Beauty Editor Meltdown

Even Wonder Woman Needs a Daily Makeover!

2009-03-03T12:34:00.000-08:00

When models and celebrities flood New York City's Bryant Park for fashion week, we jump at the chance to get trade secrets from their hair and makeup experts. Today, there was not a beauty blunder to be found. And Rachel Hayes, the Editorial Director for DailyMakeover.com has been getting the scoop, the whole scoop and nothing but the scoop in her new video segments.

Our favorite? Bobbi Brown's how-to about smoky eyes. Plus, watch Rachel dish with Linda Carter (aka: Wonder Woman), Jane Kaczmarek and Daisy Fuentes as they get groomed before the Heart Truth Red Dress Collection. Check it out here.

Unwelcome pimple

2009-01-09T12:58:00.000-08:00

Today was not a good day for a zit. There's never really a good day for one, but today was bad, bad timing. A beauty company enlisted me to speak about beauty trends on a panel that was videotaped for other executives to watch around the world. Blowout? Check. Manicure-pedicure? Check. Spray tan? Check. I was ready to roll last night and had gotten all the perfunctory services to sufficiently represent my role as "beauty editor."

This morning I walked into the bathroom, looked in the mirror and everything looked swell. I put in my contacts and....crisis! Two big red lumps on my chin. Like red Siamese twins situated North-Northwest. A makeup artist's hardest red-carpet obstacle is raised blemishes -- they can't be concealed. They're topographical anomalies. Nothing can hide a bump.

I try tinted moisturizer. No can do. My blood pressure rises. I desperately grab for any concealer in my makeup kit. None of them works. I have two creamy beige mountains. I'm not staring into a fun-house mirror. This is my true reflection.

I go to the presentation with two scarlet honkers on my chin. I am the first beauty editor they've seen with bad skin, no doubt. But I survive. They survive. At the end of the day, I give a good presentation, even if I'm "The beauty editor with zits." What would you have done?

Have you ever had a public display of bad skin? Share your stories!

Streaked Spray Tan

2009-01-09T12:51:00.001-08:00

Have you ever called in pale at work?

I, Polly Blitzer, do hereby confess that I am Tanorexic. Tanzilla. A bona fide bronzophile.

I'm against tanning beds. Ew. Germs. Cancer. Wrinkles. Enough said.

But airbrush and spray tans are my guilty pleasure. And there's nothing to be guilty about! I go to the Queen of Couture Tans at Rita Hazan Salon in NYC. Her name is Anna Stankewiecz, and she imparts a subtle tropical tint without any hint of a fake. She's so detailed in her approach that she cleans the perimeter of each nail cuticle with a Q-tip after you're sprayed to remove errant particles of bronzer. (Brown cuticles, anyone?).

The only catch? You can't sweat or get wet for six hours. Otherwise, the formula develops unevenly.

So I got sprayed yesterday and later brushed my teeth. Safe activity, right? Uh uh. Water dripped down my arm from my wrist to my elbow and before I knew it, there was puddle of beige self-tanner and toothpaste on my sink ledge. I decided to blot (not wipe) to minimize the damage. But this morning, I woke up with a St.Barths glow, except for two prominent white lines on my forearms.

Warning: Brushing your teeth may lead to a streaky tan.

beautyblitz confessional: What's your worst fake-tanning fiasco?

Beauty Editor Meltdown: Botched Red Nail Polish

2009-01-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

Some people fret ring around the collar. I dread ring around the nail bed.

What's great about being a beauty editor is that I get tips from all the top experts on how to prolong a manicure. The downside is that once still-glossy, not-yet-chipped crimson nails grow out, I'm left with a a thin unpolished band at the base of each nail.

I've tried touching up the color with a quick swipe of the brush. Nope. Looked like retouched car paint after a fender bender.

I've attempted to spread color to that area using a Q-tip soaked in polish remover. Eek. Looked like a messy, melted mani.

I've even pushed my cuticles up, instead of back, so that they occupy more room. Ick. My cuticles looked puckered and saggy, like a cowl-neck sweater.

beautyblitz confessional: Do you have any nail polish horror stories? What are your tips for this Beauty Emergency?

Welcome!

2008-07-09T15:27:00.000-07:00

Hi beautyblitzers! I'm here to set the record straight.

It's OK to not look perfectly coiffed with radiant skin and exquisitely applied eye liner each and every day. And even with the industry's latest products, red-carpet experts and salons and spas open to me around the clock, I still manage to have at least one daily beauty faux-pas.

So buckle up and get ready for an exciting beauty adventure with me, my boudoir and an on-the-go makeup kit. I'll brave the front lines (and backstage) of fashion week, ask A-list celebrities for their beauty pointers, make a cameo at every big beauty industry launch party and go about my daily business as a beauty junkie. But I'm taking you along for the ride, so you'll have the ultimate V.I.P. access as I divulge the ravages of chipped polish, fallen updos and streaked spray-tans.

The fun apart (aside from relishing a fellow beauty junkie's missteps?) is that you'll get to VOTE on how I fix the problem or prevent it from happening in the future!

The even more fun part? The best advice will never go unrewarded. That means perks. FOR YOU!!

What was your most embarrassing beauty blunder?