Soothing Summer Skin with Sebamed Cleansing Shower Oil

While we are all excited about the high temperatures, beaches and sun bathing ( with SPF of course), I often find that caring for my skin post fun in the sun is daunting. It's tricky finding a way to get the hot and stickiness of you like... yesterday when it seems as though you are shrouded in a cloud of humidity and your skin is on the verge of peeling from sunburns.

Well say hello to Sebamed Cleansing Shower Oil, an ultra- mild , 100% soap-free skin conditioning gel that gets rid of the your sticky summer product goop without dryness or irritation. Sebamed product line is also free of parabens and adjusts to a pH of 5.5 to help maintain your moisture level.

For the past few weeks I've been pleasantly pleased with Sebamed Cleansing shower oil as its ultra soothing to my skin and post shower, I don't need to put on any body lotion ( which is amazing as my skin is super dry), I just put on my SPF and go!

Sebamed products are available at www.sebamedusa.com and drugstore.com


disclaimer: I received this products as a sample, my thoughts and opinions of this product are of my own.

Chanel Summer 2010 Les Pop-up Collection: Nouvelle Vague 527 & Riviera 537 Nail Varnish Reviews and Swatches

Today I checked out the nail colors for Chanel's upcoming Les Pops Summer beauty collection. For those of you who love bold nail colors, you are in for a real treat! I can't wait to see the lipcolors come next week. Peter Philips has a very strong summer collection that packs punchier pinks, corals and serenades us with a playful blue as compared to this past spring's collection.

The 3 nail colors in this collection are:

Mistral- a soft sheer pink with gold shimmer. Pinker than Jade Rose and Ming.

Riviera- a strong creamy hot pink.

Nouvelle Vague- a creamy minty turquoise.

Photos: from Middle finger to Pinky Finger: Mistral, Riviera & Nouvelle Vague

Review:

Initially, I thought Nouvelle Vague would be a bit more colorful, I was expecting an electric blue but the borderline pastel-like nature of the polish is surprisingly flattering. This is definitely a fun color that I can't wait to wear. My standout would have to be Riviera. It just popped against my skin.! I got 2 complements within the hour of having it on, I also plan on wearing this one regularly. Compared to Boa, Riviera is a much brighter pink, though it can be a close dupe.

Mistral is a beautiful color as well, and the tamest of the three. If you are looking for a perfect pink with flecks of gold, let Mistral be the one.

Photos: by me

Disclosure: all nailpolishes purchased by me

High school memories: your first luxury

With the summer coming up ( its still not warm in NYC yet) and the other depressing climate we have ( hello economy!). I began to think of the luxuries of my yesteryear.

In HS I had ( and still have) skin that gets oily by mid-day. I remember my mom going out and buying Clinique's 3 step system ( I skipped out on the Dramatically Different Lotion) and played with my Black Honey Almost lipstick.

When I got my first job at 16, I remember my first purchase(s). Chanel Boa ( Hot Pink) nail polish and a Bebe tank with "L" in cursive on the side. I still love Boa and have back ups of it that I occasionally use when the summer months approach.

For my 17th, my friends got me a makeover at MAC Fashion Valley ( which was open for 2 months at the time) and I was exposed to a whole 'nother level! I got a free mascara "x" and Icon lipstick and we headed over to Mission Valley to take Glamourshots (haha, we looked so ashy!).

With all thats going on in the world, I'm glad that I have fond memories of what makes /made me happy as a teen and what has made me an even more thankful adult.

Freebie: NARS Foul Play Lipgloss Mini

I'm to "F" and it could have easily have been Fashion, Fun, and or Frumpy. But no,I had some goodies stashed from the Fashion Valley Nordstrom's trend show that I would like to bestow up a reader, consider next sunday your lucky day!

What is up for grabs? A brand new NARS' Foul Play mini lipgloss! its a bare pink hue that rivals Turkish Delight.

You have until next Sunday, June 21st at 10 am EST. to drop a line in the comments section that answers the question " What is your all-time summer jam?"

Winner will be picked at random so ... Good Luck!

