Some shower gels are good enough to get “Lifetime Achievement Award” on their first impression, and Kathy Ireland’s Fresh Shower Gel (Green Tea & Aloe Vera; $11.99) may well be sudsing its way into the nominees list.

Natural plant extracts and Dead Sea minerals all make their appearance in this little green, almost cubist bottle. But there’s hardly any nauseating fragrance, and the skin is left moisturized as well as clean, which is a lot more than we can say for our drugstore soap we tried the other day.

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A bouquet of lipsticks from Rimmel? Yes please. The UK-based company is launching a set of six lipsticks with intense pigment and long lasting power called Color Show Off.

Check out the eye-popping, richer than sorbet colors here:

The 13 shades are grouped into three sets called “Street Chic,” “Dress Up Chic,” and “Show Time Chic.” Some of the lipsticks have pretty groovy names too, like Have Fun, Pink Fame, Red Fever and I Want You.

I’ll make sure I post swatches as soon as these beauties hit the U.S. stores.

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Last week, I attended a lavish and very French presentation of a line I had not heard of. Votre Vu, a Paris-based skincare line, has been in existence for only a year, but crafted by a family in France with over 80 years’ experience in custom blending formulations.

The tres chic event showcased the different selection of products that Votre Vu has to offer, including its accomplished Face, Body, Men’s Line and Sweet Treats line. Since the skincare philosophy is primarily based on natural ingredients and the culling of skin treats from bountiful French harvests, I was eager to learn more (you all know how hooked I am to natural skincare by now, come on!).

The French do everything so sexily, and I was not surprised to see a fully naked, discreetly clad French model at the event, showing off her flawless body and skin (and a painter capturing her elegance on canvas):

There are so many products in this line, but I wanted to start with some of my favorites: the Shampoo Riche and the Conditioner Light.

The Shampoo Riche is a cleanser par excellence. It really does what it promises: eliminate buildup without leaving a residue or greasiness. There is no sodium laurel sulfates in this product, and my hair felt really squeaky clean (at some point I swear it almost squeaked like a violin) and smelt fresh.$28.

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I host an Oscar party every year and it is in fact, the only party I do zealously stick to schedule. I am a tremendous fan of all festivals, from Christmas to Easter, but the Oscars gives me an excuse to be W-Magazine worthy glamorous even though I typically feel like frump-ville most days.

My tradition each year is pretty standard: guests are invited to come in costume (any costume based on any nominated movie in any category). It’s Hallowe’en in March and people have fun with it, and this year was no exception.

One of the several colored necklaces gifted by Dove for the Red Carpet Oscar Party

When Dove came forward to see if I would be interested in hosting a “Visibly Smooth” red carpet party for women, I leaped at the chance like the Mad Hatter. Every fashionable gal attendee would receive a Dove Visibly Smooth deodorant stick, and a Hollywood inspired necklace made by enBeadia in Chicago.

I was able to invite ten lovely women (and their significant others and their kids because I had planned my party a wee bit in advance and did not limit it to girls only). Naturally, I set up my house with touches of everything Hollywood inspired.

I decided to dress up in Old School Hollywood glam style for the Red Carpet event

I hosted it a day before the Oscars, March 6th (and thank goodness I did, because I have Cablevision, aka the Darth Vader of cable networks and I wouldn’t have “technically” been able to watch the Oscars on March 7th). Dove had sent me Oscar ballots as well, which was a terrific idea since I plan a lot of games during my parties and one of the games is to see who gets the most number of Oscar categories correctly. He or she typically wins a prize, and there is a prize for the best costume as well.

So…check out some of the cool costumes that made an appearance at the party!

My friends, Alexis and Jonathan dress up as “Natalie Keener” (Anna Kendrick) in “Up in the Air” and the character “Mike” from “The Blind Side”

Their adorable son, Jack, dressed up as “Russell, the Wilderness Explore” from Disney’s “UP”

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I didn’t see too much of the Star Wars actress during the actual 2010 Oscar Awards but I’m digging her Old Hollywood hair at the Vanity Fair Oscars party hosted by Graydon Carter held at Sunset Tower on Sunday (March 7) in Hollywood.

She wore a strapless grey dress with ruffles (of course) and $90 shoes from Aldo. Her hair was done by Nexxus Creative Director Kevin Mancuso, who said that he “really wanted to give her a Bridget Bardot meets Audrey Hepburn style.”

After prepping the hair with Nexxus shampoo and conditioner (the volumizing line helps, such as Diametress and Sublime Volume), apply a volumizing spray gel such as the Nexxus Lavish Body from the roots to the tip and blow dry with a paddle brush. When the roots are almost dry, switch to the round brush. When the roots are still warm, take one inch sections of hair and switch them to Velcro rollers and let them completely cool.

