Grammys: The Good: Part Two

There was so much beauty on the red carpet that you're treated to two posts just to contain all the good looks of the night. Here goes the second half.


My second favorite of the night and definite winner for best pattern is Julianne Hough. She's a gorgeous girl and now that she's back to being a blonde I'm loving her whole look. Her dancer's body looks amazing in the plunging neckline and something about the dress makes her eyes pop like crazy. Love it. I'd wear this to a spring or summer wedding.

Of course, I have to have one on my list that everyone can disagree on that I love shamelessly, Jordin Sparks. I'm not completely crazy over the strange train, short in the front hem but it's such a gorgeous color and fit on her that I have to include it. This is so figure flattering and I wish I had curves like that!

For something totally different Janelle Monae wore her signature tuxedo outfit. I love it. The pants are gorgeous and the exact right length for her beautiful platforms. The only thing about this look I'm not crazy about is her tie. How amazing did she do in her performance? I've never heard her sing but you could tell she knew what she was doing, nerves alone would get the best of most of us.

Speaking of performers I was amazed by Miranda Lambert taking stage all by herself to perform her single "The House That Built Me," I'm not a big country fan but you have to be impressed by a solo performer on music's biggest night. She seemed completely humbled by winning the award and though I didn't like the dress she had on to accept, I absolutely loved her gold sequined number she sported on the red carpet. It works amazingly well with her blonde hair. Beautiful!

Kim Kardashian is always on my lists and I always feel like a sell-out for including her only for the simple fact that she's not a musical artist (yet! I'm not really looking forward to that one) and I can't get on board with the celebrity for celebrities sake stuff, enough of that. There's no denying she's gorgeous and has an amazing figure and this bronze sequined, cut down to there J.Lo'esque gown showed off her body perfectly. I'd really like to see her try a new hair and makeup look instead of wearing the same bronze smoky eye and nude lip. Anyone else agree?

Also always on my list, Lea Michele. I love this dress on her and her bold red lip. I love it for the simple fact that it's similar to my senior prom dress with the cutout lace panel, though that's all they have in common. The slit shows off her gorgeous gams and her bright smile makes it seem like she's actually enjoying herself which is always refreshing.

I have no idea who Melanie Fiona is, please forgive me. Of course if she always looks this gorgeous I won't be forgetting her anytime soon. This is another look I could actually see myself wearing. The silver maxi dress with metallic accent is fabulous but would look equally good at a spring BBQ as it does on the red carpet. Beautiful. I can't wait to see more from her.

There's probably another dress I loved that I could see others finding fault with but I can't get out of my mind long enough to keep it off my list, Mya. Her baby blue sequined strapless dress could have gone mermaid but her simple styling kept it completely grounded. Whatta ya think?

There must have been a lot more chicas on the red carpet but I kept seeing the same 50 or so over and over again. Did I miss someone I shouldn't have? If you know of anyone I shouldn't have overlooked please, please, please, let me know. I'll be sure to check it out.

BAFTA 2011

Okay, I'm officially jealous. Why did all the gorgeous ladies save their best dresses for London and the 2011 BAFTA awards? I can't even come up with any that I didn't absolutely adore. Why oh why? There's no way I could narrow down the best dressed so here I go in alphabetical order.

Amy Adams is beautiful and I was stunned when she sported the most perfect shade of peach on the orange carpet. This color perfectly offsets her hair and skin and I think it even complements that hideous Nickelodeon-esqe entrance.

Emma Stone in Lanvin. I have to say, I think Emma's missing her red-orange locks. This girl has not stopped wearing the shade since she went blonde. I love the lighter orange near her face the darker, tomato red on the bottom of the dress. So pretty and fun!

Emma Watson looked darling in a delicately patterned one shoulder gown. The nude color (or should I say colour) looked absolutely amazing with her skintone. Simply Smashing!

Wow. It's pretty much all I can say. Jessica Alba looks divine in this perfect shade of blue. I like the cut and neckline of this comfortable looking gown.

I always like the way jewel tones look next to red hair and Julianne Moore is no exception. This velvet strapless frock is perfection. It has almost an Elvish (not Elvis, silly) quality to it, I could see Liv Tyler wearing it as Arwen. Dork much?

Thandie Newton rocked my world in this over-the-top pink patterned number. I've never seen anything quite like it and it just looks like the most fun, I'm ready for spring kind of dress I've ever seen.

Grammys: The Good: Part One

Unprecedentedly, I have to split my good segment into two posts, there's too much to fit into one. I love that! It's never happened before and I never thought it would with some of the weird outfits celebs find to wear to accept their accolades.

