Decisions, decisions

I have a beauty dilemna.

In about a week, I am going to be a bridesmaid in the wedding of one of my best friends from college. And she has done the unthinkable, picked a gorgeous chocolate brown dress that I have already planned to wear again. I have a brand new pair of faboo d'Orsay peep-toed shoes and I'm currently ingesting nothing but black coffee and air so I can look my best.

So here's the problem, what nail polish to wear????

I am currently torn because I want to indulge my inner trend whore and paint my nails a dark vampy shade, but I worry that (a) I will look dated in pictures thirty years from now, (b) stand out too much in a sea of nude nails, and (c) scare my friend's rather conservative mother into thinking that I pray to Satan in my spare time.

So, I'm taking a poll. Should I:

1. Paint both toes and fingers in a pale pretty nude like Sarah Smile or Essie Mademoiselle; or

2. Paint fingers in a vampy shade like Sephora No. 11 or Essie Wicked and coat toes in the neutral shade?

Painting toes the vampy color is not an option. I hate my toes. Don't ask. Nude colors draw less attention.

Post your opinion in the comments and let me know if you think of an option 3!

CUSP Opening in Georgetown!

Ok...Tivo "The Office"....You can watch the folks on "Grey's Anatomy" have sex in a call room later...

This Thursday, drop everything and head over to the opening of Cusp in Georgetown!

A fabulous concept store from Neiman Marcus, this boutique carries a well edited selection of chic young designers, great denim, accessories and beauty products.

The Tyson's Corner store is one of my favorite places to browse and where I picked up my Jemma Kidd Semi-Permanent Lash Tint. I highly recommend everyone check it out...

The deets:

Thursday, March 1

7 pm to 9 pm

CUSP Georgetown

3030 M Street

Or, check out the Blog on the Cusp for more info here

Spring Has Not Yet Sprung: Head Gear

When I was being fitted for braces in my early teens, my orthodontist casually mentioned that I might have to wear head gear at some point. Like Joan Cusack in Sixteen Candles. Just dropped that offhand. As if he wasn't ruining a twelve year old's short, already tortured life. I went home and cried my little vain self to sleep.

Thankfully, the metallic fatwa on my social life never came to fruition. However, I was a little scarred when I started hearing lots of talk about head gear becoming a hot trend for spring.

Until someone clued me in. Not that kind of head gear. We're talking headbands, barrettes, doodads, "notions" if you will. And that, I can get behind.





I thought one of the prettiest, albeit completely unwearable, look of the season was at the Louis Vuitton Spring 2007 collection. The models donned wire headbands (like the gag ones that typically include half and arrow on either end) affixed with little scraps of fabric. The look was pretty and almost ethereal, unfortunately, I don't think it translates well to real life.


Picture a C-SPAN hearing on the budget, members questioning cabinet members as they sweat under the hot lights...I traispe behind the panel in my knotted boho scarf and bedazzled headband/crown. Not so good, huh?




Mercifully, this isn't the only headband trend. Also, one of the most elegantly dressy versions was also the simplest...honestly, you could probably pick up what you need at a fabric or variety store.




Valentino sent his models down the runway in teased updos with a thin red elastic around the crown of the models' heads. It made them look chic and much more formal than just a plain updo. I caught a backstage clip where the hair stylist actually said he just used regular old elastic tied into a headband. I never thought I would have a need for a Michael's craft store, but I think I just changed my mind...










Last on my must have list for spring hair thingies is the stretchy headband. And actually, most of you probably already have them! Most girls keep one of these on hand for washing one's face or putting on a mask...maybe for the occaisonal workout session or to get you through that awkward growing out bangs phase. If you don't have one, I have seen Goody versions at CVS for like $3.99.

This look showed up on the Burberry Prorsum show. It looks chic in a downtown way, elegant but cool. I think this look is perfect for weekend brunches and shopping especially when paired with rather uptown clothes. It helps take it down a peg. What keeps this look from being too Pollyanna or Preppy Handbook is how close the band is to the hairline. No peeking! The band also covers most of the ears, so leave the chandeliers at home and stick to small studs or no earrings.

All this focus on headbands means that the hair will be swept away from the face. Messy buns and ponytails rule your head, but this means your face should be flawless. Stock up on exfoliators, salicyclic acids and foundation pronto.

Biggest bonus?

Most of these looks go a long way to hide I-didn't-have-time-to-wash-my-hair hair.

photos courtesy of style.com

Spring Has Not Yet Sprung - Face Forward

Just in time for my daily daydream about what it will be like when Mayor Fenty actually clears the streets of the ice, the 18 tons of rock salt currently on the ground stop crusting over my Delman flats washes away and the sun makes more than a guest starring appearance in my day...


