Beauty411

Coppertone NutraShield with Dual Defense Sunscreens

 

Coppertone NutraShield with Dual Defense is a new line of broad spectrum sunscreen lotions enriched with antioxidants that promote natural skin repair and combat premature skin aging from the sun. 

I was interested in this new sunscreen line because there is some research that suggests that not all topical antioxidants are created equal.  The results of independent studies presented by the makers of Coppertone at a recent American Academy of Dermatology meeting show that exposure to sunlight can cause some antioxidants to become skin-damaging pro-oxidants.  Does that mean that the skincare product you use on your face that contains antioxidants is harmful?  More research needs to be done before jumping to that conclusion.

Coppertone NutraShield with Dual Defense is a sunscreen line enriched with antioxidants to help promote natural skin repair by neutralizing harmful free radicals created by UV exposure.  As more women incorporate daily UVA/UVB sun protection into their daily skincare routines, there was a need for a sunscreen that won't clog pores, doesn't feel greasy and provides skin treatment benefits.

Coppertone NutraShield with Dual Defense comes in several formulations: SPF 70+ Faces lotion as well as SPF 70+ and SPF 30 lotions for the body.  The SPF 70+ Faces lotion is for daily use, even under makeup.  In my experience, you should be able to use this if you have dry or combination skin.  Oilier skins might want to proceed with caution.  It goes on light and creamy; I rub in well and let it dry completely before applying makeup, so as not to get the white cast that some sunscreens give. 

Coppertone NutraShield with Dual Defense Sunscreens are available online and at mass market retailers across the country.

 

AMOREPACIFIC Contour Lift Extreme Eye Cream

AMOREPACIFIC introduces Contour Lift Extreme Eye Cream, an addition to the Contour Lift Extreme Collection.  I'm a big fan of eye creams that do it all--improve crepiness, dark circles and smooth fine lines and wrinkles.  It's a pretty tall order, but the new AMOREPACIFIC Contour Lift Extreme Eye Cream succeeds. 

I have chronic dark circles under my eyes, under-eye puffiness and it's always a challenge to find a good eye cream.  In fact, eye creams are the one cosmetic product where I shop without looking at the price, because it's worth it to me to find one that works. 

I've been using AMOREPACIFIC Contour Lift Extreme Eye Cream for the past six weeks. With regular am & pm use, I can't even tell you the last time I've reached for concealer. I've also seen improvements in under-eye puffiness and improvement in crow's feet.  The overall improved appearance of my eye area is noticeable. 

AMOREPACIFIC Contour Lift Extreme Eye Cream uses a combination of botanicals like Iris Root Extract, caffeine and Derma-Refilling Complex to boost the skin's elasticity, firm skin and improve dark circles.  The texture of the cream is light, almost gel-like, which makes it perfect for summer.  It absorbs into skin and is lightly fragranced.

AMOREPACIFIC Contour Lift Extreme Eye Cream retails at $150 and is available at Neiman Marcus stores, Bergdorf Goodman New York, as well as online at neimanmarcus.com. 

Bobbi Brown Nudes Collection Fall 2009: Beauty in Simplicity

Bobbi Brown introduces the Nudes Collection for Fall 2009.  Who better to innovate the nude makeup look than Bobbi Brown...she created and perfected it! 

"Nude makeup never goes out of style--it's polished, sophisticated and always looks modern."  -- Bobbi Brown

The Nude Eye Palette features six universally flattering and sophisticated eyeshadows.  A mix of warm and cool colors and varied textures, including soft matte, lightly pearlized and metallic high shimmer.  The shades in the Nude Eye Palette include: Navajo Eye Shadow, Pebble Metallic Eye Shadow, Chino Eye Shadow, Beige Linen Shimmer Wash Eye Shadow, Maple Sugar Metallic Eye Shadow and Caviar Eye Shadow.   The Nude Eye Palette retails at $60.

Zoya MatteVelvet Nail Color Collection - Fall 2009

Zoya MatteVelvet Nail Color Collection is designed to appeal to a variety of matte color trend lovers, from the glam rocker to street chic fashionista and all style lovers in-between.  Zoya has developed an exclusive blend of matte base and subtle shimmer.  The result is a gorgeous nail polish that is wearable and on trend for Fall.  And because everything is so well-thought out, take note of the matte finish bottle and cap.

