Recently in Beauty Tips Category

I went to a party at the Chateau Marmont for Tiffany & Co. hosted by Vogue last week. There were a ton of very fabulous people, like Melissa here. I pretty much accosted her so that I can take a picture of her chic and casual loose braids pulled into a ponytail. This is the absolute most perfect style for the summer and require very little effort. Let your hair take a break for the summer by retiring the blow dryer for 3 months. Just shampoo, conditioner and let it air dry. You can use a shining cream or gloss to smooth out the ends. Melissa did 2 very loose French braids on both sides and pulled it into a ponytail wrapped with her own hair for a polished look. Perfection!

I keep a bottle of Natura Bisse Rosa Mosqueta oil in my "must have" skincare kit for skin emergencies. There have been so many times that it literally saved my family's skin. Sunburns on the beach? Rosa Mosqueta oil heals it!  Wind burn from skiing?  A few drops of the oil and skin instantly calms.  I even applied Rosa Mosqueta oil to my toddler's face under his sunscreen before letting him out in the snow and it kept his skin from chapping or burning last winter in Vail!

Last week I had a horrible reaction to a few products I tested for review. The Sensai Hydrachange mask helped the first day but it got worse throughout the week. I remembered my Rosa Mosqueta oil and used it exclusively for 3 days. No eye cream, moisturizer or any other products. Just the Rosa Mosqueta and a few days later, my skin was completely healed. It also kept it moisturized while healing.

It is made of the purest ingredient of Rosa Mosqueta oil (25% of the intensive regenerating oil)-- which has been used for centuries in South America for helping heal scars and enhance skin condition.  I actually thought my skin would scar last week, that's how bad it was.  But this morning, looking in the mirror-- my skin is as velvety as ever.  You can buy this at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Barneys New York but I could not find it online.  Try it and let me know what you think!   It is $52 and will last you at least a year, you don't need a lot!  A few tiny drops will go a long way!  Jump for additional benefits of this miracle oil! 

I am having severe anxiety as I write this. My four year old son is having surgery this week and I have not been able to sleep! It's a very minor procedure but still, any procedure to a mother is MAJOR! I've been trying to find ways to relax and have discovered a perfect at home "therapy".  Put a few drops of "Drops of Nature" in a sinkful of hot water, soak a hand towel in it, squeeze excess water out and wrap around your neck and shoulders.  Instant relaxation for tense shoulders and neck!!!  I love the scent of "Renew", a blend of wonderful oils including peppermint, bergamot, sweet orange, lavender and almond oil.   It also makes a perfect bath oil!  The elixir is meant to be carried in your bag so if you're in a stinking cab or stressed out at the office; you can pull it out and apply on pulse points.  It's also that time of the month for me and I've been rubbing this on my lower abdomen, does not take the cramps away but does make me more relaxed.  $25 at Drops of Nature.

Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day is a line of eco-friendly cleaning products that you're likely to be familiar with if you're a regular at Whole Foods, Home Depot, Walbaum's, Target or any number of other outlets that prominently stock the line (which by the way has pretty much the cutest packaging as far as cleaning products go!). I never realized that Mrs. Meyer is actually a real person though, but in fact she is! Mrs. Thelma Meyer is an Iowa mother of nine, and her daughter named the company after her to honor her old fashioned values and useful cleaning tips - gotta love the mommy-love:) Now in addition to the line of products, she's wrote a book, that launched just this month called Mrs. Meyer's Clean Home: No-Nonsense Advice That Will Inspire You to Clean Like the Dickens. As you can imagine the book is super-fun, quirky, and full of little anecdotes! Best of all the book has some great beauty-related tips some of which you can check-out after the jump!

Like everyone else these days, I'm trying to pare down on my monthly incidentals: taking the subway in lieu of a taxi; stretching my pedicures an extra week; waiting for sales instead of buying full price. Of course there are certain things I wouldn't dare scrimp on, and up until last week I thought bikini waxing was one of them.

Years ago I accompanied a girlfriend to a health food store (I need to stock up on my favorite granola) and noticed a pot of something that looked a lot like honey in her basket. In response to my quizzical expression, she told me that she "sugared" (a hair removal technique that's like waxing except a sugar-based substance is used instead of wax) and that once you got that hang of grooming your own bikini area, you wouldn't dream of spending money to have someone else do it.

