HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Go organic and use natural ingredients when possible, remove all sulfates, parabens and petrochemicals from your products IMMEDIATELY, and be conscious of your carbon footprint! Start now. No excuses.

With that, please click HERE and read my Interview Magazine article of top picks for Sustainable Beauty products in honor of our beautiful planet. Your grandchildren will thank you...

Happy Birthday, Mother Earth!

xoxo,

Beauty Banter

p.s. check back monday for a round-up of some of my favorite organic products of late!

Cleopatra's EYE TIPS

The Daily Mail UK posted this fabulous piece on the sexy Cleopatra titled, Not just a pretty face: Heavy eye make-up used by Cleopatra 'had health benefits.' Have a read to learn how the seductress boasted both glamour and practicality.

"Her sultry eyes have long been favoured by women looking to add a touch of Ancient Egyptian glamour to their make-up routine.

But it appears Cleopatra's dramatic look was more than just an attempt to seduce Mark Antony.

The heavy eye make-up used had medical as well as aesthetic benefits.

Lead salts in the mixture helped to protect against eye disease, says research published by French scientists.

Philippe Walter,who headed a team from the Louvre museum and the CNRS national research institute, said: 'We knew ancients Greeks and Romans, too, had noted the make-up had medicinal properties, but wanted to determine exactly how.'

Contrary to widely held belief that lead was harmful, the team, using analytical chemistry, found that 'in very low doses lead does not kill cells.'

Instead, it produces a molecule-nitric oxide-which activates the immune defence system that beats back bacteria in case of eye infection.

The research was carried out using a tiny electrode, the 10th of the size of a hair, to look at the effect of a lead chloride synthesised by the Egyptians on a single cell.

It is also thought that Galena, the natural mineral form of lead sulphite, was used as kohl and possesses antiseptic and fly-deterrent properties as well as protecting the eyes from intense sun."

Read more by clicking here.

Tres Belle

Keeping with my french vacation theme, here is a spread from French Vogue featuring my beautiful friend, American Vogue Fashion Contributor, Lauren Santo Domingo.

How hot is she??? Yes, she used to be a model!








Lauren says she adored her makeup from this shoot. The gilded grey eyes were her favorite part. They had a sheen to them, almost like a Vaseline look and texture. Personally, I'm quite envious over the bone structure. LSD has the most incredible cheekbones!

Hipster Heaven: Club Chrissie - Get Familiar

How cool is this? 

My NYC Friends are posing it up in April's Paper Magazine, featuring Club Chrissie!

What is Club Chrissie, you ask? "When there's nothing else to do, I make my own club. I have bottle service, loud music and models - okay, maybe just Jessica Stam," jokes Chrissie Miller of Sophomore clothing, founder of the faux club. It's actually her LES loft-apartment which was dubbed Club Chrissie by hipster extraordinaire, Cory Kennedy, who often crashes at the pad while in NYC.

Chrissie is one of my BFF's and her club is one of my most favorite NY hot spots.

Here's a glimpse of the debauchery (as seen in Paper Mag). The girls look so downtown glam!

Madeline and Chrissie - designers of hipster-chic line Sophomore (all clothes by the label)

Hilary, Erin, Leslie, Olivia of Opening Ceremony, Lissie of Lissy Trullie and hostess with the mostest, Chrissie.

Hilary, designer of Madison Harding shoes, Chrissie, Erin and Lesley, editor-in-chief of Misbehave Magazine.

Chrissie and crew.

How does one party at the exclusive CC? Befriend Chrissie and you're in. She can be found chilling at Lit or Bowery Hotel. Tell her you're a friend of mine.

Laura Mercier Spring Tips and Trends

I had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Mercier Global Makeup Artist, Barbie Laurino, for an article on Hollywood Life.

Barbie dishes exclusively about tips and trends for the Spring face... PLUS product must-haves!

Click here to get educated!

OMFG Does Rolling Stone

The Gossip Girl crew got down and dirty with Rolling Stone Magazine. I must say, Leighton Meester (a.k.a. Blair Waldorf) looks sizzling, smoldering, absolutely stunning! This sultry eye make-up is to die!

As they say, to feel sexy, you must act sexy. So, fake it 'til you make it! And feast your eyes on the below hottness for some inspiration....

Aren't you salivating for a cone of your own?

Sometimes a piece of licorice is just a piece of licorice... and sometimes it's so much more!

Blair Waldorf sucks... on thumbs (preferably not her own).

Bed head, defined.

Pics shot by Terry Richardson for Rolling Stone Magazine. Click here for more photos, video and GG gossip!

P.S. Ed Westwick has a chest full of hair... thoughts?

Beauty For Thought...

