Friday, September 10, 2010

Two Better Nail Polish Removers That Take It All Off

Maybe that bright pink polish your toes have been rockin' for the last days of summer has to go. Or maybe like one of our girlfriends, you change your nail polish at least two times a week, because you can't wait to try all the new nail shades that have just come out. Either way, you want to get rid of the old polish quickly and effortlessly.

You're tired of removers that bleed the old nail polish all over your fingers as you attempt to rub it off. Or the kind that leave you with stinky, dry, brittle nails.

We have another way.....We have found two better nail polish removers to try. And these two babies, 'take it all off.'. One is cheap, and the other is more expensive:The Stripper by Deborah Lippmann ($16, at fine dept. stores like Nordstrom's). Wonderfully lavender-scented. Finally, a nail polish remover that doesn't reek of awful chemical fumes. And The Stripper is kind and gentle to your nails. It's blended with nourishing ingredients like aloe. And it takes the old pink toe nail polish off in a flash, ladies. Cuticles are left soft and healthy.

Sephora Nails Nail Polish Remover ($4, at Sephora.com). Inexpensive, but it, too, attacks even the most stubborn nail polish and removes it quickly. Nails is made with a hydrating formula in Vitamin E and Macadamia oil. Plus, it's acetone-free, and helps to strengthen nails.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Gisele Bundchen Back On NYC Runway In Fashion's Night Out Show


Great to have Gisele Bundchen back on the runway, leading the pack at New York City's 'Fashion Night Out.' outside beautiful Lincoln Center.

Last night marked the largest public runway show in NYC history! What an evening for the fans and fashionistas. Supermodels like Naomi and Adriana joined Gisele and lots of other models for a gorgeous parade of fashion with more than 170 looks.

The 30-year-old Gisele was back in supermodel form, which usually means a very slender size 4 on top of skyscraper legs. The new mom, whose baby boy, Benjamin just turned 9 months, was elated to be back out on the runway in front of so many cheering fans.

So, who was there? Plenty of famous designers and celebrities, of course: Anna Wintour, Andre Leon Talley, Bar Refaeli, Vera Wang, Roger Federer, Leighton Meester, Diane Von Furstenberg, Karolina Kurkova, Alessandra Ambrosio, Serena Williams, Ashley Tisdale, Blake Lively, and many others in a sea of some 1,500 spectators.

The much-publicized event was staged to get folks out everywhere, to go shopping in an otherwise, lukewarm economy. Last evening's runway extravaganza was a prelude to the Second Annual Fashion's Night Out which takes place tomorrow, September 10th in NYC. More than 100 events are scheduled to show off fall's fashion trends, and to spur shopping and tourism.

Fashion’s Night Out will extend to NYC's 5 boroughs and far beyond, and include international cities like London, Paris, Milan, Moscow, Berlin, Madrid, Athens, São Paolo, New Delhi, Taipei, Tokyo and Beijing.

To learn more, click here.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Our Beauty Tip Today From Celebrity Makeup Artist Kristofer Buckle

Our Beauty Tip Today is a simple one. Powder.

We could all use a good one. And celebrity makeup artist Kristofer Buckle has the perfect loose face powder. And oh yeah.....it's a drugstore find.

Kristofer Buckle is a super makeup artist. He has worked with many A-list beauties---like Christina Aguilera. Mariah. Madonna. Blake Lively. Mary J. Blige. And the famous list goes on and on.Kristopher's favorite: Coty Airspun Face Powder in Translucent ($7.19, at local drugstores).

What's so wonderful about Coty's powder?

"It goes on incredibly evenly and easily; it's always been one of the best-textured translucent powders on the market," Kristofer Buckle tells Good Housekeeping in the Sept. 2010 issue).

And we believe him. If the powder is good enough for Christina and Mariah and all his girls, then it's a great beauty find!

Do you really need a loose face powder? Yes. It completes the steps to your makeup routine. It 'sets' your foundation. It knocks down an oily complexion and shine that can build up during the day. And it allows your skin to appear polished and flawless.

Thanks for our Beauty Tip Today, Kristofer Buckle.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Good Housekeeping Tests 90 Products For Best Anti-Aging Awards







Thank you, Good Housekeeping.
The popular women's magazine has just come out with its first (2010) annual Anti-Aging Awards. And it's a great list of beauty products that actually do what they claim they are going to do.

For instance...if you need firmer skin, a nourishing moisturizer, or an eye product that hides fine lines and wrinkles, these beauty products will target the problem. And most can be found in your drugstore aisle.

We applaud Good Housekeeping for doing all the heavy lifting, so to speak. The magazine's Best Anti-Aging Awards were featured in a segment today on Good Morning America. We learned that the project took 18 months of research and included the testing of 90 beauty products, 820 volunteers, more than 3,000 lab tests, and the tallying of 1,800+ questionnaires to find the 26 best anti-aging beauty products.

