Time to Strip

Half under construction, half made to look like it is (so Margiela), New York’s new Strip: Ministry of Waxing is one of few reasons to talk about hair removal in a public forum. With a rubber-gloves-and-face-mask level of hygiene that seems cuckoo in any other non-surgical situation, they scrutinize your fuzziness just enough so you take them seriously. Then, with a gentle whoosh, follicles are emptied via any number of appropriate methods, all of which aim to reduce stress, pain, and un-pretty after-effects. (Wax connoisseurs, take note: they use only products developed for them, and they smell yummy.) Bonus: operating within the spa is an eyebrow’s safe place called Browhaus. Here, they subtract, tint, and reconstruct with such artistic precision you no longer look like your brows belong on someone else’s face. 56 Spring Street, 212-431-1121

• Posted August 25, 2010
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• 4 LOVES

Dolce & Gabbana's Surprisingly Nuanced New Cosmetics Line

Italians love their lace so much they make cookies in homage to it. So it was only a matter of time before Dolce & Gabbana dedicated a simultaneous runway/cosmetics collection to the graceful, foliated stuff. Called Sicilian Lace, their fall 2010 beauty line contains a bronzer ($49), a few lipsticks and glosses ($30), nail varnish ($20) and an eye shadow quad ($59)—all exploring a nuanced range of beach and flesh tones; specifically, what happens to the latter when introduced to the former. And the new line comes just in time—we’re a little tired of the whitewashed pallor and flesh-eating virus color palettes for fall. At Saks Fifth Avenue

• Posted August 12, 2010
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• 4 LOVES

Get Your Fix with Fix

We’re not exactly slapping the insides of our elbows in a jonesing frenzy, but the five products by new skincare company Fix have given us some new addictions. We’ve specifically latched on to Wish Wash ($40 for 30 grams), a powder exfoliant, cleanser and brightener. Followed up with Immaculate Complexion ($125 for 50 grams), a light antioxidant balm that behaves like a serum, smoothing our skin to semi-matte radiance, and we’ve got our own speedball skincare regimen. Available on the website and soon at Barneys and Space NK.

• Posted August 05, 2010
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• 4 LOVES

In a Temporary World, You Can Count on Armani

In a world of pop-up shops, revolving galleries, and one-night stands, isn’t it nice when something actually stays? Especially now, when the sun makes anything you put on your face scram toward your neck. Where other companies have taken this cue to design lip “stains,” Armani is leaving that to wine and coffee, instead creating the creamy and resolute Rouge D’Armani line of long-lasting lipsticks. Like anything beautiful, there’s a good amount of stubborn behavior in the formula, staying put for up to eight hours, but acquiesces to the night. $30 at Saks Fifth Avenue.

And if you’re looking for a little more drama—say, to keep a fully made-up face while working out for 45 minutes or riding the train across town—there’s an extensive range of seasonally appropriate cosmetics courtesy of boutique brand Rae. The cruelty-free line is full of antioxidants, SPF, and breathable microcrushed minerals so it doesn’t feel like you’re wearing a rubber mask. Available at Raecosmetics.com.

• Posted July 26, 2010
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• 2 LOVES

First Photos of Rodarte's Beauty Collaboration with MAC

Beautyniks almost peed themselves with excitement when the color descriptions for Rodarte’s forthcoming pale, frosty collab with MAC Cosmetics came out a few weeks ago, based on their ghostly Juarez fall collection. Mostly limited-edition, products include "Sleepless" lipstick in light gray taupe, "Factory" nail lacquer in light opal mint, and "Sleepwalker" eyeshadow in beige with copper, pale blue and pale pink veining (yes, veining). Today we’ve got some of the very first photos of the collection due out September 15—all in tones of zombie.

