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Reviving the beauty ritual: cleansing

Esme Vos — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:26:39 +0000

There’s something reassuring and comforting about rituals. Instead of rushing around, mindlessly going through the motions without paying attention, how about slowing down and focusing on each movement, as in a Japanese tea ceremony? During these darker, colder days of winter, I’ve revived the beauty cleansing ritual with Clarins Crème Douce Démaquillante (Extra-Comfort Cleansing Cream). Although the label says “for dry or sensitized skin”, this cleansing cream works very well on my (normal) skin. It feels like luxuriously soft pillows of whipping cream, yet it effectively takes off all makeup. I love using it in the morning and evening, followed by the Eau de Confort cleansing water which has a slight hint of peach. Clarins has a rather unusual instruction on how to use this cleansing cream but I’ve come love this daily ritual:

Warm Cleansing Cream to skin temperature in the palms of the hands. Apply by gently placing the flat of the hands over the face. Hold for several seconds without pressing. Briskly lift the hands off the face. Repeat 5-6 times, including on the neck: the milk will gradually thicken and create a suction effect to lift off make-up and impurities without irritating or pulling the skin. Rinse with water or remove with a tissue.

If you are using the cream to remove makeup, you will discover that you don’t need a cleansing water or toner afterwards. There’s no residue to mop up. You might need mascara remover for certain types of waterproof mascara.

You can buy Clarins products in most departments stores or online at Clarins.com.

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Felt and Wire: curated paper goods

Esme Vos — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:21:28 +0000

I have a weakness for paper goods: blank notebooks bound in leather or cloth, quirky greeting cards, unusual notecards, and even old-fashioned school notebooks. I look for paper that feels good which means different things for different occasions. For example, if I am writing with a fountain pen in a blank notebook, I want the paper to be smooth so that my pen does not skip or accumulate fibers.

If I am sending a greeting card or a note card, I want the paper to feel substantial, heavy, and to have texture like tiny grooves. Ideally there should be a good paper store in every city which sells notebooks, paper for writing and printing cards and stationery, and envelopes so you can go in and feel the paper. Since this is not going to happen anytime soon, our best option is the online paper goods store.

I found one called Felt & Wire Shop. They sell beautiful note cards, greeting cards, blank notebooks, invitations, posters, gift wrapping paper, memo pads and more, from different designers.

Felt & Wire also has a blog, which I read regularly: http://www.feltandwire.com/.

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Giorgio Armani makeup: subtle, exquisite colors for the holidays and beyond

Esme Vos — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:09:00 +0000

Giorgio Armani makeup favorites by Esme Vos on Polyvore.com

By now, you have seen the holiday makeup kits stacked up on cosmetics counters in department stores. For some reason, cosmetics companies believe that our faces should be as decked out as Christmas trees: that means lots of sparkly eye shadows, heavy blush, glittery powders in lurid colors, and more. This is a mistake. Many women will be going to a holiday party in a sequined dress or wearing more jewelry than usual. Applying heavy, sparkly makeup is vulgar and unattractive; it throws your entire look off balance. What to do?

Go to the Giorgio Armani counter and check out their makeup range. Armani has a few bold colors but even those go on sheer in the beginning, allowing you to build up more color, just in case you do decide to go for the Christmas tree look. To help you narrow down the best products, see the photo above. These are the Armani products I recommend (beginning from left, clockwise):

4-color eye shadow: finely milled powder makes this shadow silky and easy to apply, colors are gorgeous;This palette is called the Pink Light palette;
Single color eye shadow #5 – silky, rich brown color;
Blending blush duo: a cream to powder blush which gives the face a fresh, healthy youthful glow;
Rouge d’Armani: the latest lipstick from Armani, emollient yet long-lasting. The color above is #403, a warm red;
Luminous Silk Foundation: cited by most women as the best of all the Armani makeup products. This foundation goes on sheer and makes the skintone look more even; and
Luminous Silk Powder: use this powder to finish your look.

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Apple opens store in Paris

Esme Vos — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:52:40 +0000

Apple has finally opened its first store in Paris. The location couldn’t be better: beneath the Louvre Museum in the shopping center called Carrousel du Louvre. Although Apple has enjoyed a significant share in France, it’s been a mystery to me and to many French Apple fans why Apple has delayed opening a store in Paris.

Pierre Marcolini: my favorite chocolatier

Esme Vos — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:40:14 +0000

Most people have never heard of Pierre Marcolini, a Belgian chocolatier who has been my favorite for so many years. The reason people have never heard of him is that he does not have shops on every high street, airport, and shopping mall (unlike Leonidas and Godiva, two chocolate brands that I do NOT recommend — they are far too sweet and crude).

