Cosmetics Books

Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, 7th Edition

Paula Begoun, Bryan Barron

Amazon Price: $19.77 List Price: $29.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Beginning Press Amazon Marketplace: 42 new & used starting at $18.14

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> Cosmetics
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 324 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

I'm impressed! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Wow! This book really stands out with its scientific references. How often do you find complete references including even the page numbers of the scientific journal, in a popular book? I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though cosmetics are not really my thing (I'm too lazy or "busy" to bother). Now I actually find myself using face creams and sunscreens. I used to think all cosmetic products were a waste of money but now I'm convinced that some products actually do help the skin.

Some of the critical reviewers here have clearly not read the book very well. I don't know where they get the idea that Begoun is against natural ingredients or plant oils. Quite the contrary, her own products are full of these and nowhere in the book did she say that she is against them. What she is against is using natural ingredients (or any ingredients) that have not been proven effective by scientific studies. In other words, she only wants to use those natural ingredients that actually work.

The same goes for essential oils. She is not againts using them if they have proven to be effective. Some essential oils have been and you can find those in her own products. What she does not like is for essential oils to be added to products solely because of the scent. And I agree: why would you want to put ANYTHING on your skin that does not have any purpose? If you want to enjoy the scent of essential oils you can use them in candles or spray them onto your clothes. You don't have to expose your skin to something that nobody really knows very much about.

Editorial Review:

This well-organized, authoritative book helps women find products that make them look great without spending a fortune. From drugstores and home shopping to department stores and catalogs, Paula Begoun reviews all the major cosmetic and skin-care lines, product by product, with more than 30,000 total. Regardless of cost, there are good and bad products in almost every line, and with the turn of a page, readers can get concise reviews and fast answers. A user-friendly rating system makes it easy to find items worth trying.

Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual: For Everyone from Beginner to Pro

Bobbi Brown

Amazon Price: $21.12 List Price: $32.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Springboard Press Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $20.62

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> Cosmetics
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 4 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

This is the book that Bobbi Brown's fans have been waiting for: her 25-plus years of makeup styling experience distilled into one complete, gorgeous book. Bobbi looks at everything from skincare basics to every aspect of facial makeup--from how to find the right color and type of foundation for any skin tone to how to apply every detail of eye makeup (Brows, Eye Liner, Eye Shadow, and Eye Lashes) no matter your eye color and shape. Of course there are never-before-seen tips on blush, bronzer, lip liners, lipstick, etc. And Bobbi looks beyond the face with informative chapters on "Hands and Feet" and "Body Skin Care." Each chapter has thorough step-by-step basic directions for makeup application and easy-to-follow photographs and line drawings, along with Bobbi's expert, yet assuring, advice. Plus, there's a groundbreaking section of the book that will be of special interest to women who've wanted to know how makeup stylists do what they do: the top beauty secrets only these artists know, essential equipment to keep on hand, how to break into the business, and how to work with photographers and celebrities.

Breathtaking photos of the finished faces-from everyday looks to exotic runway style-along with advice on putting it all together for every woman, make this a book like no other.

BOBBI BROWN'S MAKEUP MANUAL will be the only book any woman will need to look absolutely fabulous.

Making Faces

Kevyn Aucoin

Amazon Price: $14.95 List Price: $21.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Little, Brown and Company Amazon Marketplace: 82 new & used starting at $9.65

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> Cosmetics
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 216 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Some useful photos, some not so useful... 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

OK. This is the first ever makeup book I bought -
and about one third of the photos in the book and
the techniques shared are practical AND useful for
the everyday person.

The other one third are more fashion-editorial,
and period-pieces kind of images supposedly for our
inspiration... but not quite so useful in daily life.

Now the other one third of the pictures in the book
are quite useless for me - because a) some are in black
and white photos!, b) some only show the profile of the
model so I don't know how she looks from the front,
c) some have strange effects - blurred, too much sparkle
dust all over the face, neck and shoulder, or fashion
runway type eye makeup that you'll never wear to work,
and not to be sexist but quite many shots of men dressed
up as women. Out of all these, I'd have to say that the
black and white photos are the most problematic for me -
because I haven't a clue what colors they are wearing!!!

