Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lip Gloss (809 Rubis Rose)

Guerlain Kiss Kiss lip gloss in Rubis Rose might be my favorite item from all of this year's holiday collection. Between the pretty tube with the black lace design and the absolutely perfect dark rose color, it was one of the best impulse purchases.

Rubis Rose is shimmery and very pigmented- what you see in the photo is what you get on your lips. It's a rose with a brown-mauve depth. The texture is smooth, not sticky and feels very moisturizing on the lips- it's the kind of gloss that makes your lips look and feel good- healthy and plump. It's a great after dark shade, but I admit to wearing it during the day lately. It's not over-the-top and is just so pretty against winter paleness.

Bottom line: Big, fat love.

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lip Gloss in Rubis Rose ($29) is one of three limited edition items for Holiday 2010. It's available from top department stores and also online. I bought it at Bergdorf Goodman.

All photos are mine.

Perfume Storage

A few years ago there was an article in Allure about Donatella Versace and her perfume collection. It has been haunting perfume nuts ever since, and even more so after Vogue published a photo of (what I assume to be) part of this collection, which you can see in this Blogdorf Goodman post. For many of us it's not so much about the bottles as it is about the display.

Perfume storage has always been a popular topic on the discussion boards. Do you keep the boxes? How do you control the temperature in the room? How do you protect the precious ones from light? Bottles and boxes come in so many sizes it's hard to find a good storage system that accommodate them all. And as I've long discovered, a deep cabinet swallows the bottles up and makes it hard to find what you're looking for at a given moment.

Donatella would never approve of my recent discovery. I can't even say I approve of these Ikea cabinets, which aren't exactly an example of the highest craftsmanship or quality material (that was my way of saying they are pretty crappily made, and my husband wants to add: a pain to assemble and mount to the wall). But for what they are and for what they cost, the Bertby cabinets do a good job of housing most of my perfumes and not looking half bad. I still use my old unit to store most of the vintage bottles, minis, odds and ends (and the entire stash of backup bottles), but most of my perfumes live happily on these shelves, originally meant for media storage. The shelves' height is adjustable, so you can customize the display as needed. Even when storing the tallest bottles (I think the Ormonde Jayne box holds the record), I could still fit all nine glass shelves in the cabinet and get the most of it.

While I still hope to either get a custom-made furniture at some point or find a fabulous antique (I've been searching high and low for the last couple of years), I have to admit I already bought a backup Bertby, planning for a future expansion of the collection. Uncle Serge is still churning the juice, after all.

Happy Winter Solstice!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lip Gloss (809 Rubis Rose)

Guerlain Kiss Kiss lip gloss in Rubis Rose might be my favorite item from all of this year's holiday collection. Between the pretty tube with the black lace design and the absolutely perfect dark rose color, it was one of the best impulse purchases.

Rubis Rose is shimmery and very pigmented- what you see in the photo is what you get on your lips. It's a rose with a brown-mauve depth. The texture is smooth, not sticky and feels very moisturizing on the lips- it's the kind of gloss that makes your lips look and feel good- healthy and plump. It's a great after dark shade, but I admit to wearing it during the day lately. It's not over-the-top and is just so pretty against winter paleness.

Bottom line: Big, fat love.

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lip Gloss in Rubis Rose ($29) is one of three limited edition items for Holiday 2010. It's available from top department stores and also online. I bought it at Bergdorf Goodman.

All photos are mine.

Perfume Storage

A few years ago there was an article in Allure about Donatella Versace and her perfume collection. It has been haunting perfume nuts ever since, and even more so after Vogue published a photo of (what I assume to be) part of this collection, which you can see in this Blogdorf Goodman post. For many of us it's not so much about the bottles as it is about the display.

Perfume storage has always been a popular topic on the discussion boards. Do you keep the boxes? How do you control the temperature in the room? How do you protect the precious ones from light? Bottles and boxes come in so many sizes it's hard to find a good storage system that accommodate them all. And as I've long discovered, a deep cabinet swallows the bottles up and makes it hard to find what you're looking for at a given moment.

