Today's Dispatch: A Conclusion in Sight

This post is brought to you by the good folks in charge of wrangling the hair, makeup, and wardrobe duties for Rihanna.



- This week will (hopefully) mark the end of the Long Rough Patch that I've faced in the last few weeks... and when I say rough, I mean rough: pressure at work, graduate school, and my mom getting sick and landing in the hospital for a few days due to dehydration and exhaustion. (No worries - she's actually doing OK now; just needed the rest.) The good news, however, is that I have a four-day weekend ahead of me before I head out to that big campus in Quezon City first thing Wednesday morning, to take my admissions test for the PhD program, so I'll be up to my ears with studying and keeping in touch with my students. Wish me luck.

- Okay, back to our usual blog content... and I hate to say this out loud, but did Barbra Streisand get a little "work" done on her face? Seriously, take a look at the cover art for her new album and tell me that there's something un-Barbra-ish about that face right now. I personally want to believe that it's a bad camera angle and/or a furious photo retoucher, but as long as nobody touches that profile - and that nose - it shouldn't be so bad after all. (And also on my wish list: an all-Streisand episode of Glee. You know you were thinking it!)

- Current favorite "thing" of the moment: bubble milk tea, which I have been craving since Nathan Fillion mentioned it in one of his tweets. (Just try to imagine him saying the words "boba tea" out loud, if you can.) Right now it's having a foodie renaissance of sorts here in the Philippines... which is weird, since I've been drinking the stuff for the last decade or so. Haven't tried the trendier versions of bubble tea in Manila, but I've been getting mine at the local Zagu outlet: not exactly made with real tea, mind, but their tapioca pearls strike the right balance between smooth and chewy - just the way I like it.

- And yes, there is a Glosswatch entry in the works! Stay tuned.

Last Song Syndrome/ Video Style Moments: Elvis Costello and White Stripes

If that blackmail-quality video of The Hotness doing karaoke shows up anywhere in the universe, it would be just and fair for him to sing this right off the bat.



And THIS version would be the song that he thinks he's singing.



To which I say: That better be me doing the actual sexy-dancing in your mind, babe.

Face Time

An update on "the procedure": My face is actually healing quite nicely - not a lot of scabbing now, but I still need to put cream on to get the remaining red marks under control. Still trying to stay away from the sun, though (not that hard to do with typhoon season underway) and makeup - apart from a little lip gloss - won't be an option just yet.

Other than that, I'm actually back at work: my actual job has started up again with less stress (finally), my fiction-writing hobby is more manageable, and even my blogging is now up and running with a vengeance.

So, since I'm back on my feet (but not with my usual face), I've decided to share a few YouTube makeup tutorials with you.

I Wish This Was an April Fool's Day Joke

...Really, Beyonce? I mean, I'm sure your new fragrance smells gorgeous, and this is coming from somebody who loves the last two Jennifer Lopez fragrances.

But... really, did you have to sample Cindy Crawford's tub scene from "Freedom '90" for this one? And haven't you done enough by covering "You Oughta Know" in concert?

Now that I think about it, you might as well sample the rest of my record/tape/CD collection from the Nineties, anyway. In fact, why don't you just go ahead and do that? I was already an awkward teenager back then; I probably don't even need the music to be reminded of the fact at all.

Let's start with this one, shall we?



You have no idea how many times my friends and I wore out Our Time in Eden and found it so profound. Now I see this, and I think of how self-righteous Natalie Merchant turned out to be. It's not for nothing that she has inspired the "have met/was bitch" meme on Tomato Nation.

Speaking of self-righteous and off-putting...


Sorry, Paula, but I needed to say it.

Which reminds me:



Of all the epic dance-floor anthems that came out in the Nineties, nothing says "Meimei at 16: drunk, underaged, and desperate for attention" like this one.

And finally, in the event that neither Shakira nor J.Lo are available to perform this song in public...



Happy April First, everyone!

Edited to add: Holy crap, I still can't believe that Jennifer Lopez has actually sampled "Lambada" for "On The Floor." Really. 

Last Song Syndrome/ Video Style Moments: From Across the Atlantic

I'm in the middle of hell week, so posting will be sporadic for the next few days.

In the meantime, however, I've been listening to a lot of new music from Adele lately. Always loved her since "Hometown Glory," and always enjoyed her style and attitude. And she looks great here - really sophisticated and pulled-together, like the music itself.

It's odd, though, that Adele's new album would come out not too long after Duffy's, and while Adele  seems to have matured significantly in terms of sound and songwriting, Duffy... oh, I'll just let this video do the talking.



