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· Beauty Notebook JULY 2006: Summertime
· Beauty Notes: Vernis à Ongles...
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· July 3, 2007 5:39 PM by
Colleen Shirazi
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LP's Cream of the Crop 2008: Bath & Body
Posted by Dain, Wednesday, July 16, 2008 12:00 AM (Eastern)
Bath and body products are all about pampering and well-being, so we've looked for the most luxurious textures and unique scents around.
soaps We're fans of the creamy, moisturizing shea-butter soaps from Bisous de Provence at Trader Joe's ($3), each scent is delicious (citron verbena, wild rose, lavender) and they won't break the bank.
shower gels Korres ($13) has the best fragranced shower gels, they are unusual and sophisticated and not too saccharine à la Bath and Body Works. We particularly like Cedar, Bitter Almond, Mint Tea, and Basil Lemon.
bath There's nothing so luxurious and relaxing as a fragrant, moisturizing bath. Jo Malone's Bath Oil Collection ($72) features six bestsellers (Lime Basil & Mandarin, Orange Blossom, Pomegranate Noir, Amber & Lavender, Grapefruit, and Blue Agava & Cacao) that you can use singly or mix together.
exfoliant Forget messy scrubs, a textured viscose cloth like Salux ($0.99) is much more effective, plus it's Asian cheap.
body lotion The worst winter scalies don't stand a chance against Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion ($3.29), we go through buckets of this rich lotion—it turns our skin into silk.
hand cream You know what plastic surgeons say, when in doubt, look at her hands. Available in rose, lavender, and citrus, Jurlique Hand Cream ($25) sinks in quickly but offers intense protection.
spa Pamper your vanity with a great mask. If you're in need of intense hydration, Astara Golden Flame Hydration Mask ($31) soothes with aloe vera, cucumber, and chamomile, while silky, mineral-rich Alaska Glacial Mud Company Glacial Facial ($34), direct from Alaska's Copper River Delta, leaves your complexion clean, purified, and balanced. Finish it off with a soothing spritz of Kimberly Sayer of London Organic Lavender Toner ($28).
nail polish Too many times are we disappointed by colors that look great in the bottle but sheer up once applied, but Essie ($6) makes great, classic colors that are really true, plus a creamy formula that's so easy to apply.
top coat DBP, toluene and formaldehyde free, Revlon Extra Life Top Coat provides a lasting glassy shine that resists all manner of wear and tear (it's the same formula as the Colorstay Sealant).
Labels: alaska glacial mud company, astara, bath and body, cream of the crop, essie, jo malone, jurlique, kimberly sayer of london, korres, nails, revlon, salux, trader joe's
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Most Wanted: Heart of Darkness
Posted by Dain, Friday, June 27, 2008 12:06 AM (Eastern)
If you wouldn't be caught dead in flowery, frilly pink things, then here is a list for the hardcore punk rocker that lies within you...
LISTEN Death metal may seem scary, but Opeth is good even if it doesn't suit your taste. "Porcelain Heart" is definitely one of their lighter offerings.
READ Nothing like a bleak little dystopia when you're safe in the comfort of your own home. The Handmaid's Tale was my introduction to the glory of Margaret Atwood.
Labels: acne jeans, essie, givenchy, kenneth jay lane, martin margiela, most wanted
Beauty Notes: July 2, 2007
Posted by Dain, Monday, July 02, 2007 5:28 PM (Eastern)
Ever hear of Nixie cosmetics?
Strikes me as the next MAC, without the Estée Lauder taint and/or polish. Decent pricing, zillions of shades, targeted at professionals. MAC is silly, though not as silly as Stila has become. *phew* Talk about sold out! Shame on Stila.
Ach, I always get a little annoyed when this happens...
Magazines telling me things I already know. Admittedly, this happens all the time. Beauty editors don't know much. But when it's way passé, it nearly makes me mad. Like the July issue of Vogue, the so-called style bible, telling us that if the black nailpolish that's everywhere is feeling a little overdone, to turn to an off black shade, like dark purple or some such. DUH. Great advice, Vogue, like any sundry idiot can't figure that one out. I veered away from black nailpolish in December—the point at which I felt it was getting too common. That was months ago. Essie Wicked has been my mainstay since Chanel Black Satin's domination has turned me off. Rich, creamy, black cherry red. It's fantastic.
What if you never had to seek a holy grail ever again?
