Returned Joseon paintings go on display

Some Joseon Dynasty paintings that had been taken by the Japanese over the centuries are home for good and will be on public display for the first time.

Hakgojae Gallery in Sogyeok-dong, central Seoul, will present 30 pieces at the exhibition "Homecoming after 500 years' absence" which will open on Wednesday. It is part of the gallery's collection of nearly 500 old Joseon paintings.

During the last 10 years, Hakgojae searched for the paintings in overseas auctions, such as Sotheby's and Christie's, and met individual collectors in Japan. The private gallery went to great lengths to bring them back.
The sad part is that the Japanese still possess more than 61,000 Korean relics, or about 60 percent of the nation's relics currently in foreign countries.

At the exhibition, visitors can see what kind of Joseon paintings the Japanese liked.
"These paintings are like representatives of the first hallyu in Japan. As the Japanese always craved for the continent, or more specifically China, they preferred landscapes, animal paintings or paintings that show ancient Chinese history," said Lee Tae-ho, professor at Myongji University and the organizer of the exhibition.

"Japan thought of Korea as a window to continental culture. They took home many Chinese-style paintings from Joseon," added Woo Chan-kyu, director of Hakgojae Gallery.

Among the exhibits, visitors can find 10 paintings that feature ancient Chinese history. They contain landscapes and stories related to famous Chinese writers of the time such as Wang Hsichih, Li Po and Tu Fu.
Animal paintings feature animals that were considered auspicious in Joseon like tigers, hawks and horses.
Horses, especially, symbolized the king's power as Joseon, which was a country established by soldiers.

There were more than 120 stock farms throughout the country and even a separate government department that managed them.

The painting "Horses Graze in a Field" depicts a farm scene. Various kinds of horses appear in the 34 by 119.5 cm painting. It is assumed to have been painted by a royal artist to be shown to the king.

The exhibition runs from March 10 to April 25 at Hakgojae Gallery in Sogyeok-dong, central Seoul. For more information, call (02) 720-1524 or visit www.hakgojae.com

Art Maui: March 7 to April 2 at Schaefer International Gallery

It can inspire, like Carmen Gardner's portrait of the late Aunty Genoa Keawe, famed Hawaiian songbird and ambassador of aloha. It can trigger memories and take you back to hanabata days fishing on the pier with friends, just like the boys in Kirk Kurokawa's "Dream Catcher." It's visual meditation, like Tony Novack-Clifford's "Horizon Obscured I," where it's easy to get lost in the lines until the elements become one.

"It" is Art Maui. And it's back.

The 32nd annual juried exhibition returns to the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Schaefer International Gallery, once again showcasing who's moving and what's shaking in the local art community.

"We want to see what our artists are doing that's unique and creative," says Art Maui show chairwoman Chris Scharein. "Our goal is to show people who are reaching beyond in their art. We don't want status quo."

Founded in the late '70s as an avenue to showcase high-caliber works and encourage art collecting, Art Maui is the little exhibition that could. After more than three decades of chugging along and promoting the local art scene, it's evolved into arguably the most prestigious show in town.

The highly-competitive exhibit garnered 565 entries this year, with juror Kenneth Bushnell narrowing the field to 144 that includes everything from ceramics to sculpture and printmaking to photography. Bushnell is a practicing artist who actively exhibits locally, nationally and internationally, and is currently professor of art emeritus at University of Hawai'i. He divides his time between studios in New York City, the south of France and Honolulu.

"In my mind he's an individual who over the years has become in tune with art from all over the world," says Scharein. "Now he's coming here and selecting art based on his experience, which gives the artists here in our community that worldly perspective."

The exhibition encourages artists to move past the commodity-driven art scene and step into their own imagination.

"A lot of times in a gallery, artists will feel pressure to produce something for selling, but this is a space that really highlights their creativity. It's a show where the juror will look at something from the artistic side and not from the dollar sign," artist and exhibit designer Joelle C. Perz explains.

The collection represents a cross section of styles and mediums, keeping the viewer stimulated throughout. Visitors are immediately struck with a sense of place as Sidney Yee's "Pundy's Vision" hangs in the forefront. Depicting the Yokouchi Family Pavillion currently being built just steps outside the gallery, the painting is a preview of what's to come. The pyramid-like glass structure resembling the Louvre in Paris pays homage to the late Pundy Yokouchi, a prominent Maui businessman and driving force behind the MACC's inception.

"It's always difficult to find an entrance piece that means something," explains Perz. "I love that it goes with the timing of the new construction and at the same time (Yee) is such a talent, so it's celebrating him as well as this place."

Designer Perz, whose "Native Imprint" piece was selected as the publicity image for next year's show, is challenged with assembling this 144-piece puzzle into one cohesive exhibit. Pulling off this larger-than-life brain teaser is an art in itself, she says.

"The design and flow is really important to me. My goal is that every piece shines within this space, and that's the real difficulty."

Leaving Yee's piece and following a counter-clockwise flow, the viewer is taken on a thematic journey where the pieces move from organic, heavy color and texture, dreamworld, whimsical, contemporary and abstract.

Established artists and Art Maui veterans are represented: Judy Bisgard, Joseph Fletcher, Tim Garcia, Carmen Gardner, Ditmar Hoerl, Tom Sewell, Bjorn and Nancy Skrimstad, Sandy Vitarelli and others. While the names may be familiar, per eligibility criteria, each artwork is making its debut at the exhibit.

The job of the artist isn't done once the piece is in hanging on the wall or sitting under the spotlight. Each participant also volunteers time to making the show happen, including manning the gallery during visitor hours. This personal touch is one of the things that makes Art Maui unique, says Scharein.

"When people come in while an artist is here, it makes it so much more intimate and special because they can make that connection."

"It's amazing how many people volunteer and how gracious they are about it," adds Perz. "The artists love to help because they feel this is for them - it's really a show that highlights their creativity."

World Cup 2010: Completed Soccer City Stadium R1 Billion Over Budget

Soccer City aerial view - Johannesburg

Johannesburg authorities have said the venue for the World Cup final, Soccer City Stadium, went over-budget.

Johannesburg city councilman, Parks Tauk, said this week that Soccer City Stadium ended up costing R3.2 billion (€320 million), R1 billion (€100 million) over the initial budget due to the rising price of building materials, according to SuperSport.

