subscribe to beauty counter blog via RSSMind Your Sternum, Girls On Film, And More…
November 20, 2009 5:06 pm
In the age of the navel-dipping dress, sternum maintenance takes center stage. [Glamour]
Fashion companies aren’t the only ones making films to push product these days. Nick Knight and Pat McGrath recently teamed up to put Max Factor back in the movies. [WWD]
A female Viagra? It could be closer than you think. [WebMd]
After six unisex scents, Costume National’s first men’s fragrance, which reportedly boasts a “heart of rock ‘n’ roll,” will hit Barneys next week. Ladies need not apply—although we might anyway. (Nobody’s keeping us out of that boys’ club.) [WWD]
tags: Costume National, Fragrance, Makeup, Max Factor, Nick Knight, Pat McGrath, Viagra
Botax Is Here, Rachel Zoe: Beauty Blogger, And More…
November 19, 2009 3:40 pm
Elective cosmetic surgery just got a little more spendy. [Fox News]
Let it be known: Sun-kissed skin is a “Zoe Do.” [Rachelzoe.com]
No need to go under the knife for that eye job you’ve been thinking about. A laser’ll do ya just fine. [NYT]
Perfumers searching for a way to overcome a decline in fragrance should look to the atomizer. [NYT]
Sarah Palin is launching a new fragrance, aptly called Eau de Maverick. We kid, we kid. (Although it’s not that outlandish of a proposition.) [Huff Po]
L’Oréal recently published an illustrated book that is only sold in France, which retraces the French firm’s growth from a small business to a multinational conglomerate. We wonder if the Liliane Bettencourt scandal is in there. If so, it might be worth calling in a favor from that Paris-based friend of yours… [WWD]
tags: Botox, Fragrance, L'Or�al, Makeup, Rachel Zoe, Sarah Palin, Skincare
Leighton Works The Topknot, Fangs Are In, And More…
November 18, 2009 2:58 pm
Leighton Meester may have shown up to the American Eagle flagship store opening in New York last night with a red lip, gray smoky eyes, and long, cascading waves, but she made a quick costume change into thick bangs and a topknot before performing her new single for the crowd. Yes, we said “perform” and “new single.” Look out, Taylor Momsen. [Look]
How far is too far for Twi-hard fans to go in anticipation of New Moon? Two words: fang veneers. [Spoiled Pretty]
If you can’t bring yourself to eat placenta, try smearing it on your face. All the cool kids are doing it. [Daily Mail];
Hugo Chavez made fast fans of women worldwide when he declared that Venezuelan men need to shape up, but women never get fat. They just “fill out.” Now if only he’d knock off all the megalomaniac-dictator stuff… [Allure]
tags: American Eagle Outfitters, Hair, Leighton Meester, Makeup, New Moon, Skincare, Teeth
Lancôme For Carla, Jane Birkin’s Beauty Regimen, And More…
November 16, 2009 2:02 pm
Sarah Palin made her debut on Oprah today. Hopefully, you set your DVR so you can hold a post-work viewing session, but in the mean time: a hairstyle retrospective to get properly fired up. [Huff Po]
Lancôme has become a patron of the Carla Bruni-Sarkozy Foundation, launching a program called Lancôme Revelations, which aims to introduce disadvantaged French students to creative professions in their last year of high school. What, no spokesperson deal? [WWD]
Jane Birkin’s beauty secrets revealed! The 62-year-old admits to making peace with sun-worshipping and a general “less is better” mantra. We hate cakey foundation face, too, JB. [Daily Mail]
Facial clarity, not symmetry, is now believed to be the leading factor in determining attractiveness. We’re of the mind that a little of both will take you a long way, but maybe that’s just us. [Daily Mail]
Did you know that being a minority shareholder in a cosmetics company means that you too get sued if something shady goes down? Neither did Sigourney Weaver. [Post Chronicle]
tags: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Hair, Jane Birkin, Lanc�me, Makeup, Oprah, Sarah Palin, Sigourney Weaver, Skincare
Kate Moss To Do Cosmetics (?); Eau De Dead Celebrities; And More…
November 13, 2009 1:14 pm
First fashion, then fragrance, and now Kate Moss: The Makeup could be coming to a beauty counter near you as the supermodel embraces her new role as business tycoon. We will be waiting with open arms. [WWD]
Been looking for a custom scent engineered with Marilyn Monroe’s genetic makeup in mind? Well, Christmas has come early for you then, friend. [The Phoenix]
Your “chocolate alleviates stress” theory is now substantiated by scientific research. Break out the Godiva—and beware the breakouts. [Science Daily]
Our vote goes to Aveda’s Green Science Perfecting Cleanser, but there are a host of other wintertime face washes out there to keep you one step ahead of the cold weather. [Allure]
tags: Aveda, Fragrance, Green Science Perfecting Cleanser, Kate Moss, Makeup, Marilyn Monroe
Malibu For The Masses, Dolly Fights Back, And More…
November 12, 2009 3:55 pm
