The Skinny on The Skinny

Coming soon...

The Skinny is the first members-only site offering exclusive deals on top-shelf skin care products and spa treatments. Shop The Skinny and you'll have access to exclusive sales on all of the high end skin care brands and spas you love, at up to 75% off! And if you are a skin care newbie, pregnant, acne sufferers, or have questions about your skin, The Skinny has educational videos and personalized recommendations to help you find the perfect products.

The site featured brands will include Perricone MD, Lisa Hoffman Beauty, 100% Pure, International Orange, Dermaquest and Organic Apoteke, among others.

The Skinny's first sale is scheduled for October 2009, but if you sign up today, you'll be entered to win an awesome anti-aging treatment for your eyes from Dermaquest ($78 value)!

TJ Maxx Is My New BFF

You all know that I heart Sephora. I’m also a fan of department stores and specialty boutiques. But my new favorite places to shop for beauty products are retail chains like TJ Maxx and Marshalls. To me, there’s something so satisfying about rooting through shelves of crap and spotting the perfect product – as if it was put there especially for me to find.

This weekend, I went to TJ Maxx – and was amazed at what I found: GapBody body lotion for $5.99; a gift set of three Jaqua Shower Syrups for $9.99; and Lucky Chick Mandarin White Orchid Sugar Body Scrub for $4.99. I’ve also spied products from Peter Thomas Roth, Juice Beauty, Davies Gate, and N.V. Perricone on shelves at TJ Maxx. And you’d be amazed at the fragrance selection…not too long ago, my Mom bought a 1.7 ounce bottle of Hanae Mori Butterfly Eau de Parfum for $29.99 (retail value $85)!

Spoiled Pretty Tip: On your next trip to TJ Maxx, Marshalls, and similar retail chains – be on the lookout for products from CST (Commonwealth Soap and Toiletries) and Asquith & Somerset. These bath and body products are high-quality at a low price (most items are under $8). Right now, I’m loving CST’s Tangerine Vanilla Sugar Scrub…it gently polishes my skin, and smells just like an orange creamsicle!

It's Unanimous

According to Lucky Magazine and its readers, the new and undisputed beauty heavyweight champion of the world is Sephora.

For the first annual Lucky Shopping Awards (featured in the November issue), the magazine gives props to the best department stores, boutiques, chain stores, and websites.

"Sephora has become the definitive one-stop shop," says beauty edito Christina Mueller. They really do have everything: Fresh, Ojon, Stella McCartney's organic skincare - plus high-tech dermatologist lines lik Dr. Brandt Skincare and N.V. Perricone M.D. Cosmeceuticals. In New York branches, you can find Anastasia brow studios.

Sephora Trivia: Sephora is the combination two words—Sephos and Zipporah. Sephos was the term for all things pretty in ancient Greece and Zipporah was the name of Moses’ wife who was renowned for her exceptional gorgeousness. Put the two together and, voila, you’ve got my beauty Mecca's moniker.