T-minus 48 hours until I jet off to Paris with Total Beauty to attend the Beyond Beauty 2008 Conference!  Ol’ Jolie hasn’t been to the City of Lights since 2004, so I’m tickled as Elmo (groan) to be returning.  There’s an official itinerary planned and all manner of brand appointments (Lancome!  Clarins!  Ooh la la!), but I have two main missions: revisit Versailles, and then soak myself in as much non-touristy Frenchiness as I can stand.  The Eiffel Tower?  Champs-Elysees?  Notre Dame?  Mais, non!  I have nightly drinks planned with local friends in all the off-the-beaten-path watering holes, want to check out the fringe arrondisements–slightly gritty, but with real flavor and heart, and plan on parlering as much Francais as I can.  (Do you have those friends that visit foreign countries and return punctuating every other sentence with foreign words and phrases in an unplaceable accent?  I have realized, to my chagrin, that I am one of those assholes.  I simply embrace it now, head hung shamefully low.)

Here’s Saturday night’s destination, which I am most excited about: The Chacha Club.  Other spots we plan to hit up: Bar du Plaza Athenee, Flute L’Etoile, Neo and Le Baron.  Reports, photos and (I hope!) good stories forthcoming…

Why, hel-lo, boys.  I don’t know whether to laugh or get all bothered at the sight of Penn, Chace and Ed doing their best Blue Steel imitations on the cover of Details.  (::Rolls eyes…Giggles…Pauses…Stares at cover again…Starts envisioning scenarios…Swoons::)

You know how addicted I am to NARS Orgasm–the ever-so-slightly shimmery peachy-pink blush that flatters almost any complexion.  I just glanced at the Sephora website and saw that there’s a new covetable blush offering: NARS Super Orgasm, available exclusively at Sephora.com to Beauty Insiders.  It’s like the original Orgasm, but with even more shimmer…which equals an even sexier, softer, more beautilicious look.  Most gals over the age of 25 (or 12, whatever) shy away from shimmer, but when done correctly, it adds a gorgeous sheen to the complexion and looks very feminine.  (I’m also obsessed with Bare Escentuals Clear Radiance, my secret weapon makeup product which I never leave the house in the evenings without wearing.)

I just stumbled across this press release, released in June by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, predicting that cosmetic surgery procedures will top 55 million in 2015.  (FYI, that’s four times the number of procedures performed in 2005.)  It’s kind of scary when you consider that we’re a nation of just over 300 million people…but then I remember that Hollywood actresses and other surgery junkies probably really skew the national average.  Still…that is a hell of a lot of nip/tucks, huh? 

Has anybody else been watching the CW’s new show Privileged?  (Please say yes, because now that I’m hooked, I’m worried it’ll get cancelled!)  I’m sticking with 90210 out of some misguided sense of loyalty–boredom? laziness?–and am, of course, breathlessly following Gossip Girl, but Privileged is the guilty TV hour I’ve most enjoyed these past few weeks.  Sure, I can uniquely relate (New York City girl moves to Palm Beach and enjoys a fish-out-of-water existence amongst the beautiful billionaires?–hello, Jolie in 2006!), and no, the show isn’t Masterpiece Theater-worthy, but it is snappy, fun, frothy and full of oh-so-pretty people with surprising depth! heart! soul! behind their expertly-mascaraed eyes.  Plus, Joanna Garcia is pitch-perfect…and has the best hair on TV–that’s right, I’m looking at you, Blake Lively!

It’s National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month, and to help make women aware of the so-called “silent killer” (Ovarian Cancer kills 15,000 women per year, and many women are not diagnosed until it is too late, because symptoms are sometimes ignored as regular discomfort or pain), L’Oreal Paris is partnering with the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. For every Color of Hope Cosmetics Bag purchased (at $25, 888-270-7743), L’Oreal Paris will donate $5 to the OCRF.

From each Color of Hope Colour Riche Lipcolour sold (in three shades: A Color of Hope, A Lighter Shade of Hope, and A Deeper Shade of Hope), $2 will go to the OCRF. Finally, with the purchase of every L’Oréal Paris Hope Necklace—designed by 2008 Swarovski Award for Accessory Design recipient Philip Crangi, and featuring a double eternity ring design of cubic zirconia set in sterling silver, for $29.95–$5 will benefit OCRF.

Congratulations to Karen, Ashlyn, Jodi, Lisa G, Jeanne, Ivanna, Heather, Madison, Rachel and Kat, the winners of the Neutrogena giveaway!  More free goodies from some of my favorite brands coming soon…