The sell-out color for spring comes yet again from Chanel.  It’s GREY, pale with a hint of taupe,  has been deemed the color of the moment and sells out as soon as it gets to any store.  (Southpark NM had 9 bottles in after a week-long wait, sold them within the day of delivery).  I researched a bit to see if there are some good substitutes for you.  According to my fave nail blog www.alllacqueredup.com there aren’t….tho’ Essie Mink Muffs comes closest.  Michelle at alllacqueredup does a fab review of all 3 of the new spring colors for Chanel, which retail for $23 by the way.  Here are some photo’s, hers and others (note the bracelet tattoos also at Chanel this spring.  Tattoos for legs, arms, necklaces, wrists…there is no end to what this man can get us to pay for….see them here).   more photos  (more…)

Trendy nail polish is the cheapest new accessory you can buy each season.

Darks remain hot this winter, but we’ve moved beyond dark reds and black. Think navy, grey, green, purple and burgundy.   And lots of experimenting with finishes.  Matte, suede, glitter, metallics, shimmers.  Colors flecked with sequins and glitter.   I know, I know, this is not New York and you are not Kate Moss.   (more…)

Tthe BLVD at NoDa now sells beauty products from Beautorium.com, the online source for natural & organic beauty products. Currently in stock are Suki, Trilogy, John Masters Organics, Revolution Organics, Rain, Red Flower & Dr Hauschka.  Animal Cruelty FREE, Chemical FREE w/minimal or recylced packaging.

These rolled out this fall, but maybe you only get to Walmart during the holidays.  The Hard Candy brand, much like it’s name, is subversive in style but cute in cosmetics.  It’s always been a great buy for the tween/early teen and now, at Walmart prices it’s hard to beat.  Pretty much everything is betwee $5-$10.  To see the line online, click here.

OPI is always setting trends in laquer. Remember this summer? Nails to match your Paige denim. And now, nails to match your laptop (read here). OK, too much of a good thing, but…The hot news from OPI this season is Matte finishes & Suede finishes in your favorite shades. (Soon to come, no doubt, Glitter finishes. Deborah Lippman does the best glam-rock-glitter so far, but give OPI time). (more…)

Congrats to our 2 lucky winners of The Thing of Beauty this week.  Ms. Dressler won Creed’s newest scent Aqua Fiorentina nad Ms. Page won Prada’s just out L’Eau Ambree.

Both are full size, new to the market and courtesy of scoop’s favorite scent store in Charlotte, Neiman Marcus.

Confessions of a Perfume Addict

On the one hand, there is almost no perfume I won’t try.  I have no scent loyalty what-so-ever, and  I am ASTONISHED that you might smell the same every day for years, decades, your entire adult life.  This isn’t your husband or career we’re talking about people, this is a little spray to start off your day.
On the other hand, if you can readily buy it, I don’t want it.   Only in NY, Paris, Milan?  Sign me up.  Discontinued in 1979?  Just give me a minute.  Created by the reclusive parfumier for his mystery muse, bottled from the rarest ingredients in a mountain monastery?  So, so what I want this Christmas.
Here in Charlotte, the only place for me to shop perfume is Neimans.  Since I can only afford full size once each year, I’m forced to grovel for samples, but fortunately, NM’s high service standard usually stands for generous sampling.

This week, Neiman Marcus will give you your own set of samples in this sparkly wristlet.  Just spend $85 in cosmetics or fragrance between 11/22 & 11/29.

Better yet, spend $200 or more in cosmetics/fragrance, instore only, and get 10% off your purchase price.  A good time to stock up on gifts.

If you’re willing to buy perfume online, my favorite sites are:  luckyscent, theperfumecourt and aedes.  All 3 sites carry a great selection of exclusive brands, have the newest, hardest-to-find products and, best of all, you can buy SAMPLE sizes on both luckyscent and  theperfumecourt.  Try it out for less than $5 usually.  Don’t like it?  Try another.

• www.luckyscent.com
• www.theperfumedcourt.com
• www.aedes.com

The winner of last week’s A Thing of Beauty contest is Ms. Snyder, who promises to keep us posted on if and how this product works.  Are her lashes longer and fuller after only 6 weeks?

You’ve probably read about all of the new products, prescription and otherwise, which are supposed to grow your eyelashes, both by adding more lashes for a fuller look and by adding length.  Well, I am way too chicken to try this kind of thing, but I thought some of you might want to give it a whirl.

Neiman Marcus, Southpark, has given us a full-size tube of NeuLash to giveaway this week in a Thing of Beauty. The winner will be in good, if rarified, company…..the product is only sold through Neimans & Saks and was given out to front row attendees at a show at Spring 2010 fashion week.

Email susu@scoopcharlotte.com for your chance to win this week’s Thing Of Beauty, a tube of NeuLash from Neiman Marcus. click here for contest rules.

The craze to enhance your lashes came about when patients being treated for glaucoma noticed marked growth in their lashes.  Latisse was the first product I know of on the market (brought to you by the makers of Botox), and since the Latisse intro, many products, prescription and OTC, have come out.  From what I’ve read on the web,  the ingredient in the prescription treatments (which apparently do work) has a slight risk of unwanted side effects - like skin & iris darkening.  NeuLash is one of the few non-prescription treatments, reported to work, reported to be sting-free and reported to have no skin/iris discoloration.  I am going to let you read all about the product and its safety testing, trials and clinical studies at www.neulash.com.  We at scoopcharlotte make no claims and take no responsibility for whether this product works or not, hurts or not, is safe or not, and whether you’ll like it or not.  That’s between you, your lashes and the folks at NeuLash.

I will say - we googled it, and it has good reviews with few complaints, other than the price.  NeuLash, like most of the legit products in the category, runs about $150 per tube, which is a 3 month supply.  NeuLash can be used to thicken sparse eyebrows as well, and it can be used by contact wearers.