Anyone else get super excited when it’s the Space.NK beauty edit time of year? Same. I love a good travel size and this is one of my favorite beauty gifting programs and a great opportunity to try and discover new and top selling products. This season the edit features 19 bestselling beauty favorites (valued at over $280), and photoed above from much-loved brands including Dr. Dennis Gross, Marula, Christophe Robin, Ouai, Eve Lom, Sunday Riley and more.
Just enter code ESSENTIALS18 when you spend $175 or more while supples last.
Shop and see the full list of what’s in the edit at spacenk.com
Interview with Vjosa of Duart Beauty, wearing her Duarty Beauty Aliza Lashes above.
I met Vjosa last year at a Becca event. Her warmth, glow and flawless everything (skin, makeup, brows!) instantly had me fan-girling out over her beauty inside and out. So smart and someone who know’s her sh!t, I’ve enjoyed getting to know the veteran makeup artist turned vlogger. So when she launched a signature line of eyelashes — something I still a decade later in this industry struggle to apply, I was all over it! I’m clearly not alone in my lash struggle, something she’s seen with her other clients and what’s so absolutely genius about her lashes is they are split into three pieces so you can use them all over or just the edges and it’s the best compromise lash! For me, a strip is too hard to apply evenly and I don’t have the patience for strips, this is genius!
We sat down with this total rockstar and mega boss to get the 411 on her new venture, Duart Beaty.
First, a little about Vjosa, known as @vjosamua on social media. She is a NY based makeup artist and beauty vlogger. Her love for makeup began at the age of 16 which landed her at MAC Cosmetics two years later. After working for MAC for 5 years she decided to freelance full time. She has been doing makeup for 13 years and on July 30, 2018 she launched her own lash line called Duart Beauty. Vjosa has a big following on Instagram which demands her to stay on top of creating beauty content to feed her followers needs. She’s a master at what she does which results in teaching Makeup Master Classes all over the US. This year she’s expanding her reach and will be teaching a couple of makeup classes in Europe as well. Vjosa also has a successful bridal artistry business, and does about 200 weddings a year. Being high in demand she generally books out a year in advance so brides, take a number.
Vjosa modeling the Duart Beauty Dua lashes
2. Give us the 411 on lashes. What are they made from, what sets them apart…
Duart Lashes are made from premium synthetic nylon which replicates the texture of silk. They are cruelty free and can be worn 10-15 times with good care. They are custom cut in 3 pieces for effortless application. Duart Lashes have the glamorous look of strip lashes with the featherweight feel of individual lashes.
I’m a big Smashbox fan and majorly fan out for the brands co-founder, Davis Factor. For anyone that’s been in the industry as long as I have, you know he’s makeup royalty and an incredible photographer. The great grandson of Max Factor (yes, the Max Factor), and the mark Smashbox has made in the industry isn’t too shabby either. His photographs though… if you don’t know his work, look it up. So you can understand what a photoshoot with Davis Factor means for me, especially since I got to bring Charlie!!!!!!
Smashbox recently launched a studio in Greenpoint, bk and to celebrate the a shade extension of their infamous Smashbox Studio Skin 15 hour Wear Hydrating Foundation I got a makeover and photo session with Davis Factor.
I’m a HUGE Buxom lip product fan. Their Plumping LipLiners are my go to, and still fall back on some of their former matte lippies that they discontinued. Their latest innovation PillowPout Plumping Lip Powder, excited me since I’ve put eyeshadow on my lips before and love that semi-matte sheen finish. An old makeup artists trick was to use eyeshadow on lips, generally for editorial photography for that visually stunning effect. Unfortunately, it’s not actually practical for longwear since eyeshadow on lips doesn’t really last, and past those first few photos it can give a dry, cracky, effect on lips. That said the eyeshadow trend led to several lip powders launching in the last year but most of them came in compacts and require a brush to apply. Buxom’s applicator and idea was much more intriguing.
We’re used to seeing new products, especially during New York Fashion Week, but Shiseido took everything next level with a complete re-package and re-launch of the brands color products. And there’s more… Shiseido will be hosting a NYC pop-up gallery to show the new line which is also available online and rolling out to stores over the weekend.
Pop-up details: Shiseido Japanese Beauty GallerySeptember 6-9th from 12 - 8pm daily150 Wooster Street, NYC
*The first 50 people each day ill receive a limited edition Hello From Tokyo tote and sample product.
I had a sneak peek of the pop-up and caught up with one of my longtime favorite makeup-artists, James Boehmer, the brand’s Global Artistic Director. He took me through the collection and while I want it all (LITERALLY ALL), the two products I NEED — spoiler alert,
NARS certainly knows how to hit the sweet spot! The brand is no stranger to racy, sexual names, Orgasm, Super Orgasm — there was even the time where their makeup kits included condoms (anyone remember that?). Now there’s a newcomer on the block called Climax mascara that’s quickly building it’s reputation as a new NARS classic.