The stadium, which will host the opening and closing matches of the June 11 to July 11 World Cup, was handed over to the city on Wednesday by the Aveng construction group.

With 97 days before kick-off, work on transport infrastructure around the stadium is scheduled for completion in mid-March.

The stadium is a unique African venue, and it will be one of the proud images of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

World's smallest ever baby boy weighs only 9oz

London, Mar 6 (ANI): A baby boy born in Germany has become the world's smallest ever, weighing just nine ounces at birth. The baby, who is said to be smaller than a can of coke, was born after just 25 weeks, and he was so little at birth that a tape measure laid next to his body was wider than his limbs.

Doctors in Germany had been convinced the baby, delivered by Caesarean section at the University of Medicine at Goettingen in June 2009, would not survive but refused to give up hope.

A spokesman for the university said that doctors were "extremely proud" of the boy and the parents were overjoyed.

"This was an incredible fight for life," Sky News Online quoted the spokesman as saying.

Now at eight months, medics have released a picture of the baby, who they are confident is strong enough to make it through.

The most premature baby to have survived, a girl born in Miami, America in 2004, is believed to have been born after 21 weeks.

Experts on medical ethics advise doctors not to resuscitate babies born before 23 weeks in the womb, and doctors do not expect babies weighing less than 12oz to survive.

More than 80,000 babies are born prematurely in Britain every year and half need to be treated in intensive care. (ANI)

Day at the Museum empowers, inspires

Loading 6 of 6

Close to 10,000 people gathered at the California Museum on Thursday for the first "Day at the Museum" to get a little bit of pampering and a lot of empowerment.
The star-studded event was part of first lady Maria Shriver's annual The Women's Conference in honor of Women's History Month. The day included exhibits, presentations, speeches and tours of the museum.
"Today is the most successful day [at the museum] in all of California's history," Shriver told the audience.

The day began early with a meet-and-greet session in the museum's lobby with Shriver, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, Speaker Emeritus Karen Bass, and other female legislators, mayors and district attorneys.
This was followed by a panel of past Minerva Award winners. The Minerva is awarded annually to a California women who is making a difference and is what Shriver calls "an architect of change."

Women Escaping a Violent Environment (WEAVE) co-founder Jennie Hernandez, Parents of Watts founder "Sweet" Alice Harris, and homeless advocate Betty Chinn were just some of the recipients on hand to greet the audience and help Shriver showcase the museum's Minerva Award Exhibit.
Women were treated to free massages at the "Relaxation Station," makeup applications at the "Hello Gorgeous" booth, drum performances and edible garden demonstrations in the museum's courtyard.
On the upper level, "California's Remarkable Women" told the stories of the state's many accomplished females, including food advocate Alice Waters, Mary See of See's Candy, XTreme Winter Games gold-medal record-holder Tara Dakides, and the first U.S. female astronaut to enter space, Sally Ride, who spoke later in the day.
Several women from "The California Heritage Quilt Project" did their handiwork throughout the day while answering questions about the the California Sesquicentennial Quilt, on display behind them. Created in 1996 for California's 150th birthday, the quilt was a collaboration between more than 200 women throughout the state. Other demonstrations Thursday included creating edible gardens, California Indian basketmaking and the origami Peace Crane Project.
After a cooking demonstration with chef Biba Caggiano, Iron Chef's Cat Cora spoke during "Only in California: A Celebration of California Creativity," along with other women who are using creative channels to blaze trails for women.
Cora spoke about meeting another Californian, Julia Child, as an aspiring chef and being inspired by her graciousness. Cora said it reminds her to take the time to shake hands and visit with her fans. She said she founded Chefs for Humanity after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami to give back by providing quality food during disasters.
Cora reflected on her education in France and being a woman in a male-dominated industry. "I needed to prove to myself I could go and work in the toughest male kitchens in the world," she said of her apprenticeships in France. She advised women to take chances and not to be discouraged by obstacles that come along. "A door might close, but then a door will open."
Ayelet Waldman, author of "Bad Mother," also took the stage and discussed the often-comical trials and tribulations of being a mother and the unreasonable expectations to do it all. She commented on society's famous "bad mothers" such as Britney Spears, whose biggest fault was being selfish. She theorized that many mothers are ganged up on and deemed "bad mothers," to make others feel better about their maternal skills. "By defining to us who we aren't, they allow us to stomach the mothers we are," Waldman explained.
A more serious topic, body image, was examined through the images of photographer Lauren Greenfield. She showed disturbing photos of young women in a treatment facility for eating disorders and spoke about her experience while creating her documentary, "Thin."
Women weren't the only audience for the daylong celebration of women. During a courtyard ceremony called "Honoring Our Women in Military," Shriver thanked the men in the audience for showing up, saying, "I'm a big believer [men and women] must work together to raise the kinds of boys & and girls we want to change the world."
After a performance by an all-female color guard, Shriver welcomed Brig. Gen. Mary J. Knight to the stage. She paid tribute to the men and women serving the country, with a specific focus on the females in service. Knight is the nation's first African-American female general.
Shortly after, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Shriver's husband, took the stage to extend his appreciation to our servicewomen. He commended Shriver for her tireless efforts in providing resources for women throughout the state. Referring to the day's packed schedule, he joked, "This shows you how exhausting it is being with a woman like this!"
The audience cheered when he confessed "In my house, every day is women's day!"
The final and much-awaited event was "I Did It My Way," featuring a discussion between environmental activist Erin Brockovich, journalist Lisa Ling, astronaut Ride, and actress and singer Rita Moreno, with Shriver as a moderator.
Brockavich said at the end of the day it doesn't matter what others think. "It's our perception of how we see ourselves and that's all that really matters." Brokavich continued, "I followed my heard and my gut and it never let me down."

Growing up in the 1950s and 60s, Ride talked about enjoying science and sports at a time when that was not common for young girls. She said she was lucky that her parents supported her passions and encouraged her to follow her dreams.

Although Moreno noted "what's interesting is that everything we wanted, we thought was unattainable," for an hour the women discussed how they went about attaining exactly what they set out for. To view the entire discussion, visit The California Channel .
During National Women's History Month, the California Museum will have free admission every Saturday throughout March. A different female artist will be featured each weekend showcasing jewelry, mixed media, painting and an indie craft fair.
For a list of the day's events, visit The California Museum's website.

