Thursday, May 15, 2008

Sustainable


Dolls, I'm off to LA this evening for a beauty summit sponsored by Total Beauty. I can't wait for all that's in store! And to get out of this drab, grey NYC weather we're having today. I'm missing LOST tonight (I'll be on the plane!) so this week's LOST post will probably not happen. I'm deva, as you can probably guess. It's part one of the finale, for the love. I'll try to watch on abc.com from my laptop at some point. Hope my roommates don't mind.

Before I dash, I have to tell you about Stila Cherry Crush Lip & Cheek Stain. This sheer red tint applied with a click-brush tastes of cherry pie, lasts all day, and washes lips and cheeks with a believable cherubic glow. Cherry Crush contains cherry and pomegranate extracts to provide skin and lips with antioxidant protection. Apply and agree that life is just a bowl OF. $24 at Sephora and sephora.com.

Labels: , ,

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

New York-Based BBJ Readers, You're invited!

This sounds like a lot of fun! I'll be in LA (leaving tomorrow) for a beauty summit, but if I were in town, I'd totes be hitting this up. Here are the details.

Get a leg up on summer with a very special summer offer from Glamour, Nair and Printing House Fitness and Squash Club.

WHAT: Try our Latin Dance Workout* for free and you’ll receive a free gift from Glamour, a Nair sample and expert fashion tips to show off your lovely legs. You’ll also receive a Printing House gym pass – just for trying us out!

Where: Printing House Squash and Fitness Club, 421 Hudson St. between Leroy St. and Clarkson St.

When: Saturday, May 17th at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. & Sunday, May 18th at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.

RSVP by Wednesday May 14th to lovelylegs@glamour.com. Space is limited.

* This specialized workout combines fun and easy-to-follow Latin dance moves with cardiovascular conditioning help you sculpt and tone your legs.

Labels: , ,

Prescriptives Urban Heat Summer Collection

Considering my last eight summers have been urban ones (spanning three different cities: Boston, Paris and NYC in that order), I cosign this collection completely. I had the opportunity to try out a couple of pieces from the collection. I recommend:

Limited Edition Kohl Eye Pencils in Blue Grotto and Purple Rain
Both colors are bright, yet wearable and last for.ev.er. Blue Grotto is a grey'd out navy blue that's absolutely gorgeous on. And Purple Rain? What's better than a limited edition cosmetic that's named after a Prince song? Not much. That's for sure. They're water-resistant, smudge-resistant, and easy to blend. $14.50.

Colorscape Lip Glosses
Heavily lipsticked lips for summer are so vomitatious. This gloss's lightweight texture always leaves lips feeling smooth and hydrated, never sticky or tacky. Comes in several delectable colors. My fave is sporty, who, by chance, is also my fave Spice Girl. $18.50.

Click here for the entire Urban Heat collection.

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Recharge with Biotherm's New Flash Recharge Concentrate

Biotherm, one of my fave brands, has come out with a new line of products designed to counteract stress called Flash Recharge. The line consists of a masque, an eye cream, and a concentrate. The concentrate, $40, is my fave. You can use it alone, mixed into, or under a day or night cream. My fave way is to use it mixed in with my regularly scheduled moisturizer. These days, I'm keeping it in the Biotherm fam and am using Biotherm BIOPUR Pore Reducer, a purifying moisturizer. The consistency is TO DIE.

Anyway, back to the concentrate. It was designed to meet the needs of exhausted skin and contains pure ginseng and golden root to help reduce signs of unsexy fatigue. It also includes Biotherm's star ingredient, Pure Thermal Plankton, an energizing compound that stimulates skin cell regeneration. The result is brighter, more vibrant skin. It even smells like a citrus grove. A+, Biotherm. I love. Available in June exclusively on www.biotherm-usa.com.

Labels:

Luke and Rona O'Connor Dish about Hair

As I mentioned, Daisy scored me an interview with her colorist and stylist of ten years, Rona and Luke O'Connor. The two are married and are also the owners of Lukaro (a combo of their names), a salon in Beverly Hills.

