A dark, Clara Bow-style vampy lip is gorgeous for fall, but it does take some guts to wear. I've recently discovered the perfect low-key alternative however--Laura Mercier's Lip Glacé in a new shade called Gala. It's a sheer, dark, sexy ruby that's got the whole understated glamour thing down pat. 
At the back of the store, Brooke Shields, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Mena Suvari formed a celebrity huddle. Suvari, clad in a jewel-toned blue Hugo Boss dress and elbow length fingerless gloves by designer Lauren Urstadt ("I'm like, from L.A., dude. I'm not used to the weather,") had her fiance, Simon Sestito, in tow. She said that they were leaving for Italy the next day to promote Suvari's latest flick, The Garden of Eden, which is based on a Hemingway novel. In the film, Suvari's character, Catherine, draws her husband into a destructive menage a trois on their honeymoon. "It's a very racy, sexual film," she intoned. 
As Shields helped herself to the mini desserts she happily talked Halloween. Her husband, she explained, will be taking the kids trick-or-treating while she's on set. The Lipstick Jungle star was eager to promote her home ec-skills. "One costume I made, the other costume I didn't," she said, pouting a bit. She said that she personally sewed the costume for her older daughter, Rowan (who's going as a dalmation), but that her younger daughter, Grier, insisted on a store-bought pink poodle ensemble. "I told her, 'I can make it, I can make it!' And she goes, 'No, no, I want that!' I got totally shafted." 
The launch party for Billy Reid's namesake store last week was a Bourbon-swilling trip down South, right here in New York. But as much as we enjoyed the libations, we were even more impressed with the space. Known for his tailored craftsmanship, love of tweeds, and gentle disposition, Reid showed off the store that he has been toiling over (literally chopping his own wood for the staircase and ceiling) ever since he spotted the location on Bond Street. Sticking to his Louisiana roots, Reid's first outpost north of the Mississippi features pre-Civil War flooring recovered from a cotton gin and an assortment of antiques. For sale, there's made-to-measure clothing, denim and knitwear.
If you don't live in Gotham, don't fret; a Nashville store is set to open in two weeks (and there's plenty to buy on his website). But if you do, be sure to pop by for a bourbon or some sweet tea, which are provided well into the evening in the store's hospitality suite.
The corridors of the offices of Studio Museum in Harlem have the expected institutional feel: fluorescent lighting, chipped linoleum floor tiles. But dreariness comes to an abrupt halt at the entrance of Saya Woolfalk's studio, which, when I visited in September to interview the artist, was chock-a-block with her latest works, which included funky costumes made from felt and a gold-colored cardboard sculpture Woolfalk described as a portal between our world and the imaginary realm she's constructed in her art. Here's a quick 360 video of Woolfalk's creations:Top: An installation view of No Place: (pre)Constructed, 2008.
$35 for a box of 30 towelettes, available at mdskincare.comWe spotted them on Diane Von Furstenberg's spring runway, and then again at Kenzo and Armani. Koi Suwannagate served them up in pretty appliques and dazzling neckwear. We're talking butterfly motifs here. But none of those chic lepidoptera can quite hold a candle to this, a gemstone creation dubbed "Aurora Butterfly of Peace" on view now at the Royal Ontario Museum.
The "Butterfly of Peace" is composed of a startling 240 natural colored diamonds in the shape of a butterfly, with a total weight of 167 carats. "No two are identical," says its creator, New York-based diamond dealer Alan Bronstein. And indeed, the array is stunning, cast as it is in cognac, pink, blue, green and deep crimson. But turn off the lights and there's another surprise. When held under an ultra-violet light--on the off chance you just happen to have one lying around--his diamonds wax fluorescent (see below).
Despite the current retail doldrums, not to mention Burberry's competing event in Beverly Hills, Catherine Malandrino managed to pull off a decent showing at the opening of her new West Hollywood concept store, Maison Malandrino. The party officially started when the designer's longtime muse Mary J. Blige, a co-host of the party, made her entrance in a (surprisingly demure) black jersey dress with cascading paillettes. 
Will Herb and Dorothy, the uber-charming documentary about New Yorkers Herb and Dorothy Vogel—a working-class couple who managed to build one of the most important collections of 20th century art -- be 2009's answer to Spellbound? At this past weekend's Hamptons International Film Festival, the movie, which first time director Megumi Sasaki financed largely on her own, relying on personal loans and credit cards, picked up both the audience and the jury prizes for Best Documentary. 
Though her pals in Paris still aren't sipping the home-shopping Kool-Aid, designer Loulou de la Falaise (left) is more than happy to ply her trade on HSN. In fact, in a live segment airing on Monday, the fashion icon and former muse to Yves Saint Laurent will be unveiling more merch than ever. Having launched her line last spring with jewelry, she's since added bags, shoes and a smattering of clothing. "Now I've got the full head-to-toe look," she says, walking me through an assortment of wallet-friendly looks. (While there are a few stand-out pieces, especially some of the bijoux, let's just say we're not yet lusting after the clothes.) Pin-thin, wearing a number of her own HSN pieces (including cute purple suede peep-toe ankle boots), de la Falaise is pretty much textbook Intimidating French Woman. "I'm sure only about 1 percent of the HSN audience knows exactly who I am," she says, laughing. "I guess the rest just figure it out as I go along." 
It’s no secret that I’m a beauty product whore. I love trying new things, and have convinced myself that my hair and skin are all the healthier for their exposure to a different “miracle” ingredient every morning and night. But in the last month, not one, but two, formulas have become my new standbys.
The first comes courtesy of Swiss skincare company Neocutis (left), which is in the freaky-sounding business of using cultured fetal skin cells to help reduce wrinkles and improve firmness. I can’t confirm whether this actually works but I can attest that their Journee tinted day cream with SPF 15 is an incredible complexion booster. Every other sunscreen-laden moisturizer I’ve ever used has resulted in an oily forehead within hours. Not this one. And the tint, while subtle, has an uncanny ability to even out my complexion, allowing me to sometimes (gasp!) forego foundation altogether.
The second product I’ve discovered is the Totally Transforming Concealer by Senna. Never a fan of mineral makeup, I’ve always found it too matte and mask-like on me. Senna’’s concealer, on the other hand, is different. For all my adult life, no matter which or how much concealer I’d apply, those pesky undereye circles would be visible by day’s end through my
ultra-pale skin. Since I’ve discovered this one, though, I’ve been raking in the complexion compliments, even a full 12-hours after applying. Suddenly, product monogamy seems not so bad after all.
