Archive for August, 2011

I put salt on pretty much everything, so you can imagine how delighted I was when I heard about the Dead Sea Salt products from Ahava.  I get to combine my love of salt with my love of beauty products!  It’s like a win-win on every level.  I tried two out of the three products (I didn’t try the Natural Dead Sea Body Mud because I was afraid that it would be too messy, but I think I’m going to have to remedy that soon because now I really want to).

The first product that I tried was the Liquid Dead Sea Salt.  It’s a body wash that you can easily squeeze onto a loofah, which is my personal favorite way to use a liquid in the shower because then you can really lather it up.  It smells sort of fresh and salty, a little bit like the ocean (which makes sense).  It’s made with an extremely high concentration of Dead Sea minerals (32%), so it’s fantastic for your body, which is the reason I was so interested to try it.  (more…)

Jake Stein is a young designer (only 21 years old!), entrepreneur and full time student. Born and raised in South Florida, attending Parsons New School for Design in Manhattan, living in Brooklyn, Stein spends his time nurturing his young company, boyNYC, and loving his tiny Chihuahua Teddy. Vegetarian, animal lover and fashionisto with an eye for the pretty things in life, Jake is young but does it right. (more…)

Besides nail polish, my other obsession lately has been eyeliner.  Neutral shades, bold shades… I’m loving them all.  I recently picked up a few of tarte‘s new SmolderEYES  Amazonian Clay Waterproof Liners and they’re a great addition to my liner stash.  (Which is rapidly growing at a pace I should probably slow down a little…)  What I like about the liners is that they’re thicker than regular eyeliners, they’re almost like shadow pencils, so it’s really easy to use them on your lids to get a nice smoky eye going.  (I’m also all about the smoky eye at the moment). 

I tried four different shades – Navy, Olive, Golden Black and Fig – and they all had the same great color payoff and creamy consistency.  These aren’t the kind of eyeliners that are going to drag across your lids or be scratchy, they’re very soft to the touch, which makes them super easy to blend once they’re on.  They also conveniently come with a smudger tip at the other end of the pencil, so once you apply the liner, you can easily just flip it around and smudge it up.  (I normally get about 30-45 seconds or so before the color sets and becomes hard to smudge).  You can wear them alone or layer eyeshadow over them, but I found that for a simple, quick smoky eye (one that’s more daytime appropriate) just the liner was enough since it lasted all day.  I was totally happy with all four shades, but I think if I had to pick a favorite, it would be Golden Black.  It’s just a gorgeous dark black with a gold shimmer to it.  So pretty!

We think she’s pretty … without any makeup on ...

Well, this weekend I saw Katy Perry in concert, courtesy of Proactiv, and she had a LOT of makeup on. But I still left the show with three things on my mind: the lyrics to “California Gurls” (unavoidable), Katy’s Snow White complexion and her lust-worthy sequin mary janes. (more…)

We’ve been lucky here in L.A. recently and even though it’s been hot (and I’ve definitely turned my air conditioner on a lot) we’re still not suffering the way the rest of the country has been.  (I mean, I really feel for you people in Dallas.  107 degrees is no joke!)  I’ve also recently gotten back into my gym routine after a long stretch of months off that started with a sprained ankle and ended with me being lazy and spending too much time on the couch.  Going straight from work to the gym means that I have to take off my makeup first though, since I was scarred for life a few years ago when I forgot to do it and ran a few miles on the treadmill, only to get back in my car and look in the mirror and see long trails of mascara down both my cheeks.  I sort of looked like an extra in a horror movie, so now I always, ALWAYS take off my makeup before I hit the gym.  Lately, I’ve been using LUSH’s Breath of Fresh Air to do that.  It’s a toner that comes in two different sizes and the 3.3 ounce bottle is perfect to throw in your gym bag.  It also has a convenient spray nozzle, but rather than spray it right on my face, I spritz it onto a cotton pad and then use that to make sure I get all my makeup off.  (Although I don’t use it on my eyes – I use eye makeup remover for that because toners aren’t meant for the eye area).

Breath of Fresh Air smells amazing – it sort of smells like a strong sea breeze with a hint of eucalyptus.  The scent almost immediately relaxes me every time I put it on.  There’s just something about it that takes you out of the moment and lets you pretend that you’re sitting on a tropical beach with a drink in your hand.  The toner itself is great.  I have sensitive skin and it’s not harsh or irritating, but it still manages to get rid of any dirt, makeup or oil on my face while leaving my skin soft and smooth.  It’s my new pre-gym must-have!

I’m so enamored with OPI‘s new fall Touring America collection because it’s my dream right now to just pack up, take a few weeks off work, and head out for a long road trip to see the country.  (Of course, I’d like to do this while also staying in 4 star hotels at night and eating at nice restaurants along the way, so I don’t know that my idea of a road trip exactly corresponds to what other people like to do on them, but I’m fine with that).  Touring America has twelve new shades in it and they’re a really fun mix of lights and darks, brights and jewel tones – just enough variety to keep things interesting.  The whole collection is great, but (of course) I have some favorites.  (more…)

Reminiscent of our Grandmother’s vintage treasures, we can’t get enough of these subtle stud earrings from Kevia.  The 22k gold vermeil pearl earrings are set in breathtaking lace bezel. At a mere $30, these are perfect for bridesmaid gifts or as always, that great gift for you just because you deserve it.

I have to say, almost every fall collection I’ve tried so far has kind of blown me out of the water, so I’m looking forward to autumn even more than usual this year so I can finally start wearing all the gorgeous shades.  (Well, to be honest, I’m wearing some of them already because I’m not made of stone, but I’m still looking forward to when they’ll be more weather appropriate because it’s way too hot here in L.A. to pull off fall colors at the moment).  Recently I got the chance to try a few of the new products from Chanel’s Fall 2011 collection, Illusions D’Ombres de Chanel, and I am so head over heels for them.  It really was love at first sight.  (more…)

A few weeks ago I went to a Coach preview to check out their new Chelsea Collection.  As a gift, the brand let us pick our favorite piece from the collection- which I am sure you can imagine was a tough decision. Along with other lucky bloggers, I paraded in front of the mirror trying on bags of all shapes colors and sizes.  I was in the market for an easy summer bag and kept gravitating back to the Classic Leather Flap in my favorite color of the moment- Parchment- with warm gold accents and an adjustable strap.  Despite encouragement to go for something different, I decided to stay true to my classic roots and go for a staple that I’ll use summer after summer. For days when I’m “on-the-go”, I just throw it on cross body.  The bag is deceptively roomy and fits everything I would need for a day out.  And in the easiest day-to-night transformation ever- simply double up the strap and you’ve got a chic shoulder bag to go with any evening ensemble.  See more of the outfit at my style blog The Hsu Closet!