In gorgeous red packaging (thank you for making it so easy to locate in my makeup case), the Climax formula is designed to be clump-free and smudge-resistant. It doesn’t flake and does a fantastic job at separating and lengthening. I love a big brush and the wand features unique ribbed bristles that deliver buildable volume and coat lashes, without
Sheet masks are all the rage, so is showing off your butt on Instagram (ah excuse me I mean barely-anything-on bikini bottom) #SunsOutBunsOut and yet what are we doing to up keep our derrieres in tact? My brilliant friend, Sylwia Wiesenberg bleeds beauty, inside and out. You may know her from her incredible clean supplement brand, Dope Naturally, you can find it at cool girl stores, like Revolve, Free People and Anthropologie. She just launched Bawdy Beauty, the world’s first sheet mask targeted for your butt and thigh area. At only $8/set she is rocking the beauty industry. Barely out of the gate, and they have been featured on the Today Show, WWD, Brit+Co and won a trendsetter award at Cosmoprof and making headlines every which direction I turn. Oh and they are very Instagramable…
I’m so proud of her! Expanding the beauty universe to your butt and beyond, Bawdy Beauty has launched an intergalactic brand that carries from the website to the amazing packaging. They can also be found at clean beauty super store, Credo as well as Free People.
The La Prairie foundation dynasty continues with the launch of their latest Skin Caviar Essence-In-Foundation SPF 25 cushion foundation. This is the first compact foundation infused with Caviar Water offering complexion benefits while you conceal. La Prairie is known for their caviar science and skin benefits, marrying the two with their foundation is something we saw with their original Skin Caviar Concealer + Foundation SPF 15 — a product I still use. You pop the cap for the concealer and twist the bottle for the foundation, it’s an amazing two in one.
The new Skin Caviar Essence-In-Foundation SPF 25 cushion is a win in formula but I’m not a fan of the packaging. Yes, it’s luxurious but for being marketed for travel I find it overly bulky. The mirrored edge is wider than it needs to be and I somehow get makeup all over it so I’m wiping it down in between uses. Granted if you don’t travel a lot and just use it in your bathroom in the AM’s it will keep. I’m just always on the go — you can even see from the original foundation that I weather my products living from suitcase to suitcase. I do appreciate that it’s refillable though so you keep the base and pop in a replacement cushion when it’s used up. The formula is great, it’s buildable for a light to medium coverage and I love that it’s infused with Caviar Water and has an SPF 25. I apply with a Beautyblender and then buff with the compact provided if I’m feeling fancy. It’s great for discoloration and evening out your skintone. I do prefer the original foundation for my wrinkles but the two products work well in tandem.
It’s been an exciting week with my Cosmoprof family! As some of you know, Cosmoprof is the largest and most awarded B2B beauty event in the US, they have shows around the world but their Vegas show, which is coming up July 29-31st is not to be missed if you’re based here or looking to launch your beauty brand in the US. I’m so honored to be their on-air personality this season and can’t wait to interview the brands coming out to the show in Vegas.
I’ll be available Sunday, July 29th and Monday, July 30th from 1-3pm interviewing brands on their star items. I’ll also be on the :How Influencers are Shaping the Beauty Industry” Panel on Tuesday, July 31st from 11-12:30pm.
This Monday, June 11th join FounderMade’s for their annual Consumer Discovery Show in NYC! Meet me there to discover 100 outstanding brands in food, beauty, and wellness & hear industry leaders like Bobbi Brown, Huda Kattan, and Leandra Cohen share their business insights!
This is a great place for entrepreneurs, investors and influencers to come together and see what’s happening in the beauty industry. FounderMade created the Consumer Discovery Show to be a place where self-care brands can connect with potential investors and customers. It’s part networking, part entertainment, and part education.
The Consumer Discovery Show is Monday, June 11th from 9am – 5pm at Spring Studios, 50 Varick Street. Use code CDSBSH18 for 15% off your ticket at on foundermade.com
Interview with Vjosa of 
Vjosa modeling the Duart Beauty Dua lashes
Smashbox photoshoot with Davis Factor
Buxom PillowPout Plumping Lip Powder Review
It’s been an exciting week with my 
I’ll be available Sunday, July 29th and Monday, July 30th from 1-3pm interviewing brands on their star items. I’ll also be on the :How Influencers are Shaping the Beauty Industry” Panel on Tuesday, July 31st from 11-12:30pm.