It’s a Blogger’s Life

I admit it. I’m a beauty hound. I sniff out the latest trends in the professional “cares”—you know, hair care, nail care, skin care, body care. And don’t forget makeup! I’m all over that, too.

      As fashion and beauty editor for Creative Age Publications, I get to indulge my inner and outer beautynista on a daily basis. Is there a new long-wearing lipstick on the market? Let me see how many sips of Diet Coke I can take before it wears thin. New body butter promising baby-soft skin? That’s music to my ashy elbows’ ears…er, skin. Vibrant haircolor that’s also nourishing? I hear the beauty angels singing! It’s a tough job, glossing up my lips, lotioning up my body and brightening up my tresses—but hey, someone’s gotta do it.

      So I figured, what better way to communicate all this beauty madness than blog it? I’m going to love sharing my adventures in “beauty sifting” with you, my fellow beauty industry professionals. New treatments, new education, new products, new trends—I’ll sling it to you here, blog-style.

So, welcome! Let’s put our noses to the ground and zero in on the coolest, most cutting-edge professional beauty scoops out there—starting now!

Seize the Gray!

A few years back, I became obsessed with turquoise blue. To be truthful, I still am, but back then, I just couldn’t get enough of painting my fingernails in shimmering shades of aqua. However, I kept stumbling upon a rather large problem (for me, at least): Every blue polish I found had a pearlescent tint or flecks of glitter. You couldn’t find an opaque, turquoise polish anywhere. Sure, I found baby-blue creams, but they simply couldn’t satisfy my need for a thick, full-coverage, turquoise lacquer. I mentioned this in passing to CND co-founder Jan Arnold; it turns out she was on the same page and had already been dreaming up the perfect blue hue. A few months later, voila! One of my favorite lacquers to date came to market: CND’s Hot Pop Blue from the Hot Pop collection.

      Well, here I am again, this time jonesing for an opaque, slate-gray polish. Watching the current trend of celebs flashing nails in inky black or lacquers so dark they verged on the deepest midnight (think OPI’s mega-hit, Russian Navy), I kept thinking, “I just know gray polish is going to hit it big soon.” But just as I couldn’t find aquamarines without twinkle, I couldn’t get my hands on a heavily pigmented, flat-gray polish.

      Until now. I’m happy to report that, once again, the polish manufacturers and I have been telepathically communicating: Grays are the hit color for spring. OPI’s soon-to-be-released India Collection contains Moon Over Mumbai, a delicate dove-gray that goes on like a dream. Meanwhile Essie Cosmetics “calls it a ‘gray’” with two versions of this subdued noncolor: the light and dusky Great Expectations, and Body Language, a sublime blend of pink and gray (which founder Essie Weingarten deems this season’s “new neutral”).

      I love all of these soft heather tones, but I’m absolutely savoring the bolder, slate-gray Recycle from China Glaze’s spring Eco Collection. This cool number is like no other and is certain to win over the hearts of your trendier clients.

      I suggest you keep all of these grays on hand; the light ones offer a stylish alternative to pale pink creams and putty, and the slates will offer a great go-to for your fickle style mavens.

See you next time! Don’t forget to write!