I hope all of you who went to see the film this weekend enjoyed it.

Yet another epic weekend for Twilight; almost one year to the day that the first installment of the movie was released, the sequal hit the big screen. I was interested to see how the movie’s earnings compared with it’s opening weekend last year. Not surprisingly, the film blew last years numbers right out of the water:

2008 Midnight Screening racked in a huge $7 million in North America
2008 Opening Weekend saw a total of $70.6 million in North America

2009 Midnight Screening made a colossal $26.3 million in North America
2009 Opening Weekend made $140.7 million in North America – pretty much double
2009 Opening Weekend worldwide – the movie made a phenomenal $258.8 million

Crazy huh! And in exit polls that were conducted, a whopping 75% of Twilight New Moon movie goers were female! Those crazy fan girls!!

The studio that produced Twilight and New Moon, Summit Entertainment, were practically unknown when they produced Twilight. Now it seems as if they have unknowingly stumbled upon the next biggest franchise. Not only has this money making machine generated huge amounts of money in movie sales alone, the Twilight movement has single handedly saved the store Hot Topic. The store was the first to carry Twilight memorabilia (t-shirts, leather cuffs, hoodies and such) and saw its sales sky-rocket for the first time in years, which actually saved it from going under.

I suppose I could try to think of something smart to say about “drinking from the Twilight pool” and resurection, or something about being bitten and smitten.. but I can’t be bothered.

Back to the Twilight Phenomenon, book sales have been steadily increasing with the releases of the movies. To date, according to Wikipedia, the Twilight series has had 85 million sales worldwide. The first book was only published in October 2005, so it’s pretty amazing how this movement has grown so rapidly.

I hope all of you who went to see the film this weekend enjoyed it.

The next installment of the Twilight Saga, Eclipse, is set to be released at the end of June 2010.

I love the feeling of going out to buy new make-up. Especially at the high-end counters when you get free things! I love free things – even though it normally means buying a lot of things to get these so-called “free gifts”! Just thinking about it makes me want to go out shopping! But, sometimes, we do have to be frugal. With Christmas coming up, birthdays and lets not forget the economy, we have to save money whenever and wherever we can!

Here are some things that I do to save some pennies!

Brown Sugar & Honey Exfoliator

This is a great natural exfoliator that you can use in place of those costly store-brought scrubs. It’s just as effective, smells great, and you know exactly what it’s made from!

Deep Treatment for Dry Skin

All you need is olive oil, some cotton balls and a sink full of hot water. Dab the olive oil onto dry skin areas with the cotton balls, and then steam your face over hot water to help your skin absorb the oil. Be sure to avoid break out areas. Your skin will feel great afterwards!

Double Duty Products

Instead of forking out money for both a shimmering highlighter for the eyes and face, just buy a single shadow and use it for both purposes. Also, pink eye shadows can double as blush, and you only need to use a small amount!

Old Lipsticks = New Shades

When you start to get tired of your current lipstick or lip gloss selection, you can mix lipsticks & glosses together to create new shades. Sometimes you find a GREAT combination, and all your friends will want to know where you got it from!

You can do the same thing with nail polish! It’s fun to see what kinds of different combinations you can come up with!

Lustrous Liquid Liner

Forking out big money on liquid liner? You don’t have to! Use a small angled brush and a little Visine or water in your favourite eyeshadow. And Voila! You have a beautiful liquid liner in your favourite colour! This is great if you need a funky coloured liner for a party or if you want a change from classic black or brown.

Also, if there are sales or promotions, like 2 for 1 or 70% off, then stock up! You have to be like the Chinese lady in the grocery store with a cart full of toilet paper!

But only buy things that you need and that you’re going to use. There’s no point saving money on products that are going to sit in a draw somewhere.

Spend wisely, and look fabulous!