Cosmetics Giveaway - Winners!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!
I've drawn the winners of the giveaway of A Few of My Favorite Things - The Makeup Edition. Thanks to everyone for sharing your favorite cosmetics with me - some of these are already in my makeup kit, others I will be trying soon!


Now, let's take care of business, shall we? After all, it's why you're here! :)


The three winners of the C.O. Bigelow Mentha Organics Sheer Lip Tint in Barely There are:


AJSands -
My favorite makeup item is lipstick because I think a splash of color can do wonders. I experiment quite a bit and change my colors depending on season, mood, or amount of tan, but I keep coming back to an old tube of Bobbi Brown. I'm not sure the color name (I'm gonna have to go see now!) but it always seems to be perfect. Geez, I hope they still make that shade...


Rachel -
Any MAC shadow is SO much fun, but also L'oreal HIP cream eyeliner. Goes on smooth, doesnt move. Have to be careful not to let it dry out in the jar though!
We are gonna have to get that "make up forever"!! I wanna try it!!


Joy McCarty -
Don't leave the house without BareMinerals Foundation. I tried the matte but always come back to the original. I love that it has SPF. It's the ONLY makeup I wear everyday!

And the winner of one of my favorite makeup items, winner's choice, is....

SK -
I still love my mascara - Christian Dior DiorShow mascara in black. :) 
But I definitely want to try the LashWow stuff sometime!

Congratulations to all the winners! Please email me at dyclement05@gmail.com to claim your prize! (And please be sure to email me from the email you used in your contest entry!)


Here's to trying out some new makeup in the next week or so!

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Another iPad review

There are tons of iPad reviews out there. Most written by folks way more technically savvy than I am. Nonetheless I am giving you the low down on this gadget of gadgets, mostly because some of you asked, but also because I think reviews from people we know, our friends, family, co-workers, are a little more meaningful than those of a random stranger, technical prowess or not.

Oh, and for those of you that aren't Apple fans, I will do my best to keep this review impartial. Be forewarned however, I will likely fail as I am a big fan of Job-sy and his minions in Cupertino.

Also, I have the 3G + wi-fi version so my review will cover this model only.

Aesthetics
The iPad is, without a doubt, beautiful in it's simplicity. A delicately curved back make it feel comfortable in your hands and at 1.6 pounds it feels solid without being heavy. Lightly curved corners and super clean lines are form factors borrowed from the iPhone and iPod touch, making this device feel right at home in your hands, and already extremely familiar.

Screen
The screen is super crisp however it is definitely a smudge and fingerprint magnet. If you're planning on buying one of these babies, go ahead and get the Apple Polish cleaning kit. The microfiber cleaning cloth will keep you OCD types happily cleaning the smudges off your screen.

Now while the smudges are really noticeable when the device is off, you can't really see them when it's on and to be quite honest, most of the times I'm looking at the screen, it's because my iPad is on. That being said however, the super glossy screen is difficult to view in direct sunlight as it's highly reflective and if you want to see it, expect to set the brightness level as bright as it will go. This is probably the biggest thing that will keep this device from eating up the eReader competition, in my humble opinion.

Keyboard
I should preface this part of the review by telling you that I love physical keyboards, particularly because I'm a really fast typer. Typist? Whatever, you know what I mean. When the iPhone was first introduced I was loathe to give up the physical keyboard on my smartphone, and it took a long time before I jumped on the iPhone bandwagon. Once I got used to the virtual keyboard however, real keyboards, on smartphones anyway, felt clunky to me. While I can't say the virtual keyboard on the iPad will ever be a full replacement for my physical keyboard, I can tell you that typing on it is quite easy, and, for me anyway, completely delightful. And almost as fast as typing on my physical keyboard, but with the added bonus of auto-correction and a keyboard that gets "smarter" the more I use it, adapting to my keystrokes.

