Famous Brits Are Doing It. Will You Get Hooked Up For A Digital Perm?

This hair techniquefrom Japan is becoming a big thing over in the U.K.. And when the famous heads of Kate Middleton and Victoria Beckham are said to be fans, well, interest skyrockets.

We're talking about the digital perm, and the bouncy, boho waves this state-of-the-art hair perm delivers. If you love the Gisele Bundchen, Jennifer Aniston sexy, beachy waves style, then this one is for you.

What's appealing about the digital perm is it's gentle manner. The process will not harm your locks like the old-fashioned and smelly way of perming can, but the digital perming machine is a bizarre-looking contraption.

We learned more about this technique from the UK's DailyMail:

...."Solution is applied only where a wave is desired - meaning a wave at the bottom of the hair, from the mid-lengths to the ends, is possible, allowing for a more natural-looking wave.

Hair is rolled up in rods.

Then, each roller is connected to a machine which digitally controls heat and helps to set the curl. Once the hair is dry, a neutralising solution is applied and then the hair is rinsed and styled.

Another aspect is that the Digital Perm can be done on people who have very tight frizzy curls, in order to relax the hair into softer waves or curls that are frizz free. The perm lasts for up to 4 months, and can be repeated without damaging hair."

If you're interested, check salons around you, to see if the digital perm is offered. And by the way, it's not cheap. We're told, it can cost a few hundred dollars in a large city like New York.

Oh, Baby!! Maybelline Introduces The Next Generation Of Lip Balm..

Baby Lips.

We like the name of the new lip balms by Maybelline. And these look like cute Christmas stocking stuffers at $3.99 a-piece. And the packaging is bright and happy-looking.

There are 6 Baby Lips to choose from. 2 in Clear, And 4 in Tinted.

Quenched (clear)
Peppermint (clear)
Cherry Me (tinted)
Pink Punch (tinted)
Grape Vine (tinted)
Peach Kiss(tinted)

But what we are really attracted to, is the SPF 20. It is so important to protect and moisturize your lips, more so in the cold, dry air of winter, but also, all-year-round.

Lips need TLC, and here is why:

Lips are thinner in skin structure, very sensitive, and lack protective oil glands.
Lips also don't have enough melanin to protect us from the searing heat. Melanin is the natural skin pigment that filters out the strong and damaging UV rays.

If you really hate the look and feel of a lipstick or lip gloss, but would like a little bit of color, then try Maybelline's Baby Lips. These lip treatments smell good, and give off a pretty, sheer wash of color. We're not sure they really last 8 hours on the lips, as the advertisements boast, but that's okay, too. Just swipe again.

We would like to try the Baby Lips in Cherry. We're a big fan of the Bonne Belle Lip Smackers in Dr. Pepper. We're wondering if Maybelline's lip balms can stand up to Bonne Belle's.

Baby Lips are available at your favorite drugstore.

Bethenny Frankel Wants You To Pony-Up To Drybar Salon For Another Skinnygirl Product

Bethenny Frankel has taken a lot of heat from the kitchen these days, where she initially concocted her Skinnygirl Margarita idea. But that hasn't stop the Bravo reality TV star...Oh, no....

There's another Skinnygirl product being launched at your favorite Drybar blow-out salon:

The Skinnygirl Ponytail.

The ambitious businesswoman is adding another notch to her blossoming empire. For $40, the salon will fashion you a Skinnygirl ponytail, "a high pony that flips out at the end, just like the Skinnygirl logo — a silhouette of a slender girl with a perky pony."

Well, don't laugh. Creating the perfect pony tail is not always that simple to do. And we love that you can sip a fun beverage while you get your new style, hopefully, you will be enjoying a Skinnygirl Margarita, or Bethenny's newest concoction---the Skinnygirl White Cranberry Cosmo. Yum-Yum!

Many love to hate Bethenny Frankel, but she is really a marketing genius like the Kardashian clan and Jessica Simpson. Say what you will, but they're all laughing their way to the bank.

"Skinnygirl cocktails and Drybar are a match made in heaven," Bethenny Frankel said in a statement. "Drybar is the perfect place for women to pamper themselves with a gorgeous blowout. Pair that with a Skinnygirl cocktail and you have glamour and fun in the same room -- a definite recipe for success."

Smart gal, when you consider that Bethenny has also authored several books, sold work-out CDs, initmate shapewear, and so on.

