Spring Beauty Tips on Access Hollywood!

We just heard that one of our favorite French fashion brands, Comptoir Des Cotonniers, the makers of those cool basics that Parisiennes put together so stylishly, is looking for some chic moms and daughters. They’re holding two castings on Sunday in New York City. Got style in your genes? (That sounds like a Génifique skincare ad!) Then check it out. A few lucky duos will be flown to Paris to appear in the Comptoir fashion show and maybe even a future ad campaign. Details below.

Thanks to Emilie the Intern and her mom for the picture above!

Comptoir Casting
Oct. 4th
3 to 7 p.m.
Comptoir Des Cotonniers Boutique, 155 Spring Street
Bloomingdale’s 59th Street, Y.E.S. Contemporary Sportwear on 2

P.S. Just heard about another model search. This one’s for the Victoria’s Secret runway show. It’s open to all U.S. residents 5′8 or taller between the ages of 18 and 30. If you’re tall, young, live in the U.S.A. and have a killer bod, go for it! For the rest of us, well…

P.S.S. And in case a rhinestone-studded thong is not in your future, there’s a nation-wide Gap baby and kids model search. Again, it’s U.S. only (sorry to our international friends!). Lots of you have gorgeous little ones. You never know!

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It’s HSN time again! The Lancôme team will be burning up the airwaves tonight and tomorrow, demonstrating some of our latest and greatest products. Joan Poulton, our fab head of education, and Darais, our awesome West Coast makeup artist (and did I mention gorgeous?), will be the guests. (That’s Joan and Darais with a friend above.) Darais always changes his hair color and style, so we’re not sure what he’ll look like tonight. Speaking of hair, Joan has the best hair around. We’ve actually had people write in just asking about her cut and color.

The first show is coming up quickly–8 p.m. EST! But they’ll be back tomorrow (Oct. 2nd) at 2 a.m., 2 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. That 2 a.m. show has to hurt. I hope they packed that new Starbucks instant coffee, whatever it’s called.

Joan and Darais will be demo’ing things like the brand new Oscillation Power Foundation. Yes, it’s a vibrating mineral foundation. And yes, it’s awesome. I swear. It’s mineral made easy. You can skip all that swirling stuff. I’ll be posting about it next week. But try to catch a live demo if you can.

Cant’ watch? HSN.com has all the same FlexPay and free shipping deals offered live on TV. Happy viewing!

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I made the mistake of stopping by the Treats Truck on the way back from lunch to pick up some snacks for the P.R. team. The Treats Truck is part of a new-ish trend here in Manhattan of tricked-out trucks that sell all kinds of food–dumplings, tacos, ice cream, baked goods and more. Think the ice cream man, but hipper. Anyway, I bought us these chocolate cream-filled cookies so we’ve all got a nice sugar buzz going. (Except for Melissa, who has a better body than Megan Fox. You don’t look that way by eating cookies all day long.)

I could blame the sugar rush for our enthusiasm over the Nordstrom gift with purchase makeup bag above, but I believe it’s geniuine. These really are the cutest bags. They’re black and shiny with a hot pink logo print featuring the Lancome rose, the Lancome cherub, the Eiffel Tower and lipstick tubes. They’re also the perfect size. Not too big, not too small. To quote Emili the Intern: “Oooh, I want one!” (Thanks to Em for taking the photo above and to Melissa for playing hand model.)

If you’d like one for yourself, stop by Nordstrom or nordstrom.com between now and October 4th. With any $39.50 purchase, you get the bag and six deluxe sample-sized products. You get to pick the six from a list of 12, which includes the much-buzzed about Genifique youth activing concentrate, Definicils mascara and, of course, the baby-sized Bi-Facil we all love.

We’re giving one of these adorable bags away, plus the six goodies that come inside. Just leave a comment and tell us what satisfies your sweet tooth. And if you don’t have a sweet tooth, tell us what other kind of snack does it for you! Please post by Sunday night. We’ll pick one post at random. Good luck and happy snacking.

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Lucky Ashley, who won a jar of Absolue Precious Cells and a Fashion’s Night Out t-shirt, has a really fun fashion blog called Breakfast at Saks. (Breakfast at Tiffany’s is good enough for some girls. Not our Ashley.) I meant to link to it as part of yesterday’s winner announcement, but I forgot. So here’s the link. Make sure to check it out and say hi to Ashley.

