November 2009 Archives

We are kicking off the holidays with Thanksgiving next week which means it's time for holiday gift shopping! Black Friday is the most frightening day for me. I will be in LA celebrating with friends and family and will stay home stuffing my face with leftovers and do all my shopping online. We thought we'd make it easier for you, too and have created a 5 part gift guide for the following types of beauty snobs:

FRUGAL SNOB, JET SET SNOB, FRAGRANCE SNOB, SPORTY SNOB and DIVA SNOB.

We will post one guide per day until Thanksgiving so you'll have lots of options to shop for come Black Friday! Have fun!

Frugal Snob

I don't think I need to spell out why this is an amazing gift at $55 (worth $350!).  I think you can pretty much get through the entire year (all four seasons) on these colors!  LORAC Double Booked Full Face Collection ($350 Value) $55

I am buying a dozen of these anti-aging eye rollers as stocking stuffers. I know my frugal snob friends will love them and continue to treat themselves to it! I keep mine in the fridge and when I wake up puffy and angry looking, I simply roll it around my eyes (towards the inner corners). Olay Regenerist Anti-Aging Eye Roller here $20.69

 

What's more fun than playing in a tub full of Philosophy bubbles?!  Well there is something more fun but this is a rated G beauty site so I won't get into that.  No need to pull out soap, shampoo, and bubble bath-- with Philosophy you get all three, and then some.  Philosophy Best of Sephora Set ($97 Value) Best of Sephora Set $55

Now isn't this the cutest little make up kit you've ever seen? Too Faced celebrated its 10 year anniversary with the Too Faced Decade of Glamour Beauty Wardrobe Makeup Collection. It comes with its most popular products for the past 10 years. This is a great try me kit for Too Faced, or I'm thinking of giving it as gifts to the younger ones in my family. It's cute just to display on their dresser, and I love the silhouette of the girl in the bronzer/blush. The products are all deluxe sample size but for $19.50 for a $195 value who can go wrong? It's got a variety of color and product so this is great for the experimenting beginner or the beauty lover like us!

Get it at Sephora for $19.50.

Things are getting 'curiouser and curiouser' this season. eye4style's looking forward to the Bergdorf Goodman holiday windows!

Bag Snob's November Giveaway: OSCAR DE LA RENTA Taylor Python - click here to enter to win.

Fab Sugar has the attendees and winners from the CFDA/Vogue's Fashion Fund Awards.

The Jet Set Girls see Dita Von Teese bare it all at the Crazy Horse in Paris.

Tot Snob has an absolute must to kick start the curiosity of young minds ready to soak in and accept knowledge.

55 Secret Street checks out legendary supermodel Iman's Global Chic.

Stiletto Jungle shows how to wash cashmere like an expert.

Allie is Wired covers Oprah's decision to end The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011.

Bag Bliss Exclusive Event: Linea Pelle Handbag and Belt Sample Sale. Get the invite!

Coquette loves the many ways you can wear Donna Karan's Infinity Dress

Fashion Pulse Daily was there opening day and wonders was Jimmy Choo for H&M Worth the Wait?

KRISTOPHER DUKES is wanting, wearing, and hating cashmere jumpsuits.

Second City Style met the legendary Albert Maysles where his Signature Style Gets Framed at Barneys.

Don't pack up your skirts and dresses - SheFinds found all the best patterned stockings and tights to keep your legs stylishly warm this winter.

Shopping and Info loves the black wedge suede books by Dolce & Gabanna.

StyleBakery is completely obsessed with sequins for day and night

Stylehive has spotted a pair of party-perfect sequined pumps, just like Badgley Mischka's but at a fraction of the cost...

The Beauty Stop addresses the hype surrounding MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator.

The Shoe Goddess still loves funky platforms, but lately she has had her eye on more classic shoes like this Yves Saint Laurent Pump!

I had been given the Guerlain 'Meteorites Voyage' Pressed Powder as a gift from one of my managers, and instantly fell in love with it. I love everything about Guerlain. It all just seems so luxurious to me. And this compact is no exception. It has that beautiful classic design on the top and is made of heavy metal. The powder inside is refillable so you don't always have to keep investing in the whole product. It's translucent, and I like to put it on just a bare face on lazy days. It helps just make my skin look perfect and natural. The secret is in the color spheres: Mauve attracts light, green tones down redness, pink imparts a healthy glow, gold and pearl create highlights, and white brightens. She also gave me this beautiful matching retractable brush, where the bristles are dyed to match the meteorites, but I don't think they sell it anymore. You can get it at Nordstroms for $160, and that's with the compact and the powder. The Guerlain Meteorites Compact Refills
are $55.

