Hilary Duff stepped out of Byron & Tracey Salon in Bev Hills yesterday (Aug. 19) with newly darkened and shortened locks! Fresh from her Mexican honeymoon with hockey player/husband Mike Comrie, Hilary dyed her bright blonde hair a richer strawberry blonde. She paired her new look with dark red vampy lips, which I’ve been seeing a lot of recently. I really like Hilary’s new hair color. I think it looks so pretty with her brown eyes.

What do you think of Hilary’s new hue?

As I have discussed previously on HOTB, I love Jessica Biel’s hair. Her long layers and highlights are total perfection.

Jessica’s hair and makeup looked absolutely flawless at the Germany premiere of The A-Team on July 29. I love how simple her makeup was paired with that bright coral lipstick. I wish I could figure out a good bright lipstick for my skin tone… Hmm.

I tested out Kate’s Plum, a plumy color, Diane’s Tuberose, a slightly muddy deep pink, and Beyonce’s Red, an extremely vivid red. I honestly didn’t love any of these shades. Beyonce’s was way too intense for me and the red was too cool. Both the Plum and the Tuberose were too muddy and bleh on me.

Let me explain the concept of the product for those of you who are unfamiliar–it’s a combo of a lip gloss/lipstick that comes in a rectangular mirrored compact with 2 sticks that pop up–one for a lip gloss that dries matte and one for a conditioning topcoat. After applying the first coat of lip gloss, you’re suppose to wait a few minutes to let it dry before applying the topcoat. Even though I applied this product correctly, my lips felt dry after the topcoat wore off. Also, it didn’t wear evenly, and I was left with more pigment around my lips than at the center. Not a good look. I do like the idea of a lip product that actually stays put–this is not the one for me. I would not repurchase.

If you want to try Infallible Stars Never Fail Lipcolour for yourself, it’s available at lorealparis.com, chain drug, food and mass market retailers for SRP of $11.99 each.

Have any of you tried L’Oreal Paris Infallible Stars Never Fail Lipcolour Compact? Let me know what you thought in the comments!

An editorial sample was provided by the company so I could review this product. Please see my About page for further information on Disclosure policies.

Anyway! I got my makeup done by bareMinerals National Makeup Artist Amber Blasco, who happened to be from my old neighborhood in Chicago. She was so cool, as Chicago girls always are, and amazingly talented. I was able to try out some fantastic bareMinerals makeup, which I will be filling you guys in on here. First up, though, I had to tell you about the Buzzworthy Collection because it’s knocking my socks off. It’s brand-new from bareMinerals and includes a mix of new products and award-winning must-haves. The collection includes:

• Well-Rested SPF 20 Eye Brightener
• High Shine Charisma Eyecolor in pink champagne
• Popular Eyecolor in iridescent plum glimmer
• Glee Radiance All-Over Face Color in a “I just had a glass of wine” as Amber described it
• Double-Ended Natural Lipcolor in Sticky Buns, a lovely cinnamon rose & Lipgloss in Muffin Top, a sweet cotton candy pink

This kit is a great deal–a $82 value for only $36! And the products are such fun to play around with. The Well-Rested Eye Brightener is a perfect base shadow for waking up tired eyes. I love that it has SPF 20 because not a lot of eye products include sun protection, but the delicate eye area really needs it. You can apply the Brightener from your lash line to the base of your brow to even out skin tone and prep for shadow. The High Shine Charisma Eyecolor is great for highlighting the brow bone or to use as a subtle, glistening wash of color all over the lid. It’s such a gorgeous, wearable shade. Popular Eyecolor you kind of have to see to believe; it’s a beautiful iridescent plum shade with flecks of green? blue? peacock feathers? It’s like magic. I swear, this stuff has serious cult status potential.

Something that already is a cult favorite in the makeup world: Glee Radiance All-Over Face Color. So many makeup geniuses swear by this stuff, including my girl Amber from Beauty Junkies Unite. Glee is a light mauvey pink color. It’s really gorgeous, but the key is to use a very, very little bit. Tap a a small amount onto the lid, swirl your brush around, tap it off, and apply lightly to your cheeks. If it looks too light when you first apply it, that’s the perfect amount because it will intensify within a few minutes. And lastly, the Double-Ended Natural Lipcolor in Sticky Buns and Muffin Top. You can use these Lipcolors on there own or together. They’re super moisturizing, give your lips a nice rosy pink shade, and smell totally delicious. For more information on these products or to purchase, go to bareescentuals.com!

