Friday, October 25, 2013

The Friday Forum - October 25

Now it's autumn. We are having our first cold morning, with temperatures hovering near 40 degrees. Now I can start wearing my fall clothes.

Last night, Manhattan was all about Giorgio Armani, who staged his latest "One Night Only" events  to entertain 700 friends, family, loyal Armani clients, editors, and some high-wattage celebrities. I looked at the photos in WWD, and no one appeared to be wearing his new Lip Maestros from the Eccentrico Collection. They had more sense. The evening was pure Armani, with elegance and grace.

The parade of designers launching their own cosmetics collections continues. In January, Estée Lauder will launch a limited-edition Derek Lam collection, a makeup lineup that permits the designer to stick his toe into the color cosmetics pool (per WWD). Lam cooked up the collection with Tom Pecheux, creative makeup director of Estée Lauder and Lam’s longtime friend. The two have collaborated on runway looks since Lam’s first show, and Pecheux used this new collection backstage at the designer’s spring runway show. The collection will be available at Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and esteelauder.com in North America and Harrods, Galeries Lafayette, and El Corte Inglés in Europe.

I don't have any exciting plans for the weekend, although I do plan to visit a few of my favorite stores. I'm actually looking forward to a little break in makeup introductions so that I can focus on skin care and the fragrances I've been wanting to feature. I plan to rest this afternoon after a treatment for my back. Then I will start on the skin care feature I've promised, telling you about my favorite products - the ones I use daily or weekly.

It's time for the Friday Forum. I love this part of our week. 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? 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.

I hope you have a happy weekend!

Photo courtesy of Veranda

13 comments:

DC=HollywoodforNerds said...

Not really new products, but maybe a bit more obscure for some and highly recommended.

Tokyo Milk Dark hand lotion (at Sephora). I have many of these scents, but wearing Arsenic right now. They scent is powerful but it doesn't enter the room before you and the lotion is nice and quickly absorbs so I don't make my keyboard all manky.

Neulash - actually works to lengthen lashes. Like most, I was skeptical but thought I'd try it. Got a great recommendation from the staff at Blue Mercury Old Town. I'm on my second tube and well worth the price. I was never going to do false lashes but I wanted a longer, fuller look that mascara alone wasn't getting done. Recommend trying for sure.

Sara Happ Lip Slip - love, love, love, especially now that the weather is getting cold. It's a balm that shines like a gloss. It comes in pot and tube, so if you hate getting your fingers messy, you can still use it. I also love the lip scrubs for getting rid of flakes.

Chantecaille Le Stylo and gel liner pencils - most underrated eyeliners ever! I love both of these formulas and they come in great colors, though the brown Le Stylo is getting harder to find, so I don't know if they're short on production or discontinuing. I haven't heard discontinuing. Definitely give them a try though, so easy to use and great color payoff.

Finally, I got two Armani polishes in the post this week (103 and 400) and I was iffy when I saw the size. However, I was pleasantly surprised at the formula and color density with a single coat. I'm about 4 days in and no chips yet with tons of typing. 103 proved to be a nice neutral, varying in tone depending on what you have on/near it. It was a nice neutral color to wear to my interview this morning. We'll see about buying more, but I am pleased enough to keep what I have. I would recommend a topcoat though if you want a nice shiny finish. The polish has a medium finish to it which works for a quick polish job, but if you want the full manicure look, definitely add the topcoat.

Eileen said...

I'm also enjoying a brief respite from new cosmetic collection releases. It's nice to sit back for awhile and really enjoy the beautiful things that I purchased.

I've been a bit perturbed with Chanel this year for their decision to release the Holiday collection in two installments. We're still waiting around for the eyeshadow palette even though the rest of the collection has been out for a month. What doesn't Chanel understand about the word "collection"?

Speaking of Chanel, have you seen the promo pictures for their spring collection, Notes du Printemps? Coral, salmon, red, deep warm browns--oh, my! These are not like autumn's burnished or muted colors. There is a clarity and sparkling vibrancy to them that actually says, "Spring!" I think they will look very pretty especially when worn as a counterpoint to light neutrals such as ivory and cream. Notes du Printemps makes a bold and fiery color statement, for sure, that is a far cry from spring's usual selection of pinks, violets, pale green, etc. It's a bit of a shake up :-)

Today I'm tackling a closet clean out. I have some things that I haven't worn since retiring five years ago! It's time to get rid of them so I had best get on with the task.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Jo said...

I think every makeup addict who has ever wondered what to do with their YSL Touche éclat needs to watch this video by Wayne Goss. It is one of the best makeup tutorials I have ever watched. I've tried it and it really works!

http://intothegloss.com/2013/07/wayne-goss-how-to-really-use-ysl-touche-eclat/

Have a great weekend everyone!

