Lisa Rinna’s Black Robe Making Coffee

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 11 Episode 11 Fashion

We’ve seen it before and now we’re seeing it again. That’s because Lisa Rinna black robe is sooo comfy even she wears it all the time. I am telling you this robe is the best thing you will ever put on. It’s so versatile too since you can dress it up and wear it out. Or you can just lounge around in it doing chores like cleaning the very messy kitchen (that is if you don’t have hired help). All I can say is this robe is totally worth it and you certainly won’t regret getting it. The only thing you may regret is not getting it in another color.

Sincerely Stylish,

Jess

Click Here to Shop Her Skims Cozy Knit Robe

Originally posted at: Lisa Rinna’s Black Robe

When I wrote about beauty for a living, my job required too much product testing for me to consider converting to a fully clean routine. Trying out each and every piece of makeup that hits the market is a genuine chore, though I’m sure to many it sounds like a treat. Sometimes, you just want to use what you know works instead of looking like a mess at the end of the day after volunteering to try the latest underwhelming formula. Fast-forward to now and I have the luxury of trying and using only products with ingredients I feel comfortable with and formulas I’m excited about—and when they’re as good as the new Cover FX Power Flex Mascara, I just have to share.

But first, let me wax poetic on why I’m already a Cover FX stan, and to do this, I require but three little words: Warm. Honey. Blush. The brand’s Monochromatic Blush Duo in “Warm Honey” isn’t just my favorite blush. It’s my sister’s favorite, my best friend’s favorite and yes, even my grandma’s favorite. I know I’m here to tell you all about their newest drop, but if you’re looking for an ol’ faithful, pausing for a moment to order yourself the “Warm Honey” blush would be a very, very smart move.

I digress! Despite my devotion to their blush, I admit that my expectations were low when Cover FX announced their first-ever clean mascara. Why, you ask? In general, clean mascaras are pretty disappointing. Sometimes they’re runny, other times they’re too thin to build, and more often than not they aren’t formulated to last.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Courtesy of Cover FX.

Cue Cover FX with a mascara to change the game, finally. Power Flex is the perfect combination of a high-performance formula and a unique brush—and it’s this magic match-up that has me so head over heels.

To start with the formula, which I’d say is on the dryer side in the sense that it isn’t runny, key ingredients include conditioning Moringa oil, a lengthening wax blend (vegan, natch) and sweatproof polymers that help create volume and hold lashes in place.

Courtesy of Cover FX.

The accompanying brush is something of a hybrid, with fiber bristles on one side to lengthen and lift and a double-rowed silicone comb on the other to deposit the perfect amount of product at the base of every lash.

As someone who usually uses one mascara to lengthen and another for add volume, I found toggling back and forth between the two sides of the wand to be enough to give me the full effect with just one product and a little patience.

Courtesy of Bella Gerard.

I know my lashes sans-product are shit, but let that be proof of just how good Power Flex truly is! My longest lashes doubled in length, and they appeared darker and thicker without any sign of clumping, which for me is a major win, as my individual lashes are especially thin.

And as for wearability, I can confirm my lashes look great all day and that this stuff never transfers, even in New York summer 95 percent humidity. Usually, a formula this heavy-duty would stress me out, but this one boasts clean, nourishing ingredients that won’t make me regret reaching for it on the daily.

Bottom line? If you’ve been using the same crusty mascara since the start of quarantine, you’re due for something new—and Cover FX’s Power Flex Mascara is my top rec. Whether or not you’re a die-hard for clean beauty, I have a feeling you’re a fan of great results and gorgeous lashes, so it’s safe to say you’ll be pleased with your purchase.

A lot of people, I find, have a close friend who does not make sense. Someone who just doesn’t ‘fit’ with other aspects of their life, and no one from outside can quite understand why they are friends at all.

Such friendships can be especially meaningful and sometimes surprising. Often, these are started at school, where the personalities of those involved were unformed and their subsequent life trajectories very different.

My Young Friend

My friend of this type was a young man with not long to live. I met him through work when I was close to 50 and he was just under 30. He was German, I was American, both living in London, although we first met at a conference in Belgium.

More significantly, he was a gay man, and I was a married woman with two children. He had grown up poor in a mining town in Germany and had taken up nursing when he left school at 16 because the only real alternative was becoming a miner. I came from a professional family in New York and had three degrees.

And he had been living with AIDS for five years, whereas I knew nothing about the disease. He was, indeed, highly active in the HIV/AIDS community, seen as something of a leader amongst them. I liked to keep to myself and never led anybody anywhere.

What Did We See in Each Other?

I saw a very bright, sensitive but troubled man, who liked to reflect on deeper issues. I guess he saw some of the same qualities in me, although I never asked him. We certainly had similar temperaments, mixing reflectiveness with a sense of humour.

