Fashionista

How to Make It in Fashion: June 21, Dream Hotel Downtown, New York

Thursday August 11th, 2011

Cosmoprof Report: Five Hot New Beauty Brands from Down Under Are Launching Stateside
Beauty

Cosmoprof Report: Five Hot New Beauty Brands from Down Under Are Launching Stateside

Las Vegas has a peculiar obsession with Australia right now. There’s a show running there called, “The Australian Bee Gees Show,” and my personal favorite, “Thunder from Down Under” (flier at left), a sort of Chippendales-go-to-the-Outback man stripper show.

The obsession continued inside the Cosmoprof convention center–multiple brands from Australia and New Zealand were featured.

Click through to check out five brands to watch from Australia and New Zealand–you’re going to see them on shelves here in the US soon.

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Published at 4:30 PM

Monday August 8th, 2011

Essie Goes in a New Direction: Take a Sneak Peek at the Fall, Winter, and Holiday Nail Polish Collections
Beauty

Essie Goes in a New Direction: Take a Sneak Peek at the Fall, Winter, and Holiday Nail Polish Collections

Nails were a popular category at Cosmoprof, and none more so than the classic brands. Essie‘s booth at the conference, not surprisingly, was a buzzing hive of activity. I managed to sneak in at a quiet point and got to have a peek at all the upcoming nail polish collections.

The nail polish brand, which has stayed resolutely classic–with a refusal to veer into the land of crackle and nail art–is blinging it up a bit for the colder months. The rep acknowledged that the demand for fancy finishes and metallic polishes (Chanel fall collection, anyone?) forced them to re-imagine their classics for a more modern audience.

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Published at 4:58 PM

Sunday August 7th, 2011

Cosmoprof Report: Here Are the Weirdest Beauty Products We Saw at the Show
Beauty

Cosmoprof Report: Here Are the Weirdest Beauty Products We Saw at the Show

Invariably when you put hundreds of beauty products under one roof, there are going to be a few things that make you scratch your head and say, “Wha?” (Like the “hat head” to the left, which I think was just a demonstration of how well that company’s hair products work, not an endorsement of a new style. At least I hope not.)

While I saw a lot of amazing new things at Cosmoprof, I saw a lot of things that made me giggle. Three of the five things here have to do with hair. I don’t know what that says about the hair care industry, but hair is obviously an area of potential profit and also an area of neurosis for a lot of people, so entrepreneurs are constantly trying to exploit those things in the hopes that they’re inventing the new scrunchie. Or Bumpit. Or hair feathers.

Read on to see the beauty products that made me laugh.

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Published at 12:00 PM

Wednesday August 3rd, 2011

Cosmoprof Report: The Seedy Underbelly of the Feather Hair Extension Industry Exposed, Plus What You’ll be Sticking in your Hair this Fall
Beauty

Cosmoprof Report: The Seedy Underbelly of the Feather Hair Extension Industry Exposed, Plus What You’ll be Sticking in your Hair this Fall

I spent last weekend in Las Vegas at Cosmoprof, which is an industry conference where small beauty brands can get hooked up with buyers, distributors, and salon owners. Meeting and talking to entrepreneurs is one of the best parts of my job, and I was eager to speak to them about their impressions of the industry and to scout out trends-in-the-making. There was tons of great stuff, which I’ll be reporting on all week.

I came upon the booth for Hair Flairs, a small company that sells feather and tinsel hair extensions. The creative director, Trina Marr, was more than willing to dish about all the controversy in the hair feathering industry. Turns out there’s a lot.

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Published at 4:30 PM

Thursday April 21st, 2011

Crazy Beauty Trends of the Future
Beauty

Crazy Beauty Trends of the Future

Cosmoprof, held in Bologna last month (and to be held again later this summer in Las Vegas), is one of the biggest beauty trade shows in the world. In March, it gave over 2,000 companies and exhibitors a chance to show off their wares. And they’re definitely not boring.

So what were some of the trends?

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Published at 5:30 PM