Wrap Front Kimono Silk Dress
Gathered Deep V-Neck Dress
mardi 5 février 2013
mardi 25 décembre 2012
The Sexiest Holiday Hairstyles
Kerry Washington's Airy Ringlets
Use weighty styling products in moderation—save for a light texturizer and a mist of hairspray—if you want to achieve bouncy curls like Kerry Washington's. After forming the spirals with a medium-barrel curling iron, comb through with a vented brush, as a paddle brush may cause the style to fall flat.
Kate Hudson's Boho-Chic Bun
Is it just us, or does Kate Hudson's look have a slight floral vibe? Babaii channeled the beauty of Italy to create the star's breezy, yet polished, style. Rather than juggling multiple tools, he used his fingers as a comb so he didn't disturb the natural texture of Hudson's hair.
Zoe Saldana's Undone Ponytail
Despite its effortless texture, Zoe Saldana's low ponytail maintains a dressed-up appearance, and even gets a touch of retro glamour with the added volume at her crown. Her hairstylist, Mara Roszak, used John Frieda's Frizz-Ease Mousse ($5; drugstore.com) on Saldana's damp strands, then rough-dried them to add movement. "To create the perfect natural wavy texture, I loosely braided her hair and let it dry," Roszak said. "I took out the braids, and misted a hairspray all over her head to add extra volume and texture." The Bardot-esque height was made by gentle backcombing at Saldana's crown. Taking sections from either side of the star's head, Roszak overlapped pieces of hair down the back until she formed a low ponytail shape, then fastened the style with hair pins. And remember—the tousled appearance is part of the appeal. "Allow pieces of hair around the face to naturally fall out for a soft, feminine look," Roszak added.
Padma Lakshmi's Soft Layers
Va-va-voom! Not only did Padma Lakshmi's strands stay full and bouncy throughout the duration of the 2012 Emmy Awards, the style also had some animated inspiration. "The look is a modern-day Jessica Rabbit-influenced wave," said Lakshmi's hairstylist, Michael Duenas. He used OSiS Ultra-Strong Cream Mousse ($19; drugstore.com) on dry hair to give the style hold, before blowing out horizontal areas. Duenas then wrapped one-inch sections around a curling iron, directing the spirals away from Lakshmi's face. After adding extra ringlets throughout the style, he misted hair with a flexible hold hairspray. Duenas finished by spritzing OSiS Freeze Finish Hairspray ($19; drugstore.com) onto a boar-bristle brush, and combed out each curl to impart a soft wave. "It's sexy, understated, and ultra-feminine."
Heidi Klum's Buoyant Curls
One part Farrah Fawcett, one part haute couture, Heidi Klum's bouncy waves at the 2012 Emmy Awards make a statement without appearing overdone. "This look is new for Heidi because it is so soft and sexy," said celebrity hairstylist Oribe, who created the style. "I was inspired by French fashion photographer Guy Bourdin, whose models always looked so glamorous." Oribe blow-dried Klum's hair using Volumista Mist ($34; oribe.com) to create body, then used a curling iron to add pin curls. Once the spirals were completely cool, he brushed through the style and misted on Impermeable Anti-Humidity Spray ($38; oribe.com) to lock out the elements.INSTYLE
dimanche 9 septembre 2012
Eva Longoria Speaking At The Democratic National Convention
Eva Longoria is very pretty and VERY politically minded.
We're not sure if she's planning on running for office any time soon, but she is definitely trying her hardest to make sure that Barack Obama stays in the White House.
The actress is already one of the 35 national co-chairs in the president's re-election campaign and will be speaking at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in September. She'll be one of the few celebrities joining a line-up which is sacrificing star power for powerful women!
Female leaders like Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren, California Attorney General Kamala Harris, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America Nancy Keenan, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, contraceptive advocate Sandra Fluke and many more will be taking the podium to speak to the crowd between September 3rd and 6th.
Former President Bill Clinton is also scheduled to pump up the audience along with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.
In the past, the Desperate Housewives star has applauded Obama's fight for affordable healthcare, access to education, his support for the Hispanic community and his polices which "give everyone a fair shot at the American Dream."
Perez Hilton.com
dimanche 2 septembre 2012
Facebook cracks down on fake 'Likes'
Facebook is weeding out fake "Likes" on its social network that are being caused by spammers, malware and black marketeers as it strives to maintain credibility as an advertising platform.