Gemma Arterton and Jake Gyllenhaal hit the red carpet for the world premiere of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time in London a few days ago. They look gorgeous! I have zero interest in seeing this movie, but maybe on mute when it comes out on DVD… I love Gemma’s makeup here. She looks so great with very minimal makeup (amazing skin) and bright lips.

Check out more of Gemma Arterton’s hairstyles.

Gemma kind of reminds me of Liv Tyler with that perfect porcelain skin, dark hair and ruby lips. I dunno about that dress though. Thoughts? Jake pulls off that three-piece suit because he’s hot and in perfect shape and gorgeous. I like his hair short…

Better than the long ‘do he had in the movie. It kinda reminds me of this:

Anyway. This picture makes me lol.

P.S. Happy Birthday, Darren! I can’t wait to see you guys in July.  :)

Newly engaged Hilary Duff and her GIANT Louis Vuitton bag visited Frederic Fekkai salon in West Hollywood yesterday (March 13).

I know this is the “before” picture, but I like her hair pulled back like this. I also really love the shade of that pink lipstick! I wonder what it is. I don’t think I’ve ever seen skinny cargo pants before, though. That’s… new.

And after. Very ‘Hollywood Hair’ blowout. Kinda yawn but cute. Somebody ID that lipstick! I really like it. It looks kind of matte but slightly creamy, and hot pink but not too intense. Hmm. Actually, it looks too dark in this pic, but perfect in the top two.

Source

Did you see last night’s Shear Genius? It was a super amazing episode, as always. Ken Paves pops up for the Shortcut Challenge, and the stylists have to give extensions to men–with varying degrees of success. The Elimination Challenge forces the stylists to work in teams, although Brig works alone because no one likes her. They style models for sexhay romance novel covers, and Mathew and Janine’s team wins. Yay! With Mathew winning top prize for the night. Sadly, one of my favorites, Faatemah, is sent home, when clearly Adee should have gotten the boot for not even completing the Shortcut Challenge, almost puking on his client, swearing at the judges like 20 times and being and all around a-hole. However, adorable and funny Faatemah gets the boot. When will reality shows learn we’d rather watch people like HER? Upside? I got to interview Faatemah today! And she was totally hilarious and majorly, majorly dishy on the phone! She gives gooooood interview, you guys. We covered everything from Adee, Jonathan Antin, Brig and she even name-checks her lipstick shade! You can’t get any better than that. This interview is super juicy, so check it out. And check back each week for my interview with Shear Genius’s eliminated contestant!

Hair on the Brain: What was it like working with Adee in the Elimination Challenge? He was kind of difficult throughout the episode….

Faatemah: Adee is always difficult. That’s not an act, that’s just who he is. He was quite the complainer, always an excuse, but you know, that’s Adee. He suffered from food poisoning the day before, and as soon as Mathew told me he was my teammate, I thought I was going to be sick! So, yeah. Not my favorite match up! But you know, it is what it is. He’s a drama king.

HOTB: The whole episode it seemed like Adee was going to be the one to go home.

Faatemah: I don’t like to dwell on negativity, so I’m just going to do my random rant and then I’m done. I thought Adee was really disrespectful to the judges—standing up there saying F-this and this and that. I think that’s really, really bad. We all put ourselves in the position to stand there and take it. I was taking it like a man! Why couldn’t he? I owned up to my shortcomings, and I took responsibility for my work. I thought [what he did] was rude and disrespectful.

HOTB: I liked that you tried something different with your model’s hair during the “romance novel” Elimination Challenge. It seemed like everyone else did curls or waves on the female models.

Faatemah: Well, I was trying to do something different. First of all, I have never in my life seen a romance novel cover. My life is filled with biographies, fashion magazines, empowerment books, and the bible. I grew up in a really conservative, Christian home. I’m just that kind of Midwestern girl, and pornography and romance novels are just not on my list of quick reads. Nothing against people that read it! I just had no point of reference. So my strategy was, OK, what’s Adee’s vision? I was going to roll with that. And the second thing: I quickly looked around the room and saw that everyone was doing long, spiral curls. So I thought, I’m going to do something different. If anyone knows anything about my work or my personality, different is what I do; Innovative is what I do. I take risks and I win awards for taking risks. Unfortunately, taking risks in this challenge didn’t pay off because it didn’t translate to the task at hand. I think my shortcoming was that without that point of reference of what romance novels look like, I had no idea I was taking it too far.