So here are just a few GH Anti-Aging winners:
1. BEST NIGHT CREAM.
There's a tie. There are 2 winners.
L'Oréal Paris Advanced RevitaLift Deep-Set Wrinkle Repair Night Creme ($20, drugstores) and Vichy LiftActiv Retinol HA Night ($42, CVS) shared top billing.
2. BEST EYE CREAM.
Olay Pro-X Eye Restoration Complex ($42, drugstores).
3. BEST ANTI-AGING SERUM.
Boots No7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum ($23, Target)
4. BEST FACIAL FIRMER.
Peter Thomas Roth Firmx Growth Factor Extreme Neuropeptide Serum ($150, Sephora).

We are just scratching the surface here. Check out the rest of Good Housekeeping's First Annual Best Anti-Aging Awards list here. The magazine details each winner and runner-up, and why these beauty products deserve an award.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Julia Roberts Really Does Exercise To Stay Fit And Sexy At 42


Julia Roberts graces the cover of September's 2010 Elle magazine. She is also featured in a wonderful photo lay-out in the fashion mag. Here are two pics from that shoot. And looking fab at 42!

How does the star of the summer hit movie, Eat, Pray, Love always look so together and svelte? And still stay that way after having 3 kids?

Seriously, we never thought that Julia Roberts did any exercise at all. We just assumed that the movie star was really pretty, naturally slender, and gifted with a tall, legs-up-to-her-neck kind of figure.

Boy, were we wrong! Julia Roberts has had the same trainer for almost 15 years now. She is celebrity favorite--Kathy Kaehler. And according to Kathy, Julia loves step aerobics and spends about 1 hour, 3-4 times a week with her, working out:

"Eat Pray Love took her all over the world but when she got back [to California] I helped her get ready for the press tour," Kathy Kaehler tells Elle. "We currently do 20 to 40 minutes of step aerobics and up to 40 minutes of body work—lunges, crunches, planks, push-ups—after.".

And Julia admits she isn't wild about exercising, but likes the strength and rewards from a work-out routine:

"Sure, there are days when she doesn't feel like stepping, but once she starts, she loves every minute and feels refreshed after," Kathy explains.

Julia Roberts admitted that she gained about 10 pounds while filming Eat, Pray, Love in Italy, but those lbs. melted away by the time she strolled the red carpet to promote the movie.

According to her trainer, she got back to eating sensibly and the good habits that go with a sound diet. "She is a great cook and uses only organic or home-grown foods for her family," Kathy Kaehler says.

So there. A little step, a good life, and some healthy organic stuff tossed in, and you get the secrets to Julia Roberts' staying fit and sexy at 42

Saturday, September 4, 2010

E.L.F. Nail Polish In Smoky Brown Hot Runway Color For Fall

Smoky brown. One of the hottest nail shades all over the Fall 2010 runways.

How can we define this color? A creamy, brownish-greige-y taupe. And e.l.f. has their own sexy, Smoky Brown nail polish. Only a dollar a bottle. As we like to say, You certainly get a bang for your buck with e.l.f.!'

Designer Marc Jacobs featured brown/greige nails at his shows. So this shade is perfect for those autumn days ahead.

If you love Chanel's Particuliere ($23), then you will adore e.l.f.'s Smoky Brown. It's almost a dead ringer for the Particuliere. Look at the photo, and you decide. And if you're on a budget, well, it's a no-brainer to us.

e.l.f. nail polish is inexpensive but the quality is there-----"color-lock formula with chip resistant shield gives long lasting nail color with high shine."

It's great to be in on the latest beauty trends, and when you can do it on the cheap and still bring home the quality, then you'd be a fool not to try e.l.f. cosmetics.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Painless Botox At Home In Cream Form Could Be Here In 2011

No-needle Botox? In cream form, right in the privacy of your own home? For real?

Yes, indeed. In fact, hopefully, sometime next year, in 2011, the amazing wrinkle smoother will be available in a topical cream called Revance.

Say goodbye to the sting of the Botox needle and hello to a simple and painless rub-in cream.

Genius, we say. Botox already enjoys a huge following. It is THE most popular cosmetic injectable. And the company that brings you Botox cosmetic, Allergan, is singing a happy tune these days. According to Allergan's Chairman, David Pyott, sales are up. "On a global basis, we estimate that Botox enjoyed 80 percent market share [during January-March] in a market that grew 15 percent year-over-year worldwide."

Meantime, Revance Therapeutics, is still working on the new topical toxin, Revance, and is very pleased with the latest phase 2 clinical trials. Check this out:

"The benefits of RT001(Revance) are clear; patients achieve meaningful aesthetic results with a simple, painless procedure" said Richard Glogau, MD, Clinical Professor of Dermatology at University of California, San Francisco and principal investigator for the study,

"The superficial muscles in the crow's feet area can be relatively difficult to inject; this treatment will allow physicians to obtain a more consistent result while maintaining patients' natural expressions".

Fredric Brandt, MD, who also participated in the study agrees, "RT001 represents a natural evolution in the treatment regimen which will appeal to a whole new segment of patients who want the cosmetic benefit but are unwilling to tolerate the discomfort and bruising caused by multiple injections".

This is quite a beauty breakthrough, ladies and gents! Revance has been shown to be very effective for those pesky crow's feet, which is welcome news by many. But if you really want to erase those deeper 'elevens', the lines between the eyebrows, and those on the forehead, Botox by needle is still the only way to go. Ouch.