Yes, it’s occasionally fun to splurge on $30 nail polish or an amazing Chanel blush (like this one, our current spring fave in Pink Tweed), but there are so many treasures to be found in the “I can afford this eye shadow and still buy food this week” price range. Luckily for beauty junkies everywhere, Read more →
FDA Says Most Lipsticks Contain Lead: Just when you thought it was safe to add some pigment to your pout! The U.S. Food and Drug Administration conducted a study for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and found that of 400 lipsticks they tested, the majority contained low levels of lead. L’Oreal’s “Color Sensational” Pink Petal lipstick had the most lead, containing 7.19 parts per million. Compare that with children’s products sold in the U.S., which are not allowed to have more that 100 parts per million. But don’t get too worried– the FDA says the levels are so miniscule, there’s really nothing to worry about. (HuffPost)
Orlando Bloom Says Wife Miranda Kerr Makes Being Beautiful “Look Easy”: He might not be spending Valentine’s day with his supermodel spouse, but Orlando Bloom had no shortage of nice words for his wife Miranda Kerr. The actor told the folks at Australia’s Kyle and Jackie O radio show that he is in awe of how quickly Kerr shed those post-baby pounds: “To have just had a baby and then got back up on to do that. I don’t think it’s easy for those girls. They make it look easy, but you know, it’s a lot of work to look good.” (Vogue UK)
Huffpost Style Compares NYFW to Your High School Cafeteria:…and they might have a point. From seating politics, to an arbitrarily determined social hierarchy, Fashion Week is kind of like a chic flashback to our high school days. (HuffPost)
Beyonce‘s latest promotional image for album “Four” has caused quite a stir–and unfortunately the buzz has got nothing to do with the music. Critics are accusing the songstress of “whitewashing” her image, the Daily News is reporting. This isn’t the first time Beyonce has come against accusations of this kind–she faced similar criticism for her Read more →
These days, it’s pretty hard to separate Kate Moss, the model, from Kate Moss, the icon. It’s harder still to imagine that Moss was once a relatively-unknown face, who still had to audition to get gigs. And yet, as these videos proves, that was indeed the case in 1996.
The infamous Brazilian blowout–a Keratin-based semi-permanent hair straightening treatment–has gone from hugely popular to hugely controversial due to reports of potentially dangerous levels of formaldehyde found in the treatment. Earlier this year, the US Department of Labor released a hazard alert about the dangers of straightening formulas that contain formaldehyde, causing salons and fans of the treatment (myself included) to question whether or not they’re worth the risk.
According to a report in WWD this morning, a ruling is expected for September 26 or 27 to determine once and for all whether or not these products are safe, based on studies being conducted by the Cosmetic Industry Review.
Every year Beauty Inc ranks the world’s top 100 beauty companies and this morning, the results came in for 2010.
While it’s not exactly a shocker who made the list (L’Oreal, Proctor & Gamble and Chanel all nabbed top spots) it is surprising to note how the overall list has changed since last year. Namely, that total sales have increased–25.1% to be exact–and that, in particular, small firms saw a large amount of growth, with the list’s 100th-ranked company showing a 9.2% increase since 2009. The news is particularly heartening because, in case you haven’t heard, retail isn’t exactly having a good year.
But not everyone was immune to the recent financial crisis: Of the 15 companies that saw a decline in sales, seven were from Japan, where consumer confidence has been in a continual downward spiral.
See the list of the top 25 beauty companies after the jump.
With governments getting involved in the sometimes misleading world of beauty advertising, cosmetics companies are going to have to ease up on the airbrushing, as L’Oréal just learned the hard way. The UK government recently released guidelines limiting the use of misleading ad alterations, and the American Medical Association recommended similar measures here in the US. The UK is definitely putting its money where its mouth is, and just banned a series of ads featuring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington.
From the brightly lit aisles of the drugstore to the rarefied beauty counters at Neiman Marcus, there’s a bounty of new makeup out there to try. We went through all the new collections that are hitting stores now to pull out our favorite pieces. From long-staying lip glosses to high-tech mascaras, you’re not going to be disappointed.
Click through to see the latest and greatest from NYX, Maybelline, NARS, L’Oreal Paris, Illamasqua, Le Metier de Beaute, and Rimmel London.