Facebook said the number of Likes, or endorsements by users, on corporate pages is likely to drop by less than 1 percent, on average, after the crackdown.
"Newly improved automated efforts will remove those Likes gained by malware, compromised accounts, deceived users, or purchased bulk Likes," Facebook said in a post on its official blog on Friday.
"While we have always had dedicated protections against each of these threats on Facebook, these improved systems have been specifically configured to identify and take action against suspicious Likes," the post continued.
Thanks to a growing black market, companies can instantly raise their profile on Facebook by purchasing thousands of Likes at a time — a practice that is forbidden by the No. 1 social network, which has 955 million users.
Many of these Likes come from bogus Facebook user accounts rather than genuine users of the social network.
Meanwhile, various spam-like programs on Facebook deceive users into unwittingly liking something when they perform another action, such as clicking to watch a video.
Facebook said the cleanup will benefit both users and companies that maintain pages on the network, by giving a more accurate measurement of fan count and demographics.
Ensuring the integrity of Likes is serious business for Facebook, which depends on advertising revenue from large brands and other businesses. Many of the ad campaigns that companies conduct on Facebook are designed to garner Likes — a sign that their marketing message has resonated with consumers.
"It's their currency," said Jeremiah Owyang, a partner at research firm Altimeter Group. "Facebook is playing the Federal Reserve, to take the counterfeit currency off the market to ensure that there's quality in the marketplace."
The problem is not unique to Facebook, say analysts, who note that Twitter and Google also grapple with fake accounts, spam and other techniques to game the service.
But for Facebook, the pressure to show that activity on its social network is genuine has grown as concerns have mounted on Wall Street about the company's long-term profit potential.
Facebook estimates that 1.5 percent of its users are "undesirable" accounts set up for purposes that violate its terms of service, according to its most recent 10-Q regulatory filing.
"I think what they're intending to do is get a handle on it before it gets really out of control," Brian Blau, an analyst with research firm Gartner, said.
"You can imagine no business wants to pay for advertising to fake accounts."
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
nbcnews
Facebook said the number of Likes, or endorsements by users, on corporate pages is likely to drop by less than 1 percent, on average, after the crackdown.
"Newly improved automated efforts will remove those Likes gained by malware, compromised accounts, deceived users, or purchased bulk Likes," Facebook said in a post on its official blog on Friday.
"While we have always had dedicated protections against each of these threats on Facebook, these improved systems have been specifically configured to identify and take action against suspicious Likes," the post continued.
Thanks to a growing black market, companies can instantly raise their profile on Facebook by purchasing thousands of Likes at a time — a practice that is forbidden by the No. 1 social network, which has 955 million users.
Many of these Likes come from bogus Facebook user accounts rather than genuine users of the social network.
Meanwhile, various spam-like programs on Facebook deceive users into unwittingly liking something when they perform another action, such as clicking to watch a video.
Facebook said the cleanup will benefit both users and companies that maintain pages on the network, by giving a more accurate measurement of fan count and demographics.
Ensuring the integrity of Likes is serious business for Facebook, which depends on advertising revenue from large brands and other businesses. Many of the ad campaigns that companies conduct on Facebook are designed to garner Likes — a sign that their marketing message has resonated with consumers.
"It's their currency," said Jeremiah Owyang, a partner at research firm Altimeter Group. "Facebook is playing the Federal Reserve, to take the counterfeit currency off the market to ensure that there's quality in the marketplace."
The problem is not unique to Facebook, say analysts, who note that Twitter and Google also grapple with fake accounts, spam and other techniques to game the service.
But for Facebook, the pressure to show that activity on its social network is genuine has grown as concerns have mounted on Wall Street about the company's long-term profit potential.
Facebook estimates that 1.5 percent of its users are "undesirable" accounts set up for purposes that violate its terms of service, according to its most recent 10-Q regulatory filing.
"I think what they're intending to do is get a handle on it before it gets really out of control," Brian Blau, an analyst with research firm Gartner, said.
"You can imagine no business wants to pay for advertising to fake accounts."
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
nbcnews
Andy Roddick should bow out with no regrets
Until my dying day I will remember that game. One game, five shots, 46 seconds. That 46 second game which saw Andy Roddick serve out the US Open of 2003.
