Step is in again. One of the first prop-centered workouts back in the eighties, it all but disappeared from gyms in the past few years, but both Equinox and Sports Club/LA have just responded to new demand by reintroducing it. “We were getting comment cards every day requesting step,” says Equinox group-fitness manager Marcelo Ehrhardt. Sports Club/LA’s version, Retro-Step, is accompanied by eighties tunes, while Equinox offers Old School Step (coming in October) and Step Dazzle, which move to modern beats, and eLement (pictured), a new cardio workout that incorporates step. “Step was dead,’’ concludes Ehrhardt. “But it’s definitely having a rebirth.’’
Beauty Spots
Arch Rivals
Brows are becoming as basic to grooming regimes as nail care. Gurus Anastasia Soare and Ramy Gafni both opened studios this summer, joining Eliza Petrescu, who has her own floor at Avon. And home-care products keep on coming. Ramy’s Miracle Brow Kit contains tweezers, scissors, and a two-tone pencil with brush ($55 at Lord & Taylor). At the new Bare Escentuals store, the Perfect Brow kit comes with powder, brush, and gel in six colors ($32). Lancôme’s Brow Expert Design Kit is a pomade-and-powder combo in five shades with brushes and mini-tweezers ($37 at Saks). And Vincent Longo’s Bi-Brow Powder and Pomade Duo, a tinted gel with setting powder, premieres this month in four shades ($20 at Barneys).
Compact Impact
As the social season gears up, so do your chances of coming home to find your cake liner cracked all over your bag. These new compact essentials are neatly packaged to avoid spillage—and leave extra room for your date book.
Chantecaille’s Sunset in Brazil set has the perfect autumn shades—deep green shadow or liner for eyes, gold gloss for lips, and a creamy gel bronzer for face or body ($65 at Bergdorf Goodman). For more lip colors, try Fresh’s new Orlando Lip Shine Palette with six gloss shades from clear to purple ($36 at Barneys).
Bobbi Brown’s new mini-concealer has a compartment that houses sheer loose powder and a flip-top cap with a mirror ($32 at Bloomingdale’s). As of this week, Stella perfume comes in a one-ounce purse size ($40 at Macy’s). And GoSmile is about to introduce a red leather case holding five mini-ampoules of whitening fluid with a brush attachment and Sephora lip gloss ($30 at Sephora in November).
For hair emergencies, there’s Frédéric Fekkai’s undersize tortoise-pattern brush ($40 at Zitomer). And if you’re planning an overnight, Kérastase’s small Expérience.K Kit contains a three-step hair regimen ($38; call 877-748-8357 for stores).