Project Red: Julia Allison Goes Ginger!

30Jun09

(From Julia Allison’s Lifecast at Nonsociety.com)

As a ginger myself, I love chronicling the descent into carrot-topdom. Webutante Julia Allison recently went from chocolate brown to super red with the help of Jason Backe at Ted Gibson.   See her spicy progress as a redhead here.

Summer is the prime time to switch it up, people!  I want you all joining my Ginger Brigade!

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Scott’s Pick: Aqua-D+ Multivitaminé by Lierac

29Jun09

I don’t use makeup, and find the trends of guys tweezing their eyebrows into points, wearing foundation, and applying lip gloss throughout the day more than a bit creepy. Of course there are mitigating circumstances, sunburn on the forehead, a savagely destroyed pore, or even a black eye, too distracting for black tie events.

The problem with make-up is that it smells and looks like make-up, and fumbling around with some borrowed product you’re not familiar with could end with rough splotches of mismatched flesh tones creating a spectacle far more disturbing than the original flaw. Luckily, there is a happy medium; tinted moisturizer, specifically Aqua-D+ Multivitaminé by Lierac.

Just a drop will soften the problem and blend with your natural color. The moisturizer currently comes in doré and sable hues, has a subtle scent, and doesn’t smother your skin the way foundation does. Best of all, the bottle looks similar to suntan lotion, so if you happen to be a guy, you don’t have to worry about anyone finding it in your medicine cabinet.

Available for purchase at beauty.com; $40.

By Scott Cavazos

(Previous reviews by Scott can be found here)

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Makeup Trick: ReNu

24Jun09

I received a tip in my inbox, stating:

To lock your eye shadow down and keep it from fading away: Dip your makeup brush into a drop of Bausch & Lomb ReNu Multiplus saline contact solution before applying eye shadow. The sodium chloride (aka salt) in the solution will make the shadow extra moist since salt retains water, giving the pigment staying power!

I approached this with as much skepticism, cynicism, hesitation, whatever you want to call it – and you know what? Totally works. And it’s something you probably have lying around anyway!

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Crazylibellule and the Poppies: Les Garçonnes

24Jun09

One of my favorite brands, Crazylibellule and the Poppies, has just introduced a new collection of CrazySticks, “Les Garçonnes.” The brand (a highly giftable, package-driven brand – seriously, check out the other fragrances -  adorable) has been creating these little 0.17oz portable, solid fragrances called “CrazySticks” for a while, and now is introducing 7 scents: Josephine, Gabrielle, Louise, Tamara, Jeanne, Rose and Pompon. All paraben free, alcohol free and with no artificial coloring; and of course named after fiery, independent, positive femme-fatales.

My favorite, Rose à Saigon, is described on the site as:

Decidedly flowery-fruity… Passion Fruit for its effervescence, soft Rose for its bloom and Guaiacum Wood, with its slightly smoky undertones, to arouse the Garçonne in each and every one of us.

The Garçonne masculine feel of ‘Rose à Saigon’ is expressed with Guaiacum Wood and Vetiver.

Exotic and captivating, the scent of her dream on her skin.

Not for the faint of heart.  Check them out on BeautyHabit and B-Glowing.

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“Guinness is Good For You.”

22Jun09

(Photo from The Swell Life)

As I once proclaimed, I love Daphne Guinness. And this just in from Jane Larkworthy at W: she’s collaborated with Comme des Garcons to create a fragrance called “Daphne.”   The blog states:

Her scent, Daphne (out in September), is a woody concoction with hints of bitter orange, saffron, iris, patchouli and amber.  “This has a lot of woods because that’s what I love,” she told me. “These notes represent my life. There’s Spain, the Middle East, France, Ireland—also the Seventies and moss.”


More on this as it comes closer to the drop date (September). If this is anything like Ms. Guinness herself – edgy, exciting, tasteful – I can’t wait to smell it!

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Cinquième Sens: Two Intro Fragrance Courses

16Jun09

I received a lovely note from Cinquieme Sens today.  The US rep requested I share with my readers who (hopefully) are obsessed with perfume as much as I am:

Dear perfume lovers:

Have you ever heard about Cinquième Sens (Fifth Sense in French)? Any self-respecting fragrance fanatic should know that Cinquième Sens is a well-known perfumery school, based in Paris just near the Eiffel Tower. Our New York training center is located Midtown East, near to the Grand Central Station and we propose small group workshops for anyone who wants to learn about fragrances. Our method of work is interactive and we carry a particular attention to the quality of our trainings and the interactions between participants.

Would you like to test your sense of smell? Identify the different raw materials? Understand the vocabulary of fragrance? Gain knowledge about the perfumer’s work?

If so our trainings are designed for you! You’ll have the opportunity to work with our Olfactorium® which is a compact version of a Perfumer’s Palette and contains 48 raw materials and fragrances.

We currently propose 2 trainings depending on your needs and interests:

- The Perfumer Palette (3 hours): an introductory session to measure your olfactory abilities and acquire methods for memorizing odors.

- Introduction to Technique and Language of Perfumery (2days): an introduction to the universe of perfume from raw materials to fragrance classification.

Please feel free to contact me for more information. I’ll give you with pleasure the next sessions’ dates and I can send you detailed information.

My name is Laura, you can reach me at (212) 686-4135 or laura@cinquiemesens.com.

I hope to share with you a nice perfumed experience!

Kind regards.

