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Monday, March 31, 2008

Kiehl's is doing some amazing new things and wants to tell Beauty's Spot readers all about it!

Kiehl’s Since 1851, the venerable New York-based purveyor of fine quality skin and hair care is introducing “superbly restorative” body care preparations made with fairly-traded, organic Moroccan Argan Oil and Argan Leaf Extract. Kiehl’s Superbly Restorative Preparations is a collection of efficacious, sensorial products that help to restore and maintain hydration, elasticity, and smoothness of skin and hair. The argan oil has been responsibly sourced from a fair trade women’s cooperative in Morocco.

The Targanine Cooperative:
A network of Berber women that work to preserve the Argan Forest by planting new trees and harvesting Argan nuts for its edible oil and health-enhancing, restorative properties. The precious oil serves as a source of dependable income and a means of improving their financial independence, access to healthcare, and education. The cooperatives promote literacy and training of women. The Targanine group includes cooperatives for mechanized production, crushing and extracting the Argan Oil and a center in charge of commercialization and quality control. Kiehl’s is proud that by sourcing from the cooperative, it continues the longstanding company mission of supporting communities around the world.

The precious oil is offered exclusively by the community, serving as a source of dependable income and a means of improving their financial independence, access to healthcare, and education.

Kiehl’s is pleased to initially introduce two Argan preparations to the Superbly Restorative Collection – Superbly Restorative Body Lotion and Superbly Restorative Dry Oil. The body lotion is a lightweight, readily-absorbed lotion that helps protect skin’s moisture barrier, restores tonicity, and provides a radiant, healthy-looking skin tone and texture. The multi-purpose dry oil for the face, body and hair protects and smoothes skin, while improving the appearance of skin tone and radiance. When used on hair, the emollient formula helps to smooth split ends and adds a healthy sheen to hair. Both products will also possess an added environmentally friendly benefit with bottles composed of 100% PCR (post consumer recycled) plastic.

Additional Superbly Restorative formulas are planned for introduction in the coming months.

Eminence Organic's Mandarin Grapefruit Body Butter

When Spa Physiog supplied me with Eminence's Mandarin Grapefruit Body Butter I was thankful but couldn't imagine the serendipitous gift it would provide later that day. Tonight, I got out of the shower after a long nap, which followed a long week, and a longer, loosing battle with a stomach illness, I was in dire need of some levity in my life. I applied it generously to my thighs and calves and was instantly transported to a sweeter, tropical world. If you ever wonder what it would have felt like to be an Egyptian Pharaoh bathed only in natural products derived from the land's finest fruits and vegetables, simply buy a few Eminence products from Beauty Gone Green, wait for them to arrive in your mailbox and be thankful you get the best of both worlds: richly nourishing concoctions derived from the earth for the benefit of your skin and indoor plumbing. Really, we have it made. I felt as if I was absorbing all the health benefits of eating a grapefruit but applying said nutrients and vitamins directly to my thighs. The result is skin that feels nourished and smells like absolute heaven.

Ingredients:
• Grapefruit: rich in Vitamin C, antioxidant, uplifting, stimulates and tones skin
• Mandarin: high in Vitamin C, stimulates circulation, helps clear skin impurities
• Shea Butter: High in triglycerides and fatty acids, it is an excellent emollient for skin
• Cocoa Butter: excellent emollient for skin, relieves irritation, heals skin
• Jojoba Oil: nourishing and hydrating with one of the best absorption rates
• Aloe Extract: healer, moisturizer, calms irritated skin, alleviates the effects of UV radiation

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Clarisonic Skin Care Brush: Beauty Gone Green's best kept secret!


I had a playdate today with my lovely friend Teri of Beauty Gone Green and Spa Physiog. I got to try out the Clarisonic skin care brush and I have to say that it's now one of my favorite things. (I think Oprah said something similar recently.)

