Outblogged By A Mile

It's been a while, but there are very few "substantive" style blog posts in this world, which is why I proffer to you a "magnum opus" by Laura Jane Faulds...

Read it: A STYLE ICON/MAGNUM OPUS HYBRID: For Raymond Douglas Davies; Sincerely, Laura Jane

A STYLE ICON/MAGNUM OPUS HYBRID: For Raymond Douglas Davies; Sincerely, Laura Jane

A STYLE ICON/MAGNUM OPUS HYBRID: For Raymond Douglas Davies; Sincerely, Laura Jane

A STYLE ICON/MAGNUM OPUS HYBRID: For Raymond Douglas Davies; Sincerely, Laura Jane

Me and My Yves Saint Laurent Mask Are Doing Fine, Thank You

It's odd when an impulse purchase is spurred by your brother's disapproval for not spending enough money. But that's exactly what happened to me after my brother decided that leaving Macy's with a new pair of socks just would not cut it for the day.

While economizing is all the vogue, holding a flimsy shopping bag with the least expensive item in the store doesn't really provide much "retail therapy." (Has everyone forgotten this magnificent phrase and taken up a black Puritan's hat? Not I.) Within fifteen minutes of my brother's "you-can't-leave-with-just-socks" pep talk, the words Yves Saint Laurent appeared like a flash in the sky.

Soon I was reviewing my options at the YSL cosmetics counter with a gentlemanly, turtlenecked salesperson who inspected my skin and began recommending many fancy products. And that is how I ended up with a graceful blue tube of Yves Saint Laurent Pur Instant Pur mask with special Himalayan Blue Poppy water. The purifying mask has a light fragrance and the color of the goop matches the packaging of the box and the tube. At $37, it sure isn't for St. Ives, but anything French (poems, scarves, boys) makes me forget all reason.

As for the Himalayan blue poppy part (a little freaky, no?), I think Himalayan ingredients, like Kombucha drink, have become all the rage. Everyone's doing it. And my impression is this Himalayan blue poppy can thrive in 7 degree weather, whereas I need a wool sweater when it's 65 degrees out. Yes, my darling tube of blue YSL mask will probably outlast me and Frances McDormand on a bitter December night. Maybe we shall plant the tube on an arid mountaintop with bitter soil (the preferred environment of this strain of poppy) after it is finished perfecting my skin.

Not much other news to relate. Gotta dash to an island pronto!

A Most Surprising Response to My Aversion to Botox Injections on Cruise Ships

I was amazed to receive such a comment on my blog, so I thought I would post it here prominently instead of burying it in the normal comments section. A while back, I wrote about the recent phenomena of getting Botox on cruises. This trend is totally insane, in my not-so-humble opinion.

But here is the response I received from "last minute cruise vacations". This is last minute cruise vacations' two cents::

Is Botox-at-sea a good idea?I spoke with Pittsburgh plastic surgeon and anti-aging expert Dr. James J. Barber, the author of “The Forever Factor”. Barber, who has worked with Botox since it was first approved by the Food and Drug Administration, acknowledged that there has been a lot of abuse of the product by unscrupulous doctors who dilute the drug with more saline than is recommended. Nevertheless, Barber feels that Botox can be safely offered on cruise ships so long as it is administered by an experienced, board-certified plastic surgeon or dermatologist, in a sterile environment and at recommended doses.

I'm not sure if this exchange between last minute cruise vacations and Dr. Barber, who is a real person, did take place. But I hope this type of comment doesn't resurface on my blog.

Hugs from the Thought police,
Charlotte

Hit the Snooze Button, and a Week Passed

OMG! So tired!

Pulling out the old typewriter here, but I'm feeling too mellow (code: exhausted) for a true update. I will have you know though that Vincent Longo makeup is 75% off at the Bath & Body Works across the street from Grand Central station. Nabbed a tube of his lipstick in Foolish Virgin for around six bucks.


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Mind drifting to RNC (bad, too early!), and Palin's thoughts on women's rights (much too early!)....must return to more pleasant thoughts of pink-mauve cosmetics. (Sigh, better.)