I love the Grammys if only for the simple fact that the stars go all out when attending. This award show brings out the sexy in all the celebs in attendance, less stuffy, more fun and flirty. Without further ado:


Best dressed of the night goes to Kate Hudson. It's hard to find pictures of Kate, my guess is she didn't actually walk the red carpet. Homegirl should teach Natalie Portman a thing or two about dressing the bump. Her backless, navy Roberto Cavalli gown perfectly hugged her growing belly. Bravo for flaunting what you've got Kate! Her pregnancy glow didn't hurt matters either.


Then there's Natasha Beddingfield, an elegant, perfect for spring gown and retro waves. It's the most feminine I've ever seen her look. I love the sheerness of the skirt. The outfit speaks for her self, there's nothing left to say.


Also sporting a perfect spring pastel,butter yellow, is Jewel. The one shouldered gown looks amazing on her body and she was smart to pull her hair back and let the earrings steal the show. Pretty, simple and Goddess-like.


The beautiful and always age appropriate Selena Gomez, once again looked great. Her nude/gold sequined dress fits her perfectly without being too tight for her frame. And Hello! I love her gorgeous bubblegum pink lips and flowing chestnut locks.


Since Jennifer Hudson and Christina Aguilera performed together it's only appropriate that I show you their fabulous Grammy looks together. Jennifer's Navy dress shows off her amazing figure fabulously well. The silver accents set off her skintone perfectly. Christina's performance dress looked amazing, boosting her cleavage and hiding the less desirable attributes of her now fuller figure. Her hair looks gorgeous and as usual she's sporting her signature red lips with dark lined eyes.


There were a lot of shorter dresses on the red carpet (a great way to show off fabulous legs and get us all ready for spring). My favorites were Keri Hilson (and the gorgeous aqua shade of her dress), Jennifer Lopez (those legs, OMG, no wonder she's the ambassador for Gillette Venus) and Dianna Agron (who's simple black dress with just a few details really let her makeup and hair shine).

Check back tomorrow for the second half of my list and in the meantime let me know what you think of my first set of choices. Is everyone else as ready for spring as I am?

Covergirl NatureLuxe and LipPerfection

Wow. It seems like every time I turn around I'm finding a great new lipstick line at the drugstore, first Maybelline and now Covergirl. I'm really excited to try LipPerfection, 44 pigmented shades that promise to transform the look of your lips after a few wears.

And... how could you not be excited to try the NatureLuxe line? Natural lines are pretty hit or miss but it's about damn time we get a great affordable natural line we can all get on board with. The foundation with SPF 10 (not that SPF 10 is really enough) looks very promising. I love Lipgloss with balm like texture and to me the gloss balm seems a lot like the old school LipSlicks that I loved in high school.


On a not-entirely-different topic, how awkward does Taylor Swift look in the ads? She's such a beautiful girl, all tall, blonde and curly mane and her poses just look silly, trying to be a top model or something. Sit the girl down and make her giggle and snap some pictures, it's going to appeal to her fans and makeup fans alike.

If you try the line let me know how you like it and if NatureLuxe is something to try out.

Vouge Best Dressed Special Edition

I make it a point not to purchase special editions of magazines, especially when they cost $10.99, but I couldn't resist at least browsing through the Vogue Best Dressed Special Edition. It's amazing.

With pictorial proof of the chicness of Blake Lively, Marion Cotillard, Michelle Obama, Jessica Biel, Alexa Chung, Sarah Jessica Parker, and many more there are so many fabulous fashions to ogle it's ALMOST worth the $11.

I'm not a Vogue reader, I figure, I can't afford it so why bother, right? I love me some InStyle (even though that's clearly out of my price range as well). But, I have to admit, even though I hate to, that Vogue has easily the best pictures, the most notorious fashion spreads and the most talked about celebrities and models in the issues. Definitely take a peek at this magazine-book hybrid and let me know what you think.

SAG Awards: The Ugly

Now, we're on to everyone's favorite part of the award show season, seeing some of the horrendous outfits stars choose to wear. There are some *ahem Helena Bonham Carter* who always look wacky, they don't even make my list, you can just imagine what she'd be wearing.

I only had five ladies who made the cut at the Screen Actor's Guild Awards 2011, all of them complete surprises for me.

First up, the biggest disappointment of the night, Christina Hendricks. The girl has a body, that cannot be denied, so why hide it in what can only be described as Hugh Hefner Couture. It looks like a fancy robe and as a woman with curves I know how flattering a thick robe can be, it's impossible to look lithe in that. Her fiery locks and smoky eyes really looked gorgeous though so fire the stylist and hire the hair and makeup team, they're keepers.


