This week — Spa Week – is like a Journey to Planet Vulcan for beauty Trekkies. With several spas offering $50 treatments, the lines become thick and as long as the Great Wall of China, and the chance to browse through several spas in your locale and actually SNAG an appointment becomes more and more frustrating.

Welcome to the iPhone’s latest app, brought to you by SpaFinder. You can search SpaFinder’s global database, browse through treatments and - most importantly - book that damn oxygen facial (currently in the U.S. only).

Now only there was an App to book yourself a single, cute and commitment-ready man.

The Beauty Alchemist steps into an Italian garden with Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio.

Clumps of Mascara is having weight frustrations.

The Product Pasha has a frank chat with DeVries President Stephanie Smirnov about blogging, PR, and everything in between.

Divadebbi returns to her roots again!

Krasey Beauty spotlights the brand new Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland Palette.

I’ve been a big big fan of COVERGIRL’S LashBlast mascara, so I was quite twitterpated when CoverGirl announced that its latest mascara — LashBlast Fusion –was introduced today! There you have it, fresh and hot off the press and too hot for skinny lashes to even have an excuse to exist.

It is COVERGIRL’S first ever volume and length mascara, and was previewed by celebrity makeup artist Pat McGrath during the Fall/Winter 201 Fashion Week shows (Anna Sui). Check it out here.

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Naturally inspired, yet EFFECTIVE cosmetics are really as hard to find as the Pink Panther diamond. Trust me, I know — having ransacked countless drugstore and high-end department stores in the hope of finding concealers and foundations made with mostly natural ingredients and ending up leaving as disappointed as a kid who didn’t see Mickey Mouse at Disney World. 

There is a ton of BODYCARE that is organic and natural and most of those products are very effective, but we’re talking about the foundation of your beauty: the foundations, brushes, concealers, primers.

Ever since I got my hands on a perfectly movie-star worthy concealer from Alison Raffaele Cosmetics at The Makeup Show New York, I’ve been hooked to the brand like cat to catnip.

Check out our Q&A with the founder, Alison Raffaele, below:

What is the primary difference between organic and green makeup? As I understand it, organic has to be 100%, while green makeup can have synthetic ingredients in them as well?

AR: Precisely. “Green” makeup is more about not containing harmful chemicals, like parabens, talc, mineral oil, synthetic fragrances, aluminum, etc., whereas “Organic” makeup must be made with only certified organic ingredients. It is very difficult to create makeup that is “organic” that still performs, however, many “Green” brands are beginning to use organic ingredients whenever possible.

Are you planning an organic line soon? Why or why not?

I am looking to use organic ingredients in my formulas, but not to go 100% organic. One thing people must remember is that just because an ingredient is “organic” or “natural” doesn’t mean that it is good for you. In fact many naturally occurring substances - take lead for example - can be very harmful to one’s health. The guideline I generally follow is for an ingredient not to be ranked more than a 3 or a 4 on the Enviormental Working Group’s “Skin Deep” database.

Tell us a bit about why you created your line. Was there a niche or need you wanted to fulfill?

Alison Raffaele

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We love La Prairie for its super-luxe skin treatments targeting lines and wrinkles, so we were excited to learn that the beauty company has launched a trio of products to effectively attack slackness and discoloration of the skin. Harnessing the legendary firming benefits of caviar, the White Caviar Illuminating Système is a three-part system that lightens, tightens and firms while preventing future age spots and pigmentation patches.

White Caviar Illuminating Cream drenches the skin with moisture as it provides lifting and firming benefits. Pearlescent powders in the cream give immediate illumination, while a complex of brightening ingredients works to control age spots and discoloration on the skin’s surface. Continued use promotes brighter, younger-looking skin as dark spots are prevented, and the skin is firmed and protected from environmental damage.

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Some shower gels are good enough to get “Lifetime Achievement Award” on their first impression, and Kathy Ireland’s Fresh Shower Gel (Green Tea & Aloe Vera; $11.99) may well be sudsing its way into the nominees list.

Natural plant extracts and Dead Sea minerals all make their appearance in this little green, almost cubist bottle. But there’s hardly any nauseating fragrance, and the skin is left moisturized as well as clean, which is a lot more than we can say for our drugstore soap we tried the other day.

