Leave Ryder Alone!

I was browsing through my email today when a message from Shecky's caught my eye: "Dress Your Age: Top Ten Style Mistakes." Hmm, this could be good. (Do you get Shecky's emails? They host beauty & shopping events in NYC from time to time, and they're usually fun.)Imagine my surprise when I saw innocent little Ryder Robinson, Kate Hudson's son, listed under "Inappropriate Hair!""...the worst

Self-Tanner Review Series: ModelCo Body Meringue

First off, is Body Meringue not an awesome name for a product? Love it!

This cutely-named pink can is one of the latest in ModelCo's stable of excellent self-tanning products (remember my experience with Tan in a Can? Awesome tan, but the shower looked like a scene straight out of Psycho!).

Body Meringue is a triple threat: it provides an instant, shimmery bronze glow, delivers a light faux tan

The Pampered Mama: An Homage to Mother

Kristen's note: I hope you all enjoy this special post from the Pampered Mama, whose own Mama was taken from us nearly 7 years ago in the September 11 attacks. I still miss her honesty, her no BS attitude, and her general matter-of-factness!And for the record, the Pampered Mama does make her proud, every single day.Here's to you, Eileen.----------------------------------------So folks, I have

All my life I've been waiting for someone and when I find her, she's... she's a fish*

I'm conflicted, friends. And I'm not talking about the 2008 election, my next major bag purchase, or even what I'll have for dinner tonight.I'm conflicted about body splashes/sprays/mists/spritzes...whatever you want to call them. (And just to be clear: I'm not talking about the Marc Jacobs splashes. At $65 a pop, they don't really qualify under this category!)You see, I want to be serious about

Betty Beauty is Coming to a Drugstore Near You...

...and they're advertising in the subways!I snapped this photo with my Blackberry in an NYC subway station earlier this week. Interesting tactic. How long before it gets scrawled on by teenage boys? I have a feeling the graffiti will be quite hilarious.

Impulse Buying Strikes Again at Bath & Body Works

Sigh. So, as soon as I got my beauty mojo back, my computer up and BROKE. Like, blue-screen-of-death-broken. It's up and running today so, one more time, with feeling...I'm back!Over the weekend I popped into a Bath & Body Works to pick up a fresh tube of one of my new self-tanner obsessions, Glow & Steady from the True Blue Spa line. And then a display of Lilliputian bottles with blue orbs

The Great Mascara Tutorial Experiment

OK, OK. I know I promised to be back in business yesterday, but my brain was STILL in vacation mode, friends! I had plenty of blog material lying around but no inspiration, and you deserve better than a regurgitated press release, so I waited for the creative juices to start flowing again. And waited. And waited.Then this morning in the shower, POOF! The ideas finally came back. First, a story I

I'm Back!

I've returned from vacation, my lovelies, and am finding it SO difficult to get back into the daily grind. Every 10 minutes I find myself daydreaming of Montreal...the gorgeous weather, incredible food, excellent wine...such a beautiful city. Like Paris, without the dreaded Euro/Dollar conversion (although the US dollar isn't doing so hot in Canada these days, either).I want to go back!I've

New From PureOlogy: Zero Sulfate Dandruff Scalp Cure

Luxury haircare brand PureOlogy recently launched a dandruff line, so if you suffer from flakes and desire something a little more posh than Head & Shoulders, you're in luck.I have samples of the new DandruffScalpCure sitting here in front of me, but I haven't used them -- no need to slather my head in Pyrithicone Zinc (the anti-dandruff ingredient) if I don't have dandruff to begin with, right?

Green Tea With Honey...In a Body Cream

OK, here's a little Inside the Blogger's Studio for you: when companies send me products for consideration, I have all the packages sent to my parents' house, since with work and travel I am rarely at home to sign for them myself. Hence, my dad's VP of Logistics title.I go over there every few days to pick up the boxes and root through the new goodies. I do this with my mom, who is just as much a

Revisiting Kenzo Ryoko

Last month I told you about the latest crop of Kenzo Ryoko Nomad sprays, my favorite little travel companions.Well, I've gotten my hands on one in Amour, and I think what I said earlier bears repeating: if you like Kenzo fragrances, these are a must-have.This year's packaging is the sleekest to date -- two years ago the little pebbles were muted and matte (which I liked), while last year they

Lava Rocks: MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator

I must be the last blogger on earth to be talking about the MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator -- it launched a while back along with the Solar Field and Future Earth collections.The reason I hadn't tried it yet? Well, when they say Volcanic Ash, they're not joking. This stuff is black, gritty and goopy. And my living room, where I first opened the package, has quite a bit of white in it, including an

Beauty on the Road: Judging a Hotel by Its Bath Goodies

What's the first thing you do when you walk into a hotel room? For me, it's flipping the bathroom light switch and scouting out the miniature toiletries.Most hotel chains have been upgrading their amenities in recent years, so chances are you'll find some name brand or designer goodies in your bathroom. (I don't know about you, but getting in there and discovering generic "hotel brand" or private

Self-Tanner Review Series: Bath & Body Works Glow and Steady

After my recent disappointment with a (now discontinued) Bath & Body Works gradual tanner, I was hesitant to try another. But reader LMM recommended Glow and Steady from the True Blue Spa line, so off I went to my local Bath & Body Works.I'll tell you right off the bat: Glow and Steady earns immediate HG status because it packs a secret weapon ingredient that's not often found in self-tanners...

