B
eauty to Burn
Now that Kiehl’s has been purchased by L’Oréal, we can expect to see some new products emerging from the 149-year-old apothecary. The first, due to hit stores in November, is a line of candles, in five of the company’s heady signature scents – cucumber, coriander, musk, lavender, and grapefruit ($37.50 at Kiehl’s, 109 Third Avenue, at 12th Street). Next on the horizon are an expanded group of baby products, a full spectrum of sunscreens, and a cosmetics line. Meanwhile, Kiehl’s isn’t the only beauty line branching out into something to burn. Cosmetics guru François Nars has just introduced a frosted-glass-encased candle, which comes in two scents – tropical Bosphorus and Asian-influenced Oran ($45 at Saks Fifth Avenue). Just in time for those cozy winter nights.
Stencil Me In
If you can’t make (or afford) weekly shaping appointments, brow stencils are the latest trick in arch management, offering an easy-to-follow color-within-the-lines logic. The stencil fits over one’s natural brow: Fill in the cutout with powder or pencil, remove it, and tweeze the hairs that fall outside the line. Anastasia Soare created her stencil (pictured, $20, available by calling 888-409-brow) for Naomi Campbell, who can’t journey to the L.A.-based tweeze queen’s studio on a regular basis. Lancôme ($28 at Bigelow Pharmacy, 414 Sixth Avenue) and I-IMAN ($25 at Sephora) offer similar models. If only maintaining a bikini wax were as easy.
KRISTINA RICHARDS
Face Time
With the first face-lift all but a rite of passage, it’s no surprise that many are getting it out of the way before they even hit 40. Now there’s a gentler alternative to the standard tuck, which took about two weeks of recovery and left ten- to twelve-inch scars, and an improvement over the old “mini-lift,” which was less invasive but couldn’t tighten muscles as well or firm the neck area. LIFT, the acronym chosen by Dr. Gerald Imber for limited-incision face-lift technique, or the short-scar face-lift, as it’s called by Dr. Alan Matarasso – who presented the new method to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons last week – uses an incision by the sideburn that’s only four inches, and tightens everything but the forehead and extreme sagging of the neck. “Stitches are out in five days, and the worst scars have been eliminated,” says Matarasso. According to Imber, the cost is down by a third, and recovery time is cut in half.
Rice Power
Grape seed, green tea … what new form of sustenance will spark the next beauty trend? If the folks at Fresh have their way, it could be rice. The company has just released four products in its Rice Formula f21c collection. The face wash and skin bar blend rice starch and rice bran with honeysuckle, white lily, and camellia nut to nourish and polish the skin, while the dry oil combines the grain with jojoba oil and passionflower to stimulate circulation. The most appealing of all is the peach-extract-infused sake bath, which comes packaged in an authentic-looking sake bottle. This could drive you to drink. (Products range from $24 to $75; available at all Fresh stores and at Barneys New York.)