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A bouquet of lipsticks from Rimmel? Yes please. The UK-based company is launching a set of six lipsticks with intense pigment and long lasting power called Color Show Off.

Check out the eye-popping, richer than sorbet colors here:

The 13 shades are grouped into three sets called “Street Chic,” “Dress Up Chic,” and “Show Time Chic.” Some of the lipsticks have pretty groovy names too, like Have Fun, Pink Fame, Red Fever and I Want You.

I’ll make sure I post swatches as soon as these beauties hit the U.S. stores.

Source

Last week, I attended a lavish and very French presentation of a line I had not heard of. Votre Vu, a Paris-based skincare line, has been in existence for only a year, but crafted by a family in France with over 80 years’ experience in custom blending formulations.

The tres chic event showcased the different selection of products that Votre Vu has to offer, including its accomplished Face, Body, Men’s Line and Sweet Treats line. Since the skincare philosophy is primarily based on natural ingredients and the culling of skin treats from bountiful French harvests, I was eager to learn more (you all know how hooked I am to natural skincare by now, come on!).

The French do everything so sexily, and I was not surprised to see a fully naked, discreetly clad French model at the event, showing off her flawless body and skin (and a painter capturing her elegance on canvas):

There are so many products in this line, but I wanted to start with some of my favorites: the Shampoo Riche and the Conditioner Light.

The Shampoo Riche is a cleanser par excellence. It really does what it promises: eliminate buildup without leaving a residue or greasiness. There is no sodium laurel sulfates in this product, and my hair felt really squeaky clean (at some point I swear it almost squeaked like a violin) and smelt fresh.$28.

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I host an Oscar party every year and it is in fact, the only party I do zealously stick to schedule. I am a tremendous fan of all festivals, from Christmas to Easter, but the Oscars gives me an excuse to be W-Magazine worthy glamorous even though I typically feel like frump-ville most days.

My tradition each year is pretty standard: guests are invited to come in costume (any costume based on any nominated movie in any category). It’s Hallowe’en in March and people have fun with it, and this year was no exception.

One of the several colored necklaces gifted by Dove for the Red Carpet Oscar Party

When Dove came forward to see if I would be interested in hosting a “Visibly Smooth” red carpet party for women, I leaped at the chance like the Mad Hatter. Every fashionable gal attendee would receive a Dove Visibly Smooth deodorant stick, and a Hollywood inspired necklace made by enBeadia in Chicago.

I was able to invite ten lovely women (and their significant others and their kids because I had planned my party a wee bit in advance and did not limit it to girls only). Naturally, I set up my house with touches of everything Hollywood inspired.

I decided to dress up in Old School Hollywood glam style for the Red Carpet event

I hosted it a day before the Oscars, March 6th (and thank goodness I did, because I have Cablevision, aka the Darth Vader of cable networks and I wouldn’t have “technically” been able to watch the Oscars on March 7th). Dove had sent me Oscar ballots as well, which was a terrific idea since I plan a lot of games during my parties and one of the games is to see who gets the most number of Oscar categories correctly. He or she typically wins a prize, and there is a prize for the best costume as well.

So…check out some of the cool costumes that made an appearance at the party!

My friends, Alexis and Jonathan dress up as “Natalie Keener” (Anna Kendrick) in “Up in the Air” and the character “Mike” from “The Blind Side”

Their adorable son, Jack, dressed up as “Russell, the Wilderness Explore” from Disney’s “UP”

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I didn’t see too much of the Star Wars actress during the actual 2010 Oscar Awards but I’m digging her Old Hollywood hair at the Vanity Fair Oscars party hosted by Graydon Carter held at Sunset Tower on Sunday (March 7) in Hollywood.

She wore a strapless grey dress with ruffles (of course) and $90 shoes from Aldo. Her hair was done by Nexxus Creative Director Kevin Mancuso, who said that he “really wanted to give her a Bridget Bardot meets Audrey Hepburn style.”

After prepping the hair with Nexxus shampoo and conditioner (the volumizing line helps, such as Diametress and Sublime Volume), apply a volumizing spray gel such as the Nexxus Lavish Body from the roots to the tip and blow dry with a paddle brush. When the roots are almost dry, switch to the round brush. When the roots are still warm, take one inch sections of hair and switch them to Velcro rollers and let them completely cool.

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