He also liked to challenge himself and those around him – and I found that a very inspiring (and somehow intimate) quality.

I also learned that his mother had died when he was 18 months old, and he claimed he had been looking for her (in some unspecified way) all his life. He was friends with a number of older women, of whom I was one. None of us knew each other.

Doing Things Together

We used to meet fairly often, mostly for lunch, although he did come to my house on several occasions.

At one lunch, we first planned what was to become a joint book based on interviews with people with AIDS and HIV, taking place at an international conference he was organising.

As is the case with Covid-19 today, the world was awash with statistics regarding the numbers diagnosed, but I was unaware of many personal stories. I knew that these can have a bigger impact on people than statistics. This strengthened our friendship and proved an important milestone for me in creating books based around interviews.

A Special Lunch

And there was a particularly poignant lunch. Towards the end of his life, he was in and out of hospital with various ailments and I would visit him there. On one occasion, he said, I thought jokingly, “Let’s have lunch next week.” I said sure, with a smile. But he meant it. And told me so.

The following week, I turned up at the hospital, finding him very frail and attached to a drip, but in his street clothes. It did not seem remotely feasible to take him outside, but he said he had cleared the venture with the staff.

We chatted for a bit and then, being a trained nurse, he unplugged himself from the drip and said, grinning, “Let’s go.”

It was a beautiful October day, sunny and crisp. There was a good restaurant nearby, and we headed toward it very slowly.

He was incredibly exuberant about the beauty of the day, conveying to me that feeling for ordinary life that can only come to someone long confined to a hospital bed. Some people stared – he was covered in Kaposi’s Sarcoma lesions – but he carried on with dignity.

We ordered lunch and talked about all sorts of things of no great importance. I remember him exclaiming at the presentation of the food – and eating much of it, although his hunger was necessarily limited. I simply marvelled that we were there at all.

And when we had finished, we walked slowly, and somewhat sadly, back to the hospital, where he climbed onto his bed and re-attached his drip.

His Death

He died about two months later. I sat with him for a long time on the day he died, although I went home and was replaced by another female friend by the time he died.

A few months later, yet another older female friend and I scattered his ashes in the sea outside of Brighton, as had been his wish. We watched the carnations she had bought float slowly away, went for a brief tea and headed home full of unspoken thoughts.

I will never forget either day.

Do you have someone with whom you have an unexpected friendship? How does he or she differ from you? Are such differences remotely important? Do you know what draws you two together? And do you give special value to this friendship?

Now that we’re knee-deep in summer, one part of your beauty routine is probably pretty high up on your list: your high-visibility hair removal approach. You’ve likely asked yourself, “Should I shave? Wax? Laser off all that pesky hair in my bikini line, underarms and legs?!” If so, welcome to Hair Removal 101.

We all know that keeping our bodies hairless in all the right places isn’t always smooth sailing — all hair removal methods, whether it’s waxing, shaving, or laser has the potential for issues like nicks, bumps, ingrown hairs, and…general discomfort. Let’s take a cursory look at the multitude of removal options, and with them, the different levels of pain, commitment, expense, convenience and perhaps most importantly, longevity.

And as always, remember that how much hair you remove, if at all, is up to you and there’s nothing dirty or unsightly about body hair. It’s normal! It’s natural! So, you do you always. But if you do decide to jump into hair removal, these tips will help.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Completely Bare and Bella Verde are STYLECASTER sponsors, however, all products in this article were independently selected by our editors. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

BELLA VERDE.

Waxing

How It Works: Hot (but not too hot!) wax is applied to the desired area and removed in the opposite direction of the hair growth, pulling hairs out from the root.
Best For: Legs, underarms, and bikini areas, and great for those with coarse, darker hair that tends to be stubborn.
Pros: Temporarily removes hair at the root for an average of three weeks of smooth skin, which can range from two to six weeks depending on your hair type and thickness.
Cons: Waxing requires some regrowth in order to be effective, as the wax needs at least a quarter-inch of stubble to adhere to. Treatments can be moderately painful, as hair is indeed being ripped out at the root, but it becomes more tolerable over time. Waxing can also result in ingrown hairs.
Average Cost: Anywhere from $15-80 for salon waxing, depending on areas waxed and your salon of choice. Or, you can go for at-home options, such as Bella Verde’s Wax Warmer Home Waxing Kit.
Tips: “Don’t drink and wax,” warns Noemi Grupenmager, founder and CEO of Uni K Wax Centers. “Some people come in after consuming alcohol thinking it’ll ease the pain, but alcohol tightens pores, making it much more painful.” Stimulants, like coffee, can also increase sensitivity, so be sure to remember this if you DIY.

Gillette.

