Style Chicks » Weddings

Bridal Tiaras in case your future Grandmother in Law isn’t a Monarch

Style Chicks — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:24:38 +0000

Cartier Tiaras aren’t exactly plentiful, but you can still have a royal look on your wedding day. The fantastic folks at Lock & Mane have you covered when it comes to bridal hair accessories, but our favorite modern take on the tiara is still the Carolina Rodriguez Reina Jeweled Headband. You can read our thoughts on it here!

Find the Carolina Rodriguez Reina Jeweled Headband at Lock & Mane for $165.

Carolina Rodriguez Reina Jeweled Headband

Bridal Beauty: Prep like a Princess with Liz Earle’s The Wedding Kit

Style Chicks — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 05:58:51 +0000

British skincare guru Liz Earle has put together a great kit for brides called The Wedding Kit. It’s also a great way to try out some incredible products from the line. many of which we love here at Style Chicks. It also makes for a fabulous bridemaid gift!

The Wedding Kit contains:

Botanical Shine Shampoo and Conditioner (read our review here)
Cleanse and Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser (read our review here)
Instant Boost Skin Tonic Spritzer (read our review here)
Skin Repair Moisturizer (read our review here)
Brightening Treatment Mask (read our review here)
Eyebright Soothing Eye Lotion (read our review here)

Find the Liz Earle The Wedding Kit at LizEarle.com for $61.33.

Liz Earle The Wedding Kit

Bridal Hair Accessories: Show off your Bridal Glow with a Pretty Hair Clip

Style Chicks — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 19:11:57 +0000

Remember a few years ago when it was all the rage to use a gorgeous brooch as a hair clip? I loved it, but there was a few problems – first, it was hard to grab enough hair in a standard pin clasp to really hold it in place – the brooches kept flopping all over the place. Second, if my hair was conditioned as much as it should be, the pin tended to slip down on the silky strands. Third, using a pointy pin next to my head seemed rather dangerous (I ended up pricking my head with a pin more than once….ouch!).

Ban.do 100 Vintage Brooch Bobby Pin

I’m guessing the good folks at Ban.do had these concerns in mind when they designed the fabulous Ban.do 100 Vintage Brooch Bobby Pin. They copied it from a stunning brooch they found at an estate sale and instead of a pin, they attached it to a bobby pin. So it will stay in place, hold enough hair to create a style, not poke you in the head with a pin, and add a chic sparkle to your bridal look.

If you are a bride who is considering a Veronica Lake style for your big day (and if you need ideas, check out January Jones in Marie Claire UK), you may want to give some thought to the 100 Vintage Brooch Bobby Pin. It’s perfect for holding hair back on one side so everyone can see your pretty face as you say I Do!

Find the Ban.do 100 Vintage Brooch Bobby Pin at Lock & Mane for $130.

Bridal Hair: Hairspray

Style Chicks — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 05:53:05 +0000

When my cousin got married, she decided she wanted to try curls instead of her naturally pin-straight, thick, mirror-shiny hair. When her stylist was done (with 15 minutes to the ceremony), my cousin took one look in the mirror and decided that she hated how she looked with curls. So she started frantically brushing her hair out to get it back to her standard style, but after the curls had been sprayed and sprayed in place, her signature raven, thick, glossy locks were now limp, flat, dull, and so lacking in shine that her hair took on a greyish tint.

Lessons to be learned:

1) Always try a hairstyle out before your big day
2) Use a non-stick hairspray that imparts gloss
3) Genetics are a wacky thing – she is the first and only one in her family (on either parent’s side) to have straight hair. The rest of us have big mops of curls…

We’ll be talking about #2 today – how to get glossy hold from a hairspray. You may want to change hairstyles between ceremony and reception, and every bride wants soft, touchable hair, not crunchy, sticky, shellacked on hair.

