians 14:5, 12-13, 22
"The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless someone interprets, so that the church may be built up. . . . So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. . . . Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers."

Native pronunciations in the news

We are all familiar with the practice of news reporters employing (or at least attempting to) a native pronunciation of place names when covering stories in countries like Guatemala, Nicaragua, or Venezuela. Saturday Night Live had a good spoof of this on its "Weekend Update" a few years ago.

Then it occurred to me that I think I've heard this native pronunciation used only for Spanish-language place names. I don't think I've ever heard native pronunciation used for places like Paris, Moscow, Berlin, Cape Town, New Delhi, and so forth. The only exception is when I once heard a reporter use the native pronunciation for Baghdad. Is this a double-standard? And if it is, why has no one objected before?

Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow Palettes

On the first day I arrived back in London last week, I went on a oh-so-important beauty shopping trip with two friends. My friend, uh hum, not me, desperately wanted new makeup. (Oh wait, I think I ended up buying a skincare product too. Anyways...) A little tip to you: If you know you're going to buy a certain makeup product, you might as well get the makeup/ saleslady to put it on you so you learn how to use the product professionally. So, we went to the Dior counter at Selfridges and my friend got a little makeover.

The makeup lady applied concealer over her eyelids and undereye area first. Then she spent a long time layering the different shades of shimmery pink and purple onto her eyelids. To complete the look, the makeup lady put on eyeliner and mascara. Tada. The effect is super super pretty, like the looks you see in magazines.

As we know, the smoky eyes look were very 'in' for FW06, and smoky eyes are just so useful for nighttime looks. But the key to this season's smoky eyes is to use many shades of the same colour. (According to a magazine I read, using only one dark colour to create smoky eyes is like, so last decade.) For example, if you use this Dior palette, you would use the dark purple and brownish colour on the outer corners and the light pink on the inner corners of your eyes.

A Dior palette costs US$49.50 in the US and 32 pounds in the UK. Of course, there are other cheaper or more expensive eye shadow palettes, but I do think these Dior palettes have great colour selections.

By what name?

Here's a question that's always a good conversation starter. Sometimes I ask people, What name would you choose if elected pope? It's purely hypothetical, of course (I've never had the opportunity to ask a cardinal, but I'm sure they would politely decline to answer anyway). But it is always interesting why someone would choose a particular name.

The gospels tell us that Jesus gave the name Peter (meaning "rock" or "stone") to Simon bar Jonah. "Peter" does not so much describe who Simon was as it describes who Jesus wanted him to become. Immediately after one of his successors is elected and consents, a he is asked by the Dean of the College of Cardinals, "By what name shall you be called?" The Pope-elect chooses the regnal name by which he will be known from that point on.

During the first centuries of the church, men elected Bishop of Rome used their baptismal names even after their elections. Sometimes the baptismal name was new (named for a saint) and sometimes it was original. New names are also common at ordinations and consecrations and are particularly associated with life professions in some religious orders.

The custom of choosing a new papal name began in AD 533 with the election of Mercurius who was named after the Roman god Mercury. Obviously, Mercurius thought that it would not be appropriate for a pope to be called by the name of a pagan god, and instead took the name of a previous pope John, and so became known as John II. Since that time the pope has customarily chosen a new name for himself during his Pontificate; however, until the 16th century some popes continued the use of their baptismal names.

The last pope to use his baptismal name was Pope Marcellus II in 1555. The choice of a name is generally honorific or symbolic to the goal of a new papal reign. Honorific names have been based on immediate predecessors, mentors, political similarity, or even after family members (as was the case with Pope John XXIII). In 1978, Albino Luciani became the first pope to use two names for his regnal name when he took the name John Paul. He did this to honor both his Vatican Council predecessors John XXIII and Paul VI. With the unexpected death of John Paul I a little over a month later, Karol Wojtyla took the name John Paul II to honor his immediate predecessor and continue the post-conciliar mission.

Symbolic names signal to the world who the new pope will emulate, what policies he will seek to enact, or even the length of his reign. Pope Benedict XVI stated he chose that name because of his desire to be a peacemaker. The practice of a continuing with a baptismal name as pope has not been ruled out and future popes (who make the rule anyway) could elect to continue using their baptismal names.

