CITYist

We hate to admit it. We shy away from the facts. But the truth of the matter is, we can’t all have clear skin. And even those of us who do have it…we usually have to work to keep it that way. Well, In&Out Different Beauty has some new products that work together to rejuvenate, moisturize and redefine skin to help fight blemishes and reveal the beautiful skin that exists just beneath the surface.

You wake up in the morning, and you know that today will be one of those days. A million thoughts race through your head as the steaming water from the shower tries to calm your already panicked body. You’ll be done with work at 7, but the cocktail party to celebrate your friend’s engagement is at 7:30, and you can’t be late. You can change into your dress in the third floor ladies’ room, but you won’t have time to redo your makeup; and, thanks to Rimmel London’s new spring collection, you won’t need to.

Once Pantone announces its color of the year, the fashion and beauty companies jump right on it. Coming up in 2011, Honeysuckle will be everywhere, a bright popping pink hue tinged with red and orange tones.

Oh La La. Once again La Prairie combines luxury and science in its new Cellular Power Infusion. We all know that it’s great to have a pretty looking, pretty smelling beauty product—but unless there is hard evidence that it’s technically making me more beautiful, I don’t want it anywhere near my skin. In perhaps La Prairie’s most high tech launch, Cellular Power Infusion promises that you will “never look your age again” which we all know is a great thing.

It’s hard to believe that autumn is nearly halfway over. With winter fast approaching, the holiday season of gift giving stubbornly occupies the mind of the savvy shopper. If you’re looking for an affordable, yet quality gift with a range of versatility, look no further than the Express Fragrance Gift Sets for him and her, available on Express.com and in Express stores nationwide beginning November 1, 2010.

Whoever said cool Band-Aids were limited to the 10-years-old and younger crowd was sorely mistaken. Doyenne of all things feminine, Cynthia Rowley, has teamed up with Johnson and Johnson to create ever-so-cool Band-Aids. These teeny fixer-uppers come adorned with prints—think jewels, chains and images of Rowley’s collection. You can pick them up at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and Cynthia Rowley shops and site. Best of all? One dollar from each sale at Cynthia Rowley will be donated to mentoring program Design Ignites Change. Adhesive-covered gauze never looked so chic.

Have You Heard? is our weekly roundup of items we may have previously missed (or would like to remind you of again). So as you plan the week ahead, take a look at our cherry-picked selections of what’s hot in art, music, film and fashion right now.

While being called catty isn’t exactly a compliment, cat-like eyeliner is certainly attractive. This Fall, walk the catwalk with MAC’s Fabulous Felines line, which celebrates the daring, mysterious and unpredictable side of the fairer sex. The collection draws inspiration from the eyes, coats and personalities of three distinguished breeds—the wild leopard, the captivating Russian Blue and the sleek Burmese. Depending on your mood, choose from a selection that includes glamorous golds and royal purples or subdued olive greens, and finish the look with the aforementioned swooped cat eye (the Superslick Liquid Eye Liner should do the job). And the MAC nail colors we were raving about yesterday? We’d say definitely the perfect complement.

MAC’s Fall nail colors haven’t even arrived yet (they’ll be in MAC boutiques starting August 26th) and we’re already swooning over the vibrant palette. Shunning traditional, muted autumn colors like matte maroons and browns, the collection is instead inspired by the Forbidden City of Imperial China. That means loads of blood orange, royal blue, taupe, emerald and purples in shiny, opaque finishes. Although the inspiration behind the line is a bit unorthodox, the colors bring to mind fall leaves and ripe fruit—and would certainly go well with the colors sent down the fall runways. Now, the question remains, which of the six shades do we want?

When the thermometer starts topping 100 and not even an iced coffee will do, it’s time to reassess your fashion options. Of course, the heat and its effects can’t always be avoided, so it’s best to do what any girl would: fight back against the sun with shades and hats, cleverly apply bronzer and wear as few clothes as possible.

Paying homage to Coco Chanel’s mixture of black and white hues and masculine and feminine undertones, Chanel’s Fall 2010 makeup collection makes skin and lips a soft, neutral palette for bold, dramatically dark eyes. Light pinks and corals on lips play background to a quartet of shadows in peach, deep eggplant and smokey greys. The Ombre Essentielle shadow sets the Autumn feel with a chocolate grey and khaki green, while Chanel’s pick for the ultimate Fall nail color is Paradoxal, a deep grey lavender. Top off the look with smokey eyeliner in Cassis, a dark plum, and you’ve got an Autumn look dramatic enough for the theater.

