Mascara - 5 Tips To Fabulous Lashes

During the summer we want to wear less makeup than during the rest of the year, so we cut back on most things, but one product that stays essential is mascara. You can have a nearly bare face, but still look totally pulled together if you've taken care of your brows, lashes and lips.

With lashes being so important at this time of year today I'm giving you Mascara - 5 Tips To fabulous

1. Curl Them
The first tip to perfect summer lashes is to curl them.
Curling lashes opens up the eye and keeps you looking brighter.
Use a great eyelash curler such as Shu Uemura, and rather than a single quick crunch, hold for an extra few seconds, and pump the curler. I normally give 5 pumps with a little extra hold on the last one.

2. Start At The Inner Corner
You want to create a perfect fan of lashes, so start at the inner corner, where you'll catch little lashes you didn't even realize you have, and then work your way out to the outer corner.

3. Build At The Root
One of the big mistakes people make is not getting mascara all the way at the base of the lash. Start at the base and then work your way out. Just applying mascara to the mid-lengths or ends looks awful and clumpy.

4. Use 2 Formulas
Want to really build some big, full lashes? Try using 2 different formulas. Start with a couple of good coats of your first mascara, then do a third coat with a different mascara. It works like magic creating a thick fringe of lashes.

5. Use 2 Tones
If you're going to use two formulations, try using two different shades to really enhance the eye.
I like to build a lash with black mascara, then go over it with an aubergine hue to really spark the eye color. Purple/eggplant tones look gorgeous against any eye color, making the eye and the eye color itself stand out, which is what we are trying to achieve anyway.

Sea And Sun ~ Laetitia Casta For Madame Figaro

French actress and model Laetitia Casta gets sultry by the sea
for the cover and an editorial in the July 2014 issue of 
Madame Figaro.

 Casta was photographed by Nico, soaking up the sun divine in summer chic. 
I love summer/beach stories featuring dark haired beauties.

10 Carry On Essentials For International Flights

I spend a lot of time on planes. I'm always flying somewhere.
I like to travel light, but when it comes to long haul international flights I have a list of essentials that absolutely must come in my carry on with me.

In light of the fact that I'm about to lead the first ever 
Corinna B's World Glam Italia Tour, and that these items have made it onto the list I'm giving the ladies on my tour, I thought you might like to check them out as well.

1. My Pashmina.
Actually, I have a few. But this giant pashmina is the one I travel with. I recommend buying real pashmina instead of a big scarf. Pashmina is super light and thin, so it packs down well, but it is also incredibly warm. 
Airlines give you blankets, but they are nasty. My son's airline blanket last year was full of moth eaten holes - it was awful! So I circumvent any potential problems or violent skin disorders by bringing my own.
My pashmina is big enough to use as a blanket, but also can be a chic accessory or great option instead of a bulky jacket.

2. Compression Hose/Socks
Before you die laughing, know that 20 years ago I was given a pair of these by a major model prior to embarking on a trans world flight. It was one of the best gifts ever.
The theory is that on long flights when you are stuck sitting there for hours, blood, lymph and other fluids pool in your calves, ankles and feet. It can be painful, the swelling is definitely ugly, and getting into your shoes can be really tricky. 
Compression socks/hose keep the fluids moving. Deep vein thrombosis is a definite risk with long flights, and compression hose are recommended by doctors to lessen that risk.
You can actually get full hose that come up to the waist, but that looks like too much drama for me, so I just use the sock version, and swear by them. 

3. Bose headphones.

Mine aren't the noise cancelling ones, but they are still brilliant, both for their Bose audio quality, and for their ability to knock out an enormous amount of cabin noise.

4. Travel Sized Lysol Spray
I've just added this one in for all airline travel, both domestic and international, after sitting for 5 hours on a plane with someone's hair grease all over the window.
And a flight attendant told me that women routinely pull down the tray  table and change babies diapers on them, and they are seldom cleaned in between flights.
Gag me.
Now at least I can lysol down anything that looks iffy.

