Stila Lash Visor Waterproof Mascara

Tester: Middle Eastern (Lebanese) with slightly straight, fine lashes that are long.

"If you are anything like me, you've developed a mascara "wardrobe" - meaning that you have several favorite mascaras to do different things or provide different colors/effects.

I was surprised that Stila Lash Visor became one of the most "worn" mascaras in my wardrobe, but it has, and here's why.

For someone like me who has length but could always use more volume (and more length!), in just one coat, Stila Lash Visor gave me great depth, more length, volume and a nice glossy finish on my lashes. I was also able to build it to really get a dramatic effect as well. The consistency is gel-like and slightly wet, so I waited a minute in-between coats to avoid smudging.

The mascara wand did a great job of separating and defining my lashes and I loved how it made them look so light, wispy and "feathery". The brush itself is on the smaller and shorter side with densely packed bristles, which easily allowed me to get to all my top and bottom lashes and the inside/outside corners.

What I also loved is that it's a great formula for holding a curl. On days when I curled my lashes first and then added the lash visor I loved how well the curl held and lasted all day without flaking or smudging. It's also fully waterproof so it's perfect for swimming and hot, humid days. It's also cruelty free! Add this to your collection now!" - L.A.

Go--> Stila Lash Visor Mascara, Black

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Weekend Beauty Review Update - July 11th

Here are some of the new reviews/beauty updates on the blog that you might have missed this week! Enjoy...

Sephora's New Beauty Service- Sephora Beauty Studio

Lancome Brings Back Pout-a-Porter

Impulse Buy of the Week - Korres Basil Lemon Body Scrub

Drugstore Buy of the Week - Loreal Color Presso Lip Gloss, Chic

You'll be Looking Udderly Gorgeous with Cowshed Spa

Beauty Find - Kenzo Ryoko: L'eau Par Kenzo

Hair Rules Salon Opens in NYC! - 1st and Only Multi-Texture Salon in U.S.

Friday Palacinka Bites - July 10th

Palacinka Beauty Insider - Makeup Artist Regina Harris

Reader Favorites

4th of July Reds for Lips and Nails

1st Look! Damone Roberts 1968 for OPI Nail Polish

Summer Challegne: Refreshing Fragrance

Summer Challenge: No Breakouts!

Summer Challenge: No Makeup Meltdown

10 Perfect Beauty Gifts for the Graduate

Also, don't miss our Editor-in-Chief's articles for the Examiner! She's now their NYC Beauty Trends Writer. Make sure you visit each week for informative and interesting pieces on beauty & fragrance that you won't find here.

Palacinka Beauty Insider - Makeup Artist Regina Harris

Last week I was invited to attend and participate in a 360Fashion.net event called, 360Fashion & Technology Meetup NYC , hosted by 360Fashion.net founder, international model (and one of the top models in China), Anina.

It was there I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the fashion industry's top makeup artists, Regina Harris (pictured, left). Regina's work has graced the covers of leading fashion/beauty magazines such as Allure, W, Vogue, Vogue Italia, Bazaar and Elle.

In addition, Regina is also a perfumer, with two of her scents being best sellers in Barney's department store in New York and on Luckyscent.com

Here are some of her secrets to not only getting the models she works with every day to look even more beautiful, but also her very own favorite beauty products! - RLB

RLB: What are your personal skin care favorites?

RH: My personal regime all time favorite thing is Na-PCA spray by Twinlab. I have used this product for years. Also, Weleda Iris moisture Cream. I also love Shu uemera Deepsea replenishing cream.

RLB: What skin care products do you use to prep models?

RH: First I prep with Shu Uemera Deepsea replenishing lotion. I tend to use oil-free moisturizer. Usually Neutrogena Oil-free sensitive Skin. Shiseido Factor 55 if we are going to be out in the sun.

RLB: What are your top three foundations and why?

RH: MAC and Bobbi Brown both have great stick foundations they come in a great range of colors and cover and travel well. L'Oreal infallible is also really great if you need something long lasting.

RLB: What is the best new mascara you've tried in the last 6 months?

RH: I am such a Lancome Defencils fanatic that I almost never try new mascara. I can control it and make it do what I want. I think that it would be great if they could make one that gradually darkened lashes. Like Grecian formula but for lashes.

RLB: What products did you use on Chanel Iman for the Bazaar Dubai Magazine Cover? (Pictured, left.)

RH: I really just went for the eyes. I used a pencil like MAC black liner in Ebony, a warm black on the top of the lid.

A couple of coats of mascara and NARS South Beach stick on the lid crease and cheeks just a hint of white frost shadow above the fine black pencil line. Lips natural, with only lip balm.

RLB: What products did you use on the model (in one of my favorite international Elle issues last year), the Elle Germany spread, you did in India? (Pictured, left.)

RH: Thanks much for saying that! You see tons of beauty pics.

