Author: Cold Cream 'n' Roses

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

An incredible season for makeup launches

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Jane Cosmetics is among the many makeup launches this season
Jane Cosmetics is among the many makeup launches this season

This has been an incredible season for makeup launches:

But wait, there’s more! 🙂  In the near future, we can expect new makeup lines from:

Also expect new collaborations from Jason Wu for Lancôme and Bobbi Brown and Katie Holmes (the Bobbi & Katie collection).

Whew!  So many launches, so little time! 🙂

Sensai Designing Duo Bronzing Powder

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This Designing Duo Bronzing Powder by Sensai by Kanebo is a two-color graduating bronzing powder with 24K gold and pearl.

Sensai Designing Duo Bronzing Powder
Sensai Designing Duo Bronzing Powder

At $45, it’s on the lower end of Sensai’s product line: some high-end products retail as high as $740!  Sensai may be purchased through Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.

In Japan, Sensai’s parent company Kanebo has cosmetics lines at various price points, from mass-market to luxury.

Makeup clutch by Linley for Kjaer Weis

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How cool is this makeup clutch by Linley for Kjaer Weis?

Makeup clutch by Linley for Kjaer Weis
Makeup clutch by Linley for Kjaer Weis

It’s fashioned from silver-rippled sycamore and complements Kirsten Kjaer Weis’s one-of-a-kind swing-out packaging for her organic cosmetics.

David Linley, son of Princess Margaret and photographer Lord Snowdon, founded the Linley furniture and  design house in 1985.

To learn more about Kjaer Weis, read The Style Page interview with Kirsten Kjaer Weis.

Read Wallpaper’s feature on the makeup clutch by Linley for Kjaer Weis.  I discovered this item through Kjaer Weis’s Facebook feed.

Review of The Holy or the Broken by Alan Light

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The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah” by Alan Light

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I’ve been a fan of Leonard Cohen’s songs for nearly 45 years. “Hallelujah” covers all the themes of Leonard’s songwriting: sex, death, and religion.

The Holy or the Broken covers the trajectory of Hallelujah from its appearance on a Cohen album that Columbia Records rejected to John Cale’s rendition to Jeff Buckley’s rendition – and beyond: particularly the song’s embrace by Simon Cowell on “American Idol.” It discusses Bono’s absolutely weird rendition of Hallelujah that appeared on the Tower of Song tribute album. The book helpfully contains QR codes that one can scan to get different covers of Hallelujah.

I am best acquainted with k.d. lang’s cover of Hallelujah on her Hymns of the 49th Parallel album. The Holy or the Broken makes me want to check out Cohen’s, Cale’s, and Buckley’s renditions – and also Neil Diamond’s rendition(!), which The Holy or the Broken describes as an effective reading.

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SpaceNK Ndulge rewards program

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I’ve already discussed my disenchantment with Sephora’s reward program.  I like accumulating points that I can redeem for future purchases.   I recently signed up for the SpaceNK Ndulge rewards program, in which you receive 1 point for every dollar spent.  If you accumulate 100 points ($100), you receive a $5 Ncentive (reward), which you must use in 3 months.

SpaceNK offers a number of premium beauty brands.  You may earn points by shopping at SpaceNK stores.  SpaceNK has a number of boutiques within Bloomingdale’s stores.  For those of you who live in the DC metro area, there is a SpaceNK boutique within the Tysons Corner Bloomie’s.

Review of THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask

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THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask is an eye mask comparable to other gel eye masks, except that it contains “pearls.”   THERA°PEARL® can be used hot (don’t nuke it over 15 seconds) or cold.

TheraPearl Eye-ssential Pack
TheraPearl Eye-ssential Pack

I like to use it cold in the summer.  While THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask can be put in the freezer, I just put it in the refrigerator.  I put the mask over my eyes to soothe burning cheeks after sun exposure.  If the elastic band is not too constricting, you can wrap it around your neck: Allure said that cooling your neck was best to cool down.

A mindless, but potentially calming, activity (like watching fish in an aquarium) is gently pressing the mask to shift the pearls from side to side.

The THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask costs $13 through THERA°PEARL®’s web site.  It is widely available at drugstores and supermarkets, where you might find it for less.

NOTE: The THERA°PEARL® Eye-ssential Eye Mask reviewed for this blog was supplied as a PR sample.

Review of LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter

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While I’m fickle about skin care and makeup, I’m devoted to the LUSH Floating Island bath melt.   When I last went to LUSH, I purchased several Floating Islands.  I also picked up LUSH’s Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter, a first for me.

I love LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter!  It’s a thick,thick cream for your cuticles. Lemon extract is first on the ingredient list, followed by emollient natural butters and oils. Lemon brightens the nails.