HOTB: So, do you think your hair was the worst?

Faatemah: No, I didn’t get bleach in someone’s eye. I didn’t give them an interracial snowman. And my “George Washington” hair looked so much better than Amy’s mullet. (Laughs.) That ‘80s trailer trash that she gave him… [During the Shortcut Challenge]. Was it the worst that they’d seen? Absolutely not. But was it mediocre for that day? Yeah. It was not my most stellar work and not what I’m known for. But I did the best that I could with the information I had, the time I had, and the partner I had. I can’t think of what I would have done differently. It is what it is. I had an off day and unfortunately my off day was on national TV, and it cost me $100,000. I don’t think it was the worst though. I was shocked to go home.

How Adee should have gone home, how Brig is crazy (like a fox), how Jonathan Antin is all curling irons and fans, and what Faatemah hopes her mom doesn’t read! All after the break!

HOTB: Do you think Adee should have gone home last night?

Faatemah: (Pauses.) You know, I do. Just on disrespect alone.

HOTB: I thought so too.

Faatemah: Some of it is about the work and some of it is about the fact that he went too far with [the disrespect]. And I thought it was really interesting that I said something about not having a point of reference for the romance novels and Jonathan [Antin] just shot me down, “No excuses!” And I was like, but Adee can stand up here and say F-this, F-that, F-you? I thought that was kind of rude. I was like, where is all this rage coming from? As a woman, I’m sensitive to a man talking down to me, and as an African-American person, I’m more sensitive about people yelling at me. It took everything in my power, when you just see me standing there quiet, to contain myself. Itt took everything in my power to just be graceful. You can’t fight fire with fire, and I don’t like to respond to rage with rage. I’m really proud of myself, and I think I was really graceful in my exit. I don’t think it was fair, but life isn’t fair.

HOTB: I thought you came across really well throughout the show. You seemed really normal and funny, and you looked great on TV! I was bummed that you got eliminated.

Faatemah: Unfortunately, I think I was too normal. I should have acted up and kicked something over.

HOTB: Well, that’s how it goes on reality TV.

Faatemah: It’s good TV. That’s Adee though. They didn’t pay him to act like that.

HOTB: Speaking of characters, is what we see of Brig on TV really her personality? Is she for real?

Faatemah: I don’t know if I want to comment on that. I think Brig is getting way too much airtime.

HOTB: She’s on every five seconds!

Faatemah: OK, let me just give you one thing on Brig because I don’t like to give her the energy. I’m a real hairdresser, I win awards, I do hair for magazines, I take my job very seriously, and I took the show very seriously. There are some real hairdressers on that show, and I keep thinking, why is Brig here? It makes everything we do a mockery. I thought it was ridiculous for her to hold shears and do haircuts. I mean, it’s dangerous. She made my job look like a buffoonery; she’s a clown. I have no respect for Brig. Is that really Brig? No, I think Brig is crazy like a fox. She watches a lot of reality TV and she’s got her character down. As stupid as many people think she is, I think she really might be quite brilliant.

HOTB: Getting back to Jonathan Antin for a minute, besides him blowing up before your elimination, were there any other major interactions with him that stand out?

Faatemah: Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan… Coming from the world where I do hair, Jonathan shouldn’t have been on that stage judging me. I don’t look at him as my peer. I don’t know how you want to interpret that, but I would rather Orlando [Pita] be sitting on that stage and telling me: Faatemah, that sucks. Because Orlando is brilliant. He does what I do. Not discounting Jonathan, I really want to be careful about that. What I’m saying is for what Jonathan does, he doesn’t even have a point of reference. I don’t know if he would understand [what I'm doing.] I said this in my Bravo exit interview too, I’m known for innovating looks, doing something different, pioneering. So is Orlando. When people don’t have a point of reference for that, sometimes they dismiss it and say, Oh that sucks, or they just don’t understand it. I was saying in my exit interview that when Van Gogh and Picasso first presented their work, what must the world have thought? Because they had no point of reference. Other artists were probably like, what is that? That is weird. But now we think it’s brilliant. And I’m not saying that I’m Picasso or Van Gogh, but what I’m saying is that what I do is art, and it’s open to interpretation. Jonathan would never understand what I am doing. He just curls hair and puts a fan on it. He does Hollywood/LA hair. I don’t do celebrities. I do covers and magazines and models, but my world is different. I don’t want to live in Beverly Hills and do some 90210 stars. I want to do Lady Gaga’s hair. I want to do icons. But, you know, doing celebrities has never been important to me. Making art and being fulfilled is. So I never really took what Jonathan said to heart. And I thought that he had a lot of arrogance for someone that I don’t admire that much. I thought, wow, who are you to tell me that I can’t give you an excuse?

