Archive for October, 2011

As much as I love walking into a store and picking up beauty products, there’s something so fun about making them up yourself and customizing them exactly how you’d like them.  That’s the vision behind the new Truth Art Beauty brand from creators Caron Proschan and Emily Graham.  The two women were Harvard Business School classmates and share the belief that beauty products should be like food – natural, unprocessed, fresh and seasonal.  Making products this way is not only healthier, but it allows for better results because the maximum concentration of antioxidants and nutrients can be delivered to skin cells. (more…)

About four months ago, I had the honor of dogsitting an adorable white English bulldog. Life changes when you have a dog (even temporarily)—you start to plan your lunch breaks and work quitting times around the dog’s schedule.  You can be persuaded to be dragged out of bed at 6 am when you hear puppy whining and scratching at the door. But apart from the adorableness, the other part of your life that changes is the smell of your apartment.

Puppies emit a kind of wet smell and I noticed it permeating throughout my small 3 bedroom after a few days. It’s not exactly a horrible scent, but you never want someone entering to think your apartment reeks of eau de animal. To combat the smell, I tried a few things: Febreeze, perfume, opening windows but nothing seemed to work, except for certain diffusers and candles. This worked out well since one of my roommates is a secret pyro anyway. My favorite 3 scents to de-dogify my apartment:

1.  Thymes Candles are some of my favorite because the scents are beautiful, without being too strong or cloying. I have a sensitive sense of smell, so even sitting next to an overly arduous cologne sprayer on the 6 train can make me nauseous.  Thymes’s newest scent, Bergamot Vert, was my favorite combatant to doggy smell. As you can tell from the name, Bergamot Vert is a citrus-based scent with lingering scents of jasmine, red currant, and white musk.  It’s zesty and fresh–like inhaling a bowl of fresh lemons. I imagine George Clooney’s villa in Capri smells much like this candle. Bergamot Vert also is available as a body wash, bar soap, hand lotion, and bubble bath. (more…)

My new favorite look is gold eyes paired with a bold red lip.  It’s just classic and festive and all around pretty.  Dior’s new Couture Golds 5 Couleurs Couture Colour Eyeshadow Palette is an easy way to get yourself familiar with gold shadow and play around with different looks.  The palette has five different shades in it – a dark sparkly brown, a light beige, a shimmery vanilla, a bronze, and a glittery gold in the middle.  The shades are soft and blend easily and they all go together really well, so you can use them in different combos.  I really like the dark brown as a liner because it’s not an overwhelming glitter, it’s just a nice, understated sparkle.  It’s always fun to have a neutral palette that can be used at night too, and Dior’s shadows are some of the best out there.  I can’t wait to see the rest of their Holiday 2011 collection!

Target is one of my favorite weekend destinations (sad, I know…) so whenever they add to their greatness, I’m always excited.  They’ve just introduced a new line of face and body products called NIP + FAB and so far, I’m loving the three products I got a chance to preview.  The line was created by Maria Hatzistefanis to fill a gap that she saw in the marketplace for a serious, affordable mass-market range of products for both men and women and has already been a smashing success in the UK.  There are nineteen products in the line and out of those, I was able to try the Dry Leg Fix, the Eye Fix and the Scrub Fix.  (more…)

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How much do I love Stila’s new Dream in Full Color Palette?  So much!  It’s a HUGE palette in a design that was inspired by the shape of a dreamcatcher and the colorful burst of a kaleidoscope and it just looks so pretty.  It has a crazy big selection of eye shadows in it – a total of 29 different colors ranging from neutrals to bold greens and blues.  Basically, once you have this, there aren’t too many eye looks you couldn’t create with it.  Along the outside of the palette, there are seven different cheek colors as well to go with the shadows.  I’m very happy about this because blushes are the makeup product I least like spending money on, so to have so many new ones in one place is fabulous.  The palette also comes with a Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Stingray, a deep black.  (If you haven’t tried their Smudge Sticks, you need to.  They’re great). 

Plus, in the box, you’ll also get a 12 page lookbook to help you create tons of fabulous looks yourself – great if you’re someone who likes to follow instructions or benefits from a visual aid.  At $39, the palette would also make a great gift (maybe a Secret Santa present for a friend at work?)  Or you could just do what I’ve been doing with most of the holiday makeup so far, keep it for yourself.  (I know, I know, I have so much already.  But it’s all so pretty.  I can’t help myself!)

I was honored to be chosen by legendary costume jeweler Miriam Haskell to be one of two bloggers they partnered with for the launch of their new collection with Decades. Along with Brooklynite Lucy Laucht,  I was tasked to interpret the collection’s Uptown/Downtown vibe.  If you’ve followed my style blog The Hsu Closet, it shouldn’t be difficult to guess that I was chosen to play the Uptown role and spent the day yesterday capturing some of my favorite haunts north of 57th St.

I captured the quintessential early morning Park Avenue shot, an essential part of an uptown wardrobe, and a very uniquely uptown treat, and of course, the uptown gal’s drink of choice. The day culminated at the Lisa Perry store where Miriam’s new collection was presented alongside a wonderfully curated selection from Decades.

Miriam Haskell and Decades also popped up a downtown shop at Soho House, featuring a distinctly downtown selection of clothes and accessories.  Both stores are a must visit- not just to admire the jewelery collection but also to find some seriously amazing vintage and like-new clothing.  The only downer of the day was finding a pair of dream Jimmy Choos, one size too small.

If you would like to visit the pop-up shops (and you definitely should), RSVP to the Soho House or Uptown at Lisa Perry by emailing rsvp@dtwo1.com. Follow Miriam Haskell on Twitter and Facebook for more up to date info!

It officially started feeling like the holiday season was within reach on my last trip to the mall when I saw the display of all of Bobbi Brown‘s new holiday palettes.  I adore Bobbi’s holiday offerings every year and this one is no exception.  I was lucky enough to get to play around with three of the palettes and it’s all out Bobbi love from me.  (more…)

Jewelry designer Rosena Sammi is our go-to gal when it comes to modern Indian-inspired artisan jewelry. Sammi launched her eponymous line of jewelry of global-chic pieces in 2006. Ever since, her jewelry has become known for pairing glamorous Indian design elements with a modern aesthetic; her fans include notable celebs such as Jessica Alba and Naomi Watts. Rosena has stunning taste…so we were so thrilled to find out what’s she’s currently obsessing over. (We love every item on her list!)

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