Photo: testcountry.com

Several months ago I was intrigued reading a research article by S. Mark Young and Drew Pinsky titled “Narcissism and celebrity.” The article analyzed different degrees of narcissism  among different types of celebrities in the public eye. Although society has always been attracted to fame and wealth, fascination has grown as constant media coverage of pop culture now offers celebrities more attention than ever.

In the article, a study was conducted using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory to assess narcissism among different celebrities. The study found different types of egotism among different individuals. It was found that female celebrities were generally more egotistic than their male counterparts, often displaying more vanity. Comedians, reality TV personalities and actors all showed significantly higher signs of narcissism than musicians. Comedians scored the highest, showing signs of a feeling of superiority, exhibitionism, authority, entitlement and exploitativeness.

The truth in this study has never been more evident to me than what the media has proven in Charlie Sheen. Charlie Sheen, the former “Two and a Half Men” lead actor, has been featured on every news station, on many home pages of various websites and among tabloids and magazines.

Charlie Sheen’s drug use and erratic behavior became viral as he continued to do more interviews throughout the week, becoming seemingly more unstable with every appearance. He has become the poster child of narcissism within a week’s time as the public eye and media further encourage it.

“I’m bi-winning,” claims Sheen in defense of being called “bipolar” by onlookers. This has become possibly one of the most recognizable quotes from a week of interviews and Sheen’s odd behavior. Instead of scorning his actions, as a society we give Sheen the attention he expects and contribute to his narcissism.
   
Sheen’s behavior, along with other celebrities, is exciting and intriguing to follow. Celebrities lead seemingly fictional lives in comparison to our own, which is particularly appealing to humans. Our fascination has only contributed to narcissism among celebrities.

Sources
BOOK REVIEW
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-16-pinsky-narcissism_N.htm
ARTICLE
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WM0-4K9C558-2&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2006&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1675129011&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=d872018c55f1e478cea09b6e6ec5b62c&searchtype=a
NEWS
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/10/magazine/10Section2b.t-5.html?_r=1

Photo: meijer.com

It’s Thursday after school. You just got home from an exhausting day. You worry about the tremendous amount of homework you have ahead of you and the multiple tests and quizzes you have to study for. But your hunger worries you the most.

Mineral Blushes: 8/10
The blushes are definitely not grainy, but I wouldn’t say they’re exactly finely milled. The powders aren’t as soft as a Lancome powder would be, but they are smooth and satiny. The blush is highly pigmented, which is both a good and a bad thing.

The pro? The blush gives you the perfect flushed look and stays on your cheek all day. I’ve tested it out and it;s passed the school day and yoga routine — definitely a 12 hour blush that isn’t oily or cakey.

The con? Applying the blush is a slow, careful process. The tiniest amount of powder is sufficient for both cheeks. The problem is that the holes that allow the mineral blush to sift through to the top are on the larger side, so the powder ends up overflowing the surface, making it even harder to get just a small amount of the blush on your brush. While these blushes are sure to last you an incredibly long time (if I were to use this every single day, this would definitely last longer than a year and probably even two), putting on the blush does take more time than a mineral blush might.

Diamond Dust shadows:8/10
These shadows are both pigmented and sparkly. (If you don’t like actual glitters in your shadows, then go for the LA Splash matte eye shadows.) The Diamond Dust shadows have tiny flecks of glitter in them that make the shadows a little glittery but not overbearingly so. The glitters aren’t completely integrated into the shadow; they’re more of an addition than an actual part of the shadow.

The shadows are easy to blend and come in a wide variety of colors. They sift to the top through holes in the shape of the word “LA” which I found to be cute, but the holes are a little on the large side. They aren’t huge, but they are big enough to allow a little too much of the shadows out. It isn’t a big problem with the application process, but more of a hassle because you have to tap the shadows before you open them. But, for the most part, these are decent loose shadows with good color payoff.

