Holiday Beauties
Your winter is sure to be pretty with new holiday collections!
- Great gift ideas for men AND women.
- What beauty products college students are asking for.
- What’s a holiday collection?
The holidays are officially here! We all know what that means…new holiday collections! This is personally my favorite time of the year for beauty. Who doesn’t love wearing darker, richer colors? All beauty lines and brands come out with a new holiday collection in late October, typically consisting of pretty holiday-inspired packaging and richer, darker, shinier, more sparkly and daring color palettes. Those in the beauty industry always make the most profit during the holidays, so holiday collections are important. The packaging alone catches me every time. MAC always manages to create some pretty great products out of their holiday collections, as well as Bobbi Brown.
Bobbi Brown makeup artist Jill, explains what makes the holiday collections so special,” Our holiday collections are generally special edition, so you can’t get them at any other time and they always combine unique colors and shades together that normally wouldn’t be put together in the same palette.
MAC's 'Glitter and Ice' 2011 Holiday Collection
Sephora has a plethora of special holiday sets and collections for almost every brand they carry including Dior, Too Faced, Make up Forever and Yves Saint Laurent. Sephora makeup artist, Michelle (last name withheld at request), says that they are busiest around the holidays, “We have so many great gift options for both women and men ranging from $28.00 to over $200.00. They make great socking stuffers!” Sephora is offering holiday sets at specialized prices for everything like perfume, mascaras and their top, most sold products.
Beauty products are great options as gifts for the women AND men in your life. There are shaving kits, cologne and special men’s skincare lines for your boyfriend, brother or dad. The options are utterly limitless for your moms, sisters and girlfriends.
While many of us college students can’t really afford to buy department store or designer brand makeup and perfume year around, Christmas is a great time to ask for them as gifts. Nicole Hart, Cuesta sophomore, says that she loves getting higher end beauty products for Christmas, ” Beauty products are primarily what I ask for on my Christmas list. I can’t afford to buy a lot the rest of the year, so I ask for them at Christmas and my birthday.” When asked what beauty products top her list this year, Hart quickly responds, “Definitely the Naked palette by Urban Decay…I just can’t justify spending almost $50.00 on it myself. I also really want the new Marc Jacobs perfume Oh Lola!, it smells amazing but is a little pricey for my current budget.”
Urban Decay's 'Naked' palette
Jason Cutler, junior business major, reveals that he plans on buying beauty products as gifts this year, “My girlfriend wants that new Gucci perfume and I plan on getting my mom some perfume too. It’s what the ladies want you know.”
I myself, definitely always ask for higher end beauty products for Christmas. This year, there are two products and items that top my list. Clarisonic’s Mia 2, an electric face brush that I sure can’t spend $150.00 on myself. The other would be the holy grail of hairbrushes, the Mason Pearson. Yes ladies, a Mason Pearson. Consisting of both boar and nylon bristles, it is handmade in London using the same original 1885 design.
Clarisonic Mia
THE Mason Pearson
Beauty products are great gift items for everyone in your life, including yourself! So have fun shopping for these upcoming holidays and have a pretty Christmas everyone!
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All About Nails
- Fun, budget-friendly ways to do your nails at home
- New methods and nail creations at the salon
- Where people on campus go for their manicures and pedicures
Image created at Polyvore
I have a strange habit. One that I never used to think was weird until just recently. When I first meet people I have this odd habit of always looking at their fingernails. Like ALWAYS. Not that I stare at their fingernails…that would be creepy, but just quickly sneak a glance.
I’m pretty sure I know exactly where this habit originated…my mother. As far back as I can remember, she always tried to teach me the importance of a clean, well-manicured set of fingernails. She still does by the way. Her fixation on a clean, manicured fingernails has definitely passed down to me. She used to say that you can tell a lot about a person by how their fingernails look, whether they be dirty, chewed-on, filed, freshly painted, etc…
I remember watching my mom give herself manicures and painting her fingernails with her favorite Chanel polish. She rarely wore anything that wasn’t neutral or soft pink, and this is still the case to this day. She says she picked it up from HER mom.
As I look around at girls’ fingernails here on campus, I see a little bit of everything. I was surprised to find that for the most part, everyone has their fingernails painted. Whether chipped of fresh…I’d say the majority of students I saw had their fingernails painted.
“Painted Fingernails are the best accessory a girl can have.”
Rebecca Davis, junior communications major, says that, “Painted fingernails are the best accessory a girl can have. They can add so much with almost no effort.”
I like to switch it up with a fun polish every now and then
There are so many methods today when it comes to painting your nails. There used to be just plain old nail polish, and now the different options are endless.
