One of Jolie’s favorite travel experiences remains the week in her early twenties when she gallivanted around Italy by herself, visiting Venice, Florence and Rome, and having dinner with a new stranger every night (culminating in a wine-soaked dinner, conducted entirely in French, with seven Italian Carabinieri.)  When I look back on the trip, two things immediately spring to mind: huffing and puffing as I climbed the Duomo in Florence, and the glamour I felt nightly while using a newly purchased Clarins regimen.  I was only 20, and didn’t have very much money for luxuries like expensive beauty products, but there was something about how Clarins made my skin look and feel that convinced me it was worth it.  In Paris a few weeks back, I fell in love with Clarins products all over again, and have a new beauty obsession in the form of the Pure Melt Cleansing Gel, a soft, velvety cleanser applied to dry skin that completely rinses away all dirt, oil and makeup.  I’ve loved many cleansers in my day, but Pure Melt really takes the cake and I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Congratulations to Dena, the winner of yesterday’s Suave giveaway!  I have boatloads of cool new giveaways in the works, so check back regularly for your own chance to win!

For the past few months, I’ve been in love with this “Electoral College Dropout” t-shirt from Clothing of the American Mind, a “grassroots apparel company dedicated to stylishly promoting, supporting and articulating progressive values through fashion.”  (Hey, that’s what their website says!)  I kept meaning to take a photo of myself wearing the shirt, since I don’t necessarily think the model below is the best advertisement, but I lost my camera battery charger…eh, you know how it goes.  Regardless, their shirts are great: check out the website here.

Giveaway alert!  Hot on the heels of my sojourn with Suave in LA two weeks ago, they’ve generously agreed to give one Jolie reader a year’s supply of Suave products!  You’ll win:

- Vibrant Shine Shampoo
- Vibrant Shine Conditioner
- Professional Sleek Styling Crème
- Professional Volume Root Lifter Spray Gel
- Healthy Curls Mousse
- Freeze Hold Aerosol Hairspray
- Skin Therapy Advanced Therapy Lotion
- Daily Exfoliating Body Wash
- 24 Hour Protection Deodorant

The contest is open to North American residents in the US, Canada and Mexico (apologies, international lovelies!).  Enjoy, and good luck! 

I said it in Beauty Confidential, and today’s New York Times backs it up: the idea that drinking a ton of water is extra healthy for your skin is, quite simply, a myth.  It won’t result in fewer wrinkles…simply more trips to the bathroom.  Your body regulates its hydration levels carefully, so anything beyond what you need gets, well, tinkled out.  Better advice, says Dr. Margaret E. Parsons from the American Academy of Dermatology?  “Always wear sunscreen, avoid cigarettes and eat well.”  Et voila.

M. writes:

“As a lifelong beauty junkie (passed down from my mother at a very young age) I am a long-time reader of your blog and I enjoy it very much. I am writing in regards to your fragrance post from yesterday. It sounds as though we have similar taste and I felt compelled to share with you my signature scent – my favorite ever! Drumroll… Nuits de Noho, by Bond No. 9 Pricey, but worth it. I discovered it at Saks a couple of years ago and have loved it ever since. I am complimented on it every single day (by both men and women). I also wear So New York (also by Bond) in the evening, if I want to change it up.”

So, ladies, I’m curious…what’s your signature scent?