Honey, I think you need to straighten out the dead bird on your head...

Or so spoke my fearless companion the first morning I slept on my amazing, fantastical, super hip n' trendy new FEATHER EXTENSIONS!!!

So I first caught wind of this lil' trend via Birchbox's Facebook, and that same day was contacted by a girl who is set up to do these hair extensions... and that weekend attended the Makeup Show LA, where I saw TONS of them live and in person.

So what ARE they?  They're real feathers attached to your hair usually by a bead, and they can be washed, flat ironed, curled, whatever.  They come in all different lengths, widths, styles and colors, and can be worn alone or in a groupings.  Here are mine:

As "installed" by the fabulous Shelly of the Azalea Salon (949.248.3406 and http://www.azaleasalonandboutique.com/).  I have two bundles of about four feathers each clamped up in there, and I LOVE 'em!  And Shelly has been putting them in bangs and short hair and long hair and they're just so much fun... especially for spring and summer. :)

So there's a little something fun I'm loving this week.  The other thing I've been reaching for all week is my LUSH Lemony Flutter in an attempt to salvage my tragic-looking, raggedy-ass cuticles.  Who knew that a steady stream of hair and beauty products would be so rough on my grubby lil' paws?  Sigh.

these are a few of my favorite greens...

I know I'm just under the wire here, but Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Your friendly neighborhood Goddess of Makeup and Hair is very much Irish, and even as I write this I have 4 lbs. of corned beef simmering away in the crock pot (my mom's recipe HERE: http://www.designedbysugarplum.com/2010/03/slainte-health.html) and amazing Irish car bomb cupcakes are in my fridge (from Smitten Kitchen - like every other delicious thing I'm obsessed with! http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/car-bomb-cupcakes/).  Any holiday that more or less revolves around food AND color is just peachy keen with me!

Which brings us to - GREEN!  While my day-to-day wardrobe still runs the thrilling gamut from black to gray to very dark denim on most days (some of us never recover from our gothy teens), I am never afraid to incorporate color into accessories and, naturally, makeup... and, well, 'tis the season and all that...

So here are a handful of my very favorite greens... in all their glory.

First of all, and perhaps my most glorious and beloved green shadow is the Make Up For Ever Aqua Cream in Emerald 22.  Oh. MY. GAWD.  I know cream shadows make my greasy-lidded kinfolk shudder with visuals of hideous creasing, but these are fantastic!  I do apply mine over an eyeshadow base (either Urban Decay Primer Potion or the new NARS lid primer, depending on what's within reach), but with that little extra step, this baby lasts for me even in Vegas where I pretty much perspire more than I breathe. 

For the slightly gun-shy, I've got Wicked from NARS.  NARS shadows are one of the greatest gifts the cosmetic industry has ever received.  They are a smidge pricey, but worth every cent - full of perfect, delicious pigments, easily blendable, and long-wearing (again, I always use a shadow base).  I love to wear either one or t'other of these very soft, sheer springy greens in a wash over the whole lid with a swish of liquid liner (either green or otherwise) for a fun daytime look. (I'm having a hideous time getting this to photograph accurately - visit http://www.nars.com/ for a better swatch)

If you're on the hunt for high-quality greens that don't fall in the $20-30 range, I've got a doozy for ya.  These new lil' Wet n' Wild (yup, you heard me right) trios have been reformulated and I'm can totally run with the big boys in terms of pigment and quality... and will run ya a steep $4.  I was SHOCKED by how good they are!  PLUS... I Dream of Greenie?  How cute is that?!

I will say, my darling readers, if you do go cheapie, PUHLEEZ toss those craptacular little applicators that come with these products.  Seriously.  Every time someone uses a teeny sponge-tipped applicator a little piece of a makeup artist's soul dies.  I'm just letting you know.

Not to change the subject, but back to liquid liner... another of my desert island beauty products (I'll have to devote a whole blog post to extol the virtues of liquid liner)!  On that same monochromatic-clad day to day life of mine, I'm not wearing much in the way of makeup - but the one thing I can often manage that makes me feel a lil' bit fancy is liquid liner - often colored, and always winged.  These are two of my favorite green ones:

Another delightfully crapadoo picture... sorry, gang.

This is a MAC Superslick liquid liner in Treat Me Nice, a yummy forest green.  These MAC liners are felt-tipped markers, and they bring new meaning to the term "long wearing."  Like, I've heard of folks using olive oil to get these bad boys off.  I am able to get mine off in the shower with my regular face wash with just a smidge more effort than usual, but I've just gotta offer that warning.
The other is a Perfetto liner from Tokidoki (yay for adorable packaging) in Mostro.  This is also a felt-tipped marker type little guy in a very bright chartreusey green.  These need a little revving up on the back of your hand to get the color flowing, but they are very unique and easy to apply (and remove, thank you very much).

And I'll finish off with some nails. :)  This is BB Couture Frosty Meadow and Zoya Ivanka, both sparkly, wearing well, and gorgeously green!  I do love green nail polish (particularly on toes) most of all!

What are some of your favorite greens?  Is it a color you find wearable?  Let me hear about it!

Alright, folks - I hope everyone is in for a very healthy and Happy St. Patrick's Day!