So, all my beauty buds are at Fashion Week, and I am not.  I started a new full time job today, and ending my last one and starting this one just really meshed badly with the fashion season this time!  But, all  is not lost.  We have Twitter.  Twitter totally saves the day at Fashion Week, I can read all about my friends adventures, real time, almost like I was there, minus the drenching rains.   Hope you gals brought your umbrellas!

Of course I follow most of my beauty buddies on Twitter already, so can watch them on my Twitterfox or Tweet Deck – but they are all mixed in with my geek buddies, which is ok, but sometimes the tweets rush by so fast it is hard to keep up.  Enter Inside The Tents.  This is a great place to watch all of the hottest beauty and fashion bloggers – keep up with their Tweets AND their blog posts.  Awesomeness!

Also of great interest to me is the MAC  Senior Artists Twitter widget at Facebook, that you can watch, embed – whatever you’d like!  And if you’re a great MAC fan like I am, you can follow these folks on Twitter:

MAC_Gordon_E | MAC_Nadine_L | MAC_Gregory_A | MAC_Bianca_A | MAC_Vanessa_R | MAC_Terry_B | MAC_Patrick_E | MAC_Tiffany_J | MAC_Gina_B

And while you’re following, don’t forget to follow me (and say Hi!)!

So enjoy FW, like I am, from the sidelines.  It is nice and dry, I have tea and cheap lunch, and really, am having almost as good a time watching as they are being in the thick of things.  (Yeah right, but Im trying to keep my positive attitude!)

Image: © 2008 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, used with permission

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Thanks so much to Lancome for making us feel so at home and welcome.  It truly was a delight, and as soon as I can get to Dallas, the closest boutique near me, I will be back in for another facial. 

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It has been a long time since I have used liquid foundation on a regular basis, but I have started out with Elizabeth Arden’s new foundation, Intervene.  This is an extension of their successful Intervene Pause and Effect anti-aging skin care line.  Probably the very most important feature for a foundation for me is to have some sort of SPF, as I know first hand of the dangers of fair skin and glorious sunshine.  I have a big ol scar down the front of my nose to prove it.   Intervene Makeup has an SPF 15, which when used in conjunction with your moisturizer, which hopefully also has some sun protection (Intervene moisturizers also have SPF 15), should do you pretty well.  The photos below are me, naked on the left (ha and ouch), with foundation only in the middle, and with all the accoutrements (and hair!) on the right.  I think you can see a mighty big difference in my skin, no?  You can click the image to view it full size.  If you’re brave.  Or just want to make fun of me (ouch again).

This is what EA says about the foundation:

This new liquid makeup with Biodormin™ skincare benefits helps put a pause on aging signs. Micro-mineral pigment technology smooths away imperfections for brighter, even-toned skin, as it delivers all day coverage, color-true shades, and a soft natural finish.
New INTERVENE Makeup SPF 15 with Biodormin™ technology:

• Smooths imperfections, evens out skin tone and creates a soft natural finish that lasts all day with micro-mineral pigment technology.
• Visibly delays the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles as it gives skin a firmer look
• 100% oil free
• Medium/full coverage. Ideal for normal skin.
• Protects skin from environmental challenges with antioxidant vitamins C and E
• Offers a wearable, skin-enhancing shade range created with Elizabeth Arden’s exclusive Custom Color system
• Provides SPF 15 sun protection
• Non-acnegenic and non-comedogenic

I have personally found most of these claims to be absolutely true.  The first day I wore Intervene, I actually caught myself in the mirror, and did a double take – my skin definitely was looking more youthful.  Another extremely nice characteristic of this makeup is that it really does last all. day. long.  I have worn it constantly for about 4 weeks now, and have eyeballed it each and every day in the evenings, and really, it stays looking very good.  This was an advantage that I had seen with mineral makeup, but liquid foundation has come a long way, baby.

My skin is scary broken out right now after one (or five) too many makeovers and product tests while in NYC (with that pimply time of the month added in – ugh).   After I returned from Fashion Week, I was really hesitant to wear any makeup for a while, as I was concentrating on putting some moisture back in and just letting my skin rest.  It really had a workout while I was gone.  But, after a couple of days of that, and it not really getting much better, I had to put makeup on for some reason, and I swear my skin looked better by that night, so I have worn makeup since.  This is a treatment foundation, and really, it has proven to be a treatment for me. 

