Twilight Boosts Pale Foundation Sales

Image: The Insider

Pale Foundation is the New Normal

Just about this time of year, many of us look in the mirror at our pale winter skin with despair. What usually follows is a frenzied attempt to bring sunny color to porcelain skin using a darker foundation that often looks artificial.

If your skin is on the pale side right now, there’s no need to add color. Due to the influence of the vampire film New Moon, pale complexions are shining through. Just take a look at the alabaster skin of some of the stars of the series like Kristen Stewart and Ashley Greene, and you’ll see why pale is popular.

According to the UK Daily Mail, sales of pale makeup shades on the online beauty shop FeelUnique.com have risen 200 percent in the past month. Their best selling product is Bare Escentuals pale pink Illuminating Mineral Veil powder, a far cry from the bronzing powder some of us drag out in the dead of winter.

Of course, you don’t want to wash out your skin so that it looks like you’ve never seen the light of day. However, this winter you can be proud to be pale!

Luxurious Beauty Treatments from Leftovers

Turn Leftovers into Beauty Treatments

If you’ve had enough of holiday leftovers and don’t want to let good food go to waste, there’s a way to use up all the extras.

According to the CBS Early Show, pumpkin, cranberries, and mashed potatoes make great ingredients for simple at home beauty treatments. Just open the fridge and create your own home spa.
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Pumpkin Facial Mask
A slice of pumpkin pie can add up to about 400 calories, but there are no calories involved when you apply pumpkin to your face as used in many expensive spa facials. Just mix together 2 teaspoons of cooked pumpkin puree, 1/2 teaspoon of honey, and 1/4 teaspoon of regular or soy milk. Leave the mask on for five to ten minutes, then wash it off with lukewarm water.

Cranberry Mint Cleanser
The tartness in cranberries complements turkey and will also work as a mild astringent and toner. Take 1 cup of cranberry puree (about 40 cranberries) and add 10 mint leaves, 1/4 cup of plain yogurt, and 1/4 cup of warm water. Mix all the ingredients, then apply to your face and rinse.

Mashed Potato Body Scrub
Turn your potato puree into a body scrub by taking 2 cups of mashed potatoes and adding 1 cup of sea salt and 1 cup of aloe vera juice. Apply the mixture to areas that need exfoliating and your body will thank you.

Chopard Jewelry Featured in “Nine”

Image: FabSugar

Chopard Lights Up the Movie, Nine

Swiss jewelry company, Chopard, has teamed up with costume designer Colleen Atwood to create several unique pieces for the leading ladies of the upcoming movie musical, Nine.

The musical is based on Mario Fratti’s adaptation of Federico Fellini’s autobiographical film 8½. It focuses on film director Guido Contini during the early 1960s in Venice, who faces a midlife crisis and a web of romantic difficulties that block his creative endeavors. The original Broadway play, which starred Raul Julia, won five Tony Awards including best musical.

Chopard pieces in the film include a white gold ring with a pearl and diamonds worn by Kate Hudson’s character, Stephanie. Nicole Kidman as Claudia wears oval-cut diamond chandelier earrings and a cuff with 97 carats of diamonds. Sophia Loren and Judi Dench’s characters also wear Chopard in the film.

With all the talent and bling on the screen, the musical which is set for release on December 25th is certain to sizzle. Click here to see the official trailer.

Get Beautiful While You Sleep

Beauty Products that Work While You Sleep

If your busy schedule is distracting you from your beauty routine, you can always catch up while you sleep.

Here are four products that work hard when you hit the sack.

1. Bliss FatGirlSleep–You’ll get a great night’s sleep with this rich body cream including ingredients that target celullite, reduce water retention, and promote calm and relaxation. Although you can’t expect miracles when it comes to cellulite reduction, just massaging the cream into your trouble spots for 20 to 30 seconds before bedtime does result in smoother skin according to its many fans.

2. Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Overnight Regenerating Cream–As the skin is in its most active phase at night, a potent cream that boosts cell regeneration is the perfect anti-aging treatment while you sleep. With key ingredients like caffeine, Vitamin C, and lycopene, you’ll wake up with more even-toned and healthier-looking skin.

3. LaCoupe Overnight Repair Miracle Masque–Ideal for damaged hair, this overnight treatment deeply conditions with a non-staining formula that requires no clean up in the morning. Just apply the masque on dry hair and allow the essential oils to penetrate overnight. In the morning, shampoo and rinse for stronger, more manageable hair.

4. ChapStick Overnight Lip Treatment–Wake up to soft lips when you apply this lip balm with eight long-lasting moisturizers. The non-sticky balm helps repair damage thanks to a vitamin-rich formula. Highly recommended for chapped lips, apply the healing treatment before bed, then get ready to pucker up with your favorite lip gloss in the morning.