Lip Divinity Treatment Lipsticks:
The first thing I noticed about the lipsticks was their scent. Then, their texture. The scent is … well a little strange. It’s almost sweet but not quite, sort of like the smell of an old lipstick you’ve had for a little too long. The lipsticks are sort of scratchy when applied, but once they’re on your lips, they are smooth and highly pigmented. I’m not sure if the scratchiness is meant to be an exfoliate of some sort, but it did seem to exfoliate my lips. These lipsticks are pretty on the lips, but not very moisturizing. If you do buy them, I recommend wearing a chap stick underneath. The definite plus to these lipsticks is their height — you definitely get your money’s worth. The lipsticks are both long and full. You won’t run out anytime soon.

Nail Splashes:
When my sister was still in elementary school, one of her friends gave her “peel-off” nail polish as a gift. The peel-off nail polish works in this way: you paint your nails and when you’re ready to peel it off, the entire thing peels easily off your nail, leaving your nail as bare as it was before the polish. The Nail Splashes work in the same way. While they do have a longer staying power than the peel-off polish, they start to peel in one corner and if you lift it, the whole nail’s polish will come off.

This could be both a pro and a con. If you’re a person who gets bored of your polish within a couple of days, this nail polish is perfect for you as you wont need a nail polish remover to get the polish off quickly. It would be a con if you want your polish to stay on a long time, because chances are this polish won’t stay on longer than 4-5 days.

What I liked most about this polish was the fact that I could put on multiple coats and it would dry quickly and leave the nail solid, without the mushy polish feeling we all hate.

Nail Glitter: 10/10
I used both the chunky pink glitter in “Fashionista” and the thin purple glitter in “Psychedelic.” Both glitters are shiny and appealing to the eye, though the pink glitter is more reflective than the purple due to its slightly larger size and lighter color, though both of the glitters stay well on the nails and don’t lose their hue no matter how long you wear them. I’m not a nail person but I really really enjoyed these glitters. They’re gorgeous and the little glitter package packs a LOT of glitter so you won’t run out anytime soon.

Nail Splash Topcoat: This topcoat worked extremely well with the LA Splash nail glitter. It’s quick-drying and holds the glitter in place without dulling the shine of the glitter.

Splash Proof Sealer [eye shadow sealer/base]: 7/10
The consistency and coloring of the sealer reminds me of glue, except thinner and lighter, and it doesn’t peel. It makes your shadows more vibrant and holds them in place, but the application can be a little patchy if you aren’t careful. Make sure to let it fully dry (wait a minute) before applying any shadows, or you might end up with more shadow on one part of your eye than on another.

Spotlight Mascara: I have this mascara in both green and black. When I first got the mascara in “Forest Green,” I was hoping it would be like all other colored mascaras — barely colored so that you wouldn’t be able to tell it wasn’t black unless you were really looking. What I discovered was when LA Splash says a mascara is green, it’s green. My lashes were 100% green and they looked like … well, grass. If you’re looking for a colored mascara that shows up like it says it will, then LA Splash is definitely where you should go.

I absolutely love the mascara’s packaging. It’s sleek and has a mirror on the side. The lights coming from the mascara’s handle fall directly on your eye so that you can put on the mascara with complete visibility.

The only thing I didn’t like about the mascara was the texture of it on my lashes. I’m a fan of Maybelline’s “Full N’ Soft” mascara because it keeps my lashes soft; this mascara did the opposite. It was stiff on my lashes, though a bonus is that it holds the shape well.

It also does add length — the cover of the box claims that the mascara will lengthen your lashes by 90%. While it didn’t lengthen my lashes to that extreme, it did seem to prompt my lashes to grow a little bit. While I won’t be wearing this mascara every day because of its texture, I will bring it on vacations and trips because of its perfect packaging and lash growth result.

In the video below, I’ve compiled pictures of the products I was sent. I’ve labeled the products and done swatches. The lighting was too yellow to make the colors appear just as they are, but it gives you a rough estimate. Comment below with any questions!

The longest month of the year is almost here: 23 school days await us in March. So, here are some positives of March to make this month even a bit bearable.

