The Fab Five Week 9
By Gigi Anders
Is it safe to come out yet? The espadrilles? The straw totes? The – gasp – little white dresses? Me, I’m tip-toeing into spring because last week it was winter and at night it’s in the low 40s. So we’re still in beauty and fashion transition mode. Here are five new products to ease you into this bipolar time.
1.) The Pantone Color Institute has deemed 2018 the year of Ultra Violet 18-3838, a “creative” blue-based purple. I have deemed that the only color that looks good on everybody is periwinkle. Periwinkle is both blue and violet, warm and cool. It’s the single color with a complete yin and yang balance. The only nail polish I’ve seen this year that accomplishes that symmetry is LeChat Dare To Wear City of Angels Lacquer ($6.95). They describe it as a “cyber grape cream finish,” which is their prerogative. Moi, I would never argue with a company with a French name that is a cat. But to my Cuban-American eye, it’s the perfect periwinkle. It’s fabulous. I love it. Now get it.
2.) In the “Why didn’t we think of this?” category, Sally Hansen Big Polish Guards Cuticle Protectors ($5.99) are the solution for those who enjoy DIY manis yet are ambidextrously challenged. These cute little bright pink adjustable U-shaped stickies wrap around your nails, protecting cuticles and fingers from superfluous polish. Genius.
3.) Belif The True Cream Aqua Bomb ($22 - $62). This icy blue cream-gel formula is the answer to combination skin’s nighttime prayers. It’s light but, as its name would imply, packs a punch of oil-free hydration to freaked out skin that doesn’t know whether it’s oily or dry or winter or spring. Apply following your serum and call it a day. By morning, you’ll be as glowy and poised as a princess.
4.) Nothing beats a beautifully groomed, full brow. Lately, however, I’ve seen this idea go into the Land of Ridonculousness. Angry Eyebrows abound. To get defined, 2018 eyebrows without the wrath, I’m in love with two new Rimmel London products whose quality belies their price: Brow This Way Fibre Pencil ($3.97) and Brow This Way Pomade ($3.97). The former is a skinny, softly pigmented pencil with “integrated fibers” that mimic actual eyebrow hairs. It slides on smoothly, looks great, and you can’t really overdo it. It comes in 002 Medium Brown and 003 Dark Brown. I’m super-fair and the Medium Brown looked natural. Now the fat Pomade stick is a tinted wax crayon that fills and fixes, and shapes and tames skimpy or wayward brows with one stroke. It’s great when you want a fuller look, which I always do. I tried 001 Blonde and it was poetry. Some online reviewers have complained the Pomade isn’t sharpen-able because it’s fat. Who are these people?
5.) I hate dry skin. Hate. It. No matter what the humidity is, you have to moisturize your body all over after every shower. Vaseline Intensive Care Cocoa Radiant Lotion ($3.49) packs a double-punch of cocoa seed and shea butters, plus un-greasy “micro-droplets” of Vaseline jelly to instantly heal, calm, and hydrate thirsty skin. And it smells like cocoa and a soft baby blanket wrapping you up.