LG Cookie Pep comes to India

Bangalore, Mar 6: Six months after its international launch, LG Electronics has brought one of its most successful models LG GD510, marketed and popularly known as 'Cookie Pep', to India.

The compact 3-inch full touch screen phone with social networking features aims at attracting the young crowd.

"As the name suggests, the phone will enable our young mobile users to have an unordinary fun experience. It delivers all the essentials in communication, multimedia and entertainment in a delightfully compact form," said Sudhin Mathur, Business Head, Mobile Communications, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd.

Priced at Rs 7,500, Cookie Pep is expected to create more excitement as LG gets set to unveil a massive 360 degree marketing campaign soon.

Microsoft CEO hints at new form factors for Xbox platform

During yesterday’s cloud computing talk at the U of W, head Microsoft Steve Ballmer brought up out of nowhere a few points involving the future of the Xbox platform, hitting up the prospects of new form factors, price points, and options.

He revealed, “In the case of the TV we’ve got both strategies. We actually have a TV implementation in some senses built into Windows,” Ballmer said. “It works really well for small screen TVs that you might call a PC, but for that big screen device here’s a piece of hardware that we build, there’s no diversity. You get exactly the Xboxes that we build for you. We may have more form factors in the future that are designed for various price points and options, but we think it’s going to [be] important.”
Could we get something like a Vudu or Apple TV-esque media device from the tech giant as the next-generation Xbox?  Will this tie in to the whole Windows Mobile scheme?  We shall see.

Night light fight: Knott’s Berry Farm vs. Disney’s California Adventure

This summer, Southern California’s theme-park titans will wage a nightly megawatt battle of the lights — all in hopes of winning your hearts and wallets.

On May 29, Knott’s Berry Farm will unveil “Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular” in an effort to fend off this summer’s most-anticipated theme park attraction: the “World of Color” water show coming to Disney’s California Adventure.

The Peanuts-themed lighted walkway will take over Knott’s Camp Snoopy area during the summer and fall, with all the trees and buildings trimmed with animated LED lights synchronized to music. Inflatable Peanuts characters will dot the lighted trail, which will operate every night that the Buena Park theme park is open after 8 p.m.

Knott’s officials promise “Snoopy’s Starlight Spectacular” will be “more elaborate” than Cedar Point’s “Starlight Experience,” which made its debut last year at the Ohio amusement park. Worlds of Fun in Missouri will open a similar 2-million-light “Snoopy’s Hot Summer Lights” on June 4.

The walk-through experiences remind me of the “Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights,” the jaw-dropping winter holiday display at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Florida.

The dark of night would seem a good time for Knott’s to strike — especially now that Disney has shipped the beloved Electrical Parade to Florida’s Magic Kingdom for an extended vacation.

IndiaTVNews Partners Rhythm Mobile For Online Art Gallery

Independent News Service’s online portal IndiaTVNews.com is going the NDTV way, partnering with a zillion online companies to set up subsites. The latest one is an art gallery which is for some reason powered by a mobile VAS company called Rhythm Mobiles. The art gallery was launched “to offer a selective collection of original paintings for sale.” The selection is individually reviewed by professionals; it focuses only on contemporary Indian art.
The Art Gallery
Art should inspire, attract and such an art gallery could have wooed more Internet users into purchasing online.  The site does not make any attempt at facilitating this.
There are seven artists on board so far and each has a short, brusque biography. There is a form to fill out to contact them individually; no direct method of contacting them has been enabled. The prices of the paintings are shown as zero and you may request the price of one by filling out yet another form. It’s the site as a whole that brought us down: plain Jane forms throughout, nothing to spice up the gallery:  such as news from the world of art nor tid bits about great artists. Check out some other online art galleries in India: Indian Art Collectors, Kalavishkar, Alankritha, Palette Art Gallery, Indiaart.com, Delhi Art Gallery.

ARTISTS SHOW ANOTHER SIDE OF THEMSELVES

Ronnie Chameau, Ronnie Lopes, and Gale Bellew with their work for an upcoming art show. Photos by Mark Tatem

Gale Bellew's textiles

Ronnie Lopes rustic furniture

Ronnie Chameau's banana bark art work

Bermudian artist Ronnie Chameau — well known locally for her banana leaf dolls — will be showing a different side to her talent in an upcoming art show at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation in Devonshire.

Mrs. Chameau will be exhibiting some of her paintings and sketches in an art show called 'In the Garden' alongside fibre work from Gale Bellew and rustic furniture by Ronnie Lopes.

"Everyone affiliates me with my banana leaf dolls, but I have painted since I was knee high," said Mrs. Chameau. "I have some of my father's lodge books and mother's cookbooks and they are full of little people and houses I drew when I was five."

Mrs. Chameau said growing up, she wasn't particularly academic.

"My mind was creative," she said. "I am left handed, and the teacher would take a ruler and crack my knuckles to make me use my right hand."

Mrs. Chameau said she hated school, and left at the age of 16.

She went to work for Fort St. Catherine's, but still kept drawing.

"I would draw landscapes from the fort," she said.

Today she sketches, and paints in water colours.

"For the show 'In the Garden', I have tried to do old Bermuda cottages or old ruins," she said. "I also have three French scenes in there."

Pet shop owner Ronnie Lopes will also be showing a different side of himself the rustic side.

Mr. Lopes got into rustic furniture making almost by accident after hurricane Fabian struck Bermuda a few years ago.

"I went on a skiing trip to Colorado and stayed in a log cabin where all the furniture was rustic," said Mr. Lopes. "A few years later we had hurricane Fabian. I was picking up my son from school and he noticed some men cutting a fallen tree.

"One of the limbs looked like the shape of a chair leg we had seen in Colorado."

So Mr. Lopes asked the workmen for some wood from the tree. They took it home and constructed a little table from it.

"We put our halloween pumpkin on it," he said.

But when trick-or-treaters came calling, they were more interested in the rustic table than in the pumpkin.

One lady asked Mr. Lopes to make her something similar, and then another person and another.

Later someone suggested he exhibit his work at the Annual Exhibition.

"I received a lot of positive comments," he said.

Bolstered by the praise, he kept going. He collected books about rustic furniture and bought a DVD about it. He also chatted to professional carpenters about their techniques and tools.

"I want it clear that I am not a carpenter," he said. "I am a rustic furniture maker. I believe anyone can be a rustic."

Today he often sells his furniture in his pet shop, Pet Care on the South Shore Road in Devonshire, or works on commission.

