Have Blush, will Travel
If you can fit only one compact in your evening bag, make it Burberry’s new Light Glow Earthy Blush No. 07. Stupendously versatile, it performs as a blush, bronzer, contour and eye shadow. Somehow neutral yet enlivening at the same time, the blush was part of the Runway Edit makeup capsule collection unveiled at Burberry’s see-now-buy-now fall/winter fashion show. Both the clothes – a romantic mash-up of ruffles, military embellishment and pajama dressing – and the makeup were inspired by Virginia Woolf’s subversive novel, “Orlando: A Biography,” about a poet who lives for centuries and changes gender along the way. Trust us, elevated as that may sound, applying the blush is foolproof thanks to a perfectly angled mini brush. $42 :: burberry.com
Beauty’s Newest Needle
It may be hard to believe that the path to more youthful, beautiful skin is paved with thousands of pinpricks, but Newport Beach dermatologist Dore Gilbert swears that’s true. He’s a fan of EndyMed Intensif, a new technology that combines microneedling, which has been around since the mid-90s, with radio-frequency energy. The teeny-tiny needles in the Intensif handpiece pierce the skin while radio-frequency energy is delivered deep into the dermis. Our skin responds to this injury by producing collagen. Hello smoother, tauter skin. Goodbye acne scars, stretch marks and fine lines. “It’s a huge leap in technology that produces better results than aggressive lasers with far less pain and downtime,” Gilbert says. “You’re going to be red for a day or two, but there’s no peeling or scabbing. If you have the treatment on Thursday, you’ll be fine by dinnertime on Saturday.” Intensif “is not,” he cautions, “a magic wand. ” Most people will need three to five treatments, spaced a month apart, at about $700 per session. Results aren’t instant: It takes a couple of months for the skin to rejuvenate itself, and Intensif won’t lift a deeply sagging jawline. Still, as the holidays approach, it may just be the hole-y fix you’re seeking :: endymed.com :: drdoregilbert.com
DIY Dermabrasion
One of the benefits of microneedling is that the tiny openings it creates allow your skin to soak up treatment products. But if needles make you squeamish, there’s another way to deepen the absorption of your priciest serums. The PMD Pro is an at-home version of the microdermabrasion gadget your dermatologist or favorite facialist uses (you know, the one who makes your skin absolutely glow). Slip an exfoliating disk, which comes in varying intensities, into the handheld device, turn it on and glide over your skin. The aluminum-oxide crystals embedded in the disk slough off dead skin cells while the vacuum power suctions them up, removing a barrier to skin care – the company says products “penetrate 20 times deeper’’ – and revealing fresh, undamaged skin. $199 :: getpmd.com
Lipstick with Attitude
Samara Granofsky named her cruelty-free, vegan cosmetics company Trust Fund Beauty with her tongue firmly in cheek. It was a playful retort to all those who didn’t think she had the work ethic to run a successful business because she was a “trust-fund baby.” But Granofsky wasn’t joking around. When she launched her company with a line of nail lacquers in February 2014, her inspiration was her late mother, who had searched for a “cool fashion forward,” nontoxic nail polish as her nails became brittle during cancer treatment. Now Granofsky has expanded from polish with names like Embarrassed By Last Night, Champagne Problems and Credit Card Workout to liquid matte lipsticks and glosses. The stars of the collection are dark and highly pigmented, including Quick Wit, an almost matte purple lipstick ($22) and the vampy red Evil Genius Lip Gloss. $18 :: trustfundbeauty.com
