I’ve visited a spa or twelve in my day, and consider myself something of a massage expert.  (Hmm.  Okay, maybe not an expert, since I have no freaking idea how to properly give one that doesn’t involve lightly scratching fingernails or sad little attempts at shoulder-kneading that result in said recipient swatting away my hands and saying, “You know…it’s okay.  Just forget it.”  So, let’s say I’m a massage enthusiast.  A connoisseur, if you will.)  I had a fantastic one last night at Ole Henriksen in West Hollywood (310-854-7700): a two-hour African Red Tea Body Cocktail involving a drool-inducing massage, followed by a brown sugar scrub, tropical rain rinse (as in, the ceiling started raining fat, soothing droplets of water on me), antioxidant African Red Tea body mask, and a wrap to pull out all the impurities.  I crawled home, drank my body weight in water to flush out all the toxics I envisioned flooding my system (and since Tuesday night was a very late one, I’m sure there were a lot of toxins to be axed) and then passed out.

Antioxidants are, of course, one of the big buzzwords in beauty, since they help fight free radicals, which are the nasty little buggers involved in the aging process.  African Red Tea is getting attention because it has a higher percentage of antioxidants than green tea, and also has calming and soothing properties.  The African Red Tea See The Difference Serum is packed with it, and includes anti-inflammatory, circulation-boosting gingko biloba, and sea kelp, which firms and detoxifies.  It costs $48.

Another of my favorite Ole products is the On the Go Cleanser, which is great for all skin-types and gives you that extra-clean feeling without drying the skin.  It’s chock-full of goodness, too: vitamin C, grapeseed extract and seaweed.  It costs $21.

Enjoy!

Daria Werbowy, Kate Moss and some other hot chick (okay, Lara Stone) naked in a bed together…with fabulous hair to boot?  A fantasy that both men and women can get behind!  I cannot express to you how much I covet Kate Moss’s bangs and casual waves here.  Coaxing my cowlick-y frizz into beach babe perfection is something of a Jolie obsession, and considering how messy this style looks (and is supposed to look!) you wouldn’t believe how much flipping effort it takes.  My best method for waves after the jump:

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Anne Hathaway shone at the Grand Palais in Paris yesterday for the over-the-top launch of Lancome ’s latest fragrance Magnifique.  What’s this?  An all-new scent that’s not piggybacking off an existing juice?  Revolutionary!  I’ve never met Anne, but (super lame story to follow, whatever) we were once in the powder room simultaneously at a Broadway premiere, and she was gracious, chatty, friendly and patient when a fan approached.  Even since, I’ve been impressed with her…and I love that she’s pale and proud!

Photo from People.com (Julian Hekemian/WireImage)
This is a hard lip color for many women to pull off, with strong orange-y tones, but it looks lovely on Anne. 

 The music of Cole Porter reportedly played as revelers waited for the name of the new fragrance to be revealed.  Lancome is also launching a new website at Magnifique-Women.com that they’re billing as a community platform to connect and celebrate women via video.  I can’t check it out because it uses Silverlight, and my computer sucks.

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Apparently my Bare Escentuals TV spots have begun airing, but I have yet to see one.  If any of you spot Jolie on TV, let me know what channel and when so I can tune in and cringe at my frizzy hair and overly-shrill enthusiasm.  (”BEST…MAKEUP…EVER!!”)  Plus, more seriously, my mom won’t stop harassing me to give her the pertinent info…and you don’t mess with Mama Jolie!

Prepare yourselves…Carrie is nearly here.  Sex And The City premiered in London today, and if Sarah Jessica Parker’s Phillip Treacy hat is any indication (see photo below, in which giant mutated butterflies appear to be attacking her head), we’re in for some sartorial adventure.  The girls all look lovely, but my personal winner is Cynthia Nixon.  Yowza!

Yeah, the hat is weird…but I love it.  Does that make me weird?  I’m just so sick of seeing boring, blah, safe, bland prettiness on the red carpet.

What do you think?

Exciting news—I’ve finally had a chance to see an advanced copy of my Bare Minerals infomercial appearance, a half-hour segment completely devoted to the magic that is Bare Minerals foundation.  I pop up about twelve minutes in, yammering on about how obsessed I am…how crap my skin is otherwise…how it’s my number one beauty product ever, blah, blah, blah. The thing is, it’s 100% true—I wasn’t paid for my appearance in the infomercial, and agreed to it because I was thrilled to be invited to participate.  It’s damn near impossible to not become jaded by products; as a beauty writer, you test so many that they start to blend together.  So when you find something that really stands out, it’s a lightening bolt moment, and that Oh-My-God-You-Have-To-Try-This! love is what Bare Minerals (and all the Bare Escentuals products) inspires in me.

Why do I love it?  (Surely you’re sick of this by now!)  Here’s the five-second version: It’s weightless, it covers all my redness, pigmentation, zits and acne scars, and it doesn’t make me feel like I have paint on my skin.  Yeah, it has SPF, too, but even if it were SPF-free, I’d still want to make babies with it.

