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Beauty Networks

Posts for September 2010

Hair repair at ION Studio in NYC

September 23, 2010 2:42 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

I have long hair. It's the first time in my adult life that I have had it this long. But, while it is long, it has no shape other than "long". (*I'm hesitant to do anything with it, since it's long & i would hate to give it up, so, it's just *there*) So, when I had a chance to have my hair cut by world renowned hairstylist, and ION Studio co-owner,Leonardo Manetti (*who also happens to be a good-looking Italian), I jumped at the chance.

Leo has a great background of how he ended up here in NYC, which includes starting as a wood-sculptor, honing his hair styling skills in Dallas, TX, to styling for fashion magazines worldwide before opening NYC's first green salon with his two friends, (*who have also been featured in worldwide fashion mags & just happen to be good-looking Italians, too), Pasqual Ferrante and Marco Santini (*you may remember me talking about Marco during NYFW last September).

Let's talk about this space for a minute. Besides it being wind-powered with the goal of a 0% carbon footprint, it was also established as a multi-functional location. All of the stations can be pushed back to open up the area for other types of activities like art shows, or even fashion presentations like the Ann Yee Spring/Summer 2011 collection this fashion week. Not only do they keep the surroundings "green", they also use the Davines line of products, which are made with "high-grade, natural ingredients". (*I enjoyed a shampoo & hair masque before my haircut & was lucky enough to get to talk James, who is from Tulsa, OK, while leaned back in one of the custom built "trust fall" chairs by EcoSystems.

Anyway, back to Leo & my hair. After ruling out bangs ("Oh no no no...") and layers, we decided to keep my length, clean up the ends by taking around 1.5" or so off - getting rid of all the dead/splitends - and giving a just a hint of shorter fringe around my face to break it up a bit. I was sincerely amazed at what that change did to my hair. It felt lighter, smoother & looked so much healthier than when I had walked in, that's for sure. I appreciated that he was honest about what would work for me and my face shape & worked with me about keeping my length - I really felt revitalized when I was done.

If environmental beauty is your thing (*and why wouldn't it be?), and you are in NYC, I would definitely recommend you track down this salon for your hair (or even event) needs. And even if you don't have one of the partners work with you, my girl Meredith, from Retrodiva's Beauty can tell you that you can get great work done by one of the other stylists at the salon.

Lemme know - is going green at your salon a high priority to you? Or is it just stylist, or even location, that makes you go where you go?

*Disclaimer: Services were provided by the salon for PR consideration.

Girl, you're amazing! Just the way you are...

September 21, 2010 4:06 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

Having just been at NYFW and surrounded by all manners of beautiful models, and simply beautifully put together folks attending the actual shows, it's easy to imagine how people could see all of this and get seriously insecure about themselves. I just want to take a second to remind folks that THIS IS NOT REAL LIFE. Yes, the clothing is real, but the actual showmanship is like a grand stage show to present it. It's a form of entertainment, like a movie or a stage play.That said, just remember, just like most of us are not like the action hero of the latest blockbuster (*speak for yourself, of course - LOL!), we aren't all like the models we see, either. We are all the heros in our own lives and you are all just as beautiful. Trust.

A couple of weeks ago, I heard this song and shouted it across twitter that I dedicated it to all the lovelies I get to chat with daily. I wanted to make sure you guys had a chance to enjoy it, too.

You guys know how I feel about taking a compliment, so just smile and enjoy the song. xo

Filed under: boost Tagged with: compliment, You're amazing, just the way you are

Backstage at Badgley Mischka Spring/Summer 2011

September 21, 2010 3:52 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

This season I was able to go backstage, and watch the preparations, for the Badgley Mischka Spring/Summer 2011 collection fashion show.

The makeup team was lead by Tom Pecheux, for MAC Cosmetics. (*I was so lucky to get to see him key several different shows, each with its own look.) The look for this show was inspired by the movie "White Mischief" and leaned towards a "daytime Studio 54" look. He used beige and gold shimmer to tone down a silver shimmer to help get a "posh girl, with a wild side" look.

