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Indie Beauty Expo: Fun finds and buzz worthy brands

Fun fact: Indie brands are one of the fastest growing product categories in retail. Another fun fact: The Indie Beauty Expo is the largest professionally-curated exposition of independent beauty and wellness brands.

Founded by celebrity esthetician, Jillian Wright, and entrepreneur, Nader Naeymi-Rad, the Indie Beauty Expo was established to help indie brands connect with consumers and buyers. This year’s NYC beauty expo featured over 200 brands, and while there was no way I was able to make it to every booth, I definitely managed to discover and re-connect with some of my favorite brands. Here are some brands/products to have on your radar, starting with…

Dope Naturally 

Don’t just rely on the application of beauty products to see results, outer beauty starts from within. Dope Naturally is all about ingestible beauty, “super food” supplements that provide and sustain health and wellness for inner and outer beauty. Founder Sylwia Wiesenberg is definitely a girl boss, and her firm belief in the power of pure and unprocessed ingredients led her to launch Dope Naturally. Using the purest plant based, energy superfood blend available on the market, her supplements are free of preservatives, chemical addictives, and animal products and provide the best certified organic ingredients in their raw and purest form. Sylwia states that eating beautifully is the key to ageless beauty and a strong functioning body, which I’m all for. And all I could think when I met her was, ‘my skin wants what she’s having’! Plus, Charlie loves her and that dog is an excellent judge of character. To check out all of Dope Naturally’s Superfood supplements go to dopenaturally.com/shopdope

Hollywood Browzer

This product was definitely one of my favorites from the event, mostly due to the fact that I saw it in action and saw immediate results.

Total Eclipse of the Heart

Well, today was pretty much the best. James and I have been planning this Nashville trip for almost a year. Ever since he got wind of the Eclipse and that Nashville would be one of the best viewing spots. We’re big SPG members so we booked at the Westin Nashville, it’s a newer property downtown and absolutely gorgeous. Grandious lobby, with really cool music design elements like picks embedded in the counters and belt buckles on the headboards of the rooms. The hotel has two bars (we frequented both), one in the lobby the other on the roof, which is two levels and features a pool with incredible views of the city. It was the perfect spot to watch the eclipse from and the hotel threw a really fun viewing party complete with a specialty eclipse cocktails and glasses.

Muddy feet and showerheads

I’ve always considered myself outdoorsy but I didn’t really prioritize going to the park, doing weekend trips to the beach and hiking as much until I rescued Charlie last year. Now we’re out as much as possible since exercise, especially for senior pups is so important. And we encourage him to go off leash and run around play in the grass but it’s all fun and games until it’s muddy feet — and we have white floors and light bedding so the foot washing scene is real in our home.

For Charlie this is just another day in Central Park, playing in the grass (post rain is the worst!). It brings a whole new meaning to dog days of summer. Embarrassingly enough I usually bathe Charlie at my office apartment since it’s only a few blocks away and has a full tub in it and James and my real apartment only has a shower in it.

So if we do bathe Charlie at our place it’s usually in the kitchen sink, which is not ideal. The most amazing solution (and only $59) is the Propel Spot Resist Handheld Shower! It’s available in 3 finishes, Chrome, Mediterranean Bronze, and Spot Resist Brushed Nickel and super easy to assemble and a total game changer.

Additional features include five spray options and a 4.5-inch spray face for enhanced water coverage. And what that all boils down to is this shower head has changed my life. Especially since it’s so much easier washing his feet with it than running a full bath. The long hose makes it so easy for me to wash him standing up or at the foot of the shower — our old shower head obviously didn’t reach, which made that entire shower next to impossible to bathe him in. It also makes for a more productive bath for Charlie since it’s a more targeted wash with the handheld to wash off his shampoo and conditioner. Otherwise trying to accomplish taking off the soap later with a faucet requires using a bowl to wash it off. Plus James and I are enjoying it so much more than the showerhead our apartment came with. 

