Gretchen Jones Steals Everyone's 'Thunder' To Win Project Runway 8 Finale

Gretchen Jones’s collection was called 'Running Through Thunder.' And it was aptly named, because the Northwest-based designer did just that, and took home the title of Project Runway 8 Finale winner last night on the popular Bravo reality show.

The two-time challenge winner and always controversial contestant Gretchen, designed a collection featuring quiet, brown-toned African prints and shiny, chevron-shaped necklaces, that she showed off at NYFW's Spring Collection.

She narrowly beat out fellow contestants Mondo Guerra and Andy South with her bohemian-inspired collection, one that guest judge Jessica Simpson remarked, was clothing 'too loose' in its fitting, but a line that slender sister Ashlee Simpson-Wentz would wear.

It wasn't an easy victory for Gretchen Jones. Head judge Heidi Klum sided with Jessica Simpson while arguing strongly for Mondo and his loud, eclectic prints collection against judges Nina Garcia and Michael Kors. It was a lengthy and impassioned debate. And in the end, Heidi Klum had to give up her fight for the 'costume, circus-like designs' of Mondo Guerra, and crown the more 'wearable collection' of Gretchen Jones.

Hey, what can we say....Michael Kors and Nina Garcia are indeed fashion elitists, and even supermodel Heidi Klum could not convince them otherwise. By the way, we were rooting for contestant Michael Costello all along, and thought he should have been in the trio finale. We thought most of his designs were quite beautiful.

And today, the fashion debate continues. Blogs and tweets everywhere are putting in their two-cents, most folks figuring that Mondo got short-changed, and should have walked away the winner. Meow-meow.

Can't wait for Project Runway Season 9!

Cold Cap To Save Hair From Chemo Gets Warm Welcome On GMA

It's bad enough having to deal with cancer, but then to lose all your hair from chemotherapy, makes the challenge that much tougher. And if you're a woman, watching your beautiful hair fall out is unimaginable.

We lost our father to cancer a number of years ago, and a cousin, almost 2 years ago. And we saw both of them bravely battle the disease with bald heads.

But what encouraged us this morning on Good Morning America (GMA), was the cold cap system. Yes, it's been around for a number of years now, but not every hospital has cold caps available for chemo patients, not every doctor believes in the cold cap idea to save hair, and most people aren't even aware that such an option exists.

The great news, is that we are seeing more and more chemo patients having excellent results by wearing the cold cap, especially women undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Throughout the grueling chemo sessions, a number of women have reported keeping all their hair, which in turn, gives one back a greater self-esteem.

Some women are so frightened to lose their hair when they receive a cancer diagnosis, that they refuse chemotherapy.

When a person undergoes chemo, they are being treated with drugs and chemicals which attack healthy hair follicles, The cold cap really does cool the scalp and thus restricts blood circulation there. That in turn, restricts blood flow to the hair follicles, saving one's locks.

We have learned that generally, the cap is put on 15 minutes before chemotherapy to start restricting blood flow. And it's kept on during and up to 1-2 hours after chemo. Although, the length of time wearing the cap also varies from article to article we researched.

Unfortunately, not everyone can tolerate wearing the cold cap because it can feel very cold. This discomfort will vary from patient to patient. By the way, wearing the cold cap has no influence on the outcome of one's chemo treatment.

GMA cohost, Robin Roberts, a breast cancer surviver who lost her hair during chemo treatments in 2007, says she was unaware of the cold cap system at the time, and also admitted that she's not sure she would have worn one during her treatment.

For more information, click here.

Celebrities Secretly Adore Tracie Martyn Skin Care Products

Okay...what do ageless celebrities like Liv Tyler, Kelly Ripa, Kate Winslet, Juliana Margulies, Cyndi Lauper, Sharon Osbourne, Susan Sarandon, Diane von Furstenberg, and many others secretly adore?!

And what do they know, that we don't know, when it comes to beauty? Probably lots! Celebrities rely on their looks and youthfulness, and of course, they have the best resources and plenty of money to buy the best. And one of the best, is a $185, 1 oz. bottle of Tracie Martyn Firming Serum.

Who is Tracie Martyn?

A British-born and New York City-based beauty expert. Her skin care line is an all-natural, anti-aging collection.

And one of Hollywood's favorite beauty secrets is Tracie Martyn's Firming Serum. In fact, Diane von Furstenberg says it's the one "beauty product I can't live without!"

So, let's take a look. What the heck is in it?

It is a plant-based topical purple gel full of strong anti-oxidants and botanicals. And this soothing purple gel is applied once a day, in the morning and in the night. Just "two pump doses on the entire face, neck and décolleté after cleansing."

And then the 'magic' begins......According to their website, skin is transformed:

"Lifts and firms the face: enhancing contours, resilience and overall appearance.
Strengthens the collagen network: preventing the thinning and sagging of skin while improving elasticity.
Restorative and stimulating: visibly repairing sun damaged skin while encouraging cell renewal.
Reduces fine lines and wrinkles and hydrates the skin by minimizing water loss and replenishing moisture."

This purple gel serum sounds wonderful! For details, go here

Big Hoop Earrings Always Stylish And Even Hotter Trend

We all love a classic when it comes to beauty and fashion. And today, we're looking at just that: big hoop earrings. It's a hot trend for Fall 2010.