Kiehl's has announced that they have created a tinted moisturizer!

Not just any moisturizer, an Ultra Facial Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 15!

One of their most popular products, the Ultra Facial Moisturizer is a lightweight all-purpose lotion that goes on sheerly, sinks in quickly, and leaves little stickiness. I keep one in my gym bag for post-workout showers, and am currently seeing if the cream version can do anything for my dry and flaky skin.

I have had trouble with tinted moisturizers in the past...odd colors...not enough coverage...goopy texture...that slimy feeling I get from the wrong moisturizer. But I have high hopes for this one and Kiehl's rarely lets me down.

PS. I also managed to check out some of Kiehl's new lipglosses when I went on a little spending spree there last week, they are super cute! Not exactly "non sticky" billed, but cute nonetheless. Also, much more to come on Kiehl's products...gotta love their sample policy!!

photo courtesy of kiehls.com

Holy Lipstick Backlash, Batman

Ouch.

Ok, ok, ok, ok. I get it.

Apparently the matte pale pink lip has no fans here. I apologize and will promise to focus all further lip coverage to colors which appear in nature (kinda).

Spring Has Not Yet Sprung: Cool Lips

Ok, so this is the obvious counterpart to Lips, vol. 1.







The other significant lip trend from the Spring 2007 runways was the baby pink mouth. The difference here as opposed to the cotton candy mouth of the past? It's matte, not shimmery or shiny and the lipstick to go gaga for is the Proenza Pink from Lancome.






Also created by Gucci Westman Neville (she of the "Peter Som lips to kill for") who is clearly the She-Ra of lipstick lemmings, the color was inspired by surfers and their whited-out zinc lips. From the runway pics it appears that it is a true baby pink which is almost totally opaque.



To enhance the effect, the Lancome info explains that Westman Neville even recommends powdering and concealing lips before applying the color. It looked fantastic on the runway, but I worry about the translation to real life.



Blogdorf Goodman already snagged a tube (Damn her and her ways of getting the unattainable! How does she do it? It's like a beauty Jedi-mind trick) and reported that it is not easy to wear but is a beautiful color that will certainly look better in spring and summer plus a tan and minus eighteen layers of fleece.



When I stopped by Neimans to snatch up the Pink Softness that was rightfully mine (ice storms don't scare me!!) I inquired about the waitlist for the shade. Shockingly short. I would call over there right now if you are interested and promise your first born child or something...I heard March 1 is the drop date.



But for me, I think the pale color would be a little too pale, so I decided to go a kindler gentler route.



I picked up a tube of NARS Sheer Lipstick in Roman Holiday. A sheer delicate baby pink, it gives just enough pale pinky color to mimick the trend without forcing people to ask me if I am dehydrated or something.

But I'm sure I could fake the look with a little concealer if I'm feeling trendy or grubbing fake sick and get out of work early...

Anyhoo, in the wake of all this sturm und drang about the weather, what lipstick are you ready to go Celebrity Deathmatch over?

photos courtesy of lancome-usa.com, style.com, and sephora.com

Spring Has Not Yet Sprung - Hot Lips

My first obsession for spring are lips.


The Spring 2007 shows had a variety of lip colors to choose from, ranging from the arty-and-important-but-incredibly-unwearable thick fuchsia and orange, to a palepalepale pink surfer look. The divide seems pretty clear, go bright or go nude, but don't half ass it.


Let's go bright first.


My FAVORITE, and I truly mean favorite, lip look for spring was on the runway at Peter Som.

Putting aside the fantastically lust-worthy clothes, the makeup was adorable and fresh. The look on the lip was a stained dark rose, almost like you ate a whole vat of raspberry jello and then put on chapstick. The best thing is that it seems to look great on a wide variety of models, despite various complexions and hair colors. Check out more pictures backstage from Style.com.

I have searched the internet and print media high and low to try to recreate the look. Gucci Westman, head makeup force behind Lancome, did the makeup and the Beauty Addict reported from behind the scenes at the show that Westman used a "blue-based tomato red" lipstick and topped it off with a cheek mousse stain and then dusted with powder.

Also, the March Elle Magazine reported that the cheek product in question is Magique Blush in Pink Softness from Lancome, part of the Spring 2007 "Pop Cherub" collection. If that color doesn't float your boat, there are several other limited edition shades available.

But if you take the last Pink Softness at Neimans in Chevy Chase, so help me god, I will track you down.

Elle also reported that the look was completed with a clean, glowing complexion and an application of said cheek mousse with a dusting of dark purple eyeshadow and brown mascara.

Color me pysched and out the door to pick up these items.