There are so many Roddick moments to recall from a distinguished career - I loved the quality and sportsmanship of his epic quarter-final with Younes El Aynouai in Australia earlier that year - but nothing tops that sprint finish to the line at Flushing Meadows.
On a totally green hard court in 2003, before the blue was introduced, Juan Carlos Ferrero managed to get his racket on just one of Roddick's four serves. It was the freedom of an all-American sport-mad kid, just doing his thing.
Roddick, 21, had become a Grand Slam champion and a new American idol, who would end that year as the world number one, had arrived on the international scene.
Fast forward almost nine years and Roddick, on his 30th birthday, found himself announcing his retirement, very calmly and very definitely, to a packed Flushing Meadows press conference.
Friends and family were seated alongside the journalists: Brooklyn Decker, his wife, Larry Stefanki, his coach, Stephen Little, the London taxi driver who drove him randomly one night and became a close friend.
They knew what was coming, the reporters weren't so sure.
Was he pulling out of the tournament? Was it a birthday celebration? Roddick did well to keep the news under wraps and, through the microphones of the media, announced it to the world on his own terms. He deserved that.
Andy Roddick has won 32 career titles in a 12 year professional tennis career. Photo: Getty
It was a sudden development, and the twittersphere reacted with shock, but, if we're honest, it had been coming. For a while, Roddick has struggled to live with the intense pace and quality at the top of the men's game. He's not interested in simply "existing", to use his phrase.
Feeling uncompetitive against the best, Roddick put it simply: "It is time," he said.
And, on Thursday, it was impossible to argue with that.
Then we had Friday night.
Roddick thrashed one of the better prospects in the game (supposedly) Bernard Tomic and there were plenty of fans wondering if he'd made a premature call.
The Arthur Ashe night session is Roddick's stage in America. Nobody has played more times under the New York lights. As he whacked, wheeled, bounced and smiled his way to victory, he put the feeble Tomic firmly in his place. (The Aussie was "pathetic" according to US commentator Patrick McEnroe). Does Roddick have one more glorious run left in him?
Whatever happens here, Andy Roddick has been great for tennis. Like Kim Clijsters, also retiring after this year's tournament (she won in Mixed Doubles last night to prolong her career another day), he will be missed by colleagues, fans and media alike.
We will miss his huge serve, sharp wit, perennial perseverance, even the funny fidgets.
Not a point went by without the right shoulder of his shirt being adjusted. I hope in his next life - in TV studio, office, garden, wherever - he keeps adjusting that shoulder of the shirt and requests a nearby towel.
His press conferences were often legendary. Silly questions would be dispatched to the boundary with tongue-in-cheek disdain. Half-volleys would be snaffled with quick-witted enthusiasm. And he always gave an honest answer.
"How do you rate Gonzalez's chances?" [in the 07 Australian Open Final v Federer].
"Slim."
"What was your favourite press conference?" he was asked last night.
"I don't really rate press conferences. It's not as though I leave the room fist-pumping my way down the corridor after a good one."
Classic, straight-faced, A-Rod.
Earlier, he was on good form on the court. He revealed he got a bit emotional as he walked past a TV studio and a saw a montage of his career. "The sound was down but I'm guessing it was set to an 80s ballad" he quipped.
He loved a bit of chat with an under performing umpire and would try to outwit them at change of ends. Once in Australia, he left the chair advising the crowd: "Stay in college, kids. Otherwise you may become an umpire."
When he needed to be serious, he had no trouble switching gears.
In the past 12 months he has been the most articulate voice of the locker room in the ongoing campaign for a better share of Grand Slam tournament revenues. The players should persuade him to stay as their spokesman and lead negotiations from the sidelines. He has also raised a huge amount of money for charity through his foundation.
Being such a popular player in the UK, it was a disappointment to many that he never won Wimbledon. How he tried.
He came close, especially in 2009, but never managed to avoid Roger Federer, who beat him in three finals. His effort in that marathon All England Club final three years ago was immense and one couldn't help but feel for him as he sat in the runners up chair as Federer paraded yet another trophy. Roddick just wanted to hold it the once.
No regrets though. It was a mighty fine career. Now a new life beckons and he's bound to be a success in whatever field he turns to, which will surely involve talking, a lot of jesting and quite a bit of fidgeting. Good luck Andy.
