Beauty Wonkette is Loving Shu Uemura Art of Hair Touch of Gloss

Sometimes your hair bestows upon you one of those magical days when every strand falls into perfect place. But while it's winning in the style department, it might be missing some shine (especially if it's day-two hair). Shu Uemura's latest product, Touch of Gloss, is a lightweight gel-cream packed with mica minerals that will give your follicles that salon-fresh brilliance back. A small dollop is best applied to both wet or damp hair for a quick-absorbing finish that won't leave behind that stickiness sometimes associated with similar products. And, best of all, the cherry-blossom scent seems to last even after you've washed the stuff out.

Shu Uemura Art of Hair Touch of Gloss Brilliant Melt-in Balm, $38

Beauty Wonkette likes her tresses shiny BUT if you want to rock the matte trend....

Fashion swings like a pendulum, and these days, it’s describing an arc away from super-shiny hair of dubious provenance, toward matte tresses as messy as an unmade bed. The look began on the Paris runways this spring and summer, where models wearing shimmering, reflective fabrics sported hair that was the opposite of the glossy clothes: flat in texture, full of body and deliberately dulled down.

Surprisingly, the look of two-day-old hair seemed fresh, and the trend has taken off, appealing to women who want a bad-girl edge that says “I’m not trying too hard.” For its star practitioner, look no further than Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, an actress who rocks the matte look both on and off camera.

Careful readers of fashion magazines will notice that the “no product look” can be seen on models in both articles and ads, with bed-head hair that is neither shiny nor stick-straight. It’s as if they all “just said no” to silicone (products, that is).

Get the Matte Look
Summer is the perfect time to try this trend, because it’s warm enough to let hair dry naturally without a blow-dryer, which uses heat to add shine. To get the look of unwashed hair without having to wait for it to happen in real time, we asked Fabrice Gili, the national creative director of Frederic Fekkai salons, for tips.

* Hair washing: Wash your hair with your regular shampoo, but for the second shampoo, take a plain bar of all-natural olive oil soap. “I like the traditional cube soap that my grandmother used on us when I was growing up in France, but any olive oil soap that’s pure, gentle and unscented will do,” he says. Lather up and massage the foam starting halfway down your hair all the way to the ends, carefully avoiding the roots. Rinse thoroughly. “The soap will leave a matte finish wherever it was applied, and add depth and texture,” says Gili. It’s best to air-dry your hair, but if that’s not possible, try attaching a diffuser to the blow-dryer. “Any other tools, like a straight iron or a flatiron, will only add shine and negate the effect you’re trying to achieve,” he says.

* An even quicker way to get matte hair is by styling it dry and using a powder. Sprinkle or spray dry shampoo on the roots, working it through the scalp, and then bend over to brush it out. “The powder surrounds the shaft of the hair, almost doubling its circumference, which makes it look and feel a lot thicker,” explains Gili. “On all the fashion shoots I’ve been doing lately, I’ve been using dry shampoo, and it adds a lot of body and gives a really big result,” he says. If you’re all out of dry shampoo, baby powder will work in a pinch, he adds.

* Another way to tamp down the shine while adding texture is to braid your hair while it’s still wet. “A few hours later, take out the braid, and you will find a nice matte soft wave,” he says.

If ever there was a low-maintenance but avant-garde hairstyle, the matte-and-mussed look is it. Gili invites you to try it. “This is being worn by young, contemporary women who are thoroughly trendy and ‘get’ what’s happening,” he says. And it may be happening throughout the fall season, if the hairstyles at the recent fall/winter ready-to-wear shows are any indication. Talk about putting out the “welcome matte.”

When you're feeling thrifty.....

Beauty Wonkette doesn't skimp when it comes to products for her skin and hair. BUT, she doesn't spend when she doesn't have to either. You all have heard me rave about Moroccan Oil, and I do indeed love the stuff.

Well, Beauty Wonkette's beloved Moroccan Oil, which helps create instant shine on hair without leaving behind oiliness, IS a fabulous multitasking product - no going back on that! But, at $41, it's a bit harsh on the wallet. Well, my fellow Beauty Wonkettes, ead over to Sally's and try out One 'n Only Argan Oil Treatment, a VERY similar product, with identical ingredients, which costs just $9.

