In Audrey Magazine‘s Spring issue, we opened our Audrey Style section with an ode to all things blooming in jewelry. But it’s not just jewelry that’s gone daffodils. I can’t get enough of the fleur du jour look seen everywhere, from jeans to bags to even cosmetics.
Floral prints this spring go from sophisticated watercolor interpretations:
Jonesy floral one-sleeve top.
(Editor’s note: Picture the Jonesy watercolor top with a pair of tough skinny pants, like on Eugenia here. This spring, anyone can do floral, even your rocker types.)
Eugenia Mandzhieva in Elliot Atkinson.
Marie Louise Cosmetics Cleansing Clear Gel on sale today only!
When you first squeeze out a quarter-size dollop of Marie Louise Cosmetics Cleansing Clear Gel, your first thought is “this jelly-like substance can’t possibly clean my face.” It seems illogical. Gel? Cleaning away oil? But then you massage it on and into your skin, watching the dirt, grime and makeup lift away. It’s then that you realize this stuff actually works. Even better than that, the warmth from your hands emulsifies the gel, which makes it easier for it to seep into your skin and do its magic.
And oh what magic! Somehow, the gel rinses off completely, leaving no oily residue, just thoroughly clean and utterly soft skin. I use the gentle cleanser at night. It’s particularly soothing and relaxing because the nature of the gel requires you to massage your face while you cleanse. It’s like a mini facial that nurtures your skin after a tough day, truly allowing you to put your best face forward tomorrow.
Marie Louise Cosmetics Cleansing Clear Gel is on sale now, for one day only. Buy it today at AudreyShops.com.
Get it here on AudreyShops.com
Aren’t you glad it’s Friday? Because that means time for another giveaway! This time, we’re giving two lucky Audrey fans brand-spankin’ new, top-of-the-line professional hair dryers.
The first is the TS-2 Edge Tourmaline Infused 1875-watt dryer that also comes with a mini detailer straightening iron – perfect for bangs. The dryer is equipped with far-infrared technology, which works to dry hair evenly, and ceramic/ionic technology to reduce frizz and static.
TS-2 Edge
The second dryer also features ionic tourmaline technology. iTech’s Ionic Tourmaline Professional Hair Dryer is lightweight and quiet (good for early mornings or nighttime hair washers). This gentle 1800-watt dryer uses ionic technology to cut drying time in half and seal in moisture, reducing split ends and eliminating frizz. Both dryers retail for more than $100 each and the mini detailer retails for $29.99.
iTech Ionic Tourmaline Hair Dryer
Want one? Just post a comment below about your hair needs or whatever’s on your mind, starting today April 2nd until 11:59 p.m. April 7th. Then, become a fan of Audrey on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. We’re only choosing two winners for this giveaway. The first winner will receive the TS-2 Edge and the second winner will receive the iTech Ionic Tourmaline.
Good luck and TGIF! 
FreshEvents’ Pamper Me Fabulous brought together some of L.A.’s hottest spas and salons.
I always think it’s funny when people tell me I have a glamorous job. The words “magazine editor” conjure images of exclusive red-carpet soirees and celeb-infused events. Sure, I get a cool invite or two and tons of free products, and I’ve sat a mere arm’s length away from such luminaries as Tony Leung and Ralph Fiennes at one time. But most of the time? I’m just trying to catch up with my email and figure out the day to day. I wish I could clone myself just so I could make it out to all the spas and salons that various publicists want me to check out. Continue Reading »
One in three women will be the victim of abuse or violence at some point in their lives, says Alyse Nelson, president of Vital Voices, a leading NGO dedicated to nurturing and empowering women leaders around the world. In addition, “the economic cost of domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking together is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars.”
“It is more urgent than ever to confront this growing global challenge,” says Andrea Jung, chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Avon Products Inc. “With over 6 million Avon representatives in more than 100 countries, Avon is the largest engine of economic opportunity for women on earth. We have seen first hand that when a woman is empowered economically, she can escape an abusive situation.”