The hair team was lead by stylist Peter Gray, for Moroccanoil. He created a head full of curls, with a strong side part, that was decorated with either metal "coins" or in a scarf. Seriously, these pin curls were covering the *entire* head, tightly, for quite a while thill they dried & there were loosely combed out to be full. The coins were just randomly places with bobby pins in the hair. (*Tip: if you decide to accent your hair, make sure to place the bobby pins downward, to hold the accent in place, because if you place it upwards, your accent will weigh the pin down & it will slip out.)

Nails for the show were handled by nail expert Deborah Lippmann, for Deborah Lippmann (*natch). She layered two of her colors, "Fashion" - a beige in her permanent collection, and "Glitter in the Sky" - from her upcoming Spring 2011 collection, on both the nails & toes. (*Matchy matchy is a big trend for the season, per Deborah). She also talks about how layering different polishes is really popular right now, how it really expands your nail polish wardrobe.

Backstage at Erin Fetherston Spring/Summer 2011

September 20, 2010 6:01 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

This season I was able to go backstage, and watch the preparations, for the Erin Fetherston Spring/Summer 2011 collection fashion show.

The makeup team was lead by Lucia Pica, for MAC Cosmetics. The look was "of a woman, who travels a lot, coming up from the beach & getting ready to go to a cocktail party". She got this by having flushed cheeks & solid matte lips.

The hair team was lead by Odile Gilbert, for Moroccanoil. Keeping with the "just out of the ocean/from the beach" look, the hair was styled as a combed, wet look, with a solid part on the side, but only in the front - the back of the hair is dried straight.

Backstage at Cynthia Rowley Spring/Summer 2011

September 20, 2010 1:50 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

This season I was able to go backstage, and watch the preparations, for the Cynthia Rowley Spring/Summer 2011 collection fashion show.

The makeup team was lead by Val Garland, for MAC Cosmetics. After previewing the collection, Val knew exactly what she wanted the look to be - "Very London - Carnaby St, Mary Quant & Twiggy". To get this look, she built up the lower lashes with "about 20 coats of mascara" (*may be a bit exaggerated - LOL!). In between layers, she thickened them up by putting translucent powder on the lashes & then coated them again. For the lips, they pressed the color in the lips to make it look like "she had just been snogging after a night out".

The hair team was lead by Bok-hee, for Antonio Prieto Salon. Bok-hee worked with Aura Friedman, for Wella, to use custom extensions in the model's hair, before twisting it up and clipping it in place with large colorful metallic clips. Bok-hee talked about the best way to make extensions look more natural is to put a layer of the natural hair over the top, so that it looks more blended. Ms. Rowley was very hands on for the models' looks, coming in just before the show to work with Bok-hee for the final look.

Ms. Rowley wanted to make sure that the models' hair was just right for the show, so she stepped up and adjusted the models' hair herself.

And after she had the look just so, Ms. Rowley took a moment to speak about what the concept of her Spring/Summer 2011 collection meant & how she made it work.

Backstage at Nicole Miller Spring/Summer 2011

September 19, 2010 9:37 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

This season I was able to go backstage, and watch the preparations, for the Nicole Miller Spring/Summer 2011 collection fashion show.

The makeup team was lead by James Kaliardos, for MAC Cosmetics. In keeping with the 60's throwback vibe of the collection, James drew inspiration for the makeup from the Catherine Deneuve film, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" - glowy complexion, silver & grey eye colors & pink, pouty lips.

The hair team was lead by Kevin Ryan, for Rsession Tools. Kevin created a braided, slightly messy bun that was held together with elastics & rubberized bobby pins. (*Seriously - I ran out to Ricky's and picked up some of those bobby pins myself!). Kevin also shared his secret for pulling out knotted hairstyles - forceps. As in, a surgical tool. He says you should be able to use it on yourself, but I have yet to try it, let alone think I can twist myself around enough to make it look as effortless as he does, that's for sure.

The lead nail tech for the show was TJ Kelly, for butter LONDON. Nicole worked with butter LONDON to create a custom grey/blue color that went with a grey in the fabric in her collection. It's not for sale (*yet, fingers crossed), unfortch, but is so on point, I hope they reconsider.