Some of the before and after shots are quite shocking -
and really shows how much CAN be done with makeup - p.100 -

But once I started reading the step by step explanation
of how the makeup was actually applied to the face -
there wasn't much depth or detail -
just very general explanation of HOW they were applied -
so if you read a lot of fashion magazines, you might not be
so impressed with the text portion of the book -
I didn't learn much new techniques from this book -
not too much insight on the nitty-gritty of refining your skills -
(I got those from Rober Jones and Linda Mason later on) -
but the photos are inspiration enough... in most cases.

If you're a beginner in makeup application, the first chapter
of the book does a pretty good job of explaining the basics -
the different textures of makeup available are well photographed,
a range of brow and lip shapes are well presented visually -

but for contouring and learning to use makeup to enhance
your faceshape and eyeshapes - I recommend Robert Jones's book
"Makeup Makeovers".

This is a good book for comprehensive photogrphic sourcebook -
because it has a good collection of Hollywood actresses,
professional models, and also everday people's makeovers with
before and after photos.

Hope some of this helps...

Editorial Review:

A successful makeup artist to the stars presents more of his makeup hints and tricks in an illustrated guide that serves as a follow-up to his previous The Art of Makeup. Reprint. 150,000 first printing. Tour.

Perfumes: The Guide

Luca Turin, Tania Sanchez

Amazon Price: $12.24 List Price: $18.00 Not yet published By: Penguin (Non-Classics)

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> Cosmetics
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 73 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

"The first book of its kind: a definitive guide to the world of perfume Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez are experts in the world of scent. Turin, a renowned scientist, and Sanchez, a longtime perfume critic, have spent years sniffing the world's most elegant and beautiful as well as some truly terrible perfumes. In Perfumes: The Guide, they combine their talents and experience to review more than twelve hundred fragrances, separating the divine from the good from the monumentally awful. Through witty, irreverent, and illuminating prose, the reviews in Perfumes not only provide consumers with an essential guide to shopping for fragrance, but also make for a unique reading experience. Perfumes features introductions to women's and men's fragrances and an informative frequently asked questions section including: What is the difference between eau de toilette and perfume? How long can I keep perfume before it goes bad? What's better: splash bottles or spray atomizers? What are perfumes made of? Should I change my fragrance each season? Perfumes: The Guide is an authoritative, one-of-a-kind book that will do for fragrance what Robert Parker's books have done for wine. Beautifully designed and elegantly illustrated, this book will be the perfect gift for collectors and anyone who's ever had an interest in the fascinating subject of perfume."

Get Positively Beautiful: The Ultimate Guide to Looking and Feeling Gorgeous

Carmindy

Amazon Price: $14.95 List Price: $21.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Center Street Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $11.53

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> Cosmetics
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 6 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

According to a recent study, only 2% of women describe themselves as 'beautiful.' The media instructs women how to 'look ten years younger,''cover up wrinkles,' or 'get fuller, plumper lips.' And even makeup products play off womens' insecurities, promising to conceal perceived flaws, define cheekbones, or make eyelashes fuller and longer. The underlying message? That there's something inherently wrong with the way women look and that they have to spend time, money, and energy keeping up with all the ways they should 'fix' themselves.


In GET POSITIVELY BEAUTIFUL, makeup artist Carmindy from TLC's hit program What Not to Wear shows you how to change your mindset from negative fault-finding to a positive beauty philosphy. You learn how to find and focus on your best features and how to combat negative thoughts about your appearance. Carmindy demonstrates easy makeup techniques for eyes, brows, lashes, lips, cheeks, and skin, and how to adapt looks to different weather conditions and 'beauty moods.'

The 5-Minute Face: The Quick & Easy Makeup Guide for Every Woman

Carmindy

Amazon Price: $14.93 List Price: $21.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Collins Living Amazon Marketplace: 53 new & used starting at $9.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> Cosmetics
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Good beauty advice is hard to come by these days. Women are constantly inundated with products that promise to remove wrinkles, reduce puffiness, highlight cheekbones, hide blemishes, and make them look younger, healthier, tanner, and even thinner–but do these products really work? Are they worth the time, money, and effort? Carmindy, makeup artist on TLC's popular show What Not to Wear, believes that the secret to a great look is to focus on the positive: learn how to enhance your best natural features with sheer washes of color rather than hide under layers of artificial–looking makeup. In The 5–Minute Face, Carmindy shares her beauty philosophy, offering a practical, easy, and always–successful makeup routine that works for all ages and skin types.

