Sunday This and That

I had the best Sunday nap today. Things didn't get done, but my nap was wonderful. It's still brutally hot outside. The promised "cold front" didn't arrive yesterday, so now it's scheduled for later today. Bring it on!

I thought I'd use today's "this and that" to bring you some beauty news you might have missed - news from off the beaten path. One of my favorite fragrance brands in Le Labo. Le Labo has unveiled two new scents in its City Exclusives range. The City Exclusives are kind of a pain because you can only purchase them in the boutiques in the city where they belong - except every year or two when the eight City Exclusives are sold in all Le Labo stores and at Luckyscent.

The two new fragrances are Limette 37 for San Francisco. It features notes of jasmine, petit grain, clove, vetiver, and musks. The second is Cuir 28 for Dubai, with notes of vanilla absolute, leather, vetiver, and musks. This year, from September 1 for six weeks the City Exclusives (including Tubereuse 40 for New York (my absolute favorite of all Le Labos), Musc 25 for Los Angeles, Baie Rose 26 for Chicago, Vanille 44 for Paris, Poivre 23 for London, and Gaiac 10 for Tokyo) will be available at selected stores and online priced at $116 for 15 ml, $290 for 50 ml, $440 for 100 ml, and $1400 for 500 ml. A Travel Tube Kit ($175), Travel Tube Refill ($240) and Perfume Oil ($240) will also be available. I've got my eyes on Cuir 28. Even though Limette seems like a natural for me, I don't care for clove in fragrance - or much of anything else.

WWD reported that Lipstick Queen will be expanding its reign with a new collection featuring its most advanced formula since its 2006 launch. In September, Poppy King, will introduce Velvet Rope, a five-piece lipstick line. The lipstick, priced at $50, will be the highest-priced lipstick in the brand to date.Do you see prices creeping up?

For King, the range is meant to harken back to 1940's Hollywood, when “glamour was in every detail” and heavily pigmented pouts were the norm. “Hollywood glamour was at its peak in the Forties,” said King. “It was a time when women were an equal presence on screen and were there to be seen as well as heard. Each one of the female film stars in the Forties could match any man in terms of power and wit and look damn good doing it.”

Despite her vintage inspiration, King was equally focused on delivering a “futuristic” new formula that felt lightweight. The final formula, 20 years in the making, promises densely pigmented opaque color, paired with the light feel of a lip balm. The collection's shades will be Private Party, Brat Pack, Entourage, Black Tie, and Star System, with colors ranging from nude to deep red.

“I have been trying to make this [quality] lipstick since I started my first lipstick brand when I was 18,” King shared. “I finally found a chemist who cracked the code on ‘high-drama look, no-drama wear.’ This was the lipstick of my childhood dreams.” Central to the formula is silicone elastomer, which King said allows the lipstick to feel silky and weightless while preserving an intense velvety color. “Because of [the silicone and elastomer base], you are able to achieve full coverage in a single stroke that usually requires at least three strokes,” King explained.

The lipstick’s additional ingredients include three types of waxes - candelilla, carnauba, and beeswax - to give the lipstick its structure, along with vitamin E and apricot oil to maintain nourished and soft lips. Peppermint oil was also included for a dose of freshness and a minty scent. In my humble opinion, the peppermint oil could work against its success.

The Velvet Rope collection will be sold at all SPACE.NK and Barneys New York nationwide, and will also be available online at lipstickqueen.com.

Clarins has created a new make-up collection for fall that will be available in August. Given the quick sell out of the summer collection, I'd recommend we all look for it the moment it arrives. Called Graphic Expressions, the fall colors include two eye products: the 3-Dot Liner enriched with growth-stimulating ingredients to condition lashes and eight shades of Crayon Khôl with a gentle formula that offers vibrant colors, including Intense Black, Smoky Plum, and Taupe.

Graphic Expressions also features a limited-edition Face & Blush Powder, made up of three shades (light beige, darker beige, and coral pink) with a veil of gold to illuminate cheekbones; the Eye Quartet Mineral Palette in fall forest shades, with khaki green, satin taupe, intense bronze, and pale gold; and Joli Rouge Lipstick, containing mango butter to nourish and protect lips in shades of Pink Camellia, Spicy Cinnamon and Royal Plum. Clarins will also launch a new Be Long Mascara. The mascara contains a complex with two active ingredients: the peptide Matrikine that enhances lash growth and Panthenol to strengthen lashes. Carnauba wax and filmogenic polymers work with the keratin found in lashes in order to maintain their health and to offer intense color. The mascara's tilted, small, elastomer brush has been designed to coat each lash from root to tip.

Everyone is into BB Creams, so Melvita will unveil its Rose Nectar BB Cream SPF15, in one shade, Nude Rose, in September. The light, organic cream is designed to camouflage imperfections and leave a natural complexion and flawless finish. The formula uses Melvita's Rose Nectar triple-action solution with rose floral water, fresh rose extract and wild rose petals to provide, retain, and distribute moisture in the skin. Organic mountain roses with natural mineral filters and pigments in a nude shade provide a soft-focus effect on the skin, while pro-biotic Yogurtene helps to prevent the development of bad bacteria by regulating the skin and stimulating the activity of good bacteria. The skin's pH level is balanced and natural defences are strengthened to offer a healthy, matte soft finish. Even though I am totally sated with BB Creams, I might try Melvita's Rose Nectar BB Cream. I love the brand, and I love roses. Why not?

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday. See you tomorrow.

Photos courtesy of pbworks.com, Le Labo, WWD, Chic Profile, and Melvita