The weather is finally warm enough for lazy dinners outside and pretty maxi skirts paired with sandals. To keep you entertained during lull times on weekend trips or at destination weddings, here is this week’s selection of must-read beauty news, including unusual hair uses for ibuprofen and Reed Krakoff’s impressively priced fragrances.
Photo: Beautylish
- Dior celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Le Vernis nail lacquers by enlisting artist Holton Rower to create a psychedelic piece of artwork using five separate polish colors. It’s a gorgeous, multi-colored installation we kind of wish we could own. [Beautylish]
- Designer Reed Krakoff’s latest Limited Edition Perfumes are seriously something to covet—there’s only 100 bottles of the scents and they cost a whopping $778 for 60ml. [Shefinds]
- Kate Moss is featured on the cover of the June/July issue of Harper’s Bazaar. The spreads of her in the magazine, rocking neon hair extensions while on the beach, remind us that neons are oh-so-fun for this season. [Fashionista]
- Did you know that crushing ibuprofen and mixing it with your shampoo can keep dandruff at bay? Neither did we! Celebrity hairstylist Ken Paves offers up budget-friendly, quick fix hair tips using unexpected products and tools. [Stylelist]
- The beauty world has been buzzing about claims speculating that your bangs might be giving you a lazy eye. Yikes! Where’s the nearest bobby pin or hair clip? [Fashion Etc.]
- Today marks the theatrical release of Mansome, a hilarious documentary about the ups and downs of men’s grooming in the modern day world. Birchbox Man scored an equally laugh-inducing interview with the film’s director that shouldn’t be missed. [Birchbox Man]
—Candice
Need more beauty news? Our reading lists always have everything you need to know.
We’re guilty of sticking with the same hair cut for years — if it’s not broke, why fix it? — but that can be a little boring. But not everyone has our issue. Paulina, one of our amazing operations associates, is always eyeing new cuts and styles. She’ll be sharing her tress inspiration and tips every other week here via her feature Hairistocracy.
It’s been two months since my little dye-job, and now I’m coming to terms with something that’s tough to talk about, but has everything to do with coloring. I’m graying.
Slowly but surely, I’m getting a little silver and I owe it all to genetics. Now that my recent dye is starting to fade, I’ve been debating a tough decision: do I continue to cover the grays or should I experiment with a little salt and pepper?
Read more
Kate Moss’ Rimmel London lipsticks are finally in stores! We got our hands on three colors, a deep purple, a blushed nude, and a dusty rose. Each are $6 and sold at drugstores. Get them while they’re hot!
—Meredith
Photo: WWD
Happy Friday, Birchboxers! The cool weather has finally taken hold of the Northeast, but before you head to the orchard for apple picking (or, more importantly, to the store to find your Halloween costume), catch up on this week’s beauty news.
- Peeking into a model’s makeup collection is a dream come true. This ITG feature on Coco Rocha, model extraordinaire, is an illuminating look at her beauty closet and favorite products. [Into The Gloss]
- Speaking of models, Kate Moss, longtime spokespoerson for Rimmel, celebrated her ten year anniversary with the brand by creating a lipstick collection. There are 15 shades, but we already love 001, the red shade Moss sports in the ad campaign. The line has already hit stores in the UK, but should land on our shores in January. [WWD]
- This is from a few weeks ago, but we just had to mention it. The always inspiring The Coveteur ran a feature on Revlon’s global artistic director, Gucci Westman. Click through to see pictures of her home…and her handbag collection. [The Coveteur]
- If you’re a fan of OPI’s celebrity collections — Justin Bieber, The Muppets, Katy Perry, the Kardashians — you’ll be excited to hear that a new one will launch in January 2012. Want to guess with who? Drumroll please…it’s Nicki Minaj! [Fashionista]
- We must admit, we’re not always satisfied with the coverage from our concealer. But after watching this ad for Dermablend Pro, we’re now officially in need this heavy duty makeup. The clip features Zombie Boy, a model who is covered head-to-toe in very dark tattoos, and the product literally makes them vanish. Honestly, the transformation will blow you away. [The Gloss]
Moss’ honeymoon, Keratase Creme Oleo, RMS Living Luminizer, Dr.Bronner’s Magic Peppermint Soap, Kiehl’s Super Fluid UV Defense 50+, Jouer Luminizing Moisture Tint
After wedding this past weekend, Kate Moss and hubby Jamie Hince set sail on a several month-long honeymoon on the Mediterranean Sea. The newlyweds are aboard a private yacht (of course) called Lionheart, which is 206 feet long and owned by Topshop CEO Philip Green. Not too shabby…and judging by the images I’ve seen thus far of the supermodel sunning herself, Kate looks as glamorous as ever. She must be hiding a pretty hefty stash of beauty products, and though it’s a little tougher for us mere mortals to take an extended vacation, we definitely know what we would bring with us if we had the chance to cruise around for a couple months. Personally, I would need Jouer’s Luminizing Moisture Tint. To fool everyone into thinking I have a tan, recently I’ve been using the shade Glow, and it’s cut back my morning makeup routine tremendously. I asked a few Birchboxers what their one must-have would be, and here’s what they said:
Mollie, director of content: When I was a kid, my family used to take overnight sailing trips. The only product we had on the boat was Dr. Bronner’s Magic Peppermint Soap. It was tingly and refreshing and served as hand wash, face wash, and shampoo. To this day, I associate that product with salt water, yellow life jackets, and scratchy canvas boat cushions.