He constructs his furniture out of cedar, casuarina, spicewood and baygrape.

"The spice wood is the hardest out of all the woods that I use," he said. "It is the one that lasts the longest.

"It is great for outdoors. If someone wanted a bench, especially near the ocean, I would recommend it. That is what Bermuda fishermen used to make fishpots — spicewood."

He said his first chair was made from Mexican pepper wood.

"That was useless," he said. "That chair is all rotten now.

"The more you are into it, the more critical you are of your work and yourself. You are constantly finding ways to do it better."

To obtain wood he became friendly with various landscapers and road crews. People also often bring him wood.

"I don't go out chopping a tree to make a chair," he said. "That would defeat the purpose.

The third artist in the show, Gale Bellew, became interested in fibre art while raising llamas in Maine. She makes scarves, purses and other items from different fabrics and fibres.

"As a result of having llamas I had all this wonderful fibre," said Mrs. Bellew.

For twenty years she helped organise the Fryeburg Fair Fiber Center in Maine, the state's largest fibre festival.

She eventually sold her 29 llamas and moved to Bermuda with her husband.

"One of the challenges of raising llamas was making money from it," Mrs. Bellew said emphatically. "It was really a labour of love. I didn't sell them because I moved to Bermuda. I sold them because it was time."

Some of her pieces in the show demonstrate a felting process called 'nuno' which combines silk and felt.

"Nuno is the Japanese word for fabric," said Mrs. Bellew. "Nuno was invented by Polly Sterling, an American living in Australia. She had been doing wool felt for years, but Australia was too hot for wool."

Nuno uses warm water, soap and light agitation.

"When you do that on the silk the felt fibres start to migrate through the back," said Mrs. Bellew.

During nuno the felting shrinks a bit, making part of the silk shrink also. This creates "ruching" or gathering.

She also uses an Asian technique for dyeing her fabrics and textiles.

"My work is very influenced by Asian culture," she said. "I studied Asian ink painting."

In the show, she will include a piece done collaboratively with Charman Prize winner Sabrina Powell.

'In the Garden' opens March 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Elliot Gallery at Kaleidoscope Arts Foundation.

A number of dishes will also be featured including red bean soup by Mr. Lopes' aunt, Mary Fox and kale soup by Natalie Sousa.

The show ends on March 27. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays or by appointment by telephoning 542-9000.

Aussies know how to dress for Oscar

Shining examples: Cate Blanchett wears a Janet Patterson design in Oscar and Lucinda. Photo: Twentieth Century Fox

When it comes to Oscars fashion, Australian stars and designers know how to shine both on and off the big screen.
Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett and Abbie Cornish have earned much applause for work done while wearing some of the most revered film costumes of the past decade - and all of them have been created by Australians.
Aussie stars have also ignited fashion trends from the red carpet, again often with the help of some local names.

Abbie Cornish at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Bright Star in 2009. Photo: Getty Images

Some of Kidman, Blanchett and Cornish’s looks on the silver screen have been created by three-time Academy Award-nominated costume designer Janet Patterson.
Patterson’s designs for Kidman in Portrait of a Lady, Blanchett in Oscar and Lucinda and Cornish in Bright Star not only transformed how Hollywood perceives these actresses, but fashion too.
Indeed, Australian costume designs have ignited major fashion trends including the gothic sensibility of The Piano and decadence of Moulin Rouge.
Perhaps even more importantly, it’s the stylishly individual ways these cinematic heroines appear that is most influential.
"The Australian actors have had such a huge influence on American films and have infiltrated that work so hugely and I’m sure part of the reason is the costuming and the whole picture of the character they are presenting," says Sarah Stollman, head of Screen Design at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS).
"There is a lot of pretence in the (United) States with actors and understandably so, they become so slick, they are trying to be perfect, and I think so many of our actors here they love working with because they might be incredibly attractive, but there’s this naturalness that comes through and maybe that carries through the way the costume designers approach the characters as well."
The other side of the Australian design aesthetic has surged on the red carpet thanks also to the high profiles of Rose Byrne, Naomi Watts, Toni Collette, Isabel Lucas, Melissa George, Teresa Palmer, Isla Fisher, Deborra-Lee Furness, Rachel Griffiths and Radha Mitchell.
Australian actresses have demonstrated their fashion power by choosing to wear local designers that are both original yet not overexposed.
"Wearing an Australian gown on the red carpet offers something that is unique," says Adam Worling, publicist to designer Lisa Ho whose creations have appeared at many international events.
"They don’t have to get into that thing which can happen with an international design of who wore it better because the dresses aren’t available two weeks after fashion week where every celebrity stylist has seen and seized them.
"Sometimes the dresses wear the people and we don’t have enormous media exposure so ours are really refreshing because they haven’t been seen on websites."
Further, when the big Australian stars' public appearances count most they have cannily turned to local designers to make bold statements of both their star and fashion status.
For the 2001 premiere of Moulin Rouge in Sydney, Nicole Kidman wore her most daring outfit to date - an ultra narrow bejewelled Michelle Jank top.
It sent out a provocative message she was at her most sexually alluring just as her then marriage to superstar Tom Cruise was ending.
Baz Luhrmann’s visually spectacular Moulin Rouge redefined Kidman’s image as the world watched her sizzle on screen in costume designers Catherine Martin and Angus Strathie’s decadent courtesan creations.
"The clothes need a great actress to make them speak and give them a personality which she and the other girls did brilliantly," Martin later said about Kidman’s career-changing role.
The risqué, corsetted costumes, which won Martin and Strathie an Oscar, enhanced by the famed Satine diamond necklace also helped secure Kidman best actress Golden Globe and Oscar nominations plus a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign for perfume Chanel Number 5.
Another Australian design duo to win big at the Oscars was Tim Chappel and Lizzy Gardiner whose outlandish costumes in the 1994 The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert landed them a gong.
Gardiner famously wore a dress made of gold Amex cards to accept her award.
"It was partly for shock value and to get noticed and also to make a comment on the whole money aspect of film-making, but it was good because not only did it bring attention to her and Tim Chappel but it also brought attention to that area of film-making and that was really important too," says Stollman.
Australians - stars and designers alike - are also big winners on the red carpet.
For Cate Blanchett the power of individualistic style is what has always separated her from the fashion pack.
Last year, she cemented her fashion icon status with a surprising red carpet choice for the opening of the Screen Worlds exhibition in Melbourne, where she was photographed wearing a Romance was Born patchwork blanket dress.
Her radical choice received extensive international coverage, but just six months later Paul Smith closely referenced the Aussie’s patchwork creation at his London Fashion Week show.
Rising star Abbie Cornish also dazzled on the red carpet at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival after opting for a Toni Maticevski lavender gown for the premiere of Bright Star.
Although Cornish failed to receive an Oscar nomination for her performance in the Jane Campion-directed romance, she instead landed on the front cover of Vanity Fair as one of Hollywood’s next big things.
Designer Alex Perry who has built a global reputation dressing Australia’s most glamorous women, including Deborra-Lee Furness for the 2009 Academy Awards hosted by her husband Hugh Jackman, believes celebrities seem much more powerful when they support local designers.
"You have to remember these women have labels literally knocking at their door," Perry said.
"They can wear whatever they want from any designer on the planet. But when they do wear an Australian designer and go to the effort it’s such a great thing and it shows they are dictating their own style."