Rona O'Connor has been imparting various shades of blondes and darker browns on Daisy for years. Right now it's sunflicked, meaning that she painted the color on her hair like a starburst across the whole surface so it looks like sun streaks. "If you pick the hair up, it's sort of like a canvas," Rona, a painter and drawer from a young age, informed me. "You see small streaks of color all around." Sunflicking is great, because there's no need to touch up the roots as often. I'm so sold on the entire process, BTW. Roots are the bane of my existence. She simply "tips" the hair, meaning she paints highlights on the ends of the strands. She focuses the lighter area around the hairline with foils to make it a lighter hue than the rest of the hair.

Rona is actually known for her hairline highlights process, because "it makes it look lighter than it is, with more brightness," Rona explains. "Highlights on brunettes is a lot of work so i started using this technique over ten years ago."

Does Rona do this on her own hair? "I sure do!" she exclaimed.

Rona told me she loves to layer colors on. For Daisy, she painted her hair a lighter brown a couple months ago and then recently painted the tips. The plan is to go just a little lighter each time. "It takes me five minutes to an hour... then we're done," Rona said. Next, she adds some toner to tone down the brown with a gloss.

Rona's husband and partner, Luke O'Connor, styles Daisy's hair. He is also responsible for the fabulousness that was Debra Messing's hair on Will & Grace and used to be the national spokesperson for the now defunct Thermasilk line of products (Thermasilk, I miss you!). For Daisy's hair, Luke used a 1 3/4" curling iron in big sections. "It's actually not necessary to straighten first," explained Luke. My weekends will suddenly seem so vast, I think to myself. "The curling iron will smooth the surface... you can take a one inch iron and take a large section for loose waves." This time, however, Daisy requested extra smooth hair, so he blew it out first with a round brush before separating Daisy's hair into about six sections. The smaller the section, the more curl produced. On using the clamp vs. not, Luke is pro-clamp, but winds the hair around the outside of the iron. After each section is curled, Luke recommends clipping it with clips like these while it cools for about 20 minutes. Rona said that when she does this on herself, she applies makeup while her hair is setting. Rona also recommended clipping up the bangs/front area of the hair for extra volume and even pulled some out of her purse - she keeps them on her at all times. "I wear them in the car on the way to events," she explained.

Lastly, Luke says to spray the hair with hairspray before and after. In fact, during Daisy's shoot (pictured above), he was so prepared he even had a comb and a mini Elnett tucked away into his jacket pocket.

Want to experience Lukaro hair for yourself?
Lukaro Salon
323 N. Beverly Drive
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Tel: (310) 275-2536
Fax: (310) 247-2994

Labels: , , ,

Monday, May 12, 2008

Exclusive Daisy Fuentes Interview: Dianoche Ocean Day & Night

I'm on the left interviewing Daisy at the Gansevoort Hotel. This was clearly not my most photogenic moment, but OBV, I have to post a pic of myself with Daisy.

With its interlocking stacked packaging and oceanic color palette, this perfume bottle will sexify your boudoir in addition to your scent. See all the way below for what's in the perfume. I was beyond excited to be asked to meet with Daisy for an exclusive blogger interview at her fragrance's launch party last night at Ono at the Gansevoort Hotel. I totally agonized over my outfit choice (it had to somehow be business casual - I'd come from work - yet worthy of interaction with a supermodel... not so easy, right?) but was totally delighted to meet one of my fave TV personalities face-to-face. And? Daisy rocks blue like no one else can.

Daisy was born in Cuba and moved with her family to Madrid, Spain when she was three years old before finally immigrating to Harrison, New Jersey four years later. She hasn't been back to her native country, however. "Even if I were to visit, all my money will go the government. I don't have any family there, so I don't bother." But Daisy was inspired by Havana in the 1950s, a totes glamorous era when everyone who was anyone was there - Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Ernest Hemingway. What better inspiration for a summer scent? The scent itself provides a feeling of flared skirts that absolutely require dancing worn with scoopy-backed shirts.

"I loved to layer scents and would think to myself about which ones would work together," Daisy said. Dianoche Ocean actually produces several fragrances. If you let one dry out and then add another, you can get a different scent. If you let them both dry out separately and then combine them, you get yet another. You have the ability to create at least five, depending on how you apply them. Her reasoning for creating a two-in-one fragrance bottle is that "when you leave the office to go out for a date, you need a different fragrance." I plan to keep an atomizer of this one at work for sure.