I've been thinking lately about how I'd put together a dream product line. Castles in the air, perhaps, but it's a fun project. The first place I'd start is with eyeshadows—probably trios, the perfect number for a set. Not singles, because people like to be told what to wear, while duos are limited and quads always have a shade that goes unused. Three is ideal, if sharply edited. I wouldn't offer that many shades; there are only so many that everyone can happily use and wear. But you've got to straddle the line between universality and copying bestselling shades, which is tricky.
So why do I have a picture of a YSL compact (LE, no longer available)? Well, chic packaging is very well, but I always find it difficult to rifle through my collection to pick out the shades I want. And hopefully, you'll want all these shades. So how to make these trios tastefully differentiated from each other? Simple, a pretty drawing of a flower on the outside, just like this compact. I'll post the shade ideas tomorrow.
Labels: alchemist's apprentice, beauty notes, essie, nixie, ysl
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July 3, 2007 5:39 PM, Colleen Shirazi said...
Hmmm...you'd make a good trio. I don't know if a trio is necessary though...or is it? |
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Beauty Notebook AUGUST 2006: Evening Splendor
Posted by Dain, Sunday, August 13, 2006 2:53 PM (Eastern)
SPONSORED by:
I wonder if "evening splendor" is some sort of set phrase, in a book or a poem somewhere? The only one that comes to mind is "It was a splendid evening..." from the Prelude. My inspiration for this shopping list is the Spring/Summer 2006 Versace show, as follows:
Is it not the perfect late summer evening look? Rich and slinky and toasty tan, as sleek as a cat who stole the cream, without seeming the least bit oversexed. Here's a close-up on the makeup:
 Kevyn Aucoin The Liquid Shimmer in Gold $22: Given this palette of toasty nudes and lusty browns, this little bit of gold, dropped on the inner corner of the eye, is the perfect touch of sun to brighten an otherwise smoky eye. Designed with a brush, for easy application, in a skin-flattering, tan-enhancing gold, it's the perfect easy-to-apply highlight, too, on cheekbones for a little sumthin' 'xtra when you go out partying. And for day, a glimmer of creamy gold on the lid, with black liner, is the simplest way to wear it. |
 Kevyn Aucoin The Essentials Eyeshadow Set #1 $55: A set of brown eyeshadows is the makeup world's equivalent to the LBD ("Little Black Dress"). Everyone offers one, everyone looks good in one, the differences in the variations between products are often too subtle to follow, and you can only tell if it's a perfect fit until you try it on. That said, this carefully selected set of warm browns from the maestro Kevyn Aucoin is something like the Platonic ideal of brown eyeshadows (there are a couple of others, Dior Brun Casual and NARS Key Largo): a sparkly ivory, a smoky mauve-taupe shimmer, a creamy camel brown, a charcoal tempered by a little brown, and a soft melon shimmer. |
 Elizabeth Arden Crystal Clear Lipgloss $12.50: With so much going on, on the skin and on the eyes, all you need to polish off the look is some clear gloss, crystal clear gloss, to be exact. I love this mint-scented version from Elizabeth Arden, it's cute enough to throw in the smallest of clutches, and easy to apply without a mirror, but it looks good, not too glassy or tacky, somehow bringing out the natural color on your lips, even though it's clear. |
 NARS Lovejoy Blush $25: Lovejoy is a well-kept secret from the masses. All the world knows about Orgasm, and Sin, even Desire, which was featured on Allure's Best of Beauty list a long ways back. But Lovejoy is the perfect blush-cum-bronzer; you'd be hard--pressed to overdo it, even on pale skin. It's got rose and peach and terracotta and brown, with a teeny bit of gold. It's the color of those berries from the sun that you read about in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, if they were to exist. Dust it on, willy nilly, for a sunkissed glow, to enhance a fading tan, or to pick up pale skin in the dead of winter. |