Donatella would never approve of my recent discovery. I can't even say I approve of these Ikea cabinets, which aren't exactly an example of the highest craftsmanship or quality material (that was my way of saying they are pretty crappily made, and my husband wants to add: a pain to assemble and mount to the wall). But for what they are and for what they cost, the Bertby cabinets do a good job of housing most of my perfumes and not looking half bad. I still use my old unit to store most of the vintage bottles, minis, odds and ends (and the entire stash of backup bottles), but most of my perfumes live happily on these shelves, originally meant for media storage. The shelves' height is adjustable, so you can customize the display as needed. Even when storing the tallest bottles (I think the Ormonde Jayne box holds the record), I could still fit all nine glass shelves in the cabinet and get the most of it.

While I still hope to either get a custom-made furniture at some point or find a fabulous antique (I've been searching high and low for the last couple of years), I have to admit I already bought a backup Bertby, planning for a future expansion of the collection. Uncle Serge is still churning the juice, after all.

Happy Winter Solstice!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lip Gloss (809 Rubis Rose)

Guerlain Kiss Kiss lip gloss in Rubis Rose might be my favorite item from all of this year's holiday collection. Between the pretty tube with the black lace design and the absolutely perfect dark rose color, it was one of the best impulse purchases.

Rubis Rose is shimmery and very pigmented- what you see in the photo is what you get on your lips. It's a rose with a brown-mauve depth. The texture is smooth, not sticky and feels very moisturizing on the lips- it's the kind of gloss that makes your lips look and feel good- healthy and plump. It's a great after dark shade, but I admit to wearing it during the day lately. It's not over-the-top and is just so pretty against winter paleness.

Bottom line: Big, fat love.

Guerlain Kiss Kiss Lip Gloss in Rubis Rose ($29) is one of three limited edition items for Holiday 2010. It's available from top department stores and also online. I bought it at Bergdorf Goodman.

All photos are mine.

Perfume Storage

A few years ago there was an article in Allure about Donatella Versace and her perfume collection. It has been haunting perfume nuts ever since, and even more so after Vogue published a photo of (what I assume to be) part of this collection, which you can see in this Blogdorf Goodman post. For many of us it's not so much about the bottles as it is about the display.

Perfume storage has always been a popular topic on the discussion boards. Do you keep the boxes? How do you control the temperature in the room? How do you protect the precious ones from light? Bottles and boxes come in so many sizes it's hard to find a good storage system that accommodate them all. And as I've long discovered, a deep cabinet swallows the bottles up and makes it hard to find what you're looking for at a given moment.

Donatella would never approve of my recent discovery. I can't even say I approve of these Ikea cabinets, which aren't exactly an example of the highest craftsmanship or quality material (that was my way of saying they are pretty crappily made, and my husband wants to add: a pain to assemble and mount to the wall). But for what they are and for what they cost, the Bertby cabinets do a good job of housing most of my perfumes and not looking half bad. I still use my old unit to store most of the vintage bottles, minis, odds and ends (and the entire stash of backup bottles), but most of my perfumes live happily on these shelves, originally meant for media storage. The shelves' height is adjustable, so you can customize the display as needed. Even when storing the tallest bottles (I think the Ormonde Jayne box holds the record), I could still fit all nine glass shelves in the cabinet and get the most of it.

While I still hope to either get a custom-made furniture at some point or find a fabulous antique (I've been searching high and low for the last couple of years), I have to admit I already bought a backup Bertby, planning for a future expansion of the collection. Uncle Serge is still churning the juice, after all.

Happy Winter Solstice!

Happy Winter Solstice!

Lorac Croc Palette

Lorac makes some of the best coordinated makeup palettes that take the guessing out of creating a polished, put together look. I've been using the Snake Charmer for several years now (even though the blush is too bright for me nowadays). It's my go-to item for a shimmery evening look (and it slides easily into the slimmest clutch), but it's a bit bold for daytime. I don't remember why I never paid more attention to the understated Croc palette, but I recently rediscovered how great it is.