Backstage at Doo.Ri Spring/Summer 2011

September 19, 2010 8:48 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

This season I was able to go backstage, and watch the preparations, for the Doo.Ri Spring/Summer 2011 collection fashion show.

The makeup team was lead by Tom Pecheux, for MAC Cosmetics. To allow the clothes to stand out, they gave the models' a washed-out look, but still with a bit of color - like the mustard color on the center lip & inner corners of the eyes.

The nail team was lead by Jin Soon Choi, for Zoya. So as not to distract from the clothing, they used the almost nude color "Sally" on the models - but only one coat, to just elongate the fingers & keep them very neutral.

Filed under: nyfw Tagged with: Mac, Doo.Ri, zoya, Jin Soon, Tom Pecheux, Spring/Summer 2011

Backstage at Peter Som Spring/Summer 2011

September 19, 2010 8:23 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

This season I was able to go backstage, and watch the preparations, for the Peter Som Spring/Summer 2011 collection fashion show.

The makeup team was lead by Tom Pecheux, for MAC Cosmetics, and he went for "playful makeup". He drew inspiration from the 60's, using eyeliner, so popular then, and updated it by using it in a wingtip with bright yellow & didn't use any mascara to distract from it.

The hair team was led by Laurent Philippon, for Bumble & Bumble, went with long, tousled layers. They used Bumble & Bumble Prep or Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray to help get the effect, along with braiding the girls hair to help give it waves.

As for the nails, the nail team was led by Jackie Saulbery, for Zoya Nail Polish. They used a custom blended color of a combination of "Jolie" and "Shawn", for a muted beige/greenish color.

Just to wet your whistle...

September 15, 2010 4:55 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

Hi guys! I am back & trying to catch up and look back on everything that happened this last week. I just wanted to let you guys know that I a starting to upload some of my backstage videos to my YouTube page, if you want to get a look at what I was seeing before I post about them.

I had a chance to do and see so many things - I can't wait to tell you about it all! :)

It's that time of year again....

September 7, 2010 4:40 pm · Posted by oldergirlbeauty

You guys - it's September *already*. You know what that means? Yes, I know it's almost Fall, but that's not what I'm talking about. It's time for "Mercedes Benz Fashion Week" in New York City! And in September, they show the collections for Spring/Summer wear for next year.

Well, I'm excited to tell you guys that I will be getting to go to NYC this season and bring you all kinds of coverage - everything from backstage, talking to makeup artists and hairstylists; front of house, watching the actual clothing presentations; checking out hair and beauty salons; and even reporting from some of the best parties during the week. Now, not only will I be attending MBFW, I will also be in NYC for "Fashion's Night Out", which is a night to celebrate shopping and fashion. As of right now I think there is something like 950 events lined up in NYC alone! But, it's not just a NYC event - it's global - make sure and look to see if there are any events in your town so you can participate, too. (*You may want to google if your town isn't listed. I know for a fact several Oklahoma City places are doing something, but it's Oklahoma isn't listed on the page. Boo!)

I will be nice and give you guys fair warning - if you are following me on twitter you know that when I travel I tweet *a lot*. Well, considering everything going on this trip, expect my tweeting to be in overdrive. I can't help it - I wanna share what I am doing THAT MINUTE with you guys & that's the best way to do it. So, if you wanna take a break from me for a week, I totally understand. (*Just come back on the 15th). But, if you want to feel like you are there with me, then make sure to follow me and you'll get all the up to the minute stuff that I have going on.

I'm excited to head out there on Thursday & hope you are excited to go with me, too!

*UPDATE* I just wanted to include some links that I found about happenings around Oklahoma City for Fashion's Night Out OKC: The MOOD blog lists several of the participants, here is the Facebook page for the event and here is Alex, from "The Makeup Bar" (*who is primarily spearheading this event) speaking with the Fox 25 Morning Show about FNO. So, all you local OKC folks have no excuse for not getting out there Friday, because you can't say you didn't know what was going on!