“TMZsters want to capture surface. If a picture’s in focus, it’s great. My goal is to capture what the surface is hiding. There’s a story in every face, every landscape, every still life.”
The daughter of a state senator and respected surgeon, talented photojournalist Clea Raymond’s life was one of privilege and luxury with the spotlight never far behind. But everything changes when her father suddenly goes missing while on a humanitarian mission. Unable to accept the mystery surrounding his disappearance, Clea embarks on a journey to Colombia with her trusty camera and friends to uncover the truth amidst all the deception. What she discovers will change her life forever.
Hilary Duff, actress, musician and designer, now adds best-selling author to the list with her first novel “Elixir”. It’s a “Gossip Girl” gone rogue in South America meets coming-of-age tale of travel and mystery. While the Duffster’s style is always on point, the young adult geared “Elixir” may need a good spike to be considered  gulp worthy reading for the 25+ demo, but we’re thinking exceptions will be made due to sheer curiosity. Mark our words.

Dear mother of pearl, what mollusk did Nicki Minaj roll out of last night? Miss Minaj chose to celebrate her 26th in an over-the-top birthday suit bespeckled in sequins, pearls and not much else. While her wardrobe choices are outrageous with a short order of crazy, we can’t help but be entertained.

Need falsetto lashes in a blink of an eye? No problem.  We recently went behind-the-scenes at a photo shoot, and caught a Forever 21 make-up artist in full on lash application mode, so we just had to observe the master at work.  Needless to say, we got him to spill a few trade secrets on how to fake it the right way.

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to fantastic falsies (and not losing an eye).
  1. Prep: Start with a great pair of lashes.  Our Love&Beauty set comes with a great adhesive. Just in time for the holidays!
  2. Set up your area. You’ll need: make-up brushes, an eyelash curler, basic make- up and optional toothpicks and tweezers.
  3. A clean canvas is ideal for a sticky situation. Make sure the eyelid is clear of any oil based products or else the adhesive won’t work.
  4. Measure out the lashes so they fit along the crescent of the eyelid.  If they’re too long give them a trim. Comfort is key.
  5. Apply lash adhesive along the baseline of the lashes, not your eyes. (Tip: It’s easier to put glue on a piece of paper and then apply to the lashes with a toothpick, but let the glue get a little bit tacky for a few seconds before applying to lashes.)
  6. Start placing on lash line from the inner corner of eye moving outward.
  7. Allow time to set before you curl and apply liquid liner.
  8. Viola!
Taking them off:
  1. Soak a cotton ball in make-up remover and place on closed eye for a few minutes to loosen the glue.
  2. Don’t pull off violently. Remember the reason why you needed fake ones in the first place.
  3. Clean the lashes. Remove excess glue.
  4. IT’S FREEBIE FRIDAY CONTEST TIME! First to answer correctly wins this Forever 21 dress (size s), Forever 21 blazer (size s), necklace and earrings! (Approximate prize value $70.) Good luck!

    What is the retail price of our new Choose Haiti bracelets?
    Thanks for playing Freebie Friday! If you didn’t win, we suggest you console yourself by picking up one of those Choose Haiti bracelets, available here. They’ll make you feel good and look good!