The Insider and Entertainment Tonight have a series of segments which are basically paid advertisements for the California Tourism board, but that’s ok because they’re kind of brilliant. Here’s one of their latest (above) featuring the preternaturally young looking Rob Lowe. Lowe explains about how awesome California is for outdoor enthusiasts with activities like skiing, surfing and bicycle riding. Judging from how hot he is it also seems to do wonders for one’s complexion. Unlike a lot of other wealthy famous Californians who attempt to achieve youth through chemistry, Lowe genuinely looks about 15 years younger than his age (47). In a recent interview with In Touch, Lowe said that he’s not about to get any plastic surgery either. I thought that was a Californian’s birth right. That and medicinal pot.

With his sparkling blue eyes and boyish charm, Hollywood veteran Rob Lowe is still a heartthrob. But as he nears 50, the father of two doesn’t fear losing the looks that helped make him a household name three decades ago. “I’m not worried about chronological years,” Rob, the director of the web video Butterfinger the 13th, available on Facebook, tells In Touch in an exclusive interview, adding that he has never even considered plastic surgery or Botox. “I don’t think guys should be monkeying around with that stuff.”

So without a quick fix, how does the actor plan on staying so hot? Rob credits his sons, Edward, 18, and John, 16, with keeping him fit. “I’m outside surfing, diving, you name it,” he says. “I’m very cool with my teenagers.”

[From In Touch]

If that’s the result of living in that climate sign me up. At least get me there on vacation if there are more guys like Lowe around. I’m more of a city girl and am not the outdoorsy type, but given how hot those type of guys are I should at least go buy a pair of hiking boots. I’ll ride my bike and try to surf. There’s no way in hell you’re ever going to get me to go white water rafting or mountain climbing though. I have to draw the line somewhere.

These are just gratuitous shirtless photos of Rob Lowe, plus some event photos where he’s looking dapper. The photo of him in the casual-type suit is from 10-12-11, but it looks like it could have been taken in the 80s! He’s also shown in a tux on 5-16-11 with his wife. Credit: Fame

I know I’m a little late in getting to this, but I’ve just watched one of the most bizarre commercials I’ve ever seen in my life. Kate Bosworth is the newest face of Vanessa Bruno’s clothing line – The Bos replaces Lou Doillon, who is, let’s face it, infinitely cooler and chicer than The Bos could ever hope to be. Anyway, the commercials – the 30-second one came out a month ago, but a “full-length” commercial (at 2 minutes) just came out in Europe, and dear God…they are rough. They’re like an acid trip of strangeness with only The Bos’s skull-like face cavities to ground you in reality. Her eyes are crazy. Her lips are crazy. The expressions she makes are crazy. The part where she’s raising her arms at the heavens while propped up in a tree – that’s my favorite. My least favorite is all of the weirdness with the horses and all of the backwards running stuff. Was I supposed to be looking at the clothing?

LØV from Vanessa Bruno on Vimeo.

Its ridiculous, right? Are you still going to tell me that Kate Bosworth isn’t getting lip injections? SHE IS.

The designer, Vanessa Bruno, told the press that The Bos was a natural fit for this Nordic-themed line, saying: “She has the style of a Parisienne without being from Paris. She’s a true free spirit, does her own thing, makes her own decisions – exactly the aesthetic of the label. When we first met, we clicked so much, it was as though we already knew each other.” The Bos has the style of a Parisienne? If I was a Parisienne, I think I would be very insulted.

Ads courtesy of Vanessa Bruno.

Over the weekend, Kate Moss and her ruggedly handsome husband, Jamie Hince, were spotted at Paul McCartney’s wedding to Nancy Shevell. Naturally, Kate looked gorgeous. Of course, it’s a poorly kept secret amongst my friends that I completely adore Kate Moss as a model, as a trendsetter, and as a bit of a mess who has pulled herself together in the last handful of years. She’s certainly not a classic beauty but has a unique look and has perservered in the fashion world despite the odds; somehow, she’s also emerged as a very shrewd businesswoman. Hell, I even stuck by Kate during her bizarre Pete Doherty-loving phase that lasted a few years, at least. So when Kaiser sent me the link to this story, I was so excited for the simple reason of being able to dig up some of Kate’s old Rimmel adverts (yes, I have collected a folder full of them), especially the ones where she modelled lipstick. You’ll see why in just a moment.

