Zaila Avant Garde wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Zaila Avant Garde wins the 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee:

Frankly, it was getting tiresome to see Indian Americans win the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Nothing against Indian Americans; I’m married to an Indian American. After Indian Americans swept the Scripps National Spelling Bee year after year, it was time to retire the Bee.

It is exciting to see African-Americans break new ground and excel in fields where they haven’t been represented before. Think GOAT Simone Biles.

#beauty #news Physicians Formula launches its LE scented Butter Cheat Day Bronzer Collection:

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Too cute: Physicians Formula launches its LE scented Butter Cheat Day Bronzer Collection:

  • Butter Cookie Bronzer – Sugar
  • Butter Donut Bronzer – Sprinkles
  • Butter Coffee Bronzer – Latte
  • Butter Cake Bronzer – Chocolate
Too cute: Physicians Formula launches its LE scented Butter Cheat Day Bronzer Collection

Which one appeals to you? Or do you have more than one favorite?

Dose of Colors Pretty Cool Eyeshadow Palette 👍🏻

Cold Cream 'n' Roses1 Comment

More often than not, I’m satisfied with the performance of my makeup: however, I sometimes come across products that elicit a WOW! Dose of Colors Pretty Cool Eyeshadow Palette is one of those products.

What is Dose of Colors Pretty Cool Eyeshadow Palette?

Dose of Colors Pretty Cool Eyeshadow Palette

It’s a five-pan eyeshadow palette with a gradient of matte taupe shades of increasing intensity:

  • Taupeless ( light taupe )
  • Let’s Chill ( neutral taupe )
  • Sign Off ( medium taupe )
  • Fine Print ( cool grey )
  • Smokeshow ( charcoal brown )

Everyone who wears eyeshadow should have neutral matte shades in her eyeshadow stash.

It’s crazy pigmented, too.

These eyeshadows are more brownish than Urban Decay’s Naked2 Basics Eyeshadow Palette’s matte taupe shades, which are more grayish.

I use a lighter shade on the lid and a transition shade slightly darker than my skin color (light). For my complexion, Taupeless works as a transition shade, so I’ll use a lighter shade from my eyeshadow stash. If I have any criticism about Dose of Colors Pretty Cool Eyeshadow Palette, it’s that I wish that it had a shade lighter than Taupeless for my lid.

#MusicMonday Syd Barrett playlist

Cold Cream 'n' Roses1 Comment

Syd Barrett is one of the most renowned casualties of Rock ‘n’ Roll. He was a co-founder of Pink Floyd, but contributed in a major way only to Pink Floyd’s debut album Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

Syd Barrett was really handsome. Smoldering, or could it be the kajal that he wore? Even after over 50 years, his looks could melt. 🥰

Gorgeous Syd Barrett

At the cusp of stardom, Syd Barrett had a major breakdown. He dropped copious amounts of acid (LSD), and reportedly, his hangers-on spiked his coffee with acid. He might have also had schizophrenia, although he was never diagnosed as schizophrenic. His sister Rosemary claimed that he wasn’t schizophrenic, but the behaviors that other Pink Floyd members observed were consonant with schizophrenia. Among other things, Syd often had catatonic episodes.

When Pink Floyd “made it,” Syd Barrett was about 21 years old. Schizophrenia often manifests itself in early adulthood. His erratic behavior led to his dismissal from Pink Floyd.

Syd Barrett left London for good, and walked 50 miles to his mother’s home in Cambridge. A counselor friend told me that his walk might indicate that he had bipolar disorder: he might have made the walk during a manic episode. I wonder if he was trying to salvage what remained of him. 🤔 He died at age 60 in 2006.

