Beauty

Brazilian Blowout Controversy: thankfully there are safe alternatives

 in Beauty / Hair Care  tagged brazilian blowout by

The Brazilian Blowout controversy has exploded since Women’s Wear Daily published an article on October 8, 2010 detailing the excessive amounts of formaldehyde found in Brazilian Blowout products. When the news broke, many beauty salons began pulling the products from store shelves. Unfortunately the Brazilian Blowout products had been advertised as “formaldehyde-free,” thus sparking the controversy over the large amount of fomaldehyde which was actually found in the products. The controversy sparked Health Canada to issue a firm warning to salons in Canada. Distributors of Brazilian Blowout have stopped shipping their products to Canada as of Wednesday, October 12 2010 in response to Health Canada’s warning.

According to Women’s Wear Daily, the Oregon Health and Science University’s Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology conducted a study and then released the lab results which show that the Brazilian Blowout product contains between 5% and 10% formaldehyde. According to Health Canada, the levels were at 12% in lab tests. There have also been health related problems reported in Canada due to the formaldehyde levels in the Brazilian Blowout products.

Thankfully there are three products on the market for Fashionistas seeking the same sleek, healthy hair and manageable results a Brazilian Blowout provides.

Shu Uemura Art of Hair ShuSu Sleek entered high end salons in September 2010 and provides both an at-home solution and a traditional salon treatment. Clients have the choice of which product they wish to use; salon or at-home.

Kerastase Paris Oleo-Relax Slim has already been on the market for awhile and also offers an at-home treatment as well as the salon option.

blow Ready Set Blow launched in September 2010 in fine salons in New York. Hopefully this line will reach California soon!

All of these products are safe to use and provide fabulous, smooth silky blowout results. the results can last anywhere from three to six months depending on how you care for your hair at home. Happy shopping and hairstyling! And of course, stay fabulous 

Melissa Elia Founder of Mayssa Fragrance Interview

 in Beauty / Fragrance / Trends  tagged interviews / local perfumers / mayssa by

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to a few niche perfumers who create beautiful fragrances that may or may not get noticed beyond the local level. Niche perfumers are increasing in popularity as consumers become bored with “macro-perfumers” making fragrances that all smell alike and follow the “fragrance fashion trend du jour.”

There have been endless fragrance launches over the past ten years that mix and match the same scents over and over again; many of which have celebrity names attached to the bottle just to boost sales of the same boring liquid. The allure of boutique or niche perfumers has increased as consumers have realized there is a whole world of creativity out there that has yet to be sniffed. One of the local, San Francisco Bay Area perfumers worth noticing is Melissa Elia, creator of Mayssa Fragrance.

Mayssa Fragrance founder Melissa Elia created a light, floral fragrance out of love and passion.  Elia was in a classic love story with a man who spoke about future children and their future names. The girl’s name was to be Mayssa (pronounced may-ee-sah). When the relationship ended, Elia knew she needed a way to mend her broken heart. Her passion had been her love affair with a man; it was soon to be replaced by her passion for fragrance.

Melissa Elia always knew she had an inner desire to start and own something. Her entrepreneurial spirit kept bringing her into the fragrance world. Elia began to meet professionals in the fragrance industry and this was her cue to create her own fragrance.

Melissa Elia knew what fragrances she liked and what she did not like. She began purchasing essences and oils and mixing them together in her own kitchen.  Through trial and error, she narrowed down the ingredients that she and her friends liked the best. This is how Mayssa was born. Once Mayssa’s recipe was complete, Elia began to create shower gel, soap and lotion in her kitchen to complement the Mayssa perfume.

Launched in 2003, Mayssa is a beautiful, wearable combination of green, floral and citrus notes. The heart of the fragrance takes Fragrance Fashionistas through a flower garden filled with jasmine, rose and lily. The basenotes of Mayssa are smooth cedarwood and musk. Melissa Elia successfully created a light, everyday fragrance that can easily be worn to the office during the day as well as for an evening out on the town. She used a mix of synthetic and natural oils that are high in quality and long lasting.

Mayssa soon became popular and Melissa Elia realized she could no longer create the perfume in her own kitchen. She began to shop around in search of a perfumery that could produce her fragrance in small or large batches while maintaining the high quality mix of ingredients she demanded. After about a one year search, Melissa Elia found a local company in Livermore, California that could mix her perfume with high quality ingredients and create small or large batches depending on the needs of the business.

This beautiful fragrance is increasing in popularity as more and more Fragrance Fashionistas discover Mayssa. While Mayssa is currently sold in boutique hotel spas and online, the fragrance line is set to expand and be distributed nationally. Mayssa will continue to be a niche perfume while benefitting from national exposure and sales.

Melissa Elia is a true entrepreneur who found her passion and followed it. She is an inspiration to anyone looking to start a company and follow their dream.  Mayssa will not be the last perfume the fashion and beauty world sees from Melissa Elia. She has plans to create a men’s fragrance as well as continue to expand her Mayssa product line. She is definitely a business woman to follow, watch and learn from.

Mayssa

Mayssa Fragrance Line
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Mayssa Fragrance

Fall Make-Up: The New Eye

 in Beauty / General Fashion / Trends  tagged eye make-up / fall 2010 / runway trends / winter 2011 by

The new make-up styles for Fall 2010 bring a fresh, clean face to the Bay Area. The runways in Paris, Milan and New York showed varying colors of lipsticks and blush; yet the one common theme was the new eye. While smoky eyes and heavily made-up eyes were still present on the runways, the new, naked eye was the fresh stand out for Fall 2010. The one piece of make-up that was markedly absent from the new eye was eyeliner. Eyes were enhanced with mere mascara and light eye shadow while faces were either naked or fully made up.

Nina Ricci, Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Thakoon, Peter Som, Celine and Christopher Kane sent models down the runway without eyeliner. The eyes were enhanced with mascara and pale eye shadow such as sheer gold and sheer orange. Cheeks were painted with everything from deep purple to pale pink. The lips were either bright red, bluish-pink, dark violet reminiscent of the movie Twilight or completely nude. Eyebrows were thick and enhanced with eyebrow pencil.  The nude eye is perfect for daytime and can be played up with any shade of blush. Lips can be nude, bright red or dark violet; according to your mood.

The smoky eye made an appearance at a few runway shows such as Zac Posen. Charcoal eye shadow was used over smudged black eyeliner and mixed together with a cutip to create an “I just woke up” look. Since the smokey eye has been around for several years, this may be it’s last hurrah as the new naked eye begins to take over the eyes of Fashionistas across the Bay Area.

The dark, dramatic eye was present on Etro’s and Derek Lam’s runways for Fall 2010. Dark shades of purple and charcoal painted the tops of the eyelids and reached all the way up to the eyebrow. The eyebrow was penciled in to be thick and squared off. Cheeks were varying shades of pink and purple with pale pink lips and no mascara. In order to take this look from the runway to reality, keep eyes dark and dramatic while keeping cheeks and lips light and neutral. This eye trend is best suited for evenings and parties.

Fashionistas in the San Francisco Bay Area may very well be bored with the smokey eye. The fresh nude eye for daytime and the dark, dramatic eye for evening; look to be the up and coming trends for this Fall. Try these looks out at home and see which ones flatter your face the best. Happy shopping and stay fabulous.