I have to admit, when Dior came out with this eyebrow pencil/styler, I thought – what’s all the whoop about?   I mean it’s an eyebrow pencil after all!   Doesn’t every makeup line have one?

Then last week I went to a Dior event at Nordstrom’s MOA and the artist used it on me.    I have to say, I was impressed!    Most eyebrow pencils come in a whole range of shades and you need to pick the one that compliments your eyebrow color and skin tone – which I’ve done that for years.  But this one has only one shade, a universal shade for all eyebrow colors.

The artist showed me her brows which she had used it on and they looked as natural as could be and matched her very dark brow color perfectly.  I figured there was no way that it would work on mine.   I don’t have real light brows, and certainly not as dark as hers so I didn’t think it would look as good on me.   She applied it and amazingly my brows looked filled in and it matched PERFECTLY!   

I’m not sure how one color can be so universal, but Dior certainly has done it!    The pencil is retractable, so no sharpening needed and the tip is ever so fine, so no need to worry about dark, heavy clumps of color.  At the opposite end is a spooly brush – use that first to get your brows in the right shape so you can fill in where needed and then after filling in with the pencil, run the spooly brush over them again to blend it all in perfectly.   The other thing that is wonderful is that this stays put all day without looking fake!   I definitely purchased this on the spot and am thrilled that I did.  It’s higher in price than some, but worth every penny to me.

Kerastase shampoos, conditioners, and mousse have been in my hair care and styling rotation for years.   I first started using the luxury line when my stylist started carrying the line.   My hair did incredible things, first with adding moisture using the Nutritive line and also body for my fine hair with the Volumactive line.

Now Kerastase has a new line called Age Premium created specifically for those of us who have lost that lovin’ feeling for our hair.  Or in another words, those of us who are typically over 40 who don’t have that full, gorgeous hair like we used to.    Over the years our hair loses the density it had when we were younger and our scalps tend to get drier as well.  Which, since our skin on our faces gets drier as we age, it only makes sense it does on our heads as well.  Kerastase has recognized these issues as well as something called Fibro-Porosity, which in a nutshell means fragile hair from loss of melanin and deficiencies.  We’ve heard that Hyaluronic Acids are great for moisturizing our skin and now this Age Premium has it as well.  It can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water – Wow!   In order to get the maximum results from the Age Premium line supplements are recommended as well.  They will be available sometime in 2010. 

I’ve been using the shampoo and masque for a few months now.  I really love how the shampoo makes my hair feel – soft, full and my styling products seem to work very well when I use the shampoo.  At first I used the masque too often.   Once a week is plenty for me, and anything more than that makes my hair overly moisturized and then I lose my fabulous styling ability.   But, when I use it about once a week, my hair and scalp like it best.   On the dates when I use the shampoo and not the masque, my hair does need a light conditioner with it like the one from the Nutritive line of Kerastase.

I brought this combo with me on my sisters’ weekend in January and made them give it a try.   They all loved how soft and moisturized it made their hair feel.  Their only complaint was that the masque jar was difficult to use because it is a large jar and when your hands are wet in the shower it is clumsy to use.  

If your salon carries Kerastase products, ask about the in-salon treatment of the Re-Substance, a fibro-reinforcing gel.  It’s said to give visible results of volume, density, shine and strength of your hair.  I’m anxious to try it next time I go into my salon.

As promised a few days ago, I said I would tell you about these great Signature Collections by Jouer Cosmetics.   Created by Christina Zilber, an oh-so stylish woman herself, these collections are pre-packaged and ready to give you that polished look no matter what the occasion.  I love how she added the clothing look to go with the makeup.   It makes me want to go purchase the clothes as well.  I ordered the Sunday Brunch look and love it!  I may have to add more of these to my bag.  The powder products are highly pigmented so just a touch is needed, the glosses are not sticky and some are highly pigmented and others sheer, and the highlighter works best when warmed up on your finger.  The other day when wandering a dept store counter I was complimented by a makeup artist from another line on how nice my makeup looked.  Hmm, Sunday Brunch.

While in NYC I had the great opportunity to meet Sandy Linter, a makeup artist with credentials longer than my arm.   She worked at Vogue for many years, currently has a makeup studio in the Rita Hazan Salon and has touched the faces of more supermodels and celebrities than you can imagine.   And it doesn’t stop there – she’s also won numerous awards for her work and is Lancome’s Expert at Every Age artist.   So you can only imagine my excitement when I happened to meet her!

Sandy was kind enough to answer a few of my questions, even though the event I met her at was a social one.  I was at the Lancome Boutique for Fashion’s Night Out and they were having a celebration at the boutique, so it was quite busy.

I asked Sandy what advice she had for women over 40.    She said “I could tell you so much, I have so much advice.”   My first  thought was - great! A book by Sandy Linter for women over 40?  Wouldn’t that be fabulous!  It would surely be a best seller.

Her biggest piece of advice was women over 40 need to wear color!  Stop being afraid of color and then give up and do nothing.   Sandy said when she has appointments at her studio for makeup lessons she always can tell who it is that is waiting to see her, they have given up on their makeup.  

We talked a bit about that – why do we tend to give up or keep everything neutral?   Is it our lack of time?  Is it because we’ve become overwhelmed and give up?  Is it because we’re afraid we’re going to look like we’re trying too hard to be young and come out “clown-like” so we just do nothing?  Or is it because we’re constantly being told that after a certain age you shouldn’t wear certain colors? I truly believe any one of those questions could be the excuse someone would say, and probably about 10 more added to it.

She said the key to wearing color is to blend, blend, blend.   It is so important not to leave the makeup on your face harsh looking.   Maybe that’s where women are getting the bad rap for wearing color – they aren’t blending enough.

Sandy then kindly told me I had the wrong shade of concealer on.   I actually was relieved that I hadn’t applied it, it was something someone else had put on me.   So she took me over to the counter and applied Lancome’s Photogenic concealer in Ivory under my eye – perfect!  (Photogenic is being discontinued, so be sure to get some quickly before it’s all gone)   She took the time to explain why my eyes may look darker than most – I have a large eye and the orbital bone structure around my eye is very prominent making my under eye look darker than most, so I must use concealer under the whole eye, not just on the inner corner. 

She then took the Lancome eye pencil in the Kohl Kajal color Earth Shimmer and lined my whole eye for definition, but keeping the pencil close to the lower lash line.     A quick swipe of a hint of blush on my cheeks – blended very well, of course, and a quick dusting of Loose Mineral Bronzer in Natural Golden to top it off.   That’s another thing – our skin tends to lighten or look washed out as we age, so bronzer is important.

I was thrilled with the quick touch up and next time I’m in NYC I am definitely booking a full appointment with her to learn more.   But one thing I have to say I have definitely been working harder at is making sure I use color every day.   It really does liven up your face, and how couldn’t a fresh colored face make you happy!