Q & A Monday

Hiii girls!
So, I experienced a fabulous flash of glamour last week. Me and Adam went to the premiere of Trust the Man, a romantic comedy starring Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Eva Mendes (my literary agent’s hubbie is the producer!). The movie was super-cute—but for me, it was really all about the celeb-watching. Which is very tacky of me to say, because when New Yorkers are in the presence of A-list celebs, we’re supposed to pretend they’re invisible. So, as I hustled through the crowd, I overdid the air-kissing and omigod-how-ARE-you thing, trying to overcompensate for the fact that I was straight-up gawking at Julianne and Eva. They were so glamorous, primping and posing before the paparazzi, and sweetly answering the reporters’ questions. They never broke their “gracious movie star” character, not even once. Not even when some fourth-rate journalist asked Eva if cutting her hair into a pert bob had changed her sex life (okay, she didn’t answer, but she didn’t smack him, either).

It reminded me of the time I was assaulted by the Tooth Fairy when I worked at Glamour. Beauty editors are frequently subjected to “desk-sides”…which is when a beauty company presents a new product to you at your desk. If the brand is particularly enthusiastic about the product, they’ll get cute and bring along props, like a caricature artist (imagine being subjected to a portrait at 8:30am, pre-coffee), or in the case of Crest White Strips, a real-live tooth fairy. The tooth fairy was, in reality, a buck-toothed actress dressed like Tinkerbelle and wielding a molar-capped magic wand. And, like Julianne and Eva, she NEVER BROKE CHARACTER. I kept needling her, asking, “so, how much are they paying you?” Or, “how did Vogue react to your little act…not well, I’m thinking?” And no matter what I asked, she’d always respond, “Now, now, that’s not the way to earn a quarter under your pillow, young lady.” Ha!

In tribute to the masterful way these ladies stayed cool in the face of questioning, check out my answers to some of your juiciest beauty questions (i know, I'm really reaching...but I REALLY wanted to tell the tooth fairy story)!! If I didn’t get to you this week, stay tuned…and check the comments, too, because you never know when your SYB sisters will drop some of their own expert advice!!

I love you guys. You know I’ll always be here to provide your beauty fix. I’m your pusher, baby.

xoxo,
tia


QUESTION: "Who makes the best top coat? I have recently taken to wearing a deep red nail polish and I want the color to last all week without chipping." --Johnica
ANSWER: I have forever and always been addicted to ESSIE 3-WAY GLAZE ($7), because it, quite literally, does everything. It's an all-in-one base coat, nail stregthener, and top coat. So, you swipe it on before and after your polish, and it leaves you with a chip-free, so-glossy-it-looks-wet finish for, like, a week and a half. Or more. There's a reason most of the high-end nail salons work the hell out of this stuff.


QUESTION: "What's a good leave-in conditioner? I find that most of them are counter productive. As soon as my hairdresser puts that crap on my hair it's weighed down." --Kafi
ANSWER: Ohh honey, I SO have the leave-in conditioner to end all leave-in conditioners. That is, if you're willing to part with some cash (c'mon, it's worth it...we're talking about YOUR HAIR). Many of you have been asking me about the new Ojon haircare line, and girls, you should believe the hype. Ojon products are blended with palm nut oil, which the Central American Tawira Indians have been using in their hair for centuries ("Tawira" actually means "people of beautiful hair" in their language). The fabulous thing about palm nut oil is that, while its incredibly nourishing, it doesn't weigh hair down. It's all about the standout item--the RESTORATIVE HAIR TREATMENT ($55), which is a pre-shampoo treatment (and is actually less heavy on your hair then leave-in conditioner). It comes in solid form, containing 100% pure nut oil. You scoop out a chunk with the provided comb, warm it between your hands until it becomes oil, and then apply throughout dry hair. Leave on for fifteen minutes, then shampoo and condition as usual. Your hair will never look healthier.
***Broke? Try OUIDAD BALANCING RINSE ($14.30), a super-light, oil-free detangling conditioner that manages to make hair so silky without gross buildup. Smells yummy, too.


QUESTION: Has anybody tried the Biore Blackhead Line? --Anonymous
ANSWER: Funny you should ask, Annie Mouse (you don't wanna tell me your name, I'll give you a name). An hour ago, I slapped an ULTRA-DEEP CLEANSING PORE STRIP ($6.38 for 8 strips) on Adam's nose. There's something so disturbingly satisfying about ripping off that strip and seeing all the oil and dirt and weird hairy gunk that comes out of your blackheads (wanna know how? The strips are treated with tea tree oil, menthol and witch hazel, which clear out pores like nobody's business). So, hell yeah Biore's Blackhead line works! But my favorite product is the BIORE SELF-HEATING MASK ($6.98)!! Spread it on wet skin, and the mask instantly heats up, which opens pores and allows the ingredients to fully penetrate, getting rid of blackhead-causing dirt, oil, and dead skin cells. When the mask turns blue, it's done. Brilliant.


QUESTION: "As a black woman with thin lips, I'm always being told by men that they like fuller lips. What can give me fuller lips without going for injections? Please help!" --Unknown diva
ANSWER: Sugar, I'm a black woman with sorta thin lips, too. And that's why I always keep about six vials of DUWOP VENOM FLASH ($17) in my special "beauty emergency" drawer. You've probably heard of the cult-favorite Lip Venom, the tingly lip-plumping gloss that's spiked with a spicy cocktail of essential oils--ie, cinnamon, ginger and pepper--to activate the blood flow to your lips, giving them a rosy, just-bitten flush and a puffy, slightly swollen pout. Warning: this stuff is addictive. Especially since the Duwop geniuses stepped up their game with the new Venom Flash, which contains a shot of gold shimmer. Stunning layered over lipstick.


QUESTION: "Do you have a suggestion for a coral lipstick that would suit a dark beauty like me?" --Tiffany A.
ANSWER: Do I? Honey, you need to own STILA LIP GLAZE IN SPICED GINGER ($20)--it's a fabulously juicy, gold-flecked pinky-coral shade that sooo sultry layered over—yep, you guessed it—MAC Lip Pencil in Chestnut. That's the key to rocking a light shade like coral on dark skin...always make it richer with a brown lip pencil. Send me a picture with your new lips!!