Weekend Reads

Happy weekend, friends! I came across this week and just had to share. Whether you've had 100 bikini waxes or are dreading your first, you'll identify with this poor girl's pain. Loving the combination of uncontrollable giggles and shrieky outbursts a la Steve Carell in The 40 Year Old Virgin. Watch the whole thing; the commentary at the end is wickedly funny.

What are you up to this weekend?

Five for Friday: Fragrances from the Depths of the Beauty Closet...

I was cleaning out my perfume cabinet a couple of weeks ago, and while I found some REALLY old relics that were just destined for the trash (i.e., an ancient bottle of Fiorucci from junior year of college), I did rediscover some old favorites that had somehow fallen by the wayside. Below, check out the lucky scents that have made their way back into the rotation. What old favorite beauty

Beauty Hotsheet: Mary J. Blige Fragrance Launch, L'Oreal on YouTube, More

A little beauty news for your Friday morning...
Mary J. Blige is launching her first fragrance, My Life, with Carol's Daughter this Saturday (7/31) on HSN. $1 from each sale goes to FFAWN to help send girls to college - love it! Click the link to check out the promo. {Mary J. Blige at HSN}

Lancome launches Tresor in Love, a fragrance that "captures the spirit of the first moment of love," with

New from Victoria's Secret: Secret Garden Fresh Collection

Victoria's Secret has added three limited-edition scents to its Secret Garden Collection, under the Fresh Collection banner:

Sheer Love is a blend of watery fruit and bright blooms. Pretty generic sweet fruity floral, but I did get a hint of, hmmm, possibly children's chewable vitamins, with this one. Personally, I'm not in love, sheer or otherwise.

Leave Me Breathless, composed of ocean 

L'Oreal Go 360 Clean Deep Exfoliating Scrub

Scrublet. It sounds...cute, doesn't it? Like niblet, or capelet, or tartlet. I like it, and I think it was a stroke of genius on L'Oreal's part, coining the word scrublet for its built-in face scrubbing tool.

I've been testing out L'Oreal Skin Expertise Go 360 Clean Deep Exfoliating Scrub. It comes with a scrublet, which has given me ample opportunity to use the word with unnecessary frequency.

Inside the Blogger's Studio

Every now and then I get a comment asking me to post pictures of me wearing the different makeup items I review here. I would love to, I really would! But most of the time, I'm not wearing a whole "look" of new makeup that I'd like to be photographed in. Indeed, most of the time, it's more like this:


...testing out completely different makeup on each eye and then taking silly, silly pictures.

Get the Look: Audrina Patridge

OK, I'm no fan of The Hills or its ilk, but Audrina Patridge has some seriously pretty hair, and I'm loving the honey-colored highlights. And if the Garnier Smoothing Kit used on her here can make my hair look even half as awesome as hers, I'm totally buying it tomorrow.

Audrina visited the Garnier Malibu Beach House and had her hair styled by Marc Mena, who prepped her hair using the Garnier

Fall 2010 Collections: Smashbox Masquerade

The Smashbox Fall 2010 collection, Masquerade, is all about rich shades, metallics, and sultry glossed lips. I'm intrigued by the Liquid Liner & Lash Overlay, as it's the first time I've seen an eyeliner repurposed as a lash product. Smashbox suggests that you use it to add a touch of color to the tips of lashes after mascara application, and there's a section of the application wand that's

Steals & Deals: 15% Off AHAVA, 25% Off Kerastase, Free Mystic Tan, DDF Sale

Welcome to another bargain-packed edition of Steals & Deals! Of note this week: Nordstrom's Gift With Purchase page. You'll find a plethora of GWPs from Jo Malone, La Mer, Estee Lauder, Clarins, Lancome, Annick Goutal, Art of Shaving, Bvlgari, and more. There are WAY too many to list here without creating an even more colossal post, so check them out on Nordstrom's site.

Next order of business:

Ouidad Curls for a Cure

Did you know that curly-hair diva Ouidad, founder of the eponymous haircare line, is a breast cancer survivor? She was diagnosed at the same age as her mother (who died of the disease), made a full recovery, and went on to create Curls for a Cure, supporting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Make a donation and Curls for a Cure will match it dollar for dollar. The organization has already

Fall 2010 Collections: NARS

More fall collection catch-ups! The NARS Fall 2010 collection was inspired by Daphne Guinness (yes, the heiress, she of the Guinness brewing family) and includes some really stunning shades for lips and eyes. Francois Nars describes the look as "old-Hollywood meets futuristic." Read on for details!
Douceur Blush: A soft pink-brown hue imparts a honeyed brown kiss of innocence on cheeks.

