Labor Day Skin Care...Soothing the Blistering Reds & Easing the Post-Burn Damage

By Laura Medina

http://www.mdsolarsciences.com/mineral__tinted_creme_spf_30_8.html#.UiDdE39dAYI & http://www.mdsolarsciences.com/daily_anti-aging_moisturizer_10.html#.UiDdTH9dAYI

We all want to soak up the sun, sea, and surf on the last official day of Summer, Labor Day.

Just because you want to savor your last chance at a real tan a.k.a. sun burn, it doesn't mean you have to roast yourself into pain and damage.

Do like Baz Luhrmann, "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)," www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI with MD Solar Sciences' sunscreens packed with sunproof SolSci-X sunscreen stabilizer to better deliver ProVention-R Lipsome Technology.  MD Solar Sciences' Mineral Tinted Creme is their version of a BB Cream, all the good, advanced retinol skincare stabilized by high-tech SolSci-X with foundation pigmentation.

Can't forget the rest of the body and not everyone will be at the beach.  Some of you all will be hunting and fishing by the lake this weekend.

 http://www.burtsbees.com/other/peppermint-products/herbal-insect-repellent.html

Burt's Bees Herbal Insect Repellent Spray smells more an old-fashion cologne blended by a Colonial American apothecary, mixing up a juices of Rosemary, Lemongrass, Citronella Oil and other essential oils can form a scented force field between you and those biting and stinging party crashers.

 http://www.malinandgoetz.com/face/detox-face-mask

This scribe knows you sizzled your face, regardless if this scribe tells you to wear the best sunscreens in the world.  Still, there are some recovery to ease off the sun damage....

On and for your face,  Malin + Goetz's Detox Face Mask is like a facial Easy-Off Foam.  It cleans while it cushions the face with amino acids, natural almond extract,Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Soy Protein, tackling sun-damaged, aging skin.

The complex amino acids and almond extract deep-pore-cleanse by eating away at dirt, grit, oil, and make-up on the skin without irritation.  Then, the antioxidants of Vitamin C and E with Soy Protein cushion and buffer with antioxidants to strengthen, brightens, and nourish the face. 

 http://www.burtsbees.com/natural-products/outdoor/aloe-linden-flower-after-sun-soother-6-fl-oz.html

For blistering, peeling, and sore limbs and shoulders, Burt's Bees Aloe & Linden Flower After-Sun Soother is a light-weight gel/lotion that dry skin drinks up with aloe vera and linden extract to soothe. Coconut oil, bee pollen and glycerin nourish your skin and help replenish its natural moisture.  After detoxing your face with Malin+Goetz's Detox Face Mask, you can smother your face with Burt's Bees Aloe & Linden Flower After-Sun Soother as a light facial lotion.

http://www.mdsolarsciences.com/evening_facial_repair_serum_11.html#.UiDmRX9dAYI

If you really fried your face or spent years doing that and now, you're trying to ease up on the damage, MD Solar Sciences' EVENING FACIAL REPAIR SERUM uses nano-molecular technology of  ProVention—R™, MD Solar scientists use liposome complex molecules to penetrate the top dermis to carry peptides, retinol, and antioxidants directly to the sun-damaged cells to repair, nourish, and protect internally.

 

 http://www.mdsolarsciences.com/daily_eye_repair_emulsion_6.html#.UiDob39dAYI

The first sign of aging, crinkles at the corners of the eyes, squinting because you wanted to enjoy the sun without wearing sunglasses.  They creep on as early as your thirties.  Never too late to start pampering those "crinkles" with MD Solar Sciences' DAILY EYE REPAIR EMULSION.  Using ProVention—R™ nano-molecular technology, the liposomes molecules by the dermis then goes directly to the crinkles, feeding them with humectants and collagen stimulating peptides all of which help redefine eye area. The appearance of puffiness and dark circles is reduced, while fine lines and wrinkles are minimized.  The cutting-edge, peptide blend aids in restoring the appearance of firmness and elasticity to the contour of the eye.

Doing this routine through-out Fall, will have you glowing by the holidays.  Continuing doing this through Winter, will have your skin heal for the next Spring and Summer. 

