After the Lucky Alpha Shopper/X-Fit Lycra event earlier this month, I’ve had jeans on the brain.  As I mentioned, it’s often difficult for me to find flattering jeans, mainly because of my big ol’ saddlebags and super-pear shaped bod.  I’ve been particularly averse to the “skinny jeans” trend, which I’ve always thought are really only flattering to anorexics, toddlers (seriously, Gap?) and Kate Moss.

One of the gals I met at the event, Thuy-Anh Nguyen, works at J. Brand as the Entertainment & Lifestyle Marketing Manager; she kindly offered me an in-person fitting at the J. Brand showroom/warehouse to prove that I could wrestle all this booty into a pair of skinnies. I was skeptical but Thuy-Anh and I have very similar body types, and she was looking super hot and not at all sausage-y in a pair of adorable low-rise skinny cargos called Houlihans, so I decided to take the skinny jeans challenge.

When I went to the J. Brand showroom last week, it was like a jeans paradise–everybody’s beautiful and down-to-earth; the space is open and airy; and there are jeans everywhere. I met the cool CEO Jeff Rudes, who has an office right in the center of the bustle, and he told me he’s a huge fan of bloggers–which is always nice to hear!  Thuy-Anh had set aside several pairs of jeans for me to try on, and we immediately got to down to business.

Look, ma: skinny jeans! In the J Brand 901 Legging

The first pair of jeans I tried on were the skinny cargo Houlihans, which are incredibly soft and adorned with cute pockets and zippers. I’d seen photos in US Weekly of celebrities like Jessica Alba and Kate Bosworth wearing them around Hollywood, but for a boot-cut-devotee to swing to such a trendy (and tight) extreme seemed terrifying. Surprisingly, however, they didn’t look awful on me–I dare say, after strapping on a pair of heels to elongate my legs, I looked kinda sexy! (I wish I had taken a photo of myself in them, but my camera is on the fritz, so I’ll have to wrangle a friend to help with that mission.)

The next two pairs of skinny jeans I tried were the 910 Skinny, a classic skinny jean, and the 901 Legging–which I promptly fell in love with.  They’re tight–no getting around that–but the material is uber-soft and stretchy (it’s a cotton/polyester/lycra blend) and the fit is incredibly comfortable, so they really do feel more like leggings than like jeans. Both photos here show me in the 901 Leggings, which I’ve been pairing with both heels and ballet flats and wearing non-stop.

So, in the end, here’s the deal: my hips don’t lie and my butt could start a milkshake stand with J.Lo and Kim Kardashian. I’m never going to be the skinniest girl in the room, and I’m always going to have unfortunate issues with my upper thighs. But I’m really grateful to Thuy-Anh and J.Brand  for helping me get over my paralyzing fear of wearing anything even remotely tight on my bottom half. No, I don’t have the model-skinny legs of a 12-year-old boy, but I do have a womanly shape…and after all, I am a woman, damn it! (Or, at least, an evolving half-girl/half-woman hybrid.)

Funny enough, I also picked up a pair of classic Boot Cut jeans (the Bailey) while at the J. Brand showroom…and I’ve only worn them once! The cut, fit and style are everything I love about boot cut, and the Baileys have the teeniest bit of extra give in the all-important thigh/butt-area…but now that I’m on a mission to get myself out of my jean comfort-zone, I’ve actually been reaching for the skinnies more frequently.

Skinny jeans!  Who knew? (Oh, wait…everybody knew? Yeah. Figures I’d be slooow to that party.)

Celebs in the J Brand Houlihan skinny cargos

By Hilary Englert:

As fall inches ever closer, it’s time to face facts: I cannot continue to rely on the salt water-spackled beach hair I’ve rocked all summer. So, the big question now facing me: how will I update my hair regimen?

Cut to Living Proof Full Root Lifting Spray, an easy way to achieve the ideal amount of root volume without any greasiness or stiffness. You know what I’m talking about! So many volumizing products leave hair crunchy and unforgiving.  However, a little dose of Full Root Lifting Spray on wet hair gives natural looking body with minimal time commitment.

After several uses, I’ve found Full Root Lifting Spray is strong enough to provide long lasting lift–no mid-day flatness!–and flexible enough to survive an entire day’s (and night’s) activities. Color me a fan.

Living Proof Full Root Lifting Spray is available in September at Sephora. For fans of the entire line, Living Proof is also launching a sulfate-free Full Shampoo, Full Conditioner and Full Thickening Cream that are all also worth checking out.

In possibly the most glamorous collaboration I’ve heard about in ages, haute fashion brand Marchesa has teamed up with luxury beauty line Le Métier de Beauté to create Marchesa for Le Métier de Beauté. (Creative naming there, guys.)

