naughty and nice neutrals

I'm kind of crazy about this neutral lingerie shoot:
Who knew neutrals could be so pretty?

Over Forty and Fabulous

For some reason I feel we have been talking a lot about young Hollywood lately here on the blog, and although they usually are the group with the most interesting drama I thought a change of pace would be nice. By that I mean the women in Hollywood who are over forty and fabulous. I know that in this category there are a lot of women who go WAY overboard with the plastic surgery and injectables, but there quite a few who get it VERY right. Two women that always stick out in my head are Vanessa Williams and Courteney Cox Arquette. Both women have used plastic surgery in ways that have aided their graceful aging.

Songstress Vanessa Williams has been very open in the past about undergoing breast augmentation early in her pageant career. It is rumored that the star has also had a possible cosmetic rhinoplasty....again very early on. Both procedures were done very conservatively and fit Ms. Williams body frame and just accentuate her natural beauty....which is the point right? Lately, I have noticed how smooth and wrinkle free her face looks. Her skin is always stunning and she is 46...which by Hollywood standards might as well be 85! Anyway, I think she is a perfect example of someone who uses Botox and other injectables the way they were designed. Based on the overall evenness and lack of wrinkles points to Botox as a dead giveaway, but she still maintains full facial animation. She never has that weird "frozen" or "deer in the headlights" look to her face.

ABC's favorite Cougar Courteney Cox Arquette, who is also 46, is another actress in this category. Courteney became one of Americas sweethearts in the 90's when NBC's Friends was one of the top sitcoms on TV. Over the years Ms. Cox Arquette has attacked aging head on. She is very vocal on the importance of skin care and protecting yourself from the harmful UVA/UVB rays. She also stays very active by doing yoga and pilates....which you can tell by her slammin' body...seriously...she is always in some revealing get up on the show CougarTown. Like Vanessa, she also has gorgeous smooth and even skin. It is rumored that in addition to Botox and dermal fillers she has had a partial face and brow lift. I think that she just looks amazing. Everything she has had done has been in stages and very conservative....almost undetected. It is only when looking at photographs in succession over the years that you can see the possible slight alterations.

When you take the time to do your research and go to a reputable board certified plastic surgeon, age doesn't have to be the enemy. There are so many procedures that can be done in a conservative manner to benefit the aging process and help you look your best throughout every stage of your life. Of course all of these procedures are elective, but as women we want to look and feel our best, and I for one will take all the help I can get! :)

Happy Friday!!

Human Modelling pt. 1

To vary my work for this task, i have started my second model which will be a human being.

This character will be a 'Wild-life photographer' in my animation which will appear for a short period of time, interacting with a majority of the animal characters. Because of this, a slightly lower detail quality will be required due to the limited appearance time in the animation, however a high-standard of modelling will be maintained.

I started off by finding a suitable reference image - the image I found is absolutely perfect and shows 2 views of the body! The tutorial related to this section that I have been using can be found here.

Next, the image was applied to a plane in 3ds Max, using the material editor. Using the left viewport, I began creating a plane and extruding the edges on the foot which can be seen in the image above. Then continued to cover half of the leg using the same method. Following this, I selected the inner border of the leg and applied a symmetry modifier to get a complete 3d shape:



At this point, the vertices need to be shaped to properly craft the shape of a human foot, including the inside, ankle and heel areas. This took careful adjustments and the use of the 'MeshSmooth' tool to preview the end result..

Three things I love Thursday: March 4, 2010

1. These Kate Spade journals I just ordered off of Gilt.comEach journal has a different saying:

"He told her that her sparkly earrings complement her raving red hair. She took that as a compliment."

"Please accept this three-layer chocolate cake. I put everything in it except nuts."

"She let out a groan when she realized that dandelions had grown in her garden."

2. Jewelry from Etsy shop Untamed Menagerie:
3. Aqua and gold as a color combination:
Wallpaper from Anthropologie

Milly Paisley-embroidered silk blouse

UPDATE: I've had a lot of questions about where I found the ring. Unfortunately, I found it at a vintage jewelry shop and it is now sold out. I found some similar rings here, here, here and here.

Blogoversary Party Giveaway: Winner

First off, I'd just like to say that your hilarious and cute comments really made my week. I was actually laughing out loud reading them and it's always a good thing to have something to laugh at when you are sick.

So here is the final list of readers who entered:

And here is my random pick:So yay for Cathy! You won the giveaway! Please email your mailing address to me at glammedblog@gmail.com.

Hope you are all having a good week! I'm taking the day off from work to get un-sick and spend some girl time with my mom.

Texture Tuesday: March 2, 2010

Micheal Kors dressMarc Jacobs bagCharlotte Olympia suede pump

Fun anecdote of the day: Yesterday I felt horrible! So sick with my cold. I decided what I really really wanted to make me feel better was a Shamrock Shake.

They only sell them in March at a "McDonalds near you." However, I found this McDonalds to be not so near to me. I tried 5 places! Drove to 5 McDonalds begging for a shamrock shake through my stuffed up nose. Nothing.

My next idea was to get a vanilla shake and add mint extract and green food coloring (I was super determined!) So I got the shake, got home and was greeted by an overexcited cat who ran between my legs and caused this:

And when I tried to pick up the cup and salvage the rest the bottom fell out and created an even bigger mess.

Final count-

shamrock shakes: 0

fake shamrock shakes: 0

sick shakeless girls having to mop the kitchen floor: 1

love this...

ModCloth Grecian Green Dress: By Lilla antique lace headband (seen on Jessica Alba):

New shoe arrivals at Barneys:

Christian Louboutin Miu Miu

You can thank my shopping addiction for the shoe pictures. Now my Barneys sends me personalized emails with new arrivals to entice me into the store.

Hope your weekend went well, this morning I'm struggling to stay awake because I have a bit of a cold. Might be a 2 coffee cup day...