Anonymous said...

Hi CG: Question for you since we are heading towards a skin care review period. I have rosacea and super sensitive skin. I crave a moisturizer that is low on chemicals or unnatural ingredients, oil (obviously) and anything irritating -- I am hoping to find something I can't wait to dip into at night to make my skin feel terrific. Mid-40's is my age group.THANKS! Carolina

Anonymous said...

Eileen,
I just saw the first pictures of Chanel printemps 2014 yesterday and was baffled. An odd look for spring. I hope the browns and corals are not too muted. The antique bronze in the quad seems like a color from about 15 yes ago (in the canyon quad). This collection is different for sure.
Tanja

Anonymous said...

I have been ill with a horrid viral infection for nearly 2 weeks and am looking forward to looking 'normal' again! I too have the need for a break from viewing all the wonderful holiday makeup collections.

Skincare is a passion of mine so I look forward to your upcoming posts, CG.

Eileen, good luck with your closet cleanout. You will feel very virtuous afterwards! I too have some things to give to charity but haven't been well enough to organise it all. Maybe next week. I love a closet clean out which I try and do every 3 months or so but still find I have far too many clothes. Let's not talk about makeup though!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Niki

Anonymous said...

CG- I actually stopped by NM Tysons today and nabbed the last LMdB Hydra Creme in Rose Garnet based off of your review! I was shocked to see the difference in Armani counters between Nordstrom Pentagon City and NM Tysons- the former doesn't even have the nail lacquers out yet!

grlnxdor said...

I recently picked up L'Oreal's Magic Nude Liquid Powder. It's supposed to be similar to the Armani Maestro foundation. I don't care if they are similar or not--I am in love!! The formulation is pretty much perfect for my normal/oily skin.

Anonymous said...

One thing I bought last summer but just rediscovered is my Tom Ford Lip Color Shine in 04 Ravenous. It seems better now that I am less tan and I am very fond of its texture. It is buttery soft and layers well with Chanel's RA in coral from the moire collection. This lip shine smells great and is highly moisturizing, too.
Have a great weekend everybody,
Tanja

Melanie said...

Hi CG,

We still don't have Chanel Holiday here in Canada yet (if anyone has seen it, please let me know!). For the last 13 years, that collection has been a default birthday gift for me as it is normally out by then. Not this year. Unusual!

I am eager to read your skin-care posts! I find that that is where my attention keeps turning these days. My skin has gotten to the point where it shows when it is being cared for or neglected as quickly as just one night.

Hope the back is OK post treatment!

Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

Yep, autumn is definitely here! Our patio is covered in leaves. My boyfriend said we needed to sweep it, but I refuse, I actually think it looks so pretty, all those colors :-)

Eileen said...

Hi Tanja,

Yes, I was a bit perplexed, too, when I first saw the picture of the quad for Notes du Printemps last week. It was one of those grainy pictures of a picture of a picture! LOL Now that better quality Chanel promo pics are making their way online, it's easy to see that the colors are quite clear--particularly the Glossimers and lipsticks--and are actually very pretty. I think the key to this collection will be to use restraint and, of course, women with a lot of redness in their complexions or women who can't wear red-tinged color near their eyes will want to avoid it like the plague. I wonder who was behind the development of this particular collection. The new mystery creative director? I'm sure we'll learn a lot more as we move closer to the January launch date.

By the way, you lovelies who don't know what we're talking about can mosey on over to Rouge Delux or Chic Profile to see a few pictures that were tweeted when Notes du Printemps was previewed for Japanese beauty editors.

Hi Niki,

Well, mission accomplished! I spent a productive day going through the things in my closet, and you are right--I feel very virtuous! LOL I had several suits, separates, and accessories that were definitely "business attire" and so those will go to Dress for Success. I'm actually very good about keeping my wardrobe current and discarding things that have seen better days, but I just had a hard time parting with the office stuff. I guess because it was all fairly classic in style and of good quality, I just kept thinking I might need something someday for some reason :-P Now I know everything will actually be put to use again. That's a good feeling.

Hi Jo,

Isn't Wayne great? When I saw that particular tutorial, I wanted to send it out to every person who ever said they didn't "get it" when it came to Touche Éclat. It's such a versatile product; I always have one in my stash.

I hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful Saturday.

Anonymous said...

Hi Eileen

So glad you completed your mission! I too hard a difficult time ridding my closet of business attire some years ago for the same reasons. However I did keep one suit and have worn the skirt casually and the jacket can be worn with jeans. However I realise that I now only need very simple, casual attire and that makes life a little simpler. Wish I could organise my makeup like that but, like all beauty lovers, I get carried away with gorgeous products.

Niki