I was a bit underwhelmed and unimpressed by the looks at yesterday’s Emmy Awards show, which is why it’s taken me all day to muster the energy to write about it.  (Must I?  Sigh.  Okay.)  What I did like were the soft, artfully messy, feminine updos that abounded; what I don’t like is the “red lipstick” trend, which feels too harsh and forced. 

Debra Messing’s hair looked pretty and modern, not to mention amazingly healthy and shiny (it’s all about the shine, people!)

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Kate Middleton’s reputation has gone off the rails a bit in the past few months, with increasingly frequent (and increasingly snide) news reports in the UK papers suggesting she display self-respect and dump Prince William (it’ll be a cold day in hell), stop conducting weekly club crawls (touché) or get a job (how would that work, exactly?  Does nobody remember Sophie Rhys-Jones?).  Previous royal wives and girlfriends have demonstrated that, if the public and the papers turn on you, you’d better have thick skin and prepare yourself for gleeful displays of schadenfreude if you dare mess up.  (The roller-skating incident is already down in royal-watcher history.)  And yet…I can’t make myself turn away.

Here’s a must-read, absolutely fascinating article about the psychology of voting: My Candidate, Myself (Salon.com)

Free makeup alert!  10 Jolie readers will win the products that Neutrogena makeup artist Amy Oresman used on Hayden Panettiere for the Emmy Awards last night.  Respond in the comments section with the name of your all-time favorite TV show (I Love Lucy in the house!) and 10 winners will be randomly selected at 5pm PST this evening.  Below, Amy gives pointers on how to get Hayden’s look using the products you’ll win!

FACE:
“Hayden’s skin is gorgeous and she knows how to take care of it. I enhance that by using Neutrogena Healthy Skin Glow Sheers. It glides on creamy and smooth and gives a dewy, sheer coverage. It is packed with Vitamins A, C and E and SPF 30 so it continues to revitalize your skin even after you take your makeup off.”

“Everyone wants skin with a healthy glow. Bronzer is Hayden’s favorite product; I use Neutrogena Mineral Sheers Powder Foundation to give Hayden a sun-kissed look that always seems natural. I lightly dust it around the perimeter of her face where the hairline meets the skin, continuing with her cheekbones and gently down the bridge of her nose, giving her an even, golden tone. But I don’t stop there: I dust her neck and shoulders to complete the effect. To finish the look, a light sweep over the apples of her cheeks with the Neutrogena Healthy Skin Blends in Fresh gives her face the perfect glow.”

EYES:
“I start by using Neutrogena Nourishing Eye Duo in Iced Coffee to wash over her lids, giving a nude finish. Then I take the darker shade and sweep it in a windshield-wiping motion in the crease of her eye to create the contour. Next I use the darker shade of the Neutrogena Nourishing Eye Duo in Crème Caramel to smudge around the perimeter of her eye where the lash line meets the skin. Using eye shadow as eyeliner gives a better blend-ability and a softer smoke.”

“I adore Neutrogena Healthy Volume Mascara in black, which adds a thick, glossy lash that is the perfect complement to any look. It goes on flawlessly whether you use one coat — for a natural finish, or three — for a super-glam look. For Hayden’s Emmy makeup, I layer it on generously in the corners of her eyelashes to give a little more edge.”

LIPS:
To keep Hayden’s lips dewy and moist, I always start with Neutrogena Lip Boost Intense Moisture Therapy. I love the fresh clean scent and so does Hayden. To keep Hayden’s look sophisticated, I opted to use a low-shine lip stick, such as Neutrogena MoistureShine Soothing LipSheers SPF 20 in Sparkling Nude. The sheers give a hint of color with touch a touch of shine.”

Last night, I attended the Josie Maran Cosmetics Sephora launch party at Akasha in Culver City.  Inspired by her Northern California upbringing, a love of organic products, and years of modeling, Josie created a luxurious line of natural and organic makeup and skin products.  What’s particularly amazing about her makeup is that it has a ton of color payoff (intense pigments that look really lovely on skin) while still being good-for-you.  (Check out the super moisturizing, organic Moroccan Argan Oil, which can be used on both skin and hair, and the gorgeous Finger Paints palette, consisting of four shades to brighten and prettify eyes, cheeks or lips.)

