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Just posted on Beauty And The Salamander:  Chi Tea Organic Green Tea Liquid Extract: Antioxidants Boost & Cooling Help (We will soon add widgets on TSS to keep track of the latest post on BATS and vice versa)
Dear Readers, We are pleased to announce that we have opened a new section on mimifroufrou.com dedicated to beauty stories and more oriented towards the visual arts. The new beauty blog is called Beauty And The Salamander. The Scented Salamander will continue to be devoted to perfume and olfaction stories and will cover those beauty products that are more scent-oriented. You can visit and bookmark us at http://www.mimifroufrou.com/beautyandthesalamander An Index of Beauty Reviews compiled from TSS will be added soon and will be updated automatically on Beauty & The Salamander. Here is a post about the upcoming July all-black Vogue Italia issue meant as a statement against the reported dwindling away of dark-skinned models in fashion pages and on runways. With thanks, -- Marie-Helene
Yesterday saw the unveiling of the new Emporio Armani underwear campaign fronted by soccer player David Beckham at Union Square Park in San Francisco, California. Ads used to be called sexist when women were undressed on them; we don't know what people are going to be able to say about this one since there are now too many men offered as eye candies on adverts. Maybe, unfair to the average guy?
The strip tease begins,
Continue reading "David Beckham •• Icon of Masculinity in Emporio Armani {Beauty Notes - Look of the Day}" »
Cannabis Rose by Fresh is the latest fragrance by the originally Boston-based brand, which started out by selling triple-milled soaps from France. It is the second perfume by Fresh featuring a cannabis or Marijuana note; Cannabis Rose is seen as the feminine counterpart to Cannabis Santal. It was created by perfumer Jérôme Epinette (see also Isabel Derroisné Ilaya, Jovoy Poudré and Fougère ) in collaboration with Fresh founder Lev Glazman. Perfumes have not infrequently played with the lure of the forbidden adding taboo notes to their compositions like Champagne in Caron Bain de Champagne during the Prohibition period, Absinthe more recently as a remnant of 19th century Bohemian culture, and finally Cannabis in the Fresh perfumes. Their mention may waken us a bit from a blasé slumber as a multitude of new perfumes try to capture the public's attention - these notes or accords are unusual and at the same time familiar and titillating - or it may, less sensationally so, attract our attention to the possibility of an harmonious pairing of notes, rose and cannabis, which might produce an interesting perfume. Well nothing of anything described above really happens; Cannabis Rose is obviously not playing the card of the devil nor is it trying to be "interesting" and controversial. It is however a very pretty fragrance, even exquisite at times, like a cleaned-up rose chypre perfume whose earthy moss and rose would have been purified, made more transparent and aquatic by being macerated in a glass of Vodka, with just a "tear" as the French say, of (fantasy) white vanilla Kahlua.
Cannabis Rose: The Perfume The principal notes you notice at first are rose, patchouli, cannabis, vanilla, "oakmoss". Sephora classifies it as a mossy woody scent. It feels like a chypre with a re-worked or new-style earthy, forest-y base to suggest the chypre lineage as oakmoss has seen legal constraints put on its immoderate use. The chypre connection becomes even more palpable in the drydown as a succulent note of sweet ambery labdanum amplifies, which together with the patchouli and the rose conjures up Clinique Aromatics Elixir. What was at first a vague familiar sensation becomes thus readable in the end. It is a purer, whiter, vodka-like Aromatics Elixir.....
Continue reading "Fresh Cannabis Rose Gift Set (2008): Clean Rosey Dirt {Perfume Review} {Beauty Notes}" »
 On May 15th 2008, the first meeting of the Congrès Cosmétotextiles (Cosmetotextile Congress) took place in Tours, France one of the annual conferences that are part of the activities of the competitive pole of the Cosmetic Valley. It introduces to the wider public a new generation of cosmetic products dubbed "intelligent textiles" (textiles intelligents) part of a branch of the beauty industry called "sensory cosmetics" (cosmétique sensorielle) A slimming outfit below by Lytess, not thanks to elastic pressure but to the release of active ingredients..... 