I may be looking for an heiress-blogger....if you know any girls or boys who like makeup counters, drop a line to eyeshadowgovernment [at] gmail.com.

Stay charming,
C

Product Review: Burt's Bees Lip Gloss

I wasted a good fifteen minutes today agonizing over what lip gloss to buy at Walgreen's. (Charlotte-like thoughts include....Do I need lip gloss? Will it taste like an oil slick? Where's the iced tea? How shiny is too shiny? And what the heck is in this tube anyway? ) I've been trying to be more careful about what lips products I wear because honestly, you can't help but eat some of it. Elves are not making that lipstick disappear.

So I'm delighted I bought Burt's Bees Super Shiny Lip Gloss in Nectar Nude. The top three ingredients in the tube are castor seed oil, sunflower seed oil, and acacia decurrens flower wax. The Nectar Nude shade is just a little shiny and appears almost invisible. Although I wish it had more color, it makes the skin on your lips feel very soft (without any weird chemicals). I might start wearing Burt's Bees gloss every day, both alone and on top of lipstick.

Verdict: Success!
Buy it: Burt's Bees Super Shiny Lip Gloss ($6.99), Drugstore.com.

Blogger Champagne Klatsch: Botox on Cruise Ships and Chocolate Soap

Earlier this week, a posse of us blogger-ette girls met downtown to catch up over champagne, though only water for me. (Is Louisa May Alcott my sister? No, I am just a lightweight.) During our candlelit meeting, we discussed all the things and people that inspire and annoy us.

Like...Cosmetic Surgery on the High Seas. Anne Fritz, who writes for Jet Set Girls, jumped in to tell us about her newest post. The dish: Norwegian Cruise Lines now stows doctor who will administer Botox on their ships. Isn't that nice of them? But what about the stormy waters and those big needles? I'd much rather fight a pirate or a large squid than a dermatologist on a wobbly floor. Make them walk the plank!

Rats! This icebreaker got us all bunched up and peeved about Botox. Some of us were concerned about a recent study that shows Botox particles can travel from a rat's whiskers to its brain. I was in the anti-Botox boat as were several other fashion-beauty blog klatschers who talked about frozen eyelids and all types of horrible, horror stories. Anne confessed she was pro-botulinum toxins, and likes to drink some in the morning with toast. She is against Botox on cruise ships though. And others kept mum. Then, we changed the subject to....

Yummy Soap. Do tell. Well, the fabulous Charu at Butterfly Diary was kvelling over her new soaps from Soapier. I've never seen anyone quite so rapturous about soap, but the "spirits" at the table were flowing freely. She really loves their products that smell like chocolate, like this chocolate-raspberry Red Devil slice by Soapier.
I would give you more details, but need my beauty sleep....will talk more about my new blogger girlfriends soon. Also, expect product reviews asap!

Stay gorgeous darlings,
C

Would This Make Me a "Holly Hunter-Ite" or a "Holly Hunter-ophile"?

Hi senoritas,

A) I'm trying to grow my hair as long as Holly Hunter's.

And B) I have trouble accepting the abundance of lukewarm, female characters we see in the movies and on TV. So as ya probably know by now, Saving Grace's a rare TV show. Holly Hunter plays Grace, a headstrong female investigator with few apologies for who she is. She's totally rockin'!

Now, the show has set up an online forum EmbraceYourGrace.com where women are weighing in about real, emotional issues. They don't censor their contributors or make them divulge their most embarrassing makeup bloopers. Hold your horses, you say? No, giddy up. It's good news for the web. There's a million miles of fluff content directed at women (guilty as charged!), and not nearly enough straight talk. Check it out.

Also, trying to stay "on message," I'm also a massive, massive fan of the Holly Hunter flick, Home for the Holidays.

The Better To See You, My Pretties: Eyeglasses Made in France

I scanned this photo from the new J. Crew catalog because I love good eyeglasses. Also, the phrase "Made in France" in the product description didn't hurt. These vintage-style, Selima eyeglasses for J. Crew are available in golden olive for $325 online, or through catalog orders.
This model is called Menrad.

