Give Yourself a Hand

With most women’s skincare energies (understandably) focused on their faces, they very often forget that the thing that can often give away their age – sometimes prematurely – is their hands. While we may be unrelenting about putting sunscreen on our faces and necks, how often do we all walk out the door with sunscreen on the backs of our hands? Probably seldom to never. Then we’re encouraged to repeatedly wash our hands to stave off cold and flu germs, we slather bacterial gels all over them and we wipe them down with sanitizing wipes. These harsh drying habits are further compounded by winter weather, during which many of us cast aside our gloves because we can’t use our touch screens with them on. At best, then, we’re exposing our hands more and moisturizing them less. They take quite a beating, especially this time of year.

If you only have dryness, you can consider yourself fortunate, and begin to take preventive measures now, such as using a handcream with an SPF of at least 15 every day, and yes (I know it’s a hassle) re-applying after you wash your hands. If you’re not so lucky and you’ve started to see even the faintest brown spots (they come out more when you get a little sun), there are a number of products at different price points that can help reduce their appearance, as well as some at-home remedies such as lemon, or prescriptions such as hydroquinone.

I’ve seen a couple of brown spots crop up on my hands – no doubt from my carefree youth dousing myself in baby oil beginning the first day of spring like all my friends – and have had to remind myself again and again to protect my hands before I leave the apartment. One thing that’s made it easier is I just put a little of my face cream (Kinerase Daily Defense Cream - specifically designed to protect and heal sun-damaged skin) right on my hands during my morning routine. Any kind of sunscreen you can use on your face is suitable for your hands.

But many companies now make great products specifically for this particular challenge. One of my favorites is Clarins’ Age Control Hand Lotion. Non-greasy, with natural ingredients and a fragrance to die for, it makes you want to reapply just to smell it again and again (although the price makes you think twice about doing that). On the more affordable end, Dove’s ProAge Hand Cream sports an alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) content to support cell turnover in the skin. Even better on price, and SPF, Neutrogena’s Age Shield Hand Cream at $5.99 with an SPF of 30 is such a great buy and so small and cheap you can afford to keep one at home and drop one in your bag!

Holiday Lips: No Time to Be Shy

The holidays are no time to be shy about lip color, and to me they mean it’s time to break out the reds and berries. If you are a neutral-gloss-wearing type who never wears a strong color on your mouth, now’s the time to upgrade to muted red or a berry stain. If, on the other hand, your makeup bag is already bursting with saturated these colors, now is the time of year to go full-on, especially at night and especially for parties, or to even deepen your shades with a bit of black.

My all-time favorite red, as I've said here before, is Giorgio Armani Rouge d’Armani #400 (not 401 as inexplicably recommended by Lucky in their September 2010 red lipstick piece – it’s way too orange). A close second and quite an unsung hero among reds is NARS’s Red Lizard. While everyone is falling all over themselves over Lancome’s Absolute Rouge, NARS’s Jungle Red and MAC’s Russian Red, Red Lizard is an incredibly flattering shade and a much truer, richer red than these, although its texture is just a tad dry. Further along the glossy spectrum, one product stands alone (please forgive me, I've said this before, too): Chanel’s Dragon Satin Lip Lacquer. Applied generously with the wand, it’s rich, saturated and striking. Patted down with your finger or a tissue it’s muted more like a stain. A more recent addition to my makeup bag is a lifesaver for on-the-subway-on-the-way-to-the-party touchups: NARS’s Cruella Velvet Matte Lip Pencil. So quick and so easy, I often wear it during the day, but I have long extolled the virtues of wearing red lips all the time so if you're not up for this don't despair. If you have a darker complexion or are a woman of color, MAC’s Ruby Woo will be a knockout on you. For fairer-skinned among us, this color looks clownish, but I have literally stopped Asian and African American women on the street and asked them what they are wearing and often this is the color.

In the berry family, the home run in my opinion is Chanel’s Lune Rousse. As a member of the Rouge Coco line, its texture couldn’t be more perfect, it feels like a dream going on and lasts seemingly forever. Despite all the press about Ballet Russe (it has seemed to show up in every magazine lately), I find it too severe. Other lovely berry shades are MAC’s old standby Diva and Lancome’s Le Rouge Absolu in Merlot.

