Category: ‘Best Sellers’

Awards Season Isn’t Over Yet.. CEW Brings On The Best Of Beauty

Cosmetic Executive Women, Inc. (CEW) just announced the finalists for their annual beauty awards, and everyone in the cosmetics, fragrance and skincare industries will be on pins and needles until May 1 when the winners are announced.

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If we were filling out brackets, we'd definitely have Avon and Olay going all the way in their categories. After all, the odds are in their favor: Avon scored noms in 11 categories, while Olay got noticed in all the "mass" skincare and bath and body categories but one.

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And of course, our writers could have predicted some of the winners. Rebekah has already professed her love for Philosophy's Hope in a Jar moisturizer ($15-$60), one of the contenders in the prestige moisturizer category. And Bryn has been heard singing the praises of Bumble and Bumble Spray de Mode ($28).

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I've had great luck with nominated bargain beauty finds L'Oreal Double Extend Beauty Tubes Mascara ($11) and Clairol Perfect 10 ($14), which we tested for our Hair at Home Guide.

Which nominees do think are shoo-ins? Did CEW overlook any of your beauty faves? Make your predictions in our comments section, and check back in May for a rundown of the winners.

Apologize To Your Hair By Way Of Kerastase Shampoo

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What: Kérastase Nutritive Bain Satin 2 Complete Nutrition Shampoo for Dry and Sensitized Hair ($26.40)

Why This Works:
For those of us who punish our hair on a regular basis (chemical relaxers, bleaching, heat styling) this shampoo is the haircare equivalent of sending your hair flowers to say you’re sorry.  It cleans my hair and scalp while replacing essential proteins and moisture I basically beat out of my hair on a daily basis. My hair is shiny and prettier than it’s ever been because I continually apologize with a nice daily dose of Kérastase Bain Satin.

Get Yours: amazon.com

Check out our Hair at Home Guide for ways to maintain your style without schlepping to the salon. 

The Best Sites To Buy Jeans (One More Pair Won’t Hurt)

Denim shopping is intimidating enough in a dressing room, so making the switch to a virtual store can be positively scary. Don't worry, we’re here to help. We've browsed and tested a bunch of denim sites to bring you the best of the best when it comes to helping you score that perfect pair of jeans.

 
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1. Shopbop: The most extensive collection.

Editors scour known and little-known brands to bring the best selection available to their customers. From William Rast to Levi’s to Current/Elliott, Shopbop has a covetable list of drool-worthy brands. They also offer video fit guides for all the brands they carry (their True Religion fit guide is shown above). We’re snagging a pair of these classic, comfy Bobby Jeans ($168).

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2. True Jeans: A virtual dressing room.  
It's not easy to recreate a dressing room experience online, but True Jeans sure comes close by offering a Best Fit Guide, downloadable tape measure, and professional tips to help you select the right pair of denim. You create your own unique profile, enter your measurements, and the site pulls the best jeans for your body. Our profile recommended these J and Company Beverly High Rise Bootcut Jeans ($61.60).

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3. Revolve Clothing: Find the next big denim designer.
Revolve Clothing is like your edgy, cool girlfriend who always looks effortlessly chic. With a keen eye for indie brands like Nudie, Found, and Joyrich, Revolve finds jeans that everyone is going to want. Each pair comes with its own fit guide tab, and the site has free ground shipping and free returns! We’re in love with these Nudie High Kai Jeans in Black Black ($215).

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Want Sarah Palin’s Alaskan King Salmon-Enriched Skin? You Betcha.

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Racked recently picked up on TalkingShopping’s interview with Amy Strozzi, Sarah Palin’s makeup artist on the campaign trail (the one who was paid $22,800 for two weeks of work in October). When asked about the Alaskan Governor’s flawless complexion on camera, Strozzi said that Palin had the most beautiful skin she had ever worked with, that obviously makeup created the canvas but that clean Alaskan air, lots of fresh fish and protein, and a good fitness regime was the key to that Palin-esque look.

