Fashion Week SS 09: Backstage at Vivenne Tam

Vivienne Tam's Spring 2009 fashion show was both flirty and sophisticated. There's a mix of flowing, floral-inspired dresses with tailored, structured pieces. The hairstyles, created by lead stylist Nexxus Creative Director Kevin Mancuso, took cue from the collection’s dual tone with a soft, yet modern updo.

How-to Get the Look:

Step 1:
* Apply a root lifting product, like Nexxus Root Exxtend, at roots for lift and all over locks to help enhance texture and pliability.
* Distribute a medium-hold mousse, such as Nexxus Mousse Plus, throughout hair to help maintain the structure of the style.
* Separate hair into medium size sections and blow-dry with a round brush.

Step 2:
* Part top section of hair down the middle.
* Gather hair into a mid-placed ponytail, in line with your ears. Loop ponytail into a twisted bun and secure with bobby pins.
* Pull a few strands from the end of the ponytail from the bun for a wispy texture.


Step 3:
* Finish look with a light-hold hairspray, like Nexxus 360° Volume.


Products Used:

* Nexxus Root Exxtend
* Nexxus Mousse Plus
* Nexxus 360° Volume

Fashion Week SS09: Backstge at Catherine Malandrino

Inspiration:

Inspired by a spring day in Paris, Catherine Malandrino’s collection reflects the ’40s and ’50s soft silhouettes that were feminine with an underlying edge. Elaborating on the 40s/50s era, the hairstyles evoke “rockabilly” flair by creating volume on the top of the head in a chignon and similar variations of this updo.

The Hair Color Story:

The hair was augmented with customized Wella colored extensions in order to create beautiful chignons that match and complement the natural hair color. Eva Scrivo and her team of Wella Professionals colorists colored over 20 extensions in preparation, along with 30 accentuating pieces to match. In order to create depth, dimension and texture, the Wella Professionals team colored the extensions to show movement and the blending of light and dark tones.

Step-by-Step:

1) Make a tight ponytail high on the top of the head

2) Twist the ponytail tightly into a coil

3) Wrap coiled ponytail first towards the forehead and then to the back, securing with pins into a bun, sitting high on the head

4) Take a Wella highlighted extension, coil, and secure on top of the twisted and already secured ponytail to add height and dimension to the bun

Products: Provided by Sebastian Professional

--TAMING ELIXIR: Weightless Smoothing Crème Serum

--SHAPER FIERCE: Ultra-Firm Finishing Hairspray

--SHAPER ZERO GRAVITY: Dry, Brushable, Lightweight Control Hairspray

Total Beauty Web Tour 9/27/08

Beauty Anonymous reviews La Mer The Hydration Infusion.


Enter to win Y.E.S. skincare products valued at $98 from Girl-Woman-Beauty-Brains-Blog.

Beauty411 shares the best online beauty shopping websites from the NovemberShopSmart by Consumer Reports magazine! Did your favorite site make the list?

Monique at Beauty Girl Musings has tried Kinerase Under Eye Rescue, and is surprised at what she discovers. Find out what she thinks!

Alison of the Advice Sisters is blogging about the hair, makeup and nails backstage at Fashion Week fromVera Wang to Carmen Marc Valvo, and gives readers a birds-eye view of the American Express Skybox.

The Jet Set Girls are giving away Crest Weekly Clean. Stop by and register to win!

The Makeup Divas reviews Make Up For Ever HD Invisible Cover Foundation and tells you why they love it.

Boutique Flair's fab finds will help you get fall's decadent dark lips. Is the power pout beautifully romantic or tragically goth? You decide!

Butterfly Diary wonders why the heck Sarah Palin is promoting a lipstick for an environmentally friendly company. Heard of the word "oxymoron"?

What anti-aging skincare brand does Beauty Blogging Junkie swear by these days? Find out here!

Latest Hair Trends Seen at the 2008 Emmy Awards-by Talking Makeup!

Meg Ryan is looking better than ever in the new movie, The Women! Find out what hair products help her create those gorgeous waves on A Mom in Red High Heels!

Jenn from Beauty in Real Life has found a new moisturizer perfect for Fall. Click here to find out what it is.


Glossypink has a hot new look and has an awesome Dita Von Teese photo gallery!

Spoiled Pretty is giving away a Junior Drake handbag worth $528. What are you waiting for? Enter today!

Ok so I know this is a fashion/beauty/pop culture blog but I'm currently doing an assignment for school where it's my job (as a reporter) to follow the 2008 election. My job?? watch tons of ads and analyze them...

I;d just like to share this one 'cuz I thought it was clever lol

ZenniOptical.com: Eye Can See Clearly Now!!!