There is no longer any point to washing my face with out this brush. In fact I have one on order and will be updating you periodically on its long-term effects. Three years ago when I started seeing Teri at Spa Physiog my skin had every ailment that the Clarisonic treats: rosacea, breakouts, blackheads, large pores, and fine lines. We noticed today that in three years, with regular facials, peels, and use of high quality products, my skin has totally changed. But it's far from perfect and I'm looking forward to further improvements (reduced pore size and no more blackheads!) from the Clarisonic. The brush uses sonic vibration to remove 6 times more makeup, oil and dirt, as compared to a regular facial cleansing. After using this brush for a minute and half my skin was as soft as a baby's bum and it absorbed product like an actual sea sponge. With all the money women spend on product, we might as well be getting the maximum benefit available and that's not possible until after using this brush. I wouldn't have really believed that unless I tried it today but it's true. All the moisturizer, cleanser, toner, and masques could be doing a lot more for me if I just let the Clairsonic remove the junk that's in the way first. It reminds me of a metaphor I once heard. If I try to paint a new painting on an old canvas, the old paint will always eventually bleed through. The Clarisonic makes a new canvas out of every face. Mine was glowing and healthy all day.


AND Beauty Gone Green has a batch of pink Clarisonics to benefit breast cancer research (just in time for Mother's Day)! The cost is $195 but like the sonic care tooth brush, it comes with two brushes for use by multiple family members. (Apparently the Clarisonic is brilliant for clearing up skin and shaving problems for men too!) Beauty Gone Green also sells the individual replacement brush heads for sensitive and normal skin, Which means you can add a brush for each newly luminescent family member;) Click on the picture below to order one and Teri will throw in one nii-kii's divine lip balms for free!

Exclusive Contest for Beauty's Spot Readers! Win YonKa's Skincare for Men!

It has come to my attention lately that I have some serious difficulties communicating with men. (My apologies to the kind young gentleman who was unfortunate enough to be the medium through which I learned this lesson.) So I have decided to make the best of it and make the first Beauty's Spot contest an exclusive opportunity for good communication with, and good skin care for, the male readers! Here is how it works:
  • The contest starts today (March 29) and will end 30 days from now (April 28).

  • Whoever posts the most comments on Beauty's Spot in those 30 days will receive a care package full of samples courtesy of BeautyGoneGreen.com (with daily use, each bottle lasts about two weeks). The care package will include the majority of products in Yonka's AMAZING skin care line for men! And I will throw in one full sized Yonka for Men product.

  • The winner gets to write his own blog entry reviewing the Yonka Products! (We'll call this our first Beast's Spot entry in honor of Beauty Spot's first male reader, Mr. John C.)

  • Ladies, I'll count your comments too if you have a man in your life who you'd like to gift the prizes to.
I will post weekly reminders about the contest, featuring the YonKa male model (otherwise known as the official Hunk of Burnin' Love). He is French and a former construction worker who was scooped from the construction site in an act of providence to become the face of Yonka's line for men. Thanks to BeautyGoneGreen for their generosity!

Friday, March 28, 2008

Web tour: Bonus tour for a brilliant week!

A Mom in Red High Heels discovers the best new shoe website with heels.com

Talking Makeup shows off Victoria Secret's new scent, Isle of Pink.

Makeup Bag's Teen Corner report on the family vacation to The Hills.

Beauty 411 prays for perfect hair and get results with Clairol's Perfect 10.

The Daily Cookie shows off Fergie's new look for MAC.

The Jet Set Girls found (in Corning NY of all places) the be all and end all of in spa saunas at Skana's Spa which features Native American based spa treatments.

Pampered and Primed up becomes Casual Lavish!

Budget Beauty Love speads the love with the secrets on designer makeup outlets!

Lilan from The Daily Cookie has found a new love in MAC Heatherette!

Mischo Beauty shares her best tips on how to prepare for a bikini wax and what to expect!

Jennifer and Christine from Beauty in Real Life are having a giveaway! Click here to take you there!

May has declared National toss your makeup month. What is your tossing habits? Check out Casual Lavish and give your thoughts.

The Beauty of Life finally figures out how to banish undereye circles for good! Check out her two miracle products!

Dealing with those pesky ingrown hairs with Daily Dose of Coffee.

Joy from Makeup Junkie gives us the scoop on does a mini review of last year's releases!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Jason Pure, Natural, and Organic: Satin Shower Body Wash

I have a dirty little beauty secret. I use Jason's Organics Satin Shower Body Wash on my face. Not all the time. Not if I have something like YonKa's Gel Nettoyant on the bathroom counter but some days I need to go back to basics, and when the basics are pure, organic, and orgasmic - in a purely ole factory, rose water, sort of way -well it's a mirthful little secret that my basics are this good. Currently I'm using the Citrus Satin Shower Body Wash. According to their website this product is “Foamy and luxurious, rich in natural oils. Emollients and humectants are combined to make your bathing experience a new pleasure. Use this lavishly fragranced, precious bubbling potion for your bath. Refreshing Citrus, relaxing Chamomile, rich natural Apricot Oil and Vitamin E are concentrated into a formula of unequaled quality." And every one of their words are true. Some may whine and moan that it's more expensive than normal body wash ($11 for 30 oz) but there are no laurel sulfates in any Jason products and they're organic so they won't give me cancer. (I'm willing to pay for that) Also, all of their Satin Shower Body Washes are concentrated, so one 30 oz container usually lasts 2 to 3 months. Once when I was out of face wash I thought, "I put this exceptional (I might go so far as to say even, Olympian) product on my body every day. The scent makes me incredibly happy (if the Citrus is highly enjoyable the Rose Water is virtually hedonistic), it's organic - I bet it would be just fine on my face." And it is. I think the wizardry of this product is that it is as mellowing and moisturizing as a face wash but cleverly packaged as a body wash. And don't we all deserve the downy, tender, softening, texture of a face wash all over our bodies?



As a side note, I have seen their labs and they are very serious about the quality of their ingredients. It just so happens that on a morning walk around smashbox studios during LA Fashion Week, I stumbled upon the company headquarters of the very products I have been using for years. Below are some pictures from outside their Culver City HQ







Total Beauty features Beauty's Spot!

The Beauty's Spot post on YonKa's Creme 11 is a featured Beauty Blog on the Blogs We Heart page!

Makes my whole day!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Web Tour: I just love these bloggers!

A Mom in Red High Heels: Empowering Moms Through Beauty and Style.
A Mom in Red High Heels begins her Monday Motivation column with a "Dump the Stress" how-to (and FYI Tammy is brilliant with all kinds of advice;)

Talking Makeup: The Obsession of Makeup. Talking makeup interviews my favorite new designer Alexis LaMontagna.

Makeup Bag: For the Beauty Obsessed.
Makeup Bag's Erika Valente makes summer look extremely hot by introducing Estee Lauder's 2008 Bronze Goddess

Beauty Interviews: We LOVE Marta Walsh!
Beauty Interviews editor Marta Walsh interviews Karen Sinclair Drake, the creator of Sophyto a new organic/natural skincare line coming to us from the U.K.!

The Jet Set Girls live out our absolute biggest fantasy, a facial with kate Sommerville.

Beauty 411: Get Savvy. Get Gorgeous. Get on with your life.
Beauty 411 reviews MAC's Beauty Powder Blush and Mineralize SPF 15.

The Daily Cookie: Bringing you morsels about anything and everything.
The Daily Cookie brings you MAC's Heatherette Collection.

Fifty CentHead : A Beauty Blog.
Fifty Cent Head gives you Laura Mercer's summer scent. (March 19 posting).

Budget Beauty Love: Finding the Best Beauty Buys on a Budget.
Budget Beauty Love offers us a chance to win Wet-n-Wild i-sparkle eye shadow!

The Beauty of Life: A blog dedicated to all things beauty.
The Beauty of Life reviews the Warm Milk and Honey Massage at Glow.

Pampered and Primped Up.
Pampered and primped up: Turquoise Glaze for St. Patty's day. Very cute.

Steeping Beauty: Beauty to the Tea
Steeping Beauty has free goods from Victoria Secret.

Exhale Massage: I have a new favorite!

One of the best things about being in love with beauty products is getting to meet other people who find themselves oddly compelled to make or obsess about beauty products. One day while sitting in my lovely friend Teri's little slice of heaven known as Spa Physiog, a small attractive dark haired woman popped her head in the door and introduced herself, as Monique. Soon she told me how she used to have a normal job but eventually found herself obsessed, even called, to do massage and make her own products. (She is currently compiling the most brilliant collection of massage products, soaps, and lip balms and has promised to let Beauty’s Spot readers be the first to know when her line nii-kii is on the market)This is the kind of creative preoccupation that fascinates me. Monique finds herself up all hours of the night inventing new lip balm recipes like mad a French chef, unable to rest until perfection is reached. Indeed her lip balm is the most perfect lip balm I have ever tried and now, unbelievably, I have a new favorite: her massages. They are heavenly. For days afterwards I could only ponder the question, "Why are massages not an essential element on the list of human self care rituals? Massages like this need to be right up at the top with flossing and teeth brushing.”

Monique's exhale massage is deep and therapeutic. She is a petite woman and I worried (completely unnecessarily) that she wouldn’t be able to muster the strength I usually require from a good massage therapist. Luckily for me her unexpected strength could manipulate the muscles of a heavy weight prize fighter as if they belonged to a cherubic toddler. She used only her own products which are packed with aromatheraputic scents, but not greasy. I swear no grease. I went out with friends to Chinese later that night and I in no way resembled the greasy mess that usually leaves a massage therapist's office. Slowly but surely she kneaded away the tension in every single one of my body parts. I had so many favorite moments in this massage it is difficult to list them all. When she used her forearm to manually distance all the muscles which grab onto my spine (mostly out of habit and desperation) she physically reminded me what relaxation felt like. At this moment, I knew she was my new massage therapist. I have to admit during the last ten minutes of the massage I am not sure what happened, I went to that strange lovely place before sleep and after consciousness. Very few people have ever allowed me the love and care to reach that space in the prescence of another human being. Monique is gifted and I only hope you all get to experience her gifts. (and she is right next to Spa Physiog!)

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Yonka Creme 11 from BeautyGoneGreen.com


A few weeks ago I began using Yonka's Creme 11 after obtaining it from my favorite skincare guilty pleasure website, Beauty Gone Green. Now I can't live with out it. I have used every moisturizer from Clarins to Origins but nothing has changed my skin like this moisturizer. If your skin is prone to redness or sensitive in anyway this is the product that will transform it into glowing, moist, healthy skin. I just ran out of my starter supply two days ago and I can already tell my skin is thirsty, dry, and demanding that I incorporate this product into my daily routine. Most Yonka products produce an affect such that even a woman who has used only dial soap and no moisturizer her entire life can suddenly have skin reminiscent of wealthy French women who are born knowing coveted skincare secrets and who look no older than 30 on their 50th birthdays. Creme 11 counts an anti-depressant, St John's Wort, as an ingredient so it's no surprise that my face jumps for joy with every application. Other interesting ingredients include:

Matricaria Extract, Arnica Montana Flower Extract, Yarrow Extract, Horse Chestnut Extract, Whick Hazel Extract, Horsetail Extract, Saint Johns Wart Extract, Balm Mint Leaf Extract, Gentian Extract, Sage Leaf Extract, Marshmallow Root Extract, Sunflower Seed Oil, and Soybean Oil.

Friday, March 21, 2008

The LA Times features Beauty's Spot!


