The Friday Forum - September 13

My garden looks like this now, awash in goldenrod. The goldenrod volunteered years ago, and it has spread everywhere in my sunny back yard. Although it's terribly invasive, I love it when it blooms like this. The masses of yellow are cheerful.

Late yesterday, we finally got some rain. The ground in my garden was so dry it had cracked. The thunderstorms came with damage in the area, unfortunately, but my immediate area was fine. This morning, the goldenrod was all bent over, but it should straighten up and reach for the sun by the time I get home from work.

I'm excited about this beauty/beautiful weekend. Not only is the weather supposed to be perfect, it's Beauty Event at Neiman Marcus. I'll get my day started tomorrow at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria getting the run-down on the newest beauty products and then "hit" the counters. Today, I'm leaving work a bit early so that I can go to Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie to pick up my Carnaby Street Kaleidoscope. I hear it's even more beautiful than it looked in the advance press photos. Look for swatch photos here tomorrow.

This has been a huge fragrance week for me. I was gifted three new-to-me bottles of Hanae Mori fragrances; I received a prize (and prized) bottle from a perfumer in Canada - one I won on Facebook; I received several bottles of perfume I'm dying to tell you about (soon); and I also received some decants of treasured fragrances I purchased from friends (e.g., Roja Dove). I'm smelling great! Give me time to write, and I'll tell you all about them.

Last week, you collectively helped me make up my mind on the contest dilemma. I have decided to discontinue weekly self-sponsored contests. Many of you, even Anonymous readers, told me you read Best Things in Beauty every day, but never enter the contests - and usually don't even comment. I got a loud and clear message that the contests aren't a tipping point, so I will stop featuring them on Sundays. I still want to find ways to thank my regular readers, so if you would like to be on my list for occasional gifts, please send you address to bestthingsinbeautycontests@gmail.com (only that address, not the regular blog address) with prizes in the subject line. When I receive extra samples or gratis products to share - even when I buy just for you - I will randomly choose someone who has provided an address and send a little freebie along - just to say thanks.

Naturally, when generous companies or product representatives offer me giveaways for my readers, I will take advantage of their generousity and run those contests. I think I have one offer in my e-mail now that I can use to arrange a sponsored contest.

Thank you for being so sweet, kind, and honest in your comments last Friday. I can't put into words how grateful I was for your many comments.

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.

Stay tuned this weekend. I'm sure I'll have lots of news.

Update 3:00 pm: Carnaby Street did not arrive at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie. I got there to find only the tester. Sorry for the false alarm.

Photo courtesy of frenchhillpond.org

Suave Professional Shine Shampoo and Conditioner System and Deep Conditioning Shine Mask with Moroccan Argan Oil

Once again, Suave Professionals has developed a dynamite set of hair products. The new Shine System is infused with Moroccan argan oil that offers, at a minimum, the following benefits.

• Noticeable shine
• Long lasting conditioning
• Light, luxurious fragrance

I had received several of these products for potential review a few months ago. For some reason, I set them aside, and then they slipped off my radar. In August, with the DC area at its zenith for humidity, I noticed that every broken hair, every split end I had had turned to frizz. I knew I needed hair care products that would add some moisture while making my hair "sit down." I started using the Shine Shampoo and Shine Conditioner and have been delighted. Not only do these new products make my frizzies behave, but my hair has volume (no weight added) and shine.

The new Shine Shampoo, infused with authentic Moroccan argan oil, gently cleanses while making hair brilliantly shiny. I've been following with Shine Conditioner - also with Moroccan argan oil - that leaves my hair silky soft and easy to comb out. The conditioner smoothes hair from the to the tips, adding the benefits of argan oil without any oiliness.

Suave also sent me the Deep Conditioning Shine Mask with Moroccan argan oil for normal to dry hair. This indulgent deep conditioning shine hair mask, also infused with authentic Moroccan argan oil, noticeably improves hair texture, intensely moisturizing for touchably soft hair that shines. It can be used in place of the conditioner. Just leave it on for longer when you are in the shower. I've been using it once or twice a week, as directed.

These products are inexpensive (for example, $3.99 for the shampoo at CVS) and can be found at mass market retailers (like Giant Food near me) and drugstores, CVS for example.

Photos courtesy of Suave Professionals

We Will Never Forget

In memory of those who died and were injured and in honor of the bravery and compassion of that day.