From left: Carol Kurzig, president of the Avon Foundation for Women; Avon chairman and CEO Andrea Jung; Avon Global Ambassador Reese Witherspoon; and Ambassador Melanne Verveer of the U.S. State Department.
To that end, Vital Voices and The Avon Foundation for Women held a three-day launch last week in Washington D.C. to announce The Global Partnership to End Violence Against Women, a new innovative collaboration with the U.S. State Department. In response to the nearly 1 billion women worldwide who will be affected by violence in their lifetime, The Global Partnership will address the need for sustained, on-the-ground research and development, as well as actionable, collaborative and culturally-sensitive local solutions that can change these statistics in a measurable way.
Lynn Chen stars in White on Rice, out on DVD.
Janice Jann first interviewed Lynn Chen last year when White on Rice was releasing in theaters. Here, she talks to Chen about an insidious disease afflicting so many young women.
Hollywood actresses with eating disorders are a dime a dozen. The constant scrutiny under a harsh camera lens that adds 10 pounds, the competition to out-thin the other skinny minnies, the acceptance of the fact that a big part of your job revolves around how you look — and you better look good.
After a successful debut with a starring role as a ballet dancer in the 2004 romantic comedy, Saving Face, Lynn Chen’s career seemed to be taking off. But her struggle with food was spiraling down. “When I stopped the dieting, I naturally gained the weight back. But my managers weren’t happy. My fans called me chubby,” she says. After hitting an all-time low battling anorexia, Chen decided to take time off from acting and focus on her addictions. “I wanted to address that and really deal with it and not have the pressures of Hollywood knocking on my door and telling me I had to look a certain way,” she says.
So Chen and her friend, Christy, started a blog, The Actor’s Diet, in which they post what they eat every day. Serving as both a log for the two to take note of what they put in their mouths on a daily basis, as well as a way to demystify the crazy celebrity diets found in magazines and on television, the blog is a way to show readers that “actors’ diets come in all shapes and sizes,” says Chen.
“People think that actors all eat the same thing and they don’t. I think it’s important to talk about that. Especially Asian women. People say, ‘oh, Asian women, we don’t have to worry about what we eat, we’re a size zero’ and that’s just not true.”
Actress Lynn Chen.
This issue is also addressed in Chen’s contribution to Secret Identities, the anthology of Asian American superhero comics. Chen created a female superhero who is dealing with bulimia.
With scrumptious food pictures and contributions from guest bloggers like Gilmore Girls’ Keiko Agena, Chen has managed to create a blog that both entertains and informs. “I think if we can embrace that Asian women come in all shape and sizes, we struggle, we’re human, we’re not superstars, not freaks — that’s what I want to do with the blog.”
By Janice Jann.
No one’s an overnight success. Unless, of course, you’re one of these beauty wonders.
Branché Silk Charmeuse Pillow Case
I’m no beauty novice. I’ve been devouring beauty, skincare and makeup information since I was 13 when my mother first put the tentative strokes of blue liner on my upper lid. At 16, I was seeking advice about eye cream from the woman behind the Estée Lauder counter at Macy’s (who promptly smirked and told me to just use moisturizer). So it’s a given that I haven’t slept on my side or my stomach in years to prevent the dreaded nasolabial folds (the “parentheses” around your mouth).
Unfortunately, a strained muscle in my back (an accumulated result of vacuuming a bit too arduously; spending a day lifting my 20-month-old, 25-pound niece; and a shameful lack of exercise) has forced me to spend a few nights sleeping on my side, my face smushed into the pillow. (The horror!)
Branché Silk Charmeuse Pillow Case in Blush.
Thankfully, I was trying out Branché‘s silk charmeuse pillow case at the time. I’ve been hearing about silk pillow covers recently, how they extend the life of a blow-out and prevent facial wrinkles. But I became a believer when I awoke after a particularly tumultuous night (with pain like that, you don’t care about wrinkles for the moment), and one glance in the mirror revealed no folds. In fact, no marks, no redness, nothing to indicate I had just spent nine hours on my face.
