Review Preview for 2/21-2/28

Happy Chinese new year, the year of the rabbit! Er, hare? In (very belated) celebration, I'm reading and reviewing Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, and reporting on Shanghai-inspired looks, as well as makeup for Asian eyes and skintones.

Delectable books and looks

"Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel

In America (hello Valentine's day) as well in many cultures, (in this case the Latino culture) there is a strong correlation between food and love. The book "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel beautifully serves up the sensual side of that relationship. How can you not love a book prefaced by "to the table or to bed, you must come when you are bid." Esquivel uses colorful and lyrical language in this tale about a Mexican woman named Tita, her unrequited love and love for food. Although unrequited love and longing are hardly original concepts, the poetry and sensuality of the writing with a touch of fantasy, as well as the unusual book structure makes it a unique read that moves very quickly (I devoured it in a day) towards a fantastic and surprising ending. 

The book is divided into monthly installments January - December rather than chapters, although you certainly wouldn't want to put it down and read a chapter a month! At the beginning of each "month", there is a recipe related to the following events. For example, a recipe for Chabela Wedding cake before a wedding event. My only complaint is that you can't really use the recipes, they sound tempting but the measurements and instructions are vague. So I wouldn't recommend reading this book for the recipes (there are cookbooks for that), but read it for a delicious love story and foods made with love. There's apparently a good movie based on this book, but we all know that books are best! 

 

On the subject of love and food, there's a cliche saying that the way to a man's heart is his stomach. While that might be true, looking and smelling pretty doesn't hurt...there's scientific proof! According to a British study, men are first and foremost attracted to luscious lips, and prefer the color to red to pink.

As for eyes, according to Women's Health magazine, "men are drawn to the most feminine looking faces...women's eyelids are naturally darker than the rest of the face, so the greater the contrast, the more feminine a woman appears." Figures that smoky eyes are equated with sexiness. 

Face aside, it is widely believed that scent is the most defining measure of attraction. Pheromones have a big part in this, but perfume can help. 

Some of the research findings are surprising: Pumpkin pie? Vanilla? Donuts? (Hmm again with the food and love connection here?)

I can personally attest to the power of sweet scents. The secret is: Victoria's Secret Vanilla Lace. That's right, $10 eau de toilette from an underwear store. 

Working with elementary school kids, their comments range from "you smell like donuts", "you smell like sugar cookies," "Your perfume is making me hungry." But men usually have a different opinion of the sweet, almost bourbon-y Vanilla fragrance. Mostly exaggerated flattery, but reactions have included "Is that Givenchy?" to "Will you marry me?" (HA...ugh) 

But let's face it, you can pile on the red lipstick, smokey eyes, and vanilla perfume...still, we all know the most attractive accessory of all is a beautiful mind, and a smile :) (At least, i hope so!) 

Happy Valentine's Day?

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/14/133693152/the-dark-origins-of-valentines-day&sc=nl&cc=es-20110214

Review Preview for the week of 2/13 to 2/20

The novel "Like Water for Chocolate" by Laura Esquivel... Because it's Valentine's day and because everyone loves chocolate and hates unrequited love.

Plus, makeup and fragrances proven to attract men, and  the scientific/biological reasons why. Although we all know that they really just look for a beautiful...mind? Right?

Don't judge a book by its cover....

...But you can usually judge a book by its scathing Amazon reviews.

First up, the good: "This is Not the Life I Ordered" by Jan Yanehiro and friends. I'm not just saying this because Jan Yanehiro is awesome but this book is a delight.  Self-help books are generally boring as a genre, as the reader isn't looking for an entertaining fictional foray. But this book is different, in a good way. It's a pretty general self-help book although it is definitely aimed toward the less-testosterone crowd. I bought this book when I first moved to San Francisco because the title spoke to me, although I was hesitant because the cover looked more silly than pretty (in my critical opinion) and, after making some life-changig decisions that I was beginning to question, I was looking for serious help. This book provides that, but with lighthearted humor. It uses personal stories, cute cartoons and tools like "WIT kit", and quotes from famous fearless women like Eleanor Roosevelt to give advice and inspiration. Besides the cover my only criticism for the book is a few of the suggestions are unrealistic for most readers. It advises to start a weekly kitchen table meeting with about a dozen of your fabulous female friends. Well, I didn't have a kitchen table in my tiny apartment, and after moving to a big city where I only knew a handful of people (which thankfully included my sister extraordinaire), I certainly didn't have a fabulous circle of close friends for advice. Which is why I was buying this book. But aside from that, the journal and Wit Kit suggestions were great as well as the quotes and cartoons, so I highly recommend this book!

Next, the bad: Citizen GIrl by Emma McLaughlin and NIcola Kraus. The cover was eye-catching. Simple, bright, red turquoise and white, a big coffee cup with a cutesy logo, and a catchy title: Citizen Girl. It's about a smart twentysomething girl who works in non-profit (LOVE!). Oh, and it's by the authors of the Nanny Diaries...I loved that book, and the movie too! This book is definitely several steps down from "The Nanny Diaries" in writing, plot, and characters. Shouldve known, never judge a book by its cover. 