The scent is intended for "any woman who wants to be sexy," Daisy explained, matter of factly. "Anyone who GETS it." As for how this fragrance ties in with her clothing line for Kohls, Daisy says, "It's all goes together. I have a magnificent brand manager, and her job, along with mine, is to make sure every piece makes sense together." Daisy has certainly proven herself in this all-too-competitive business.

Daisy is working with Beauty Bank to develop a cosmetics brand as well. Stay tuned for that, girls. Says Daisy, "I was always that girl who did my friends' makeup when we got ready and I would rarely have time to do my own! All of my girlfriends looked like supermodels, and I was the ugly stepchild." [I ASSURED Daisy this was definitely not true. The woman is GORGE in person.] In fact, I even found out that she was considering going to beauty school while enrolled in a communications program in college but MTV offered her a position as host of MTV Internacional, which later became MTV Latino, and she eventually was offered a job at MTV US.

As for my event swag bag? The highlight was a supercute elongaged purple clutch with a hot pink interior and some big diva shades from the daisy fuentes collection for Kohls.

Here's a quick rundown of the two fragrances:

Dianoche Ocean Day evokes an instant Caribbean vacay with its alliance of mojito accord, bitter orange and watery splashes. The heart is beach flowers, orange flower, jasmin sambac and a touch of tiare petals. The dry down consists of creamy woods and sandalwood blended with warm skin accord. To me, it's a light summer fragrance that's warm without being musky (I loathe a musk) but sensuously feminine. Apply and envision sipping drinks poolside.

Dianoche Ocean Night is feroshly sexy... but still manages to be a perfume as opposed to a PERFUME. The fragrance opens with notes of bergamot, bitter orange and dewey greens (green scents are my FAVE). The heart is a luxe landscape of vanilla orchid, jasmin sambac makes another cameo, gardenia petals, beach flower and meringue accord. The dry down is a warm blend of coconut water (accounting for the tropical vacation aspect) and sheer patchouli (but not so much that this in ANY way smells hippy-ish) mixed with golden amber and warm skin accord.

Dianoche Ocean is going to be sold at Kohls and kohls.com. Doll that Daisy is, she introduced me to Luke and Rona O'Connor, the couple who are responsible for styling and coloring (respectively) her PHENOM hair. Stay tuned for details on that this week.

Labels: , ,

Hayden Panettiere on the Cover of the June/July Issue of Teen Vogue

From Hayden's cover story in the June/July issue:
On her life as a celeb, Hayden says, "Nothing is private," she continues, "and when they write about you, it’s almost always completely false." Does that include her romance with SUPERCUTE Heroes co-star Milo Ventimiglia? Hayden refuses to confirm or deny their relationship. "I’ll not comment until the day I die! Denial," she concludes, with a wide grin.

The June/July 2008 issue of TEEN VOGUE is on sale nationwide May 20, 2008. Get exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and the inside scoop on Hayden’s cover shoot with TEEN VOGUE at: teenvogue.com/go/hayden.

Labels: , ,

Lime and Yogurt: Not Just Diet Fodder

Hi, girls!

Happy belated Mother's Day! BTW, check out my friend Erika's tribute to several bloggers' mothers (including Car! I didn't have a digital pic of her, sorry) on Makeup Bag.

As much as I love products that show instant beauty results (i.e., lip glosses, eye makeup, masacara, etc.) some of my favorite products are the ones that yield no demonstrable change (except for a fresh scent). Here are my two fave shower gels of late.

Kings & Queens George III Lime Shower Gel, $9
I picked up this little gem whilst "supermarket sweeping" a major fashion magazine's beauty closet a couple weeks ago with Erika. It was pretty much one of the better days of my lifestyle thus far. I love a monarchy and absolutely anything having to do with the British court, so I was intrigued when I saw that this lime-scented gel was created with this story in mind:
"One of the most dreadful enemies of the British navy was scurvy, which is caused by a lack of vitamin C. But in the early 18th century, sailors were saved by simply consuming daily lime juice, following orders given by King George III."

While I don't think scurvy is something you and I should really be worried about, you'll want to try the zesty vibrant green Kings & Queens George III Lime Shower Gel because it leaves skin fresh, clean and gloriously scented. All Kings & Queens products contain with the ‘Royal Mix,‘ a combination of pomegranate, blue Egyptian lotus and malachite extracts. All Kings & Queens products are paraben and mineral oil free. It seems you can only buy it at Nordstrom in the U.S.

Dial Yogurt Body Wash, Aloe Vera, $6
I have to admit, I wasn't excited about a body wash that lists yogurt as a major ingredient. I mean, yogurt doesn't LATHER. I like a lot of lather; I'm the dream consumer. I like bubbles. I like to SEE things working. And yogurt? What an odd choice. It totally reminds me of that ep of Crank Yankers where Sarah Silverman calls that Asian salon to complain about a yeast infection and they tell her to apply some yogurt to the "area" and she starts to ask if maybe she could use strawberry frozen yogurt instead. Anyway.

I'm happy to report I was dead wrong. I LURVE this stuff. The formula feels luxurious and leaves skin feeling clean, refreshed and hydrated. The light, creamy formula rinses clean with no residue and smells divine - especially the Aloe Vera scent. Best of all, it's only $6 for an enorm, family-sized bottle. You'll be glad you use it and will "wish everyone did" when you're on a packed subway mid-summer. Just saying.

BTW, tonight I was invited to the Gansevoort Hotel for an exclusive blogger interview (yay!) with Daisy Fuentes about the launch of her two new fragrances, DIANOCHE OCEAN DAY and DIANOCHE OCEAN NIGHT. Can you EVEN? (I can't.) I have adored Daisy Fuentes since her days as an MTV DJ and obv, her House of Style gig. Stay tuned for a post on that manana.

Labels: , , ,

Friday, May 09, 2008

Better than a Free Gift with Purchase.

The fact that we're only 20 days away from this.

Labels:

Weekend Beauty Reads from the Beauty Blog Network!


Product Girl is giving away 4 goodie bags from the upcoming Sex and the City movie! Check out Product Girl for more information.


StyleBell shows you how to make some serious waves with your flat iron.


Beauty Anonymous reveals the jelly pinkness of the Tracy Reese for Sally Hansen Spring 2008 Salon Collection !


Raging Rouge announces the MAX Factor May Makeover giveaway. Over $750 of MAX Factor products will be divided up between TEN winners on May 17th. Good luck!


SugarShock Beauty has a newfound love for foundation: the makeup artist- and Madge-approved Face Atelier Ultra Foundation.


The Muse whispers in your ear about Benefit's Newest Cheek Stain for Summer! Pssttttt! Enjoy the first ever images, product photos, and swatches from a link available at Musings!

This mascara ended A Touch of Blusher's mascara search...


Beauty411 reviews Soaptopia, a bath line that promised to be "100% junk free"! Check it out!


Beauty Blogging Junkie schools you on how to avoid snaggy, dry lips.

Looking for skin care products that deliver results? Read The Makeup Divas review of the Somme Institute Skin Care Line.

Beauty and Fashion Tech is giving away two sets of John Frieda Lustrous Touch Shampoo and Conditioner. One for blonde hair and one for brunette.

At Girl Gloss, you can win a set of seven Classic Badger Balm Lip Balms.

Beauty Junkie in SF is on her way to a flawless face with the help of a new high-tech skincare system.

The Beauty of Life brings you the highs and lows from the celebs' beauty looks at the Costume Institute Gala.

Beauty Banter dishes on the new Spring Hair Style and actress Shiri Appleby models the look!

Need a nail intervention but can't afford regular trips to the salon? Glossypink goes there to get great nails.

What makes you feel your most beautiful? Toya at The Life of A Ladybug wants to know!

Kitiya from Mischo Beauty helps you determine if you’re a candidate for microdermabrasion!

A reader at makeup loves me claims to have gone up one cup size by using victoria's secret bust enhancer!

Makeup Moxie finds Complexion Perfection when she reviews the foundation and concealer duo compact by Global Goddess.

Face Candy reviews NARS Orgasm Multiple, Lip Gloss and Nail Polish.

The Muse whispers in your ear about Benefit's new cheek stain and has a link to swatches!.

Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog Gets a Surprise Stage Makeup Makeover with Kryolan Professional Makeup.

Pursebuzz.com does a step by step tutorial on how to create that extra dramatic smokey eye look as seen on Gwen and Fergie and everyone on the red carpet.

What has a delectable chocolate fragrance when you smooth it on that morphs into a fresh, powdery scent once it sinks in?
href="http://spoiledpretty.blogspot.com/2008/05/everyday-can-be-sun-day-with-palmers.html">Spoiled Pretty tells you what it is and why you need to try it!

Cybelesays gets to the Shea of Things with their picks of the best Shea Butter products out there.

15 Minute Beauty Fanatic gives you the low down on Kristin Davis's makeup for the SATC publicity tour!

Labels: ,

Makeup Junkie Features a Roundup of Beauty Bloggers' Beauty Tips

Find out what tips my fellow bloggers are sharing here. Thanks, Makeup Junkie, for compiling!

No Need to Compromise, Even if you Have Sensitive Eyes

I wear contacts because I am totally skeeved out/squeamish to the max about anything having to do with eyes. The idea of LASIK surgery makes me so nauseated. But, the beauty downside of all that is that a lot of regular eye makeup irritates my contacts. When I wear more eye makeup, say, for a night out or a black tie event, the potential for contact irritation increases.

To ensure my eyes will look fly as opposed to red and irritated, I've been on a major Clinique kick as their products are ALWAYS allergy tested and fragrance free. My favorite event eye look lately includes their Brush-On Cream Liner in Bronze, $14.50. This color is LIMITED EDITION, dolls, so stock up. The formula is long-wearing and looks absolutely gorge on green- and blue-eyed girls. I am loving it applied with a larger brush (although it comes with its own which is divine for lining) up to the crease for a smoky eye.

I've been pairing the liner with Clinique Lash Power Long Wearing Formula. Like the liner, it's ophthalmologist tested and even wears for 24 hours with nary a smudge. It vows to last through rain, sweat, humidity, and tears, yet removes easily with warm water. I can attest this is true, girls. I rocked it to my coworker's father's funeral a few weeks ago (tragic situation, he died very suddenly) and this stuff stayed the course. Reasonably priced at $14.

Photo Credit: bloomingdales.com

Labels: , ,

Thursday, May 08, 2008

LOST Analysis: Eyeliner Richard Returns!

Okay, so last week's analysis plum never happened. Sorry. It was a cra weekend. Let's just leave it at I adored how much shirtless Jack there was. And did you notice the Johnny-Castle-emerges-naked-from-the-bed in-Dirty-Dancing-esque scene where Jack MAY have flashed a little bit of somethin' somethin'? (You and I both know my friends and I weren't the only ones who rewound that part of Dirty Dancing ad nauseum).

Last night's LOST episode catered to the obsessive cultists out there. And by obsessive cultists, I mean me. Locke episodes are always so packed with symbolism. I have to discuss this one with bullets. There's no other way. I'm simply not that organized today.

*Love the 50s regalia in the first scene. That was my FAVE era. I'm so sad I missed it. It's so Lorraine McFly meets Pleasantville infused with some Mad Men. Pass me my POODLE SKIRT.

*The Geronimo Jackson poster in Locke's locker is significant. Geronimo Jackson has now come up in three Locke episodes.

*The oft repeated phrase "Don't tell me what I can't do." made a cameo.

*Poor John Locke. He's such a character straight out of a Balzac novel, even from childhood. How sad was it when adolescent Locke got locked in a locker.

*Portland's Mittelos Labs wants to recruit young Locke for Science Camp, but Locke must have had a psychic screening of Mean Girls because he pretty much declared it social suicide (like Damian says with regard to the Mathletes club).

*Abaddon!! What's up with his nearly shoving John's wheelchair down the steps? Abaddon told him to go on the walkabout further reinforcing that all the survivors of 815 were lead to this island on purpose; that all this is all predetermined. Abaddon creepily tells John "you'll owe me one." When you and "me" run into each other again. While I loathe the structure of that sentence, it's pregnant with meaning, I'm sure. I'm working on that one.

