With temperatures on the rise, it’s time for a beauty overhaul. First things first, we’re starting with our skincare. Take a break from your intensive creams with heavy formulas and trade them in for something lighter this season. A lightweight moisturizer will provide the right amount of hydration for your skin type. As you travel to and from work – and perhaps to and from the beach – in the summer heat, be sure that your moisturizer won’t clog your pores or, worse, leave your complexion feeling greasy. Any one of the products below are sure to do the trick!

Simple Hydrating Light Moisturizer, $8.99 at Target.com
Kate Somerville Oil-Free Moisturizer, $65 at Sephora.com
Korres Pomegranate Balancing Cream-Gel Moisturizer, $32 at KorresUSA.com
Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisture – Combination Skin, $9.99 at Neutrogena.com
Josie Maran Argan Oil Moisturizing Stick, $22 at JosieMaranCosmetics.com
Peter Thomas Roth Ultra-Lite Oil-Free Moisturizer, $42 at PeterThomasRoth.com
Olay Fresh Effects (Long Live Moisture!) Satin Finish Lotion, $14.99 at ULTA.com
Shiseido Pureness Matifying Moisturizer Oil-Free, $33.50 at Bloomingdales.com
Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer, $44 at Kiehls.com
Origins Balanced Diet Lightweight Moisture Lotion, $26.50 at Origins.com

Smashbox is hanging around with the wrong crowd, but for all the right reasons!

The beauty brand is marking its partnership with Sofia Coppola with a limited edition kit for her new film that has everyone talking, The Bling Ring.

Inspired by the L.A. high-life explored in the film as well as girls on Instagram, the Smashbox ♥ The Bling Ring collection taps into everyone’s inner bad girl with smoky up-all-night-eyes and plush pink pouts. The kit come with a croc-embossed wristlet filled with the brand’s Photo Finish Primer, Photo Op Eye Brightening Mascara, O-Plump Intuitive Lip Plumper, eyeliner, and lipstick.

The Bling Ring makeup artist Roz Music looked to the photo-sharing app to find real party girls. “I wasn’t looking for the good-girl look,” she said. “I was purposely looking for the girls who were maybe being a little suggestive, maybe smoking something they shouldn’t be…”

To celebrate the partnership, Smashbox will send a lucky winner and their plus one to explore the L.A. scene at the movie’s premiere and after party on June 4th. Plus 25 bags will be filled with swag from the beauty brand and from the film will be up for grabs on their Facebook page. Good luck!

Memorial Day weekend may be the hint that summer’s finally arrived, but unfortunately here in the Big Apple, it seems Mother Nature wasn’t listening. While showers and chilly temperatures are in in the forecast, it doesn’t mean you can’t work on your tan. There are a slew of new formulas designed to transform you into a bronze goddess …not a cheesy poof. You can still look like you’ve spent the 3-to-4-day weekend lounging in the sun without damaging your skin:

Vita Liberata Untinted Self Tan Lotion for Body, $45.00 at VitaLiberataUSA.com
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Glow Pad for Body, $45.00 at DGSkincare.com
Tarte Brazilliance Skin Rejuvenating Maracuja Face and Body Self Tanner, $37.00 at TarteCosmetics.com
Brazilian Peel True Tan, $39.00 at AdavncedHomeActives.com
Fake Bake Flawless Self-Tanning Liquid, $24.99 at FakeBake.com
St. Tropez Self Tan Bronzing Mousse, $42.00 at StTropezTan.com
Kate Somerville 360 Tanning Towelettes, $75.00 at QVC.com
Lancôme Flash Bronzer Tinted Self-Tanning Body Gel, $37.00 at Lancome-USA.com
Sephora Tinted Self-Tanning Body Mist, $6.00-$15.00 at Sephora.com
Clarins Self Tanning Milk SPF 6, $35.00 at ClarinsUSA.com

Fashionistas and editors alike regularly pay attention to The Man Repeller’s Leandra Medine for her fashion savvy sense, but she’s now sharing some of beauty secrets.

To balance some of her bolder style choices, Medine likes to keep things simple, opting for products like Clinique’s Moisture Surge Extended Thirst Relief Moisturizer and a slick of Labello lip balm. For a more polished approach, a classic red lip never goes out of style. “When I’m wearing red lipstick, I’ll never do anything with my eyes,” she explained to The Huffington Post. “And it’s so easy – you just put on red lipstick and your whole face just seems done.”

