Wear the Best Colors for Fall

Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week just wrapped up this month and like it or "don't wanna wear it," mesh was one of the big trends seen on the runways. One designer describes a particular two-tone mesh as "sporty and futuristic." Which colors dominate the fall season?

Source: NY Daily News

Color Trends

Yellow showed up a lot during the recent NY Fashion Week. According to Pantone.com, design and color were inspired by everything from books, artisan crafts, photography and retro architecture, to exotic landscapes and the children of rock legends. The diverse color palette takes us on an adventure spanning 100 years—a season roused by various vantage points from past and present.

“This is a season of untypical colors—more reflective of the imagination and ingenuity, which makes for an artful collection of colors and combinations not bound by the usual hues for fall,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "There is a feminine mystique that is reflected throughout the palette, inspired by the increasing need for women everywhere to create an individual imprint."

Pantone's Fall 2014 Top 10 Women's Colors

Sangria, an exotic red that evokes a sense of glamorous adventures and faraway destinations is enhanced by Aurora Red, a more sophisticated shade that adds verve and spark.

The grown-up reds are followed by two extremes of the purple family that intrigue the eye and inspire the imagination. Mauve Mist, a romantic and elegant purple shade, reminds us of the deco era and stimulates a sense of femininity and empowerment, while Radiant Orchid, a captivating and adaptable shade, enchants the complete spectrum. Pair either with Cypress, a majestic and powerful green; indicative of its name, this shade has a towering presence and serves as a stunning perennial.

With its slightly green undertone, Bright Cobalt offers a subtle twist on the traditional cobalt blue, which unifies this season’s blues. Likewise, Royal Blue, which is both evocative and dignified, provides more complexity and excitement than the average navy, while still remaining versatile. Pair Bright Cobalt with Sangria and Cypress, or Royal Blue with Mauve Mist and Aluminum, a futuristic stainless steel shade that serves as a complex neutral.

Similar to Sangria, Cognac’s name alone leads to glamorous illusions. This classy and cultured brown takes a typical autumnal color to a sumptuous realm, making the shade unexpectedly ideal for evening wear. Adding a ray of sunlight and warmth, optimistic Misted Yellow alludes to the promise of spring to come. Both Cognac and Misted Yellow will also be prevalent in prints—a surprisingly popular trend this fall season.

About Pantone

Pantone is the world-renowned authority on color. Every year the company announces its choice for Color of the Year. The color of the year selection is a very thoughtful process. To arrive at the selection, Pantone quite literally combs the world looking for color influences. This can include the entertainment industry and films that are in production, traveling art collections, hot new artists, popular travel destinations and other socio-economic conditions.

Influences may also stem from technology, availability of new textures and effects that impact color, and even upcoming sports events that capture worldwide attention.


For more than a decade, Pantone’s Color of the Year has influenced product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries, including fashion, home and industrial design, as well as product packaging and graphic design

Tips For Lips, Would You Do #3?

Guest post by Jackie Silver, AgingBackwards.com

Ladies, where would we be without our makeup?

Famous makeup guru Max Factor once said, “A woman who doesn’t wear lipstick feels undressed in public. Unless she works on a farm.” We’re all looking for the best tips for lips.

TIME magazine reported as far back as 1958 that, “The beauty industry fears no recession, for a woman will give up food before her pursuit of beauty – and often because of it.”

Apparently, things haven’t changed much since 1958. Fifty years later, in 2008, beauty retail website feelingunique.com asked 1,000 women in the UK about their shopping habits. They found that nearly one in three female respondents said they would prefer to eat less than reduce their spending on “essential” beauty items. In the survey, 75 percent of the women considered makeup and body treatments as “everyday essentials” rather than luxury items.

So, how did we get to this place? Well, the desire to look beautiful and adorn the face is nothing new. In fact, the origin of lipstick dates back to 5,000 BC in the Sumerian region of Ur, according to Jessica Pallingston, author of Lipstick: A Celebration of a Girl’s Best Friend.

Ancient Egyptians loved lip paints and were masters at mixing color and precise application, Pallingston also maintains. Perhaps the most famous Egyptian woman, Cleopatra, was said to have used crushed ants and carmine beetles, which gave a deep red pigment, to adorn her lips. Luckily, having sexier, youthful lips is a lot easier these days.