Syd Barrett playlist: music and commentary

The playlist includes both music and commentary. Highlights include:

  1. Classical music critic Hans Keller interviews Roger Waters and Syd: “Why does it have to be so loud?” Syd is lucid and engaged: you can tell by the way he leans into Hans Keller.
  2. Pink Floyd performs its first hit See Emily Play. It is coupled with Pink Floyd’s lip-synching Apples and Oranges on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand. Notice the blankness in Syd’s eyes. It’s telling how Dick Clark walked past Syd to engage Richard Wright instead.
  3. Syd and Pink Floyd perform Jugband Blues. The opening lyrics are: “It’s awfully considerate of you to think of me here | And I’m much obliged to you for making it clear | That I’m not here.” Was Syd self-aware of his breakdown?
  4. Dr. Todd Grande dismisses the theory that psychedelics cause schizophrenia, as it is based on old research. He works on the premise that Syd Barrett had schizophrenia, and Syd might have used psychedelics to self-medicate. Or maybe there wasn’t any connection between psychedelics and schizophrenia, after all. 🤔

Cold Cream ‘n’ Roses reviews Cinema Secrets makeup brush cleaner

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

I had run out of Sephora’s instant brush cleaner spray, and stopped at Sephora inside JCPenney at Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, VA to buy another can. The saleswoman recommended Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner instead, but she didn’t have any in stock. She suggested that I visit the standalone Sephora store in Fair Oaks Mall. Once I made it to the standalone Sephora store, I discovered that crew members were equally enthused about Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner.

Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner

Here’s how to use Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner:

  1. Pour a little liquid into the aluminum cup that comes with the kit. 
  2. Don’t completely cover the bristles: Cinema Secrets website recommends filling the tin enough to dip 1/4 of the way up the brush bristles.
  3. Cinema Secrets recommends that users “Dip the tip of the brush into the liquid and remove immediately to avoid over saturation,” although I admit to swirling the brush in the liquid.
  4. Stroke the brush against the rim of the tin to remove any excess liquid.
  5. Wipe the brush clean on an absorbent paper towel or cloth, and repeat as necessary. I use a nubby cloth: microfiber cloths work well and wash beautifully.
  6. Either lay the brushes flat on the cloth or hang upside down in a makeup brush drying rack.
  7. Let any remaining cleaner evaporate in the cup: don’t dispose of it in the sink or toilet.

Now the drawbacks of Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner:

  • The cleaner is flammable: that’s why Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner is a Hazmat product. Cinema Secrets ships items containing flammable chemicals only via Standard Ground Shipping, not Air.
  • The liquid cleaner is not good for travel, not merely because it’s flammable, but it can get all over your clothes.
  • The bottle is not fitted with a squirt-type closure, which would make it less messy.
  • Some users might find the vanilla fragrance overwhelming.

Despite the negatives, I love Cinema Secrets Makeup Brush Cleaner because it quickly dissolves products like concealer, cleans brushes so that they’re soon able to be used, and disinfects brushes.

Source:

Makeup Brush Cleaner Pro Starter Kit, 8 fl oz (with tin). cinemasecrets. (2021). Retrieved 27 June 2021, from https://cinemasecrets.com/collections/brush-cleaner/products/makeup-brush-cleaner-pro-starter-kit-8-fl-oz-with-tin. 

Estée Lauder names Adut Akech as Global Brand Ambassador

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Back in the 1980s, Estée Lauder’s brand ambassador was Willow Bay, now Dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Paulina Porizkova replaced Willow Bay as Estée Lauder’s brand ambassador, and subsequently, Elizabeth Hurley became Estée Lauder’s brand ambassador.

In other words, it took Estée Lauder years to recognize women of color. Now it has signed fashion model Adut Akech, who was born in South Sudan. Her first campaigns will debut next month, in July 2021.

Adut Akech for Estée Lauder
Adut Akech for Estée Lauder

I am convinced that some models create an archetype for upcoming models. I think that Alek Wek, who is also from what is now South Sudan, is the archetype for Adut Akech.

Source:

Lauder, E. (2021). Estée Lauder Signs Acclaimed Model Adut Akech as New Global Brand Ambassador. Prnewswire.com. Retrieved 21 June 2021, from https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/estee-lauder-signs-acclaimed-model-adut-akech-as-new-global-brand-ambassador-301305265.html.