Continue reading "Cosmétotextiles: Intelligent Beautifying Textiles {Beauty News}" »
Do you know No! No!, Zeno, Clarisonic and other such high-tech tools for the coquette or the coquet? The beauty market is now proposing new-wave sophisticated equipment to zap your hair, zits, and shrink your pores, among other things, with durable effect, they say. The beauty-gadget trend is hot and takes less room than in the past as you can see from the picture above from Popular Science dated Feb 1933, courtesy of Modern Mechanix (it looks like it's actually the same person in the middle and on the right - they ran short on extras). Business people must have thought that for consumers used to handling cell-phones, Iphones etc. they could keep doing it but for other things as well......
Continue reading "Do-It-Yourself Professional Beauty Care Gets High-Tech {Beauty News}" »
Latest Vuitton advert shot by photographer Annie Leibowitz
In this day and age permeated with youth-oriented ideology it is so striking to see someone sporting their deep wrinkles proudly, even if a man, that Louis Vuitton decided to ask rocker Keith Richards to help them catch readers' and gawkers' attention in their new advert for their luxurious luggage line. It worked. Leafing through Vanity Fair, we had to take a pause and appreciate the Grand-Canyon style wrinkles, thinking that apart from Mother Theresa and an old peasant woman, it probably would not be considered as photogenic or charismatic with a feminine model......
Continue reading "Keith Richards for Louis Vuitton: Wrinkles That Fly {Look of the Day - Beauty Notes}" »
Urban Outfitters has that little corner in their big stores devoted to beauty. You can find some perfumes, lip balms, and nail polish. Loads of cool costume jewelry too. On May 19th 2008, the brand will introduce a new line of nail polishes called Models Own meant to offer edgy, fashionable colors in a matter of weeks, not months......
Continue reading "Urban Outfitters is Lacquering Up with Models Own {New Nail Polish}" »
Nivea Whitening products for men for the Thai market
Nivea, owned by Beirsdorf, is continuing to expand its distribution of Nivea Whitening products for Men in Asia due to the success of the line. They just launched NIVEA FOR MEN Whitening Oil Control in India. Fairness of skin is an ideal of beauty in the region, both for men and women. For men a white skin together with a smooth hairless face are thought to add to their beauty. We can still remember the Indian matrimonial ads in newspapers putting emphasis on the color of the skin, the paler the more desirable. Tanned skin is associated with the need to toil under the sun and therefore low-class status. Of course in the US and Europe you go buy sunless self-tanners to send the signal that you were last seen in Ibiza.....
Continue reading "Nivea Whitening Range for the Asian Men Market: Fairer Than Thou {Beauty Notes} (Grooming}" »
Petite Chérie corset Perfume house Annick Goutal, seeking a diversification of its activities and feeling the affinities that exist between fragrance and lingerie through a similar focus on skin, has introduced a lingerie collection divided into four different sub-sets each inspired by a different Goutal perfume: Petite Chérie, Grand Amour, Quel Amour!, Songes.....
Continue reading "New Annick Goutal Lingerie Collection {Beauty Notes}" »
Fig. 1 - Beauty set: hair pins, combs, tweezer © Coreana Cosmetics Museum The Traditional Art of Beauty and Perfume in Ancient Korea by Guest Contributor Pauline
In keeping with my enthusiasm for cosmetics that make use of bio or natural ingredients, I thought that it would be interesting to explore the traditional Korean art of beauty and cosmetic culture in ancient times, more particularly as it was experienced from the medieval period until the turn of the 20th century. If this topic may appear a bit geeky at first blush, I can point out that nowadays mainstream contemporary beauty brands do not hesitate to use ancient medieval recipes, like for example Lush with its “Angels on Bare Skin” facial scrub and Caudalie with its “Eau de Beauté” based on the legendary rejuvenating medieval rosemary lotion called "Eau de la Reine de Hongrie".
I love Asian art, often travel in the region and I was delighted to discover this tradition, which as it turns out emphasized the use of gentle natural ingredients (flowers, fruit kernels, beans) rather than chemical concoctions like the infamous Blanc de Céruse composed of white lead which ailed and disfigured many a beauty junkie in modern Europe. This is not to say that chemicals are not beneficial or that natural ingredients are always the best alternatives!
An exhibition organized by the Coreana Cosmetics Museum entitled Parures, fards et onguents dans la Corée ancienne (Adornments, Make-up, and Oinments in Ancient Korea) was held last year in Paris on this virtually unknown topic in Europe and even the West at large.......
Fig. 2 - An 18th century Korean beauty. Attributed to Kim Hong-Do (A.D. 1745- ?) © Seoul National University Museum.
