LA FRESHEST STUFF ON TV

One of my favorite brands, La Fresh, has just launched a new TV campaign with a special offer on Eco-Beauty Waterproof Makeup Remover Wipes and Oil-Free Face Cleanser Wipes. When you order, you get a FREE full size pouch of the luscious Instant Body Soother and single packets of every product in the Eco-Beauty line: Healthy Hand Sanitizer, Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover, Instant Body Soother, Waterproof Makeup Remover and Oil-Free Face Cleanser in Naturally Scented as well as Fragrance Free.

I provide a demo of how well the Waterproof Makeup Remover works. I kid you not, the product works just as well, if not better, than other products that contain mineral oil and parabens. The La Fresh Eco-Beauty Waterproof Makeover Remover contains 6 natural extracts including Lavender essential oil, yet it doesn't leave your skin running with oil like some eye makeup removers do. I promise, it will be love at first wipe! Check it out at golafresh.com.

Hello Kitty Hits Sephora

She's iconic. She's adored. She's known around the world. Now, Hello Kitty is bringing her playful spirit to a new beauty line presented exclusively at Sephora. This sophisticated collection mixes the essence of Hello Kitty with a touch of style and fun. With charming designs and luxurious formulas infused with ingredients she loves, Hello Kitty Beauty is the ultimate must-have. Hello Kitty. Hello Pretty.

Nutritious + Beauticious + Delicious = BORBA

I am so excited to announce that BORBA skin care, supplements, water and crystalline will soon be available at Walgreens! Working closely with Scott-Vincent Borba (my amazingly talented colleague and ravishing friend), we've created absolutely ground-breaking products for health & beauty from the inside-out.

All BORBA products are loaded with powerful antioxidants from exotic superfruits, and they also contain a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals. I have been hooked on BORBA Gummi Bears for years, and now I get to snack on all sorts of new delicious skin care supplements like the Mighty Energy Gummi Mice (3 flavors of caffeinated yummi gummis), the Slimming Chocolate Chews (helps control appetite with satisfying chocolate chewiness) and the Smart & Sexy Omega-3 Bursts (I get my fish oil fatty acids with an 'I can't believe my tastebuds' starbursty citrus taste).

The topical skin care is a Walgreens exclusive, which means you won't be able to find these items anywhere else except select Walgreens & Duane Reade stores, Walgreens.com and BORBA.com. The focus is on Age Defying benefits, because I've never met a woman who doesn't want to look as young as she feels.

And since so many of us need a little extra TLC during 'the time of the month before that time of the month,' we developed a healthy inside-out regimen to address the stress of PMS (ever dreamed of saying good bye to cramping, bloating, swelling and skin care eruptions? Oh my!). The regimen consists of a 7 day topical skin care kit plus a delicious orange flavored drink mix loaded with healthy vitamins, minerals and botanicals.

Run, do not walk, to your local keyboard right now to pre-order BORBA products on Walgreens.com or BORBA.com. You're skin will thank you!

For the Love of Long Lashes

All my life, I’ve had itty-bitty little eye lashes. Growing up, I probably tried every kind of mascara out there from Lancome to Maybelline in an attempt to enhance them. After a lot of trial and a whole lot of error, I discovered that taking off my mascara would often cause my lashes to fall out! Instead of putting up with it, I just decided to never use mascara. At the beginning of the year, I decided to give Latisse a try (new year, new you, right?). Here’s my ‘before’ shot so you can see just how puny my lashes were.

I updated my Facebook status to read, “Just started using Latisse. Can’t wait to start throwing my lashes over my shoulder.” To my amazement and delight, it only took about two weeks to start seeing results, and it only took about a month for friends, family and co-workers to start fawning over my long lashes. The big joke was that I could give butterfly kisses from across the room. :) Another great bonus I discovered was that my lash roots became much ‘stronger,’ so my lashes don’t fall out very often. Hello mascara, my long lost friend! Today I’m wearing Stila Glamoureyes mascara with the big teddy bear brush. And taking off mascara is no problem at all since I discovered La Fresh eyes & lips makeup remover wipes this year. They’re so gentle, they work quickly and easily to remove even tough mascara without a lot of lash fall out.

Here’s a snap of my lashes today. Can you see the diff?

Live. Life. La Fresh.

People on-the-go know what a godsend wet wipes are. Now, La Fresh Group takes the convenience of wet wipes to the incredibly luscious, good-for-skin and good-for-earth stratosphere.

