Sale Alert!

There are a lot of HIP brand products on super clearance at Target in Bismarck. HIP brand has lots of nice stuff. I love the eye shadows, now $1.50 . The pot of gel liner(I only saw teal) is supposed to be nice (around 2$). They also have HIP paint in secretive on clearance. It works well as an eye shadow base. (See my review) Plus there are a few stay on (2 step style) lip glosses for 2$. They are located in a bin at the far end of the isle in the make-up section.
Big Lots in Bismarck has 2 packs of Revlon (and other brand) nail polish for 2$. That way the polishes work out to be a buck a piece. They also have a lot of shampoos and conditioners. You should look to see if they carry your brand if you go for the nail polish.
Not on clearance, but Walmart has nice cards in their section of contest winning cards.

Summer Television

There is nothing on T.V. That's mostly true. Here are a few shows you can check out if you are interested.

Ruby
Sunday 7pm central (8pm elsewhere) on the Style network.
It is also rerun often thought the week.
A reality show documenting a morbidly obese woman's battle to lose her weight. At her highest weight Ruby was around 700 pounds. She was 450ish pounds at the start of the first season last year. A few episodes ago she hit 350 lbs. This is the least she has weighed in her adult life. She is a extremely upbeat and inspirational person. She's so es-sited. (show refrence) Watching her work through her struggles makes you feel good about yourself and life in general. I think this season is nearing the end. Two notes. 1. I usually hate anything upbeat and/or inspirational. 2. This isn't the best show in the world, but it's worth checking out some times.

The Rachel Zoe Project
Monday 9pm central (10pm elsewhere) on Bravo
Rachel Zoe is a stylist to the stars. In fact she is the reason you know what a stylist is. To my knowledge she is the first famous stylist. (person who picks out clothes for famous people) This a reality show about her job. This show might make you stupider by watching it, but the clothes are Uh-MAZING. I die! (show reference) The second season premieres this Monday. Again, it's not the best show in the world.

Top Chef
Wednesday 9pm central (10 pm elsewhere) on Bravo
Top Chef, in it's 6th season, is a competition show between chefs. They have challenges like: Cook a gourmet dish from items in the vending machine. There are many famous chefs as judges. The first episode was this week, but they rerun them throughout the week.

Project Runway
Thursday 9pm central (10 elsewhere) on Lifetime.
Project runway has moved to the Lifetime Network and finally begun their 6th season (last Thursday). This is a competition show between designers. It has famous designer judges. Challenges include making an outfit with materials found in a grocery store. If you are not already watching Project Runway, you're missing out. It's truly awesome. I had to add Lifetime to my favorite channel list. I think I'm dumber already.
Give the looks star ratings on Rate the Runway on the official site.

Eureka
Fridays 8pm central (9 elsewhere) on SyFy (formally knowen as SciFi)
You know how the Manhattan project built the bomb? Well this is a fictional television show about a whole secret town of elite scientists who build all sorts of advanced scientific projects. This show is tongue-in-cheek, campy scifi fun. I think they are in there 3rd season. You can also watch full episodes on Hulu.com.

If this list doesn't do it for you, Bret Farve is a Viking and the NFL is in preseason.

L'Oreal HIP Cream Shadow Paint Review

Product L'Oreal Paris HIP Cream Shadow Paint in Nervy (817) and Secretive (807)
Experience with this type of product I was using MAC paint as an eye shadow base. I like MAC slightly better, but they are practically identical.

My Rating 5 sit and spins




How do I use it? I use Secretive at an eye shadow base. I apply a thin coat with a brush. This could also be applied thinly with your fingers. (I use MAC brush 216se, bottom brush. The brush at the top is the one that comes with HIP paint.) After it has dried a bit I apply eyeshadow as usual on top of it. It helps the eye shadow last longer and helps the colors apply truer. An eyeshadow that would normally take two coats now may take only one to get the same intensity.
I bought Nervy because it was recommended by Allure magazine (named best brown eye shadow in October 08). I wear this as an eye shadow, applied dark at the lash line and fading toward the brow. It is a beautiful taupe brown color. (see pictures) I think the color would flatter many people. I add layers of nervy with a brush to build up the color. I also apply this thinly and use it as an eye shadow base under brown eyeshadow. In addition, I use it as an eye shadow base to tweak eyeshadow colors. I have a too yellow gold shadow that looks better with nervy under it.
What I like about it. The color of Nervy is great. It lasts. The eye close ups in the picture above was taken at the end of the day. It works as an eye shadow base. It's cheaper the MAC. (which is not sold anywhere in my state)
What I hate about it. I won't say I hate this, but some people might. It dries fairly quickly and once it is dry it's set. This means you have to be careful how you apply it. Once it's on, it's on. No more blending.

Would I but again? Yes. But a tiny tube of paint lasts forever, so I won't have to for a while.

Most of the HIP line of products are very colorful. (think inside of a crayon box) The selection of colors in the cream shadow paints is lovely and neutral. They have a pink color that has potential. There is also a black color (steely) that I think should work well as a base if you are doing a smokey eye. I'm guessing you could layer a metallic shadow over the black paint for a modern smokey eye.

The make-up look (pictured bottom right) is a good summer look for people with pale skin. Bright lipstick with muted eye shadow (nervy). I wore coral lipstick, but red or a fuchsia would work as well.

Portage Pass Trail, Whittier,Alaska

I'll begin this by saying I'm not a hiker. So I'm posting the information I would be interested in as a non hiker. Portage Pass Trail is about a mile and a half long. I would say it is a definite challenge for the out of shape every day schmo, but do-able. I am an out of shape schmo and I made it to the top by stopping to take breaks and a whole lot of huffing and puffing. The 4 year old that was with us needed to be carried much of the way. I personally wouldn't feel stable enough (even in good shape) to carry a child up the mountain, but it was no problem for her father. Caring small children is a judgement call. We saw older children (9 years old maybe) make the hike with no problem. The path is uneven and covered with loose rocks. It is not good for people with knee or back problems. I had my foot scoot a bit from underneath me several times on the way back down, but no real slips or falls. The other people hiking with me had no problems. When you reach the top you have a nice view of Portage Glacier as seen in the first picture. If you turn around, you have a view of the ocean (second picture). We had a sunny day, which is rare for Whittier. I added the third picture (right) so you can get an idea of the slope of the trail. The trail is about as steep as in the picture, sometimes a bit steeper. After you reach the top (first picture) if you go to the right you can continue on to see the face (bottom, melting part) of the glacier. The trail continues from there, but becomes quite difficult and is only for experienced hikers. Returning down the trail went quickly. The Hike took us about 2 hours, including gawking. Keep an eye on the clock. You may want to time your hike to coordinate with the one way tunnel into Whittier. Traffic switches directions every half hour (in 2009).
On the drive to Whittier, don't miss the scenic view between the two tunnels. It has a great view of several glaciers(shown left).
We ate in Whittier at the Cafe Orca. I split a halibut (fillet) burger and clam chowder. They were both excellent. The sauce on the "burger" had real capers. The grilled fries were also very good. They serve hummus sandwiches if you are a vegetarian. And there is a lovely dining patio that is right next to the ocean.