Recently in Hair Category

I use men's razor, the same kind my husband uses actually, which lead to the constant bickering of "did you use my razor?", which lead to the argument of whose hair is coarser, my leg's or his face's. I am happy to announce that we have left this battle behind and moved on to other more pointless ones. I am using women's razors again because they finally made one powerful enough for me, the Venus from Gillette. I want 4 blades or 5 blades or however many blades he has, why can't I get the same treatment in razors? I don't want these dinky, cutesie, gel infused, contour shavers that contours itself out of shaving all my hair. I don't need my razor to look "lady like", I want one that works. The Venus has 5 blades, yes count them, 5!! It is contoured and has the gel around the edges which does add some benefits. I am not against these things, I just don't want them to distract from the job of shaving. Instead of having the tiny strip of the shaving gel right above the blades, this razor has it all around the outer frame so the gel has a chance to get on the skin surface instead of just going directly into clogging the blades. I still used shower cream when I shaved, somehow I just don't have enough confidence in the gel alone. The slight contour does make it easier for that part of the leg next to the shin that is curved, a totally straight razor would require a couple of passes there. When you buy the initial package, it comes with one extra razor and a handy holder and dispenser that suctions on your shower wall. No more rusty blades causes by razors sitting on a wet surface. No more razor mix ups but more importantly, I am getting a great shave that leaves my legs totally smooth.This new razor launches on Feb. 12, you can get it at Drugstore.com for $11.99 for the starter kit (comes with a razor, 2 cartridges and the shower pod).

I have this adorable blue coat that I bought when I was studying abroad in Paris. Every winter, I pray for the cold weather to get here faster and stay forever so I can wear it without looking ridiculous. Unfortunately, no matter how super cute I look, I usually get sick of the cold weather after about a month (which would be right now) and start complaining about it being too cold. (I didn't move to Texas for nothing!) So in the spirit of the Spring Break that I know is just around the corner, here is a product that I can't wait to use after a lazy day on the beach. PHYTO PLAGE Moisturizing Hair and Body Wash with Bamboo Marrow gives you plenty of moisture and is best used after prolonged exposure to the sun. I know this will come in handy around March when I'm burned to a crisp praying for cooler weather. Phyto Plage Moisturizing Hair and Body Wash with Bamboo Marrow, $20.00, Beauty.com.

Left: Jada Pinkett Smith, a devoted fan of Carol's Daughter products

We thought it fitting to celebrate Martin Luther King Day with a profile on a woman who not only had a dream, she made it a reality. In 1993, Founder Lisa Price had a dream, she wanted to create quality beauty products for women, men and children of all skin types and needs. She transformed her hobby and love for fragrance into a skin care business and from that love Carol’s Daughter was born. Inspired by nature, the unique line includes over 300 products for face, hair, body and home - allowing for product combinations and possibilities that are endless for every man, woman and child regardless of skin type, tone, or need!

All of the products are presented with an abundance of love and quality ingredients. The concentrations in the moisturizers are among the highest you’ll find tested on people, not animals and do not contain harmful additives or cheap fillers. I got a ton of stuff to test out for you beauty snobs and I now smell and feel yummy!

1. Jamaican Punch Body Butter: I have to confess when I saw the dried apple slice on top of the body butter, I had an urge to eat it (I know- so weird but I love dried apples!). But it's not just the apple, the body butter smelled intoxicatingly delicious! Full of natural oils, it was just the thing my skin needed this week in this crazy cold and dry weather. $18

I have really thin hair. I shy away from wearing it down because it falls flat so easily and I end up looking more casual because my hair is hanging limply around my head. That problem was totally solved when one of my friends sprayed my hair with Heat Seeking Liquid Hair Plumper from T3. This stuff is really amazing! It coats the hair without weighing it down and makes it feel like every strand of hair has tripled. I had awesome, flouncy cocktail party hair that stayed bouncy and full all night. This works with the heat so apply it on towel dried hair and blow dry to your heart’s content. You will be sure to turn heads the rest of the night! $38 at Sephora.com

(Post by Beauty Snob Michelle)

