BeneFit Cosmetics Brand New Bloomies Brow Bar

Tomorrow night, BeneFit Cosmetics will be having a "brow raising party" (sponsored by Bacardi and Hampton Popcorn, to kick off the grand opening on Friday, March 16th, of their first ever Brow Bar on the East Coast (in Bloomingdale's New York 59th Street store)! I can't make it tomorrow night, alas, but my fabulous contacts at BeneFit invited me to get a sneak peek, today. That's Benefit’s National Makeup Artist (and Arch Empress of Brows), Arianne Damboise, posing near the mostly pink and white BeneFit brow area on the first floor near the back of Bloomie's famed makeup floor. Directly opposite the brow bar area is a large BeneFit makeup counter. As you are having your brows expertly waxed, you can enjoy looking at all the great, BeneFit products, and figure out which you can't live without.

BeneFit already has 10 brow bars in California. However, soon, Chicago residents and East coasters will finally get their chance to enjoy professional brow shaping from BeneFit pros, easily, quickly, and for a reasonable sum of money (just $23.00). The brow bar is actually opening on Friday, March 16th. Ms. Damboise, who is an elegant woman with a glam, sparkling personality (and lots of experience with faces) is here for the opening, but if you want her expert, personal attention RUN to Bloomies or you'll miss out. If you don't get a session with Arianne, however, she assured me that every single BeneFit brows person is trained to do perfect brows. They work work with the shape of your face to make a brow that is natural, and not so trendy that you'll have trouble growing them back in. If you want to try a more dramatic shape, Arianne suggests snipping hairs at the base rather than pulling them out, because tweezed hairs take longer and don't always come back fast, or at all. And, if your favorite brow shaper isn't there the day you just happen to need a brow shaping fix, your brows will still be just the way you like them, since every person is trained similarly.


There are other waxing services (not below the waistline, but anything above)as well, from a lip was (just $11) to brow and lip wax ($26) and so forth.
Appointments are recommended, but I was told that as long as you're willing to wait a bit (you've got shopping to do if you've come to Bloomingdale's, right?) they'll fit you in without one.

Mother's day is coming next month. You can order a Bloomingdale's gift certificate for Mom, and send her for an "eye-opening" experience at the brand new BeneFit brow bar (there are Benefit Brow Bars at Macy's, in CA), both literally, and figuratively. Well-shaped brows do make a world of difference, opening your eyes to flatter them even more. Package that gift certificate with any one of the cute products from BeneFit, in a cute makeup bag. She may love you now, but Mom will love you even more, with this gift (and give you points for originality)

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Fall 2007-ARAKS

I wondered what time the PR staff from People's Revolution had to get up to be at the front of the Altman Building. There they were, and all smiles too, when I arrived at 9:45 A.M. on Super Bowl Sunday. More amazingly, as always, the PR people were beautifully dressed up, even though it was ever chillier today than yesterday and they were sitting right behind the front doors. Since I already knew where backstage was from Gustavo Arango's show on Saturday, I immediately made my way downstairs to the back stage area, to interview James Boehmer, the lead makeup artist for NARS Cosmetics. I met Rachel, my friendly, helpful contact from NARS, and she introduced me to James. I guess I got there a bit later than usual, because many of the models were already "done," but there were still some being made up. James graciously stopped what he was doing to chat with me, stopping our interview only occasionally to check one of the other makeup artists' work.

As you can see from this close-up, this look for ARAKS for Fall is about a balanced, fresh feeling on the entire face. It's not just eyes, or cheeks, or lips. James said the look was inspired by Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice (and that was totally in keeping with the romantic nature of the clothes, too). I loved the slightly flushed, "English rose" cheeks and soft pink lip and you will too, it's just about perfect to add some life to your complexion, especially since you'll be wearing a lot of soft and subdued colors this Fall. The Fall ARAKS look is all about the skin...a flawless but fresh face, NARS "Turkish Red" Cream blush and "Desire" pink powder blush adding a hit of color, but not harsh or brash. "Blend, blend, blend" advises James. On Eyes was part of a new shadow duo that won't be available until the end of August, but worth the wait. "Calahari" is a soft brown" that was blended with another new color "Voyage," a soft fawn with a bit of glitter. On lips, NARS"Tempest" lip gloss --a pink with a bit of mauve, but softened so that it will be universally flattering. It looked beautiful on all the models. This is less about "drama" or making a "statement," and more about bringing your own, natural, glowing, beauty. I'll be posting more photos of makeup and hair, and the clothes, of course, shortly on the Advice Sisters web --- check our FEATURES page http://www.advicesisters.net/Features/Features.html for all the latest after Fashion Week, along with "do-the-look" makeup instructions, courtesy of NARS.

After speaking with James, I wandered over to Peter Elofsson and his artistic team from RUSK. Peter did the hair for ARAKS last season, too. When I arrived, he was busy using a straightening/smoothing iron on a model. Peter explained that his look for ARAKS was inspired by the elegance of the clothes--a soft of Catherine Deneuve feel, but with more "street" (meaning; texture) in it. You'll see that in my photos. Nearly all of the models had long hair, so the "texture" was added by "bending" the hair a bit (you can see this clearly in my photos, which I'll be using in my photo essays on the Advice Sisters Web Site. Hair had a side part and some models had a tiny silver barette holding a few pieces back to the side. Then, hair was sprayed with a RUSK hair spray to keep it in place, but still swingy. For Fall, Peter says long hair isn't just going to "hang" anymore, but will have a sharper edge and more details.

FYI: Creative Nail design (they did the nails for ARAKS last season, too) did the model's manicures with "Fedora," a very dark polish, and "Decadence," a translucent red.


and the ARAKS collection clothes? Unlike the Spring season's diaphanous clothes, these were more substantial for Fall, with soft movement from rich wools, silk and cotton fabrics. There was some color in this collection, although it was still subdued and mostly dark shades of blue, berry, green, and silver (plus the usual black, ivory, coal, and white) One that I particularly liked was a wool/cotton double face dress with bell sleeves that was in a color called "Night," just a shade lighter than the color of the sky just before all the light dies after the day is over. Another was a coat in a color I'd call "Raspberry" but I think it was called "Gooseberry" in the show description. It was tailored, but with gathering in the back, so it looked dressy, and elegant. A pine silk twill drop shoulder dress with drop puff sleeve was fresh and young, and very pretty. The fashion critics may disagree with me, but the only "miss" for me were the outfits with knickers or shorts, paired with lace-up boots. "Hot pants" or long knickers are "stage-y" and cute for a party, but not flattering on everyone. A cute look that is easy to wear and modern, were the lace-up ankle boots with traditional "oxford" detailing shown with many of the outfits.