Finger Paints

Right as I was introduced to Josie, she was off to the boys’ bathroom to make mischief by writing on the mirror in lipstick; she invited me along, and the resulting silliness was caught by Wire Image:

Why I am clinging to the wall for dear life, I have no idea.

After weeks underground, Kate Middleton has emerged (all sparkly!), hosting an 80’s themed roller disco charity bash in London last night to benefit a children’s hospital ward.  (Embarassingly, she also fell flat on her toned bum.)  It was recently revealed that Kate will have to wait at least two more years for that crown, and you know how fascinated I am by the would-be Queen.  What does one do while in the very odd position of waiting…and waiting…and waiting for the future King of England to propose?  (Or, methinks, for the future King of England to make official the pre-proposal that has already taken place.)  Waity Katie keeps herself looking fabulous, trim and impeccably glossy, of course–shiny hair, that one…but what else?

When you’re exposed to so many new products and line launches, it’s inevitable that you’d become cynical. “Suuure, this product is going to work,” you think sarcastically, happy that as a beauty editor you don’t have to waste any of your own money to disappointedly discover that yet another moisturizer failed to live up to the hype. So when I first tried In An Instant, the new line that Heidi Klum created with industry behemoth Guthy-Renker, I wasn’t expecting much; color me shocked when I became immediately addicted. The line’s premise is that it marries sophisticated, effective ingredients (namely antioxidants and—ta-da!—those all-important, magical peptides) with instantaneous results. (Um, hence, the name.) Better yet, it’s affordable…and, oh, did I mention that it works?

I first used the products last year, while living in England, when my skin was waging war against me: breaking out all over, all the time, and also finally showing my age in the form of fine-lines and one angry-looking wrinkle down the center of my forehead. It wasn’t pretty. The products arrived, I tried them in desperation…and when I glanced in the mirror an hour later, said angry-looking wrinkle was noticable diminished…smaller…deflated. I started using the entire regimen (Gentle Foaming Cleanser, Instant Warming Scrub, Intensive Firming Serum, Instant Wrinkle Smoother, Instant Daily Tinted Moisturizer and the Intensive Eye Treatment) twice daily, and a few days later all my breakouts went away…and stayed away. My skin felt softer and looked clearer and more radiant. And that wrinkle? The Instant Wrinkle Smoother pen kept it at bay all summer…until I ran out, returned to the States, and desperate for my IAI-fix, turned to Botox. (It’s a slippery slope, folks.)

Guthy asked me how I liked the products, I wrote poems and sang songs about how obsessed I was, and they eventually asked me to appear in their new infomercial extolling its virtues. It starts airing soon (and In An Instant is finally available!), so keep your eyes peeled for ol’ Jolie, and I’ll post a clip soon.

Exciting news!  My dear friend Brooke Parkhurst ’s first book, Belle in the Big Apple, debuts today.  Brooke’s a wonderfully descriptive writer, an accomplished cook and–just like her narrator Belle!–a plucky-yet-genteel Southern gal, and this snappy tale marries both her passions: a novel, with recipes! 

“Bright Lights, Big City” meets “Sex & the City”—with 30 fabulous recipes—in Brooke Parkhurst’s debut novel about a sassy, food-loving Southern belle who moves to New York City to chase her journalistic star. Part Paula Deen, part Scarlett O’Hara, Belle Lee is a 25 year-old small town Southern girl who leaves Alabama—and the comfort of Granddaddy’s newspaper—for the fast-paced, glamorous Big Apple media world. But a career in Midtown and a love life south of Houston (the street pronounced nothing like the Texas city she knows) isn’t all that Vogue promised it would be. Belle finds herself at a thankless gig in the mosh pit of a conservative 24-hour news station facing corruption, conspiring co-workers and money-hungry executives intent on fixing the presidential elections. If this is what it takes to be a big time “journalist,” she’s not interested. In the end, Belle follows her true passions—writing, cooking and writing about cooking—and finds a career, love and, of course, herself.