At home, you can paint your nails with nail polish or apply nail stickers. What exactly are nail stickers? They are stickers in the shape of your natural nail that you can stretch and stick on your nail and then file down to get the correct length. They are a lot of fun and come in a plethora of colors and prints. You can buy them at Target for $8.54.
Sally Hansen nail stickers come in fun prints and colors like leopard!
Karen Macik, sophomore liberal studies major, says that she loves nail stickers because, ” Although they take more time to put on, they look a lot better than just painting your nails…and they come in really cool colors.”
If you’re more of a nail salon kind of girl, San Luis Obispo has you covered. My personal favorite is @Nails on Froom Ranch Way across from Target. I have had multiple pedicures here and they are a no-frills nail salon that is clean and a cheaper option for a college budget.
If it is in your budget, The Bladerunner Salon & Spa offers a variety of different manicures and pedicures. Christina Hale, a senior biology major, says,” The Bladerunner is where I go for a manicure and pedicure during finals to treat myself for all of my studying time.”
There are some new popular salon options these days.
Gel nails are a healthier option for your nails than traditional acrylics and last a lot longer than regular nail polish. They don’t have as much fungus growth and don’t lift as much as typical acrylics do. They also don’t chip or break as easily as regular painted nails do. The process is simple really, basically the manicurists apply a gel to your nails and then dry it under a UV light. The only drawback is that gel nails are bit more expensive then a regular polish or acrylics.
Rockstar nails are a longer lasting option for glittery nails. They consist of gel and glitter to make your nails shine and sparkle for up to 8 weeks without chipping. These are a fun way to make your toes or fingers stand out and make a statement.
Whatever your preference, or budget allows, the good thing is that nail polish is easy to change. You can be conservative with neutral nail polish one day and then have shiny, glittery Rockstar nails the next. Nails have to be the easiest way to change your look without stressing about the outcome or price…and the funnest!
Keep your paws pretty!
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Happy Halloween!
Happy Haunting!
Story Highlights:
- Spooky or Pretty? How Cal Poly students will be styling themselves for Halloween.
- Where you can find fun Halloween hair and nail tutorials.
- Where in town you can get your hair and makeup done professionally.
Halloween is by far, my favorite day of the year! Everyone getting to dress up as WHATEVER they want…who doesn’t appreciate all of the creativity? Not only does one get to dress up and pretend like they’re someone else for the day, but Halloween is pretty much the only day where the options for styling your hair and applying your makeup are ENDLESS! That is definitely my favorite part of the holiday…the makeup! You can wear as much as you want, wear loud colors and go as crazy as you want without looking like a total freak. What’s not to love?
As much fun as it is to dress up as something pretty or glamorous, it’s just as much fun, if not more, to dress up as something frightening or spooky purely for the creativity involved when it comes to your hair and makeup. It’s fun to get a night where you don’t have to wear neutral colors or wear a toned-down lip color. Halloween is the night when you can break out those colorful MAC Pigments or that deep red lipstain and not feel self conscious whatsoever.
Image shared from vancouverfilmschool on Flickr
Michelle Hines, senior biology major, says, “I love Halloween makeup! It is seriously the ultimate concealer”. She admits that she’s having trouble deciding whether to go as a nerd or a vampire but adds,
“I’ll probably go as a vampire just because the makeup is more fun than going as a nerd”.
I asked twenty female students whether or not they’ll be doing pretty, glamorous makeup or over-the-top, crazy makeup. It was a close call with 11 students going glam and 9 students going dramatic.
Kristi Baso, senior RPTA major, says that she dresses so she can wear long false lashes on Halloween, “I love the flirty fun lashes you are allowed to get away with on Halloween! Lashes can sometimes make or break your outfit”.
After deciding whether or not you’re going pretty or spooky, comes the decision…do you undertake the task yourself? Or let a professional handle it?
Sephora makeup artist Amber, (last name withheld on request), says that Halloween is one of their busiest times of the year, “It gets crazy around here on Halloween and the weekend before! We have a lot of fun with it though, customers let us go pretty wild”. Amber says the biggest makeup requests they get are for spooky looks. “Anyone can do pretty fairy or flapper makeup, but everyone wants us to do the scary and dramatic for them”.
My favorite blog, thebeautydepartment, was created by The Hills alum Lauren Conrad, her makeup artist and hairdresser. It features tutorials to provide help on styling your own halloween hair as well as fun spooky nails and makeup.
If you’re wanting to relax and pay a professional to style your tresses for you, Bluebird Salon offers a quick “Celebrity Styling Bar”. Customers can choose from one of the featured celebrity hairstyles for themselves. It takes about 20 minutes and prices average twenty-five dollars.
How will you be styling YOUR hair for Halloween?
No matter whether you style yourself for Halloween or let a professional do it, go glam or go scary, you can always do something completely different next year! Just be sure to have fun with it!
Happy Halloween!
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