Now, you know what to do post-Labor Day burns.  Glow safely. 

Zindigo, One Step Above Etsy But Just As Easy

By Laura Medina

Lord Scott Disick of "The Kardashians" at the Zindigo's Malibu Launch Luncheon.

Have you out-grown Etsy?  Can't figure out constructing your profitable website quickly from scratch?  Would you like more profits out of your Facebook page for your blossoming lifestyle/fashion/cool stuff company?

Zindigo is here to help, http://www.zindigo.com/

Zindigo is a connector of sorts.  A media platform that connects e-commerce with social media such as a fashion company's Facebook page earn a profit.  Basically, it's an umbrella where fashion and lifestyle and beauty companies with a Facebook page is collected under Zindigo for an easy, one-stop shop referral.  Click on any of the Zindigo member companies.  Immediately, you are directed to that company's Facebook site.

 

 One of the companies represented by Zindigo, Lord Scott Disick's Cigars.

When someone buys something from that fashion company's Facebook page, that company earns 40%.  When that particular company refers friends to a 10 day pre-view shop before opening it up to the general, that company earns 3% per a friend, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zindigo/

Zindigo is a quick and easy link for upstart companies to build a presence and earn money if they can only rely on Facebook as their page while Zindigo helps generate profits quicker.

Zindigo isn't only focus on clothing. Lord Scott Disick of "The Kardashians" launching his lifestyle brand, "Lord Disick" cigars on Zindigo so it'll make it easier for fans to locate, shop, and buy.  In return, he'll gain a reasonable profits in return.

One of Zindigo's founders,  Kareen Mallet, was Neiman Marcus' fashion director.  So, the quality and the fashion-forwardness one will find on Zindigo is nothing to sneeze at, mostly high-end quality one will see at Barney's, Intermix, Fred Segal, Saks 5th Ave, and obviously, Neiman Marcus.

There were a couple of fashion trends this scribe has noticed at Zindigo's Malibu Launch Luncheon.  Thanks to fabric technology,  thin leather light enough to wear during warm weather is hot.  One of the stand-outs was a light-weight tan leather shift dress with a bejeweled collar.  Among the floaty evening gowns and party tops, light-weight leather was used as applique.

Bling bling is going strong, as evident to the crystallized beaded Flapper-sque cocktail dress above.

Kareen has quoted that she has witnessed great talent, amazing skills, and beautiful products fall to the wayside because it is arduous for a lone designer to built the necessary infrastructure of a conventional, workable website connecting the supply & demand chain while building a reasonable profit technology that makes sense to that designer.  This where the artist because a business person and it's a tough but needy transition.  This is where Zindigo arrives.

Zindigo curates and link quick, reliable profit returns to your Facebook page that you can manage when you run out for supplies, equipment then jump onto the pattern-making drafting table to cut and sew panels then test and drape on that dress form before it's ready to be shipped and sold then Zindigo returns the profit to you.

NARS Hearts LA & Debuts the new Eye Paints & Blush Palettes on the First of September

By Laura Medina

NARS Heart LA Gift Set debuting on September First.

Once established in Manhattan by conquering the Big Apple then opening up his very first boutique, Francois Nars celebrated his first success by offering the vampy and deep Autumn/Fall-tinged NARS Hearts NY Gift Set in luxurious textured with finely milled and pigment-impacted Biarritz, Nepal, New York and Galapagos eyeshadows and Amour Blush with Laguna Bronzer, dabbed with brown-pinkish Dolce Vita Lip Gloss then slicked with vampy Chinatown Nail Polish.

Now due to the clamoring and loyal fan base in Hollywood and Beverly Hills and all points about in the City of Angels, Francois was pleasantly overtaken by the L.A. love that he decided to expand by opening his first West Coast boutique on Melrose Avenue.  That was proven a hit so he returned the love by introducing his NARS Heart L.A. Gift Set suited for the sunny, bright, and more "casual-chic" environ of Los Angeles. 

