Cologne attended a private event last week at the Estee Lauder offices in New York City to discuss the company’s Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign–chic and for a good cause!

A full forty stories above New York City, I sat at the late Estee Lauder’s well-preserved desk daydreaming about the day I would work in a corner office of such luxury. The room afforded pristine bird’s-eye views of the Plaza Hotel, Central Park, and the Upper East Side, and I thought about what a revolutionary woman Estee was. 

The Senior Management team, including the Lauder Family, welcomed the new generation of press (us brilliant beauty bloggers!) to an exclusive reception in the beautiful salon of their corporate offices. After mingling with fellow bloggers, I got the chance to chat with Daniel Brestle, the Vice Chairman & President of the North American division. He let us in on a little secret about what’s next in regard to product trends: anti-aging products in…Botox out.  He was also genuinely intrigued by (and appreciative of) the new era into which beauty bloggers are whisking the industry.  (Jolie’s note: That’s right, my dears, we’re here to stay!)

Then, the lovely Mr. Lauder spoke on behalf of the Estee Lauder Companies’ Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. So far they have raised approximately $35 million for research and have distributed over 80 million pink ribbons across the globe. Present in over 60 countries, their purpose is to reach every corner of the world with the message about the importance of early detection, and to raise significant funds for research in order to make a world without breast cancer a reality. Today, 1 out of 8 women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime; however, on the brighter side—the five-year survival rate for localized breast cancer has jumped to 98%.

Thus, this October, fifteen of the company’s most luxurious and sought-after beauty brands will sell Pink Ribbon Products to raise money for the cause. Join the fight (while looking beautiful in the meantime) by purchasing the following popular products (note that some of them are not yet available, as they’re limited-edition and will go on sale in October):

Aveda Hand Relief
Bobbi Brown Pink Ribbon Collection Lip gloss
Bumble and Bumble Classic Hairspray
Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion
Clinique Butter Shine Lipstick in Ribbon Pink
Darphin Predermine Wrinkle Corrective Serum
Donna Karan Cosmetics
Estee Lauder Beautiful Eau de Parfum Spray
Estee Lauder Perfectionist CP + Wrinkle Lifting Serum
Estee Lauder Evelyn Lauder Lip Color Collection
Estee Lauder Elizabeth Hurley High Gloss Lip Color Collection
Estee Lauder Pink Reflection Duet Jay Strongwater for Estee Lauder
Jo Malone Red Roses Bath Oil
Lab Series Skincare For Men Daily Moisture Defense Lotion SPF 15
La Mer Crème de la Mer
Ojon Revitalizing Mist
Origins Peace of Mind On-the-spot Relief
Prescriptives Pink Ribbon Collection
Sean John Unforgivable Eau de Toilette Spray
Tommy Hilfiger Dreaming Eau de Parfum Spray

~Cologne Schmidt

Cologne attended the Erin Fetherston show and went backstage, where she interviewed makeup legend Bobbi Brown; her dispatch, below!

With the Spring 2009 pastel-swirl-marshmallow-poof look surrounding me backstage at Erin Fetherston, I had a chance to chat with some of the beauty specialists that make the magic happen–including Bobbi Brown herself!

In an attempt to embody Fetherston’s collection, while at the same time capturing the trends for the upcoming spring (and they talk about spring as if it were just around the corner…don’t we wish), Bobbi went full-blast on the shimmers and glitters that she has been experimenting with for years. The new trend on the runway is sparkly jewel-toned metallic eyeshadows, which gives a look Bobbi describes as “sophisticated ballerina.”  The key, however is not overdoing the shimmer; Bobbi recommends just a bit on the eyes or high on the cheekbone over blush to look “natural in a beautiful way.”

Cologne’s photo from the 2nd row at the Erin Fetherston show

(more…)

September is an out-with-the-old, in-with-the-new month, with change in the air, surprises around the corner, and the heady sense of boundless possibility. (We’ll discuss the fact that the past three months of my life seemed to have fallen down a time-sucking black hole later.) ‘Twas not that long ago young Jolie would be getting ready to go back to school: running amok through the aisles of Target and the Container Store, snapping up notebooks and pens and binders as fast as her little hands could grab them, plotting her coming year with (all-too-temporary) military precision. Teen Jolie thought, “This year will be different! I will study for hours upon end! I will finally get an A in math! Lo, run screaming, chemistry, for I shall conquer you!” And then the school year would begin, and by day two I’d be procrastinating my pre-calculus homework like nobody’s business. (Um, I’d just like to put it on the record, former teachers/loving parents of Jolie, that I was totally right when I adamantly declared my life would be fine even if I got C’s in geometry and algebra and that studying any harder would be a waste of my precious time. Calculators and a modicum of common sense have served me well!)

The buying of the new stuff was, of course, always the best part—school and learning are all well and good but, puh-lease, can anything possibly beat the promise of All! New! school supplies? It’s a theory that transfers to beauty, too–cosmetics companies know it, which is why they maniacally pimp out redesigned fall collections, starting riiiight…about…now. Occasionally, I’ll stop by Saks or Barney’s and wander around the makeup aisles, testing this and sniffing that until I am forced to flee from overzealous, toothily-grinning sales ladies. (Sephora, thank you for understanding the concept of letting a gal browse in peace!) Bobbi Brown usually has excellent fall offerings, and there’s always a flashy little something to catch my eye from Lancome, Giorgio Armani and Guerlain. Ultimately, though, my spontaneous Gotta Have It! fall beauty purchases are the equivalent of the Trapper Keeper I was convinced would result in straight A’s in 7th grade: they’re shiny with lots of gadgets…but we all know Jolie’s going to get bored (read: lazy) in about two minutes and seek comfort in the arms of her trusty standbys. And in the end, if you’re not willing to put the work in, all the new supplies in the world won’t make a damn bit of difference! (Alas, could have saved my parents hundreds of dollars over the years there, huh?)