As a model and spokesperson, Kate’s been with Rimmel for over a decade, and she’s soon preparing to launch her own lipstick line with the company. So she’s dished out some of her makeup secrets, which are — um — quite like my own; that is, Kate confesses to shunning lip liner during her offtime and choosing instead to just “shove it on” in regard to lipstick. Yes, she’s freely admitting to such an atrocious practice!

Kate Moss can “feel” when she needs to apply more blusher.

The British supermodel has just created a range of lipsticks in collaboration with Rimmel London. To mark their release she’s opened up about her beauty secrets.

The star has worn flicked eyeliner for so long she doesn’t need a mirror to apply it. She recommends using a kohl pencil rather than a liquid liner as they are easier, especially if there are any mistakes. Kate also doesn’t need to look at herself to know when she needs some extra colour on her face.

“I can feel when I need it. I use a powder and then a cream blush over the top to get a bit of a glow,” she told Style magazine.

When it comes to lipstick she applies and blots three times. She doesn’t bother using a liner or a brush either.

“Make-up artists do that, but I wouldn’t do it on myself. I don’t use a lip liner or a lip brush: I just shove it on,” she laughed.

Kate also uses liquid foundation and bronzer. She has many favourite products and hates it when something she loves can no longer be found. The star has a cunning way of getting round that problem though.

“I tend to keep [old make-up], it’s terrible,” she laughed. “I like one thing, then it goes out of production, so I have to phone up the artist and beg for more. They discontinue the best products, it’s really annoying. I’ve got a lot stockpiled.

“I’ve got a thing about sticky – it can’t be sticky [on my lips]. From doing so many shoots when they get the wind machine out and my hair sticks to me. I get the fear.”

The model would love to create an entire make-up range and it’s something she might do in the future. She enjoys the way cosmetics can transform women, although she doesn’t wear them all the time.

Her nine-year-old daughter Lila Grace prefers her bare-skinned, with Kate waiting for the time when she develops an interest in make-up.

“Oh, yes, I always take my make-up off, because otherwise my daughter will come in and say, ‘Mummy, tut-tut.’ She doesn’t like it. She likes the fresh-faced, natural mummy, when I’ve got my hair in a bun and no make-up on,” Kate said.

[From Belfast Telegraph]

Kate’s appeal is very “high street” and translated well into a Topshop clothing collection for several seasons running, so a lipstick line with Rimmel is the perfect extension of her brand, which is not exactly high class but highly affordable and slightly dangerous. However, I do disagree with her about Rimmel’s sticky factor — I have tried their glosses, and they stick like crazy. Their lipstick is okay though, but it’s pretty inexpensive, and you get what you pay for. Regardless, I can’t wait to check out Kate’s new lipsticks when they eventually show up at Target because, you know, I’m classy like that.

Here’s some photos of a (mostly) barefaced Kate heading towards and from London Fashion Week:

Photos courtesy of Fame and Rimmel

These are some photos of George Clooney on the Beverly Hills set of a new commercial for Mercedes-Benz. He filmed the commercial over the weekend, and as you can see, Clooney was animated and looking funny. I mean, he was being funny – he looked surprisingly great. After a weird moment last year when Clooney looked like he had gotten a toupee and some tweaking, old-school Clooney is back, at last. His hair has grown out (or he got a new piece – HAIR piece), his forehead doesn’t look so strange, and he seems fit and healthy. Elisabetta Canalis was bad for him as far as how he looked, I think. Maybe Stacy Keibler will be better for him.