Design Your Own Shoe

Create the Next Hot Shoe Trend

Do you have what it takes to be a shoe designer? If you do, shoe designer Steve Madden is looking for you.

Steve Madden and Zappos.com have joined forces to launch the Sole Search contest. If you have a passion for footwear, you could win a chance to present your one-of-a-kind design to Steve Madden himself.

All you need to do is draw a sketch, use graphics software, or design your shoe masterpiece using the site’s Entry Editor to select colors, patterns, or shoe embellishments. Entries must also include a description of the shoe or the inspiration behind the design.

Three lucky winners will fly to Las Vegas and then to New York City to sell their design to Steve Madden. The contest runs till December 29, 2009 so get out your sketchpad and start designing.

Latest Shoe Trends

Need some inspiration? Click here to see sketches by various designers for Spring 2010 courtesy of The Insider.

Sleep Masks for Sleeping Beauties

Lights out for a Better Sleep

Forget about counting sheep to get a good night’s sleep. A sleep mask may be low tech, but it goes a long way when you’re traveling and want to block out approaching daylight or illumination from street lamps, stereos, or televisions.

Sleep masks go way back but were popularized in the hit movie, Breakfast at
Tiffany’s when Audrey Hepburn wore one as a hard-partying gold-digger trying to get some shut-eye.

Even if you don’t stay out all all night, the Holly GoNightly sleep mask from
fredflare.com will help you get into that all important REM stage of sleep. Complete
with fluttering eyelashes and gold trimmed eyebrows, the satin lined mask with terry backing is a must have for the holiday season when sleep hygiene is usually thrown out the window.

Now all you have to do is download Henry Mancini’s Moon River, hit the play button, and you’ll be fast asleep.

Related post

• Audrey Hepburn Gowns up for Auction

Can You Handle Infatuation

Precise Application with Smooth Texture

One of the first cosmetic companies to develop a high performance lip plumper, Fusion Beauty is once again moving to the head of the pack with their latest lip fattener. LipFusion Infatuation is a glossy lip color that mimics the results you get from surgical lip fat replacement.

Using new Amplifat™ technology that works with your own skin, LipFusion Infatuation promises to dramatically plump your lips while retaining their own natural fatty acids. Peptides also enhance collagen synthesis.

The paraben and silicone-free shades merge gloss with a liquid lipstick for a high impact shine. Six natural shades like Sugar Rush (sheer natural peach), Pucker Up (hot pink), and Big & Bare (plum-beige nude) can be applied with a precision brush for optimum coverage and a long-lasting plump lip.

Who Will Fill Oprah’s Shoes?

Image: J. Nguyen

Say Goodbye to the Oprah Winfrey Show

Although ratings have been taking a slow dive for the last few seasons, the Oprah Winfrey Show has been a mainstay of daytime television for 23 years. So, who will viewers look to for their daily talk fix when Harpo Studios shuts the show down?

Current daytime talkers Ellen DeGeneres and Rachael Ray already have established audiences and likely have peaked with their viewership. Although the Ellen DeGeneres Show has maintained a popular base, it looks like DeGeneres may be taking baby steps beyond the talk show couch with judging appearances on reality shows So You Think You can Dance and American Idol. The Rachael Ray Show has modest popularity, but it’s unlikely the show’s format has the depth to carry on for the length of time the Oprah Winfrey Show has been around.

The Doctor is in

Is it time for a new format for daytime talk TV? Last year’s introduction of a health-focused talk show with a panel of medical practitioners has proved to be successful for The Doctors. With the high cost of health care and rampant misinformation on the Internet, medical education on television is a natural.

Sandra Bullock on Being a Blonde

Image: Buzzsugar

Blind Side Blonde

If you have to pick one of the top brunette actresses in Hollywood, Sandra Bullock easily stands out. When it came to portraying Memphis Housewife Leigh Anne Tuohy in the film The Blind Side, the dark-haired actress had no trouble jumping into character by dying her hair golden blonde.

The Blind Side is based on the life of Michael Oher, an offensive lineman who plays for the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. The storyline revolves around the Tuohy family who adopted Oher when he was homeless, and helped him to become one of the hottest recruits for college football in 2004.

According to People, Bullock felt humbled to have been part of the movie, and considered her lighter hair entertaining but not really her “color palette”. Jesse James, the actress’s husband, thought the same. So much for blondes having more fun!

The movie hits theaters on November 20, 2009 and also stars newcomer Quinton Aaron and Tim McGraw. Click here to check out the official trailer.

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Colbert Pretty in Pink for Vancouver 2010?

Ted Townsend wears Olympic Oval pink toque

No Home Advantage for Canadians

Stephen Colbert has been offered a job at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics by the City of Richmond, BC. There’s just one stipulation for the host of The Colbert Report. He has to wear pink.

