Beauty And The Salamander

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream 1950s Vintage Set (1930/2008): Rediscover Your Classics! {Beauty Review - Lips - Skin}

2008-12-03T11:15:42Z

This year's Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream 1950s Vintage Set is absolutely darling to behold as vanity items. The set immediately caught my eye with all its apricot-y hues and pretty Atomic-Age feel. For Arden, it is "...the first in...

Coco Mania Continues with Karl Lagerfeld - Notes on a Vampish Chanel {Women Beauty Icons}

2008-12-01T12:08:53Z

Sartorial Politics of the Obamas Praised {The Look}

2008-11-06T10:05:02Z

Sarah Palin Cabbage Patch Kid Most Valued {Beauty & Society}

2008-11-02T22:17:09Z

Beauty & Politics: Why Sarah Palin Might Have A Natural Political Advantage {Beauty & Society}

2008-10-31T21:02:25Z

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss {Beauty Product Review - Lips}

2008-09-20T10:15:50Z

Dior Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Lurex Plum from Dandy Lady {New Beauty Product Review - Lips}

2008-09-19T12:53:37Z

Lurex Plum 877, a lovely, deep eye-catching plum with antique rose thrown in it and fine multi-colored shimmer, is a new color born from the conjunction of Dior's reformulation of their Dior Addict Lip Gloss line into the Dior Addict...

Patyka Organic Face Scrub - Gommage Visage Bio: How Organic Is It? {Beauty Product Review - Skin - Face}

2008-09-19T09:35:37Z

Patyka is a French brand established in 2004 after having taken over the originally Hungarian label meaning "apothecary" in the language. It is known for its line of organic perfumes and in 2006 had decided to diversify and reinforce its...

Bags Are So Out, Shoes Are So In {The Look}

2008-09-13T08:29:24Z

I loved this reportage by photographer Bill Cunningham of the New York Times where he discusses and shows all the incredible shoe styles seen on the street. He detects "without the shadow of a doubt" a trend of bags disappearing...

Yves Saint Laurent Gloss Pur Black: Black & Blacker {New Beauty Product - Lips}

2008-08-21T00:00:14Z

This fall, the color black is going to migrate from nails and eyes to lips as Lancome (with the Piha set) and now Yves Saint Laurent will launch their house versions of onyx lips.It's a priori a daring move, I...

Estée Lauder Super Flight Creme for Men & Women (2008) {New Beauty Product - Skin} {Men's Grooming}

2008-07-25T14:57:13Z

Color On Eye Envy (2008) {New Beauty Products - Eyes}

2008-07-22T03:34:08Z

Makeup artist Irina Losilevich patented an instant-beauty technology with her press-on eye-shadows 16 years ago, yet it is only last year that her Color On Professional ™ eye-shadow kits, dubbed Eye Envy, started garnering national attention. These mineral eye-shadows are...

Aaron de Mey Paints Lips Black & Red at Lancôme {New Beauty Products - Lips}

2008-07-21T19:54:10Z

Aaron de Mey is the new makeup artistic director at Lancôme and while his first full color collection will have to await 2009 to see the light of day, makeup aficionados will be able to procure a very interesting set...

LVMH - Dior Accused of Using Lead in their Lipsticks {Beauty News}

2008-07-21T14:29:19Z

Fashionmag.fr briefly reports that the world leader of luxury LVMH has become the target of a class action lawsuit from people accusing one of its brands, the Dior label, of using lead in its lipsticks......

Nars Miami Sun Set (2008) {New Beauty Products - Eyes - Lips - Nails}

2008-07-12T21:45:50Z

If only visually, as found in their packages, the saturated-color trend this summer is drool-worthy and Nars is now offering fiery colors to match the sun this month of July with its new limited-edition set called Miami Sun Set. It...

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream 1950s Vintage Set (1930/2008): Rediscover Your Classics! {Beauty Review - Lips - Skin}

2008-12-03T11:15:42Z

This year's Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream 1950s Vintage Set is absolutely darling to behold as vanity items. The set immediately caught my eye with all its apricot-y hues and pretty Atomic-Age feel. For Arden, it is "...the first in our "Celebration of the Decades" series."

The cream was originally created in 1930 and reportedly developed by Elizabeth Arden to nourish the hoofs of her Kentucky horses to prevent them from cracking. In the past it was advertised as a highly medicated cream, capable of repairing blemishes and taking care of rashes, for all the family.

According to the ad copy today retelling a founding tale, the cream earned its name due to its remarkable healing properties reported by a loyal client who had used it to treat her child's skinned knee, "...and "eight hours later" the skin was all better."

And 8 hours later, my lip balm was still on, and 18 hours later my skin was still exceptionally soft, are my own twists...
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Coco Mania Continues with Karl Lagerfeld - Notes on a Vampish Chanel {Women Beauty Icons}

2008-12-01T12:08:53Z

Last year it was Marie-Antoinette that was all the rage and this year it is Gabrielle Chanel that seems to be the feminine icon of the year for the French and fashionistas worldwide. As posted previously on our sister perfume blog The Scented Salamander here and here, several movies about the life of Chanel are coming out in 2008-2009, all at the same time.

