WHEN IT COMES to good grooming, guys usually catch a break. Forget to shave? A five o-clock shadow passes for scruffily sexy. (Not so much on a woman's legs.) Six months between haircuts? Shaggy hair equals surfer cool. Calloused hands? That';s a sign of a hard-working dude. But in an era of metrosexuals and a manly yet manicured president, those excuses start to fall flat. And, truthfully, there's no good way to justify those long yellow toenails hanging out of your flip-flops, Howard Hughes Jr.
A cabinet full of facial products isn't a stretch for a guy with a longtime subscription to Details mag. But can your average, Capitals-loving dad embrace the pore-cleansing mud mask? This reporter was slathered, scrubbed and softened by a bunch of treatments to see whether he could still feel like a man — even when sporting a good mani/pedi.
TWEENS MAYBE haven't learned to freak out about parabens and sulfates yet. Help them kick off a life of natural beauty care products with Glory for Girls, a line featuring an antioxidant-rich wash ($16), scrub ($12) and other shower caddy staples in recyclable packaging.
FIRST THERE WAS Coco Chanel. There there was Coco Moore, a most fashionable Sonic Youth offspring. And now there's Coco Perez. That's right, gossip biddies — to quote Sir Elton John, "the bitch is back," but in a whole new wardrobe.
Infamous celebrity blogger Perez Hilton expands his media empire with the launch of sister site Cocoperez.com, focusing on all things fashion and fashionable.
While he's usually the one asking the questions, we put on our most haute coutre press hats and turned the tables on the 31-year-old self-proclaimed "Queen of All Media" to get the scoop on his vogue new endeavor.
Continue Reading "Coo Coo for CocoPerez.com: Perez Hilton Talks About His New Web Site" »
GROWING UP IN Colombia, young Claudia Arbelaez saw a future in fashion. She studied design, showed a small collection during Fashion Week 2004 in her native country, and designed uniforms and the wardrobe for an opera.
Then — poof: Her mother died, Arbelaez met her future husband, and she spent 2006 in Milan to delve into her field. The next year her new husband won a Fulbright, and they moved to a third continent so he could study at the University of Maryland.
Arbelaez looked for a fashion-related job, but nothing around Washington paid well or — after all these changes — had much appeal anymore.
Jewelry did, though. Her mom had loved jewelry, and skills in that area could transfer to Colombia when the couple moved back after two years. "Jewelry is more rewarding because people see more meaning in it than in clothes," she says. "Also, it lasts longer."
Arbelaez enrolled in the jewelry-design certificate program at the Corcoran College of Art + Design (1801 35th St. NW; 202-298-2542; Corcoran.edu/ce). To pay for school and gain experience, she took a low-level jewelry job at Lund Trading in Columbia, Md.
Continue Reading "A Career Set in Gemstones: Claudia Arbelaez's Journey into Jewelry" »
MADONNA AND NEW YORK Mayor Michael Bloomberg are among the big-name clients who have turned to interior designer Jamie Drake for playfully colorful rooms. Known for weaving together disparate hues (hot pink and chocolate, ebony and purple) with contemporary art, Drake doles out tips on making your pad look posher Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Corcoran.org). We caught up with him on how to do the bright thing at home.
» EXPRESS: How'd you learn to combine colors in such a wild way?
» DRAKE: Childhood exposure to museums and contemporary art gave me this background where I can be brave, yet use color in a painterly way. Some people look at my work and think it's all color. But I'm trying to use color as accents in small, repetitive ways.
» EXPRESS: What's your favorite color?
» DRAKE: That would be like picking my favorite child! But I do feel a trend toward less saturated colors: orchid, mint, aqua.
FROM WIDE BELTS to colorful shoes, first lady Michelle Obama loves eclectic accessories. But it's how she dons brooches — on dress necklines, pinning together cardis, even clustered over a strand of pearls — "that really shows her creativity," says Mary Tomer, who blogs about Obama's style at Mrs-o.org. "She's wearing them in unexpected ways. It's inspiring."
» "Brooches add personality to Michelle's outfits," says Tomer of Mrs-o.org. Worth-imitating ways she proves pins are in (left to right, from top): an Erickson Beamon flower holding together a cardi; rhinestone bee perched on a lapel; a vintage Victorian sash pin jazzing up her swearing-in dress.
Continue Reading "Commander in Chic: Michelle Obama's Brooch Bananza" »
THIS SUMMER'S BEAUTY must-have is rosy cheeks — literally. Compacts have become fancy with pressed floral motifs that nearly eclipse the product within. But it's not all for show: The powder palettes make it easy to mix several pretty shades, resulting in a nuanced, natural glow when you dust them on.
» Clinique's Fresh Bloom summer eye shadows (above, $16.50; Saksfifthavenue.com) combine two shimmery, sorbet-like shades that make peepers really stand out.
» The pinks and cream of Estee Lauder's Fleur de Lys shimmer powder ($32; Bonton.com) look bold alone but blend easily to give cheeks a flush of flattering color.
» The two bronze hues in Physician's Formula Organic wear Natural Origin Bronzer (right, $14, at drugstores) meld together in this all-natural compact, creating a summery, sun-kissed effect.
» Prescriptives In Bloom Cheek Color Duo ($24; Bloomingdales.com) offers palettes for either warm or cool skin tones. Mix for a peachy punch or layer the light blush above the dark to make cheekbones pop.