Photo sources unknown

YSL Youth Liberator Serum Foundation

There is always a woman with no flaws and a perfect complexion who models the latest foundation - and so it is with YSL's new Youth Liberator Serum Foundation ($69). I had an opportunity to have a professional application last weekend, and I looked just like the model above, I say as I grin from ear to ear. For one thing, I don't wear my clothing draped to my waist. My décolleté shows sun damage. Oh well, I've got the experience of age and its accompanying wisdom to compensate.

Youth Liberator Serum foundation is YSL's new, anti-aging foundation with medium-to-full coverage. It's the first foundation with "Glycanactif complex." It acts like a soft face lift, erasing visible signs of aging as it evens skin tone, hides imperfections, and perfects the look of the skin.  Really.

What's inside this hybrid skin-care/makeup foundation?

• Glycanactif complex is made from three glycans that are combined to make the skin look more radiant, feel plumped and hydrated, and appear smoother. 
• Color glow complex counteracts dullness and gives a healthy (and light) glow.
• Vitamin E and SPF 20 offer free radical and sun protection.
• Glycol gives a firming sensation with a tensor effect as it hydrates to keep skin soft and healthy.

YSL says that the skin yellows as it ages. This is one reason women notice that their long-time favorite foundation no longer matches their skin. Forever Youth Liberator counteracts this in two ways.

• The color glow complex provides an optimal combination of "bouncy powder filters" and pure pigments to reduce dullness, enhance your glow, and create a more even complexion.
• Glycanactif is a patented complex, exclusive to YSL, that adds radiance, lift, and plumpness (aka youthfulness).

The foundation is available initially in 10 shades - from really light to really dark. I am a Beige Rose 20, which matches my skin really well. It's a rare day when I am blown away by a foundation, but after my favorite YSL representative applied it to my skin, my skin looked really good, even toned, and healthy. Youth Liberator leaves a satin finish - definitely not at all shiny, but not matte either. I will admit that I came home after his application and took a nap, usually a foundation destroying activity if I sleep on my side. When I got up, my foundation looked untouched, so I knew immediately it has great wear time.

I came home, compliments of my YSL friends at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria, with a generous sample, which I've been wearing this week. I love it. All of my first impressions have been reinforced. I plan to buy Youth Liberator Serum Foundation during Beauty Event. That's a big deal because I don't even need foundation.

You can find it at YSL counters and the YSL Beauté Web site. I recommend you go to the counter for a perfect match.

Update: My thanks for one of my fave readers for telling me this feature had a typo. I wish more people would tell me. :)

 Photos courtesy of YSL Beauté

Estée Lauder Beach Metals Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trio from The Metallics New Pure Color Collection for Fall 2013

This fall, imagine an incredible combination of the highest reflective shine and intensely desirable color to make eyes, lips, and nails smolder. The The Metallics, a new Pure Color Collection from Estée Lauder, fill that bill. This surprisingly versatile collection of metallic finishes breaks boundaries and transforms like never before, with liquid-like shadows that saturate eyes, vinyl finishes that lacquer lips, and hyper-chromatics that accessorize nails. Whether soft and pretty or bold and sexy, The Metallics uses a variety of unique reflective finishes to bring a new level of sophistication to multi-dimensional color.

The new Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trios ($36) are said to be like molten metal. Play in a new dimension of amplified color with the liquid-like texture melting onto the eyelids for a high-definition chromatic color impact. A creamy, silk-like formula glides on effortlessly releasing pure, brilliant color that stays true for 10 hours without creasing or fading.

I thought Beach Metals (#07) was one of the prettiest trios in the collection. Oddly, I can't find it on Estée Lauder's Web site. There are eight available. I found mine at Saks, but even they didn't have all the colors on their display. The available shades follow.

• Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trio in Smoked Chrome
• Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trio in Arctic Zinc
• Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trio in Steel Lilacs
• Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trio in Gilded Chocolates
• Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trio in Amber Alloy
• Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trio in Beach Metals
• Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trio in Sterling Plums
• Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trio in Camo Chrome

I took swatch photos of Beach Metals in full, late-morning sunshine. I swatched with a dry sponge-tipped applicator. This time, I did swatch one color with a wet applicator to show you the difference, and I was surprised how subtle it was.

Here are the three shades in the palette (left to right) on my arm from top to bottom. Like Amber Alloy, the ivory highlighter shade is a gorgeous ivory, but it has more pink in it than Amber Alloy. The center color is a vibrant peach. The dark copper-brown hybrid shade is intended to be a liner, although you can use it lightly for contouring or accenting the outer corners of the lid.

