SICKA THAN AVERAGE

Say Hello To The Hello Kitty x Mimobot USB Flash Drives

So its looking like Hello Kitty week on Sicka Than Average! First, I brought you the scoop on the Hello Kitty x Asics limited edition kicks — and now, I've got the latest on the Hello Kitty x Mimoco Mimobot designer flash USB drives. You might remember I first announced this collaboration back in August — and now, we can finally the whole kitten litter (by which I mean a cat family, not a house training box!).

Each USB flash drive style is available with storage capacities of 2GB, 4GB or 8GB, and there are three distinct designs to choose from: Hello Kitty Apple (pictured at top), Hello Kitty Fun in the Fields (pictured third from top), and Hello Kitty x Mimobot
(pictured last from top).

I'm not even sure which one I like best (big surprise, right?). I love the video game quality of the "Fun in the Fields" design, which right away makes me think of HK frolicking through the meadows, smelling the flowers, and having her own Sound of Music moment, but I also appreciate the whimsical quality of the "Hello Kitty Apple" and the classic aesthetic of the Hello Kitty x Mimobot style (that outfit with the red-and-white striped shirt and blue jumper is simply timeless). I'm thinking I may just need the whole trilogy!

Hello Kitty x Mimobot designer USB flash drives, $24.95 for 2GB, $34.95 for 4GB, and $49.95 for 8 GB. Visit Mimoco.com

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September 30, 2009

From Worker Girl to “Work It, Girl!” With Smashbox’s “After Hours” Set

Exclusive to Nordstrom stores, this Smashbox "After Hours" set features everything you need to go from on the job to on the prowl (well, except for your LBD and take-me-now pumps). A envelope-style, burgundy clutch with a chic foldover flap houses all the transformative beauty tools a Dancing Queen needs: a Cream Eyeliner Palette in "After Hours," featuring 10 pea-sized shades; an Eye Shadow Quad in "VIP," which features a pearly white, antique gold, charcoal black and shimmering silver; a
Lash DNA mascara in jet black; a Lip Enhancing Gloss in "Velvet Rope;" a Baked Blush
and Loose Shimmer in "Candlelit," and a Travel Definer and Precision Liner
Brush.

Here are some swatches of the colors in the Cream Eyeliner Palette in "After Hours":

The photo at top features the five colors in the top row of the palette: a smokey back, a dirty gold, a shimmering teal, a midnight blue, and a bronze hue — all the colors go on very light for a really natural, barely-there look, that brings attention to the eye without venturing over to club kid territory. The bottom row of the palette features five earthier, more neutral tones (as depicted in the second photo above): a brownish eggplant purple; an orange-y copper; a shimmering gray; a dirty rose gold; and a milk chocolate brown.

I actually expected the colors to have a more electrifying quality to them, so I was pretty shocked once I swatched them and realized how demure the different shades are, but once I placed them in context (setting them side by side with the other items in the kit), it became clear why Smashbox opted for a more versatile palette that could really help you prepare for any variety of engagements — from a theater date to a cocktail party or a housewarming.

To expand on this point, check out swatches of the Eye Shadow Quad in "VIP":

As you can see, this is a pretty basic quarter of hues: a darker, dirtier gold; an opaque, almost steel-like silver; a sooty black; and a shimmering white. What makes these colors a bit more intriguing is precisely the fact that they have a slightly smokier, dirtier feel than more glamorous interpretations of these hues (such as the MAC Mineral Eye Shadow Quad in Assemblage (from the line's Colour Craft collection).

You can create an interesting metallic, based look with these hues and then add on some of the rust, copper, gold, or black tinged cream eyeliner shades in the "After Hours" palette, or you can get creative and build a look based on the bolder liner shades, such as the teal (which looks incredible when paired with the gold shadow).

The Definer and Precision Liner Brush will really assist you in creating any desired look — the soft brush end will help you generously apply shadow to your lid and crease, while the other, flat-edged brush end will come in handy when you're hoping to apply liner in a seamless manner along the eyelid edges and the corners of the eyes.

Once your look is complete, you can apply two coats of the Lash DNA mascara to really make those eyes pop.

Moving on past the eye area, the Baked Blush & Loose Shimmer in "Candlelit" meanwhile, help you obtain a warm, almost peach-y glow. The two-part offering contains a baked blush along the top and, on the bottom, loose powder in a shimmering, golden peach shade to add a magical, lusty quality.

