casey affleck style

casey affleck style

fan casey affleck

casey affleck clothes

casey affleck clothing

casey affleck picture

casey affleck new pictures

photos casey affleck

photos of casey affleck

casey affleck pictures

pictures of casey affleck

casey affleck fashion

casey affleck news

gallery casey affleck

Rihanna's Ring Bling

Jewelry trends - from mood rings and circle pendants to tennis bracelets and statement necklaces - aren't always easy to spot right away. Usually, they start with a celebrity (Like Oprah Winfrey and the diamond circle pendant). So as jewelry hounds are wont to do, I've been digging around for a celebrity jewelry trend that's ready to break to the masses - and break big.

Enter Rihanna.

National Jeweler wisely pointed out earlier this year that the superstar has been wearing rings on every finger wherever she goes (the AMAs, The Woman of the Year Awards, what have you).


Not long after, I spotted the same trend on the Fall Ready-to-Wear runways - Karl Lagerfeld's latest Chanel offering for one. And at the Kids' Choice Awards last weekend (often the perfect place to spot the next big thing), stars were ringing up like there was no tomorrow.


So I'm calling it. The latest big celebrity trend for the masses is: rings on every finger. You might not be able to wear the look at your next important Board Meeting or to defend your dissertation - but go for it with any casual or dressy ensemble, I'm thinking.

Time to dust off those long lost rings that haven't seen the light of day in a while (mood rings included!). Troll the vintage shops, grandma's jewelry box - and of course places like Jewelry.com and JewelClub (code: INSIDER) - for affordable, fun ring styles you can pile on like the tastemakers.

So what do you guys think of my proclamation? Am I on the right track? Would you wear this look -and if so - where? Weigh in!

Project Runway Jewelry Thief?

Remember Gordana Gehlhausen from last season’s Project Runway? You know - the surly structural designer with a hunkering for her Yugoslav homeland? Well the rumor mill is buzzing that she stole jewelry designs from celebrity jewelry designer Michaela Kuechenhoff (Micha), according to Radaronline.

Yup. Yet another copycat claim hurled at the Project Runway folk – and this one seems like a doozy.

Apparently, Micha befriended the reality star a year ago, helping her with her runway show during LA Fashion Week. When Gordana was late returning the styles, Micha paid her a visit, noticing her new jewelry line littered with pieces that looked strikingly similar to Micha's – if not a total rip off.

Yikes.

This isn’t the first time a reality star with a jewelry line has been accused of stealing styles (remember NY Housewife, Kelly Bensimon’s snafu with her former employee last year?). But Gordana is a bona fide designer – she's not just lending her name to something like most other folks do these days. Ugh.

One day you’re in, and the next? You're lawyered up.

What do you guys think?

My yoga ritual

Yoga is something I want to enjoy and look forward to doing.... with a little help from these friends.

1. Brew some tea. 
It's always good to drink and I never drink enough. So I make a pot of Aveda's comforting tea.

If you make it right, it can taste really sweet, even though there's no sugar in it. It's still a matter of trial and error for me but it has to do with using the right amount of tea leaves - the more the sweeter. But it's quite an expensive tea so you don't want to use too much. Trying to get the right balance is not easy. Also, infuse for longer and it becomes sweeter.

2. Keep a scented room spray within reach.
I have another product from Aveda.

There are different scented sprays for each of the chakras. I only liked the smell of chakra 2.

There's so much breathing through the nose in Kundalini yoga that it's nice to spray it in the room. I do find that I have to re-spray it every now and then because the scent is quite light and doesn't linger.

3. Have a blanket ready.
I love the fleece blankets from Ikea. Even if you only do the short warm-up sequence, you should relax afterwards - lie on your back in Corpse Pose with eyes closed. My body cools down so I stay warm with a blanket.