Karl Lagerfeld seeing the trend did not want to miss out especially since he thinks that these biopics are not all that accurate. His counter-proposition is a silent short running for 10 mn. It was shot in 2 days on the outskirts of Paris with actors plucked out of the fashion world and Chanel house sewing personnel, but it is no ragged and frumpy production....

Chanel in 1920 © Time, Inc.

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Sartorial Politics of the Obamas Praised {The Look}

2008-11-06T10:05:02Z

Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th president of the United States on Tuesday and while no propositions were put forth regarding his program for the future of American fashion design and the importance of a styled look as one of the cements that may help unite a nation, designers are now obviously elated by the election's outcome.

And that is not just because they are thinking of social reform right now. That is because Michelle Obama is anticipated to become a fashion icon for women in the US, and probably in the world too, while reactivating hopefully a Kennedy-era type social life in Washington D.C...
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Sarah Palin Cabbage Patch Kid Most Valued {Beauty & Society}

2008-11-02T22:17:09Z

After posting about the possible implications of a research from Ilinois about the importance of looks for political candidates for winning more votes and wondering what that might mean for Sarah Palin whose looks have been particularly commented upon during the presidential campaign, what do I see but a charity auction on eBay for the 25th anniversary of the Cabbage Patch Kids featuring all 4 candidates!

And guess who is winning? Sarah Palin a.k.a. "caribou barbie" (another popular icon of feminine beauty) is doing very well as the Sarah Palin Cabbage Patch Kid. She is currently priced at $9,600 followed by Barack Obama at $2,125 then John McCain at $1,525 and Joe Biden at $710 (see for yourself).

Beauty & Politics: Why Sarah Palin Might Have A Natural Political Advantage {Beauty & Society}

2008-10-31T21:02:25Z

A study at Northwestern University in Illinois (is this a coincidence?) shows that there are consistent trends in people's reliance on "cognitive short-cuts" to help them select a political candidate running for office. It is not the best man or woman who wins their votes necessarily (we didn't know that yet) but the better-looking one, a tendency especially apparent in the cases of women running for office when not too many other female colleagues are competing.

Apparently, we tend to choose a candidate, say for the presidency, as we would a mate with a view to biological reproduction, except for an air of competence that has to be there. A scary thought for Halloween no doubt, but yes, we would tend to be visual animals responding to sexual cues, in courtship as in politics even when we make the effort to go vote after having read and dissected the news. And then it's all about the survival of the prettiest anyway!

"Everyone had to seem competent to get a vote. But while men needed to appear approachable to get an edge, women had to be good-looking, the researchers found...

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Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss {Beauty Product Review - Lips}

2008-09-20T10:15:50Z

While being on the subject of plumping action in lip glosses, be it visual as with the Ultra-Gloss Reflect series by Dior or attempting to be real, I remembered a really bad gloss I tried from the brand Soap and Glory: Sexy Mother Pucker Lip Gloss.

There was this hell of a cute retro vintage packaging with all the catchy lines printed on it that can turn it into a billboard in any shopping aisle. It makes you think the lip gloss might be as trendy as the outside shell.

The reason I bought it was that it is so easy, too easy, to throw an untested tube of anything at Target into your cart...
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Dior Ultra-Gloss Reflect in Lurex Plum from Dandy Lady {New Beauty Product Review - Lips}

2008-09-19T12:53:37Z

Lurex Plum 877, a lovely, deep eye-catching plum with antique rose thrown in it and fine multi-colored shimmer, is a new color born from the conjunction of Dior's reformulation of their Dior Addict Lip Gloss line into the Dior Addict Ultra-Gloss Reflect one and of the launch of the Dandy Lady fall 2008 collection. The collection is dominated by taupe and plum colors and Lurex Plum stands out for its depth and refined shimmer.

Dior has re-introduced shades from the previous line into the new one, but with added glitter with a star-dust effect. (Sephora very usefully lists the old color names next to the new ones whenever appropriate.) Lurex Plum 877 is a new tint that is exhibited in Paris as part of the Dandy Lady collection although Nordstrom does not list it there....

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Patyka Organic Face Scrub - Gommage Visage Bio: How Organic Is It? {Beauty Product Review - Skin - Face}

2008-09-19T09:35:37Z

Patyka is a French brand established in 2004 after having taken over the originally Hungarian label meaning "apothecary" in the language. It is known for its line of organic perfumes and in 2006 had decided to diversify and reinforce its beauty offerings with a collection of organic skin-care products developed in conjunction with laboratories Cosnessens. In October 2008, Patyka will also start proposing a makeup line answering to organic standards. Continuing to grow, it is set to open its first boutique in the US next month, a 450-foot-square space located in Manhattan's West Village.

