The Beauty Department

Best Mascara Ever

Lucky Magazine — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

FROM: Emily McCarthy, editorial assistant
TO: Beauty Department
SUBJECT: BEST MASCARA EVER

I'm obsessed with Tarte's organic mascara! It makes my lashes look incredibly long and stays on all day. But the best part is, it doesn't flake off under my eyes ever. And it's eco-friendly. In my book, that makes it the perfect mascara.

Compulsive Hand Washers Need No Perfume

Lucky Magazine — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

Before Cristina returned from her mono sabbatical, I tidied up her desk a bit. Liquid eyeliner had leaked into her pen jar, foundation had spilled on her keyboard, and a giant pile of packages had collected like a landfill in the corner. I grabbed my packet of Davines JoJo all-over wipes and made it livable again.

When she got into the office later that day, she said, "This place looks great, and it smells good ... like you! Did you spray something?" The perfume, of course, was actually the amazing bubble-bath-and-rice-milk scent of the wipes—so good (and surprisingly long-lasting) that if you disinfect your phone and computer with them, your office will smell clean for days. (They also make an awesome post-workout shower substitute.)

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor

Mono Beauty 101

Lucky Magazine — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

My routine changed a lot, skin-wise, during my disastrous two-month mono stint—namely, I stopped everything. I did not put on moisturizer; I did not put on eye cream. I did not use fruit acid peels or scrub my face with organic exfoliants—I didn't wash my face at all, save when it got wet in the shower (another thing I didn't do much of—leading to the discovery that, indeed, the experts are telling the truth when they say your hair is happier if washed less often).

In the moments I was lucid enough to reflect on what I was doing (i.e., not doing) to my skin, a vague, anticipatory horror would come over me—after similar (less extreme!) periods of neglect, my skin has historically turned into a war zone (dry patches vs. breakouts). But as the weeks went by, my skin remained pretty okay with the new nonroutine—if anything, it seemed to get very slightly better. Weird. Cool.

Here is my hypothesis, and it's 3-pronged: In addition to everything else, I didn't put on makeup, didn't drink caffeine, or alcohol, for a full two months. (I also slept about 15 hours a day, which probably helped too). Granted, it's not the most sustainable beauty routine in the world (believe me, I've already abandoned it), but it's definitely something to think about—I keep trying to remind myself about it when the afternoon Starbucks run comes up.

—Cristina Mueller, senior beauty editor

Executive Editor Returns from Vacation Awash in Beauty Tips

Lucky Magazine — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

FROM: Meredith Kahn Rollins, executive editor
TO: Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director
SUBJECT: Summer Red

I want to be one of those people who wears red lipstick, but I am neither cool enough nor meticulous enough (because you kind of have to be a perfectionist to get that '40s-red lip right, no?) to pull it off. Yet I have devised a smudgy red lip that I think works well, and if it's not exactly Joan Crawford-ish, it gets at the look I'm going for with a minimum of fuss. First I sort of dot on Nars Velvet Matte lip pencil in Dragon Girl, and then I layer on Korres lip butter in Wild Rose. It stays put for a long while, and makes me feel infinitely more dressed-up and Hollywood-esque.

Bug Spray Alternative: Perfume! (Really!)

Lucky Magazine — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

FROM: Meredith Kahn Rollins, executive editor
TO: Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director
SUBJECT: Miracle

As I have complained to the beauty department many times, I am one of those people who gets a million mosquito bites the moment I walk out the door. Sunset cocktails are my idea of a perfect hell. But now that I have a baby, I'm less inclined to douse myself with a toxic chemicals in order to keep the bugs away. So when I heard about a perfume from CB called Outside, I made urgent inquiries. It comes in a large, don't-feel-bad-about-spraying-a-lot-of-it bottle, and the scent is really quite nice: botanical, crisp, with a little undercurrent of patchouli—something that is usually way out of my comfort zone (the charms of the Grateful Dead are lost on me), but in this case just gives the whole thing a kind of bohemian, artsy-girl spin. The first time I wore it, everyone told me how great it smelled. And then it happened again. And then, after an extended vacation in the country, I realized that I hadn't gotten one mosquito bite. To say that I'm happy is a vast understatement.

ER Alternative: Beauty Treatments!

Lucky Magazine — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

Last night, while working on Flying Crow pose in yoga class, I crashed down on my left knee. The pain traveled up my leg ominously.

By the time I got home, the afflicted knee was swollen and a bruise was forming. I spritzed it with arnica spray and filled the bathtub, pouring in a generous helping of Kneipp juniper bath salts (their "soothing-muscle" formula). I soaked for 20 minutes, and when I got out I slathered on more arnica gel, just to be thorough.

Today ... nothing! Not a mark, not a splotch, and it feels as good as new. I'll be back in Flying Crow tomorrow, if somewhat more cautiously.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor

The Perfume That Makes a Sports Marketer and a Beauty Editor Happy

Lucky Magazine — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

My Mueller cousin, Cousin Dave, works in sports marketing in North Carolina. He believes in positive thinking, and sends out-of-the-blue text messages like "just wanna say I love u cuz!," or simply, "BOOM!!". He's famous for his present giving: a homemade hemp necklace, personalized mix tapes ("Cousin's Compilation"), a framed picture of a random Austrian hillside.

Of late, Cousin Dave is a great lover of cologne—which troubles me, because I am not. Most men's fragrances creep me out—too sharp, or too "aquatic" (whatever that means), or too something.

If you have a cousin like Dave—and I hope you do—this is absolutely what you should get him the next time his birthday comes up: Fresh Cannabis Santal. It is warm and complex and a tiny bit spicy, and is universally beloved by men, women, and Sephora executives (it won the "Best of Sephora" award last year). Even me. And of course, Cousin Dave.

—Cristina Mueller, senior beauty editor

Beauty Prescription

Lucky Magazine — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

Our Cristina has emerged from her epic battle with mono looking ... more fantastic than ever! So. Should you find yourself struck by an illness that causes you to sleep all day for months, take solace in the fact that while you may feel exhausted, you will look stunningly well rested. She looks so good that I'm beginning to suspect that the so-called "New Faced" celebrities are actually on to some extra-sleep-getting secret that is as yet unavailable to mere mortals.

—Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director

Beautifying Doldrums Antidote!

Lucky Magazine — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

C.O. Bigelow Mentha Lip Tint in Coral Mint is more like a sheen than a gloss (your hair won't stick to it) and contains peppermint, so it's cooling and tingly, plus it freshens your breath. I was in a really boring meeting the other day and found myself smelling the tube to stay awake.

—Jennifer Scruby, contributing writer, Miami

Cautionary Tale

Lucky Magazine — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:01:00 -0400

A dermatologist accosted me with a chemical peel. I didn't intend to get one, but after an hour long dissertation on how glowing and gorgeous and new-as-a-baby my skin would look, I gave in.

For the next three days, I hid in my apartment as my face peeled off. It wasn't pretty. I slathered on every heavy cream in my bathroom and hoped for the best.

Emerging from hibernation, I was miraculously unscathed except for a new splotch of dark freckles. Fearing further irritation but desperate to get rid of the splotch, I picked up a bottle of Caudalie radiance serum. It's calming, smells innocuously like sweet grapes, and every morning I wake up to a less-visible splotch. Plus, my skin finally has the glow the dermatologist promised—but the credit goes to Caudalie, not the peel.

—Dawn Spinner, associate beauty editor