Back in Black!

Hola chicas,
I'm back!! I'm so, so sorry I was away for so long...I missed you terribly. If I could've written sooner, I would've--but I could barely speak, walk across the room, or apply lipgloss, let alone write a single word (fabulous for my July 1st IT CHICKS Book 2 deadline, by the way). But a brief stint at the hospital—and a highly concentrated narcotics IV—helped me tremendously. Just in time, by the way, because my publisher, Hyperion, threw a fabulous book party last night for their top teen books of the summer--including my IT CHICKS, Melissa de la Cruz's MASQUERADE, Melissa Kantor's THE BREAKUP BIBLE, and Randi Reisfeld's STARLET! The fiesta was at Caravan, a sexy boutique in the Village. And they did the cutest thing! Caravan decked out four mannequins in ensembles inspired by each of our books...and there I am, hamming it up by my IT CHICKS mannequin. I'm wearing a bucket of concealer under my eyes, can you tell?

So, while I was away, beauty brands were debuting some truly innovative, ground-breaking stuff. Before I got into my product roundup, I just had to share with you these how-did-I-live-without-them inventions. Try to contain yourself.

1.) For all of you who've asked me where to find a Dominican hair salon in your area, some hair-oriented genius has just debuted the Dominican Hair Salon Directory! Just enter in your city, and the search will find a salon in your area. Life-changing blow outs for everyone!

2.) My sister Devon (aka Brownie), has thin, super-fine hair, and the usual mild relaxers always leave her hair totally flat, lifeless, and blaahh. Well, Soft Sheen Carson has just debuted their Optimum Care Bodifying Relaxer ($8.70)! It's the very first of its kind--a relaxer for fine curly hair that straightens without destroying body or volume. Cool, right?

3.) This I loove. Bourjois Fresh Kiss Minty Lipgloss ($15.50), already a favorite of SJP, Gwyneth and Cameron, is a ground-breaking sheer gloss packed with fresh mint and menthol. Not only is it tingly-good on your lips, it actually refreshes your breath! A fabulous antidote to Altoids, I'm so into keeping this in my party clutch for touch-ups.

And now, onto what's inspiring me at the moment--the warm weather! Oh, thank God it's finally hot outside! And in honor of the new season, I've rounded up a bunch of my favorite summery products. Even if it's still chilly where you are, this stuff will get you feeling all backyard-BBQ-and-sandy-bikini-bottoms in no time.

Big, everlasting love,
Tia



PS...check out me out in the latest issues of CosmoGirl (a story I wrote about my first go-see, when I was a teen model, groan) and Vibe Vixen (a sidebar about "Beauty Mavens")!


TIA'S TOP FIVE SUMMERTIME ESSENTIALS

EYES: Pop Beauty Lid Bronzer, $22
Omigod. Girls. If you only buy one product this summer, Pop's obscenely genius shadow palette is IT. I can't rave enough. Okay, you know how I always say that bronzey-golds are the most flattering shades for brown skin--especially on our eyes? This pallette is a bronzey-gold EXTRAVAGANZA. It has six sunny metallic shades--from deep, copper-flecked cocoa to pearly champagne--and it's everything you need for a super-sexy summer eye. Here's how I do it: Dust shade #3 all over the lid, apply shade #1 in the crease, and sweep #6 on the browbone.


SKIN: Hard Candy SoCal Glow Body Bronzer, $22.50
I recently gifted my cousin Camille with a delicious bronzer and she was a tad confused. "But I'm ALREADY bronze!" she exclaimed. Many of my SYB Babes have also expressed concerns about brown girls wearing bronzer, to which I happily respond...ladies, bronzer looks BEST on us! I love SoCal Glow for three reasons: 1.) It's absolutely enormous and will last forever, 2.) It has a deliciously beachy coconut scent, and 3.) It's talc-free and blended with moisturizers (jojoba & vitamin E), so it won't make you ashy or dry like other powders. Take a big, fluffy brush and lightly sweep it allover--your face, shoulders, legs, arms, everywhere--for a beachy, subtly shimmery glow. I wore it on my face and legs at the party, and folks thought I'd just returned from vacay. Mission accomplished.


SCENT: Majenty Perfume Oil in Hidden Cove, $48
I was running incredibly late to the party last night, so I skipped the whole perfume thing. Now, I grew up with a mom with a signature scent (Poison of course...it was the Eighties), and I think smelling delectable is a very sexy thing. So, I was understandably annoyed last night, after running late to the party and skipping my perfume step. Good thing Caravan had a shelf full of Majenty Perfume Oils. Now, I'd heard of these hand-blended oils in celebrity magazines (poor, coked-out Lindsay Lohan is a fan, as well as Alma Award-performing Beyonce), but I'd never tried them, myself. I randomly picked the Hidden Cove scent, rubbed it on my wrists and the back of my neck (great for perfume, if you didn't know), and fell deeply in love. Holy S&^t. Blended with water lillies, coconut and a cornucopia of Far Eastern flowers, this stuff is Hawaii, bottled. And this morning, as I sit here writing in my bed, I STILL smell it faintly in my hair...and I'm in heaven.


NAILS: Creative Nail Design Polish in Passionfruit Poppy #404, $3
You all know I've been kind of sick for a minute, right? Well, during my entire migraine episode I was rocking this hot-stuff, electric-fuschia shade on my toes. And every time I looked down, my sexy, fruit-punch pedicure managed to brightened my psyche! Girls, this shade is so damn happy, I'd recommend it to Paris Hilton during her incarceration if I cared even the slightest bit about her.
PS: Don't have the time or extra funds for a salon pedicure? Try Olay Thermal Pedicure Foot Treatment, $9.99 Thermal Pedicure Foot Treatment--just add water, and this exfoliating treatment actually heats up! Use it every day for a week, and your feet will be transformed, I swear. No more rough, flaky skin or strappy-sandal calluses!


YOUR HOME: Tocca Candle in Tahiti, $36
Sometime around the end of February, I got dead-tired of winter. And so I want to Miami, and immediately fell in love with a candle that was burning in a boutique on South Beach. The scent should've been called Endless Summer. Oh, it was SO I'm-running-in-slow-motion-across-a-white-sanded-beach-in-my-Custo-Barcelona-bikini-and-sea-salt-tousled-hair. This magic candle was Tocca Tahiti, it's a totally tropical blend of tiare flower and coconut, and my home has smelled like Barbados for months. Love!