NARS Heart L.A. Gift Set replaced Heart NY Set's Autumn/Winter mood with a sunnier, livelier color palette of primary blue eyeshadow (OUTREMER SINGLE EYESHADOW) representing the sky and Pacific Ocean.  The sun, surf, and sand or desert are further represented by: ABYSSINIA, ÉTRUSQUE, and BALI eyeshadows and LAGUNA Bronzer with : brown with golden shimmer to sculpture and highlight the cheekbones with a sun-kissed look.

Ok, owning up to the pornography industry out in the hinterlands of the outer Valleys and the beachy/outdoorsy vibe of Southern California, DEEP THROAT BLUSH warms up the cheeks with a flirty, sheer peach.  TURKISH DELIGHT Pink sherbet lipgloss gives the impression of lighter, more natural, yet more plump appearance for the lips.

This isn't the only thing blushing this Sunday.

 ADULT CONTENT & KILLING ME SOFTLY

NARS is also launching POP! CONTOUR! SCULPT! BLUSH PALETTES.  The provocative Nars evokes the sultry Seventies by offering quads of two cheek colors, one contour powder, and a highlighter.

Use the square blush for a natural flush and the highlighter for a softer, everyday natural glow.  For an edgier, sculptured cheekbones, use the two smokier, smaller squares then topped with rectangle highlighter for a more spotlight shine.

Another NARS item debuting are the Eye Paints, jars of gel pigments ranging from vivid blue and gold to the deepest and darkest.  The gel formulation is durable yet it glides on smooth and dries down quickly.  Obviously with the new Angled Eyeliner Brush #38, for a perfectly defined eye. 

 

The all-over look for NARS Fall/Winter is the Guy Bourdin Sultury, Smoldering Look, not just for the cheekbones, also for the eyes as well.

To learn how to use the basics and the fancier techniques, go to Peek behind the curtain at the campaign shoot at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJt5ByFFpNE&feature=youtu.be

 Learn how to use a khaki green shade like Mozambique Eye Paint at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10pn1m9I-Ng&feature=youtu.be

Or try brown in a new way with Mesopotamia Eye Paint athttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrZolL3JP5s&feature=youtu.be

 

Sophia Bush, Christina Milian, Kelly Osbourne, & P'Trique at 3 Days Marathon of BeautyCon 2013

By Laura Medina

Stellar Panel of: Leslie Blodgett, Christina Milian, Sophia Bush, & Mandana Dayani, Rachel Zoe Inc.'s VP.

The planets in the Beauty Universe were perfectly aligned for one particular night, the Opening Night of the three-days BeautyCon 2013 conference.

  

Sophia Bush, Elle & Blair Fowler, and Christina Milian.

The stellar panel of Bare Escentuals' founder and CEO, Leslie Blodgett, "One Tree Hill" Sophia Bush, and singer, Christina Milan, beauty vloggers Elle & Blair Fowler, and Rachel Zoe Inc.'s  Vice President, Mandana Dayani openly discussed and chatted about how they got to where they are and what their new endeavors are  and how their endeavors are charting their new paths for their next chapter in life.

As the most established and yes, the most matured, Bare Escentuals' founder and CEO, Leslie Blodgett mentioned proudly she is 51 years-old and the mainly twenty to teen audience grasped in disbelief.  Looking at the much younger and accomplished panel, she said when she was in her twenties in the Seventies, she told her mother, she didn't have a clue what she wanted to do with her life.

Beauty/style/lifestyle vloggers, the sister duo of Elle & Blair Fowler are the epitome of this YouTube Revolution.  They stated it all started all very innocuously enough, one of the sisters had a thought, an idea to videotape and the other sister held an household lamp behind her sister's head; and that was the start of their astonishing fame.  For the Fowler Sisters, it wasn't all peaches.  Watchers became fans.  Some became stalkers; and those people caused traffic which made some of their neighbors back in Georgia to leave.  Despite the growing pains, the Fowler Sisters earned enough credibility to move to a more suitable Los Angeles to continue their endeavors.

Celebrities, Christina Milan and Sophia Bush talked about their new endeavors that signal the new stage in life for them.

Christina is using her experience as a talent manager to nuture new hip-hop talent underneath her wings.

Fans among the audience were admirably shocked when Sophia Bush told them that she's embarking on a new app and other technology ventures, going beyond being a starlet and an actress.  She's not afraid to say she has other interests.

