This was a sad week with Nora Ephon's death. An incredibly talented writer, Ephron made us laugh, even about aging. Most of us didn't know she had lymphoma. When she died at age 71, it was a shock. Another great woman has passed before her time. I'll be left wondering how she would have followed I Feel Bad About My Neck.
Another thing that disappointed me was Ann Curry's departure from the Today Show. The way the producers handled it was a debacle, letting her cast in the wind for over a week while they publicly floated the idea of replacing her as Matt Lauer's co-anchor. I love Ann Curry and admire her for her professionalism, bravery, empathy, wit, and humor. They say she wasn't bubbly enough for the average American. That's a sad statement in itself. Must we be giddy girls to be liked? They say she had no "chemistry" with Matt. I doubt I'd have much either. He has become increasingly unlikable - a diva - in recent years. The producers apparently believed that Ann's lack of chemistry was the reason for the show's decline in ratings. Hello, NBC? Look within! The fluff factor on the Today Show has increased exponentially, with the first 20 minutes somewhat devoted to news and the rest of the show to entertainment (broadly defined). Could viewers actually want a real news show in the morning? What do you think?
On to beauty. This is a challenging time of year for hair styles. Either we lose any style we worked hard to achieve or our hair turns to frizz as soon as we step out the door into the humid air. The perfect solution might be different, depending on hair type. I want a styling product that is humidity-proof. I don't want my hair to feel like gunk to achieve a flawless look. Others want a frizz-free solution. If you can recommend a product, or set of products, please let us know in the comments. Make sure to describe your hair type. I have one product here that I keep forgetting to try. I'm excited about it too. Sebastian has a new lightweight styling spray. Must unearth it this weekend.
It's time for the Friday Forum, our open chat. What new products did you discover this week? Did you find any deals you couldn't resist? Are you using a fabulous product and want to sing its praises? Did you find a beauty product disappointing? Do you have a question others might be able to answer? Want to talk about skin care? What's new in your life? Please share! Just use the comments. Don't be shy. Just make sure to ask any question you might have over the weekend. By early the next week, most (not all) readers will have moved on.
Remember my perfume problem from last week? FedEx picked up the box to return it to the Giorgio Armani boutique at South Coast Plaza last Friday. I still don't have my replacement - the bottle I ordered. I'll be calling California early this afternoon.
I have a great summer giveaway contest for two newly introduced MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Shadows, so make sure to enter. The deadline is tomorrow, June 30, at midnight. If you win, you could have shimmering neutral eyes in July and August.
Photo courtesy of dragongoose.com
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19 comments:
I too was shocked and saddened when I heard of Nora Ephron's death. She was involved with some of my favorite films - and I loved her book! I actually got a bit teary...
And I totally agree with you about Ann Curry - she's a serious news reporter, and I guess they want fluff...and younger fluff at that. She has the nerve to be in her mid-50s - looking fine! - but I guess Mr. Lauer has a lot of power. He's known to be pretty much of a pig as far as his attitude toward women. I don't watch, since I'm always at work long before the show comes on, but I always liked Ann when I was able to watch on occasion. Attitudes in this country have changed, but they probably will never change enough!
Makeup - I am on the cusp of ordering one of the new Edward Bess lipsticks and glosses...but I'm waiting to see a few more swatches before I pull the trigger! I need to see some lip swatches (I know you don't do that) so I can decide...
Have a great weekend (stay inside)!
Happy Friday, everyone!
I was very sad to hear of Nora Ephron's passing. I loved her films, although I never got a chance to read her books. I will have to remedy that soon.
I always liked Ann Curry. I grew up watching the Today Show in my house - we were very much an NBC family. She always struck me as someone who was classy, well-spoken, intelligent and accomplished. Compared to that shrill booze-hound Kathy Lee who follows her during the 4th hour, I will take Ann Curry any day of the week. I think there is increasing fluff on these morning shows, which is exactly why I stopped watching them. I am not a huge fan of Matt Lauer, though I do appreciate him not pulling punches when he interviews people.
Yesterday, my bottle of Paula Dorf's Transformer arrived from Zappos. What an incredible product. For those of you out there not familiar with it, it is a liquid that transforms any eyeshadow into a liquid liner. You just put a few drops of Transformer onto some surface (but not the eyeshadow directly), dip your brush into the liquid, and then trace your brush along the outer rim of your eyeshadow. Voila! That color is now a liquid liner. I am very pleased with it.