One more thing that really pleased me about this foundation is that I picked the color off of the internet, and was able to easily choose the right color.  That is not always easy to do, and I don’t know why it worked so well for me this time, but it did.  You can buy Elizabeth Arden’s Intervene Makeup directly from the EA web site ($36), or if you aren’t so confident about buying your foundation online, do stop by an Elizabeth Arden counter and give it a try.  If you order online, with any Intervene Makeup purchase they will include a deluxe mini travel size of your chosen color.   For the time being, anyway.  w00t!

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IMO, Victorya’s collection was ok – not my favorite, but certainly not the worst. I do like the solid colors, the strong use of black (who doesn’t love that?), and the models had beautiful makeup – not too natural, not too overdone.  I wasn’t crazy about the number of cummerbunds she was showing, but really other than that, it was a nice collection, and a really fun show.  I do wish Victorya had made a run around the catwalk though, rather than just peeking out from backstage at the end.  Seeing the designers is a great part of a show, IMO.  Here are a couple of key looks from the collection:

So after the show, instead of going to the after-party, we had a date at Koi with a whole slew of beauty bloggers who I couldn’t wait to meet – sponsored by Total Beauty.  Koi was amazing, it was absolutely incredible to meet some of my online friends, and get to know the folks behind Total Beauty a little bit better.  For me Fashion Week was definitely about meeting the people I love.  The dinner was sponsored by Aveda, a line that I haven’t used since I got out of the day spa business quite a few years back, but is still wonderful, natural, and very eco-friendly.  And everything they make smells incredible.  So thanks to Total Beauty and Aveda for a wonderful night out!

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They also told me about their new Mediterranean offspring that is coming out soon (what was that new word I learned, Lindsey?? I already forgot…LOL), and had the most wonderful demo to go along with it – something that really was helpful to my non-professional perfuming self.  Along with a sample of the perfume itself (I think its called Breeze, but don’t quote me on that – all of my literature from Fashion Week is coming home via FedEx on Friday..lol), Suki brought along samples of the top, middle and bottom notes separately.  She dipped each of them and let me smell them individually – that was a tremendously educational process for me.  I really feel like I have a much better grip on fragrance in general after that. 

Also, Elizabeth Arden has launched a brand new foundation to go with their Intervene line of anti-aging products.  I decided a few weeks ago that it was time for me to branch out of my bareMinerals and try some of the many new liquid foundations on the market, and that is one I have been using for a couple of weeks now – and I really love it.  The first day I wore it, I kept catching my reflection in the mirror and noticing that my skin really glowed – and looked a little younger, fresher and less wrinkly.  My imagination?  I don’t think so.  Stay tuned for pics and some more in depth evaluation on Intervene foundation (SPF 15 – yeah!)- and if you have the opportunity, go give it a try, it is really a great foundation!

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Of course I had the greatest intentions of blogging all that we did, every day, but between bustling from the tents to appointments to dinners and then sharing the community laptop in our room, well, not surprisingly, that didn’t happen.  So will recap you on the day to day happenings the best I can.  When I last left you, I was off to the ribbon cutting ceremony with Brooke Shields – that was Friday morning.  Think rain and 38 degrees for the opening day of Fashion Week – drenching rain.  It was lovely!  But, I have to say, Brooke Shields looked absolutely stunning at the ribbon cutting ceremony.  I can’t really tell you how stunning she looked.  She had THE most gorgeous shoes on, if you know what they were, please share!  I am sick that I didn’t get a good picture of them – from my position (front row BEHIND her..lol), I should have been able to get a

good shot, but alas, I am not a great photographer, and didn’t.  And quite honestly I haven’t seen a photo of her at this function that did her justice.

So kicking off the shows was the Heart’s Truth show, opened by Laura Bush.  She is such a graceful woman.  This show was absolutely amazing.  Heidi Klum was the hit of the show (in my opinion – of course, I’m a huge Heidi fan…lol) – Lisa Rinna sure tried to be, but there is something about trying a little too hard that sort of leaves you short, ya know?  Lisa was cute though, just not THAT cute.

If you don’t know what Heart’s Truth does, they focus on awareness of women’s heart health and issues.  Find out more at the Heart’s Truth web site.  I will leave you for now with this gorgeous shot of all the beautiful models – check out that sassy and sexy Rita Moreno next to Laura Bush – she was an amazing and gorgeous model!

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