Finally, any night crawler knows the importance of alluring lips. The Lip Enhancing Gloss in "Velvet Rope" is a sexy merlot wine shade, which you can blot for a subtler, flushed look (as pictured in the swatch below) or which you can layer on for a vampier edge.

All you need after this makeover-in-a-clutch is a worthy destination!

Smashbox "After Hours" Beauty Collection, $59. Available exclusively at Nordstrom stores and on Nordstrom.com

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September 29, 2009

Sicka Than Average’s Fall Fragrance Extravaganza

Michael Kors Very Hollywood Eau de Parfum Spray, $45 for 1 oz. (this size is exclusive to Sephora), $65 for 1.7 oz., and $84 for 3.4 oz. Available at MichaelKors.com and MK boutiques, Sephora, and fine department stores.

Talk about a show-stopper. The latest addition to Michael Kors' fragrance emporium is already en route to becoming America's Fragrance Sweetheart (the Julia Roberts of perfumes, if you will). A nice bolt of citrus (in this case, mandarin) immediately beckons you to take notice, as iced bergamot lures you in, inviting you to take a closer peek (or sniff, in this case). Notes of wet jasmine, ylang ylang, raspberry and gardenia all evoke a youthful femininity, while creamy amber, soft white moss, vetiver and Italian orris infuse a subtle sensuousness.

Though I don't love it as much as Michael, I do think it's a pretty, accessible scent — and perhaps more importantly, it's more youthful thank most MK scents, which should make this a hit with ingenues everywhere who dream of a day when they, too, will walk down a red carpet. To me, Michael is the Sophia Loren of scents, while Very Hollywood is more like the Reese Witherspoon.

DKNY Delicious Art Limited Edition EDP, $55 for 1.7 oz. and $70 for 3.4 oz. Available at DKNYfragrances.com

I love a good makeover, and this one would have Tim Gunn smiling broadly. For a limited time, fans of DKNY's Be Delicious fragrance have the chance to purchase a bottle in this brand new packaging, which features ben-day dots, lettering and speech balloons meant to mimic some of the most iconic pieces to surface during the Pop Art era of the '50s and '60s. I find the pairing so ingenious — after all, apples are a key part of the "American" visual iconography (remember the story about George Washington in the orchard?), and Pop Art was a movement that hit its stride in New York City thanks to such notables as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. Designed by illustrator Brad Hamann, the revamped packaging is as cheeky and fun as this fruity scent.

Bond No. 9 Andy Warhol Success Is A Job In New York, $145 for 50ml and $220 for 100ml. Available at Bond No. 9 boutiques and Saks Fifth Avenue counters.

Have you been singing along to Drake's "Successful" all summer? With a bottle bearing a neon-colored, dripping dollar sign symbol plucked from the Andy Warhol Dollar Signs series created in 1981, this new fragrance gives new meaning to the notion of thinking rich. This all-about-the Benjamins scent is warm and spicy, like the proverbial paper chase itself. Top notes of bergamot, cardamon seed, mariander, coriader and nutmeg give way to a heart of pimento, tuberose, rose de mai, jasmine, iris and forbidden plum, which are then rounded out but the patchouli, benzoin and vanilla base notes.

Andy Warhol Success Is A Job In New York is meant to be genderless, so don't expect sweet or ethereal. I actually find the scent to be pretty masculine but not in an off-putting way — it's like that pair of boyfriend jeans or that well-tailored suit that you can't live without in that its masculinity simply emphasizes your femininity by pointing out the existing duality.

Calvin Klein Euphoria Eau de Toilette, $40 for 1 oz., $55 for 1.7 oz., and $70 for 3.4 oz. Available at Sephora stores and Sephora.com

More light-hearted and subtle than the original Euphoria perfume, the new Euphoria EDT boasts a twinkle orchid heart (as opposed to the black orchid used for the original Euphoria, which has a more mysterious and forbidden feel to it). The twinkle orchid sells a bit like vanilla, which is a rather seductive scent in and of itself, and when combined with the other notes (lush green accord, Sicilian bergamot, champaca flower, cream accord and sandalwood), the result is a dewy floral scent that's captivating and ephemeral in the most romantic, Guinevere-esque of ways. The scent hits Sephora this coming month (October 2009).

Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition EDP, $48 for 1 oz. and $70 for 1.7 oz. Available at DonnaKaranBeauty.com and fine department stores

To commemorate the 15th anniversary of Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist, Donna Karan Cosmetics has unveiled the new Donna Karan Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition Eau de Parfum, an even more sophisticated and slightly more intense version of the original. The fragrance includes notes of watery elements and bergamot, as well as two jasmine absolutes, orange flower, ylang, muget, moss, blonde woods, amber, labdanum and vanilla.

What I love most about this fragrance is how it manages to incorporate woody, floral and spicy notes, without leaning too strongly in any one direction. The result is a scent that's feminine but opulent and will have you feeling as regal and pampered as a modern-day Marie Antoinette.

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September 29, 2009

The Simple Life — Introducing Simple Brand Skincare’s Facial Cleansers

This month, six new products from the UK's popular skincare brand, Simple, are launching in the US — among them these three gentle facial cleansers. You might remember that I'd been quite impressed with the one Simple product I'd tried, the Cleansing Facial Wipes, so I was looking forward to getting a better feel for the brand's inventory. Now, let me be frank: while I appreciate the recent proliferation of all-natural beauty products, I'm not one to assume that botanical-based products are automatically better for your skin. I mean, poison oak is a plant, and we all know the havoc it wreaks on skin. Nor do I believe that all man-made substances are bad (heck, it's not like the cure to Polio was found inside a ripe mango or something!). Which is all to say that, while I appreciated the notion of Simple being an all-natural skincare brand, that didn't automatically give it any brownie points in my book. What I wanted to see, above all, were the products' results. And, once I did try these out, I was ready to give more than brownie points — I was ready to offer up an entire bakery's worth of praise.

Probably my favorite of the three cleansers above is the Simple Kind to Skin Refreshing Facial Wash Gel, which has a clear consistency that's slightly thinner than that of aloe vera gel. If you squeeze a bit of the cleanser into your damp palm and then rub your palms together, however, you'll see that the cleanser lathers up a bit, becoming just the slightest bit creamy. As you apply the cleanser onto skin, you'll feel this cooling sensation and, once you rinse off, your visage will feel squeaky clean (which I thought was just a euphemism until recently, but now I completely understand). The soap-free, fragrance-free cleanser features Pro-Vitamin B5 to soften and smooth skin.

If you have dry skin, you'll enjoy the Simple Kind to Skin Moisturizing Facial Cleanser, which includes Pro-Vitamin B5 and hydrating Vitamin E. This cleanser has a slightly thicker and creamier consistency, but it's still incredibly lightweight. Oftentimes, beauty companies churn out so-called moisturizing face washes that contain a plethora of unnecessary ingredients that sound impressive on paper but don't yield any results. See, the skin can only absorb but so much at any given point in time — which means all these added ingredients can often sit atop the surface of the skin instead of actually penetrating it. Simple Brand, however, keeps things, well, simple by including only the necessary ingredients to attain the desired goal.

Lastly, I tried the Simple Kind to Skin Smoothing Facial Scrub, which contains rice granules to gently exfoliate skin. Since I have sensitive skin, I usually steer clear of facial scrubs (most of them will leave me looking like I've got a Freddy Krueger-esque skin situation), but this one is extremely gentle and hence enters the hall of fame as one of the handful of scrubs my skin can tolerate (quite the accomplishment, I assure you).
At less than $10 each, these cleansers will take care of your skin's needs and keep your pockets nicely padded.

Simple Brand Kind To Skin Refreshing Facial Wash Gel, $7.99; Simple Brand Kind To Skin Moisturizing Facial Wash, $7.99; and Simple Brand Kind to Skin Smoothing Facial Scrub, $7.99. Available at Duane Reade stores in NYC and at Simple.Co.Uk.

Posted at 09:48 AM in Beauty | Permalink | Favorite This | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

September 29, 2009

Freaky and Fab: Urban Decay Fall 2009 Collection

I'll admit it: I'm an Urban Decay groupie. But then, admitting that you're an Urban Decay groupie is like saying you're a U2 fan. How so? Well, in both scenarios, those who've experienced that kind of magic are bound to evangelize about it for years on end. And in both cases, you won't find many people who will question your devotion because they themselves can't really deny the artistry in front of them.

And Urban Decay's Fall 2009 collection is just another cosmetic zootopia (to keep with the U2 theme). The collection manages to be right on trend while still distinguishing itself from the rest with dark, gothic-esque purple shadows and gunmetal lipsticks, cream eyeliner in bold greens and blues, and nude lipsticks with a hint of gold shimmer to pair with any somber shadows hues. As you look at some of these new shades, you have to admit that it takes gumption and bravery to attempt to capture the beauty in the eerie.