Midway through the 3-Day conference, guests were treated to a mid-conference recharge, a pool party mixer at the Roosevelt Hotel because they knew the big day was the third and last day-BeautyCon at Siren Studios on Sunset.

 

Kelly Osbourne at BeautyCon 2013 Day 3

First thing in the morning, a Saturday morning, mostly teen and tween 8,000 girls lined up for 3 blocks long just to sample and try and paint the latest in makeup but to also experience their idols live in the flesh...such as Kelly Osbourne.

Kelly Osbourne's lecture was a continuation of her LuckyFABB LA 2013 appearance back in April.  It was all about self-acceptance when you are and did the best you can in health and fitness then talking those "haters" or naysayers to "F" off.  You can watch the whole lecture at  http://youtu.be/lPCZ7eA2zpc

Susie Castillo, Miss USA 2003, P'Trique, & Rebecca Black.

Speaking of  "haters," "The Bachelor" Michelle Money hosted a panel of the most envious celebrities that people love to hate: "Friday" Rebecca Black, YouTube Fashion satirist, P' Trique, Ms. USA 2003 Susie Castillo, and YouTuber, Andreas Choice.

Being "olde-school," Michelle Money and Susie Castillo talked about meeting real-life haters as a "The Bachelor" contestant and a Ms. USA contestant.

Rebecca Black, the girl behind "Friday" song, said she realized who her real friends are when sudden success struck.

What Kelly Osbourne, P'Trique, Michelle Money, Susie Castillo, and Rebecca Black said is that whenever you reach any degree or level of success, it can be small and short or tall and big, you will have "haters" because they're jealous and that's it.

In an earlier panel, "Location, Location, Location," emerging beauty vloggers-cum-entrepreneurs said they're so busy with developing new business endeavors, building upon their new found popularity that they all said they have no social life but they're loving what they're doing and very grateful for the opportunities that arrive with their dedication.

Former United States Air Force military woman, Missy Lynn a.k.a. YouTuber "Start2FinishMUA" was also happily astonished at her success.

The 2013 winner of NYX Face Awards (NYX Cosmetics is one of BeautyCon sponsors), Missy Lynn started doing makeovers on her military friends and colleague as an creative outlet while serving in Iraq and being stationed in Charleston Air Force Base.  During that time, she never thought that the NYX Cosmetics being sold in the Air Force exchange will be her fair godmother in starting her life and new career as a professional makeup artist.  She said serving in Iraq while two of her brothers died in California was the toughest time of her life and makeup was her only release and distraction from the pain.  Now, she's NYX Cosmetics' Face Awards 2013 winner.  You can watch and listen to her journey at http://youtu.be/ppgi04-93QY.

While covering the beginning towards the end during the 3 days of BeautyCon 2013, this conference goes deep beyond the gloss.  It's all about women starting new lives and paths then mostly importantly, how to deal with those who didn't succeed.  It was 3 days of personal growth.

VMA 2013 Looks & Makeup

By Laura Medina

Of-the-Moment shoe wear, the reasonably-priced Chinese Laundry was (what a relief) the main choice of footwear for Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, and Ellie Goulding.

Thank God, the main makeup on the VMA's red carpet is "Young Lady" Look that can be translatable anywhere...clean, classy but bold where it needs to be...and again affordable...

Perfect a bold red lip inspired by Taylor Swift

·         

 Apply TimeWise® Luminous-Wear® Liquid Foundation and sweep Mary Kay® Mineral Cheek Color in Strawberry Cream onto the apples of the cheeks. Apply Mary Kay® Translucent Loose Powder in a circular motion.

·        

 Apply Mary Kay® Mineral Eye Color in Silver Satin all over eyelids, dab with Sterling and blend well. Dust Copper Stone onto the inner corners of the eyes.

·         

 Line eyes with Mary Kay® Eyeliner in Steely along the top lash line. Sweep on Mary Kay® Lash Love® Lengthening™ Mascara in I <3 Black.

·         

 Line lips with Mary Kay® Lip Liner in Clear. Apply Mary Kay® Crème Lipstick in Really Red. Finish the look with Mary Kay® NouriShine® Lip Gloss in Rock ‘n’ Red.