Shaving

How It Works: Shaving removes hair from the skin’s surface by cutting it off with a razor.
Best For: Legs, underarms, and those with lighter, finer hair.
Pros: Inexpensive, painless, quick, and easy; and shaving creams used can help moisturize the skin, keeping it soft.
Cons: Regrowth happens quickly, and because hair is cut off at the surface, regrown hair is blunt, not tapered, so it can appear thicker. Razor burn, nicks, and cuts are possibilities, and those who shave regularly can also become prone to ingrown hairs.
Average Cost: Razors and shaving cream can be inexpensively purchased at any grocery or drugstore.
Tips: For those who can’t quit their shaving habit, “growth reduction” products promise to help inhibit hair regrowth, thus reducing the frequency of shaving required.

Completely Bare.

Depilatory Creams

How It Works: Hair removal creams use chemicals to weaken the hair follicle, so you can effectively wipe it away.
Best For: Those who want quick, easy, relatively painless at-home results. Depilatories are most popular for facial hair, bikini lines, and underarms.
Pros: Can be done at home, and removes hair just below the surface of the skin, ensuring slower and less coarse regrowth than shaving.
Cons: Chemicals in these products can irritate sensitive skin, particularly in more delicate areas. These creams are infamous for their odor, and can also lead to ingrown hairs.
Average Cost: Around $6-$12 for a tube of cream or spray-on depilatory lotion.
Tips: Choose a cream suited for the specific area you’re treating—and maybe light some scented candles in the bathroom to mask the strong smell most of these products tend to have. A solid option is Completely Bare’s Easy Off Foaming Hair Removal Spray, which comes in an easy-to-apply foam that washes off in the shower.

MiSMON.

Laser Hair Removal

How It Works: Laser penetrates the skin to target the hair shaft and inhibit hair growth. It essentially destroys the follicle, meaning it can achieve permanent removal. Typically, the hair in treated areas falls out within 2-3 weeks.
Best For: People with hair darker than their skin—while professional dermatologists can vary the type of laser used, laser targets the melanin in the hair, so it’s not suited as well for people with dark skin or pale hair. The laser needs to be able to lock on to the dark pigment in order to differentiate the dark hair from the skin.
Pros: Great for long-term hair removal in all areas. “It causes no damage to the dermis, so even the most sensitive skin can be treated,” says New York dermatologist Dr. Ariel Ostad.
Cons: Laser hair removal can be painful, with most people describing it as a “snapping” sensation against the skin, as well as a sensation of heat from the laser. Also, it requires numerous visits to a dermatologist for best results. “It is important to go to a dermatologist who can offer different lasers which are customized to the patient’s skin color and hair color,” says Ostad.
Average Cost: $150 to $500 per treatment, with an average of six sessions recommended, depending on the area being treated. Several cycles of treatment are usually recommended to capture the hair follicles at different stages of the growth cycle. Some people require touch-up treatments to maintain, especially on larger areas.
Tips: While it may seem expensive, in the long run, many consider laser removal to be an investment that can pay off. “It is the most effective and cost-effective treatment, considering how much one can spend over a lifetime with options such as waxing or electrolysis,” says Ostad.

Finishing Touch.

Electrolysis

How It Works: Electrolysis uses a fine, needle-shaped electrode to apply an electrical current to the hair follicle.
Best For: Small areas such as the eyebrows, upper lip, and underarms, as it treats each hair and follicle individually, which is time-consuming and can get expensive.
Pros: Can permanently remove hair and is suitable for very fine and light-colored hair, unlike laser, which works best on darker hair.
Cons: When improperly done, electrolysis can lead to scarring or skin discoloration. Treatments can be uncomfortable and cause a “stinging” or “pricking” sensation, and as with laser hair removal, permanent results require multiple sessions.
Average Cost: Around $25 to $150 an hour.
Tips: Dehydrated follicles can be more difficult to treat, so be sure to drink plenty of water the day before, the day of, and the day after your treatment.

Adobe. Design: Cierra Miller/STYLECASTER.

Crystal Kung Minkoff’s Burgundy Metallic Velvet Dress on WWHL

Watch What Happens Live Aug 4, 2021 Fashion

Although it may only be August, Crystal Kung Minkoff looked totally ready for the holidays in her burgundy metallic velvet dress on last night’s episode of WWHL. Which in our opinion is so freakin’ chic, we don’t think we’d be able to find one person in the world who thinks it’s ugly (however we will refrain from doing a poll here like Andy did for her brown leather pants*). 

Fashionably,

Faryn

* We for the record do not think they’re ugly. 

Click Here to See Her Lavish Alice Dress

Photo #2: @CrystalKungMinkoff

Originally posted at: Crystal Kung Minkoff’s Burgundy Metallic Velvet Dress on WWHL