Here are a few tips for lush lips:

1.    Tone it down. It may seem counter-intuitive, but as we age, we actually need less makeup, not more, according to Bruce Grayson, celebrity makeup artist for both the Emmy awards, the Oscars and Grammys. Instead of bright or dark lipstick, stick with a color that closely matches your natural shade and brush some clear gloss over it for a fresh, young daytime look. For evening, opt for a deeper shade of the daytime color and a tinted gloss.

2.    Go blue. To make teeth look dazzling white, choose lip colors with blue undertones, such as the lightest shades of wine, plum, or rosy pink. Skip the orange and coral lip colors – they can make teeth appear yellow.

3.    Exfoliate. Skin on the lips is delicate, but still needs to be exfoliated. Use a clean, soft toothbrush – minus the toothpaste, of course – to lightly brush lips and exfoliate dead cells.

4.    Remember the lip liner. Outlining the lips with liner gives a more finished look to them and also keeps lipstick from “feathering” outside the natural lip line. Shortcut: Line the lips with a color that matches your natural lip color, then fill it in over the entire lip area. Then, put a light gloss right over that, skipping lipstick altogether for a natural look that stays on longer.

5. Plump naturally. Skip the trout pout and go for a more natural look with the Luscious Lip lip pump. A couple of pumps and you’re done!

Our Tribute to Joan Rivers

We were sad to hear of Joan Rivers' passing today. We've put together our own tribute to one of television's funniest women.

Joan River Jokes

We found some of her funny material online and want to share it with you here:

"I was born in 1962 … and the room next to me was 1963."

"I wish I had a twin so I could know what I'd look like without plastic surgery."

"Don't talk to me about Valentine's Day. At my age, an affair of the heart is a bypass."

"I finally found out how priests get holy water. They boil the hell out of it."

"Not all plastic surgeons are good. My cousin went to one and told him she wanted to turn back the hands of time. Now she has a face that could stop a clock."

"On the Vanna White diet, you only eat what you can spell."

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Well, it's back to school, but we're still reminiscing about our summer. We've compiled some of our fave summer pix from the Harvey Prince team's own camera rolls.

Clean, Bright, Floral Lily of the Valley - Breathe In!

Lily of the Valley, scientifically named as Convallaria majalis, is a perennial flowering plant, placed in the family Asparagaceae. Native to cool temperate Eurasian region, it is the only species in the genus Convallaria. Also called by its French name, Muguet, the plant has dainty white, bell-shaped flowers that yield refreshing green floral scent.

Its scientific name is derived from the Latin words ‘convallis’ meaning ‘deep valley’ and ‘maius’ meaning ‘May’. These words expressively describe Lily of the Valley that is found in deep valleys and blooms in May. Despite being toxic and its potential to harm, Lily of the Valley has been highly popular as a garden plant, due to its luscious scent that simply adds to the fascination the plant’s natural beauty. In addition to the porcelain white bells, the plant has many cultivars including rosy flowers, double flowers, large-size flowers and variegated foliage.

According to legend, It is believed that the aroma of these quintessential spring flowers draws the nightingale toward his mate and inspires his melodious song. Lily of the Valley is the national flower of Finland and also used as the floral emblem of Yugoslavia. The essential oil is obtained by volatile solvent extraction from Lily of the Valley flowers. In perfumery, it is used with many floral compositions to lend them a sweet jasmine-like nuance.

Fall is Pumpkin Season!

Fall is just around the corner - just over a month away - and that means pumpkin season! The word pumpkin originated from the Greek word Pepõn which means large melon. The word gradually morphed by the French, English and then Americans into the word "pumpkin." Pumpkins and squash are believed to have originated in the ancient Americas.

One thing we do know about pumpkins is we love them. The smell of pumpkin pie baking is truly drool-inducing!

Pumpkin pie is also the "star" of our luscious Temptress fragrance (formerly Eau Flirt), along with Lavender and other natural ingredients. The fragrance notes of pumpkin pie and lavender have been shown to evoke a more passionate response in men than any other smell.

Temptress is the fragrance that flirts for you! Why do men find these two scents so arousing? Experts believe men subconsciously associate pumpkin and lavender with happy, positive and stimulating memories.