Lacroix

Eastbound and Embellished

Embroideries, eastern, African and oceanic inspirations come into focus when thinking of summer.
MAC chimed in with the launch of Style Warrior, a vivid collection rich in yellows, purples and bronze as an ode to beauties of color.
Ann Taylor is in on the fun with their summer collection, the embroidered tunic is just one of the mulit-versatile pieces they have lined up. Perfect as a beach cover up or to chill with shorts or pants.
MAC Style Warrior is available now
Ann Taylor Tunic $69.59 is available here

DIY Fashion

Here are a list of links to recreate hot trends and classics.

Don't let the recession crush your dreams of high fashion, just do-it-yourself, moin cher!

Chanel – Garance Dore

- ucameoutofastrobe.blogspot.com

- brightestyoungthings.com

Louis Vuitton- Elle

Peter Som- Teen Vogue

Philip Lim 3.1- Fashionista.com

What designer has inspired you to D-I-Y?

photo:nymag.com

Cult Summer Movies

Ah, the fond memories of Staff Development days that allowed us to leave at 11:30am. A quick run to the Country store for some mint chocolate chip cookies and some snacks from Vons and we were across the street at Erin's watching "our " movies.

What movies? the one's that signified girl-dom to us, our rebellious streaks of... watching our cult movies!

The Craft- reminds me of Teen Angst, a post return to OZ Faruza Baulk, a pre- Half Baked Rachel True and a truely bitchy Christina Taylor.  We like to believe we were this truly out-casted ( Light as a feather, stiff as a board) and also wished there was a guy as hot as Skeet Ulrich ( what happened to him)?

Fear- I'm not a big fan of Reese or Mark but we still watched this crazy ass movie.

The Newsies- Oh yeah, this was our official introduction to Christian Bale..no Bat Suit just singing and dancing and striking!

Clueless- defined my 7th and 8th grade year. I think I know every word to this movie.

Now, I can't wait to catch up with My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks on Netflix for the summer.

Brown, Bronzed and Beautiful!

Bronzers for the bronzed

Though it sounds damn near impossible, it’s not. As being on the North East for almost a year, I do miss my year around golden tone bestowed upon me by La Jolla, Del Mar and Coronado.
Alas, I can use something to (temporarily) get me golden!

What’s so great now is that there are plenty o’ options, whether you want to look matte and have it act like a blush, or care for a dash of color. Bronzer is out there for us all.

My faves:
Bronzer Stick- NARS Rapanui – easy to blend and you can use over or under your foundation or concealor.

Bronzer Powder – MAC Refined Golden and YSL Bronzer #2- MAC gives a great glow with shimmer while YSL’s is Matte. MAC has 3-4 (depending on if there is a color story with a limited bronzer) YSL has 4 mattes- both with a variance of different yellow and red tones in them.

Bronze with Color- Guerlain Bronze in dark has really cool palette with coral-y- pink that gives a pop of color to deeper tones.

Too Many Options but one has to work Bronzer- Physician’s formula. Seriously, I think they may have 30 different combinations of bronzers! But you have to see if drugstore brands have the pigments in them to ward of looking chalky and ashy. I haven’t tried this brand but there has to be at least 1 that would work.

Bright Eyes

not Conor oberst but..no, not even close.

The look looks great on Drew and the many others who have rocked it in the past week.

Would you wear a stark blue eyeshadow? or any color that makes your iris pop?

Maybe its something I could try this weekend, I'm tempted to try this look out with some bright shadows ( ie MAC Pagan and Haunting).

Updated 06/13/09:

I decided to try this look with NARS Caravaggio, the violet was mighty playful. I'll definately have to try this again! Sans the goofy face :)

Photo: Fashionista.com

NARS Summer 09

I love the inventive color combos by Francois Nars! For fall it was Dolce Vita Blush ( dusty rose) with Gold shadow ( Fez), Chocolate Shadow ( Galapagos) and a peachy lippie ( Seniorita).

Summer take a turn with the Tropical with Tropic eyeshadow ( teal) a yellow/orange eyeshadow duo a new bronzer and a pale rose lipgloss:

Tropic Single Eyeshadow ( Silver Flecked-Teal)

Scorching Sun Eyeshadow Duo ( Apricot and vibrant orange)

Irresistiblement Bronzing powder (Terracotta)

Falaba Lipstick ( Bronzy Rose)

Outsider Lipstick ( Burnished Coral)

Belize Lipgloss ( Pink Mauve with Gold Flecks)

Tonga Lip pencil ( Pink amber)

Abelita Nail Polish ( Pearlescent Pink)

View Collection Here

Givenchy moin cher?