Ingredients:

Fresh Organic Lemon Infusion (Citrus limonum) , Shea Butter (Butyrospermum parkii) , Beeswax (Cera alba) , Lanolin , Soya Oil (Glycine Soja) , Cold Pressed Organic Avocado Oil (Persea gratissima) , Cold Pressed Organic Flaxseed Oil (Linum usitatissimum) , Mango Butter (Mangifera indica) , Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera) , Castor Oil (Ricinus communis) ,Fragrance , Cold Pressed Organic Wheatgerm Oil (Triticum vulgare) , Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum) , Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida) , Tagetes Oil (Tagetes minuta) , Chamomile Blue Oil (Matricaria Chamomilla) , Stearic Acid , Triethanolamine , Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides) , Cetearyl Alcohol , Citral ,Geraniol , Citronellol , Limonene , Linalool , Methylparaben ,Propylparaben

LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter is the  best thing that I’ve found to treat my dry, ratty cuticles. It’s fun to use, because it smells so good.  When you compare this with Sally Hanson cuticle creams, for example, LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter, at $17 for a 1.5-oz tub is a good value.

I like LUSH Lemony Flutter Cuticle Butter so much that I’ve added it to my favorite hand, foot, and nail products:

Favorite hand, feet, and nail products
Favorite hand, feet, and nail products

Reference: SkinnyScoop list or my post on Blogger (which does allow for scripts)

What’s “natural”?

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The titling of products as “natural” (see my comments on Natural Essentials Healing Dry Oil) is a pet peeve of mine.  I’m not a purist, but I think that many (including me) would not think that compounds made in the laboratory are “natural.”

The problem is that there’s no agreed-upon definition of “natural.”  There are definitions of what qualifies as “organic,” for example, through the USDA’s National Organic Program.  Here is a USDA fact sheet on labeling Cosmetics, Body Care Products, and Personal Care Products as organic.

The FDA does not have a definition for the term “organic.”

Bottom line: read the labels, including the ingredient list, and determine for yourself if the product meets your definition of “natural.”

Review of Lisa Hoffman Japanese Agarwood Variations

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Lisa Hoffman Japanese Agarwood Variations is a set of four fragrances for different times of the day: Morning, Daytime, Evening, and Bedtime.

Lisa Hoffman Japanese Agarwood Variations
Lisa Hoffman Japanese Agarwood Variations

Here is how the Lisa Hoffman website describes its Japanese Agarwood fragrance:

The rare, woody scent of Japanese Agarwood is accented with the refreshing zest of Bergamot, the zen-like ambiance of Spiced Ginger, and the comfort of Warm Amber to inspire feelings of clarity and warmth as your journey of Japanese Agarwood unfolds.

What is Agarwood?  Wikipedia describes agarwood, variously known as aloes wood, oud (a popular note in Middle Eastern fragrances), and aguru, अगुरु, in Sanskrit, as “a dark resinous heartwood that forms in Aquilaria and Gyrinops trees (large evergreens native to Asia) when they become infected with a type of mold.”  Who knew?  Surely there has to be a metaphor somewhere: something beautiful (fragrance) coming  from something ugly (mold).  Kind of like the lotus arising from the mud.

James McHugh, in his book Sandalwood and Carrion: Smell in Indian Religion and Culture, contrasts the warming property of agarwood with the cooling property of sandalwood.

When I tried the Morning and Daytime Lisa Hoffman Japanese Agarwood Variations, however, the most obvious note is bergamot.  If you like citrusy energizing fragrances, these are for you.  I prefer the sensuousness and warmth of the Evening and Bedtime fragrances.

Don’t box yourself in! Lisa Hoffman encourages play, so don’t restrict yourself to wearing a particular fragrance at a given time of day.  Layer the fragrances, or blend with other fragrances.

The Lisa Hoffman Japanese Agarwood 4-Vial Set in a leather wallet costs $95.00. You may purchase the set of 4 roller balls at lisahoffmanbeauty.com.

What about you?  Have you tried any of the Lisa Hoffman fragrance variations?  What do you think about Lisa Hoffman’s concepts and products?

Disclaimer: The Lisa Hoffman Japanese Agarwood Variations were furnished to The Style Page as a PR sample.

 

Happy 4th of July!

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We recognized Canada Day; we would be remiss to not recognize our very own Fourth of July.

American Flag
American Flag

We associate the 4th of July with parades, barbeques, and fireworks, but let’s take a few moments today to reflect on The Declaration of Independence.  Read the Declaration of Independence on the National Archives web site.

The Declaration of Independence closes with these words:

And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

Indeed, several signers suffered for the cause of independence.

It surprised me to hear a man from Eritrea and a man from Pakistan say that they had memorized the Declaration of Independence in their home countries.

The Declaration of Independence is housed at the National Archives in Washington, DC. I was privileged to see the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights arise from out of their vaults prior to visitor hours.

What about you?  How are you going to celebrate the 4th of July?  I’m going to take advantage of the movie theater discount to see Man of Steel: you know, “Truth, Justice, and the American Way.”