I have found the perfect lip combo. It involves layering MAC’s Honeybee lip liner, Velvet Teddy matte lipstick, and MAC’s new Tender Tones lip conditioner in Sweet Tooth to create the most wonderful nudey- pink lip look. The matte lipstick is the perfect base, and it literally stays put forever. I read a quote in one of my beauty magazines recently in which a makeup artist noted that matte lipstick, when it it too matte, can age you because it sinks into the lines and creases of the lips. I tend to agree with this, and the remedy to this is the top coat of the extraordinary Tender Tones pot of sheer and perfect gloss. Check out this fab gloss here.

This weekend my oldest and dearest friend came to visit us in LA. She brought along her 2 girls, age 4.5 and almost 2, and combined with my rowdy toddler, we quickly found ourselves in sheer baby chaos. We planned a two day trip to San Diego to visit the zoo and hit the beach and pool and realized that our ambitious travel plans left us and the kids exhausted. We were dying to have time to chat and sip cocktails, but we were surrounded with diapers and sippy cups and noted how much our lives had changed from just a few years ago when we could drop by the spa for a quick mani/pedi together or go boutique shopping without having to negotiate a double stroller through the aisles. We did manage one fabulous night out alone on Saturday for awesome sushi and wine at Matsuhisa, complete with Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson sighting (2 seats away.) We also found time to hit The Grove with the girls and shop for toddler shoes, American Girls dolls and accessories, and Janie and Jack sale items. Finally, we stopped by Lulu Lemon to freshen up our workout wardrobes (all while bemoaning our inability to go on the long exercise walks we have been taking since college.) Check out the adorable warm-up jacket she purchased here. So, while we were worn out by our adorable girls, we had a wonderful, memorable weekend together and would not have had it any other way. (I take that back– we would have hired more babysitters.)

I spent a wonderful weekend in San Francisco and had the pleasure of staying with a dear friend who is recently translated to the city. (I was also excited to see a dear friend from New York who was in for the weekend.) One of the things I loved about spending the weekend at my friend’s apartment was discovering her many beauty potions. She had wonderful-smelling bottles, jars, and washes in her shower and bedroom, and I was instantly intrigued. I am a makeup girl. I have never been a lotion or skin-care person. Don’t get me wrong, I can get lost in the aisles of Target selecting shower gel and shave cream, but this is not a true obsession of mine, not like my obsession with makeup proper. Therefore, I take extra interest in the “potions” that others buy. I also implicitly trust my friend in San Francisco as an exacting beauty buyer, she of long and healthy strawberry blonde hair and glowing skin. Being a true beauty snoop I found (and sniffed) a new Keihl’s shampoo and conditioner in her shower, both infused with Olive and Fruit Oil, and I decided I must also own this combo as well. After a horrendous day of travel stress, I am happy to report that, after a nice hair washing with my fab-o new Keihl’s combo, my hair looks and smells super clean and shiny, and I feel the aromatherapeutic benefits have left me relaxed and feeling terrific. 

I saw Sex and the City this weekend and really need to post my feelings about it. I will preface this by noting upfront that I read the New York Times review that literally skewered the movie before I went to see it, so I think I was somewhat affected by this negative view and possibly let it color my own opinion of the movie. I, like all other women I know, just loved the TV show. For me, the show is tied to the first years I lived in New York after college and the time when I was dating and living with my now husband. We would cook a huge pasta dinner, invite our Danish neighbors over to our little 400 square foot apartment in the West Village, and have what we called “cultural night”  which involved watching the Sopranos and Sex and the City, drinking great wine, and eating pasta. It was this teeny tiny apartment in the West Village that I first fell for the show so it is sort of innately tied, not only to my initial experiences in the city, but also to the wonderful beginning of my relationship with my husband. It was also around this time that September 11th happened and made me a New Yorker for life. So, the show is more to me than something that was just on television. It was a part of my life. I expected the movie to be like this as well, and I was disappointed. I will not be a spoiler for those who have not seen it but I felt like it was too much of a Hollywood production with movie-like story lines and characters (hello, Jennifer Hudson.) Also, while there was melancholy, it was over the top, a bit “too too” and then it all wrapped up in this pretty, perfect bow. I struggled with how unrealistic the ending was given what I know about the tv show and the way it left you thinking, aching for more. The movie lacked this. I guess I never emotionally connected with it. Also, I thought it did not do justice to the famed 6th character of the show, New York City. The city was kind of an afterthought, and I was really hoping to get sentimental about my old hometown.  I had seen them shooting around our neighborhood and on our street in the Fall, and I was really ready to miss the city and miss our old neighborhood. I never got the opportunity. There was so little of the city shown and featured. The movie was certainly far from terrible, but I wanted so much more.