Flash forward a decade. Shobha, my favorite place for eyebrow threading (again, one of the many things I refuse to go without) just introduced a sugaring kit and, recalling my college friend's advice, I had to give it a try. AT $30 a pop, it wasn't too much to spend on an experiment in economizing. At home I heated up the sugaring gel in the microwave, put my husband in charge of the kids, locked my bedroom door, laid my biggest bath sheet on the bed, and followed the instructions. After dusting my nether-regions with the enclosed talc-free powder, I tried to mimic an aesthetician's deliberate, quick movements, but it took a few tries to figure out the right technique. (Hint: you really do have to pull the fabric strip in the opposite direction that the hair grows.) Once I did, however, it was smooth sailing, and I liked the fact that I was in complete control of the perimeters of my bikini line. No more, "Can you just take a little more from here?" or post-wax "oh-my-goodness-she-left-nothing" shock. The best part? I'm going to save so much on bikini waxes that I can keep splurging on another indulgence--sports massage anyone?--I figured I'd have to write off for the time being.

Shobha Sugaring kit-- $30 at Shobha boutique online.

Below is the second and final installment of 2008 Snob Trends!

11. Healthy Candles: Who knew that candles could be a health hazard? The folks at Lavanila thankfully! This year candle lovers could breath easy knowing that they weren't inhaling the chemicals contained in many traditional paraffin candles -- which release toxins and soot that cause damage comparable to second-hand smoking -- thanks to Lavanila's Healthy Candle .

12. Pricey Skin Care: At $400 for 6.7 oz Kanebo's Sensai Premier Body Cream is pricier than La Mer, so obviously this peaked everyone's interest! Haven't tried it for myself, but judging by the quality of the Kanebo products that I have tried, I imagine that it's simply divine..ahhhh:)

13. Diffusers: Everywhere I go --bedrooms, bathrooms, restaurants, boutiques -- they're all over! This year we couldn't get enough of diffusers! Sweet Grass Farm, Verikira, Thymes, and Moments Waterbead Diffusers by Upper Canada Soap take the cake as the best!

14. Neon Polish: The limited edition Essie Neon collection hit this summer and it was all the rage -- and come on, what screams fun in the sun like fluorescent nails!

15. Beauty with a side of Humor: Tongue-and-cheek packaging was all over the place this year. Who ruled over them all? Soap & Glory! The line comes courtesy of the same lady who founded Bliss and it's inspired by tabloid-style journalism!

More after The Jump!

Sure there has been some bad and there definitely has been some ugly, but overall when it comes to beauty trends, 2008 was a smashing success! Check-out the first half of our Snob Trends of 2008!

1. Women Secretly Swear by their Clarisonic: I am OBSESSED with the Clarisonic! It is THE beauty product of 2008. It will clear your skin, make your pores smaller, and leave your face as soft as a baby's bum! Hands down worth every single penny it will cost you.

2. Mascara Wars: It was the battle between Lancome Oscillation, Estee Lauder's Turbo Lash, Givenchy's Phenomen 'Eyes Mascara , and SpinLash's Rotating Wand. In my book, it's Givenchy all the way!

3. Michelle Obama: Head-to-toe, the world was obsessed with every piece of Mrs. Obama!

4. Gadget Madness: Ladies went gaga for technology this year with everything from Zeno's Pro Acne Clearing Device, which uses heat to kill pimples, to Clean & Clear's Blackhead Eraserwhich uses a vibrating motion and foaming pad to exfoliate dead surface skin and remove dirt and oil.

5. Crimson Lips: For when you feel like making a statement -- just don't forget to brush your hair or risk looking like a Courtney Cox-esque train wreck! Plus, loving this trend is the perfect excuse to indulge in Kanebo's Crimson Red shade, Ginza, which is made with 24kt-gold-infused silk!

More after The Jump!

Many of my readers tease me for my fickleness towards make up.  I constantly change my foundation, eyeliners, shadows, lipglosses, etc.  Yes, partly because I am an obsessive shopper and like buying new things but the real reason I update my make up the way I update my wardrobe is because it is the key to staying young!

There is nothing worse than becoming a caricature of what you looked like at 20 years old when you are now 30 or 40 (look at me 10 years ago, thankfully I grew out of my Spice girl thing and good thing the girls themselves have, too!).  You know who I'm talking about, women stuck in a time warp with 80's big hair (I am not poking fun, I had my share of purple Aqua net in the '80s!), 60's thick make up or shaggy 70's hair-- yikes!  So, play around with new make up and freshen up your look as often as you freshen up your clothes to avoid being stuck in a time warp!  The rule of thumb with aging is, the older you are, the less make up you should wear.  For example, heavy foundations will collect in your lines and will accentuate your wrinkles!  Our skin becomes 10% drier each decade and to combat that, choose a good tinted moisturizer with reflective particles to make your skin glow!

Have your golden locks taken on a green tint from too much time in the pool? Neutralize the green color caused by chlorine by dabbing a bit of red wine into your hair (serious!) You can also use it before entering the pool as a preventative measure. Use before shampoo for best results. Drink the rest of the wine, don't waste.

Mix 1/4 cup mouthwash with 1 cup of water. Apply it to your scalp for a tingly good cleanse (it removes build up on scalp without stripping it of its natural oils). Do not rinse! Use after shampoo.