Smashbox O-Glow, the first “intuitive blush,” is a clear-gel that suits any skintone, so you don’t have to worry about color faux-pas. The unique formula contains Goji-Berry-C Complex that reacts with your own skin’s chemistry and moisture to produce a micro-circulatory effect that leaves your cheeks pink with a healthy-glow. Instead of coloring your cheeks, like most traditional blush products, O-Glow brings out your own natural flush. How great is that? The formula also anti-oxidant ingredients like vitamin C, pomegranate seed oil, and marine plankton; good stuff that protects you’re your skin and keeps it healthy to maintain your rosy glow.

I personally adore this product, I think it’s absolutely brilliant! A product that, literally, makes you look like you’re in the pink of health.

(price: $26 at Sephora)

I’ve always loved Essie; they have the cutest girly-girl color selection with the cheekiest names. Their classic shades like Ballet Slipper, Vanity Fairest, Mademoiselle, & Curtain Call (all in varying degrees of light pink, from milky to opaque to sheer) have been my nailcolor staples for years.

This Spring, Essie introduces six new shades in the same feminine (but flirty and fun!) palette I love. Dubbed In The Mood, each shade in this new collection is sure to be a certfied Essie classic hit.

Left to right, Names/descriptions of each shade below

Hi Maintenance: a sheer, shy, milky pink (similar to Ballet Slipper.)
Great Expectations: a sheer shimmery light grey (like silvery white)
Body Language: a nude creamy pink with a light grey undertone.
Secret Affair: a pearlescent nude with shifting pink and taupe highlights.
Hard to Get: a high-gloss medium pink with a lavender undertone.
Looking for Love: a sheer milky pastel lavender.

My favorite concealer is by luxury brand Cle de Peau, which at $68 a tube, might sound too pricey for most people. But this stick concealer glides on like a dream and covers imperfections (like uneven skintone, blemishes, hyperpigmentation, and yes, great big undereye circles) flawlessly. With the correct application, it can make your complexion look (and feel) like silk. You only need a few dabs (the best method is to dot and pat gently into your skin) to get perfect coverage too, so one tube lasts practically forever (6 months if you use it everyday, but at least a year if you need concealer only occasionally.) Cle de Peau is available at most luxury department store cosmetic counters.

Add some luxury lingerie and you’re ready for ANYTHING!

Unfortunately, most of us aren’t blessed with a perfectly glossy mane. Here’s a quick (15 minutes!) and inexpensive hairstyling remedy you can try to achieve Jen’s sleek style. All you need are the following tools and products:
1. Blow-Dryer (the ones with hoods or diffusers work best)
2. Flat-Iron (pick one with ceramic plates, as these are less damaging to hair than those with metal ones)
3. A heat activated straightening balm. I recommend the following:
- Kerastase Resistance Ciment-Thermique
- Matrix Biolage Fortified Heat Sealer
- L’Oreal Studio Hot Straight Cream

Step 1: Start with towel-dried hair. Apply straightening balm to small (1/4-1/2 inch) sections of the hair.
Step 2: Blow-dry each section of hair (1/4-1/2 inch, just as in step one.) The trick is to use a flat paddle brush quickly through the hair sections, followed closely by the blow-dryer.
Step 3: When all hair is dried, use a flat-iron on bigger sections of hair (about 1 inch) Begin on the inner sections (under) and finish with the outer sections. The trick is to pull the iron flat from the roots to the ends of each section.

I’ve had a love-hate relationship with mascara for years. In my quest for lusher lashes, trying squillions of different brands has left me, mostly, disappointed with the results. An application of mascara usually begins with frustration (the clumping, the unnatural spiking, the streaking) and ends with me having racoon eyes (when most of the product, inevitably, ends up on a dark rim around my eyes) or irritated eyes (from the constant washing off and reapplying, and washing off.)