Other than the Paula Dorf, I am on an unintentional beauty hiatus. Recently, as collections started coming out, I immediately wanted items from each collection. Then, upon further reflection, I realized I could pass on a lot of them. I am going to be near a Chanel counter tomorrow, so we'll see if anything from the fall collection strikes my fancy. I am contemplating the Rouge Coco Shine in Parfait, based on the swatches I saw here. Initially I thought I might want the highlighter, but there are some other products I would rather purchase first.
Speaking of products I would like to purchase, I see myself investing in some Giorgio Armani Eyes to Kill eyeshadows, the Burberry Fresh Glow primer and something from Rouge Bunny Rouge. I don't have any of their items, and that needs to change ASAP!
Stay cool, ladies! Have a wonderful weekend!
Kate
Hi Bisbee!
I think we were all affected in some way by Nora Ephron. From what I've read, she was a woman of boundless talent - even in the kitchen - and wit and wisdom that was the envy of her friends. One of her many friends, Sally Quinn of the Washington Post, wrote a tribute that made me tear up.
Thanks for reminding me to get swatch photos of the EB glosses I purchased!
Hi Kate,
I don't watch Today as much as have it on as I get ready to roll every day. I used to like Matt, but he has become increasingly belligerent toward his interviewees, often cutting them off. The way he does it makes him appear to be grandstanding.
My opinion. Obviously, he's the "franchise" to NBC.
You will love Parfait! If that's your single choice for the month, it should delight you.
I think Transformer is something like LMdB's Magic Lustre Crème. Am I right? Pretty cool stuff!
You will love RBR. Now that Beautyhabit offers it, you have a great reason to order. :)
Yes, it was a sad week for womankind: the death of Nora Ephron and the Ann Curry debacle. Nora Ephron was such a funny, intelligent lady who had a witty way with words that made us see ourselves in the comedy of life. As for Ann Curry, she fell victim to the network's penchant for creating bobble-headed couples who have much to say about nothing. I think there are still some "good old boys" in positions of authority who fear being deminished by the presence of a thoughtful, strong, intelligent woman.
On the beauty front, I pre-ordered quite a few items from Chanel's fall collection which I'll pick up from Nordstrom on July 11. I bought Parfait, Troublant, Caractère, Complice, Furtif, Rose Initiale, Lumière Des Artifices Beiges, and Noir Intense. The collection's color palette is just so well suited to my coloring, I found myself in Chanel heaven. And, yes, I use a Nordstrom's card. Yes, I love earning extra points. Yes, I love getting special preview/sale days. Guilty on all three counts! :-)
I saw a promo picture of Chantecaille's autumn palette. It's for elephants this time around and is the usual 5% donation to protect them. It features ivory (of course), deep chocolate, forest green, and dark rust. I can hardly wait to see the look Olivia will be modeling using the colors. Should be très élégant, n'est-ce pas? I love Chantecaille's eyeshadows. They're so smooth and creamy.
Hi Kate,
My goodness, Transformer has been around for ages. It's a really great product, though. When it was first introduced, it revolutionized how we used eyeshadows as eyeliners. I think it's one of those extra little products that makes for lots of application options. I make something similar from glycerine and water whenever I whip up a batch of skin freshener.
Have a great weekend, everyone.
Hi Eileen,
I know about the Chantecaille elephants...gorgeous...but I was asked not to tell yet. So I remained silent..it will be another great collection!
I'm afraid you're right. The networks want bubble-heads (or bobble). Savannah Guthrie is smart and well-educated, but no better a journalist than Ann is.
No fault of the customers who take advantage of Nordstrom's offers. It's the store's policy to be a bank, rather than the best retailer out there, that bothers me.
Cheers!
Hi everyone!
I only know Nora Ephron's movies (which I love),but I'm anxious to read her writing now. I really didn't know she was so multi-talented. It's a shame it has taken her death for me to discover the rest of her talent.
I don't really know much about the Ann Curry situation, though I do like her. I don't usually watch morning shows-I can't stand all the stupid stuff they cover-but I'm not a Matt Lauer fan. On a talk show last night (Watch What Happens Live), Katie Couric mentioned that Lauer had a habit of pinching her bottom. He's such a classy and respectful guy!