BTW, While most women who’ve tried agree wholeheartedly with Bare Minerals’ merits, occasionally I’ll get an email from somebody who questions my devotion.  (They’re all, “Jolie are you on crack?  I hate it–why are you so obsessed?”)  The most common complaints I’ve heard regarding Bare Minerals come from those with extremely dry skin, usually older women.  I always advise them to moisturize well before applying foundation, and also mention that the brush you use will determine the type of coverage you get.  (My favorite is the Handy Buki, which gives medium-to-full airbrush-worthy coverage.)  If you find that the foundation settles into pores, another complaint I’ve heard a few times, using a primer after moisturizing will help you look flawlessly smooth, dahlings.  The simple truth is that not all beauty products will work for all women; my favorite could be your least, or vice versa.  That being said, nearly every gal I’ve turned onto Bare Minerals has similarly fallen in love.  Hand over heart, Jolie pledges to (at least attempt to) always steer you right!  

Cosmetic Executive Women held their annual CEW Awards Luncheon today at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York; I’ve been lucky enough to attend myself twice, and it’s a huge to-do.  The ballroom is packed with tables full of beauty editors, high-profile executives and a smattering of B-list celebs, and everybody twitters and clucks and shrieks as the winners are announced.  (Yes, just like in high school when they announced Homecoming Court over the loudspeakers, only this time the role of Head Cheerleader will be played by Allure’s Linda Wells.)  Some of the the winners which also happen to be Jolie obsessions:

Scented Bath and Body - Prestige: Tom Ford Beauty Black Orchid Finishing Spray
I cannot express my love for this product enough.  I want to eat it.  I want to bathe in it.  I want to marry it and have all its babies.  It is so, so sexy—even more amazing than the already-fabulous Black Orchid EDT and EDP.  Tom Ford famously said when creating Black Orchid that he wanted it to smell like the inside of a man’s crotch, which is the very height of weirdness.  Apparently, the inside of a man’s crotch is also all in the world that Jolie desires to spritz on herself.  So, you know, that’s bizarre.

Facial Skincare - Acne Treatment: Bare Escentuals Rare Minerals Blemish Therapy
From my favorite beauty company comes a preservative-free, all-natural, mineral zit treatment that uses sulfur.  Dab it on at night and pimples will quietly flee.

Makeup: Eye Product - Mass: Cover Girl Lash Blast Mascara
Somehow, I didn’t get around to using this mascara until this morning for the very first time.  Predictably, I fell in love; the raves are all true, and it volumizes, lengthens and thickens like a dream.  This just might upstage Max Factor Lash Perfection as my favorite drugstore mascara. 

For a complete list of winners, click here, or check out Jessica Anderson from Sephora’s beauty blog’s live twitter updates from earlier.

To everybody who posted your biggest beauty question: thank you!  It took me a few days to weed through them all and take notes (I’m currently working on edits for Confessions), so now I have a loooong list of future posts and items to research.  (The best deodorant that won’t leave marks?  Beats me!  I’ve tried scores over the years, and I’ve never found one that actually works — including Degree Ultra Clear, which says it’s Little Black Dress approved…but it’s not.  Degree, you lie!)  In honor of the ‘fro I’m rocking today, let’s tackle frizz first.

You don’t have to spend oodles of money on an effective anti-frizz product, nor do you have to so thoroughly weigh down hair with shine serum that it becomes a grease ball.  The trick in banishing frizz is to combat it when your hair is wet, not damp or dry; this will make a huge difference in the sleekness (and lightness) of the finished look.  My personal favorite is Phytodefrisant (apply a quarter-sized dollop) but at $26, it’s not as cheap as, say, John Frieda Frizz-Ease Serum (roughly $9) or Neutrogena Triple Moisture Healing Shine Serum (about $7.50), both excellent alternatives. 

- Rub the serum in the palms of your hand and over fingers, then work it through your combed-out strands, starting at the bottom; this ensures the most product will deposit on parched ends, and the least amount on your roots. 
- If you plan on airdrying hair, scrunch a dime-sized amount of hydrating cream (see below) on the lower-half of hair and then keep your hands off!  (Handling leads to frizzilation.)  The areas near your roots don’t need any hydrating or glossing cream, unless superdamaged or coarse.
- To blowdry hair smooth, I like to blast my bangs first (away with thee, wavy bits!), then pull up the top half of hair from my ears up, beginning in the back and underneath, and working my way forward and toward the crown.  (Play around and do whatever works for you; what’s truly important is working in small chunks to get hair bone-dry.  For those that have cowlicks, I strongly recommend drying those areas ASAP!)
- Remove every last bit of moisture.  Even slight dampness will lead to later frizz on drier, less healthy strands. 
- Finish with a dime-sized amount of glossing or hydrating cream, combing it through hair with fingers, avoiding roots, and making sure to swipe the underside and random back bits of your ‘do.  Two of my all-time favorites are Fekkai Glossing Cream and John Frieda Secret Weapon Flawless Finishing Cream. 
- Dedicated frizz-fighters can use a flatiron to quickly lock in straightness, but make this the exception, not the rule, as heatstyling will dry out hair over time…which leads to frizz!  Ahh, the cruel irony.

I’ve been getting so many emails from readers with across-the-board recommendations about products that I’ve decided to start posting them.  First up…

After chemotherapy, skin usually becomes extremely dry, so J. writes in:

“Vaseline is your friend, especially after the shower!  My dad experienced very brittle nails on his hands and feet.  I recommend Vaseline Intensive Care Healthy Hand & Nail, and Vaseline Intensive Rescue Healing Foot Cream.  He had abnormally dry hands and feet and it helped a lot.”