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Hi, everybody. Housekeeping day. The first thing I want to announce is our blogroll! Sorry that it took so long to appear. The blogroll is a list of links to our favorite beauty blogs. The list is further down the page on the right-hand side. Please check out these blogs, as the people behind them are doing a great job and working really hard to bring you beauty news, reviews and more. We’ll be adding additional blogs, including our favorite fashion blogs, in the near future.

We also have more winners to announce!
–Lilybiscuit, who loves J.Lo’s glow as much as we do, has won the Scott Barnes products.
–Annalene has won the bottle of Hypnose Senses signed by our spokesmodel Daria and a Fashion’s Night Out t-shirt.
–Kae has won the Declaring Indigo Bearbrick toy and an FNO t-shirt.
–Ashley has won Absolue Precious Cells super moisturizer and an FNO t-shirt.
–Nina won an FNO tee and an official Lancome Backstage tee.
–Crystaleyes has won the Chris Benz lipstick and an FNO shirt. (The Chris lipstick will hit Saks Fifth Avenue, the Lancome boutiques and lancome-usa.com in February.)

Congratulations to all of you! I’ll be emailing you shortly. Thank you to everyone who posted comments for these giveaways. Two of our prize winners from last week are awol. If tlnhtrn and Tricia D are reading this, please check your email. You won the makeup bag giveaway.

P.S. Check back tomorrow for a special Nordstrom giveaway.
P.S.S. We have a new URL: www.thelancomeblog.com
P.S.S.S. The photo above is Daria with our fab Saks New York team on Fashion’s Night Out earlier this month. The “L” in this case stands for Lancome, thank you very much. xoxo

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If there’s one person proud of her heritage, it’s our spokesmodel Miss Arlenis Sosa. She’s one of the best ambassadors the Dominican Republic could hope for. She’s beautiful, she’s smart and she loves her country. Everyone who knows Arlenis learns she’s from the DR within minutes of meeting her.

So we were thrilled to learn that Arlenis was being honored at the Latin Pride National Awards in Boston. The annual awards ceremony, held last Thursday in the middle of Hispanic Heritage Month, recognizes the most successful representatives of the Latino community in sports, film, music, education, and of course, fashion.

Arlenis wore a gown by fellow Dominican Oscar de la Renta and her makeup was done by artist Betty DePierre. Arlenis told us that she was quite nervous, especially when she looked out at the audience filled with Latinos, and was overcome with pride and gratitude. (The first photo above is Arlenis with Ada Aimee de la Cruz, who competed in the Miss Universe 2009 pageant as Miss Dominican Republic. She was first runner-up!)

Arlenis just shot a major Lancôme makeup ad in Paris with a photographer we’re not allowed to talk about just yet. She’s also hard at work on a special charity project to benefit the underprivileged in her country. Stay tuned for details!

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Most of the emails and phone calls we receive at our customer service center come from people wondering how to buy a product they saw somewhere, their unhappiness about a discontinued item or their dissatisfaction with a particular product or service. You have to be patient, resourceful and thick skinned to work in customer service! Every now and then, thank goodness, they also receive positive emails. The customer service folks were so touched recently by one in particular that they forwarded it to the P.R. team.

It came from a woman named Maria who wanted to tell us about her late mother, also named Maria, who inspired everyone around her and who loved Lancôme. Here is part of the email:

My mother, who I lost at the beginning of the year, was the first to introduce Lancôme products to me, my sisters and my teenage nieces. She loved using the skin creams and especially your lipstick line. At age 67, she looked fabulous! Family and friends would always ask her for her beauty secret. She had a saying: “Your makeup is not complete…unless you finish up with lipstick!”

My mother had a number of Lancôme lipsticks in her collection and didn’t hesitate to gift duplicate lipsticks to family and friends (usually the ones she would get with gift with purchases). When we were preparing for her funeral services and looked into her purse, we found five Lancôme lipsticks! Each one of my sisters and I wore one of her favorite shades to the funeral service in her honor. Because we have so many memories of her and her lipsticks, my sisters and I have decided to honor her on September 27th (what would have been her 68th birthday) by encouraging friends and family to buy a lipstick in her honor.

