Kat Von D at Sephora

Kat Von D brings her tattoo talents and saucy signature look to the makeup masses.

"People have always asked me what I would be doing if I wasn't a tattoo-er," says Kat Von D, reality TV star and owner of LA's High Voltage Tattoo. "The only other thing I could imagine is doing makeup!"

Kat may not be "doing" makeup in the artistic sense, but boy can she create it. A Kat conception inside and out (her rose tattoo stencils cover each product), her Sephora-exclusive color collection is the perfect distillation of her personal style, passion for makeup, and creative background.

Although she's been professionally inking since 1998, Kat's love for makeup started much earlier. "The first time I ever wore makeup was at the age of 7, after sneaking into my mother's makeup drawer," she says. "Growing up, my mom was always beautiful, with or without makeup. But man, oh man! When she did wear makeup, I noticed it changed everything: the way she walked, talked, and smiled.

"This early awareness of makeup's transformational qualities is one of the reasons Kat reigns supreme as an A-List tattoo artist and innovative style setter. Her recognizable look—consisting of dark, smoky cat eyes and racy red lips—shows she's a sexy, enterprising libertine who's not afraid to speak her mind.

"Some days are harder to wake up to than others, especially when dealing with the stresses and worries of my daily routine," Kat admits. "But after taking the time to 'put my face on' and look in the mirror, I feel beautiful, confident, and unique. It's a lot easier to take on challenges.

"It should also be noted that Kat is a certified beauty fanatic. Her makeup closet (yes, closet!), is so vast and organized, she jokes that it's borderline obsessive-compulsive. But she's not ashamed: "Makeup is part of my daily routine. It's the time in my mornings when I can concentrate on me, and me alone. Giving yourself that kind of attention is so important—and is something that is definitely glossed over by too many women.

"Thankfully, Kat's exquisite array of colors gives us good reason to make getting dolled up a daily ritual.

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The Tales of Beedle The Bard

In December 2007, J.K. Rowling unveiled The Tales of Beedle the Bard, a very special book of five fairy tales illustrated by the bard herself, embellished with silver ornaments and mounted moonstones. Amazon was fortunate to come into possession of one of the original copies, and it was our privilege to share images and reviews of this incredible artifact. Now J.K. Rowling is giving millions of Harry Potter fans worldwide cause for celebration with a new edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard (available December 4, 2008) and Amazon is thrilled to exclusively offer a luxuriously packaged Collector's Edition designed to evoke the spirit of the handcrafted original.


Tucked in its own case disguised as a wizarding textbook found in the Hogwarts library, the Collector's Edition includes an exclusive reproduction of J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction, as well as 10 additional illustrations not found in the Standard Edition or the original. Opening the case reveals a velvet bag embroidered with J.K. Rowling’s signature, in which sits the piece de resistance: your very own copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, complete with metal skull, corners, and clasp; replica gemstones; and emerald ribbon. As a special gift for fans, the Collector's edition also includes a set of 10 ready-for-framing prints of J.K. Rowling's illustrations, enclosed in a velvet-lined pocket in the lid of the outer case.


Offering the trademark wit and imagination familiar to Rowling's legions of readers--as well as Aesop's wisdom and the occasional darkness of the Brothers Grimm--each of these five tales reveals a lesson befitting children and parents alike: the strength gained with a trusted friendship, the redemptive power of love, and the true magic that exists in the hearts of all of us. Rowling's new introduction also comments on the personal lessons she has taken from the Tales, noting that the characters in Beedle's collection "take their fates into their own hands, rather than taking a prolonged nap or waiting for someone to return a lost shoe," and "that magic causes as much trouble as it cures."


But the true jewel of this new edition is the enlightening and comprehensive commentary (including extensive footnotes!) by Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, who brings his unique wizard's-eye perspective to the collection. Discovered "among the many papers which Dumbledore left in his will to the Hogwarts Archives," the venerable wizard's ruminations on the Tales allow today's readers to place them in the context of 16th century Muggle society, even allowing that "Beedle was somewhat out of step with his times in preaching a message of brotherly love for Muggles" during the era of witch hunts that would eventually drive the wizarding community into self-imposed exile. In fact, versions of the same stories told in wizarding households would shock many for their uncharitable treatment of their Muggle characters.


Professor Dumbledore also includes fascinating historical backstory, including tidbits such as the history and pursuit of magic wands, a brief comment on the Dark Arts and its practitioners, and the struggles with censorship that eventually led "a certain Beatrix Bloxam" to cleanse the Tales of "much of the darker themes that she found distasteful," forever altering the meaning of the stories for their Muggle audience. Dumbledore also allows us a glimpse of his personal relationship to the Tales, remarking that it was through "Babbity Rabbity and Her Cackling Stump" that "many of us [wizards] first discovered that magic could not bring back the dead."


Both a wise and delightful addition to the Harry Potter canon, this new translation of The Tales of Beedle the Bard is all that fans could hope for and more--and an essential volume for the libraries of Muggles, wizards, and witches, both young and old.