You know how you always read about those pseudo scientific treatments celebrities get? Well we decided to try one. Halo Air Salt Rooms is a spa in Chelsea where you sit in a cave filled with salt. You breathe in the salt air like you would at the beach, but it’s supposed to be like a year at the beach in one day. Somehow this reminded us of how doctors in old books and movies would recommend a temperate climate near the sea as treatment. The salt is supposed to improve your skin, detox your body from pollution and help with respiratory issues. Did it do any of those things? Sort of.

While most salons have a stack of outdated beauty magazines collecting dust on a side table, Chelsea’s De Berardinis Salon is now offering iPads for its customers to elegantly browse through websites and publications of their choice. And when such luxury extends to the reading material, you can bet the actual salon services will be top notch as well (hair cuts range from $100-$200, highlights start at $170). Simply curious about the iPad? Stop by for a blowout ($50) and get your chance to peruse Apple’s latest device.

Have You Heard? is our weekly roundup of items we may have previously missed (or would like to remind you of again). So as you plan the week ahead, take a look at our cherry-picked selections of what’s hot in art, music, film and fashion right now.

Have You Heard? is our weekly roundup of items we may have previously missed (or would like to remind you of again). So as you plan the week ahead, take a look at our cherry-picked selections of what’s hot in art, music, film and fashion right now.

Have You Heard? is our weekly roundup of items we may have previously missed (or would like to remind you of again). So as you plan the week ahead, take a look at our cherry-picked selections of what’s hot in art, music, film and fashion right now.

Have You Heard? is our weekly roundup of items we may have previously missed (or would like to remind you of again). So as you plan the week ahead, take a look at our cherry-picked selections of what’s hot in art, music, film and fashion right now.

MAC, apparently, has no problem sourcing mainstream or obscure subject matter for beauty fodder. Now, they have a whole line inspired by, of all things, paper. So if you’d like to look like a porcelain figurine or some relic of ragtime piano parlors gone-by, then Prêt-à-Papier is for you.

MAC’s creative team decided to challenge itself by using this unconventional object for inspiration, and the result is a line of lipsticks, blushes and pencils in petals and nudes.

Have You Heard? is our weekly roundup of items we may have previously missed (or would like to remind you of again). So as you plan the week ahead, take a look at our cherry-picked selections of what’s hot in art, music, film and fashion right now.

For those who consider make-up an art, MAC is providing some new markers, pencils and paints for your palette—in the form of eyeliners, lip stains and a use-anywhere “greasepaint stick.”

Available starting next month in MAC stores, Art Supplies (ranging from about $14 to $17) comes in electric shades of emerald green, lavender and bright berry pink.

Perhaps bolstered by Audrey Tautou’s recent portrayal of the iconic designer in Coco Before Chanel, the legendary fashion house has chosen to go back to its roots with a new line of lipsticks, of all things. The grand dame of fashion considered lipstick so essential that she created a secret compartment within her “2.55” handbag specifically for its concealment. Now, “Rouge Coco,” a collection of 30 creamy shades in matte, pearl and shimmery finishes, seeks a spot in the handbags of Chanel collectors everywhere.

Cyndi Lauper and Lady Gaga appeared on the “Today Show” a few weeks back as ambassadors for MAC’s VIVA GLAM line, which benefits men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS. The interview was remarkable due to two things: Lauper’s ability to simultaneously dole out career advice to Gaga while warning of the dangers of unprotected sex, and Lady Gaga’s wisdom beyond her years. Nearly ignoring the interviewers, the two chatted about the trajectories of their own stardom and the need for women to take control of their lives and bodies. Amidst all the pop fabulosity, however, they were there for one thing and one thing only: to sell their two limited-edition lipsticks, of which one hundred percent of the sales price will go to the MAC AIDS fund.

Beauty wonderland Sephora is a playground for cosmetic enthusiasts and an unruly jungle to the uninitiated. Into this midst of beauty products in all shapes, colors and sizes emerges Tarina Tarantino’s eponymous new line, a collection of whimsical, sparkly products seeking to stand out from the pack. With any luck, Tarantino’s cited influences of 60s psychedelic art, glam rock and the Japanese “culture of cute” will help her do just that. The line covers the spectrum of beauty products from eye shadows and liners to lip glosses and powder. Each playfully titled cosmetic (Sparklicity Shimmer Dust, Dollskin Powder) comes in pale pink and silver packaging, further advancing Tarantino’s concept of “makeup-as-accessories.” For beauty obsessives of the girly persuasion, we’d say anything produced in The Sparkle Factory (Tarantino’s Los Angeles headquarters) will be sure to please.