The controlled, precise movements of a surgeon in the operating room served as the inspiration behind NARS‘ new Fabien Baron-directed short film for its Larger Than Life Long-Wear Eyeliners ($23), starring model of the moment Emily Baker, with makeup by Mark Carrasquillo. It doesn’t take the sturdy hand of a doctor (or, in this case, [...]

François Nars is having a big 2011. The famed face painter worked his magic backstage at Marc Jacobs in February, crafting a look reminiscent of a “grandmother who’s a bit eccentric,” and opened his first U.S. flagship on Bleecker Street in March. Next week holds yet another exciting milestone for Mr. Nars: the launch of [...]

Marc Jacobs is getting back into the men’s fragrance world with Bang, a labor of love for which the designer serves as the campaign face—and naked, greased-down body. This marks the first time Jacobs has posed in his own advertising visuals, and is just one of many new beginnings that he reportedly has in the [...]

The giddy rush that your regular Beauty Counter correspondent and nail art pioneer, Celia Ellenberg, gets every time a new polish lands on her desk is precisely how I feel about lipstick. I may have makeup cases overflowing with tubes of every shade and brand, but still, each time I twist open a new bullet [...]

There are certain items I absolutely never tire of receiving as holiday gifts—all manner of woolly socks, beautiful coffee-table books, and, unsurprisingly, pretty much anything beauty-related. Here are the five products topping my list this season.
Fresh Sake Experience Gift Set
Japanese geishas reportedly relied on sake as an important part of their extensive beauty rituals, and [...]

On a typical Sunday afternoon in our apartment (football on the TV, girl friends perusing our beauty coffers on the kitchen table), an interesting conversation took place about nail polish. That’s right, we don’t just write about beauty, we live it. Everyone admitted to stockpiling bottles of lacquer in cabinets, drawers, and boxes—anywhere you can [...]

The Citizens Band’s performances have come to represent more than just an opportunity to see well-choreographed political satire in cabaret form. The singing, dancing, and acrobatic extravaganza that stars a rotating cast of a few of our favorite fashion and Hollywood notables has become something of a beauty showcase as well. Backstage, James Boehmer, international [...]

We spent Labor Day weekend mourning what has to be one of the shortest summers of all time. The one thing that eased our pain was the masterful fall look that designer Roksanda Ilincic wore to the annual Bistrotheque Drag Ball at The Royal Opera House in London. Ilincic complimented her belted fur dress with [...]

When I chatted with NARS Cosmetics makeup artist Ayako backstage at 3.1 Phillip Lim last season, she was enthusiastically applying coat after coat of mascara to the army of Tao Okamoto doppelgängers that passed through her station. Why all the enthusiasm, you ask? Ayako wasn’t using just any mascara to get the lash intensity Lim [...]

In search of inspiration for Amy Adams’ red-carpet look at the Julie & Julia New York premiere last night, CoverGirl makeup artist Molly Stern looked no further than the actress’ full-length Carolina Herrera gown. “It always seems that inspiration ends up coming from the dress,” Stern said of the charcoal-and-white-patterned floor-length number that was speckled [...]