BBC
There are so many Roddick moments to recall from a distinguished career - I loved the quality and sportsmanship of his epic quarter-final with Younes El Aynouai in Australia earlier that year - but nothing tops that sprint finish to the line at Flushing Meadows.
On a totally green hard court in 2003, before the blue was introduced, Juan Carlos Ferrero managed to get his racket on just one of Roddick's four serves. It was the freedom of an all-American sport-mad kid, just doing his thing.
Roddick, 21, had become a Grand Slam champion and a new American idol, who would end that year as the world number one, had arrived on the international scene.
Fast forward almost nine years and Roddick, on his 30th birthday, found himself announcing his retirement, very calmly and very definitely, to a packed Flushing Meadows press conference.
Friends and family were seated alongside the journalists: Brooklyn Decker, his wife, Larry Stefanki, his coach, Stephen Little, the London taxi driver who drove him randomly one night and became a close friend.
They knew what was coming, the reporters weren't so sure.
Was he pulling out of the tournament? Was it a birthday celebration? Roddick did well to keep the news under wraps and, through the microphones of the media, announced it to the world on his own terms. He deserved that.
Andy Roddick has won 32 career titles in a 12 year professional tennis career. Photo: Getty
It was a sudden development, and the twittersphere reacted with shock, but, if we're honest, it had been coming. For a while, Roddick has struggled to live with the intense pace and quality at the top of the men's game. He's not interested in simply "existing", to use his phrase.
Feeling uncompetitive against the best, Roddick put it simply: "It is time," he said.
And, on Thursday, it was impossible to argue with that.
Then we had Friday night.
Roddick thrashed one of the better prospects in the game (supposedly) Bernard Tomic and there were plenty of fans wondering if he'd made a premature call.
The Arthur Ashe night session is Roddick's stage in America. Nobody has played more times under the New York lights. As he whacked, wheeled, bounced and smiled his way to victory, he put the feeble Tomic firmly in his place. (The Aussie was "pathetic" according to US commentator Patrick McEnroe). Does Roddick have one more glorious run left in him?
Whatever happens here, Andy Roddick has been great for tennis. Like Kim Clijsters, also retiring after this year's tournament (she won in Mixed Doubles last night to prolong her career another day), he will be missed by colleagues, fans and media alike.
We will miss his huge serve, sharp wit, perennial perseverance, even the funny fidgets.
Not a point went by without the right shoulder of his shirt being adjusted. I hope in his next life - in TV studio, office, garden, wherever - he keeps adjusting that shoulder of the shirt and requests a nearby towel.
His press conferences were often legendary. Silly questions would be dispatched to the boundary with tongue-in-cheek disdain. Half-volleys would be snaffled with quick-witted enthusiasm. And he always gave an honest answer.
"How do you rate Gonzalez's chances?" [in the 07 Australian Open Final v Federer].
"Slim."
"What was your favourite press conference?" he was asked last night.
"I don't really rate press conferences. It's not as though I leave the room fist-pumping my way down the corridor after a good one."
Classic, straight-faced, A-Rod.
Earlier, he was on good form on the court. He revealed he got a bit emotional as he walked past a TV studio and a saw a montage of his career. "The sound was down but I'm guessing it was set to an 80s ballad" he quipped.
He loved a bit of chat with an under performing umpire and would try to outwit them at change of ends. Once in Australia, he left the chair advising the crowd: "Stay in college, kids. Otherwise you may become an umpire."
When he needed to be serious, he had no trouble switching gears.
In the past 12 months he has been the most articulate voice of the locker room in the ongoing campaign for a better share of Grand Slam tournament revenues. The players should persuade him to stay as their spokesman and lead negotiations from the sidelines. He has also raised a huge amount of money for charity through his foundation.
Being such a popular player in the UK, it was a disappointment to many that he never won Wimbledon. How he tried.
He came close, especially in 2009, but never managed to avoid Roger Federer, who beat him in three finals. His effort in that marathon All England Club final three years ago was immense and one couldn't help but feel for him as he sat in the runners up chair as Federer paraded yet another trophy. Roddick just wanted to hold it the once.