I'm not the biggest MAC fan. I love that they have really strong vibrant eye colors, but every so often the skin around my eyes will become red and a bit swollen. My skin seems to be too sensitive for their heavy makeup and it's too bad of course, because MAC has some of the richest colors. To that end, I was getting ready to go out at my friend's apartment a few weeks ago and saw that she was applying a bright pink shadow (she's an actress so she likes that dramatic flair!), and I was surprised that the shade she was applying wasn't one from MAC. The brand she was using was Illamasqua and they're a UK line that just launched in the US. The line has a HUGE range of products and they include some of the most vibrant shades I've ever seen - bold, bright, neon heaven! That said, they also have an endless array of more traditional shades (no matter the shade though everything is very richly pigmented). More after the jump!

We will be announcing our holiday ($1,000) giveaway on our Facebook and Twitter Pages!

Be the first to find out how to enter to win. We will also reveal the brand sponsoring this generous giveaway on FB as well!

Check out these adorable holiday palettes from Shu Uemura!! Collaborating with acclaimed fashion designer Tsumori Chisato, shu has created a very special makeup collection called "Wish Upon a Star".  These will make perfect stocking stuffers and are will be great for traveling.  I like putting cream highlighter around the outer and inner corners of the eyes-- makes them sparkle and takes attention away from any unsightly lines. 

PLANET CAT COUTURE PALETTE

• Price : $65.00
• Available: Shu Uemera tsumori chisato limited edition planet cat couture palette

 

RADIANT RIBBON COUTURE PALETTE

• 3 Pressed eye shadows, 1 cream eyeliner, 1 cream highlighter, 2 double-ended applicators, 1 glow on
• Price: $65.00
• Available: Shu Uemera tsumori chisato limited edition radiant ribbon couture palette 

Guest blog by Renée Rouleau

Blackheads. We all have them and we all hate them.

What is a blackhead?
These are large pores that contain oil that has oxidized with the air causing it to turn black.

There have been countless products sold through the years that claimed to remove them, but nothing seems to be effective. (Remember the pore-cleansing strips that were sold years ago for blackhead removal? All they did was remove hairs on the nose.) Some estheticians will use a suction device that claims to "vacuum" them out of the pores, but all it does is cause redness and potentially damage capillaries.

What you can do?
Although there is no way to permanently get rid of blackheads, your best bet is regular monthly deep pore cleansing facials where the blackheads are manually extracted from the skin. Go to an experienced, trusted esthetician who will properly soften up the skin and gently remove them without injuring the skin. I recommend post-facial to use an Alpha Hydroxy Acid or Beta Hydroxy Acid product (try Renée Rouleau Glycolic Serum) to keep the pores cleaned out. Long term use of Retin-A can also help but it has to be used regularly and for years before you can really see a difference. Avoid the ingredients Isopropyl Myristate and Isopropyl Palmitate in your skin care products as these can contribute to the formation of blackheads.

Bottom line: Don't get fooled by anyone selling you products that claim to remove blackheads. Trust me, if there was a cure, we would all know about it and I'd be the first to bring it to you. I've been squeezing out blackheads out of my client's skin for over 20 years and my hands are getting tired!

Renee Rouleau Skin Care

When the weather goes from 78 to 35 over night, it's time to pull out my most gentle and face saving products. I save Cle de Peau's Gentle Cleansing Foam for the extreme days (hot or cold) because it really helps my skin retain moisture.  And yes, it's kind of pricey but so worth it cuz the tube lasts forever.  I love how it foams up, it's a soft and rich texture yet removes all traces of face make up (I do have to remove mascara with my Almay eye make up remover pads but that's cuz I layer so many coats). As gentle as it is, it really does some serious deep cleaning, especially around the T-zone area.

You're supposed to use a make up remover before this but I don't wear much powder or foundation so this is all I need at night.  I also use it on my T-zone in the mornings to remove that shiny greasy residue I get when I wake up each morning. 

Remember to only use a tiny drop, it's all you need to make lots of foam!  $60 at Neiman Marcus.