Will You Embrace Bohemian Rhapsody Style For Fall/Winter 2010-2011?

Boho. Gypsy. Hippie chic. You either embrace this style or you really can't stand the flowing, easy, soft femininity of Bohemian Rhapsody.

We love it! But not always. However, when it's designed by the master himself, Ralph Lauren, it's done with an uptown and mature boho vibe. And it's simply gorgeous. Check out the bottom photo, and you can see the Ralph's flowing flowery dress beneath a rich, classic coat.

Maybe that's why the effortless, boho breezy collection crafted by Project Runway contestant Gretchen Jones took home the winning first place finish last Thursday night on Bravo's popular reality show. See one of her pieces in photo2.

Some Project Runway fans were freaking out, when Gretchen was declared the winner over favorite Mondo Guerra and his busy, very colorful prints and over-the-top theatrical style. Even guest judge Jessica Simpson remarked that Gretchen's collection featured clothing that was 'too loose', but also said that her sister Ashley would wear Gretchen Jones' clothing.

There is something very romantic about Boho style One of our favorite celebrities knows how to pull this look together brilliantly, and we're talking about Nicole Richie. Her Winter Kate clothing line features some beautiful Bohemian Rhapsody pieces.

Meantime, Forever21 clothing stores are coming out with their own, inexpensive Bohemian Rhapsody line(top photo), featuring some cute boho floral tops, flowing long skirts, frontier bags, and floral paisley scarves. All at very reasonable Forever21 prices.

And if you really love those clunky clogs, why not get a pair to top off your Bohemian Rhapsody style.

Get Jersey Shore Snooki Style For Halloween Or Just For The Pouf Of It

Would the real Snooki please stand up??!!

It's Halloween, so we thought we'd have a little fun! And our beauty spotlight today is on the Jersey Shore's Snooki, all 4'9" of the MTV reality star, including her famous hair pouf!

If you don't know by now, a Snooki costume for Halloween this year, is the most popular one by far.

Yes, you, too, can become Snooki for a night. Getting Snooki style isn't that hard to do. We love Snooki. She's cute, kind-hearted, and the best reason to watch the Jersey Shore. And the petite dynamo doesn't take herself too seriously.

Even Ellen DeGeneres and Joan Rivers both put on Snooki Halloween costumes earlier this week, as did Jenna Wolfe on the Today show this morning.

Snooki is famous for that sky-high pouf. But she claims she doesn't use a Bumpit hair accessory to achieve the height. Instead, the 22-year-old reality star says she has thick hair and uses tons of hairspray to get it right.

You can always buy a Snooki Halloween wig. There are tons of them everywhere. Check out the bottom photo...not a bad replica. Of course, a spray tan really adds to the Snooki image, along with a busty silhouette on display, huge earrings, a very tight dress, sparkly high heels, and some serious eyeliner.

In fact, Women's Wear Daily (WWD) took a look at Snooki style back in July, and writer Cathy Horyn compares Snooki to the legendary Elizabeth Taylor, well, sort of. Read on:

..."She(Snooki) is busty and short-waisted with small legs; sort of like a turnip turned on its tip. There is the weird tan, but the pièce de résistance of Snookiness is the half-doughnut-shaped pouf on top of her head.
... Snooki has a way of putting herself together that while in some ways is atrocious, is completely identifiable to her and consistent with her attention-seeking personality. She wears short, clingy dresses in a pattern or with some metallic trim, huge enameled or bejeweled hoop earrings and glittery high heels.
Lots of 22-year-old women wear revealing clothes, but they may not have her body shape, and it’s a safe bet they’re not rocking a pouf. Though that may change when a line of Snooki hair products comes out. Anyway, the effect has been interesting. 'If you were to draw a cartoon of her, you would know immediately who she is,' said Chris Linn, the executive vice president for pilots at MTV. 'She’s an icon.' "

As to how Elizabeth Taylor fits in, there's more:

"The reason she makes me think of Elizabeth Taylor — quite apart from the unbridgeable divide of talent and beauty — is that photographs of Ms. Taylor in the 1960s, many of which recently ran in Vanity Fair, confirm a short, busty woman with high hair, big jewelry, garish taste in clothes and a complete indifference to the cyclonic effect that all that produced."

Ouch! We're not going to touch those statements. Anyway...Happy Halloween!

Walmart First To Sell New Fat Foam Hair Color By Samy

Even Walmart has scooped hair genius John Freida by marketing the first fat foam hair color by Samy in their stores right now.

Poor John Freida is introducing his own Precision Foam Color, a similar product from Japan's Kao Brands that's expected to debut in the U.S. in April, 2011.

Who knew Walmart would become such a sophisticated beauty player?! Well, why not? Walmart is a huge, powerful retailer. And Fat Foam at $8.97 a box, sounds ideal to the at-home hair color woman. It's a no-drip hair color product which is based on dye technology Walmart hunted down in Japan and then launched here in the U.S. more than six months ahead of national brand competitors.

Fat Foam Hair Color by Samy comes in 10 shades and is permanent dye. It promises:

100% grey coverage
long-lasting color
even color from root to end
conditioning formula with soy
easy hand application with new whipped foam technology
less application time.

The new Fat Foam looks like a big snowball or whipped cream when you first apply it to your head. It claims to be stay-put hair color---no drips, no streaks, just shiny, beautiful hair color.

We haven't tried it yet, but you can check out the product at Walmart.

You can also see a demo on Fat Foam by BeautyByte here.

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.