However, I'm perplexed at the shade of lipstick used underneath the cheek stain. Can anyone help a sister out? I have a dreaded feeling that Westman used the totally ephemeral Behnaz red lipstick and I will never be able to properly recreate the look!

photos courtesy of style.com and lancome-usa.com. Special thanks to the Beauty Addict for such excellent reporting last year at the shows.

Spring Has Not Yet Sprung - Beauty Obsessions

I am obsessed with the spring beauty trends.

OB. SESS-ED.

Like "I won't be ignored, Dan!" obsessed. Like searching the internet all day furtively while I'm supposed to be working obsessed.

I think the makeup and hair shown at the spring collections and the colors now appearing in stores are simply fantastic. And my favorite part is that there is a little something for everyone.

So, I will begin highlighting some of the best of the best so everyone can start getting set for spring!

Because I know you are as obsessed as I am and don't want to do any work either.

Admit it! Or I'll come for your bunny.

Cutest Thing I've Seen in a While

OMG.



So, I was clicking through Beauty.com in search of inspiration, enlightenment...oh, whatever...I just didn't want to do any work. So I found this:







It's the Frederic Fekkai Winter Hair Lift-Shine-Define Styling Compact.



It's SO CUTE!



It's a little compact that holds two styling products, a root lifting-piecing wax and a glossing cream. The best part? It's to combat hat-head, static flyaways and general winter hair-crappiness!



It looks small enough to fit into purses and coat pockets (you know, that secret inside pocket where you always plan to put $10 (to surprise yourself next year) when spring rolls around after you dry clean your coat for the season, but, yeah right, like you are actually going to dry clean the coat now when you can wait until next December, and then you find yourself broke at Starbucks before work and use the $10 to buy yourself a latte and forget to replace the money and ruin the surprise. That pocket.) and looks like an excellent remedy for the flat limp locks which currently lie on my head.

Does anyone already have this and can give a report??

P.S. I'm also in search of a hat. My cutest blue cashmere hat with the adorable pompom was dropped in a cab around Dupont Circle and I have been borrowing my boyfriend's hat. Ewwww...boy hat. So...help me out? Any cute, warm, preferably on sale hats out there?

photos courtesy of beauty.com and saksfifthavenue.com.

HIP to the Jive

All the talk this week on the Hill has been about the Budget.



Personally, I would like to take home about thirty copies and use them to heat my apartment.

Unfortunately, my boss and my landlord frown on that. With all the talk about money flying around, I am reminded that after a banner gift giving season, I am out of it. However, I feel that the lousy weather entitles me to a little pick-me-up.

On my last trip to Target, I scoped out the new colors in the L'Oreal H.I.P. lip glosses. This offshoot line from L'Oreal is fast becoming a favorite of mine for their gentle prices, easy accessibility (my CVS is open 24 hours a day!), and hot colors. Plus, Tim Gunn dropped the product placement about six thousand times on Project Runway, and I'm buying whatever he is selling.

So, I picked out the Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss in Giddy, which is a clear sparkly fuschia color. I loved the bright pop of color on such a drab day, and I'm looking forward to mixing it in to my spring wardrobe of all bright cute colors (TBD).



I also fell in love with a few other colors, but I was struck by the quality of the glosses. Closer to the Lancome Juicy Tubes than the other L'Oreal lip glosses (of course, all owned by the same folks) they have intense color and great depth. I also fell in love with a deep purple gloss and a peachy shimmer, but managed to restrain myself (for the time being).

The only drawback?


They kind of stain. I woke up the morning after wearing Giddy out on the town and rubbed my chapped lips to see pink come off. I freaked out, thinking my lips were bleeding! But it turns out, when I was actually awake, that it was just stain from the lip gloss on my overly chapped lips.



Check out some of the colors available here, but there are way more available in the stores.

photo courtesy of drugstore.com of H.I.P. Brilliant Shine Lip Gloss in Alluring. I couldn't find pictures of Giddy or the other colors I liked so much.

Buried Treasure

If you are like me, you probably have a box on your dresser containing about thirty-five makeup products that you haven't used in the past three months. I totally get seduced by the new and exciting and often leave the older products to rot in my little bamboo box. But every once in a while, when I go digging in there, I come up with some stuff that quickly becomes my new favorites.

A small caveat here. I really try to stick to products that don't expire often, like blushes and eyeshadows. I had a bad experience with a lipgloss that spent a DC summer on the floormat of my car. Let's just say high dose corticosteroids were involved.

Last weekend, I went to a party sans boyfriend, which allowed me to pull out the clothes he hates, like my eyelet trapeze top over pants, which he claims makes me look pregnant. He also said it therefore freaks people out to see me drinking in this top. So, I started digging and came up with my old Bobbi Brown Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow in Sterling, a sparkly slate grey.

like this, but grey.