Innards
Ok, so as I mentioned before, there are plenty of iPad reviews out there, most providing a much more technical breakdown than anything I have to offer. What I can tell you about the processing speed of this thing is that it is fast. I loaded all four gigabytes of my NYC photos and started flipping through them using the native Photos app, and good grief, this device was able to keep up with me. I could skim through all the photos and land on one, and my iPad would load and crystallize it within a second.

Surfing the web is also a lovely experience on the iPad, whether on 3G or on wi-fi. I was able to catch up on all of my ABC shows without nary a hiccup in the streaming feed.

Missing Stuff
Much ado has been made about the things the iPad lacks; Flash support, multi-tasking, a camera. Let's tackle each of these, shall we?

Flash Support
I have not really felt the lack of Flash support, mostly because I don't use sites like hulu.com much, however I'd be lying if I told you I didn't miss Flash at all. There are a few sites I occasionally browse that apparently use Flash, and it's a real pain that Apple can't learn to play nicely with Adobe.

Multi-tasking
After almost two years of using the iPhone, a lack of multi-tasking is something I just don't notice. At all. Seriously. Most of what I do on my iPad is single threaded, and when I do need to switch between apps, the responsiveness is so immediate that I hardly notice that I had to leave one app to get to another. That being said, I am thrilled that Apple has figured out a way to introduce some level of multi-tasking without compromising the speed and stability of their OS, and look forward to its release for both my iPhone and iPad later this year.

Camera
I never did understand why the lack of a camera was a big deal for the iPad. After all, would you want to hold a 1.6 pound magazine sized camera up in front of your face to take photos? Yeah. Me neither. But I will tell you that the lack of a forward facing camera for video conferencing is a huge miss on Apple's part. This device is made for video conferencing, and a forward facing camera should have been included. I know they probably omitted it intentionally, will add it to the second gen iPad, and pity us early adopter fools. To this I say, "Shame on you Apple. Shame on you."

Other Stuff
I think I've covered all the big ticket items on the iPad, both included and missed, and after nearly a month with it, I can honestly say I love it. There are, however, a few things I'd like to see changed on it, some that I think will be covered when OS 4.0 is released. Here's a quick overview of my iPad wish list of improvements:

- Merged calendars
- Merged mailboxes
- Wireless sync to both my Macbook and my iPhone
- Ability to create folders or group apps and web pages
- Ability to store books in the cloud, for free (like Amazon's Kindle)
- Ability to "flip" pages on my calendar, like a book (this one is such a no brainer! I can't believe Apple didn't design the calendar to do this!!)
- Forward facing camera

All in all, I think the iPad is a beautiful piece of innovation, and while it is well thought out and beautifully put together, it is still a device in its infancy. To those contemplating buying one, I would say ask yourself what your intended use is first. Do not expect this lovely device to be a full on replacement of your computer, unless of course your computer is used primarily to consume media and the web. If you're looking for a great entertainment device, something portable and easily used by everyone in the family, then I highly recommend the Apple iPad.

I hope you found this review to be helpful and if you have any questions I'll be happy to answer them, just post a comment in the comments section and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. And whatever you decide to make your media consumption gadget of choice, happy surfing, Facebooking, Twittering, movie-watching, eBook reading, photo viewing to all!

Here's to innovation and technology!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Small Town Fairs

This weekend, our small town had one of it's many annual street fairs, the newly renamed Outdoor Adventure Days, formerly known as Main Street Days. Truth be told, I like the old name better. Gave it a more small town feel.

The fair is held on the historic part of our town's Main Street, in the heart of downtown Grapevine. A perfect spot with it's old timey shop façades, small boutique shopping and mostly non-franchised dining choices. The streets are blocked off, the booths, mostly food, drink, and arts and crafts, are brightly lit to attract and lure the merry fair goers.

Despite an exhausting bout with allergies this week, I put on a happy face and joined my husband and some friends the first night, and family the second night. Despite the sneezing and stuffy head, I had a great time. There's something about carnival food, bright lights, and the peal of children laughing as they are spun into dizzy oblivion that just makes me feel better, no matter how much my sinuses try to rain on my parade.

We started our small town fair adventure with my husband snapping a rare shot of me without a camera in front of my face.