An encounter with Temptress reveals top notes of sweet lavender and a cocktail of bright citrus, followed by a mingling of feminine florals freesia, ylang ylang, and jasmine. Delicate spices and warm nighttime amber offer a graceful and balanced flourish.

Genie, You're Free

We were so sad to hear about the passing of Robin Williams. Here are some tributes we've found from around the world. RIP funny man...

Tribute Tweets

Mmm...Sweet, Soft, Woody Sandalwood

Sandalwood oil yields a sweet and woody aroma with a blend of floral and creamy notes. The oil of this highly prized fragrance ingredient is extracted from the wood, including branches, trunk and the roots of the tree Santalum album or Indian sandalwood. These fragrant, yellowish woods are heavy and fine-grained, and can retain their characteristic scent for decades.

Since ancient times, sandalwood has been used by the people for fragrance, remedial, architectural, and religious purposes. These woods were used in the construction of a number of temples and other sacred structures in India. Sandalwood oil was also used for mummification and embalming by the Egyptians. In India, sandalwood is regarded as a highly valued material and has been an essential part of the religious and spiritual traditions for a very long time. It is mainly used to encourage meditation and for achieving tranquility and focus of mind. It has been used as an anti-septic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-spasmodic medicine in traditional therapy.

Santalum album, the prime source of sandalwood oil, is native to the mountain districts of South India and the Malayan Archipelago. India alone contributes to about 90% of the world’s production of this oil. Due to over-harvesting of this slow-growing species of sandalwood, the valued sandalwood plantations in the Mysore region of Karnataka are at the edge of extinction today.

However, the efforts are being made to restore the production of Indian sandalwood and conserve the trees. Indian sandalwood is being grown beside the Santalum spicatum, a sandalwood species indigenous to Australia, in the Western Australia. It is believed that the quality of sandalwood oil increases with the age of the tree. Earlier, the trees older than 40 to 60 years were used to obtain the oil, but today the trees which are only 8 to 16 years old are used for sandalwood oil production.

Today, you will rarely find Indian sandalwood in a new fragrance composition sold in the market, unless you are using a vintage perfume. Javanol and Santanol are the two sandalwood fragrant-compounds, which have been commonly used as an alternative to original sandalwood oil.

The aroma of sandalwood is said to be comforting, and also reduces stress and encourages relaxing sleep. In perfumery, sandalwood oil is used to impart a striking woody base note to perfumes. It also works as a fixative to increase the sharpness of other fragrances, when used in moderation.

Birchbox Opens its Flagship Store in NYC!

We’re so excited for our friends at Birchbox - they opened their first “brick and mortar” store in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood at 433 West Broadway and our Harvey Prince Hello is featured!

Have fun discovering everything beauty at the new Birchbox store!

Shop

Meet the latest and greatest beauty and grooming finds.

B.Y.O.B. (Build Your Own Birchbox) Choose 5 samples and build your own Birchbox for $15. The Try Bar Test-drive new beauty trends on the spot. They’ll help you out!

Beauty Services Book a hair or makeup touch-up, polish change, or sign up for a class. Hair: Their stylists will work with your hair’s natural texture to whip up the perfect look—for day, night, or just because. Makeup: Pick your favorite look and their savvy makeup artists will recreate it just for you. Nails: Spruce up your nails with a polish change or nail art design (they’ve got loads of dazzling lacquer shades to choose from). Classes: Broaden your beauty horizons with lessons on makeup, skincare, and more. FREE for Birchbox subscribers, $30 for non-subscribers. Click to book an appointment today!

Hours Monday - Saturday 10am - 8pm Sunday 11am - 6pm About Birchbox Birchbox is the leading discovery commerce platform. They are redefining the retail process by offering consumers a unique and personalized way to discover, learn about, and shop the best beauty, grooming, and lifestyle products on the market. Headquartered in New York City, Birchbox launched in September 2010 and extended into men’s products in April 2012 with Birchbox Man. In September 2012, Birchbox acquired Paris-based JolieBox, gaining business units in France, the UK, and Spain to take the company global and become the international market leader in discovery commerce. Birchbox has been featured in USA Today, The New York Times, Time, Bloomberg Businessweek, InStyle, and Marie Claire, among other major national publications.

Crazy Way to Get Rid of Blemishes?

