Pilar's Advice Column

Hi, my name is Angely, 25 years old. I have a big formal party coming up, and I am becoming very nervous because I've never been to this "Black-tie" thing before. I managed to get a decent black cocktail dress, but my biggest worry is a make-up. I always have a very natural look, which means I don't wear a make-up. I really want to look sexy at a party, like Angelina Joile. My eyes, lips, face itself are not even close to hers, though. I am a brunet with brown eyes, and have a pale complexion. I feel very desperate. What is the beauty secret to look like a sexy Hollywood star?

Dear Angely,

You are unique just like Angelina Jolie, so let’s try to find Angely’s look instead of Angelina’s one!

As many girls will be wearing a black dress like you at the party, you should make the difference with the make up. Let’s follow this steps:

1- Make sure your skin is clean and moisturized. The make-up will last longer if so.

2- Apply a FOUNDATION all over your face. It has to be the same tone as your skin (never darker or lighter). Note that you can apply the foundation with a foundation sponge , brush or just your fingers. The foundation will help you to give you a flawless look.

3- If you need to cover dark circles, spots or skin flaws, use a CONCEALER one tone lighter than the foundation.

4- The next step: EYE SHADOW. Add a touch of highlighting using a light satin eye shadow (try to avoid a white eye shadow, vanilla will be better) just under the browbone. Then, according to your brown eyes and your pale complexion, I will suggest to use another eye shadow, this time: dark brown, dark violet or dark green. Apply this new colour all over the eyelid, except where you’ve applied the first eye shadow (see the figure) As you are coping with dark colours, make sure you apply it very carefully and in few amounts (try to avoid spoiling dark eye shadow on the face, if it happens, then try to remove the stain with a dry cotton). Line the whole eye with black liner, try to avoid a thick line and apply it as closer as you can to the eyelashes. To top off, apply (as desired) black mascara on your top eyelashes.

5- LIPS: line your lips with a pencil. Make sure it’s the same colour as your lips. If your lips are thin and you want to make them look like Angelina’s, you can ONLY line them 1mm above its natural shape. Then fill in with a natural lipstick and if you still want to give your lips a sexiest look add a clear lip gloss on the center of your lower lip. As your eyes are the principals tonight, your cheeks and your lips should be accompanying them, that’s why we use natural colours for them. Otherwise you are going to look like a painting and that’s what we want to avoid. We want to give you a sexy and sophisticated look!

6- CHEEKS: apply on your cheek bones a natural powder one tone darker than your skin (brown tones). On the “apples” apply a shimmering powder blush (rose tones).

I will suggest to try many times before the party…. Practice make perfect!

You’ll rock!

Pilar

STONE SOUR

04/06/07, Roseland Ballroom
239 west 52nd street

The Roseland was quite full Friday night to welcome the Jagermeister Tour. Most of the audience was there for Corey Taylor's new band, Stone Sour, which was headlining (Scott Ian from Anthrax was spotted in the VIP corner), with bands Til December, Lacuna Coil and Shadows Fall opening . It was Stone Sour's first gig in NYC since the release of their second album, "Come what (ever) may". And it looked like a Slipknot show (for those who don't know, Slipknot is that metal band with nine members that wear masks, and the frontman is no one else than... Corey), stage-diving, crowd-surfing and headbanging like mad (believe your humble journalist, who was in the pit all night long, hardly standing up on her own two feet), even though the sound of SS is much more mellow. The band opened with the two first tracks of their new cd, "30/30-150" and the song that gave its title to the album, getting the crowd going. The musicians played pretty sharply, with no pretention, standing a little bit in the background : no guitar heroes here, even though there was a lot of solos ! A pretty fit and newly bald Corey was controlling the stage, and had his fifteen minutes of fame when he picked up a guitar and played alone Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game", Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet home Alabama", "Bother" (from their first album, that got the crowd chant "Corey" for 2 good minutes), then launched the band into their hit "Through Glass". A hit that gave them a gold record this very same day , that he brought on stage. It was also their drummer's birthday, and the audience chanted some more, a "Happy birthday" version punctuated by fart noises by Corey. They alternated songs from their first album with some new songs for a little less than one hour and a half. Very good show, though a little short. But great energy, by both the audience and the band. If you didn't get a ticket, they promise they would come back !!