New La Fresh Eco-Beauty Wipes are made of 100% biodegradable wipes material. Formulas are free of bad stuff (parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals, GMOs, glycols, triclosan, phthalates, PEGs, acetone, dyes, artificial fragrances & animal byproducts) and loaded with good stuff (botanical extracts, essential oils, vitamins). If that wasn't enough, these wipes help cut down how much hot water you use in the bathroom, which is good for the environment and your wallet (hello lower water & heating bills).

It used to be that natural beauty care = doesn't work well. Not so with La Fresh Eco-Beauty. These products stand up to the best beauty-care out there.

Here's the lineup:

• The revolutionary Waterproof Makeup Remover - slips off the toughest makeup with lavender essential oil, won't leave behind a heavy, greasy residue
• The life-changing Acetone-Free Nail Polish Remover - whisks off polish in a flash with an unbelievably fresh, juicy Tuscan orange scent, not a harsh chemical smell
• The delectable Instant Body Soother - infused with peppermint essential oil and a blend of 5 silky, natural oils to soothe away stress and tension from temples, neck, arms or legs in seconds
• The delightful Oil-Free Face Cleanser in natural Yuzu or Fragrance-Free versions - effectively cleanse and hydrate to remove dirt, oil and face makeup without clogging, stripping or irritating skin
• The quintessential Healthy Hand Sanitizer - wipes away 99.9% of germs without alcohol or triclosan, even moisturizes hands and helps strengthen nails

Items are available in convenient flowpacks or portable packet singles to give you the freshest experience with every use. Try Eco-Beauty for yourself - the line makes its debut in October at lafreshgroup.com.

Color Me Yummy

Crayon Food Bars

'Crayon' is a series of food bars by luxirare that are made from various other foods crushed together and formed into cylinders to look just like crayons. The set of bars are each a unique shade that is made from other foods of the same shade. The various foods where selected and crushed into a powder and bound with marshmallow. While each crayon is edible, some are more nutritious than others based on their ingredients. The crayons even draw on paper and come in a box of 8 with a full ingredient list for each shade.

Love and Toast Eclectique

Love & Toast is a naturals line which had its premiere at Urban Outfitters. Margot Elena Wells, the creator, designer and formulator, was conceptually envisioning a loose creative vibe with Love & Toast, what she refers to as “Brit Pop Folk Art.” Drawing influences from Japanese design, Love & Toast also has a Swedish feel about it with its bright colors and simple iconography and many will also notice a nod to the ‘80’s.

Margot Elena took it a step further with Love & Toast by deliberately choosing environmentally friendly packaging to convey her commitment to the natural ingredient deck she worked so many years to perfect. Almost all of the Love & Toast packaging is recyclable, and the paperboard is made from annually renewable and sustainable resources. Margot Elena chose to use vegetable ink because it has proven to be most kind to our eco system as it is derived from a wide variety of sustainable crops.

Margot Elena is also creator of Lollia and Tokyo Milk.

What's Your Fortune, Baby?

"It's astonishingly simple. Mysterio Predicts your baby's future on a t-shirt. There are 12 possible futures, each shirt sewn into a muslin bag, sealed until the parent pulls the red string, revealing their child's exciting future!

The battered wood display crates were printed (and treated) roughly to give the impression that they just got thrown off a boat from exotic, foreign lands."

Designed and Illustrated in-house by Wry Baby.

Absolut Brooklyn

A collaboration with Spike Lee, it has one of the most unique Absolut packaging changes…can you believe they Spike Lee’d the seal?!?! Adding glasses and baseball cap on Lars Olsson Smith! Additionally they have a line from Lemon Andersen’s spoken word poem “Somewhere in the world Brooklyn in da house and you know we won’t stop spreading love cause that’s our way.” on the bottle alongside the silk screened image of an illustrated Brooklyn Stoop, which is #165 as a nod to Spike Lee’s brownstone roots. As for the flavor ~ it is a Red Apple and Ginger flavor ~ “its flavor evokes the spice and vibrancy Brooklyn brings to the big apple”… it’s quite delicious, though a bit jolly rancherish.

Get a Whiff of This...

An article in Slate from took a closer look at human sweat and the Body Odor Wheel to make better sense of it. The article is based on findings by researchers at Firmenich.