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I have to say that Diane Kruger’s dress was probably my least favorite (on par with Charlize Theron) on the Oscars 2010 red carpet. The Inglorious Basterds star was decked head to toe in creamy Chanel, with layers of embroidered chiffon separated by ribbons of black lace. I did love the halter-style neck but the entire dress made her look like a 1920’s flap dress/swan of some kind and I wasn’t feeling that the vintage vibe was really going for her.

However, her hair is another story. I loved her elegant updo, especially the black and white Chanel Camelia Nervure brooch she had pinned on her hair. So glam!

Her hair was done by Danilo, celeb stylist for Pantene. Here’s how he created her gorge hairdo:

First, he washed and conditioned her hair with the new Pantene Pro-V Restoratives Frizz
Control Shampoo and Conditioner, which we wrote about here (and love, BTW). He also misted a leave-in conditioner and the Pantene Pro-V Volume Root Lifter Spray Gel all over her damp hair. After blow drying Kruger’s hair upside down, Danilo sectioned her hair into a side part and separated it into three parts - the two sides and the back of her hair.

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I was definitely expecting Zoe Saldana to wear blue at the 2010 Oscars (Na’vi Princess, where art thou?), but I was swept away by the lavender-lilac-amethyst-purple-violet Givenchy couture number that she ended up wearing on the red carpet.

Her hair was done in a super chic updo, created by TRESemmé Celebrity Stylist Mara Roszak. Roszak wanted ”an editorial look because she was wearing Givenchy. We also didn’t want the hair and make up to compete with the dress so we created an elegant but effortless look.”

Here’s how you can recreate Saldana’s Oscars 2010 red carpet ‘do:

1. It’s all about prepping the hair with mousse! I am a huge fan of the TRESemme Naturals line, and was pleased to find that Roszak had prepped damp hair with TRESemmé Naturals Lightweight Mousse. Then she blow dryed her hair upside down.

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.Did you think Anna Kendrick’s face looked like a rose at the 2010 Oscars? Well, I certainly did …it was not overly made up and no striking color stood out on her face; the look was subtle and elegant overall. Kendrick wore a soft pink off-the-shoulder Elie Saab Couture gown and carried a Judith Leiber clutch.  Celebrity makeup artist Sara Glick sought the youthful, ethereal beauty for inspiration and wanted to highlight soft, natural glowing skin.

She prepped Kendrick’s skin with Arcona Skincare (a light all natural moisturizer called Magic White Ice)and used tarte cosmetics’ makeup for the cheeks (Cheekstain in Coral). As for the lips, Glick wanted a soft, healthy pink lip with a bit of shine and she used tarte’s LipSurgency natural lipstain in Charmed as a base, and topped the look with a double ended lipgloss in Samantha.

Kendrick’s face was finished with a touch of lavender spritz mist that also served as a calm aromatherapy.

For the eyes, Glick used Dior eyeshadow to create a “very soft, neutral look with bronze undertones.” She used the Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Sunset Cafe and Incognito and DiorShow Unlimited Mascara.

Charlize Theron was all Dior from head to toe when she appeared in her amethyst and lilac number on the 2010 Oscars red carpet on Sunday evening for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

Her dress was inspired by a photograph of Marilyn Monroe who was all “covered with roses”. But it was my least favorite number of the evening, with its bustier rosette details and bride-like train that seemed to evoke Bridezillas gone awry. But I cannot argue that her makeup was gorgeous.So, we’ll work with that…

The makeup was done by Dior’s International Makeup Advisor, Shane Paish, who said that the “inspiration for the beauty look was English Rose who vacations in Paris.”

He used Rouge Dior Lipsticks in Celebrity Red, and Creme de Rose; applied DiorShow Unlimited Mascara on her lashes; and used the Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Incognito for her lids. He capped off the look by using DiorBlush in A Touch of Blush.

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As the world predicted, Sandra Bullock shed her Miss Congeniality-esque role to win the “Best Actress” Oscar for The Blind Side but pretty much used her staple movie look when it came to the hairstyle. The stylists at Frederic Fekkai wanted to bring back the simplicity of Sandra’s hair (as seen in countless films from “While you Were Sleeping” to “Speed”). Deja Vu with a touch of Hollywood glam seemed to be in vogue last night at the 2010 Oscars.

The stylists at Fekkai gave her a sleek look with a slight wave at the end. The way you get this look? Condition the hair thoroughly. Stylist Adir Abergel of Fekkai used the Advanced Glossing Shampoo and Conditioner ($23 each), and left the conditioner on for a full 15 minutes.

He used a deep side part, and took a large round brush ($65) to blow dry hair, ensuring the roots were flat. After the blow drying process, he set the hair with spray, then used a flat iron for that pin straight effect. He curled the ends for a slight wavy effect and added Fekkai’s Silky Straight Ironless Smooth Finish Serum ($23) for that shine we saw last night.

 - Charu Suri