Archive for December, 2009

You always know who’s the hostess with the mostess – usually because you love being a guest at their soirees! This gift guide has six items that they’ll love this holiday; plus, it’ll help guarantee some invites coming your way in the upcoming year! (more…)

One of my favorite things about the holiday season at Sephora is the sampler sets that they come out with every year.  They always contain a generous selection of products in a wide variety of shades that let me try out brands and shades that I might not ordinarily think to buy or test out.  (They also make great gifts for any of your friends or relatives who don’t shop at Sephora a lot.  I know all my younger cousins would be thrilled to unwrap any of them). This year, the offerings include sets of fragrance samples, body products, and (of course!) a few with different makeup samples, which are always the ones that I gravitate towards.  Here are two of my favorites: (more…)

Know a girl who always makes a stop anytime she’s near a Sephora to check out the latest beauty products on the shelves? She’s definitely a beauty junkie – and proud of it! We put together a list of a few favorites for this holiday season that she’s sure to love. (more…)

Givenchy’s Holiday 2009 collection is built around the delicacy and refinement of pearls.  It’s all about softer colors, with an iridescent eye and lip that make you look like you’re glowing.  (Perfect for parties!)  I’m really loving the look – it’s very ethereal and shimmery, with a heavy emphasis on pale pinks and silver shades. (more…)

Multi-tasking has seemingly become a part of everyday life. While I’m exercising, I’m also listening to my iPod. When I’m “watching TV”, I’m also on my computer. Even while I’m “doing work”, I often streaming Pandora… and have my TV on at the same time! In all seriousness, trying to juggle grad school, an internship, freelance jobs, and my social life can get quite hectic, and I’ve learned that impeccably planning my schedule and maximizing my time is KEY to checking off my to-do list. Many women struggle with balancing their personal and professional lives, but leave it to leave it to Suzanne Cats, founder of (the country’s first eye, lash, and brow beauty spa), to solve our beauty problems and create LuxLash BeautyLab, the destination for multi-tasked beauty services!

Between manicures, pedicures, hair care, spray tanning, and eyelash and brow care, us women spend a lot of time taking care of ourselves. LuxLash BeautyLab can help you with that, by taking beauty treatments that would normally take eight hours to complete and condensing them into three. Your foils set while your manicure, pedicure, and eyelash extensions are being applied. Additional services include body glow treatments, custom facials, and hand massages. (more…)

In my adolescent suburban upbringing, there were pretty much only 4 stores I frequented at the mall: Express, GAP, Abercrombie, and the Limited.  When I look at my clothes back home, these are the only labels in my closet. The whole Abercrombie phase was useful this year when I could reclaim the dozens of plaid shirts I bought circa 1999 and 2000.  Fond memories, I still remembered when I got carded for buying the racy Bruce Weber shot Abercrombie quarterly–who knew you had to be 18?

Since moving past adolescence, I’ve moved on past most of these labels style-wise; apart from some sporadic forays.  All of the above mentioned stores had some representation in NY, except for the Limited.  It wasn’t until I was invited to the Limited’s Pop Up Store in Soho, that I discovered that this wasn’t the Limited I remembered from 1998.  Revamped and updated, gone were the slightly boxy fit workwear and endless horiztonal striped sweters I remembered from my youth, but new, tailored and fitted workwear with polished, chic jewelry, and a purveyor of one of my favorite Winter accessories, the Infinity scarf. (more…)

Celebrity hairstylist Jessica Tingley is the head stylist of the new Serge Normant salon in Los Angeles and new spokesperson for Aveeno. Her natural approach to everyday beauty is a hit with her clients, which include Heidi Klum, Mandy Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Kate Bosworth – all who have gorgeous tresses. Check out her latest obsessions below!  (more…)

Beta carotene and organic fruits and vegetables; sounds healthy, right? While healthy eats and taking our vitamins and minerals are important for our health and well-being, they’re also important to maintain our oh-so-healthy glow, good looks, and outward appearance. Combine these ingredients with dead sea minerals, and you’ve got Yes To Carrots, a natural and affordable line of hair and skin products. (more…)

My latest love is Laura Mercier’s Petite Eye Palette–it has eyeshadows that are the perfect shade, and size, for any gal. The compact itself is small enough to slip into your clutch for touch-ups during a night out, complete with a mirror. There are 2 palettes with different eyeshadows, Warm and Cool. The Warm palette has the perfect warm tones that complement my brown eyes: Sandstone, Stellar, Bamboo, and Truffle. The Cool palette, pictured above, contains the Morning Dew, Rose, African Violet, and Twilight Grey shades, which are ideal as cool tones. You can choose the palette that’s right for your skin tone or eye color. Then just blend the shadows together for a great smoky eye look, or wear individually during the day.

Wouldn’t these make the cutest stocking-stuffers? This palette is part of the Laura Mercier holiday collection. Check out the rest at lauramercier.com!

Know someone who’s always on the go? This gift guide is chock full of suggestions perfect for them! Any frequent traveler will appreciate the gift on their next trip – and then on at least dozen more after that. (more…)