Belle Belle Beauty

Caudalie Beauty Elixir Limited Edition by L’Wren Scott

It is amazing when a good thing gets even better. This time, your vanity will thank you as a classic is being updated with a beautiful vessel from L’Wren Scott. Caudalie’s best selling Beauty Elixir spray is inspired by Queen Isabella of Hungary who charmed the King of Poland thirty-five years her junior. This serum/toner hybrid works to add radiance to any skin type. Ingredients include:

Rosemary Essential Oil to purify
Lemon Balm to calm
Peppermint to stimulate
Orange Blossom to soften
Rose for radiance
Grape Pulp for moisture

The limited edition bottle is inspired by L’Wren Scott’s 2013 fall/winter collection and Austrian painter Gustav Klimt. The mosaics and female silhouette also incorporate vine shoots in honor of Caudalie’s roots.

Beauty Elixir can be used as a primer under makeup and also throughout the day over makeup. It also makes for a great after-shave for the guys.

Available November 1^st at US.Caudalie.com, Caudalie NYC Boutiques (315 Bleecker St. and 1031 Lexington Avenue) and the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa at The Plaza Hotel.

it’s a 10 miracle leave-in product

Over here at Belle Belle we’ve got lots of things going on. The beauty closet is overflowing with goodies in the pipeline to be reviewed. So, occasionally a product goes rogue. I heard a fellow blogger raving about it’s a 10 miracle leave-in product and I knew I spotted it in last month’s Birchbox but I couldn’t find it anywhere!

Well, this Friday night, cleaning out my hair products drawer (I know… I am so exciting), Eureka! I found it. Then, much to my delight, this quarter’s New Beauty Test Tube that arrived on Saturday contained it’s a 10 miracle leave-in product! Birchbox had sent the “lite” version. I’m delighted with both! But I think my drier, colored hair prefers the original formula.

This spray is designed to be used on damp hair before styling. And it is tough to name one thing it doesn’t do. Off the bat, here are 10 things that it does:

Repairs dry, damaged hair
Adds shine
Detangles
Controls frizz
Seals & protects hair color
Prevents split ends
Stops hair breakage
Creates silkiness
Enhances natural body
Flat iron spray & thermal protector

I use it on both damp hair and also as a conditioning treatment on dry hair. I love the smell. The “lite” version might be slightly more floral. And this multi-tasker is idea for travel or the gym. Made in the USA.

AN EDITORIAL SAMPLE MAY HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY THE COMPANY AND EVALUATED TO DETERMINE OUR OPINION OF THE PRODUCT IN THIS POST. PLEASE SEE THE DISCLOSURES PAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING OUR POLICIES FOR USING EDITORIAL SAMPLES.

Lovely Links – Feeling Tough

This week, I got my second medical peel with Tulsa Skin Guru, Gabriel Horn. Right now, my skin looks like a disaster area, but I’ve been assured and reassured that the results are going to be astounding! While it tingled a little during the application, it is painless now. Stay tuned on the blog for a full re-cap and results next week. Needless to say, I am going to avoid frightening children (and anyone I encounter), so I am holed up in my apartment with a DVD full of fall shows and snuggling with the pups. Here are my favorites from trolling the web this week:

– I adore this interview with John Januzzi, Senior Digital Projects Editor for Lucky Magazine. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him (he’s lovely and inspiring).

– I’m obsessed with the new site, Beyond the Row. This piece on finding the right mask for your skin type is spot on.

– Nordstrom’s French Fling Pop-in shop is taking me right back to my days studying in Paris! Side note: obsessed with this drapey trench.

– Amazon, one of my favorite online retailers, launched a luxury beauty shop!

– Love my blogging BFF’s (A Little Bit Etc.) picks for fall nail colors.

– I’m so glad the some men also face what this guy calls the “shampoo-bottle Tetris” when trying to travel without checking a bag.

– I love this rainy day look.

– Nail polish nuts and Gwen Stefani fans, heads up! Expect her collection with OPI in January.

In honor of Columbus day, the web is full of some crazy great sales! BTW, does anyone know of a person that actually gets this day off? I sure don’t…

Get 14.92% off at L’Occitane (aren’t they cute) this week. May I recommend their new skin care line.
BCBG Max Axria has 30% off everything through 10/14. I adore this fisherman’s sweater.
Use code EXTRA40 to get an extra 40% off all sale items at J. Crew.
30% off at Piperlime with code FALL through 10/18.
Select fall clothing and accessories are 30% off with the code FALL4ALL and shipped for free at Madewell. But I am also tempted by these loafers that aren’t on sale.
THE OUTNET is having a crazy big sale with 40% off these sale items. I have my eye on this dress and these pumps.
Not really a sale, but thrilled Neiman Marcus is offering free shipping and free returns!

