Beauty


Chanel nail polish “IT” list for spring 2011

Chanel nail polish is iconic. Every season Chanel dictates to the Beauty world what color should be on the fingertips of Fashionistas everywhere. Whether or not a Fashion-savvy or beauty-savvy shopper decides to follow the “IT” nail color of the moment is a personal choice. In the 1990’s Chanel introduced Vamp, which instantly took candy pink and cherry red off the fashionable fingers of the world and painted them a dark, controversial, brownish-red. Vamp is still on Chanel stores today and is arguably one of the biggest nail polish trends in finger tip history.

The past few years dark nail polish has been a mainstay on the finger-tips of the fashion savvy. With a few pops of pale pink and candy pink as well as last spring’s dark beige Particulaire, extremely dark polish has withstood the test of changing fashion trends. Some Fashionistas may be pulling out their carefully maintained locks at the thought of the high maintenance quality of dark nail polish. The chips show right away and can create a “hot mess” look with one major chip. While wearing dark polish, many beauty-savvy Fashionistas find they need to carry the bottle with them in their handbag; just in case of emergency.

Chanel has dared to test the patience of the fabulous, busy finger-tips of Fashionistas for spring 2011 with the introduction of Black Pearl. Black Pearl has already been named the “It” color for spring 2011 by many fashion publications and has garnered a waiting list upon its release on December 20, 2010. Fashionistas, who desire Black Pearl, might need to run in their 4” Christian Louboutin’s to the nearest Chanel beauty counter in order to snag a bottle. Thankfully, Black Satin from a few years is still on store shelves and Steel from the Chanel resort collection is also available at Nordstrom stores nationwide.

So for those who desire the Chanel “IT” nail polish of the season, there you have it. Black Pearl is the polish for your finger-tips. Of course, if you cannot get your hands on Black Pearl, or you feel $23 for a fleeting trend is too high of a price, check out the various black and steel polishes at Target. Sally Hansen has a fabulous color called Gunmetal which is a metallic black and only about two shades lighter than Chanel’s Black Pearl. For under $10, you can be right on trend with over $13 to spare. Happy shopping and stay fabulous 

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From left to right: Sally Hansen Gunmetal, Chanel Black Pearl and Chanel Steel


Own Products Plump Hydration Lip Therapy

Own Products, which is based in San Francisco and launched in fall 2010, has created an all natural way to plump up lips. Many lip plumpers on the market claim to use natural ingredients but actually use chemicals that irritate the skin on the lip in order to make them “plump.” Not Own! Own Products only uses natural ingredients to make your lips plump. The first three ingredients in Own Products lip plumpers are sunflower seed oil, apricot oil and safflower seed oil.  The fabulous part; those are all ingredients that are found in nature!

Own Products lip plumpers also help to firm and smooth out your lips. Love it! The Chili Pepper flavored lip plumper has an instant, chili pepper zing and scent. The Chili Pepper flavor also leaves a very slight red lip gloss on the lips making it easy to wear during the day. Chili Pepper works well for the holiday season since it offers a slight red tinge. The color blends well with red, pink and blue clothing as well as black and neutral colors.

Own Products Plump Hydration Lip plumpers also come in True Mint and Cinnamon Bark as well as a nighttime therapy version and spf treatment. True Mint and Cinnamon Bark also leave a very slight tinge of color.

San Francisco based Own Products can be found online at ownproducts.com. Happy shopping, and stay fabulous 

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Photo: c/o Own Products Lip Plumper in Chili Pepper


Blow products give Fashionistas the perfect blow dry at home

Blow is a blow dry product line created by The New York Blow Dry Bar. The New York Blow Dry Bar is a hot spot in New York for hair care. Celebrities such as Emma Stone and Lauren Bush have been spotted getting blow outs at Blow NY. The blow dry services at The Blow Dry Bar are in such high demand, that the experts at Blow NY decided to create an at-home blow dry product line which is easy to use, shortens blow dry time and gives great results.

One of the biggest problems Fashionistas have is maintaining frizz and fly-away hair. There is a product for that! Ready set blow by blow is a pure protein blend which helps to accelerate blow dry time and create the same result as a salon blow-out without paying the salon blow-out price. Ready set blow is a must-have for Fashionistas who live in climate’s that can “frizz-up” hair since fog, rain and humidity can ruin a good hair day. Thankfully, ready set blow has solved that problem and keeps your good hair day; regardless of the weather.

Ready set blow is easy to use; you can put a small amount on your fingers and run it through your hair after towel drying it. Then, you will notice that as you blow dry your hair, it dries quickly with a smooth finish. Not only are you saving time, you are saving electricity. Fabulous and green, love it!

Blow also has fabulous styling products that can make hair design at home easy and possible. The blow up thickening mist gives soft bounce to long hair and adds fullness. Even a gust of wind as the fog rolls in over the mountains cannot flatten out your hair. The blow up thickening mist is perfect for days when you want volume in your hair.

The beach blow is also a great product for adding texture to your hair. If you apply to damp, towel dried hair and blow dry using your fingers instead of a brush or comb, it creates a tousled “I just came from the beach but I look fabulous” look which is a great hairstyle for daytime or for casual evenings.

Blow also makes a product called the wave maker. The wave maker is a lotion that you can apply to towel dried hair and then proceed to blow dry using a round brush. The wave maker creates soft waves on wavy hair and tames curls on curly hair creating a soft and manageable hairstyle. Whether you have created waves or loose curls, you will have an easy hair look that can be worn casual or dressy.

*We tested all of the products mentioned in this article on naturally wavy hair, straight fine hair and naturally curly hair (think natural ringlets) and the results were amazing! Bay Area Fashionista highly recommends blow products and we BEG Blow NY to open a salon in the San Francisco Bay Area!

Blow products can be found online at blowny.com 

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Photo: c/o blow blow up thickening mist; blow wave maker; blow ready set blow; blow beach blow