Colbert, sponsor of the cash-strapped U.S. speedskating team, recently complained that the team has been denied ice time at the Richmond Olympic Oval sport facility. Calling Canadians “syrup-sucking iceholes”, Colbert urged his viewers to send in letters demanding that the country cease its icehole-ish behaviour.

City of Richmond spokesperson, Ted Townsend, responded to the allegation by sending a letter to Colbert indicating that international skaters have never been barred, though they have been asked to follow rules to get on the ice. To ensure there are no hard feelings, the City of Richmond also offered Colbert the position of ombudsman of treatment of American speed skaters during the 2010 Games. Along with the letter, the city included a pink toque as part of Colbert’s uniform to be worn at all times during the Games.

Colbert hasn’t accepted the offer yet. He’s still wondering whether he needs a green card or a “beaver board” to legally work in Canada.

Do you think Colbert should accept the job offer?

Best Hairstyles for Getting Hired

Image: Marie Claire

Hair that Works

It’s not all about your resume. According to Marie Claire, a competitive job market means getting every detail right including your hairstyle. Depending on the field you work in, Marie Claire has some tricks of the trade and style mentors that will help you land a job.

For example, if you work in Finance, you’ll want to show off your business aptitude not your over the top hair. To demonstrate authority, neat flat-ironed hair or short and chic styles are the best options.

If you’re a Marketing specialist, you can sell yourself with loose waves that demonstrate that you’re on top of the trends and able to bring freshness to the role. To get ahead in Arts and Entertainment, show that you’re original but not off the wall.

Don’t forget to promote your best qualities at all times. Speaking of which, if you run a business and need a writer, click here.

Do you have an interview style tip that helped you land a job?

Lather up with Joe Fresh Bath

Full Range of Bath and Body Care

There’s a new addition to the Joe Fresh Beauty collection just in time for the holidays. Joe Fresh Bath™ features a full assortment of bath and body products with prices that range from $2 to $8. According to Creative Director of Joe Fresh Style, Joe Mimran, the approach for the bath collection is “about value, style and quality for our customers.”

Joe Fresh Bath products include a foaming body wash, a creamy body balm, a gel-based exfoliating body polish, and a light, refreshing body mist. The products offer fruity scents like grapefruit and pomegranate with vibrant packaging, making them the perfect pick me up for the dreary days of fall and winter.

If you like soap with a rich lather, you can also try the liquid hand soap. Or, pick up a Wash & Go with Joe travel kit as a gift for your favorite Joe Fresh fan who will no doubt want to sample the line.

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One Minute Luminizer

Perk up Your Complexion

If you have just one minute to give your skin a healthy glow, Benefit has the answer. One Hot Minute is a lightweight powder that will give you a natural glow for the holidays that won’t be over the top.

Designed to work on all skin tones, the rose-gold powder adds a healthy glow that makes just the right setting for your makeup. The powder goes on light but you can build it up for the right amount of color.

Use the mini fan brush included with the kit to lightly apply the powder to all parts of your face (cheeks, eyelid, hair line). For best results, use a larger brush for the neck and decollete area. Perfect for a night out or to freshen up your look, you’ll find one minute is just the right amount of time for an all over glow.

Give Him an Engagement Ring

Image: kaboodle.com

Man-Gagement Rings Becoming Popular

What’s the latest trend in wedding jewelry? Well, it doesn’t involve rings for women. The newest jewelry being sold to engaged couples is the “man-gagement” ring.

According to ABC news, jewelry stores like Frassanito Jewelers are now offering this ring alternative to newly engaged men as a way for couples to celebrate their relationship: “All the girls want everyone to know their guy is taken, and there’s no better way than to see a ring on his finger,” says Diana Frassanito.

One celebrity who followed this trend is singer/actress, Jennifer Hudson. To celebrate their engagement, the former Idol contestant gave her then fiance, David Otunga, a $15,000 engagement ring by Neil Lane.

If you’re up for it, buy your man an engagement ring in masculine materials like steel, tungsten, or cobalt. Just save the diamonds and platinum for yourself!

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Audrey Hepburn Gowns up for Auction

Iconic Givenchy Gown Up for Bid

Audrey Hepburn will be forever known for her elegant, yet classic style. The legendary actress had almost a sixth sense when it came to accentuating her best features and minimizing any flaws.

As Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Hepburn made the little black dress a timeless necessity in every woman’s wardrobe. The actress was also famous for perfectly accessorizing outfits whether it was over-sized sunglasses, a string of pearls, or even a tiara.

Fans of Audrey Hepburn can experience her style at an upcoming specialty auction to be held by Kerry Taylor Auctions in London on December 8th. The auction includes 36 items of clothing from 1953 to the late 60’s, as well as  accessories like hats and belts.

