Recently in Styling Products Category

In honor of Earth Day we will be giving away EIGHT sets of three of Esencia's by Samy latest products! We will pick the winners via random drawing on Earth Day, April 22!

Four out of the Eight winners will be picked by telling us, in the comments, whose celebrity hair is pictured above. US residents only please!

The Esencia by Samy line is 100% vegan, natural and organic and each set we are giving away will include their White Lotus Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioner - both formulated with Barley and Nettle - and their Vanilla Styling Crème which is formulated with Macadamia and Sunflower. The products are free of sulfates, parabens and phthalates - that can strip hair's natural protective layers and fade color - resulting in shiny, healthy hair! Plus how fab is the packaging with the ball-shaped cap (the caps are actually pop up caps as well - the pop button blends in with the cap)!!?

A big thank you to our lovely sponsor Esencia by Samy!

The hair this season on the runway was crazy fabulous! I loved the extreme hair looks that we saw (the photo above was taken backstage at Marc Jacobs -- literally the epitome of extreme glamour), and now thanks to two brand new products from Bumble and Bumble we can get the look as well! Bb. Gel and Gellac are the first gels in the Bumble and Bumble line that have been tested and perfected backstage at Fashion Week over several seasons. Bb. Gel can be applied, shaped, dried and easily brushed out to create amazingly soft shapes with memory and hold. It's also perfect for spring's neat, simple pony. Unlike most gels, this one won't leave your hair nasty -- it's the 80s look minus the damaged sticky hair and frizz:) The real gem for bold looks however is Gellac. It's Bb's new powerhouse product based on an editorial tool, Gafquat 732, which has traditionally been used to create extreme, shiny shapes for photo shoots, but is close to impossible to rinse out. That problem is solved with Gellac which can be removed with shampoo. My friend who has short hair tried Gellac (it's has a gel-like consistency) -- gave herself some spikes for fun! -- literally her hair was solid as a rock. If you're going for a bold look Gellac is a wonderful and quick way to achieve it, but just remember that it will set quickly and that a little goes a very long way!

Photos from Instyle.com and People.com

My hair is probably as long as it has ever been (about bust-length), and while I love wearing it down and straight, often times when I go out at night I'll deck myself-out in bold accessories and tend to feel like if I wear my hair down it's a bit distracting from my outfit! I'm not into fussy up-dos so I'm all about a sleek ponytail (plus I get my hair cut with a razor so it has great texture at the ends which a ponytail shows-off). I've been a big fan of Redken's Iron Silk 07 since it came-out a few months ago -- it protects your hair from heat styling products, but it also speeds-up the process of getting your hair silky smooth. I just spray a little bit in my hair -- section by section -- as I'm straightening (don't put too much or your hair will get a bit stiff). When you're done straightening Kerastase has a new product called Double Force Controle Ultime which is a multi-protective finishing hair spray with a firm hold and protective UV shield that's a great final touch before heading-out. Plus it helps guard against humidity while remaining light and free of residue which is especially important now that it's starting to get a bit warmer out. The most important thing about a sleek ponytail however is for it to be frizz-free! Jump for some frizz control solutions!

As the awards season comes to an end we have a special giveaway for you. We are giving away this"Tour Tested Rockstar Approved" Rockaholic Collection from Tiji which was a party favor from the Grammy's. Goes to show that not only can you party like a rock star, but style like one too. This set includes the Livin' The Dream Sulfate-Free Shampoo + Eneregy that will bring the shine and strength to the wildest of locks. The Livin The Dream Daily Conditioner + Energy gives your strands a daily dose of green tea, goji berry, gotu kola and multi-minerals, it's like a multi-vitamin for your hair! The Rocktastic Hardcore Spray Gel supplies you with a hard hold that will keep your due in place. It also includes the Punk Out Molding Gunk which will seperate and add texture all while moisturizing.

Enter to win the Rockaholic Collection by answering the following: Who is this American Musician who took the Grammy for Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance? Please place your answer in the comments by Fri. March 6th by 11:59pm EST. One entry per person. Please make sure to use an active email address so that we can contact you when you win.

My skin suffers because of how dry it gets in the winter, but so does my hair and scalp! Thankfully I got some fabulous tips from the folks at Rene Furterer and Klorane that I wanted to share with you:) First, use a humidifier -- if there is one that can do the trick it's Air-O-Swiss ($229.99), though one might not be enough if your room is very big, which is what I realized my problem was -- sometimes you need two humidifiers! Then, treat the scalp once a week to a purifying massage with Rene Furterer Complexe 5 Regenerating Extract ($45). Massaging the scalp with Complexe 5's essential oils of orange and lavender naturally stimulate the scalp's circulation and create the optimal conditions for the scalp and hair to thrive as well as allowing better penetration of your other hair care products. As far as shampooing people always do it too much -- including me -- so hard for me to take my daily shower and stop myself from reaching over for the shampoo and conditioner, but as we all know that's bad! Too much shampooing can strip the scalp and hair of its natural protective oils. By shampooing a bit less frequently, you'll give your scalp a chance to maintain its natural balance. To keep hair clean and beautiful between shampoos, you can use a dry shampoo such as Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo With Oat Milk ($18) that cleanses your hair without stripping it. I have to say I get eecked by dry shampoos and had bad experiences previously with one from T3, but as far as they go the one from Klorane was actually soothing. More after the Jump!