Ok so the title was a bit cheesy but...you obviously know what's coming don't you???

I wear glasses but my current frames are red and I know this will sound completely ridiculous but red is so difficult to match with my everyday wear. Red frames can COMPLETELY throw off an outfit. Don't ask me why I got them in the first place because quite honestly, I don't know.

So in looking for new frames without breaking the bank, Zenni Optical is awesome! While I'd love to get the latest Chanel frames, spending $200+ on glasses at this time is so not cool. That's why I'm going to tell you darlings about this Zenni Optical. I first learned about it online and even found out that Zenni Optical was on FOX news!




These Incredible Stylish New Frames From Zenni are sooooooo affordable- how affordable??? $29.95 affordable.

Yeah

Zenni Optical $ 8 Rx Eyeglasses:
Yeah you read correctly. They are selling prescription eyeglasses for $8.

But how can they do this? you ask

Well, they sell their own manufactured frames directly to the customer- no middlemen, [almost] no advertising budget.

NO BULL!!

So in times of economic meltdown and panic, get your stylish eye wear for next to nothing.

You're welcome

Fashion Week SS09: Alexander Wang

I fell in love with Alexander Wang ever since last season and seeing him on Full Frontal Fashion. He just has an AMAZING personality and is the epitome of chic-sexy-grunge. His name has been mentioned A LOT lately especially because of his muse/partner in crime model Erin Wasson.

While Wang has kept up the cool grunge girl next door, for Spring 2009 she is definitely sexier. This is one step in a forward direction for Wang. I'm extremely happy to see this because I love him and since he' still young, he can develop his identity as a designer but at the same time test the waters and try to create different pieces. I mean seriously, if Ralph Lauren was to come out with a chic 80s grunge collection, it would be kind of odd since we're so used to seeing his sophisticated style. Not to mention there's COLOR in this collection and not his usual black and white.

Q: What is the inspiration for your collection? What is the look you are capturing?

“This season, I was inspired to push fashion in a new direction and challenge myself to create something very different, new and fresh. This look reveals another dimension of the ‘girl’; she’s street-smart, athletic and casual with a hint of Miami Vice—basketball meets walk-of-shame. Colors are art deco inspired, faded and sun bleached.”

Q: You have made a real effort to “green” your show this season. How do you feel about this accomplishment?

“It feels good to contribute to such an important cause—and I thank Aveda for their help and guidance. The environment is such an important concern and it can sometimes feel overwhelming so it’s great to remember that every bit helps.”

Q: Have you made any additional efforts in your own life to care for the planet? i.e., not using bottled water at home? Turning your thermostat down? Bringing your own bag to the grocery store?

“We’ve recently moved our studio into a new building and we are utilizing all the natural light to minimize our reliance on lamps and overhead lighting. We also replaced bottled water with Brita filters and eliminated disposable cups, plates and cutlery.”

Pucker Up Wednesday: MAC Cult of Cherry in Rich & Ripe

Holy smokes! I haven't done one of these summer. My sincerest apologies.

But up for review is Rich n Ripe from MAC's Cult of Cherry collection. I know,I know...Cult of Cherry is old business but I wasn't even going to touch this collection had Macy's not tempt me with a $10 gift card. I hate when they send those shopping cards and the fact that I work right near a Macy's does not help me at all. But on the plus side- I got me this lipgloss for $5.

SWEET!!

Rich & Ripe is a mid-tone pinkish red with multi-dimensional pearlized pigments. I absolutely LOVE this color. It's more pinkish then red on me and I must say I'm super satisfied with that. I haven't quite gotten over my fear of red lips (though I do own two red lip products: Drop Dead Red by Too Faced LOVE and MAC's Avarice from the Originals collection). It's deep juicy pink (living up to the "Rich & Ripe" title) with beautiful sparkle.

Now I normally am anti-sparkle BUT this sparkle is not obnoxious at all..SOOO not 3rd grade glitter lip gloss.

WHEW!

Its an extremely pretty color. While this isn't as "dark" as the other colors in the CoC collection,I'm quite happy because although its the trend for fall...it's still a bit early for me to rock the vamp lips. I'm thinking late October, early November.

Overall: A+

and guess what??? because I love the juicy pinkness of this color, I'm making it

That's right! A makeup bag must have. This is the perfect pink for my two toned lips.

Fashion Week SS09: Backstge at Alexander Wang

Lead Hair: Eugene Souleiman for Aveda

The Look: This look is about the girl who’s just left the gym and has pulled her hair back into a “sweaty,” textured, undone half-pony. The bottom is loose and the texture is dry.