So, without further preamble, here's a look at some of the highlights:

EYES

New Deluxe Eyeshadows: Freakshow (pictured below) and Ruthless (pictured below, at bottom)

These shadows fall on opposite sides of the spectrum, and yet they're both perfect additions to your fall makeup case. The Freakshow eyeshadow shade is a dusty, smoky purple hue that has a slightly enigmatic, zombie-esque mystique to it. It's one of those shade that's remarkably odd and yet undeniably beguiling. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you'll find Ruthless, a light champagne hue with plenty of shimmer. I've created some really nice looks by layering these two together and using the Ruthless shade to highlight and contour the eyes, but I also love applying a bit of Ruthless onto my lids when I'm wearing darker, gutsier lipstick shades.

Here are some swatches for you:

Urban Decay "Freakshow" and "Ruthless" Deluxe Eyeshadow, $18 each. Visit UrbanDecay.com

Urban Decay Ink for Eyes in "Binge" (Green), "Midnight Blue" and "Zero" (Black)

You know what sold me on these cream eyeliners above all else? The packaging? Each gunmetal-colored case features a peacock illustration with tattoo-esque details and, when you open the top lid, you'll see a handy mirror underneath it. The mirror detail makes all the difference: you can sit the case atop a flat surface and peer in the mirror as you apply — or, if you're on the go, you can tilt the case sideways and hold the part bearing the liner shade with one hand as you apply the liner and with the other, all the while gazing into the mirror to check your handiwork. But, of course, I also love the way you can layer the color depending on whether you want a wispier look or an in-your-face, look-at-me-now look.

Below, check out some swatches of the following shades (from top to bottom): Zero, Binge and Midnight Blue.

Urban Decay Ink for Eyes, $22 each. Visit UrbanDecay.com

FACE

Surreal Skin Cream-to-Powder Foundation

Any significant change in texture can sometimes freak me out — which is perhaps why I haven't necessarily been keen on cream-to-powder foundations in the past. I must say, however, that Urban Decay's Surreal Skin Cream-to-Powder Foundation is one of the few products that might just turn me into believer. It has the consistency of a lightweight concealer as it goes on skin, but it dries out quickly to yield a powdery yet natural finish.

The creamy consistency allows for better coverage since you can easily look at where you've brushed on the powder and you can determine any areas that might need a bit more attention, and it will transform into powder quickly enough that you won't have to worry about your foundation cracking or caking. Each compact

comes with a foundation brush but, to be honest, you're best served with a sponge-like applicator to ensure the most even distribution. And here's an added incentive: the Surreal Skin Cream-to-Powder Foundation is packed with skin nourishing antioxidants and vitamins A and C, so you'll be treating your skin as you dress it up in designer duds.

Urban Decay Surreal Skin Cream-To-Powder Foundation, $34. Available at UrbanDecay.com

LIPS

Lip Primer Potion

One of my all-time favorite beauty prep products is Urban Decay's Eyeshadow Primer Potion, which protects the delicate skin around the eyes while also creating a smooth base for you to apply any necessary shadows. Just as important, the Eyeshadow Primer Potion locks in any eyeshadow and eyeliner colors so your makeup looks fresh all day long. New for Fall, the Lip Primer Potion yields similar results for the lip area.

It glides on smoothly, like an emollient lip balm, delivering SPF 15 protection and moisturizing your lips with vitamins A and E, while a non-irritating Peptide Complex helps to naturally plump lips and smooth the skin surface. Once you apply the Lip Primer Potion, your lips are a smoother, more even canvas upon which you can apply any desired color. Not only will your lipstick last substantially longer, but your lips will stay hydrated and protected.

Urban Decay Lip Primer Potion, $20. Visit UrbanDecay.com

Lipstick in Oil Slick, Naked, and Confession

Like its new eyeshadow hues, Urban Decay's new lipstick hues encourage you to taste the forbidden. For those who want a muted, more natural lip to match fierce, dark eyes, there's the "Naked" lipstick hue, while those feeling a bit more naughty can experiment with the dark, gunmetal-colored "Oil Slick" (a glossy, near-black shade) or Confession, a purple hue with a hint of burgundy.

Check out how "Confession" and "Oil Slick" look on the skin: