A Few Of My Favorite Things

I'm always being asked about my favorite things. 
I was given some amazing products in the lead up to Christmas, and I bought some really great items, and some of it got lost in the holiday madness and didn't make it to the blog, but today I want to show you an assortment of my absolute favorite beauty items of the moment.

I have been hearing so much about Sunday Riley products for a while now. My winter Rachel Zoe Box Of Style had a full size jar of Sunday Riley's uber celebrated Tidal Brightening Enzyme Water Cream.

This is the cream that everyone is raving about and I can totally see why! This is a next generation super hydrating cream that holds water and nutrients to the skin, plumping it up and making it look youthful, all the while brightening it and getting rid of that dull, lifeless winter complexion. It is really, really fabulous.
(Tidal is going to be an amazing product to travel with this year too.)
I seriously want to try out the Sunday Riley Juno Hydroactive Cellular Face Oil which I hear is just amazing. It's going to be the next new skin care product that I buy.

You can find Sunday Riley products online at Space NK.

From my Bloomingdale's Beauty Box, which was a birthday gift from Bloomingdale's, I fell in love with the new Tory Burch fragrance, Love Relentlessly.



I have worn it every day for the past month and just adore it. It is pure romance.

Bloomingdale's also gave me my new favorite mascara too. 
It's from Clarins and is called Supra Volume Mascara.

In it's tube it is quite unassuming, and I really thought it would just be a "nice mascara", but this one is an absolute powerhouse lash builder! It makes my lashes huge, but not gunky. They stay defined, separated, long and thick all day long. I am convinced that Supra Volume Mascara is the french girl's secret weapon. 
I was sent so many mascaras last year, most of which I never wrote about as I only talk about the products I love. This one is the real deal.

I am always looking for concealers that I can love. Most either don't hold all day (my days are looooong! I'm constantly leaving home at 8 am and not getting back til 11 pm) or they are too heavy, which just makes you look old and tired, or they don't color correct out the dark shadows well enough.

I am obsessed with Nars Radiant Creamy Concealer. I bought mine at Nordstrom before Thanksgiving and have worn it every day since. My shade is Honey, but they have tons of them, all calibrated with different undertones to color correct out your under eye demons. (10 I think?) They also have a fantastic color selection, so you can be the palest girl or the darkest goddess and they still have you covered.
They don't crease, have a luminous finish that bounces light off, making your eye look refreshed, last all day long, and frankly are the best concealers I have used in years. Love.

From Stila I have been enjoying Aqua Glow Watercolor Blush. 

The colors are fresh and pretty and the product is buildable. 
I love really glowing, gorgeous complexions so often I find that powder blushes can either look heavy on the skin or deaden the glow. This one breathes life into the skin and gives it a gorgeous radiance.

Lastly, my new favorite lip product is Sephora's Lip Stain.
They have a creamy texture but a matte finish, the colors are fabulous, and they only cost $14!!

image via Modern Maires Blog

Every time I walk past a Sephora I go in and buy another one. They are gorgeous!

The Most Searched Lipstick Shade Of 2016

Do you follow The Zoe Report?
I get it in my inbox every day, I follow The Zoe Report on Instagram, and at the beginning of each season I receive the Rachel Zoe Box Of Style.

I recently read this article written by Andrea Navarro on The Zoe Report, and thought it was fabulous.

Red has long been the reigning lipstick color in the beauty world—it has the uncanny ability to take nearly any makeup look from plain Jane to bombshell status in an instant. However this year, a new shade has given the classic rouge a run for its money. According to an annual report conducted by Polyvore, searches for nude lipstick skyrocketed by 553%, making it the most searched color this year. This trend could mean that consumers are opting for more toned-down beauty looks, as nude hues are meant to resemble one’s natural lip color. To honor the newly crowned lipstick shade, we’ve compiled some of our favorite nudes for you to shop now.

image via @bitebeauty

Amuse Bouche Lipstick in Hineycomb $32

Liquid Lipstick In Ashton, Anastasia Beverly Hills, $20

Yves Saint Laurent Pur Couture Lipstick In Beige Ingenue, $37

Be Legendary Lipstick in Famous, $21

Giorgio Armani Lipstick in 202, $37

Stay All Day Matte'ificent Lipstick in Palais, $22

Sinner Lipstick in Bare Nude, Lipstick Queen $24

Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G. Lipstick in Hepburn Honey, $32

How To Give Your Skin The Perfect Bronze Kiss For Fall And Winter

I just got back from teaching my Beauty 101 class at the Pinner's Conference in Utah.
I flew out there in my role of Beauty Director for Luca Magazine 
(a title I am very proud to hold!) 