#MusicMonday Steve Winwood playlist

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Man, I had it bad for Steve Winwood. Fortunately, my family indulged me. Dad actually took me to see Traffic in concert. Later, he mounted a poster of Steve Winwood next to bed. My brother tracked down the three Spencer Davis Group LPs that were released in the U.S. for me to add to my collection. He also took me to another Traffic concert.

Here’s a YouTube playlist of Steve Winwood’s music and interviews with him that I put together:

Steve Winwood playlist

In the 1980s, Steve Winwood had major hits with “While You See a Chance”, “Higher Love”, and many more. Quite frankly, I lost interest in him once he became a chart-topping MOR performer. When people talked about Steve Winwood, I sniffed and I thought to myself “I knew him when … ”

Maybe I put together this playlist out of nostalgia.

Then, there was his marriage to his wife Eugenia. Oh, Steve, why didn’t you wait for me?? I consoled myself with the idea that I wasn’t his type. Eugenia is blonde, as was his previous wife Nicole … and I was a brunette.

Who’s really running our government?

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

The photo below shows FLOTUS Dr. Jill Biden sitting at a desk on Air Force One with the caption “Prepping for the G7.” The whole thing once again raises questions about how mentally sharp President Biden really is. I have questions.

So is Dr. Jill Biden an official participant at the G7? Joe Biden should be representing the USA. Dr. Jill was not elected to any position, and why is she identified as a U.S. government official?

#MusicMondays “Charity Ball” Fanny

Cold Cream 'n' Roses

Fanny was an all-female rock group active in the early to mid 1970s. The group was founded by sisters June Millington (guitar) and Jean Millington (bass), who moved from the Philippines to California in the early 1960s.

The Millington sisters joined Wild Honey, an all-female rock band founded by drummer Alice de Buhr. Wild Honey planned to disband after one final open-mic appearance at the Troubadour Club in 1969. However, the secretary of prominent music producer Richard Perry spotted Wild Honey at this gig.

Perry convinced Warner Bros. Records to sign the group to Reprise Records. The label signed Wild Honey without hearing them play, as it regarded them as a novelty act. Prior to recording their first album, the band recruited keyboardist Nickey Barclay. Wild Honey was renamed Fanny for their first album Fanny.

Here is Fanny performing the title cut from their second album Charity Ball on the Sonny & Cher TV show.

As you can see, the members of Fanny were crack musicians. So why didn’t these women get the fame that they deserved for their musicianship? I’ve read comments on their YouTube videos and some blame anti-Asian hate due to the Millington sisters’ Filipino origins.

I think that the reason that Fanny didn’t get the fame and accolades that they deserved is that they were considered a novelty act and people weren’t ready for a hard rocking all-female band. Remember, this was before The Runaways, The Go-Gos, and The Bangles.

Sources:

Charity Ball. (2015). [Video]. Retrieved 7 June 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD9NjN5_nxQ.

Fanny (band) – Wikipedia. En.wikipedia.org. (2021). Retrieved 7 June 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_(band).

PS You can find other videos of Fanny on the Beat Club YouTube channel. Unfortunately, I can’t embed the Beat Club videos in my blog. 😔

Lust list: open-air bathtub

Cold Cream 'n' Roses
Bedroom, Medium Hardwood Floor, Ceiling Lighting, and Bed A Balcony With a Bathtub Caps This Striking Prefab in Melbourne - Photo 9 of 17 -
Open-air freestanding tub in Melbourne, Australia

How cool is this? An open-air free-standing bathtub: love the green exterior, too. A timber batten screen provides modesty.

At my previous home, I enjoyed top-down, bottom-up blinds that enabled me to walk out of the bathroom naked with fearing onlookers.

Source:

Keighran, M. (2021). A Balcony With a Bathtub Caps This Striking Prefab in Melbourne. Dwell. Retrieved 31 May 2021, from https://www.dwell.com/article/st-kilda-prefab-modscape-62559646.