Get the Look: January Jones at the Mad Men Premiere

So...season 4 of Mad Men premiered Sunday night, and I think Twitter almost exploded. Between True Blood, Mad Men, and Entourage, it was a pretty epic night of TV (although this last episode True Blood was severely lacking in Alcide screentime).

Personally, having missed the first seasons of Mad Men, I'm saving myself for a few weekend DVD marathons to get caught up, kinda like what I've been

New from Bath & Body Works: Forever Sunshine and Dark Kiss

Friends, I got some of the most awesome news EVER yesterday. Bath & Body Works is FINALLY coming to Hawaii! Yes, come March 2011 there will be a brand spanking new BBW location at Ala Moana mall. And I'll be there as soon as the doors open.

Sure, we have Sephora, the beauty departments at Neiman and Nordstrom, local brands, and even good old Longs Drugs, but there's something about the browsing

Fall 2010 Collections: Stila Color of Innovation

Now that I'm back in the blogging swing of things, I've ben catching up on upcoming Fall 2010 collections. Above is Stila's autumn offering, The Color of Innovation. I'm wincing as I type this, because I love Stila and I love pink...but I just don't love this collection. The eye palette looks uncoordinated and, dare I say, garish (perhaps due to the inclusion of mauve and fuchsia next to metallic

Don't Sweat It...Even at the Beach

Picture this: you've just spent a long, luxurious day at the beach, complete with sunning, swimming, splashing around in the waves, and toweling off. On the way home, your phone rings with an invitation to an impromptu barbeque at a friend's house.

Do you go home and go through the whole getting-ready routine first, or do you just hit the party?

While most beach-day beauty snafus can be

BECCA Cosmetics Premieres Today on ShopNBC!

Friends, this is exciting news. One of my favorite brands, BECCA Cosmetics, is launching on ShopNBC TODAY! Why is this so exciting? Well, Sephora no longer stocks Becca, and the counter at Bergdorf's in NYC is gone, so it's gotten more and more difficult to keep up with the brand and see the products in action.

Tune in to ShopNBC today, Monday 7/26, at 11am and 7pm EDT, to shop Becca!

As many

Weekly Rewind, 7/25

What a week to get back into the groove! It's been so much fun to take a little time out of each day to gush over beauty products and indulge in a little at-home pampering. I'd almost forgotten how much fun it could be! Thanks to all of you longtime readers, awesome and supportive fellow beauty bloggers, and ever-present Twitter followers for making this return to blogging so much fun.

And

Get the Look: Lucy Punch at the Dinner for Schmucks Premiere

Actress Lucy Punch co-stars with Steve Carell and Paul Rudd in the upcoming Dinner for Schmucks, and arrived at the NYC premiere with her lovely blonde locks styled by Sebastian Professional Stylist Design Team Member Thomas Duncan.

In case you haven't heard, it's been flippin' HOT this summer here in the NYC, so Thomas created a texturized, modern style designed to beat the heat. To get Lucy's

Weekend Reads

As if! 10 beauty lessons from Clueless [Bellasugar]

Amber has the scoop on NARS' new blush-inspired lip glosses [Beauty Blogging Junkie]

Karen gets on the Becca bandwagon and falls for the Glossy Lip Tints [Makeup and Beauty Blog]

Essential oils that act as natural insect repellents [Beaute de Maman -- Dr. Michele Brown]

Makeup Loves Me likes to play in the mud--with Lush [makeup loves me]

Steals & Deals Special Edition: Philosophy Sale, 25% Off Beautyhabit, Kate Somerville & Juicy Couture Freebies, More

I normally only publish Steals & Deals on Wednesdays, but there just seemed to be an abundance of deals this week! From deeply-discounted Stila palettes and discounts on everday products on drugstore.com, to freebies from Bare Escentuals, Origins, Nuxe and more, there's something for everyone this weekend. So, enjoy this special Friday edition of Steals & Deals:
Bare Escentuals: Free Bare

Dispatch From the Man Cave: shu uemura Shape Paste

OK, I'll admit it: I'm jealous of my boyfriend's hair. It's shiny, a little wavy, and best of all, there is A TON of it. Seriously, he probably has about 5 times more hair on his head than I do.

Sure, he has to cut it every month before he starts looking like Seth Rogen, but who's complaining?

