Yesterday, the eccentric duo The Bumbys turned up at Sephora in SoHo to help ring in the store's lovely new look. But who are they? The Bumbys are two renegade fashion critics who wear masks over their faces and write little stories about what you might be wearing that day as well as...a score. They are invariably a hit at various fashion parties in New York. Here's my assessment:
After the assessment, I celebrated my excellent fashion sensibility by picking up my favorite fancy cheese at Dean & Deluca and a new pair of leggings.
Scroll down to read more beauty tips from the Sephora party in SoHo!
If you have places to go and people to see, surely an army of cell phone cameras follows you wherever you go. How doth one shine brighter than one's companions in a photograph? Here's a few tips.
Highlighters and Illuminators
Highlighters and illuminators create a subtle, healthy-looking sheen on your skin, perfect for one-upwomanship. You can apply Nars Illuminator in Laguna across your cheekbones, nose and forehead. Also, Benefit Cosmetics Girl Meets Pearl Luminizer is another great pick for lookin' amazin'. When the camera clicks, you will be sure to sparkle.
The Perfect Red Lipstick
It's impossible to go unnoticed in a photo when you wear red lipstick. If you're feeling bold, Ellis Faas Creamy Lips L103 is a brilliant, true red. Or heat up the night with Tarte LipSurgence Lip Tint in Fiery.
Ellis Faas in L103
Facebook-Friendly Foundation
Before you put on any makeup at all, prep your face with Nuxe Floral Toning Lotion. Then, to look like a total doll, apply Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover foundation. Blend thoroughly across your face and along your jawline. This rock 'n roll foundation covers up unevenness and blemishes like nobody's business. Who needs Photoshop?
Ready for Your Close-up
Once I read a movie star claim it's impossible to look intensely into a camera with both eyes at the same time. Try using one eye more than the other, and you might notice a difference.
Vanity Is Your Religion
If you followed all of Eyeshadow Government's advice and still don't love your photos, you can fix 'em right away. Aviary is a free web-based Photoshop tool for a little after-the-fact manipulation. Banish red eye, spots and perhaps last week's boyfriend with a click of the mouse. If only real life was that easy!
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SALES WE HEART BARNEYS: There are 123 Lanvin women's items on sale on Barneys.com today and each piece is more divine than the next. My heart skips a beat just looking at 'em.
GILT: Today, J Brand jeans are going for roughly $79-99 a pop on the site. Did I mention they make your body look really "fine"? Do it. Gilt.com
BLOOM: The beauty / social media site offers 10% rewards back on everyday purchases. Bloom.com
Pleasure to have you drop by! Take a seat and welcome back. I so adore your company.
All Tied Up
There were a few way cute numbers by United Bamboo on the runways yesterday. The brown shade of this dress reminds me of a pretty giraffe, and the sash bow in the back is so playful.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun
This retro polka dot outfit reminds me of wallpaper in a 1950s laundromat and looks like it's good to dance in. Maybe, you can see yourself drinking milkshakes in this blouse and jeans at a diner, and then adding the skirt for a cocktail party? I'd also really like to do housekeeping in this ensemble.
Color Block Eyes
Look closely and the models are wearing florescent, day-glo orange eyeshadow. Very few people wear bright orange eyeshadow. For work or school though, you can still work it with a pale tangerine eyeshadow (Nars Thebes Dual Creme Eyeshadow Palette $32). In some cultures, oranges are good luck.
Heat It Up
Also on the United Bamboo runway, matte wool coats and shimmering lame scarves got cozy....
Vintage-inspired dresses ruled the runways at James Coviello backstage. Models were trussed, preened, and even crimped. This mad hatter model's eyes were thoroughly plucked (Tweezerman, $20-$30) and cheeks duly accentuated.
Then, blend a thin layer of foundation, and if you absolutely need to, hide any imperfections with more foundation or a liquid concealer. (Cream concealers often appear cakey, and draw too much attention to what you were trying to cover up.) Think fresh!
Cheeks
2. Look at the photo closely, and you'll see her blush begins just past the crease of her smile (over that hill your lips make when you smile wide).
Try applying Smashbox Skin Tint cheek stain in Infrared. With your steadiest hand, paint the color in a diagonal direction on the area just below your cheekbones and blending a little above the cheekbone, as well.
If you have a similar face structure, you can blend the tint so it forms a dramatic, slanted leaf-shaped wash of color.
Eyes
3. Get those eyelids ready by adding a neutral primer (Clinique's Touch Base for Eyes). This will even out any discoloration around the eyes, and prevent eyeshadow from slipping away...
Almost done! Go for it by tracing a circle around your eyelids with a smoky, perlescent mauve eyeshadow. Eyeshadow Government recommends L'Oreal Eye Quad in Subtle Berries.
Lips
Make lips look like rubies with Benefit Silky Finish lipstick in Guilt Free. (I wish!)
Now it's that special time to whine...But what about that fun but very expensive dress she's wearing?
The perennially preppy J. Crew has unveiled some "polished" hippie dresses. They're loose enough to play tennis in--just kidding!