Listen Up! There’s a new tech-savvy breed of the media now welcome to venture past the runway. They’re beauty bloggers, and they have a lot to say:
http://talkingmakeup.com/: “I got to test O-Glow Intuitive Cheek Color by Smashbox during L.A. Fashion Week, and once again, I’m in love. This blush is clear gel that turns to a perfect light pinkish, most natural blush. We add Smashbox Cosmetics to Talking Makeup’s most favorite makeup lines list.”
http://amominredhighheels.com/: “Led by Gregory Arlt of MAC Cosmetics, the makeup for the Kelly Nishimoto show was romance through and through. the models were made up beautifully with ultra-dewy goddess skin, blushing cheeks and lips that ‘look like she just ate the most delicious blackberries.’ So pretty!”
http://thejetsetgirls.com/: “One of our personal highlights of L.A. Fashion Week was getting to meet Davis Factor, one of the founders of Smashbox Cosmetics, who was instrumental in bringing Fashion Week to L.A. five years ago (the shows are held at Smashbox Studios). He’s such a force in the industry, we know that when he’s excited about something, it has to be big!”
Bloggers getting more respect in fashion world
Hundreds are speaking their mind on the latest beauty buys.
BY SYLVIA MASUDA
Los Angeles Daily News
Blasts of hair spray cloud the air. Hair dryers roar. Makeup artists dab, brush and paint on to models' stone-still faces. It's hot, it's crammed, and it smells like flowers and chemicals.
Backstage, among the artists and models at Smashbox Studios in Culver City during L.A. Fashion Week, members of the press snap photos and scribble notes.
But some are not from magazines or newspapers. They are a new, tech-smart breed of the media now welcome to venture past the runway.
They're beauty bloggers.
Anyone, from a bona fide fashion mag editor to a makeup-counter junkie, can speak her mind on the latest beauty buys through a Web blog. And hundreds of them do.
"Bloggers have had a huge impact on the beauty industry," said Kristen Nelson Thibeault, vice president of business development for Total Beauty. "As the new voice in beauty, bloggers speak from the experience of the everyday woman, and women are responding to that in a very positive way."
Total Beauty, a comprehensive user-friendly library of product reviews and how-to tips, flew in several of the most popular beauty bloggers from all over the country last week to report at L.A. Fashion Week.
Laurie Costanza has been posting her opinions and beauty anecdotes on her blog, Beauty's Spot, since August. Just six months after she launched, she found herself on a plane from her home in North Carolina to sunny L.A.
"If there is one thing I have discovered in all of this, it is that women love to talk about their favorite products and get the inside scoop on other women's favorites," Costanza said.
Big-name beauty businesses now split their time between working with magazine editors and bloggers.
Erika Valente, beauty editor of the Makeup Bag blog, receives a "good amount" of samples, she said. But she's not scooping up the freebies just for the sake of it. It's a serious commitment for which she works hard: For more than a year, Valente has been posting regularly on Makeup Bag, sometimes twice a day. Lately, makeupbag.net has been pulling in 185,000 hits monthly.


Thanks to Sylvia Masud, the LA Times, the LA Newspaper Group, totalbeauty.com, Erika Valente and all the other totalbeauty.com bloggers!

Kiehl's Open Road Contest: More chances to win free stuff!

New York apothecary launches interactive online communicty contest to connect the extended kiehls' family. And Offers a Chance to Win a Full Year of Kiehl’s Products

Hit The Open Road with Kiehl’s : A note from Kiehl's to Beauty's Spot readers.

Kiehl’s has launched the interactive contest and community, “Kiehl’s Open Road ,” at http://www.playtheopenroad.com/.

From March 21 through May 15, friends of Kiehl’s can add themselves to our interactive map and then invite their friends and family to do the same. We’ll track each player’s active links as they build their connections, and at the end of the program, the player with the most connections on the map will receive one full year’s supply of Kiehl’s products.