The limited-edition Zoya MatteVelvet Nail Lacquer Collection is composed of three shades:

• Loredana (ZP498) - gunmetal gray matte shimmer
• Dovima (ZP499) - black matte shimmer
• Posh (ZP50) - wine matte shimmer

The colors look absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to try this collection out!

Application tips:  The Zoya MatteVelvet nail color is not intended to be worn with a base coat, top coat or speed dryer of any kind.  A completely clean, dry nail surface yields the best results for matte nail color wear.   For best results, make sure to prepare nail with Zoya Remove + (3-in-1 nail polish remover, nail plate cleaner and new color prep) prior to applying color.  Due to the unique matte formulation, color is not as long wearing as traditional nail color. 

Zoya MatteVelvet Nail Color Collection is available at www.zoya.com at a suggested retail price of $6.00 per bottle. 

Estee Lauder Pure White Linen Pink Coral Eau de Parfum

 

Estee Lauder Pure White Linen Pink Coral Eau de Parfum is a new fresh, floral fragrance that is perfect for summer but can also be worn year around.  Light, fresh, feminine, pretty--these are all the qualities that I want in a fragrance--regardless of the season.  Pure White Linen Pink Coral has all of those, plus another bonus for me, I love the frosted pink bottle that feels so sensual in the hand.

 

Estee Lauder Pure White Linen Pink Coral has top notes of Chinese Berry, Pink Peppercorns, Apple Blossom, Waterfruits and Clear Aldehydes.  It's slightly crisp and floral.

The heart of the fragrance is a floral fusion of Jasmine, Camellia Flower accented with Honeysuckle;  Sweet Pea, Cherry Blossom and Pink Peony.  The base notes are creamy Sandalwood, sheer Vanilla and Heliotrope.

Pure White Linen Pink Coral is much softer than the original White Linen I remember my Mom wearing, but I still get some of those crisp, green notes. If you're looking for a new summer fragrance, stop by your nearest Estee Lauder counter and try this one out; I think you'll really like it. 

Estee Lauder Pure White Linen Pink Coral Eau de Parfum retails at $39.00 for a 1 oz. spray.  Body lotion is also available.  You can get more information at www.esteelauder.com.

Beauty Bylines™ Interview: Meet Kerry Diamond of Lancome!

This month's edition of Beauty Bylines™ features Kerry Diamond, Vice President of Public Relations at Lancome.  Kerry has been involved in many aspects of the beauty and fashion world and took a few minutes out of her busy day to answer some questions for us.  I'm honored to introduce you to Kerry Diamond...

Beauty411:  Kerry, you write the Lancome blog, which is in my regular beauty blog reading rotation.  What are your thoughts on blogging so far?  Has it been fun?  How do you decide what to cover?

Kerry:  I'm glad to hear it's in your reading rotation. The response has been really nice. I'm having a good time with the blog and it lets me deal with the frustrated-former-beauty-editor side of my personality, but I have to confess--it's very time consuming! I know there are a lot of bloggers out there with day jobs and I don't know how they do it. As for what we cover, we don't plan it in advance. I try to write about something I think will be entertaining, informative and insider-y, whether you're a Lancome fan, a makeup artist, a fellow blogger or my mom.

Beauty411:  You've had amazing jobs at Harper's Bazaar, WWD, authored Kevin Aucoin: A Beautiful Life and now are in a high-profile position at Lancome.  Is there one project or accomplishment professionally that you're most proud of or get the most satisfaction from?

Kerry:  One? Yikes. It’s honestly three things. 1. The Kevyn Aucoin book. He was a remarkable human being and I was deeply honored when his team asked me to work on the project. 2. The Pout-a-Porter lipstick project. That has brought much joy to me, my team and to beauty and fashion junkies everywhere. We still can’t believe the Proenza lipstick sold for more than $120 on eBay. I still wear those lipsticks all the time. 3. My interns! I was lucky to have some great internships, so I’ve always made sure to have a great intern program wherever I am. I’m really proud that my former interns are amazing gals scattered around the industry, from Self to Nike Communications to Ladies Home Journal.

Sunday Night Beauty Rituals

Do you have a Sunday Night Beauty Ritual?  A weekly beauty or in-home spa treatment that you do once a week?  Every Sunday night (without fail), I do a mask.  I find that applying a mask can be a great anti-aging treatment, usually providing deep exfoliation or firming benefits.  And the other benefit is that it allows me 10-15 minutes of uninterrupted time to catch my breath and relax.