I loved the effect. It goes on very sheerly, so I am less concerned that I will end up looking like that astronaut's mug shot, but with layering it makes for an excellent nighttime eye.

But something was missing....So it was into the breech once more!

I unearthed a Bourjois shadow I snapped up in Paris a few years ago which is a sheer green color with just a touch of blue undertone and gold shimmer.

sort of a cross between these two.

I dusted a little green over the grey and voila! A perfect new evening look. Edgy. Sexy. And totally new and exciting.



So, in this time of desperate cold, instead of heading out to stores to pick up something new, I encourage everyone to spend some time going through your own box o' the makeup past and experiment!


photos courtesy of neimanmarcus.com and sephora.com.

V for Valentine's Day

I can be a real Scrooge when it comes to Valentine's Day.

Seriously, I actually make sure that both my boyfriend and I are working the nights of Valentine's Day so we have excuses not to do anything.

First of all, it falls in the middle of winter, when I really don't feel very pretty or have any interest in dressing up and going out on the town.

Second, it brings out the bitter in everyone. Single girls are upset because there is no one to buy them roses, non-singles get pissed because reservations were not made properly, and men just seem bewildered and befuddled by the whole holiday.

Third, it's just a big crock of cheapo chocolates and fuzzy pink things. And I don't plan on wasting my time or caloric budget on that.

BUT! I do like the spirit of Valentine's Day in it's purest essence, which is celebrating love.

So, to celebrate, I plan on splurging on the person I love most.

ME!!!

So here are a few twists on the classic gift ideas to lavish attention on yourself on this most silly of holidays.

Sexy lingerie is a staple gift on Valentine's Day, but it is often given by clueless men who can't tell a B cup from a bikini brief and are most often seduced by the brightly colored and the flammable. Steer clear of rashes and poor fitting by scooping up American Apparel's soft cotton underwear in their Pantytime Sale. The goods come in a variety of styles and colors, and are sexy in that hipster way, not the whorish way.

Yes, that is a horrible name for a sale. And no pictures...the last thing I need is a visit from the IT people after the Foley scandal.

Another run of the mill V-Day token, roses. This year, spare your boyfriend the hassle of fighting crowds on the florist and bringing home a slightly crushed set of buds. So instead, send him to Best Buy to pick out a gift for himself and check out Red Flower's gorgeous line of Moroccan Rose products. They even have special gift set so you can collect all of them, including a body wash, body lotion, and two scented candles topped with petals. It all comes with the prettiest packaging ever and this is not your grandmother's rose scent.

The final member of the Valentine's Gift Triumverate is, of course, chocolate! And let's not screw around here. No Whitman Sampler, no Russell Stover Heart. Go for the good stuff. In February's Vogue, Jeffrey Steingarten picks his favorites and I think I am most coveting the famed gianduia chocolates from Italy. You can pick up the "Tourinot Maximo Giandujotto" box at World Wide Chocolates and invite your girlfriends over to indulge.

Then no one would ever forget you for Valentine's Day ever....

photos courtesy of reflower.com and worldwidechocolates.com

Bullseye!

So, yesterday, I headed to my neighborhood Target (okay it's nowhere near my neighborhood, but it's the next best thing) to pick up some snack sized ziplocs.

I love snack sized ziplocs. They are the handiest thing ever. I don't know how I existed without them.

Anyhoo, I totally forgot in my work-induced idiocy that it was also the day that Proenza Schouler's line for GO! International debuted!


Actually, I was so out of it that I sort of stared dumbly at the display until an older woman tried to shoo me into the store.

I have to say that I definitely think this has been the best line that Target has had so far. The pieces are extremely wearable and don't feel flimsy, which has been a main complaint of mine with the other lines.

Now, the Target I went to didn't have the whole line. I really wanted to check out the multicolored top I saw online, but no dice. I thought the best items were the little purple sundress with the signature bra-top, the skinny jeans, and the super soft striped long sleeved tees.









One other thing I really liked was the combination of black and navy. I personally love it. Also...screw you girl from college who told me that wearing black and navy together was "wrong." Like murder. Ha! I was just more sophisticated than you.

Also...things to do with snack sized ziplocs:

• storage for things in purse - I keep one for hair ties, one for bandaids, and one for Advil
• travel case for makeup brushes
• perfect for holding all seven of the pink lipglosses that I tote around
• change purse
• excellent for holding treats in a pocket and for discreet Metro snacking
• weekend sized for shampoo/conditioner packets.

PS. Could not find many pictures of the items I liked but check here for the slideshow of the collection. You can also buy items through Amazon here!