There will only be one ultimate prize during the contest, but all “Kiehl’s Open Road” players will be able to experience Kiehl’s products – players can request samples of Kiehl’s new Ultra Facial Cleanser, and every week through May 15, 10 players chosen at random will receive full sized Ultra Facial Celanser.

Kiehl's was founded as an old-world apothecary in New York's East Village neighborhood. Its unique, extensive background represents a blend of cosmetic, pharmaceutical, herbal, and medicinal knowledge developed and passed on through the generations. In addition to Kiehl's freestanding stores, Kiehl's products are available at Kiehls.com, by mail order at 1-800-KIEHLS-1 as well as through select specialty retailers.

Jurlique Citrus Hand Lotion


Recently a friend gave me Jurlique's Citrus Hand Cream. I have tried it a few times on my hands and thought it was an excellent moisturizer and that the citrus smell complimented the thick creamy lotion nicely. But I didn't fall in love with it until this morning when I found myself inexplicably out of body lotion. By "out" I mean there are two full containers of lotion under the sink but they are my "break glass in case of emergency" back-ups. These back-up supplies still exist in plentiful amounts only because I do not use them unless I am absolutely desperate. They are full of chemicals and laurel sulfates that make me cringe when I have to put them on my skin. Call me a skincare snob but generally I like my products as chemical free as possible and this morning of all mornings, I need some extra lovin'. I have had the stomach virus from hell since Friday and after what my body has been through there is no way I'm applying white chemical paste under the guise of "reasonably priced drug store lotion" to my already defeated body. So I dug through the beauty-product grab bag otherwise known as my purse and came up with Jurlique's Citrus Hand Cream. "Perfect!" I thought. When my friend gave it to me she mentioned that all the ingredients are grown on a bio-dynamic farm in Australia. I knew this was exactly when my body needed. So I massaged it in from my collar bone to my ankles and it made me incredibly happy. I smell like the freshly cut oranges I used to eat on time-outs during lacrosse games in high school and my skin feels completely pampered and nurtured. Since this hand lotion did such incredible things to my skin this morning I decided to do some research on Jurlique. The back of the hand lotion tube says "A rich protective hand cream in the living energy of tangerine, mandarin, and lemon to deeply moisturise and restore smoothness, leaving hands (and in my case the entire epidermis) feeling soft and supple." The "in the living energy" phrase caught my attention to so I went to their website to see what this company is all about. I discovered that Jurlique shares my beauty philosophy almost exactly and the husband and wife team behind the label have been working since 1985 to bring everything from essential oils, to face wash, baby care, and hair care to others who want effective beauty-enhancing products that avoid the use of harsh chemicals. Jurlique ingredients come from two company owned farms encompassing 165 acres in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia. This is where the roses, lavenders, and bio-dynamically sustainable products that eventually become my morning lotion grow and you can order their products online.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Sissy Toes

My little sister turned six and a half today. Half birthdays are a very big deal in my family and we mark every trip I take to D.C. with a sisters' mani-pedi (the lay term for this ritual is, I believe, "sissy toes"). I don't know how this tradition started but now it's tradition and apparently you don't mess with that.

This particular weekend, I am only here for about twenty-four hours so I thought I'd skip our usual trip to the nail salon. Since it's just us sisters, it takes her away from the rest of the family and I thought I'd be considerate and just hang with the whole crew this time. So when I, still very sleepy and in Chapel Hill, called my step-mother this morning at 8:30 am and she said all four girls in the family (including me and the birthday girl) had mani/pedi-ies at 2 pm, I was surprised. Apparently "sissy toes" is catching on and happens now whether I plan it or not. And really isn't it more fun when everyone you love goes to the salon together? As my sister said tonight during reading time "I'm smushed on all sides by people who love me!"