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Kérastase Couture Styling Range

Ever since my salon visit at Jara Herron salon this past spring, I’ve been having a love affair with Kérastase products. Everything from their concentrated in-salon treatments to their at-home products perform beyond expectations. The luxurious scents and formulas make up a line that can address all hair types and concerns.

Kérastase newest launch is a line of styling products with innovative formulas for soft, touchable hold and protection. Off the bat, you’ll notice these products smell amazing. The formulas use micronized fixative polymers that wrap around hair for natural style memory with movement. Inspired by skincare, the finish products have lasting power without rigidity.

The Construct and Finish collection has nine products. While I love them all, I decided to ask a true expect, Jara Herron herself, to tell us which are her favorites and how she uses them. Her selections:

Powder Bluff: multi-use dry shampoo that can be used on fine hair for extra texture and volume especially in between shampoos.
Spray À Porter: the best beach spray on the market without any stickiness and I love to spray on damp fine hair before blow dry style. Leaves the hair bouncy and voluminous with lasting hold. (editor’s note: this is my favorite from the line)
Boucles D’Art: a super light weight foam works great on all hair textures. Adds great volume with an airy light feel in the hair. Wonderful to define curls.
Touche Finale: a truly weightless shine serum, without any oily feel. I love to use it on frizzy unmanageable hair to polish and add luster and glow. I look at it as an instant anti-aging for hair.

And some of my thoughts: The Laque Dentelle and Couture are hair sprays that give touchable hold and a beautiful finish and offer both a flexible and medium hold respectively. Lift Vertige is one of the first products I’ve found that easily gives my fine hair natural looking lift at the roots. And I selected Spray a Porter as my favorite fall launch over on Makeup.com.

Kérastase products are available at Jara Herron or find your closest salon here.

For those of you in the Tulsa area, I highly recommend Jara Harron for your salon or spa needs. I’m particularly crazy about the talented Shawna. Their beautiful space is located at 3410 S Peoria Ave, Suite 300 and you can reach them at 918.742.3223.

Line Those Eyes – Favorite Eyeliners

You know that deserted island beauty question? If you could only bring one makeup item, which would it be? Popular answers include lipstick, sunscreen and mascara. But I admit I would chose eyeliner. There is something about the effect of that inky pigment that I just can’t live without. Thanks to that obsession, I have loads of options on hand, but these are the liners I keep reaching for lately:

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Eye Pencil in Sabbath and Zero: This creamy pencil has intense pigment. Zero is a soft black and Sabbath is a bold navy. And the name does not lie – these guys last a full 24 hours.

NARS Eye Paints in Ubangi and Black Valley are also a blue/black duo that recently hit shelves to much fanfare. They can be used as shadow, but I keep reaching for them to line both inner and outer rims with a fine brush. The gel-like texture has amazing staying power and great pigment.

CARGO ‘TexasLiner’ Liquid Eyeliner has a classic felt tip but super-sized. Despite its chunky nature, you can get a thicker bold line or thin and precise line easily with one swipe. The water-based formula dries quickly and doesn’t budge.

Laura Mercier Eye Kohl looks like a lipstick, but inky black cone is hands-down the easiest and quickest eyeliner for your waterline. Sounds scary, but close your lids around the tip and swipe outwards for a fool-proof line on both the upper and lower lids.

LORAC PRO To Go Eye/Cheek Palette

I snagged this little gem in a gift bag at NYFW and never could imagine how much I would come to cherish my LORAC PRO To Go Eye/Cheek Palette! While I had my eye on the LORAC Pro Palette for months, I actually am more thrilled with this travel friendly and nimble version.

Not only does it have everything you need for loads of looks. The LORAC PRO To Go Eye/Cheek does it well. Powders are finely milled, blendable, natural-looking and long-lasting. Plus the packaging is well made. The sturdy exterior solidly closes via magnet. The included brushes, one small eyeshadow and one eyeliner/brow, are high quality albeit a little short.

On the eye side, there are two rows of three shadows – one matte and one shimmer. The base shades are generously sized. A matte black works perfectly as a liner. And the darker brown works well on my brows. On the cheek side, three wearable shades are nicely spaced with large wells of pigment. The coral has a little bit of shimmer. Pink is decidedly cooler and on the matte side. And the bronzer is perfect for contouring with its matte finish and rich pigment.

Specifically designed by Lorac Creator Carol Shaw to keep celebrity clients looking fabulous, I love this for regular folks just like us. It is an amazing value at $38. Available at Sephora.