 NARS Body Glow $59: Ever wonder how celebrities (rumor has it, J. Lo has underlings who apply bronze oil to her legs before she steps out to the all-seeing public eye) get that tantalizing glow on their legs and arms at premieres? Or, for that matter, the Brazilian glow that seems to emanate from the sun-drenched, dewy skin of swimsuit models? This stuff, Monoï de Tahiti oil, a blend of coconut oil and tiare flower and bronze shimmer, is the secret. Slather it on legs, arms, cleavage, and collar bone, and your skin will gleam like it's lit from within (even better if they take photos of you), and you'll smell fabulously tropical, of coconut and tiare. It's subtle, not frosty; in fact, you can barely see the shimmer once it's on. It's glamour in a bottle, glow in a bottle, an expensive vacation to places Mediterrranean and tropical in a bottle. |
 Rescue Beauty Lounge Spiced Floral Body Wash $54: Can you imagine anything more gorgeous than a huge bottle of this sitting in your bathroom? I've always found it difficult going, body washes, I can never find anything to my taste, as I have a very, very picky nose. But this luxurious lather, scented like white flowers (gardenia and freesia), is just the ticket. It's just a bonus that the hefty bottle already comes wrapped like a gift: in pink and gold floral. (Though it is called 'Spiced Floral', I must admit, it just smells like plain 'Floral', which is no bad thing, but not what the name would have you believe.) |
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 Babor Cleansing Hy-Öl (regular) $28: At the end of a long evening, you need to take ALL of it off. Enter, cleansing oils. They're oils, so they lift grime and oil and stubborn makeup better than anything else on the market, but they're water-soluble, so they rinse clean. I hear reports that they magically disperse blackheads (though that remains to be seen). Babor is a German brand, and its cleansing regimen is famed among aestheticians everywhere. One pump is enough for your entire face, just massage in, then massage in the second step, the Phytoactive (no toner required), rinse, and you're done! Clean, makeup-free skin, and during summer months, I don't even need a moisturizer. Strangely enough, I find that this actually controls oil, rather than making shine worse. |
 Annick Goutal Les Nuits d'Hadrien EDP $90: Ahhh... you will not believe this, but I asked for this, unsniffed, and it's Holy Grail status already. I would not say this lightly, but this is the citrus of my dreams, with warmth and richness (and I'm not really a citrus girl). Modeled to be a deeper version of the best-selling L'Eau d'Hadrien, it explodes with bergamot and cypress on the top notes, then the spicy herbal note of basil and cumin, before settling into its lemon heart, tempered by ylang ylang and vanilla and sandalwood, before it deepens with amber and musk. Predominantly, it's a spicy, herbal lemon, underscored by amber and musk, rich and seductive. I'm baffled by how perfect it is. |
 Essie Caliente Nail Colour Polish $7: The niceties of manicures and pedicures are lost on me, as I'm a perpetual nailbiter. But I am partial to the nailpolishes of Essie—even I know that this is superior stuff: applies clean and smooth, dries quickly to a pigment rich, shiny finish, with a plethora of shades to choose from. Caliente is a coral red, almost like a bright cherry red, but enough coral to keep it pleasingly summery. |
Be sure to check out my reviews in our Online Beauty Reviews for more detailed information about these products!
Labels: annick goutal, babor, beauty notebook, elizabeth arden, essie, kerastase, kevyn aucoin, nars, rescue beauty lounge
Beauty Notebook JULY 2006: Summertime
Posted by Dain, Saturday, July 29, 2006 6:50 PM (Eastern)
SPONSORED by:
...And the livin' is easy. Sorry, I couldn't resist. You know, it's funny, but I have four versions of "Summertime": the classic big band jazz of Louie & Ella, the bittersweet haze of Sublime, the hearty, gritty rock of Janis Joplin, and an eleven-and-a-half-minute long ramble of Coltrane. The same basic melody, but each is so very different from the others. Also "Summertime Blues" by The Who, but I do not think that counts.