I rarely use a lip liner but this was one of those times. lined the lips very lightly with MAC Chestnut. I feathered it all over the lips with a q-tip and blended in a red lipstick. I tend too use 2-3 colors on the mouth when I do red. It creates dimension.

I used individual lashes on the corners of her eyes. A modern natural take on old Hollywood glam. I used a little contour in the cheek hollows and a rosy powder blush on the cheeks. I used a taupe pencil on the brows after meticulous brow shaping.

To view all of Regina's work and learn more about her fragrances please visit: http://www.reginaharris.com/

*All images courtesy of Regina Harris

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Friday Palacinka Bites - July 10th

In this weekly Friday roundup series, we share brief beauty, style, fragrance and product launch news.* For your DAILY DOSE, make sure you follow us on Twitter! To catch up on each week's beauty reviews on the blog make sure you check out our Weekend Beauty Review Updates.

Heading to South Beach This Summer?

Then make sure you visit one of the top 10 Best Hotel spas in the South Beach area, as reviewed by Oyster Hotel Reviews. One of my personal favorites is the Fontainebleau Resort Miami Beach (Mid-Beach).The Lapis spa sits between the pool and the beach. A spa pass gets you into the locker rooms, Jacuzzis, cold pool, steam room, sauna, and gym.

Read more about all top 10 South Beach Hotel Spas at www.Oyster.com

Are you a beauty lover who ALSO loves being on video? Here's your chance to win big!

Introducing ELLE VIDEO STAR! ELLE is launching an online community for makeup artists, both amateur and professional, to share their videos! Do you know the secret to getting the thickest, longest lashes or concealing those dark circles? Are you a pro at creating Megan Fox’s full, glossy curls? Whatever your beauty specialty, Elle wants to see.


And as your reward for showing off, you’ll have the chance to win big! Each week, they will declare a new Video Star and award $250 worth of beauty goodies to the winner. Plus, because video stardom is based on the highest number of views, you can win again and again.


Bonus: Video Star favorites will get their faces and tips in the pages of ELLE magazine, with the most popular personality of the year winning $3000 in products!


Upload your videos here! http://videostar.elle.com/


Estee Lauder Treats Fragrance Lovers to Two New Scents This Summer

This July, Estée Lauder introduces two new fragrance collections: Private Collection Jasmine White Moss Jasmine White Moss is Aerin Lauder's third Private Collection fragrance - joining Tuberose Gardenia and Amber Ylang Ylang. While Aerin was brainstorming about her next Private Collection fragrance, she decided to check the archives for inspiration - as she often does. This time was different. When she came across the unfinished 'Formula 546AQ', she immediately knew this was it and she had to complete it. Jasmine White Moss is a fragrance that spans two generations -- started by Estée and completed by Aerin.


We'll be reviewing Jasmine White Moss right here on the blog, so don't forget to check back soon!


Sensuous Anniversary Collection (limited-edition) was created to celebrate the one year anniversary of Sensuous - the #1 fragrance launch of 2008 - Estée Lauder is unveiling a limited edition lineup of new ways to drench the skin in sensuality.


http://www.esteelauder.com

Luxury Green, Organic and Cruetly-free beauty and Lifestle Product Site Launches New Features This Fall

SpiritBeautyLounge, is the only carbon-neutral online boutique specializing in luxury green, organic, and cruelty-free beauty and lifestyle products. They will add the following new additions this fall:

• The first ever 100% carbon-neutral luxury organic beauty catalog. Printed on 100% recycled stock with vegetable inks, the catalog will feature hundreds of the best luxury organic beauty and lifestyle brands available for purchase online or by phone.
  
• Instructional makeup vlogs with green celebrity and fashion makeup artists Jessica Blades and Karim Orange.
  
• New hard-to-find organic luxury beauty lines including Yarok Sensory Treatments for Hair and Scalp, Nostalgia Organics’ Aromatherapy Balms, Ila’s Rainforest Restore, and Bonbon Oiseau jewelry.

To shop and find out more information please visit http://www.SpiritBeautyLounge.com

*Since Palacinka means crepe in eastern Europe (and is a colloquial term in my husband's native Slovenian town for "pretty girl"), I thought that Friday Palacinka "bites" would be a nice way of wrapping up additional beauty-related news here on the blog each week. Enjoy! - RLB

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Hair Rules Salon Opens in NYC! - 1st and Only Multi-Textural Salon in US

Do you have curly hair? kinky hair? wavy-curly hair? straight hair? - or some combination of any of these?
Don't worry - now that Hair Rules Salon has opened in New York, any and all hair textures can co-exist under one, welcoming roof and receive unparalleled service from an elite team of stylists and colorists.

Getting to the root of the problem “From the first day of cosmetology school, stylists are taught to process hair without regard to natural texture,” explains A. Dickey, celebrity stylist and creative director of Hair Rules hair care and styling solutions for a multi-textural world, a brand he co-founded with his best friend and business partner, 1990’s supermodel, Kara Young.

