Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban

I haven't been one to dish on celebrities in this blog. I think that Nicole Kidman is a class act for her dignity as her marriage to Tom Cruise collapsed, her unwillingness to badmouth him afterwards no matter how nutty he got, and her bucking leftist politics in Hollywood to sign a petition condemning terrorism caused by Hamas and Hezbollah. I've read that she retains, in addition to her stylists and everyone else who makes her look good, a UCLA professor to teach her about the Old Testament. A mix of beauty and intellectuality - now that's the life I'd like to have!

I was happy to learn that she remarried, and today I was disappointed to learn about her new husband Keith Urban's substance abuse. He has checked himself into rehab. My best wishes to Nicole Kidman as Keith Urban goes through rehab.

Shop ETC is no more

Shop ETC. ceased publication with its October 2006 issue.

Looking for Shop ETC on the newstand? Then read this notice from its publisher Hearst Magazines:

Due to the challenging economy and rising paper and postal costs, SHOP Etc. will be discontinued after the October issue. more

My first impression of Shop ETC is that it was a blatant rip-off of Lucky. However, Shop ETC. began to grow on me, and I became a subscriber.

Frankly, I'm surprised that Shop ETC lasted as long as it did (about two years). While its graphic design was ho-hum compared to Lucky, I did find individual items of interest in its pages, like this Spanx "Tight-End" Tights Five-Day-a-Workweek set.

PS Rising paper costs??!! Then why I am getting more unsolicited mail-order catalogues than ever?

This I couldn't pass up ...

In France, croquembouche, a tower of profiteroles, or cream puffs, is serving at weddings as we might serve wedding cake.


croquembouche

In Ukraine, pastry chef Valentyn Shtefano created his fiancee's gown out of cream puffs so that she looks like a croquembouche:


And the bride wore croquembouche ...

Goth candlesticks for Halloween

The end of this month is Halloween, and here are two candesticks with a great goth vibe for Halloween:


Klein Reid Black Bisque Candlestick - the "candle" may be replaced by one of your own.


dl & co. 'claw' porcelain candle holder by douglas little

Ch-ch-changes

I am now enrolled in a doctoral studies program. Between my studies and regular job, I have precious little time to devote to this blog.

However, I'm trying to provide fresh content everyday through ThisNext - just look for the ThisNext "badge" under SHOPPING in the left-hand navigation bar everyday or visit ThisNext by thestylepage and vote on your favorite reviews and lists by The Style Page.

I'm also interested in guest writers who can provide content for those areas of interest to The Style Page: fashion, beauty, interior decorating, and media.

Revlon to discontinue Vital Radiance brand

After my two previous articles that dealt with Vital Radiance (Update on mass-market brands, Vital Radiance UPDATED 2006-02-22), it was only right to complete the story and inform readers that Revlon has faced the inevitable and is going to discontinue the Vital Radiance line. Poor sales have lead major retailers to drastically cut back on the number of stores selling the brand.

I provided some possible explanations on why Vital Radiance failed in my article Update on mass-market brands. For more about Revlon and its dropping Vital Radiance as part of its restructuring plan, read Revlon cuts 250 jobs, dumps cosmetics line in restructuring plan.


Susan McGraw for Vital Radiance

I'm going to miss Vital Radiance model Susan McGraw, however. She's cute, and I love her salt'n'pepper hair.

$160.00 for Compact Foundation????

This has got to be the priciest makeup I have ever seen: it's even pricier than Shiseido's luxe Cle de Peau makeup line. This is from the signature line of Serge Lutens, the makeup artist who had previously created the dramatic looks for Shiseido's print advertising and displays. Serge Lutens makeup is available from Barneys.

Would you pay $160.00 for foundation??? Yes, you read that correctly: one hundred sixty dollars. What is the price you are willing to spend on makeup?

2006-09-21 UPDATE: apparently, Serge Lutens has nothing on H. Couture Beauty, which retails its mascara for $589.00 and its lipstick for $150.00 - found via The Weekend Read, from Elke von Freudenberg's The Beauty Newsletter. The cheek to call this "H. Couture Beauty"!

ThisNext - Blog - Interview: Julie of The Syle Page

Aunt Beep interviews The Style Page for ThisNext:

At ThisNext we can’t get enough of bloggers with a mission, and Julie of The Style Page (ThisNext profile: thestylepage) is no exception. Her quest is simple, she’s “obsessed with finding the perfect olive green eyeshadow; Cadbury mini-eggs and JBz chocolate candies; and glass bead jewelry.”

Fair enough, dear blogger. Fair enough.

Check out her worldly shopcasts on everything from mouth-watering marzipan to goth candle sticks to Sitar music then read on to see why she roams the isles of CVS and why she loves animated flicks…

Read more of the interview and learn more about my eclectic interests.

Also, Kristopher Dukes picked up on my shopcast for Constant Color Gel Eyeliner in Nightfall in her article A Pinch Goth, A Touch Glam: Black Makeup.

Belen Echandia's Golden Ticket is back

Categories: Fashion, Bags, Promotion


Belen Echandia's Golden Ticket promotion
Chocolate/Gold

I received an Email from Belen Echandia about their current Golden Ticket promotion:

Belen Echandia’s Bag of the Season – will it be you?

Every season Belen Echandia selects a Bag of the Season and sends one lucky girl a Golden Ticket email. The Golden Ticket entitles its recipient to the Bag of the Season in her choice of colour. The Bag of the Season for AW 2006 is this unique cowhide metallic purse with removable chain strap. It is perfect for day and night, fits in all your essentials and looks fantastic, too.

This season’s Golden Ticket will be sent on 1 November 2006. The recipient can choose her favourite colour from cowhide from white/silver, white/gold and chocolate/gold.

To sign up, visit Belen Echandia's Invitation page and enter your Email address.

To see last season's Golden Ticket, please visit Belen Echandia's Golden Ticket.

ColorBar: for our readers in India

After the U.S. and Canada, the next highest percentage of our readers come from India. A number of our Indian readers have inquired about ColorBar Cosmetics from the K.K. Modi Group. ColorBar is a relatively late entrant into the increasingly crowded cosmetics market in India and seeks to compete with Chambor, Lakme, and overseas brands such as Revlon and L'Oreal.

ColorBar has launched its own website at www.colorbarworld.com. ColorBar has also retained a creative company to study the brand's performance in the Indian market (see agencyfaqs! > news & features > ColorBar Cosmetics moves to Law & Kenneth).

Currently, ColorBar is available only in select northern states in India. However, managing director Samir Modi has announced that ColorBar will expand into western India.