SKINCARE: INDIAN SUMMER BEAUTY With FEMME SCIENCE, SHU UEMURA, LOLA , POP, CHANEL, and ANASTASIA's BROW KIT

TEXT, VIVIAN KELLY
Labor Day's around the corner, and with it comes Indian summer. While I absolutely love these last few weeks of warm weather, it always gets me thinking about how to fortify my skin for the tough winter ahead, and what kind of makeup I should wear for fall, once my skin’s in tip top shape.

Before even considering color trends, start with EXFOLIATION. This is especially important if you’re guilty of having indulged in too much pool time these past few months. EXFOLIATION is 1st + foremost. I love FEMME SCIENCE’S NEW FACE MASK. It’s got green tea [a trendy ingredient], Kelp, Tea Tree, Rosemary and Witch Hazel in it. The antioxidants did a very nice job clarifying my skin. After 2 treatments, I looked as if I’d just had an hour-long facial. Women’s skincare is new to the more established MENSCIENCE ANDROCEUTICALS Co, but if they keep rolling-out products as good as this mask, FEMME SCIENCE will capture a slice of the women’s market as effectively as MENSCIENCE did in the mens' grooming arena. Free shipping for orders over $40 and their rapid-fire shipping policy is a big plus. www.menscience.comand www.femmescience.com

NEXT, even though your skin already feels great, it’s time to start using a heavier moisturizer, to prep your skin for the coming weather. My new fave in the MOISTURIZING department is SHU UEMURA’s PHYTO-BLACK LIFT FIRMING ANTI-WRINKLE CREAM. It’s rich and you feel the moisture, thanks to the plethora of natural oils in it. If you’re ultra-dry like me – or have “normal skin”, this is the one to get.
I discovered PHYTO-BLACK thanks to a summer visit to Farmington, CT, home of MISS PORTER’S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS. While desperately seeking a Starbucks, I stumbled onto this beauty junkies’ nirvana. KZEN BEAUTY is THE PLACE to go if you’re seeking quality skin care, fabulous makeup and top shelf customer service.
Better yet, KZEN BEAUTY is running a huge sale so don’t waste any time and start picking up some deals right now. Their summer clearance is on – how does 75% off sound? Also, spend $30 and you get a jar of SHU’s PHYTO BLACK for FREE.

Another fun feature – and why I spent close to 2 hours there on my visit, was that they’re always running little events that are too good to say “no” to. The next round of events conflict with NY Fashion Week, but if you’re not at the Tents, make it your mission to get over to Farmington if you can or at least visit their site at www.kzenbeauty.com.
Coming up at KZEN: Appleseed resurfacing peels, facials, microdermabrasion and much more.

Now that my skin’s feeling up to snuff, after poring over the big 3 [Vogue, Harper’s, and W], I’m going to go for the red lip as my fall makeup statement.
W’s September “TRUE BLOOD” spread shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott and featuring LINDSAY WIXSON’s delicious gap-toothed smile, is visual eye candy, but I’ll be keeping it on the lighter side.
I’m leaning towards dropping into BEAUTY 360 and trying on LOLA’s PLUMPING LIPS “MARILYN” lipstick, in a bright cherry red for the days I’m feeling a little “MARILYN” and am going for fall’s LADY LIKE TREND
For TWIGGY days, I’ll go with my new spiky POP falsie lashes and a dash of CHANEL sparkly nude gloss in #93 and it’s a more MINIMALIST TROUSERS AND SOFT SHIRT day.
For days [and there’s always one] during fashion week, when I just wear jeans, a tee and a blazer, either of these two classic beauty looks work. Whatever look you go with, don't forget to always have your BROWNS perfectly groomed. Beauty gurus have been going on forever about how "brows frame your face". Just look at how much attention has been paid to famous brows over the years: Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Liz Taylor, Brooke Shields. BROW QUEEN, ANASTASIA [Soare], MAKES IT EASY TO ACHIEVE PERFECT-LOOKING BROWS WITH HER EASY TO USE 5-ELEMENTS BROW KIT. She's debuting it today, on HSN at 2:00 and 8:00p.m.EST.

Beauty 360 products are available on their parents’ website, www.cvs.com
NEXT UP: MEN'S GROOMING TRENDS FOR FALL

Clarasonic Skin Care Demo, and Hilary Rhoda Plays Gran Turismo 5 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Swim

