I love this leather hard-back cover for the Mac Book and the Mac Book Pro. It makes your Mac look like an old-fashioned book. You can get it for $79.99 from Twelve South, a company that creates accessories for Apple products.

www.twelvesouth.com

I have just written a long profile of Touch2Give, a new shopping site launched in December 2009 by Asian-American entrepreneur, Claire Chung, who is based in Lisbon, Portugal. Unlike other luxury shopping sites, Touch2Give focuses on independent brands and niche designers who create true luxury – not based on extreme high prices, but on quality and rarity. It also donates 5 percent of sales commissions to charitable causes. Check out my article about Touch2Give and the interview with Claire Chung on Pajama Entrepreneur.

Isn’t it refreshing to see a new fragrance without the name of an overexposed, soon-to-be-over-the-hill celebrity attached to it? [untitled] by Maison Martin Margiela is a strange but welcome addition to the world of perfume. Strange because Margiela himself is anti-publicity and would probably never attach his name to anything as pedestrian as a perfume bottle. He never allows himself to be photographed and most people have no idea what he looks like. When he gives interviews, he does it often via fax and he never talks about his private life. He only talks about the fashion house’s latest designs and he uses the words “We”, not “I”. The oddest thing about this launch is that Margiela has just left Maison Martin Margiela.

The fragrance is created by Daniela Andrier for L’Oreal, holder of the Margiela fragrance license. It is described as woodsy and green with floral notes. Galbanum is the primary ingredient, followed by  boxwood, bitter orange, jasmine, musk and cedar.

[untitled] will be introduced on 25 January 2010 in France at Colette in Paris. Then it will be sold at Martin Margiela’s boutiques in the US starting March 2010. I’m looking forward to this perfume.

MAC is best known for its flamboyant, dazzling ads showing models with lots of bright, sparkly makeup. But occasionally, the cosmetics company brings out color collections that are more suitable to daytime wear. MAC’s latest – All Ages, All Races, All Sexes – is one of those. In a way, it’s misleading because MAC already has a range of colors that suit nearly every skin tone and age group on the planet. But who can complain about the gorgeous eyeshadows in shades of taupe and brown, and new lipglasses in baby pink and sheer taupe?

When it’s cold and gray outside and winter seems to last forever, I cheer myself up by looking at the beautiful new spring makeup colors that we will soon be seeing in the shops. Here is my initial selection of spring makeup favorites from Dior, Guerlain and Clinique. I love the gorgeous packaging and the happy light colors.

A first look at the 2010 Spring makeup collections by Esme Vos on Polyvore.com

One of my favorite French designers is Claudie Pierlot, whose boutiques I always check out when I am in Paris. Her style is casual but very chic with a French twist. She has several shops in Paris but my favorite is on 1, rue Montmartre. Check out my other favorite Paris shopping destinations.