SAG Awards Jewelry Roundup 2011

Juliana Margulies in Bavna jewelry

The 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards brought us a red carpet full of diamond dangle earrings, icy cuffs, a few scary statement necklaces and a splash of color for good measure.

If this sounds familiar, it's because all the big red carpet events lately have followed the same 'play it safe' pattern when it comes to bedazzling our favorite Hollywood beauties.

I'm not complaining, really. The SAG Awards are known as a more low-key carpet than the Globes and the Oscars. I just miss the smack-your-face, lower-jaw-drop jewelry moments from years' past. It just ain't happening much in 2011, I'm afraid.

That said, here's a roundup of last night's jewelry trends for your drooling pleasure.

Diamond Divas:

SAG winner, Natalie Portman, and Glee diva, Lea Michele, stunned in millions worth of Tiffany diamond dazzle. You have my permission to hate them.

Natalie Portman in $2 million Tiffany 27.95-carat yellow diamond earrings

Lea Michele in $300,000 worth of Tiffany diamond jewels

Drops and Dangles:

The ubiquitous diamond dangle earring category made a strong showing - with a few standouts like Julianna Margulies in Bavna statement stunners and the always-gorg Kim Kardashian in her go-to jewelry favorite, Lorraine Schwartz.

Heather Morris in Martin Katz

Eva Longoria in Neil Lane

Tina Fey in Lorraine Schwartz leaf earrings

Kim Kardashian in Lorraine Schwartz

Black and White:

Amy Adams has never looked this good, in my humble opinion - thanks to the year's standout red carpet jewelry designer, Kimberly McDonald. While Christina Hendricks got too close to Elvira chic with her dress choice, I love the black teardrop earrings by Sutra (which she didn't lose this time!).

Winona Ryder in Gray jewelry

Christina Hendricks in Sutra earrings

January Jones in Lorraine Schwartz

Amy Adams in Kimberly McDonald

Amy Adams in Kimberly McDonald

Diamond Cleavage...Um, I Mean, Cuffs:

Sofia Vergara continues to wow in a plunging blue Roberto Cavalli with a sparkling Chopard diamond cuff.

Sofia Vergara in Chopard diamond cuff

Claire Danes in Fred Leighton diamond bangles

Natalie Portman in Tiffany diamond bangles

Mila Kunis in $270,000 Cartier tiger cuff. Meow!

Color Queens:

While previous awards shows gave us a definite color trend to squawk about (emeralds for the Globes), the SAGs gave us just a varied smattering of gemstone hues.

Rosario Dawson in Susie Fox

Jane Krakowski in Lorraine Schwartz

Mariska Hargitay in David Webb turquoise earring

Necklace No-Nos:

So far, 2011 is NOT the year of the necklace. I'm on the fence about Nicole Kidman's Fred Leighton flower piece - but Jenna Ushkowitz's gold bib number has to go.

Nicole Kidman in Fred Leighton

Our fun-filled SAG Twitter chat (#SAGjewelry) led by the all-knowing Cindy Edelstein (aka JewelryBizGuru), was the usual snark-fest with the occasional gasp. But we all agreed we were missing a stand-out jewelry star - and that Guiliana Rancic needs to stop speaking English.

Check out all the fun here - and weigh in with your thoughts!

Next up? The Grammy Awards on February 13th!

Product Review: ELF vs. MUFE High Def Powder

HELLO AGAIN!

To set makeup, a translucent powder is a must.

The latest innovation in makeup is High Def powders-

Makeup Forever (available at Sephora)

came out with the first, a 100% silica weightless dream product.

It doesn't crease, is so fine that it feels like air, lasts forever,

doesn't oxidize, and doesn't cake down makeup.

However, at 24$ a pop, it is quite the investment.

Many other brands have come out with imitation products,

but the most popular is Eyes Lips Face's.

It is a mix of silicate and silica, and at 12$ it is 1/2 the price of the MUFE product

(basic math... not my forte`)

Actually, the product is 6$ but it is only for sale online, so the shipping adds the extra.

Anywhoo, I bought both.

