Tag: lips


Be perfectly on-trend with two of my favorite rich, classic, fall lip colors.

November 10th, 2014 — 3:44pm

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When my friend Jessie stopped by my house recently, I couldn’t resist asking if I could dress up her lips with some colors of the season. I knew she would look gorgeous in Burt’s Bees all-natural semi-matte lip crayon, ‘Napa Vineyard‘, and boy oh boy, did she ever. I topped it with just a bit of Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm in ‘Rose‘ to keep her lips feeling perfectly moisturized.

Later in the evening when we were getting ready to go out, I had a thought: we should add a few coats of Burt’s Bees all-natural lip gloss in my favorite deep, rich purple-tone, called ‘Starry Night’, and see what happens.

The result was so super pretty. A very different, but still deep, richly pigmented, multi-dimensional color, just perfect for falling temperatures, snuggly sweaters… and a hat.

If you’d like help finding the shade I think will look best on you, click here and here to explore the Burt’s Bees Lip Shade Finder and Lip Tip Library.

Thanks for showing off the lip colors so well, beautiful Jessie! xxx

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Burt’s Bees. The opinions and text are all mine.

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Meet Camilla, foster dog mom extraordinaire (and gorgeous plus-size model), & Polly, the 33rd pup Camilla helped find a forever home.

April 16th, 2013 — 1:12am

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There are a number of things that make me cry, and going into the dog pound is one of them. When I was 16 I used to drag my friend to the local animal shelter every so often, and sit next to the cages and tell the dogs how much I loved them. It always broke my heart to imagine the stories behind how they wound up locked inside the cold metal cage bars, and I would leave with my black cat-eye eyeliner and mascara smeared down my cheeks. My family’s first dog came home with my mom from a shelter soon thereafter: a blonde 5 year old cocker spaniel who we named Lucy, aka Woobie, whose furry snout I can still feel on my lips.

Back to Camilla and Polly. You may recognize Camilla’s amazing lips from my earlier post here, but in that post I didn’t share with you that in addition to being a model with Muse Models here in NYC, this stunning young Danish plus-size model has found the time to open her home and serve up love to 38 foster dogs over the past two years, which is really remarkable considering the amount of time she spends flying around the world for photo shoots. The day I photographed her lips I also took a bunch of shots of her with Polly, as the two were just getting to know one another. Note: Polly’s sweatshirt reads: does this shirt make me look fat?

I asked Camilla to tell me more about how she came to foster dogs,and what becoming a dog guardian – while working towards placing them with their new parent/s – entails.

What made you decide to become a foster mom?

I’ve always had a big love for animals, but despite many attempts to convince my parents to let me get a dog, it never happened. I promised myself I would get a dog the moment I moved away from home, but once my career got going, I realized and accepted that I simply wouldn’t have the necessary time to give a dog full-time. When I came to NYC 3.5 years ago, my desire to have a dog hit me really hard, and I knew I wanted it to be a rescue. After wanting to save all the dogs I met at an adoption event, I started talking with some shelter volunteers about my interest in adopting vs the actual time I would have to devote to it. It was at that event that I was first encouraged to foster, and it was explained to me that if I had to leave the country for a job posh pets  would let me bring the dog to another foster home. I loved the idea of helping to rehabilitate a dog, and to be involved in the process of finding it new owners. The following month I picked up my first foster at the local kill shelter. She was as sweet as can be, a 3 year old Bichon Frise, who I named Rose. She gave me a little kiss on the cheek as I carried her out of the shelter, and since that day I can’t imagine my life without a dog.

You’ve fostered so many dogs! Do you remember Polly’s story?

When I started fostering I used to say that it was unfortunate that I didn’t know the dog’s life story, because the majority of the time we really had no idea how they came to the kill shelter. As I became more experienced, however, I realized that “unfortunately” wasn’t a good word to use because very often the situation from which they came was just so awful, I didn’t want to know.

The fact is, most dogs end up in shelters because of neglect; whether it was because their owners didn’t bother training, exercising, or grooming them, or that they physically or emotionally abused them – it’s all neglect. Even if the owner gives a reason for surrendering the dog, 90% of the time, it’s untrue. I’ve had fosters that were as sweet as can be, and when I read their intake papers, reasons for surrender to a kill shelter are sited as ‘dog is aggressive’. Sometimes people will also say that they’ve found the dog as a stray to avoid paying the $20 owner surrender fee charged by the shelter.

The few times that I have known the reason for why a dog was given up, I wasted a lot of energy on being angry. I once fostered a 9-month old Yorkie named Drake who was surrendered because the owners had gotten him “as a toy for their 5 year old daughter”, and when they realized how much time and attention he required, they didn’t want him. That kind of thing happens so often.

What would you like people to know about fostering?

Anyone who’s considering getting a dog should foster first because it’s a great way to see if you’re willing and able to change your lifestyle to accommodate a dog. It’s a big responsibility, and takes a lot of time and energy to make sure that your dog is a happy, well-behaved, and well socialized animal. It’s also a great way to test to see if a dog is a right fit for you – something that’s difficult to do in within the 10 minutes you may spend with a dog in a store or a shelter before taking them home.  Even if the foster dog isn’t the right fit for you, you can help it by making sure it’s adopted by the right people – sometimes you have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find the prince…kind of like dating!

Is it expensive to foster?

It’s all relative because it’s not cheap, but still much less expensive than having your own dog. You pay for everything that goes on in your home – beds/food/toys, etc, because shelters have very limited funds. Usually they’ll pay for a groomer and vet appointments + medicine. Keep in mind that anything you buy for the foster dog (in most cases) can be used as a tax deduction, because they’re considered a donation. Even if it can’t be deducted, though, it’s still worth it because every penny you spend you’ll get back ten times in love and kisses from the dog.

