The "Fall" Girl

Dear Senoritas Mias (and my humble straight male following),
Okay, okay, I haven’t written since roughly 1971. But believe me, I’d much rather be yakking it up with you foxy ladies than struggling with writer’s block and characters that don’t want to do what I tell them to do. But see, a number of you have described to me how you’ve read THE ACCDIENTAL DIVA over an over, which I understand to be your polite way of saying “okay enough is enough, but put a fire under your ass, bee-yatch, and finish the next one.” Hence, I’ve been writing around the clock to get my second novel out to you in a timely fashion (PSHAW, yeah right, timely would’ve been, oh, about six months ago?

Anyway, I’m back! And before I launch into my usual beauty blathering, I want to call your attention to a more life-and-death situation: Hurricane Katrina (what a lovely name for a hideous tragedy). The images on tv and the testimonials in the papers would be enough to make me want to help, but I”ve been particularly disturbed because my mother’s entire side is from Louisiana. A number of my New Orleans family members are stranded in Houston and out of work with nothing on them but a few sets of clothes. It's an absolutely devastating prospect. Sometimes in the face of a tragedy this big, its easy to feel useless—but I know of two very reputable charities that are accepting donations on their websites—MERCY CORPS and HURRICANE HOUSING . If you haven’t already, please help out. You never know when you’ll be the one needing a hand, right?

It may seem like an inappropriate time to blab on about something as frivolous as makeup, but in my opinion, when times are tough anything that brings a smile to your face (illegal narcotics, notwithstanding) is game! Beauty products make me happy, dammit, and if loving them is wrong, I don’t wanna be right!

So, onto this week’s post! I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for fall. Enough already with the frizz-inducing humidity and the sweat. So over it. I already have my eye on certain Fall pieces I MUST own—a Catherine Malandrino’s lacy Victoriana blouse, Anna Sui’s bronze velvet empire-waist mini-dress, Christian Dior’s crocodile-embossed flat boots (yeah right, I’d have to mortgage my apartment)…and I can’t WAIT to start rocking them. However, “forcing the season” is one of my hugest pet peeves. You know, when it’s September but still 800 degrees outside, and you’re so pressed to wear your new Michael Kors shearling wedge boots that you do, but end up breaking out in athletes foot from sweating so profusely? That’s the only thing that sucks about buying clothes early for a new season. But beauty’s different! When you shop for a new season of beauty products, you can start wearing them right away without looking like you’re trying too hard (the rules about, say, wearing springy pinks in February, or wearing warm, autumny rusts in August or far more lenient for beauty than fashion). Because I love you, I’ve scouted out five of the most coveted new fall beauty products that just hit the shelves. And what have we learned today? Even though its still blazing outside, wearing this stuff prematurely is well within your beauty rights! Why? Because I said so, silly :-)

xoxoxo forever,
Tia

TIA’S TOP FIVE FALL FINDS:

1. COROMANDELS DE CHANEL, $60: Say hello to the Big Mama of fall beauty. Words cannot capture the luxuriousness, the special-ness, the searing chicness of this fancy little compact. Imprinted with an exotic design inspired by the hand-painted, 17th century floor-to-ceiling Chinese screens Miss Coco if You’re Nasty used as decorative tapestries in her Paris apartment, the powder is separated into three bands of silky-pure color: A gold-sprinkled black powder shadow (smudge around the eye for a smoky moment), a metallic, sheeny gold (use as highlighter in the inner corners of eye, or allover lid for a sunny look), and a warm cinnamon shade (a perfect blush on anyone). Of course, it’s such a work of art, you might just leave it open somewhere on your vanity for a splash of vintage-y decadence.


2. MAC COSMETICS PRO LONGWEAR LUSTRE LIPCOLOR IN LUSTREBEAN, $19.50: Forget what you heard about all the other long-wearing lipsticks out there, this double-sided doozy (one side is the last-till-the-lights-come-on lipcolor, and the other side is a clear, shimmery gloss) truly makes the Earth move for me. I usually am not a fan of stay-put lip products, as they leave that gross, sticky, dehydrated-in-the-Sahara feeling. But leave it to the MAC magicians to develop a formula that’s not only light-as-a-feather soft, but actually MOISTURIZING. Added bonus: It comes in, like, four hundred shades.


3. GRASSROOTS YOUR CUP OF TEA TOTALLY SOOTHING BATH INFUSION, $14: I am head-over-heels CRAZY about Grassroots, a new bath and body line sold exclusively at Kohls stores. Now, before you think, “Kohls, how downmarket,” let me assure you that these good-for-you, lush-smelling products are so decadent, they could be sold at Henri Bendel’s for TRIPLE the price (maybe the fact that Estee Lauder’s research and development team created the collection has something to do with it). I’m particularly into the bath infusions: Pour a capful of this white tea and chamomile-spiked soak into a hot bath, and the heady, just-brewed exotic tea scent relaxes the hell out of you, while sunflower oil leaves your skin seriously soft. It’s the perfect cold-weather treat, but it aint bad right now, either.


4. KIEHLS STYLIST SERIES CLIMATE-PROOF SHINE ENHANCING NON-AEROSOL SPRAY, $13: If you have relaxed, naturally very curly hair like mine, you’ll get this. My always-blown-out hair is quick to frizz, and my whole life I’ve been searching for a spray that will preserve my style without making it sticky, dry-looking, or flaky (when you only wash your hair on Sundays, flakes suck). Well, folks, this is it. Kiehls dreamed up this ultra-fine, light hold hairspray that keeps things together, shields hair from humidity that causes frizz, AND gives great shine. Good thinking.


5. AVEDA PETAL ESSENCE TRIPLE ACCENT IN TOPAZ TAUPE/HEATHER, $18: This is a very smart product. If you’re a do-your-makeup-in-the-subway/car/office bathroom kinda chick, you’ll be thrilled with Aveda’s new dewy, sheer, double-ended pencils for eyes, cheeks, and lips. Each pencil has a different combo, but my hands-down fave is Topaz Taupe/Heather—one end is a highlight-y champagne shade that’s devastating on lids, while the other is a coppery-rose that gives the sexiest flush on cheeks and lips.