 Michael Kors Eau de Parfum $60: Perhaps it is something about the stark, sharp bottle, but when I think of Michael Kors, I see harsh sun, a cloudless blue sky, and endless sand. In short, the desert, dry and unforgiving. And then you smell the scent inside, and it is anything but: a lush, creamy tuberose, rich and feminine and so, so sexy (a virtual man magnet, I've caught some sidling up just to sniff), with a faint metallic heart. Dry desert heat, tropical heat, Michael Kors is hot. |
 Fresh Umbrian Clay Face Treatment $48: The Northeast is a sticky, miserable place come summertime. If you, like me, feel gross and oily in the humidity, the solution is but with Fresh Umbrian Clay, which sucks out all the grime, leaving skin fresh (no pun intended) and sparkling clean. And because it is Fresh, so you can tell yourself that this is a fabulous deep clean, not a hide-yourself-away-because-you-look-like-some-sorta-alien face mask. You can also leave it overnight on blemishes; it works really well. |
 NARS Blush Brush $46: A friend of mine, who, like me, is a huge NARS aficionado, once thrust this brush in my face. "Isn't it gorgeous?" she purred, "Look at the bristles, they've got gold glints." I objected, the hairs were floppy. She shot me an aggravated glance, and bade me try it. And, I had to admit it, it was gorgeous. Crafted of quality pony hair, and chiseled to perfection, it makes blush application a breeze. |
 NARS Orgasm Powder Blush Cheek Color $25: I can't very well espouse a blush brush without providing a blush, and there is no better than this peachy-pinky-gold shimmer, glinting sheerly on tanned skin. Orgasm by name, a blush, barring all other considerations, that truly lives up to its name. |
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 Claus Porto Rivale Grapefruit Fig Candle $32: Can you imagine anything more gorgeous than Claus Porto's line of soaps and candles? You almost hesitate to open them, the packaging alone is worth just displaying on your vanity. But open them you must, for, inside, are the most heavenly scents imaginable. The products themselves are just pure luxury. I'm partial to Rivale, which is both crisp (grapefruit) and earthy (fig), a scent so addictive I keep returning to sniff the box over and over again. |
 Paula Dorf 2+1 For Eyes Forbidden Eyeshadow $24: Many shy away from blue eyeshadow, for it is like coral nailpolish, garish when it is not seasonal, but I swear, it is the perfect counterpoint to bronzed skin. It is just the perfect hint of color, with lush black mascara. All you need is a little, glossy stained lip (Fresh Desire!) and a hint of shimmer on the cheeks (NARS Orgasm!) to complement. Nothing could be simpler, and I can't imagine a prettier offering than this one, from Paula Dorf, with its sea blue shimmer, lusty cornflower blue, and bright navy. If you must, soften it with a light pink or a smooth bronze or even a pure white matte. |
 Fresh Desire Gloss Absolute $24: It's the perfect balm-y stain, translucent like cherry popsicles, but unlike the popsicles, it's all grown up. It's enough color for tan skin, but it doesn't overwhelm—just sunny, cheerful summer color that looks natural and pretty, not overdone. It comes in a cute-as-can-be compact, with a generous mirror so that you can take it on the go. Plus, it smells of Fresh's famous lemon sugar. |
 Essie Fiesta Nail Colour Polish $7: Essie, in my opinion, makes the best nailpolish. This bright fuchsia pink, lush and opaque, like a tropical flower, is my pick of the season. It's boldly ultrafeminine, perfect for the height of summer. Bright but classy, it makes me think of fruity martinis and J.Crew polos (though actually, I hate polos—think they're expensive t-shirts). |
 Trilogy 100% Pure Organic Rosehip Oil $20: I find something immensely appealing about this pure, soothing face oil. It's so simple, and my skin, which doesn't like complex cocktails or harsh chemicals, just adores it. |
Be sure to check out my reviews in our Online Beauty Reviews for more detailed information about these products!
Labels: beauty notebook, claus porto, essie, fresh, michael kors, nars, phyto, trilogy
Beauty Notes: Vernis à Ongles...
Posted by Dain, Tuesday, July 12, 2005 1:37 AM (Eastern)
Some things just don't sound better in French (though most things do). The translation is, simply enough, "nail lacquer" (or "lacquer to nails", to be strictly literal), but it sounds vicious. To my ear, it sounds like "eagle claws in varnish". Which is, I suppose, not too far off ("varnish" is from "vernis"), and "ongle" and "aigle" are similar enough (though probably unrelated). How is this relevant? Not really, except to point out that the French should come up with a better name, so as to avoid connotations avian and predatory. Perhaps it is more fitting, after all. Normally, when we conjure up "nails" in our collective national aesthetic, they are characteristically aggressive and talon-like. At least, nails with character are aggressive and talon-like.
Well, I prefer soft ovals for nails, and on the short side (as if I have a choice, being a nail-biter). I think electric blue is hot, but otherwise, I stick to shades of lipstick: pink-tinged beige, lush magenta, soft rose, brilliant coral, classic red, and gothic blackberry (Chanel Vamp). Since I do bite my nails, I'm not much for manicures, but I think an investment or two in a couple of high-quality polishes wouldn't be amiss. For that, I turn to Essie, which I prefer to OPI—fewer gimmicks, and it's a bit more liquid. The famed Ballet Slippers tops my list (a milky sheer pink-nude), but I'll be looking for a Vamp-y shade, and a red too. And if life permits, a creamy raspberry. But 'tis the nude color I'm hankering, because nothing looks better than exquisitely buffed nails, and when your nails are in as bad a condition as mine, a polish that mimics that is better.
Picture courtesy www.nailsmag.com.
Labels: bath and body, beauty notes, essie
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