Some of the most fun parts of my few short days during this latest Miami Fashion Week took place not at the actual shows, but in-between events.
Saturday night was a long day, a day at the laptop and a botched opportunity to meet KENDRA WILKINSON followed by the now-it’s really getting old chaos at the door of each and every show. Sometime between the True Religion and Ed Hardy shows, Clarasonic’s fabulous HELEN MILLER, got me in for a full facial treatment with the Clarasonic wand/brush system. The whole treatment, took under 10 minutes and I got off the spa bed in the back of the booth and inspected my face in the magnified mirror the technician put in my hands. The fine lines around my eyes did not disappear but my skin DID feel significantly more hydrated, as if my tight pores had suddenly opened up and allowed much-needed moisture in. Mind you, this was after only one treatment. The key here is daily use, much like oral hygiene. If you floss, you’ll keep the tartar build-up away. If you use CLARISONIC, you’ll gradually get rid of the build-up on your skin, and the products you use will penetrate and actually do what they’re supposed to do.
After relaxing and chatting with Helen and a stiff sea breeze cocktail, I reluctantly pulled myself away and peeked over to see if I could get in some eye-makeup tips over at the MAKEUP FOR EVER.
I passed on the free touch up booth, as the line was overly long. Instead, I reapplied my latest favorite products, MAKE-UP DESIGNORY’S “Mahogany Lip Pencil [tremendous staying power] topped with BECCA’s new GLOSSY LIP TINT in “MARSALA”. I was one of the few women at the Raleigh with “grown-up lips” on, ie: not stripper-like sticky candyfloss pink gloss on. My nails, which I painted in the room with NAILTINI’s “BORDEAUX” held-up beautifully, despite the cloying Miami heat and humidity – no chipping here.
Because I left early, I missed-out on seeing my favorite model of today’s generation – HILARY RHODA – have some fun demoing MERCEDES-BENZ’s between shows, when she got behind the wheel and played Gran Turismo 5 poolside, at the Raleigh. She was there to join Lisa Vogel, creative director of LUXE and co-president of RAJ Manufacturing, to
Raise Money for Oceana to 
Raise Money for Oceana, the largest international organization focused solely on protecting the world's oceans.

SHOPPING NOTES:
Shop Beauty360.com for 20% off all your suncare and skincare purchases! Your readers can save while they stock up on their favorite sunscreens and moisturizers from their favorite prestige beauty brands, just by entering coupon code GLOW at checkout. Shoppers will also receive free shipping if they spend $49 or more. This promotion is only valid until Sunday, July 25th so start shopping now! Click on this link for additional details and products: http://tinyurl.com/337cyau

CLARISONIC is THE ORIGINAL Sonic Skin Care System, and Sonicare is a registered trademark of Philips Oral Healthcare Inc. The system is available at www.sephora.com
With this as with anything else, get the ORIGINAL, not a shoddy copy – your skin is worth it.

To buy Becca glossy lip tints, shop www.beccacosmetics.com

B. KAMINS - a Canadian Skin Care Line - Quality over Hype

TEXT, VIVIAN G. KELLY

If you're like us, you've succumbed to the siren song of luxury brand "name" skincare. We love Nicole Kidman, but it isn't ONLY that Chanel Ultra Correction Night Cream that keeps her skin looking eternally youthful. Given that creams have a limited ability to deliver, we've been on a long-standing mission to find some great skincare that won't bust our budget. After all, you still want to be able to afford some of the season's new makeup colors and a pair of sunglasses.

When Beauty 360 esthetician, Isabelle Martin Face-Booked us an invite to meet the B. KAMINS East Coast Trainer, we jumped. Not only that, we were to receive a complimentary professional 20 minute peel by an esthetician in their mini spa-room in the back of the store. A beauty treatment beats lunch out - any day!

THE PEEL was administered by Rene Jacques, B.KAMINS' East Coast Trainer, who's also an esthetician. Rene was super friendly and knowledgeable. I was mildly anxious as I didn't want to have to be running around with a tomato red face - which I'd seen friends sport after a chemical peel. One look at Rene's perfect complexion calmed me down. Her skin looked like it belonged to one of the twenty-something starlets who were spilling out of the Tents at LA Fashion Weeks I used to attend. She's the poster-child for a Malibu California girl. Rene's been working with and using the product for 5 years, so if a complexion like hers was the result, then all-aboard!

THE TREATMENT/PEEL
The actual Alpha hydroxy peel [a professionals-only peel] caused some mild stinging but nothing worth getting worked-up about. Rene soon calmed things down with the Booster Blue Soothing Skin Concentrate. This and the BOOSTER BLUE ROSACEA CLEANSER, Rene informed us, are the ideal products to use after peels, waxing, or if you have rosacea. Another time to slap these on is if you accidentally fall asleep in the sun and wake-up burned like a rock lobster.
The REPLENISHING MOISTURIZER that followed,left my skin feeling ultra-hydrated. As to the lines, I need to give that a day or two to judge the results.

I left with a 4 fl.oz. tube of SUNBAR SUNSCREEN SPF30. Cost $36-5= $31, after applying a CVS coupon.
I liked that it's: fragrance and oil free sunscreen, and geared for my sensitive and rosacea-prone type skin. Add to that, the lightweight color-correcting formula is a great alternative to foundations, which always feel like a mask, no matter how expensive they are.


*NOTE: You CAN find B.Kamins on websites all-over the Internet, but you're better-off going to their site, www.bkamins.com as they reward loyalty with LOTS of free samples.


NEXT: I'll be reporting on the results of my trial with B.Kamins Lash Booster, a 1/2 way step to LATISSE, which we're not willing to try - no matter how tempting the promotions are. The added bonus is that I'm using it on my brows in a mid-life attempt to regain my thick "Audrey" brows.