Beauty Products Rise From the Dead with Three Custom Color Specialists

Last month's Beauty Graveyard post has turned into one of Beauty Addict's most popular posts ever, with dozens of you lamenting the loss of favorite lipsticks, shadows, scents, and body products.Reader Critty (check out her site here) mentioned that she'd found an old MAC duochrome eyeshadow that she was sending off to Three Custom Color Specialists for duplication...and this sparked the interest

The Chronicles of No-nia: Week 7

A few weeks ago I introduced you to the no!no!, the hair removal gadget that promises professional-grade results...over time. This is week 7 of an 8-week review and testing period.This week's installment will be brief, considering that by the time you read this I'll be in Montreal, hopefully sitting outside and enjoying some delicious wine.I will tell you this: unless I end up forgetting to pack

Antiperspirant is Totally a Scented Body Product, Right?

OK...this post has high potential for being one of the most cheesetastic I've ever written. Why? Because it's about about deodorant.But since my fabric softener post was so well-received, I figured you wouldn't think I was totally nuts if I posted about another seemingly mundane topic -- my latest antiperspirant obsession.First off, let's all admit that we secretly uncap all the new goodies in

Beauty Addict Weekly Rewind, 7/7 - 7/13

I'm off on vacation this week, my lovelies! I'll be spending the week in Stowe, VT and Montreal. I won't be able to respond to comments or emails, but regular posting will continue (THANK YOU Blogger for finally introducing a Scheduled Post feature!). Now, onto the recap of last week's posts:I've finally found a cheap, good-smelling, effective shaving cream that I actually like! Find out what

Weekend Reads

Break out your Debbie Gibson cassettes! It's 80s Ladies Week at Beauty Blogging Junkie and Spoiled Pretty.If I had to pick a celebrity I'd want to be friends with, it would totally be Ivanka Trump. Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog takes us inside her makeup bag and her closet!The Derm Blog fills us in on Evolence, a newly-approved injectable wrinkle filler.Clumps of Mascara shows us how to rock a

Kat Von D for Sephora: Brushed With Silver, Rosy Greatness

When it comes to makeup brushes, I have three criteria: I like them to be soft, I like them to be well-shaped, and I like them to be pretty.This is why my brush collection consists of Smashbox brushes with their bright, shiny red handles, and oodles of silver and gold handled MAC holiday brushes.If you're looking to add to your own collection, I submit for your consideration these lovely brushes

The Workhorse Eyeshadow

I've been trying to work MAC Copperplate into a post for some time now. Hmmm...unsung heroes? Underappreciated beauty products that get no love? Nah. I think it deserves a post of its very own.Copperplate is one of my all time favorite shadows. It was part of the Matte2 collection, and boy am I glad those colors joined the permanent roster, because I've just hit pan on mine.Copperplate is

Provocative Beauty: Self-Tanning for Sci-Fi Addicts

Last summer I visited my dear friend Rachel in Prague and she took me on quite the tanning adventure! I was supposed to post my account of it shortly thereafter, but I came home and promptly broke my wrist (remember that?) putting an end to any hopes of coherent writing.Anyhow, better late than never: Provocative Beauty (Pro-B) is a custom tanning solution developed by a group of Prague-based

Retouch My Body

For those of you who are fed up with Mariah Carey's (and other celebs') ever-present Photoshoppy-ness, you will LOVE this parody of "Touch My Body" by drag queen extraordinaire Jackie Beat. Seriously, it features some of the best parody lyrics ever written. Enjoy!UPDATE: Lyrics added by reader request! See the lyrics for "Retouch My Body" after the jump.Jackie Beat, still young and sweet!Oh yeah,

New Collection: NARS Fall 2008

NARS' Fall 2008 collection is all about "intrigue and sophistication." That's nice and all, but I'm just glad they didn't use Lydia Hearst for the promo shots this time.Click the image to blow it up and see close-ups of all the new shades. The standout this season is the much-anticipated Dolce Vita blush. Now that NARS has exhausted the possibilities for Orgasm (blush, lip gloss, Multiple, nail