I swatched the gorgeous peach wet to see how much it would amp up the intensity. As you can see below, not all that much. The shade did become more electric - more metallic - but the color wasn't more intense. It just took on a different character. See the photo directly below.

I'll be wearing my Beach Metals eye shadows applied with a dry brush. I think the shades are beautiful as they are, without any extra help. Certainly for daytime wear, they should be applied dry for office-friendly use. I suppose the exception would be for those in fashion or the arts, where you've got leeway on snazzy looks.

The trio compacts are gold in color, emblazoned with the Estée Lauder logo, and come with a double-ended sponge-tipped applicator, the kind you'll never use. Each trio compact has a nice mirror inside, as well as the overlay with paint-by-numbers shade suggestions.

These eye shadows are available at the Estée Lauder Web site and some stores. If you don't see them at the counter now, you will soon. The display has all the lip and nail colors, so prepare to be dazzled. I was when I saw the whole collection at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie.

Photos by Best Things in Beauty

Parfums M. Micallef Art Collection Rouge N°1 and Rouge N°2 Eau de Parfum

Martine Micallef and Geoffrey Nejman's new Parfums Micallef Art Collection Rouge N°1 and Rouge N°2 arrived on the scene last month. The Micallef Art Collection scents are limited editions that are issued each summer for a 12-month life.

I wish I could invent a scratch and sniff technology for computer monitors. I would be a very happy - and very rich - gal. As I tested these two new fragrances, I wanted you to be able to smell them and experience the wonders of their opulence with me. I worried about how I could convey in words the stunning beauty of these two fragrances. You can see from the photo above that the bottles are collector's items. Yet, you must wear them, not leave them to languish on the vanity.  They are a holistic extravagance.

How do we communicate about fragrances? Perfume lovers find ways to congregate to celebrate our favorite scents with words and pictures. There are Facebook groups that take us part of the way toward a sanctuary for fragrance lovers, where we exchange impressions about our favorites, especially new discoveries. There are stores in New York City, like MiN New York or Osswald, that have become a meeting place for those of use who revel in sharing our passion for perfume. Should we all converge on Osswald, you can be assured that we would all be standing at the display below, inhaling these beautiful new fragrances and talking about how one could possibly choose between them. Those conversations with like-minded perfume lovers help us as we converge toward a common vocabulary to describe the subjective impressions of the art of perfume. Without that community, I've got to translate these new fragrances into words to communicate my love for Micallef's new Rouge Art Collection masterpieces. I was careful not to read others' impressions to see if I could describe them without the influences of my fragrant friends.

Rouge N°1 and Rouge N°2 Eau de Parfum ($245 each) are both insanely luscious - glamorous EDPs. N°1 is a classic French perfume, feminine, dainty, and frilly, with a soft, powdery base that reminds me that "pretty" is better than "interesting." It transports me to Victorian days when proper women wore gloves and carried umbrellas to shield their faces from the sun. The top notes of this fruity floral are peach and tangerine. The heart notes are ylang-ylang, rose, and jasmine. The base notes are white musk, vanilla, and benzoin. Everything about Rouge N°1, from the first spray to the dry down many hours later, is sophisticated and flirty.

Rouge N°2 is equally divine, but with an entirely different character. To my nose, it is a comforting gourmand, an exploration into scent that is modern and sultry. It opens with top notes of citrus, blackcurrant, and nutmeg. I'm not fond of nutmeg, so it must have been used sparingly. The citrus exits the stage quickly, leaving a jammy blackcurrant to dominate the opening act. The heart notes, which are jasmine, violet, and orchid, offer a floral transition between the fruity opening and the sultry base notes of amber, vanilla, labdanum, and castoreum, which complete the composition. When you read the notes, you might think them an odd blend. Somehow, Micallef, Nejman, and perfumer Jean-Claude Astier collaborated to make Rouge N°2 a seamless treat for the senses - something like walking into a French patisserie and inhaling the aromas of sweet seduction.

As if the fragrances themselves were not extravagant enough, the bottles, with their Swarovski crystal embellishments, are works of art. Rouge N°1, shown directly above, balances passionate red with a crystal circle of life and a wooden juxtaposition that taunts me to experience the treasure inside. Everything about Micallef's fragrances and the experience of owning them, holding them, and wearing them is luxurious. If you love fine fragrances as much as I do, I'm sure you will find this new collection to be extraordinary.