Moroccan Oil ingredients:
Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Butylphenyl, MethylPropional, Argania Spinoza Kernal Oil (Aragan Oil), Linseed (Linum Usitatissimum) Extract, Fragrance Supplement, D&C Yellow-11, D&C Red-17, Coumarin, Benzyl Benzoate, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone

One 'n Only Argan Oil Treatment ingredients:
Dimethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethiconol, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate, Fragrance (Parfum), Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Linseed Extract, Yellow 11 (CI 47000), Red 17 (CI 26100)



http://www.sallybeauty.com/moroccan-oil/ONEONL16,default,pd.html

Calling all Beauty Wonkettes who suffer breakouts!!! This Suds For You!

Do you suffer breakouts? You've tried every blemish potion on the market. You've endured painful facials. You even changed your diet. You aren't alone. Beauty Wonkette gets more email about this problem than almost any other.

Beauty Wonkette went to work and may have found the real culprit - or at least ONE of them - behind your breakouts.

Hint: Look up. No, not your forehead. Higher.

It's your hair. Shampoo, conditioner and styling products can contain pore-clogging ingredients that may worsen acne. Enter Kairos Acne Care, the first hair care line that treats and prevents breakouts. The products are designed to purge pores and curb oil production. (And make hair silky and shiny.)

Get splashing with balancing shampoo and conditioner to detox strands and wash away product buildup. As you rinse, let the later wash down your face (eyes closed!) so the potent salicylic acid can banish blemish-causing bacteria. Finally, polish your look with the noncomedogenic styling aid of your choice. Bonus: Some users have told Beauty Wonkette that these products even cleared up acne on their backs and chests, too.

This sud's for you. ; )

Bring on the humidity! Beauty Wonkette ain't skeered...

The weather had gotten truly gotten to Beauty Wonkette and, more importantly, to Beauty Wonkette's locks. A couple of weeks ago, work took me to a city on the Gulf at the height of absolutely gross, soupy, swampy weather. As usual, Beauty Wonkette was in a hurry when packing and failed to bring her beloved Moroccan Cream. Nor did she remember the No Frizz. Soooooo, without a decent beauty supply store in sight (or on site), she did what she could with what was at hand. She oiled, sprayed, puttied, and even gelled ( do NOT ask ) her tresses in hopes of taming the frizz. All to no avail.

Then, roaming around a mall that did NOT have a Sephora, in low spirits (read utter despair), Beauty Wonkette happened upon a Lush store (in the most unlike place, it seemed)! Although no fan of Lush, BW was desperate, and so, on a whim, bought the Jasmine and Henna Fluff Eaze treatment. Skeptical at the saleswoman's claims that this would cure BW's puffball hair, she purchased it anyway and trudged back to her hotel and piled a dollop on her locks. (Note: Use a lot less than the jar says.) After letting it sit for twenty minutes and shampooing (twice), previously puffy hair was silky smooth, not greasy, and smelled amazing. And it was shockingly knot free. Humidity, do your worst- BRING IT ON! :D

7.8oz - $20.45

Etailer of the Week: Arcadia Aromatics

Yes, Beauty Wonkette knows that today is Saturday and she promised to do an Etailer of the Week feature every Friday. Sigh. It's just a leeetle bit late though....

This week, I want to call your attention to Arcadia Aromatics. The fact that Beauty Wonkette is obsessed with gorgeous, fragrant, luxurious handmade cold process soaps isn't a secret. I can tell you that Arcadia makes some of the absolute best out there. They're always gorgeous and she really does come up with some truly luscious fragrance blends. I adore her salt bars, which are NOT scrub bars (for the uninitiated), but soap bars to which one adds salt. The result is a harder bar that is just awesome in the bath or shower.

But, what won this etailer this spot is her unique and awesome solid shampoo and conditioner bars. OMG they are sooooo good. I do a fair amount of travelling for both work and play. Transporting a bottle of shampoo and conditioner has always been a pain. It became a more significant problem when the airlines enacted their anti-terror restrictions. Beauty Wonkette does not like waiting around for baggage since it seems to take as long to get your bag as it took you to get there in the first place. Investing in the incredibly efficient and deceptively roomy carry-on luggage used by pilots and flight attendants was a very smart move. But, was Beauty Wonkette supposed to walk around with dirty hair? Was she going to have to figure in time to shop for shampoo and conditioner in every town and hamlet?

