Harvey's Blog

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Harvey’s List: Check Out This Fab Cruelty-Free “Fur” Find Totally luxe... and totally faux!

Hi Girls! Lots of current tweets and texts about your hunt for fashion finds are including the subject of FUR and the luxe accessories you’re seeing on the runway. SHOULD I OR SHOULDN’T I? So many conflicted feelings … Loving the look and warmth of fur vs. the cruelty against animals just for the sake of fashion? Faux fur has been around for a while but so many complaints about the quality, look and feel of faux fur has stopped you in your tracks.

No worries! As always, when I’m on the hunt I reach out to my fashion network for the latest and greatest.For this matter I went right to the top. A quick call to my friend Susan J Ashbrook, author of Will Work For Shoes and super fashionista who’s credited for virtually creating the Red Carpet moments that we know today, of course had the answer.

Susan quickly said “Imposter4animals.com. And Harvey, before I go any further, let me say that Sarah Jessica Parker, Angie Harmon, Carrie Underwood, Emmy Rossum, and Olivia Palermo love this brand.”

Of course I immediately replied: “You had me at SJP. I’m in!”

Here’s the scoop: The Imposter signature collection is wildlife inspired and endorsed by The Humane Society. Crafted from Tissavel Faux Fur, globally recognized as the creme de la creme of faux, it’s available at two of my favorite shopping haunts: Norsdstrom, and if you’re a total boutique girl, take a look at Henri Bendel NYC. Love it!

Check out just a couple of their delicious looks:

imposter-vest

Faux Fur Vest in “Raccoon” (on sale for $119.95)

imposter-snow-leopard

Faux “Snow Leopard” Chubby jacket (on sale for $129)

Thanks to Susan for helping us be chic, warm and cruelty-free. I’m sure that some of you have already put it on your Santa’s wish list!

Lastly girls, on another subject: Can you respond with comments about which beauty devices you love? Also any experiences you’ve had and the results you discovered? This junkie is doing an experiment and I need my girls!

xo,

Harvey

Summer Goddess Gorgeousness Cosmetics to complement your summer tan.

Okay girls we’re almost there! Just seconds from being able to lay by the pool protected and sunkissed! In my last two columns, I explained to you which were the best SPF’s, newest bronzers, and summer cover ups. Now it’s time for the summer icing on the cake! Color!

As your Cyber main gay, I know you have bathroom drawer and a few cosmetic bags full of color. So what! Add something new to lift your spirits. It’s not like I’m asking you to buy a $3500 Chanel suit. Not yet at least. If I do though, I’ll find you the best deal on it! If I’m your main gay, or you’re one of my clients, please keep using what I’ve prescribed. If you’re ready for an update or just bored, call me. Or click away here and we’ll come up with something fab!

Here are Harvey’s summer color picks! Some are new and some are tried and true:

Cheeks

First let me say that bronzer is not blush. Bronzer is great for a sun kissed glow without damage from the sun. You still need blush for that popped, refreshed look! My favorite is still the award winning

Hall of Fame sheer blush NARS Orgasm ($27, sephora.com). Yes it does make you look like you, well, you’re flushed from excitement. It’s totally natural on every complexion!

Read Sun-Kissed Summer: Sunblock and Bronzers for a Gorgeous, Safe Glow

Lips

Here are two! My favorite standards by Dior! Both plump! One with color and one that’s clear, for the most un-makeuppy look ever.

Dior Addict Lip-Polish in Fresh Expert ($30, sephora.com)

Dior Lip Maximizer ($30, dior.com)

Eyes

For the sheerest natural sun shimmered eyes, Dior wins again! I’m normally a big Bobbi Brown or Chanel freak, but Dior wins this summer! Dior’s Cannage quad ($62, neimanmarcus.com) of sheer pink, peach and taupe naturals is mistake proof and simply dazzling! You’ll be addicted!

The last is a doctor product only available by prescription! Longer lashes? Latisse Solution. It really works. I and some of my clients use it. We can’t believe the results. Call your Med-Spa or Dermatologist imediately!

Alright my lovelies, now we can relax! I’m thinking St Barts? What about you?

Summer Kisses!

Harvey

A Beauty Junkie Ponders Global Warming

The other day while I was inventorying my beauty

warehouse — otherwise known as my bathroom — I started looking at ingredient listings on the back of some skin care boxes. Please make sure you always check those out before you buy any product! It lets you know what you’re getting. Today there is a huge trend in the beauty industry toward more natural and organic ingredients. Not just your free-range chicken breast for lunch girls, but your night cream too! Lavender? Soothing. Ginseng? Energizing. Kaolin? Purifying. There’s a gazillion! All from good ol’ Mother Earth. As I was applying a delicious chamomile body cream, I had a big, gay, horrific beauty vision. Could Global Warming hurt our skin care products?

OMG!!!!! I ran to my iPhone and Googled Al Gore, who was awarded the triple crown for his global warming movie An Inconvenient Truth — Oscar, Nobel and Grammy! Up came this video:

Danger Gay Robinson! I better get to the bottom of this! As your Cyber Main Gay, I went straight to the top! Ladies, meet Ken Caldeira! Climate Scientist, Geoengineer and Director of the Department of Global Ecology at the famed Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University

I was a little nervous meeting Ken because science was NOT my best subject in school. Okay girls it was the worst. Was Ken thinking, “What am I doing at lunch with this beauty queen?” No! It was the total opposite! His charm and down to earth personality put me right at ease. He has a great sense of humor and life philosophy.