HOTB: That’s kind of his thing.

Faatemah: I’m going to be really honest and say I’ve never even seen his show [Blow Out]. And when he first came out to talk to us he was like, I’m sure you guys know me. And I was like, no. I don’t know you. I don’t know him; I’ve never seen his show. I’ve heard his name and I’ve heard things about him, but I never form my opinions based on what other people say. But now I understand why people say what they say. He’s cute though. He’s got good style.

HOTB: Who are your favorites on the show?

Faatemah: I think Janine and Mathew rock. But then my underdog is Jon, because Jeanine and Mathew have the skill where they do what I do. They’ve been nominated for awards, and I think Mathew has won some. They do sexy magazine shoots and runway. And here is Jon, this little guy from Kansas—this Jewish kid who is doing updos with forks. To get on the show, he did an updo with a fork, he told me! He is quite brilliant. He’s bomb. He was my makeup artist. We didn’t have hair and makeup artists on the show, so he did my hair and makeup.

HOTB: I actually really liked your makeup, so he did a good job!

Faatemah: He did! Faatemah doesn’t know how to do makeup, but I was blessed with a permanent tan. I have flawless skin; I never break out or anything. But one thing I learned from the show… I don’t know if it is appropriate for me to say it, but Jon taught me that my big lips are good for two things—blowjobs and red lipstick!

(Pause while we both crack up.)

Faatemah: I feel bad that I’m even saying this. I hope my mom doesn’t read this interview! But I love red lipstick now. Being a woman of color and having full lips, I always did nudes. But he painted me down everyday.

HOTB: That’s so funny because I was re-watching last night’s episode for this interview, and I kept noticing your lipstick! I was wondering if it would be weird to ask you the shade in this interview. Obviously not!

Faatemah: I was MAC Russian Red. Jon bought that lipstick for me and I still own it. We’re really good friends. Mathew did my makeup too—they took turns.

Thanks so much, Faatemah!!

I’ve been using various Vapour Organic Beauty for a while now. When I review makeup, sometimes I stick with it afterward and sometimes I don’t. Vapour is one of those produc lines that I’ve truly fallen in love with. When I was in Chicago over the holidays, Vapour Elixir Lip Gloss was the only gloss I brought with me. I usually have a million glosses with me, but I packed light in the gloss department this time!

Vapour Elixir in Hush was the perfect choice; it’s super moisturizing and provides a gorgeous shine and milky pink color. I love this gloss so much. Like all Vapour products, it’s non-chemical, which is a nice added plus. I wear it alone or over a lipstick, like Vapour’s Siren Lipstick, which I have in Ravish. Both colors are shown above. Price: Siren Lipstick is $19.00 and Elixir Lip Gloss is $20.00.

After the break, I review Vapour Atmosphere Luminous Foundation.

I’ve also been using  Vapour Atmosphere Luminous Foundation. Confession: I’m not a big foundation wearer. I have pretty decent skin, and I find my skin looks (and behaves) better when I wear less makeup. But I do have redness around my nose and chin and under-eye circles that I like to cover up. I’ve just never found a foundation that I like. I use to wear Clinique foundation back in the day and then toyed with bareMinerals, before I realized they were breaking me out, but before I got Atmosphere Luminous, I had ZERO foundations in my makeup kit!

Needless to say, I wasn’t sure what I’d think about Vapour’s foundation, even though I love their other products. I’d never used a foundation stick before, and I expected the consistency to be dry. But Vapour’s sticks glide on smoothly and blend easily with fingertips or a brush. The foundation literally melted into my skin. The texture was very creamy, which freaked me out a bit that I would end up greasy in a few hours or that my skin would break out. But the foundation is formulated with minerals to move and breathe with your skin. I didn’t have any greasiness later in the day and, happily, Luminous Foundation did not break me out! The moisturizing texture does diminishes appearance of fine lines, though, which is a bonus. The foundation evens out my skin tone where I need it. It also reflects light to enhances skins natural healthy glow. Another bonus!

