Category: Media

Missing IsaDora? Found.

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Cover of February 2009 Allure

I was surprised to see a reference to IsaDora eyeshadow in the “Black and Blue” photo spread that appears in the February 2009 issue of Allure. Over a year ago, beauty advisors at Walgreen’s (which had been the exclusive distributor for IsaDora in the U.S.) told me that IsaDora decided against shipping to the U.S.

I checked the credits in the back of the magazine, which indicated that IsaDora was available through walgreens.com. A search of walgreens.com did not yield any results for IsaDora.

The good news is that IsaDora is now being sold through Cosmeticmall.com and Amazon.com!

Anne Hathaway in People

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Anne Hathaway in SELF

While the July 2008 issues of InStyle and Self with Anne Hathaway are still at newsstands, out comes this week’s edition of People, with a cover story about Raffaelo Follieri and her.


Anne Hathaway in People

I don’t know whether or not she was “stunned and heartbroken” by Follieri’s alleged wrongdoing, but I do know that stories of betrayal play well. Just witness the media attention given to the marital woes of Alex Rodriguez and Christie Brinkley.

She hath a way …

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Anne Hathaway

I subscribe to InStyle, but I’m thinking about dropping my subscription when it expires next year. I seldom go to the movie theater, and I don’t even have a subscription to Netflix. Consequently, I don’t know the “work” of the stars featured in the pages of InStyle. The only time I catch up on movies is when I’m taking cross-country or overseas flights. On my flight between DC and Copenhagen last month, I watched The Devil Wears Prada. That shows you how out of date I am.

Which brings me to the July 2008 issue of InStyle, with Anne Hathaway on the cover. There’s a series of Q&A with Anne inside the magazine; here’s a very small excerpt:

[Interviewer] Let’s talk about your boyfriend, Raffaelo Follieri. What does he do?
[Anne] Real estate and finance.

Now that’s a terse reply. Follieri made news himself, right on the front page of the Wednesday, June 25, 2008 edition of the Wall Street Journal. He has been charged with fraud, conspiracy and money laundering. Follieri claimed that he had close ties with the Vatican, which would enable him to purchase surplus Church properties at favorable prices for investment. However, money from investors was diverted into funding Follieri’s lavish lifestyle, including the $37,000 a month NYC apartment that he and Hathaway shared.

Fortunately for Hathaway, Follieri’s troubles didn’t spoil the successful opening of her latest movie Get Smart. Moreover, press reports claim that Follieri and Hathaway have split.

Look what’s happened to Stacey Dash!

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Ondo Lady noted that Glam.com selected Clueless as the top chick flick of all time.

Clueless

Alicia Silverstone (Cher) has had her career ups and downs since Clueless was released in 1995. Today, she’s better known for her vegan lifestyle than for her work. Brittany Murphy (Tai) has probably has had the most consistent career of all the principals, including a steady gig as the voice of Luann, Hank and Peggy Hill’s live-in niece on the King of the Hill animated TV series (I’m a fan).

Stacey Dash (Dionne) appeared in the short-lived TV spinoff of Clueless, but otherwise seemed to drop off the map. What happened? Wonder no longer – she’s on the cover of the June 2008 issue of King magazine, which appears to be Maxim or FHM geared to the African-American male.

Stacey Dash

Lord have mercy. BTW Although Stacey Dash played a teenager in Clueless, she was already in her late twenties. She’s now 42.

Natural Beauty inspired by Carmindy

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Carmindy – love her hair, love her earrings, love her eyes, love this photo!

If I tune in to TLC’s What Not to Wear, it’s for the last half hour when Nick Arrojo and Carmindy work their magic. I find Clinton Kelly bland, and quite frankly, Stacy London irritates me. I don’t sense compassion and caring on Clinton and Stacy’s part for their subjects. In one espisode, the subject wept because she couldn’t believe that she could look this good. Stacy’s reaction was so feigned and smarmy that I’ve tuned her out. The “Fab Five” of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy or Trinny and Susannah, for that matter, would not have been that insincere.


Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy

Carmindy has now teamed up with Sally Hansen, best known for its nail products, for a complete line of colour cosmetics called Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy. First, a caveat: “Natural Beauty” more accurately refers to the look favored by Carmindy, rather than to the cosmetics, which contain synthetic ingredients in addition to natural ingredients. Regardless, I was pleased with the two products from Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy I sampled:

Color Comfort Lipcolor in Adobe – A cream lipstick with a soft, not slick, finish.

Sheerest Cream Bronzer in Miami Glow – this feels more slick than the Suki Pure Natural Creme Stain. It indeed is sheer and as with cream blushes and bronzers, melds with the skin. Even my husband sees something different when I wear cream blushes and bronzers. He says that I look great, although he can’t pinpoint what makes me look so good.

Does this brand have legs? Sally Hansen had a color cosmetics line called Healing Beauty that was discontinued 2 years ago. By and large, users didn’t like Healing Beauty products. From what I’ve read on MakeupAlley, Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy has had good user reviews. I suspect, however, that Natural Beauty Inspired By Carmindy will last only as long as TLC’s What Not to Wear is shown on TV.

Women With Hats: 2008

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Madonna on the cover of Elle (UK), May 2008

What makes women in men’s hats with lots of leg look so sexy? I ask this after seeing Beauty Addict’s article Madonna Madness: May 2008, on three magazines that feature Madonna on the cover of the May 2008 issues.

Madonna is the latest incarnation of this archetype:

Marlene Dietrich as Lola Lola in  Der blaue Engel (1930; The Blue Angel)
Judy Garland in Summer Stock (1950)
Lisa Minelli in Cabaret (1972)
Keira Knightley for Coco Mademoiselle fragrance by Chanel (2007)

Here’s one self-help book that I’d like to read

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I always enjoy Ondo Lady’s reviews on her blog. From her review, here’s a self-help book I’d like to read: Beautiful Within: Finding Happiness and Confidence in Your Own Skin. Ondo Lady indicates that it’s more down to earth than other self-help books on the market.

The book is by Mica (pronounced mee-sha) Paris, who is now a presenter on BBC UK’s What Not to Wear (the new What Not to Wear sans Trinny and Susannah doesn’t seem to be available on BBC America). Unfortunately, this book has not been marketed in the U.S.

Some twenty years ago, Glamour singled out Mica as one to watch as a singer. The video of her song “My One Temptation” received play on VH1, but she never broke out as an artist in the U.S.

Check out Mica channeling Dionne Warwick in the video My One Tempation on YouTube. Enjoy!

Design*Sponge: r.i.p jane

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The premiere issue of Jane (L) and the current issue

The Style Page has reported on the demise of CARGO (Lucky for men) and SHOP Etc. (Lucky rip-off) magazines. Now comes news via Design*Sponge that Jane magazine will cease publication with its August 2007 issue.

The New York Times also reported on the demise of Jane in its article A Women’s Magazine That Tried to Be Otherwise. The authors described Jane as the grown-up version of Sassy, the groundbreaking, but now defunct, teen magazine. Detroit-based conservative columnist Debbie Schlussel has her own take on Jane’s demise: So sad, too bad …

I find the way that titles such as Glamour, Marie Claire, Vogue, and O conflate articles on fashion and beauty with articles on social and political issues jarring. Moreover, these magazines don’t reflect my views on social and political issues. I also dislike the way that magazines geared toward women in their 20s and 30s are obsessed with sex. No wonder I prefer magazines such as Lucky and InStyle, which don’t contain such articles.

CARGO bites the dust

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Two years after I wrote What Guys Want, my review of the premier issue of CARGO, hyped as the men’s version of Lucky, I learned through the New York Times that Condé Nast has stopped publication of CARGO: O.K., Fellas, Let’s Shop. Fellas? Fellas?

While the article facetiously suggests that CARGO failed because guys don’t like stickers, the best explanation was provided by Jimmy Jelinek, editor-in-chief of Stuff magazine:

“They [CARGO] failed to realize how men shop,” Mr. Jellinek said. “You don’t buy a cellphone based on what it does for you as much as it matches your sneakers. Shopping is about using possessions as a means to augment your power.”

Or, to put it in another way: He who dies with the most toys, wins. Readers, I put it to you: how do men’s shopping patterns differ from women’s?