In Brazil, there is a love for warm, bold color.  It’s so inspiring! We should all be extroverted in our desire for it.  As the summer heats up, this is your perfect excuse to try on a sexy, sizzling shade. Try a hot orange mani or pedi – it’s less of a commitment than a bright orange dress, I think, and a whole lot more fun! 

Curious to see what you think – are you more likely to experiment with a bold new color on your hands?  Or on your toes?  Most women I know are more daring with their manicures than pedicures.  How will you wear summer’s latest shades?

Love,

All over the world, millions of children are at risk for disease and infection because their families can’t afford the cost of proper footwear.  It is more than sad; it’s dangerous AND totally preventable. So I’m taking a stand. 

On April 5^th, essie is teaming up with TOMS Shoes to support One Day Without Shoes, a movement to raise awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child’s life. Thanks to TOMS, more than one million pairs of shoes have been donated to children in need so far. That’s what I call a pedi-cure! 

For my part, I donated 5,000 FREE bottles of essie “One Day Without Blues” nail polish to the first participants to sign up and support the cause.  Guess what?  All 5,000 bottles of polish were gone within ONE hour! 

We hope you’ll support the cause, too.  You can sign up for One Day Without Shoes on TOMS.com, or on Facebook (www.facebook.com/essie or www.facebook.com/toms). It’s an exciting and inspiring project, and together on April 5^th, let’s all go barefoot so kids don’t have to. 

For more information, please visit TOMS.com.

Love,

The French Affair collection is a new spin on neutral – with opaque coverage in spring shades unlike the sheers seen in the past. Very clean and bright pastel color sets a new tone for the season: optimistic and fun. In six shades of fresh, pretty and classically feminine, your own personal spring fling is now at your fingertips.

French Affair – très innocent pink
Coat Azure – flirty, shimmery Parisian blue
Sand Tropez – sun-kissed, tan de soleil
Topless & Barefoot – coquettish peach at the beach
Kisses & Bises – swoon-worthy iridescent
Nice is Nice – supremely happy spring wisteria

Love,

I was thrilled to see that French Vogue created a gloriously lavish masquerade ball in Paris to celebrate their 90th anniversary last month. This photo epitomizes everything I had in mind when I created Masquerade Belle. From the left is Astrid Munoz, Nathalia Vodianova, Riccardo Tisci and Mariacarla Boscono looking absolutely divine at the event.

But be warned, the colors of my Winter Collection are not for the feint of heart. They are strident, striking and for the woman who loves to be the center of attention, but always leaves something to the imagination. She follows her own path and seeks the approval of no one but herself. Is that you? Listening to my own voice has been key to my success and I hope women are inspired to do the same when they put on these fabulous new colors!

What’s your favorite?

Love,

As I reviewed the collections from Paris, it really dawned on me that we have seen the last of the super-short mini for a while. At least on the runways. All over the world, designers were showing longer skirts and dresses, bright, bold colors and looks that were very menswear-driven. Everywhere there were high-waisted pants with billowing shirts, oversized blazers – and absolutely everything was belted. The look brought me back to the 1990s, but the colors were much brighter and prettier. The 1990s were so drab.

What do you think of the longer hemlines? Are you there yet, or are you still loving your miniskirts? Do tell!

Love,

It’s such an honor to be recognized. I think it’s particularly surprising because often the award goes to a new color. It’s so validating when a color transcends trends and becomes a “classic.” I’m blessed to have a few in my repertoire that have stood the test of time, and it makes me enormously proud. I think I’ll go get a celebratory mani/pedi!

Love,

To get your drop-dead-gorgeous on, visit:

http://www.theaddamsfamilymusicalstore.com/souvenirs/
https://www.store.actorsfund.org/merchandise_list.asp

Love,

My new fall collection is out, which was so inspired by the exquisite tailoring, offbeat colors and richly textured fabrics of the season…  Little Brown Dress, Sew Psyched, Velvet Voyeur and Merino Cool are my current favorites, but I am so proud of every color, which promises to be one of my best-selling collections of all time!  I was thrilled to see Lady Gaga wearing Merino Cool to the VMAs, where she took home 7 awards. That color is so wearable and classic, yet still very fashion forward and sexy. Whether or not you’re gaga for Gaga, you must admit, she is an icon of style. And I love to see women of style wearing my colors.

Of course, fall in the city is about more than the shows – there’s an energy and sense of freshness and anticipation that doesn’t exist at any other time of year. In summer, I take stock of my life and think about how I want to live – similar to a New Year’s resolution. So, I’ve decided this year, to try and hold onto the carefree days of summer, and try to remain as stress-free as possible. I know stressful moments are inevitable, but I’m going to do everything possible to not let stress get the better of me, because it doesn’t help anything! I’m curious, do you make resolutions after summer vacation? If so, I’d love to hear what they are!

Love,

Here are some of the highlights…

Yes, that’s me in the back under the hat. It’s wintertime in South Africa and we had to bundle up to keep warm. But well worth it; traveling in an open-top jeep brought us that much closer to everything.

This queen of the savannah is a beauty and a beast. Coming face to face with such a powerful predator made me very aware of my place in the food chain!

Strength in numbers. Zebras always stand two by two, as their stripes blend them together so they appear more formidable, warding off potential predators.

It was heaven! We saw so much in such a short time. It has taken us weeks to process it all and we will treasure our memories for a lifetime.  I couldn’t recommend South Africa more – the guides were tremendously educating, the people incredibly warm and the hotel amenities lacked for nothing. That is, with the blessed exception of TV. (But wouldn’t you know I had better cell reception on safari than at my beach house?)

Ngiyabonga, thank you, South Africa!

Love,

[Soccer City Stadium in South Africa]

In addition to the World Cup events, we also spent time with friends.  We had a delicious meal at our friends Jan and Ian’s house.  They served a mouth-watering rack of lamb and I was delighted to be able to contribute my favorite bruschetta recipe – divine!

South Africa is simply the best.  If you ever have occasion to travel there – make it happen!

Everyone is so generous and loving there and it is spectacularly beautiful.

I will be back soon with more updates from our trip.  Wait until you see the pictures from our very first Safari!

Love,