One of the things I spoke about in Salt Lake City on Friday was the use and abuse of one of the greatest makeup products ever created, bronzer. I've had so many messages from ladies in the audience asking me about the product that I was telling them about that I decided to write a post about it.

Bronzer isn't designed to fix a bad foundation choice, or to contour your face. It is designed to make you look all glowy and warm, as though you were just out in the sun.

The makeup transition from summer to winter can be tricky. As you lose that summer glow a powder bronzer can look manic. The color sits up on top of the skin and can look anywhere from Trump-orange to bogus-tan, and if the particles are large it can create a mad flickering effect to your complexion.
So if you are feeling washed out, what's a girl to do? Don't worry, I have a plan for you.

This is my absolute favorite bronzer. 

 stila Aqua Glow Perfecting Bronzer, 1 fl. oz.is a bronzing gel from Stila Cosmetics.

I've been using it for ages on myself as well as in my pro makeup kit.

my makeup table at a recent Luca Magazine shoot

close up - Aqua Glow

As we transition through fall I am still using it every day. I like to apply a small amount to my cheekbones and blend it into my skin for a soft glow. On days like today I wear it alone, on days where I'm wearing foundation or BB Cream, I wear it underneath. It gives you a hint of controlled color that stops you from looking pasty or washed out but doesn't look like you're trying to fake out a long weekend in the Bahamas. You can also add a tiny bit to your foundation if you need to warm the color up.

I love it because it looks natural and has a fresh glowy finish that makes your skin look alive. 

I used Aqua Glow Perfecting Gel Bronzer on Ford model Amberly Ray on a shoot for Luca Magazine.
Her skin looks sunkissed yet autumn/winter appropriate

It's super concentrated so you only use a small amount, which makes it great value too! Stila's Aqua Glow Perfecting Bronzer 

I can never find it in stores, so I always order it online.

Free standard shipping for when you spend $50 or more at Stila Cosmetics

How To Simplify Your Summer Beauty Routine

Don't you just love summer??
It gets a little on the warm side here in Phoenix, but even so I love summer. I love summer clothes, I love escaping to the beach, I love long summer evenings by the pool with friends and margaritas - I love it all.

Simple Summer Beauty
image by Kyle Goldie
makeup by Corinna Cooke

One of the things that I especially love is being able to relax the beauty routine over the summer months. 

Most of us get some extra color in our faces during summer, (even when we are trying not to!) so we can scale back on other makeup, streamline the makeup process, and get out the door more quickly with a fresh dewy look. Remember, a full face of makeup looks silly on a hot summer's day.

So here are 5 quick steps to a simple but fresh summer face that's perfect for your everyday look .

1. Cleanse

Give your skin a quick cleanse in the morning to make sure it looks fresh and pretty.
If you tend to get oilier in the hot months, need help with your 
T-Zone being extra shiny or get more breakouts (like most of us!) try Ren Clarimatte T-Zone Control Cleansing Gel. I order it online from Space NK

2. Even Out Your Skin

After your facial SPF has soaked into your skin use a BB Cream instead of a foundation. BB Creams have moisturizer and primer built in, and give you a thin veil or gorgeous color so that you look polished but fresh.

Try Clarins BB Skin Perfecting Cream. It's easy to buy online from Nordstrom because it color adjusts to match you - all you do is choose from Fair, Light, Medium and Dark

3. Work Your Cheek Game

 Get a gorgeous glow on your cheeks with my favorite new product (it was new to me but is has been around for a while), Stila's fantastic Aqua Glow Perfecting Bronzer. 

I'm obsessed with this super easy to use gel bronzer. You can mix it into foundation or use it alone to create a glowy bronze to your cheeks. It's not sparkly like most bronzers, instead it melts into your skin and just glows, leaving you fresh faced and looking like you've been running around outside in the sunshine.

4. Accent Your Brows

My new favorite brow game is Anastasia of Beverly Hills Brow Definer. 

The texture is fantastic, I love the colors, and the shape of the pencil makes it easy to give yourself a defined brow without morphing into those ludicrous "Instagram brows". I get mine at Nordstrom.

5. Seal It with A Kiss

The final step in a super simple summer makeup routine is creating a gorgeous mouth.
You can go one of two ways, either keep the soft, neutral, glowing look by adding a spectacular neutral lip (as opposed to a boring neutral lip). Or, dial it up with a bold, vibrant lip.

I am obsessing over the new Charlotte Tilbury lip collection. Charlotte knows her way around a sexy lip, and her new celebrity inspired Hot Lips collection doesn't disappoint.

Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Kim K.W.

If you want a neutral lip look, try Charlotte's Kardashian inspired Kim K.W. It's a pink toned neutral, so super pretty with warmth to it.

Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Hot Emily

If you are a golden skinned girl and want a bold lip, try Hot Emily, inspired by the ridiculously sexy Emily Ratajkowski.

Charlotte Tilbury Hot Lips in Carina's Love

If you are a cool toned girl and Hot Emily feels a little too orange/coral for you, my other favorite that will not only give you vibrancy all summer, but will be your best friend all winter is Charlotte Tilbury's new Hot Lips in Carina's Love

8 Travel Beauty Essentials

Summertime is all about heading out on vacation.
I'm packing at the moment for a month in Italy leading two Glam Italia Tours (make sure you follow us on Instagram!) so it seemed like a really good time to talk about Travel beauty Essentials.

Travel is tough on your skin.
Air travel is tough on your skin.
Just being in a different climate or in a place with different water can be really tough on your skin.
No one wants to deal with crazy breakouts (hello humidity!) or look dried out like the crypt keeper while they are on vacation. Especially me! So I have 8 beauty essentials that travel with me everywhere I go in the world as well as here in America, to make sure my skin looks great, which in turn makes me feel great!

Allianz Global Assistance Travel Insurance. Get a free quote.

Remember too that especially for summer travel you really don't want to be cavorting around with a full face of makeup on, trying to cover up breakouts.

1. Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mist

This is one of my all time favorite skin care products and is just the absolute greatest thing to have with you when you are flying, especially on long haul/international flights. In fact it is the holy grail of travel skin care products!
I don't wear makeup when I fly (just brows and a bold lip) because quite apart from the fact that makeup looks hellacious when you land, your skin is fighting enough battles at 38,000 feet in hours of regurgitated air - it doesn't need to battle foundation as well.
When you have bare skin, even if that means cleansing your face after takeoff, you can pamper, or at least hydrate your skin by spritzing this gorgeous mist during the flight.I swear you can feel your skin relax every time you do!
The full size bottle is allowable in your cabin baggage, but many of the Tatcha products including the Dewy Skin Mist also come in travel size.

2. Tatcha Indigo Soothing Silk Hand Cream

I got my hands on the Indigo collection from Tatcha a few years ago when winter weather was tearing up my skin. The Indigo collection are healing products, and to this day I still travel with a travel sized tube of Tatcha's Indigo Soothing Silk Hand Cream. In flight it keeps my hands and cuticles from getting dried out and nasty, and the tube is small enough to keep in my handbag while I'm out and about.

Nuxe Reve de Miel Nourishing Lip Balm.

I have tried so many lip balms, but this one I keep coming back to. 
It's nice and heavy, doesn't dry out or strip your lip, and softens and moisturizes like no other!

Fly in comfort with Lufthansa

Eye Gels

Have you ever had a good look at people deplaning from a long international flight? They always look beaten up around the eyes. The same goes for when you've spent time out in hot weather, be it pool-side, at the ocean, on a boat - you name it.
I am a huge fan of eye gels. I use them on the plane (if people around me are sleeping), sometimes I will slip them on and then put my sleeping mask over top. I use them while I am away too.
What they do is super hydrate the under eye area, depuff, revitalize, and make the under eye look refreshed. I'm not sure that they say they take out the blue/grey under your eyes, but I am convinced that they do. Maybe they get the blood circulating through the area or maybe the nutrients just reflect off something glorious, but either way they are wonderful!
I buy my eye gels online at Memebox. They are very inexpensive and worth their weight in gold!

Facial Oil

I treat myself to Tatcha's Camellia Facial Oil when I travel.
It comes in travel size, so you don't have to break the bank to get it.
I use it during the flight and also every day while I'm away. It super hydrates and nourishes the skin, so your complexion looks luminous, but it also has a dry finish, so you don't look slimy. It is fantastic!

Oribe Dry Texturing Spray

Have you ever smelled Oribe products??? They smell heavenly.
Have you ever smelled hair after a long haul flight??  Quite apart from the fact that your hair looks lank and flat after a long flight, 8 hours plus in that stale, over-circulated air makes your hair smell. It's gross. Especially gross when you are standing in long lines of humans waiting to go through passport control. Especially gross when you are going to be met with a big, long hug on the other side of customs and immigration.
So I always pack the travel size of Oribe Dry Texturing spray in my hand luggage. It works like a dry shampoo to give your hairdo some body, and it smells so fabulous you won't be worried about anyone burying their face in your hair.

Stila Aqua Glow Gel Bronzer

This one is a recent addition to my travel arsenal, but it is fantastic!
When you deplane after a long flight your skin has a nasty grey hue to it. No one (who hasn't flown first class) looks fantastic after a long flight, everyone looks hellish.
If you try to put color back into your complexion with a bronzing powder it sits on top of that ashen skin and looks orange. 

