Besides Tumblr, one of our favorite places to hang out online is Twitter. While chilling in the twitterverse the other day, we came across a tweet from Amanda Lucas that caught our attention. Amanda lives in Hyde Park, New York and her sister lives in South Bend, Indiana. Each month the Lucas sisters open their Birchboxes together on Skype! This is obviously the cutest thing we’ve ever heard so we had to get in touch and learn more:
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Health and beauty: a winning combo, no? At this morning’s Self Magazine 2012 Healthy Beauty Awards, the theme was products that make you look and feel amazing.
The event, held at the Museum of Modern Art, revealed 89 winners across the categories of face, makeup, nails, sun, hair, and body—from Top Acne Spot Solution (hello, Yes to Tomatoes Clear Skin Spot Stick) to Best Deep Conditioner (woot Ojon Super Sleek Smoothing Conditioner). The products were chosen by a panel of Self readers who tested them in their own homes and submitted their honest feedback. I recognize plenty of favorites on the list, but there are also ones I’m excited to try!
Beyond celebrating the phenomenal products, Self’s Editor-in-Chief, Lucy Danzinger, also set the tone of the event by bringing attention to social media. She told the audience of editors, industry execs, and brand bigwigs that companies shouldn’t try to strong-arm their message—they should just ensure that people are talking about their products and their brands. As a Twitter and Instagram addict, I loved hearing her give a digital call to action.
Check out the Birchbox products that made the Self list!
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Nail art is a Birchbox obsession. One of the first places we look for inspiration is Glitter, She Wrote, Anna Norman’s cheery, imaginative blog, where she shares her gorgeous designs and muses about life in the Big Apple. This week, Anna takes us inside her nail guru world, and will show us how to get gorgeous, DIY art on our fingertips.
They may be small, but that doesn’t mean your nails can’t make a wow-inducing fashion statement. Try one of these fresh, on-trend ideas to add some serious pizzazz on prom night.
Caviar Manicure
Photo: ciate.co.uk
The caviar manicure is becoming one of the hottest new nail trends, so it’s a perfect choice for prom-bound fashionistas. Tiny “pearls” stick to wet nail polish to create a fashion-forward 3D effect. UK brand Ciaté will begin selling its Caviar Manicure Kit in three colors (rainbow, black pearls, and mother of pearl) at Sephora next month. For an inexpensive D.I.Y. version, pick up some microbeads at your local craft store and sprinkle them over wet polish. You wouldn’t wait until prom day to try on your dress for the first time, so I suggest giving these nails a trial run before the big day, too.
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Operations associate, Loren, has a thing for nails- and we can’t blame her. We love reading about new finishes and fun techniques, so we thought we’d give her a weekly slot on our blog to wax poetic about all things manicure (and pedicure!) related. Check back every week for Nailing It, Birchbox’s dedicated polish series.
Especially in the spring and summer, it’s important to apply SPF on any exposed areas like arms and legs. But we often forget about the smaller spots like our toes and ears—and even our nails! Since nails are made of protein, keratin to be exact, they need protection just like skin does. In fact, a Birchbox staffer went on vacation with her nails bare and came back with sun burnt, purple nails. She described the pain as “feeling like her fingers had been slammed in a car door.”
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Operations associate, Loren, has a thing for nails- and we can’t blame her. We love reading about new finishes and fun techniques, so we thought we’d give her a weekly slot on our blog to wax poetic about all things manicure (and pedicure!) related. Check back every Thursday for Nailing It, Birchbox’s dedicated polish series.
February seems to have flown right by and you know what that means—time for the color of the month! Last month we revamped our nails with a super-charged purple that kept us chugging through the cold weeks of February. This time around though, I’m all about adding a little (or rather, a lot of) sparkle.
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The Show: Lela Rose
The Makeup: Tina Turnbow for stila Cosmetics
The Hair: Ted Gibson
The Nails: Essie
The Vibe: Retro structure. At yesterday’s Lela Rose show, even though the models all looked like they had stepped out of the 1940’s, the looks were based on modern structures. The designs were inspired by the structures of Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava, who is currently working on the new World Trade Transportation Hub in NYC. Celebrity stylist Ted Gibson said he wanted to bring some of that structure to the hair. He described the hairstyle he created as “the new Gibson girl.” He said, “We’ve created something that I think is really something that a girl can do at home. It’s kind of like the new answer to the braid. The twist is the new braid.” To create, Gibson blew out the models’ hair for volume at the top and swept all the hair to one side. He advised that the key is to secure with an elastic about five or six inches from the scalp.Twist the hair into itself and pin.
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The Show: Helmut Lang
The Nails: Essie
The Makeup: Sunday Riley
The Hair: TIGI
The Vibe: All natural. The models backstage at last night’s Helmut Lang show looked as though they had just returned from a chic camping trip. The makeup by Sunday Riley was minimal and focused on fresh skin and the hair by TIGI was roughed up and pulled back into loose, low messy ponytails.
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The Show: Creatures of the Wind
Hair: Odile Gilbert for Kérastase
Makeup: James Boehmer for NARS
Nails: Essie
The Vibe: At the Creatures of the Wind show yesterday afternoon, the theme of magic versus reality and nature was present in everything. James Boehmer, lead makeup artist for NARS, pulled inspiration from the “contrast between what’s the real world and what’s the magic world. And the makeup is definitely the magic world.” To achieve that magic, Boehmer used a moisturizer from the brand’s skincare collection (relaunching in Fall 2012) and a very sheer foundation to give models “lit from within skin.” The eyes were strong, with what he called an “almost 90’s shape.” Finally, they used a rose gold shadow to “gild the inner corner of the eye, eyebrow and the lip.”
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