Here's an interesting poll conducted by Women's Health Magazine on menshealth.com and published in the January/ February issue of Men's Health Magazine...

Celebrity fantasy partner:

28% of the 866 respondents chose Jessica Alba
18% - Jessica Biel
15% - Scarlett Johansson
13% - Jennifer Aniston
11% - Angelina Jolie


Sexiest part of a woman’s body:

42 % of the 902 respondents chose BUTT
21% - Anywhere around the belly button
20.6% - Arch of the back
12.6% - Back of the neck’
1.4% - Arch of the foot
1.1% - Ear lobes
0.7% - Back of the knees


Sexiest form of foreplay:

51.9% of the 902 respondents said taking a bath or shower together
18.7% - A back rub
15.6% - Talking dirty
7% - A candlelit dinner
6.8% - X-rated movie


Sexiest cocktail a woman can order:

27% of the 849 respondents said martini
18% - Margarita
16% - Beer
16% - Tequila shot
12% - Champagne
11% - Vodka and tonic


Sexiest scent a women can wear:

30.1% of the 861 respondents said something sweet, like vanilla **My Fave Too!**
26.1% - A fresh beachy scent
25.7% - Floral scents, like rose and jasmine
10.6% - An exotic musk
7.5% - A citrus scent, like grapefruit


When it comes to spicing up your sex life…

43% of the 703 respondents used sex toys
30% - Whipped cream
15% - Blindfolds
12% - Handcuffs


Sexiest place for a woman to have a tattoo:

48% of the 783 respondents said lower back
22.3% - Ankle
14.5% - Butt
15.2% - Shoulder


The biggest turn-on:

35.1% of the 871 respondents said undressing a woman
33.2% - Having her strip for you
31.7% - Having her undress you


Best background music for makeup sex:

40.1% of the 833 respondents chose Barry White
34.9% - Frank Sinatra
25% - Al Green


Sexiest thing for a woman to wear to bed:

24% of the 915 respondents said one of your button-down shirts and nothing else
17.9% - Just panties
17.3% - Sleeveless T-shirt and panties
16.1% - Nothing
14% - Bra and panties
10% - Satin teddy

Teen Vogue February Cover - Get The Look!

Our favorite Gossip Girl, Blair Waldorf (a.k.a. Leighton Meester) graces the February cover of Teen Vogue Magazine. She looks clean and youthful, minimal makeup, natural, straight hair... It's all very Leighton and I want more Blair!


To recreate this look, try using a neutral blush (we like Smashbox's Blush Rush in Ecstacy) on the apples of your cheeks. Then sweep a very mellow brown on the lid of your eye and under your lower lashes (try MAC's Remotely Grey). Lashes need a quick coat of mascara (Cover Girl's Lash Blast is the current fave). For lips, a very au-natural glossy pink (Jouer's lip gloss in Mist - a shimmering baby pink - would look gorge). For eyebrows, Anastasia's brow gel (and if you have thin brows, try filling them in with some of her brow powder).

Simple, no fuss makeup!

P.S. The hair color is a too light - Leighton looks tres sexier with those raven locks she sports on GG!

Thoughts?

Elle Beauty Awards 2008

Click HERE to have a look at which products made the cut... and see if your favorites are on the list! There are 60 categories!

To be honest, I don't agree with most of the picks - they're so generic - nothing new and exciting or hidden little gems (although I do LOVE Benefit's High Beam and a few others...).

Discuss!

ALLURE FREE BEAUTY SWAG!!!

Allure Magazine is giving away over 6,200 beauty products - FREE!!! Thanks, of course, to their medley of beauty-related advertisers!

Here's some of the goodies you can score:

• Fekkai Salon Glaze
• Redken All Soft Velvet Whip
• Intimately Beckham Fragrance (only care about the man - as in David - not so keen on the scent)
• Anastasia Brow Enhancing Serum
• Essie Polishes
• Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick
• Big Sexy Hair Root Pump Spray Mousse
• Matrix Essentials Shampoo and Conditioner
• Wet 'N Wild Mega Glow Powder
• Johnson & Johnson Soft Oil
  

And many, many other goodies...
Some of the products are a little lame (if we're being completely honest), but some of them are really rad... and the best part, they're absolutely FREE!

To enter, click HERE and follow instructions. Game on, beauties!!!

June's Beauty Ideal Web-Mag

You must check out this month's The Beauty Ideal Webazine (that's web and magazine combined... did I just create my own word?! I think I did!)!



It's got great Summer products, tips, and reviews!

Click HERE to have a read!

July's LUCKY Cover Girl IS....

Zooey Deschanel!

(click image to enlarge)

She's got that whole fresh, youthful, and flirty look going on.

