Intense Conditioning

Now that you’ve colored your hair, you’ll want a conditioner that goes beyond the little tube you got in the package. The response to the conditioner in Clairol’s Nice’ n Easy Perfect 10 hair coloring kit was so great that the company decided to offer the Color Seal Weekly Conditioning Gloss separately.

We agree. This conditioner really does live up to its name, making color-treated hair shinier, healthier and smoother and has the added benefit of helping to seal in the color.

The generous 58 ml. tube should last a long time since the conditioner only has to be applied once a week (and rinsed out after about two minutes). It is easy to open and apply in the shower and it protects your hair and your hair color. And it smells great.

Perfection in a Small Package

It is coming into the holiday season, and nothing, not even dreadful economic news, can change that. Leave it to Lancôme to come up with a selection that is sure to lightly thrill any woman on your list and also have them wondering how you knew what would be the perfect gift.

The collection is--C’est Magnifique, and it really is…...

Gothique Chic --If the gift recipient you have in mind is the one who stood on line at midnight to see the premiere of Twilight and pre-ordered Aaron De Mey’s black lip gloss – Lancôme suggests Le Vernis Nail Polish in Midnight Glam or Artliner in Midnight Glam. Both are a dark navy blue shade that’s right on trend for the holiday season!

Glamour Girl – Maybe the person you are shopping for would never even dream of leaving the house without her lipstick and nail polish on –--very Mad Men—then Lancôme suggests Le Vernis Nail Polish in In All Her Splendor. This is a beautiful, classic red that’s perfect for this festive season. Or perhaps one of the Color Design Eye Shadow Quads: Glamour Premiere creates a subtle, natural look, while Hollywood Seductive creates a more intense, dramatic look

Then there is Miss Fashionista – we all know at least one. The first to have the new issues of Vogue and Allure and always knows what is hot, even before you do. Lancôme suggests Juicy Tubes, which come with a special seasonal design and in an array of seasonal colors like Pretty in Pink, Luminous in Lace and Showered in Diamonds

These are all perfect manifestations of your good taste and also speak volumes about your knack for knowing exactly what to give.

Skincare for Men, but for Women, as well

Sometimes it is easy to forget that skin is not just a protective covering holding your insides in. Skin is an organ—an organ like your heart or your lungs. Skin is the body’s largest organ and it needs to be taken care of faithfully.

Skin is the body’s first line of defense and when it is healthy, it is able to withstand extreme conditions - heat, cold, wetness, dryness, abrasion - and even heal itself when damaged.

Vaseline has been making skincare products for some time now and lately they seem to have launched an impressive number of variations. Now they have a skincare line for men. The company states that men’s skin is thicker and more oily than women’s skin – so men need products that are specifically designed for their unique skin needs.

For men or women alike, lifestyle can dehydrate the skin without you even knowing it, since a day spent outdoors can drain at least ½ pint of water from skin and after a swim or a shower, it can take skin up to 8 hours to rehydrate.

Vaseline Men skin care products include:

Fast Absorbing Body & Face Lotion—the quick absorption is a plus for anyone.

Extra Strength Body & Face Lotion –this offers long lasting hydration to help severely dry skin heal itself

Extra Strength Hand Lotion -- relieves and heals dry, rough skin, including hands, elbows and feet, knees, and is also quick absorbing—important for anyone who doesn’t have time to wait for a greasy hand lotion to do its work so you can get on with yours.

There’s no reason women can’t use these skin care products as well, and while it may not seem necessary, other than the appeal of the new packaging, to have a skincare line just for men, if it gets them to protect and care for their skin, then, why not?

Beauty Training

Remember train cases-- those neat, little boxes with handles that held anything from make-up to tissue to favorite pieces of jewelry or other necessities you might need on the train during your journey? Your other suitcases could be packed away but not your train case. That had to be near you at all times. It doesn’t matter if the image of a train case and the possibilities it represents is in your memory from experience or from romantic scenes in films. Train cases have been making return appearances.

One such case comes to us from Lancôme, and is an elegant Beauty Box filled with a full size Bi-Facil and Définicils plus more than a dozen deluxe samples of their best-selling skincare and makeup products (total value of $339). But that’s not what you will pay. For just $49.50 with any $36.00 Lancôme purchase, you can have this chic train case. Starting right now, the black train case is available exclusively at Macy’s. The burgundy train case is available at http://www.lancome-usa.com/landing/beautybox.aspx. and at all other department stores beginning 11/23/08.

Supplies are limited so don’t wait too long to get the first piece of what could be the luggage that takes you on a new adventure. Or could be a lovely gift for someone else.

Purely Alima

Alima Pure, a quiet company based in Portland Oregon is making inroads in the mineral cosmetics realm. Alima Pure offers more than truly lovely 250 products with 60 foundation shades, making it easy to find a perfect match. Their items are available online and at select boutiques and spas nationwide.