I first saw these when Nitrolicious posted them.

Is haute couture and ready-to-wear designers catering to the shoe masses? Tis true, it is the end of the it bag and on with the it shoe, as they are damn-near difficult to replicate.

I'm on the fence this one as YSL has a jelly strappy sandal like this that retails for $195, this is their second season of doing it.

Now, Givenchy is doing a snazzy jelly gladiator at $174 on Zappos.com. Would you buy?

Summer lemming- had me a blast

It's 85+ degrees here in SD and as soon as I walk outside...my shirt is soaked.

After a quick trip to American Apparel the other day, I was satisfied with some summer digs. But when I got home I discovered their le Sac dress on-line... and me wants!

I love the versatility of AA's clothes, especially the dresses. Le Sac dress! 

Grecian , off-the shoulder, strapless and it's one-size fits all in some kickin' colors ( ooh Mauve is coming up soon). I can't wait to try it out plus, ( much like every other AA pieces) they help you travel light and efficient.

UPDATE: AmAp is no longer selling the dress :(

Please bring it back!

What's your summer clothing lemming?

Creaseless summer

The eyes have it..but not when your shadow starts to crease or run off your eyelid. Its hard to put on makeup only to be defeated by sun and humidity- but, I have found 2 products that help cease creases! The first is the coveted Urban Decay Primer potion. The wand makes for easy application and it can be used under your foundation. Its tried and true. The second is a personal favorite- Nars Concealor, I know that its not the conventional "primer" but it does the job. I prep my lids with a little and shadow looks as great 6+ hours later than when I initially put it on.

New MAC: Novel Twist

MAC's exclusive collection for Nordies is Novel Twist. Judging from the pictures, it looks fun. Last year's Patternmaker was a bit disappointing, the lipglasses were too frosty for my skin tone and the packaging looked like art deco that went off the deep end. Before Patternmaker was Tailor made which was the mod houndsooth collection.

Novel Twist will have the usual: coral, beige,tan and plum lip palettes, a warm and cool eye shadow palette, lip glosses, blushes and Pro and face brushes. And the not-so-usual: paint pots,beauty powder, pearlizers and kabuki brushes.

Expect to see this collection online at www.nordstrom.com or in you local store.. no Nordies in your area? Call and order- they will ship!

I'm interested in seeing the campaign images.

Thanks: SPECKTRA

It's a Trip

In every sense of the word. Galliano displayed Dior's resort wear.. and I find it lovely, though I am tired of seeing Jackie O undertones.. ( MK does it alot.. is there no other muse?)
I love the vibrant colors and the nail polish the models were rocking but I'm a bit confused.. if the fall collections come out in the spring, and the resort collections come out now.. when are they going to hit the stores? January 15th.
As far as the trip, 3 girls made a spill onto the runway yesterday.. ouch.
Go Cankles!

Dior Summer Palette 07

I just ran into this nice lil lovely from Dior. Dior Bronze Sun Couture Palette
has a face powder, highlighter, blush and lipgloss in a cute compact.
Dior makes some great palettes because you can put them in your purse, pocket and they are accessable when traveling.. much like their Spring First Class one.
Plus their new lip glosses- Dior Addict Ultra Reflect Lip Gloss comes in some gnarly colors ( did I just say gnarly)that will look great for the summer. They are reformulated and on Sephora.com they help you decifer your previous favorites and the current color names. My fave? Ribbon Mauve 777.

Show them toes

With Warm weather comes great shoes and you need some nice feet to match. But what is the au current nail color to wear? We weren't as depressed as we were this fall/winter with the Chanel Black Satin craze but we aren't ready to bust out the MAC YumYam yellow nail color either. So right now I'm rolling with Essie's Mademoiselle- nude bubble color and Chanel Boa nail color- Bright Pink.
Before I do the nails.. I have to do something about my feet,Sally Hensen's feet scrubs are great and under $5. Foot soak- I like to use Aveda's Body salts as soak and for all the maintenance I bought this really cool hand and foot kit from Bath and Body works for $10. Now you can find some great all-in-one kits in BBW.
Check it out. www.bathandbodyworks.com

