A platform, a 4 1/2 inch heel, a rosette on the vamp with a zipper on the “petal” tips – what’s not to like?
Available at CUSP for $315.
Apr 252008
Trying to get ringlets to go (and stay) straight is never an easy task – and I never met with success until recently. My hair never had any volume if I blew it out straight, and whatever product I used always dulled out shine.
Granted, I like my curly hair, but I like having options as well. So I was understandable thrilled when I tried the Conair Infiniti Tourmaline Hair Designer
The dryer attachment is a lot like a standard diffuser, but it has a comb on one end. This is great for whatever style you are going for – if you are drying your hair curly, the short comb is perfect for lifting your roots to dry them in order to get volume at the crown.
If you are drying your hair straight, separate your hair into sections, and slowly run your hair through the comb. I find I can get great volume if I wrap my hair around my head as I guide the dryer through – follow your hair in the opposite direction of it’s growth around your forehead. Move on to the next section when each section is dry. I end up with tons of volume and pin-straight, shiny hair.
The two products that I find work best for this method are Frederic Fekkai All-Day Hair Plump and Frederic Fekkai Coiff Controle Ironless Straightening Balm
. Both of them work if you want to get curly hair as well.
Find the Conair Infinity Tourmaline Hair Designer Blow Dryer for $41.84 at Amazon.com
Since it was 75 degrees here today, I decided it was officially time for my seasonal makeup bag clean-out – take out the Winter stuff, put in the Springy stuff. I was excited to find I had a new Alison Raffaele Foundation Sponge stored away from last year – I love this sponge.
Instead of the typical wedge shaped sponge, this high quality sponge has a slightly rounded rhombus shape (you really don’t get to use the word rhombus much as a beauty writer!), which allows you to distribute foundation evenly in spots that a regular sponge or brush would deposit way more than you need – like the creases above your nostrils.
I find that it works best if you wet it down first and then dip it into foundation – using a wet sponge makes the foundation more sheer and natural looking – and if too much does end up in one spot, you can just flip over the sponge and correct it – the water will take the excess off, but not everything – so you can control how much coverage you’ll get.
Just to see if there was any difference, I tried wetting the sponge down with the iTech Energy Water System, and I got far more luminous and smooth coverage than with regular tap water – it’s a good combination of products.
These sponges are incredibly durable too – they last through many, many washings.
You can get two sponges for $6 at Beauty.com.
This ring from the May J. Crew catalog makes me smile - and it’s versatile for day or night.
Available for $85 at J. Crew.
Apr 222008
I love Seersucker. I love suits. I love suits with shorts. Add a tank or cap-sleeve tee underneath, and you have a perfect company picnic outfit.
Available at Banana Republic – the blazer is $120, and the shorts are $59.
Where I live the water is really hard – tons of minerals deposits. I’ve learned to work around it for the most part, but at times there are products I know could work much better if the water was different. So I was excited when I saw the iTech Energy Water System at Beauty.com – and I was thrilled when I tried it out and saw how well it works.
The “how it works” science lesson:
The iTech Energy Water System is comprised of a very durable spray bottle (which comes in a 12.9 fluid oz size, a 3.6 fluid oz size
, and a .44 fluid oz Purse size
), which has a series of three filters that turns regular tap water into “Energy” Water. The first filter is a silver coated carbon residue filter. This attracts the hard stuff in your water like a magnet, which in turn makes the water the perfect level of soft – soft on your hair, soft on your skin. It then passes through the aroma and Vitamin C filter. The aroma beads give the water a nice fresh scent and the Vitamin C tones your skin – think of all the skincare products out there with Vitamin C in them – this does the same thing. It finally passes through the ion exchange resin filter, which adds hydrogen ions. This process changes your tap water to a pH of between 3.5-5, which is a gentle but highly effective range for your hair and skin.
The result of all this?
Water that is chlorine free, harmful metal free, and lots of other stuff that can harm your skin and hair. And it feels great. It really is refreshing – it kind of reminds me of of La Mer’s The Mist – which also uses ion technology. When hot weather comes, I can’t wait to use it on the back of my neck to stay cool through the day.
Hair:
I was particularly impressed with how well it freshens hair styles. About a week ago I had a really early appointment and I knew that I couldn’t wash and style my hair in the morning and get out the door on time. And I’m not someone who can wash and style her hair the night before and have it look good in the morning, even if I spritz it down with plain water and freshen it up in the morning. So I thought that I’d try styling my hair at night and using the Energy Water System in the morning (it should be noted that my hair came perfect the night before, so the bar was set especially high – shiny, sleek, and a wave curved in at just the right spot on my cheekbone). I was astonished – despite sleeping in a style-unfriendly position and one side completely flattening out, I lightly spritzed down the de-styled sections, ran a blow-dryer through for about two minutes, and my hair was softer, sleeker, shinier, and had more bounce than the night before! Extra sleep and great style – now that’s a winning combination!
Skin:
To test it out on skin, I sprayed my face and neck down with the iTech Energy Water and massaged on my typical cleanser. I sprayed my face and neck down again, and tissued off the cleanser. The results were amazing – my skin was luminous, toned, and my pores were practically non-existent. Especially around my cheekbones my skin had that luminous transparency that you see on kid’s skin. Needless to say, that’s how I wash my face all the time now!
Have you ever had a time that you are headed to dinner right from the office, and your makeup is a mess? Despite every “quick day to night” makeup column I’ve ever read, sometimes you really need to start from foundation up. This is a great use for the Purse Size spray – spritz on your face, give it a minute to emulsify your makeup, and gently tissue it off (if you can, bring along a clean makeup sponge and take off the old makeup with that). Give your face another quick spray to get all remnants off, add a light layer of moisturizer, and get to work on your makeup. No cleanser needed, no streaky makeup remnants. Your makeup will look as fresh as when you walked out the door in the morning.
I’m absolutely thrilled with the Energy Water System – I use it everyday now on both hair and skin for hair perk ups and to wash my face. My skin is left with a luminous glow and kind of a soft-focus look – impressive for a spritz of water.
I don’t color my hair, but one of the other Style Chicks is due for a dye in a couple of weeks. iTech claims to extend the longevity and shine of color treated hair – seeing how the system goes above and beyond their claims on hair and skin, we can’t wait to see if this extends her color.
The real test for me will be in a few weeks when I head up to see some friends who live in an area with the worst tap water ever – even if I just stay overnight in the area, my hair is fried and my face skin is raw for weeks after washing my face and hair up there – stay tuned for what happens when I spritz down my hair in the morning with the Energy Water System and wash my face with it after I get out of the shower. If it saves me from having to deep condition every day for two weeks when I get home, then I think iTech should be in the running for a Nobel prize….
Find the iTech Energy Water System at Beauty.com.
Since an exact match would be a bit too bright of a color, a good match for an outfit that goes with the Naughty Monkey Women’s Cukoo’s Nest Pump
(a juice red).
Apr 192008
These Naughty Monkey Women’s Cukoo’s Nest Pump
Available at Amazon.com
