Gushing over beauty products is easy; it takes real cojones to explain why a disappointing product…well…sucks.  And this is why I love Total Beauty; they’re not afraid to go there!  Here, the editors confess their 12 Lowest Rated Products. 

My own Sorry-But-You’re-Way-Overrated Products?  No surprises here: Maybelline Great Lash takes the cake, followed closely by La Mer, which is no longer the most expensive rip off in history (the price of anti-aging creams has gone into the stratosphere, making the former hullabaloo over La Mer’s price seem practically quaint!), but it’s certainly the best marketed.  What products do you think are overrated?

My senior year of high school, our drama department put on the musical Gypsy and I had the role of Electra the Stripper.  My one song, which I sang with two other faux-strippers, was called ”You Gotta Get a Gimmick” – my costume consisted of a black bikini with Christmas lights attached to a battery pack on the back of my bra.  As I danced and sang, I pressed a button, and my bikini lit up.  (Yeah…I know.  I would kill to see a copy of this on video now!)

Tonight at 6pm, the Broadway cast of Gypsy will be performing at the Lord and Taylor on 39th street in New York City, in honor of Lord and Taylor relaunching their rose.  (They have a rose?  I don’t really know what this means, but whatever.  We shopped at Rich’s back in Hotlanta growing up.)  Should be a good time!

Now this is the Gwyneth Paltrow I live and die for!  The Daily Mail has a feature on her crazy, sky-high heels and also provides lots of glorious pictures of La Gwyn and her new haircut as she jaunts around the globe promoting Iron Man.  I wasn’t crazy about her chop when it first debuted, but holy hell does she now look gorgeous (So fresh! No more heavy hair!).

Dailymail.co.uk

Dailymail.co.uk

People.com

Get these beautiful curls with a one-inch curling iron (Hot Tools is what all the stylists swear by) following by shine serum or glossing cream.  Leave ends uncurled and start below the temples; the untouched ends and straightness at the crown makes it look unfussy and more modern

What’s your biggest beauty concern?  How to tame frizzy hair?  The best foundation line for Asian skin?  Moisturizers that prevent acne and wrinkles?  Lay it on me!

Many moons ago I was a grooming assistant at FHM, and Dr. Hauschka was one of the very first lines I encountered in the free-for-all beauty closet.  Its holistic, botanical, environmentally-friendly reputation preceded itself and I’d heard through the grapevine that Madonna used it, so I was sold instantly.  (Hmm, remind me to post about my Madonna story later…)  Obviously, I took home as much as I could carry and began testing it, liking how gentle and calming all the products were.  In the past few weeks, several readers have written in recommending it not just for those suffering from the after-effects of chemotherapy, but also for anybody looking for a natural–yet chic and effective–alternative to the chemical-laden products in the stores.  One such tip here:

J. writes: ”I recommend products by Dr. Hauschka – I know so many women of our mothers’ generation who swear by it! And I asked my godmother (a breast cancer survivor), and she said that they were the only ones she was able to use as she underwent chemotherapy. I have to admit, however, that their creams are too rich for my skin. I’m not even thirty years old, and my oily, sensitive skin starts to break out as soon as I’m using anything not completely oil-free. The whole Dr. Hauschka concept for oily skin (add oil so that your skin “learns” to be less oily)…well, I can kind of understand it, but I couldn’t get my skin to agree on that.  Still, I know many people with dry or mature skin who just love the products!  For those days where you feel uncomfortable in your own skin—zits coming, yet itchy all over—it’s time for the Facial Steam Bath followed by the Cleansing Clay Mask (it comes as a cheaper refill, so you don’t have to buy the more expensive original jar). And for any day where your eyes are burning because you spent so much time in front of a computer (visiting blogs or actually working…) Eye Solace is just wonderful. I also recommend the Translucent Bronze Concentrate, which looks really natural and feels better on your skin than any self-tanner I’ve tried.  Oh, and they also have their own line of Holistic Home Remedies!”

Send in your own secret weapon recommendations to nadine@jolienadine.com and I’ll post the best!

For more Green Beauty info, check out TotalBeauty.com’s “Two Minute Guide to Green Beauty” below!

Exciting news!  I received the manuscript for my second book (and first novel!) Confessions of a Beauty Addict today, which means I’m one step closer to it finally being published.  For those of you won’t don’t know the backstory, I’ve been working on this book for five years.  The cover is still up in the air, although I have a couple of different choices that I’m pulling for.  As soon as the cover is definite, I’ll post it here!  In the meantime, if you want to pre-order, you can get it on Amazon.com (available November 18th), and check out the synopsis here:“When Bella Hunter, beauty expert and magazine editor wunderkind, loses her job at chic style-bible Enchante for spilling top industry secrets to The Post she thinks her life is over. And, to top it all off, she’s managed to dye her hair bright orange. At her wits’ end and desperate not to return home with her tail between her legs, Bella accepts a job at Womanly World, a magazine her mom reads. (The shame!) But how can she face her glamorous ex-coworkers now that she works in an office where khaki (not Cavalli) is the way of life? Armed with her Marc Jacobs, three meddling best friends, and her flighty supermodel boyfriend, Bella is out to wage war on the beauty world one bad makeover at a time. At odds with her stuffy (and undeniably gorgeous) publisher, Bella begins to realize that she may be fighting the wrong battle.”  

There’s something seriously tragic about lip pencils.  With one swipe, a woman suddenly appears dated, harsh, old beyond her years.  A few iconic pencils here and there have managed to escape general beauty wrath (MAC Cosmetics lip pencil in Spice, Wet ‘n Wild #666), but in general…just, no.  So, of course, I’m squirming like a stuck pig admitting to you all that I am loving Bobbi Brown Lip Crayon limited-edition lip pencils.  Can I have a moment to redeem myself, please?  Okay…here we go.  First off, they’re not like regular lip pencils.  Oh, no!  They’re chubby!  And glide-y!  And creamy and smooth and all those wonderful adjectives that make me think of peanut butter, not makeup.  It’s like a lipstick, I swear!  Secondly, the four shades are perfection: Naked Pink, Nude Berry, Red Plum and Warm Rose.  How can you be tacky with gin-and-dubonnet-swilling names like that?  And finally, it’s (respectful pause, please) Bobbi Brown.  Queen of all that is tasteful and elegant and—most importantly—necessary in beauty.  Yes, I confess…I have fallen in love with a lip liner.  Gel tips are surely in my future.

Bobbi Brown Lip Crayon in Nude Berry

Okay, peeps, here’s the scoop.  TotalBeauty.com is holding a series of contests in honor of Earth Day, in the attempt to make our planet just a little bit greener…not to mention a little bit prettier.  As I blogged about last week, they’re not only giving away hundreds of organic beauty products, but will also be giving away a Saturn Vue Hybrid (itself filled to the brim with organic goodies!).  Somebody has to win, so why not you, eh?  For all the scoop and to enter, click here:

Next up is a contest Total Beauty is having for their bloggers.  There’s a beauty trade show held in Paris every year called Beyond Beauty, and Total Beauty is sending three of its affiliate bloggers to the October 2008 summit in Paris.  Jolie would be thrilled to go and get the scoop on the latest and greatest beauty innovations…but this is only possible with your help!  Whichever blogger pulls in the most traffic to the site via links will win, plain and simple.  Your part?  Just click on the buttons above or below!  I’ll link back to the contest throughout the month as I post about my favorite and latest organic finds, but in the meantime…you know what to do!  (Click above…click below…click wherever!)