I've tried other solid hair products that some gals have raved about. I tried products from a number of etailers, from LUSH (whose products I sort of hate) - didn't like any of them. Even with a apple cider vinegar rinse, I felt like they left a film on my hair and also left it difficult to style. Arcadia's are fantastic though. I'm not ready to toss my shampoo - conditioner stash and I still am loving conditioner only washing for 3 or 4 out of 5 of my hair cleanses, but these babies are invaluable for travel and last forever. Try them and check out those gorgeous soaps while you're out it. If you do, especially if the solid shampoo and conditioner totally replace whatever you are currently using, Beauty Wonkette would love to hear about it.....

Curlformers - a hair curling REVOLUTION !!!

Beauty Wonkette has long, thick, layered, and just a leetle bit wavy hair. If I wash my hair and work some leave in conditioner or my beloved Fekkai stuff that I can never remember the full name of, and let it air dry, it look kind of cool. I only do that when I'm not going anywhere though. It's my messy bedhead look :D

Most of the time, I use a flat iron or a wide barrel brush/curling iron to smooth and straighten my hair and make it all shiny and glossy and I DO love the way my hair looks and feels. Since I was just a junior beauty wonkette, I've been doing stuff to torture the waves out of my hair. How ironic that now I sometimes long for that curly haired girl look! I went out and got myself an Enzo Milano Curling Iron and I've got to tell you, it is really fabulous. The number of things you can do with it is amazing and I've never had anything but fantastic results. I highly recommend this to everyone I know. Buttttttt, this isn't about my Enzo Milano. Nope. It's about these crazy looking things called CURLFORMERS.

During a recent trip to my local Sally's Beauty Supply, they had a Curlformers video running. It just looked so absolutely cool that even though I'm happy with my Enzo Milano for days that I want to style my hair curly, I wasn't gonna be happy unless I tried these things.

They're alot of fun to use and the results really are great. They also cost alot less than the Enzo Milano. So, if you just want to try out a curly girl look without investing a grip OR if you figure you'll only go curly now and then and the Enzo Milano isn't worth it for you, you've got to grab some of these. I know you'll be amazed as I was at the result. The Curlformers site has a bunch of instruction videos as does Sally's Beauty Supply and YouTube. So, whether your hair is short or long or somewhere inbetween; whether you want to be a complete noodlehead or work in a few well-shaped spirals or barrel curls or WHATEVAH.... Listen to Beauty Wonkette! Get some of these and have fun!

Playing it straight......

Wavy babies can play it straight with these products recommended by some of the nation's top hair stylists:

AG Insulate
AG Varnish Smoothing Polish
Blended Beauty Straight Pearl
Blended Beauty Straightening Glaze
CurlFriends Tame Smoothing Serum
Curlisto Straight Time Glaze
Cutler Straightening Cream
Cutler Specialist Protectant Treatment Spray
Elucence Silk Hydrating Elixer

Styling Tips for Wavy Babies

It’s not curly; it’s not straight. With the right cut, tips and tools, stylists say wavy hair can be the best of both worlds, playing it straight one day, and riding your waves the next.

“There is a return to waves because of the retro glamour trend,” says Rodney Cutler of New York’s Cutler Salons, “But the resurgence of glam doesn’t mean they have to be big, full curls.”

The first step is finding the right cut to maximize the type of waves you have.

“When you see your stylist, don’t come with a ponytail in your hair or after it has been blown out or flat-ironed, ” says Amie Zimmerman of Dirty Little Secret Salon & Spa in Portland, Ore. “They have to get a good grasp on the S-shaped pattern waves as they tumble down. You want to make sure they’re cutting for the curl, which means they should be cutting the hair dry.”

Layers will help your waves show up. But stylists warn against going too short.

“For people with wavy hair, the front can have a lot of cowlicks,” says Dana Kaplan of M Salon in Cambridge, Mass. “I like to keep the front of the hair long, in one length or a long angle, because if you cut it too short, the cowlicks kind of go crazy.”

“Long side bangs work really well because you have enough wave in your hair to keep it pushed to the side,” adds Ethan Shaw of Anne Kelso Salon in Austin, Texas, “but it’s not so curly that it will curl up into short bangs.”

Stylists say the key is to work your waves, don’t let them work you. After you’ve applied a styling product, Cutler suggests this easy tip: Take 3-inch sections of hair and wrap the end of each section around two fingers. Then, push the ends inside, slide your fingers out, secure the sections with a pin and allow them to dry before releasing them.

