The 411 on Waterproof Mascara (And As Promised, the Giveaway Winners...)

Thanks to everyone who posted comments for last week's giveaways. I hope you enjoyed learning about some interesting people who are following their dreams. Here are the winners:



--The Yokoo giveaway winner is Siilenti.

--The Danny Roberts giveaway winner is Bree. The runners up are Jess, Dusica, Halifax, Tropical Breezz and Cadence.

--The Chance giveaway winner is Coachwife 6.



Congrats to all of you! Check your inbox for an email from me.



Bree, glad to see you won a giveaway! You had asked for some info on waterproof mascara last week. I'm not a waterproof mascara wearer, but Patricia on the PR team reminded me that AOL Stylelist's Grace Gold did a terrific article on waterproof mascara formulas. It explains how the formulas work and why you should swirl rather than pump your mascara.



I think I mentioned that our best-selling waterproof mascara is Definicils, but if you want some extra oomph, try Hypnose waterproof.



Are any of you waterproof mascara wearers? Do you have a favorite waterproof mascara? Or any tips and tricks you'd like to share? Let us know!

Meet Yokoo, Our Fave Designer on Etsy! Enter to Win One of Her Creations Plus Lancôme's Newest Skincare--Rénergie Volumetry

As I mentioned last week, we're dedicating this week on the blog to a few of our favorite entrepreneurs, artists and designers. It takes a lot of courage to do your own thing, especially when the economy isn't so great, so we wanted to spotlight some creative people we admire. Lancôme was founded 75 years ago this year by a young entrepreneur named Armand Petitjean, so you never know where something will lead!



The first person we're spotlighting is Yokoo. She's a young woman from Atlanta who specializes in knit items and has a great online boutique on Etsy. (Do you know about Etsy? It's essentially a giant online flea market populated by artists of all kinds. You can find everything from stuffed animals to leg warmers to homemade bath and beauty products.)



I've been meaning to write about Yokoo forever. I first ordered some of her pieces last winter and was amazed at how well made, warm and whimsical they were. Most of her pieces are best suited to fall/winter (I know, I know, it's 90 degrees outside...), but she has some seasonless pieces too. And she's branching into jewelry, which is exciting to see. Look how fab that necklace is in the picture above.



You'll have fun looking at Yokoo's Etsy boutique and at her Flickr photostream. She uses her Flickr pages to spotlight everything from new creations to DIY clothing projects to her favorite things. She's so creative and she has such great personal style. We hope you find her as inspiring as we do.



For today's giveaway, check out Yokoo's Etsy boutique, pick one thing you'd love to have and tell us why. We'll pick one name at random and you'll win that item plus our newest skincare, Rénergie Lift Volumetry Lifting and Reshaping Cream SPF 15 and Rénergie Lift Volumetry Eye Cream. The idea here is firming. (The cream comes in two options--normal/combination and normal/dry.) I've been using Volumetry all summer (with my fave Collaser serum. If we ever discontinue Collaser I will seriously fall apart) and was happy to have that extra oomph in the firming department.



Please comment by end of day Wednesday. Good luck.



Tomorrow: our favorite fashion illustrator!

Win Tickets to Our "Eat Pray Love" Makeup Artist Screening in New York City Next Week

The much-anticipated "Eat Pray Love," starring Lancôme ambassadress Julia Roberts, opens on August 13th. Lancôme is hosting a makeup artist screening of the movie on August 12th and we have a pair of tickets to give away. It will be a fun night. Some of the best makeup artists in New York will be in attendance and maybe you will too.



If you and a friend can be in New York that evening, you are eligible! To enter, leave us a comment and let us know what you think about "Eat Pray Love." Did you read the book? Are you excited to see the movie? Are you glad they cast Julia?



Please post by Sunday night. We'll pick one name at random and announce the winner on Monday.



P.S. We made a few changes regarding comments on the blog. You need to be a registered user to comment from now on. It's to cut down on any comments with profanity or personal attacks. We're always happy to hear constructive criticism, but I prefer that the blog remain a positive place for everyone. I hope you agree with me about this.



P.S.S. A big merci to TT, our friend and loyal blog reader. TT stopped by to visit the PR team and gave us the loveliest present. Thank you, TT. We hope you have a great vacation and we appreciate your support!

And the Winners are...?

I just read all the comments from the Zac Posen/L'Absolu Rouge lipstick giveaway, and I have to say all of you are amazing. I definitely feel like I'm not doing enough to help others, so starting immediately, I'm going to try to change that.