Contributed by Jackie Silver, Aging Backwards

Did you know honey does a lot more than sweeten your tea and baked goods? This natural treat also moisturizes, sanitizes and even reduces inflammation. Plus, you can even use honey for beauty!

In fact, honey has been used for healing purposes since ancient times, most commonly as a wound disinfectant. Plus, the fact that honey never goes bad made it extremely useful to keep on hand before modern refrigeration was invented.

A tomb uncovered in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings proved honey was used when pharaohs reigned. According to TourEgypt.com, “Some vessels that were uncorked by the archeologists still contained honey that was almost liquid.” Incredibly, the sweet scent had been preserved despite the thousands of years that had passed.

When antibiotics came into use, dressing wounds with honey gradually fell by the wayside. Lately though, medical practitioners are starting to bring it back.

That’s because honey is not only natural, it has remarkable anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Honey also has been shown to speed up the healing process with minimal scarring.

Really Raw Honey is a Maryland-based company that specializes in bringing beekeepers together and getting their products out to the public. “Our honey is packed on-site at the beekeepers' homes and farms, straight from the hive,” explains company owner Frantz Walker.

Really Raw Honey recommends these helpful home remedies:

Summer Sunsets...Sigh

Summer offers up some of the most gorgeous sunsets of any season. Here are some of our favorite sunset photos from around the world.

Extraordinary Sunset

Pink Sunset

Sunset at 37,000 Feet

Tranquil Sunset

Mysterious Sunset

Fiery Sunset

Mars Sunset

Are You Pink or Blue? What Your Nail Color Says About You

by Jackie Silver, AgingBackwards.com

Women are diverse when it comes to their nail polish routines. Some stick to only one color while others must have a new shade weekly. With the incredible surge in popularity of nail colors and styles, you might be wondering when this whole nail craze started.

Well, according to History of Cosmetics, “Even though examples of nail polish can be found in many ancient civilizations, it was the modern times when these cosmetic products reached popularity. Empowered by the incredible advances of the industrial revolution and new abilities of modern chemists, nail polish emerged as one socially acceptable cosmetic product that was adopted by the female population in the western hemisphere.

Nail care was always an important part of high fashion in modern times, but it was in the late 17th century when the first portraits with shiny nails started appearing. From that point on, nail care and accompanying cosmetic products started trickling down to the general population, becoming widely accepted during the Victorian age.” You can read more about the history of nail polish at History of Cosmetics website.

So, what does your nail color say about you? Beverly Davis, who used to sell custom nail polishes, offers her description of the personalities that match certain colors:

Clear – simple, basic, not fussy Berry red – sophisticated, creative Iridescent pink – calm, cool, collected Black & burgundy – bold, daring, fashionable, fun

What to Wear for Fourth of July

Want to show your patriotism for Fourth of July? Here are some red, white and blue outfit ideas we found online. Be sure to keep your Harvey Prince Tall Spray or Mini Roller in your purse so you can smell as good as you look!

Patriotic Holiday Fashion Ideas:

Source: College Fashion

Source: Run With Me Blog

Source: Tog + Porter

Source: Teach Love Craft

Source: Etsy

Source: Verily Magazine

Source: NHAVE

Source: Fashion Rooftop

Enjoy Some of the Most Relaxing Scenes on Earth - OMG #3!

It's just as important for beauty and youthfulness to relax and slow down as it is to exercise and eat a healthy diet. We've compiled some of the most relaxing scenes on earth to entice you and remind you to unwind and take it easy sometimes.

1. Hawaii, The Big Island

Source: Wikipedia

2. Petit St. Vincent Private Island, Caribbean

Source: Firdaushaque

3. Marrakesh, Morocco

Source: Luxatic

4. West Virginia, USA

Source: Wikimedia

5. Chiang Mai, Thailand

Source: Wikimedia Commons

6. Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA

Source: Wikimedia Commons

7. Reethi Rah Resort, Maldives

Source: Sarah Ackerman

Do These to Make Your Makeup Last Longer

Makeup can be a girl's best friend, but it could also take a bite out of the monthly budget. In fact, according to results of a survey reported by BBC's The One Show, 70 percent of women see makeup and cosmetics as an essential, everyday necessity, and eight million British women (29 percent) would rather spend less money on food in order to maintain their beauty regime.