After seeing pics of the SAG pre-party I was really hoping for something great out of Glee's Jenna Ushkowitz. I mean, the black lace dress she wore was fabulous, however her actual SAG dress was no where near the perfection confection of earlier. Her actual event dress reminded me of crepe paper or those horrible toilet paper wedding dresses made at bridal showers, not to mention the totally unflattering nude color. I couldn't get on board.


Next, but certainly not best, Julie Bowen. I think there's a certain type of woman who can pull of a jumpsuit, namely fashion modles with no visible curves. I'm not saying Ms. Bowen is the curviest girl but a one piece getup can only be as narrow as the widest part of your body, whether it's your athletic waist or your big ol' badonkadonk. A 70s flair bottom only adds to the strangeness. Pass, please.


In the awful, yet not terrible category is the lovely Rosario Dawson. First, I have to say I adored her earrings, easily something I can see myself running out to buy big emerald drops, gorgeous. However, her butter yellow dress and awkwardly placed ruffle-covered slit just didn't do it for me. I'm surprised. Rosario has never been one of my favorites but I expected so much more from her. Loving the retro hair though.


Last, and in this case definitely least, is Kate Mara. I love her beautiful auburn hair and her fabulously adorable features but I do not support her choice in award show attire. I almost couldn't get past her horrible twisted headband long enough to notice the atrocity that was her nude, ruffled, corseted, all over the place dress. I mean, that headband looks like something one would wear to wash their face at the end of the night, not wear on a red carpet and the dress has so much going on it could win a SAG award for it's broad range of styles. Next time I want to see her in something simple, a gorgeous jewel tone, an interesting neckline but otherwise simple and elegant.

SAG Awards: The Bad

We all watch the awards shows for the beauty and fashion but I can't be alone in enjoying the bad just as much, if not more than, the good. Here's a selection of some of my lesser favorites of the night, these aren't even the worst of it. Tomorrow I will highlight the atrocities that made the Ugly List.


First of all, in all the glamourous long dresses a star could pick Amy Poehler and Dianna Agron went for shorter dresses. Amy was in a knee length black dress completely wrong for her figure, only adding to the list of things wrong with her choice. Plus, not to rag on the girl or nothin' but I am not digging her baby blonde hair. I'd rather see her with a more natural hue, especially for a funny girl, she doesn't need to look like a bombshell. Dianna's tea length Chanel, however pretty just doesn't work for me. I applaud her for the fashion bravery but I think it was a misstep. Her makeup was surprisingly less than thrilling as well. For a girl with such gorgeous features I feel she was wearing way too much eye makeup.


Another huge no-no in my book is looking like you belong at prom, especially for ladies in their 30s, 40s and beyond. This year Jane Lynch and Winona Ryder stick out to me as two such actresses who forgot that their prom days were long behind them and Winona's purse certainly does not help remove the prom connotation from my mind nor her deer caught in the headlights look. She looks terrified that Jimmy Smith is going to try and get to second base after the dance.


Jayma Mays, no matter how cute, is doing herself absolutely no justice in the shapeless and unappealing peach dress she picked for the event. I would like to see her in a jewel tone to really show off her beautiful hair. I did, however, adore her matching peach lips.

Natalie, Natalie, Natalie. What am I going to do with you? I know I've been complaining about her loose tent like maternity dresses but this one, not a big step up. It hugs her bump in all the right places and just looks weirdly uncomfortable. Please pick something that hugs the whole bump not just the expanse of flesh across the center. Her hair, no, that didn't make me happy either.

Then of course, as usual, we have the lacy ladies who I feel did it all wrong. Nicole Kidman's black lace looks more appropriate for a funeral and it was ill-fitting on top of that. Her normally gorgeous strawberry blonde looks just looked blah (of course it's hard to blame her with a new baby at home). I really give it to Tina Fey for going with such an uncharacteristically bold shade of red on the red carpet but I can't get past the little tuft of lace at the top of the dress, it reminds me of pineapples for some reason. Her hair and makeup were sublime, as usual, though. Also in the lace category, though I'm not sure if it's actually lace or just a design on the fabric, is January Jones. I thought she looked amazing at the People's Choice Awards and I love how this look is the complete opposite of that look but I can't get on board. She's got a gorgeous figure and while the shape of the dress accentuates the hourglass I feel it's too covered up. Plus, am I the only one who hated this floppy hairstyle? My hair seriously looks like that when I wake up in the morning, minus the perfect blonde hue and sleek, glossy finish of course.

The last on my list isn't a bad dress choice per se but I think the black velvet belt completely ruined it. Maybe a matching belt or even a thinner black one tied in the back, just something different. I love the neckline and the color on Jennifer I just don't think the belt works, it breaks her up in a bad place for her athletically shaped figure.