Rock a stunning, natural look inspired by Selena Gomez

Start by applying TimeWise® Matte-Wear® Liquid Foundation and using a circular motion, apply Mary Kay® Mineral Cheek Color in Citrus Bloom onto the apples of the cheeks.

·               Buff Mary Kay® Mineral Eye Color in Hazelnut all over eyelids. Contour creases  with Honey Spice and blend well. Dust Sweet Cream into the corners of the eyes.

·         Line upper lashlines with Mary Kay® Mineral Eye Color in Moonstone and lightly apply Mary Kay® Eyeliner in Black. 

·         Apply several coats of Mary Kay® Lash Love® Lengthening™ Mascara in I <3 Black.

·         Line lips with Mary Kay® Lip Liner in Spiced Tea. Apply Mary Kay® True Dimensions™ Lipstick in Spice ‘n’ Nice.

·         Complete the look with Mary Kay® Makeup Finishing Spray by Skindinavia®

A White Party to End All White Parties-So Far. Dine en Blanc Invades Rodeo Drive in the Heart of Beverly Hills

By Laura Medina

When Gilles Amsallem transported the quintessential modern french phenomena, "Dine en Blanc" where a large group of people set up an elegant dinner/picnic party, all dressed in white, to Lincoln Center exactly a year ago, he wondered why not bring this French concept of a White Party to Los Angeles...but where in the City of Angels and more importantly, how?

The same time Gilles was pondering how to carry Dine en Blanc to the other side, the other capital of the United States,  a couple was reading about Gilles' Dine en Blanc endeavor and fait accompli in the New York Times (this scribe also read about this in the New York Times).

This Los Angeles couple, the Kalaras, were wondering when will Los Angeles get a proper "White Party?"  There have been other "white parties" but none seems to fit their preferences, the audience was too young or the party was promoting a product.  They want a party to encompasses various people across the city and groups who appreciates and yearns for something well-mannered and elegant.

 “In this age of over stimulation, it is nice to have an event that is a throwback to the old times of pure white ambiance, elegant dressing and old fashioned picnic. I’ll travel to the end of the world for a good picnic. I believe if Great Gatsby was hosting parties today, he would host Dîner en Blanc.”

So, they took it upon themselves and connected with Gilles and other Dine en Blanc organizers.  The Kalaras were astonished that Gilles and his colleagues were thinking the same thing...Dine en Blanc in LA!

Sunny Kalara's wife, with her husband's help, picked up the mantle and acted as the "middle-person" going back-and-forth between Dine en Blanc's needs and wants and the City of Beverly Hills' requirements and requests.  She said it was a two-months endeavor of translating, negotiating, and trying very hard to keep everything under wraps were tough but well worth it. 

As soon as whiff of a Dine en Blanc "White Party Picnic" was sniffed, the tickets sold out in two hours.

As this scribe's fellow "Dine en Blanc" Westsiders were loading up one of the four "party" tour buses and en route, the poor leader was nagged with "Where we're going?"

 

 

It dawned upon this scribe's fellow bus riders that the top secret was Rodeo Drive!

According to a Beverly Hills council member, he and his colleagues like the idea of a Dine en Blanc White Party/Picnic.  Shoot, why not make it the main attraction for Beverly Hills and put on the best street, Rodeo Drive?!

Beverly Hills graciously and efficiently helped Dine en Blanc with the insurance, the city permits, street permits to secure the prime spot, forming a cross that was equidistantly  one-block long in all 4 directions.  The north-to-south leg of the picnic party was Rodeo Drive/Wilshire Boulevard intersection to the south then Rodeo Drive/Little Santa Monica Boulevard to the north.   The east-to-west arm was Dayton Way/Camden to the west and Dayton Way/Beverly Drive to the east.

The world-famous cobbled-stone Via Rodeo stood as a glamorous background.

When it dawn upon the diners that they were the main attraction and were picnicking and dining on the heart of Rodeo Drive, this scribe's fellow attendees realized of what was requested and asked upon by Dine en Blanc organizers.

