Last night, I gave my Halloween costume a hair and makeup test run: I’m going as Betty Draper from Mad Men.  (I think this costume was very popular last year, but the Jolie cares not.  We’re lazy here, people.)  I made these two videos last night while getting ready.  If you look carefully, you’ll notice the martini on my bookshelf as I was filming–I went method.

Happy Halloween!

Building up a list of press contacts–a necessary step for any budding beauty writer–takes months, if not years.  The relatively new site BeautyPress.com makes it easier; designed for beauty editors, it features press releases, industry contacts, and news on launches from 35 top brands, including Lush, Weleda, Marc Jacobs, RoC, Clean and Clear, Erno Lazlo, Chloe, Eau Thermale Avene and Calvin Klein.  Thousands of editors have already signed up with the site, which is free for writers.  If you’re a budding beauty blogger looking to take the next professional step, I recommend checking it out!

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I adore Tatler magazine.  How could any gin-swilling, wellie-wearing, Queen-loving Anglophile not?  For 300 years, it has chronicled aristos, politicos, the rich and the hopelessly naff–sometimes one and the same–all with its trademark cheek and intelligence.  (Plus, pretty party people!  And polo!  And Kate Middleton!)

The website, I am sorry to report, is complete and utter crap.  It exists…but barely, with no society blog (I recommend a peek at the sublime Vanity Fair Society and Style blog, Tatler editors!), no links to the articles in the magazines, no party photos…nothing.  It boggles the mind–you are missing a huge opportunity, Tatler!  Redesign immediately, and then you can take over the new media world for the next 300 years.

Still, you’re my favorite magazine, always and forever.  Happy Birthday!

Here’s a link to photos and videos from Tatler’s 300th anniversary party…um…on the British Vogue website.  (I rest my case.)

Most beauty gals are obsessed with Kerastase haircare.  Shu Uemura Art of Hair blows it out of the water.  I wrote at length in July about my transformative Shu Uemura Art of Hair Ceremony and about how it was the most glamorous haircare I’d ever used.  Still holds true! 

My hair has been a bit unruly and hard to manage recently (I’m still trying to get to the bottom of whether it’s because of the Brazilian Blowout I had earlier in the summer), but every time I use my Shu Uemura products, the quality of my strands significantly improves: I can comb through my hair with ease, and my hair looks amazing after I blow it out.  The Moisture Velvet Nourishing Shampoo with camellia oil is, hands down, the best I’ve ever used–it doesn’t foam very well and I have to use more than I’d like, particularly considering how expensive it is, but the results are worth it.  The Moisture Velvet Nourishing Treatment for Dry Hair conditioner, meanwhile, is like buttah.  I can’t rave enough about how wonderful, intensely moisturizing, and luxurious it is.

I made this video last night while running out the door for a date — my hair was so soft, smooth and silky that I had to document it immediately!

Contributing Editor Cologne Schmidt writes:

Last week I went in for a much needed deep conditioning treatment at Concept Salon in Midtown West—and I am obsessed. Love the treatment, love the salon, love the stylist! The fifteen minute treatment called Inphenom is a revolutionary new hair revitalizer meant for colored tresses of all types—damaged, distressed, highlighted, dry. Or in my case, burnt.

Yes, I burnt my hair. At a bar. On a candle. And, of course, I was wearing a lot of hairspray…meaning it literally poofed into a giant fireball the second it hit the flame. Luckily, the guy next to me was a genius thinker and quickly dumped his beer on my head. (Sorry, people, that stench is me!)

When I got up the courage to run my hand through the burnt section, inches of hair fell to the ground.  I almost cried.  It was dark, the damage was done, and the smell of burnt human hair had already permeated through the entire underground lounge. Who puts lit candles on the bar? So not my fault.

Thus, the stars must have been aligned when I got invited to try out the Inphenom treatment the following week. And it saved my life. In addition to the fire, I also highlight my too-long-to-ever-be-considered-healthy hair. The thinness factor also hurts my chances of maintaining a strong split-end free mane, but I swear, this treatment has done wonders for my hair. (more…)

Cheers to my friend K., who gifted me with a signed copy of Lauren Luke’s makeup book when I was in England last week.  I’ve read through it, and it’s great for celebrity-obsessed fans of Lauren’s helpful, cute Panacea81 YouTube videos.  Some beauty addicts might want to give it a miss, as the makeup tips do become a bit repetitive.  Visually, however, the book is gorgeous–lots of photos of celebrities like Blake Lively, Vanessa Hudgens, Beyonce, and Leona Lewis (the celebrity that, for Lauren, started it all) as well as artfully arranged close-ups of Lauren herself while applying makeup.

For me, the best part of the book is the introduction, when Lauren writes candidly about her poor upbringing in northeastern England, becoming pregnant at the age of 15, raising a child by herself on no money, and eventually becoming a YouTube star, with over 50 million video views.  It’s insanely inspirational.

Side note; while looking on Amazon.com for her book, my own guide Beauty Confidential is listed under “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought…”  Needless to say, I was excited to see that!   (Hmm.  Would now be an appropriate time to say, “If you haven’t picked up Beauty Confidential yet…get to it!”?  Just a friendly reminder…)