Electric Boogaloo

Have you seen make-up colors so shocking in the tube or package but complement your skin tone? Isn’t it great!
A few years back I was browsing the MAC store in Fashion for something new when a MA there suggested that I try their Orange Eyeshadow as a blush…come again?
She also mentioned that Erykah Badu loves to wear the shadow as a blush too. I was sold. I let her try it on me and to my surprise ( not to hers) it looked great on my ( NW 45 MAC) skintone. It looked like a natural flush. I just use it on the apples of my cheeks and to have a tone on tone look, sweep some bronzer over the top of it ( and also use it to contour). I’m really happy the MA taught me a technique and not to be afraid of color instead of just trying to sell me a product. I appreciate that. Other colors that are bright but nice: try NARS Exhibit A blush.
Another bright but nice is MAC’s Squirt lipglass. In an issue of Lucky Magazine back in 2002 it was featured as a favorite of an up and coming designer’s favorite lipgloss. She mentioned that she loved the color because it was lime green in the tube but when on it was “peachy’. I figure it looked unique- I should try it. Needless to say I still love Squirt but unfortunately it is discontinued by MAC. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel! MAC is releasing Tenderstones potted lipgloss in May and they will have a shade called Shush! that is described as a lime-green. For now I find that a great way to use Squirt is layering it over my Victoria’s Secret lipstick in Melt. It’s a beautiful wearable peach shade.
Thanks to my friends at Specktra I hear that in June MAC will have a collection that is basically Primary and Secondary colors- which means there are bright blues, yellows and greens. This summer is going to be so bright, its going to be an electric boogaloo.

MAC Summer Preview

2006's Bait, Hooked, Lure brought us aqua packaging, Blues, greens, bronze and silver pearl and frost finishes.

2007 utilizes 2 other elements,Earth and Sun(..I guess Moon doesn't count) for Sunstrip and MoonBatheSummer Collections!
Like Last years collections- this years will feature LE cream encasing. More info below thanks to thinkfashion.com:

Sunstrip:
The Complete Collection

Charged Water

Revitalizing Energy
Renewal Defense
Youth Aura

Price: $19

Bronzing Powder

Bronze – Muted bronzed-brown with golden shimmer
Refined Golden – Muted golden tan-beige with golden shimmer

Price: $20

Studio Mist Foundation

Summer – Rich caramel bronze
Sun Rays – Peachy bronze with golden nuances

Price: $28


Moonbathe :

The Collection:

Lipstick

Sunmetal - Warm bronze with silver pearl

Honey Moon - Warm pink bronze with gold pearl

Eclipse - Deep rust with gold pearl

Price: $14

Lipglass

Crescent - Soft maple with gold pearl

Moonbathe - Sheer tangerine with white and gold pearl

Dark Flower - Warm plum pink and gold pearl

Elaborate - Soft low karat gold with pearl

Price: $14




Small Eyeshadow

Cosmic - Warm yellow gold with gold pearl

Saturnal - Deep olive with gold pearl

Firespot - Intense orange with gold pearl

Cranberry - Reddish plum with pink shimmer

Claire de Lune - Soft cream with pink pearl

Price: $14

LiquidLast Liner

Molten Sol - Rich gold with intense metallic pearl

Point Black - True black

Price: $16.50



Sheertone Shimmer Blush

Afterdusk - Sheer neutral pink with gold pearl

Other Worldly - Warm yellow gold with gold pearl

Price: $17.50

Glimmershimmer

Astral Rays - Sheer gold with white pearl

Ritzy - Peachy Bronze with gold pearl

Price: $16.50

Nail Lacquer

Fireball - Intense tangerine with gold and orange pearl

Golded - Soft peach with gold lay down

Price: $10

Lash

Sunsational Lashes - Red metallic color

Price: $11

MAC Slimshine

Thanks ThinkFashion.com for the exclusive on MAC's Summer collections.. Its going to be a good one.

First starting on... Monday!( correction May, 2nd) Slimshines should be hitting counters.

The new lipstick/gloss is described as "[Slimshine] applies like a lipstick, but still has the shiny effect of a gloss without the stickiness."
16 new colors from Bare- Light neutral pink with subtle gold pearl,Pleasing – Midtone violet with red and gold pearl,Prudeaux – Dark rich burgundy plum and Cocoamour – Neutral cool brown with matching pearl.

Yummy!