Author: Cold Cream 'n' Roses

#beauty #cosmetics #makeup #skincare #fashion An eclectic collection of #music posted on #Mondays

Diana Ross signs up with MAC, finally

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Diana Ross signs up with MAC, finally

MAC Global President, John Demsey, states, “Not only is [Diana Ross] a global style icon but also a timeless and exquisite beauty. As a multi-talented performer who expresses her individuality through fashion and make-up, she’s all that M.A.C admires.”

I’d dispute that Diana Ross is “a timeless and exquisite beauty.” Actually, she’s become pathetic. She reached the heights of her career in 60s with the Supremes and in the 70s and 80s with her solo career. More recently, her career has been plagued by a lot of setbacks and missteps: the end of her marriage, a DUI conviction last year, and the failed “Return to Love” Supremes reunion – if you could call it a “reunion,” as neither Mary Wilson nor Cindy Birdsong, the two surviving Supremes (Florence Ballard died broke years ago) with whom Diana Ross had her biggest 60s hits, agreed to participate.

As far as being “all that M.A.C admires,” this is consistent with M.A.C’s habit of engaging female impersonators like Liza Minnelli and drag queen RuPaul – although RuPaul is more genuine than either Diana Ross or Liza Minnelli.

WHAT’S NEW – Beauty pages now updated on The Style Page

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The Style Page has just updated the Beauty pages for COSMETICS, FRAGRANCE, HAIR AND NAILS, BUSINESS, CONSUMER, and SHOPPING. This update includes links to Beloved Body Care and My Vanity Case, but not before The Style Page droves visitors to their sites via this blog – including a visitor who became a customer! (Refer to our previous update to the Beauty pages on November 27, 2004).

As always, I have added many new links to the Beauty pages. I removed the icon to drugstore.com, as drugstore.com and Beauty.com have a common shopping cart and checkout. You can purchase beauty products from beauty.com and health products, housecleaning products, and more from drugstore.com in the same session so that you can qualify for free shipping sooner. I have also added “screen tips” in the product listings so that you know which products you can purchase through our partner stores.


The Style Page likes clever products, and among the new brands it has included on this update, it would like to highlight Spongeables, a soap and sponge in one. I purchased Spongeables in Fresh Lavender, and the first time I used it in the shower, the entire bathroom was suffused in fragrance! Spongeables are available at drugstore.com – just select the image at left to shop.

Yahoo! News – Badgley Mischka to Dress First Daughters

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Yahoo! News – Badgley Mischka to Dress First Daughters

Barbara (L) and Jenna Bush at the first inauguration - APForget the red carpet for the People’s Choice Awards, Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) Awards, Golden Globes, and other awards shows culminating in the Academy Awards (Oscars) show! The Style Page is eager to see how Barbara (L) and Jenna Bush, the (fraternal) twin daughters of President George W. and First Lady Laura Bush, will look in the gowns that the Badgley Mischka design team created for inauguration festivities. I love looking at Badgley Mischka dresses and gowns in the fashion magazines and find them glamorous and sexy, but never tacky. This is not to suggest that I support lavish festivities for a second term, especially after the tsunami disaster in Southeastern Asia and while terrorist attacks take place and American soldiers die almost daily in Iraq.

Barbara's gown - APJenna's gown - APBarbara Bush’s gown is described as a “pale aquamarine silk chiffon gown with a plunging neckline, a ruffle seam skirt and jeweled straps.” Barbara, being thin and not well endowed, should be able to carry this gown off nicely. Jenna Bush’s gown (R) is an emerald green silk crepe column gown with metallic green banding and jeweled insets at the hip, no doubt to “carve” a waist for her. Green is a difficult color to wear, and the plunging neckline will keep the green away from Jenna’ face. The plunging neckline should be more flattering to Jenna than the strapless gown she wore to inauguration festivities for her father’s first term (see photo above), which made her look busty.

Tumeric, the new active cosmetic ingredient

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Turmeric rootThe Kingdom of Thailand is funding a project to extract and isolate chemical compounds from turmeric for use as skin-lightening, anti-inflammatory, and antioxident agents in cosmetic formulations. Turmeric is currently used in a popular skin cream manufactured by Vicco Labs of India, which claims that turmeric prevents the penetration of ultra violet rays of the sun into the skin (I rely only on FDA-approved sunscreens).

Turmeric powderThis article dovetails nicely with two articles “A passion for cardamon” and “A passion for sandalwood” from the March 2004 archive of this blog. Turmeric (called haldi in Hindi) is a main ingredient in Indian cuisine; in fact, it’s what gives curry its yellowish color. However, tetrahydrocurcuminoids (THC), the chemical compounds to be extracted through the Thai project are colorless.

Turmeric is related to ginger and in its raw form, looks very much like ginger root.

I found out about this article through Marlene Eskin’s CosmeticIndustry.com monthly newsletter sent by Email. Marlene has been a supporter of The Style Page over the years and I encourage everyone to subscribe to her newsletter.

HOUSEKEEPING

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I just completed an update of the HOUSEKEEPING page. I discovered that this page had not been updated in several months. This page provides links to many house cleaning brands that are environmentally safe and non-toxic (solid waste from empty containers continues to be a problem, however). Formerly, one could only find these products at health food stores; now, one can find them at supermarkets and other mass-market retailers. Target is marketing products from Method Home. Williams-Sonoma has a line branded under its name, but read the find print, and you’ll see that the products come from Caldrea. Restoration Hardware is also marketing a line of environmentally safe and non-toxic cleaning products. Direct sales company The Pampered Chef sells environmentally safe and non-toxic cleaning products through its sales consultants.

