Happy Hump Day, everyone! ^_^

Now, before you get all excited, the phrase 'hump day' does not refer to a day filled with sexual intercourse --- Contrary to what I thought upon hearing about it for the first time. >_>;

No, it simply refers to the fact that today, being Wednesday, is the middle of the week ... Meaning that you've made it 'over the hump', and that the weekend isn't nearly as far away as it seemed on Monday! And of course, the way to celebrate this is by uttering the phrase 'Happy Hump Day!' in a boisterous tone to as many unaware strangers as possible.

In all honesty, I suppose you could accompany the phrase with a physical hump or two, but, er ... Be sure you have a good lawyer before attempting this. And don't forget to let said lawyer know that I'm not to be held accountable for your humpin' actions, got it? With that said, let's quickly move on to the updates before things start gettin' freaky ... o_O;

I added two returning Affies to the Affiliates page --- Lotte and Sally. *^^* Be sure to welcome them back properly by giving both of their sites a visit and a comment or two! ^_~

I updated the Favourite TV Shows section of my Facts page with a couple of new shows, including My Name Is Earl! I definitely recommend the series if you've never seen it before ... It's totally hilarious! ^o^

I was able to check two more items off of my Wishlist that I've been lusting after for quite awhile now ... A pair of faded black denim skinny jeans, and a book entitled The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong. Fashion and fiction FTW! o_o

And now that we've got those taken care of, let's move onto this week's first blog topic: The auction I won on eBay yesterday! If you follow my Tweets, you'll already have heard a little bit about this ... However, I never revealed what, exactly, I was bidding on! ^_~

Before I get to that, though, just know that winning this auction was no easy task! The last two minutes were, in every sense of the phrase, an absolute bidding war. @_@;

Thankfully though, Skelly was quick enough to keep up ... Otherwise, I doubt I would've won at all, as I have a feeling the opposing bidder was willing to bid loads more than I ever could've. #_#; In the end, though, I managed to submit the winning bid ... With only thirteen seconds left to spare! Whew. x_x;

By now, though, I'm sure you dying to know what it is I won ... So without further ado, I present to you my newest ((Soon to arrive in the mail)) Materialistic possession:

A gently used, 7.1 megapixel, Olympus FE 210 digital camera! Sound familiar? If you're a long time visitor to mallorymaloney.com, it just might --- As it's the exact same model of camera that I lost during the Green Day concert I attended last year!

In case you're not familiar with the story, and you're not keen on the idea of going through an Updates/Blog entry consisting of nearly ten thousand words to find out, here's a quick recap of what happened:

... When I wasn't using ((my digital)) camera, I kept shoving it into the tiny front pocket of the black denim shorts I was wearing under my tutu. Why would I do such an irresponsible thing, I hear you ask? Why, I needed my hands free so I could clap on Billie Joe's command, of course ((...)) As you've likely guessed, my blind devotion to Billie Joe caused me to lose aforementioned digital camera sometime during the first half of the concert ...

So, ((Zero thanks to Billie Joe,)) I finally decided that since I was extremely fond of the original camera, I'd simply purchase another one on eBay! Of course, until I'm actually holding the camera in my hands, I'm not going to get too excited --- Just in case it gets lost, stolen, or the seller decides to rip me off --- But considering I've used this model before, I will add that I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a decent camera under a hundred dollars!

If you need any examples of photo quality, feel free to check out my Photographs page --- The 28 March 2009, 31 March 2009, and 17 June 2009 sets were all taken with my lost Olympus FE 210, and as you can see, the quality is fantastic!

Speaking of recommendatory items, let's move on to mallorymaloney.com's third mascara mini review! This time 'round, I'm going to be reviewing NYX's Doll Eye Volume Mascara, in Extreme Black. Click the thumbnail below to see a slightly bigger image of the product's packaging!

First, though, I feel the need to stress that the NYX makeup brand is in no way related to the similarly named makeup brand NYC. ((Which is short for New York Color.))

Now, I don't know if anyone else has ever made this misconception, but for years I assumed NYX was merely a branch of NYC, like Rimmel and Rimmel London, or L'Oréal and L'Oréal Paris. Due to this false conception, I always stayed as far away as from NYX as possible, because, as even the most inexperienced makeup user knows, NYC is quite possibly the shittiest makeup brand in the entire world ... Aside from maybe Wet N' Wild.

I also found out that I had been pronouncing NYX incorrectly for ages, as well! x_x; I figured it was pronounced like an acronym, the way NYC is --- But this isn't true. It's pronounced like an actual word, something I discovered after visiting the About NYX page on NYXCosmetics.Ca ...

The name NYX comes from the ancient Greek Goddess, NYX, who ruled the night.

Along with an article I stumbled across online ...

... NYX stands for the Goddess of the Night in greek mythology. It is pronounce ((sic)) niks and, by way of metaphor, symbolizes the people who wear NYX cosmetics - goddesses in today's night (or day) scene ...

Not to mention the fact that Dictionary.Com agrees that the pronunciation for Nyx is, indeed, 'niks'. o_o; Going by all this, I think it's safe to say that one should never refer to the brand as 'en why ex', haha.

But enough about that --- Let's continue on with the mascara mini review! ^^; As I mentioned earlier, we're gonna be checking out NYX's Doll Eye Volume Mascara, in Extreme Black.

Which, as I'm sure you've already guessed from clicking the thumbnail above, is totally awesome! I will be honest, though --- It's not quite as awesome as the two previous mascaras I've reviewed, ((L'Oréal's Double Extend Beauty Tubes and Maybelline's Lash Stiletto,)) But it's still pretty damn good.

It feels lovely going onto your lashes, ((Very silky and smooth,)) It has magnificent staying power, ((I've worn it all day dozens of times, and not once have I had a problem with bleeding or flaking,)) It's not too difficult to remove at the end of said day, ((It comes off in little tube like pieces, similar to how L'Oréal's Double Extend Beauty Tubes does, actually,)) And the price is extremely reasonable. ((Under ten dollars in Canadian funds!)) I also love the packaging and the way the brush is designed.

I have found a few flaws with it, though --- For one thing, it seems to be more of a length enhancer than a volume booster; For another, it tends to clump if you use the tip of the brush in an attempt to be more precise; And lastly, you have to use more than one coat to get a noticeable effect ... Unless you're going for a more 'natural' look with your makeup.

Which is an insanely ridiculous concept, BTW. I mean, really ... The word 'natural' and the word 'makeup' in one sentence? That's nothing but an oxymoron! -_-; In my opinion, the only way one could achieve a 'natural' look is by wearing absolutely no makeup whatsoever.

Don't get me wrong, though! If putting on concealer, foundation, powder, a neutral eyeliner and/or eyeshadow, a bit of mascara, some blush, and a slightly tinted lip product every day is your thing, then that's completely cool ... But please don't claim that this is a 'natural' look.

It is by no means natural in any way, shape, or form, and if you attempt to declare that this is so, I will saw off all of your fingers one by one.

Slowly. =_=