La Prairie Invite, SEPHORA launches The Beauty Insider Community, Rihanna keeps us on our feet!

Here are some of our favorite headlines to start your week in the know!  Happy Monday!

La Prairie is hosting ‘The Art of Caviar’ public exhibition on Thursday, September 7th from 10AM to 8PM at 3 West 57th Street in New York City. The exhibit celebrates the 30th anniversary of its iconic Skin Caviar Collection – combining art, science, and beauty with a select group of contemporary artists. RSVP@LAPRAIRIE.COM

Maybelline ups their influencer game. They just dropped their first influencer collection ever with Shayla and now announced they will be doing a YouTube series with NikkieTutorials.

Android users, protect yourself (it’s free!)

Tonight, I joined fitness expert and Bravo TV personality Layla Luciano for an awesome self-defense class in celebration of Security Master, the leading privacy protection, and antivirus app. Protecting yourself and your phone are two pretty important things. One takes work and the other is a simple download. Although if you do get attacked go for the groan and or eyes (my key takeaway of the night!).

Security Master just launched a new privacy and antivirus app to keep your phone safe and your personal matters discreet. Which is great since the whole internet security scare is real! I don’t even like to make online purchases on my phone, I’m so nervous about getting hacked.

Between my photos, passwords and all of my stored credit cards on my phone, it getting compromised is probably one of my worst nightmares. The new app is now available worldwide for free on Android devices (you can download it HERE). It’s a revamped version of the CM Security app, which is the leading privacy protection and antivirus app with almost 500 million downloads and a 4.7 rating (out of 5) on Google Play. The free app can keep you worry-free that everything on your phone is safely secured and protected.

This weeks top beauty picks from Urban Decay, Dr. Dennis Gross, Lancome, Ursa Major and more!

As you see from my unboxings and obnoxiously large beauty closet (err apartment) I’m starting a new weekly column of what makes it to the top of my list and cabinet. This week some big headliners like Urban Decay’s Naked Heat Palette to Lancome’s Monsieur Big Mascara made the count as well as ones that are probably not new and not sure how their amazingness hasn’t broken the internet by now — I’m talking about Real Techniques Silicone Liner Brush. What’s going to be a weekly top 10 column, I had to make a top 11 since there’s so much good stuff!!

1. Dr. Dennis Gross SpectraLite EyeCare Pro LED Device, $159

You may have seen these funky LED glasses on your Instagram feed recently, and while you may look like a character out of a Spy Kids moving while wearing them, it’s 100% worth it! One of my all time faves, Dr. Dennis Gross launched this innovative anti-aging device featuring professional light therapy that has been proven to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles as well as stimulate natural collagen production. Although I’m going to add in dark circle rescuing as well since I noticed a big difference. It’s the most efficient at-home solution — literally, clean your face, put it on, hit a button and it shuts off in 3 minutes. I find as I get busier if a gadget has too many steps or requirements around my face I lose interest. This one could not be more foolproof. So much so I’ve even gotten my boyfriend into using it. The other thing I love about gadgets, you can share, and you never run out of product! PS if you’re in NYC this Friday 8/18, the Dr. Dennis Gross pros will be at Sephora 34th Street (112 West 34th Street) from 11am – 7pm doing complimentary consultations and treatments. RSVP: [email protected]

2. Real Techniques Silicone Liner Brush, $6

I picked this up at The Makeup Show and it’s been a total game changer! I used to shy away from gel or cream liners and favor liquid pens because I found the application so much more challenging. This brush changed that for me. It makes applying eyeliner so quick, even and easy that if you’re a cat-eye enthusiast (or general liner enthusiast), this one’s for you. This handy little tool features a fuss free silicone tip that allows for smooth and precise liquid, gel or cream eyeliner application, plus, it’s super easy to clean. It doesn’t have hairs! It’s a silicone tip. GENIUS!