I've been coming across countless wonderful beauty gift sets and like Beauty Snob Tina I ended-up getting a few of my faves for most of the people on my shopping list this holiday season! One that stand-outs when it comes to hair care is the gift set from Seva . Seva means "thread" in Sanskrit which the company says implies that all things are connected...nice little holiday message, huh?! Anyway, Seva is a new line of hair care products and they use some of the highest quality ingredients for their products. The line is also sulfate and paraben free, vegan and not tested on animals and given their ingredients Seva hair products are 100% color safe which is essential for me because I only get my hair highlighted twice a year and both times it's abroad (either at Dessange in France or with a German colorist when I go visit my family in Munich), so I gotta keep my highlights safe!! The products are wonderfully light so they won't leave your hair heavy or overly greasy. Plus, all Seva items are produced locally in Los Angeles and their warehouse employs people with disabilities from the La Puente Adult School. With that in mind, check-out the Seva Gift Set which retails for $75 (a $160 value), and comes with all of the products from the Seva line.

I heard about this Save our Style Wet and Dry Ceramic Tourmaline Iron from someone who works with the Valery Joseph Salon in NYC and at first I was a little bit skeptical. It's a flat iron that dries and straightens hair simultaneously basically eliminating the need for a blow dryer. Could this be safe for hair!? Apparently yes! The device is supposedly better for your hair than using a blow dryer which the makers say uses an excessive amount of unnecessary heat which overly dries hair causing it to split. The Wet-To-Dry Flat Iron dries and straightens instantaneously without any of that unnecessary over-styling and over-heating. Of course some people use the blow dryer as a styling tool, but since I don't this is basically a 2-for-1 time saving gadget for me! To boot the iron comes with a mini-sized travel version of the regular iron! Also, there are two settings -- low (250F-300F) for fine, damages, or chemically relaxed hair and High (300F-400F) for normal, colored, highlighted, or coarse hair. The iron is auto-set to 355F, but it's super-easy to adjust. Just one note -- steam comes out from vents but don't worry! That's what protects your hair from over-heating:) The Mini and regular Wet-to-Dry Flat Iron set retails for $199 and you can get it at either of the two Valery Joseph Salons or by calling them-- Valery Joseph Salon location and numbers: 1044 Madison Avenue, (212) 517-2333 820 Madison Avenue, (217) 517-7377

Great hair is always something to be thankful for which is why I think Frederic Fekkai's Coiff Celebration of Style ($30) and the Frederic Fekkai Spray On Hair Crystals ($18.50) both make great gifts/stocking stuffers this holiday season! First off the packaging of the Fekkai products is always tops -- everything from the logo to the colors is simple and understated, but distinctive and elegant. The gift box is a limited edition one and given how many of us travel during the holiday season it's super convenient that everything in it is travel-size. Plus, the three products in the set are varied so you'll have the keys to straight, tousled, and curly hair with --
- 1.5 oz Anti-Frizz Crème (my fave out of the three! Do yourself a favor and get this one for yourself in full-size -- unbelievably lightweight and so quick and easy you just put it on your hair when it's damp and it's the best preventative measure against frizz!), 1.5 oz Ironless Straightening Balm, and 1.0 oz Finishing Crème. Lastly, Frederic Fekkai's Spray On Hair Crystals -- I'm usually fairly hairspray averse because of the stiffness, but this one actually gives you hold while allowing movement and none of that gross, clumpy-ness. This isn't news to anyone who uses the Frederic Fekkai Hold hairspray though, so what makes it a great holiday gift you ask? It sprays hair crystals and slight color for wonderful shimmer:) I love champagne (who doesn't, right!?), but it also comes in copper, and bronze!

Peter Som, Ralph Lauren, Versace, Lanvin from style.com

I went to a discussion led by Redken's Creative Consultant Guido who styled more than 30 shows including Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren, Prada, Balenciaga, and Louis Vuitton during fashion week!! A busy, busy man he told me had just finished wrapping the Prada campaign. When asked about an over-arching hair trend he said that this year everything was very "anti-red carpet" and that the trends he spotted mostly fell into one of these four categories -- a softly deconstructed look (ponytails, knots and casual half-ponytails with satin-matte finishes -- Peter Som, for example), glam hair accessories paired with modern styles (Guido suggests adding a black headband, a jaunty fedora or anything that adds a pop of color -- take a cue from the Ralph Lauren show), clean lines and easy updoes (Guido says that this season a lot of hair was kept away from the face with no bangs or stray pieces like in the Lanvin collection). Lastly, the middle part makes a comeback as seen in Versace among others.

Redken does a lot of the Fashion Week shows so back in September when I was backstage at a few when I saw these cool blush metallic bottles, I inquired about what the products they were using actually did. It turned-out that all these bottles I was seeing were part of the just now released new Redken Heat Styling range. The collection consists of six products (only two out of those six are actually new launches, but all are newly packaged in the blush metallic packaging). Basically what the products are intended to do is protect your hair from heat styling tools. Honestly, I had never done this and I can't believe that it never occurred to me to use something to help protect my hair from the flat iron I use so often. I always figured the best I could do was use a CHI flat iron (love CHI by the way if anyone is looking for great tools!). So I'm so excited to finally be using some of these heat styling products to relieve some of my worries about frying my hair. I particularly love Redken Fabricate 03 ($13), which you spray on damp hair, finger-style with or without heat and what it's supposed to do is give your hair definition and a textured finish when used with a flat iron. Also great is Redken Iron Silk 07 ($15) which you spray on dry hair section by section as you flat iron for protection and it also, actually, makes your hair extra soft and the smell isn't too strong or chemical-like at all.
For the full details and complete line click here!