Beauty Review & Giveaway: Beauty Confidential (2007)

Those of you who’ve been reading My Inner French Girl from the beginning know that I’m a huge, huge fan of Nadine Haobsh, aka Jolie in NYC. Nadine was a rising talent in the world of women’s publishing, serving as beauty editor for one of the largest women’s mags in the country, when that same world exploded in her face after it was revealed that she was the brains behind the gossipy blog Jolie in NYC. Never mind that there was nothing on it that one couldn’t find anywhere else on the Internet or even in your average tabloid — her bosses were furious because she actually had the gall to happily admit that (horrors! ) beauty mag staffers are routinely treated to high-end swag that plebes like you and I can only dream of: spa trips; unlimited massages, hair treatments, facials, mani-pedis, designer fashions, etc.; and all the beauty products you could ever desire.

Anyway, once the news broke out on Jolie’s identity, Nadine’s own life changed completely. Ladies Home Journal fired her, Seventeen rescinded a job offer to serve as their beauty editor, and she landed on the New York Post‘s Page Six. All in a day’s work.

Of course, this was three years ago — ancient history in blog terms. If the publishing world was skittish then and thought that they could intimidate would-be bloggers, they obviously were very disappointed. Back then, bloggers were considered persona non grata in the traditional media; now they’re being courted by everyone from those same beauty industry execs to the two major political parties.

And Nadine? She continues to post on her enormously popular beauty advice/gossip site (the same blog she was running when she got canned) and has a two-book deal with Harper-Collins. Talk about a comeback, eh?

Anyhoo, the reason I’m posting about her instead of my latest mascara or foundation discovery is because she very, very graciously gave me a copy of her latest book, Beauty Confidential, a juicy tome packed with loads of tips on everything from applying eyeliner to using a self-tanner. Anyone who’s visited her site will be familiar with her cheery, hilarious writing style, and she continues that self-deprecating humor and charming joie de vivre in her first book.

Beauty Confidential is definitely one of my favorite beauty books, mostly because of Nadine’s sunny personality and her refusal to take anything — makeup, vanity, celebrities, least of all herself – seriously. She truly enjoys what she does, from blogging to experimenting with makeup to writing and sharing some great gossip about the people who populate her new home, Los Angeles. The book is filled with detailed info on some of her favorite products (I don’t think a word’s been invented yet to describe her affinity with Bare Escentuals, but I think obsessed comes pretty close), as well as lists upon lists of other well-regarded lines. Want to know how to best apply concealer under your eyes? That’ll be page 112, followed by a couple more pages on the best concealers on the market (including YSL’s Touche Eclat Radiant Touch, which my mother is obsessed with). Can’t figure out which moisturizers are best for your skin? Check out pages 132-133. Curious about the eye makeup trick Nadine learned from a sultry young French student when she spent a summer at St. Paul Trois-Chateaux in France at the age of fifteen? Get thee to pages 94-96.

By the way, Nadine was on NBC’s Today show sometime in November, giving tips on achieving the 5-minute look. It was fun watching it, knowing how nervous she was in the run-up to the event (she posted about it several times before the big day), and I was a little annoyed with host Natalie Morales’ inability to correctly pronounce Nadine’s last name, even after being told how in the end (What can I say? With a last name like Asturias, I’ve become pretty sensitive about people butchering my name), but overall it’s a short, fun and informative video.

Look flawless in five minutes

Okay, so we’ve established that I’m a fan of Nadine. When Beauty Confidential came out in early November, I immediately bought a copy at my local B&N and have dog-eared it several times already. Even after I told Nadine that I already had a copy of her book, she very generously sent me another one anyway to give away on my blog. Yay! See why she’s my girl?

In any case, the drawing’s as simple as the others have been: just submit a comment to this post telling me what your favorite, must-have, I’m-absolutely-obsessed-with-it beauty product is, and you’re automatically entered into the drawing. Contest ends at 5pm Mountain on Friday, March 14th. The winner will be announced either that evening or on Saturday morning. In the absence of a third-party accounting firm like Ernst & Young, the ever-reliable and gorgeous B. will randomly pick a name out of all the submitted responses.

And if you don’t have a favorite beauty product? S’okay. My favorite beauty “product” is sleep, followed closely by sunscreen. Of course, if you don’t have any favorite beauty products, I’ll wonder why you’d even bother entering this contest anyway. But to each his/her own.

Good luck!

Privacy Policy: Your name and contact info (including the winner’s mailing address) is only going to be used for the purposes of this contest only. I have no interest in keeping your info beyond this event and will never share that info with anyone. I have too much other stuff to keep up with anyway.

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