Exciting times, ladies!

Known for breaking hearts around the world, breaking up New York City brawls, inspiring memes and elevating shirtless-ness to an art form (a fact I’ve appreciated many, many times), actor Ryan Gosling has now set his sights (and sense of smell) on the fragrance world with a new perfume called Hey Girl, coming to department stores this spring.

Makeup and Beauty Blog caught up with Ryan at San Francisco’s Fairmont hotel this weekend to dish about his latest endeavor, his rippled abs and his weakness for chocolate doughnuts.

A transcript of my 5-minute interview follows, but here’s what you need to take away from this:

1. Ryan Gosling is just as nice (and gorgeous) in person as he seems in movies and interviews
2. He may show you his abs if you ask him to, but it could require some shameless begging

KAREN: So, Ryan, I hear you’re taking a break from acting.

RYAN: Yes.

KAREN: What are Ryan Gosling’s next plans? — not that you ever refer to yourself in the third person or anything… You know what I mean.

RYAN: [laughs] Well, Ryan Gosling does have a few things up his sleeve.

KAREN: I know! Like saving more pedestrians from traffic accidents?

RYAN: Has everyone seen that video??

KAREN: [laughs] Just about.

RYAN: I don’t know, it’s like the cameras appear out of nowhere. I buy Gatorade and it’s on Yahoo! the next day.

KAREN: Dude, like it or not, you’re an Internet sensation.

RYAN: I figure I’ll just roll with it, you know?

KAREN: Or turn it into a beauty empire. That’s an interesting twist for you — the world of celeb perfumes?

RYAN: Yeah, well, I’ve always liked scents, you know, and I’m just in tune with that kind of thing, like I have these vivid memories of different perfumes and fragrances from different times in my life. And I’ve always liked that moment when you walk by a woman on the street and you catch a whiff of her fragrance. That’s why I knew I wanted to create something that my mom and sister would love.

KAREN: Aw, that’s so sweet! Did your mom and sister help you with Hey Girl?

RYAN: They did. I’d overnight them samples of the different versions along the way, and they’d text or call me with feedback, like what they thought worked and didn’t work. My mom would call me in the middle of the night and say, “Too spicy. Needs more rose.”

KAREN: [laughs] That’s helpful alright. My mom would just say, “This stinks.”
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Royal Apothic Perfectly Perfect Hand Creme ($20 for a 4-ounce tube)

Here’s a look at Royal Apothic’s Perfectly Perfect handy work, also known as their $20 Hand Creme, which I spotted today over at the Anthropologie store at the mall (I swear, I could spend all day in that store).

Despite being based out of Los Angeles, Apothic, a three-year-old fragrance line, aims for a British vibe, and the scents I’ve tried all seem light, fresh and floral to me, which I like.

Today their hand creme caught my eye.

Cute packaging, yeah? I tried it on right there in the store, and my hands just lapped it up. It left my paws lightly scented, too, like a citrusy jasmine.

The Holland Park scent is my favorite of these. It has notes of lemon, magnolia, peach, jasmine, orange blossom, muguet, white musk, pink grapefruit and anemone flower.

They also have some eau de parfums…

Royal Apothic Perfectly Perfect Hand Cremes ($20 each)

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You know, I can’t say I’ve had the most productive Friday…

Good grief, lady! — I have not been able to concentrate for squat!

It’s called “Friday brain,” and symptoms include an inability to concentrate on important tasks, like bill paying, making phone calls for work and catering to your cat’s weird whims (such as carrying him up and down the stairs), and an enhanced ability to focus on frivolous, fun tasks, like looking up movie times, doing the robot to that catchy Bruno Mars song (Locked Out of Heaven) or going to Sephora.

DO THE ROBOT!!

Which reminds me, I ran into Sephora earlier this afternoon to grab a new bottle of Living Proof Restore Shampoo, because it keeps my hair from acting wonky, and I spotted a couple of new things while I was there.

Like these new Stila Beauty Balms…

Stila Beauty Balms from the left: HD Beauty Balm With Broad Spectrum SPF 30, Illuminating Beauty Balm and Bronzing Beauty Balm ($38 each for a 1.5-ounce tube)

I seem to recall Stila having another beauty balm, but I don’t think that one contains SPF. All three of these new ones do — broad-spectrum SPF 30 — which means they protect against UVA and UVB rays.

The one in the white tube on the far left, HD Beauty Balm — I think that one is supposed to work like a straight-up primer; Illuminating Beauty Balm, the one in the peachy tube, is supposed to give a brightening glow to the skin; and the Bronzing Beauty Balm, the third one, is supposed to impart a bronze tint.

All of them also claim to do a bunch of other cool things, like priming the skin for makeup, mellowing out imperfections and fortifying the skin with antioxidants…

I didn’t try them on my face in the store, but I did swatch, and based on the swatches, I liked the texture. They felt fairly light, not overly greasy or heavy (all three are oil-free), and when I rubbed them in, my skin had a slight sheen (but still looked pretty natural).

Should be good for girls who don’t like to wear a ton of foundation.

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Issey Miyake’s Pleats, Please! I was at Nordstrom last Saturday looking for a birthday gift for my mom (she just turned 64, happy birthday, mommy!), and while I was looking around, I stumbled on to a perfume I’d never seen before called Pleats Please, by Issey Miyake.

First thing that caught my eye was the bottle. Look at it! It’s almost like someone was holding it in their hand and crumpled it like a piece of paper. Anyway, I thought it was just really cool, and so I gave it a sniff.

It’s like a white floral, and it totally reminds me of Michael Kors — mostly plumeria, light and effervescent, but with a musky feeling to it.

When I got home I did a little research on it, and I guess it launched in September. I just hadn’t seen it here in the United States until now.

It’s based on a fashion collection — Issey Miyake is a fashion designer from Japan — from 1993, and apparently, the clothes had lots of pleats and colors, and the pieces had/have a sense if movement to ‘em.

And, ya know, I can see those same traits in the bottle. That same flow.
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All aboard the Chanel No. 5 Trolley, bound for San Francisco’s Union Square!

Toot, toot! Now boarding the Chanel No. 5 Trolley.

Chanel created the Trolley as an art installation of sorts, filled it with stories and lore about the iconic No. 5 fragrance, parked it in front of Macy’s in San Francisco’s Union Square last weekend and opened it to the public for free…

Come on! Let’s check it out. I booked a ticket and saved you a seat.

Our destination today? The world of Chanel No. 5…

What’s that, you ask? Can you take a picture with the male models before we board? Of course! By all means.

[SNAP!]

Um…just so you know, you’re grinning like a Cheshire cat in that picture.

Oh, hai!

Unfortunately, Brad Pitt couldn’t make it today, so we’ll be on our own. It would have been neat to bend his ear about No. 5, but apparently he’s on location filming a Chanel commercial with Tabs…

The trolley from the front

Picture Mr. Pitt behind the wheel…

Feel free to move about the trolley, and check out the different exhibits and Chanel-esque details…
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