Get the Look/Step-by-Step:

• Step 1: Spray Aveda Volumizing Tonic throughout dry hair and finger comb to create a “sweaty” texture - a.k.a. - “gym hair.”

• Step 2: Mist Aveda Air Control Hair Spray onto hair and pull top half into a ponytail. Twist hair from the top of the pony to the end and dry with a diffuser.

• Step 3: Sprinkle Aveda Pure Abundance Hair Potion at the roots and rake it through with fingers to add texture, volume and grip.

• Step 4: Massage the twisted pony upwards while drying with a diffuser to add texture and flyaways.

• Step 5: Release ponytail so that hair is loose with messy tendril curls. Spray with Air Control Hair Spray and dry again with a diffuser.

• Step 6: Bring the top and sides of hair together into a half-pony and secure tightly at the crown with a black string.

• Step 7: Rake hands through roots once more to add roughness and texture.

Aveda Products Used:

Volumizing Tonic

Pure Abundance Hair Potion

Air Control Hair Spray

Q: What was your inspiration for this look? How did you collaborate with the designer o create the look?

“The collection is very much street wear and athletics inspired. This is a girl who has been playing basketball all day and has casually pulled her hair back. The crown is damp to capture a ‘sweaty’ look and the bottom is dryer, full of texture and flyaways.”

Q: How could a woman achieve this look on her own?

“This is a look that works well for long hair and can be easily adapted to create a slightly more polished effect. The key to this look is to create texture at the roots and loose, messy waves at the ends.”

Christina Applegate at the Emmy's

What a comeback! Chrisitna Applegate returns to the spotlight after breast cancer surgery. She might not have won the award for best actress in a comedy but as far as I'm concerned, she won the best dressed award (which is what we all remember after the awards anyway, right??)Christina wore an icy blue one shouldered jacquard Reem Acra dress with gold flecked print. I love the train on this dress. And the purple earrings gives that extra pizazz and that regal feeling. Is it me or is she channeling Grace Kelly here???

Fashion Week SS09: Preen

Inspired by Easy Rider and Jimi Hendrix, Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi (the duo of Preen) had some very sexy outfits this season.

Q: What is the inspiration for your collection? What is the look you are capturing?
“The look we’re going for is a feminized biker, hippie, Native American combo with an edgy Jimmy Hendrix attitude. The collection captures tribal-inspired patterns, printed denim on silk, sheer fabrics, bold zippers, cut-outs and sexy, laced-up backs.”


Q: You have made a real effort to “green” your show this season. How do you feel about this accomplishment?
“The environment is very important to us. We have a baby on the way and so are even more concerned about preserving the planet for future generations. We’re thrilled to be partnering with Aveda and are grateful for the example they are providing for us in terms of greening our show.”


Q: Have you made any additional efforts in your own life to care for the planet? i.e., not using bottled water at home? Turning your thermostat down? Bringing your own bag to the grocery store?
“Thea and I are conscious of the massive amount of paper and cardboard we use in the studio for pattern cutting and other projects. We make a concerted effort to recycle all materials we possibly can.

“We love the Aveda Sigg bottles and will be using them in our studio back in London. In certain parts of England, you can still have milk delivered in reusable glass bottles. Perhaps we should be looking to the past for other inspirations on how to reduce our carbon footprint.”



I especially like the fact that they have went green, since I am trying to be more eco friendly (and I am having some success!! yay!!) While the dresses do look fab, it doesn't really do much for me. The color palette was similar to those of the past and I would have really like to see some more oranges, blues- some form of bright color. They didn't quite break new ground, but the sexy clothes should really raise their status for us on this side of the pond as this London duo has achieved quite a status back home.

Rock & Republic Cosmetics

AHHH!!! Everyone's favorite denim line-Rock & Republic- has come out with their own cosmetics line and yours truly couldn't be more excited! I love Rock & Republic ever since I tried on their jeans (their Berlin jean is the PERFECT FIT SKINNY JEANS EVER!!) But my student budget couldn't fork out the $200 needed for a pair of jeans.

But worry not my fellow fashionista beauties! If you don't want to dish out the $200 for a pair of skinnies, grab your Hello Kitty debit card (Bank of America anyone???) and run-not walk- over to your nearest Nordstorm stores, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, and rockandrepublic.com dish out the $26 for a lippie.

The packaging= AMAZING! The names of some of the products are soo clever (lippie= Loudmouth, blush=Kinky) and honestly these are around the same price for other high end cosmetic companies.


Bound: Gel eye liner has a long wearing formula and comes in a variety of bright shades including a bright green called Toxic and a deep purple known as Torture (what I want).

Classic $46: The tinted primer is SPF 20 and smoothes out wrinkles and imperfections. It also contains caffeine and vitamin E to help fight free radicals.