No regrets though. It was a mighty fine career. Now a new life beckons and he's bound to be a success in whatever field he turns to, which will surely involve talking, a lot of jesting and quite a bit of fidgeting. Good luck Andy.
BBC
lundi 20 août 2012
Microsoft makes its Facebook shares pay off, report says
Redmond reportedly sold one-fifth of its shares in Facebook right after the social network's IPO, and thus made a tidy profit.
A report suggests that Microsoft offloaded around 20 percent of its shares in Facebook just after the social network went public. In doing so, the software giant received $249 million back -- close to $10 million more than it first invested.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company invested $240 million in Facebook in 2007 for a 1.6 percent stake in the social network. Back then it wasn't a huge amount, but was a major boost for Facebook to have a dominant player on its roster. Soon after, Bing Search and Bing Maps were brought to the social network to display search results and other imagery for pages and businesses.
An Associated Press report said Microsoft sold 6.6 million shares -- roughly 20 percent -- when the social network went public in May. Despite Nasdaq's embarrassing and ill-timed hiccup, Microsoft sold its shares at the IPO price, a world away from Facebook's current trading price.
Add up the numbers -- number of shares multiplied by the share price -- more than $249 million in total. Maybe Microsoft foresaw the steep decline in Facebook shares and sold early, or maybe it's just good business sense. Either way, Microsoft still has a lot more Facebook stock on its hands.
Facebook is trading at $19 a share, down from $38 at its initial public offering in June. The social network has lost half its share value in one three-month period.
Questions were left with Microsoft, which did not respond at the time of writing.
This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Between the Lines under the headline "Microsoft offloads 20 percent of its Facebook shares: report."
CNET
A report suggests that Microsoft offloaded around 20 percent of its shares in Facebook just after the social network went public. In doing so, the software giant received $249 million back -- close to $10 million more than it first invested.
The Redmond, Wash.-based company invested $240 million in Facebook in 2007 for a 1.6 percent stake in the social network. Back then it wasn't a huge amount, but was a major boost for Facebook to have a dominant player on its roster. Soon after, Bing Search and Bing Maps were brought to the social network to display search results and other imagery for pages and businesses.
An Associated Press report said Microsoft sold 6.6 million shares -- roughly 20 percent -- when the social network went public in May. Despite Nasdaq's embarrassing and ill-timed hiccup, Microsoft sold its shares at the IPO price, a world away from Facebook's current trading price.
Add up the numbers -- number of shares multiplied by the share price -- more than $249 million in total. Maybe Microsoft foresaw the steep decline in Facebook shares and sold early, or maybe it's just good business sense. Either way, Microsoft still has a lot more Facebook stock on its hands.
Facebook is trading at $19 a share, down from $38 at its initial public offering in June. The social network has lost half its share value in one three-month period.
Questions were left with Microsoft, which did not respond at the time of writing.
This story originally appeared at ZDNet's Between the Lines under the headline "Microsoft offloads 20 percent of its Facebook shares: report."
CNET
Expendables 2 raids US box office
Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham and Terry Crews star in The Expendables 2
Action heroes led by Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger have stormed to the top of the North American box office chart with The Expendables 2.
The full-throttle film sequel also stars Bruce Willis, Jason Statham, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Jet Li in the tale of a gang of military mercenaries.The film took $28.8m (£18.3m) over the weekend, according to studio estimates.
It knocked The Bourne Legacy into second place with $17m (£11m), while animated comedy ParaNorman is in third.
That film features a boy named Norman who can talk to ghosts and works to save his town from a zombie apocalypse.
Will Ferrell's political spoof The Campaign is in fourth place, followed by a new entry for Motown story Sparkle, a remake of the 1976 musical.
Sparkle was the final movie role for Whitney Houston, who starred alongside American Idol winner Jordin Sparks before her death in February.
Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gliberman wrote that the "gravelly conviction" of Houston's performance proved that "this could have been the first step not merely in a comeback but in a major re-invention".
USA Today's Claudia Puig wrote: "Envisioned as a starring vehicle for Sparks, Sparkle is also a fitting curtain call for Houston."
In sixth place in the box office chart, The Dark Knight Rises made $11.1m (£7m), taking it past $400m (£255m) and above The Hunger Games as the second most successful film of the year so far.
The Avengers is still comfortably the year's biggest hit, having taken $618m (£393m) in the US and Canada.
BBC
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