Continue reading "The Traditional Art of Beauty and Perfume in Ancient Korea {Cultural Notes} {Beauty Notes}" »
Coty will launch a new line of makeup colors in May of 2008 under the Sally Hansen label called Natural Beauty. It is a follow-up strategic move after the success of the 16-sku Lip Lab lipstick line. The line was inspired by makeup artist Carmindy from the Discovery Channel popular fashion show, What Not To Wear. She collaborated on the project and will use them on her show.....
Continue reading "Sally Hansen Natural Beauty: A New Mineral Makeup Line & More {Beauty Notes - News}" »
 The Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW) group have determined a list of finalists for some of the best products in the beauty industry. Since this is a perfume blog first and a beauty blog second, we will take the liberty of listing the finalists starting with the perfume categories. AVON
Derek Jeter DRIVEN Black EDT Bond No. 9 New York
Andy Warhol Silver Factory Calvin Klein Fragrances
Calvin Klein MAN Dolce & Gabbana Fragrances
Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue Pour Homme Tom Ford Beauty
Tom Ford for Men......
Continue reading "CEW Beauty Awards Finalists {Beauty Notes - News}" »
Maria Falconetti in "La passion de Jeanne d'Arc" by Dreyer (1928) “The most beautiful makeup for a woman is passion. But cosmetics are easier to buy.”
1. Organic Argan Oil 2. Comfort Daily Cream (6% Argan oil) 3. Regenerating Night Balm (50% Argan Oil). Photo © Naturelle d'Argan
The Lure of Argan Oil by Guest Contributor Pauline
Surfing on the Argan oil’s wave, Naturelle d’Argan is an organic and ethical skin care range, which uses the highly regenerative oil of Moroccan origin that nourishes, protects and moisturizes the skin.
The 100% organic argan oil is reported to contain over 20 nutrients for the skin, such as Omega 6 and Omega 9, vitamin E and Polyphenol, which are powerful anti-oxidants. Berber women, who have traditionally been in charge of the hand picked harvests of Argan nuts, use this anti-aging oil for their beauty rituals (body, hair and nails).
The Naturelle d’Argan range comprises 4 face and 3 body skin cares, including an original exfoliating cleansing gel made of finely ground Argan seeds and apricot kernel. The Argan oil, called “Pure Argan Elixir,” is labelled “Cosmebio”, which guarantees the use of a minimum of 95% of natural ingredients and 10% of bio ingredients. It is Paraben-free, Silicone-free and GMO-free ingredients. The oil can be used for face, body and hair-care.....
1. Argan Oil Shower Gel - Orange Blossom 2. Body Scrub with Argan kernels 3. Silky-smooth Body Crème - Orange Blossom 4. Traditional terracotta exfoliating stone. Photo © Naturelle d'Argan
Continue reading "Naturelle d'Argan: The Call of Morocco - The Green Spirit of the Hammam Part 2 {Beauty Notes} {Skin} {Hair} {Nails} {Green Products}" »
Marion Cotillard © Wireimage
Here is a PR release from the New York Cosmetic, Skin and Laser Surgey Center with some interesting details in it regarding standard cosmetic procedures stars go through to get ready for their big event on Oscar night and counter-act the scrutiny of HD TV viewers. Following our post yesterday about Plasticopedia, it just makes you realize further how beauty is a highly professionalized business for red-carpet attendees. Botox in the armpits to prevent you from perspiring and spoiling your couture gown? Interesting. Dr. Rokhsar is a specialist of non-invasive surgery techniques, including the 15 mn non-surgical nose job (he uses injections of a filler substance called Radiesse, a calcium substance very close to the type found in our bones and teeth).