Alima Pure is offering Holiday Collections that feel as good on the skin as they make the skin look.

Act 1: Four coordinated shadows for smoky eyes:
Lana (a shimmer of pink), Ingrid (a pearly taupe), Ava (sterling silver) , Bette (a deep, velvety blue) [if you have to ask who those first names belong to, never mind.]

Act. II: Light minerals to create classic contoured cheekbones:
Harlow ( soft pearled highlighter), Garbo ( matte neutral brown for depth), Leigh (a neutral rose, almost matte but with a hint of copper shimmer)

Each Holiday Gift Collection is $25 (a $36. value), and $2 from the sale of each will be donated to the Global Fund for Women

www.alimapure.com

Definity Possibilities

Olay has been in the business of skincare long enough to know what they are doing. Born more than fifty years ago, as Oil of Olay, the skincare company has evolved into one of the best performing anti-aging skin care lines.

Color Recapture, by Olay Definity, one of several categories of skincare that Olay offers, at first seemed like it would be like many often marketed, oft tried combinations of moisturizer and coverage. Too many times products that make this dual promise turn out to be, somewhat duplicitous, if unintentionally. Something just misses—either the color is streaky or the moisturizer is either too greasy or not there. Olay’s Definity Color Recapture, however, really does what it says it will do. And isn’t that what any of us wants from any product?

The slim, clear container is easy on the eye and shows off the ribbons of coverage amid the moisturizer. Just the right amount of the mixture comes out of the pump if you are careful not to press too hard--a little goes a long way. The solution goes on very smoothly and feels like satin against the skin. And the result was a surprising excellent. The color blends in perfectly with the anti-aging moisturizer and provides the right amount of coverage for most days. Imperfections and discolorations are diffused by the sheer illuminating color and the skin has a more supple feel. And even while it is making your complexion more luminous, Color Recapture is working as an anti-aging skin care elixir.

Available in three shades: Fair to Light; Light to Medium; Medium to Deep

Holiday Gifts that Make Beautiful Sense

Sephora has been a leading source of fabulous cosmetics in Europe for a long time. The company was founded in France in 1969 and acquired by Paris-based LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, the world's leading luxury products group, in 1997. Sephora basically revolutionized the global beauty industry with its unique retail concept based on a very savvy combination of brand and product assortment, distinctive store design and the beauty expertise of its sales consultants.

Sephora has been celebrating their 10th Anniversary in America this year. (The company operates more than 220 stores in the United States and Canada, and the world’s top beauty website, Sephora.com. In Europe Sephora has more than 500 stores within 12 countries and has established 30 locations in China.)

With choices of more than 200 classic and emerging beauty brands across a broad range of product categories including skincare, makeup, fragrance, bath & body, hair care, smile care and tools, as well as the company’s own private label, it should be easy to find a holiday gift.

One idea might be a lip gloss set from Kat Von D that looks like very Hedwig in the tube but appears almost conservative—but still fun-- when applied. The Lightening Lipglosses Mini Set of 5 is $26. Shades include Gunshine, Stormy, Fierce Red, Bam and Saint.

This would be a perfect present for a more reserved friend you think could use a slight edgy touch. It is wild in the tube but a little bit more tame on the lips.

Another choice for a special yet practical gift and a great buy is Sephora’s selection of palettes— such as the 360˚ Palette ($38) – or the 360˚ Palette Beauty Insider Exclusive ($30) – Both are ideal for those who want to streamline their beauty routine or are just starting out in makeup.

Or there is the Body Butter Sampler ($22) – Sephora’s luxurious body butters all in one package. Choose from Home for the Holidays (Cinnamon Nutmeg, Chocolate Espresso and Apple Dumpling) and Island Holiday (Guava Passion, Coconut Cream and Tropical Jasmine).

Or perhaps a Super Shimmer Lip Gloss Set ($28)

There are also a great selection of clutches, starting at around $16. –some holiday sparkly and others a bit more subdued, but all perfect to give or to use. They work as make-up bags or evening bags.

Between the down-to-earth prices and the heavenly products it might be difficult to decide what to keep and what to give.

Tips from the past

.....that still make perfect sense today.

Such is The Dress Doctor – Prescriptions for Style, from A to Z, an adaptation of the best-selling style guide by Edith Head. Head (1897 – 1981) is the most celebrated costume designer of all time and dressed some of Hollywood’s most influential style icons like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Elizabeth Taylor and countless others. Over the course of her career, she was nominated for thirty-four Academy Awards and won eight times for Best Costume Design, more than any other woman to date. The Dress Doctor shared style tips and dozens of entertaining anecdotes on her A-list clients and is back in print with striking sketches by fashion illustrator Bil Donovan.