After forcing myself to read this book to the end, I checked the reviews out of curiosity, and wondered if I was being too critical, or if anyone else read it and wept from the sheer torture. I found some comfort in knowing that I was not alone in absolutely abhorring this book. 

First of all, the girl is named Girl. REally? Not creative, but fitting in that she does not act like a woman but instead a whiny, overly analytical little girl. The writing attempts to be young and hip with witty dialogue, but just comes off as contrived. The boss she whines about incessantly, wait for it...is named Guy. Wow. And her boyfriend is named Buster and he's a dud but she loves him. I won't waste your time whining about how bad this is, if you want to read more whining please read this book. Or don't and save your money for....

Hello kitty cosmetics!

when I first heard about this. DId not think it was real. A high-end Hello Kitty cosmetic line for Sephora? I love hello kitty, but WHY? YOu can get your cheap lipgloss and nail polish in Hello Kitty packaging fix at sanrio stores or target. Naturally I was skeptical about a higher priced Hello Kitty brand but Sephora and Sanrio lover that I am, had to investigate. THe packaging is not your typical flimsy pink plastic fluff. It's glass and silver in the familiar hello kitty head shape. Pretty, but what about the stuff inside? Everything I tested seemed pretty average. For $55, the perfume's biggest plus is the attractive atomizer, but the scent itself was a run of the mill sweet apple and musk with minimal staying power. The cosmetics run about 10-20 for most items and have a limited range of color, unsurprisingly, a lot of pink tones. The apple lip balm comes in an awkward apple shaped container and is nothing special. The stick glosses and balms are cutely packaged but seem on par with quality drugstore products in texture and pigmentation. In summary, everything is cute, costs a little more than it should because of said cute packaging, but if you're a diehard Hello Kitty fan, go ahead and buy, but know that you're paying for the cute, not necessarily the quality or color range. (I personally would skip the cosmetics and splurge on the accessories, like the rhinestone compact, charm necklace or silver brushes) Sometimes it's okay to judge a book and like it mostly because of the cover!

prettyawesome

http://www.bellasugar.com/Chinese-Artist-Liu-Bolin-Creates-Real-Life-Wheres-Waldo-Scenes-13668502

Review Preview for the week of Feb 7-Feb 14

"The Good, The Bad, and The Pretty" or "Don't Judge a Book by it's Cover"

The good: "This is Not the Life I Ordered" by Jan Yanehiro (yay!) and friends 

The bad: "Citizen Girl" by Emma Mc Laughlin and Nicola Kraus (the Nanny Diaries authors)

The pretty: New Hello Kitty cosmetic line at Sephora

I'm sure you're probably so excited that you won't be able to sleep, but please try to get at least 6 hours a night for both brains' and beautys' sake. I promise the reviews will be posted as soon as possible :)

Review of "The Social Network"

Hokay so, it's not a book. It's not even about a book. But it IS about facebook, and that's prettynerdy, right? (also, the facebook was an actual book back in the day, but more on that later.)

I know I'm late but I finally watched it last night and was inspired to rave about it and recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet. 

This David Fincher-directed breakout film starts off with a relatable breakup scene and is followed by lots of witty dialogue and superb acting, and a great musical score by Trent Reznor (from NIN...really?!) With his smart sarcasm and sloppy wardrobe, Jessie Eisenberg captures Mark Zuckerberg's anger and awkwardness; making you torn between thanking him for his technological contributions and punching him in his smirking face. All the characters did a wonderul job of portraying college students caught in both the cutthroat Ivy League and computer nerd worlds. 

Speaking of nerds, this movie made me all nerd-stalgic because it was filmed where I went to high school in Andover, along with one of the co-creators of facebook who sadly didn't have a big part in the movie. The hazing scene is on the steps of our school cafeteria (where I've also seen projectile vomiting, except for real)! And those dreary dorms made me recall the nights when my friends and I would procrastinate by poring over the Phillips Academy Facebook, which was a spiral bound paperback book. And yes, much like FaceSmash, we sometimes used the facebook to rate and prank classmates..shame on us! But without the primitive facebook, there would not be the incredible albeit invasive internet Facebook we are all so attached to today. 

Overall, I think this movie does a wonderful job of telling the story behind the social networking empire, but with a shiny Hollywood glossing. Alas, the girlfriend who dumped Mark was completely fictional, and on a whole the events probably weren't as glamorous or dramatic as they were in the movie, with all the romance and rendezvous, but sometimes, you need to pretty up the nerdy to woo the audience. Apparently it worked...the social network did amazingly well in theaters and with critics. and now it is up for Oscar nominations, and I sure would "like" (haha) to see it win something. What did you think about the social network? I give it an A for AWESOME (and myself a C for CORNY)

A prettynerdy intro...

Prettynerdy is a blog about all things bookish and beautiful. My name is Faith and I'm a self-professed information and beauty product junkie. I will be reviewing and recommending books and products here (and sometimes on a lovely little psychology/happiness project group blog called Swell-Being). I'll also try to keep you informed on the latest nerdy news and trends in the beauty world. Enjoy, and please email me at prettynerdyblog@gmail.com if you have questions or suggestions on stuff to review!