Daily Loaf

Which woman hasn’t already fallen to the justifiable exigency of seizing the perfect LBD? But who among us has heeded the gothic call to snag the LBL?

Lacquered black lips are the latest addition to a modern anti-beauty revolution. It’s all about daring to be different, and finding interest in a world of contouring and conformity.

Now, I can appreciate shock value. Black lips allow me to attempt to stand out among a sea of New Yorkers even for a moment, until the subway door closes and I’m sandwiched between an ambiguous hipster and a sadist with lips blacker than mine. So much for a fair competition. Read the rest of this entry »

Production just wrapped on the set of local artist Acafool’s music video “Let’s Ride,” a catchy hip-hop song featured in the movie Fast and Furious 4.  As head makeup artist, I had exclusive access to every shot from the crew call at 8 p.m. to the 5 a.m. wrap.  Check out the behind the scenes photos just below the break…

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What awaits at the end of of a two hour-long, cushy Jet Blue flight north; a 10-minute AirTrain ride west, a 55-minute subway ride uptown; and a climb up a particularly steep and stained flight of stairs?  New York City! (In my best Pace Picante Sauce voice), and a bottle of Poland Spring water, of course.  I just returned from the Big Apple last night, and in between shameless gawks at all the pretty buildings, I managed to survey the fashions of the hip and uninhibited.

See what they’re wearing right now, or at least yesterday, in NYC — below the jump.

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Really, how awesome does it feel to slide your hand down the sleeve of a top you’ve fallen in love with, grab the sales tag, and see a crimson strike – through of the suggested retail price? It’s half off (with an additional 20 percent off, today only!) and the top you love just turned into what you’re wearing tonight.

How great would it be to get the same deals on cosmetics? Department store makeup rarely goes on sale, but I know where to land my ship in cyberspace to get out-of-this-world deals.

Half-off Stila, anyone? Find out more below the jump.

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Bravo network’s Project Runway Season 4 winner, Christian Siriano, has blessed us lowly Payless Shoe Source scavengers with a new Egyptian-inspired shoe and handbag line. Equipped with spikes that resemble the horns on a baby rhino, Cuban-style heels and bronzy punk rock chains, the turquoise, brown and gold collection launches in September.

See Siriano’s bargain beauties after the break:

What else could we expect from the fiercest of them all?

Siriano captivated Project Runway viewers with his poufy-sleeved, voluminously eccentric creations while impressing the judges with his couture craftsmanship. I never thought his work could be affordable, but with the new collection ringing up at $25-$45 (my limit for just about everything), even bargain bin bunnies can snag a pair.

These beauties do have an air of ouch, but who’s walking? Wear them to dinner, cocktails, or a movie with dark skinnies. For daytime, rock them with capri-length boyfriend jeans with a crisp white cotton button-down shirt.

My eye is on the strappy chain-link heels on the top row and the sassy spiked shoes in the lower row — which pair of Siriano’s creations can you see yourself teetering upon come Fall?

The raunchy cosmetics brand Urban Decay — which already sells  highly pigmented eye shadows with grimy names like Baked, Roach and Asphyxia — has launched Pocket Rockets, a line of colorful lip glosses.

Pocket Rockets come in eight colors; they’re shiny and pretty and tastes good … blah, blah, blah. What’s so different about these creme-brulee-scented glosses is that they incorporate holographic images of sexy men in the packaging. Yes, the handle of your lip gloss has a picture of a buff man dressed in stylish clothes, from formal to preppy.

If you buy David, a mauve-toned gloss, you get a 30-something, corporate cutie in a suit. If you choose Jesse, a sheer — sparkly blackberry gloss — you get a hipster with long, scraggly hair. If your the type of girl who digs boys that are taken, you’ll probably grab Julio, the young father with a chunky baby girl on his hip.

But wait! (In my best Billy Mayes voice) There’s MORE!!!!  Read the rest of this entry »

Tara Lee (above left) is a Tampa mom who dared to ask the question, “If my children’s toys were recalled because of lead contamination in paint, why has lead not yet been banned from lipstick?”  The question led Lee to co-found Best in Beauty, a company that informs consumers about the hazardous, and sometimes toxic, ingredients found in everyday cosmetics and toiletries.

Listen to my interview with Tara Lee after the jump…

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Ok, I’ve been really, really good.  I’ve played the fatty food deprivation game, I’ve exercised four times a week, drank a gallon of water a day — the whole nine. I’ve even displayed my loyalty to the Green club at the gym by bringing the same plastic bottle of frozen water every day instead of buying a new one. And just as I lay my hand outstretched awaiting the issuance of my Green card, I discovered how toxic water bottles can be.

