The final four

Uli, Michael, Laura and Jeffrey are ALL going to Bryant Park's Olympus Fashion Week. Which already occurred.

Hurrah!

Also...

I want to go to Miami and hang out with Uli. She looks fun.

FW 06

One of the lip glosses I smuggled through security? A recently blended custom color lip gloss from the Atlanta Prescritives counter in Atlanta.

After a fruitless quest to find the perfect berry lip color -- have you heard? it's big for fall -- I decided to make my own.

There are several base colors to choose from -- berry, red, pink, brown -- with extenders and finishes to change the color around. Add shimmer, glitter, metallic or pearl finishes, make colors darker or lighter or sheer.

My shade is a perfectly sheer berry with a red tinge and just the teeniest bit of gold shimmer. And the best part? There are tons of flavors, so you're not stuck with a great color and nasty flavor or a flavor that doesn't match the color. Mine tastes like coffee, which makes me very happy.

(Oh, and in case you're wondering, I'm not sharing the formula. Go make your own!)

Mini-breaks just got easier

The TSA is allowing liquids and gels in carry-on bags again!

You can bring whatever you want -- as long as it's in a 3-ounce container or smaller. All of you liquids and gels, lip glosses, mascaras and lotions, must fit in a quart-size ziplock. If you buy something after you go through security, like coffee, water, lotion, etc., you can bring it on the plane. Saline solution, eye drops, medication and personal lubricant (e.g. KY Jelly) can be carried on in 4-ounce containers, but still in your quart-sized bag.

I was the first person to say the old restrictions were ridiculous. I understand that liquids can be used to make explosives and I agree that we need more security to prevent terrorist attacks. However, a universal ban on all liquids and gels seemed illogical, and, as I discovered over the last two weekends and seven trips through security lines, the liquid ban was on the honor system. I made it through every time with at least three tubes of lip gloss, a travel-size bottle of contact solution and a full-size bottle of hair gel. These new restrictions seem to be something I can live with and might actually abide by...as long as I can fit all my lip gloss in a ziplock.

Is a female maneater a cannibal?

I'm watching the new Nelly Furtado video for "Maneater" and totally digging the clothes she's rocking. A graphic T-shirt with a menswear vest over it is pretty cool, but the T-shirt has fluttery sleeves on it, which gives it a garcon-gamine feeling. She eventually strips down to just a plain little boys ribbed white tank top. Something every girl has -- or should have -- in her wardrobe. But this one gets a super-sparkly belt, chandelier earrings, red lips and beautiful wavy hair. Somehow, after a few seasons of The Necklace, a simple piece with fabulous earrings somehow feels fresh again, which is great, because superfab earrings are easier to come by and easier to wear than superfab necklaces.

almost perfect

I got a new lip gloss tonight. L'Oreal Colour Juice in Cherries on Top. It's a color I've been searching for for a while. The perfect sheer cherry red color. Perfect for day, but good enough for evening. Wonderful. Great. My search is over.

Except my bangs keep getting stuck in it.

I turn my head -- BAM! Bangs stuck in the lipgloss.

The air conditioner goes on -- BAM! Bangs stuck in the lipgloss.

I'm sitting perfectly stull and the rotation of the earth happens as it has for millenia -- BAM! Bangs stuck in the lipgloss.

Yes, this shit is sticky.

I should send this to Estee Lauder, maker of the most wonderful lipgloss on the planet, High Gloss, and request this color. Berries are big for fall and their colors are so summery, anyway.

A girl can dream. And until then, save this gloss for days when the hair goes up.

Refrigerator of a jet-setter

Edible items:
Beer
Salsa
Bean dip
Taco sauce
Hot sauce
Salad dressing
Ketchup
Rasperry jam
Tonic
American, Mexican mix, Monterey Jack and string cheese

Questionable items:
Unopened organic yogurt.
Fat free sour cream-like substance

Items in need of a trip to the dumpster:
Skim milk
Eight eggs
Red bell pepper
Salad mix involving spinach

The Diane von Furstenberg of Project Runway

I love Diane von Furstenberg. I think she's beautiful. I think she's cool. I think she's real. I think she's a genius with prints. I think she's a shrewd businesswoman.