How do you help find new homes for your foster dogs?

People send in applications when they see the dog they like on a rescue website like petfinder.com or adoptapet.com, and then in my case, the ower of Posh Pets goes through all of them and forwards me the ones she thinks might be a good match based on what I’ve told her about my experience with the dog after I’ve gotten to know it for a few days. From there I set up appointments to interview the applicants and witness their interaction with the dog. 

I would like to note that very often I meet with a lot of great applicants before finding the right match – which means I turn away prospective dog owners who I know will be great dog parents, but just not for the dog I’m trying to place. I say this so that anyone who’s applied and not been approved knows not to give up!

Finally,  have to say,  another great thing about fostering happens when I bring the dog to be groomed after years of neglect. On the way there the dog usually walks around like you or I would when we feel depressed, because on top of the matts in their fur hurting them, they’re also mourning the loss of their previous life, even if it wasn’t good. Then, when I pick them up after they’ve been groomed, they somehow seem to know that they look and smell good and that their new life – a life full of love – is about to begin. It’s so beautiful to see and brings tears to my eyes every single time.

Where is Polly now?

She lives in the suburbs with a mom, dad, 3 human brothers, and 1 dog sister. They have a huge backyard – and she loves digging in their garden. Her dad rides a Harley, so she sits in a bag on the back of that, and they also have a boat, so she’s been enjoying sailing in the summer.

Sounds like you found Polly a wonderful new life, Camilla!

You can check out more of the sweetheart pups Camilla has fostered on her website: camillahansen.com  (she’s also a great photographer – their pics are so cute)

Thank you so much, Camilla!

One last thing: Camilla’s 39th foster pup, Baxter, became her forever pup! Congratulations to the whole family!

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Get those lips in Springtime condition! Presenting my favorite lip balms…

March 14th, 2012 — 2:35am

I LOVE a lip balm with good-for-you ingredients like shea butter, honey, beeswax, and any one of the healthy oils like jojoba, coconut, and olive.  I do not recommend any lip balm that contain petroleum or petrolatum. Have you heard how many pounds of balm and lipstick it’s estimated that women ingest every year? Yuck.

Lip skin is the only skin on our faces without the ability to self-lubricate  since it has no sebaceous or sweat glands. The rest of our face, as well as the majority of our body, puts out its own hydration in the form of oil – for some of us it’s too much, some it’s not enough and causes us to feel dry – but our poor lips are left defenseless. Luckily, there are so many great lip balms on the market nowadays, and it’s really just about deciding what feel, smell, and shine level you like the most. I like having a bunch of options on hand at all times.

Here are my current favorites, in no particular order, and  a break down of what I like about each one. As always, I welcome your feedback on my Facebook page, or via email.

 

Lip balms in stick or squeeze tube form:

  • Organic Badger Creamy Cocoa Butter Lip Balm: Yummy cocoa butter scent, olive oil, cocoa butter and beeswax makes it a little more heavy than some others, which helps it stay put longer, and makes for a less shiny finish. Comes in a stick form: $5
  • Desert Essences Lip Rescue with Shea Butter: I have a few of these in my possession at all times. One in my pocket, one in my purse, one in the silverware drawer, just in case… Little to no shine, really hydrating, less slick, sticks around for quite a while. Good choice for your guy, as well. Comes in a stick form: $2.50
  • Ama.la: Has a really interesting, slightly salty taste. Organic fig seed and shea butter imparts a really nice sheen with little to no scent, and hydrates super well. Comes in a squeezey tube form: $18
  •  John Masters Organics Lip Calm :  Deliciously lemon/lime/tangerine oils make this one smell good and Springtime-y. Olive, jojoba, and borage oils make it emollient, and a more on the sheeny-side, but not too slippery. Comes in a stick form: $6
  • Intelligent Nutrients Lip Delivery Nutrition:  This product line comes to us from the same eco-conscious, organics-loving product master who created and recently sold Aveda. I’m super impressed with this entire  line, which consists only of products that are safe enough to eat.  Minimal shine with lots of lasting hydration make this one a favorite. Comes in a stick form: $12

Lip balms in a pot:

  • Dr Hauschka Lip Balm Pot: I’ve been a long-standing loyal user of this one at work and at bedtime. I love to keep lip balms in non-stick form for use on the night stand because I’d rather only put my finger into it when I know it’s clean (not while riding on the subway or in a taxi), and every model and celebrity who knows me knows this is the first thing that I’ll be putting on them when we sit down to do makeup. The scent is light yet memorable, and unmistakably floral. The texture imparts a good amount of shine, but not nothing like a high-gloss. $16.95
  • RMS Beauty Lip and Skin Balm: An all-natural rich, yet not greasy lip balm developed by makeup artist Rose Marie Swift. Although this comes in a little jar, RoseMarie assures buyers that since its base is the antibacterial coconut oil, there’s no reason to worry about double-dipping. I’ve only tried the one made with real vanilla, but she makes another with cocoa as well. YUM! Leaves lips appearing well moisturized, but not lip-balmy reflective. $25
  • Bee Yummy Lip and Eye Cream: Unscented, olive oil based, rich and creamy, melts into the lips nicely yet has staying power. Comes in a little jar:$18

It can also be fun to make your own lip balms. There are plenty of wonderful recipes online to walk you through doing so, and you can play with scents and even add a hint of color to customize it to your liking. I love a fun project!

 

The gorgeous lips above belong to my friend Camilla Hansen, who just happens to be a model. The rest of her is just as incredibly (and naturally) gorgeous as are her lips. Thanks, Camilla!

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