After opening the MUFE, a fairy dusting of product floated into the air, so fine it was unreal.

I dabbed a bit on my skin, and felt like fainting it was so wonderfully silky and airy.

Not convinced, I patted some over undereye concealer

(which ALWAYS creases on my eyes)

and went about my day.

When I got home, I was shocked and thrilled to find that not one bit of product had budged.

I'm not exaggerating.

Then I tried the ELF powder,

most reviews have said that there is absolutely no difference, but I disagree.

It definitely wasn't as finely milled, but it had the same weightless feel.

Because of the slightly grainier texture, it did cake up very slightly,

allow for a teeeensy bit of creasing and had a almost undetectable chalky color.

Compared to any other regular powder out there, it was dramatically better.

It lasted all day, applied easily, and would have been nearly invisible in high def

(as promised!)

SO

I will stick with the ELF for now, but only because of my college budget.

It definitely isn't the dream come true that the MUFE is, but for half the price it is spectacular,

wonderfully transplendent

(annie hall anyone?)

Stay fabulous!

<3

Claire

NEW PERFUME: PURE DKNY

Over break, I told my mom I wanted a perfume.

This week, I got a package.

MY MOM BOUGHT ME THE PERFUME AND SENT IT TO ME.

I have the best mom ever.

I now have Pure by DKNY in my olfactory arsenal!

The scent is created around a vanilla ethically sourced from Uganda,

The box and bottle are 100% recyclable, and the plastic wrapping is compostable.

AWESOME!

Also, it smells like absolute delight.

It says that on top of the vanilla, there is also:

dew drop petal accord, lotus blossom, bulgarian rose, jasmine, freesia, orchid, white amber, and sandalwood.

Geez.

To me, it smells like clouds, snuggles, fresh sheets, tea, and saturday sunsets :D

(lol i'm dying my hair)

<3

Claire

p.s. the SAG awards are tonight- will try and post my thoughts ASAP

p.p.s. the icky webcam photos will come to an end soon, i am getting a new camera charger!

p.p.p.s.

three years. we miss you.

Hairspray And Its Many Glorious Uses

Besides playing a crucial role in holding carefully-teased 80's coiffes (that always sounds like a dirty word to me) in place, hairspray is useful for many other things...

...one being removing nail polish from clothes. Seriously, I'm an idiot and have done it at least twice in the past few months, once spilling teal polish all over my favorite black hoodie...

1) Douse (literally, show no mercy) the nail polish stain, preferably before it's fully dried, with hairspray.

2) Take an old toothbrush and scrub the hairspray right off! Ta-da!

I went to WeHo (West Hollywood, LULZ) last night and had delicious coffee AND a milkshake in the span of an hour. It was glorious.

Honey vanilla latte, ARE YOU SERIOUS.

Strawberries & Fererro Roche. Yes.

What did you all do this weekend?!

-B

Vivienne Westwood's Palladium Project

How do you save the planet and look good doing it? Look no further than fashion icon, Dame Vivienne Westwood, who's channeling some of her "do-gooder" design energy to an often-overlooked jewelry category:

Palladium

Many of you may not be familiar with this light-weight white-colored precious metal, but you should be. Just as durable as white gold and platinum but much more affordable - palladium is often used in jewelry design to bring price points down to mere mortal levels.

In a move wiser than a Charlie Sheen rehab visit, Palladium Alliance International partnered with Westwood to create a line of palladium jewels to give their product some much-needed press while showcasing the designer's love of all things earth-friendly.

The result is the acorn-laden Vivienne Westwood "Get A Life" Palladium Collection, which will debut during London Fashion Week in February and will be available exclusively in Vivienne Westwood boutiques in London and Los Angeles this spring.

"We wanted Dame Vivienne Westwood to showcase Palladium to the world because of her continued exploration and reinterpretation of history, combined with a tireless individualism which has cemented her reputation as the UK's most culturally significant fashion designer. We believe this creativity and individuality make her the perfect fit for the brand and her designs will complement our metal," said John Stark, chairman for the Palladium Alliance International in a release.