4. Music.
Only if I'm not doing a full session (one whole DVD), I like to have my yoga music playlist ready for the relaxation part. It really helps me relax, unwind and not get bored. As Maya Fiennes says in her book, "(relaxation) is when the body processes the information it has received, rests and absorbs the changes and the healing."


All we have to do is make time... maybe that should be number one on this list.

Platinum Jewelry for Mere Mortals

Let's face it. In the hierarchy of jewelry metals, we can all agree there’s silver, there's gold but there's really no topping platinum in terms of quality, right?

According to the Platinum Guild, it’s the most pure of all the precious metals - 95% pure, compared to 18K (75%) and 14K (58.5%) gold. And its 30 times more rare than gold. Fancy that.


Whenever I cover a celebrity engagement ring or a red carpet event, it's safe to assume most of the styles are set in platinum, including Ivanka Trump’s and Carrie Underwood’s diamond rock and Julianne Moore’s jaw-dropping Bulgari emerald earrings.

But despite the luxury allure, it’s wrong to assume that platinum jewelry is out of reach for the average consumer, like us. The good news is: platinum designers have become quite creative with their manufacturing processes, making lighter weight, airy styles that cut down on metal and end cost. This goes for fashion pieces and – yes – the coveted engagement ring styles you see in Us Magazine every week.

For example:
This vintage right hand ring from JCPenney is platinum over sterling silver – a creative way to bring costs down without sacrificing style. And with a price of only $79.99 it’s a surefire way to get platinum in your jewelry box without breaking the bank.

Speaking of vintage, this pure platinum engagement ring at approx. $1,000 - $2,000 costs well below the usual platinum price point with unique sapphire side stones and hand-engraved details. Check out www.preciousplatinum.com for more on this piece and many other styles where you can choose your starting price point and they, well, point you in the right direction.

So in other words, the next time you're considering a jewelry purchase, don’t automatically figure platinum is out of the picture. In this economy, everyone is getting creative - luxury is still well within reach.

And for those of you who still love to look at luxury well beyond your reach (yours truly most definitely included) - to that end, I give you this historic platinum and diamond ring on the auction block at Christie's next month that could clock in at around 1.5 to 2 million!

No harm in just looking, right?

Got it: Chanel Rouge Coco in Mademoiselle

I had the impression that #5 in Mademoiselle was one of the, if not the most popular colour from the new Chanel Rouge Coco lipstick line. Vanessa Paradis does such a convincing job of selling the je ne sais quoi with this that even I had to get my hands on it.

Generally, I'm more into playing up the eyes and going lighter on the lips, so I was worried that Mademoiselle might be too strong a colour. It can be, if you apply several layers - see the swatch on the right - which can be handy for day-to-night transitions. But just one quick swipe or smacking the lips together when applied to the upper lip will give you a healthy-looking stain.

As with any lipstick, you can change the colour and effect with lip gloss. Out of curiosity, I swatched Mademoiselle first on its own (very left), then applied four different MAC lip glosses.

L to R: Chanel #5 Mademoiselle, MAC Lustreglass Love Nectar, Cremesheen Glass Partial to Pink, Dazzleglass Goldyrocks, Dazzleglass Moth to Flame 

I like it best with Love Nectar, which isn't a surprise because it's my favourite gloss. It gives it some shine and deepens the colour a bit but otherwise stays relatively true to the lipstick colour. Partial to Pink is a pink gloss so unsurprisingly it takes Mademoiselle into a girlier category. The last two are just extremely glittery and don't appeal to me. In fact, I don't like the Dazzleglasses anymore, they are too shiny and way too sticky.

Chopard Celebrates 150 Years

Noah's Ark never looked this good, jewelry hounds. The luxury watch stalwart and red carpet staple, Chopard, is celebrating their 150th Anniversary with a dazzling array of 150 unique animal-inspired pieces - their largest and most diverse collection devoted to a single theme.

And what a theme it is.

In true Chopard style, the pieces required 20,000 hours of work and involved setting 250,000 stones.

