gift-a-day holiday gift guide

check out prettyisprettydoes'

holiday gift guide,
featuring a gift idea every day
for the month of
december.
plus,
great party
makeup essentials....

happy
holidays!

cyber monday: www.shuuemura-usa.com

From rouge unlimited lipsticks to ultimate expression mascara to primal mix blush, shu uemura has your makeup needs covered. To celebrate cyber monday, fans get an extra special treat. Shu Uemura offers seven deluxe samples to customers who spend $125 or more plus free shipping and the 20% discount! The deluxe items include a mesh bag filled with mini-gloss, brightening cream, red:juvenus intense vitalizing concentrate, pleasure of Japanese bath – hinoki, cleansing beauty oil premium A/O, deep sea water mist in chamomile, and powder foundation. Just enter the promotion code WISHDELUXE09 upon checkout. Bookmark www.shuuemura-usa.com for regular deals and great beauty buys all year long!

beauty for a cure: tarte

As if there isn't enough incentive to buy Tarte products any time of the year... This month, Tarte Cosmetics will offer 20% of proceeds from it's Think Pink natural collection to the Young Survival Coalition in support of women under 40 living with breast cancer. Products include the Double Dose Berry Boost & Gloss ($21), Natural Cheek Stain ($30), Lock & Roll Creaseless Cream & Powder Shadow Duo ($17), multiplEYE Natural Lash Enhancer ($65) and an adorable Pink Glo Dutch Clutch ($22). Go to www.tartecosmetics.com and take advantage of this exclusive offer while you can.

expert advice: makeup artist sandy linter for lancome, part 2

Lancome's Sandy Linter shares her beauty advice, personal regimen and favorite products of the season.

Her advice for beauty phobics: Look at the magazines. Try to identify with a model or actress, someone whose looks speak to you. Go to a professional makeup artist with a picture and tell them you like the feeling of the makeup that you see in the picture. Even if the photo is very natural, a good professional can look at you and suggest products to achieve this look. A good professional can also tell you to find another person to identify with.

Her personal beauty routine: I put my hair back with a headband and apply the Absolue Premium Bx Cleanser on my entire face, cotton ball it off, go over it with Absolue Toner, then apply Platineum Night on my face and neck and rub some on my hands. In the morning, I go over my face with the Absolue Toner, and use Absolue Premium Bx Lotion as my moisturizer (great for any age). When time permits, I use Hydra Intense Masque, and Resurface Microdermabrasion on my body. I also use Absolue Body which has a wonderfully light texture.

Her favorite products for spring: Lancôme has a complete line of products. Skin care is among the best in the world and the makeup is always client friendly. The colors are not aggressive. The color palette is meant to make a woman look approachable, beautiful and fashionable. Even an "edgy” style is made easy to do. All women can use Lancôme. There is a lipstick shade and consistency for everyone. Same with foundation and powder. One of my favorite products for spring is the High Definicils mascara. I fell in love with the new brush and the formula keeps my lashes separated. Also, get every shade of La Laque Fever gloss! I have not tried a color I don't like.

Check out www.lancome-usa.com to find more great spring/summer products.

expert advice: makeup artist sandy linter for lancome, part 1

When you want good advice, go to a pro. Makeup artist Sandy Linter has been in the biz for more than 30 years (though you'd never guess her age by looking at her beautiful skin!). Here's how she got started...

In 1974 I did my first Vogue cover. There were only five other makeup artists who did editorial makeup. I worked in a salon called Mr. Kenneth. I charged $15.00 for an application and $30.00 for a lesson. Soon I went with one of the very first makeup and hair agencies, Kramer and Kramer. Before that, my mom was answering the phone taking my bookings. And I had an answering service (everyone had the same service - the Belles). I had nothing to compare the industry to so I thought it was huge. I didn't know that by the mid-1980's I would be competing with thousands of new artists. Hundreds of agencies opened up. I stayed with Kramer and Kramer for at least 10 years, then went to Elizabeth Watson, the wife of Albert Watson, photographer, for at least 13 years, and I have been with Bryan Bantry since 1996. This agency, founded by Bryan Bantry, is also one of the original agencies in New York City.

I was one of the first makeup artists in the city so I was able to do many covers of Vogue and Bazaar, Cosmo, in all countries. Now it is way more difficult to make a name for yourself. One day I was selling makeup in Bloomingdales, then working at a salon, and then doing Vogue covers.

The makeup artist gets selected, these days by the photographer. When I started, the editor choose the makeup artist, or the sittings editor of the magazine. I worked with all the best editors and photographers--Polly Mellen, Grace Coddington and even Anna Wintour. They were some of the best editors who I was privileged to work with on shoots.

Bobbi Brown was the first editorial makeup artist to have her own line. Hundreds have followed. Most, successfully. Bobbi had one Vogue cover under her belt but she had a plan and everyone knows the story of her success.

My career went on working with the legendary Albert Watson for Details, Italian Vogue, German Vogue and doing many ad campaigns. Then Harper’s Bazaar, Beauty Director Kerry Diamond took me on a shoot to Washington D.C. After that shoot she said she had a plan for me. Sometime later I had a contract with Lancôme, Beauty at Every Age.

The business has grown and changed but I always had a place in it. Sometimes my profile is higher than at other times. For instance now it's pretty high. My niche is for the older woman (they certainly did not have a niche for older women when I started).

I remember doing a cover of American Vogue in the heat of summer in Paris 1975. I used to look at polaroids on shoots and I loved them. Now it's all digital, and there isn't that fascinating reaction of the model to the photographer. Not the way I experienced it when I started.

Learn more about Linter at www.lancome-usa.com.

beauty school

Every so often I have those days when I wish I had a big-time makeup artist living in my medicine cabinet. That way, I could open the door, have her reach out a brush or sponge, and make me look picture perfect. But, of course, that would be ridiculous (especially given the size of medicine cabinets in Manhattan apartments!) If you can relate, I urge you to get to Bloomingdale's on Thursday, May 7th, for a playful day of beauty plus a two-hour makeup lesson from one of the world's leading makeup artists, Trish McEvoy. Her Power of Makeup Master Classes feature new products, makeup tips and application techniques. The cost ($150, redeemable in products) is definitely worth all the expert advice. The place: Bloomingdale's, 1000 third Avenue, New York City. The time: 5:30 PM or 7 PM sessions. The products: www.saksfifthavenue.com.