Who really knows what those symbols on the bottom of our water bottles really mean? I didn’t know, I didn’t want to know- until a considerate e-mail from my mom-in-law informed me of how important it is to keep an eye out for the following numbers:

A possible carcinogen.  Found in cooking bottles and clear food packaging, number 3 plastics may release toxins into your food and drinks.  The risk is heightened when these containers are put through the dishwater, heated up, or frozen.

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Common cosmetic ingredients such as cetyl alcohol (a wax derived from sperm whales) and carmine (a red pigment extracted from crushed insects) are found in your favorite crimson lipstick.  So what cosmetics are out there for vegan vixens? Lots!

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Fashion/beauty contributor Kim Colvin hips you to some hot new looks:

Spring 2009 women’s fashions have been to the rainbow and back in bold primary hues of Skittles. It’s all about vibrancy and loose-fitting silhouettes. But who’s really thinking about revamping their wardrobe during the worst economic slump in decades?

Uh, you are, of course. Or you should be.
Taking cues from designers to create affordable looks has never been easier.

I’ve always fancied clothing labels with the decimal points in their prices slid a bit more to the right than deemed necessary. Sometimes I could delve for some pathetic reason to buy the three-digit top, but then I’d suffer incredible buyers’ remorse and resent my decision. Most of the time I would find something so disgustingly similar at a discount retailer that I’d just sigh with defeat and vow never to get the chiffon pulled over my eyes again.

I’ve kept this promise to myself for the most part. The three looks I’ll discuss below all have affordable options.

Trend No. 1: Jumpsuits

They’re like wearable smallpox, appearing every 20 years just to throw off your shopping chi, then disappearing until an emerging designer get infected and spurs a revival. I always pick one out while shopping, feel like a mechanic or flash dancer, then proceed to shamefully put it back.
I have to admit, though: I’ve seen this trend tweaked on the New York Fashion Week runways in surprisingly modern ways. A chic alternative to the full-length pant is a shorter Capri-length jumpsuit with pockets, a belted waist, peep-toe pumps.
Blue jumpsuit From Express, $79.50.

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For decades, women have answered  ”mascara!” when asked the proverbial “desert island” question. But what if there were a product that could transform your natural lashes to look like you’ve already slapped on the goop? That could free up your sole item for, um, fresh water, maybe…? Maybe not.

Now, what if that product started it’s life as a treatment for glaucoma; still interested? In enters Latisse, the only FDA-approved natural-lash growth, thickening, and darkening treatment. 

An interesting side-effect occurred when glaucoma patients used the eye drop Lumigan— long, dark, incredibly dramatic lash growth. Now, the main ingredient in Lumigan is in Latisse, a prescription treatment for sparse lashes. Latisse is applied much like a liquid eyeliner, at the very base of the eyelashes on the lid once a day. The results are incredible, and can be seen starting at four weeks with full results after 16 weeks.

So sorry ladies, you’ll need a prescription to get your hands on this magic wand. But if you look anything like Tilda Swinton you might  just get the M.D. go-ahead!

New lipgloss boasts weight loss ingredient Hoodia, a South African appetite suppressant.

Huge Lips, Skinny Hips plumping lipgloss is the debut product from Purple Lab.  Available in 6 fiendish colors including “No Panty Lines” and “Kitty Poledancer,” HLSH has added vitamin B6 for some increased circulation and lip-plumping action.

With the unceremonious death of its discontinued predecessor, Too Faced Cosmetics’ “Fuze Slenderize” appetite-curbing, energy-boosting gloss, I don’t expect this product to have legs, thin or fat.

Huge Lips, Skinny Hips’ competitor EAER (Exercise and Eat Right)’s withering stock took it’s worst dive in 25 years this week.  Where are you when we need you Richard Simmons?

MAVEN MUNCH! Have some…
Women ingest up to 6 pounds of lipstick/gloss in their lifetimes, so it kinda makes sense to go organic. Stick with natural lip products made with fruit pigments.
Insider’s Pick: 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Lip Glosses. $13.

The season’s newest vibrators are available in Tampa Bay department stores.

New, motorized mascaras claim to vibrate at upwards of 7000 oscillations per minute to create hyper-extended, multiplied lash looks. And for $34 and a trip to a department store, your puny human hands can vibrate involuntarily too.

The season’s hottest vibrators

It would take more than a battery-powered shimmy to shake my hands out of 34 wild ones, so I took a trip to Estee Lauder and Lancome to try out their testers with motorized, disposable brushes. Estee Lauder’s TurboLash and Lancome’s Oscillation both taut battery-powered wands with the most noticeable difference being how the vibration is activated.

Lauder’s mascara hums as soon as the mascara wand is pulled from the product. The vibration halts when the wand is replaced. Lancome’s wand includes a button that you can push to activate the vibration, or you can simply use it without.

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