McQueen wins posthumous fashion design award

McQueen's catwalk collection is being shown at the Design Museum

Fashion designer Alexander McQueen, who died last month aged 40, has won a top design award.

McQueen was named one of seven category winners at the Brit Insurance Design Awards 2010 for his latest spring/summer catwalk show.
Paula Reed, judge and style director of Grazia magazine, said the show emphasised the "enormity of his loss".
Other category winners included Monterrey Housing, a new model for social housing in Mexico.
Grassworks, a flat pack furniture kit made of sustainable bamboo which requires no drills or glue, won the Product category, while the zero-emission E430 Electric Aircraft won the Transport award.
McQueen beat other fashion collections, including Beth Ditto's clothing label at Evans, to take the award.
Ms Reed stressed the jury did not give the award to McQueen, who was found dead at his London home on 11 February, for "sentimental reasons".
She said the video presentation of McQueen's last show was one of the most "compelling" pieces in the awards exhibition at the Design Museum.
"Among the fashion nominees, Alexander McQueen was a clear winner," she said.
"The designer had been working for years on developing fabrics that could blend the hard into soft and had pretty much come close to achieving that in this collection.
"Then there was the way the prints had been worked, taking one image across an entire piece of fabric and fit by hand to the body to make a dress: something seemingly random was minutely thought through. But there was also the sheer spectacle of it.
"The impressiveness simply compounds the enormity of his loss."
McQueen's winning designs will now compete for the overall Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2010, to be announced at the ceremony at the Design Museum on 16 March.
The winning entries, along with all the shortlisted designs, are on show at the museum until 6 June.
Artist Antony Gormley, chair of the judges, said: "The seven winners provide a snapshot of some of the most outstanding designs from the past 12 months and reflect the important role design plays in improving people's lives."

Could Facebook Be Worth More Than Google At Time Of IPOs?

When Google Inc. went public in the most spectacular IPO of the past decade, the search company was valued at about $23 billion. The number shot up to around $27 billion after the first day of trading.
But venture-backed Facebook could be worth far more than that when it eventually files for an IPO, writes Jessica Vascellaro, author of today’s Wall Street Journal cover story of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
On sister blog Digits, Vascellaro writes that investors who are buying shares of Facebook or plan to buy shares expect the company will go public with a market cap of $35 billion to $40 billion. “Some analysts are even more bullish, suggesting that Facebook could be worth $59 billion in 2011 and more than $100 billion by 2015,” she writes.
Valuations of private companies often fluctuate wildly - Facebook is a shining example. The company bragged in 2007 that its valuation skyrocketed to $15 billion after Microsoft Corp. invested, but other estimates since then have put it at anywhere from half that amount to about $10 billion after Digital Sky Technologies invested in the company last year.
Sharespost, an online marketplace for trading in private companies, including Facebook, estimates the company’s current valuation at $11.5 billion by averaging the latest bid and offer prices with research estimates.
If the valuation estimates reported by Vascallero are anywhere close to what becomes reality once Facebook goes public, the company’s early investors are in for some Google-like returns. Accel Partners, Greylock Ventures, Meritech Capital Partners and Founders Fund’s Peter Thiel which invested at relatively low valuations several years ago, will be able to live off of their investments in Facebook for years the same way Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sequoia Capital has done with Google, which made Kleiner Partner John Doerr and Sequoia Partner Michael Moritz billionaires.

Beauty Tips for Men

Beauty Tips for Men is a common notion that men are less concerned about their looks than women are. But this is just a fraction of the truth and researches show that men too are equally interested in beauty and beauty tips as their opposite sex.
Men have always desired to look masculine and macho, rugged and strong and therefore, dread the thought of admitting their obsession with looks.
If you are someone who harbors similar thoughts, take it easy, as beauty and beauty tips for men have become a well accepted notion in the modern times.
Although numerous beauty parlors for men exist, where you can get all the services you wish, you might still find a few beauty tips for men handy when it comes to dealing with everyday life. Read on to know more about some great beauty tips for men that will help you gain your desired look.

Facial Beauty Tips for Men
Clean your face regularly to keep it free of acne and grime. Use a face wash at least twice a day but ensure that the chemical content in it is minimal. Also, to ensure you retain the moisture in your skin, do not use deodorant based soaps for your face. Use a skin toner containing vitamin E or Aloe Vera. While using razors, ensure that it has strip of aloe or vitamin to save you from the after shave burns.
You can also apply a homemade face pack that suits your skin type to clean your face and tighten the skin. For a suitable homemade beauty recipe for your face you may browse through our homemade beauty tips on this website.
If you prefer a rugged look, then visit a salon for a beard or mustache style that best suits your face. Apply a sunscreen before going out and use vaseline on your lips to keep them from getting dry.

Hair Care Tips for Men
Hair is one more important part of the body that you need to pay special attention to. You must oil hair regularly or at least on weekends and wash off with a mild shampoo. If you see traces of gray in your hair, then you could use henna packs or hair colors. If you see you hair thinning, then keep your hair short. Long hair needs more care and effort for maintenance and cleanliness. Styling gels can be used to keep your hair in place, but ensure that these do not contain an excess of chemicals.

