Verket’s dreamy shoegaze pop sounds a lot like The Radio Dept. with a bit more of a rock bravado.  Or The Jesus & Mary Chain if you wanna get historical.  It’s catchy, it builds, and I’m into it.

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L’Oreal just announced it’s phasing out Shu Uemura in the US over the coming months. The forward Japanese makeup will be available online, but that generally works better for refills than for new colors. Most girls already have the Shu eyelash curlers.  My current favorite from the line is their Rouge Unlimited royal blue lipstick.

I am suggesting people at least try this lipstick before it disappears from stores.  This is a good suggestion.

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I’m not into American Apparel’s watered-down Terry Richardson aesthetic for marketing, but I’ve got to admit that it’s a nice move to name these striped socks after the Memphis design collective of the 80s.  Founded in 1981 by Ettore Sottsass, Memphis was a reaction to the dark, minimal design of the 70s.  Its furniture pushed out from traditional shapes in explosions of bright color blocks and geometric shapes.  These socks definitely use the same palette Memphis often chose and approach scale in a similar way.  To be more truly Memphis, they’d have to extend beyond the shape of the foot somehow.  Then they’d also look they’re inspired by Comme des Garçons, though.

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Concept pieces run a risk of looking too spot on, too gimmicky, and too attention-starved.  Sometimes they’re are worth that risk – when the concept is subtle enough, the functionality isn’t compromised, and the finish is well executed.  So, yeah, I’m endorsing a supersized candy clutch.

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In 2008, Polaroid stopped manufacturing new film for its instant cameras.  This news upset a lot of Polaroid fans, some of whom launched the Impossible Project to start up making fresh batches of film for the pop-up cameras.  They leased an old Polaroid film factory in Enschede, Netherlands, and they plan to sell a million packs during the first year.

Their first product is the $21 pack of PX 100 film, which yields eight BW images.  Press packs went out this week.  Here’s one shown by 1854, the blog of the British Journal of Photography:

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The first collection from Estée Lauder’s new makeup director Tom Pecheux debuted last month at Derek Lam’s FW2010 show. The first product and advertising images just came out, and the direction is definitely more edgy than recent Lauder collections in a YSL FW08 sort of way:

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Designer Konstantin Datz reskins the Rubik’s cube with an intuitive yet novel concept: he replaced the colored panels with white surfaces embossed with the color names in braille.  It’s a great introduction to braille – you’d learn not just the words but how to approach braille in general.  I think.

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French pop star Alizée is back with a cute new single.  It’s catchy, bilingual, and updated with Goldfrapp/Ladytron influences.  It’s not a huge change; “Les Collines” is much closer to Euro pop than experimental electro.  The sound isn’t as much of a departure from her early work as “Limelight,” the teaser single.

What elevates it is Alizée’s subtle performance.  She doesn’t do the brash, sexed up club vocals typical to the genre.  I just wish the hook came sooner – you have to wait to 1:08 for it – but it’ll def work for a driving mix.

The video was directed by Hawaii Fantôme, and the new album Une Enfant du Siècle comes out March 29.

Alizée – Les Collines (Never leave you)

Alizée – “Limelight”

Get Alizée’s music on iTunes

Visit Alizée on her site or Twitter

I’m a huge fan of Arne Jacobsen‘s and have been wanting his Stelton Cylinda-Line pieces for years.  I never imagined anyone touching these classics, but it was a good call to get Paul Smith to tweak them.  I love the color, and the change only reinforces the fact that these pieces are icons.  I think an icon is born when others can generate variations that are recognized as such (Gaga cookies and dogs serve to establish her as a style icon).

Named AddColour, the pieces also include tableware and utensils.  AddColour is of course limited edition and is available in three color ranges: pastel, primary, and muted.

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There used to be two ways you’d go with light up shoes: athletic or stripper.  They’re both suited to their respective environment, enabling the wearer to attain his or her goals by improving ambient conditions with lights.  Safe to say that neither is built for the conditions of the runway.  Blending electronics with accessories doesn’t usually yield high end products.

Jimmy Choo took the first step toward this mix with its spring 2010 Zap sandal.  The model comes in black or multi and will sell for about $2500.

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