I quickly reclaimed my camera to shoot this delightful shot of our friend Steve and his precious daughter Sofia.

Sofia is quite the ham. Can you tell?

The art and craft booths had awesome things you could buy; this particular ensemble caught my eye. If I had a stick figure, I'd totally buy this. And wear it. Often. 

No street fair is complete without at least one Funnel Cake booth. In the case of our small town fairs, there's usually three or four.

Fair goers love their funnel cake.

One of the things I love about the street fairs in our small town is that the shops and restaurants all stay open later than usual, and the places are all lit up, which gives them a special charm.

Window shopping is especially fun - the windows all look fantastic. And I just love the little outfit on the right, hat and all.

The skirt on the right in this window? LOVE IT. WANT IT. Will need to lose 100 pounds to wear it.

And then there's the midway. No street fair is complete without it.

The only ride my stuffed head could manage was the Ferris Wheel, which afforded a lovely shot of the fair grounds from way on high.

This little girl caught my heart, her eyes big as saucers and probably terrified of the flying machine ride, but determined to ride nonetheless.

Our friends Steve and Sofia also felt the urge to fly.

After Steve and Sofia returned to terra firma, our other friend Rusty volunteered to take Sofia for a bumper car ride. 

Sofia eyed their next target with sheer glee.

The next day, we hit the fair again, but this time with family. My nephew, Hilton, shooting for a giant, stuffed basketball. He missed.

My husband, tongue between his lips, faired no better than Hilton.

Neither did Kim, my sister in law. Hmm. She had her tongue between her lips too. A family trait, maybe? 

And then there's this face. She wanted no part of shooting hoops. She had her mind set on bigger things.

There was the roller coaster. Fearless.

Yeah. Fearless. Until you get off looking like this.

Thank God that look isn't permanent.

Next on the ride agenda, Wipeout. Which is what Hilton looked like when the thing started moving backwards for him. We thought for sure Kevin and Heidi would be wearing his lunch.

He held it together. And looked like this when the ride was over. I think maybe he threw up in his mouth a little. Maybe.

Height check to make sure she could ride alone. "Look Ma', I'm SO tall!

Let's go fly!

"What's next?"

Tilt-A-Whirl. Uncle Kevin likes to make it spin!

Lean left. LEFT!!!

Now right! RIGHT!!

Tilt-A-Whirl twisty faces.

Uncle Kevin, always up for some fun with the kiddos.

Last ride of the night, the Sizzler. All is well as we start the ride.

Danger! Danger! Centrifugal force mashing me to the outer edge!

Must. Resist. Urge. To. Melt. Into. Centrifugal. Powers.

Will. Pull. My. Self. Back. To. Center.

I. Give. Up. The. Force. Wins.

Way more fun when you just LET GO!

Man! This thing moves.

Spinning is so relaxing.

And now the other way. WHEEEEEEE!

Staying safe on the ground, with stomach and heart intact. Love the in-laws!

The Palace Theatre presents another Variety Show. Maybe it's time to check this place out.

By the time we were ready for food, I was worn out. Fun summer nights, but man, I could do without the tree pollens! 

Here's to small town fairs and carnival food!

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A Few of My Favorite Things: The Makeup Edition

I've decided to start a random series of posts of some of my favorite things. Not that any of you care what my favorite things are, but as I've said before and will likely say again, "My blog, my rules!"

The first in this random series will cover some of my favorite makeup items. I should tell you up front that I am pretty partial to Bare Escentuals make up, but I think there are a few other brands that make the favorites list, so this certainly isn't another infomercial, nor am I now, nor have I even been, any kind of spokesperson for anyone! I'm just the girl next door who's found some fantastic items I thought I'd share.

Please note these are in no particular order. And be sure to tune in at the end for a sweet surprise!

 BE Buzz Latte Lip Balm

Deliciously silky and buttery but with a light java flavor. Leaves my lips soft and supple and makes a great base for lipstick and gloss. Glides on easily and this stuff lasts forever, or so it seems. I'm still working on my first tube, and I love it now as much as the first time I used it.