These are the tested, tried and true masks in my Sunday night rotation:

Elemis Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift Mask:  This gentle cream mask helps to restore firmness and elasticity to the skin.   A White Clay base absorbs impurities while the mineral Quartz, along with with marine extract Padina Pavonica, anti-oxidants Moringa Oil and Argan Tree Oil help to increase hydration, improve elasticity and reduce crepiness.  Elemis Pro-Collagen Quartz Lift Mask retails at $75.00 and is available at Bergdorf Goodman, select Nordstrom doors, NORDSTROM.com and www.timetospa.com.

China Glaze Retro Diva Nail Polish Collection - Fall 2009

China Glaze Retro Diva Collection for Fall 2009 takes us back to the age when some of us were disco divas, with twelve '70's inspired shades. 

Billed as a "retro-chic" collection, the Retro Diva nail polish shades include:

• Cord − Dove Grey
• Short & Sassy − Cranberry
• Let’s Groove − Eggplant
• Stella − Raspberry
• Skate Night − Merlot
• Far Out − Olive
• Stroll − Maroon
• Thunderbird − Rust
• Drive In − Sheer Amber
• Street Racing − Apricot
• Free Love − Shimmering Coral
• Cruisin − Honey Yellow

I've been sent a preview of the Retro Diva Collection and the colors are gorgeous, with depth and a bit of shimmer, which will be perfect with Fall fashions.  Early favorites for me are Cord, Let's Groove and Short & Sassy, a cranberry shade which I think will be an everyday neutral.  Cord was a surprise, because although the color is listed as dove grey, on the nail it's warmer than most greys I've tried (and have a hard time wearing), with almost a taupe hue to it once it's on the nail.

If you like less intense shades, you might like Cruisin', which to me is more of a copper shade or Street Racing, which is a multi-tonal gold/apricot with a bit of red.  It's definitely the most unusual color in the collection. 

The China Glaze Retro Diva Nail Polish Collection has a suggested retail price of $ 6.50 and will be available in July at Sally Beauty and through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide.

Clinique Bamboo Pink Makeup Collection Summer 2009

Clinique Bamboo Pink Makeup Collection puts a fresh spin on one of Clinique's classic lipstick shades, Bamboo Pink.  The gorgeous packaging takes it's inspiration from bamboo, too.  Inside or out, the muted colors in this collection are pretty and wearable for summer.

The Bamboo Pink Collection consists of four limited-edition products:

Limited Edition Fresh Bloom Allover Colour in Bamboo Pink combines three powder shades to provide a subtle radiance and soft, allover glow.  $29.50

Limited Edition Colour Surge Eye Shadow Quad in Bamboo Pink contains four versatile shades, ranging from a fleshy pink-tone to shimmery deep pink (almost burgundy).  What you can't appreciate in pictures is the dimensional quality that this eyeshadow has.  It's beautiful.  What's nice is that the colors can be used for a neutral daytime look or you can intensify the colors for a more sultry look.  My favorite shade is a neutral, grey-taupe.  Grab this quad!  $25.00

Limited Edition Butter Shine Lipstick in Bamboo Pink comes in a revolutionary gel formula that delivers the shine of a gloss and the comfort of a lipstick.  I couldn't believe how great it felt the first time I applied it.  The color is rich, with a sexy bit of shimmer.  The case makes this lipstick look like it would cost 3 times the price.  $14.00

 

Limited Edition Powder Brush is a natural-hair brush designed to be used to apply pressed or loose powder.  The dome shape of the bristles helps to evenly deposit product on your face.  The bamboo-inspired handle will make you want to keep this makeup brush out on your counter. $30

The Clinique Bamboo Pink Makeup Collection is available at Clinique counters now and at CLINIQUE.com.

Jergens Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer

 

Jergens continues to build and improve on it's gradual self-tanning franchise with the introduction of Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer.  I've used the Jergens Natural Glow Lotion before--mainly to extend my tan, so I was eager to try the foaming version. 

Jergens Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer comes in two colors; fair to medium skin tone and medium to dark skin tones.  It takes about a week of daily use to build up your color.  It's really mess free.  I've found that a golfball-sized amount covers a fair amount of skin.  It dries quickly with little fragrance.  You shouldn't use the Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer on your face; it's formulated for body use only.

Although I love the foam application, I do wish this product was a little more "moisturizing", however.   In terms of the color, it's very natural.  If you're shy about using a self-tanner, a "gradual glow" product like this one is a great way to start.

Jergens Natural Glow Foaming Daily Moisturizer is available at mass drug, discount and food retailers, including ULTA Beauty .