BellaSugar

December Must-Haves

BellaSugar — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 14:55:41 -0800

Even though stores are filled with people seeking gifts for friends and family, let's be realistic: Most people pick up a little something for themselves, too. And why not? It's been a long year, and a bit of pampering won't hurt.

For this month's must-haves, I've found items that will help you primp and prepare for end-of-year festivities-along with a few that'll help you decompress from the stress of the holidays. To see my picks, read more

If there's any time to have shiny, shimmering hair, it's in December. I'm planning to pick up Fekkai Sparkling Shimmer Spray ($13.50), a mist that has microscopic diamond crystals to lend a subtle golden glimmer to your hair. Paired with good tools like this T3 mini flat iron ($119), it would provide a professional-quality hairstyle for New Year's and beyond.
Urban Decay's holiday kit is worth considering. Midnight Cowboy Rides Again ($32) is spot-on with the metallic trend. It includes a golden, shimmery beige eye shadow, Eyeshadow Primer Potion (so your color will stay put), an eye pencil in a deep coppery shade, and glittery gold eyeliner. Worn all at once, these items would be too much. But adding just one item to your regular look will be a gild-y pleasure.
If you're visiting family during the holiday season, you'll need portable, flight-friendly body care supplies. You may also need to de-stress. (Just sayin'.) This gorgeous Red Flower Hammam Set ($56) lets you do both. It contains travel sizes of these 100% natural goodies: Moroccan mint tea silt purifier, lemon coffee blossom olive stone scrub, jasmine rose rhassoul clay polish, orange quince steam room mist, cardamom amber oil, tangerine fig butter cream. Just reading about them makes me want to relax and unwind with a cup of tea.
Bonne Belle Smackers ($2.95) are a favorite from my childhood, and since 'tis the season for chapped lips, I figure it can't hurt to have a few extra lip balms on hand. I'm a fan of the Dr. Pepper flavor, which takes me way back to junior high.

Carol's Daughter Is a Disney Girl

BellaSugar — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:01:25 -0700

This October, Carol's Daughter is launching a new bath collection to celebrate Disney's next big release, The Princess and the Frog. The film, due in December, has raised both excitement and WWD, she says the film is “an event with significant social importance. I’m thrilled and proud that African-American girls everywhere will see the movie and see someone to identify with.” The Carol's Daughter bubble bath, detangler, shampoo, and conditioner celebrate the new princess, Tiana, by featuring moments from the film on their packaging. Like other products from the line, these will include ingredients aimed at pampering African-American hair in particular, although they're said to be suitable for everyone. Each item in the collection is nicely priced at $10. Although I'm not sure what to expect of the movie yet, I do love Carol's Daughter - the products are inexpensive and the ingredients are sure to be high quality, so I might check these out.

Alicia Silverstone Is Launching Eco Bags and Brushes

BellaSugar — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:00:25 -0700

Alicia Silverstone has long been an environmental activist, working to support PETA, and a vegan lifestyle. (Her new book, The Kind Diet, which focuses on veganism, hits stores in a couple of months.) Now, the actress is slated to launch an eco-friendly line of makeup brushes and bags for EcoTools this December. The collection features designs of lavender, thyme, rose, and chrysanthemum - all favorites of Alicia's. The bags are made with natural hemp and recycled linings. "I only wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before. This is a conscious product line that is good for the planet," she told WWD. "Unless you need it, it’s just stuff," she added. Along with a five-piece brush set and bag ($16), Alicia's beauty tools, which will be sold in drugstores, will also feature a cosmetic bag ($9); a cosmetics brush bag ($13); a train case ($15); and an overnight bag ($20).

Bella's December Must Haves

BellaSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:59:44 -0800

It's a regular Winter wonderland these days. Well, maybe not in the traditional sense here in San Francisco, but the decorations, displays, and people-in-a-better-mood attitude has me getting in the spirit. For this final month of the year, I've got some festive beauty products that are sparkly, but not over-the-top. Ring-a-ding.

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These Posters Remind You to Love Your Body

BellaSugar — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:00:11 -0700

It sounds so corny and clichéd to say this, but if you want to feel beautiful, you have to define beauty on your own terms. It's one thing to look to celebrities for trends, but it's another to think that looking like Heidi Klum is the only way to be pretty. (After all, even Heidi admits she has those off days.) The more confident I am, the less I worry about a huge pimple or whatever; the more I remind myself to be accepting of myself, the more I appreciate what my body does for me.

To help women and girls develop better body images, the NOW Foundation holds an annual poster contest. The goal is, as the contest puts it, to show that "beauty is not limited by body size, body type, ethnicity, age, or physical appearance." So if you're artistically inclined - or if you have a little sister who is - consider entering. (You have until the end of December.) Otherwise, check out this collection of past winners when you're getting self-critical.

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Bella Donna: Phylicia Rashad

BellaSugar — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:00:50 -0700

Come on, admit it. When you hear the name Phylicia Rashad, you can't help but get all nostalgic. I know I do. The actress, who started her career in the theater in the 1970s, moved to the soaps in the early '80s, when she portrayed a lawyer on One Life to Live. Best remembered for her role as the no-nonsense mom and attorney Clair Huxtable, on The Cosby Show, Phylicia is one timeless beauty.

Phylicia is still active in both the theater and television, winning a Tony, Emmy, and NAACP Image Award for her Broadway and TV roles in A Raisin in the Sun. A supporter of the Fine Arts in Education, Phylicia is also a member of Broadway Inspirational Voices and supports the PRASAD Project, a charitable organization.

With that sparkling smile (her father and first husband were both dentists) and classy hair and makeup, Phylicia never fails to look age appropriate, polished, and sophisticated. In December she was named a spokesperson for Jenny Craig. Of her weight-loss experiences, Rashad recently told ET, "It's not about the way you look, it's about the way you are. It's not about how I look, it's about the way I am." I couldn't agree more.