What to do if you can’t eat tons of fish while running on the treadmill in Alaska by Saturday?  Here are some items to create that photo-ready look:

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This Smashbox Photo Foundation Primer ($45) soothes and nourishes your skin while giving you a flawless complexion. It’s worth the investment.

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Another favorite is the Benefit Eye Bright Pencil ($20). Swipe under the eyes, blend to erase under-eye baggage, and then line the inside of your eyes with it.  You’ll look like you’ve been on vacation for a week.

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Give your face a healthy glow with another tried-and-true secret weapon, NARS Orgasm Blush ($20).  It gives anyone a healthy flush and translates well on camera.  Yes, it really does work on all skin tones.

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Last but not least, brighten those eyes before you get in front of the lens with the ModelCo Lash Wand Heated Eyelash Curler ($30), which gently curls your lashes into eye-popping curves before you even put on a coat of mascara.  You look instantly more awake and alert in pictures.

No longer should you fear the close-up, ladies.  Whether or not you incorporate the pageant wave is totally up to you.

Best Seller: Chinese Laundry Strate Boots Spotted On Gossip Girl

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What: Chinese Laundry's Strate boot, $100

Why: Why not? This adorable over-the-knee boot was featured on one of tv's most stylish gals, and we all know a one-time appearance on a Gossip Girl's foot is enough to become a best seller. But the fact that the boots cost only $100 made this design a home run. And with plenty of colors to choose from, we think this makes a perfect addition to anyone's closet. Plenty of places have marked down the remaining sizes they do have to a lowly $60, too, so if you happen to wear a 6, you are seriously in luck.

As an alternative, you can also try the Chinese Laundry Top boot, which sports a similar look but a wider top to accomodate jeans

Get Yours: Finding the exact color and size you want can be tough at this point, but keep an eye on Zappos, Endless, and Shoemall.

Oprah Gives Us A New President, Now A Perfect Skin Regimen

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Yesterday’s Oprah had Dr. Oz talking about the science of beauty for his new book, You: Being Beautiful. I was happy that Big O reinforced what we’ve been telling you all along -  you don’t have to spend tons of money to get gorgeous skin!

All of us are afraid of wrinkles and dramatic skin changes, even the non-sunscreen wearing surfer mom on the show yesterday (yes, she surfs every day but doesn’t wear sunscreen and is afraid of wrinkles – marinate on that for a moment).  Dr Oz says anyone concerned about wrinkles should use products that contain Vitamin A, C, and E – key anti-oxidants that cause cellular turnover, put niacin cream on your skin, and exfoliate. Beauty expert Paula Begoun went on to recommend products for your own skin regimen:

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Everyone should be using a gentle cleanser to clean your skin daily (the trick is that if you splashed it in your eye, it doesn’t hurt, like baby shampoo). They recommend Olay Foaming Face Wash ($4.40) and so do we!

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Your next step is to exfoliate the skin to stimulate cellular turnover and an alpha-hydrox lotion does the trick.  This Alpha Hydrox AHA Enhanced Lotion ($11.99) is a one-step process that gently exfoliates.

clinique moisture surge

Moisturizers are the most baffling key to any beauty regimen and the key is what’s in them; antioxidants along with Vitamins A, C, and E are vitally important.  Clinique’s Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief ($34) contains these important ingredients.

Tell Us What’s Selling Out – We Know The Kindle Is Because Oprah’s Obsessed With It

We can't wait to put out our 2008 Sold Out Guide in November and let you in on what items will be flying off shelves for the holiday season. But we want to hear it straight from you — what already has top billing on your holiday wish lists? And don't lie– we know you've been making mental notes for when December rolls around. Are there any fashion or beauty items that you've been coveting and have already had a hard time finding? Below are a few items we know will definitely be hot for the holidays–  stores already can't keep them in stock!