Method hand soap - cool packagingThe Style Page has tried Method laundry detergent, Method liquid hand soap, ecover lau

ndry powder, Tsunami Wave laundry capsules, and Caldrea dishwashing liquid, and can recommend them all. Our household relied on ecover for laundry as my husband and I were being treated for dermatitis. Those who follow this blog should know by now that I’m a sucker for great packaging, and the packaging for Method liquid hand soap is really cool!

The Style Page is not a granola-munching, Birkenstock-wearing purist: the Housekeeping page also provides links to products from 3M and Proctor & Gamble. If you cannot justify paying a premium for natural cleaners, simply use less of your current products: for example, try halving the amount of laundry or dishwashing detergent you use per load and see if the results are about the same. You know by now that wash-rinse-repeat is merely a marketing gimmick to get you to buy shampoo more often; now simply use less detergent for dishes and laundry.

Stylish options for Laptop cases

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Tired of the basic black laptop case? Looking for more stylish options? Browse the Bags and Luggage page for sites such as ACME Made, Gyms Pacific, Jalda, jzmo, KaraB, Melissa Beth, Mobile Edge, and Tumi, which offer livelier options.


Lapdog from Shaun Jackson Designs

Although it’s black, take a look at the Lapdog from Shaun Jackson Designs – the design is anything but boring-boring, but admittedly a bit of a nuisance when going through airport security.

FASHION pages now updated

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Today, I completed updating pages on fashion and uploading them to The Style Page web site.

While most links on the Accessories page have been for scarves and shawls, I’ve now added Eugenia Kim (who studied millinery at FIT) for hats and Sermoneta for gloves.

STRA by Maria Paula AguilarThe Shoes page includes many new links, but I would like to highlight STRA by Maria Paula Aguilar. Maria Paula is a shoe designer who learned her craft in Italy, but works out of South America. She wrote to The Style Page requesting that we link to her site. I was impressed by both the site and her footwear. Certainly she deserves to become known around the world.

The Bags and Luggage page features 20 new links, including Bag Borrow or Steal, which allows women to pay a monthly membership fee and borrow handbags from our virtual online closet. There are no late fees and members can keep a bag for a week, a month or a year. This site has received notice in InStyle magazine, the Wall Stret Journal, and The Economist, among many others.

Treating Chapped Lips

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Good advice from Paula Begoun, but I do prefer lip balm in a wax base, as long as it contains sunscreens and emollients such as petrolatum and mineral oil. I use a SPF 30 lip balm stick from Stop’n’Shop. The wax seems to create a barrier between the lips and the elements. At night, I use Aquaphor Healing Ointment ointment or a store brand equivalent. Don’t forget the corners of your mouth when applying balm – cracking often begins there.

If cracking begins, apply Neosporin First Aid Antibiotic Ointment or a store brand equivalent, labeled as a “triple antiobiotic ointment.” Band-Aid Liquid Bandage Skin Crack Gel may be used to seal cracks. BTW Liquid Bandage contains 2-Octyl Cyanoacrylate – cyanoacrylates are the same ingredient in Krazy Glue, but I wouldn’t advise substituting Krazy Glue for Liquid Bandage!

I have tried BeautiControl’s LipApeel and it works well, but my criticism is that the waxy cream used to peel off chapped skin dries out and becomes unworkable. BeautiControl is a direct sales company, like Mary Kay, and is not my preferred way to shop for cosmetics. However, you can shop online and bypass the sales pressure if you state that you do not have a consultant.

BOOKSTAND pages on The Style Page now updated

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I have just completed an update of the Bookstand pages on The Style Page.

There’s less than 2 weeks to Christmas, and if you still haven’t bought gifts for everyone on your list, consider buying books, magazine subscriptions, CDs, or DVDs from Amazon.com.

Perhaps it’s because the end of the year is near and I’m taking a look back to see how I could have done better, several of the new links – Day-Timer, Filofax, FranklinCovey – on the Bookstand – Stationery page are for planners and organizers. I still rely on a small 6-ring organizer binder to record appointments, deadlines, etc., especially when I’m away from the computer. At the end of the year, I move the pages to an archive binder. While I do use Web-based calendars and reminders and lately have started using text messaging for reminders via my mobile phone, I just haven’t seen the benefit of using a Palm Pilot or Blackberry or other PDA.


Pro-Con pads from Knock-Knock

While Knock Knock has been listed on the Bookstand – Stationery page for some time, I’d like to direct readers to their products. I bought Pro-Con pads as a gag for my co-workers to help assess the pros and cons associated with various options. There’s even a place at the bottom to list the total number of “pros” and “cons” – as if we could make decisions based on simple counts! Knock Knock also offers a Resolution Tracking System with sections for Resolutions, Rewards, and yes – Relapses: I bought one for myself for New Year’s.

Knock Knock’s products are gimmicky and alternately serious and silly. But then, what can one expect from a company that says “We concoct, manufacture, and distribute witty objects of cosmopolitan panache from our shamelessly sunny perch on the lefthand coast” (they are based in Venice, CA) on their corporate philosophy page?