Awhile back, Mario Badescu skincare products were featured on E! news a few months ago. Honestly, I went through a phase where I was semi-obsessed with skincare. I’ve tried all of the Oil of Olay Regenerist goodies as well as top-the-line stuff like Shiseido and La Mer. What I hadn’t tried was Mario Badescu, the skincare line that so many celebs love.

Sign up for Charlize’s flawless skin with Mario Badescu skincare.

Photo: Zuma Image

Why hadn’t I tried it? At the time, Badescu products were primarily available online with a few products at my local Nordstrom. I went ahead and ordered online, and received my order along with a ton of samples within a week. I thought the products worked well, but I wasn’t blown away. Naturally, the products finish and I move on to my next skincare conquest. Only this time, I realize my skin needs to go back to Badescu. In early September, beauty megastore Ulta started stocking the majority of the Badescu line, so I hit my closest location to restock. Now Ulta doesn’t carry everything, but they did have my favorite eye cream (which makes the skin under your eyes so silky and gorgeous, you’ll almost want to throw out your concealer!) as well as a substitute moisturizer. How is my skin doing after two months of consistently using Badescu? Fabulous! I will be hard pressed to try anything else once these bottles run out. I’ve barely put a dent in my eye cream and at a mere $18 a jar, that says a lot!

Have you used Mario Badescu skincare products? Which are your favorites?

Post from: Style Television

Jennifer Beals, whom we love, love, loved as Bette Porter on The L Word, has been cast in Hallmark Channel’s TV movie The Night Before the Night Before Christmas, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The production won’t put her in the couture outfits or compromising positions she often found herself in on the L Word set. The holiday film is about the mishaps Santa Claus encounters when he leaves the North Pole a day early and crash-lands on a family’s roof.

It is currently shooting in Toronto and will premiere on Hallmark Channel for the holidays in 2010.

Since The L Word wrapped in February, Beals has kept busy playing Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Landau on the Fox drama Lie to Me. She also will appear in the upcoming sci-fi film The Book of Eli.

Image: Zuma Press

Post from: Showtime Fan

Joe Zee popped up on Oprah this week and after a very embarrassing handbag intervention with innocent women walking through the city, he was back in the stupid to tell us the five handbags that every woman needs. Really, Joe? Five? It’s clear he’s a man, isn’t it?

A workhorse bag doesn’t have to be bland.

Here, Gossip Girl’s Blake Lively rocks a functional Mulberry Bayswater tote.

Photo: Zuma IMage

Joe says we need:

• An every day bag, which would be your workhorse bag. A neutral shade like chocolate or black is best and it should be a tote, so it can comfortably fit all over your every day items and then some.
• An oversized clutch, which can go from day to night. Honestly, day clutches are hot, but they’ve only become so in the past couple of seasons. I can see how they don’t suit everyone’s lifestyle, however if you don’t carry around a ton during the day, they can be very functional.
• A dressy clutch, preferably in a metallic shade. If gold and silver are too loud for you, opt for bronze or pewter. Joe suggest sequins, but I think that sounds hideous.
• A weekend tote. This is also often known as a “mommy bag,” as it has the space to hold juice boxes, coloring books and the like. If you go for a weekend tote, opt for cotton or nylon. Something that can be thrown in the washer or wiped down with a damp cloth to get clean.
• The novelty bag. An It bag or a bag sporting of-the-moment trends such as studs.

I think this is a great list of bags that are functional for the modern woman’s wardrobe, but I personally don’t think you need all of them. A workhorse bag, a clutch and a trendy bag are ideal. The weekend tote is useful IF you have children, but many workhorse bags can function as the same purpose. The separate clutches are a pipe dream as most women don’t use clutches in the day.

Tell me about your must-have bags. Do you own all five that Joe suggests?

Post from: Style Television

I get it. Apparently Oprah’s producers are having a little trouble with material and decided to devote yet another daytime talk show to style. Shoes and handbags, to be exact. This involved Joe Zee of Elle magazine and reality show The City roaming the streets of Chicago ambushing women for making the wrong handbag decision.

Photo: Zuma Image

I love fashion. I have since I was a kid and for me, a handbag is very personal. If someone attacked my bag for whatever reason, you can bet I’d have a thing or two to say about it! Joe jumps out of nowhere, criticizing women’s bags and in some cases, backpacks, telling them why they should opt for something more stylish. Now these weren’t stylish women carrying a bad handbag, these were women who could undergo a full style makeover, if they chose to. NOT if they were attacked in public (and on national television, no less)! Did it ever occur to Joe or Oprah that perhaps these women simply don’t care? None were particularly stylish to begin with, so the fact that that lack of style extends to bags or shoes isn’t an enigma. I love a makeover show as much as the next gal, but when they’re planned and when the makeove recipients are aware of the plan and willing to participate. Calling people out on the street is just plain tacky.

What did you think of Oprah and Joe’s shoe and handbag intervention?

Post from: Style Television

I have wanted a Nintendo DS for some time now. When those Beyonce commercials hit showing you could improve your memory with a DS game or two, I thought it was a great little toy to have to pass the time in an airport or on a plane. Heck, sometimes even I can use a break from TV, but still want something fun to do in downtime. In the current issue of People Style Watch, Nintendo’s new game, intended for fashionistas, Style Savvy makes a brief appearance.