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The Amazon Kindle ($359) is Oprah's new favorite gadget – so much so that she's offering a discount to her readers that's only good through tomorrow. Enter code OPRAHWINFREY at amazon.com and get $50 off your magical wireless reader. 

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Available at Macy's this month, Monkee Genes' organic line is sure to cause a ruckus. You can order the regular styles online now, but we can't guarantee they'll be there for long. (We hear Diesel's Dirty Thirties are also insanely popular this season.)

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Those gosh darned Kawasaki glasses are still a hot topic since VP candidate Sarah Palin showed up in them only a few months ago. We wonder if they'll remain sold out if the election goes blue.

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Even though Kitson wasn't a big fan, Lauren Conrad's collection has been called one of the most popular celeb lines and will definitely be a rarity on the racks.

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We also feature gadgets, and we hear the T-Mobile G1, has caused a shopping frenzy among the tech savvy population.

So write in to SheFinds, either in our comments section below or to sfeditor@shefinds.com, and tell us what item you know will be beyond hot for the holidays. And make sure to sign up for our newsletter so November's Sold Out Guide will be sure to arrive directly to your inbox. 

Battle Of The Waterproof (Contact Lens Safe) Mascaras

As a contact lens wearer, I usually wind up writhing in agony as mascara debris (read: clumps) falls into my eyes and causes searing pain around my lenses. I needed a gym-ready, changing-weather friendly, contact lens safe mascara, so I road-tested some mascaras for SheFinds. Here are the winners:

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Bronze Medal: Clinique Gentle Waterproof Mascara in Black ($14)
One to two coats will enhance the lashes as if you have naturally thicker lashes. The formula comes off with a little soap and water or a cleansing cloth, and had people staring into my eyes while I was running errands. 

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Silver Medal: L'Oreal Voluminous Waterproof Volume Building Mascara in Black ($7)
This thickening, easy-to-apply formula is excellent for evening. The mascara went on smoothly, stayed on through a spinning class, shower, and drinks with friends. No clumps, no debris and no “raccoon eye”, it came off easily with makeup remover.  

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Gold Medal: Maybelline Great Lash Washable Mascara in Very Black ($7)
The tried-and-tested favorite of makeup artists, beauty editors, and consumers alike, this was my hands-down favorite. I don’t understand how you can heap this stuff on and it just never gets tacky or falls apart but win it does for giving long, believable lashes that are thick, glossy, and quite come-hither without being dangerous to contact lenses. It went a full day from a morning workout complete with steam room and shower clear through to another layer before a girl’s night out. This is a great purchase for day or night.

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And check out our Beauty Bestsellers Guide for other mascara faves.  

Celeb Style: Cameron Diaz In Paige’s Calabasas Jean

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Who: Cameron Diaz

What: Hanging out with “What Happens in Vegas” co-star Lake Bell for a girls' night on the town

Wearing: Paige Premium Denim in Calabasas ($198)

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Why This is Hot: We’ve covered Paige Premium Denim quite a bit on this site but it bears repeating: these jeans are hot. Cameron’s rocking the Calabasas style, based on the classic 70’s low-rise flare jean. These gorgeous button fly closure jeans have enhancing flap pockets, which draw all the right things together for a curve and bootie-enhancing style. Think Cameron was out to break a few hearts the night she wore these jeans? We think so and we think you should grab yourself a pair for your next girls’ night out to see what damage you can do.

Get yours: shopbop.com

Check out our Denim Guide for our readers' favorite denim picks.  

Women’s Health Magazine Picks Their Favorite Beauty Stuff; We Agreed A While Ago

The ladies over at Women’s Health just revealed their second-ever list of Beauty All-Stars – chosen by a team of experts in their respective beauty niches – and a bunch of our all-time favorites are on there. Check out the fabulous beauty buys below for three things we can all agree on.

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The Find: Clarins Liquid Bronze Self Tanner ($29)
WH Says: Best Self-Tanner
We Say: Subtle color that doesn’t streak – self-tanner bliss.

