Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Food + Dining Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Shopping + Style Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Arts + Entertainment Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Travel + Visitors Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Homes Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Health Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Giving Mpls.St.Paul Magazine Weddings Parties + Nightlife
Ali Shops Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Beauty’

Danny Seo’s Eco-Friendly Towels

Monday, June 6th, 2011

Danny Seo makes me feel like a slacker. Every time I see the green lifestyle expert, who visits the Twin Cities frequently to promote his Wholearth beauty line on ShopNBC, he’s got another new product and he’s just been on national TV and he’s re-doing a celebrity’s home and he’s doing something or other to save the planet (or at least rid our mattresses of bugs and other unspeakably awful stuff) – all while tweeting and blogging to keep us in the loop.

When we met for dinner at Lurcat recently, he presented me with a bag of towels from HomeGoods. Not just any towels – the new Danny Seo Eco-Existence towels. They’re super absorbent with quick drying ringspun loops – a fancy way of saying they dry faster than traditional towels and are less prone to mildew. Beyond being good for the earth, they’re soft -and extremely affordable: $5.99 for a bath towel. The collection includes bath mats, too, all in nature-inspired colors including creamy white, desert khaki and slate gray.

Of course when I told Danny I want to buy more of his towels, he advised me to hurry: He’s going to be mentioning them on The View tomorrow, June 7. Figures.

Cheating on Bobbi Brown

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Forgive me, Bobbi Brown. I didn’t intend to cheat. You’ve been a loyal ally – getting me through many an exhausting day with your enlightened Corrector and Creamy Concealer. Of course, I’ll never forget the day I first brushed cheeks with your SPF15 Tinted Moisturizer. It gave me exactly what I, a foundation avoider, needed: Sheer, natural-looking coverage. I tried to ignore the advances of Clinique’s new Moisture Surge Tinted Moisturizer SPF15, but, gosh, everyone’s been raving and, frankly, it’s nearly half the price ($24.50 vs. $40). I could not suppress the urge to check it out, and I’ve got to say – it is not just a cheap substitute. It goes on sheer, just like you, and gives me that little bit of coverage, smoothing and brightening I crave. I hope we can stay friends.

Macy’s Beauty Impulse

Thursday, March 3rd, 2011

Macy’s is expanding its youthful, contemporary Impulse concept from fashion to beauty. A new Impulse Beauty department will showcase brands like Urban Decay, Stila, Too Faced, Essie and others. Mall of America will be the first (and so far only) location to get the new department. It is scheduled to open April 2 with a party, including beauty tips from pros and special gifts with purchase.

Meanwhile, Macy’s downtown Minneapolis store no longer carries Nanette Lepore. Nor does the “flagship” boast the new Bar III department for young shoppers. Increasingly, you’ve got to go to the ‘burbs to get the good stuff.

Love is a good blowout

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

Nothing says love like a good blowout. That's blowout – as in hair. Every girl loves one, and the always enterprising Jon Charles Salon is encouraging men to attend its popular Blow Dry Boot Camp for Valentine's Day. The salon says 10 brave gents have already signed on to learn how to style their loved one's locks. Lessons are available at the Uptown and Wayzata locations Friday, Feb. 12 to Sunday, Feb. 14. Bring your partner for the promotional price of $25. And guys, you'd better have a dinner reservation to follow: She's going to want to show off her new 'do, even if you can think of other things you'd rather do.

Beauty Clunkers is a winner

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

So let me get this straight: StormSister Spatique in St. Paul is inviting women to bring the contents of their beauty junk drawer to the store. That's right, all of it. Owner and product fanatic Becky Sturm will clean up your stuff – those many lotions, potions and serums you bought or got for free and used once or not at all. She'll tell you what to keep, how to use it and what to toss. She'll even take care of recycling the throwaways. Then, Sturm will reward you for her efforts with samples and a voucher good for 50 percent off one product.
I love it when retailers make the effort.

FREE Estee Lauder Night Repair

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Esteenightrepair Plan to swing by an Estee Lauder counter – anywhere, nationwide – from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday, July 23 for a free seven-day sample of the New Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex (you'll be required to recite that name three times, fast. kidding, but really – do they think a longer name makes it sound more important?). Estee Lauder will hand out 250,000 samples of this longtime favorite, which has been reworked with something called Chronolux Technology to protect the skin and repair visible damage. A 1-ounce jar of the new cream will sell for $47.50.

Channeling Tina Turner

Thursday, April 2nd, 2009

IMG_3284
My hair is longer than ever as I – like so many nervous consumers – stretch the weeks between cuts. I've always wanted it this long, but would get too impatient and frustrated and cut it off (now it's a national holiday if I can coordinate an hour without children or work during salon hours). The truth is, my hair has never been the problem. Operator error is my curse. I'm just not good at doing my hair. I've been wearing it straight because it took years for me to learn how to use the straightening iron and I figured out that once I got it sort of calmed down, it would stay that way for days. "Natural" is, of course, a joke. Without styling, my hair looks like a crazy person. I've inquired, from time to time, about going wavy, but was put off by the steps involved in looking like you spent no time on your hair. Even Gisele doesn't wake up with those amazing waves, stylists say. And then they reconsider. Okay, maybe she does. But most people (i.e. losers like me) don't. I spent a recent beach vacation imagining my wet hair all loose waves and sex appeal, but in the mirror, it was more aftermath of electrocution. I complained to my stylist tonight that nothing works. He promised the length would help my thick locks fall more gracefully into place. Not true. My long bangs don't swoop like Katie Holmes'. And on top of it, the hair I lost during pregnancy is back – and wreaking frizzy havoc all around my face. "You're just bored," my stylist diagnosed. So he cut off an inch, did some rounding or straightening of layers or something and then diffused, diffused, diffused and scrunched, scrunched, scrunched. The result? No one will notice those frizzies now, nor do I need to worry about my bangs going the right direction. It's a little bit lioness, and I think I'm ok with that – tonight anyway. Of course now, the straightening creams, smoothing serums and irons I've spent years amassing are out the window and for the first time in my life with thick hair, I've been told to buy volumizer and get a diffuser. So much for cutbacks. Roar.

Makeup wipeout

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

In case you were thinking you still had time to swing by a department store to collect your free cosmetics, forget it – or at least, call first. Macy's in St. Paul was down to a couple of remaining products by lunch time. Bloomingdale's at Mall of America is wiped out. "It was a mob scene," a manager said. Amazing how "free" motivates us. Beauty companies ought to keep that in mind.


mspmag.com | Mpls.St.Paul Magazine © 2008 MSP Communications, Inc. All rights reserved