New Collection: Lancome Maharani Jewels

Lancôme’s Fall color collection, Maharani Jewels, pays homage to India, where the beauty brand opened last year.Now, I'm trying to write something coherent here, but all I can really say is...OMG ELEPHANT COMPACT. And NEW JUICY TUBES PACKAGING. Need I say more? The Poudre Elephant Teint is a limited edition bronzer with an embossed elephant. I want it, but I don't think I'd ever use it, for fear

The Elusive Holy Grail of SPF Lip Glosses Rides Again

Longtime readers will know about my undying obsession with a certain Lancome lipgloss not available in the US. Lancome Soleil Icy Tubes Ultra Shiny Cooling Lip Gloss with SPF 15 has been my ultimate Holy Grail SPF lip product for years now. No matter what else I try, I always come back to this. It smells like a ripe peach, is as shiny as your favorite Juicy Tube, and provides broad spectrum

Elle August 2008: Mariah Carey

Yes! I am so happy to see Mariah looking more like her Rainbow-album-cover, happy, smiling, colorful self these days. This is far, far better than the soft-focus Mariah cartoon that popped up on the cover of April's Allure.Sure, it's a little Photoshoppy -- all Mariah images are, it's like a prerequisite by now -- but she looks terrific. Pretty makeup, great smile, cute dress, slammin' body.Check

Weekly Steals & Deals

*UPDATED with more deals from Beautyhabit, Benefit, Clinique and Lancome!*Happy shopping! Remember, all the brand names in Steals & Deals are clickable (bold pink type) and will take you either to the website or the offer itself.Beautyhabit: With a $75 purchase, score a 5 piece deluxe sampler and free US standard shipping. Sample pack includes goodies from MD Skincare, Ligne St. Barth, Saffron

Doogie Howser for Old Spice

I'm obsessed with this commercial for Old Spice antiperspirant featuring everyone's favorite child prodigy doc, Doogie Howser! Seriously, love Neil Patrick Harris, especially his bizarro role in Harold & Kumar.Check it out below. It's not totally off topic, right? Antiperspirant is totally a beauty product.

Four New Ways to Get Your Cashmere Mist Fix

I've mentioned before that Cashmere Mist fans can be totally rabid, sometimes even more so than Angel or Red Door fans. They hoard, they stockpile, they pledge their total allegiance to Cashmere Mist and will wear nothing else. In my last post I dubbed them the Cashmere Mafia. My friend K was one of them; in college she kept backup bottles of it stashed all over her dorm room.Well, if you count

ColorOn Now Available at Sephora

A couple of weeks ago I showed you ColorOn, the pre-loaded, oval-shaped eyeshadow appliques that you stick on your lids and peel off to reveal a "done" eye. Most of you were as dubious as I was, with 77% of you saying you weren't interested.Well, their EyeEnvy collection has just launched at Sephora, and it's worse than I thought. Besides the obvious problem of the appliques not really being

Dear Suave, I Was Wrong. Love, Beauty Addict

A few months ago I had some rather evil things to say about Suave Exhale Calming Body Wash in Lavender Vanilla. Consider this:"...claims to turn your shower into a "calming sanctuary." Please! The only thing that turns my bathroom into a calming sanctuary is a glass of wine and Miles Davis on the iPod. Anyhow, this body wash laughably claims to have the "same fragrance appeal as Bath & Body Works

New Collection: MAC New View

OK! This is New View, the final of MAC's latest crop of collections. All these baked powders are making me crave, I don't know, baked goods! Anyhow, meet the new Mineralize Skinfinish Duos. Half is flat, half is shimmer, for any combination of matte and dewy looks.These are available right now on the MAC site! The shades:Light Medium Pale golden beige/Warm yellow beigeMedium Soft creamy beige/

New Collection: MAC Sonic Chic

Nine Mineralize blushes make their debut in the MAC Sonic Chic collection, available now. These baked blushes are sheer, with a pearly, shimmery finish. I think I might be all blushed out coming off the Beauty Powder Blush launch a few months ago, but these are really pretty...so I might not mind expanding the blush collection just a bit. The shades:Dainty Light yellow pink with gold pearl (

New Collection: MAC Electroflash

The new MAC collections are starting to roll in! Electro Flash, Sonic Chic and New View are up on the website, but as of now they're all listed as "Coming Soon" -- can't buy 'em just yet. The official launch date for all three is July 10. and are now available for purchase! Yay!So...Electroflash! If you like Mineralize Eye Shadows, you're in luck; just take a look at the nine shades above (click

Beauty Addict Weekly Rewind, 6/30 - 7/6

Hope all my US readers had a great long weekend and did something fun for the 4th! I was just happy to get a few days off to unplug, relax, and sleep late. Now, on to the rewind!Hair in need of a little pick-me-up? Try CLEAN Shampoo Fresh Hair Fragrance. My frustrations with the no!no! reach fever pitch in Week 5 of the Chronicles of No-nia. A gradual tanner from Bath & Body Works, which may