*The doctor washed up already ON-island due to the time delay on the island.

*Horace introduces himself and goes through the whole scene twice. That whole scene was reminiscent of the fish meeting each other scene in that Monty Python movie.

*The ornery captain is killed by Power Trip Keamy.

*Car accidents are a major theme of LOST: Emily Locke gets hit by a car which precipates John Locke's entrance into the world 3 months early... just the first thing of many he's forced to survive. Also, it's a car accident in the RAIN. Rain is always the harbinger of death or dark and twisty events. A bizarre theory: could Emily have actually died in that accident and this reality where Locke exists is an alternate one? Perhaps Eyeliner Richard (whom I totes think is a dead relic from The Black Rock, BTW) is some kind of Grim Reaper...

*Love the "pit stop" Locke and co. make. Hilar.

*Was Eyeliner Richard testing Locke to see if he remembered his items from a past life? That's the way the Tibetan monks determine who the next Dalai Lama is (and regular lamas, as well). From wikipedia: "Upon the death of the Dalai Lama and consultation with the Nechung Oracle, a search for the Lama's reincarnation, or yangsi (yang srid), is conducted. Familiarity with the possessions or attributes of the previous Dalai Lama is considered the main sign of the tulku. The search for the reincarnated mindstream typically requires a number of years. The reincarnated being is then installed and trained by the other Lamas."

I once watched a documentary on how they determined Gehlek Rinpoche was a lama. His book Good Life Good Death is fab, read it. Lama, by the way, is the title for a Tibetan teacher of Dharma. Coincidence? I think not.

*John plays backgammon even as a child, in keeping with the games theme within the show. He is also seen in season 1 playing backgammon with Walt. Also, note the black and white colored pieces in the game, representing the dark/light theme heavily prevalent in the show.

*Comic books have appeared on LOST before, and this one is about a "Hidden Land." The whole scene was kind of Sixth Sense-y as well. Hurley was shown reading a Spanish comic book on the plane and later, Walt was seen reading the same comic book on the island.

Could Locke and Ben be the same person? Jeff Jensen notes in his EW article that both men were born prematurely to women named Emily. Also interesting: both men were born in the second trimester... remember, no pregnant women on the island made it to the third.

I'm DREADING the upcoming 8 month hiatus. Destiny's a fickle bitch, n'est-ce pas?

Labels:

MAX Factor on Tour This Spring with Celeb Makeup Artist Jake Bailey

Do you live in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Chicago, Houston or Dallas? Celeb makeup artist Jake Bailey (pictured, left) and his team will be in-store to give gorge summer makeovers, share tips and tricks, and help women find the best shades for their complexions. Some of Jake’s clients include Paris Hilton, Brittany Snow (LOVE HER) and Kyra Sedgwick.

Click here for more info about the tour.

LOS ANGELES
Friday, May 16th 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Long’s
18441 Ventura Boulevard
Tarzana, CA

Saturday, May 17th 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
K-Mart
6310 W. 3rd Street
Los Angeles, CA

LAS VEGAS
Friday, June 6th 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Ulta
543 N. Stephanie Street
Henderson, NV 89014

PHOENIX
Saturday, June 7th 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Wal-Mart
14200 West Indian School Road
Goodyear, AZ

DALLAS
Saturday, June 14th 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Wal-Mart
1700 Dallas Parkway
Plano, TX

CHICAGO
Saturday, June 21st 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Ulta
9635 Skokie Blvd.
Skokie, IL

Sunday, June 22nd 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
K-Mart
3443 West Addison St
Chicago, IL

HOUSTON
Saturday, June 28th 12:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Ulta
1600 Lake Woodlands Drive
Woodlands, TX

Labels: ,

Pocket Full of Posie (Tint)

I am SO smitten kitten with Benefit's new twist on their cult-fave BeneTint, Posie Tint. I've mentioned Benetint approximately 29367 times on this blog because I absolutely adore it to the point where it has established permanent residency in my makeup bag and I've repurchased it no less than 4 times despite its tendency to stain everything I own including my passport. But can't we agree that sometimes Benetint is a lot of color?