Elizabeth, SVP of brand merchandising and marketing: You have to look as pretty as you did walking down the aisle, especially in the morning! I would not go anywhere without my Kerastase Creme Oleo Relax Slim. It smooths thick, dry, rebellious hair.
Meredith, editor & content strategy manager: I’m not much of a boat person because A) open water really freaks me out and B) I like to stay out of the sun, which is near impossible while sailing or yachting. To keep my fair skin from getting burned, I would bring several bottles of Kiehl’s Super Fluid UV Defense 50+, my new favorite sunblock. It’s an ultra-light formula so it’s effortless to apply and it dries completely matte, so no shiny residue.
Liz, VP of engineering: On a holiday like that? Sunscreen! The zinc (invisible) based type.
Rachel, brand marketing & merchandising manager: I absolutely could not live without RMS Living Luminizer. It gives your skin the ultimate glow!
What would you bring along? Comment and let us know!
—Shana
Pick up some other star products in our Birchbox Shop.
Kate Moss never ceases to amaze with her versatile looks and she certainly was stunning this past weekend during her wedding to Jamie Hince. While we were captivated by the supermodel’s glow, it wasn’t just Moss that caught our eye—we loved the adorable hair accessories donned by her wedding party. All of the girls looked absolutely ethereal with a flowered crown resting atop loose waves.
This style isn’t reserved just for special occasions however, and it is a fun trend to try in the summer. While shopping this weekend, I found these three great options from Topshop that make for a majestic accent to any relaxed ‘do.
Hessian Flower Headband, $25, topshop.com; Large Flower Garland Headband, $28, topshop.com; Hair Plaited Flower Headband, $25, topshop.com
—Shana
To keep your hair looking great all day, pick up some products from our Birchbox Shop.
The weekend is soooooo close we can just taste it! The office is quickly emptying out but before we can run off to our three-day weekend we’ve got to share our reading list!
- Well, here’s one we can check off our list: we finally found out what would happen if you applied 365 layers of makeup to someone’s face! That’s exactly what artist duo Lernert and Sander did for Nowness.com. It took nine hours, seven bottles of foundation, two bottles of eye cream, three lip pens, and two bottles of blush – all by Ellis Faas — to complete the look. Watch the enthralling video over at Fashionista.
- As you know, we’re huge nail polish and nail art fans—the crazier the better, we always say! So we were excited to see a debate on NY Times yesterday called “Why Did Wild Nail Polish Go Mainstream?” We may be out of touch over here in our beauty closet but we were slightly shocked by some of the comments that called nail polish tacky and stated that women who are serious about their careers would never stray from the basic colors. We have to wholeheartedly disagree on both accounts!
- If there was any doubt that heels would continue to get even more extreme, Christian Louboutin has put that to rest with his newest pair. Fortunately, the extreme eight inch heels, which mimic ballet shoes, are for charity. Get the details and find out where you can bid for them at Grazia.
- Bare Escentuals is launching a line of pressed eye shadows (they’re calling them solid eye shadows) this fall to complement the rest of their mineral makeup collection. Shades will range from neutrals to bolder tones and duos will retail around $20. Details are on WWD, but the collection will launch on QVC on September 29th.
- And finally, in fancy wedding news: Kate Moss got married today! Of course the dress is the question of the hour and interestingly enough, she wore a piece by her long time friend, John Galliano. No word yet from WWD on any backlash for choosing the troubled designer. Other outfits for the weekend were designed by Stella McCartney.
-Lorelei
Enjoy the long weekend and we’ll see you back here on Tuesday!
Seventeen years ago, the ’90s were taken by storm as Calvin Klein launched its ck one scent. Unisex fragrance was a novel idea at the time and a trend ensued, but the concept didn’t have much staying power past the grunge-loving decade. A few years ago, the brand relaunched the infamously androgynous scent, but they’re hoping to spark a revival with the September launch of their latest edition: ck one Shock. But what’s so shocking about it? Well, there’s a separate fragrance for men and women, for starters.
After pioneering the unisex fragrance scene, this is truly a departure with the women’s scent being more floral and the men’s more rustic. What’s also new is that the campaign really embraces the digital age and the company is encouraging consumers to interact with the brand online using webcams and social media. But no worries for any of you diehards, you’ll still be able to buy the original.
Do you think Calvin Klein has the right idea to shake things up or should ck one always be unisex?
—Shana
If you’re not a ck one fan, take a look at other fragrances inside our Birchbox Shop.
Photo right: SassyBella
After 10 years as the face of the popular cosmetics brand Rimmel London, fashion icon and model Kate Moss has taken her relationship with the beauty label a step further—she’s designing a color makeup collection for them. It’s only appropriate that the revered Moss has her name prominently splashed across every product with the line being called Kate Moss Makeup Collection for Rimmel London.
In the assortment, you’ll find six shades of lipstick, from orange to purple, as well as eye shadows and mascaras. Here at Birchbox we’re crazy about gifts with purchase, and apparently Kate is too. Score your own sequined leopard-print pouch when the set releases in October. What a coincidence, I’ll be in London at the time—fingers crossed for a launch party.
—Shana
For some great new products while you wait, check out our Birchbox Shop.