If you’ve already ventured into red and berry territory and want to turn it up a notch, add a dab of MAC Lipmix in Black to your lipcolor. Lipmix is the next generation following Mattene lipstick in Midnight Media from a couple of years ago that sold out so fast everyone’s heads were spinning.

If all this is still too much for you and you still have the urge to leave your lips neutral, I’ll leave you with one idea that I stumbled upon last New Year’s: swipe a bit of sheer orange gloss over your usual lipstick for a festive pop of color that will go with just about anything but will help your look stand out. My personal favorite – because it’s not too orange-y – is Smashbox’s Alluring. Use it over a neutral pencil, on top of your usual neutral color, or even combined with a stronger color (I use it in the center of my top and bottom lips even over red when I’m going out at night).

Happy holidays!

Grey Eyes: Never Out of Style

Why is everyone just now “re”-discovering grey eyeshadow and liner? It’s always been terribly chic and beautiful, infinitely wearable on most eye colors both day and night.  The benefit of everyone liking it now is that most of the makeup lines are producing their own versions of grey, be it gunmetal, silver, pewter or platinum. Still, some are better than others…

If you’re just joining the grey brigade, I recommend doing one of two things: 1) try Givenchy’s Le Prisme Mono Eyeshadow in Hip Grey because, for your money, you get essentially four different shades of grey, from matte to shimmer, that you can blend to varying effect; or 2) choose one of Sephora’s many takes on grey and silver from their Colorful Mono Eyeshadow Collection. At $12 a pop, you can afford to make a mistake, try several at a time or mix a couple together.

If you want to commit to one grey to start, you can’t go wrong with Laura Mercier’s Celestial. Just voted one of Allure’s Best of Beauty eyeshadows, I agree it’s lovely, but if you’re looking at Laura Mercier’s shadows you should also check out Black Ice, which is advertised as black but reads as gray and has more depth than Celestial. A little further along the shimmer spectrum but totally wearable is NARS Night Life. The name notwithstanding, I wear this color day or night. It has some shimmer, but not so much that it’s overpowering. Sweep it lightly all over – by itself or over a matte neutral color – or build it up on its own. 

For the grey neophyte who wants a true smoky eye, Smashbox has you covered. With its new Smoky Eye Kit, a holiday three-piece set containing Gunmetal platinum shadow, Obsidian shadow and Caviar cream liner, plus a step-by-step guide, you can’t go wrong (plus the price is half what the three products would be on their own).

If you’re feeling brave and you have some holiday parties coming up, there are two must-have greys/silvers, but they are real statement-makers, so don’t use them unless you mean it. First up is Urban Decay Stardust in Void. Not for the faint of heart, this shadow goes beyond shimmer and provides all-out sparkly irredescence (if you’re not quite ready for this commitment but you like the shade, try Urban Decay’s Heavy Metal Glitter Liner instead).

At the maximum saturation point on the spectrum, which I save for really special occasions, is Illamasqua Liquid Metal. The greys in this extraordinary British cosmetics line are Phenomena (Molten Silver) and Surge (Molten Pewter). My only advice when working with the Liquid Metal line is to practice with them when you have some free time…don’t wait until 15 minutes before you have to leave for a party or you’ll be cursing, making a mess and starting all over (trust me...this advice comes from hard-earned experience). They go on easily but they do migrate and then they dry and stay put, including on your fingers, so be prepared to use some eye makeup remover on your hands. If you choose to use eyliner, use it on top of these after they dry.

So there you have it. Be chic and beautiful with your grey eyes and don’t let anyone tell you they are ever out of fashion.

The Lavender Life (La Vie Lavande)

My love affair with lavender began when I was a tiny little person taking baths in my grandmother's bathtub whenever I visited her. She always had Yardley English Lavender Soap, which I not only thought was exotic and rare but also made me feel terribly grown up (I didn't find out until much later that it was available at most drug stores, but I never loved it any less).