5. Facial Cleansing Wipes
These are essential beauty wise. I don't fly long trips with makeup on  (you're going to look hideous on landing if you start the trip with makeup on) but I still like to be able to cleanse my skin, especially towards the end of the flight.

6. Nude Pro Genius Treatment Oil

This is one of my all time favorite skin care products. Ever.
When you fly you lose an extra 8oz of water for every hour you are up there, which wrecks havoc on your skin. You are also stuck for hours in dirty, recycled air.
Just as I don't want to arrive to my new destination with cankles and swollen feet, I also don't want to arrive with dried out, lifeless, grey skin. I want my skin to glow. 
So I use Nude Pro Genius Treatment Oil several times during the flight. It is full of good stuff including Omegas 3, 6, 7 and 9, and instantly hydrates your skin as well as providing nutrients and keeping it smooth and glowing.
I wrote about this wonder oil last year. You can check out all the amazing things it does here.

7. My Stephanie Johnson Miami Cosmetic Bag

I always travel with Stephanie Johnson makeup and toiletry bags - they are the best bags I've ever found. They not only look super chic and are endlessly functional, but they are well built too, which means all your goodies arrive at your destination in one piece, and not leaking all through your carry on bag or suitcase.
I'm in love with the Miami collection for travel because they are see through, so they sail through the TSA X-ray machines without you having to take out all your liquid and cream based beauty items or put them into ziplock bags. I love how efficient they are, as well as the fact that I can see everything inside.

8. Oribe Cote D'Azur Hair Refresher, Travel Size



Nothing on earth smells like Oribe hair products! They are divine.

This one is an essential carry on item because after a long international flight your hair not only looks trashed, but with 8 hours+ of recycled air, it smells awful too.
A quick spritz of Oribe Cote D'Azur Hair Refresher not only cuts static in your hair and makes your hairdo recoverable (so you don't get off the plane looking awful) but it makes it smell glorious. So if the most handsome man in the world comes in for a hello kiss and a cuddle, he won't have to pull his head away when he catches a whiff of your hair...



9. Emergenc-C
I always have packets of Emergenc-C onboard with me. I buy a couple of bottles of water before I board my flight, and make sure I drink at least 2 packets of Emergenc-C at some point during the flight. I am convinced it helps me to circumvent jet lag.
It's all part of my theory that when your flight lands you are feeling refreshed and lovely and looking great, so that you don't miss one minute of your trip.

10. A Journal.

I buy these leather bound journals every year in Florence. I keep track of my world and all the magnificent people I encounter in them, as well as buying them as gifts.
This year I might do a Corinna B's World giveaway of a leather bound journal from Florence. Would you want to enter to win one?

Perfect Icons ~ Supermodels Cover Vogue Japan September 2014

Where is Christy Turlington?? It would have been fantastic to see her complete the triumvirate with Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell on the cover of Vogue Japan September 2014 issue!

Vogue Japan salutes the 80's supermodels with their Perfect Icons cover, featuring Linda and Naomi along with Stephanie Seymour, Claudia Schiffer and Nadja Auermann.

There is a fold out with 90's models Carolyn Murphy, Eva Herzigova, Guinevere Van Seenus, and Karen Elsen,
and then 2000's models Natasha Poly, Saskia de Brauw, Tao Okamoto, Malgosia Bela and Mariacarla Boscano

Photographed by Luigi and Iango

Perfect Icons ~ some of my favorite images

New Florals ~ How To Spend It Magazine

I am just completely beside myself over this one!

I always obsess over Damian Foxe's amazing editorials in the Financial Times' How To Spend It Magazine.

The pairing of Damian with photographer Andrew Yee 

is one of the most fascinating collaborations in 

contemporary editorials. 

They never ever fail to provide a visual banquet.

My July has been a mad work marathon of endless fashion editorials, ad campaigns and lifestyle shoots,

and today is my first chance all month to really take time to

catch up on the fabulous world of international editorials,

so am just now stumbling (deliriously) upon this work of art,

not only styled by Damian Foxe, but photographed by him too. 