Movie items up for bid include a Givenchy black cloqué silk gown worn in Paris When it Sizzles in 1964 (estimated to sell for between $17,000 to $25,000 US), and a Chantilly lace cocktail gown from How to Steal a Million filmed in 1966. Fifty percent of the sale proceeds will be donated to the Audrey Hepburn Children’s Fund.

Latest Beauty Accessory: Hand Sanitizer

Germ-Killing Solutions

Who would have thought that a hand sanitizer would be a must have accessory for your desk drawer at work or your handbag. With flu season kicking into gear, sales of hand sanitizers are soaring. Although washing with soap and water is the preferred method for fighting germs, the portability of sanitizer products make them popular when you’re on the go.

Sanitizers come in various formats (spray, gel, and wipes) with different added benefits. Burt’s Bees Aloe & Witch Hazel Hand Sanitizer contains a chemical-free formula of alcohol and witch hazel which leave no residue. A clean scent and vitamin-rich aloe vera leave your hands feeling refreshed.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Hand Cleanse Gel is a quick drying liquid that lets you manage germs without over-drying your skin. With its key ingredient of tea tree oil, the gel offers a safe and healthy way to avoid germs with natural purifying antibacterial properties.

EO Sanitizing Hand Wipes stop germs from spreading while keeping your hands clean. Organic and plant based, the wipes contain organic lavender essential oil and 62% organic alcohol that sanitizes on contact.

How to Use Hand Sanitizers
Place a small amount of the sanitizer on the palm of your hand then rub it over your entire hand, including between the fingers and in the nail bed. If the liquid or gel evaporates completely in less than 15 seconds, it means that you haven’t used enough of the product.

Do you carry around a hand sanitizer?

Ready-to-Wear for Your Cat

Photo: Noah Sheldon

Kitty Fashion

Now your cat can keep up with you when it comes to ready-to-wear fashion. United Bamboo, the fashion collective developed by Japanese designer Miho Aoki and Vietnamese designer Thuy Pham, has created cat ready-to wear for the Fall and Winter season 2009-2010.

Pieces from the collection include stunning print sheaths and detailed tops with matching black skirts that will make your cat stand out from the rest of the litter. To celebrate their new line of cat fashion, United Bamboo has also published a limited edition United Bamboo 2010 Calendar showcasing their hot ready-to-wear feline pieces.

Smoothie for Your Lips

Lip Color with Vitamin C

Who doesn’t love a smoothie, even if it’s just for your lips? Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie lip color is powered up with ingredients like Shea butter, antioxidants, and super foods acai berry and pomegranate to moisturize and smooth your lips.

Vitamin C Lip Smoothies come in eight juicy shades that work well with this fall’s hot colors. Try Raisin The Bar if you’re looking for a berry color with impact. If you’re a fan of neutral shades, you’ll love Nude-Tritious which is a brownish nude shade with just a hint of shimmer.

Somewhere between a lip gloss and a lipstick, Clinique’s lip smoothies offer just the right amount of shine. For precise application, use the easy to apply twist brush to help define your lips. Just like real smoothies, Vitamin C Lip Smoothies are the perfect way for your lips to get their daily dose of vitamins and look great at the same time.

Rodarte Coming to Target

Image: joonbug.com

Attention Target Shoppers

Target is set to join the club offering high end designer clothing to budget challenged shoppers. A limited edition collection with 55 pieces by Rodarte is coming to Target stores on December 20, 2009 and will be available through February 6, 2010.

Pieces that have been revealed from the modern, yet feminine collection include a faux lambskin vest ($49.99) and a sleeveless skeletal dress with sequins (($49.99). The Mulleavy sisters (Kate and Laura) are taking their inspiration from favorite films like Bonnie and Clyde and Harold and Maude. The collection aims at “making something serious, that seems so black and white, somewhat playful.”

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Deotx Eye Roller

Revitalize the Under Eye Area

You may have heard about detoxing your body, but what about detox for the eye area? First Aid Beauty Detox Eye Roller helps combat puffiness and dark circles associated with aging, genetics, or just plain lack of sleep.

Key ingredients in the Detox Eye Roller include caffeine to constrict the fine blood vessels that cause dark under eye circles. Peptides revive lost volume and increase the production of collagen to reduce fine lines, while witch hazel soothes skin under the eyes which is very delicate.

To detox the under eye area, all you need to do is gently roll the metal tip from the inner to the outer corner two or three times. Lymphatic buildup underneath the eyes is then redistributed for less baggy looking skin. With no parabens or harsh chemicals, the Detox Eye Roller will help you look like you had a great’s night’s sleep while improving your under eye area over time.