Body Care Tips for Men
Hair on the ear lobes can be embarassing. To get rid of this unwanted hair you can wax your ear lobes at regular intervals. If you like the bare body look, then waxing the chest can also be a good option.
Body massages on weekends are relaxing. Massages improve your blood circulation and tone your body while it relaxes your muscles.
Manicure and pedicures clean your hands and feet and keep them in good shape. Regular exercises and a balanced diet are also necessary for an over all good look.

Dressing and Cosmetic Tips for Men
Wearing clean and ironed clothes definitely helps you feel good and confident. Cosmetics could include powder and little lip balm. Never forget to wear your favorite perfume or deodorant for that fresh feel throughout the day.

10 Tips to taking great photos over Spring Break

Passport? Check. Suntan lotion? Yep. Camera? Of course. Taking a camera on a vacation is a must in order to immortalize those memories in the sun and sharing them with family and friends. But you don’t get a second chance to capture that moment, so our friends at Nikon Canada have shared their Top 10 tips to taking great vacation pictures.


In case you missed our Sympatico article on recommended cameras and camcordes for spring break,  you definitely don’t want to be without something to catch all the action on your upcoming vacation.
Nikon Canada is also sharing some photo-taking tips to those with a point-and-shoot or dSLR (Single Lens Reflex) model. Here’s a look at each one for fun in the sun:
1. Shoot in continuous mode. If you’ve ever had trouble taking crisp, clear photos of a constantly moving subject, a child or pet for example, try changing your camera settings to a continuous burst mode. Several frames per second will increase your chances of catching your subject just the way you want. If you have Subject Tracking, you’ll have an even greater array of features to help you capture that perfect shot.
2. Flash forward. Using a flash ensures all your photos are crisp and clear, especially in darker lit settings such as a dinner or dance party. And don’t stop there — be sure to use flash outdoors as well to help balance any dark contrasts.
3. Work with what you’ve got. Take advantage of your camera’s settings whether it’s a low-light sensitive capability such as a broad ISO range, or automatic setting selections for taking pictures in various environments. Learn the features your camera offers and use them to create impressive images you’ll be proud to put on display.
4. Shutter finger. The beauty of digital is the ability to review any photographs you take instantly and decide which you would like to keep or re-shoot. With this in mind, don’t hold back. Take more pictures rather than fewer and sort through them later. This will help you
focus on the photo opportunities at hand, giving you a better chance of capturing that perfect shot.
5. Exposure is key. Any good photo has an intended balance to the amount of light used when the picture was taken. Experiment with your camera’s exposure settings, bracketing the brightness levels for different effects. Sometimes an over or underexposed photo can be a creative expression of an otherwise normal photograph. Just remember, when in doubt, underexpose — these images can be brightened later on, whereas an overexposed image won’t pick up all the details and not much can be done to correct it.
6. Get to know, be a pro. Take into account who or what your subject is. If you are photographing a person, learn what their personality is like and what they are comfortable with; if you are taking photos of an animal [there are plnty of those on Spring Break! - Marc], you will need to know what its temperament is; and taking pictures of an object requires you to identify the best features to highlight. The more you learn and understand, the better you will be able to model your photograph in its best light.
7. Wherever you will go. Take your camera with you so you never miss a moment. When selecting a new camera, consider how you will transport it. If you select a smaller unit, this will be less of a concern, but if you purchase a larger, heavier camera with additional lenses and flash attachments, consider investing in a good camera bag to protect your equipment and make it more portable. When on foot, take advantage of a camera strap around your neck — many of today’s digital SLR cameras feature rapid start-up times, so you’ll always be ready if a picture opportunity arises.
8. The more the merrier. Challenge your skill level. Investing in a few accessories can make photography easier and help to produce better photos. A tripod can help to steady a shot, while additional lenses provide various zoom options, macro options, wide-angle, and more. Adding an external flash can make a photo more dynamic. Digital SLRs are great because they are customizable to every photographer’s needs.
9. Don’t forget to touch up. Make life easier by performing simple image corrections right on the camera before uploading them to your computer. This makes picture development a snap.
10. Have fun! Be creative. Get up high or down real low to capture that perfect shot, creating dimension, angles and a personal flare to all your photos. Develop your own style of photography to set yourself apart from the crowd.

Spicy Tea Soaps

Blend your own mix of fragrant dried flowers and herbal tea into beautiful glycerin soaps, then wrap them with recycled decorative gift wrap and scrap ribbon for homemade gift giving.
Spicy Tea Soaps
What You Will Need:
Glycerin soap base
Large kitchen knife
Cutting block
Large glass measuring cup
Medium-sized pan and water
Stovetop
Stirring spoon
Dried chamomile flowers
Dried lavender flowers
Herbal tea bag
Essential oi
Colorant (optional)
Soap molds
Rubbing alcohol in spray bottle
Decorative paper scraps
Ribbon scrap
Tape
Tissue paper or cellophane
Glue stick
Rubber stamps or stickers
Homemade Spicy Tea Soaps
Instructions
Use a kitchen knife to cut the block of glycerin soap into 1-inch cubes. Place the cubes into the glass measuring cup. Set the measuring cup into the pan, and fill the pan with water to reach halfway up the outside of the measuring cup, creating a double boiler. Set the stovetop burner on medium heat under the pan.
Keep a watchful eye as the glycerin cubes melt—about 10 minutes. Stir as needed. Remove from heat and skim off any skin that forms on the surface of the glycerin.
Add the lavender, chamomile, and contents of the tea bags to the melted soap. Stir to combine. Add a few drops of essential oil, and colorant if desired, and mix well.
Pour the melted soap into the soap molds. If bubbles appear on the surface, use a spray bottle of rubbing alcohol to spritz the surface of the soap. Allow the soap to harden and cool. Then, pop the soaps out of the molds.
To decorate rectangular soaps, recycle gift wrap by cutting strips to wrap around the bar. Secure the back with a small piece of tape, and tie off with a ribbon for extra pop. For round soaps, wrap tissue paper or cellophane around the soap, bringing the ends of the paper to the top of the bar. Seal it with a round piece of paper secured with glue. Decorate the paper with rubber stamps or stickers.

Wrinkles _Cause and treatment at Home

Wrinkles are caused by thin, sagging skin. These are especially visible on the face, neck and hands. Wrinkles appear when the collagen and elastin present in the connective tissue of the skin is weakened or decrease in number. Skin that has suffered such damage appears thinner, loses fat content, elasticity and smoothness.