Like the true lip gloss stalker that I am, I managed ot get my hands on the last Bronze lip gloss at a small apothecary in Century City. I cannot explain the extreme thrill of having this product in my purse given its elusive nature. Today I was also on the hunt for a cute and versatile summer sundress that will be perfect to throw on for dinner or an afternoon at the park. I found the dress at J. Crew. (I still feel like this store continues to do everything right.) The dress I found would be cute with leggings and gladiators (I still intend to try this look.) Also, it looks cute belted and a little dressier. Check it out here.

I should have known that finding my special lip gloss online was a bit too easy, especially given its sold out status at retailers across the country. UPS brought a little box from Nordstrom this morning, and I couldn’t wait to tear into it and retrieve the 2 tubes of Bronze lip gloss I had purchased online. Imagine my extreme disappointment to find the baby gifts I had purchased and no lip gloss. I read the receipt and apparently the gloss was backordered. Of course! There was no timeline given for when I would be in receipt of this perfect gloss. Will I have to make it through summer without it? I am nervous that I may never receive this precious Bronze!

Why is it that the moment I find out that an item is hard to find or is sold out, I feel a nervous rush and immediate need to purchase that item. Case in point, the Limited Edition Laura Mercier Lip Glace in Bronze. I have heard through several friends that this is literally the perfect gloss color. I also heard that it is sold out everywhere. This sparked my immediate need to find this perfect gloss and secure one for myself. I made an all-important stop to my local Nordstrom and used their display tester. I was literally thrilled with the perfection of this color, this Bronze glace. It was sheer, pink-y with hints of gold and beige. It looks more bronze in the tube, but on the lips it becomes the ideal color for summer. Nordstrom was sold out, as were 2 Sephoras and Saks. (Yes, I tore through town trying to find this stuff.) I even went so far as to ask if I could purchase the tester from Sephora. (They said no.) I then frantically scanned any and all beauty websites I could think of. Again, it was sold out everywhere. I could not believe that this color had swept the nation, and I was somehow getting in on it far too late. Finally, I went to Nordstrom.com to buy my girlfriend a baby shower gift and, nervously, did a search for the gloss. Oh, joy of joys! It was in stock. I immediately ordered 2 tubes. If you do happen upon this most coveted of colors while shopping, I advise you to buy this one immediately. It is that good!

I have been wearing a lot of pink lipstick lately. My favorite lip color, once a brown/nude shade, is now a baby pink shade with maybe a hint of glimmer. I am always on the hunt for the perfect lipstick and, at a recent trip to CVS, was excited to see a new L’Oreal lipstick display promoting a line of pinks made to match various skintones. I checked them all out and found that the colors that best suited me were in the pale/blonde-haired color family. (I have dark brown hair and am medium-complected.) The pinks in the darker color families were far too deep for me, bordering on plum-like shades. I purchased the 2 shades in the light hair and skin family. They were called “Glow” and “Blush” respectively. I liked them in the package but really do not like them on me. For one, they have limited staying power. I drank four sips of coffee and the deeper shade, Blush, had literally disappeared from my lips without a trace. Also, they don’t have that rich depth of department store lipsticks. I cannot explain it, but something is just a hair off with every drugstore lipstick I buy. Whether it be a formulation that isn’t 100% or a color that is just not right, I always go back to my tried and true lipsticks, especially those by MAC which consistently deliver rich, perfect color and staying power.