Here’s a heads up to all you skincare fanatics and freebie lovers – On July 22nd from 5pm – 9pm, Estee Lauder will be doing a 360,000 10-day sample giveaway at their counters of the Advanced Night Repair products (serum or eye). The event is called America’s Night to Repair, which is a repeat of last year’s event, but this time including the new Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex. If you haven’t heard all the praise from the masses already, stop by and give it a try.

Late nights and insomnia have taken a toll on my tired eyes, so I’ll be giving their new Eye Complex a test drive. Find more information on the event on Facebook and more about the Advanced Night Repair line on Estee Lauder.

They say “it’s like riding a bicycle”, you know, you’re suppose to never forget this little old skill you picked up along the way. I’m sorry, but I’m no elephant you see. I recall the first time my training wheels were removed and my Daddy giving me a heave-ho push off as I pedaled my scrawny stems off; right into some thorny rose bushes. Insert hysterical crying here.

Never wanting to give something up, I later in life gave it another go around; however, this time around the old neighborhood with my younger brother. Oh I was in bliss, I could actually ride from here to there! Here to there consisting of a straight shot, and the instant there was a bend around the corner I fell; bike and all. Mind you I was 21 and getting my ass laughed at by my skillful younger brother. I didn’t know what hurt more, my bruised ego or my bruised body.

Alas, my now-ex boyfriend decided he missed his old reckless riding days and some part of me is a glutton for punishment; so we headed to Bikecology in Beverly Hills. Two shiny new Treks later, an uber dorky helmet (hey, you have to protect the goods!), and a LA bike path map in hand; I had a new outlook on life.

No longer do I fall when there’s a break in the road, though I still can’t jump a curb without yelping that I just injured my ladybits. You can catch my long locks blowing in the wind on the Santa Monica bike path; now freed from the prison of the unstylish helmet since I’ve deemed the path safely mastered through profuse practice. Though through the mean streets of LA traffic, you will definitely not want a chance encounter with me. That is unless you want a mess of tears on the hood of your precious BMW, only then to roll off and kick the shit out of your car.

 
Pedestrians, drivers, doggies, et al… Wake Up!  You have been warned!

So when the crafty side of me convenes with the Asian in me, of course a nail DIY would happen. Done with Essie Fiji as the base color and Essie Bordeaux for the leopard spots and Essie Good to Go for the top coat. It’s a nice change of pace from my normal red nails, but I don’t think these will be accompanying me to the Opera on Friday. However, they’ll look perfect with an agave margarita in one hand and a tequila shot in the other on Wednesday.  Rawrrrrrrr baby rawrrrrrrr!

For New York Fashion Week, Essie Weingarten (the mastermind behind nail color line, Essie) collaborated with Mercedes-Benz to create a polish to match their Capri Blue metallic paint for the 2010 E-Class luxury vehicles.  We were lucky enough to get our hands on Essie Capri Blue and give you the low down on the illusive color that appeared on many runways this past September.



As a child, I remember my fondness for my parent’s first Mercedes: a blue sedan with silver trimming with creamy tan leather seats.  On road trips, my mother would polish her long nails with hot pink lacquer while I wanted crazy Crayola colors of Magenta, Midnight Blue, White, Sunshine Yellow… you get the jist.  Essie’s Capri Blue rolls my childhood memories of our first luxury sedan and my love for wacky lacquers into one.

As for being a huge fan of Essie polishes, Capri Blue did not disappoint.  The color payoff is phenomenal, where only one coat is required for the look of lithe model’s nails down NYFW’s runways while I dosed a second helping for a deeper midnight color.  Even with it’s slightly shimmer factor, it comes off as a chic metallic and not as cheap, cheesy glitter with no-streak shine.  Capri Blue is a great alternative to my regular bordeaux bores and noir nails, giving a dark and stormy look with a flash of blue genius.

While it was was available exclusively in the Mercedes-Benz backstage lounge and New York Fashion Week tents, you can get a similar look wearing Midnight Cami from the Fall Cuddle With Color collection.  Thanks to Modelinia for the perfect polish!

During these tough times, it’s been hell on everyone’s wallets even for the most frugalistas. While the economy may not be changing, but thanks to Frédéric Fekkai, your hair care ritual will. The brand known synonymously for luxury hair care products is pleased to announce their “Shampoo Swap” day, exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue.

Celebrating the launch of the new Fekkai Advanced™ hair care line, Frédéric Fekkai is inviting you to any of the participating Saks Fifth Avenue stores nationwide listed below on Thursday, September 17th. There you’ll say goodbye to any full sized shampoo you currently use and exchange it for one fantastic full sized 8oz complimentary Fekkai Advanced shampoo of their choice, a $23 value, while supplies last.

Participating Saks Locations – Store hours may vary for each location. Please call stores for details.

I’ve been a huge fan of this adorably sexy commercial that Durex has put out a while back. “Get It On” promotes safe sex in a new and inventive way. It’ll make you rethink balloon animals next time you see one.