3. Ursa Major Brighten Up Vitamin C Serum, $54

So many of my favorite ingredients including Vitamin C and Rose hip in one super natural and clean beauty product that brightens and evens skintone while tapping into the anti-aging category to minimize fine lines and dark spots. This radiance booster is super lightweight, moisturizing, absorbs beautifully for an all around exquisite formula. You can wear it alone as a moisturizer or layer it beneath your foundation or night cream for added protection. You’ll notice over time with continued use that your skin tone will be brighter and more even! And it’s great for all skin types!

I’m Profiled in Vanity Fair!

Freak out of the century! It’s not every day that you get to see your face within the pages of Vanity Fair! For the August 2017 issues, I was lucky enough to be profiled as one of Vanity Fair’s “incredibly talented, influential and interesting people.” Could you die?! The cherry on top — actually there was two, the first being they mentioned Charlie, as my “favorite sidekick” and tagged his Instagram @pompomcharlie. DEAD.

The other major highlight, was the August issue features Serena Williams (who I’m obsessed with) and her bare baby bump on the cover, so let’s just chalk it up to this was a very iconic issue to be included in. Major congrats to Serena and her fiancé Alexis Ohanian, who is ~ fun fact~the founder of Reddit, and even more fun, Armenian, just like me! I love seeing magazines who show love to strong women, it’s an honor to have my name in a publication featuring the legendary Serena Williams.

The Beauty Headlines of the Week: What’s Kim dropping next? Why the Anastasia Palette flopped…

It may only be Monday but here are some headlines that have us seriously excited, shocked, and confused… starting with:

This explains why the new Anastasia Beverly Hills Subculture Palette is getting terrible reviews!

We know Kylie Jenner was a Beauty Mogul but our jaws dropped when it was released she sold $420 Million in just 18 months! Her sister, Kim is well on her way considering she sold out of her KKW Beauty highlighting and contouring sticks in 10 minutes raking in $14 million!.

Speaking of which… Kim Kardashian’s KKW Beauty is launching Powder Contour Kits and a makeup tutorial with Desi Perkins is coming soon on Desi’s channel!!!!!!! If you missed the one she did with Patrick Starr, check it out HERE.

More hints on Balmain x LOreal, Yes, Please!

Smith & Cult Founder Dineh Mohajer Gives Us a Sneak Peek at the Fall 2017 Collection

Confession: I have a major girl crush on Dineh Mohajer. She’s the co-founder of Smith & Cult but also fun fact… the original founder of Hard Candy, and those pastel square nail polishes with the gummy rings on top, which I used to compulsively buy at Urban Outfitters as a teenager — so the inner teenager in me actually freaks out every time she’s in town and I get to share the same air space as her. Since she sold it to LVMH, it’s a totally different brand now with meh packaging, she launched her newer venture of Smith & Cult in 2014. Originally a nail polish brand (their packaging is epic!), they launched lip and eye over the past year and this year expanded into face! Their top sellers are actually The Tainted Lip Stain shade, Kissing Tiny Flower, followed by 1972, the rose gold nail polish that made headlines for them (Byrdie reported it sold out in less than 8 hours for them).

I recently joined Dineh and the team in NYC to celebrate and play with their new Fall 2017 collection. This collection features all new shade extensions in almost all of their existing categories, which is super exciting. I’ve only played with half the collection, the rest I swatched at the event for sneak peek at what’s to come later this month!

Book of Sun, “Chapter 2”, $40

A blush and bronzer duo that features a rosette shade and a toasted taupe for a vibrant and glowing complexion. Full disclosure, I only played with this at the event so I don’t have an official opinion yet but I did get to swatch it!

Urban Decay turns up the Heat

Urban Decay is seriously turning up the heat on their beloved Naked eyeshadow collection with their latest ‘Heat’ palette.  The fiery eyeshadow palette includes 12 brand new shades including 7 matte colors and 5 shimmering pigments. The colors range from amber-hued neutrals, burnt oranges and reddish browns to glimmering coppers and sultry bronzes.