Regarding hair, I have very curly, extremely frizz-prone hair. It is between fine and medium thickness and halfway down my back when wet (just past my shoulders when dry bc of the curl). I am a wash-and-go girl: I don't own a dryer, curler, or straightener. My hair is rarely frizz free, but I've found two different products that tame it enough to make me happy. Currently, I am using Bumble and Bumble Curl Conscious (the bottle with purple and blue designs) style cream. I love it. I also use the conditioner, but I don't think it adds much. In the past, I've used The Fekkai products for curl (they are peachy/orange colored), which work almost as well. I will probably stick with the Bumble and Bumble cream, but not repurchase the conditioner.
I'm looking forward to trying some of Chanel's new eywshadows and I want to get one if the lipsticks you featured for my mom's birthday.
I hope you all have a great weekend. Stay cool!
I had a very busy week this past week. I went to Winnipeg to visit my family.
I cannot go to the city without visiting the Chanel counter (I adore Chanel).The SA I always see was not in, but the one who was working was wonderful and took her time applying all the products on me. I never, ever wear foundation or black eyeliner. The SA did such a fantastic job showing me how to apply foundation and how not to over do the black eyeliner....of course I bought the products.
I bought...
Blush - #65 Espicegle
Quadra Eye Shadow - #34 Eclosion
Foundation - #32 Beige Rose
Waterproof Eyeliner - #10 Ebene
Rouge Allure Gloss - #58 Emoi
Angled Brush - #27
Went to the Estee Lauder counter to finally see the Pure Color Gloss in Citron Kiss Shimmer - Loved it! Bought it!
My only pet peeve at the Estee Lauder Counter was when the SA was applying the gloss his hand stunk of cigarettes - disgusting!
Then off to the Butter London rack and bought Knees Up. Gorgeous red color.
Next stop-Sephora and got my free birthday gift - 2 Sugar lip treatment. One was Fresh (no color), one was Rose. Love the product. I'll be buying more.
Last stop...more nail polish.
OPI - OPI Red,and A-rose at dawn..broke by noon.
China Glaze - Admire, and Bing Cherry.
To end the week I bought myself a birthday present, or should I say my husband bought it but doesn't know it yet - LOL!!
I bought an All Rose Gold Nixon watch.
Needless to say I had a pretty good week.
It's a long weekend here in Canada as it's Canada day on Monday. Have a great weekend!
Hi Charlestongirl,
Now you've piqued my curiosity about the rest of the Chantecaille collection. The deep, rich colors of the palette are stunning. I imagine there are some new gorgeous lip colors to tempt us as well. Love Chantecaille's wildlife palettes! Its something to look forward to come September.
By the way, the rumor is that Chanel has had production problems with some of its new eye products. Perhaps that is why Noir and Indiscreet are MIA from the fall collection. What with repromotes, substitutions from the regular line, and products that never materialize, I can't help but think that Chanel is sliding down MAC's slippery slope by churning out too many collections. It's disappointing to be looking forward to a collection only to learn once it has been released that some of the items will not be available. And, like you, I hate it when counters try to sneak in an "old" product for the missing one. The Chanel counter manager did a gorgeous look on me using black eyeliner, with Black Star, Furtif, and Complice shadows, but darn it! I really wanted to see Indiscreet. Too bad :-(
Hi Northerngirl,
Your Chanel makeup application sounds beautiful. Your SA used some of my favorite products. I love Éclosion. It's one of my all time favorite quads. I've been wearing it a lot this spring/summer with Tom Ford's Love Lust blusher, but I should give it a try with Espiègle. It's such a pretty light peach.
RIP Nora Ephron
I don't watch very much (if any) TV--I watch all my shows via Netflix and Amazon now, so I can't really weigh in on the whole Ann Curry debacle.
As far as beauty goes, I got a few French pharmacy-style items from CVS from La Roche-Posay, Vichy, and Lierac so I'm excited to try them. 2 of the items are mattifying moisturizers. I'm still on the hunt for the perfect, light summer moisturizer that will indeed keep me shine-free all day. Fingers crossed! I also grabbed 2 of the bareMinerals Ready shadow duos as well as a Laura Mercier oil-free tinted moisturizer. EVERYONE always raves about it (you can't read an article about tinted moisturizers and not have Laura Mercier's version mentioned), so I'm really excited to try it.
I hope you have a fabulous weekend, CG!
I don't watch morning news or any tv in the mornings. I'm not a morning person. I've read about Ann Curry online all this week, and felt terrible for her.