My sister loves sissy toes. When it started a few years ago she would pick my colors for me and I would adoringly wear bright blue and green nails for weeks afterwards just because she picked them. She has stopped picking my colors but the girl, at 6 and a HALF, knows her way around a nail salon and I think that's a good thing. I opted out of my usual deep red today and went for a light pink. I miss my usual color already but there is something summery about Essie's "It's in the bag" pink that I like. As for my sister's evolving style, see the picture below :)

Warren Tricomi on Melrose: Hair Heaven on Earth



On the most incredible (and incredibly busy) day of my trip to LA Fashion week I miraculously fit in a blow out at Warren Tricomi. It has taken me a week to recover from this surreal experience. I was previously unaware my hair could look so picturesque. I will be unable to fully describe how fetching my hair looked when they were through with it. Essentially, you must go to Warren Tricomi to really understand the transformations they invoke from otherwise average hair. It is beyond my powers of comprehension that I got my hair done at one of the world's superior salons. I still find myself looking at their website in awe. At some point after my hair was finished, they left the little salon on Melrose Avenue and headed to Culver City to do the hair for Maggie Barry’s show at Fashion Week. Here is a video of Erika Valente from Makeup bag and Marta Walsh from Beauty Interviews interviewing the Warren Tricomi team backstage before the show.

So just to make this clear (and attempt to make myself believe that this actually happened) I’ll repeat: before they did the hair for all the models at the Maggie Barry show, they did my hair. (Sometimes life just is too good to be true.) Daniel Martinez, my stylist, has been doing hair for 10 years and he didn't bat an eyelash at the curly, untreated mane I presented to him. He used Warren Tricomi Blow Dry Lotion and Warren Tricomi Workforce #9 to transform my unruly mop into a beautiful, full, straight-haired work of art.

A friend of mine says there are two kinds of people in the world, pasture ponies and thoroughbreds. Pasture ponies are easily managed. You throw them in a field with a bail of hay and voila: healthy and happy ponies. Thoroughbreds on the other hand, need constant attention from a variety of trained professionals: veterinarians, stable hands, horseshoe fitters, groomers, and trainers. What I am trying to say is, I am more the thoroughbred type - it takes a lot to keep me on the beam. Warren Tricomi is the ideal salon for a thoroughbred like me. (See Erika Valente's posting on their eyebrow expertise.) They are talented enough to transform any head of hair that walks through the door. Daniel was wholly undaunted by my unruly mane. So much so that I briefly considered returning to big city life just so I could encounter stylists like him more often. They welcome hair like mine, confidently knowing they are qualified enough to handle it. In fact he turned my hair into a stunning series of deep brown waves rather quickly, putting every other stylist I have visited to shame. Daniel's assistant, Nicole Pascal (pictured below) shampoo-ed and washed my hair with precision and acute attention to detail. Not one hair follicle escaped repeated massaging, lathering and rinsing. (The deep scalp massage after the shampoo was also heavenly.) Then she and Daniel worked on my hair simultaneously, attentively completeing what seemed to be the most efficient blow out I have ever seen.

A lot has been said about Warren Tricomi because it is well, the best. My experience does nothing but confirm every good thing that has been said. A word to the wise, if you are lucky enough to visit this haven on Melrose, be prepared to see some famous faces. It certainly took me by surprise. So much so, that I spent the next hour in a mild state of shock, driving around LA, lost and flustered (but looking incredibly chic), due to an encounter with one of my favorite celebrities.


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WebTour: La Fashion Week

This webtour highlights posts by other beauty blogger's from LA Fashion Week. The totalbeauty.com meet up at fashion week was an absolute blast and there have been lots of great posts about it.

A Mom in Red High Heels: Empowering Moms Through Beauty and Style.
A Mom in Red High Heels cover the backstage makeup at Kelly Nishimoto.

Talking Makeup: The Obsession of Makeup.
Talking makeup interviews designer Joseph Domingo and covers his Fall/Winter 2008 show from LA.