My mother’s inner beauty was reflective in her outer beauty. She is best remembered by the open-hearted generosity she shared with all who knew her. She was a loving wife, amazing mother and caring grandmother who taught her children and grandchildren the value of putting others before yourself, not with words, but with actions. She has truly left a void in our hearts, but her beautiful spirit still lives on within us.

To Maria’s family, thank you for sharing this with us. Your mother was clearly an incredible person. To all the Lancôme Blog readers, please think about Maria and her generous spirit this Sunday, her birthday, when you put on your lipstick. Have a beautiful weekend.

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PHOTO FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST

I went to the most amazing event last night in midtown Manhattan, the annual Important Dinner for Women. I had no idea what to expect. I figured it wouldn’t be your typical event as Queen Rania of Jordan, Wendi Murdoch and British First Lady Sarah Brown (who shares a name with the Vogue beauty director) were speaking. It was a majorly glamorous event (including Nicole Kidman, L’Wren Scott, Christie Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Lancome fave Veronica Webb, Georgina Chapman, Diane von Furstenberg and Vera Wang, who looked like a rock star, and many, many others). Tyra Banks, Harper’s Bazaar editor Laura Brown and our spokesmodel Elettra Wiedemann were at my table. It seemed like the only people missing were Oprah and Michelle Obama. Glamorama aside, it was an incredibly substantial event too.

The theme of the night was the betterment of women’s lives around the world, in particular pregnant women and mothers. Many of the speakers referred to the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, which I have to admit I had never heard of. If you have a minute, you should click on the link. Sarah Brown is the global patron and membership in the organization is free. If you’re looking for a way to make a difference, please consider joining.

Another major topic was the Millenium Development Goals. If you’re not familiar with these, they are a set of goals designed to meet the needs of the world’s poorest. The United Nations world leaders agreed upon these in 2000 and set a target date of 2015 to reduce extreme poverty. The goals include: end poverty and hunger, universal education, gender equality, child health, maternal health, combat HIV/AIDS, environmental sustainability and global partnership.

So what can you do to help? You can join the Campaign to End Poverty by 2015. Click here to learn other ways to help, as suggested by the U.N.

Like any good event, this one had a goodie bag! We have one to give away. The bag is a lightweight silver fabric Harper’s Bazaar tote that contains the current issue of Bazaar, a copy of “Half the Sky,” the amazing book that everyone was talking about last night, and, of course, two Lancome products–Definicils mascara and L’Absolu Rouge in Rich Cashmere lipstick. Just post and let us know how you would make the world a better place. We’ll pick one post at random to win the goodie bag. Please post by Monday night. Good luck!

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Allure has the most amazing giveaway going on right now. They’re giving one lucky person our Declaring Indigo Fall 2009 collection. 19 pieces, worth $513. I’m thinking of entering! A lot of these products are sold out or almost sold out, such as the indigo Ink Artliner. (It’s an amazing product. If our marketing team is reading this, please make it a permanent item!)

Make sure to sign up for Allure.com while you’re there so you can get alerts about future giveaways.

Good luck!

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Despite what those annoying drugstore brand ads say, you can still get a great deal at a department store. Especially at a Lancôme counter when there is a gift with purchase available. Now through Sept. 27th, there’s a great one at Belk and belk.com. (Today’s the last day for free shipping at belk.com so plan accordingly!) Spend $29.50 and receive the chic, shiny and embossed black-and-white bag above. (That’s the PR team’s Vanessa holding it to show you the actual size. Nice manicure and jewelry, V!)

Inside are a range of goodies, including lipstick and travel-sized products. You can select the skincare samples you’d like, as well as a cool or warm palette for the makeup items. I have girlfriends who wait for the gwps (that’s what we call the gift with purchase) just to get the travel-sized Bi-Facil.

And…you can ask for a 10-day supply of any Lancôme foundation, which is a service we offer at all of our counters. You can sample or play with whatever product you want to purchase and make sure the scent, texture, color payoff, etc., is exactly what you want. You also can get a little makeup touchup and some free advice.

Not bad for $29.50.

We have one of the Belk bags to give away. Just tell us why you’d like to win one and we’ll pick one comment at random. Please post by Friday night. Good luck!

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