I know most of us won't be near Ms. Westwood's boutiques anytime soon, so I've picked out a few of my favorite palladium bridal styles for your drooling pleasure from sample sale site, JewelClub (click on the image for more info). 

The prices are incredible, and the styling is just as classic and elegant as the more traditional platinum or white gold piece.

And it's cool to be like Vivienne Westood. Thoughts?

Sugar Skull Satisfaction

I've always been kind of entranced by the sugar skulls and motifs associated with Dia de los Muertos- the vibrant colors and cartoon-creepy skeleton depictions, all steeped in culture.

Here's some sweet stuff that draws upon this Mexican holiday for inspiration!

Sugar Skull Laptop Decal- $18.00

Via SoSexedUp

The Four Fridas 5x7 Print- $8.00

Day of the Dead Deep V- $19.00

Sugar Skull Ring- $25.00

Wishing you all a lovely weekend! Nothing quite like popping the contacts out, painting my nails and watching some Arrested Development... :)

-B

P.S. All items for sale here can be bought on Etsy- I can't stress how important it is to support small artists and their businesses! This is as close to guilt-free shopping that you can get besides in a thrift store ;)

Natalie Portman's Engagement Ring Goes Green

Natalie Portman is having one heck of a year. And while her Oscar nomination is making big headlines this week, I'm turning my attention to another newsworthy Natalie item making the rounds - the blingy details of her gorgeous diamond engagement ring.

When it came to designing Portman's shiner, the A-lister's choreographer fiancé, Benjamin Millepied, relied on his leading lady and the art of ballet for inspiration, according to People. Millepied called on former dancer pal and jewelry designer Jamie Wolf to help create the perfect ring for his Black Swan.

“Ben was exceptionally thoughtful and dedicated and patient to make sure we had everything right,” Wolf explained to InStyle. “We wanted everything about the ring to speak to things that are important to Natalie.”

The circular Halo design centers around an antique mine-cut diamond, surrounded by certified conflict-free stones and made of recycled platinum — all in line with Natalie's eco-friendly, vegan lifestyle. The estimated price tag is around $35,000 - (or a lifetime supply of gluten-free veggie burgers).

I am in love with the 'Halo' look for engagement rings - and expect the silhouette to develop into a full-blown trend - especially now that Natalie's rock is getting so much air time during Awards Season. Stay tuned!

P.S. I am Live Tweeting the SAG Awards red carpet this Sunday with all the other cool kids starting at 7pm EST/4pm PST. Use hashtag #SAGjewelry. Be there or be square, jewelry hounds!

Gemstones Jolt the Paris Runways

It's been a lackluster year for runway jewelry so far - with the less-is-more trend influencing practically all of the Spring/Summer Ready-To-Wear collections.

So I was holding out hope that the Spring/Summer Paris Couture Shows for 2011 - known for their Alice In Wonderland-esque bauble displays - would deliver some jewelry looks worth squaking about. Chanel was characteristically bauble barren. As was Dior (a surprise). But...

Enter Giorgio Armani, who didn't just litter his looks with gorgeous gems - he used colored gemstones as the inspiration for his entire line, according to Style.com.

Huzzah!

"Inspired, he said, by the gleam of gemstones, Armani produced clothes that came from another planet, the same one that Pierre Cardin and Thierry Mugler might have touched down on once. (It's already been suggested its name could be Gaga.)"

From ruby reds to gorgeous greens, the luminous fabrics looked like they came straight from the Tron wardrobe department.

Chandelier earring silhouettes, chunky bangles (they're baaaack - or did they ever leave?) and a bib necklace made out of gemstone shapes lit up the line like a Christmas tree on crack.

And while the wearability of the collection left some scratching their heads (Gaga excluded, of course), there was no denying the fun Mr. Armani must have had in his futuristic fantasy land.

The dude has no one left to impress, right? Whatever floats your gemstone-encrusted boat, sir, as far as I'm concerned. And even though I am a reluctant fan of toning things down when it comes to jewelry fashion this year - it's kinda nice to see the bigger bolder look from season's past on display again.

Right? Wrong? Thoughts, jewelry hounds?