Beauty writer and self-proclaimed "product junkie" Lara Ramos wants to help women protect their makeup investment. In a post on HSN.com, she offers these tips for making makeup last longer.

How to make makeup last

1. Build a better makeup bag. Ramos says, "At times, I look through my stash and find no fewer than a dozen variations of the exact same lip shade. None of these products gets used consistently and they mostly end up expiring before I can even scratch the surface. I've learned that by better editing my purchase decisions, I can make sure that I have a variety of products that I use more frequently – and I’m more likely to use them to the very last drop."

2. Clean your brushes Not only are makeup brushes expensive, but they also touch all of your makeup. By keeping them clean, you are extending their life and the life of your products. Keeping powders and blushes free and clear of oils and bacteria that tend to break them down will help the brushes and the products last longer.

3. Keep it pretty "You will never find my hard earned makeup knocking around in a vanity drawer or at the bottom of my purse. Oh, the horror! I’m careful to keep my beauty treasures tucked inside of pouches when I’m on the go or on a tray sitting on my vanity at home. This way, there’s far less chance that they will crack or explode, wasting precious product," explains Ramos.

4. Scrape the bottom Ramos says she recently discovered little spatulas that you can use to actually scrape the bottom of your makeup bottles to get to the very end of them. "I’ve also been known to use them after cutting open tubes of concealer and lip gloss to collect one final application. Brilliant!"

5. Portion control It may go without saying, but using only what you need can really make your makeup last. "I found that I was always left with unneeded foundation or extra moisturizer after applying, so I downsized my dose and I’m wasting less. Making other small changes like not spraying my fragrance into the air and walking through it has also helped," Ramos adds.

Ravishing in Red: Kate Middleton

We're just as obsessed with Kate Middleton's wardrobe as the Londoners! She must have gotten the memo that men are more attracted to women in red, as studies show. "Through five psychological experiments, Andrew Elliot, professor of psychology, and Daniela Niesta, post-doctoral researcher, demonstrate that the color red makes men feel more amorous toward women. And men are unaware of the role the color plays in their attraction."

Here are some of Kate's most gorgeous red ensembles.

Source: gotceleb.com

Source: celebitchy.com

Source: Vanity Fair

Source: Mirror

Source: SolaDunn's Blog

Source: Us Magazine

Source: Daily Mail

What's Next? Glow in the Dark Teeth?

The Hollywood smile goes high tech with new developments in dental care, including one that evokes the world of the futuristic cartoon family The Jetsons - growing your own new teeth. Losing a tooth is definitely nothing to smile about and although dental implants are available, the healing process can take months.

Not only that, but implants that fail to align with the ever-growing jawbone tend to fall out. That's where a new high-tech advance comes in that may allow people to simply re-grow a new set of chompers, according to a study published in the Journal of Dental Research. Dr. Jeremy Mao, the Edward V. Zegarelli Professor of Dental Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, introduced a three-dimensional "scaffolding" that is infused with growth factor to potentially regenerate an "anatomically correct" tooth in just nine weeks from implantation. By using a procedure developed in the university's Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory, Dr. Mao can direct the body's own stem cells toward the scaffolding, which is made of natural materials.

Once the stem cells have colonized the scaffold, a tooth can grow in the socket and then merge with the surrounding tissue.

Whiten in One Hour

Not quite as high tech, but much in demand by looks-conscious consumers are teeth whiteners. Crest 3D White 1 Hour Express Whitestrips cut down whitening time to a lightning fast hour. "Unlike brushing alone, 1 Hour Express goes beneath the enamel surface to remove years of stains faster than ever. Enamel safe, 1 Hour Express Whitestrips will reveal same-day results for a brighter, whiter smile that shows," according to a company's literature. The Dental "Experience"

It's not enough these days just to whiten and brush your teeth. Now, it's got to be an experience. "Consumers are seeking products that are not just functional and effective, but also touch their senses or emotions," says Philip Durocher, general manager of Colgate's U.S. oral care business. With that in mind, the company came out with Colgate MaxClean SmartFoam, a toothpaste that tingles and foams when used. Colgate spent nearly three years developing the foaming toothpaste, Durocher says, measuring everything from how much, how quick and how thick consumers wanted their foam. So, what's next in the high tech world of dental inventions? How about glow-in-the-dark teeth?