Absurd ...

I've written before about my pet peeve with the revival of hippie "chic," but this suede fringed pouch really takes the cake. At a cool $1,650.00 (one thousand six hundred fifty dollars), it's from Jimmy Choo. Can you believe it?

CARGO Essential Eyeshadow Palette

Cargo Daily Gloss and CARGO's ColorCards™ are two of the most ridiculous cosmetics gimmicks: both are products that monetize items that were freely available. Bottled water, anyone? But hey, that's marketing.

CARGO Essential Eyeshadow Palette, however, is a gimmick I support. The palettes come in Cool/Neutral, Warm/Neutral, and Deep/Neutral and each of the four shades in a palette is embossed with its function/use.

As Linda Wells's book Allure: Confessions of a Beauty Editor notes, there's a brown eye shadow for every woman. Taupey shades suit women with cool undertones, while golden browns suit women with warm undertones. CARGO Essential Eyeshadow Palettes provide basic eye shadows for every woman.

These CARGO palettes reminded me of Look Cosmetics, a brand that was exclusive to Barneys, but lasted only a couple of years at best, back in the 90s. Look featured graduated tones in both warm and cool shades; however, the eye shadows were sold as singles. Now that was a great concept.

You may find CARGO Essential Eyeshadow Palette at Sephora.com.

No more spills

Tonight I removed the toe nail polish from my summer pedi. I spent more for the Cutex® Twist & Lock Pump nail polish remover than I would have for Cutex® in the usual bottle, but who knows? This might be a better value, as a measured amount is dispensed with each press and, best of all, no spills! In addition, the squat shape prevents it from being tipped over.

I found this at Bed Bath & Beyond. Note: not all BB&Bs have expanded health & beauty care sections. To find a BB&B with an expanded health and beauty care section, go to the store locator and enter your zip code or city/town and state: if there is an HBC logo for a store in the search results, that store has an expanded health and beauty care section. As I've written before, you can find products that you probably won't find elsewhere.

The final Presidential debate

So how did it play out? After the debate, I visited twitter and followed the “tweets” that people had made during the debate. The most sensible thing I read was that we need to judge the candidates on basis of character and strategy.

I commend Obama for citing the risks of borrowing from China (which holds billions in U.S. Treasury notes) to pay Saudi Arabia for oil. For someone like myself who sees an ascending China, a resurgent Russia, and the Middle East as at least major challenges, if not evolving threats, to our national security, I found Obama’s awareness refreshing. However, he provided no specifics on getting the U.S. out of that dilemma.

On energy independence, McCain came out on top by referring to existing proven sources of energy such as nuclear and natural gas. Obama referred to a 10-year plan to make the U.S. energy independent through unproven “green” technologies. He has drawn parallels to JFK’s challenge to put a man on the moon in 10 years. It is a flawed analogy. In JFK’s time, we were engaged in a space race with an identified competitor: the Soviet Union. Having an identified competitor galvanized the U.S. to realize its goal of putting a man on the moon. Will Obama identify an external competitor that will challenge us to become energy-independent? Moreover, I don’t share his faith in ethanol, and chalk that up to the fact that he represents Illinois: corn farmers there have a vested interest in ethanol. Diverting acreage from crops such as wheat and soybeans to corn for ethanol has lead to higher prices for commodities and a world food crisis. I do commend Obama on canceling leases for companies that don’t drill offshore.

On the economy, Obama galvanized prospective voters about the profits made by Big Oil and challenged McCain on cutting corporate tax rates. McCain did not, but should have, answered the issue of Big Oil profits directly. He did make a good case about tying jobs to corporate tax rates, as companies will locate to countries that have lower corporate tax rates.

Evaluating Obama’s and McCain’s health care plan is beyond my “grade level,” except to say that Obama successfully debunked McCain’s assertion that people could go across state lines to buy health insurance in the last debate by saying that insurers would relocate to other states that have less oversight. His analogy was the fact that many companies incorporate in Delaware for the same reason. He didn’t say that last night: wonder why? :)

So there you have it. Debate, please!

A politically incorrect post

With less than three weeks before the election, I'm taking the risk to voice my political views. I’m very skeptical about Barack Obama, and here I must set myself apart from friends on my social networks who love Barack Obama.

My worldview changed completely after 9/11: in this way, I’m like Dennis Miller, actor Ron Silver, and this blogger who calls herself neo-neocon. I do believe that America has enemies who wish us harm. Only conservatives seem to recognize this truth, which is why this disillusioned liberal has gravitated to conservative web sites and blogs. National security remains the number one issue with me.

I appreciate that many people think that the economy is a more important issue than national security (when, in fact, the two are inextricably linked). President Bush is hugely unpopular, and it’s easy to pin all the blame on him and want to vote for “change.”

