Remember how heart disease was known as the big killer a while ago? Well, now it’s officially cancer: the big predator of our times is a shadow that’s gotten too big for us, and we need to join forces and nip this in the bud. Or at least, in the stem.

Nothing can possibly be more shocking to a woman than being told she has breast cancer. Aside from melanoma, the most common form of cancer today is breast cancer in women.

While the statistics have greatly improved, we know that the disease is far from over. So let’s join the beautiful fight to find a cure for this disease, once in for all. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month (otherwise known as BCA) and beauty companies are stepping up to the plate with special product offers. A portion of each sale will be donated to breast cancer research (to various worthy charities), so you definitely can’t say no.

Better grab them now because after October these products go away.

Hair-care company Paul Mitchell is teaming with actress Fran Drescher, who starred in the hit TV series The Nanny, in support of the Cancer Schmancer Foundation. A cancer survivor, Drescher is the guiding force behind Cancer Schmancer’s mission of empowering patients to build better relationships with their physicians, increasing the odds of stage-one cancer diagnosis. In partnership with Drescher, Paul Mitchell is offering the limited-edition Paul Mitchell Pink Express Ion Smooth 1.25, from which a portion of proceeds will benefit the foundation.

Paul Mitchell Pink Express Ion Smooth 1.25 boasts reduced styling time, static control, even heating, and the exclusive Express Ion Complex blend of silicone and ceramic, which works to smooth hair from the inside out, leaving it hydrated, conditioned, and frizz-free.

Paul Mitchell Pink Express Ion Smooth 1.25 retails for $160 and is available in fine salons everywhere.

Kicking off the line-up in mellow way, Origins Peace of Mind On-the-Spot Relief ($10 at www.origins.com) packs a wallop of feel-good aromatherapy into a tiny pale pink bottle. The basil, eucalyptus, and peppermint oils in the lotion help a tired, frazzled brain to calm down and ‘think lovely thoughts’ when applied to the nape of the neck, earlobes, and temples. Origins will use the sales of this product to donate $35,000 to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Evelyn Lauder handpicked a lip collection, as the name of Estee Lauder’s Evelyn Lauder Lip Set ($22 at www.esteelauder.com) might suggest. A lip pencil in Spice Writer, lipstick in Bois de Rose, and a gloss in Blush complement each other to create a dusky pink pout that stays put, plus a handy pick case to store them. Estee Lauder will donate $500,000, generated from this lip collection sales, to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Philosophy’s She Colors My Day pink bubble bath is inspirational, playful, and can be enjoyed by mothers and daughters alike. It generates high-foaming bubbles with a pink bubble-gum scent, lightly tints your bath pink, and helps soothe and moisturize skin. Even better, 100% of Philosophy’s net proceeds goes to the Entertainment Industry Foundation’s Women’s Cancer Research Fund to support the early detection of women’s cancers.

Retailing for $20, She Colors My Day pink bubble bath is available on www.philosophy.com

Bumble and Bumble Classic Hairspray ($21 at www.bumbleandbumble.com) does just what it always has – gives hair soft hold with a little shine. New and different is all well and good, but sometimes it’s nice to contribute to a cause with an old standard you’ll probably buy anyway. The company will donate $1 from the sale of each can to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

As long as we’re talking classics, Donna Karan’s Limited Edition Cashmere Mist Eau de Parfum Spray ($90 at www.donnakaranbeauty.com) will donate $15,000 from the sales of these pink-ribboned bottles of perfume to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The standby scent, with Jasmine, Lily of the Valley, and Bergamot combined with Sandalwood, Amber, and Musk never goes out of style, just like its namesake.

Have one last hurrah with the Prescriptives Pink Ribbon Palette for Cheeks and Eyes ($48.50 at www.prescriptives.com) The cosmetics company, which recently announced it will close its retail counters and stop production, still takes this time to do a good turn by donating $20,000 from the proceeds to, yes, you guessed it, the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The sleek compact contains two blushes, three neutral eyeshadows, and one soft pink eyeshadow as a reminder of our cause.

Avon is pitching in with a Breast Cancer Crusade Moisturizing Bar Soap. Gentle and moisturizing, this 4.2 oz. glycerin-based soap for face and body has a refreshing grapefruit scent. It retails for $4.00, of which $3.31 will be a charitable donation.