Now that I’ve mastered my new flat iron and hair dryer from Conair I decided to take a huge step and try out the new ceramic rollers that came with them. I don’t often curl my hair as it’s straight as a stick and doesn’t hold curl very well so I recruited my Snobtastic roommate who has thick amazing hair to help. We both curled half of both our heads and sat around watching Ugly Betty and figuring out how we would use the curlers in everyday life. The curlers were pretty good. Like I said, I don’t have a lot of experience with curling my hair but one of the first things I noticed was that the clips don’t hold very well, even on my thin hair. My roommate was having serious issues but figured out that if you curl your hair towards your hair rather than away, the clips hold better. Anyways I really liked these curlers for one big reason. I’m a klutz. If there is something to hurt myself on I will do it. (I have hundreds of scarring memories from the 80’s and my unfortunate use of a curling iron on my bangs.) While you can tell that they are hot, they don’t burn you and they don’t have any sort of weird, hot smell. When we took out the rollers the result was pretty good! I had big, bouncy curls (that promptly fell out two hours later) and my roommate has tiny springy curls. The best thing about the set is how quick and easy it is. If you’re getting ready to go out and suddenly decide to curl your hair, this is the set for you. It takes about 10 min to heat up and about 15 to get a good curl. $54.99 infiniti.conair.com

(Post by Beauty Snob Michelle)

I’m kind of vain about my hair. I’ll admit it. Because of that I’m really fussy about what I put on my hair and what sort of instruments I use to style it. Heat can be really damaging and if you don’t have the right instrument you can fry your hair really quickly. (Trust me. I know this from a sorry experience in high school.) I recently was lucky enough to get my hands on some of Conair’s Nano Silver products and I was really impressed. I’m pretty anti-hairdryers and I felt really comfortable with the line’s Hair Styler. My irrational fear that my hair is frying was lessened with the addition of the cool blast button that cools down the air coming out of the mouth of the dryer. For me, the best part of the dryer is the concentrator attachment. It’s a funnel-like part that concentrates the air into a thin line. I have straight hair and I felt like this was the best way to dry it while keeping it's body.

Arguably the past decade's most accomplished hair stylist, Orlando Pita is a driving force within fashion and beauty, having just been named one of the most influential people in the world of fashion by W Magazine, October 2007. His innovation and influence can be felt in experimental editorial fashion and beauty features, and in prominent campaigns, and runway spectacles worldwide. Season after season, his looks define contemporary style.

Pita has created looks for Kors, Versace, YSL, Prada, Valentino, Dior, Gucci, Galliano, and Zac Posen and has carried his expertise through many of their campaigns. Pita's trend establishing style is featured regularly in Italian, French, and American Vogue, Allure, and W. Through the strength of his collaborations with leading photographers including Irving Penn, the late Richard Avedon, Steven Meisel, Craig McDean, and Mario Testino, Pita contributes to the most dominant and respected image-making today. His views, tips and expertise are quoted regularly in publications worldwide.

It is no surprise that his unrivaled body of work has caught the eye of Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Julianne Moore, and Jennifer Connelly as well as Madonna, Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce who are all clients of Pita. In 2004 Pita opened his salon, Orlo, in New York. Understated, yet elegant, his salon atmosphere is quite relaxing and free of clutter, enabling only truly beautiful work to be created and admired.

So when his PR rep contacted me and said he'd be in town for ONE day and that she could set up an appointment for me with him to style my hair, I jumped at the chance!

It has been two days since I massaged my hair with the Plump and Boost Products, blew it dry with the Evolution blow dryer, and straightened it with the Duality iron but my hair is still fabulous. There is no flaking nor residue from the products and the last two mornings I have woken up with bouncing beautiful hair! If it seems I am seriously addicted to T3 it is because I am, who doesn't love having great hair day in and day out? I have really exciting news for you but you'll have to wait until the end of the month to find out. Let's just say that some of you loyal Beauty Snobbers will be scoring dryers, irons and products from T3 in November. Is that hint enough?

In the meantime, T3 has launched the Jet Set, a travel dryer in our favorite shade, PINK! Don't let the small size fool you, it packs as much power as the Evolution but the price is substantially less at $130. It also comes with its own travel case so you don't have to worry about it being knocked around in your luggage. The matching pink Mini iron is also a must have for our jet setting beauties. Both available at Nordstrom. By the way, I hope you are planning to come to Nordstrom to meet Orlando Pita and T3 creator Kent Yu today at noon. I will be there, can't wait to meet them and have my hair styled by Orlando! See you soon :)

Available at Lane Crawford in Asia

After reading Kelly's review of the T3 Evolution blowdryer I became obsessed with trying it for myself, I ordered it and then decided I needed the T3 Duality iron (to straighten or curl) as well. As I browsed around on the T3 website to see what other fabulous items I must have, I discovered T3 has partnered with Orlando Pita (of famed NYC salon Orlo) to develop a line of hair products! Those of you who have been living under a rock the last few years, Orlando Pita is one of the most talented hair stylists on earth. Seriously, from Supermodels to Oscar winners, he has a client roster that would make the paparazzi weep!