These are the rules: if you can bring your own table, chairs, and decorations, please do.  If you can't haul tables and chairs, a table cloth can double as a picnic blanket.  Leave a place as when you arrive at it, please bring garbage bags so not to leave the place messy.

 

Los Angeles' Dine en Blanc denizens did as they were told...and exceed expectations.  Dine en Blanc Los Angelenos were an army in white.  These ladies in white evening gowns and heels and their gents in white tux hauled every conceivable fold-up tables and chairs known to mankind.  At 7pm sharp, under the direction of the bus and neighborhood team leaders,  the diners magically pulled out gold and silver-gilted candelabras and crystal chandlers, vases holding bouquets of white roses, and tabletop chandeliers, full-on silverware with proper china and champagne flutes.

These kind folks were the genteel and chic version of an U.S. Navy Construction Battalion, a.k.a. as "seabee," making something awe-inspiring from nothing.  Under the direction of neighborhood team leaders,  they organized rows of tables, elegantly draped in white table cloths and neatly lined up and down Rodeo Drive, from Wilshire Boulevard to Little Santa Monica Boulevard.  These people engineered a four block outdoor gourmand restaurant in 3o minutes and less on the world's most famous shopping street.  Not one person sat on the ground munching on a picnic blanket.  A pop-up gourmand dining feast is no mere feat, friends.

"All-in-White" isn't restricted to the dress code but to food too.  Alfredo sauce and pasta and sushi and a river of white wine and champagne flowing doesn't stain the white outfits, very considerate.  While people dine, a real-life French chanteuse sing with a real live band.

Paraphrasing Harry Potter's Professor Minerva McGonagall, Dine en Blanc was a fete of well-mannered frivolities.

Just because it's civilized, it doesn't mean it's stiff and dead. 

Once the prim and proper singing stopped, folks got their groove and burnt calories bopping to a real-life saxophonist blasting hip-hop beats among the crowd.

According to the French Dine en Blanc organizers, they want to bring to L.A., a touch and taste of South of France where white parties are a part of life there.  

People too tired and too weak to carry and self-construct an impromptu bistro, from their backs, can pre-order a prepared meal and white wine from Monsieur Marcel, a French wine and gourmet market around the corner.  Monsieur Marcel politely set up a food and wine station at the party so attendees can easily grab and dine on their pop-up table.

Of course, everyone was keen on the fashion. alll dazzling and blindingly white hot.

There was a plethora of white, floating chiffon, silky satin, and comfortable cotton but here are the three stand-outs, and standing out is good.

Yes, yes...there was a float of fascinators and British-sque large hats but remember Los Angeles was founded by the Spanish.  Owning up to it's heritage, this elegant lady in white (left photo) was an aristocratic infanta wearing a white mantilla veil hoisted by a peineta, a traditional large hair comb holding mantillas worn by Spain's upper-crust ladies.

The bejeweled masked lady represents the glamorous, free-wheeling Mardi Gras.

Very rarely, people inquire about guys dandy-ing up but this gentleman did in a white tux with matching proper vest and bow tie.

Ok, since everyone was carefully of their one-and-only all white outfits, it was all good, clean fun.  The guy with the portable bubble machine pump (right) made sure about that.  There was even a California guy grooving with a white rose in his mouth (middle).  The musicians, singer, the saxophonist, and the DJ turned Rodeo Drive into the chicest dance floor, more like an outdoor discotheque, too stylish to be adolescent rave.

Mind you, organizing and running one of the world's most glamorous outdoor party...in white...on the world's most elegant street was no easy feat.  If it weren't for the Kalara's elan focus and drive, Gilles' imagination, Dine en Blanc's LA neighborhood and bus team leaders acting as impromptu captains, lieutenants, and sergeants efficiently directly attendees from all over Los Angeles, it would had been a complete mess with nobody happy.

Thanks to their diligence, Dine en Blanc's Los Angeleno members disproved the greater world wrong.  We are not "bash mobbers;" and we are too chic and cosmopolitan to be flash mobbers, we are Dine en Blanc, worldly and wise in knowing how to throw a glam slam of an feast in a blink anywhere.

It took a long time but Dine en Blanc arrived at the right time in the right place with the right help from the right people.

The Hamptons better watch their backs come Labor Day.