Designed by Marimekko, the Avon Crusade Tote Bag is made of 100% cotton canvas with a pink ribbon zipper pull. At 16 ½” wide, 13 ½” high, and 6 ½” deep at the base, the bag can easily handle whatever it is you’re schlepping. The bag sells for $10.00, with $6.24 earmarked for charity.
Find these products through an e-representative at Avon.com.

- By Jill Maynard, Katharine McKenzie & Charu Suri

La Prairie launched three new fragrances this month with a unique twist – video vignettes and a song derived from the scents themselves. New York City based singer/songwriter Lucy Kaplansky wrote a single, “Life Threads” and starred in a music video inspired by this new collection. The Silver, Gold, and Platinum Threads represent different personas that exist in every woman, and the short films reflect this.

Silver Threads begins its journey with green leaves and bergamot, followed closely by tuberose, Indian jasmine, pimento, orange blossom, and ylang ylang, and finishes off with sandalwood, vetiver, musk, and peppery moss. I think of this as the ‘stop and smell the roses’ fragrance – worn by a woman who appreciates all of her five senses and the creature comforts around her.

Gold Threads kicks off with tangerine, Chinese plum, and clove bud, with pepper, Kyoto rose, cinnamon bark, coriander, lily of the valley, and ylang-ylang as the middle notes. Cedarwood, patchouli, golden myrrh, and imperial incense ground the perfume. For anyone in an adventurous mood, this spicy oriental is the way to go. (more…)

InFATuation Liquid Shine Multi-Action Lip Fattener puts fat in perhaps the only place you ever want it– your lips.

The formula uses Amplifat technology that promotes and stores lips’ own natural fatty acids on contact to give instant and long lasting lip plumping. That is what sets this product apart from many other lip plumpers: it not only plumps the lips on contact, but the Amplifat and the classic LipFusion technology plump, define and smooth your pout for the long haul.

In clinical trials, the technology increased the volume of lips within 28 days of daily application. Who knew your own fat could be turned into a beauty breakthrough and would save beauty mavens from the dreaded plastic surgeon’s needle?  InFATuation comes in six luscious shades like Pucker Up, Full Frontal and my favorite, Sugar Rush. Flawless application is made easy with the precision brush that gives an incredible finish. It also combines the high impact shine of a lip gloss with the seamless full coverage of a traditional lipstick. The lip plumper (which debuts this month) will be available at Sephora, Ulta, Dillards and other retailers nationwide and compared to the cost of collagen injections, the $29 price tag is a recessionista’s dream.

I will admit that I am not someone who “needs” a lip plumper. While I am not in the Angelina Jolie division, genetics did me one favor and left me with a pretty killer kisser. However, for the record, InFATuation amplified my lips more than a loudspeaker at a Bon Jovi concert could.  The lip plumper brought my pout up to Jolie standards, giving them definition.

A good rule of thumb: Apply a hint of concealer on your lips before smacking that gloss on. This trick helps me make sure that the color that shows up on your lips is the same color that you see in the tube. The playful baby pink color of Sugar Rush mixed with that tingly “I can feel it working” feel made it difficult for me to stop making kissy faces in the mirror long enough to write this review.

Kiehl’s brings us a little bit of Russia to help us ward off the cold, chapping air of the approaching winter. After all, who know more about frigid weather than Russians? Their Imperial Body Balm ($42 at kiehls.com) combines shea and cocoa butter with Sea Buckthorn Berry Oil, known to be used by the cosmonauts.

As if all this hydration wasn’t enough, Kiehl’s throws in some honey and glycolic acids derived from fruit to keep skin soft and promote cell turnover. And I haven’t yet discussed the smell!

The pale yellow cream looks and smells like an understated frosting It’s just sugary enough in a pleasantly sweet way – not the sort of saccharine slop that makes you mistake your arm for a cupcake. The whip looks and feels heavy, but then sinks into skin almost immediately with no greasy residue. Come, winter winds, do you worst.

This balm is perfect for extremely dry skin– it was inspired by old-world Russian remedies, so how much more rustic yet retro luxe does this get?