Emma's Audio Tour of Seattle

Sue's Audio Tour of MoMA

THE OFFICE

If one of these nights you have some spare time to spend at home and you feel like doing nothing but watch TV, you should definitely rent the DVD of the British version of “The Office”. This is among the top funny TV series I’ve seen in my life! The series was made in England for BBC in the form of a documentary (though is a work of fiction). It is set in a typical office, the most plain and boring working place you can imagine, in the most insignificant and depressing little town we can think could exist in England, namely Slough. This doesn’t sound so funny, and I admit the first time I saw the first episode I was thinking the show being even kind of painful! Someone could state that the mediocrity it depicts and the British humour end up making it almost depressing but if you give it a chance and get into the jokes, you realize how funny the characters and the dialogs are…Hilarious!
David Brent is the boss. He is the worst! He thinks he is the funniest guy in the world but his jokes are terribly bad! He thinks he is doing his job in the best way but he’s just hopeless and really self-conscious! The everyday interaction of the employers-actors in the office creates very realistically funny sketches like the fights for the stapler between Gareth and Tim or the uncomfortable meetings of the all staff meant to improve the company’s outcomes.
The Office is built in a very sophisticated way as sophisticated its character and the script are, you can watch the same episodes over and over again finding new nuances every time that make you laugh and reflect about life and the importance of escaping mediocrity as much as possible!

BE FORWARD!

Dear Sandra,
Hi, my name is Nicole. I live in New York City taking a language course. It's been almost 6 months since I was here, and I am getting bored with the English course. So I am thinking about getting an internship in New York. It would help me improve English and meet more friends.
My first question is, is it possible for non-native speakers like me to be an intern? And how can I find opportunities? What would be the first step to take? I am so clueless. I feel very overwhelmed and intimidated even before I try. Please help me.

Dear Nicole,
First of all: stop feeling intimidated by the idea working as an intern in New York, it is not so hard to find opportunities but you need to be in a forward mood!
The first step to take is to decide in which field you would like to gain expertise: are you interested in an art administration internship? Would you like to do community and social work? Is your field of interest Human rights? Journalism?
It would be better if there is a relationship between your studies, your experience and the internship you apply for because you have more possibilities to be accepted. If you want to try something completely different you can of course but you will have less chance to be selected, especially if the internship is prestigious.
Once you decided the field you can start looking on the web: you can look directly at the organizations or institutions that work in that field and see if they offer internships. For example if you are interested in museum work you will find in the Moma website or in the Met website all the information you need to apply for an internship position. If the place you are interested in don’t offer these opportunities you can try to send an email attaching you CV and ask if they are interested in having an intern. Sometimes it is good to take a chance!!
I would also suggest you to look at two website where you can find ads for internship positions: http://www.craigslist.org/ and http://www.idealist.org/, where they have jobs and internships offers.
Don't worry about not being a native speaker...in many cases if you speak good English and some other languages it is considered as a plus!
Remember: being an intern means to work for no money or for very little, so you should figure out how to sustain yourself while you are doing this working experience. It is therefore important to choose something that you think will be useful for your future career goals, otherwise could be a waste of money and time!

Happy Birthday to My Puppy!

Dear Sue,
It’s my dog’s 2nd birthday in 2 weeks and I’d looooove to organize a little party for him and his puppies, just like for a baby or something. I have a couple of ideas, like the food we’d like to have (same for adults and little ones). Do you know how I can arrange something like this? Do I need to rent a venue? Can I do it in Central Park or do I need a special authorization? I need to hurry up. It’s coming up soon! Thank you in advance.
Paris H.


Dear Paris H,
It’s always happy to plan a party for your loved ones. Throwing a dog party is now a new trend and is becoming very popular here in New York. Let’s take a look at what you need to prepare in advance.
First, you need a place. Like you mentioned, Central Park would be a perfect venue especially for a dog party if the weather permits. No prior permission or reservation is required to use a spot throughout the whole park unless you want an indoor space. I would recommend a cozy area near any meadow or pond in the park, where you can have both nice green grass underneath and cool tree shades.
Secondly, you must prepare for treats (for both humans and doggies) including your dog’s birthday cake. You can always buy a good cake at any bakery you run into on the street corner in Manhattan, but why don’t you add a little more pleasure by ordering a custom-made birthday cake? A dog specialty bakery is a good place to get one. You can find it in the city or online. Then, you can set up a table with some simple finger food and drinks. For you and your friends, anything works. For doggies, there are plenty of biscuits and cookies that puppies will love, but make sure it contains dog-friendly ingredients.
Next, don’t forget the decoration. Sometimes good decoration is all it takes to make a party a success. Since the party will be held outdoors, it might be a little difficult for balloons or any wall-hanging decorations. Two things I would recommend are personalized doggie bowls and personalized doggie T-shirts. Buy some inexpensive plain bowls and T-shirts from any store. Then, using paint pens, glitter glues and felt fabrics, give the bowls and T-shirts fashionable new looks with the dogs’ names on them. These also can be good party favors for your guests to take home.
At last, what you must not forget is to have something that entertains everybody. Prepare toys and plenty of balls for dogs to play with. Any fun addition that you can think of will be fine. It’s you who know best what your dog loves. Now, it’s time to have fun. Make sure to bring your digital camera to capture the precious moments. The more pictures you take, better the memories you’ll have. Good luck with your lovely doggie’s birthday party.

Sincerely,
Sue