If you wonder what she did to keep her eyebrows bold and beautiful, it’s nothing, literally. “I have never done anything to my brows, though sometime I tweeze the intersection of the left and the right brow, which is either a really good thing or a bad thing,” she said.

Her beauty skills come as no surprise as the digital style influencer curated a custom Glossybox at the beginning of the year. So what are some of the other beauty faves in her arsenal? Bumble and Bumble’s Surf Foam Wash Shampoo, NARS Bronzing Powder in Casino, and Clinique Chubby Stick Shadow Tint, just to name a few.

We see a trip to Sephora in our future!

CHEERS TO THE WEEKEND! I’m packing my suitcase and going on a much needed vacation with my husband down to Miami and the Florida Keys for a fabulous reunion with friends and family. A visit to the Florida Keys always means a lot of outdoor fun, a lot of soaking up the sun, and a whole lot of delicious fresh seafood and potent island cocktails. So needed, so necessary. While in the Florida Keys, we always love visiting Bahia Honda state park – it’s all about sun, sand, and a relaxing beautiful natural environment. Click here to read my guide to the Florida Keys—I wrote it in 2008 can’t wait to update during this visit!

While visiting Miami and the Florida Keys, I have specific beauty needs for the beach getaways I plan to embark upon. So what do I put in my beach bag? Allow me to break down my essentials in order of importance!

1. Sunscreen! Even if you don’t think the rays are hot enough for you, sun damage is too real. Any beach excursion requires protection from a broad-spectrum product with a decent SPF number (I usually go for 30 or higher). But high SPF doesn’t have to mean chalky, pasty application. I’m totally into L’Oreal’s new Sublime Sun advanced sunscreen products. They’ve created what they say is the first ever high protection SPF sun oil, and it promises to deliver non-greasy, transparent, highly effective protection. I’ll be testing it out this week while I soak up the sun!
2. Primer! If you want your makeup to last in the sweltering south Florida sunshine you absolutely need a primer—I’d be lost without it! You will be sweating in this heat and humidity, no matter where you go. If you plan on spending any time outdoors, I recommend a multi-primer approach – I use different primers on my face, my eyelids, sometimes even my lips! Many brands do the primer thing well, but I find myself going back again and again to L’Oreal and Smashbox. Make Up For Ever’s primer is specifically formulated to combat skin issues for specific skin tones, so check them out!
3. Waterproof eye makeup. If you want fabulous eye makeup that won’t melt or sweat off, you need to up your makeup game and get into waterproof eye makeup essentials. On super hot days I usually just go for eye primer, a good eye pencil, and waterproof mascara. That’s it and that’s all you need for a sexy, beachy look. It begins with a great eye primer, and I love Urban Decay’s, and also Too Faced Shadow Insurance. Then pair that with let’s say, Urban Decay’s 24-7 glide on pencil and you are set for the day!
4. Your favorite lip gloss that lasts. The beach isn’t about heavy makeup, it’s about light, sexy, shiny makeup that won’t melt in the sun or be sticky enough for sand to be a problem. My new favorite lipgloss is by a brand I’d been totally sleeping on—Physicians’ Formula. They make awesome products and their PH Matchmaker gloss alters to compliment your complexion! It is amazing. I also love their Sexy Booster Gloss—a stain that’s also a gloss, that isn’t sticky at all. It might be the perfect beach, summer lip product. I’m in love!

What’s in your beach bag?

Contributing Editor, Patrice Grell Yursik is the creator of Afrobella.com, one of the first blogs to celebrate the beauty of natural hair and ladies of all skin tones and sizes. Affectionately called the Godmother of Brown Beauty Blogging, Patrice takes her readers inside unique beauty, fashion and cultural experiences.

Glam caught up with New York Dermatologist, Dr. Debra Jaliman, as she screens patients for skin cancer, injects others with Botox and follows her own trade secrets to a healthy life. Here she shares her daily schedule:

THE PARTY: Glam Media and Smirnoff’s Stir Up Your Summer Event

THE PLACE: Ten Over Ten Tribeca

THE DEETS: Last night some of our digital fashion and beauty influencers escaped the sweltering heat to relax and get pampered before the dog days of summer take over. Guests sipped sweet sorbet cocktails created by Smirnoff as they put their feet up for pedicures and manicures, makeup touchups, and a spot of sushi and, of course, sorbet. The stylish insiders were also offered a chance to peek into their future with tarot card readings, courtesy of tarot diva, Sasha Graham. Glam ensured that each gal left with everything they need to stay sultry, not sweaty, this season. Check out a peek of what was inside:

Continue Reading »

Gwyneth Paltrow has a lot on her plate lately. Besides maintaining Goop, she’s opened a blow dry bar, published her second cookbook, and was named People’s Most Beautiful Woman. But now the multi-tasking mom is adding an old title back to her resume: fragrance spokesperson.