Laura Kiffer

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Brooklyn Volunteer Opportunity

16Jun09

As my friend Andrew says, I’m a hippie.  I also really love food.  So,  since I’m a food-loving hippie,  I get newsletters and info about Slow Food, culinary activities, dietary news, etc.  Well, this one caught my eye (I’m connecting it to beauty via health), and I’d like to put the word out in BK about it:

Direct from the Slow Food NY newsletter:

The Brooklyn Healthy Food Campaign: Food Summer ‘09

Description: The Brooklyn Healthy Food Campaign and Slow Food NYC have joined forces to fight a health crisis of rising obesity and diabetes among children and adults. These diet-related diseases disproportionately affect certain neighborhoods where residents lack access to healthy and culturally-appropriate food.

Brooklyn Food Summer ‘09 is an all-volunteer initiative of the Brooklyn Healthy Food Campaign (BHFC). The BHFC is a partnership of City and State governments, citywide service providers, grassroots organizations, and concerned citizens committed to improving community health and food security in the Borough of Brooklyn. This summer, these groups are joining forces to apply technical expertise, agency resources, and grassroots community organizing to make strides towards this vision.

There are three types of volunteer positions available:

1. Community Food Ambassador
The Community Food Ambassador Program will train you how to talk with your neighbors about the connections between our local food system and the health of our communities; how to help our neighbors get public benefits through programs that support employment and how we can work together to increase access borough-wide to fresh, affordable food.

2. Food Stamps/Food Cards Benefits Pre-Screening Specialist
The Food Stamp/Food Card (EBT) Benefits Pre-Screening Specialists Training Program will train 60 community volunteers to support and increase the capacity of 10 sites actively conducting pre-screenings in Brooklyn in an effort to raise enrollment rates of eligible neighbors and improve their access to fresh, affordable nutrient-dense food.

3. Food Summer Behind the Scenes Support
For volunteers excited to be a part of the Brooklyn Food Summer Campaign, who are unable to make the commitment to being a Community Food Ambassador or a Pre-Screening Specialist, we invite you to join our Behind the Scenes Support team. We are looking for folks with a wide range of skills and interest to support the campaign from researchers, writers, editors, graphic and website designers, photographers to you fill-in-the-blank.

For more information and to sign up to volunteer:
brooklynhealthyfoodcampaign.org/fs_bkgrnd.html

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Givenchy Fragrances: A Retrospective

16Jun09

I received the following question via le facebook a few weeks ago (it’s probably been months, actually) from a reader/friend Amy. She says:

Q: Alright, here’s the dealio. I just got this ’sample’ of this roll-on of Givenchy’s Very Irresistible. Knowing that you have a keen olfactory blessing, I am really curious of your opinion of this fragrance.

When I first slathered it on… sorry, *rolled* it onto my wrist I was like, ‘This is just glorified Jasmine Vanilla ‘Aromatherapy’ from the Bath and Body Works…’ i.e., a Patchouli base, I think. Well, as you well know as you wear a scent it changes and I started to really like this stuff. Somehow with time and heat, it began to smell marshmallow-y but not like a campfire or Rice Krispies’ threats, but special and *rare* – a real delight, a light but full scent that smells kind of innocent; an answer to the past attempts (total fail) of the marshmallow/candy replicas of Paris H. and Jessica S.

What is your take on the Givenchy fragrance line as a whole? As a teenager I rocked Amarige. People were wearing like… you know, that Coty crap or Love’s Baby Soft. And I will admit, there is a time and place for those but not outside of 6th grade… but I was rocking the Amarige and Organza in those days. Not that anyone noticed besides myself, but I smelled good at every turn of my body and I knew I had the answers to life.

Well, that was cathartic… Anyway, Ms. Colleen, I am curious about what your opinion on the Givenchy fragrance line is… you know, just… altogether. I trust your judgment because it is very similar to mine from what I have read from you over time.

A: Now, I have been musing over this since I received it, planning whole-heartedly to review all of Givenchy’s fragrances. But the truth is, that would be a huge undertaking. Especially since I haven’t smelled all of them.  Or, I’ve smelled them, and just wasn’t impressed enough to remember it, covet it, love it, etc.

I was actually introduced to Givenchy through a knockoff – a candle that was designed to smell exactly like Ysatis. And I adored it. In fact, I can conjure up its scent just thinking about it – I was in junior high with a weird, light blue room (I was in the process of painting murals all over it – this changed my junior year when I went full-on Cure and painted it eggplant purple). The candle was also light blue, I remember burning it and receiving a pair of cherry red t-strap maryjane Doc Martens at the same time.

I digress – but, this was my first introduction to Givenchy’s fragrances (circa 1994ish). It wasn’t until college when Liv Tyler popped out, endorsing Very Irresistible that I even gave them a second thought. The line was most likely too sophisticated for me (my full perfume history is here), or worse, too expensive.

But the Bath & Body Works fragrance is probably modeled after Very Irresistible, as it was Very Successful (due to an intense, and celeb-driven marketing and PR campaign). So, what you’re smelling is probably spot on. Just as it is in clothing, fragrances regularly steal the chemical compounds and make a knockoff. Nature of the beast, I suppose.

And what do I think about Givenchy fragrances as a whole? I’m halfway in – never really had a particular moment with them recently. I’ll have to revisit.  But I definitely loved Ysatis.  I wonder if the actual fragrance was half as good as that cheap candle?

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How To Have a Good Morning

16Jun09

1.    Coffee
2.    Shower with Nivea Touch of Happiness bodywash. Orange blossom sweetly invigorates, the “skin touch lather system” means it lathers up on contact with skin (no extra $$ spent on a loofa!), it rinses clean, and it is the first bodywash I’ve used that ACTUALLY moisturizes my skin. Even the ones that claim they hydrate usually don’t, but this one really and truly does.   AND smells so perfectly summery and soft.  $6.99 at drugstores.
3.    The trains are magically all running on time
4.    Surprise! Extra payday!

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Whole New Meaning to “Lit Up”

12Jun09

New slowtimer post on a fab find. *ahem* Let me introduce – the beer candle!

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