And she built her empire on one dress.

Tim Gunn (or Michael Kors?) compared Uli's talent with prints to DvF's, but I think the comparison could go further. Uli, like DvF, can build her own empire on a single dress. But I don't think she can win Project Runway by doing that.

One of the flaws on Project Runway is that the judges require designers to show a range. They want something as cool and practical as Michael Kors' sportswear and sometihng edgy and unique enough for Nina Garcia to put on the pages of Elle. They want something chic and wearable enough for Heidi Klum to parade down the red carpet in and they want something exciting and new enough to wow the guest judges.

Which means that designers like Austin Scarlett, who designs beautiful evening gowns and party dresses, can't win. And I think it might also mean that Uli, who designs beautiful party dresses for herself and her clients in Miami, can't win either. Unless she designs something else for the next challenge and the final runway show at Bryant Park. But by doing so, would she be abandoning the point of view that makes her designs so noteworthy?

Just a thought. Whether she wins or not, I wish I could afford and buy one of her dresses. Or ten of them.

Joesphine Baker's eigth grade dance

For a recap, go to www.televisionwithoutpity.com.

For reviews, read on.

Ranked, from worst-to-best, for your reading and judging convenience.

• Jeffrey: Was this the challenge where they're supposed to design something for Wet Seal? As Michael Kors would say (did say?), the taste level just wasn't there.


• Vincent: A joke. But he's crazy and needs to get back on his meds.


• Angela: Quite possibly my favorite outfit of hers, except maybe the Audrey Hepburn dress. But, since it's Angela, that's not saying much.


• Uli: OK, I liked the dress, but it was an Uli dress. Zac Posen loved it, as guest judges always do, because it's the first time they've seen the genius of Uli. But the other judges were naturally nonplussed, as was I.


• Kayne: Beautiful front, weird back. Perhaps not exactly following the parameters of the challenge, but it was definitely better than Jeffrey's. I thought it showed his range and it also showed that he's listened to the judges and Tim Gunn. Without the weird lacing on the back, it's something I would definitely wear.


• Laura: I liked Michael's much better, but I'm glad Laura got to win. Her design showed range without abandoning her distinctive point of view. However, I got a distinct mid-90s vibe from her dress. it reminded me of something Rachel Green or Cher Horowitz would have worn.


• Michael: I love this man. He has wonderful designs and seems to think about his designs without overintellectualizing them. He's classy and polite but not a stick in the mud. I loved this dress. It was simple, but beautiful. He understood the challenge, designed something that looked amazing on Nazri and styled it beautifully.

My predictions for the final three? Michael's the only shoe-in. I think Uli could pull an Austin Scarlett and put another Uli dress on the runway, which would almost guarantee her elimination. Jeffrey is in a similar situation, only he lacks Uli's taste level. Laura could design something boring or she could just not do as well as the other three and go home. But I think this competition is Michael Knight's to lose.

Although, because Fashion Week is going on right now, Laura, Jeffrey, Uli and Michael will all show at Bryant Park, so Project Runway addicts like myself won't be able to tell the final three by those who show. It's happened the last two seasons, too.

I'm no angel

I am really not a fan of that new song "Lips of an Angel" by Hinder. Not only is it crappy Nickelback-rip-off rock, but dude's a dick. If this other chick is soooooo wonderful, why do you have a girlfriend? Break up with your girlfriend or stop strining along this angel whose lips you're so obsessed with.

It's almost as bad as that "You're Beautiful" James Blunt song that should be the offical theme song of every stalker. Oddly, that one references angels, as well.

Stay tuned for a Project Runway review tonight.

fall to-do

1. discover the perfect red lipstick
2. get the guts to buy a pair of skinny jeans
3. get the guts to actually wear them

Welcome to the Ministry

In the British Parliamentary system, divisions of government are known as ministries. I don't know why. But the fashion police force doesn't seem to be working and it looks like we're in desperate need of a federal task force to change the course of this nation.

Let the revolution begin.