Liya Kebede will join L’Oreal Paris as a spokesmodel and global brand ambassador, the cosmetics brand announced today.
The prolific model has tons of editorials and a few ad campaigns under her belt, but this is her first gig as an ambassador for a major brand, unless you count the World Trade Organization, for whom Kebede was nominated as Goodwill Ambassador, before establishing the Liya Kebede Foundation to raise money and provide healthcare material for a hospital in Ethiopia. Kebede has also dipped her foot into acting with roles in The Good Shepherd and Desert Flower.
Kebede, who despite other projects, is known primarily for modeling, joins L’Oreal’s roster of comparatively bigger celebrities like Beyonce, Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Julianna Margulies and Freida Pinto, with whom, according to IMDB, Kebede just completed a film.
The fashion and beauty industries are not really role models for highlighting racial diversity, nor are they known for being particularly sensitive. Often it’s just the opposite.
Dove, whose “Real Beauty” ads earned a lot of kudos for portraying women of all ages, sizes, and colors, came under fire last week for an ad that showed an African American model turning white after benefitting from the Dove VisibleCare Body Wash (that’s how it was perceived anyway). Were people being hypersensitive or did Unilever really eff this one up? Reading the seemingly thousands of posts about the subject, there are good arguments made in both directions–the bottom line is it depends what skin you’re in.
Some 40% of women buying skin care are women of color, and this number is growing. Obviously the message of beauty companies hasn’t caught up with reality yet, though there are small moments where companies seem to be getting a clue. Estée Lauder’s new campaign featuring Joan Smalls, Liu Wen, and Constance Jablonski is a baby step. But will we someday open a magazine that isn’t Essence and see an African American model alone in a fancy skin care ad without two other races to “balance” it out?
Click through to check out some of the ads that caused a lot of controversy recently.
Gisele Covers Vogue China: Patrick Demarchelier shot Gisele for the cover of February’s Vogue China. Rodarte-ish runway hair + Prada = ah-mazing/beyond/major/whatever fashion word is about to get overused in 2011. {The Fashion Spot}
Lady Gaga Is Pant-less Again, Possibly For Her New Album Cover: SHOWstudio’s Nick Knight released an image of Gaga on New Year’s that everyone only noticed today. She’s naked from the waist down, natch, and wearing a denim jacket with a unicorn on it (something The Cut is very exciting about). Supposedly this is part of Gaga’s new album art. {SHOWstudio via The Cut}
The Celeb-y-ist Foreign Commercial Ever: Know how super A-list celebs sometimes do foreign commercials for lots of cash? Well almost all of them decided to cash in for this French L’oreal Ad. It stars: Beyoncé, Gerard Butler, Jessica Alba, Freida Pinto, Claudia Schiffer, Rachel Weisz, Diane Kruger, Patrick Dempsey, and Jane Fonda. {YouTube via Jezebel}
Victoria Beckham Sometimes Thinks Her Husband Looks Like Crap: Victoria Beckham looks lovely on the cover of February’s British Vogue. She also has some lovely words about her husband, “”The other morning I looked across at David just after he’d woken up and thought you look really crap. THANK GOD, because this is a man who always looked so perfect.” {Vogue UK}
This morning, at the ungodly hour of 7:30, the 8th Annual “WWD Beauty Biz Awards” took place at the Four Seasons Restaurant in NYC. Being consummate beauty professionals, everyone in attendance looked refreshed and chic, with lots of Chanel bags and perfectly applied lipstick.
Gina Sanders, the president and CEO of Fairchild Fashion Group, started off the presentation by dishing about changes coming to WWD and Style.com (now owned by Fairchild, of course).
WWD is getting an overall architecture redesign in 2011, and an eight page section called “WWD Style” will be introduced; it will provide deeper “business insight, analysis, and fun.” The men’s coverage will be increased, with new beefier quarterly sections and more weekly coverage. The Beauty Biz insert will also be overhauled. And finally, an iPad application is coming.
Gina was more vague about Style.com– “Like ladies having work done, we don’t want to reveal too much,” she said–but big changes are clearly afoot. She mentioned the potential to reach millions of fanatic fashion and beauty consumers through the site. We will be watching closely.
Now onto the awards.