Lash Wow by POP Beauty

This is a recent addition to my makeup wardrobe and oh my what a lovely addition it's been. No flaking, no lash breakage. Blackest of blacks, this mascara doesn't clump and leaves my lashes looking like I just stepped away from the lash bar. I've even had to tell people that my lashes aren't fake! The comb wand layers each lash with this glossy black mascara that provides the ultimate in volumizing, lengthening and thickening coverage. It's magical.

C.O. Bigelow Mentha Organics Sheer Lip Tint in Barely There

If I had to pick just one piece of makeup that I simply can not go without, it'd have to be this refreshing, über glossy lip tint from C.O. Bigelow. Worn alone, it provides just a hint of natural color and deliciously minty, non-sticky gloss. Layer over your favorite lipstick for Hollywood shine and a mega color boost or wear alone for a more casual but glamorously glossy look. Either way, this tube of wonderful goes everywhere with me

Too Faced Shadow Insurance

I used to hate wearing eye shadow, mostly because it would never stay on! That all changed when this little tube of awesomeness found it's way into my makeup kit. Talk about stay put action; this pretty much waterproofs my lids and keeps my eye make up bright and intact - even through a sweaty, 3 mile run!

Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil

Best finishing powder ever. 'nuff said.

CHANEL Rouge Coco in Muse

In case you haven't already figured it out, I have a serious thing for lip products. And this lightly rose scented with just a teeny twist of vanilla flavoring stick of delicious lip color is my newest lip obsession. I tried it while on a recent trip to NYC and found a color that is near perfect for day and night, dressy or casual - Muse. This creamy formula has great staying power and leaves my lips soft and 

super kissable. 

And last but most definitely not least.

Make Up For Ever Mist & Fix

This fine spray is what keeps my makeup intact all day, and when I say all day I really mean all day, through a sweaty run in 90 degree heat and well into the night. Just a spritz in the morning (before my mascara goes on) and I can rest assured that my face will look as freshly "done" at the end of the day as it did when I got ready that morning. Yes, this ranks right up there with the other absolute must haves. Definitely.

Ok - so, now you know what some of my favorite make up items are. Some you may be familiar with and others you may never have heard of. Well guess what? I like to share. I want you all to know the fabulousness that are these items. Ok. One. At least one of these items.

So here's the thing. I am giving away one of my favorites items to a randomly selected reader, and the winner gets to choose which one! All you have to do to win is answer the following question in a comment on this post, and be sure to include your email (you'll need it to claim your prize!):

What's your favorite make up item?

Is it a lip gloss? Eye shadow? Foundation?

Tell me, I really want to know!

And because I really do love lip stuff, I'm also giving away three (3) of the C.O. Bigelow Mentha Organics Sheer Lip Tint in Barely There to three (3) randomly selected winners (one each to each of the three winners.)

Let's recap, shall we?

The Giveaway:

1. One of my favorite makeup items, to be selected by the randomly selected winner

2. Three of the C.O. Bigelow Mentha Organics Sheer Lip Tint in Barely There to three randomly selected winners (one lip tint to each of the three winners)

To Enter:

1. Leave a comment answering the aforementioned question

2. Include your email in the comment. Entries with no email will not be entered in the giveaway. Winners will need their email to claim their prize.

3. Only one entry per person/email; multiple entries will be disqualified.

Deadline to Enter:

Entries will be accepted through 11:59pm (CST) on Monday, May 24, 2010.

Other random info:

1. Contest open only to residents of the continental U.S.

2. Your email will not be used or sold in any way; it is not collected and is only used for winner verification

3. Contest is sponsored by My Dyalog and no one else. The makers of these products have no idea who I am. 

Winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 25th, or sometime shortly thereafter.

Be sure to check back to see if you've won (winners will need to email me from the email noted in their comment to claim their prize!)

Go ahead with your glamourous self now and thanks for stopping in!

Here's to fabulous makeup and the blessing of sharing!

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