(@DaybreaksBell, it's a pleasure to read all the comments! We truly appreciate that people take the time to read the blog and comment. Happy early birthday, btw.)

The winner of the Zac Posen giveaway is Joan! Join me in congratulating her. And the winner of the Blush Subtil giveaway is Belinda, who'd like to try the Rose Fresque and Cedar Rose shades. (Good choice!) Congrats to Belinda too!

I've emailed both of you, so please check your inbox.

Speaking of winners, a few of our products have won awards recently. The Creme de Brilliance line of liquid lipsticks won an MVP Award from Redbook. That's Kate Winslet above in the ad for Creme de Brilliance. Not sure if everyone has seen that. How gorgeous is Kate? The classic Bi-Facil eye makeup remover won a Best Beauty Buy from InStyle magazine. If you're not familiar with these products, stop by a Lancome counter and check them out. (The PR department's fave Creme de Brilliance shade? Exotic Orchid. It's gorgeous!)

Are You in the Market for a New Blush? Check Out Karla Sugar's Swatches. (Giveaway Alert!)

A big merci beaucoup to Karla Sugar for her great Lancôme blush swatch posts. Karla feels our blushes are underrated and I have to agree with her. "On the list of brands with a great reputation for blush, I think Lancôme is frequently overlooked. Though I don’t have a lot of experience with their creme blush, I find their powder shades to be nuanced and lovely," she says.

If you're pale/fair and looking for some new blushes, check out her posts. (Does anyone know of great blush swatches for medium and dark skin tones? Please leave links in the comment field if you do. They don't have to be Lancôme, but fab if they are!)

As a thank you to Karla, we're doing a blush giveaway. Tell us what two Lancôme Blush Subtil powder blushes you'd like to try and leave some blush advice or a blush question. We'll choose one person to get the two blushes of their choice plus the best blush brush on earth, Precision Cheek Brush #7. Please post by Thursday night!

Speaking of blush, here's a little advice from our MUA Sandy Linter. People are always confused about where to apply their blush and where their cheekbones are. She said there's one way to find out. Press your fingers into your face and feel where the cheekbone runs. For more on her sculpted cheek advice, check out her Q&A on makeup.com.

Thanks again to Karla Sugar! And welcome back from India. We're loving all your India beauty posts.

Happy Birthday to the Lancôme Blog! (And Of Course, a B'Day Giveaway!)

Wow! What a year it has been at The Lancôme Blog. In the past 12 months, we've learned how to blog and tweet, made lots of new friends and talked about tons of products, events and trends. There have been bittersweet moments, like when our fab interns finished their internships and returned to school. And even some sad moments, as we've said goodbye to a few beauty and fashion icons.

The best part has been getting to know many of you and sharing what's fun and special about our Lancôme world. I hope you feel that you've gotten a behind-the-scenes glimpse that you wouldn't have gotten otherwise and learned a thing or two about makeup, skincare and beauty in general.

I love logging on every day and seeing so many familiar names. (You know who you are!) The fact that many of you take the time to comment and share your thoughts--even when we don't have a giveaway!--is really wonderful.

Thank you for all the support. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Stay tuned, because the next 12 months are going to be very exciting. From Julia Roberts and Michelle Phan, to our newest mascaras, lip glosses, skincare and fragrance, we have a lot to share with you.

So for our birthday giveaway, I'll let you pick! Leave a birthday wish for the blog and we'll pick one comment at random. That person gets to pick whatever five Lancôme products he or she would like to try. Please post by end of day Thursday.

Tomorrow, more L.A. stories!

PHOTO FROM SPRINKLES.COM. IF SPRINKLES IS LOOKING FOR SPOKESPEOPLE, ERIN AND I WOULD LIKE TO VOLUNTEER.

Come Meet Chris Benz on Thursday! Plus, Who Won the Michelle Phan Giveaway?

Thank goodness for Chris Benz. The boy loves color! And that extends to the makeup for his fashion shows as well. He and the brilliant MUA Daniel Martin cooked up a look for his Fall 2010 presentation that was as fierce as it was glamorous. They called it Gothic Chic and that's spot on. The models above look gorgeous, don't they?



Everyone backstage was really blown away by Daniel's artistry. First off, he used Le Crayon Poudre in Sable as lip liner. (We've said it before, we'll say it again. Lip liner is back.) He did this gorgeous, gradated lip inspired by a picture of Kate Moss from the 90s. The lip liner was topped with our new Color Design Matte lipstick in Bronze Show. (Wait until you see the matte line. I'm playing with it right now and it's beyond. It's launching at Macy's in mid-March.) Then some shine was added to the center of the bottom lip ONLY with Juicy Tubes in Hallucination.