About 15 years ago, the company changed the formula, the bar, the packaging, everything...no longer an ovoid brownish bar in an old-fashioned box, it became a light purple bar just like every other lavender on the market, in a matching purple and more modern box. Even the fragrance changed. I didn't love it so much anymore.

I had to seek out another lavender.  I moved on to fancier brands...The Body Shop...L'Occitane en Provence...Caswell & Massey...Crabtree & Evelyn. Many were lovely but each had its own fatal flaw - maybe a synthetic fragrance, or some - like Pre de Provence - which promised exfoliation with its tiny pieces of actual lavender in the soap (this, let me assure you, only leaves you with little twiggy stuff you need to rinse off and is really annoying).

The clouds parted when I discovered Kiss My Face. Their Lavender and Olive bar soap, apart from being incredibly moisturizing, smells like lavender should smell, lasts forever, and (I know this is going to sound weird) dissolves nicely, without jagged edges and those strange layers that some bar soaps get after a week or two on the side of your tub. Their Lavender and Shea Moisture Shave makes shaving well, maybe not fun, but at least not the chore it can be, and it comes in a handy pump that acknowledges that we have our razor in one hand and are probably standing on one foot in the shower so we can't be bothered with any two-handed maneuver to dispense shave cream without risking concussion.

A new addition to the Kiss My Face lavender line is its Lavender Mandarin Castile Peace Soap. It's just generally beyond fabulous and smells divine. You can wash literally anything with it, and 10% of profits from each product sold supports Seeds of Peace and its mission to help young people from regions of conflict develop the leadership skills necessary to advance reconciliation and coexistence. So far, I've used it as bubble bath, laundry soap, jewelry cleaner and to clean pretty much our whole bathroom. It's amazing and does good at the same time. What could be better? 

If you're not clean and fragrant enough at this point, you might want to complete your Lavender Life with my most recent discovery - EO's All Purpose Lavender Sanitizing Cleansing Wipes, especially if you live in a city where public transportation is a part of your daily life. Available online and at Whole Foods, I whip one of these out after a long haul on the subway, it comes away filthy and my hands smell delightful. In the summer it's refreshing and in the winter I feel protected from flu germs.

Now that's the Lavender Life.

From Selma’s Chic Green Fingertips Straight to Your Heart

Selma Blair (and her chic green nails) with my friend Christopher (Tofer) Matthew Papish

Most women herald the arrival of fall with a new sweater, an on-trend bag, maybe a new pair of fabulous boots. Me, I’m looking mostly at nails and lips. By August I pretty much know which two or three new lipsticks I’ll be carrying around with me for the Season, as well as which nail colors I’ll be waiting for, as I always assume my good taste will align with that of other New York women and that I will be waiting for something.


I had heard about my soon-to-be new favorite color before Chanel even released it, but I couldn’t tell from their ads and promos if it was really something I couldn’t live without. The color of which I speak is Khaki Vert, an indescribable creamy green and one of the three new Khakis that also includes Brun (a gorgeous rich greenish-brown) and Rose (a woodsy rose). But it wasn’t until I saw it for the first time gracing the beautiful hands of the resplendent Selma Blair that I realized what a knockout it was…and that I could not, in fact, live without it.

But here the actress was, graciously hosting the Chernobyl Children's International Project (CCPI) auction of Helena Christensen’s photography at Stella McCartney on Fashion’s Night Out, wearing a gorgeous white dress, emerald and diamond ring, with her fingertips freshly painted in Khaki Vert. My friend Christopher (Tofer) Matthew Papish, President of Water, et al., Inc. and Selma were discussing the Fund and its founder’s Angels, both here and abroad. They also stopped to note each other’s outfits. She loved his vintage swank bolo tie over an Oscar de la Renta necktie, and he – being a little like me about these things – was stunned by her perfect nail color.

But I digress from the real point of the evening, which was to benefit Chernobyl Children's Project International, founded in Ireland by the incomparable Ms. Adi Roche, the organization’s Executive Director, who has tirelessly worked since 1990 to provide aid to the children of Belarus, Western Russia and Ukraine. She, along with CCPI, film director Maryanne De Leo, and Kathy Ryan, of CCPI’s U.S. Division, are the forces behind the truly incredible Oscar-Winning Short Subject Documentary Chernobyl Heart.

