BellaSugar

The 6 Big Beauty Trends That Emerged at Fashion Week

BellaSugar — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:00:00 -0700

New York Fashion Week ended last week, and now it's time to analyze the styles, from hair to makeup to what polishes we foresee flying off the shelves come March. To make the myriad styles we saw over the nine days of 2010 Spring New York Fashion Week easier to parse, I've assembled the six big trends, complete with several different ways to wear each - from rebel rocker to demure debutante. Click through for the definitive looks for Spring.

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14 Gorgeous Last Looks at Fashion Week: Days 8 and 9

BellaSugar — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:00:00 -0700

It was the final day of Fashion Week, and while I'm sad to see it go, I'm excited to discover how many of these hair and makeup looks will make the transition into the mainstream. These final two days were absolutely lovely, with more old-guard designers like Michael Kors, Calvin Klein, and Oscar De La Renta injecting an elegance that nicely hedged the experimental looks from younger designers. Click through and see what some of the most established houses, along with some of the hottest new ones, had to offer.

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Coming Soon: Ralph Lauren Notorious

BellaSugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:00:37 -0700

Busy guy, that Ralph Lauren. Next week, he's launching a new fragrance at Bloomingdale's before rolling it out everywhere else in September. Notorious is an eau de parfum created by perfumier Olivier Gillotin that contains notes of sweet vanilla, black currant, bergamot, white peony, carnation, pink peppercorn, aged patchouli, iris, musk, orris and just wait. . . . chocolate cosmos (sadly, this is a burgundy flower, not a drink). Talk about a sweet and savory treat.

The fragrance was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's classic films, and Laetitia Casta is the face of the ad campaign. Notorious has an overall sparkling, oriental glamorous essence and will be available in two eaux de parfum ($65-85), a body cream ($70), a body lotion ($45), and a shower gel ($40).

There's just something about the ingredients and the elegance of this square bottle that's giving me tummy flutters. And now I have an excuse to make a special trip over to Bloomingdale's - so you won't hear me complaining.

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Fragrance Review: Ralph Lauren Wild

BellaSugar — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 11:00:25 -0700

Ralph Lauren's latest fragrance, Ralph Wild ($32-$59), is meant to appeal to a younger crowd. The scent is housed in a sporty, bright red bottle, and the advertisements display the peppy slogan: "Go Ralph Wild!" The notes are unapologetically sweet: wild strawberries, watermelon, cherry blossom, and jasmine, with some sandalwood and amber tossed in at the back of the list for good measure.

Unfortunately, my hopes of an appealing fruity-woodsy combination were dashed at first whiff. Ralph Wild is overwhelmingly sweet, smelling almost solely of strawberries. I detected nary a hint of jasmine or cherry blossom, and there is no trace of the muskiness promised by the sandalwood and amber notes. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing better than a juicy, fresh strawberry; it's just that this is closer to the scent of strawberry Jell-O.

Even though I wasn't fond of the scent, I wanted to give Ralph Wild a fair shake, so I asked for other opinions at Sugar HQ. I think Yum put it best when she described it as "very middle school." Fab agreed, adding that it smells like strawberry candy. PartySugar thought it wasn't bad on paper, but she didn't love it on her skin. In all fairness, we're slightly above the age range of the target audience, and someone born in the 90s might like this. But as women in our 20s, we didn't bite.

Beauty Byte: Ralph Lauren Can Make You A Rock Star

BellaSugar — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 12:26:33 -0800

Ralph Lauren Fragrances has gone interactive! They have just launched a new website called, ralphrocks.com to celebrate the release of their new floral, citrus and woodsy scent for women, also called Ralph Rocks, $59. It is packed in a bright orange bottle that oozes just about as much energy as their new website does.

The new site is definitely geared towards a younger shopper. The tag line of the perfume is "Rebellious, independent, free spirited" - does this sounds like a teenager or what?