Here's what they used for makeup (ALL Shiseido products):

Shiseido The Makeup Extra Length Mascara in Black - $22,
Shiseido The Makeup Shimmering Lipstick in SL16 - $23,
Shiseido The Makeup Eyeshadow Duo in Violet Glitz - $28,
Shiseido The Makeup Dual Balancing Foundation in SPF17 Natural Fair Ivory - $36
Shiseido The Makeup Accentuating Color Stick in S5 Rosy Flush - $32.

AND... Register to win Zooey’s cover look! Lucky Magazine is giving away her gorgeous outfit and makeup worth more than $1,000! Click HERE to enter. The first 50 readers to register will receive a FREE Shiseido the Makeup Accentuating Color Stick in S5 Rosy Flush.

How are you feeling about Zooey's cover look... Like it or leave it? Vote below!

Lucky Magazine June Cover Girl is...

A naturally beautiful Amanda Peet!


Here's the makeup that they used to achieve the look:

• Mark Winkstick in Wealthy eyeshadow stick
• Mark C-Thru-U sheer foundation in nude
• Mark Little Bronze Box
• Mark caribbean shine lip gloss, in Walk in the Sand
• Mark Make It Big Mascara in Raven

All products available at meetmark.com.

For those not in the know, Mark is the younger product line from beauty giant, Avon. Lauren Conrad of The Hills was (or maybe still is???) the reality spokes-chick.

Available at a newsstand near you on May 6.

Space is the Place

I read this great article in this week's New York Times Magazine about Space NK's Nicky Kinnaird. For those not in the know, Kanaird founded the apothecary store 15 years ago and has since opened a whopping 52 stores, the most recent being on SoHo, NYC. Talk about a devoted beauty whore!!!!

In the mag, she dishes on the world's best in beauty... here are some of her picks:

• Joshi's Holistic Skincare Gentle Exfoliating Scrub
• Eve Lom's Aromatic Oil Cleanser
• The Amanjena hotel in Marrakesh for clay tennis and fruit smoothies
• AR457's Metaserum Elixir (argan oil which Moroccan woman use to treat scars and sooth skin)
• Nippon Kodo incense kit (for traveling)
• INA Bath Crystals (Himalayan white-gold crystal salt)
• Marcela's nail salon in Holland Park
• Space NK's Seaweed Bath Soak (with Laminaria digitata, a seaweed harvested in Brittany, France)

How great are these goodies??? I can't wait to get my hands on them... oh yeah, and I CANNOT wait to chill poolside in Marrakesh... I've been dying to go to Morocco!

To check out the Space NK website and their plethora of worldly products, click HERE.

Have a favorite Space NK product that we MUST try??? Let us know!

Beauty Without Borders

In the April issue of Women's Health Magazine, the beauty folks pulled together some very interesting international stats.

Here are the 15 BEST international beauty picks that are now available stateside:

AUSTRALIA

Invisible Zinc face and body sunscreen ($26 for 5.3 oz, adorebeauty.com.au)

The world’s highest skin cancer rates are found down under; this sunscreen fights the killer sun and deflects UV Rays
Packed with ultra-fine particles of zinc inside a likely, light-weight lotion


FRANCE
Embryolisse Lait-Crème Concentre ($25 for 2.6 oz, temtu.com)

The secret to French women’s flawless skin
Plant extract preserves skin’s ideal pH, giving your complexion that certain jen ne sais quoi


ENGLAND
Philip Kingsley Weatherproof Styling Froth ($20 for 5 oz, philipkingsley.com)

Brit beauties fend off frizz with this froth
The foam conditions, holds and deflects moisture
Fights flyaways, even in soggy London


SWEDEN
Sachajuan Hair Repair ($28 for 8.45 oz, ronrobinsoninc.com)

Contains algae and proteins to protect and restore silky locks
Sweden is known for those stunning blonde bombshells – now we know their secret!


KOREA
The Face Shop Mung Bean Cleansing Foam ($8 for 6.7 oz, 408-248-3223) **Beauty Banter Fave

Exfoliates and dries oil – and Korean researchers say the legume may reduce irritation


ICELAND
Moa: The Green Balm ($38 for 1.69 oz, luckyscent.com)

When you live on an island near the Arctic Circle, you better know how to revive your skin
Packed with native herbs like yarrow, combined with Icelandic water to soothe scaly skin, dry cuticles, cuts, rashes and even frizzy hair


JAPAN
Dr. Ci: Labo Basic Black Blemish Control Gel ($36 for 1.75 oz, cilabousa.com)
Chidoriya Oil Blotting Face Paper ($7 for 30 sheets, chidoriyaworld.com)

Asian women swear by this shine-fighting tag team
The gel clears skin with gentle botanical extracts
The face paper sops up grease without smudging makeup


