For all of you obsessive lip balm appliers, lip plumper connoisseurs, compulsive scrubbers or general lip enthusiasts, I have some exciting new for you! Bliss’s NEW Fabulips in-spa treatment and at-home kit ($45). Designed to recreate the professional in-spa experience, this kit perfects your pout in just four easy steps:
1. Refresh: Lift impurities with our one-of-a-kind foaming lip cleanser
2. Retexturize: Exfoliate with our deliciously sweet and gentle sugar lip scrub to remove dead skin
3. Rejuvinate: Follow up with our visibly volumizing instant lip plumper
4. Replenish: Seal the deal with our luscious moisturizing softening lip balm
So whether you’re trying to wash away the kisses of a fizzled summer romance and refresh your pout for fall or give your lips some well deserved TLC, Fabulips
Prevention Beauty Editor Katie Becker and Sonia Kashuk
In celebration of Prevention Magazine’s Defy Your Age awards, I attended a cocktail party hosted by the publication at Ric Pipino’s luxurious midtown salon, Pipino 57. And frankly, if everyday was like this event, I would defy my age… manicures by TracyLee, makeovers by the infamous Sonia Kashuk, blowouts by the salon’s staff, amazing massages by Dasha mixed in with top notch h’orderves –check please!
Now back to reality, how I ‘defy my age’ is taking care of my skin, eating right (to the best of my ability), and trying to avoid alarm clocks at all cost to let me body sleep however much or little it needs to naturally wake up. How do you defy yours? Prevention Magazine would love to know (and so would I)! Tweet us @PreventionMag or @PrettyConnected using the hashtag #defyyourage.
And for great tips and videos on how to defy your age as well as the winners of the Prevention Magazine Defy Your Age Beauty Awards, visit prevention.com
It’s been an exciting couple of weeks, although I’ve been unusually quiet lately (especially on twitter). The reason being, I have been asked to host and produce several VERY exciting events over fashion week, which I can’t wait to share with you! Between that, keeping up with my social life, getting everything in order for officiating my consulting business (I’m such an adult!) and managing my Pretty Connected world, it’s been a lot. Although I haven’t felt this exhilarated in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, averaging 4 hours of sleep/night, every few days I hit a wall and am ready to jump of a bridge. My boyfriend one-uped me and said how about a plane?
After several attempt to go skydiving over the summer and it being canceled due to weather conditions we finally made it! The perk of being flexible on the time and open to a weekday, we had a reservation for the next day. And it was just what I needed. A total adrenaline rush and 4 minutes of being completely out of my head to just enjoy the world and soak in the scenery.
After 45 seconds of free-falling, my instructor released the parachute and we floated for a few minutes doing twirls and taking in the sunset before making a perfect landing. I didn’t realize it until I got the pictures, but I’m a hard-core lip biter when I’m nervous!
It’s kind of the most amazing thing ever!
We jumped in Perkasie, PA at skydivingphiladelphia.com. My instructor was Rom (he was great, although he believes in humor over instruction until about 30 seconds before you’re about to be hurled off the plane). Onward and upward!
Do you remember Dr. Martens? Of course you do. You rocked a pair in High School or maybe your favorite history teacher did and you thought they we’re super cool. Few brands have that “I remember my first [pair of Dr. Martens]…” appeal and in recognition of this unique positioning, Dr. Martens has launched their #FIRSTANDFORVER Campaign. Running from their fall 2011 campaign through fall 2012, the campaign broadens it’s scope to not just your first pair of Dr. Martens (although they’d love to hear that story) but rather your first _____. That’s right, you fill in the blank. Whether it’s your first love or heartbreak, job or otherwise the brand is turning to social media to connect with their consumers to learn more about their ‘first’s’ and offer an outlet to share an opening statement of self-expression and creativity.
As I sat in a room with my fellow bloggers –lead by renouned bloggers/photographer Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist) and Garance Dore we shared our first. It was something out of a fictional kids slumber party –all that was missing was us stripping down to our underwear and having a pillow fight. We heard about one girls first (and last) beauty pageant – which after the
Next Mon/Tues August 29th and 30th get ready to dust yourself off from what plans to be a dreary Sunday and shop the Rent The Runway sample sale (4-8PM @ 163 Varick Street (between Charlton and Spring St., 4th Floor). Designer dresses and accessories at rock-bottom prices (for keeps!) from Rent the Runway’swarehouse, stock up on gently-worn items from a roster of 150 designers including Proenza Schouler, Badgley Mischka, Catherine Malandrino, Missoni and more
You will most likely have to fight me for this Helmut Lang dress:
Helmut Lang Retail: $470 Sale: $60
And plan on scooping up this Badgley Mischka for fall time formals
Stockings, tights, socks and everything in between – I just love it. Come fall, I start planning my outfits around my leg wear so you can understand how thrilled I was to discover a new outlet for my irrational passion – Sock It To Me.
At a party celebrating their new line, at awesome NYC general store Thérapie (a new discovery!), I found cute socks, nail art by east village salon Vally, and SITM themed cookies by Sweet Genius
Based in Portland OR, Sock It To Me is owned and operated by entrepreneur, Carrie Atkinson. Keeping her socks affordable and encouraging her fans to build a community through sock love
A few months ago my good friend Laura came to me for a recommendation on how to fight redness. Having tried a series of disappointing products, I asked her to review Dermalogica’s new Calming Redness Relief SPF 20 form their UltraCalming collection on my behalf. Here’s what she had to say:
Having fair skin and light features, I’m no stranger to having a bit of underlying redness in my skin. Although it doesn’t quite qualify as roseaca, it’s enough to make me self-conscious at times and certainly not the way I want to present myself.