New York, NY (February 26, 2008) – Long before the crash diets and extreme workout plans go into effect, Hollywood’s hottest stars are planning out their beauty regimens – right down to the minute they walk the red carpet! Aside from typical hair, makeup and shapewear, movie stars are known for “cheating” their way to perfect skin, plump lips, and smooth-as-silk foreheads with the latest cosmetic procedures offered by Dr. Cameron Rokhsar, a Board-Certified Dermatologic Surgeon practicing in the posh Upper East Side of New York City. According to Dr. Rokhsar, “Hollywood has most of Americans fooled. They tell reporters things like ‘Oh, I just do yoga and pilates and drink lots of water!’ when they really have meticulous schedules set months in advance of awards season to guarantee they will look flawless on the big night.” Dr. Rokhsar explains both the quick fixes and the long-term planning that goes on leading up to the Oscars – the biggest night in Tinsel Town:... Nicole Kidman © Wireimage
Continue reading "Beauty Countdown to the Oscars in the Age of the HD Revolution {Beauty Notes}" »
Chronology of Paris Hilton's nose jobs The question is: did they have plastic surgery, yes or no? In a voyeuristic society that is practicing the sport of intense gazing on HD TV screens loving to exercise distant normative control and passing unending judgmental opinions on famous looks and in doing so sometimes pushing celebrities to go under the knife to correct imperfections normally left alone, Plasticopedia tries to answer your questions and contribute factoids to the public debate....
Continue reading "Gaping At Celebrities: Plasticopedia {Beauty Notes}" »
The new Fafi collection by Mac Cosmetics, which we made an announcement about earlier (see picture of collection), is loaded with popular culture references and as usual is chock-full of colors. The tints in fact are much more vivid than appear on the pictures and then again some of them, like the fluo pink color in the tube Totally It, look all reasonable once applied. Cultural Notes: Origins of the Fafinettes
The universe of the collection is that of Fafi, a French artist and cartoonist who draws her initial inspiration from intersecting cultural traditions where characters present a mix of traits usually found separately as characteristic of babies, little kids or gamins in the French tradition, and sexually mature adults. She herself simply likes to stress that she draws her inspiration from her friends and girls she observes on the street. It was her dream to have her drawings on makeup packaging and they look great on the Mac line. One would have just wished that there were more of them on the lipstick cases for example instead of the same character being repeated over and over.
Soonie's Rose by Margaret Keane
One can identify in her universe a trend deriving from the prevalent Kawaisa (cuteness) culture in Japan with its references to the Anime and Manga aesthetics but also closer to home for Fafi, the Poulbot sub-culture in France. Finally coming full circle one discovers the influence of the Big-Eye Movement born in the USA, an expression made popular by Wayne Hemingway in his book Just Above The Mantelpiece: Mass-Market Masterpieces. In it he attributes the birth of this inspiration to Margaret (and Walter as a pseudo) Keane in North Beach San Francisco California at the end of the 1950s. However, it must be stressed that Poulbot already drew gamins with oversized eyes. Keane's "large-eyed waif" paintings were beloved by actress Joan Crawford who collected them and had one made of her for decorating her home. Big eyes are typical of this cultural sensitivity, so much so that in Japan young women try to imitate the enormous eyes of Animes by wearing lenses that dilate the pupils and make the eyes seem more like tea saucers, an ideal of beauty that can be more easily achieved with a white pencil liner (see Fafi: Fascinating: Snake-eyes Matte White Eye Khol cf. press release)....
 Fafi street art
Continue reading "Mac Fafi Collection: Lips & A Bit of Cheek, The Reviews Part 1 {Beauty Notes & Reviews}" »
Jean Paul Gaultier is preparing to launch a beauty care line for men called simply and explicitly Monsieur as well as a fragrance that is part of it called Monsieur: Eau du Matin (the aesthetics of the ad look quite a bit like those of Antidote). It will be commercialized from April 1st 2008. Like his previous beauty line Le Beau Mâle it is destined to men who feel free from conventions and love grooming....
Continue reading "Jean Paul Gaultier Monsieur Eau du Matin (2008) {New Cologne} + Monsieur Beauty Products {Beauty Notes}" »
The No. 1 issue of the new French version of GQ is now available. You can visit their site; there is a comic video ad for the launch of the magazine that tries to answer the question: "does the ideal man exist?" (the 2 mn version on the right hand-side is funnier). Lancement du premier numéro de la version française de GQ ou Gentlemen's Quarterly. Pub marrante à savourer sur le côté droit du site (la version longue de 2 mn est plus drôle ou plus lourde, comme on voudra!).
Fresh off the press (release), here is some information about the special March issue of Glamour which contains loads of tips and Hollywood insiders' views about making it in Tinseltown as a woman. In partnership with Avon, a major corporate player for social and women causes, they propose the following program, "NEW YORK, NY - When Glamour debuted in 1939 as Glamour of Hollywood, it was a fashion tome devoted to getting the movie star look. Now, the magazine will honor its roots with the March “Hollywood” issue. Featuring everything from A-list actresses to female power players leading the charge in Hollywood, the March issue celebrates women at the top of the entertainment industry. The special “Hollywood” issue, which hits newsstands February 12, will be published simultaneously with the launch of glamourfilmfest.tv, an online independent film festival showcasing short films by female filmmakers......