There has never been a Pope Peter II. Even though there is no specific prohibition against doing so, men elected to the Papacy have by custom refrained from doing so. This is because of a tradition that only Saint Peter should have that honor. In the 10th century Pope John XIV used the regnal name John because his given name was Peter.

My answer?
I guess I should answer the question before I ask for answers in the comments. My silly answer would be Bob or Magillicutty because I think "Pope Magillicutty" sounds funny. My serious has always been Linus (possibly the same Linus mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21 according to Irenaeus). He is recorded as the first successor to Peter at Rome who was entrusted with the leadership of the early church there, died a martyrs' death, and was buried next to Peter on Vatican hill. Little is known about him, but I feel some identity with the name and I like the idea of its uniqueness and antiquity.

In researching Linus for this post, I was very surprised to learn that the Liber Pontificalis gives 23 September (in AD 79) as the day of his death and thus his feast day. It was interesting to me because I was ordained to the priesthood in 2002 on the 23rd of September. And I never new the connection until now.

Comments please . . . What name would you choose if you were elected pope?

Conversion of St Paul

I am fascinated by the similar way in which St Paul and St Peter are commemorated. Neither has his own single feast day on his "heavenly birthday" as is custom. They share a day (June 30th) commemorating their martyrdom in Rome, although they did not die together. However, some early sources contend that they were put to death on the same day. Even more contend that it was in the same year, AD 67.

The other interesting thing is that while they share a feast day, they also both have feasts that specifically commemorate their faith. Both moments of coming to faith would be significant for the unfolding of the church's history and mission. On January 25th, we celebrate the Conversion of St Paul, and on the new church kalendar we now similarly commemorate the Confession of St Peter ("thou art the Christ") on January 19th.

The Queen

In the light of all these nominee's for The Queen, I felt like I should comment on it as well. I watched this movie back in Paris, because they weren't showing Marie Antoinette in the cinema. So I didn't have much expectations for it and honestly, I had no idea what it was about.

So I was pleasantly surprised when the movie turned out to be so good. I've never thought of Diana's death from such an angle. I just remember feeling sad that she died and we all watched the tele when they showed her funeral procession and Elton John sang Candle in the Wind. It was interesting to see how the Queen struggled to cope with the situation.
And Helen Mirren played Queen Elizabeth so well too! All the inner struggle, the pride and the dignity was so powerfully conveyed- and she didn't even do it with words! Plus, she LOOKS like Queen Elizabeth! The make-up and hair and everything is just amazing.
Even her co-star Michael Sheen looked like Tony Blair. And I really liked his character too, he was funny yet compassionate and supportive of the Queen's plight while everyone else just didn't understand. Plus, I thought the bond between the Queen and Tony established at the end by Diana's death was really touching. I also liked that the theme of the movie was different from all the usual genre of movie, romance, comedy, save the world etc.

Who would've thought that such a touching movie could be made of a few short days?

Haute Couture SS07 III

The final wrapup of the SS07 Haute Couture shows; the last dazzle.

Armani Prive

The most obvious thing about this show was that everything was silver, or at least some part of the couture was silver. The second most obvious thing is the Indian theme -Indian influenced cuts and turbans.

Other than that, it really is just a dazzling show of gorgeous, elegant dresses and suits.

That's such a pretty, cute cocktail dress (on the left), which sort of reminded me of Marchesa, although this dress is obviously fancier. And the dress on the right is the Armani-chic take on the Indian dress.

Ahhh... the simple, beautiful flowing wedding dress.

Jean Paul Gaultier
While the Armani Prive collection was certainly lovely to look at, I personally found the Gaultier collection somewhat more fun to look at. Maybe because I'm not of the age to wear businesswear yet, and am more into the haute-casual-couture, if that makes sense. Anyways, I'm just going to state the obvious: this collection is very religion-inspired. Not a particularly inspiring topic to me, but Gaultier pulled together quite a lot of fascinating pieces.

First there are the halos. I love Stam's whole look (most right) -it's so beautiful and haunting.

Then there are the slightly darker looks. It's so cool how the halo on the left and the dress on the right look like the windows seen in churches.

Then there are the couture that are so artistic that I don't quite understand. Oh well, this is haute couture.