• Posted July 15, 2010
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• 10 LOVES

Bobbi Brown's New Face Palette Is Very Dolly Parton

We didn’t make it up so don’t blame us, but there’s an unwritten rule that says every girl who’s going to be cool in seventh grade must wear blue eyeliner and hot pink lipstick with a coat of frosty pink on top. It’s a hot look called “ready,” and Bobbi Brown took a welcome break from earth-tone sanity to make a new face palette dedicated to it—and it even has a zipper. From fall's Denim and Rose collection, it’s very Dolly Parton, with private-lake blue and tinsel-silver eyeshadow, plus fuchsia lipgloss and crazy holographic iced-lilac swirly goo that's also supposed to be used as lipgloss but should really be applied everywhere. We’d give more airplay to the truly pretty neutrals in here, but we’re just too distracted by shiny things. $60 at Barneys New York

• Posted July 14, 2010
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• 3 LOVES

Burberry's New Cosmetics Line Is Groovy

You've seen the Burberry ads in magazines—does anyone ever look remotely on the verge of art spasms? No. Everyone looks incredibly level-headed, beautiful, and glowy, despite the vaguely depresso vibe inherent to anything British. Which is exactly the look their new line of cosmetics promotes. From foundation ($52) to lip definer ($27), all 96 satiny, semi-transparent pieces reference the brand’s signature plaid. Our favorite: the oddly cool grooved tubes of lipstick that look like they were rolled across a New York sidewalk subway grate ($30), magically embossing the Burberry pattern. At Nordstrom.

• Posted July 07, 2010
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• 1 LOVE

Chantecaille's Magic Dust

Contouring our faces, torsos, décolleté and legs with glimmering this and bronzing that is a big, fat cosmetic summer hoax. Once the sweltering heat sets in (aka now), that stuff runs and smudges and leaves weird streaks that look like we jumped in a puddle of L.A. hobag melted tan. So can we please have some magic dust that protects our skin and makes us look perfect quick? Why, thank you, Chantecaille’s new Protection Naturelle. The all-in-one wand of SPF 46 translucent mineral coverage protects against the full spectrum of UVA/UVB rays while absorbing excess surface shine with no chalky reside. $65 ($30 for refills) at Barneys New York.

• Posted June 29, 2010
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Get a Whiff of This

What smells come to mind when you think of New York? We’d say park euphoria, jackhammer dust, dancefloor heat, morning-after sheets and nodding junkie. Leave it to the romantic mind of excessively French and relatively young perfumer Olivia Giacobetti to idealize New York, inventing a trio of fragrances for her all-natural, organic fragrances: I Love les Carottes, Vamp á NY and Love Coco. They smell, respectively, like sweet carrots, lusty tuberose, and coconut and coriander. So maybe she had Whole Foods in mind. €76 each for 50 ml, at Colette in Paris

But just because we dusted off that “organic perfume” line-up like it was no big thing doesn’t mean you should take the feat lightly. The fragrance industry lags behind in the green crusade, perhaps because it’s pretty difficult to make a stable fragrance that doesn’t smell pagan without some sort of chemical frame. So we applaud Liz Earle, one of our favorite eco-conscious companies, whose new and first perfume, Botanical Essence No. 1, is one of those perky herb-garden fragrances that matures and mellows as it settles. You can spray the dickens out of it and no one from HR will pull you aside for a talking-to. $78 for 50 ml, on their website

• Posted June 18, 2010
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• 3 LOVES

Get Banged by Marc Jacobs

It’s about time men’s colognes stopped being about the crisp marine seafoam spraying off his yacht or all the varieties of tobacco he smokes inside his man-lair of international exotica acquired on his Jack London-esque adventures. Marc Jacobs is doing away with these notions of masculine “dignity” with his latest fragrance, Bang, which found its inspiration at the gym. While he doesn’t propose this as an overtly athletic scent—leave that to the spray deodorants—he is fully reveling in the sexual connotations, even posing nude in the ads himself. Bang will be released late July at Bloomingdales and Marc Jacobs boutiques, $55/$75.

• Posted May 27, 2010
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• 6 LOVES