ITALY
Karite Butter Cleo Body Cream ($8 for 8.5 oz, drugstore.com) **Beauty Banter Fave

Prepare to be ogled Italian-style
Treat your skin to this whipped-yogurt and shea butter moisturizer smells like dessert and makes your skin more irresistible than gelato


SOUTH AFRICA
Wisdom of Africa Kalahari Melon Body Polish ($43 for 6.7 oz, 978-443-7006)

With mountains, desert, and ocean in their geography, South Africans face a triple threat when it comes to the elements
This South African treasure taps the antioxidants in the native fruit’s seeds to moisturize and repair sun-damaged skin


NEW ZEALAND
Antipodes Kiwi Seed Oil Eye Cream ($35 for 1 oz, antipodesnature.com)

Stimulates collagen production so you look as fresh as this cream smells

Beauty By Numbers:

$39 The amount per month the average American woman spends on beauty treatments

$71 The amount the average Italian woman spends on beauty treatments

92 The % of British women that rarely or never visit a dermatologist

80 The % of women in South Africa that wear fragrance every day; 80% of Chinese women don’t

38 The % of Indian women that say they own zero skin-care products

73 The % of Australians would choose to shell out for body massages if money were no object

52 The % of Koreans that would spend their cash on skin-lightening treatments

45 The % of women in China that say they can’t live without lipstick

53 The % of Italian women feel they look younger then they are.

38 The % of people in China that use teeth-whitening treatment (including toothpaste) daily.


Additional Beauty Facts:

- American and British women are most likely to feel they look stressed and tired

- Women in Germany and Italy say mascara is their most essential beauty product

- Argentine and Canadian women are the most satisfied with their looks.

- Japanese and French women are least satisfied with their looks.

"Beauty Spy" Spies Chrissie Miller

My B.F.F. and fashion designer extraordinaire, Chrissie Miller of the fabulous clothing line, Sophomore, just made the coveted "Beauty Spy" section of Lucky Magazine!

Chrissie dishes on a few of her fave products....

(click to enlarge pic)

We're so proud of our fellow beauty whore... and doesn't she look so purrrty!

Tonight...

Make sure to tune your TV to the Style Network for the premiere of Allure Magazine's new special, Allure Backstage: Hottest Beauty Trends.

Editor-in-chief, Linda Wells, gives us an inside look into this season’s top new hair and makeup trends, straight from the runways of New York, Milan, and Paris!

9 pm EST.

My TiVo's all over it (although this really should be our show)!

For more info, click HERE.

W Mag Cover: March 2008

Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman pose to pimp out their new movie The Other Boleyn Girl (this is one of my FAVORITE books of the last couple of years... can't wait to see how they've ruined the movie... kidding). I'm really starting to adore W Magazine. For years, I had a love/ hate relationship with the fashion rag, but their recent covers are sexy and explosive!

So, how are YOU FEELING about this cover... hair, make-up, fierceness??? Tell us in the comment box!




**Magazine hits newsstands on February 26.

Hollywood Hotties

The highly coveted and aniticipated Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue has arrived (March 2008)!

Shot by famed photog, Annie Leibovitz, the cover boasts sassy screen sirens, Emily Blunt, Amy Adams, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Alice Braga, Ellen Page, Zoë Saldana, Elizabeth Banks (who I'm actually in a movie with... the yet-to-be-released, Bill... I play Jessica Alba's party girl friend), Ginnifer Goodwin, and America Ferrera.





Sexxxxy.

I personally love the old Hollywood glamazon look and feel to the cover (partial cover above... yes, taken from perezhilton.com! Click full cover to enlarge)... I'm obsessing over the classic hair do's; gorgeous flowing curls, and that fabulous hat that Emily Blunt in donning... tres chic! Finally, some decent role models!

Thoughts??? Who deserves the cover.... who doesn't???

For a sneak peak behind the scenes, CLICK HERE. The video is adorable!

Because I'm OBSESSED...

... With the CW's hit series, Gossip Girl!

Blake Lively, a.k.a. Serena from Gossip Girl, is on the cover of next month's Lucky Magazine. I think that she looks ravishing. I'm really feeling her minimal make-up and her hair... it's gorgeous - long, thick, beautiful color!

Note To Self: Find out if Blake's hair is real or extensions.

Anyway, Lucky is giving away the Gossip Girl star's outfit and makeup - worth
almost $1,300. The first 50 readers to register will receive a Mark Glow
Baby Glow Hook Up Lip Gloss in Pink Crush/Buttercream Brioche. To enter
go to http://www.luckymag.com/breaks/luckysweeps.

Good Luck!

P.S. How do YOU think Blake looks?