How To Take a Great Driver's License Photo

Is this not the most ingenious marketing idea ever? All week, starting tomorrow morning at 7:30, Physician's Formula makeup artists will be stationed outside the DMV at 300 West 34th St (btwn 8th & 9th), offering complimentary makeovers to get you prepped for your license photo. AND they're giving away free makeup!If you live in NYC and your license is anywhere close to expiring, head on down

The Chronicles of No-nia: Week 6

A few weeks ago I introduced you to the no!no!, the hair removal gadget that promises professional-grade results...over time. This is week 5 of an 8-week review and testing period.Last week, the no!no! and I were on a break. I was mad at it. I publicly shamed it. I yelled at it in CAPS on my blog for thousands of people to read. We needed some time apart.Plus, I was away most of the week for the

Face Serums Are Not For the Impatient

Reviewing facial serums always makes me a little uneasy. They aren't like, say, a nail polish, where you can see the results immediately and decide if you like it or not. Excepting the ones that have a short term brightening or exfoliating effect, most serums are intended to have anti-aging or age prevention benefits that wouldn't really be noticeable in the short term. And for someone like me

The Evolution of the Shave

You know how I feel about shaving products, girls. Drugstore shaving creams get all over the shower, smell artificial, and leave rust rings on my tub. Luxe products like Whish cost way too much for what they do, and I just don't have time for the whole shaving brush routine. It's another Goldilocks-type situation, friends. So, I usually just use a bath oil, shaving oil, or shower gel.But using up

Missoni Solid Perfume Charm Necklace

Readers who were with me during the craze of the 2007 holiday season know of my consuming obsession with solid perfumes. The format just lends itself so well to irresistible little compacts and trinkets, I find myself drooling over them no matter how frivolous.But when solid perfumes start to appear in pendant form, things start to get a little murky. These tend to pop up around the holidays, and

Home Fragrance That's Just Right

When it comes to home fragrance, I feel like Goldilocks. Reed diffusers are pretty, but tend to have poor throw. Room sprays don't last and need to be re-sprayed frequently...too much effort for me. Candles are nice, but require monitoring; I'm always worried about falling asleep or leaving the house without blowing them out. Where's my "just right?"It would seem that some kind of safe, automatic

New Collection: Yves Saint Laurent Lights of Africa

Yves Saint Laurent's summer collection, The Lights of Africa, is an earthy, bronzy color story in the same vein as Clarins Summer Fever and MAC Neo Sci-Fi. Frankly, I'm just surprised that the YSL collection doesn't include a bright pop of color like the others; teal, orange and fuchsia are practically de rigueur this season.The marquee item in this collection is the Soleil D'Afrique Collector

Cheap Thrill: Vaseline Cocoa Butter Vitalizing Gel Body Oil

Now that it costs $65+ to fill my gas tank, I find myself avoiding Sephora and Neiman and perusing the aisles of my local CVS or Walgreens instead. (That's not to say I don't still enjoy a nice jar of CDLM or a new Serge Lutens, but I'm trying to keep the impulse purchases on the cheap side.)Thus, my latest obsession is Vaseline Cocoa Butter Vitalizing Gel Body Oil. The formulation is similar to

Love It or Leave It: June 2008

I mentioned in the June newsletter that I'd be launching a new monthly feature in which I'd lay out all the best and worst products reviewed that month. I had intended on listing EVERYTHING I'd posted about, but that turned out to be a bit unwieldy, so I decided to focus on the ones I loved or hated the most. So, here are the 10 best, and 5 worst, products of June 2008. (If you want to see

Pale at the Beach? MAC To The Rescue

This is what happens when you trust a self-tanner to do its job and it doesn't deliver. FAIL!The pale didn't look so bad in artificial light but when I got out into the sun it was revealed in all its pallid glory. As you can see, my skin is nearly blue. I'm all for the Nicole Kidman/Marcia Cross pale look, but my skin has never had the "porcelain" quality of theirs, so...no thanks.Shortly after

Vanity Fair July 2008: Angelina Jolie

I haven't been posting magazine covers lately, mostly because they've been so boring and monotonous (if I see one more smokey eyed, nude-lippie-wearing, sideswept hair Allure cover, I'll spit).But Angelina Jolie on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair? Positively stunning. This woman is the definition of BOMBSHELL.Grab yourself some black liquid liner and a tube of Lancome PS Kiss on eBay (or

Self Tanner Review Series: Bath & Body Works 24/7 Radiant Moisture

For starters: This particular review is for a now-discontinued product, but I believe it has been reborn with a different scent and packaging. The original product was housed in a green tube and was part of the Breathe Energy line; there were also corresponding gradual tanning lotions in the other Breathe scents (Romance, Happiness).It appears that these have morphed into Bath & Body Works