Anyway, I really just wanted to talk about this new commercial that Clooney did for the Norwegian bank DnB NOR. It is ridiculously funny, and I love how much both Clooney and this actress sell the story:

That ad is so smart and funny. I wish we had ads like that in America. It plays into the fantasy some women (me) have about getting drunk and getting into an adventure. Only my adventure ends up with me in bed with Michael Fassbender and Clive Owen. That should be the next ad.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I didn’t know that Anne Hathaway was named the newest face of Tod’s. Usually, the handbag and leather goods company tries to associate itself with blondes – recently, Gwyneth Paltrow and Sienna Miller were the faces of the company. I’m glad Tod’s decided to give a brunette a test-drive, although Anne might not be the best brand-ambassador. Look, I like Anne. I think she’s one of the best young actresses working today and I think she can be very, very pretty (when she’s styled correctly). But Tod’s a luxury leather goods label, and one of their most famous associations was with Princess Diana. Surely Anne is simply too dorky and not enough of a “bombshell” to make this work? Tod’s is trying to reach a different market, though:

It Girl, meet It Bag. Anne Hathaway works her magic in new ads for TOD’s Signature Collection, a soon-to-launch line of bags and small leather goods hitting TOD’s boutiques in October.

Shot in London by photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the ads will also bow in October, appearing in fashion magazines worldwide. “The campaign for TOD’s Signature reaches out to a new and younger clientele,” creative director Fabien Baron said in a release, adding that Hathaway was the right woman for the job. “We see a stunningly exquisite Anne as a classic beauty with a modern Italian edge — feminine and strong.”

Hathaway, for her part, is honored to be associated with the brand. “I have been a longtime fan of TOD’s and was very excited to be a part of exploring a new side of their identity with the launch of their Signature Collection,” she added. “The designs are classic and the materials are of the highest quality.”

The handbags themselves — a shoulder bag, portfolio clutch, shopper, pochette and more — feature a pebble motif and come in colors like deep red, fuchsia, lavender and beige. Made in Italy, they’re crafted from a variety of materials, including soft patent leather, a metalized leather, shiny calfskin and semi-opaque nappa leather.

[From People]

So… for the new ad campaign, Tod’s got Anne to vamp it up with old Hollywood curls and glossy red lips. They stretched her out on a red sports car and placed their gorgeous purse in her hand. Are we supposed to think this is sexy? Are we supposed to think Anne looks amazing, and that we could look that amazing if only we bought that purse (which probably cost more than $2000)? Mostly, I just think Anne looks uncomfortable. She’s contorted into a weird position, and her face says “OMG, MY BACK” more than “Sexy. Purse. Sexy. Young.”

So… ad fail. But good effort. Maybe next time, go for a more natural, subdued campaign with Anne.

Ads courtesy of Tod’s.

At this point, Scarlett Johansson makes most of her money from her myriad modeling contracts rather than her “acting” career. Over the past few years, she worked as the face of L’Oreal, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Mango and Moet & Chandon Champagne – I think there are more, but those are just the ones I could think of off the top of my head. Oh! And Reebok. I forgot about them. What’s strange is that all of Scarlett’s ads seem to follow the same basic “look” – her hair is always light, usually in a platinum Marilyn Monroe coif, but sometimes she’s a light strawberry-blonde. She’s almost always reclining on something, which makes me think that she’s too lazy to bother with “posing”. And her mouth is almost always open, and a vapid, mouth-breathing expression is on her face. As I was looking at Scar’s old ads, I noticed the theme. It’s kind of scary how they all blend together. She’s not a good model. Perhaps that’s why Mango ditched her? Either that, or because she always looked so corpsey in their ads.

So these are Scarlett’s latest ads for Dolce & Gabbana. They’re for the makeup line – something for “Secret Eyes Mascara” and “the Creamy Foundation and Passion Duo Lipstick line.” Sure. ScarJo says about the mascara, “I’ll start with a light flirty look in the morning, then later I’ll want something fuller and more dramatic. Secret Eyes has a divine texture so you can feel free to layer.” Unfortunately, I have to say it: why would hire ScarJo if you’re just going to Photoshop her to the point where you’ve given her a pig nose? LOOK AT HER PIG-NOSE. It’s ridiculous. Scarlett’s real nose looks nothing like that. Jennifer Aniston had a similar Photoshop problem with some recent SmartWater ads too – some Photoshop wizard just loves to give women pig-noses. Ah, well. At least David Gandy isn’t grinding on Scarlett in these ads. That would have been too much.