Russia sent us a little something with love, and we’re all over it.

I’m taking a little break from the East Coast and am now part of a press tour in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The week long tour highlights a lot of Santa Fe’s beautiful architecture, artistic community, culture and rich history; after that I go to the outskirts of Santa Fe and other areas in the Northern New Mexico region. I’m hoping to keep you all apprised of my excursions on a daily basis!

Monday, September 21st

I finally landed in Albuquerque, NM at around noon, and my husband and I were met by a representative from Geiger & Associates (the fabulous travel PR company which puts together these most meticulous and polished press trips) at baggage claim.

After driving for an hour through the arid yet beautiful desert state of New Mexico, we arrived at Santa Fe.

Santa Fe is surprisingly chilly, because it is at an altitude of over 7,000 feet. It is the capital of New Mexico, and one of the most vibrant and influential artistic communities. Canyon Road alone, which is a mere mile, houses so many art galleries that collectors from all over the world flock to it for local and native art.

The houses are predominantly in the Pueblo Revival style (mostly Adobe) and a code established by the city in the 1920s clearly defined the zoning laws on architectural styles. So you’ll see commercial establishments like McDonald’s and Wells Fargo Bank in adobe style buildings — which makes for a beautifully uniform sense of architecture and cohesion when you see the the downtown area.

The aspect that immediately struck me about the city was the earth tones of all the buildings: sure, it was the fall season and the leaves were slowly changing color, but the browns, burnt sienna and oranges around were unmistakable and highly reminiscent of the paintings of O’Keeffe.

You’ll see such brilliant blue sky (an aspect that a good portion of the artists — including O’Keeffe– were attracted to) juxtaposed with clear silhouettes of adobe architecture. Aren’t the buildings so beautiful?

Above is the entrance to the Museum of Fine Arts, where you can see several paintings from the turn of the century and earlier (when Santa Fe was “discovered”) till the present day. Santa Fe was the home of several Native Indian tribes (mostly Pueblo) but they were later conquered by the Spanish, who ended up taxing them severely and also using them in harsh labor conditions.

The art in the Museum of Fine Arts illustrates life as the Pueblo Indians knew if in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Above is the central courtyard of the Museum of Fine Arts. You’ll see the garlands of dried red peppers in several houses and buildings: people use the peppers as garnish and as a main ingredient in several dishes….plus, they also look lovely and contribute to the palette of earth tones.

After the Museum of Fine Arts, we checked into our fashionable digs at the Inn on the Alameda, which is an extremely charming Bed & Breakfast very close to the center of town (called the Plaza).

We ended the evening with a lovely wine and cheese reception at Waxlander Gallery on Canyon Road.

Waxlander houses several local artists’ work (some of the paintings are so masterful that I swear they should be at the MOMA).

As designers deepen their fascination with all things architectural, from Raf Simmons’ structural dresses for Jil Sander to the futuristic, constructed “pod” shoes that we saw at Balenciaga, so too goes the modern face.

The collection by MAC Cosmetics to pay hommage to the trends of Fashion Week spotlights steely colors: a true ode to the strength of woman.

The geometry of the eyes is exquisite and important, and shades of graphic, graphite grey with a bluish sheen, or the concrete tones of a skyscraper — these are all voices of the current season.

Lips are dark and seductive, and nude. MAC Cosmetics also has a fragrance that’s part of this collection called Asphalt Flower which has glossy violet and iris petals cast in a sheen of vanilla and patchouli.

MAC Cosmetics Fashion Week 2009 Trend Collection

Fragrance: Asphalt Flower ($20)

Top notes of violet, Violet, Ylang; Middle notes of Iris, Heliotrope and Dry Down notes of Olibanum, Patchouli, Vanilla

Lipstick ($14 each)
Red Full-Stop Bright neon coral (Lustre)
Hipster Burgundy with frost (Frost)
Faultlessly F/W Blackened blue violet (Amplified)
Our Pick Cement taupe grey (Satin)

Lipglass ($14 each)

So This Season Deep blue violet (Cream)
Runway Fave Grey tone neutral with high pearl (Frost)
New Berry Deep plum (Cream)

Eye Shadow Quad ($36)
Tone: Grey Dirty Grey (Satin)
Walt Dark smoky blue grey (Frost)
A Warmer White Pale green grey (Satin)
The Right Smoke Rich blue with white pearl (Frost)

The MAC Fashion Week 2009 trend collection launches in North America on September 17th, 2009.

Michael Kors’ Very Hollywood perfume ($45 – $85 at sephora.com) This light floral made me think of Marilyn Monroe before she became quite so . . . Marilyn. Also consider the option of this scent in as a solid in a statement-making cocktail ring ($40 at sephora.com) – for the woman who must never leave home without a statement-taking scent.

With notes of shimmering mandarin, iced bergamot, wet jasmine, ylang-ylang, raspberry, gardenia, orris, creamy amber, soft white moss and vetiver, this fragrance is not surprisingly strong and sexy with touches of delicacy and sweetness.

Michael Kors calls Very Hollywood “the most glamorous, indulgent scent we’ve ever done.” Initially, I reacted to the strength of the perfume…it’s not subtle in any way (you wear this to be noticed and to be the center of attention, almost in Prima Donna fashion).

The bottle (above) is meant to evoke the old-fashioned flashbulbs of Hollywood. What I love about this line is the million array of scented options: a scented ball-point pen (!) and a cocktail ring with the scent in solid form.

Very Hollywood by Michael Kors is considered a white floral perfume, and was developed by perfumers Pascal Gaurin and Laurent Le Guernec.

The Eau de Parfume retails for $45- $85, and the ring retails for $40. There is also a Body Lotion that retails for $40.

To get Heidi Klum’s timeless elegant look at the Emmy Awards, Michel Aleman for Frederic Fekkai created a Fifties inspired up-do with a modern interpretation – ultra feminine with a bit of volume.

To get the look he crafted soft texture with slight waves pulled back to softly frame the face. A strong middle part was accented by a chignon positioned back of the head at ear level. Michel started off by applying Fekkai Coiff Bouffant Gel to create some texture and then blow-dried the hair. Once dry, he applied Fekkai Coiff Oceanique to create the soft waves. He created a middle part and two pony tails in the back of the head at ear level, making sure the hair in front is smooth but pulled back softly. He teased each ponytail to create the volume and then brought together into one dramatic chignon. Aleman finished off with the Fekkai Advanced Brilliant Glossing Sheer Shine Mist.

The simplicity of Heidi’s gown inspired Linda Hay to keep her makeup minimal and fresh. She used a palette of pale pinks and apricots for her eyes and cheeks. To begin Hay used Brightener around her eyes, nose, and the corners of the mouth, blending everywhere to even out Heidi’s complexion. She followed this with a very light touch of cream powder blush on the cheeks.
On the eyes Hay used a selection of pale pink and lavender shadow’s from Victoria’s Secret, applying the pale pink to the lid using a flat shadow brush, lavender in the crease using a pointed shadow brush and a silver to highlight just under the eyebrow. Under the eye Hay applied a touch of lavender using a small pointed shadow brush and then added a touch of silver to the inside corner of the eye to make it pop. Next she curled the lashes + applied 3 layers of Black Mascara to the top and bottom. Individual lashes were applied to the outside corners to make the eyes pop. The lips were lined with a nude lip liner then painted with a beige lipstick. She finished off Heidi’s look with Victoria’s Secret Body Perfecting Spray to make her skin glow.

Blake Lively introduced a braid ponytail at the 61st Emmy Awards when she wore her red Versace gown. — a style that I particularly did not find extremely palatable, but it did keep her looking very youthful and daring.

To get the look:

Renato Campora started out by applying Fekkai Coiff Strong Hold Volume Mousse onto wet hair. Next he blow-dried the hair smooth and applied the Extra Control Styling Gel to prep the hair. He then teased all the hair and pulled it up into a high ponytail. By adding some hair extensions to the ponytail, he created extra length for a more dramatic look. Afterward, he braided the entire ponytail and fastened at the end. Campora finished by applying FEKKAI COIFF^TM MAGNIFIQUE ULTRA-LIGHT FINISHING CRÈME throughout the entire look for a smooth and sleek effect.