I can’t say enough good things about this makeup line. Oh wait. I can. All their products also smell amazing. They’re infused with Vapour’s face specific botanicals: Frankincense, Tulsi and Lotus Flower, which are anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, cooling and calming. And smell delicious. Price: $38.00

An editorial sample was provided by the company so I could review this product. Please see my About page for further information on Disclosure policies.

Lipstick: This is the one makeup item that’s mandated to the girls: All the Rockettes wear MAC lipstick in either MAC Red or Russian Red. Both are blue-based tones that pop under the bright lights.

Lipstick base: To keep the red lipstick from coming off during costume changes, lots of the Rockettes apply a sneaky product called Sealed With A Kiss. With this, they say it’s actually hard to get the color off when they try!

Moisturizer: I think every girl had some sort of Aveeno product at her mirror. They say the brand is the best for calming irritated skin–and theirs can get pretty irritated from wearing so much makeup all winter long. The Ultra-Calming Moisturizer is one favorite.

Foundation primer: Smashbox Photo Finish is a great tool for preventing base from sweating right off.

Foundation: One fave is Clinique Superfit, which is highly sweatproof. Another is Maybelline Purestay powder foundation.

Liquid liner: Some of the girls use MAC, but Samantha lives and dies by her inexpensive NYC New York Color liquid liner, which costs two bucks and never, ever smudges.

Faux lashes: No fancy lashes here! Most of the girls pick these up at Duane Reade, our local NYC drugstore chain. They say cheapies last just as long–for several shows–and look just as great. Mod Lash is one favorite brand.

Mascara: In this dressing room, the secret weapon is Imju FiberWig mascara, which one of the girls discovered in Japan (now it’s sold at Sephora). It’s like wearing fake lashes even when you don’t have fake lashes on.

Brushes: EcoTools brushes are soft and don’t shed bristles that’ll stick in the girls’ makeup.

One last beauty secret: They go to bed really early–ideally by 10–so they can look good for 9 a.m. shows. When they do get dark circles, some of them swear that Chanel Beaute Initiale Energizing Eye Cream seriously helps.

[via Glamour]

More people than ever are trying to eat healthy and organic and with this comes a clearer understanding that what you put on your skin affects your insides too. In recent research by Bionsen, a natural deodorant company, found that during the average woman’s daily grooming and make-up routine she “hosts” a staggering 515 different synthetic chemicals on her body every single day! Clearly, most of us would like to cut down on that number, but oftentimes organic beauty lines don’t deliver the same great quality and results that non-organic lines do… And who wants to choose between the two?

That’s where Vapor comes in. Vapour’s products are 100% natural and chemical free with a minimum of 70% certified organic ingredients. And Vapour products also work–they are high-performance cosmetic and skincare products that utilize an exciting new delivery system – not a powder, liquid or cream, but a unique formulation that imparts a light-as-air texture while providing skin treatment benefits and rich mineral color.

Vapour Aura Multi-Use Blush for Lips, Cheeks and Eyes: This is a creamy botanical blend of anti-inflammatory Frankincense, anti-oxidant Tulsi and moisturizing Lotus flowers. It’s a multi-use stick that contains pure mineral pigments for the perfect balance of color and care.  Price: $28.00

Check out my reviews of Vapour Elixir Lip Gloss, Mesmerize Eye Color Treatment, and Trick Stick after the break!

Elixir Lip Gloss: Completely petroleum and chemical free, this gloss uses unique plant oil-based co-polymers and a blend of healing Lemon Balm, hydrating Myrrh, anti-oxidant Green Tea and anti-bacterial Iceland Moss. Plus, it comes in five gorgeous, shiny colors!  Price: $20

Mesmerize Eye Color Treatment: Mesmerize is a moisturizing, anti-oxidant cosmetic that delivers botanical benefits as it enhances and defines the eyes with a sheer wash of color. It contains none of the harsh chemicals found in most eye shadows. You can use one color to define eyes or blend two colors to create a more dramatic look.

Trick Stick: This is my favorite Vapour product. Trick Stick is a light-reflective sheer tint that easily highlights the cheekbones, eyes and lips with a hint of luminous color. It can be layered to create depth or used minimally to gives a quick youthful glow.

Editorial samples were provided by the company so I could review this product. Please see my About page for further information on Disclosure policies.