"In January, a Swiss fragrance firm concluded after years of study that female perspiration smells like grapefruit, passion fruit, and onion, while male sweat smells more cheesy, rancid, and animalic. Several years earlier, the same firm had analyzed male sweat and detected these flavor notes: chicken broth, butter, vinegar, onion, and grapefruit. The presence of grapefruit and onion--the scent of a woman--in male sweat gives the lie to the notion that men's B.O. is from Mars while women's is from Venus. For this reason, the B.O. wheel expresses gender differences on a gradient."

Vivienne Westwood Bubblegum Scented Shoes

Brazilian shoe brand Melissa makes plastic shoes that smell like bubblegum. From their FAQ: A few years ago, to add to the melissa experience, the decision was made to infuse all melissa shoes with a sweet bubblegum smell. The smell will not last forever – but it does remain for quite a few months and is one of the most talked about features of melissa. Our customers love it! Shown above, two shoes from the Vivienne Westwood collection. On the left, the Lady Dragon shoe, about $150 at Zappos or Saks. On the right, a version for children.

Topshop Colour Pop

The core range comprises 97 SKUs, priced between $8 and $20, available from May in selected Topshop stores and online at www.topshop.com.

Inspiration by hot spots in London, New York, Tokyo, Rio and LA, the matte-finish pale grey packaging is described as "bespoke rough and ready". Cute hand-drawn spots, stripes and smudges were scribbled using the range's kohl pencils. The items are also housed in a matte black box with an illustration of the product inside.

Each season, new trend-led colours will be injected into the core range to offer more scope for creativity, while limited-edition capsule ranges will appear throughout the year, starting with spring/summer 2010 (also available beginning May), an ethereal collection of festival-inspired make-up, and face and lash adornments. Standout products include feathered lashes, gold transfers, metallic crayons and pots of shimmering glitter dust. Each season these capsule collections will be accompanied by a fashion story, which will encourage make-up experimentation.

The Cholive

CHOLIVE = Chocolate + olive.

No, it is not a chocolate covered olive, it is actually a dark chocolate truffle shaped like an olive. With a dark chocolate shell and decadent whole cream ganache, the Cholive is the first cocktail chocolate made specifically for dessert drinks. Each cholive comes with a skewer to hang on your martini or classic cocktail.


Source: www.thecholive.com

Arte de Jabon

Compagnie de Provence La Sardine

Compagnie de Provence Le Maquereau

Compagnie de Provence La Girelle

To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Marseille-based soap and skincare brand Compagnie de Provence presents three limited-edition liquid soaps.

Each glass bottle has been illustrated with special designs by celebrated Marseillais artist Stephen Muntaner. The three bottles, La Sardine, Le Maquereau and La Girelle, are named after Mediterranean fish and the drawings were inspired by the port city's iconic tattooed sailors. It features colorful designs showing the Marseille harbor, a fisherman's catch and the Marseillais reverence to the Virgin Mary.

The fragrance of the soap is said to be inspired by the Provencal capital's salty air and mistral winds and are made from vegetable oils.

Source: WGSN

Proud Mary

Wear your heart on your sleeve. French designer Catherine Malandrino and songstress Mary J. Blige have teamed up to debut a luxurious collection of t-shirts to benefit Blige's women's advocacy charity FFAWN - Foundation For the Advancement of Women Now. The shirts, which feature messages like "I'm Free", "I'm Love" and "I'm Power," are lyrics taken from Mary J's songs. Prices start at $39, and the line is available at Bloomingdales stores.

Source: popsugardaily.com

Green is in at H & M

Swedish high street clothing chain, H&M (Hennes & Mauritz) is launching its first skin care range made with Ecocert-certified organic ingredients at the beginning of March.

Products include shower gel, body lotion, body scrub, hand cream and lip balm, and are available in either a combination of raspberry and melon or lavender and mint. According to H&M’s head of design, Ann-Sofie Johansson, introducing an organic skincare range seemed logical to the company given its previous work with organic materials. “It felt like a natural step, since we’ve worked with organic cotton garments for a few seasons now,” she said, adding that decision was also in part driven by consumer demand for organic products.

Organic skincare at an affordable price
The Swedish company is famous for its budget friendly merchandise, and the organic skincare range is no exception, coming in at between €3.90 and €4.90. A spokesperson for H&M explained to CosmeticsDesign-Europe.com that the higher price tag associated with producing organic products was not a barrier to the creation of the line. “Organically certified products are slightly more expensive to produce. However, the prices are within H&M’s frameworks,” she said. Organic apple juice is a key ingredient in the range, featuring in the shower gel, body scrub, body lotion and hand cream. Other ingredients include organic almondand apricot seeds, and the lip balm contains jojoba and beeswax.