If only Pamela Anderson had discovered the new SENSAI Platinum Edition Coffret Gift Set, before she let her platinum addiction drive her into bankruptcy. The new luxury gift set out just in time for the holidays offers for the first time ever, platinum, in a soft pearl powder and highlighting platinum body lotion. If that sounds decadent to you, it is. Forget the latest diamond cremes, platinum is the new luxury ingredient, straight from the renowned Japanese beauty line, which counts Scarlett Johansson and Jennifer Aniston as fans. The Platinum Gift Set, which includes the powder, flawless brush, and body lotion packaged in a velvet clutch is available exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman, and retails for $80. It's literally all you need to take to any party this season. But use sparingly. A brush of powder is all you need to make your whole face glow.

StriVectin has a line of age-defying products which are being hailed all over the internet as miraculous for stretch marks and wrinkles. It's recently been picked up by Chrysallis, the management team who brought the Canyon Ranch products to fame.

The highly lauded StriVectin-SD is $135 for a six ounce tube and is intended to be applied two to three times daily to "improve the appearance of indented surfaces, smooth surfaces, skin firmness, and irregularities in skin discoloration." There's a full money-back guarantee, and it boasts "significant, corroborated results seen by 93% of subjects tested."

That sounds pretty darn good to me. I don't have stretch marks (yet), so I can't fully "corroborate," but I did indeed try smoothing it all over my legs for a few days. It smells nice; somewhat pepperminty, and once my skin absorbed it, it felt very warm -- apparently this is normal. And here's some good news: while I don't have stretch marks, I do have my share of skin irregularities, especially scarring from rashes that food allergies give me. Did I see improvement? Yes! And far more improvement than with any other lotion I've used. Looks like they might be onto something ... I found other consumers (we hope) in online forums reporting the same issue with the improvement of scars. Also, a number claimed to be using it on their face with good results -- but it is such a thick formula, my oily skin would probably explode if I tried it. That's right. Explode. If you have dry skin, go for it -- the rep who sent it to me for review called it "a stretch mark turned wrinkle cream."

La Prairie's Skin Caviar Crystalline Concentrate isn't the most expensive product the company has ever launched (after all, last fall saw the launch of a $1,000 moisturizer) but it does give your skin an added shimmer through the addition of diamond, mica and quartz crystals. The nutrient rich serum promises to firm and plump with amino acids, plant extracts, peptides and caviar extracts as well as La Prairie's exclusive Cellular Complex. The serum sells for $375. They say that skincare is recession-proof but this is stretching it.

[via Vogue UK]

We all have to be clean and we all want skin that is healthy, soft and radiant. And while there may be little that is exciting or luxurious about skin care, the store opening of Dermalogica in NYC's SoHo is one that instantly grabbed my attention. With their only other US location being in Los Angeles, CA, it was long overdue for the east coast to get its very own store. Located on 110 Grant St, its beautifully designed and roomy interior makes it inviting to enter while a licensed skin therapist will get you started on learning how to care for your skin through personalized five minute skin exams. For a more intimate and in-depth look on your skin, there is a 20 minute skin care service and hour long treatments, try the Skin Pod. This is a private small space to get skin care treatments with customized lighting and music to set the mood you need to relax and feel rejuvenated.

The cosmetics and skincare industry is supposed to be one of the safe spots in a down economy but that doesn't seem to be true any longer. Estee Lauder recently announced a four-year turnaround plan that will result in a six percent reduction in its work force and a freeze on merit pay increases. A total of 2,000 jobs will be cut over the next two years and a hiring freeze is in place. The news comes as Estee Lauder reported a fourth quarter net income that fell 30% to $158 million, or 80 cents a share, from $224.4 million, or $1.14 a share, a year earlier. During the most recent quarter ending December 31, sales of Estee Lauder's makeup brands, which also include Clinique and MAC fell 12 percent while sales of skin-care products fell 7.1 percent.

Pictured above are Hilary Rhoda, Gwyneth Paltrow, Elizabeth Hurley and Carolyn Murphy at the worldwide debut of the new Estee Lauder fragrance 'Sensuous' at Bloomingdale's in New York City last summer.

Can your bedding make you look better? London Luxury thinks so and they've got the pictures to prove it. Their SkinGlow bedding collection is infused with Cupron copper technology to smooth and reduce the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, crow's feet and other skin imperfections within four weeks of use. Copper ions woven into the fabric are activated by body moisture and the ions last for the lifetime of the fabric. The pillows, pillow covers and comforters range in price from $19.99 to $249.99.

One reason that cosmetics and skincare brands tend to thrive even in difficult times is that smart people know that your face is forever. Today we are offering a little help to your budget and your face with a giveaway from Y.E.S. Young Essential Skincare. The Y.E.S. products are formulated to help reduce the signs of aging.

The Anti-Aging Serum and Rejuvenating Moisture Cream are called the Dynamic Duo. They use Y.E.S.'s exclusive CP24-Complex™ which is clinically proven to increase cellular proliferation by 250% in 24 hours. The serum boosts collagen, stimulates cell renewal and reduces the appearance of lines and wrinkles while the moisture cream provides hydration and toning. The products work with all skin types.

We are giving away one set of the Dynamic Duo to one commenter chosen at random. To enter the contest leave a comment below with your favorite winter beauty tip.
Some other important details:

* To enter, leave a confirmed comment below.
* The comment must be left and confirmed before Friday, October 31, 2008 at 5:00PM Eastern Time.
* You may only enter once.
* One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
* One winner will receive the Y.E.S. Skincare Dynamic Duo valued at $98.
* Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.

See complete contest rules here.