Add to that the fact that Branché’s loft 22 momme weight silk contains 18 amino acids and a high copper content that diminishes frizz and reduces hair breakage, and has been used as a curative skin treatment in ancient China. This beauty devotee is sold.
AmorePacific Contour Lift Extreme Collection
For a while, I thought I’d be immune from wrinkles. After all, my 92-year-old grandfather’ cheeks, bespeckled as they may be with age spots, are smooth and completely line-free. But years spent as a Southern Cal teen during the ’80s (read: tanning with baby oil) has caught up with me and I’ve reached a point where wrinkles are another battle to add to my growing list of beauty woes.
I never thought I’d need a beauty product with “lift” and “extreme” in its name, but AmorePacific‘s Contour Lift Extreme Creme really does make a difference on my face and neck.
AmorePacific Contour Lift Extreme Creme.
The Korea-based company is known for their use of indigenous botanicals like 6-year-old Korean red ginseng, matsutake mushrooms, bamboo sap, and green tea harvested from Korea’s Jeju Island for a luxury skincare experience.
As for me, I can literally feel the “lift” when I apply it, especially on my neck. And while I may be too young to worry about the dreaded turkey neck anytime soon, my philosophy is, you can never start too young when it comes to warding off wrinkles.
La Roche-Posay Effaclar AI Intensive Acne Spot Treatment
La Roche-Posay Effaclar AI Acne Treatment.
Yes, I am one of the 50 percent of adult women who suffer from adult acne. It’s actually more hormonally-charged pimples that crop up like clockwork once a month. And trust me, I’ve tried almost everything out there. It’s not fair to have to double up on every skincare product — one for wrinkles and one for acne. It’s straight out cruel.
One of my favorite suncare brands, La Roche-Posay, just introduced a new adult acne treatment that has been shown to reduce stubborn acne in just three days. Effaclar AI Intensive Acne Spot Treatment has 5.5 percent Benzoyl Peroxide (twice as much as usual), but in a micronized form, which means it penetrates deeper and minimizes skin irritation. That, combined with Lipo-Hydroxy Acid to micro-exfolate the skin and stimulate cell renewal (read: minimal residual skin discoloration).
For a beauty fanatic like me, that’s exciting. For everyone else, just know this: I dabbed it on one particularly painful, angry lump the other day and woke up to a no longer painful, smaller lump the next day. Two days later, it was totally gone — no eruption, no squeezing, nothing. Now, for me, that is a miracle.
Get it at CVS, Duane Reade and Longs, or online here.
It may be still too early to break out the strappy sandals (at least without chunky socks, anyway), but I’m dreaming of warmer weather right now. Till I can get myself to Maui later this year, I’ll satiate my tropical yearnings by planning my Kaanapali look now. Like this dress from Indian American designer Bibhu Mohapatra. High fashion meets oceanside wedding.
Bibhu Mohapatra.
Now that New York Fashion Week is done, London Fashion Week kicks off. And it’s great to see all the Asian faces strutting down the catwalk. Here, some familiar names, like Shu Pei Qin, and some new ones, too.
Shu Pei Qin in Burberry.
Editor’s note: the oversized utility coat gets a winter makeover for fall and continues to be huge into the new season. Get a spring one now to get a jump on the trend. I also love how olive green looks with a bronzey, burnished gold.
We were excited when former editorial intern and Audrey contributor Janice Jann won First Princess in the 2010 Miss Los Angeles Chinatown last month. We’re even more excited that she’s agreed to blog about her year as she fulfills her pageant duties, represents the community, and, inevitably, deals with the pressures and expectations of a reigning pageant winner. Here, a First Princess’s tales from the inside.
Janice Jann in the question and answer portion of the Miss Los Angeles Chinatown pageant.
