" /> " /> " />

Cool Cosmetics in Lincoln Park

At First Blush
Anyone who has ever walked away from a makeup counter looking like Baby Jane will appreciate Colorlab Custom Cosmetics (857 W. Armitage Ave.; 773-525-9086), which operates under the philosophy that “makeup isn’t one size fits all.” The recently opened Lincoln Park arm of the Rockford-based company creates lipstick, foundation, powder, blush, and eye shadow according to each woman’s specifications. Choose a product, have a chat with a technician, and watch it come to life…

Zac Posen Gives Me Career Advice

As fashionable as Chicago thinks it is, it’s still a major event when one of the top New York-based designers cruises into town. This week, it was Zac Posen, who brought along a full-on runway show, courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue.

I blanked completely on the event, didn’t dress appropriately, and wandered in the stately Murphy Hall on Erie Street in a full-on turtleneck and a dress I’d accidentally shrunk in the dryer. Everyone else was head-to-toe designer; what do you do? If you’re me, hold your head up high and squeeze through the crowd to find Zac Posen for a photo…

Organic Goodies in Roscoe Village

Let the Green Times Roll

A new Roscoe Village addition A Cooler Planet (2211 W. Roscoe St.; 773-248-1110, itsacoolerplanet.com) makes it easy to live green. Sisters Heidi Bailey and Krista White, self-taught green experts who went organic in their own life, opened the store to help others do the same. “People can get overwhelmed and we wanted to open a place to make it easier to take the first step,” Bailey says. “Anything you buy in here we have already researched,” White says. The lifestyle shop, the duo says, is designed to take care of everything from morning to night, from the U.S.D.A. certified organic skincare line Terressentials down to organic mattresses. For the home, the store stocks…

Green Goods in Oak Park

The Home Is Always Greener. . .

It’s much easier to pay lip service to being green than to seek out the products, but Green Home Experts (823 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park; 708-937-5403, ghexperts.com) has made it a little bit easier. The new shop specializes in eco-friendly building supplies, cleaning products, and other day-to-day goods, essentially a “green alternative to…

Outlet Shopping in Lincoln Park

Need an Outlet?
The owners of Madison and Friends (43 E. Oak St., 312-642-6403; 720 Waukegan Rd., Deerfield, 847-236-4131) and The Denim Lounge (2004 W. Roscoe St., 773-935-2820; 43 E. Oak St., 312-642-6403) have replaced the standalone Tween store in Lincoln Park with a new Madison and Friends Outlet (1963 N. Halsted St.; 312-943-0436). Co-owner David Shelist says out-of-town customers, who were less willing to make the trip up north, were disappointed that the tween…