I had no idea he was a lensman!

Foxe's brilliance lies in the fact that a story about summer floral fashion is essentially not exciting at all.

To a degree it's like an essay on kitten heels.

And yet. And yet.

In Foxe's hands it becomes mesmerizing.

Maddeningly so.

His casting of Anushka Stupakoff, Mariah Morrison and 

Lucy Gascoyne is brilliant. The addition of hair stylist 

Francome Painter and Makeup artist Marco Antonio

is the final perfect touch.

I beyond love this.

I can't stop looking at it.

And I never pay attention to florals...

New Florals

Skin Care Antioxidants - How To Get The Most Out Of Them

Last week I wrote about different antioxidants in skin care products, and how to decode them.
Today we are going to look at how to get the most out of the antioxidants in your skin care, in 5 simple steps.

1. Read The Ingredient List.
If the antioxidants in your lotions and potions are at the bottom of the ingredient list they have probably been added as preservatives, and are unlikely to be active ingredients. As such you get no benefit from them.

2. Use A Gel Or A Serum    

Kate Sommerville Antioxidant Serum

Gels and serums are easier mediums to stabilize the antioxidants in, and typically you will use a serum underneath your moisturizer, which makes it more effective. The heavy hitting ingredients that do the big jobs should ideally be as close to the skin as possible, in the first products you apply.

3. Mix Up A Blend
Antioxidants work synergisticly together and target different free radicals, so the more you have on, the better.
Some skin care products contain blends, but if your don't then layer them.

4. Time It Right
If you pile all your products on top of each other you will have a skincare soup on the surface of the skin, diluting the efficacy of the specialty ingredients. So cleanse your skin, then apply your serum and give it a few minutes to penetrate and soak in. Then apply your moisturizer, again giving it a few minutes (pour yourself a cup of coffee or lay out your clothes etc) then once your moisturizer has absorbed apply your facial SPF.

Fashion Editor Giovanna Battaglia (Bat Gio) in NYC with Fendi Baguette

5. Know When You Need Them
Antioxidants are a barrier and pacman like combatants to environmental pollutants, so you need to use them at the right time.
For most of us that means applying them in the morning before going out to face the day.
However, if you are going to spend the evening in a smoky bar or be out in the city in the evening its a good idea to have your antioxidant serums on then. 
They are somewhat wasted if you just apply them before bed.

How To Find The Perfect Dress

Do you ever struggle trying to find the perfect dress

for your body shape, that matches your personal sense of style?

M.M. LaFleur is a fantastic fashion source that guides you into your perfect dress via their super user friendly website.

The company is the brainchild of the pairing of Sarah, a former corporate worker, and Miyako, a former luxury designer at Zac Posen, and also at Jason Wu (one of my absolute favorite designers) 

The two decided to create the ideal work wear wardrobe options marrying function and form with a high fashion aesthetic.

See their story here.

They wanted to create a better product offering luxury without the huge designer price tag.

They also understood that not all working women have the time to endlessly roam the store racks, so they devised a fabulous web experience where you enter information about your personal sense of style and your body size and shape, and then are shown 4 ideal options to meet your needs.

M.M. LaFleur then ships you 4 dresses, you have 7 days to decide which dresses you want, and then you simply return the ones you don't want with their super simple return kit.

They cover the shipping both ways - its all very simple and efficient.

To find out the perfect dress for you, simply answer the quick and easy questions here, and you are all set!

Check out some gorgeous images of one of the dress options on one of my absolute favorite blogs, Damsel In Dior, 

and read what she has to say about M.M. LaFleur

Into The Blue ~ Fashion Magazine Canada

I love Canada's Fashion Magazine.

I love great editorials, and they always provide them.

In the new issue of Fashion Magazine photographer 

Gabor Jurina takes model Karolina Babczynska 

and his crew to beautiful Bora Bora 

for a divine mid-summer story

of ocean-side luxury that has me craving the beach.

Into The Blue