The steps for achieving the five–minute face–from smoothing on foundation, to slicking on lip color–are simple. But as Carmindy demonstrates, many women don't know which product is right for their skin tones, or are clueless on how to apply makeup for optimal results. Throughout every chapter, she provides valuable advice on perfecting the makeup technique that is right for your face, including product tips and accompanying "toolbox" sections that describe which tools to use with each type of makeup.

No matter what your age is, or whether you have porcelain skin or rosacea, Carmindy will help you look fabulous. In addition to the 5–minute makeover, she discusses:

•How to Get Brows That Wow: Learn what brow shape best frames your face

•What's Age Got to Do with It?: Tricks and trade secrets that keep every woman looking beautiful, from teens to women fifty and over.

•Beauty Comes in All Colors: Freckles? Blemishes? Carmindy solves the problems that make finding the perfect makeup for your skin tone difficult. Also includes tips on lash dying for those fair lashes, and lash perming for those who want permanently curled lashes.

•The 10–Minute Face: Carmindy shows how to build on the 5–minute face for special occasions. Everything from sexy dates–looking right in all white at your wedding–to the perfect look for a job interview.

Accompanied throughout by Palma Kolansky's beautiful photography, The 5–Minute Face is every woman's guide to enhancing their unique and beautiful features with the perfect makeup routine.

Face Forward

Kevyn Aucoin

Amazon Price: $14.95 List Price: $21.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Little, Brown and Company Amazon Marketplace: 57 new & used starting at $11.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> Cosmetics
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 102 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Photographers point in this review 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

From a photographers point of view, this book is a great addition. In that it gives the photographer and the MUA some ideas of what's possible.. I don't recommend it for new MUA, since it offers no how-to's on how they acheive that look.

Awesome book! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I purchased 5 different books in this category. This was by far the most inclusive. I immediately starting using the techniques and was amazed by the difference. The book is easy to follow. I recommend it to everyone who wants to learn how to put their best Face Forward.

Editorial Review:

The ultimate beauty bookboth gorgeous and practical. Face Forward showcases Kevyn Aucoins incredible transformations of famous and ordinary people alike, and reveals through its step-by-step instructions how makeup can give anyone a variety of different faces. Making Faces has sold 350,000 copies in hardcover and 200,000 copies in paperback to date. Face Forward has already sold more than 250,000 hardcover copies. Kevyn Aucoin is indisputably the best-known makeup artist in North America today.Cher, Calista Flockhart, Jodie Foster, Jewel, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michelle Pfeiffer, Julia Roberts, Diana Ross, Martha Stewart, Christy Turlington, and Vanessa Williams are among the celebrities featured in Face Forward.

Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry

Stacy Malkan

Amazon Price: $10.85 List Price: $15.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: New Society Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 54 new & used starting at $9.00

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Industries & Professions -> General
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Industries & Professions -> General AAS
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> Cosmetics

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Lead in lipstick? 1,4 dioxane in baby soap? Coal tar in shampoo? How is this possible? Simple. The $35 billion cosmetics industry is so powerful they’ve kept themselves unregulated for decades. Not Just a Pretty Face chronicles the quest that led a group of health and environmental activists to the world’s largest cosmetics companies to ask some tough questions:

• Why do companies market themselves as pink ribbon leaders in the fight against breast cancer, yet use hormone-disrupting and carcinogenic chemicals that may contribute to that very disease?
• Why do products used by men and women of childbearing age contain chemicals linked to birth defects and infertility?

As doors slammed in their faces and the beauty myth peeled away, the industry’s toxic secrets began to emerge. This scathing investigation peels away less-than-lovely layers to expose an industry in dire need of an extreme makeover. The good news is that while the major multinational companies fight for their right to use hazardous chemicals, entrepreneurs are developing safer non-toxic technologies and building businesses on the values of health, justice and personal empowerment.

