STYLE/BEAUTY

The irony of the French Connection/Free People sample sale currently underway is that the offerings from the named brands are, by far, the sale’s weakest. Sure, Free People is well priced at 70% off and French Connection FCUK tees are $9 or two for $12, but who cares about that when the first racks that greet visitors to the sale are on-trend military wool Miss Sixty coats for $99 and over-the-top sexy black Iakko dresses with leather panels down the front and back. Nearby, bins are filled with perfect hipster plaid button downs by Just a Cheap Shirt ($30 or two for $50) and James Perse-esque Factory People basic tees for $20.

Move in further and it gets even better: here, a silk Kay Celine camisole ($30), there, Jack Rogers driving moccasins of real calf hair ($99). The sale’s crown jewel, however, has to be the massive selection of Milly samples at rock bottom prices. The dresses, at $79, are probably the best bets: we particularly favored a curve-hugging cream knit dress embellished with seashell-esque covered sequins and a coral knit number boasting black and coral beads at the neck and sleeves. Like all Milly, they seem designed to be worn on a cruise in 1968 and are perfect for parties. Fcuk French Connection and Free People: Milly is the reason to check out this sale.

As soon as you enter the MaxMara sample sale, you’re barraged by signs with rules: no photography! No children under 12! Only eight items and two coats may be carried in the showroom! Provided you don’t have authority issues, however, the astounding deals make a visit worthwhile. An effortlessly chic geometric print silk dress is $165, marked down from $550. Sexy, yet ladylike, grey snakeskin open-toed pumps are $133 (from $445). At $358, a show-stopping plum wool coat isn’t cheap, but when you realize it was originally $895, it doesn’t seem so bad. Neither does a simple brown nylon coat with a luxuriously soft fur hood ($1158 from $2895).

This being MaxMara, a brand beloved by elegant women of a certain age, the crowd skews older than it does at, say, a J. Crew clearance. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the Marina Rinaldi section. Pro tip: a black and white geometric silk dress is $178 (from $595) and would be the best holiday present for your mom ever. Come to think of it, the woman who bore you would probably love one of the $49 leather belts as well.
WHEN: 10/18 – 10/22, M-Th (9-6:30), F (9-5)

WHERE: Soiffer Haskin. 317 West 33rd Street (Just west of 8th Avenue)

Fashionistas, beauty fans, makeup artists or makeup addicts; all skincare devotees look to Allure magazine’s annual Best of Beauty awards for expert advice. We like beauty products as much as the next gal. But we know better than to compete with their editors; who experiment with hundreds of beauty products before they come up with their annual list. And now, without further ado:

CLEANSER
	Normal Skin – Aveeno Positively Radiant Makeup Removing Cleanser $6.99 Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS/Pharmacy, Rite Aid, Duane Reade, drugstore.com
	Oily Skin – Origins Zero Oil Deep Pore Cleanser $18.50 Macy’s (macys.com), Dillard’s (dillards.com), Bon Ton (bonton.com); origins.com
	Dry Skin – Olay Professional Pro X Restorative Cream Cleanser $18.99 Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS/Pharmacy, Duane Reade, drugstore
CLEANSING WIPES
	Pond’s Evening Soothe Wet Cleansing Towelettes $4.99 Target, Walgreens, Kmart, drugstore.com
FACIAL MOISTURIZER
	Normal Skin – Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 30 $6.99 Walmart, Ulta, Target, CVS/Pharmacy, Walgreens, Duane Reade; drugstore.com
	Oily Skin – Garnier Nutritioniste Moisture Rescue Refreshing Gel-Cream $7.99 Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS/Pharmacy, drugstore.com
	Dry Skin – Kinerase Restructure Firming Cream $98 Nordstrom (nordstrom.com), Ulta (ulta.com), Sephora (sephora.com); kinerase.com
ANTI-AGING TREATMENT
	Antioxidant – SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Combination Antioxidant Treatment and Phloretin CF Antioxidant Treatment $142 and $152 Blue Mercury (bluemercury.com), Bliss (blissworld.com); skinceuticals.com
	For Wrinkles – RoC Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream $21.99 Target, Walmart, Walgreens, drugstore.com
	For Discoloration – Clinique Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector $49.50 Macy’s (macys.com), Lord & Taylor (lordandtaylor.com), Dillard’s (dillards.com), Nordstrom (nordstrom.com), Bloomingdale’s (bloomingdales.com), Sephora (sephora.com); clinique.com
EYE CREAM
	Dark Circles – Olay Definity Eye Illuminator Illuminating Eye Treatment $25.99 Target, Walmart, Walgreens, CVS/Pharmacy, Duane Reade, drugstore.com
	Anti-wrinkle – Relastin Eye Silk $69 skinstore.com; relastin.com
	Depuffing – Guerlain Super Aqua-Eye Anti-Puffiness Smoothing Eye Patch $115 for a box of six Nordstrom (nordstrom.com), Saks Fifth Avenue (saks.com), Bloomingdale’s (bloomingdales.com), Neiman Marcus (neimanmarcus.com), Bergdorf Goodman (bergdorfgoodman.com)
SCRUB
	Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Gentle Exfoliating Treatment $27.90 CVS/Pharmacy, select Duane Reade stores; laroche-posay.us
PEEL
	Avon Anew Clinical Advanced Retexturizing Peel $25 800-FOR-AVON, avon.com
MASK
	Oily Skin – Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner $45 Sephora (sephora.com); drbrandtskincare.com
	Dry Skin – SK-II Skin Signature 3D Redefining Mask $145 for a box of six select Saks Fifth Avenue stores (saks.com); sk-ii.com
ZIT CREAM
	Proactiv Solution Advanced Blemish Treatment $18 888-819-2019, proactiv.com
ACNE TREATMENT
	Clean & Clear Advantage 2-in-1 Acne & Mark Eraser Kit $24.99 Target, Walmart, Walgreens, drugstore.com

What if you couldn’t see well enough to drive, work, or even recognize your family? We use our sense of sight every waking minute to accomplish all tasks, either simple or complex. For those of us in the developed world who need corrective lenses, they are readily available. Imagine if they were not. 

Did you know there are more than one billion people globally who cannot see clearly because they do not have access to corrective eyeglasses? This lack of eye care causes a loss in quality of life, employment prospects, productivity and general health. Lack of trained optometric personnel and the cost of eyeglasses to those living in poverty aggravates this problem. (Mali has one optician for every 8 million people).

Indivijual Custom Eyewear, with their Buy One, Give One campaign, is doing its bit for the Global Vision 2020 project. Starting now, for every custom frame a customer purchases, Indivijual will donate a new pair of adjustable prescription eyeglasses to a person in need of corrective glasses in the developing world. These self-adjustable eyeglasses allow users to correct their own vision. It’s a gift Indivijual is proud to offer, a gift that ONE BILLION people deserve.

World Sight Day is on October 14, 2010