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The Find: Benefit Benetint ($28)
WH Says: Best Cheek Color
We Say: Keep this little bottle close at hand for a super quick pick-me-up before you run out the door.

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The Find: DiorShow Mascara ($24)
WH Says: Best Thickening Mascara
We Say: Makes lashes so luscious, they almost look like falsies. And it smells pretty, too. Woah.

And check out our Beauty Bestsellers Guide for other quite popular picks.  

Packing Cubes Make Travel Tetris A Little Easier

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What: Packing Cubes from eBags

Why: You may think that the whole "sitting on an overstuffed suitcase and baaarely being able to zip it up" thing is a movie cliche… until you try to pack for that week-long trip. Then you realize how much stuff you actually use on a day-to-day basis, and how unwieldy most of that stuff is.Getting it all to fit is like playing a game of Tetris, where you're required to fit odd shapes into one another, leaving no space unused.

Enter eBags' packing cubes. To me, these suitcase organizers seem like they'd just be excess baggage, but more than 4,000 travelers were enamored enough to write glowing recommendations on the site.

Basically, you pack your larger clothes (dresses, slacks, blouses) in the large cube, your undies, pj's and swimwear in the medium cube, and your toiletries, appliances, or cords in the small cube. Then, when you reach your final destination, boom—large cube goes in the closet, medium cube in the drawer, and small cube on the bathroom vanity. They do sound like they would make unpacking easier, but once you take the clothes out, wear them, get them all wrinkly and dirty, are they easy to repack?

Being a Tetris master, I'm a pretty great packer but I'm admittedly a terrible repacker. As much as I'd like to think these cubes would work both ways, and that I'd have a nice, easy, throw-in-the-laundry-room cube instead of a suitcase full of balled up dirties to dig through when I get back home, I'm not sure I'm disciplined enough to make the most of these. Still, some reviews mention how helpful the packing cubes' accompanying tips guide is, so perhaps with the proper motivation, I could learn to become a cube packer.

Price: $25 for a 3-piece set (a small, a medium, and a large)

Clinique 3-Step System For Stubborn, Hard-To-Manage Skin

Recently, I've settled on the fact that I'll just have to live the rest of my life with erratic skin. My mom still has acne in her mid-fifties and has convinced me that she's tried everything, it's genetic, and basically, I'm screwed for life. Thanks Mom!

One positive note from mother – apparently I can look forward to clear skin when I'm pregnant. If you could only hear the sarcasm.

I've tried everything. From dermatologist prescribed creams like Retin A, to Acutane and other oral medications, to every over-the-counter face wash, toner, scrubber, exfoliator, cream, lotion, serum you can imagine. Even the 3-step celebrity-guaranteed system that need-not-be-named didn't work for me. So what's a gal to do?

I've always seen Clinique's 3-Step System in friends' medicine cabinets, but thought, how can something so generic work for my complicated skin? Turns out, Clinique has turned with the tides and created different 3-Step System products for every skin type from oily to dry. Their website has this great questionnaire that helped me figure out which products I needed. Turns out, I needed all three products in the "you have acne" strength. Big surprise.

The Acne Solution cleansing foam ($17.50) is mild yet effective and made my face feel amazingly smooth.

 

The Acne Solutions clarifying lotion ($13.50) – or exfoliating toner as I know it – cleans off all that extra makep that my face-washing regime missed. It really gets rid of all the excess oil on my face and neck.  


The Acne Solutions clearing moisturizer ($16) has that amazing acne zapper we know as benzoyl peroxide that helps control oil throughout my day. It's lightly hydrating so it is great for my dry cheeks and oily forehead and nose. 


This three step system is bound to last me about two to three months – absolutely worth the price for the beautiful skin it's giving me. All 3 products add up to $47. Or get the 4-week starter kit for just $32. Smaller sizes, but at least they'll let you try it out.

Get Yours: nordstrom.com