I have tried several products in the past to address this issue, DDF Redness Relief Gel and Smashbox Photo Finish Color Correcting Primer (green) to name a few, but to be honest I wasn’t impressed with any of them. Now in the heart of summer I was really excited to sample something new and give Dermalogica’s Calming Redness Relief SPF 20 a try.
Yah you heard me, umbilical cord serum! I just wanted to get that out of the way so you can digest it before I introduce you to the breakthrough skincare line, Novo Solutions MD. Where…ah…you…guessed it, umbilical cord serum is one of the active ingredients to make your skin look younger and dramatically reduce the signs of aging.
I write a lot of skincare stories and sometimes it’s difficult to deciphers a major point of difference, so not the case when I met with Dr. Mark Endelman on his breakthrough skincare line. Following his venture as an Emergency Medicine physician, Dr. Engelman was asked to serve as a medical business consultant for a number of stem cell therapy companies. His studies made him fascinated with the practical application of stem cells, genomics and immunology and ultimately led him to the development of NOVO Solutions MD.
I have to say the formulation is intriguing –NOVO Solutions MD rebuilds vital cellular skin components with the patent-pending NovoSerum, relaxing the face with the latest neuro-peptides to create a similar result as botox (although with skincare, not an injection) and eliminating environmental skin-aging elements with bioactive antioxidants. And when you think about it, it somewhat makes sense the fountain of youth would come from the fountain of life (cord of life?). The proprietary
It occurred to me during my trial and tribulations through endless self tanner products that so much of your experience comes down to the application.
So while I always recommend following the directions with any given product your trying, here are some general application tricks for a flawless (and longer lasting) finish:
Always apply products to freshly cleansed skin –as in it’s best right out of the shower (otherwise you’re asking for an uneven application and streaks!).
Do a patch test 24-48 hour in advance – See how you like it before you put it all over your skin. Better safe then sorry!
Wax at least 24 hrs in advance, shave at least 12 hrs in advance – It’s not advised to apply self-tanner on red or irritated skin.
Avoid deodorant, perfume, or essential oils during application – it can interfere with your self-tanner!
Apply a body lotion to dry areas such as knees, elbow, and heels – that will help keep the tan consistent.
The key to a natural looking fake tan is technique and great products. I’ve been playing the “I was at the beach” card for the past few months, although I confess my tan is pretty much always fake. And you know what? I’m proud of it! I took what Dermalogica’s Director of Global Education, Annet King said at her Skincare Boot Camp about the damages of UV rays to heart. Although the fact that the sun causes skincare damage and premature aging is nothing new to most of us. And yet it’s still so easy to neglect wearing sunblock because we love being tan.
Tanning beds aren’t any better for you, and many don’t want the expense or inconvenience of relying on a salon for a spray tan–although if you do, I recommend B.Bronz professional spray tanning services (I got an amazing non-streaky, instant golden tan from them). The best alternative if you want the color are self-tanners. After many, many, many months of trying over 20 different products (no joke this story has been a long time coming –I’ve been very tan recently); here are my must-haves and tips for a healthy, natural looking tan.
Beautisol Face Self-Tanner
1. Use a good well-tested face specific self-tanner – As in avoid body tanners on your face! Beautisol is the first brand to create a skin type specific self tanner. There’s a ‘Normal-Dry-Sensitive’ and ‘Normal-Oily-Problematic’ ($26) version. It’s safe for sensitive skin while addressing and preventing breakouts and uneven skintone. It’s dynamite, as is every product I’ve used from this brand. Not to mention that website is an amazing resource for all things tan and filled with great tips and techniques to make you an application expert.
Fake Bake Flawless Self-tan + Mitt
2. A great all over tan product and professional mitt– I’m all about the Fake Bake Flawless Self-tan Liquid and Professional Mitt set ($24). You spray the product onto the mitt then apply it all over your body for an even, lightweight, golden tan that quickly absorbs and dries onto skin. It’s low maintenance, easy to apply and the mitt is AMAZING. I actually need to contact the brand to try to buy a pack of 20 (I need a lifetime supply). Whenever any of my other tan products are uneven (especially the sprays), I use the mitt to even it out. It works better then any towel I’ve used –and don’t even entertain using your hand to smooth out an uneven application (can we say streakfest?).
Spray Tan: DEX, B.Bronz, Sally Hansen
3. Have a good spray tan on hand – I use DEX Body Glow Sunless Tanner ($34) for a dark ‘I’ve been at the beach all day’ tan although you have to really shake this product and apply in a shower tub or over plastic or it can get messy since it’s such a large aerosol bottle! It’s especially amazing on my legs to get that deep bronze I love. I also use B.Bronze Tanning Mist ($24) for a more lightweight, even tan that comes in two shades light/medium and medium/dark. The nozzle is smaller then the Dex one, so it’s easier to apply on the fly if I just want a healthy glow– especially on my arms. And while I’d categorize Sally Hansen’s Airbrush Legs ($14) closer to a leg concealer or foundation, this product is amazing for covering spider veins, beauty marks or any other imperfections we’d prefer to keep hidden when
For all of you obsessive lip balm appliers, lip plumper connoisseurs, compulsive scrubbers or general lip enthusiasts, I have some exciting new for you! Bliss’s NEW Fabulips in-spa treatment and at-home kit ($45). Designed to recreate the professional in-spa experience, this kit perfects your pout in just four easy steps:
Yah you heard me, umbilical cord serum! I just wanted to get that out of the way so you can digest it before I introduce you to the breakthrough skincare line, Novo Solutions MD. Where…ah…you…guessed it, umbilical cord serum is one of the active ingredients to make your skin look younger and dramatically reduce the signs of aging.
