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Jessica Biel on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar’ August edition looking beautiful in a gown from the Calvin Klein Collection.  Dancing with Designers is a spin on the show, Dancing with the Stars.  Nice way for a magazine to tie into what’s hot on tv.  The spread includes pics of:

• Biel & Diane von Furstenberg doing the Charleston
• Biel & Zac Posen waltzing 
• Biel & Vera Wang setting the scene for a ballet
• Biel & Oscar de la Renta doing the Cha Cha
• Biel & Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa dancing the paso doble

The pictures are gorgeous of course but I love to see the movement behind the shot.  Check out the youtube vid (below) for some great tidbits. 

Ruben Toledo Alert, Don’t Miss…

     the Salvador Dali inspired pages right after the Jessica Biel spread.  Photographs by Richard Burbridge, Illustrations by, my favorite, Ruben Toledo.  Remember Ruben from Nina Garcia’s Little Black Book of Style?  Don’t miss his NEW book FASHIO-N-ATION out August 2008.

FASHIO-N-ATION is described as a, “…collection of over 150 drawings, water colors and pen and ink portraits by artist Toledo explores with his typical Cuban Black Humor and sweetly cynical New Yorker’s eye the ever changing landscape of fashion and the body language of style.” Steidl

I’m dying to see this, but with a retail of $360 I’ll be requesting an inter-library loan some day.  Until then I’ll hang onto the Harper’s Bazaar pages.

Sex and the City Movie Book 

woohoo, I’m loving life I tell ya, I received my copy at 3:25 p.m. today and have read and re-read it twice at the beach this afternoon interrupted only by the rising tide, so I know everything!!  but dont’ worry  you’ll not get one ounce of info from me.  You’ll just have to go get your stub and watch for yourself ladies.  This is a gorgeous book full of glitzy pics and my favorite part, the Look Book in the back showing all the outfits the ladies wore.

…and they lived fabulously ever after. 

Does anyone else mark their calendars?! if not use your BlackBerry, Blackboard whatever you have to don’t miss out.  Felicia Sullivan, Author, Foodie and Rockstar, is on the road promoting her stirring memoir, The Sky Isn’t Visible from Here.

All YOU need to do is be in the right place at the right time! 

Felicia Sullivan Book Tour Schedule:

Wednesday, April 30—NEW YORK, NY—Guerilla Lit, BAR on A – 170 Avenue A @ 11th Street, 7:30 pm

Wednesday, May 7—SAN FRANCISCO, CA–Booksmith, 1644 Haight Street, 7:00 pm

Friday, May 9—LOS ANGELES, CA–Booksoup, 8818 W Sunset Blvd., 7:00 pm

Saturday, May 10–PASADENA, CA– Vroman’s Bookstore, 695 E. Colorado Blvd., 4:00 pm

Sunday, June 8—BROOKLYN, NY—Sunday Salon @ Stainbar, 766 Grand Street., 7:00 pm

You’re feeling the urgent need to buy the book buy now, so don’t procrastinate, buy the book!

The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here @ Amazon

The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here @ Barnes & Noble

The Sky Isn’t Visible From Here @ Booksense

8 Simple Steps to an Earth-Friendly Life

Gorgeously Green is a beauty book to encourage you to make one simple change, that’s all it takes to make a difference!  If you make two it’s even better.  Sophie Uliano gives you 8 steps to work towards an earth-friendly life.  Personally, I want to have a sustainable life with style, I’ve always paired denim with diamonds, it’s so much more interesting than being totally glam all the time.  Sophie admits that she was much more concerned about her compact than she ever was in compost but she’s learned that she can do both and be gorgeous and green at the same time!

Rest Assured Beauty-full Readers

I used to think it was all about wearing hemp and eating organic tofu.  I thought I would have to turn into one of those zealous do-gooders with unshaven armpits.  Trust me, this is not what the Gorgeously Green program is about.  Far from it.  We are going to be busting out in bright and wonderful colors.  We’re going to be painting our nails and our lips and wearing the latest, hippest fashions.  (p. 7)

I must admit this thought crossed my mind, I have a girlfriend who calls some of the women in our community “crunchy granola” because they are so health-full and natural that they reject the beauty-full.  There is something in this book for every woman, if you’re looking for DIY beauty recipes, or all natural ways to bring up baby all from a woman who is living it. 

There are also Gorgeously Green recipes for cookies and stew with the promise of more on the website (you’ll need the super secret password provided in the book to get to those). 

Gorgeously Green Available NOW @ Overstock for $10.95

Mentioned in Gorgeously Green is Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” a MUST see DVD if you haven’t already.

 Sephora: The Ultimate Guide to Makeup, Skin, and Hair from the Beauty Authority (Hardcover) by Melissa Schweiger

I got my copy of SEPHORA yesterday and I have got to tell you it is an amazing resource for all beauty chasers.  Wether you’re a makeup junkie, a skincare lover or just like to know what’s in the stuff you’re putting on your face, you’ll find valuable info presented in a compelling format.

I haven’t loved a beauty book like this since Cindy Crawford’s Basic Face back in 199x.  I carried it around with me and flipped back and forth, my husband was completely annoyed but oh well.  If I went, so did the book, I had an especially long commute from Tokyo to the burbs and Japanese women on the train looked over my shoulder and sometimes even asked me about it.

Basic Face was a how to apply makeup guide without mention of specific products which was fab since I had little access to designer brands back then!  SEPHORA takes it a step further by recommending specific products to get the effects shown.  I’ll be referencing SEPHORA in posts to come for a very long time.  I’m especially crazy about the quotes, beauty company founders, and secret ingredients sections of the book. 

It also takes into account different preferences and conditions you may be facing, no ‘one XX fits all’ mentality here.  SEPHORA is full of visuals that will stop you in your tracks but at the same time chock full of insider secrets and tips.  The back cover proclaims “It will make you want to be as beautiful as beautiful as you can be – and Sephora makes it easy!”  You know what?! I do, I do, I do!

You won’t have to wait much longer, SEPHORA will be released in a few days.  Pre-Order available through Amazon

I’ve been tearing through this book, Passport to Beauty, by Shalini Vadhera.  It is such an inspiration to me and, it’s just what I’ve been wanting to do for this blog.  I come from a multi-national background (Brazilian dad, French mom, Cuban babysitter, Guyanese best friend, etc…)

One thing all my extended family, friends and acquaintances have in common is a desire to be beautiful.  No matter what women have a desire to be perceived as pretty, of course the standards differ greatly around the world and so does the method.

Shalini is a world traveler and makeup artist.  She brings to us in book format all the international beauty secrets she could pack.  I’ll be spilling the contents little by little, and have some upcoming product reviews to share on her fab Global Goddess Line.

Be sure to Mark Your Calendars!  Shalini Vadhera will be appearing on HSN

                 Thursday, February 14th, 2008 – 7:00 a.m. & 8:00 p.m. EST
                 Friday, February 15th, 2008 – 9:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. EST
                 Saturday, February 16th, 2008 – 8:00 a.m. EST

Global Goddess products offers “rich colors and delicate crème textures, but the products are universally appealing on any complexion including the tough mid-range skin tone such as South Asian, Latina, Middle Eastern and mixed ethnicities.”