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How-To: Scarlett's Sophisticated Dolce & Gabbana Chignon

BellaSugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:00:27 -0800

Back in December, it was announced that the design duo of Dolce & Gabbana would be coming out with a long-anticipated makeup line, with a mysterious "Hollywood starlet" to be the spokesmodel. That starlet just happened to turn out to be Scarlett Johansson. And yesterday, the young actress made an appearance at the Dolce & Gabbana Makeup event during Milan Fashion Week, undoubtedly wearing a palette of shades from the collection.
While her makeup was perfection on her flawless skin, I thought her shiny chignon, complete with black floral headband, gave her a sophisticated, youthful look. Is it me, or is her hair looking a little less brown, and a little more cherry red since the last time we saw her? Learn how to re-create Scarlett's chignon when you read more.

Separate the bang area of the front of your hair. Notice how Scarlett's stylist has taken a rather large chunk of hair from the fringe area.
Start by teasing the crown of your hair to create volume. This also gives bobby pins something more to cling onto for further hold. Lightly comb out to smooth.
Gather back of hair into a high-slung ponytail around the crown of your head. Secure with an elastic band. Roll hair in towards the elastic band, securing with several bobby pins. Use your fingers to lightly break up the roll. This will also bring your chignon to life.
Next, tease the separate bang area from the front and smooth out with a comb. Bring it back to the chignon and pin in sections, as needed. Spray with a high shine hairspray like Jonathan Product Finish Control High Shine ($22). Top off with a black floral headband to complete. I like Anthropologie's Twisted Taffy Headband ($32), Urban Outfitters' Floppy Flower Hard Headband ($18), or the Satin Headband With Bow ($4) from Forever 21.

Five Happiness Tips From Bobbi Brown

BellaSugar — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:00:14 -0800

Did you know that makeup guru Bobbi Brown got her start in the industry as a graduate of a theatrical makeup program? How cool is that? Her fans know her makeup style is anything but over-the-top, as Brown has built her career off of a more natural-looking approach.

In December, she released the Bobbi Brown Makeup Manual and at Fashion Week, she was responsible for creating the beauty look for Rachel Roy. Recently, she talked to Time Out New York, offering up her tips for being successful and happy. Check them out below:

"My husband told me: Do what you’re good at and what you love, and let other people do the things you’re not good at and don’t love. I pinch our CFO when I see him, because he’s doing the numbers and I’m not."
"The secret of work and life is simple - find something you like to do first and you’ll find out how to make money with it later."
"Have long-term goals and minigoals. Always have a plan and reevaluate it regularly."
"When you feel good, you look good. Make smart food choices, exercise, and drink water."
"Brown’s offices used to be in a typical midtown building with low ceilings and fluorescent lights. 'You can’t be creative in that atmosphere,' she says. 'I’d be more creative sitting on the floor of Grand Central Station with my legs crossed.'"

Sounds like a good philosophy to me. Anything you'd add to Bobbi's list?

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How Much Would You Pay For Longer Lashes?

BellaSugar — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 12:00:04 -0800

The desire to draw attention to the eyelashes has been going strong since around 4000 BC, when ancient Egyptians used kohl to darken lashes and eye areas. Fast-forward thousands of years later, and the mascara industry brings in over an astonishing one billion dollars a year. That's not even including other eyelash-enhancing products such as extensions, false eyelashes, and now Latisse, an eyelash-growth drug approved by the FDA last December. Take a look at my chart below to compare products available on the market now. How much would you pay for long and full lashes?

PRODUCT	PROS	CONS
Mascara	Easy to find and come in a wide variety of styles from vibrating, scented, colored, thickening, and lengthening. Cheap - ranging in price from $5 to $10 at the drugstore. Assuming you keep your mascara around three months, it's mere pennies per use.	Can run and smudge, doesn't always look natural, and very temporary.
False Eyelashes	Very accessible, easy to apply (see my attempt here), and relatively cheap, ranging in price from inexpensive like E.L.F. False Eyelashes ($1 to $3) to moderate/slightly expensive such as Shu Uemura ($16 for accent lashes to $95 for fantasy lashes). Also, they're just plain fun - bedazzled lashes, anyone?	Can fall off easily, don't last very long, can't always be reused, and can look, well, fake!
Eyelash Extensions	Natural looking, long lasting (around two to three months), and doesn't take very long to apply by a spa professional (around 80 minutes or so). Check out my experience with eyelash extensions here.	Expensive, averaging around $200 to $600.
Latisse	Effective, easy to apply - similar to putting on eyeliner, treats hypotrichosis (sparse eyelashes), long-lasting (several weeks to months), and looks very natural because it's your own hair growing out.	Available by prescription only, expensive ($120 for 30-day supply), needs to be applied daily, and side effects can include skin darkening, irritation, dryness, and redness of the eyelids.

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Five Readers Will Win a Sedu Revolution Styling Iron - Enter Now!

BellaSugar — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:30:00 -0800

Feeling lucky? You will be if you're one of the five winners of the Sedu Revolution styling iron. Valued at $139.99, the Revolution can be used to straighten, to create waves, to curl, or to do anything else you can think of. It is so choice: You can adjust the temperature, and the ceramic/ionic technology means you'll have smooth, frizz-free hair.

To enter, just take the quiz by 5 p.m. PST on December 24, and one winner will be selected at random. Your eligibility is not based on getting the answers correct, just on taking the quiz after you are logged in. You do, however, need to be a TeamSugar member to enter. So if you're not already one, register for an account. One quiz entry per person; all repeat quizzes will be ignored. Prizes can be shipped to US destinations only. For the complete rules, click here. Good luck!

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