It's already enough that "Well, Well, Well" sounds like something out of C+C Music Factory... but did they have to make her sound so squeaky? And did that slit on her dress have to, you know, go there?

Still love her, though. Just wish the rest of the music isn't anything like this single.

Video Style Moments, Part 4: Red and Blue and Retro All Over

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Why not celebrate the 14th of February with a funky jam about... righteous payback?

I am, no doubt, obsessed with this song.

And check out the video, too! The sharp suits and cocktail dresses! The monochrome filters! And a lead singer who looks like Bryan Ferry (circa 1985), if he had gone to whoever was styling David Bowie (circa 1985) and ran into Christian Siriano on the way to the barber shop! Totally awesome.

(Also: Is that drummer cute or what? *wink*)

Get to know Fitz and The Tantrums on their website, where you can go straight to the music. Good stuff.  

Video Style Moments: The Holiday Edition

Remember when Mariah Carey used to be such a sweetheart?

I still hold the opinion that this is the best video that Mariah ever made, because the clip really matches the retro feel of the song. (The local supermarket has been playing her Christmas album on an endless loop lately, in fact, and it's actually quite good. Her version of "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" is epic.) True, her hair and makeup people didn't have their collective acts together during this time - and I blame Tommy Mottola for that - but the combination of the dress and the go-go boots here is actually cute, not sleazy.

Happy holidays, everyone! Domesticity will be (thankfully) returning to its regular posting schedule as soon as December rolls around this week. :)

The Ultimate Video Style Moment

Confession: I've been watching this video on an endless loop since last night. (It's for, uh, "research" for my NaNoWriMo project. And by "research" I mean "getting out of my writer's block.")



Some thoughts:

• Wait, this came out 20 years ago!?!?!?!?!!! And it was directed by David Fincher? Has it been THAT long ago? (All I know is that I was extremely let down by "Too Funky," which was supposed to be a follow-up to "Freedom 90" - and remains one of the big reasons why I still don't get haute couture.) 
• Oh, so many girlcrush-worthy supermodels here. Naomi Campbell has never been hotter, before and since, and Christy Turlington(-Burns) is just made of wowza. (Such a versatile face!) Then there's Cindy Crawford, of course - how could anyone not notice that mole? - and Tatjana Patitz, who I just found out is aging quite nicely... though I have to admit that those shots of her with the cigarettes are pretty hot. 
• On the other hand... Linda Evangelista? Still annoying. I get that she's gorgeous and epic and everything, but something about her just bugs. 
• Also just found out that Marcus Schenkenberg is not in this video (thank goodness - the guy ended up looking really grody, didn't he?)... which then begs the question: Who were those hot guys, and why can't I find them where I should?

And if you liked this one, you should see the semi-homage created for the D+G Fragrance Anthology advertising campaign, shown here. (Warning: Some butt-flashing may be involved here. Also, WTF happened to Claudia Schiffer's body?)

...I'll stop here before I end up with another Halloween Spectacular in my hands. 

The Case for the Shout-Out

We interrupt our usual schedule of off-blog lesson planning, NaNoWriting, and other distractions for some breaking news.

Be In Style has just featured Domesticity in their Best of the Web series, which runs every two weeks with a running theme. This week's theme is "first impressions," and here's an excerpt from their entry 

The blog’s “Video Style Moments” entertain readers while subtly encouraging us to exercise our aesthetic muscles.  Keep an eye out for the microcosm moments where editor Meimei posts thoughtful moments from her life.

Sweet! Once again, many thanks to the staff at Be In Style for the awesome feature story. :)

Also, for those of you who have just found this site, a few pieces of worthy beauty moments...

First, a Face for The Moment.

This picture is from more than a year ago, taken right before I was about to go out for speed-dating. This is actually more of an earthy-style look, with a lot of browns from Stila and a bit of bronzer to go along with the brown-and-orange theme I'm working with here. The whole night was a bust date-wise - remind me to tell you that story about Wow Guy and This Is Not a Job Interview Dude on this blog -  but I ended up hanging out with a bunch of super-cool girls with whom I ended up watching Star Trek with over the weekend. (Wish I'd met them earlier, before the whole move to the Philippines happened. Miss 'em.)

Second of all:

WANT. That's all. If ever, though. (Christmas?)

And third:

I'll admit to liking the mascara and the lipstick (well played!). Putting aside all speculations about Shakira's weight, the crazy wardrobe, and the rattiness of her hair, though: Am I the only person who goes around saying "DAHNCE... OR DIE!" at every random opportunity?

...Just me, then? Okay, then.