Then I found it, my holygrail mascara. Chanel Inimitable Mascara Multidimensionnel delivers the kind of soft, naturally thick and dark eyelashes I’ve always wanted, and in a single stroke. According to Chanel, it’s all in the combincation of a sophisticated formula, and a unique applicator (designed to lengthen, plump, and curl even the finest lashes.) My lashes need just one coat of Chanel Inimitable to make the transformation from thin and sparse, to lush and pretty. This product is the undisputed star of my daily beauty routine.

It’s a little expensive, at $28 for a single tube, but that’s a small price to pay for beautiful peepers.

My absolute favorite product, my holygrail of all primers, is Smashbox Photo Finish. It comes different formulations to suit a variety on ski-types. I use the Light formula which is for oily skin. But there’s also a green-tinted formula for evening out reddish skin (like those who have Rosacea,) and the newest formula which has SPF 15 and Dermaxyl Complex (an anti-aging ingredient.) Photo Finish has a gel-consistency that glides onto my face like silk, and leaves my skin with a natural matte finish. I also like that it’s oil-free and contains grapeseed extract that soothes the skin, so it’s not just makeup, but a skin treat. Ideally, people follow primer with an application of foundation, but in my case, I find that I’m good to go even sans makeup.

Prices are between $36-45. Not a bad deal for perfect skin.

And with that sassy intro, MAC unveils it’s limited-edition makeup line, a brilliant collaboration between the popular beauty brand, and Heatherette, a design house famous for its up edgy club looks. Run by Traver Rains and Richie Rich, Heatherette’s designs were first sold at the boutique of Sex and the City stylist Patricia Fields. Its stylish a-list patrons now include Gwen Stefani and Pink.

The makeup line, dubbed the Heatherette Collection includes favorites from MAC (traditional lipstick, Lip gloss, Dual-edged pencils, Nail Lacquer, Beauty Powder, etc) in bold, bright and funky colors. There are Barbie-doll pinks for the lips, Dollar-green for the nails, glitter-laden pigments in disco hues; shades that call to mind the late 1980’s/early 1990’s New York club scene. Further proof of this collection’s playful 80’s vibe? Eyeshadow palettes in shapes reminiscent of cassette tapes.

“The original sexy flush!” Benetint has been a makeup favorite for years, and has spawned numerous copycat products. But nothing compares to the original, and makeup artists and product junkies alike, swear by Benetint! This cult product comes in a bottle, with a brush applicator similar to a nailpolish brush. While the rose-tinted liquid may be a little tricky to apply at first (the liquid consistency is prone to streaking, if you aren’t careful) once you get the hang of it, you’re likely to call it your holy grail of cheek products. Not only does it provide you with a natural flush of perfect sheer pink (that matches most skintones) it’s very long-wearing, so you don’t need to keep reapplying.

This versatile cheekstain also doubles as a lipstain, so it’s great if you’re travelling light! I wouldn’t recommend using it on your bare lips though. I suggest a light coat of lipbalm underneath the stain to counter-act the drying effect.

Origins, L’Occitane, Cargo and Durance all use only the best botanical ingredients in their products. Juice Beauty’s skincare products are based on organic juices produced on sustainable family farms. Aveda, Jurlique, and Weleda promote biodynamics in their products. Biodynamics goes beyond organic farming in nurturing the soil.

Cult skincare favorite Kiehl’s advocates the concept of “Fair Trade,” (which basically promotes standards for international labor and social policy) and pays fair prices for the raw material gathered in rural Morocco, making certain that materials and processes used in the production of its cosmetics are all environment-friendly.

Hip hollywood brand Smashbox has also jumped in on the green bandwagon; recently launching its first completely eco-friendly collection, aptly titled The Green Room. The products in this line are infused with moringa seed extract,(a natural anti-oxidant) and are packaged in biodegradable and recyclable materuals. In addition, Smashbox Cosmetics will also plant a moringa tree in a developing country for each product purchased from the Green Room collection.

Many promising new eco-chic beauty brands are also on the rise. Australia-based Shizen, carries certified organic products that contain nothing artificial, and benefit Greenfleet, an eco-friendly Australia-based organization.