Over the course of my career I’ve become rather adept at writing about how to put on makeup or do your hair. But what I’m not amazingly talented at is doing it myself. And really the best way to learn is to watch someone else do it.

The good folks over at Stila have realized this, but also that you aren’t usually sitting in front of your laptop as you get ready. Enter the Makeup Player, launching today.

You simply download tutorials onto your iPhone or other mobile device, plug it in to the portable makeup kit and play away. Plus you can rock tunes while you’re applying.

Stila’s been saved.

The indie makeup brand faced bankruptcy a few weeks ago, canceling online orders and putting the entire staff on vacation.

Yesterday, they announced they’d been bought by venture capital firm Patriarch Partners LLC., the company’s first foray into beauty. It’s Stila’s third owner in as many years, Estee Lauder sold the brand to Sun Capital in 2006 and they just withdrew their financial support last month.

Meanwhile, we love Stila but always thought the brand occupied an awkward place in the beauty market. Their packaging is editorial eye-candy targeted at a youthful audience and accompanied by very adult price tags.

But, they’re one of the lucky few companies to find a buyer before reaching the financial point of no return, which means they’re doing just fine.

We hear that Stila has gone bankrupt.

The story goes like this: The beauty brand, which is a favorite with beauty editors but is a little bit of a harder sell with girls that like bright colors on their faces, was sold by Estee Lauder to Sun Capital Partners in 2006, which means the products are only really available at Ulta and Bloomingdale’s besides beauty mecca Sephora.

We hear employees were given little advance notice, and arrived to offices that were shut yesterday morning.

Several attempts to contact Stila via e-mail and phone calls went unanswered.

And the Stila site says it’s down due to “routine maintenance” and that orders placed between March 23 and March 24 “may be canceled”.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Stila finally just got back to us, and they say that they’re “not going bankrupt” but “refinancing”. We asked what that means, and they said it means that they’re “reassessing their funds”…

Fall 09 Fashion Week’s theme is turning out half-Barbie, half-recession.

While more and more designers pull out and scale back, Barbie’s taking on New York with all the force her tiny waist can muster.

First up, it’s two days of Barbie makeovers at the 5th Avenue Sephora. To celebrate the doll’s golden anniversary, Stila’s releasing five limited-edition Barbie Beauty Cans. Each one’s full of all the make-up you need to make your face look like either Ponytail Barbie, Malibu Barbie, Foxy Barbie or Jewel Barbie.

Stila’s make-up artists will be there Friday, February 6th and Saturday, February 7th from 12pm to 6pm.

So if you see us out and about looking a little too Malibu for a New York winter, just know we’re revving ourselves up for this kind of unusual Fashion Week.

Stila - based in Glendale, California - needs interns.

So if you’re interested in learning about beauty PR, Marketing or product development, send a resume with an e-mail that references “internship” and your chosen department in the subject to Internships[at]Stilacosmetics.com.

They’ll only take students, and only students that can get school credit (it’s unpaid), and only those truly interested in how to get the perfect non-lip glossy smile.

So go to it.

MAC is teaming up with Ungaro’s Esteban Cortazar for fall.

It’s the second “from the runway” collaboration for the make-up giant, after partnering with Alexander McQueen last year. (They don’t count Heatherette because their make-up wasn’t based on anything runway related.)

The Ungaro colors, set to debut this fall, will feature a “softer palette of delicate shades of pinks, blues and lilacs” said MAC make-up artist Sharon Dowsett, “It’s a colorful collection but very transparent so you don’t have to worry about overdoing it.”

Sounds pretty, but we still don’t understand limited edition designer make-up. Unless Pat McGrath’s in your bathroom every morning, armed and ready with liquid eyeliner, you’re not going to look like you walked off a Parisian runway, no matter whose designs inspired the color on your lids.

Still, if we had our pick, we’d love to see someone partner with Luella - can you imagine the pink lipsticks and glitter eyeshadows?! Maybe Stila can give her a call once their Marchesa shades sell out?

If you ever thought to yourself, “God, it would be so nice to be Georgina Chapman”, here’s your chance to get the tiniest sliver of her life -

Stila’s offering the chance to have one of their Lip Colors named after whoever picks the best name! You:

1. Go to the site, and pick the name of the shade (no more than eight characters, but obviously something that uses your first name)

2. Write a tiny fifty-word essay on why they should choose you over the other 8,000 Alison’s trying to get their own lipstick shade (hint: this is the most important part)

3. Must do this before midnight this Sunday if you want to make it to seeing your name announced on July 1.

Good luck - especially if you’re named Jennifer/Jessica/Alison/Emily/etc

And who knows - since Stila does all the backstage makeup for Marchesa’s shows, you could yell out to Masha Tyelna that she’s wearing your color…

Is getting a lipstick named after you the new replacement for getting your own bag?

Stila’s following in the footsteps of Behnaz Sarafpour/Gucci Westman and Tinsley/Dior, and giving the Marchesa girls their own lipstick shades.

After doing the makeup for Marchesa’s last four seasons, Stila’s finally let Georgina and Keren try their hand at picking out some colors for the face.

The Georgina will be a sheer red, the Keren’s a nude color, and the very fall-appropriate berry is named after Talia Shobrook, the makeup artist who helped create Backstage Beauty Collection, the limited-edition line Stila’s made using the colors from Marchesa’s Fall 2008 show.

The Marchesa lipsticks are permanent additions for Stila, retailing at $22 each.

Look for them in seriously every magazine ever come August - Stila is a well-known beauty editor favorite.