Causes of Wrinkles Skin

• Ageing
• Over exposure to sun
• Smoking
• Exposure to dust and chemicals
• Pollution
• Drug use
• Stress
• Rapid weight loss
• Depletion of vitamin E in the body

Symptoms of Wrinkles Skin

• Lined and creased skin
• Sagging skin
• Areas that are more affected include sensitive skin near the eyes, lips and neck.

Home remedies for Wrinkles

1. Apply egg whites to the skin under your eyes.
2. A mixture of 1/4 cup comfrey infusion, 1/4 cup witch hazel and 10 drops of patchouli essential oil is effective in treating wrinkles. This can be stored in a clean bottle and applied on affected areas with a cotton ball.
3. Eat 1 tsp of shredded ginger along with a few drops of honey every morning.
4. Rub the core of a pineapple all over your face for sometime and leave it for 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Applying of lemon juice several times a day will fade away the blemishes and wrinkles.
6. Mix turmeric powder and sugarcane to form a paste and apply it on the skin for preventing wrinkles.
7. A paste of turmeric made with sugarcane juice is great to get rid of wrinkles and slow skin ageing.
8. Gently massage coconut oil on portions of skin prone to wrinkles every night a bedtime.
9. Apply odorless castor oil to the crepe-like skin under the eyes or on the throat.
10. Prick 3 capsules of vitamin E and drain into small bowl. Add 2 tsps plain yogurt, 1/2 tsp honey and 1/2 tsp. lemon juice. Apply to face with cotton ball. Leave on skin for about 10 minutes. Rinse.
11. Eating one tablespoonful of shredded ginger with honey will provide the skin with healthy glow.
12. Application of pure castor oil regularly prevents wrinkles.

Wrinkle Treatment with Coconut oil
Apply coconut oil on the portions of skin and face where wrinkles set in and gently massage every night at bedtime.

Teaching assistant who mocked crying pupil on Facebook suspended

A teaching assistant accused of using Facebook to mock a four-year-old who cried in class has been suspended. 
Yasmine Judge allegedly posted a message on the social networking site saying she found it "funny" when Faye McDonnell burst into tears after being punished.
Parents have started a petition demanding that she is not allowed to return to work at Lowerhouses CE Junior and Infant School in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.
Faye suffers from laryngitis and her mother said she started breathing heavily and became upset after Ms Judge told her off.
Faye's mum Louise McDonnell, 24, said: "If the children do something wrong they have to go and sit under the thinking tree, which is a paper tree on the wall.
"They have to think about what they did wrong. It's supposed to be a positive thing rather than just telling the child off.
"Ms Judge sent Faye to sit under the tree. Faye says she didn't do anything wrong but Ms Judge didn't allow her to explain herself. She had to stand there for three or four minutes.
"She has trouble breathing and when she gets upset she goes red and starts breathing heavily.
"She's a very confident little girl, very outspoken. She really enjoys school most of the time and she wouldn't tell me why she didn't want to go to school. I was so angry that the staff didn't listen to her. School is supposed to be fun at that age."
Ms McDonnell's anger grew when she heard that Ms Judge had mocked her daughter on Facebook.
She said: "The following day four or five other parents told me about the message on Facebook. Apparently she wrote about how funny it was when Faye was crying under the thinking tree.
"I wanted to know what had gone on but when I got to the school Miss Judge had already been sent home."
Ms McDonnell then spoke to the school's headteacher Paul Scrimshaw.
She said: "He told me he was sorry and that he didn't approve of it. "The school offered me an apology at first but I don't think an apology is good enough."
Ms Judge, 20, is still suspended and the message has been deleted from Facebook.
Ms McDonnell has now gathered 60 signatures for a petition demanding that the teaching assitant is barred from returning to the school.
"Mr Scrimshaw has told me that if she does come back to work it will be with the older children," she said. "But Faye would still see her in the playground and on school trips. If Ms Judge goes back I will pull Faye out of the school. I don't want my daughter being unhappy."
A Kirklees Council spokesman said: "A disciplinary process involving a teaching assistant is ongoing and we are unable to comment about this individual case. However, the school and the council are working closely together to resolve the issue."

Inspiring, Young Entrepreneurs!

A down economy won't stop these innovative minds.

Historically, in times of recession and hardship, ingenuity and creativity run rampant. Many of today's big brands were started in times of economic turmoil, including Procter & Gamble, General Motors, FedEx, The Jim Henson Company, General Electric, Microsoft, MTV, and Trader Joe's.

For the second year in a row, Inc. magazine has profiled what they consider to be the top college start-up companies. Combine a lagging job market with bountiful amounts of technology, add innovative young minds, and we just may have America's next great leaders and entrepreneurs.

A lot of these folks discovered a market need while in college, or even high school. Jason Shah created a free online service to help prepare low-income students for the SAT's. IneedAPencil is available for those who cannot afford some of the more expensive test preparation courses on the market today. The material infuses pop-culture and sports when possible to make studying a little more exciting. Ryan Dickerson created a pillow that transforms a dorm bed into a couch, and Troy Rhodes founded a college textbook rental website. Aside from tests, dorms, and books, what else is almost inevitable during those college years? The freshman fifteen! Brent Skoda decided to combat the weight woes of his peers by starting CollegeFitness.com. The site, which is now branching out into custom sites for various universities, provides get-fit tools like workout videos, meal planners and weight-loss trackers. It is also a social networking site where over 12,000 members have already joined the community.

Not everyone on the list is focused on collegiate endeavors. Tech companies, such as EvoApp, developed by Joey Davey, are also prominent. He created a web-based organizational application which allows entrepreneurs to keep their project, contact, calendar, and file management in one place. Curtis Funk started a funeral recording service after being touched by an audio recording of his grandmother's funeral. Alfonso Olvera launched a web-tracking system, RailTronix, for rail shippers. While his market now consists of oil shippers, he is planning to expand to grain shippers next.

Lifestyle ventures are supreme entrepreneurial territory, as well. Cookies are the name of the game for Chrissie Harsh. Through Chrissie's Cookies, she sells her sweet treats mostly to fellow college students or for special order online. Yearly, Chrissy donates 700 cookies to charitable organizations. While Chrissie wants to feed everyone, Whitney Williams want to make them look good. She started designing jewelry at trunk shows, and now sells online. However, she doesn't plan on stopping there. She will soon begin manufacturing her goods through a factory and has already been approached by a major department store. Williams hopes to eventually expand her line into a full-blown lifestyle brand including clothes and shoes, as well as jewelry. She, too, gives to charitable causes by donating a percentage of her profits to a different organization each year.

