Operations associate, Loren, has a thing for nails—and we can’t blame her. We love reading about new finishes and fun techniques, so we thought we’d give her a weekly slot on our blog to wax poetic about all things manicure (and pedicure!) related. Check back every week for Nailing It, Birchbox’s dedicated polish series.
There’s been a lot of buzz around the Zoya Birchblogger Collection and with such delicious shades, who can’t help but fall in love with them? This trio of jellies each works fantastic on its own, but they’re also great layering, color blocking, and doing all kinds of cool nail art. I got inspired the other day and thought I try the ultimate Birchbox manicure. Click through for details!
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We’ve been huge fans of Jurlique since we started working with the brand last year. From their eco-conscious packaging and their all-natural skincare to their proactive efforts to reduce their energy consumption, the company is an impressive green role model. Last week we asked you what Jurlique products you love or can’t wait to try. We choose three lucky bloggers to be published here and to win the product that they wrote about!
Blog: kimberlyloc
Product: Jurlique Fruit Enzyme Exfoliator
“My skin always feels refreshed and renewed!” Read more on kimberlyloc…
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Another Friday, another Reading List, folks. This week we just happened to come across an unusually high number of stories about awesome women. Whether they’re founders of beauty companies, the brains behind brilliant websites, models with fun attitudes, or just ladies teaching us how to make great nail art, we couldn’t get enough. 
Lara Stone at her favorite pancake house. Photo: T Magazine
- Stop the presses! Lauren Conrad is starting a beauty line! Okay, this really shouldn’t have been so surprising to us since she already has a successful beauty blog, TheBeautyDepartment. Nevertheless, we can’t wait to see what she comes up with. [Fashionista]
- Okay, we’ve been trying to get marble nails right for months now. Somehow it never seems to work, but after watching Connie from Refinery29 do it, we have newfound inspiration — and faith in our own abilities. Wish us luck and go watch her tutorial! [Refinery29]
- Quite a few members of the Birchbox team are hanging out in LA this week (we just hosted a fab party with Smashbox last night) and have been looking for lots of fun things to do while they’re there. We stumbled across this profile of two of the coolest LA ladies we wish we knew: Hillary Kerr and Katherine Power from Who What Wear. [Into The Gloss]
- Speaking of awesome ladies, W Mag has an interview with Dany Sanz, the founder of Make Up For Ever. We had no idea she was so charming. [W Magazine]
- Finally, since it is still fashion week somewhere, we have a little model inspiration. Dutch beauty, Lara Stone hung out with Lynn Yaeger in The Netherlands for a piece in T Magazine. [T Magazine]
—Lorelei
Have a great weekend! Use your downtime to catch up on all our new September articles!
Image of Linda Rodin from Style.com
Another Friday, another link round up! It feels a bit like the calm before the storm over at Birchbox HQ right now. We’re about to head into a few crazy weeks. Not only are February boxes shipping next week (woot!), it’s also Social Media Week. Not to mention, the start of the most thrilling, manic, awesome of all weeks: Fashion Week. With that in mind, TGIF:
- Fashion Copious posted the first image of Lady Gaga’s March Vogue Cover (that we know of). She’s sporting a bubble-gum pink bob, dark violet lips, and looks like she’s had her brows bleached.
- Man Candy Alert! Sorry, I had to. This video collab between Justin Wu and jakandjil.com features the antics of male models from the Milan and Paris F/W 11/12 shows. Just try not smiling, it’s impossible!
- In the Financial Times “Lunch with the FT” column Vanessa Friedman sat down with Natalie Massenet, founder of Net-a-Porter and the new off-shoot, Mr. Porter. She’s also essentially responsible for luxury e-tailing as we know it today, no big deal.
- Fashionista covers new high-tech advancements in skin care this week. Coolest by far are the “twist and mix” vials of La Prairie Cellular Power Infusion. We’re also loving the Philosophy Keep The Peace line, available in March.
- Style.com’s Beauty Counter Blog spoke with the founder of Rodin-Olio Lusso, Linda Rodin about her beauty routines. At 63, she seems to have discovered the fountain of youth.
-Lorelei
Loving Linda Rodin and Gaga’s bold lips? Us too! Check out our guides to wearing red or orange!
In the spirit of New Year’s Day, this week’s reading list all about resolutions (plus one fantastic ‘Best of Beauty’ list)! Even if you aren’t the resolution-making type, you can get motivated by these smart lists.
You already know we took a lot of inspiration for our own resolutions from Well & Good NYC. Check out their resolutions to go on a yoga retreat and try new holistic therapies this year.
Designers: they’re just like us! Refinery 29 put together a list of designer resolutions and they’re surprisingly easy to relate to. We especially love Lynne Hiriak’s resolutions to wear more high heels so she can kiss taller guys and to keep her fridge always stocked with bubbly—amazing!
Allure’s editors are all about having a prettier year in 2011. Whether they’re starting an anti-aging routine or busting out of a hair rut they’ll be doing it in style.
Style.com’s Beauty Counter has a retrospective of backstage beauty in 2010. The shots are stunning and there are plenty of ideas for experimenting with new colors and techniques in the new year.
And finally, The Frisky has a great list of 10 resolutions NOT to make. These are spot-on (not to mention funny). This year we resolve not to make any bad resolutions!
See you in 2011!
My friend Julia (she of the Chanel red lips) is Castor & Pollux’s latest fashion muse. And she’s a worthy one: the girl mixes vintage and indie designers with ease, throwing in little tailored equestrian prep for fun. She’s also a lipstick expert - not a week goes by without her telling me about her latest crimson or fuchsia find.