Your flowers are so pretty. A client gave me a summer blossoms sampler from her garden. It was a gorgeous bouquet of hydrangeas, daylilies and roses. I felt incredibly blessed.
OH! Lately, I've been cooling myself with Avene's thermal water spray while cycling. I noticed Evian sells a mineral water spray. Didn't purchase their travel size package of three. Nice to know it's there if I need it.
Chanel's Bombay makeup collection doesn't interest me. Too light and cool for my skin color. Too Faced has a couple of interesting releases. I might check those out next time I'm in Sephora.
Earlier in the week, my husband asked me if I wanted to go to shopping since I was bored. When I told him there wasn't anything I wanted or needed to buy, he asked if I was sick. lol We ended up taking a lovely stroll.
I've been using Paul Mitchell's Smoothing Super Skinny Serum. It works to soften my hair without making it a heavy, oily mess. I'm also liking Kevin Murphy's Hydrate Me Wash and Hydrate Me Rinse.
Have a relaxing weekend!
Ann Curry was half the reason I quit watching the Today Show; something about her got under my skin. It isn't her age. They focused way too much on the Duggars and similarly irrelevant topics. My son's up too early for me to watch AM TV anymore, so I haven't watched in a year. When I can, it's GMA.
I haven't bought much, but I saw the new Clarins singles at Tyson's Bloomingdales and there are at least three colors that I really want. Luckily for me, they aren't in yet!
Ann Curry was one of the few I enjoyed watching. Matt is a bit arrogant and condescending for my taste. Ann will be missed by many.
I got a phone call from my local Saks saying the Chanel fall collection was in. We had terrible storms in the Midwest and by the time I arrived at Saks, the store was closed due to a power outage. Maybe I'll have better luck tomorrow!
Hi CG, this week was my major hauls week! I had 5 packages! I received Too Faced blushes, Lip Insurance & a primer. Their packagings are so pretty! From Feel Unique in UK, I received some Caudalie & Bare Minerals goodies. I also got some lip balms & facial cleansing gel from Swedish brand Estelle & Thild. Their lip balms are beautiful. Non sticky & moisturising! Last but not least, from Saks I got some Burberry & Armani makeup! It's a fabulous week!:-)
Lauer bores me. Ann was an asset, but she'll bounces back. Her new position, consolation or not, sounds interesting and more global. Completely agree about how silly the morning news shows have become.
I've been using Omorovicza's Gold Flash Firming Serum, and I'd say the results are comparable to Sisley's firming serum (at half the price!).
Good luck with the Armani phone call. I hope that rogue perfume bottle makes it to your door.
Hi everyone! I've disappeared because I have no power. Hope to be back soon. It's brutally hot here, and millions are without power.
Yes, here in So Cal the news has been filled with updates about the terrible power outages you've been having in your part of the country. And with the heat, I bet it's been a killer! I hope your mom has been OK and that her caregiver has been keeping her cool. Heat can be so very hard on the elderly. I'm sure you've been keeping your feline loves as cool as possible. I can just imagine Charlie howling his protests! Whenever a heat wave hits here, I bring the huskies in house and let them lie on the cool tile floor where they sleep through the hottest part of the day. When it cools off and I let them out, our little water loving husky makes a beeline straight for her wading pool where she rolls around and splashes to her heart's content. The other huskies think she's a complete ding-don't, but she loves to play in water. She's the one who used to climb fences and trees to get to our neighbor's swimming pool. Sometimes I think she must be half fish! Stay cool, Charlestongirl.
I have been using Rusk Deep Shine Oil on my curly hair and I absolutely love the moisturizing and beautiful shine that just a small amount gives. I highlight my hair and the oil causes the highlights to glisten beautifully. The oil is light weight and smells heavenly. Any extra I rub on my hands and scent is nice.
The Olympics are coming and I love watching the athletes and learning about the host country. I just hope that Matt Lauer doesn't hog the spotlight away from the athletes. He is so condensending to these young people; as if they simply are not sophisticated enough to be sitting with him. Ann Curry didn't sit there hanging on his every word and she wasn't bedazzled by him. She is a professional journalist while Matt Lauer is an egoist.
Oh no! I hope you have your power back by now..or at least soon--how long has it been out? That is so awful. I can't imagine being in the sweltering Virginia summer heat without AC! :O
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