Parfums M. Micallef are available at Luckyscent, so they are easy to find. Don't forget that you can purchase samples at Luckyscent (for $4), so you can try before you buy. At $245, you will want to experience these luxurious fragrances in order to select your favorite. My quandary now revolves around whether I can live with only one or will save up for both. My samples were provided by the company. Even if I had not received them gratis, I would have known to order samples. M. Micallef fragrances were an important "find" in my growing appreciation for the art of fragrance.

Photos courtesy of Jeffrey Dame

Estée Lauder The Metallics New Pure Color Collection with a Focus on the Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trios for Fall 2013

"When it comes to color, there are no limits. I like to have freedom. Metallic makeup does that," said Tom Pecheux, Creative Makeup Director at Estée Lauder. The Metallics New Pure Color is a brilliant new expression of color, featuring the cool sheen of metal and the liquid light of lacquer. The slightly edited "press" on this collection follows in the next few paragraphs.

This fall, imagine an incredible combination of the highest reflective shine and intensely desirable color to make eyes, lips, and nails smolder. The The Metallics, a new Pure Color Collection from Estée Lauder, fill that bill. This surprisingly versatile collection of metallic finishes breaks boundaries and transforms like never before, with liquid-like shadows that saturate eyes, vinyl finishes that lacquer lips, and hyper-chromatics that accessorize nails. Whether soft and pretty or bold and sexy, The Metallics uses a variety of unique reflective finishes to bring a new level of sophistication to multi-dimensional color.

The new Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trios ($36) are said to be like molten metal. Play in a new dimension of amplified color with the liquid-like texture melting onto the eyelids for a high-definition chromatic color impact. A creamy, silk-like formula glides on effortlessly releasing pure, brilliant color that stays true for 10 hours without creasing or fading.

The dazzling eye shadows instantly transform from a soft powder to a silky liquid-like texture using slurry technology to give the powder a unique silk-satin feel. True Vision technology - a crystalline (polymer) laminate - magnifies and amplifies color for intense clarity and vibrancy, while a unique blend of optics captures light for a reflective flash of shine.

Designed to be applied dry for a refined look or wet for a highly metallic finish, the new Pure Color Instant Intense EyeShadow Trios infuse metallic into any look for an added dimension of sophistication. Featuring three brilliant shades, each trio is a total eye look in one: base, contour, and highlight for mistake-proof application. Extremely blendable and color-true, the expertly coordinated shades look stunning on all skin tones and range from soft chrome shimmers to dramatic metallic finishes.

What's cool about these eye shadow trios is that they are not at all dramatic when applied dry. I'm not fond of colors that are "amplified" and intense, and metallics can be suspect. That's why I was thrilled to find beautiful everyday neutrals I love in this new collection of eye shadows, lip colors, and nail lacquers.

Amber Alloy (#06) is a beautiful trio of beige and brown shades. It is one of two trios that instantly captured my attention. I first saw it at Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie. Not having time to get to Mazza this week, I dashed over to Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria, where there was no sign the collection had arrived - and no help at the Estée Lauder counter. So I walked down the mall to Saks Fifth Avenue and purchased my new trios there.

It was really late in the day by the time I was able to get photos of Amber Alloy. The product shot above is dark, even though it was taken in sunshine. Even so, the colors in my photo are more true than those in the Estée Lauder photo above, which looks way too warm.

I swatched with a dry sponge-tipped applicator. I had to walk up my road to find a decent patch of sunshine for the swatch photos below.

The ivory shade at the top of my arm is the base shade at the left of the palette. Meant to be used as a highlighter all over the lid, particularly up to the brow, it gives the eyes a pretty gleam. The amber-toned shade is the one in the middle. A pretty warm toffee shade, it should work for all complexions just about any way you want to use it. The combination of these two shades is perfect for an office look.

The gorgeous cool-toned brown is intended to be used as a liner, but I can use it as an accent or contour shade because it's not too dark. How do I know how it's intended to be used? Each trio comes with a plastic overlay that gives paint-by-numbers instructions for those who can't figure out how to apply eye shadow. None of us, right?

The trio compacts are gold in color, emblazoned with the Estée Lauder logo, and come with a double-ended sponge-tipped applicator. I suppose I should have swatched with a damp brush to show you how the colors look when applied "wet." I didn't because I won't be wearing the trio that way. I love it just the way it's pictured here. I purchased another trio that I'll show you as soon as I get swatch photos.

These eye shadows are available at the Estée Lauder Web site and some stores. If you don't see them at the counter now, you will soon. The display has all the lip and nail colors, so prepare to be dazzled.

Photos at top courtesy of Estée Lauder; other photos by Best Things in Beauty