I have always splurged on my hair because I think luxury should start at the top of your head and end at your feet (you spend $700 on a pair of Louboutins, a T3 Evolution blowdryer costs less than half that amount plus you'll use it every single day for many years! How often and how long will you be traipsing in those 5 inch Loubies?). Apparently Kent Yu, creator of T3 Evolution blowdryer felt the same way. It all started when he noticed that his wife would dress in the finest designer clothes, use the best beauty products in the world but finish it all off with a $30 hairdryer from a local pharmacy! He then set out to seek out the highest grade ingredients to create a blowdryer that won't damage our hair, weigh 3 lbs, nor strain our arms. He found the answer in Tourmaline and the rest is beauty history and how could I not participate in a part of that?!?!? I ordered both products (Plump and Boost) along with the Evolution blowdryer and Duality iron and my package came yesterday just in time for the flurry of parties I have on my calendar this week.

I immediately tested out my new Evolution blowdryer to see what it could do, as Kelly said, it dried hair incredibly fast! I timed it and it took me exactly 5 minutes to dry and style soaking wet hair! I then plugged in the Duality iron, turned it on and it became hot before I had a chance to pick it up- it took a mere second to heat! It then took me about 2 minutes to do what I wanted, which is to create sleek and smooth hair with a bit of curl and body at the ends. What usually takes me 20 minutes now takes me 7 minutes!

The T3 products were also amazing ($38 each), I got small samples of the Boost and Pump (one for blowdrying and one for the iron) and both are lightweight, greaseless and made my hair super shiny! I did my hair this morning at 9am and had a packed day of appointments including an opening party for Cartier at 7pm, 10 hours later my hair was in the exact style as it was when I did it thanks to the T3 products! Life is good when you have good hair days and I plan to everyday with my T3 tools and products.

Even more exciting is T3 creator, Kent Yu, and Orlando Pita's visit to Dallas this Friday, I am scheduled to have my hair styled by Orlando and I am so excited I can hardly contain myself! I will also be interviewing him so stay tuned! Those of you lucky beauties who live in Dallas should stop by Nordstrom on Friday between 12-5 pm, Orlando and a T3 stylist will be on site to give complimentary styling!

Until then, you must order an Evolution dryer ($300) and Duality iron ($160) (voted best beauty product by Allure) today! Or try the original Featherweight dryer, it's $200 and also voted best beauty product by Allure magazine (how many other beauty companies can boast two products voted the best by the beauty bible? Trust us, it will be the best money you will ever spend on beauty products. T3 also offers a 4 year warranty on all of its products so what are you waiting for? Buy it online here or join me at the Dallas Galleria Nordstrom on Friday and test it in person!

Left-Kent Yu, creator of T3, Right- Orlando Pita

Available at Lane Crawford in Asia.

I am currently obsessed with the Skin Deep Website, a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products from researchers at the Environmental Working Group. I have been on it all weekend looking up every brand in my bathroom, it was shocking how many items in my bathroom are rated "high toxicity" and that may cause cancer, render me infertile amongst many other scary hazards! Go through the site and search for your favorite products to see what you come up with. I could not find my favorite luxury brands such as La Prarie, Natura Bisse, Sisley or La Mer on the site, hopefully it is because their products are tested extensively to avoid causing hazard? (or maybe they were too expensive for the scientists to buy and test?).

There seems to be a pattern of beauty companies across the board with body lotions being listed as highly toxic even if their other products are of low or no risk (For example, Skinceuticals C&E ferulic is safe but the Skin Firming Body Cream is a high hazard- I am throwing mine in the trash tonight!). In fact, I am so freaked out that I have decided to use my son's baby products from California Baby (rated 0- low hazard) on my body until further notice. I am not one to scare easily and often ignore the urban legends of lipstick accumulating in the stomach etc but this really got my attention! Of course I will do more sleuthing with doctors in order to validate the site's claims, let me know what you beauties come up with.

Here's a thought, perhaps the reason Aveda products tested so high for toxicity is because they do not do any testing on lab rats....