Blog Posts by Style.com

May 16, 2011 11:55 am

After five jam-packed days of schmoozing with red-carpet regulars in Cannes, I'm back on New York soil-rain-soaked as it unfortunately may be. One of the highlights of my trip occurred on Saturday night when, while watching the sun go down over the Mediterranean from my perch on the roof of the Hotel Martinez, I got to talking with Marisa Berenson. In town as a juror for the Chopard Trophée , which was presented by Robert De Niro to up-and-comers Niels Schneider and Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Berenson dropped a beauty bomb. The actress and Diana Vreeland protégée revealed that the secret to maintaining her still mind-boggling good looks happens to be her own beauty products. "I've been using it for years," she says of the all-natural range with a base of prickly pear-a potent antioxidant that refines skin texture and brightens the complexion. Berenson, who takes a holistic approach to beauty-"I eat bio, I take homeopathic medications"-is bringing her

April 12, 2011 12:50 pm

Good cleansing is the cornerstone of clear, healthy skin. It sounds simple, but most of us have yet to accept this dictum as fact. According to a little research project conducted by aestheticians Jennie Hearn and Jennifer Gallegos of San Francisco's International Orange spa and yoga studio (a favorite of Christy Turlington Burns and Gwyneth Paltrow), eight out of ten women only wash their faces two to three times a week (guilty as charged). So the seasoned pros have come up with a solution: pre-soaked facial cleansing pads that wipe away impurities and rebalance the skin's pH with high-tech botanicals so you never have to bother with tedious soap and water again. Launched as part of the duo's new Preserve Skincare line, the luxuriously thick and textured pads gently exfoliate the skin's surface and, in a brilliant eco-minded move, can be washed and reused. So far, there are two versions: the Orange Blossom for all skin types, which combines natural

March 28, 2011 10:03 am

Marc Jacobs used Paris' famed macarons as his muse last spring when he debuted his annual collection of body splashes . This year, it's basking in the warmth of the summer sun and taking that first sip of an icy tropical beverage that inspired his newest group of light, fragrant colognes. Having expedited the onset of summer a bit with a much needed jaunt down to Costa Rica this week (and an equally essential frosty piña colada), we understand the desire to pay homage. The three limited-edition eaux include zesty Ginger, which is joined by essences of nutmeg, cognac oil, rhubarb, and amber; the slightly masculine Curacao, which bears a slight resemblance to Aqua Velva and features notes of blood lime, mandarin, violet, and white moss; and the incredibly fresh Cranberry, which is mingled with pink grapefruit, tangerine, honeysuckle, and exotic woods. We can say from recent experience that the summery scents don't compare to the actual sensation of

March 29, 2011 10:39 am

This column features weekly tips and advice from a revolving cast of industry leaders, on hand to discuss your beauty dilemmas, from blemishes to Botox. To submit a question, e-mail celia_ellenberg@condenast.com.

I don't know if it's stress or hormones, but I'm well into my thirties and am breaking out like a teenager. It's mostly under-the-skin blemishes and the occasional cystic outburst-neither of which I can get to myself (I've tried). What are my treatment options?

The under-the-skin bumps are milia, which are due to buildup in the hair follicle of the sebaceous glands. It creates almost like a little white balloon overgrown with bacteria. You have to go to a physician to incise and drain these or use a laser or electrical instrument.


The cysts sound like they are part of adult acne, which can indeed be caused by stress or hormonal and endocrinological problems. Certain medications can also be a cause of the flare-up. You treat this

March 16, 2011 1:38 pm

Many moons ago, when I was a fresh-faced beauty assistant, Bobbi Brown hosted an event to introduce those of us on the lowest end of the totem pole to her famed concealer-and presumably hook us at the get-go. It worked, obviously, and I've been a fan of her under-eye-brightening, spot-correcting miracle workers ever since. I never really thought they needed much improving upon, but apparently the makeup maven disagreed. Brown has just launched a new collection of Creamy Concealers that is even more emollient and more effective than before. Bolstered by silica to create a soft-focus effect that helps soften the look of wrinkles and fine lines, as well as vitamins C and E to ward off the ill effects of UV damage, all 14 shades in the range have been reissued and rebooted. Brown has also upgraded her Corrector formula, the pinkish-hued pigments that she recommends applying pre-concealer to neutralize dark circles. But the pièce de résistance of the new

March 17, 2011 4:45 pm

What makes an icon? "Confidence," according to Constance Jablonski. "She's the full package," Joan Smalls chimed in when we encountered both models last night at the launch of an Estée Lauder campaign that aims to answer that question. "I've always loved simplicity; it's timeless," global creative director Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer explained of the new visual direction for the brand, which was lensed by Craig McDean and draws inspiration from Lauder's seventies and eighties archives, putting current spokesmodels Hilary Rhoda, Liu Wen, Jablonski, and Smalls in white ensembles. When asked about her own personal icons, Lauder named a few: "Kate Moss has great style. And Gisele-I'm always intrigued when I see pictures of her." Lauder's grandmother, Estée, is of course at the top of her list. The brand founder's indelible quote, "Every woman can be beautiful," was blown up and plastered alongside each and every ad image.

The task of painting the faces of

March 11, 2011 3:47 pm

"It's color and skincare all in one," Bite Beauty founder Susanne Langmuir explained of her new natural makeup brand when we met with her in anticipation of its launch a few months back. The concept is a familiar one in this era of fusing natural cosmetics with anti-aging benefits. But Langmuir, who also started Sula beauty , is charting new territory with Bite, as it boasts a completely lip-specific lineup infused with the powerful antioxidant red-wine resveratrol-a first for the category. "Lips have been a missed opportunity for food-grade products," she says. "I love Whole Foods, but I don't want to shop there for cosmetics." While the natural-goods purveyor now sells a wide selection of good-for-you foundations, blushes, eye shadows, and mascaras, you're hard-pressed to find a vivid red lip stain or a hot fuchsia lipstick among its offerings. And vivid is the key word here. Like much of its competition, Bite uses only organic shea and fruit

March 14, 2011 1:54 pm

Benefit has cornered the market on cheeky cosmetics that not only work but also give you a good laugh in the process. Its best-selling mattifying complexion balm is cleverly named Dr. Feelgood, while its amazing skin illuminator is known to beauty fiends around the world as High Beam. Benetint, the multipurpose cheek and lip stain, was our favorite product from the San Francisco-based brand, until, that is, it upped the ante by adding a new complete skincare collection to its offerings. "We always wanted to do more skincare but we knew we needed to keep it in the realm of Benefit," said Maggie Ford Danielson, co-founder Jean Ford's daughter and global beauty authority. "So we thought, what do we do well?" The answer came in four words: "fast, easy, fun, brightening." Called B.Right (get it?), the eight-piece radiance-boosting range includes two cleansers (a gentle foam and a refined exfoliating polish); two moisturizers (a lighter lotion with SPF and