Monday, February 26, 2007

My Nu Brow

Last month I wrote a post about Anastasia's Nu-Brow Brow Enhancing Serum. Now that I've used it for a month, I thought it deserved another mention. Think of this as my official review.

The claim that this brow enhancing serum was clinically proven to stimulate hair growth in four to six weeks is what captured my attention the most. I figured I would see results soon, or I wouldn't see any. I was also interested to see if this potion could coax the "tail" end of my brows to grow back.

I noticed new brow growth within a couple of weeks. Twice in one week I found myself plucking a few small hairs above my regular brow line; an area I usually only need to pluck once a month. I had a sparse area on the underside of my left brow and that's now filled in.

I trim my brows and I've been doing that more often in the past month. The end of my brows have started to fill in a little more too. Not as much as I'd like, but it's a good start.

I have been tending to my brows for more than 20 years; to find a product that will help me keep what brows I still have and encourage more to grow is quite wonderful. For me, Anastasia's Nu Brow is definitely worth the $35 price tag.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Favorite Makeup Products

Everyone has a favorite makeup item they just can't live without. I realized I've got quite a few I use daily.

In no particular order, these are my favorites.

Trish McEvoy Makeup Brushes - I bought my first Trish McEvoy brush over 11 years ago. It looks almost the same as the day I bought it and I still use it everyday.

byTerry Color Skin Enhancer - It's my magic potion. When I use this, I can skip foundation and go right to powder. My complexion looks even and I look well rested (even when I'm not).

Nars Concealer - The stick formula makes it easy to apply and convenient for touch-ups. It's got a great consistency; creamy yet lightweight. Doesn't get "cake-y" if you re-apply during the day.

Giorgio Armani Silk Foundation Powder - It's a powder you can use wet or dry. I use it dry. Gives great coverage and blends nicely.

Nars Eyeshadow Duos - Season after season, you just can't beat the color combinations.

Laura Mercier Eye Definer - My friend has been raving about it for years and thought I should finally try it, so she gave it to me as a gift. Now I'm hooked. Just use a damp eyeliner brush to apply and it stays all day.

Shu Uemura Eyebrow Pencil- I've used this for over five years and wonder what I did before I found this. Stays put all day.

Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler - The latex pad truly curls, not bends like many others, even the straightest lashes.

Fresh Vital Base Mascara - I have really sensitive eyes (due to contact lenses) and this mascara allows me to have lush lashes all day without irritation.

Nars Blush - Best color assortment, great staying power. And whether you're fair or dark, there's a shade that will work for you.

MAC Blot Film - My saving grace in hot weather or a long day. A blotting paper that doesn't leave any powder behind.

I didn't list any lip products because gloss is my weakness and I couldn't possibly pick a favorite brand.

It's a long list but I can still put my "face" on in under ten minutes; seven if I skip mascara.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Eco-friendly lipstick?

Yes, you read that title right. Canadian cosmetics company Cargo just introduced a product that might find you clamoring for it alongside your hemp clothed, Birkenstock wearing, hybrid car driving neighbor.

Cargo's eco-friendly lipstick is called Plant Love Botanical Lipstick. The lipstick tube is made from polyactic acid - a corn-derived polymer that's a planet-friendly alternative to plastic (corn is a renewable and abundant resource). Sticking with the environmentally friendly premise; no mineral oils or petroleum are used in this product.

Cargo even managed to put the "green" effect on the packaging by making the box out of flower paper embedded with real flower seeds. Just moisten the carton and plant. A few months later you'll find a bouquet of wild flowers in the same spot. How fun is that?

Neither aesthetics or function were sacrificed for this product. The whimisical 1970's design is very groovy; and the lipstick tube works just as well as all your other lipsticks (you're just helping the environment with this one). It's also worth noting that Cargo is donating two dollars from the sale of every Plant Love Botanical Lipstick to St. Jude's Research Hospital.

Cargo's Plant Love Botanical Lipstick is $20 and is now available in 12 shades at select Sephora stores and sephora.com. It will be available at beauty.com in mid March.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Winter Sweater Care

Finally. My thoughts for taking care of your winter sweaters.

Just follow these few simple guidelines and you'll be able to keep your sweaters looking as good as the day you purchased them.

Read the label. "Dry Clean Only" means just that. Clothing labelled "Dry Clean" can usually be washed by hand or machine (gentle cycle). Visit The Laundress for great tips on how to wash cashmere (there's even a video).

Fold, fold, fold. Folding prevents stretching. You can hang lightweight knits on a padded or wood hanger.

Use the proper tools. If you're going to machine wash your cashmere sweaters, use a laundry detergent made specifically for cashmere (I hate to sound like a broken record, The Laundress has a Wool & Cashmere Shampoo). Your sweaters shouldn't go in the machine unless they're in a mesh laundry bag. Be sure you have a few bags so you can wash multiple items and pack them loosely. Remove unwanted pilling and fuzz by using a fabric shaver (some diva's keep a disposable razor in their closet just for this task).


Pest protection. Use lavender or cedar to prevent moths and carpet beetles from ruining your favorite sweaters. Both keep the pests away and keep your knits smelling fresh. You can make your own lavender sachet by tying up loose lavender in a piece of cheesecloth. Cedar needs to be replaced annually and shouldn't be stored with your cottons or linens (those fibers are vulnerable to the wood acids).

diva tip: I like to "air out" my sweater before putting it back in my closet. I drape it over the back of a chair overnight, then fold and put away the next day. This actually gives my sweater a chance to "bounce back" from any stretching it underwent during the day. Some pests are drawn to animal and human hair, so I run a sticky lint remover over my sweater, before I put it away, to get rid of any hair it may have picked up. That also picks up any crumbs that can attract other pests.

I hope you found that information worth the wait. Stay warm!

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Multi-tasking

Two of my best friends are logging, or should I say cramming, about eighty hours of work into their weeks. Really. They've been at this pace since the beginning of the year and it looks to continue for at least the next two months. It may not end for one of them until September.

Therefore, I am dedicating this post to them.

When you work a hectic schedule and barely have time to sleep, you certainly don't want to add extra steps to your daily grooming routine. Wouldn't it be great if there was a product that could save you time in the shower and allowed you to feel as if you've just had a mini spa treatment?

LUSH's "Buffy" is such a product. It's a moisturizing scrub bar. LUSH found a way to mix eight ingredients (cocoa butter, shea butter and ground almond to name a few) into a solid bar that allows you to exfoliate and deliver softness to your skin in one step. They even warn you on their website that it's easy to get carried away because this product feels so great (I'll warn you that if you have sensitive skin, this is probably not the product for you due to the grain size).

All you do is rub the bar in circular motions directly on any area of your body you want to exfoliate and leave soft. Buffy should be used after cleansing your body (don't think of it as a soap substitute too). Granules do stay on your skin and usually require rinsing to remove completely; I've found if I scrub before I rinse out my hair conditioner most of the grains are gone by the time I've finished rinsing my hair.

Just pat dry after using. You won't need a body lotion unless you're ultra dry. Continued use of Buffy should solve that problem.

diva tip: If you plan to keep Buffy in the shower, I highly recommend spending $5.95 on the "Body Bar Tin" to prevent it from melting away when you're not using it.

Since you probably don't have time to shop either, go to LUSH or Amazon to order.

Don't work too hard.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Denim Basics: Fit and Care

I was having dinner the other night with some girlfriends and we started talking about jeans. I ended up "holding court" when I started revealing most of what I've learned in the last three years selling premium designer denim. Finding the proper fit and how to take care of your jeans seemed to be the most interesting.

Here's the most helpful of what I know.

Fit

By far the most important factor in whether or not you should purchase. When you're ready to take the plunge, here are a few ways to make jean shopping a positive experience.

Do some research. Almost every fashion magazine writes an article once a year about the best fitting jeans. Read it and see if there's a particular brand you'd like to try. Visit a couple of stores just to see what they brands they carry.

Ask for help. Go to the salesperson you hear your friends raving about. Ask a friend you know you can trust to go shopping with you. If you notice someone wearing a pair of jeans you like, find out where they got them.