Soapmaker's Companion: A Comprehensive Guide with Recipes, Techniques & Know-How (Natural Body Series - The Natural Way to Enhance Your Life)

Susan Miller Cavitch

Amazon Price: $12.89 List Price: $18.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Storey Publishing, LLC Amazon Marketplace: 83 new & used starting at $4.90

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> Cosmetics
Subjects -> Health, Mind & Body -> Beauty & Fashion -> General AAS
Subjects -> Home & Garden -> Crafts & Hobbies -> Soap Making

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 65 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great Soapmaking Book for Beginners and Experienced Soapmakers 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Soapmakers Companion has been in print for more than ten years now. My copy of this book is worn and stained from many soapmaking sessions. Despite the drift of time and my accumulated knowledge, this is one book that I return to frequently for review of all that pertains to Soapmaking. One of the strong points of this book is that it gets you up and running making soap. The recipes work their way from the relatively simple Soap Essentials Bar comprised of a basic coconut/olive/palm oil mixture to more elaborate recipes such as transparent soap and soap in the round. While Susan Miller Cavitch notes that this book is not that much of a basic book, yet I believe that even if one has never made soap before, this is an excellent book to start with.

Good teacher 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I've been making soap for some time and have enjoyed this book immensely. It has lots of good suggestions and tons of excellent recipes.

Editorial Review:

Basic soapmaking instruction and specialty techniques like marbling, layering, and making transparent and liquid soaps.

The Perfect Scent: A Year Inside the Perfume Industry in Paris and New York

Chandler Burr

Amazon Price: $10.20 List Price: $15.00 Not yet published By: Picador

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Industries & Professions -> General
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Industries & Professions -> General AAS
Subjects -> Business & Investing -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A Fascinating Journey Into The World of Luxury Fragrance 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. It was definitely not a page-turner for me. Rather, I savored it steadily over several weeks. Still, rest assured that this will remain one of my favorite books. By the time I was done with it, I had a huge admiration for both the author and his subjects - both American and French. I attribute this to the skillful writing and crystal-clear honesty of the author. I thought it was wonderful to see discussions end with complete candor when things went "off-record", as well as full disclosure when sensitive topics and "hot" documents were discussed. I admire Burr's journalistic integrity, which is unfortunately an increasingly rare thing these days.

Before reading this book, I was, I will admit, a bit of a Francophobe, with no particular desire to ever set foot there again. Not even finished with the book, my wife and I began planning a family trip there. This is purely a product of the author's sensitive but unforced treatment of his French subjects. As noted in other reviews, he takes pains to provide complete yet flowing translations of French dialogue, which actually makes for a wonderful, engaging read. Many authors would toss out the French with an air of linguistic superiority and force the reader to sink or swim. Instead, Burr clearly wants everybody to get on board the train before it leaves, and it works. Whether it was the author or the editor or both, my hat is off to them.

The book teaches - almost unbeknownst to the reader - an enormous amount about fragrances. As a scientist, I can assure you that he does a marvelous job with the scientific aspects, and that he made even the "old hat" science interesting to me. The history, economics, marketing, and politics of fragrances - about which I know far less - was even more fascinating, and - I have no doubt - just as accurate. And the really neat thing is that he made it so damn interesting. I could almost feel the starched lab coats and smell the test strips, and I wanted to be there.

To my fellow fragranauts (or "fragra-nuts"), I offer this. Before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about the Hermès line of fragrances ("Hermès? The scarf people? You mean, they do fragrances?"). By the time I was done, I was *positive* that I would take a liking to "Terre d'Hermès". Sure enough, when I tested about a dozen newer fragrances in Sephora, I walked out with Terre d'Hermès. If you're a fragrance fetishist like me, this book will talk to you.

Editorial Review:

The Perfect Scent is the thrilling inside story of the global perfume industry, told through two creators working on two very different scents. The first is commissioned by the French luxury brand Hermés, and developed by a perfumer named Jean-Claude Ellena, who begins his search for the scent on the banks of the Nile. The second is a celebrity fragrance, developed in New York by movie star Sarah Jessica Parker and a team of perfumers from a global conglomerate. Chalder Burr, the New York Times's perfume critic, spent a year behind the scenes watching both creators at work. His thrilling narrative follows each scent from the initial concept to the worldwide launch. The Perfect Scent is the story of two daring creators, two very different scents, and a billion-dollar industry that runs on the invisible magic of perfume.