Holiday On The Hudson, the beauty exhibition presented by The Estée Lauder Companies, took place in New York City’s meatpacking district at The House of Bumble during the height of summer. But the sweltering heat didn’t deter the faithful from viewing the latest launches from The Estée Lauder Companies, which ranged from Lauder’s new Holiday Compacts, to new fragrances, men’s skin care essentials, fragranced candles, hair care, eye palettes, glosses, and gift sets galore.

Among the beauty offerings were several new and festive entries from Estée Lauder,including a range of Holiday Compacts. The collectible solid perfume and powder compact collection included limited edition pieces for holiday gift-giving, as well as the season’s new nature-inspired animals and birds, jeweled sea turtles, colorful floral designs, and traditional classics. Some of the pieces featured intricate detailing and Swarovski Elements designs in vivid colors, while others featured the work of American designer, Jay Strongwater, who created signature stone and enamel works.

Estee Lauder's Jeweled Sea Turtle Compact featuring White Linen fragrance.

The compacts offered Estée Lauder fragrances including Beautiful, Pleasures, Sensuous, White Linen, and Youth Dew, and the powder compacts contained Lucidity Translucent Pressed Powder. Compacts are part of the Lauder heritage, as the company created the first pressed powder compact in 1963, and has added a new edition of collectible compacts each year.

Estée Lauder's Pleasures Golden Bird.

The first solid perfume compact was introduced in 1967, the Youth-Dew Oval Compact, and original designs inspired by art, history, fashion and nature have followed. Designs in the collection include the work of numerous artists, as well as original designs from Mrs. Estée Lauder herself. To date, more than 690 original designs have been created and thousands have been sold worldwide. When the collection is not traveling the world, it is archived at Estée Lauder headquarters in New York City.

Estée Lauder’s Jeweled Sea Turtle, a Neiman Marcus exclusive, features White Linen fragrance, and retails for $275. Estée Lauder’s Golden Bird, containing Pleasures, is available at all Estée Lauder counters and retails for $89. The Jay Strongwater-designed metal compacts, housing Lucidity Translucent Pressed Powder, include designs featuring enamel and crystals, seen in the Saks Fifth Avenue exclusive, Exotic Orchid, which retails for $225. The solid perfume, as well as pressed powder collections, are on counter this month for a limited time.

Lauder's Sensuous Noir fragrance.

Sensuous Noir Launches for Holiday

On the fragrance front, Estée Lauder created a Woody Amber fragrance called Sensuous, in 2008 that was warm, luminous and sensual. The newest iteration of Sensuous, just launching for holiday, is Sensuous Noir, a richer, more intense expression of sensuality, which takes the original’s molten woods and adds heightened floral depth and mystery.

Karyn Khoury, senior vice president of corporate fragrance development worldwide, The Estée Lauder Companies, says, “Sensuality as an experience and as an emotion has a very broad spectrum of expression. There are many moods, many facets, and many shades of sensuality, which range from the more luminous expression of Sensuous to deeper, darker, more mysterious expressions. This concept of exploring a darker, more mysterious olfactive territory and deeper shades of sensuality inspired the creation of Sensuous Noir.”

Sensuous Noir is built from a core of melted wood nature print, honey and amber. According to Karen Khoury, senior vice president, corporate fragrance development,Melted Woods NaturePrint was derived from a rare technique discovered in a wood-melding process used in making furniture.

“When rare woods were heated together to a molten temperature, an extraordinary olfactive signature was discovered,” explained Khoury. “We created a NaturePrint—an exact replica of the essence of these molten woods—to provide a unique signature, never before used in perfumery.”

Sensuous Noir's floral aspects have been intensified and include exotic purple rose, rose essence and spiced lily, which provide a midnight garden aura. Jasmine, also known as “Queen of the Night,” lends its petals, and black pepper adds spice to the bouquet. A Crème Noir Accord and Patchouli Prisma, intensify the signature.The Mysterious Accord that provides the base blends benzoin and creamy vanilla, for texture, warmth, and a gourmand feeling, with honey and amber, providing the dry down of the scent. Available at all Estée Lauder counters in September 2010, the eau de parfum retails for $60, for the 1.7 oz/50 ml, and $48 for the 1.0 oz/30 ml. Additional information is available at: www.esteelauder.com.

Lab Series Age-Less Face Cream

Reclaiming younger looking skin is a gender-free pursuit. The latest introduction from Lab Series Skincare for Men is Max LS Age-Less Face Cream, with a new formula inspired by sirtuin technology and the science of cell longevity, designed to deliver long-term improvement in the appearance of men’s skin. The Lab Series research scientists looked to the science behind “longevity genes,” called sirtuins, finding that when the longevity genes are activated, they can trigger skin cells to live longer so they can naturally repair damage.

Lab Series Max LS Age-Less Face Cream for Men.

The new Max LS Age-Less Face Cream contains Molecular Age-Less Complex, consisting of hydrolyzed rice extract, hydrolyzed *Myrtus communis leaf extract, and *Larix sibirica wood extract, designed to help repair signs of aging and help slow down the rate at which the skin appears to age. In addition to the sirtuin technology, the complex contains whey protein and acetyl hexapeptide-8, to help keep skin looking firmer and smoother. Mica and titanium dioxide, contained within the product’s skin-optics blend, are said to impact the appearance of photo-aging and skin imperfections caused by the environment or stress, while hydration is provided by glycerin, sodium PCA and sodium hyaluronate.

Richard Sawyer, men’s grooming expert, Lab Series Skincare for Men, says, “The moisturizing and non-greasy formula of Max LS Age-Less Face Cream feels nourishing and replenishing. Skin feels rejuvenated, hydrated, and satisfied, as well as looks healthy and re-born.”

According to the company, consumer testing conducted after eight weeks of use revealedthat 98% of those tested saw a boost in hydration, and 90% observed a reduction in the look of lines and wrinkles. The product delivers a cool burst of hydration upon application, is absorbed quickly, and leaves no greasy after-feel. It is currently available at retail for $65 for 1.7oz at select department stores and at: www.labseries.com