Trickery $48: Rock & Republic's Tinted Illuminizer adds a subtle glow.

Imitate $28: The mousse blush has a soufflé formulation that melts into the skin.


Luxe Lip Gloss, $26:High shine and maximum moisture in a lustrous bullet. Luxury has never tasted so good.Provides maximum moisture in a non-sticky texture.Buildable intensity Long-wearing formula.
Eyeshadow $28: A soft, ultra-blendable texture and has a unique, creaseless formula that stays put. Richly pigmented shades come in matte, shimmer, and satin finishes.

Accentuate $225 ($45 for refills): The Bronzer/Highlighter duo comes in a compact decorated with Swarovski crystals and is refillable. It has a kabuki brush and the matte finish bronzer is housed with one of three highlighter shades: coral, pink, or gold.


Contrived Pressed Blush $40: Comes in three different textures—matte, shimmer, and translucent—and ultra-flattering shades. Highlights every contour and adds glowing life to the complexion.


Exhibition Pressed Powder $44: Ultra-smooth, soft and silky texture gently caresses your complexion while while eliminating shine. Evens out tone and absorbs oil transforming skin into the perfect canvas. Use a final dusting over face to keep makeup perfectly set for hours.


I especially want the pressed powder because I am addicted to pressed powders and I was happy (ok..OVERJOYED) to find that they have different skin tones/ colors. And the darker tones isn't simply labeled "3" or "Dark". They have FOUR different dark tones. FOUR!!! Chanel has ZERO (but they do have a bronzer but still...), Dior has ZERO (but it does have a "Transparent Dark which would be fit for a light skin black girl...think Alicia Keys), see where I'm going with this???***

And how could I deny lip gloss?? That's my must have product ever..so I'm kinda excited about these lippies.

***this is just based on my experience and my research online. If anyone else has found that these companies make pressed powder fit for darker girls let me know!! Sister girl wants her some Chanel =)

Pictures courtesy of Neiman Marcus

Fashion Week SS 09: Backstage at 3.1 Phillip Lim

The Look behind Phillip Lim for Spring 2009 was Eva Peron meets Juliet Lewis. It was all about giving the ’40s look in a more a modern feel and shape. “This look is very intricate but the off-center bun above the ear is a very elegant, sophisticated evening look.” - Odile Gilbert

Get the Look/Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Create a deep side part and section hair off behind the ear. Spray with Air Control Hair Spray and brush through to smooth.

Step 2: Create a high pony tail right above the right ear and secure in place with an elastic.

Step 3: Divide pony in half and roll each section around a “rat” (small hair sponge), creating a cylinder-like shape. Hold in place with pins and spray with Air Control Hair Spray.

Step 4: Repeat with other section of pony tail, creating a bow-like shape.

Step 5: Apply a small amount of Aveda Light Elements Defining Whip throughout remaining section of hair on other side of the head. Spray with Air Control Hair Spray before wrapping hair down and around the back of the head along the hair line, and up around the base of the pony tail. Secure with pins throughout to keep in place.

And for my guys out there reading this blog (do you exist???) I got you covered as well:

Step 1: Spray hair with water and comb through to moisten.

Step 2: Mix Aveda Men Pure-formance Pomade and Men Pure-formance Grooming Clay together in hands and comb throughout hair from top to bottom.

Step 3: Create a severe, deep side part and smooth using a fine tooth comb.

Aveda Products Used:
Air Control Hair Spray
Light Elements Defining Whip

Odile Gilbert Quotes:

Q: What was your inspiration for this look? How did you collaborate with the designer o create the look?
“The look for hair—like the collection, can be described as Eva Peron meets Juliet Lewis. We are revisiting the ’40s and giving it more a modern shape.”

Q: How could a woman achieve this look on her own?
“This look is very intricate but the off-center bun above the ear is a very elegant, sophisticated evening look.”

Not only was the collection FAB, the hair and makeup on point, but those lucky enough got the motherload gift bags! The gift bag has a $250 value (one of the highest at Fashion Week). And it cam in an exclusive Phillip Lim organic tote!!

GREEN!! GREEN!! GREEN!!! I'm sooo happy designers are going green with me!!!
In the bag:
- AVEDA Dry Remedy Shampoo

-AVEDA Dry Remedy Moisturizing Treatment Masque

-Aveda Dry Remedy In

-NARS Duo Eyeshadow in Persepolis

-NARS Blush in Penny Lane

-NARS Lip Gloss in Chihuahua

-NARS Eyeliner Pencil in Kitty

-NARS Perfecting Powdered Sheets

-NARS Mini Body Glow

***sigh***