I had the opportunity to try out Posie Tint and I can officially declare it the Benetint for the recessive-gened set. It's an opaque, gorgeous petal pink that swipes on and leaves you with a coy flush on cheeks and imparts a lit-from-within glow on lips. It's a very Mercedes-of-License-to-Drive-fame pink.

Just one word of advice: when you apply your three cheek dots make sure to blend IMMED or you'll be left with the dots ALL day and will look like some kind of rash victim. Just saying.

Originally slated to debut in June, it's now available for $28 on benefitcosmetics.com. So you can be all, "Posie Tint, get out of my dreams and into my CAR."

Labels: , ,

Wednesday, May 07, 2008

The Firm.

LOVING Institut Esthederm's Body Biosculpt Firmness Cream. It's so rare to find a firming creme that improves skin's tone AND hydrates. This one absorbs quickly, imparts a light, sophisticated scent and is neither too thick, nor too runny. It'll set you back $62, so it's definitely a splurge... but I've found firming creams that smooth and silken skin are all too rare. The cream restructures the deep layers of the epidermis, improving the tonicity of the body and the firmness of the skin. Try it on out.

You're welcome,
Fabulista

Labels: ,

Arte Y Pico Award

The fab Melissa picked BBJ to win the Arte Y Pico award! Thanks, Melissa! BTW, I just finished the second book in her series, Violet by Design and LOVED it. This one takes place mostly in Brazil. Can you even? There's even a fictional Gisele-type in the book whom Violet gets to work with. And a cute male Brazilian designer. Do check it out.

Here are the rules of the Arte Y Pico Award:

1. Pick 5 blogs that deserve the award for creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her/him the award itself.

4. The Award winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of Arte Y Pico blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. To show these rules.

Here are the five bloggers who deserve the award, in my humble O:

MonkeyPosh: Parisjasmal is HILAR and features her dogs, shoes, beauty products, and amazing vaca pics.

NY Spender: A great resource for fashion advice and deals (her cat has his own column called Bullitt's Deals).

Eye4Style: The fabulous Dina is "full of opinions," but she's full of the ones I want. I'm so stocking up on the Honeydew panties she mentioned are on sale on her blog this week.

Fashion Binge: "So much style, you'll want to vom" is the tagline. Tamron and Mary-Kate provide me with much-needed afternoon comic relief. And Tamron abbreves her words on a level that parallels even my own.

My Life with Two Carry-Ons: Jammahs shares her hilarious anecdotes from her life as a consultant. She was even featured in American Airlines' in-flight magazine. Check it fo' sho'.

Labels:

Carol's Column: Elizabeth Arden Day Renewal Emulsion

By Carol (my mother)

Greetings Everyone!

In honor of Mother’s Day, as the mother of the Fabulous Amber, I’ve been invited by my daughter to write about anti-ageing [ed. note: my mother INSISTS on spelling aging the British way. I think it's a byproduct of reading the FT.] products and/or other products aimed at the "mature woman."

Since I’ve always thought of ageing as an inevitable decline in physical beauty (we’ll leave spiritual beauty out of this for the nonce), I was shocked (in a good way) recently when I encountered a woman at a party whom I hadn’t seen in at least ten years. Formerly, my strongest impression of her was her almost garish coloring, i.e., extremely black hair juxtaposed with bright green eye shadow and ripe red lipstick. For a "woman of a certain age" it was a bit much. Flash forward to the party. She is now 81 years old, bent, and walking with a cane. But she looked gorgeous! Her hair was now a soft, dark grey, her eyes delicately shadowed and lovely. Her make-up was perfectly applied, everything in balance. She looked beautiful and I told her so. Twice. Apparently, physical beauty can emerge at any age. That is truly inspiring.

...

I have been using Elizabeth Arden’s moisturizing products for years. I adore them. My current, everyday standby is Elizabeth Arden Millenium Day Renewal Emulsion Traitement de Jour, $62. It comes in a square, glass jar with an unusually narrow opening, totally unsuited for fingertips. Included, therefore, is a tiny, long-handled spatula or ladle. How cute, I thought, initially. Later it became a tad annoying - just another thing to lose. (Note to Elizabeth Arden – lose the ladle and widen the lid.) The cream itself is lovely. Ordinarily, I use a heavier cream in winter and a lighter lotion as the weather gets warmer. So far, I find I can wear this transseasonally. Another bonus is the scent. It is pleasant and subtle.

