Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Terrence Howard for Save The Children Project
For their 125th anniversary, BVLGARI created an anniversary ring to benefit Save the Children. The sterling silver ring is a tribute to Sotirio Bulgari (the company’s founder) and features Save the Children’s logo engraved on the inside. Each ring will sell for $290.00, of which $60.00 will be donated to the Rewrite the Future campaign.
To launch the project Bulgari also created a special designated web site featuring one-of-a-kind photographs, taken by well-known Italian photographer Fabrizio Ferri, of a number of the project’s celebrity supporters, who include: Willem Dafoe, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia De Rossi, Benicio Del Toro, Sally Field, Fiorello, Andy Garcia, Valeria Golino, Terrance Howard, Hugh Jackman, January Jones, Jason Lewis, Debra Messing, Julianne Moore, Gabriele Muccino, Kimberly Peirce, Isabella Rossellini, Ben Stiller and Sting.
source thanks to Maison Chaplin
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
How To Achieve Alicia Key's Red Carpet Hair Do
Pantene Celebrity Stylist Tippi Shorter styled Alicia Key's hair for the American Music Awards on Nov 22/09. Here's how you can achieve Alicia Key's look.- Alicia's hair was washed with Pantene Pro V Color Revival Shampoo & Conditioner.
- Tippi sprayed w. Pantene Pro-V De-tangling Light Conditioning Spray to condition hair and protect before heat styling.
- Alicia loves her braids ,so Tippi incorporated braids into a fun up-do for the night.
- Tippi recreated the backward Mohawk braid that Alicia sported in her most recent video, her hair was sectioned into three sections front to back. Then gathered the two outer sections and secured in a pony tail using Ojon Animated Styling Cream.
- Tippi then braided Alicia's hair from the nape all the way to the front, and tucked the end of the braid underneath the main braid and secured with bobby pins.
- Tippi finished the look with Ojun Tunu Elastik Hairspray & Bed Head Head rush Shine Spray
source: Thanks to Lauren Pavlick | DEVRIES PUBLIC RELATIONS
Zoe Saldana Space Babe Details Magazine
Photographs by Doug Inglish."Zoë Saldana's first words are a health warning. "You shouldn't use that," she says, nodding at the Splenda. "Use brown sugar." The lithe 31-year-old actress is sitting in Hugo's, an organic café in West Hollywood, wearing a fitted gray sweater dress over black leggings, nursing a cup of pomegranate white tea (unsweetened, naturally), and musing about the dangers of artificial sweeteners." read full article here
2009 Cadillac CTS-V
Despite recent products to the contrary, when much of America thinks "Cadillac," a lot of people still recall the land yachts of the '70s and '80s. Hoods and decks marginally shorter than your average aircraft carrier, and Sedan de Villes and Fleetwoods serving as hearses or transportation for those awaiting a ride in one. But something happened to Cadillac a few years back. After several failed attempts to compete with the Germans (Seville STS, Allante and Catera), General Motors began crafting a strategy to take on the luxury marques abroad. At the forefront of that movement is the Cadillac CTS and the pinnacle of their efforts is this, the CTS-V. To paraphrase and co-opt the grizzled Oldsmobile tag-line: "The 2009 CTS-V is not your grandfather's Cadillac." Not by a long shot.
While the Cadillacs of yore were only marginally removed from their seagoing counterparts – both from a dynamic and steerage standpoint – the CTS-V stands in stark contrast. In standard guise, the CTS is bold and handsome, utterly modern and instantly recognizable. This is even more so in V trim.
To qualify as a V-Series model, the CTS had to have both the moves and the looks to accompany the badge. So Cadillac's Clay Dean-led design team incorporated the same mesh grille seen on earlier Vs, along with a deep front fascia that diverts air around the car rather than under it. This adds to the visual appeal as well as enhancing stability at elevated speeds.
Extensions along the flanks and rear bodywork visually lower the CTS-V and carry the bottom edge of the front air dam to the back. The only other exterior change is the hood bulge required to clear the marvelous LSA V8. Like the LS9 in the Corvette ZR1, the LSA is a supercharged 6.2-liter V8. And like its big brother, it proves that a simple, compact pushrod V8 can do amazing things in the 21st century.
This Caddy thunders down the road with 556 horsepower and 551 lb-ft of torque, with most of that twist available around 1,500 rpm. Compared to the CTS-V's most obvious competitors – the BMW M5 and Mercedes-Benz AMG E63 – that low-down grunt is a selling point. And while the Bimmer's rev-happy V10 is fun on the track, it loses its luster when commuting to the office. And though it's true that the E63 offers substantially more grunt than the M5 (465 lb-ft at 5,200 rpm versus 383 lb-ft at 6,100 rpm), it's still outmatched in both output and responsiveness by the CTS-V. The Cadillac, like its two-door Corvette sibling, can be driven around town in a thoroughly relaxed fashion. And with a choice of either a six-speed automatic with sport and manual shift modes or a row-your-own Tremec with the same number of cogs, the CTS-V pleases with what's under the hood and what's nestled in your palm.