Photo: Zuma Image

It sounds cool enough – open a boutique, style looks, attempt to sell them to customers and score points when clients make a purchase. Interesting enough that Nintendo bothered to have Dakota Fanning and Rachel Zoe stage a demo for the new game. It seems Dakota Fanning is all grown-up and donning Elizbeth and James and following Marc Jacobs’ line. She also loves watching Project Runway and of course, “Rachel Zoe.” Of the S/S 2010 shows, Rachel says she loved Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Phillip Lim and a new designer Prabal Gurung. She says florals, sequins, feathers and girlie details will be big for spring.

Read about Dakota and Rachel playing Style Savvy here.

Post from: Style Television

The always-ethereal Nicole Kidman recently opened up in an interview with British GQ magazine for their December issue, and decided to talk about some of her past sexual proclivities!

In what turned out to be a very revealing interview, Nicole, who has been married to country singer Keith Urban since 2006, talked about how her experience has ranged from “mundane marriage stuff” to “strange sexual fetish stuff:”

“I’ve explored obsession. I’ve explored loss and love in terms of being in a grief-stricken place, I’ve explored strange sexual fetish stuff, I’ve explored the mundane aspect of marriage, and monogamy,” she said.

She also talks about ex-husband Tom Cruise, whom she divorced in 2001, but is still not opening up about the reasons they split after ten years of marriage:

“I want to honor that marriage for what it was, and there is nothing I would go into about that. I have never discussed the intricacies of it and I never will,” Kidman says.

She’s so intent on keeping her marriage with Cruise private that she also admitted to burning all her diaries after the two broke up.

The issue, available in the UK, is currently on stands.

[image: zuma press]

Post from: CelebAmour

Every night I settle in to watch repeats of Seinfeld or Friends. Lately, I’ve come across an infomercial for the Slim N Lift Supreme Comfort shapewear. I wear shapewear to special occasions, mostly weddings. I rarely will wear it for an everyday outing because it’s too constricting to endure for a long period of time. Before you jump the gun, yes I have tried Spanx. The best shapewear I’ve encountered so far is a pair of Spanx Higher Power-esque bottoms from a brand called Body Wrap. The smooth fabric is soft enough that it doesn’t cut into your figure and tight enough that it substantially makes you smaller.

Photo: Zuma Image

All of this said, I’m anxious to hear if any readers have tried the Slim ‘n Lift. For $39.99, you get two pairs – one black, one nude, so it might be worth a try. The fabric looks thick, but lightweight and apparently uses bamboo to create pliable, comfy shapewear. Do you have any experiences with Slim ‘n Lift?

Post from: Style Television

Bored with causing drama in her own life, supermodel Naomi Campbell is now looking for the next great things in fashion. A web series with Talenthouse.com will follow the supermodel as she searches for a photographer and two models, one male, one female, who will pose for a major fashion magazine.

Photo: Zuma Image

If it sounds a little America’s Next Top Model, you’re on the right track as the media is reporting that a TV network in the UK will quickly snap up the series. While Naomi’s personality is questionable, I think she would be a great mentor to aspiring photographers and models as she knows the business inside and out. There’s little chance of the show (should it be aired on television) being shown in North America, so Tyra Banks will have nothing to worry about when it comes to ratings.

Post from: Style Television

I don’t know about you, but hardly anyone I know watches What Not to Wear anymore. Why is this? Do we assume that after the mass influx of fashion into our daily lives we now know better and no longer need Stacy and Clinton’s help? No.

Photo: Zuma Image

I think the real reason is because we got insanely bored with their styling tips. At the end of each What Not to Wear we end up with women who now dress like a mannequin. They don’t really teach people about honing their personal style or finding pieces that speak to them. It’s more about fit and function. While these things are crucial elements for dressing well, so is personal style. Without it, it’s easy to get lost in a department store full of boring basics or spend too much in high end store trying to find the garment that will add to your wardrobe. Even still, it seems Stacy London is everywhere. She’s giving (very basic) style tips in People StyleWatch, telling us how to wash our clothes on Woolite commercials and how to wash our hair in Pantene advertisements. The thing is, is Stacy that recognizable? And even if she is, is her opinion still worth an ad campaign? If I don’t like Stacy on her own show, what are the chances I’ll like her in all of these ads?

What do you think of Stacy London?

Post from: Style Television

Christian Siriano popped by Oprah last week to chat about his latest ventures. Christian’s book was released recently and he’s still at work creating jaw dropping shoes for Payless. For a limited time, some of the more architectural shoes will be in select Payless stores.

Photo: Zuma Image

While the shoes shown on Christian’s models during the runway show are always fantastic, they’re a bit watered down by the time they hit the racks at our nearest Payless store. Christian also showed some of his FW 09 and SS 2010 pieces that wowed Oprah and the crowd. Check out the video below to see Oprah’s interview with Christian. He’s a lot of fun without being obnoxious (unlike several other fashion reality personalities I can think of). I really wish I had him to keep me in a good mood all day, don’t you?

Post from: Style Television