Practical beauty

September is looking like a great month for beauty. I’ve noticed that most of the products being launched are practical and easy to use. Here are my five top picks for the week.

La Prairie Anti-Aging Collection

Aging is inevitable, but there is a way to age gracefully, and this line seeks to help us do just that. La Prairie’s Anti-Aging Collection is a powerful, multi-faceted treatment system that helps intercept and prevent, renew and maintain, rebuild and rehabilitate, for any age group.

Their newest product targets the eyes and lips—the first to show signs of aging. The skin in these areas is extremely thin and therefore susceptible to damage from the environment assaults, which in time result in volume loss and wrinkle gain. I’ve also noticed that people tend to forget these areas. We moisturize our lips and apply eye cream, but do these products have SPF? I bet not.



How it works: 

Anti-Aging Eye and Lip Contour Cream—A patented encapsulated amino acid complex begins working immediately to fill wrinkles and hollows in the eye area, with an action similar to “lipo-fitting.”

Puffiness and dark circles recede, while an anti-discoloration complex works to prevent future darkness around the eye with marine-derived glycosaminoglycans. As for the lips, a volume-enhancing, nature-inspired ingredient works its magic to smooth the skin around the lips, as tropical fruit acids exfoliate and stimulate for a younger, fresher look.

The result: Lines and wrinkles are filled, naso-labial folds are smoothened out, volume is added to age-related hollowed areas and moisture is replenished and maintained.

Anti-Aging Eye and Lip Perfection Porter—In this product, three innovative line smoothers work together to fill in the appearance of lines and wrinkles, while a unique light diffuser disguises other signs of fatigue and aging around the eye area.



In addition, marine and vegetal extracts correct visible aging signs, reducing the appearances of dark circles under the eyes. For the lips, a derivative of an essential plant oil and dehydrated hyaluronic acid microspheres work together to help restore plumpness, while emollients and a hydrating complex ensure lips do not flake or chap.

Shu Uemura Lasting Soft Gel Pencil and Tokyo Lash Mascara

There are so many wonderful shades of lippies to choose from that you can actually use a different shade every day, without having to repeat for a month. The good news is, when it comes to the eyes, you only need these two products to complement any lip shade.

How it works:

Their Lasting Soft Gel Pencil is true to its name. It glides on easily and stays on the whole day. What I like the most about it is it fades instead of bleeds after you have been wearing it for a while, so I don’t end up with raccoon eyes.

Tokyo Lash Mascara is perfect for those with short lashes (which I unfortunately have) and those blessed with amazing lashes. The crisscross brush catches the lashes for optimal results, as if done by an expert makeup artist. It is also long-lasting and smudge-proof.

L’Oreal Extraordinary Oil 

Dry and difficult hair is a sign of aging, too. Keep this symptom on the downlow with a good hair product. I like this serum, because it gives my hair a fresh-looking vibrance, even in this country’s unpredictably humid weather.


How it works:

When used once a week, it brings out the natural beauty of your hair. Wrap hair in a warm, moist towel so the product can penetrate in-depth for a thorough hair treatment. Leave in for a half hour, and then rinse your hair in cold water to ensure that the hair scales lie flat. You may also use this before coloring the hair, before washing and quickly after shampooing.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net

Fitflops now thinner and slimmer

After selling its 18 millionth pair in a span of six years, one footwear brand has no intention of coasting along. It recently launched a patent-pending technological breakthrough that creates soles that are relatively thinner and slimmer than earlier iterations.

Styles featuring the Biomimetix midsoles from Fitflop should be a hit in the Philippines; the country is still the biggest market of the brand in Asia. If volume sales are combined with those of other countries in the region, Asia is an even bigger market than the US, said Katie Neiman, the brand’s International PR manager.

“The Fitflop brand is very popular among women in Southeast Asia because we are blessed with tropical weather the whole year round,” said Jimmy Thai, chief executive officer of the Primer Group, which distributes Fitflop and other brands.

“We tend to dress down—hence the continued popularity of the brand’s open-toe styles—but we still want to look put together.”



With the new technology available in some of the styles this season, customers now have more options. The science behind the Biomimetix midsoles is different from the original Microwobbleboard technology, because the former can be made into narrower shoes like the ballerina-inspired flats that were part of the Spring-Summer 2013 collection launched in Malaysia last week.

Lifestyle writers and editors from Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines were flown in for the press presentation and launch party at Publika, a new mall near the tony residential district of Mont Kiara in Kuala Lumpur.

Brand origins

So much has changed, design-wise, with the UK-based brand since its founder Marcia Kilgore worked with biomechanists Dr. David Cook and Darren James. In 2007, the first Fitflop style for women, the Walkstar, was introduced to the market.

The response was immediate and positive. Women gushed about how comfortable the sandals were, how much they could accomplish in a day, and how it seemed they could walk for miles in their Fitflops.



This was exactly what Kilgore wanted to achieve when she began imagining that first pair. As a young mom and entrepreneur, she wanted to include exercise in her daily lifestyle but found herself, like many women, time-poor. The result of her collaboration with the two biomechanists was the world’s first muscle-activating flip-flop.

Neiman recounted how Kilgore would tell them: There are millions of shoes out there. Why do we need another?

“The answer is because so many of us, men and women, are professional jugglers trying to make the most of our lives. When we wear shoes that fit comfortably, we feel like we can do so much more,” Neiman said.

This way of thinking is now the brand’s current slogan: Wear the shoes. Rule the world.

Fashionable crowd

From originally coming up with flip-flops for women strapped for time, the people behind Fitflop are now intent on creating designs that will appeal to the fashionable crowd as well.

“Let’s face it. Every time someone mentions ‘functional footwear,’ the first thing that comes to mind are ugly, clunky shoes,” Neiman said.

While many women are fierce supporters of the brand—labeling themselves “Fitfloppers”—there are still some who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a pair.

“That’s why we’re continually looking at ways to improve our product,” Neiman said. “After all, fashionistas want to feel good, too.”

Credit for any inroads made with the fashion flock goes to the makeup artists and stylists who are always on their feet.

“A lot of the models who saw makeup artists and stylists sporting Fitflops during Fashion Week asked what they were wearing and whether they were comfortable wearing them. When they found out how comfortable they are, some of the models went out and bought their own pairs,” she added.

Neiman hopes that the fashion flock will like the selection in stores.

Collaborations

To further build the brand, Fitflop has been collaborating with designers, fashion schools and boutiques to come up with limited editions.

Neiman, who has been with Fitflop from the start, listed successful collaborations with Anna Sui, Kirna Zabete, Net-a-Porter, the Wola Nani Cooperative in Cape Town and the London School of Fashion.

For Spring-Summer 2013, quite a number of floral and jewel-like details adorn the women’s range, but one will also notice an expanded men’s line that now includes boat shoes, brogues, sneakers and slides.

Canvas and patent ballerinas for women are also available, while men’s sneakers in yellow, navy and royal blue add a punch of color to any outfit.

Neiman said that they want to grow the men’s market since it makes up only 10 to 20 percent of volume sales.

“Six years ago, we offered one sandal for women. A lot has changed since then. We’re now a footwear brand delivering the epitome in biomechanical engineering and ergonomics that look great for men and women the whole year round,” she said.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net