Beauty experts recreate red-carpet looks for life's other special occasions

NEW YORK - Hollywood folk have two secret weapons when it comes to looking picture perfect for a big red-carpet event like the Oscars: hair and makeup.

Sure, the dress is a big deal, but the total look is incomplete without the right hairstyle, lipstick colour and oh-so-long lashes. And the wrong makeup drags down a dress.

Gwyneth Paltrow was the Oscar belle of the ball back in 1999 in her pink Ralph Lauren dress that, quite frankly, did not fit her very well; you hardly noticed with her princess-style bun and fresh-faced makeup.

She did not fare as well a few years later in a Goth dress by Alexander McQueen, yet it is those raccoon eyes that really linger in our collective memories.

Increasingly, stars know how important the total look is, and they will book their beauty team for an event weeks in advance. The challenge for the beauty team, though, is that the dress is often a last-minute choice so they show up with the tools to do retro-glam, smoky-sexy or cutting edge-cool styles with a few strokes of their brushes.

The Associated Press asked two experts, hairstylist Oscar Blandi, who has his own salon on New York's Madison Avenue, and Ricky Wilson, celebrity makeup artist for Dior, to craft beauty routines that would capture the striking Golden Globe looks of Emily Blunt and January Jones.

Both these looks, while very Hollywood, can be appropriate for a cocktail party, maybe even a dinner date, says Wilson.

-EMILY BLUNT

Blunt's feminine look, complemented by a soft-pink, delicate gown by Dolce&Gabbana, started with flawless skin, says Wilson. "You want to look really beautiful, natural - like I woke up and look this great. Of course, it can take a lot of work."

Wilson, who counts Beyonce and Sharon Stone as clients, starts with a radiance serum to brighten and smooth the skin and then a breathable foundation to even out the tone. He uses a brush to apply everything because, although fingers are a little more agile, a brush has a light touch and can get into fine lines.

Nothing can look heavy here, and it is important to have a very even hand.

For the eyes, Wilson uses a light, buttery but not opaque shade of white to be used from crease to brow bone, followed by a lavender-grey shade on the lid only. It will open up the eye, he explains, which will be further enhanced by dabbing a little light shimmer right at the inside corner of the eye.

Then comes the black eyeliner, not applied in one straight line but using many short strokes along both the upper and lower lashline, and then several coats of black mascara, letting the layers dry before applying the next one.

Dewy lips come with an application of lip balm with the fingers, creating a smooth surface before the lipstick goes on. "It's like a slip," Wilson says.

His favourite lip product is Dior's Lip Glow - "modern-day mood lipstick," according to Wilson. It is a pretty pink shade in the tube but actually responds to each person, creating a unique shade that should flatter the wearer's coloring.

Blandi also says Blunt's oh-so-natural look for her hair has many more steps than you'd think, yet isn't hard to do.

Hair preparation is the key, he says, by blow drying the hair without ever pulling it tight (and using a diffuser instead of straight-on heat) and taming flyaways with jasmine oil.

"This is a sexy approach. It's 'bedroom hair,"' describes Blandi, who works with Jennifer Garner, Katie Holmes and Julianne Moore, among other celebrities. He thinks it was the right look for Blunt because the dress did not have a lot of accouterments. "If your dress is simple, amplify the hair and makeup, and vice versa."

Blandi then uses the curling iron, alternating the position of the cord with each section of hair: If one curl, held for 10-15 seconds, is done with the cord facing upward vertically, the next one has the cord facing downward.

He saves the crown for last, working only with the cord facing down and loosening up on the curl.

His tip to at-home stylists: take smaller chunks of hair in the curling iron. Use your fingers to tousle the hair; a brush would undo the work you just did. A cool, quick blow-dry on medium speed, again with the diffuser, will set the style.

"The best part of this look is it looks better later on," Blandi says.

-JANUARY JONES

Jones' dramatic, asymmetric black Lanvin dress, which made sure she wouldn't be confused with Betty Draper, required equally striking makeup and hair.

Pulling together the bottom half of the hair into a pony tail, saving a strip of hair that will later be used to hide a rubber band, Blandi teases with a brush already spritzed with hairspray to reach the crown of the hair. He secures the top with bobby pins in the middle of the back of the head.

Then he teases the pony tail so the hair has a lot of body before he swirls it into a loose bun.

The position of the bun at the nape of the neck is important with the most flattering spot matching the jawline, Blandi says. He takes the last hanging strip of hair and camouflages the rubber band and tucks the end into the chignon.

He uses bobby pins to keep the bun in place.

Jones wore a stretchy black headband to add to the drama; a similar one is easty to find at a mass-market store.

Blandi positioned the bottom back of the band below the bun and stretched the rest to land just behind the ears and about a half-inch above the hairline in the front. The slightly pouffy top gives height behind the headband.

A lot of hairspray is the final step for the hair.

Wilson takes over the modern pinup look with just a little powder on the T-zone and matte bronzer to sculpt the cheeks, but not much else on the skin so it will not distract from the very black eyelashes and red lips he plans.

With his finger, he applies a light beige powder eye shadow under the brow, pressing it in so it does not "drip," and then a lighter champagne-colored shadow on the lid. A brown shadow goes on the crease from the outside edge of the eye to about two-thirds in.

He uses an eyelash curler before he applies no fewer than three coats of mascara. (If you get mascara on the lid, wait until it dries before you gently scratch it off with a cotton swab to avoid smudging, he advises.)

To create a clean backdrop for the red lips, Wilson uses a little more light powder on the bow between the mouth and nose, and then he uses a cherry red lip pencil to create the boundaries for the lipstick.

"There's a red out there for every woman," Wilson insists. However, he adds, it will take trial and error to find out if a blue-toned red or an orange-toned red is best for you.

After Wilson has found and applied the right red, Wilson cleans up the edges with a bit of concealer on a makeup sponge. Because of the bold colour, a neat, perfect application can make the difference, he says.

OK, so the lip is really bold and you are worried about it. It probably looks great, Wilson says, but a touch of shimmery gloss just at the centre of the top and bottom lip should alleviate any apprehension.

He adds: "The celebrity look can push women out of their regular box, which is where they should be for special events."