Two bridal hairsprays to consider:

Blow Blow Out Serious Non-Stick Hairspray

Blow Blow Out Serious Non-Stick Hair Spray: Last year Lyn gave this hairspray a thumbs-up in her review that you can read here. It’s also my go-to hairspray – I love how it doesn’t feel like I’m wearing hairspray, but it holds volume from the roots and lasts all day. I hate that “stiff root” feel, but Blow Out is utterly weightless and lets hair moves beautifully. And if I want to restyle, just brush it out (even finger raking works), and it’s like you are starting with fresh, clean hair. And true to it’s name, hair never gets sticky and hair stays shiny. Plus, the pretty pink can looks great on a vanity table! Find it at Lock & Mane for $19.75 (it’s a huge bottle!)

Jonathan Product’s Finish Control High Shine Flexible Hairspray: I haven’t tried this one but have heard amazing things about it. If you are a fan of Pantene Ice Hairspray but would like something with more movement and less stiffness, High Shine Flexible Hairspray is a good choice. In before and afters I’ve seen, it adds great shine and has amazing ingredients: Sweet Almond protein, Cucumber, Rose infused water, and a Panthenol vitamin complex to name a few. Find it at Lock & Mane for $30.

Bridal Hair Accessories: The Modern Tiara

Style Chicks — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:01:35 +0000

Personally, I think tiaras should be part of everyday dress. Wouldn’t making a sandwich just be all the more special if you were wearing a jeweled tiara?

Carolina Rodriguez Reina Jeweled Headband

But if you are insistent that tiaras should be reserved for royalty and brides, then this Carolina Rodriguez Reina Jeweled Headband is a fresh take on the bridal tiara. The headband will hold your hair in place and pull light towards your face. Try it with an updo for an extra wow factor.

Find this great piece at Lock & Mane (where I know they have “Champagne Thursdays”, so can “Tiara Tuesdays” be far behind????)

Bridal Hair Accessories: Veiled Headband

Style Chicks — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:00:15 +0000

: Jennifer Ouellette Grosgrain Headband with Veil

Are you a bride who isn’t that keen on wearing a veil, but then thinks “well, when in my life am I ever going to be able to wear a veil again?” A lovely compromise is Jennifer Ouellette’s Grosgrain Headband with Veil. With it’s vintage feel, it gives a nod to tradition without covering up your lux locks or beaming smile as you walk down the aisle. It’s a great choice for the modern bride.

Find this fab headband at Lock & Mane for a mere $130.

Bridal Hair: Root Volume with OOKISA Nighttime Follicle Renewing Serum

Style Chicks — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 04:01:32 +0000

If you are a soon to be bride, it’s time to start thinking about your bridal hair style. Unfortunately, you may not be able to whip your hair into the style you’ve been dreaming about without a little trial and error in the weeks and months prior. Now is a great time to try some products and techniques geared towards getting the perfect bridal hair style.

There are two problems that I think most brides encounter: hair that is crunchy and dull due to products and hairspray, and lack of volume. Both can take your fabulous locks and make your bridal hairstyle look less than picture perfect.

OOKISA Nighttime Follicle Renewal Serum

You know about OOKISA Nighttime Follicle Renewing Serum from our review of the OOKISA line. It’s a great product for styling, and I think it has special value for brides. First, it is weightless and touchable. Second, it gives fantastic volume at the root. Third, if your bridal hair style requires day-old hair, Follicle Renewing Serum can be sprayed onto dry hair to get great touchable volume.

Here’s a quick how-to: starting at your part, pick up one inch sections straight in the air and spray Follicle Renewing Serum at the roots. Then, still holding the section up, blast the spot with a blow dryer for about ten seconds. Lay hair to the opposite site while it cools (aka across your part), and repeat with each section. Once you are finished with all 1 inch sections on a side, flip that half of your hair back, light tousle, and repeat on the other side of your part. This technique works especially well if you have long layers. If you have especially thick hair, try 1 1/2″ or 2″ sections.

Get OOKISA Nighttime Follicle Renewing Serum at OOKISA.com!

Meet the Stream Cosmetics Airbrush System

Style Chicks — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:32:29 +0000

Are you new to using foundation? Interested in the elusive flawless ”airbrush” look that models have? Want to have that kind of look everyday? You might be interested in the Stream Airbrush System.