Makeup Bag: For the Beauty Obsessed.
Makeup Bag's Erika Valente covers the totalbeauty.com gatherings at LA Fashion week. (and lots of other great backstage pictures!)

Beauty Interviews: We LOVE Marta Walsh!
Beauty Interviews editor Marta Walsh interviews Bobbi Brown!

The Jet Set Girls
The Jet Set Girls teach us all how to dress like a Pussycat Doll from their show at LA Fashion Week.

Beauty 411: Get Savvy. Get Gorgeous. Get on with your life.
Beauty 411 reviews Creme de la Mer and The Eye Concentrate.

The Daily Cookie: Bringing you morsels about anything and everything.
The Daily Cookie brings you Bobbi Brown's Nude Collection.

Fifty CentHead : A Beauty Blog.
Fifty Cent Head gives you Chanel's answer for aging skin (March 11 posting).

Budget Beauty Love: Finding the Best Beauty Buys on a Budget.
Budget Beauty Love has a CONTEST to win a bag full of her favorite products!

The Beauty of Life: A blog dedicated to all things beauty.
The Beauty of Life brings you Lancome's Master Techniques Event.

Pampered and Primped Up.
Pampered and primped up: Organic. Chocolate. Bath. Enough said.

Steeping Beauty: Beauty to the Tea
Steeping Beauty loves her minerals (with Kabuki brush) too!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Alexis LaMontagna Interview at LA Fashion Week

Alexis LaMontagna was absolutely my favorite part of Fashion week and she is so adorable. Here she is explaining her fashion week debut.





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Lori Taylor's Makeup for Nicky Hilton

Lori Taylor was everywhere at LA Fashion week. Here she is explaining the makeup for Nicky Beauty Interviews and Talking Makeup.




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Nicky Hilton's Nicholai: Hair by GHD



Here is a video of Marta from Beauty Interviews interviewing the lead hair stylist from GHD for Nicholai.


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Video from Falguni and Shane Peacock




The makeup for Falguni and Shane Peacock was stunning.

Here is the lead artist explaining the look for the show.






Here is the show closing.





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Bow and Arrow with Makeup by Lori Taylor

Bow and Arrow just showed their collection at LA Fashion Week and everyone was raving afterwards. Elegant. French. Detailed. Beautiful. Classic. The girls were made up as a combination of '80s Brooke Shields and Brigitte Bardot and Lori Taylor's makeup was the icing on the cake. Here she is describing her makeup for this show.


The girls were stunning and the clothes were beautiful. Delicate articulate pieces of art that alluded to a beautiful French spy.


Here is the show closing.




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Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Backstage at Nicky Hilton's Nicholai - LA Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2008


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Some shots from the hair/makeup tent at Nicky Hilton's Nicholai. The Nicholai girl's look was equestrian, after a long day of horseback riding.

Below is Marta Walsh of Talking Makeup interviewing Lori Taylor. Isn't she the cutest thing you have ever seen?


Falguni and Shane Peacock's US Debut at LA Fashion Week

The absolutely adorable and accommodating PR folks for this design duo went to the trouble of putting together the information below for us. So I thought I'd put it to good use and post it. (Also my brain is dead from all shows, interviews, and unexpected encounters with the likes of Lauren Conrad and Jenna Jameson):


"The Fall/Winter 2008 Falguni and Shane Peacock's collection will be an anthology of glamorous and feminine dresses with a couture charm perfect to any red carpet event. These neoclassical draped gowns; shift dresses and kaftans dresses are finished with hand detailing of luxe diamante encrustations wile feathers are employed as decorative details in shades of tea berry, burnt ochre, green moss and pewter." "The design duo of Falguni and Shane Peacock has garnered international attention as a mainstay of India Fashion Week and are known for their ultra-feminine and glamorous designs worldwide. Focusing on dresses that are dreamy, youthful, and dramatic and have a strong sense of style"




The shots above are from the hair and makeup stations backstage.



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