Don't let your face get stuck in neutrals; stand out in the crowd with dramatic eyes that pop, with the latest in mascaras, shadows and liners, or lips that look luscious, either glossy or creamy. Create your own look this season with a dazzling array of new products.
New York City makeup artist and La Prairie Colour Ambassador Raychel Wade talks cosmetics:
Debra Mack looked forward to a day of pampering when she walked into the Southwest Side salon Monday. The Pacific Garden Mission resident had her hair cut and relaxed -- a rare luxury for her and the other 99 women treated to makeovers at Exotic Trenz Salon, 2605 W. 79th.
Fashion Focus Chicago 2009 got off to a rainy start last Thursday. Fashionistas drenched their designer shoes as they stepped across the beautiful but slightly flooded white tent in Millennium Park. The opening show -- Macy's Presents the Designers of Chicago -- featured fabulous spring 2010 designs, all from local talent.
Michael Jackson, Elvis and Madonna costumes and Farrah Fawcett and Kate Gosselin wigs are some of top picks among costume buyers, says Randy Israel, owner of the Magical Mystery Tour costume shop in Morton Grove.
The new Pumpkin and Yam Facial at Mitchell Dental Spa, 845 N. Michigan (Water Tower Place, ninth floor), is offering 50 percent off for all of November. The botanical treatment moisturizes, supplies nutrients to the epidermis and provides antioxidants and age-defying benefits. Regular prices -- before the discount -- are $95 for 60 minutes and $55 for 30 minutes.
Thirty-two years is a long time. It was long enough for Jan Sabey to fall in love with nursing, then watch her beloved profession change right before her eyes. "It became all about profit," the 53-year-old former nursing administrator from Frankfort said. So Sabey, who drives a bright blue Volkswagen Beetle, made a bold decision: Leave the profession she had known for more than three decades and open her own business. Standing in Evilena's Red Dresser, her own store, Sabey has no regrets.
They came from all over America -- from all over the world, in fact -- for a shot at stardom. On a chilly and rainy Saturday morning outside the W Hotel on North Lake Shore Drive, hundreds of aspiring models -- lithe and leggy, blond and buxom, Asian, black, Hispanic and white -- stood shivering in a line that began at the W's entrance and snaked its way far down Erie.
A close look at the crowd at a trunk show at a River North beauty salon yielded a who's-who of the distaff side of Illinois politics. They were among the dozens of women who came to the Blo-Dri salon to support a young woman many of them have known since she was a little girl -- Samantha Thompson, daughter of Jayne and James R. Thompson, Illinois' longest-serving governor.
Hanesbrands Inc., the maker of Hanes underwear and the Wonder Bra, is getting twice as much space in more than 3,500 Wal-Mart stores to offer more clothing choices for the plus-size women who shop there.
This just seems too easy, doesn't it? I mean, what better way to lure young women into your store than to slap "Twilight" faces and slogans on your clothing? But easy doesn't mean it's not smart. Two retailers -- Nordstrom and teen chain A'GACI -- have just launched vampire-inspired lines for juniors. And both collections are pretty darn cute.
From now until Oct. 24, if you buy anything plum or green at the newly opened men and women's clothing store Fix Boutique, 1101 W. Fulton, you'll receive 15 percent off as part of its Fall Into Color promotion. The boutique's owners will be on hand to show you how to pair fall colors together. (At left: Splendid Light Jersey purple V-neck, $49.)