Photos by Marge Ely/Express
WE HAVE COCO CHANEL to thank — or blame — for the buzz about bronzing. Alabaster skin was the norm until the influential Parisian designer returned from a Mediterranean vacation in the 1920s with a golden glow, single-handedly turning the tan into a fashion craze on par with her quilted purses. We'd like to think that if Mademoiselle C were alive today, she'd turn her nose up at the thought of exposing her precious epidermis to the wrinkle-causing, cancer-spawning sun (or its not-any-better-no-matter-how-much-you-kid-yourself cousin, the tanning bed) and get her brown in a newfangled way — by bottle, booth or airbrush. A trio of staffers gave their hides to the latest fake-bake techniques and came back in a range of easy-to-get, natural-looking hues (well, mostly). Even picky Coco might be fooled. B.L.
BOTTLE BRONZED
» What it is: Bronze Goddess at-home self-tanner set ($22.50-$28.50).
» How it works: Slather on the lotion, which is loaded with dihydroxyacetone (DHA), a sugar-derived, FDA-approved chemical that reacts with amino acids to darken skin.
» On your mark, get set: As a pigment-challenged American, our unable-to-suntan tester was persecuted throughout childhood, accused of being an albino, a ghost and glow-in-the-dark. In an attempt to find a less shockingly pale hue, she turned to DIY products. Of course, the risks of self-tanners are well-known (and well-documented by Lindsay Lohan's paparazzi photos): streaks, splotches and extra-dark knees, elbows and feet (the skin is dryer in those spots and thus absorbs more product). Be sure to spread on the stuff as evenly as possible, working it into the skin like lotion. Hit joints and feet last with a lighter amount. Then (and we can't stress this enough), wash those hands. Our tester ended up with dark blobs of color at the bases of her fingers, giving the threatening appearance of brass knuckles.
» Tan marks: It takes a few applications to get a deep (but, thankfully, non-orange) tan. But if you're going to commit, you need to bronze your face and neck, too, or you'll look like a bobblehead someone got tired of painting. Also, unless you have a devoted partner, child or servant who's willing to rub your hard-to-reach places, at-home tanner is not the best for all-over bronzing. It's more about dulling the radioactive glare of snow-white limbs.
» High marks: We like the tinted formula best — it lets you see which areas have been covered and it offers some instant gratification. It also instantly colors sheets and towels, however.
» Low marks: The infamous metallic smell. The Estee Lauder line includes a perfume, perhaps meant to nullify the stench, but nothing worked other than time. And, make a mistake? Not even those "self-tan remover" products can fix it until it fades.
» Tip: The key to any good faux tan: exfoliation. Be sure to slough skin with a scrub (like Bliss' Hot Salt option, $36) before applying bronzer. — H.J.M.
Continue Reading "Best in Glow: The Right Tools to a Perfect Tan" »
WHEN YOUR SOFA SEEMS sad or your bed looks boring, a throw pillow functions like a bit of decor bling. Not only can a well-placed pouf dress up your nest, but it can also provide a place to rest your head — or for Mr. Whiskers to nap. "Pillows are a quick way to update, especially if they are colorful and your home is a sea of neutrals," says Mei Xu, owner of Rockville-based Blissliving home.com, which sells sequined bolsters, striped squares and other stylish bits of fluff. But remember, pillows are to a piece of upholstery as a necklace or scarf is to a dress: One or two equals a sleek statement; too many will overwhelm — and overpad — your pad.
1) Channel the Silk Road with wool pillows made by Kyrgyzstani women. They'd look hip on a leather chair. ($119 each; Art With Flowers, Tysons Galleria;
703-903-6837)
2) Outside, dandelions cause sneezing. Inside, strewn across Paper Cloud's linen square, they cause snoozing. ($85; Vivi, 7254 Woodmont Ave., Bethesda; 301-656-5626)
3) Like something you'd lean back on at a Budapest cafe, but hipper, Thomas Paul's Art Nouveau-gone-newer puff suits a boudoir. ($96; RCKNDY, 1515 U St. NW; 202-332-5639)
4) Blissliving Home's rain-slicker yellow vinyl rectangle provides a dramatic pop against a printed chair or mixed in with patterned bolsters. ($50, Blisslivinghome.com)
5) Style scan: When rendered in a beige linen blend, a mundane bar code morphs into modernist art. Plop Ferm Living's witty piece
on a red recliner. ($110, 2modern.com)
6) Whether you cuddle up with Jane Austen or Dan Brown, CB2's "Lit 101" pillow boasts a funky library vibe. It'd work well combined with bright, solid poufs. ($20, Cb2.com)
Photo by Marge Ely/Express
MAKING A MINIMAL carbon footprint is a noble concept. But there's no sense in stepping lightly in ugly hemp sandals when hip designers have warmed up to globe-friendly accessories. Finds range from punk-tastic earrings made of repurposed vintage chains to espadrilles from Payless' new organic shoe line, Zoe & Zac. "You're seeing things like old leather jackets recycled into handbags and people making necklaces out of dead-stock beads," says Angelina Bennett, owner of eco boutique Beklina.com. "People are getting more creative about what green really means."
» COMING ROUND AGAIN
Melissa Joy Manning uses recycled gold in stacking rings. (Pictured above; $498, Ginger, 7114 Bethesda Lane, Bethesda; 301-664-9242)
» TANGLED UP IN THE GREEN
Alpaca and silk — both sustainable and soft — are woven into sleek stripes on Rachel Comey's scarf. ($285, Beklina.com)
Addison Road