3 posts tagged “fashion”
Vidal Sassoon has this latest hair gadget that is supposed to "create the latest look in messy up-do's in seconds." It's called the "Fan Tail." It sells for about $3 at Claire's.
Well, the instructions were completely not understandable, and after some Googling for better instructions, I realized that 99.9% of the online community have officially called it a total piece of crap. The main problem is that the instructions just do not match with reality. Basically it states:
1. Gather hair at back of head in a ponytail, secure it with a braided elastic
2. Place Fan Tail™ on top of the ponytail
3. Twist the Fan Tail™ clockwise until it is secure
4. Pull some of hair through the center hole to help disguise the Fan Tail™
5. Take small sections of hair and wind around the base of the ponytail, securing the ends in each small hook.
6. Work clockwise and secure pieces of hair under each small hole
7. Back-comb hair
Anyways, don't bother reading it because even if all 7 steps came with photos and a Youtube video, you still couldn't create the mythical messy up-do.
The problem with hair gadgets is that everybody's hair is so different. Different texture, length, and thickness. There is no one-size fits all instruction, especially for something complex.
Ultimately, you just have to FIGURE IT OUT. Let end justifies the means.
So for me, here is my personal instructions:
1. Put the hair in a high ponytail and secure it with a small elastic band.
2. Split the ponytail in two (two bunches one on top another).
3. Flip the top section over the head and just leave it there for now.
4. Twist the Fan Tail clockwise over the lower section until most of the hair is caught inside the hooks.
5. Pull the hair through the ring, twist some more to secure the Fan Tail.
6. Now let down the top section around the ring, and secure pieces of hair with the outer hooks.
Anyways, that's how I got the Vidal Sassoon Fan Tail to work for me. When I get some time I'll put up some pictures of the end result. Good luck!
Sometimes I wish I can do one of those "My Favorite Things" show like Oprah and give my friends and loved ones stuff I adore every season. Well, one can always hope to win the Lottery someday. Meanwhile, I guess I might as well blog about it, it's sort of like a cyber manifestation of my ever evolving taste in make-up and fashion. Disclaimer for the lack of the obligatory self-reflexivity - conspicuous consumption - media influence ala fashion drone critique. Sometimes life needs a little whimsical prettiness.
So here are my favorite things this season in fashion & make-up:
1. Champagne is the New Black
Or nude, buff, it goes by many names, and comes in various fabrics - satin, silk, chiffon. Basically just look for a neutral tone in that spectrum that suits the skin color. Sometimes paired with black lace, or perhaps leather, heh heh. A little nude-colored dress is the new it item of the season - romantic, strong, confident, and elegent.
2. Ankle Strap Only
Accentuate curves by drawing attention to the fluidity of the wrist and ankles. Once I bought my aunt a pair of Enzo strappy ankle-tie sandles with tiny crystal circle accents. Searched all over Manhattan for them, too. When she crossed her legs and casually dangled her foot, all heads turned in the room. Never under-estimate the power of a beautiful pair of shoes.
3. Liquid Eyeliner w/ Smoky Eyes
I am obsessed with liquid eyeliners this year. I think it's partly because my lids get slightly oily by the end of the day and the shadow tends to travel toward the crease. Liquid eyeliners, the stay-on kind of course, solve that problem. The challenge is to stay away from that 70s look, so I stick to brown and gray. The next thing is to smoke it out, blending shadow over the liner while it's still semi-wet to create a long lasting smoldering look. Bold yet feminine.
4. Shu Uemura Depsea Water Facial Mist
I kind of bought the Depsea Facial Mist for fun, but like all Shu Uemura products, it's turning out to be quite a versatile player in my make-up collection. It's sold as a hydrating mist for the face, a deep-sea mineral water lightly scented with natural extracts. I have bergamont and rose, as well as the purse-spray collection. Besides as a facial mist, I also use it to dilute cream foundation (which it's perfect for), few quick spritz to moisturize dry hair or skin, as well as a cleanser when switching make-up during the day or touch-ups on the go. Plus the purse-sprays are perfect to carry every where with me, I have it in my purse as well as gym bags - a few spritz after the work-out really helps to calm and revitalize the skin.
The New York Times has a nice article today by Guy Trebay on the biannual New York Fashion Week. Typical tongue-in-cheek NYT style reporting underlaid with social commentary. The title is: "Look at Me, Look at Me. Please Look at Me." Those beautiful walking blanks have no idea what they had coming.
Fashion is certainly an important social metaphor, but here Fashion Week is really just two annoying weeks when all the good make-up artists disappear from the cosmetic boutiques and some restaurants are short of waitors. It's interesting, though, that Madrid banned emaciated models from the catwalk this time. I wonder what percentage of models actually got to walk....
I guess banning overly thin models with concave chests and wobbly legs is kind of a responsible thing for governments to do. But technically, that is still discriminatory - it's statistically plausible that a woman can eat healthy meals and still look like a snow addict. It's just creepy for them to all show up together at the same place and same time, year after year. Kind of ruins the random distribution. Anyways, I think what they should do is require all models to eat a huge meal right after each show. There are usually 8 to 10 shows a day, so by the end of the week we'd solve the problem of young girls purging and killing themselves to be underweight, since all the models would look normal!