P.S.: The Selima Menrad eyeglasses are listed as unisex, but right now only appear in the men's section of jcrew.com.

Bob Dylan Plays My Backyard + A Word on Disposable Razors

Hooray! Bob Dylan's playing Prospect Park tonight, just a few blocks from my house. This is a huge event. Also, any possibility of seeing "our" (maybe you had one too?) high school crush, Jakob Dylan, is golden. Blue-eyed, slightly cheesy songs, very good.

If you were born before the boy's moment, this cover of Rolling Stone in 1997 was a big deal.

Next Subject.

Maybe I've mentioned the preponderance of ungroomed men in California whose presence eventually inspired a move to New York. Living in Oakland in the midst of artistic boys for whom both shaving and showering were "optional" daily activities, I dreamed of a better town where good hygiene was valued, where I could converse with gentleman who expressed their identity through long, well-constructed sentences instead of draping, untamed follicles.

The Park Slope section of Brooklyn has been great. Better yet, people shower here. They appear happier to have done so. So it seemed kind of unfair to me when a member of Rogue Wave appeared on Style.com's front slideshow today. Slide #21, from New York too. How? I'm sure the Rogue Wave guys from my old neighborhood are nice, but they are also oblivious to advances in razor technology.

Hence, the Gillette® M3 Power Nitro is my pick of the day.


Buy it: Gillette M3 Power Nitro (about $15), Walgreens.

Photo Credit: Style.com/Elizabeth Perrin

As Promised, SpaGoddess Ayurvedic Cleanser Review

Well, I had a strong premonition about the Etsy product I mentioned about a week ago. A sample packet of SpaGoddess' Ayurvedic Cleansing Grains arrived in the mail. It is a totally magical 99% organic powder made by goddesses or gnomes or wizards. And I'm really not one to kvell over most facial products I try.

The oat grain and rice powder act together as a strong, all-natural exfoliant. I rub it very gently across the skin with water as a basic face cleanser. It's even better though when you add water and then press it on the face as a mask. If you leave the mask on for 15 or 20 minutes, the Moroccan clay in this bottle majorly cleanses the pores. I feel like I've made a trip to the spa every day I use it. 'Mazing!



Buy it: Ayurvedic Cleansing Grains ($16), SpaGoddess on Etsy.

Eye on City Chic Girls

I was out and about this weekend in Brooklyn, and it looks like fashionable city girls are a bit feminine with tough accessories. Young, super-cool women heading to parties were wearing pale vintage tops with structured denim shorts or simple dresses. Shorts this season can be very short, but often have a funky, retro twist and are paired with black gladiator sandals. Cut-offs are absolutely out, and clean lines are in.

For "fancier" girls, I noticed one young lady on the street looking very winsome in this pink wrap dress by Diane von Furstenberg. It's called the Nalia dress.

Most hip Brooklyn girls seem to pass on lots of perfume and $300 dresses (although we all probably would wear both if our budget allowed). Women in New York look gorgeous in the summertime, and based on my grandmother-like non-20-20 vision, seem to barely wear any makeup. Anyhoo...From my skewed perspective, it does seem that all women at rock shows in Brooklyn look like they walked off the page of an Urban Outfitters catalog.

Out on the Town Beauty Tip: To look fresh into the wee hours, this pot of Bobbi Brown concealer is a gal's best friend. It helps me look happy, not sleepy. Scroll down for more...

So what else does one need before heading out in the city? Flushed cheeks and lips. In this heat, believe me: you can even skip blush. Nature will provide.

1. As for the lips, pull out a dark reddish-brown lipstick and ever so lightly draw a line in the palm of your hand.

2.Then, quickly brush your index finger against the lipstick line and dab your lips for a very faint, is-she-born-with-it? lip stain.

3. Finish the lips by applying a dime-sized amount of household olive oil for extra shine and moisture.

4. Complete the look with a coat of mascara, like Bad Gal mascara by Benefit.

And Unveiling....the Most Coveted Item of the Week: Annick Goutal Petite Cherie perfume cream ($95) at Bergdorf Goodman.