Last year I started using Stila's Aqua Glow Perfecting Bronzer gel and I totally love it! You just put a tiny amount in the general area of the apples of your cheeks and buff it out with your finger. Run a little across your forehead where the sun would hit you and you instantly look lovely.
The great thing is that you don't have to get all perfect with it. It's really sheer and buildable, and just looks like gorgeous skin. The color is lovely too, and it doesn't get streaky or turn orange.


2. Sheet Masks

This is one of my not-so-secret travel beauty secrets! When I arrive at my hotel or vacation rental I take 20 minutes of quiet time with a sheet mask. (of course you cleanse your skin first!). Sheet masks infuse your skin with nutrients, are soothing and cooling and hydrating, leaving your skin luminous and glowing every after a trans-world flight. 
If I'm going somewhere humid I know my skin is going to break out or give me some form of grief, so I pack some sheet masks that deal with black heads or breakouts. If I'm going somewhere beachy I know I need some extra hydrating. If I get too much sun or sand has left my skin feeling gritty or sensitive I use an aloe based sheet mask.
They are very inexpensive - only a couple of dollars each, and they are slim and lie flat in your suitcase so they take up no room at all, making them your perfect travel companion! I order mine online at Memebox, and always add a few into every order I place. (And I place lots of orders at Memebox!)

What To Pack This Summer For Capri

Capri has to be one of the most glamorous places on earth.

Perched prettily in the Gulf of Naples with a view along the Amalfi Coast, (from Villa Jovis) Capri is all spectacular views, sapphire blue ocean and glamour for days.

From the top of the world at Villa Jovis, looking down at the water surrounding Capri

I always think about Jackie O in her heyday walking around Capri town buying sandals. In fact every time I go to Capri I buy sandals from the same store Jackie O did! (read about it here)

When you are packing for your trip to Capri there are some key elements to keep in mind.

Capri is luxe casual. It is the epitome of chic, but effortless chic. 
Cottons and linens wear beautifully on this sunny island, lightweight fabrics that move with you when you walk. 

Here is my list of what you should be packing to take to Capri this summer.

Ideal staple items to base your wardrobe on are a great pair of wide legged, flowy white linen pants like my favorite Cool Breeze Wide Leg Linen Pant  from Nic and Zoe. Pair them with a sapphire loose fitting tank.

A maxi sundress is a must on Capri. I love this Quintana maxi from Sky, available at Revolve.com

Abandon your black and your beige - they look out of place and dull on Capri. Channel some 60's glam with some Pucci instead.

Leave your heels at home, trading them in for a chic flat sandal. I like to buy world famous Capri sandals at Shettino on via Roma just beyond the piazzetta in Capri town.

Dolce and Gbbana retro style bikini

Malibu Barbie swimwear looks crass in a place as fabulous as Capri. Opt instead for a vintage/retro style bikini or maillot. 

Dolce and Gabbana vintage style maillot

Protect your face with a wide brimmed hat like this one from Revolve Clothing. (I found Revolve via the fabulous @rachelzelic on Instagram)

Sunglasses are a must on an island, and glamorous, chic sunglasses are essential on Capri.
 Leave your traditional aviator styles at home, instead wear an oversized pair like the Dior Twisting 58mm glasses

or something uber-chic and new like Dior So Real sunglasses.

Makeup needs to be so minimal it borders on non-existent. A full face of makeup looks redundant on a sun drenched island, so stick to the basics. A gold tinted dry oil, like Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or 

keeps your skin hydrated and gives you a fabulous glow. Use a waterproof brow product so that you can swim and still have brows, and a blockbuster lash building waterproof mascara is a must. My favorite for years and years has been DiorShow Blackout Waterproof. 

If you want some extra bronzing use a gel bronzer so that your skin looks fresh.

Top off your Capri summer makeup with a bold pop of lip color like Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lip in Venezia

Don't forget your hair. You can't be blown out perfection on an island, even a super glam island - it just looks like you're trying too hard. Instead embrace your curls or waves with Ouidad. Before you dive into that beautiful sapphire blue Mediterranean sea coat your hair with Ouidad Curl Quencher Moisturizing Conditioner. 

It will protect your color and keep your hair super soft. When you get out of the water, towel dry then spritz it with Ouidad Botanical Boost Curl Energizing and Refreshing Spray. 

If you are a curly girl it will help give you bouncy, shiny curls instead of post-ocean frizz. if you are a naturally smooth haired girl or a Brazilian Blow Out smooth haired girl your hair will be soft and glossy and shiny. I just got both of these in travel size, ready for summer in Capri.