On the few occasions I’ve dipped into Le Métier makeup, it has been so incredibly, over-the-top fabulous that I’ve practically felt guilty using it–as if I should instead simply display the items on my vanity. The textures are always finely-milled, the packaging sleek, the colors intense, vibrant and sophisticated. It’s the Grace Kelly of makeup.

The packaging itself was directly inspired by Sandra Bullock’s silver bugle Marchesa Oscar dress from last year’s awards, and the collection features two full-face palettes created by Marchesa’s co-founders and designers, Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig.

Georgina Chapman of Marchesa

La Lune, by Georgina Chapman

The La Lune palette includes:

• Translucent Pressed Powder
• Concealer
• Lip Gloss: La Cerise Noir
• Crème Blush: La Peche
• Eye Shadow: Le Minuit

Suggested retail – $65

Le Soleil, by Keren Craig

The Le Soleil palette includes:

• Bronzer
• Concealer
• Lip Gloss: Le Caramel
• Crème Blush: La Rougeur
• Eye Shadow: Le Fauve

Suggested retail – $65

Other collection stars include dual-ended Double Entendre Lip Gloss, $38, and highlighting and cooling Sheer Illumination Pens, $48, which feature vitamin E; tightening mango extract; healing aloe and echinacea; and toning goldenseal.

The entire Marchesa for Le Métier de Beauté collection is available at Neiman Marcus from September onward.  Visit metierbeaute.com or NeimanMarcus.com for more information.

The beauty world has been flipping these past few days over Martin Scorsese’s mini-film for Bleu de Chanel men’s fragrance, featured hottie Gaspar Ulliel.

After seeing the commercials, I thought, Weelll, I wouldn’t kick Gaspar out of bed for eating crackers, but he’s not really my type–too broody, too nicotine-stained, you know? But then I decided to give him the Google treatment and realized he’s the same actor who starred in Gus Van Sant’s Le Marais short in Paris Je T’aime, which I loved. He was so baby-faced then (and has, ahem, ripened so much since!) that I barely recognized him–but he was hot then, and I must admit, he’s even hotter now.

How’s this for a cool giveaway? 2 beautiful new perfumes for the price of 1!

The lovely peeps at Marc Jacobs are pairing up with Jolie to bring you 1 bottle of each of their latest scents: Marc Jacobs Lola Velvet and Marc Jacobs Daisy Pop Art. Both of these fragrances are limited-edition for the fall and are available at Bloomingdales.

Moi?  J’adore Marc Jacobs fragrances. When I was a wee college senior working at FHM in the grooming closet, I came into the lucky possession of several Marc Jacobs scents (including the iconic gardenia-laced Marc Jacobs by Marc Jacobs original) and wore them proudly each day, convinced that dragging around a cloud of gorgeous, complex perfume–more than the soon-to-be-acquired diploma, more than the graduation from sophomoric pink wines to heady reds–was what truly signaled sophistication and adulthood.

Here are the deets for Lola Velvet:

Notes:
Top: Delectable bright pink peppercorn, seductive pear d’anjou and succulent ruby red grapefruit
Heart: Ultra-feminine and highlighted by lavish fuchsia peony with soft touch of rose and geranium
Base: Lingering on the skin and exuding a warm and seductive aura, notes of smooth vanilla, tonka bean and creamy musk envelope the skin

The collection:
Lola Marc Jacobs Velvet Edition Eau de Parfum Spray – 50 ML e 1.7 fl oz, $68
Perfumer: Calice Becker and Yann Vasnier
Fragrance House: Givaudan

And here’s the info for Daisy Pop Art:

A richer interpretation than the eau de toilette, the scent captivates with the luscious natural freshness of wild strawberry, then blooms with the modern vintage edge of velvety violet petals and a luminous blend of gardenia and jasmine. The white wood accords of birch and cedarwood is more intense, wrapped in sensuality and warmth.

The collection:
Daisy Marc Jacobs EDP Pop Art Edition – 100 ML e 3.4 fl oz, $88
Perfumer: Alberto Morillas
Fragrance House: Firmenich

Want to win?  (Eh, don’t be coy–of course you do!)  Visit my Facebook page and leave a note telling me your favorite fragrance.  We’ll pick one winner for each bottle next Friday September 3rd. (And, dude, seriously? Next week is already September? No…me…gusta. Time flies!)

PS – Don’t forget to visit the Daisy Marc Jacobs and Lola Marc Jacobs Facebook pages and like them for extra info, updates and more chances to win goodies!