Now, for the record, my life is not nearly as interesting nor as humanitarian as either Ms. Blair’s or Ms. Roche’s, so I satisfied myself with looking through Tofer’s photos from the event, which included the above – at least to the nail-color obsessed – show-stopper of an image. The very next day I headed off to my Temple of Happiness, the Bloomingdale’s cosmetics floor, where I was able to score the last bottle they had on hand of Khaki Vert.

I have never – and I do mean never – received as many comments on my nails as I did during the week I wore it. Some people said nothing and just stared while I did mundane things like swiped my debit card and signed receipts. Whenever it seemed appropriate, I mentioned where I first saw it, what the event was and who was wearing it. And now that you’ve read this and you know what I know, and how to get more information, you may decide you want to donate your time or resources to the cause where I first saw it make its public appearance.

Can a nail polish be a gateway to doing good for humankind? If it’s this one, it can.

Special note about this post: this would not have been possible without the tireless help and dedication of my dear friend Tofer, my new friend Angela Trofi, whom I am honored to know now because of writing this, and Kathy Ryan herself, who approved the text despite her relentless schedule. If you read this and are moved to action, please consider contacting and donating to CCPI and sharing this information with your friends. Makeup enhances our beauty and confidence, but it's our beautiful deeds that make a better world.

Most of You Are Buying the Wrong Products for Your Skin and Dr. Leslie Baumann Wants to Change That

Note: This post was originally written for HeyDoYou.com, a lifestyle, fashion and beauty blog for the cute, clever and connected. I'm a Guest Blogger for them and attended this event on November 9th.

It’s been five years since women all over America who had been wearing the wrong bra size – 80% of them evidently – cast their old bras aside at Oprah Winfrey’s urging, and got properly fitted for new bras, thus enhancing their self confidence and style. Now it’s time for 80% of women – hopefully not the same 80% – to turn their attention to their skin.

Enter Dr. Leslie Baumann, who has dedicated her practice and research to ensuring that her patients are properly educated on the actual type of skin they have (not the type they think they have), for only then can they treat it properly and protect it, nurture it and make it look its best. Dr. Baumann was in New York today to promote her book, The Skin Type Solution, her new PBS special airing this month (check your local listings) and her website, skintypesolutions.com. 

Dr. Baumann’s 16 skin types are based on being either Oily or Dry; Resistant or Sensitive (i.e., having acne, rosacea, burning, etc.); Pigmented or Non-Pigmented (this is not related to ethnicity but rather to unwanted brown spots); and Wrinkled or Tight. “Eighty percent of women think they know their skin type and they’re wrong,” Dr. Baumann said. “Oily people think they’re dry and wrinkled people think they’re less wrinkled..."

You get the idea.

Dr. Baumann’s system evolved from 400 questions and her work with thousands of patients’ skin. The result is a questionnaire that literally anyone can fill out online. Based on the type of skin one has, Dr. Baumann and her team then recommend a full complement of skin care products from a range of brands that are best for you (“I’m not affiliated with particular brands,” she says).

Once you go through the process of getting properly typed – which I did today – it makes you wonder why we are all so willing to spend our hard-earned money on products that promise the world but might be totally wrong for us. Vanity? I think it’s safe to say that’s certainly a component of caring for our skin, but if that’s the case then wouldn’t we want to do it right? I can’t recall a department store cosmetics salesperson asking me if I ever smoked cigarettes (I did but don’t anymore), how much cumulative time I’ve spent in the sun (quite a bit ages ago but never now), or if I am usually able to use hotel soaps on my face without incident (I am). But Dr. Baumann did ask me, and she will ask you, too…

I won’t tell you my type, but I will tell you I’m now in the 20%.