This contest has closed. Thank you for your participation.

La Prairie, the luxe skincare company that's made addicts of many a wrinkle-averse lady who lunches, has introduced its latest jar of alchemy-promising cream: Cellular Cream Platinum Rare, which retails for $1,000. The cream purportedly adjusts to heat and humidity to maintain perfect moisture levels and will fight aging harder than Muhammad Ali.

The brand is relying on word of mouth instead of traditional advertising to inspire purchase, a marketing ploy which may backfire among those who are loathe to disclose such an extravagance amidst the economic crisis.

Available at all the usual suspects (Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman's, Saks, Holt Renfrew) or at laprairie.com.

Based in Texas Renée Rouleau is an aesthetician with a passion for skin care. At her salon she offers a variety of services including facials for everything from general cleansing to detox to anti-aging. Her top-of-the-line Synergy 7 facial is especially noteworthy, however, as it tops the price chart with a whopping $600 price tag.

The Synergy 7 facial gets its name from the 7 treatments that are combined into one to make for a truly luxurious and cutting edge two hour anti-aging experience that focuses on deep cleansing, resurfacing, Vitamin C infusion, lifting & firming, repairing & hydrating, oxygen infusion and calming & protecting. The end result? Renée Rouleau promises "your healthiest skin ever."

Via ForbesLife

These products are a triple play -- almost 100% organic, luxurious, and free of animal testing/ingredients tested on animals. Using the tagline "Beautify Not Toxify," Luxe Essentials is a simple line with just three categories: body butter ($10 - $30), bath salts ($37), and bath and body oils ($20). Oh wait, two gift baskets are offered -- lavender and lemongrass ($55). I love lavender, just in case you're thinking of sending me one of these. Hey, I'm just saying, if you need an idea. Anyway ...

Luxe Essentials' founder, Nydia Norville, is based in NYC. Read more about her and the line on her MySpace page or her blog, which has some beauty tips to try at home.

Bonuses: The main site accepts PayPal and is affiliated with the Indie Collective.

A new pricey skin cream, Amatokin, is coming to the U.S. and making those who are always on the prowl for the next great anti-aging treatment reach for their wallets. The product is on sale at Bloomingdales for $173 for a one month supply. That's far from the kits we have seen that sell for several thousand dollars but certainly expensive enough to make me wonder what it is made of. So what's the secret? The product uses stem-cell technology harnessing the regenerative potential of your own facial stem cells. The product is being marketed by the same people who marketed StriVectin which explains the rather basic packaging. A recent article in the Daily Mail reports that a woman tested it out for French Elle and was quite pleased with the results.

The latest skin care treatment uses water and electricity to create better skin. The new trend in facials is the ultrasonic wet dermabrasion treatment using the Dermasound machine. The treatment is a three-stage system that uses low frequency sound waves to perform aesthetic services. The skin is cleansed with antioxidant-rich Glymed products, exfoliated and then moisturized. Dead skin cells are removed with ultrasonic water then ultrasound is used to push anti-aging and anti-inflammatory vitamins deep into the skin and then microcurrent therapy is applied to recharge and balance skin. Facials using Dermasound are available in spas around North America and generally cost around $100 for a one-hour treatment. The treatment is supposed to help with both acne and aging.

[via The Vancouver Sun]

I adore the fragrances of Annick Goutal (especially Eau d'Hadrien) and so I am intrigued by their skin care line. The Creme Splendide is the first day cream to incorporate active rose sap. It also has vitamins A, E, C and B5, calcium and magnesium, to moisturize and boost radiance. The cream leaves behind a subtle scent of roses and the greener scent of rose sap. It also comes in a Genereuse formula which contains Mimosa Tenuiflora, macademia and jojoba oil and is designed for sensitive and dry skin. Both sell for $140 each at Barney's along with other products in this line.

A few days ago Nicole mentioned that La Prairie has a new gold product. It turns out that Christian Dior is also going gold with their new high-end skincare line, L'Or de Vie. The new golden product doesn't get its power from metal. The new formula includes another precious treasure, Chateau dYquem, or at least the vine of the grapes. The new formula is made with the sap that runs through the vine shoots of the sauvignon grade. Dior says they have extracted anti-oxidizing and regenerating properties from the sap. L'Or de Vie La Crème will sell for $320 for 1.7 oz., and L'Or de Vie L'Extrait, $350 will sell for 1 oz. The anti-aging line will show up in Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus department stores in December.

Walgreens is introducing a whole new concept to its stores, and all US drugstores, with its European Beauty Collection. The collection is a group of upscale beauty and cosmetic products from seven European companies that have not yet been introduced to the US market and will be available exclusively at Walgreens through at least 2007. The brands include: 

• Institut Arnaud Paris, a French face and body care line that is very popular in spas.
• Skincode Switzerland, a range of herb, plant, vitamin, and other "natural" items, developed with The University Hospital in Zurich.
• Spa Aquatique, a marine-based French spa collection
• Red Water, a Greece line that includes native Greek herbs, oils and waters.
• La Fleur Organic, an organic line from Provence, France.
• Art Deco,  the number-one selling skin care/cosmetic brand in German department stores.

By introducing these masstige products (mass + prestige), Walgreens is hoping to target customers who don't ordinarily shop for cosmetics and beauty care products at their store, customers who ordinarily pass up the "mass" products, as well as appeal to buyers who are interested in using a more specialized or exotic product.

For the potential customer, especially one who is already interested in luxury or specialty brands, the most appealing part of the European collection (EBC) is that some of these products sell for more than $100 in Europe, while Walgreens will have them priced from $13-$60, with an average of $27.

The Walgreens EBC will debut in October.