And now, another confession: when we first got together, I just couldn't resist taking a little peek

5 Tricks for Sexy Summer Beach Hair

Ahhh, the beach! While you're showing off your fabulous tan (hopefully fake; we're no fans of sun damage around here) and frolicking with your friends, don't forget about your best accessory: your hair. Whether you want to create a sexy beach style, use your time in the sun for deep conditioning, or add some sun-kissed highlights, I've got the tips to make it happen. Read on:

For control and

Get the Look: Amanda Crew at the Charlie St. Cloud Premiere

Amanda Crew stars in the upcoming film Charlie St. Cloud (with the always-perfectly-coiffed Zac Efron), and she showed up at the LA premiere looking quite lovely. CHANEL Celebrity Makeup Artist Rachel Goodwin is responsible for this look - I'm LOVING that lip color - and shares the products she used below.

"Amanda's make up for the premiere was really fresh and modern with cool sleek lines.

Get the Look: Naomi Watts at the Premiere of Salt

Naomi Watts rocked it at the premiere of Salt, sporting a freshly-cut, collarbone-length 'do, with a most excellent set of swoopy bangs. This girl does baby blonde like no other; sometimes, pale blonde hair can look wispy and thin, but Naomi's always looks shiny and healthy. Love!

Stylist Robert Vetica created the Studio 54-inspired look, starting by cutting off 2 inches of Naomi's hair. "I kept

Double Up With MAC Haute & Naughty

Could it be that I've finally fallen in love with a MAC mascara? I'm a colossal fan of so many things from the brand (among them, Face & Body Foundation, Volcanic Ash Exfoliator, and just about any lipgloss item), but the mascaras have never, well...moved me.

Until now. Haute & Naughty is MAC's latest mascara offering, and while it has a ridiculous name - not to mention a tube that looks like it

Ken Paves Hosts Makeover Madness Fundraiser for Rally for Kids with Cancer

This post isn't really about beauty products, or celebrities, or bargains, or trends...but I'm sharing it with you because it totally made me cry, and melted my cold little heart!

On Monday, Ken Paves hosted a Makeover Madness fundraising event at his West Hollywood salon to raise money for Rally for Kids with Cancer, an organization that provides awareness and resources for children suffering

Steals & Deals: 15% Off Bliss, 20% Off Benefit, Free Juicy Tubes, More

Benefit: TODAY ONLY: 20% Off Sitewide at Benefit Cosmetics! Enter code SUMMER20 at checkout. Valid 7/21. [benefitcosmetics.com]

Bliss/Elemis/Laboratoire Remede: Get 15% off Bliss, Elemis and Laboratoire Remede products at blissworld.com! Enter promo code AUG10 at checkout. Valid through July 22nd. [blissworld.com]

Clinique: With any $35 purchase, receive FREE Shipping plus a FREE makeup

Soak Up Just a Touch of Sun With Olay

Tanning the face is always such a tricky task. If you're like me, you're super-careful with exposing your facial skin to the sun, so it's always a touch lighter than your body (even if you're normally uber-pale). And if you self-tan your bod, the contrast is even worse Darker foundation and oodles of bronzer can only do so much, and usually ending up doing more harm than help (tan horizon at your

Fresh "Eat, Pray, Love" Collection

Fresh has launched a fragrance collection as a tie-in to the upcoming Julia Roberts movie Eat, Pray, Love which is, of course, the film adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's wildly popular travel memoir. Judging by the reception of both the book and the film trailer, Fresh's Eat Pray Love collection will be either embraced or ridiculed, depending on who you ask.

Eat is a "sweet, effervescent" scent

From the Guilty Pleasure Files...Victoria's Secret Luscious Kisses

Luscious Kisses is one of the latest offerings in the ever-popular Secret Garden collection at Victoria's Secret. I spotted it while perusing the semi-annual sale, and it instantly transported me back to a simpler, more carefree time.

Childhood.

And not because this fragrance smells "kiddie," but because it smells like...doll heads.

Yes, doll heads. Or the dolls themselves, in their entirety.

5 Summer Treats for Face, Body and Hair

Guess who's back? Friends, I know it's been months since I've posted anything. It's flaky, I know. Life has just been a little crazy and beauty mania hasn't been my biggest priority. But I'm happy to say that it's all been positive - job, family, friends and relationship are all excellent. It just took a while (ok, a LONG time) to adjust to traveling 5,000 miles back and forth (yes, I'm living