The muted rose blush is Soul, one of my current favorites. Three of the eye shadows have delicate shimmer that is daytime appropriate, and the fourth is a suede brown that creates depth. It's not dark enough to use as a liner, but it definitely works well in the crease. The shadows have a delicate smooth texture and they blend together seamlessly. The pigment, like every Lorac product I've ever tested, is rich and the color payoff is great and very true to what you see in the pan. I like playing and creating lighter and darker variations, according to the mood, but I mostly blend the highlighter with one of the darker colors for an effortless, polished but almost bare look. Used over a primer, the eye shadows hold for 14 hours easily with no creasing and minimum fading.

Inner Beauty

There's something about Reese Witherspoon. Even if you're not crazy about the girl-next-door/rom-com look, she radiates a certain kind of charm and sanity we don't see in Hollywood too often. I don't think I've ever seen her wearing anything that would cause embarrassment to her kids, and Frances Bean Cobain could tell you, this is a very good thing.

Seen here in a UK charity event, Reese looks lovely in a red dress that doesn't steal the show from the very worthy cause, raising awareness about domestic violence.

Lorac Croc Palette

Lorac makes some of the best coordinated makeup palettes that take the guessing out of creating a polished, put together look. I've been using the Snake Charmer for several years now (even though the blush is too bright for me nowadays). It's my go-to item for a shimmery evening look (and it slides easily into the slimmest clutch), but it's a bit bold for daytime. I don't remember why I never paid more attention to the understated Croc palette, but I recently rediscovered how great it is.

The muted rose blush is Soul, one of my current favorites. Three of the eye shadows have delicate shimmer that is daytime appropriate, and the fourth is a suede brown that creates depth. It's not dark enough to use as a liner, but it definitely works well in the crease. The shadows have a delicate smooth texture and they blend together seamlessly. The pigment, like every Lorac product I've ever tested, is rich and the color payoff is great and very true to what you see in the pan. I like playing and creating lighter and darker variations, according to the mood, but I mostly blend the highlighter with one of the darker colors for an effortless, polished but almost bare look. Used over a primer, the eye shadows hold for 14 hours easily with no creasing and minimum fading.

Inner Beauty

There's something about Reese Witherspoon. Even if you're not crazy about the girl-next-door/rom-com look, she radiates a certain kind of charm and sanity we don't see in Hollywood too often. I don't think I've ever seen her wearing anything that would cause embarrassment to her kids, and Frances Bean Cobain could tell you, this is a very good thing.

Seen here in a UK charity event, Reese looks lovely in a red dress that doesn't steal the show from the very worthy cause, raising awareness about domestic violence.

Lorac Croc Palette

Lorac makes some of the best coordinated makeup palettes that take the guessing out of creating a polished, put together look. I've been using the Snake Charmer for several years now (even though the blush is too bright for me nowadays). It's my go-to item for a shimmery evening look (and it slides easily into the slimmest clutch), but it's a bit bold for daytime. I don't remember why I never paid more attention to the understated Croc palette, but I recently rediscovered how great it is.

The muted rose blush is Soul, one of my current favorites. Three of the eye shadows have delicate shimmer that is daytime appropriate, and the fourth is a suede brown that creates depth. It's not dark enough to use as a liner, but it definitely works well in the crease. The shadows have a delicate smooth texture and they blend together seamlessly. The pigment, like every Lorac product I've ever tested, is rich and the color payoff is great and very true to what you see in the pan. I like playing and creating lighter and darker variations, according to the mood, but I mostly blend the highlighter with one of the darker colors for an effortless, polished but almost bare look. Used over a primer, the eye shadows hold for 14 hours easily with no creasing and minimum fading.

Inner Beauty

There's something about Reese Witherspoon. Even if you're not crazy about the girl-next-door/rom-com look, she radiates a certain kind of charm and sanity we don't see in Hollywood too often. I don't think I've ever seen her wearing anything that would cause embarrassment to her kids, and Frances Bean Cobain could tell you, this is a very good thing.