Pamela Anderson’s Malibu fragrance duo has finally arrived in drugstores nationwide, prompting the former Baywatch babe to go on Ellen, where she described the scents as “cheap and sweet, like me.” They’re also PETA-approved, so…there’s that. [Bella Sugar]
Speaking of PETA, Michelle Obama’s stylist, Yusef Williams, reportedly uses Straight Finish from Paul Labrecque to smooth out the First Lady’s bob, and Labrecque just so happens to be part of a growing group of stylists to sign PETA’s “no testing on animals” pledge. You hear that, Carla? Cruelty-free is in. Your move. [Opposing Views]
Skin-lightening creams, the controversial treatments that have been popular with women in India for years, are now gaining adherents among men. [NPR]
Dolly Parton has a message for haters who think she wears too much makeup: “You mind your own business, I’ll wear my makeup when I want to, how I want to.” Sing it, sister. [National Post]
tags: Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, Dolly Parton, Fragrance, Hair, Makeup, Malibu, Michelle Obama, Pamela Anderson, Paul Labrecque, Skincare
Baby Beauty Queens, Diet Debates, And More…
November 11, 2009 1:17 pm
Photographer Susan Anderson’s new book High Glitz, which features a series of child beauty pageant portraits, has sparked a debate about whether or not making a six-year-old look like she’s 45 with an excess of makeup is in fact child abuse. Anyone? [Allure]
New Beauty magazine has homed in on way to get readers to buy the products within its pages: put samples in a vending machine. In a word, genius. [NBC Miami]
The lengths women will go to for breast implants are apparently quite long (and seriously deranged). [The Cut]
The latest taboo topic Tyra Banks has deemed worth publicizing? The “tapeworm diet.” That Tyra, always on the edge of controversy. [SF Gate]
A new study asks, which makes you happier: a low-carb, high-fat diet or a high-carb, low-fat diet? The one with more baguettes! [Washington Post]
tags: Hair, High Glitz, Makeup, New Beauty Magazine, Susan Anderson, Tyra Banks
Lady Gaga, In The Flesh; Demi Moore, Face Painter; And More…
November 10, 2009 2:08 pm
We’re puzzled by the recent blogosphere buzz concerning Lady Gaga’s “bare-faced” appearance on German talk show Wetten, Dass…? over the weekend. Sure, the sunglasses and lace veil are conspicuously missing, but we detect plenty of foundation, eye and lip liner, and false lashes in the circulating pics. [NY Daily News]
First fragrance, now makeup? The rumor mill is working overtime for Demi Moore. [Times of India]
Drink your chocolate milk. A new study suggests that regular consumption of skim milk with flavonoid-rich cocoa may have similar heart-healthy effects as red wine. Mmmm. [NYT]
One salon’s answer to the declining job market means free haircuts for the unemployed. Book an appointment before your next interview. [NYT]
In other looking-your-best-even-in-hard-times news, makeup sales continue to rise. Long live the statement lip! [Daily Mail]
tags: Demi Moore, Hair, Lady Gaga, Makeup
Tom Pecheux’s Fancy New Title
November 6, 2009 12:37 pm
Tom Pecheux has always been one of our favorite makeup artists. There’s his soft-spoken French accent and his perfectly calm, collected, and kind demeanor during the craziness that is fashion week, but what really gets us is his expert ability to paint faces in a natural and beautiful way. There’s also something cool about the fact that despite his early links to Shiseido, he’s been answering to no one for the past few seasons. While his equally renowned peers snatched up creative director titles with big brands like P&G, Pecheux has been working with weapons from his own arsenal of favorites backstage, rather than a regimented selection of brand-specific cosmetics. But it appears as though the corporate sponsors have come a-calling again. Today Pecheux has gotten what is perhaps the biggest prize of all and has been named Creative Makeup Director for Estée Lauder. Charged with “[setting] artistic direction for the next generation” of its makeup, Pecheux will likely bring a new, edgier approach to Lauder’s color collections, as well as a soupçon of Parisian glamour. Yeah, we’re excited.
tags: Est�e Lauder, Makeup, Tom Pecheux
Forever 21: The Makeup, New “Dracula Therapy,” And More…
November 5, 2009 2:46 pm
We told you it was coming. Here, a sneak peak at Forever 21’s new makeup line. It looks…affordable? [Examiner]
The newest antiaging trend? Injecting your own blood into your face. Vampire references—so hot right now. [Daily Mail]
The MediSpa industry has come under scrutiny. Should you really lipo where you facial? [NYT]
Exercise does not, in fact, take the weight off. You can stop doing those painful squats now. ]NYT]
More beauty pageantry, this time from across the pond, where Miss England allegedly punched Miss Manchester in the face in a bar brawl over a guy. Only in the U.K. [Sky News]
tags: Dracula Therapy, Forever 21, Makeup, Skincare
