Nikon 50mm f/1.4 D

Description: AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 D
Cost: less than $300 brand new

DSLRs are heavy to begin with, and having heavy lenses make it worse! While I love our 17-55mm f/2.8 Nikkor lens, sometimes it's just way too cumbersome to schlep around. We recently picked up the 50mm and I'd have to say that it's a very useful lens to have.

I love taking pictures in low light but hate using flash. This camera does wonders in capturing high quality images in low light situations b/c it's so freaking fast. Here are some examples of pictures taken with this lens. Also if you love playing around with bokeh, you'll find it so much easier with the 50mm. Also, it's great for portrait photography. And the best part?? My arm doesn't feel like it's falling off when I've been snapping away shot after shot.

I'd recommend browsing photography forums and boards such as Fred Miranda for good deals. We didn't find it necessary to buy brand new, so a wedding photographer looking to unload it gave us a good deal- the lens was practically brand new! Hint- my bf pretended he was a poor (cheap) college student and bargained down to $260. :)

L'Oreal Feria Hair Colour

Description: "Starry Night" Bright Black
Cost: $10.59 @ Target

I admit it, I picked this brand based on the edgy-looking model, and shiny, holographic packaging. What I'd forgotten was that I'd used this brand before and was none too pleased with the experience. Well, I remembered today when I used it again, and it gave me good reason to start this blog. There are tons of product reviews elsewhere online, but I don't bother consulting reviews on small ticket items, and it's more fun to listen to what your friends have to say!

Back to the review, Feria comes with the usual colour gel, developer creme, conditioner, as well as a special "aromatic shimmer serum." I don't know what the serum did, because although I was expecting it all to smell something like the fruitiness of Garnier Nutrisse, the chemical smell was actually very harsh. Not only were my nostrils burning, so where my eyes. Instead of watching an entire episode of the Colbert Report and waiting the recommended 25 minutes for the color to develop, I decided to rinse it out at 15. The conditioner that's recommended for immediate use after the initial rinse doesn't smell pleasant either, which matters because I won't care to use it in the upcoming weeks as recommended. End result: Don't be taken in by the sexy packaging. My black is not as dramatic looking as that of the model on the box, and I can still see some of the reddish undertones I was trying to get rid of. If this wasn't so unpleasant to use, I might have gotten a better result! I'd use something from Garnier the next time I decide to color.