Continue reading "Glamour & Avon Empower Women: The Hollywood Issue + Launch of glamourfilmfest.tv {Beauty Notes}" »
 "The Green Spirit of The Hammam" by Guest Contributor Pauline The professional trade show Maison & Objet was on last week in Paris. I decided to pay a visit to the exhibition in order to discover the latest trends in that section of the fair devoted to "Fragrances, Bath & Cosmetics." Before being completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of stands in that section, I decided to focus on beauty products that are connected to the enticing world of the hammam and in particular, the natural cosmetic oil that is the most talked about in town these days, argan oil from Morocco. Two beauty brands caught my attention as I liked the range of their products and their air of authenticity. They are both harnessing the all-natural, green ecological trend that the beauty market is developing more and more in response to consumers' demands while drawing on a very ancient heritage from the Middle East. I bought several products I wanted to try and today, I will talk about Tadé.
TADÉ, Pays du Levant (Country of the Levant) is a 100% natural line of cosmetics that draws on an original historical concept, the universe of the hammam, and proposes products for both men and women..... Copyright ©: All Photographies: Bernard Touillon, Grégoire Gardette / Propriété/Owner : Tadé Pays du Levant ®/ Tous droits réservés./All Rights Reserved - Do not reproduce without permission
Continue reading "The Green Spirit of The Hammam - Part 1: Tadé {Beauty Notes & Reviews}" »
 In Mars and April 2008, M.A.C. will release a new makeup collection called Chick-A-Boom. The graphic design for the line was entrusted to cartoonist Fafi who created three new Fafinette characters for the collection: Eriko, Monoka, and Ermine. As part of her MAC 2008 world tour, please note that she will be present at Bendel's in New York City on February 13.....
Continue reading "New M.A.C. Chick-A-Boom Collection by Fafi {Beauty News}" »
Major beauty companies have now decided to go green and spare the live(r)s of sharks. Squalene, a natural organic compound with much vaunted beauty properties found in shark liver, but also in Amaranth seed, rice brean, wheat germ, and olives (Wikipedia) was so extensively harvested from deep-sea sharks that it had started to threaten their survival.
You may have come across it in health supplements or Palmer's Scar Serum found at CVS. The anti-oxydant properties of Shark-derived Squalene are so popular with the Hollywood set that Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman reported in The Black Book of Hollywood Secrets that it had become a strange yet recognizable smell found in the vicinity of many a star (it smells like fish and algae -- frankly a quite sickening odor). Apparently, a number of actors wear shark liver oil like a permanent mask or primer....
Continue reading "Ban on Shark-Derived Squalene {Beauty News}" »
Dr. Hunter's Rosewater & Glycerine Hand Creme by Caswell-Massey - one of the oldest American brands founded by Dr. William Hunter in 1752 in Newport, Rhode Island - smells like the roses cultivated by our grand-mothers in their gardens, in the best sense possible of this representation. The scent of the cream is delicate, fresh, very realistic and refined enough to evoke the fruitiness of Nahema by Guerlain; in short, it is an impressively scented hand cream. So much so that more than a good hand cream it can double up as a fragrance cream as the perfume feels intense enough to fulfill this purpose. We noticed that it is best to apply this cream like one would a mask rather than a cream that would need to be rubbed in. The rose perfume just smells much better when left alone as much can be......
Continue reading "Caswell-Massey Dr. Hunter's Rosewater & Glycerine Hand Creme {Perfume Review} {Beauty Notes} {Smell-The-Roses-Till-Valentine's Day Challenge - Day 12}" »
Cosmetics brand Uslu Airlines has partnered with creative director Bernhard Willhelm and issued three new nail polishes in subdued metallic colors meant to dress your nails, not just in any season, but in winter.....
Continue reading "KNO, JDP, & GWW by Uslu Airlines & Bernhard Willhelm: Winter Light Catchers {Beauty Notes}" »
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Chi Tea Organic Green Tea Liquid Extract: Antioxidants Boost & Cooling Help 
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