"I really wanted to make them like sculptures," Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele told WWD of the pieces. "If people want to buy one, they will have to reserve it and get it at the end of November."

Thankfully, they've created a microsite devoted to the effort, where you can gawk at over a dozen of the drool-worthy gems up for grabs.

Here are some of my favs (Check out the whopper of a yellow diamond in the turtle ring. Slow and steady wins this race!):

Monkey pendant in white gold set with brown diamonds (5cts) and tsavorites (5cts), on a white gold chain set with briolette-cut rubellites (16cts).

Turtle ring in rose gold, composed of a magnificent pear-cut yellow diamond (11cts) surrounded by brown diamonds (3cts), cognac-coloured diamonds and yellow diamonds (2cts).

Bear Cub Ring composed of two sapphires (0,1ct), one onyx and diamonds (23,8ct) set in white gold.

Rabbit Bracelet in white gold set with diamonds (7cts), brown diamonds, pear-shaped rose-cut orange sapphires (15cts), oval shaped green tourmalines (4cts) and marquise-cut green tourmalines (2cts).

Sardine Bracelet in white gold set with diamonds (4cts), sapphires (11cts) and sapphire cabochons.

Which one do you want to bring home? Weigh in!

Wishlist: Dior summer collection 2010

It has been over 10 years since I last bought a Dior eyeshadow. Can you believe it? I still remember, it was a palette of five green eyeshadows. I had only just started dabbling in make-up and the interest was absolutely there but the know-how was absolutely not. I'm sure I looked like a clown, trying to put all five colours on my eyelids (but where...?), and I think that put me off Dior make-up (unfair, yes).

Now that I'm older and wiser, I am ready to face Dior again. An eyeshadow palette from their summer collection has caught my eye.

Crush glow eyeshadow palette. But 649 or 659? I can't make up my mind but I have a slight preference for 649 (with the dark eyeshadow in the middle).

See pictures here:

What do you think?

Yawners in yoga class

I have been going to a Kundalini yoga class. I wouldn't say that these classes are much better than Maya Fiennes' DVDs - not at all. In fact, I think I prefer doing yoga by myself.

One of the reasons why I prefer to do it at home is because there is usually someone in the class who is annoying. Often it is a loud breather. Yes, the breathing is an integral part of yoga, but some people exaggerate so much that you can't even hear your own breathing. How is anyone else supposed to be able to concentrate on their own breathing (and go at their own pace) when there is someone practically snoring in the same room?

Luckily, the loud breather stopped attending this class after the first session.

But the yawner is still there.

I can understand why anyone would yawn. Some of the exercises are so relaxing that you just want to fall asleep. But there is an acceptable way of yawning - quietly - and an unacceptable way.

She yawns in every class. And she does it so loudly that I can hear her when she's sitting two rows behind me. It is incredibly irritating!

Please, if you are one of these people, be considerate and tone it down.

Jewelers of America Puts Designers First

Jewelry design. If you go by just what you read in the papers, you might think the only folks contributing new ideas are bored celebrities (Brangelina, Nicole Ritchie, et al), ex super models (Cindy Crawford, Heidi Klum) and reality show D-listers (too many to count).

But in 'real life', jewelry designers are toiling away unnoticed all across this great land of ours. That's why I think it's pretty cool that industry organizations like Jewelers of America (JA) choose to highlight artists that don't have a big name - just a great eye. And they've been doing so for the last 20 years through their "Jewelers of America Annual Design Competition".

This year's contest took place during the JA New York Winter Show earlier this month with designers from Minnesota, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Texas taking home prizes in four categories (based on the cost of materials used): $1,000 and under; $1,001-$3,000; $3,001 and over; and a Buyers' Choice Award.

"Jewelers of America's annual Design Competition takes winners from our partner state jewelry associations' contests and gives them a national platform to showcase their talent and creativity," says JA COO Robert Headley.

Designs were judged by a panel of industry experts with JA New York attendees selecting the Buyers' Choice Award.