Here’s what Scarlett really looks like, post-Sean Penn. That man did a number on her.

Ads courtesy of D&G.

Above is the new ad for Diorskin Forever, with Natalie Portman representing “the face” of the campaign. I honestly thought that Natalie had only agreed to be the face of Miss Dior Cherie perfume, not this Dior cosmetics line. Diorskin is described, no joke, as “the innovatively formulated Diorskin range, which is designed to seamlessly perfect the complexion and enhance the natural beauty of the skin, like the fibres of a Haute Couture gown. Dior’s research laboratories are consistently at forefront of cosmetic advances and once again Dior lives up to this reputation. The unique innovation – Skin Essence – contained within the Diorskin Forever Compact and Diorskin Forever Fluid, identifies the skin’s specific needs upon application.”

The image is lovely, and Natalie’s skin is gorgeous, naturally, but even more so when she’s made up. There’s something weird going on with her eyes, though. I almost didn’t recognize her. Anyway, I’m assuming that this ad was shot months and months ago, before Natalie was showing with her pregnancy, and before John Galliano’s anti-Semitic douche explosion, which caused Natalie to publicly bash the designer and refuse to wear Dior at the Oscars. Some sites are even wondering if Natalie has already withdrawn from her Dior endorsement, even after Galliano was fired, but thus far, neither Dior nor Natalie has spoken about her long-term work for the brand.

In other Portman news, there’s a new interview with her where she just sounds kind of weird and extremely sheltered:

Natalie Portman enrolled at Harvard University in 1999. The 30-year-old star studied psychology while still working as an actress, and completed her bachelor’s degree in 2003. Despite being 18 when she started university, Natalie was shocked by the level of independence she had to maintain.

“College was a good transitional experience for me, because I was really babied and taken care of by my parents,” she told Psychologies magazine. “I’d never walked down the street on my own until I went to Harvard. I’d never even had my own set of keys.”

Natalie says her educational experience made her less worried about what people thought of her. The brunette beauty revealed Harvard softened her defensive side.

“I’ve always been the kind of girl who wanted to please people, to get along, to not give the impression that I’m internalizing all the confusion and craziness of my profession,” she explained.

“When I went to Harvard, I was able to unlearn a lot of that defensive-protective side. I’m still learning to be more myself and have fewer masks. Of course you can’t forget that deep down I’m an actress.”

[From Music Rooms]

She had never had her own set of keys before she went to college? She had never walked down a street alone before the age of 18?!? Oddly enough, this may explain why she comes across so poorly at times, why she seems like she‘s putting on airs or why she seems to act “above it”. She didn’t have a normal childhood, and she didn’t transition from childhood to adolescence to young-adulthood in the same way as other people. She was coddled and babied until she was technically an adult, and that has to mess with her head. By the way, Natalie is an only child: this kind of thing gives old children (like me) a bad rep.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

Demi Moore is the latest “model” for Ann Taylor – she’s the face of the Fall/Winter Ann Taylor line, in these new ads shot by Patrick Demarchelier. Demi comes just months after Katie Holmes’s less-than-great ad campaign for the clothing line, in which Katie looked like she was mid-stroke in the ads. As for Demi… well, you’ve got to chuckle. I’ve noticed something about Demi Moore’s pictorials as of late – the older she gets, and the more she tweaks her face, the less likely she is to be voluntarily photographed close-up. It seems like more and more of Demi’s formal portraits and fashion shots are taken from even greater distances. Add to that the excessive Photoshop and airbrushing, and Demi tends to look like an alien Barbie-faced Fem-bot in most photo shoots. It’s pretty bad in these Ann Taylor ads, that’s what I’m saying.