Dr. Leslie Baumann addressing the group on Tuesday

The Devil in the Details: Job Interview Makeup

When we see Anne Hathaway as Andrea Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada getting ready for her Human Resources interview at Runway Magazine, her entire beauty regimen – even for this important occasion – comprises brushing her teeth and putting on ChapStick. This scene is juxtaposed with the über-fabulous fashionistas who are getting ready for their jobs, curling their lashes and putting on eyeliner, lipstick and shadow. It clearly draws the conclusion for us that a lack of makeup is a component of being frumpy, particularly for an interview. Now, nevermind that Anne Hathaway is one of the most gorgeous women alive and could have swine flu and probably still look stunning, but it got me thinking: when mere mortals go on job interviews, we spend time choosing our clothes to look appropriate and professional, but, for women, should our specific makeup choices also be a factor?

I decided to ask an expert, someone who sees job candidates day in and day out. Jenn Marcotte is an Associate with Chaloner Associates, a national executive search firm specializing in communications, marketing, advertising and interactive recruitment. With offices in Boston and New York, Chaloner works with corporate, agency, consulting and non-profit clients in all industries across the US and Canada.

When you sit down with a candidate, you certainly notice their appearance overall – whether they are dressed appropriately and appear well-groomed and neat – in short, professional. But with women, does makeup play a part in your overall? If so, what would make you notice a candidate’s makeup?

I have to admit that when I reflect on all the elements that comprise a candidate's overall appearance, makeup is the last thing that comes to mind, and that’s a good thing! To me, this means that most women are wearing an appropriate amount of makeup to interviews. Well-applied makeup shouldn't jump out at me - it should just enhance your overall appearance. When I do notice makeup, it's when there's too much of it - or it's too loud.

Do you ever meet candidates who are well-dressed and professional in their clothing but are wearing too little or no makeup at all? What sort of impression does this leave you with? How little is too little?

Love it or hate it, it's just a fact that overall appearance will play a part in how well a candidate does during an interview. And ladies, before you get too upset, this doesn't apply only to females – an unkempt beard or mustache on a man can be just as distracting. An employer needs to have confidence that you'll represent them well while on the job. In the industry for which we recruit, PR and communications professionals often serve as corporate spokespeople and may need to be interviewed on camera. So while employers aren't looking for a movie star, they want to know that you'll come across as polished and put together while representing their organization. For women, makeup is a part of the overall appearance equation. Not wearing any makeup could give you that "just rolled out of bed" appearance and you want to demonstrate to a potential employer that you care about your job and take it seriously.  A nice foundation to even out your skin tone, a dab of blush and some lip gloss can go a long way!

On the other hand, if a candidate is overly made-up, what kind of an impression does that give you and what would you recommend to women who tend to err on this side for interviews? How much is too much?

My advice is always to err on the safe side. Save the bright colors for the weekend and stick with neutral tones. When you're being considered for a position, all of the choices that you make are being evaluated. This means everything from choosing to show up 15 minutes late without calling or sending a quick e-mail to let me know, to choosing to wear bright blue eye shadow. Interviewers often only get to spend an hour or less with a candidate before recommending them for a position, so they have to learn to trust their instincts. And if your instincts told you to wear bright blue eye shadow to a conservative law firm, then you might not be the right candidate for their place of business. Think about it this way: you want to be remembered for the great ideas you brought to the table and the success stories you shared from your current job - not for the bright red lipstick you wore.

Is there a “golden rule” you would recommend to women about interview makeup, and do you think this changes according to the industry for which a woman is interviewing?

We recently hosted a talk with stylist and personal brand image consultant, Darcey Howard, of LifeStyled, Ltd. Darcey gave a great piece of advice that I'd like to borrow: Before you leave the house, quickly turn around in a mirror and glance at your reflection. If your eye is drawn to one particular part of your face, you may want to rethink your makeup choices in that area. You don't want too much blush or too dark a shade of lipstick to be a distraction to your interview. You want 100% of their attention focused on what you have to say. 

As for the industry, know your audience. Certainly creative or entertainment-focused industries could be more open-minded to bolder makeup choices than the corporate world so there may be more room to have fun with your look. In 95% percent of cases, however, I'd still recommend sticking to neutrals to even out skin tone and lightly highlight your best features. If you're unsure of your makeup choices, ask a trusted friend, or stop by a Sephora or Bloomingdale’s for some professional advice.