Be honest and willing to listen. When a salesperson asks you a question, it's not to judge you. They are trying to gather information to help them help you. Seriously. Tell your salesperson what you like (i.e. clean wash, trouser leg) and previous roadblocks (i.e. they tend to gap at waist and are too tight in the thigh). Then try on their suggestions. It also helps if you show them when something isn't working. A good salesperson can find other options based on how a specific brand or style fits you.


While trying on: be sure you sit down in the pair(s) you like the most for a minute or two; you'll be able to see how far they "ride down" your backside and always check what your booty looks like in a three way mirror.

Avoid these common mistakes:
Getting caught up on size. If a larger number in one brand fits better than a smaller number in four other brands, remember that the fit is what matters. Not only can size vary between different brands; size can vary in different styles within one brand. You won't know until you try it on.

Nixing a jean because it's too long. You can get your jeans shortened. And most tailors these days know how to re-attach the original hem if needed. That way you won't lose any cool distressing. Trust me, I've had up to four inches hemmed and you can't tell.

Expecting one pair of jeans to work with every shoe in your closet. If you're buying a pair you want to wear with heels, don't expect them to work with ballet flats. Instead, get a jean just to wear with your lower heeled shoes.

Care

If you want your designer denim to look brand new every time you wear them, you'll have to take them to the dry cleaner after every one or two wearings. Not in your budget? Heed the following tips and you'll be able to keep your denim looking great for a long time.


Wash inside out in cold water only. When clothes rub against each other in the washer, the abrasion can cause fading. Warm or hot water will shrink your jeans.

Use a laundry detergent made for denim. The Laundress makes a great one. A detergent made for dark laundry works too.

AVOID the dryer. Especially in stretch jeans. Drying will cause the stretch to deteriorate over time. If you put your jeans in the dryer because you want them to shrink back down, STOP. They will do this if you just let them air dry. Don't believe me? Try it with your first wash on your next new pair and see if I'm right. The dryer also causes fading.

Hope this helps in your quest for the perfect pair of jeans.

Saturday, February 03, 2007

Laundry follow up

I'm still working on the winter sweater care that I mentioned in my posting titled "Laundry". But something much more amazing, at least for me, happened that I had to write about it.

Up until three years ago I worked in a Cosmetics department. The practical side of my Taurus nature came out when dressing for work. I tended to stick to black and items that were easily washable. I'm not messy. I could go months without getting makeup on my clothes. Somehow bright lipstick only found it's way onto my white shirts.

One sunny day I decided to wear my new raspberry colored Marc by Marc Jacobs skirt to work. I managed to go almost the entire day without getting anything on it. Almost. Towards the end of the day it was slow so I was cleaning one of the makeup counters. Things were great until I noticed the bottle cap on their body oil was not on properly. So I went to fix it and guess what happened. Yup. The cap flys out of my hand as I'm trying to put it back on and manages to spit some oil on my skirt before hitting the ground.

I mean, c'mon. I spent most of the day in the Apothecary dealing with face and body products without getting a drop on my skirt. I'm at a makeup counter for five minutes, and get oil on it?

I moved soon after that and the skirt never made it to the dry cleaner. There or here. I know, I know, that was three and a half years ago. I was going to finally put the skirt in the Goodwill pile, but just couldn't do it. It is such a cute skirt and I only wore it that one time. So I decided to try and fix it. I figured if I ruined the skirt it didn't matter because I certainly hadn't worn it with the oil stain on it.


Enter The Laundress Stain Solution. I ordered it after reading the "Laundry Tips" on The Laundress website for "pit" stain removal. Well, I haven't gotten around to tackling that pile, but I did try the tips on the bottle for tough stain removal (pour directly on stain,soak and so on). When I removed my skirt from the washing machine there was no more tell tale dark spot where the oil had once lurked, but I needed to wait until the skirt was completely dry to know if the stain was actually gone. I've lived without wearing the skirt for three and a half years, what's another twenty four hours?

Let me tell you that it was the wait. I am happy to report that the skirt is now completely dry and stain free! I plan to wear it this week in hope of making up for lost time.

Thank you Gwen and Lindsey of The Laundress. You've got a customer for life.