Which winning look is your favorite? I have to say I'm partial to purple drama that is the Buyers' Choice pendant, myself. Weigh in!

The winners of the 20th Annual JA Affiliate Design Competition are:

(Photo Credit: Karen Janowski of Diamond Vision Services)

Category I ($1,000 & Under)

Treva Roberts, Diamonds & Designs by None Other Goldsmiths; Gahanna, OH

A 9.44-carat tourmalinated quartz pendant, set in 14K white gold with white and black diamonds, on a black neoprene cord.

Category II ($1,001 ? $3,000)

Ben S. Curtis, Kelley Jewelers; Weatherford, OK

A trillion rubellite medallion pendant with 101 round brilliant cut diamonds, set in 14K, 18K and 22K yellow and white gold.

Category III ($3,001 and Over)

Ziad H. Noshie, Almaza Jewelers; Houston, TX

Complete set of 18K yellow and white gold necklace, bracelet, earrings and ring. Each circle is handmade, and some feature mother of pearl, multi-colored sapphires and/or full-cut diamonds (4.55 cts).

Buyers' Choice

Bernie Benavidez, Master Jewelers, Inc.; Rochester, MN

A 5.64-carat "Royal Silk Blue" tanzanite pendant with round and marquise-cut diamonds surrounding the center stone. White gold setting features filigree goldwork.

Quote: The best mummy

My son's going through a lovely phase of telling us parents how great we are.

"You're the best mummy in the world. I love you so much."
"You're the best daddy in the world. I love you so much."

I am trying to soak up the compliments as much as I can.

It's pure happiness but sometimes I'm also haunted by guilt and sadness because I think I could be so much better. Do we put too much pressure on ourselves?

There's nothing like sunshine to make us happy

It's finally spring, it's finally warm. I've put away my winter boots and taken out my strappy sandals in eager anticipation.

I'm sitting outside and soaking up the sun. There is really no better cure for the winter blues!

Finally finished: Bobbi Brown corrector

This is Bobbi Brown's corrector in Light Peach that I have finally finished. Hooray - because this happens so rarely :-) I got it two years ago and I've been using it on and off (I have several other concealers).

Do I like it? Well, I bought this to use under concealer but ended up using it alone. It's ok but I found that it wore off after a few hours so the shadows under my eyes were visible again, even when fixed with powder.

Would I repurchase? Probably not. At least not in the near future. I'm too keen to try other products - I'm eyeing Laura Mercier's camouflage.

I like the packaging, though, so I've put Chanel Rouge Allure lipstick samples in there.

Mythic, Adorable, Orientale, Fatale

Do you recycle nice containers, too? 

Ivanka Trump's Boardroom Jewelry

Ivanka Trump jewelry has been all over the place lately - from her recent Ivanka Trump Jewelry line launch in New York to her highly covered wedding jewels (see all the diamond details here). But it is her toupeed elder's show, Celebrity Apprentice, that's making hearts go pitter pat these days as the uber spawn sports a dazzling array of gems during each episode's Boardroom showdown.

(Spoiler alert if you DVR-ed the episode!)

While Sinbad was booted off last night, the big event in my book was gawking at Ivanka's stunning boardroom bib necklace. Marrying two hot trends (yellow gold and statement necklaces), the signature piece stood out like a Cyndi Lauper non-sequitor (Love me some Cyndi, but is she medicated?).

And Ivanka's art deco-inspired cuff is another great show stopper.

You can shop for these pieces on www.ivankatrumpcollection.com - and look for more Ivanka Trump jewelry style in the weeks to come.

I have to admit, I am duly impressed by the way Trump is handling her celebrity jewelry line. She's not just lending her name (like every 'Real Housewife' under the sun), she is a true CEO - and it shows in the quality of the product and the respect the line gets in the industry.

But can I hate her for having a successful business, good hair, a high powered job, an adorable (and rich) husband and a ginormous trust fund? That seems reasonable.