Today, I would like to review their Organic Face Scrub. What drew me to this scrub was the name-recognition of a rather confidential perfume brand I know, the petite-sized bottle packaging which is unusual for a face scrub (and very cute) and the mention that it is fragrance-free. I am always on the lookout for perfume-free skincare and body products as I do not need any more sensory overload that I already get from my involvement with fragrances. In a sense, and for this reason, you could see Beauty and the Salamander as the reverse and complementary side to The Scented Salamander (don't worry, we are not going to just cover scent-free products in beauty)...]]> Continue reading "Patyka Organic Face Scrub - Gommage Visage Bio: How Organic Is It? {Beauty Product Review - Skin - Face}" >>

Bags Are So Out, Shoes Are So In {The Look}

2008-09-13T08:29:24Z

I loved this reportage by photographer Bill Cunningham of the New York Times where he discusses and shows all the incredible shoe styles seen on the street. He detects "without the shadow of a doubt" a trend of bags disappearing as main focal points while the shoes and legs take center stage. At least in the moments where they are wearing them, the ladies who wear the spectacular heels are well-advised to let them shine by calling less attention to other accessories...
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Yves Saint Laurent Gloss Pur Black: Black & Blacker {New Beauty Product - Lips}

2008-08-21T00:00:14Z

This fall, the color black is going to migrate from nails and eyes to lips as Lancome (with the Piha set) and now Yves Saint Laurent will launch their house versions of onyx lips.

It's a priori a daring move, I daresay, but black is stylish, so it seems there is potential for it to translate into something as perfectly acceptable as a little black dress (worn on your lips, mind you). YSL now proposes their own limited-edition tube called Gloss Pur Black.

Depending on the way you apply it, it reportedly can play with various shades of blackish,...

Theda Bara, Silent Ladies

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Estée Lauder Super Flight Creme for Men & Women (2008) {New Beauty Product - Skin} {Men's Grooming}

2008-07-25T14:57:13Z

Don't you love those creams that were specially designed for countervailing the harsh effects of driving in a sports car by the Riviera (let's keep up with the glam factor) or sailing on a yacht around the Mediterranean ? OK, I am not so sure about the latter, but there is a countess who had a cream designed for her in the 1930s, no doubt, delicate skin, when driving in her convertible.

Now, Estée Lauder has come up with the brilliant idea of creating a Super Flight Creme (and let's hope it's a good product) for those of us that need a little extra beauty help when traveling the not-so-friendly-skies-to-the-skin. Reportedly, the humidity level can drop as low as 8 % when you are in a flight cabin becoming comparable to a crossing of the Gobi desert, if I am not mistaken...

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Color On Eye Envy (2008) {New Beauty Products - Eyes}

2008-07-22T03:34:08Z

Makeup artist Irina Losilevich patented an instant-beauty technology with her press-on eye-shadows 16 years ago, yet it is only last year that her Color On Professional ™ eye-shadow kits, dubbed Eye Envy, started garnering national attention.

These mineral eye-shadows are ready to apply and are meant to last a long, long time. The brand promises to deliver the kind of polished look only a professional makeup artist could easily achieve and in a jiffy too...

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Aaron de Mey Paints Lips Black & Red at Lancôme {New Beauty Products - Lips}

2008-07-21T19:54:10Z

Aaron de Mey is the new makeup artistic director at Lancôme and while his first full color collection will have to await 2009 to see the light of day, makeup aficionados will be able to procure a very interesting set of colors for lips from September 2008.

The minimalist set comprises a red lipstick called "Phida Red" together with a black lip gloss...
]]> Continue reading "Aaron de Mey Paints Lips Black & Red at Lancôme {New Beauty Products - Lips}" >>

LVMH - Dior Accused of Using Lead in their Lipsticks {Beauty News}

2008-07-21T14:29:19Z

Fashionmag.fr briefly reports that the world leader of luxury LVMH has become the target of a class action lawsuit from people accusing one of its brands, the Dior label, of using lead in its lipsticks...
]]> Continue reading "LVMH - Dior Accused of Using Lead in their Lipsticks {Beauty News}" >>

Nars Miami Sun Set (2008) {New Beauty Products - Eyes - Lips - Nails}

2008-07-12T21:45:50Z

If only visually, as found in their packages, the saturated-color trend this summer is drool-worthy and Nars is now offering fiery colors to match the sun this month of July with its new limited-edition set called Miami Sun Set. It includes a yellow and brown Duo Eye Shadow in Sundance, which they describe as being golden and terracotta, a pot of Lip Lacquer in Capucine, and a red Nail Polish in Dovima.

The deep red-orange of Capucine which seems to be a cross between a tangerine and a blood orange is a rarer shade and is just luscious to look at; if I had to buy just one item, it would be that one. Actually, I wished I could just dip my finger in that pot right now! It looks much paler on the Nars website however. There they have both Capucine and Dovima, but not Sundance, as separate items.

The set is sold exclusively on Sephora.com for $65 (a $72 value), with free shipping.