Take out a spoon and a jar of peanut butter. For those who love peanut butter, the official Peanut Butter Lovers’ Day is on March 1. Share a Smile Day also occurs on March 1, so cheer up someone’s day with a peanut butter-filled smile.

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish! The 107th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, the author who brought the Cat In The Hat and Sam I Am to life, is on March 2. Celebrate this day by taking a few minutes to stare lovingly into some of Dr. Seuss’ picture books and reminisce about your childhood.

To all the math lovers out there, Albert Einstein’s birthday and Pi Day are both on March 14. Ponder over some math equations while eating both birthday cake and pie.

Don’t forget to wear green. The annual St. Patrick’s Day is on March 17. This day is recorded as one of the leading days for consumption of alcohol in the United States. Also, it is the only day people who don’t even know you are allowed to invade your personal space and pinch you.

Get up a little earlier than usual to make some breakfast. The first pancakes were made on March 25 in New York City in 1882. And yes, this is worth celebrating.

This year, try to appreciate some of these unnoticed days of March, and the long month may go by faster than you think.

Photo:Stockwatch.in

There’s no doubt — Nokia is dead in the smartphone industry. It can’t compete with the big boys like Motorola, HTC, Apple or Samsung, and here’s why:

All Nokia phones are running on an unintuitive and lackluster version of Symbian OS. This operating system simply does not compare to Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS. It features nothing groundbreaking, and it took Nokia two years to catch up on even the most basic features offered by its competitors. There is simply no reason to choose Nokia’s Symbian over another operating system. It has an inferior user interface, an underwhelming number of third-party programs and a lack of complete social network (like Facebook and Twitter) integration. Although Nokia is planning to adopt Windows Phone 7, an operating system developed by Microsoft, even that cannot bring Nokia to the top.
    
Nokia also cut too many corners in their hardware department. The outside look and feel of their phones are acceptable, but it’s what’s on the inside that matters. While Motorola and LG already have phones with dual-core processors, which increase the overall speed of the phone, Nokia’s flagship device is still running on a single-core processor that was based on a design from five years ago. While some HTC and Motorola phones pack an amazing 768 MB or 1GB of RAM (random access memory), Nokia stuck with the cost-saving amount of 256 MB, meaning that the number of programs you can run at once is greatly reduced. Not only are Nokia phones rock-bottom in the operating system department, they are also grossly underpowered.

 All in all, Nokia has failed to wow consumers. There are clearly better choices out there. The next time you go shopping for a smartphone, do yourself a favor and don’t buy a Nokia.

Photo: xkcd.com

It’s that time of year again. Love is in the air and the hype of this romantic holiday heightens during the first weeks of February. That’s right. Valentine’s Day is approaching. It’s not unusual to find stores filled with people looking for last-minute gifts for their special someone.  These typical gifts usually range from flowers, heart-shaped chocolates and cards. However, presents have shifted away from meaningful gift ideas generic “Top 10 Valentine’s Day gifts” you can find using Google.

“Looking for gift ideas online defeats the whole purpose. Valentine’s Day is supposed to be romantic and memorable,” said sophomore Annette Lee.   

Believe it or not, this romantic holiday encompasses stress because of its customary obligations to swap gifts. Couples find that it’s necessary to give the perfect gift along with a heartfelt letter to their significant other because of the rigid Valentine traditions. Especially for new relationships, exchanging presents may be a strenuous and hard task. Getting to know each other takes time and new couples find themselves in a difficult position trying to decide what to get for each other.

“Valentine’s Day seems like it’s the only day to express love and affection, but we should be doing that everyday,” said sophomore Varuska Patni.

Some may argue that Valentine’s Day has been so commercialized that the holiday’s purpose is obscured. Presents become so significant to the extent that it is comparable to the importance of giving gifts to a birthday boy or girl.

“I don’t really understand why Valentine’s Day is so troublesome. We don’t have to be giving gifts to show our love,” said freshman Nicole Tsai.

Although Valentine’s Day seems to advertise the bond between couples, we shouldn’t forget about our other relationships with friends and family. Instead of prioritizing gifts on Valentine’s Day, we should value the little things we do for each other everyday.