Every time the models rubbed their lips together, Daniel's masterpiece was smooshed a bit. Oh well. We all know makeup is precious, albeit temporarily. I'll talk about the eyes, cheeks and nails in another post because I don't want this to get too long, but they were amazing too.



Backstage at Chris's show is always a lot of fun. All our blogger friends stop by and plenty of our favorite beauty editors too. It's buzzy but calm because Chris is so organized. Same as Daniel. Our video makeup artist Michelle Phan worked on Daniel's team and did an amazing job. (That's Michelle and Daniel above.) Michelle's used to working on herself, so it's always a treat for her to do models. And Danny Roberts, the amazing illustrator behind the Igor & Andre blog, stopped by as well. Let's hope he was inspired to do some Chris illustrations for future blog posts.



Speaking of Chris, if you live in or near New York City, stop by our Chris Benz personal appearance tomorrow (Thursday) from 5 to 7 p.m. at Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. It's on Fifth Avenue between 49th and 50th. If you're looking for the Chris & Tell lipstick (that's it above), it's probably your last chance to buy one as it's almost sold out everywhere. If you bought one already, stop by and have Chris sign it! The Lancome PR team will be there along with Daniel Martin and maybe even Sandy Linter, so make sure you say hi.



We're running low on Chris & Tell lipsticks, but let's give one away. Tell us which designer's fall collection you are or were dying to see and we'll pick one post at random. Please post by Friday night.



And the winner of the AMAZING Michelle Phan giveaway? Congrats to JT (June Tam). Please email us at thelancomeblog@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

Spring Color Has Arrived!! Ô My Rose is Here So Let's Do a Giveaway!

It's 20 degrees outside, but we're thinking spring! Our lovely spring color collection, called Ô My Rose, has just gone on sale on lancome-usa.com. (Check your local lancome.com site if you're one of our international readers!) Created by Aaron De Mey, our artistic director for makeup, Ô My Rose focuses on corals, peaches and teals. I have a feeling the teal Ink Artliner and the mosaic Pop N' Cheeks blush will be the best sellers. They're great products. This is the third collection we've had Ink Artliner in and I'm really really hoping we make it a permanent product.

Pop N' Cheeks in Coral Flirt, as I've mentioned, was used in the Chris Benz show. MUA Daniel Martin used it on all the models and it looked pretty on every skin tone. (And Chris, to his credit, had a diverse model lineup, thank goodness. Nothing's more boring than a show with white models only.) I don't have the blush yet--we sent all of them to the beauty editors--but I'm dying to get my hands on one.

Lancome-usa.com has the entire U.S. collection (um, obviously). If you'd like to see the international collection, just check out the portfolio on Flickr. We also have the behind the scenes pictures from the Ô My Rose shoot with Aaron and Elettra on Flickr. Speaking of which, if you'd like to use any of these photos for your blog, website, Facebook, etc., we'd be thrilled.

Tell us what you think about the collection and about color collections in general. Love them? Tired of them? Want to see something different, such as...? Let us know. We'll pick one post at random to win the Ink Artliner, liner brush and Pop N' Cheeks. Please post by Sunday. And enter yesterday's Extreme Beauty giveaway if you haven't already!

Have a great weekend.

Our Last Giveaway of 2009! Tell Us What You'd Like to Read on the Blog Next Year to Enter

Well, it's our last post of 2009. To all of our faithful readers, a giant merci beaucoup from the Lancome PR team. (That's a few of us above wearing our goofy Times Square glasses and Laque Fever in Electric Pink. It just dawned on me that we're all brunettes with curly hair. Our only blond is on maternity leave!) It's been a lot of fun doing this blog and getting to know many of you. I truly appreciate that you take the time to read the posts and comment.

So, here is our last giveaway of the year. It's a quilted makeup train case filled with more than $350 of our chicest products. (Trust me when I say it's very nice.) Just leave a comment telling us what and who you'd like to read and see on the blog in 2010. Tell us what you've liked and even what you haven't. (I'm okay with constructive criticism!) Please post by Sunday night. There's still time to post a comment for our "person who inspired you the most in 2009" giveaway, so do that if you haven't.

Lastly, I wish each and every one of you a happy and peaceful new year.

All the best,
Kerry