As much as I love makeup, I’m not a fan of heavy makeup. So when it comes to foundation, I’d really rather have a weightless feel and light coverage. I’m not looking to cover, just give my skin a little edge. That’s a bit difficult with standard foundation, especially for very fair skin. That’s where airbrush makeup comes in. When the lovely Lisa sent me a Stream Airbrush System to review, we were all excited to test this new option in the consumer airbrush market.

Stream Airbrush System

If you aren’t familiar with airbrush makeup, here’s a quick rundown: instead of applying makeup with sponges or brushes, you put a few drops of liquid makeup into a small “cup” on a pen shaped stylus (usually, as is the case with the Stream Cosmetics line, there are specialized formulation to work with the system, eg waterbased or silicone based product), then you pull a lever back to release a stream of makeup that is distributed gently onto your skin (and evenly, if done correctly) in a light layer.

The Stream Airbrush System is a great airbrush system for those new to airbrush makeup since it is so intuitive. Once you watch a short instructional DVD, you are ready to get started. The first step is choosing which foundation is right for you out of the color range included in the kit. I’d recommend experimenting with this part. I was a bit skeptical that even the lightest shade would be a good match to my skin, but since it is such a fine mist of makeup that goes on the skin, it was a great match. It’s like nail polish or lipstick – for good or bad, it never is as intense on as it looks in the container. On my first trial, I put on two coats of foundation and it looked pretty good. I really like how much my eyes stand out when my skin is evened out with the airbrushed look - the foundation even did a great job covering the dark circles under my eyes!

Before applying the foundation, I’d highly recommend using the moisturizing primer first. It adds a dewy look to the skin, and the foundation applies in a far more natural way. I tried the system both with and without applying the primer first, and it definitely looks better with the primer. I thought since I was wearing a moisturizing sunscreen underneath that a moisturizing primer would be redundant, but it really serves a different purpose and doesn’t leave the skin too wet if you have a hydrating product on underneath.

The Stream Extreme™ Airbrush Cosmetics System kit includes the following:

Professional multi-speed airbrush system
Airbrush Cosmetics Starter Kit (4 Foundation Shades in your choice of Fair, Medium, or Dark, a Primer, a Bronzer, a Pearlizer/Highlighter, and a Blush)
Cute Gold Travel/storage bag
110/220 AC power source (a battery pack is available separately)
Airbrush Stylus
Training DVD

But the Stream Airbrush System does far more than just foundation - this week we’ll be talking about blush, concealer, highlighting, contouring, and more!

But if you are ready to give the system a try, check it out at Lisa’s page at StreamofBeauty.com!

Here’s a quick youtube tutorial on the Stream Airbrush System:

(of note: like any other review you see on Style Chicks, we’re not affiliated with the company, we are just sharing a great product with you! We do not profit from the sale of this product)

How to do a 10 second updo brought to you by the fab ladies at Lock & Mane

Style Chicks — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:48:09 +0000

The good folks at Lock & Mane just posted a vid on how to do a quick and chic updo with this adorable Jennifer Ouellette Satin Covered Button Hair Stick. I couldn’t figure out how to wrangle my hair into a French Twist until I was sitting behind a girl in class who quickly put her hair up with this technique and a hair stick (yes, I was easily distracted from the lecture when there was important hair instruction to be had). Check it out:

Past Summer Tips from Style Chicks – part 1

Style Chicks — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:08:39 +0000

One of the great things about writing for Style Chicks is that I can frequently find new uses for products that one of us have written about in the past. If it’s stashed away in a draw, I might forget about it, but cruising through past articles and looking at old swatches often leads me to start using a product again – it’s like recycling, but with your own stuff.

I was thinking today that I needed to locate a great lip color that didn’t look or feel too heavy on in this heat (and wouldn’t melt off). And when I saw BeingTrue’s twitter post about one of their great glosses, I immediately knew that BeingTrue’s Sheer Lip Shine in Aglow was the shade I was looking for in this heat. Read our original article and see swatches and pictures of it on here.

And to keep cool and keep your makeup looking dewy, don’t forget about the iTech Energy Water System. My mom is going to a wedding this weekend, and I’m going to send mine along with her so her makeup doesn’t end up completely melted by appetizers. And in this heat, a spray of iTech water on the nape of your neck can make all the difference in keeping you cool.