The Iron Man 3 actress is the face of Hugo Boss’ newest scent, Boss Jour Pour Femme. Lensed by Guy Aroch and Jordan Scott (daughter of Ridley Scott) for print and TV respectively, the pair focused on the energizing air that it takes to keep up with Paltrow’s schedule. “I think Jour is the perfect name for it – it’s very uplifting,” she told Women’s Wear Daily. She wakes up everyday at 7:00 AM to get her children ready for school before a workout and putting effort into her ever-expanding wellness site.

The perfume itself contrasts Boss Nuit Pour Femme with notes of grapefruit flower and lime, freesia, lily of the valley, and honeysuckle at the heart of it, and white birch and creamy amber to anchor the base.

Amongst all of her activities, Paltrow’s actually a fragrance collector with at least a hundred in her possession. “I am one of those people who have a whole closet full of perfume. I love it; I have always loved it and have always had a wardrobe full of scent.”

Boss Jour Pour Femme will be available for $46.00-$75.00.

THE PARTY: CoverGirl’s Summer Remix

THE PLACE: 404 NYC

THE DEETS: Nervo took over the DJ deck for a crowd of beauty buffs, not to mention Sofia Vergara and makeup maven Pat McGrath, on Monday night in celebration of CoverGirl’s newest launches. Guests lined up to get color matched for the brand’s new CoverGirl + Olay Tone and Eye Rehab CC Creams, receive manicures with the new Stay Brilliant Glosstinis, get inked with the selection of Flamed Out Eye Shadow Pencils, enjoy makeup touchups from Jake Bailey, and test out the new Smoochies Lip Balm on pair of cuties in a photo-ready kissing booth – all while the champagne flowed freely! Regardless of which station the guests chose, they were sure to leave looking lovely with a few goodies to take home and test.

IT MIGHT BE ABOUT TIME TO STOP CALLING THE JUICING TREND A TREND—making green juices has become a way of life for so many. Veggies that were once the domain of the health obsessed—wheatgrass, kale, the whole chard family—are now being blended into juices and smoothies every day across America. I’ll admit, I was initially skeptical about the whole thing. That tends to be my reaction whenever something becomes too popular. But it turns out that the whole juicing and smoothie craze was actually a trend that I could and should get behind, and when I did a 3 day juice cleanse myself it made such a noticeable difference in my appetites that I knew I’d be getting into it myself.

I have an issue with texture, and the thickness of smoothies can be too much for me. I find myself preferring to juice rather than blend my vegetables for that reason. In my last post about juicing I was pretty candid about the experience—the good and the bad. So given the fact that I almost peed my pants on the way home from the post office the last time, what’s making me do another juice cleanse? The fact that juice cleanses help me to regain control and awareness of what I’m ingesting. Here are three reasons why I’m totally doing another juice cleanse:

1. Doing a three day juice cleanse proved to me that I did have self-control. Lately I’ve been feeling a complete lack of self control, and I feel the need to rein in my appetites again. Juicing helped to slow me down in terms of my consumption. I went into the juice cleanse not thinking I could actually do it. Proving myself wrong felt awesome!
2. Juicing helps to remind me of what food truly is about—and that is nutrition. So instead of eating because I’m bored or having a particular craving, juicing reduces it all to the bare essentials my body truly needs.
3. It helps to kill my sugar cravings and my unholy desires for white processed foods. After my juice cleanse experience, I felt like I learned how to eat right again and it helped to reset everything. Now to just somehow manage to keep it up, forever!

I’m about to go on a decadent vacation to South Florida, where I’ll be consuming mass quantities of Caribbean and Cuban food, all washed down with sugary sweet cocktails. When I get back I totally plan to get my mind and my body right with the three day juice cleanse, and a focused exercise regimen. Summer’s coming and I want to be ready!

Are you into juicing? Have you tried a juice cleanse? What were your results?

Contributing Editor, Patrice Grell Yursik is the creator of Afrobella.com, one of the first blogs to celebrate the beauty of natural hair and ladies of all skin tones and sizes. Affectionately called the Godmother of Brown Beauty Blogging, Patrice takes her readers inside unique beauty, fashion and cultural experiences.