Breast Cancer Awareness Picks

It's October, breast cancer awareness month, and I find it very important to point out that besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among US women.  Everyone has been affected by breast cancer in one way or another, but statistics show that one in eight women in the US actually have it.  While there are many charities and and companies that support breast cancer awareness all year round, let's take a look at some of the hottest beauty products that are giving back this year.

Purple Lab Sealed with A Cure (SWAC), the company partnered with the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation to launch a lip gloss that is loaded with ingredients such as vanilla, vitamins C and E, peptides, and herbs that help boost your immune system, moisturize and it even smells uplifting.  It has real gold flecks too!  A portion of the proceeds will go to the Triple Negative Breast Cancer foundation. Available at here for $18.50.

Clarisonic created a limited edition Plus in which 50% of the profits of sales will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  This brush is for the face and body and works your cleanser into your skin getting rid of dry patches, improving your skins texture, and leaving you with an overall cleaner feel and appearance. It's available here for $250.

Paul Mitchell Limited Edition Pink Express Ion Smooth 1.25, the brand partnered Fran Drescher, founder of the Cancer Schmancer Foundation to create this flat iron, which proceeds will be donated. The iron is made of silicone and ceramic and reduces styling time and eliminates static.  Visit here to find locations, but hurry up because it's only available through October for $160.  

 

Manhattan Shops in Celebration of FNO

Last night I, amongst almost every other New Yorker, scrambled in my Louboutins from store to store and enjoyed the festivities of Fashion's Night Out (FNO).  From 6-11pm my red soles unkindly met the cobble stone of the Meat Packing District as I explored what all of the designers had to offer.  

It was the place to be, by far.  All of the shoppers were very fashion forward and seemed to be industry related, sporting bandage mini skirts, leather leggings, killer fall open-toed booties, boyfriend blazers and cocktail dresses with opaque black tights.  I opted for black leggings with a plum tank that had an exposed zipper in the front with a boyfriend blazer and of course, my fave shoes.  

Out of all of the parties in the Meat Packing District, my favorite were at Theory, DVF, Scoop, Tory Burch and Stella McCartney.  They all had DJ's, cocktail waitresses, gorgeous clothes (and men), and an incredible crowd of people.  Diane Von Furstenberg herself was at her store hosting the party, and there was an actual bar-b-que in the street outside of Tory Burch where chefs were giving away buttered corn!  Let's just say the corn went faster than the Coronas that were being given out inside.

Kate Hudson was making an appearance at Stella McCartney, but it was so crowded I couldn't wait to see her, even though she is my favorite actress of all time.  And Purple Lab hosted a very successful party at Scoop with lychee martinis and burlesque dancer, Veronica Varlow.

After seeing how crowded the individual designer stores were, I'm glad I didn't try to tackle any of the department stores (although I heard they had amazing events there as well and Rachel Zoe was at Bergdorf with Anna Wintour!) I die!   

Most of the flyers promoting the stores participating in FNO read, "Sales, Cupcakes and Champagne," but all of the stores were so crowded, I left without a purchase (thank God), hungry, and definitely toasted sans the champagne.  

Since the purpose of FNO was to try to get people to shop in a down economy, it makes me wonder if anyone actually shopped.  We'll have to wait and see how the sales numbers are, but even if they didn't go up, it was a night to remember because it brought New Yorkers together for a celebration of fashion, beauty, charity and well being.

Did you attend FNO?  If so, where did you go and what did you buy?

Start Loving Your Thighs

You may be thinking, what does sumo wrestling have to do with beauty? Well, the genius behind PurpleLabNYC, Karen Robinovitz, found a way to make it work. I just got back from one of her monthly Tweet Ups at Church Street Boxing where a bunch of beauty bloggers toned up by sumo wrestling to support PurpleLabNYC's Huge Lips Skinny Hips color "Love Your Thighs."

Caffeine infused water, Crumbs cupcakes and plenty of blackberries, cameras and flip cams made the event a complete success.  Besides the laughter created amongst all of the bloggers from watching each other run around in fat suits, a hot male model (originally wearing a robe) disrobed and ran around in a thong in between rounds!

For those of you who don't know, Huge Lips Skinny Hips in Love Your Thighs is a translucent coral lip gloss that is universally flattering and the best thing about the gloss is that it's loaded with the appetite suppressant, hoodia.  Perhaps this gloss is the first step in loving your thighs? 

I met some amazing people who I recognized by their blog and website names, but didn't know by their actual name. It's amazing how Tweeting brings everyone together. 

If you're in the mood to laugh, check out this YouTube video from the event... Classic!  

Win an A-List Trip to NYC

Calling all sexy ladies who are looking to release their inner divas!  Get creative and enter the Huge Lips Skinny Hips online contest to win the most exhilrating trip of your life for you and your bestie to NYC.  Entering is simple and fun, and the grand prize is every girls dream (think being SJP and Samantha in Sex and The City for a weekend... only sexier). 

To enter, visit the Purple Lab website to learn about the inspiration behind each of the six super chic Huge Lips Skinny Hips shades, pick the one that identifies with your personality, upload your best pic and explain why that shade best represents you.  Once you're done, share your entry with your friends.  The most votes wins! 

From Kitty Pole Dancer to Lychee Martini, there's definitely a color to fit any fashionistas personality.  As I mentioned before, Red Sole is my favorite because I'm obsessed with the color red (hence the color palette for BeautySweetSpot) and the soles Christian Louboutins.  Check out my entry above and vote.

Several prizes will be awarded throughout the contest, but the weekend grand prize includes a tour behind all of the inspirations of Huge Lips Skinny Hips colors such as: private pole dancing lessons (Kitty Pole Dancer), lessons on how to make fab lychee martinis (Lychee Martini), a shopping spree for Kate Moss' line at Top Shop (Worship Kate), runway walking lessons in Louboutins (Red Soles) and many more surprises! 

Spotlight On: Purple Lab

After eating one-too-many hors d'oeuvres at a Fashion Week party Purple Lab Creatrix, Karen Robinovitz thought, "If only I could put something to my lips that plumped them instead of my hips."  And woo-la!  Just like that Purple Lab was founded and just this spring launched its first product, Huge Lips, Skinny Hips at Scoop.

If you haven't already heard about Huge Lips, Skinny Hips listen up, because it's an absolute must-have for every woman.  It's a lip gloss that contains Hoodia to suppress your appetite and Vitamin B3 to plump your lips.  Karen named each of the six colors after her favorite icons and philosophies.  Being that I know her, I can truly say they reflect her personality to a T! I have one in every bag.

My favorite is Red Sole because it's named after the sexy soles on Christian Louboutin stilettos (my favorite shoes in the world).  What's sexier than pairing red lips with black patent leather Louboutins? And the plumper doesn't even tingle.  Other colors are: Love Your Thighs, Lychee Martini, Worship Kate, No Panty Lines and Kitty Poledancer.  There's one for every personality.

Purple Lab will be releasing a new gloss this fall to support Breast Cancer Awareness and the company will continue to release chic double-duty products so stay tuned. Check out the Purple Lab blog to get updates on new innovations and Karen's adventures.  You would never believe half of the things she's experienced!