And, beginning this weekend, Lancôme is hosting in-store events in celebration of the book at our boutiques. Schedule an appointment with one of our makeup artists at the locations listed below to create your own modern-day Hollywood look inspired by the book. Enjoy complimentary cocktails, hors d’oeuvres and take home your very own copy of The Dress Doctor with any Lancôme purchase of $100.
Details on how to book your appointment are listed below, but hurry, reservations are limited!

(You can call your nearest Lancôme Boutique to book an appointment. (A $75 reservation fee is required and fully redeemable in product.)

November 15th
VALLEY FAIR – 2855 Stevens Creek Blvd. Santa Clara, CA 95050 Phone: 408-244-8334
NORTHPARK – 8687 North Central Expressway Dallas, TX 75225 Phone: 214-750-9364

November 20th
SHORT HILLS – 1200 Morris Turnpike Short Hills, NJ 07078 Phone: 973-258-0790

November 22nd
UPPER WEST SIDE – 201 Columbus Ave. (at 69th Street) New York, NY 10023 Phone: 212-362-4858
BREA – 1102-a Brea Mall Brea, CA 92821 Phone: 714-671-0267
So, try to go and if you cannot make it, pick up a copy of the book because not only is it true that everything old is new again (including the recession). Impeccable Style is always in style.

Beautiful Botanicals

From France comes Clarins’ Extra Firming Tightening Lift Botanical Serum. Touted as a “natural alternative to injections, lasers and lifts,” it has a lovely feel-- the amber-colored liquid is like cool silk gliding on your face.

This serum as a double effect—it smoothes, soothes and lifts, making it a bit easier to apply make-up. The skin has more “slip” so make-up glides on. It really does what it is meant to. It can be applied in the morning or the evening, and it is said to offer not just instant results; it keeps working over time, meaning that it helps stimulate the skin’s renewal process.

Ingredients include:

Oat Sugars, which create an immediate tightening effect
Inca Peanut Proteins, smooth and refine skin’s texture
Hibiscus Seed Proteins moisturize
Stimulen, a blend of amino acids and Vitamin E encourages skin renewal.
Silicium (derived from Brown Algae) boosts elastin and collagen synthesis

As it says on the famous white, red and gold box: “Clarins: Effective serious treatments, ensuring maximum results with the highest quality ingredients.” And, as evidenced by the comment form in the box,they care about what their customers have to say.

$75. A very little goes a very long way.

http://www.clarins.com/

The Fragrance of Memory

The description of the newest scent from Jo Malone, the British fragrance house, is tantalizing enough: “The Thai-influenced notes of Sweet Lime & Cedar form a balanced and harmonious fragrance, as sweet lime combines with delicate hints of jasmine and ylang ylang, coconut, and the vanilla-like tonka bean.” Just the name, Sweet Lime & Cedar conjures up visions or memories of a cooling breeze wafting through a sultry rain forest

And the actual scent fulfills the promise and zeros right to the pleasure points of dreams and memory. To say this scent in intoxicating is an understatement. As the fragrance house says, the perfume is “inspired by the diverse flavours of Thai cuisine... this exotic scent balances zesty citrus fruits with aromatic leaves, delicate flowers, fragrance spices and nutty woods.”

This is a scent of heady contradictions that can be worn with ease by a man or a woman. It is at once seductive and fresh, crisp and heady, pungent and sweet.

The composition of Sweet Lime & Cedar :

Top Notes of Kaffir Lime, Blood Orange, Pink Pepper ( to name a few)

Middle Notes of Clary Sage, Coriander, Lavender and

Base Notes include Cedarwood, Amber and Tamarind

Another nice thing about any of the fragrances from Jo Malone-- Sweet Lime & Cedar, Blue Agava & Cacao, Wild Fig & Cassis, Pomengranate Noir, to name only a few-- is that the different scents can be layered like fine silk. Just anoint yourself with one, perhaps Nutmeg and Ginger Body Crème, then after a few minutes, spray on, say, Lime Basil and Mandarin. Deliciously breathtaking.

And if you are looking for an elegant and yet charming gift, Jo Malone offers a Gift Concierge to help you with your choice from among selections such as a Candle Trousseau (a leather jewel box filled with a suite of fragrant candles), or a Cologne Trousseau ( twelve colognes, selected by you or representative, presented in a stately box) or the Pine & Eucalyptus Collection that includes Luxury candles, bath oils and soaps and fragrance. Breathtaking gifts for a wedding party or holiday festivities.

Look to their fine Corporate Gift Services to assist with presenting clients or colleagues with the perfect gift at your convenience.

Sweet Lime & Cedar...........Is it a dream? .................Or a memory? ................Both.

http://www.jomalone.com/