“It will keep the waves you have, but give a bit more finish to it,” Cutler explains.

To twist it up another notch, Shaw suggests creating rope curls.

“If you have longer hair, apply product while it’s wet and divide your hair into three parts on each side, so your crown’s basically going to look like a basketball,” Shaw says. “Twist each section away from your face and just let it dry. It’s meant to direct the movement of the hair. Then use your fingers to tousle it for a loose curl, or just leave it like that and it’s really cute.”

For shorter styles, apply product and comb your wet waves in the direction you want them to go. Then use your fingers to style them.

“When it dries, you’re going to see the curls come out,” Shaw says. “The rules to remember are if you want it more curly, use a diffuser. If you have finer hair, mousse is definitely the way to go. And before you diffuse the ends, you need to diffuse the roots to loosen the curls at the top of your scalp.”

“The curl pattern shows up much better if you get it all the way dry,” adds Zimmerman.

And for the laziest waves, you can find creative control with a few tweaks from a curling iron.

“If your waves look nice in the front but the back is a bit weak, or vice versa, you can use a curling iron” says JoAnne Dicken, owner of The Fringe Hair Co. in Calgary, Alberta, and Artistic Team Leader for AG Hair Cosmetics. “But you want to avoid a contrived look.”

Simply separate the limpest locks and twist them in one-inch sections around the outside of the barrel of your curling iron for chunky curls.

“If you don’t curl the root or the ends but focus on the mid-shaft of the section, it will provide a nice texture to wavy hair,” Dicken explains. “You want it to look natural.”

For wavies who opt for a straighter look, stylists stress that they use products to protect their hair from heat styling. And make sure to use high-quality flat irons and blowdryers to reduce damage.

Some Stylist Picks for Waves

Rodney Cutler:

For thick, wavy hair: Try Redken Ringlet 07 Curl Perfector (for thick hair that has natural curl memory) or Redken Crystal Curls 06 Defining Shine Gel (to help soften really thick hair).

For fine, wavy hair: Try Redken Fresh Curls Curl Boost scrunching spray gel.

“Curl Boost is great for hair that struggles to get bounce and needs curl activation.”

JoAnne Dicken:

For thick, wavy hair: Try AG’s Re:coil and AG Fast Food leave on conditioner.

“They’re fantastic to cocktail together in equal parts, if you want a softer hold. Fast Food conditions and helps to keep the moisture in the hair so the wave is activated.”

Finish your style with AG’s Infrastructure. “When your hair is completely dry, use just a little bit in the palms of your hands, squeezing it in from the ends to about mid-shaft. It’s wonderful for giving that lived-in texture and support for wavy hair.”

For fine, wavy hair: Try AG’s Spray Body soft hold volumizer, followed by AG Re:coil .

“Spray Body has a wheat protein and is good for encouraging curl and giving fullness to the root area.”

Dana Kaplan:

For thick, wavy hair: Try Vicious flexible hold defining gel from Sebastian’s Evokativ line or Bumble & Bumble Straight (even though it’s designed to straighten hair).

“I like the Straight product because it calms the frizz, yet still allows the waves to show up.”

For fine, wavy hair: Try Lustful Curvaceous Volumizing Mousse from Sebastian’s Evokativ line or Bumble & Bumble Leave-in Conditioner, followed by Bumble & Bumble Styling Crème.

“Start with a dime’s worth of each, then add on by dime’s worth, as needed.”

Ethan Shaw:

For thick, wavy hair: Try AG Re:coil or Bumble & Bumble Grooming Creme (a natural hold, just enough to hold curls without weighing them down).

For fine, wavy hair: Try Sebastian Bohemian Organic Shaping Creme (a bit more sticky consistency for stronger hold and volume).

“Bohemian is a good product to bring your curls and waves out and still have control.”

Amie Zimmerman:

For thick, wavy hair: Try C-System Styling Conditioner and C-Curl Enhancing Cream by MOP (Modern Organic Products), especially for color-treated hair. Also, DevaCurl Set it Free finishing mist.

For fine, wavy hair: Try DevaCurl B’Leave-In Conditioner (provides moisture without weighing hair down), DevaCare Arc Angell and DevaCurl Mist-er Right Herbal Cleansing Tonic.

“With finer hair, I usually go for products that are clear in form and gel, rather than creme.”