And if her face isn’t a big enough problem (and clearly, the Ann Taylor people think it’s a huge problem or else they wouldn’t have ‘Shopped her to this degree), there’s a new problem. It’s the way Demi wears pants. It’s a recent thing, and I pointed it out several months ago – Demi is starting to look like a Golden Girl when she wears pants. It’s something about her hips, or they way she walks or stands, but whatever it is, it’s happening again in these Ann Taylor ads – Golden Girls-esque.

As for what Demi thinks of her new gig, she told reporters, “I am delighted to collaborate with Ann Taylor. It is the quintessential American brand for modern working women, and is a company of women, for women. They really understand what women need today to be confident and successful. I feel like I’ve known Ann Taylor since I was a kid. I’ve watched the clothes move into support for the working woman. It used to be a lot of suiting. I’ve seen as we’ve changed, that they’ve changed, reflecting on how we live as modern women, which is wearing things that take us from day to night, from workout to work to weekend.” If you’d like to read more of Demi’s thoughts on Ann Taylor and fashion, go here.

Ads courtesy of Ann Taylor, one photo from WENN.

Charisma bedding and fine linens usually choose some random beefcake to be their spokespecs. I think the last “Charisma Pecs” belonged to Gabriel Aubry – you can see his Charisma ads here. The new guy is… Eddie Cibrian. Because he might be an idiot, and he might be gross, and he might be sexually attracted to trashy, psycho women, BUT HE HAS DIMPLES. Just concentrate on the dimples and the pecs and don’t even think about how LeAnn is riding that.

Couple of things: would it have killed Eddie to shave his salt-and-pepper fur before they started shooting? I usually don’t mind scruff, but Eddie’s is making me feel itchy. Also – Eddie looks flat-out BAD in some of these shots. Like, he’s tired of dealing with crazy? Like “crazy” is aging him drastically?

By the way, Eddie’s ex-wife Brandi Glanville has officially joined the cast of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. According to People Mag, Brandi isn’t really a “Real Housewife” though, she’s just joining the cast as a “friend of”. Interesting.

Photos courtesy of Charisma.

I think it was last month when the first drips and drabs from Kate Winslet’s new St. John campaign began to come out. I didn’t pay much attention because A) Bitch got tweaked, and it upsets me that she’s messed with her face and B) Kate is obsessed with putting herself out there as “the average girl with the average body.” I mean, yeah, she’s had some high-profile weight struggles, but she’s also drop-dead gorgeous and one of the most talented actresses in the world. It feels like false humility at this point, Kate begging us to disagree with her when she utters lines like, “Obviously I am not a model, I don’t have a model’s body, I have a real shape.”

Anyway, Kate is the newest face of St. John, following in the footsteps of Angelina Jolie and Karen Elson, and Kate’s behind-the-scenes, testimonial-type “commercial” has just been released. Kate says in part:

“With St. John You can look extremely chic without trying too hard. You don’t feel as though they are clothes that only a model would be able to wear. And obviously I am not a model, I don’t have a model’s body, I have a real shape. And that just means a lot to me to be able to wear clothes that do embody that message of strength and power and femininity in a real shape….. I’m very much inspired by mothers, women who can pull it all together, do it all. Those are the women who are setting examples to a future generation of young women and that’s what I’m trying to do for my daughter.”

[Via The Mail]

Here’s the commercial:

A few things – I get the point about her saying she has a “real shape,” although I disagree with the idea that one woman’s body is more REAL than another’s. She’s trying to reach out to St. John’s consumers, women who are more “real” because they aren’t a size zero, I suppose. But here’s my thought on Kate’s “real shape” in too many St. John’s clothes: they’re much too clingy for Kate to go without Spanx. Did anyone else notice that? There are lots of dresses that cling to every bump and lump on a woman’s body, and really, those dresses aren’t flattering on Kate. Which defeats the purpose of using her as a spokesmodel. But the pants, coats and blouses are pretty on her. She should just avoid the clingy dresses.

Last point: Kate’s “modelface” is very close to most women’s’ “bitchfaces”.

Ads courtesy of St. John.