He said, “Happiness is feeling appreciated by friends and doing work

that is meaningful. “

You should also know that Ken walks the global warming talk! He personally lives the green life! Ken believes that great design is an important in lowering greenhouse gas emissions. I found this out when we went to lunch on his Vespa LX 150. He gave me a really fabulous helmet so I wouldn’t have any hair drama! His Stanford office

is cooled by a misty water chamber rather than air conditioning. Impressive. In his mind he wears two hats: The Citizen who asks, “What should I do?” And the Scientist that asks, “How does it work?” As I was sipping my Diet Coke pondering what my first question would be, Ken said, “Harvey, like it or not, a climate emergency is a possibility. Climate change triggered by the accumulation of green house gasses (carbon dioxide or CO2) emitted into the atmosphere has the potential of causing serious and lasting damage to human and natural systems. Carbon dioxide is a villain insofar as an inanimate object can be a villain.

Yes girls, I flash back to science class! HELP! Ken said, “Don’t worry Harvey! Here’s global warming 101: Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth’s surface, air, and oceans. Green House gasses are gasses in the Earth’s atmosphere that collect heat and light from the sun. With too many GHG’s in the air, the Earth’s atmosphere will trap too much heat and the Earth will get too hot. This increase in global temperature could cause sea levels to rise and change the amount and patterns of precipitation. Other likely effects could include extreme weather conditions, species extinction and changes in agriculture.”

I was speechless! What can we do to help Ken?

Ken looked at me and smiled. “As a Citizen and Scientist I think it’s about social responsibility. Not through self denial but through better design. While scientists and geoengineers are working on better designs for solar, wind energy and planetary management , our citizens can help by simply recycling and perhaps driving less. Change a light bulb. Plant a tree. Harvey you do need agriculture for beauty!”

Ken’s right! Well that sounds easy enough. I guess if each person cared we could make a difference one person at a time. Here is a link to Ken to find out more.

With the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan I think that the most important thing on the earth, other than the actual planet, are the global citizens that inhabit it. In an instant their lives were changed forever. Here are two links to find out other ways to assist those in need:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/articles/pray_for_japan/

and http://www.disasterfunding.org/DisasterFunding.org.html

Also if you’re a person who prays, a little bit of love goes a long way.

Monday, April 14, 2014

The Glammy Awards at Bloomingdales in San Francisco

What a fabulous event! Carolyne Zinko fron the San Francisco Chronicle summed it up best! "Two of the Bay Area’s sassiest pop culture and fashion observers — Emmy award-winning movie critic Jan Wahl, and beauty expert and author Harvey Helms — will co-host a talk about Hollywood beauty secrets on March 15 at Bloomingdale’s San Francisco, an event they’re calling the “Glammy Awards.”
The two will dish on Oscar glamour dos and don’ts, and discuss their favorite makeup tricks and brands. Helms, former national director of beauty for Revlon, also worked for Donna Karan Beauty and Luxottica eyewear. His self-published book “Blush: The Unbelievably Absurd Diary of a Gay Beauty Junkie,” is best described as “The Devil Wore Prada” of the cosmetics world. (Did we mention he’s related to the late conservative Senator Jesse Helms? Don’t even get him started on that.)

Sounds like this could be a Bay Area version of TV’s “Fashion Police.” Not a bad way to spend a Saturday." Thanks Carolyne! Everyone enjoyed cocktails, the latest Hollywood dish and beauty treats galore. Loved working with Jan Wahl! Want a repeat performance soon!

xo

Harvey

Where can a straight married woman find a gay boyfriend?

Husbands are great. But, a married gal living south of San Francisco needs a man to supplement her husband's efforts. She needs someone who can take on some of the tasks her husband really doesn't want, such as talking about reality TV, building strategies for spring and fall wardrobes and working out lingering body image issues.

The perfect man for this job is a gay boyfriend. He is the ideal person to give you the honest feedback on your denim, hair color and who is actually crazier, you or your mother. Once you have been married for five or more years, your husband is no longer willing or able to be objective. You need a third party to get honest feedback and your girlfriends are sometimes unable to be truly honest.

If you live in San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York, finding a gay boyfriend is a non-issue. But, here in the Silicon Valley, we have a surplus of engineers and programmers and few available gay boyfriends. There are no potential gay boyfriends at Trader Joe's, Little League games or the downtown Starbucks. If they are here, potential gay boyfriends are clearly not on the regular "mom" routes.

Limited by our peninsula location, children's schedules and desire not to look too desperate for homosexual attention, avenues for attracting a gay boyfriends are pretty limited. Craig's List, Facebook and email lists are exceptional for most situations but may not be efficient for finding a gay boyfriend for a suburban wife and mother. Referrals, word-of-mouth and co-workers are probably the only appropriate means to meeting your gay boyfriend. To date, these methods have not been successful.

It is possible that gay boyfriends are hard to find because they do not see a lot of upside potential in pairing with a suburban mom. What does the suburban wife offer him that he doesn't already have? If we had something they wanted, they would be looking for us too and we would certainly find each other. Maybe he could be enticed with housewife gossip or bribed with invitations to school fundraisers? Let's hope so.

If you liked this article, please click on "subscribe" above to receive email alerts when new articles become available.