BellaSugar

BellaSugar's Gift Guide: The Mommy-To-Be

BellaSugar — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 14:00:25 PST

Welcome to the first post of my 2007 Holiday Gift Guide! Every weekday, I'll share a new set of ideas for gifts for your mom, dad, sib, boss, pals, special guy in your life and just about anyone else gift-worthy this season.

To kick off the guide, and to support our dear friend LilSugar, let's celebrate the mommies-to-be. Here are three great ideas for pregnant women who are carrying around those little ones. Since two of my best friends are about to become mommies, this was a lot of fun to put together!

My favorite item of the group is this Wonder-Full Balm from Mama Mio ($25). It's great for itchy and flaky belly skin, and it works quickly to relieve dryness and discomfort. If that's not something you think she'd like, there's also this Mustela Stretch Marks Double Action Cream ($34.49), which will help strengthen skin's elasticity around the belly, breasts abdomen, hips, and thighs to help reduce stretch marks during pregnancy.

Lastly, I love this Henna Vegetable Hair Dye ($1.99) for ladies who prefer to err on the side of caution and steer clear of chemical substances during their first trimester. While hair dying chemicals aren't highly toxic, vegetable dyes are all-natural, safe alternatives. Put it in a basket with some hair accessories, and you've got a great gift.

Got a few great ideas of your own? If so, I encourage you to please share them in a comment below!

Mustela Double Action Stretch Mark Cream ($34.99)

Lustrous Henna Pure Henna ($1.99)

Mama Mio Wonder-Full Balm ($25)

What to Do With a Few Gray Hairs

Allure — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:34:15 PDT

We're excited to present this article from Allure!

I have had a small number of stark white strands in my hair since I was 14. Since I come from early-graying roots (jokes!), I wasn't surprised by their appearance, but have marveled at their lack of progress. They're not clustered together, and are only noticed by other people every once in a great while. They've never bothered me, perhaps in part because they're a rather pretty white. (If this is the way my full head is going to be in 20 or 30 years-great.) But I recently overheard someone lamenting a slightly different situation. She, too, has only a few white hairs (defined by her as about 10 or 15) but they're front and center framing her face. It's not a X-Men's Rogue or Bride of Frankenstein situation where there's one white patch, but they're all nearby each other, and she feels like they're aging her prematurely. She wondered, "Is this too much to yank out, or is it time to color?" We asked colorist Rita Hazan of Rita Hazan New York for answers. To see Rita's tips on dealing with gray hairs, just keep reading.

Big, Beautiful Eyebrows From Scratch - Literally

Jaime Richards — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 05:00:00 PDT

Big, full brows are in, and at SoHo's Browhaus, you can get the look in just 90 minutes, but in a more unconventional kind of way. As part of the salon's signature Brow Resurrection service, highly trained technicians use special tools to scratch natural-looking strands onto the skin's surface. It all sounds rather painful, but the company promises the ouch factor is quite minimal.

During the service, a staff member works with the client to first analyze the facial structure and determine a brow shape and color. Once the perfect brow is agreed upon, the technician draws on the shape, numbs the skin with a cream, and then etches on lifelike "hairs" using 100 percent vegetable dye. It's a steep price at $925, but the veggie brows are meant to last for two years, providing a less permanent (and less painful) alternative tattooing. If money was no object, would you try the Brow Resurrection?