“Hair Rules takes everything we know about the hair industry and heads it in the right direction,” says Dickey, who authored a straight-talk guidebook called Hair Rules!: The Ultimate Hair-Care Guide for Women with Kinky, Curly, or Wavy Hair, now in its third printing. Adds co-founder Kara Young, “Much more than a product line or a salon, Hair Rules is a mindset – a new way for women who have always struggled with their natural texture to learn to embrace it – and truly love it.”

At Hair Rules New York, no texture is viewed as problematic; services are available from the truest classification of kinky hair to “won’t hold a curl” straight and every texture in between. “Our goal is to undo years of despair and disappointment by helping our clients re-discover their natural texture, embrace the versatility it offers, and wear it however they choose – but via healthy, responsible methods,” says Dickey, stylist to Minnie Driver, Kelis, Estelle and First Lady Michelle Obama.

Hair Rules is located in a 2,160 square foot loft space, featuring eight cutting stations, four color stations, four drying stations and a comfortable living room where clients can relax and unwind between appointments. The space itself, at once industrial yet cozy and welcoming, is designed to evoke the concept of texture, with an eclectic melding of colors, textures, surfaces and fabrics.

Additionally, the salon has partnered with the non-profit organization, Matter of Trust, to recycle hair that’s been cut in the production of hair mats, used for cleaning up oil spills. Beyond salon services, Hair Rules New York will conduct advanced education classes for licensed hair dressers, and will host events, including seminars and workshops that promote beauty, community, the arts and well-being. - RLB

Hair Rules New York is located at 828 Ninth Avenue (between 54th and 55th Streets). To book an appointment, please call 212.315.2929 or email salon@hairrules.com. For more information, please visit www.hairrules.com.

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Beauty Find - Kenzo Ryoko: L'Eau par Kenzo

What do you get when you take a beautiful fragrance, cutting edge design, art and serious thought to what a "global nomad" is?

A Ryoko of course!

Kenzo's Ryoko is a fantastic concept in travel perfume and design. It's a plastic "pebble shaped" container about 4 in" long that easily fit in the palm of my hand and was light as air.


The fragrance is dispensed via a small button that is depressed (in the upper left hand corner of the pebble in the picture). I also loved that outer clear lucite case to display the pebble when you I had it on my vanity at home (appearing suspended in air-cool!).


For travel or just throwing into my purse for the day this could not have been more convienent or simple to add. I also LOVE this shade of blue, so it always put a smile on my face when I pulled it out. The pebble is so soft and smooth that I often found myself taking it and holding it even when I wasn't using it for fragrance!


The L'Eau par Kenzo scent itself is another one of Kenzo's best refreshing scents for summer. I loved the fresh, aquatic notes that blended so well with the lotus flower and the cool mint. I also got a bit of lemon and honey in the mix as well. It's a scent that really can work for just about anyone, anytime.


The staying power is excellent, and as with many of the wonderful Kenzo scents that I love, as time goes on, the lingering dry down is sensual and really invites you into the body to "come closer" and continue smelling it - beautiful! - RLB


Go-->Kenzo Ryoko - L'Eau par Kenzo

Editor's Note: Ryokos are leak-proof and airline friendly!

You'll be Looking Udderly Gorgeous with Cowshed Spa Products

This guest post is courtesy of thefind.com



Voted Tatler magazine's international spa of the year for 2009, Cowshed is luxurious skincare line originating the eponymous spa at Babington House located in Somerset just outside London. Don't forget your Hunter wellies and Barbour vest which are the requisite uniform here.

The original spa was launched in 1998 and named after the building's former occupants. Founded in the philosophy of premium 100% natural essential oils all ingredients are organic, wild-crafted and fair trade botanicals with minimal use of preservatives. The products do NOT contain any parabens, petrochemicals, sulphates or artificial dyes or fragrances. There are no animal products in the ingredients except for organic beeswax and wildflower honey. Every product's ingredients are sourced from the original walled garden at the original Cowshed spa in Somerset. We also love the cheeky product names like "Moody Cow" and "Knackered Cow".

Our favorite picks from the Cowshed (it was hard to pick only a few!) collection include: Cowshed Wild Cow Evening Body Wash. The Wild Cow Evening wash is made with a refreshing re-hydrating mix of lavender and rose infusions and pure essential oil of lavender made from herbs grown in the walled garden at Babington House. Other faves include "Moody Cow"- Balancing Bath and Shower Gel as well as "Udderly Gorgeous" Cooling Leg and Foot Treatment. Lastly, you'll want to indulge in the Knackered Cow Relaxing Soap Bar which is triple milled to a smooth luxurious texture leaving skin soft and gently scented with the delectable Knackered Cow fragrance.

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