Many of you already own several pairs of hoops, because these earrings never go out of style. And at the moment, big hoop earrings are everywhere.....on the runways, in the fashion pages and catalogues, and of course, on beautiful celebrities like the Kardashian women, Ashley Greene, Susan Lucci, Jessica Simpson, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez, and the list goes on and on.

Gold or silver?

Why not stock up on a new pair of each? We happen to see more silver hoop earrings, in our humble opinion. But here's some InStyle magazine fashion wisdom from Margherita Missoni, the model and granddaughter of the famous Missoni brand's founders:

What every woman should have in her wardrobe-----

"Hoop earrings in yellow gold."

And big hoop earrings can be found in just about every story around you. We found a cute pair of metal hoops by Betsey Johnson , at Macy's (top photo). These cuties measure up at 1 3/4 inches.

Remember, hoop earrings are timeless and elegant, a quiet statement piece.

Diamond Dazzle Stik: New On-Spot Brightener For Bling

Diamonds. We all adore them, and of course, the bigger, the better, as the saying goes.

But these precious sparklers need lots of TLC. So, how do you keep diamonds ultra-shiny on the go?

Everyone's been buzzing about the Dazzle Diamond Stik by Connoisseurs. For $7.95, you get a cute little magic marker-looking pen that contains "micro-fine cleansers and polishing agents combined with a polymer. The polymer fills in fine scratches on the setting, dramatically increases the brilliance and sparkle of the diamond, and reduces the future build-up of dirt."

Sounds pretty brilliant, so so speak. All you do is, twist, brush, and dazzle! The Dazzle Diamond Stik has a built-in flow-thru brush. The unique brush has been specifically designed to easily and quickly clean behind diamonds and other precious stones and their mountings.

Our friend Nina gave us one, and this little stik does what it says! Check out the Diamond Dazzle Stik here.
You can also use this cheap and effective method to brighten your bling. We wrote about this before. Recommendations come from the Jeweler's Association:

Cleaning and Storing Diamonds:
You have two simple options here. Place your diamonds into rubbing alcohol or a mixture of equal parts ammonia and cold water. Let them soak for a few minutes. Then take a brush with soft bristles, like a baby toothbrush, and gently clean your diamonds. Rinse off. And lay them on a tissue to dry.
You should store your diamonds individually to prevent scratching other diamonds or gold, or softer gems. Don't just throw your gems into a jewelry box and pile them on top of each other. You must take care in keeping fine jewelry sparkling and blemish-free.

Celebrities Wrapping Up: Infinity Scarf Still Big Trend For Fall

Feel like wrapping yourself up, especially with the cold fall air upon us?

Then do what beautiful celebrities have been doing. And cocoon yourself with a lovely infinity scarf

The endless or circle scarf remains a big trend for Fall 2010! And we can see why.

It's a great accessory, because you don't have to worry about how to tie it. That step has been taken care of....the ends are already 'sewn together.' All you have to do is place the big loop over your head.

You can let it hang loose, like Selena Gomez shows us with her scarlet red infinity. Or you can double-loop it like Blake Lively does here.

Infinity scarves come in all types of styles and fabrics. You can go casual, formal, and business, depending on the material.

We, especially, adore Jessica Alba's hot leopard infinity scarf, since animal prints are really huge this season. And check out Kim Kardashian's striking, black and white print infinity. It makes her outfit. Shop around. You will find infinity scarves in dept. stores like Target to higher end stores like Saks. There's an infinity scarf out there for every budget.

Halle's Hair Getting Shorter And Shorter To Get Ready For Shaved Head Movie Role

Halle Berry's pixie cut seems to be getting shorter and shorter each month. Look at the photo below--- there's the gorgeous actress in September. Now check out the photos of Halle hanging out with her new man actor Olivier Martinez, last week in L.A.

A lot of fans want to know why Halle Berry is rockin' a new, too boyish crop?

Well, first of all, we've seen quite a few sexy celebs chopping off their long locks for the new pixie-do, like Ashlee Simpson and Janet Jackson. And Halle is working the super short hairstyle, too.

But there could be another reason why the ageless 44-year-old movie star has suddenly gone scissor-crazy, and that has to do with a new film role in the works for Nappily Ever After:

"I’m going to shave my hair, shave my head bald for this movie. I can’t wait. I’m going to be greasehead bald. I can’t wait.".

Halle will play the role of Venus:

"The movie, it’s all about a woman... You know that relationship that women have with their hair and how hair throughout history has defined us and how we’re in such bondage? Everything is, ‘If my hair’s not right, then we’re not right.’ So my character, at the beginning of the movie, something is done to her and her hair starts to fall out. She decides one night after being drunk trying to deal with the fact that their hair is dragged up, she’s drunk and she decides to shave her hair completely bald. Now she has to face the next morning with no hair and how her whole life and everybody around her is now different and behaves differently. Because she was this beautiful goddess with this long hair and now she’s bald and how she’s different now. She’s forced to look at what beauty really is and it comes from inside, obviously, not from the outside. But it’s a hard lesson for us to get and this movie will sort of expose that and help us sort of come to terms. And maybe every time we hear thunder, we won’t go running for cover.".

We can't wait for this movie, where once again. we see Halle Berry in such a vulnerable role, like her Academy Award performance in Monster's Ball. And can't wait to see her bald.