55 Secret Street

Rachel Roy Beauty Case at Beauty.com

Need an excuse to drop $100 at Beauty.com?  Okay, here we go:  When you spend $100 at Beauty.com (until December 31, 2008) you get the Rachel Roy designed beauty case pictured above free.  It doubles as a clutch and has a built-in mirror and a silky inner pocket.  Oh yes, and it's loaded with deluxe and full-sized beauty products!

Need more incentive? Check out some of the goodies included in the case:


 
Phyto 7 Daily Hydrating Botanical Cream; Frederic Fekkai Protein Rx PM Repair Strengthener; Fresh Sugar Body Lotion in Lychee; Korres Natural Products Showergel in Basil Lemon.

Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion, Eyeshadow Base; Juice Beauty Oil-Free Moisturizer; Murad Age-Proof Suncare Firming Bronzer SPF 15, Face & Body; Stila Silk Eye Shadow Wash in Kitten.

Need more incentive? I can't help you...

Are You Wearing Angel?

Why, yes I am!

It never fails.  I can just wear a little hand cream -  Thierry Mugler's Angel - and people recognize it right way. Or demand to know what it is immediately.

I'm surprised I haven't written more about Angel since I wear it so much.  I have a long history with this  délicieux fragrance (a magical combination that includes vanilla, chocolate, patchouli and honey for the uninitiated) that began the moment it arrived sixteen (!) years ago.   Magazine salaries being what they were (are) I had a second job at Saks Fifth Avenue and I remember the original launch quite well.  It's one of those fragrances that can take me back like certain songs.

The  products in the new Angel Les Parfums Corps collection include basics like shower gel, hand cream and body cream and benefit from a new technique called Intense Diffusion Technology that makes the distinctive Angel scent in these products just as strong as the actual fragrance.  This will work out really well for you if your are basically an addict with the stuff like me.  Most days, I will only wear the hand cream (I keep it in my purse) and people always compliment me on the fragrance I am wearing.  And yes, it does last all day.  I will be on the train going home at the end of the night and someone will invariably ask, "Is that Angel?"

Angel by Thierry Mugler Perfuming Body Cream $80.00.

The Brows Have It

 
Ok, so I wasn’t blessed with full brows but over the years I have mastered the art of the illusion -  the perfect excuse to give Anastasia’s line a try. After all she is the brow guru right?

So let me first say…I love the brow gel because my brows do not move. It lays my brows down like a hit by Mike Tyson!


Now, the tweezer is a keeper.  It is so precise and the slanted tip grabs the smallest hairs and it's pink...how cute! Changing my eyebrow pencil?  That was difficult, so I put Anastasia's Brow Wiz Pencil (in brunette) to the ultimate test… the gym!  I worked out and ran to the mirror to check my brows…..still there..…looking good…I’m pleased. The best part is that the brow fix is so slim it helps me create the best illusion possible. The brow kit comes in a very cute zipper case and has stencils (4 shapes) for those who need a little assistance creating a shape.

Next…I’m going to try the Brow Enhancing Serum which claims to help promote fuller brows…will report back at a later date with my results.

Anastasia: Brow Gel in Clear $21.00.   All About Brows Kit in Brunette ($141 Value) $75.00.  'Tweezers Anonymous' Kit $55.oo.  Tweezers $28.00.   Brow Wiz Pencil in Brunette $18.00. 

Dark Am I, Still Lovely

Now that tanning season is officially here, even those of us who don't tan on purpose have to make adjustments.   My first adjustment? Switching my foundation to a darker color. 

I like Prescriptives Virtually Fresh Skin Refining Makeup in Natural Cocoa, but when the summer kicks in, I switch to the slightly darker Natural Chestnut.  It has nice coverage, so if I need it, I will usually just dab a little on any dark spots or blemishes I have.  Or, I will use my summer custom blend formula with a little powder in the morning.  I try not to use much foundation when it's hot if I don't have to because I don't want to bother sweating it off and re-applying.

Another solution to this  is tinted moisturizer.  Previously, I didn't consider this an option since even the darker shades I found didn't work for me.  But, once again Prescriptives comes through with their custom blend formulas.  Their Custom Blend Tinted Moisturizer is simply custom blend foundation mixed with the appropriate moisturizer for your skin type.  I have a matte formula which means I don't have to bother to follow up with powder and it is also easy and quick for evening touch ups.  It definitely does the trick. 

Erykah Badu, The Face of Tom Ford's New Fragrance

Now, how did I miss this?

Erykah Badu is set to become the face of Tom Ford's forthcoming fragrance. I just read it in the New York Times profile on Erykah, The Mind of a One-Woman Multitude (very entertaining), but apparently it was reported first at Vogue UK.

I've done some checking and no one seems to know the name of the new fragrance BUT... and this is a big BUT - Erykah herself has already revealed the name!   My pal Najwa Moses got the scoop during a brief Q&A with Erykah a few days ago and posted it.  Erykah told Najwa that she really feels good about the fragrance, that Tom is a very good friend of hers and that he is a "passionate artist " about his craft.

Watch Najwa's video below to hear the name of the fragrance - and Erykah's answers about her style choices and fashion icons.

Are You a Fafi Girl?

I have to confess - I am not. 

Maybe it is because I am grown.  I am not a kid at heart and there is no teenager trapped inside my nearly forty-year old body (especially since I actually admit that I am nearly forty!)

For those of you that are like, Am I a what???    Fafi is a whimsical new makeup collection from MAC and a Fafi girl or Fafinette if you will, is an "ageless creature who lives in a fantastic, magical realm called the Carmine Vault", but loves to peer in on us".   Still confused?  Well, I won't go into Birtak or Hmilo, but I will introduce you to Fafi herself , the French graffiti artist who lives on our side of the universe - Paris to be exact. 

No, I'm a natural girl these days and MAC's N Collection is the right fit for me.  Currently in heavy rotation: the tinted lipglass in 4N (above) a light chocolate brown with red pearl and the Plush Lash Mascara.

Boring?  Not really.  My toes are painted in Fafi's Boom! -  a sparkling eggplant with purple pearl.

Gotta keep up with the young'uns you know...

Say Hello to Lancome's Beauty Bye-Bye

Don't you hate it when cosmetic companies discontinue your favorite product?  And wouldn't it be nice to have fair warning before your beauty must-have disappears forever?

Well Lancome is stepping up to the plate with their Beauty Bye-Bye page.   The idea is to let you know which products will soon be unavailable before they are officially discontinued (like the Magique Matte Soft-Matte Perfecting Mousse foundation above, which is on it's way out the door) and suggest an alternative.   For instance:

If you like Lancome's Photogenic Sheer Pressed Powder - stock up now!  And then try:

'Petite Boheme' Illuminating Powder Self-Applicator Bottle.

Or, if you've become slightly attached to the  'Le Lipstique' LipColouring Stick with Brush -

You may like the 'Potion of Love' Lipstain Soft Pen Lipcolor:

Now, some recommendations make more sense than others.   

For instance, I'm not sure why a smooth eye shadow like Color Design Sensational Effects Eye Shadow Smooth Hold (above) would be suggested in place of a loose eye color like La Poudre Aux Yeux Loose Powder Eye Shadow.

But I guess I would just have to give it a try and see how it looks - after I run out of my stash of course.