Drugstore Beauty Finds

Tip #1: Wear a scent that means something to you.

For some people, scent is highly tied to memory, like how a whiff of men’s Eternity can bring back memories of one’s lame ex-boyfriend (I’m not bitter).

I used to sneak a spritz or two of my mom’s Chanel No. 5 when I was a wee child. For Paris, the fragrances of Jean Patou hold a special place in her heart.

The first perfume she ever wore was Jean Patou’s 1000 because her mom wore it when Paris was young. Jean Patou’s Joy was another one. “It just smells like my grandma,” said Paris. “She always used to wear it. She passed away from breast cancer a few years ago, so it kind of reminds me of her when I wear it.”

Paris signs a pic for a fan at the CAN CAN release event held at Macy’s Valley Fair in Santa Clara, California on November 17, 2007

Just as fragrance can influence how we feel, it also affects how people remember us. That’s why Paris decided to make perfumes. “I wanted to do a fragrance because I feel like it’s such a big part of life.”

CAN CAN was really personal for her. She enlisted the help of friends and family in making it. Step one was to create a batch of sample fragrances with the help of a perfumer — one of those professional smell expert gurus — based on some of her favorite scents. With her three or four favorites in tow, she went home to do a little good ole’ fashioned market research. “I’ll have them smell,” said Paris of her friends and family, “and see what they like best.” With their input, she chose the fragrance she thought would appeal to the widest audience. The result was CAN CAN, a fruity floral with notes of clementine flower, cassis, nectarine, musk and amber.

This is the fourth fragrance campaign for Paris, who also did campaigns for her other perfumes: Heiress, Just Me and Paris Hilton. CAN CAN is the fourth campaign but the first with a distinct theme. She called it the best of the photo shoots she’s done for a fragrance so far. She danced and posed on a Moulin Rouge themed set while her self-titled debut album, Paris, played in the background. “We’ve always done really beautiful shots,” she said, “but not really a theme, so it was really fun.”

Paris is often reminded of how her fragrances can influence every day life. Dudes and chicks stop her on the street to tell her that they’re wearing her stuff. “I always go and smell them,” she said. I wore CAN CAN on the day I did this interview, so from now on every time I catch a whiff of it I’ll remember that day. I almost shoved my wrist up her nose at one point but thought it faux pas.

Thousands of rabid fans showed up to the event. Apparently it pays to be tall when you’re jostling other Paris fans for camera phone pics.

Tip #2: Rock the lipgloss.

CHANEL Glossimer lipgloss, YES!

Paris was rocking a fierce look in our interview. She was wearing a sleeveless cream top and black skirt by BCBG and hot pink Christian Dior shoes. Ladies and gents, you know how your girl loves the shoes. I briefly thought about stopping the interview to have my photographer (El Hub) take shots of Paris’ fantabulous footwear, but alas, I only had six minutes to get through all my questions. So sorry, fellow shoe lovers!

For her makeup, Paris wore a silver, sparkly eye with thick black liner on the top lid along with a soft flushed cheek. She had on MAC shadow and Max Factor blush. The focal point of her look was a pink lip topped with a layer of Chanel Glossimer lipgloss in Astral #104. “I love the glitter in it,” she said.

For the past few weeks I’ve been trying to motivate myself to do stuff by using Chanel makeup as a self-motivator — i.e. Karen does ‘X’ tasks and gets two tubes of Chanel lipgloss — but after seeing Paris wearing Glossimer, I’m afraid I’m going to cave, like, really soon. Perhaps tomorrow, even. Girlfriend’s lips looked *super hot*.

MAC Prrr Lipglass, YES!

When Paris is working, she spends a lot of time in hair and makeup with her stylists and makeup artists, so on her days off she doesn’t like to wear a lot of makeup. She does love her gloss, though, and can’t live without MAC Prrr Lipglass. “When I’m just like, chilling,” she said, “I’d rather just put on mascara, and like, really cute lipgloss.”

Maybelline Great Lash, NOOOO!

And what is Paris’ mascara of choice on her days off? Maybelline Great Lash, the one from Rite-Aid in the pink and green tube.

I thought, “Are you serious, girlfriend?” I would’ve put my money on Paris being a Diorshow kind of girl. I had some Plushlash in my purse, and I thought about giving it to her as a gesture of goodwill mascara salvation. Paris, girrrrrrl, if you’re reading this, I’m gonna hook you up with some Plushlash, STAT!

Tip #3: Get the glowy look with weekly facials and Kate Somerville products.

Paris is known for her dewy, glowy skin. She said her secret is a weekly facial at Kate Somerville, a spa located down the street from her house. She and Kate are homies, and Paris gets treatments with extractions at the spa when she isn’t too busy with work.

Extractions? I cringed.

I wish you could see Paris’ Christian Dior shoes in this pic. They were *awesome.*

“You know,” she said, “it’s good for you. Everyone should do it. And like Lasergenesis, which makes your skin really, like, plump … it’s just this light that goes on your face.”

Kate Somerville offers a full skin care line, and Hilton is an avid devotee. “I use all Kate’s products,” she said. She can’t live without Nourish moisturizer and Exfolikate (formerly known as Kate in a Jar) exfoliating treatment. On the day of our interview, beside the sparkly eye and lip, Paris’ skin actually had very little shine. It was a very matte skin look, which is really trendy right now.

“I just think it’s good to just take care of yourself and get massages and drink water,” she added.

Tip #4: Planning ahead never hurts, especially when it comes to skin care or the quest for beauty-product world domination.

Paris’ quest for world domination doesn’t stop at the fragrance counter. She is currently working on a makeup line and would also love to create skin care products. Her take home message for skin care: start young! I hear ya, girl. Like I always say, the best anti-aging secret is sunscreen (and don’t forget your neck, oy!).

Tip #5: Be polite and sweet to everyone.

Although I never really watched Paris’ show, “The Simple Life,” I’ve read a lot about her in the news, and truth be told I didn’t know what to expect from this interview. Would she roll her eyes because I wasn’t from Newsweek or the New York Times? Girlfriend did say she didn’t use the Web too much, and she’d never heard of beauty blogs before. Would she spend the entire time text-messaging Nicole on her massive jewel-encrusted smartphone?

To my surprise, she was nice. Although she seemed a bit guarded and heavily media trained, she was sweet and fully engaged throughout the conversation. The moral of this story? Despite all of the drama surrounding Paris in the news, I found her to be a sweet girl who works hard and loves her family.

I hope you had a wonderful weekend and that it was, dare I say, hot.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. Before you jet, beauty lover, check out the home page for more makeup reviews. 🙂