Appropriately chosen to be the face of the fragrance is model, Hannah Davis, who embodies the same type of carefree attributes as the scent. You can read more about her along with a brief Q&A and some of her favorite styling tips here by clicking on "meet Hannah."

You can also hear and download Scottish singer/songwriter Paolo Nutini's music from his debut album, These Streets. The most noteworthy section of the site is the ongoing online contest called Do You Rock?. Here you can share your home-made music videos for a chance to win an audition with Atlantic Records. The contest will run through April 1st.

Source

Ralph Lauren Notorious Fragrance

BellaSugar — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:11:47 -0700

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Janelle Monáe Talks Music, Style, Books, and Beauty

BellaSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:01:52 -0700

If you haven't heard of Janelle Monáe, you are missing out. Seriously. The Grammy-nominated singer has a smooth but strong voice like felted cashmere, feet like Fred Astaire, and style like nobody else. Fresh off supporting tour dates with Erykah Badu and No Doubt, she's sharing her high-energy show at the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans on July 4, followed by a performance July 6 at Afro-Punk in Brooklyn. Check out her Many Moons video and you'll see why a live performance is not to be missed.

I spoke to Janelle this week about her music, her inspirations, and - of course - her style. She's as sweet as she is intelligent, so read on for the interview.

Hair How-To: Coventry Fall 2009 Hair

BellaSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:00:18 -0800

It can be difficult for young designers to build buzz, but not for Matthew Terry. After stints with Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren, he started his own line, Coventry. Fashionologie has a review of the clothing, but I'm more interested in this beautiful plaited hairstyle. "The idea was to make the girls look as though they'd just come from a long horseback ride," said stylist Pasquale Ferrante, the hair guru who created the look with Davines styling products. Want to re-create the look at home? For step-by-step instructions, just read on. Source

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Model of the Week: Aminata

BellaSugar — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 07:01:27 -0700

You probably don't know the name Mia Aminata Niara - she goes by Aminata professionally - but that should soon change.

The 5'9" stunner was born in Senegal, now lives in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, and speaks three languages. She's, as they say, big in Europe: Aminata has walked the runways of Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, Lanvin and appeared in magazines such as Vogue Germany.

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So why has it taken until this season to see her in New York fashion shows like Proenza Schouler, Erin Fetherston, and Ralph Lauren? For the answer, along with the unusual skin-care tip Aminata shared, read more.

How long have you been modeling?
Just two years for me. Before, I was just modeling in Paris. Every time I did a shoot or other [modeling] event, people would say to me, “Why don’t you go to New York? You have a beautiful face, you’d get work there!” I’d say that I was doing my schooling, that’s why. Now I say, “OK, I’m stopping school and moving.” This is my first time in New York, and I’m happy. It’s so exciting.

How do you keep your skin healthy?
I hope my skin is healthy! Every morning when I wake up, I put freezing water on my face. I like the feel of it, and I think it makes my skin stronger. That’s it.

When do you feel the most beautiful?
When I wake up. It’s natural - It’s much more "you." When you wake up, you see your face, and everything is fresh and clean because you’ve been sleeping for eight hours. That's when I feel best.

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Nose Nostalgia: Revlon Jontue

BellaSugar — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:00:22 -0700

There's something about this vintage ad for Revlon Jontue that makes me want it. I'm thinking it's because the commercial involves mist and horses and reminds me of The Princess Bride. Launched in 1975 with the tag line "Sensual... but not too far from innocence" (oh, that age old dilemma of womanhood), Jontue includes old-school notes like bergamont, tuberose, gardenia and sage.

Even into the '90s, most perfume ads were still ethereal and vaguely equestrian, like the black and white commercials for Ralph Lauren Romance and Calvin Klein Eternity (which also included horses). Recent fragrance ads are more about sex, diamonds, and celebrity. Do you sometimes yearn for fragrance's ladylike past?

To see the commercial for Revlon Jontue, read more.