Seen here in a UK charity event, Reese looks lovely in a red dress that doesn't steal the show from the very worthy cause, raising awareness about domestic violence.

Alexa Chung And Yasmin Le Bon At The 2010 British Fashion Awards

Or: Why I'll never be a cutting-edge fashion blogger.

I know Alexa Chung is considered a top It Girl, fashion icon and whatever. She's a very beautiful woman, for sure, but I've never gotten the magic.  It seems to me she's a little too eager to cross the fashion victimhood line, and that doesn't work for me. Alexa is not making it easier for me to figure her out- this is how she walked the red carpet at the 2010 British Fashion Awards- between the horrible hair and this unflattering Chanel dress (sorry, Uncle Karl), I'm utterly confused.

Now, Yasmin Le Bon is and has always been fabulous. I've even forgiven her for marrying my Simon. But this Christopher Kane dress is not doing her any favors and that's just sad.  So, instead, I'll comfort myself with a vintage Yasmin and Simon Le Bon:

Photos of Alexa Chung  and Yasmin Le Bon at the  2010 British Fashion Awards by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Europe.
Yasmin and Simon Le Bon by Gilles Bensimon, 1985

Alexa Chung And Yasmin Le Bon At The 2010 British Fashion Awards

Or: Why I'll never be a cutting-edge fashion blogger.

I know Alexa Chung is considered a top It Girl, fashion icon and whatever. She's a very beautiful woman, for sure, but I've never gotten the magic.  It seems to me she's a little too eager to cross the fashion victimhood line, and that doesn't work for me. Alexa is not making it easier for me to figure her out- this is how she walked the red carpet at the 2010 British Fashion Awards- between the horrible hair and this unflattering Chanel dress (sorry, Uncle Karl), I'm utterly confused.

Now, Yasmin Le Bon is and has always been fabulous. I've even forgiven her for marrying my Simon. But this Christopher Kane dress is not doing her any favors and that's just sad.  So, instead, I'll comfort myself with a vintage Yasmin and Simon Le Bon:

Photos of Alexa Chung  and Yasmin Le Bon at the  2010 British Fashion Awards by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Europe.
Yasmin and Simon Le Bon by Gilles Bensimon, 1985

Alexa Chung And Yasmin Le Bon At The 2010 British Fashion Awards

Or: Why I'll never be a cutting-edge fashion blogger.

I know Alexa Chung is considered a top It Girl, fashion icon and whatever. She's a very beautiful woman, for sure, but I've never gotten the magic.  It seems to me she's a little too eager to cross the fashion victimhood line, and that doesn't work for me. Alexa is not making it easier for me to figure her out- this is how she walked the red carpet at the 2010 British Fashion Awards- between the horrible hair and this unflattering Chanel dress (sorry, Uncle Karl), I'm utterly confused.

Now, Yasmin Le Bon is and has always been fabulous. I've even forgiven her for marrying my Simon. But this Christopher Kane dress is not doing her any favors and that's just sad.  So, instead, I'll comfort myself with a vintage Yasmin and Simon Le Bon:

Photos of Alexa Chung  and Yasmin Le Bon at the  2010 British Fashion Awards by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Europe.
Yasmin and Simon Le Bon by Gilles Bensimon, 1985

Burberry Lipstick In Prune (14)

Prune was the second Burberry Soft Satin Lipstick I chose (the other one was #9 Blush), and I have no idea which one I like better. Both are gorgeous and boast all the nice Burberry features- elegant packaging, superb texture, tons of pigment and a soft, moisturizing feel on the lips.

Prune is deeper and more dramatic than blush, but since my lips are naturally dark, it's a color I wear easily and not only in the evening. It's a brown-based color, not quite purple because it has quite a bit of warmth and red undertones. It's a fall/winter color, for sure.

The second swatch where it's next to the Sepia lip liner, the lipstick was actually rubbed off (either on my pants or on a random cat, I can't remember). Just look how much color is left- that's another testament to Burberry lipsticks' staying power.

Burberry Soft Satin Lipstick ($30) is a Nordstrom exclusive, available online and in select locations.

All photos are mine.