And finally, though not my style, it is a really pretty dress, with the cape and sheer material. And of course, that crazy hair and halo!

Alas, we'll have to wait another six months to see the next round of Haute Couture collections. Or perhaps we'll see a few of these dresses at the award shows? We'll see.
Photo credit: Marcio Madiera @ style.com.

Haute Couture SS07 II

Sigh, another season of the world's most beautiful dresses. . . .

Givenchy
Personally I really liked Tisci's collection. I thought it was brilliantly elegant and modern with just the right amount of detail to be haute couture.

A very different yet elegant design in navy blue. And I just love the simplicity of the black dress. Even though its simple, one can still see the excellent tailoring that went into the skirt that hangs around in the most flattering way.

See what I mean about just the right amount of details? Its there but its not too over powering like some shows I know. . and isn't the yellow dress so refreshing? The bright color contrasts perfectly with the model's dark hair and pale complexion!

And I just liked how different yet elegant the dress on the left is. The tailoring of the skirt is just genius. The dress on the right though is overpowering and looks like the model has wrapped snakes around her upper body.

Christian Lacroix
Christian Lacroix was *yawn* same old same old. A melange of flower prints from all over, it really is not quite my thing and I can't quite bring myself to be too excited about them as I did before when he rolled those delicious candylike dresses. There are a few more simpler feminine and pretty ones that I liked:

But mostly, it just looked like a mismatched mixture of floral prints to me.
Lily Cole looks unusually happy here considering that she's in that ridiculous head gear and over powering dress. Thats professionalism.

Chanel
As most of you would know by now, I am usually an ardent fan of Chanel and I always have nothing but good things to say about their collections. But this time, I must admit, I am somewhat disappointed by the collection.

I can feel Karl's attempt to incorporate the latest trends with the classic Chanel. And I like it, the black stockings with the short dresses and belts are adorable. But in some instances, like the pink jacket above with the huge bow (right), I just don't quite know what to make of it.
There are some gorgeously trendy pieces. I absolutely LOVE the neckline in both these outfits, its different but still ladylike and cute. I mean, that black coat with the feather trimmings (right) is just darling!

More lovely outfits. Again, the neckline on the left is amazing, and I think the very structured (and beautifully made) tux with a flowing chiffon dress (right) strikes just the right balance.

I even understand his glamor theme here. This is glamor and thats fine, this is stunning.

But those were just the better ones I selected from the show. The rest of the collection was drowning in feathers and just way over the top. I think Mr Lagerfeld has been watching too much Project Runway, because these designs remind me of Laura Bennett and her obsession with feathers and sequins.

And then, he started spending too much time hanging out with Gwen Stefani, because doesn't this dress (right), remind you of something Gwen wore a while ago when she was pregnant?
These layers of chiffon (left) is most unflattering and is reminescent of the last YSL collection. And this dress looks like the haute couture version of Cruella de Ville's costume.
Don't get me wrong, I am sure the detail and craftsmanship of these outfits are nothing short of exquisite. I am just more used to seeing something as classic, elegant and divine as the dresses above than the other over the top creations. I know this is couture, but its still supposed to be flattering to the figure!

All credits of the photography goes to Don Ashby and Marcio Madeira.

Single or Double Eye Lids?

I can't say I personally have this problem, but from friends who do have single eye lids, they've always had a problem with applying the current eye make-up trends or just eye make-up in general because they don't have the crease. I guess I can see why and that is probably one of the reasons why double eye lid surgerys have become so common nowadays. For those of you who want double eye lids but think that a surgery is a bit too scary (and it IS!), here is a little contraption the japanese came up with to give you temporary double eye lids.
The Koji Technical Eye Tape is basically a clever thin tape in the shape of the contours of your eyes. You stick it on the top of your lids, look up, let it stick and *viola* double eye lids! Thats the theory anyway. The application, like that of fake eye lashes, is not as easy as it sounds. The effect is also probably not as perfect as one would hope, because from the side you can totally see the tape. And even from front on, it looks slightly unnatural. But still, for all intents, you have double eye lids for the day. Isn't this such a clever idea? I never even knew such a thing existed until this weekend when my friend came in with suddenly double eye lids!