We love Susan Boyle — not only for her talent, but because she looked frumpy and scruffy and ruddy and said she didn’t care how she looked and neither should anyone else.  That was great, and empowering to those who aren’t obsessed with plucking and brushing and coloring and staining and dieting and on and on.

Of course, it couldn’t last. The woman behind the beautiful voice that rocked the world on Britain’s Got Talent has had a makeover. We knew it couldn’t last. An instant-celeb like Susan couldn’t stay as she was. Someone had to convince her to change.

At least she didn’t go for the all-out makeover, just a bit of spiffing up: a haircut, a weed-whacker taken to those bushy brows.

Now, with today’s release of the paperback version of Charla Krupp’s best-seller, How Not to Look Old, we are reminded of our universal fear of aging. In other countries, elders are revered. Here, we want them to hide, or go to great lengths to stay blonde, tweezed, thin and frozen at some earlier age. Maybe 39. (more…)

TRIA Beauty, the maker of an use-at-home laser-hair remover (be still our beating hearts), is making a splash with their Summer-Ready Sweepstakes, along with celebrity swimsuit designer Ashley Paige. If you win, you can ring in bikini season with a fab custom-made Ashley Paige swimsuit and a TRIA.

OK, we are just lusting to try this device. If it’s really an effective replacement for shaving and plucking and waxing and cutting and cursing, well, we are so there. Even though it costs $795 (but that’s down from $995), that honestly does not sound overpriced if it can really deliver.

And with swimsuit season looming, now is the time to remove every errant hair on your bod.

The sweepstakes will run through June, and the Ashley Paige swimsuit, worth $1,000 (and a TRIA laser). Enter and you could also win a suit from Paige’s current collection, worth $800, along with that laser.

Consumers can visit www.triabeauty.com for exclusive summer style tips and advice from Ashley Paige.

The French are different in so many ways. They aren’t afraid to put beautiful women on a fashion magazine cover without any makeup. And guess what? They’re still beautiful.

While most fashion mags digitally nip, tuck, enhance and minimize every cover girl until she look like a surreal impersonation of flawless beauty, French Elle knows that Photoshop doesn’t make a pretty woman pretty.

The April issue features supermodel Eva Herzigova (above), fashion (more…)

* Uma Thurman, she of the ultra-violent Kill Bill flicks, will be playing it nice as the new face to represent Parfums Givenchy. The campaign will surround the launch of a new fragrance in September, according to WWD. Other famous Givenchy faces have included Justin Timberlake and Liv Tyler. (Photo from People.com)

* The Beauty Resource beauty blog from Britain tells us that Eyeko, a cult fave across the pond (and probably here) has a new line of nail polish that comes in a box of six small, cute bottles and great (more…)

We are taking a stand. We are making a decision. We are taking control of the situation.

We want long eyelashes, and we are willing to pay.

You may already be scoffing. Yes, we know, the length of The Style Insider’s eyelashes are not on par with such issues as global warming or the recession. Or even Fall Fashion Week. However, after an entire life lusting after baby-boy lashes (why, why, why do they always have the longest lashes? Could someone please answer that for us?), we are willing to throw in the towel and stage an intervention.

And intervention, in this case, apparently thy name is Latisse. (more…)

Imagine acres of color, miles of mascara, booths upon booths of beauty products stretched out before you as far as your smoky-shaded eye can see. That was the scene at the Makeup Show last week in its first L.A. appearance (previously the show has beautified New York and Miami), where dozens of exhibitors like Smashbox and Stila showed off new product lines and vied to be the next must-have product in your cosmetic case.

Now imagine that your task is to choose just a handful of those (more…)

Now that America has been thoroughly Sephora-ed, we’re on a first-name basis with product lines that used to be unfamiliar: Smashbox, Too Faced, Benefit, Jurlique, Tarte and on and on.

Enter PIR Cosmetics, a Toronto-based cosmetics shop that has an amazing Web site overflowing with “cult” and “upmarket” products that you could normally only get in hip boutiques or other countries (especially Europe). You probably didn’t even know all the fabulousness you were missing out on.

The shop was created by celebrity makeup artist Franchie Pir in 2002. They had a store in New York City until recently, but the (more…)