However, Democrats have had a significant role in the mortgage meltdown. Consider Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), chair, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, who benefited from sweetheart deals from Countrywide to finance his properties. Consider Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), Chair, House Financial Services Committee, who said that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were viable as recently as this summer. It should be pointed out that Barack Obama received the single biggest chunk of political contributions from Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Outside the government, there are Herb and Marion Sandler, who sold their Golden West Financial to Wachovia for $24 billion. Golden West specialized in selling adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) to home buyers who, as rates increased, could not pay for their mortgages. Wachovia’s purchase has crippled the company greatly, making it a takeover target for Citigroup and Wells Fargo. Living in the Mid-Atlantic States as I do, it’s almost impossible not to do business with Wachovia. Wachovia is the dominant bank, as it has gobbled up smaller regional banks (like the big fish swallowing the small fish, which in turn is swallowing an even smaller fish ...). The Sandlers have poured millions into leftist organizations that have promoted Barack Obama.

For these reasons, I don’t have faith in Barack Obama's ability to monitor the banking system (without alienating his base). I won’t be voting for him as President. But McCain doesn’t have much fight in him – his lackluster campaign reminds me of Bob Dole’s 1996 Presidential campaign, in which Dole become the Republican candidate simply because it was his time.

Follow me on Facebook

I decided to create a presence on Facebook, and I must say, I am addicted. It's so much more user-friendly than MySpace.

So why follow me on Facebook? Get links to up and coming indie beauty brands and other articles of interest for which only a one-sentence commentary (or none!) is needed. Find out about my idiosyncratic other interests (Martha and the Muffins?). National security is a main concern of mine, and you'll find links to articles of interest - and if you think that the economy is more important than national security (as polls indicate that voters think), the two issues are inextricably linked.

Send a friend request to Julie Priya (not my real surname, but I couldn't register The Style Page) to join me on Facebook.

Beautiful beneficial Benefit

Benefit is known for its creative treatment products and the cutesy names it gives to its products. Pictured above are two powder concealers from Benefit: Get Even Pressed Powder (L) and Powderflage concealer (R).

Get Even is not merely a blotting powder; it's also a powder concealer. If you like the light coverage of powder concealers, such as those from Bare Escentuals' Get Started kits, but hate the mess of loose powders, then Get Even is for you. Powderflage is a pale pink loose powder described as a concealer, but it's more of an eye brightener. I'd recommend it for fair to light complexions.

As long as you understand the real benefits (ahem :-) of Get Even and Powderflage - and find them useful - these products are a good addition to your makeup routine.

Bobbi Brown Custom Palette

It's been a long time since I looked at Bobbi Brown. I'm not sure why: I favor brands like Laura Mercier that project an image of making women look beautiful. Certainly Bobbi Brown qualifies.

I visited the Bobbi Brown counter at the nearby Nordstrom and was impressed by the variety of eyeshadow and blusher shades available for its Custom Palettes. I created my own palette, which consisted of eyeshadow in Hot Stone (medium ashy brown), Wheat (medium ash beige), and Black Plum and blusher in Brown Berry. Hot Stone is a recent addition to the Bobbi Brown collection of eyeshadow. After a brow stylist recommended ashen shades for my eyebrows, I've been using Hot Stone on my eyebrow, along with the darker Grey Brown eyeshadow from il-Makiage.

I'm very happy with the palette. I use Wheat as an all-over eye shade, Hot Stone on the lid, and Black Plum in the crease and outer corner, which I complement with a deep plum eyeliner. BTW a plummy smoky eye more sensuous than a smoky eye in traditional neutrals such as gray or brown.

I have two complaints. First, the individual shades come in their own fancy packaging: I'd much rather pay for individual pans. Secondly, the glossy black finish of the palette really shows up fingerprints.

Now the Bobbi Brown site (www.bobbibrown.com) has an application in which you can build your Custom Palette online.

Which books should all women read?

From Jezebel via Shine on Yahoo! a list of the 20 books every woman should read.

1. The Lottery, Shirley Jackson
   
2. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
   
3. The House of Mirth, Edith Wharton
   
4. White Teeth, Zadie Smith
   
5. The House of the Spirits, Isabel Allende
   
6. Slouching Towards Bethlehem, Joan Didion
   
7. Excellent Women, Barbara Pym
   
8. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
   
9. Wide Sargasso Sea, Jean Rhys
   
10. The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri
    
11. Beloved, Toni Morrison
    
12. Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert
    
13. Like Life, Lorrie Moore
    
14. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
    
15. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
    
16. The Delta of Venus, Anais Nin
    
17. A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley
    
18. A Good Man Is Hard To Find, Flannery O'Connor
    
19. The Shipping News, E. Annie Proulx
    
20. You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down, Alice Walker

My recommendations?

I've already raved about Wuthering Heights. Barbara Pym might be described as Jane Austen for the mid-20th century. I also recommend Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray (OK, so he's a man) about duplicitous social climber Becky Sharp.

While these might not be considered as books for women, I like the Emily series (Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily's Quest) from Lucy Maud Montgomery, who is best known for Anne of Green Gables. The Emily series is more mature than the Anne series and Emily was closer to Lucy Maud Montgomery's heart. There is also a touch of mysticism, in which Emily is able to see beyond the mere appearances of the world.

Guess!

MAC Emanuel Ungaro

This sweetly feminine image comes from, believe it or not, MAC. It's for MAC's new Emanuel Ungaro collection. The colors are pretty as well.

BTW I sampled the Mattene lipsticks from MAC's Cult of Cherry collection. My taste in makeup is decidedly conservative, and these lipsticks were too goth or vampish for me.