But in order for a car to be competitive in this high-dollar, high-horsepower segment, the CTS-V needs more than great mechanicals. The office space needs to be up to snuff, with top-notch materials, peerless build quality and down-to-business functionality. Like its entry-level counterpart, the CTS-V scores well on all counts. The dashboard and doors are trimmed in the same cut-and-sew leather as the standard CTS, but the V benefits from carbon fiber trim across the dash and doors, along with a center stack and console finished in a high gloss piano black.
More important than interior trimmings are the front seats. Thankfully, Cadillac saw fit to offer the CTS-V with a proper pair of thrones. Optional 14-way adjustable Recaros are available at a price ($3,400), and they're worth every penny. The side bolsters can be adjusted to fit the driver's torso to a "T", allowing the person manning the helm to comfortably take advantage of the V's thoroughly revised suspension. And if that price still seems too steep, it's made slightly more bearable with the inclusion of Alcantara trim coating the center of the seats, shift knob and steering wheel.
Once your butt is situated in the grippy Recaro, it's time to fire up the engine and unleash the beast. Of course, this being a Cadillac and not a Corvette, it doesn't make as much noise as its Bowtie'd counterpart. In fact, the CTS-V sounds downright subdued – but there's no mistaking it for a Lexus. Like other great V8s, its slightly lumpy at idle, but given that the engine is the heart of the CTS-V, it's more like a pulse and less like a '60s muscle car on the verge of vapor lock.
With our tester's 6L90 automatic transmission in Drive, a gentle squeeze of the throttle sets the CTS-V smoothly into motion. Given the V's capabilities, you'd expect the sedan to feel high-strung and truculent at slow speeds. It's anything but. Measured application of the throttle results in perfectly linear acceleration – and when you finally hammer the go-pedal, all that twist plants your backside into the seat unlike any other sedan on the market. Push the LSA harder and the exhaust note becomes even more aggressive, although it never grates. It simply responds, "Sure, I'm more powerful than some supercars, but I'm also a grown up."
When the roads finally begin to bend, the CTS-V is more than ready to take up the task. The Delphi-sourced magnetic adaptive damping system allows for a wide range of suspension rates, eliciting fast responses by using shocks filled with magneto-rheological fluid (an oil impregnated with iron particles) that changes viscosity when an electric current is applied. The result is a fluid – not floaty – ride that handles the most pockmarked roads with aplomb. As speeds and lateral forces build, the dampers automatically tighten up and the MR button on the center stack firms things up even further.
Like the adaptive damping, the CTS-V shares the ZR1's Brembo calipers, with six-piston units up front and four-pots in the rear. Fortunately (for cost) or unfortunately (for performance), the V has to make do with vented iron rotors instead of the exotic carbon ceramic units on the 'Vette. But it doesn't matter. The brakes work beautifully, with a firm pedal feel, linear responses and fade-free performance. The stiff, one-piece calipers provide perfectly precise modulation, making deceleration as easy and impressive as acceleration.
The automatic transmission's shifting duties can be handled in one of two ways: either pushing the shift lever to the right and tapping fore and aft, or tickling the switches on the back of the steering wheel's spokes. Although the switches work as advertised, their placement leaves something to be desired, as your hands have to be perfectly placed at 9 and 3 o'clock to operate them, making gear selection in fast corners slightly difficult.
Shifting niggles aside, the CTS-V is – without a doubt – one of the finest cars on the road today and one of the best vehicles ever built by General Motors. It packs the performance to run with the fastest super sedans from Germany and looks that are both modern and uniquely Cadillac. For those who like the idea of ZR1 performance, but need something with room for four and a usable trunk, the CTS-V is the chariot you've been waiting for. And to make the deal even sweeter, you get all this for a price substantially lower than the competition.
The CTS-V's cost of entry is $58,575 and comes standard with the Brembo brakes and MR dampers. The Thunder Gray ChromaFlair paint, Recaros, and premium audio with navigation brought our tester to $68,540, including delivery, with the $900 Ultra-view sunroof being the only major option missing from the checklist. Even by ticking off every possible factory option, the maximum tab comes in just over $71,000 – nearly $14,000 less than the starting price of a BMW M5. If only GM could've launched the new CTS-V sooner, it would truly be a celebration of what the company is capable of.
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