Buy it: Tweezerman ($20); Aromatherapy Associates Rose Mask ($50), Beauty Habit; Smashbox Skin Tint in Infrared ($28), Sephora; Clinique Touch Base for Eyes ($13), ; L'Oreal Eyeshadow Quad ($5), Walgreens; J. Crew Schiadre dress (about $350), J. Crew Campo de Fiori Dress ($175), J. Crew.
Yigal Azrouel's new collection comes replete with Renaissance beauties, and biker-ballerina chicks. I admire the curvilinear forms in the white skirt, mixed with the tougher dark jacket. These two new looks are fresh off Azrouel's runway. Please scroll down to read more beauty tips about how to get these model's looks.
To look like you're out of a fairytale, like this model in green, pull your hair back in a simple bun as you wake up. Don't brush or fuss. For extra texture, use a wax like Bumble & Bumble Sumotech cream. You can also skip lipstick, or wear a pale nude tone. Next, emphasize them there eyes with a thick helping of a medium-dark eyeshadow, like the left-hand shade, in this T. LeClerc Dual Eyeshadow in Coeur Peche. To goth it up, add Nars liquid eyeliner.
Out of more than 100,000 votes in Sephora's poll, the winner for best lipstick is Nars' Dolce Vita. Since you like lipstick, and so does Fellini, it all makes perfect sense. This versatile, semi-matte shade has wowed thousands of women. Just beware of flatterers.
Sephora's Best Blush Winner
Nars also took home the category for best blush in Orgasm. It's a beautiful shade that compliments most skintones.
As a backup, I also highly recommend Lune d'Or blush by Bourjois, or #35 if you like to play with numbers. Just don't give out your digits too soon, unless it's for a manicure.
XO, Charlotte
Buy it: Nars La Dolce Vita lipstick ($23), Nars Blush in Orgasm ($25), available at Sephora.
The new CocoRosie album is blowing away this weekend, particularly a tune called "Black Poppies." This is our interpretation of the feeling we get from the song...
Eyes: Try a buttery yellow on the lids, and delicately line the top lid and the bottom outer corner of the eyelid with black shadow. [Both from Nars' Artist Palette ($60)]
Swipe on mascara and when it's set, Revlon Lash Jewels ($10) is designed to "deposit" tiny crystal dewdrops on the tips of eyelashes for an out-of-this world effect.
This makeup tip was pulled from our high school filing cabinet.
The short version is: you put on your foundation, blush, and eyeshadow, and then jump in the shower. No, this is not crazy talk, but keep your face out of the water. When you get out, your makeup will be awesomely jungle-y moist. And if you jump out of the shower just 30 minutes before you got out to a party, the "dew" will be yours for the evening.
Step-by-step:
Step 1: If you don foundation, apply a matte foundation evenly, beginning towards the nose and blending out with your fingers or a foundation brush. Delicately pat extra in areas that need more coverage.
Step 2: Take a thick blush brush, and apply an opaque pink blush along the cheekbones and blend downward. Pay attention to facial features, and apply a little more along the cheekbones, where the sun would naturally touch your face. Blend.
Step 3: Apply a favorite eyeshadow, or for super-shine, put on shimmer eyeshadow along the eyelid. Think coffee, lilac, and petal shades. Step 4: Turn on the shower and get inside, with face turned away from the stream of water. (If da hair doesn't like steam, sport a showercap.) Hang out for 20 - 30 minutes in the shower.
In the end, the makeup will be saturated with moisture, colors popping all over. (Just don't apply shimmer blush too, because that would be waterfall look-overkill.)
Polish your glow by spraying on a favorite scent or Danielle by Danielle Steele, which smells like tropical fruit (see fruit salad recipe below) and flowers. Buy it: Clinique Soft-Pressed Powder Blusher ($18.50), Nars Eyeshadow in Fathom ($21.00), Danielle by Danielle Steele ($65), Macy's.
Eyeshadow Government's beauty icon of the day is Jon Heder. It's rare for a man to wear bubblegum lip gloss with such grace, style and humility. On ice skates too.
To really wear the Blades of Glorious Look, we toned down the candy colors and found some muted shades for a "wearable" daytime effect. Try Dr. Hauschka Lipstick in Adagio for a tender pink pout as a base, and layer with L'Oreal Hip Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss in Dreamer. Or splurge and make your kisses do figure eights with Nars Lip Gloss in Harlow. Buy it: L'Oreal Hip Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss in Dreamer, drugstores; Dr. Hauschka Lipstick in Adagio ($21), Whole Foods; Nars Lip gloss in Harlow ($23), Sephora or www.beauty.com.
So, I am still hoping this news is just an awful lie. The O.C. is cancelled, and our only option now is to take a lot of drugs. Nothing will save us now, not even Philosophy's....
Having revived the lost art form known as television, the O.C. has been a catalyst in none other than a dramatic Renaissance. (And we're not talking about that fair with all the dirty hippies.) This may be a controversial stance, and we respect people of all faiths.
Holla at the West Coast, my original home. Either way, I already saw tonight's episode of the O.C. and if you want eyes like Julie's look tonight, swab on Nars eyeshadow in Paper Tiger. It will never mask your sorrow.