What makes Pierre Marcolini special is that he pays attention to every detail. The chocolates are still made by hand. His boutiques are temples of temptation with unusual pralines and truffles. Among the pralines, there is the Baies Roses, a bitter ganache flavored with Moroccan pink pepper berries; Thym et Orange, pure ganache flavored with fresh thyme flowers and a zest of orange, and many others. Marcolini’s pralines, truffles, and macaroons make perfect gifts, especially during the holiday season when people are looking for something unique.

Pierre Marcolini
Rue des Minimes, 1
Place du Grand Sablon
1000 Brussels
Belgium
www.marcolini.be

Marcolini has boutiques in Brussels, Antwerp and other cities in Belgium, and also abroad (Japan, France, New York City, etc.).

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Enjoy the winter wonderland with Vivienne Westwood wrap coat

Esme Vos — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:54:17 +0000

Cold wintry days are upon us again, If you’re looking for that one cozy, unique, warm coat that feels like a warm blanket and wraps all the way around you, then you have to get this playful wrap coat from Vivienne Westwood’s Anglomania line. The coat closes at the neck, has large side pockets and wide belt loops so you can wear it with different belts. Price: $1332 (from La Garçonne).

Urban chic, Italian style: Max&Co.

More holiday makeup palettes: MAC, Guerlain, Clarins and Laura Mercier

Esme Vos — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:27:16 +0000

You can tell the Great Recession has not receded judging from the uninspiring holiday makeup palettes this year. Compared to previous years, I did not see anything that I really had to have. If this is the maximum that cosmetics companies can do to get us to spend money, heaven help us all. The best one I’ve seen so far is the Bobbi Brown Chrome Palette I wrote about yesterday.

Above, (clockwise from left):

MAC 6 Devil May Dare eyeshadows, $36
Laura Mercier Colour Wardrobe, $98
Guerlain Bal de Nuit, $58
Clarins Gold Attraction palette, $40

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Holiday makeup favorites: Bobbi Brown Chrome Palette

Esme Vos — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:57:05 +0000

I know it’s a bit too early to be talking about Christmas but I have to start reviewing the holiday makeup kits and palettes right now because they run out quickly. Many of these palettes are limited editions and they do fly out the door. So here goes.

The Bobbi Brown Chrome Palette is, in my opinion, the most beautiful of them all. It is versatile because the colors are not too extreme. You can wear them for holiday parties or any party. If you apply the colors with a subtle hand, you can wear them during the day, in any season. The lip colors are lovely and like the eye shadows, you can wear them for evening or day. The Chrome Palette costs $75.

To see what a fully made up face looks like, with tips on how to apply the colors, watch this video from the Bobbi Brown website.

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Video: how to do autumn makeup

Esme Vos — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:09:35 +0000

Here’s an excellent video showing Ruby Hammer, a well-known British makeup artist, giving tips on how to do autumn makeup. Ruby has a wonderful cosmetics line with partner, Millie Kendall. What I like about this video is that Ruby uses very subtle, natural colors on the model. I hate glops of brightly colored, shiny makeup that make you look like a Las Vegas showgirl. Unfortunately many cosmetics companies today think that more is better. Apparenty they believe that strong colors, sparkly bits and shine translate automatically into sales.

There are a few, however, that believe otherwise, for example, Giorgio Armani’s makeup line which is beautiful and understated; Clarins; Laura Mercier; and Bobbi Brown.

ShopGossipGirl.com: get the look of TV’s hottest show

Esme Vos — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:12:08 +0000

Have you lusted after the gorgeous clothes and accessories worn on Gossip Girl and wondered where you can find similar (or identical) items? Well, now you can go to www.shopgossipgirl.com, a website that allows you to shop by episode, by character, and by product. Items which are similar or identical to those worn on the show are depicted next to a short video clip, or under the character’s name. The site uses the power of the community to tag the clothes, bags, shoes, jewelry, hats, etc. worn by the characters.

For example, in “How to Succeed in Bassness” (Season 3, Episode 7), Serena is wearing a fabulous sexy sequined dress to a club opening and I wanted to know where to buy it or at least something that looks like it. So I went to ShopGossipGirl, went to the episode and found a beautiful dress that looks pretty close. In some cases, ShopGossipGirl finds the EXACT dress or bag! If you have a favorite character, say Vanessa, and all you want to do is shop for he Vanessa boho chic look, then go to the “shop by character” category and click on Vanessa Abrams to see items similar to what the character has worn on the show.

ShopGossipGirl isn’t just for women either — the male characters’ cool clothes are also featured on the site, so fans can shop for the dapper shirts and ties that define Chuck’s stylish look.

Very simple. Instant gratification has never been so easy and deadly on our already crimped clothing budgets.

www.shopgossipgirl.com

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