Happy Mother's Day!

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Tagged: Beauty Secrets

Miss Marina of Makeup Loves Me has tagged me to discuss my beauty secrets! Most of these selections I've fully reviewed in the past, so just type on in the names in the search bar on your right to learn more about each product.

My Foundation: I'm in an LTR (long term relash) with Elizabeth Arden Intervene SPF 15.

My Mascara: Lancome High Definicils.

My Blush: Therapy Systems Gel Blush in Portofino Rose- LOVE this stuff. It's a gorge sheer rose.

My Eye Shadow: Lately I'm loving a discontinued Clinique Shadow Trio in Metallic Pewter... that's about a DECADE old. I know. I KNOW. I never keep my cosmetics that long... except for this one. It's THE BEST gray/silver palette EVER IN THE WORLD. WHY, Clinique, WHY did you discontinue this? I'm almost totally out.

My Day Cream: Philosophy Hope in a Bottle Treatment Moisturizer.

My Lipstick: I'm not too into lipstick, but lately I'm loving Lancome Christopher Kane Juicy Tube in NYC Cinnamon Soho, the European version of their Red Hot New York Juicy Tube. They sent it as a gift and I am j'adoring it.

My Beauty Product Brand: This is so hard. I'll just say for hair, it's definitely T3 and for makeup, it's NARS, Benefit and tarte.

My Essential Beauty Product: Eye Liner. Without it, I look undead.

My Favorite Makeup Product: I'm most into glosses... I spend the most time analyzing and researching them.

My Perfume: Burberry Classic 97% of the time.

My Nails: I'm usually an Essie girl, but I'm loving ORLY and butter LONDON of late.

My Feet: Aquaphor on heels works WONDERS.

My Hands: I lurve Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve.

Three Products to bring on a deserted island: Mascara, La Mer The Lip Balm (WHAT), and Eye Liner.

Woman I Admire for their Beauty:
E. Jean Carroll, Maureen Dowd, and Becki Newton (Amanda on Ugly Betty).

Woman with the Best Sense of Style:
Grace Kelly, hands DOWN.

My Ultimate Dream: To be able to write what I want, whenever I want... and to somehow have medical benefits, be able to vacation twice a year, and a beach escape within driving distance of New York.

How Do I Define Womanhood: I don't really know... I consider myself a girl. Still.

My Favorite Fashion Publication: My two faves are ELLE and Teen Vogue. The former because they never insult women by skimping on the scientific thoroughness behind their unbelievably well-reported coverage and the latter because I ADORE the well-edited items they choose. I'm in awe of their fashion editors.

Tagging:
Jamie!

Mother's Day Gift Recs

I can't believe I'm this late to the Mother's Day party. I swear I'm planning on giving something to my mother, who is the best one EV. Just today she called me on the phone to laugh about these Bruno Magli shoes she saw while shopping. We obv have to hold a mini-summit every single time Bruno Magli shoes come up since 1997 when OJ Simpson referred to them as "ugly ass shoes."

Anywho. Here are two gifts your mom will LOVE:

butter LONDON Treatment Pack
butter LONDON has a fabulous treatment pack for manicures and everything your mom needs to heal, repair, and strengthen nails and cuticles. All products are free from Formaldehyde, Toluene, and DBP. The pack includes: Handbag Holiday, Cuticle Oil, Horse Power Nail, Fertilizer, Nail Foundation, Flawless Basecoat, Melt Away, Cuticle Eliminator, Hardwear, P.D. Quick Topcoat. $72 at www.butterlondon.com.

Smashbox Shockwave Fusion Eye & Cheek Palette
This Missoni-esque palette is so supercute and comes in the most darling two-tiered fabric-covered little baby drawer set. Includes eyeshadow in golden brown, beige, sage green, and turquoise and a cheek color in warm pink and rosy pink. Perf for moms on the go.

Labels: , , ,



All content © Copyright 2008 www.beautybloggingjunkie.com