Bethenny Ever After, is really more than just the title of her popular reality show. The words really say plenty about her very comfy financial state.

DWTS' Karina Smirnoff Never Leaves Home Without Her Galactik Lip Glosses

Shine on, Karina Smirnoff. Shine on!

The incredible pro from Dancing with the Stars has a little beauty tip, a special product she totes around in her makeup bag:

Girlactik Gloss ($17, a tube). Oprah Magazine gives it a pretty pucker, too.

"I carry my Girlactik lip glosses, always," Karina says. "You know how things like eyelashes fall and stick to the gloss? These are not sticky, I love them."

And one of Karina's favorite Galactik glosses is the shade of Bella, described as a 'mature sheen pink'.

In fact, the gorgeous 33-year-old dancer has teamed up with Galactik Beauty and designed the KS for Galactik Beauty line. Take a look.

We found these details at the Girlactik website:

“I am very excited about the partnership with Karina,” said Galit Strugano, makeup artist and founder of Girlactik Beauty. “What I love most is that we both have a passion for makeup and make a great beauty team!”

“Girlactik Beauty creates innovative products with great colors and textures that are also beneficial to your skin, says Karina Smirnoff. “I am excited to partner with a brand I have been a long time fan of.”

..."Smirnoff first approached Strugano last summer, after Girlactik Beauty products were used on her and other Dancing with the Stars cast members. With high definition television showing every detail and highlighting every flaw, good makeup is important than ever for these celebrities and pro dancers on the show. Smirnoff loves how Girlactik Beauty products produce a flawless look, are easy to use, and are beautifully packaged!!!!"

If the makeup can look good on television and look just as natural on the street, we think this is a good find.

Don't You Hate When Your Favorite Beauty Product Is 'Improved' Or Discontinued?!

We know this has happened to you, to us, and to many celebrities:

You're in the drugstore looking to pick up your favorite hairspray, when suddenly----the product is NO LONGER on the shelf?! It's been DISCONTINUED.

Or---scenario #2. You're in the drugstore looking to pick up your favorite cleanser, when suddenly----the product is now NEW and IMPROVED.

And then you bring it home, and suddenly----that beauty product doesn't work like it used to.

Arghhhh! The frustration!

Why oh why, do beauty brands have to go and MESS with the formula?

This seems to happen a lot with hair styling products, at least in our humble experience. For instance, we were in love with Pantene's Root Volumizer Gel Spray. Amazing stuff. A couple of years ago...Pantene re-packaged the product into a smaller bottle with a similar name, but totally re-vamped the formula.

The result?

Yuck. The NEW Root Volumizer Gel Spray creates average volume and gives little oomph to the hair. We know, because we still had some of the original Pantene and put it up against the newer product. And there was really no comparison.

And don't get us started with John Frieda styling products. We love his hair treatments UNTIL, he, too, starts messin' with a good thing, and our locks go limp once again.

We fell in love with John Frieda's original Sheer Blonde Full Blown Blonde Thickening Lotion, which then became a thickening root lifting spray with some white grape complex ingredient thing added to it. It was still a decent volumizer, but the original was the best. And the product 'Jumped the shark' as the saying goes. The thickening spray was eventually DISCONTINUED, but we were able to buy a few bottles on Amazon and Ebay at higher prices.

In fact, the $5.99 original is now selling on Ebay today, for $34.99 + FREE shipping for a set of 3. Any takers? Here's the link.

We have this advice: Don't fall too deeply for any one beauty product, because brands like to change up the formulas, re-package, and sometimes, discontinue altogether. Maybe the product wasn't selling like before. Maybe there were complaints about the scent of the product or one of its ingredients, etc.

Change comes swiftly in the world of beauty, and sometimes, you just have to keep on the hunt for the next best thing.

Ho Ho Ho For The Holidays! Restylane Rebate Is On!

Dear Santa:
Please 'fill us up' with gifts of beautiful skin!

Here is some wonderful beauty news you can take advantage of, ladies.

The Restylane Rebate is on for the holidays! If you've been meaning to fit in a cosmetic filler session or two, or more, then now's the time to act. It's a Season of Savings! Save up to $390 now through December 31, 2011. Every Restylane session can give back to you--- $50 (and $65--every Perlane session)!

And if you've never been poked before with the amazing filler, it's simple to get in on the savings, too. Just ask your healthcare professional to provide an itemized receipt documenting your procedure, and the box end flap(s) showing the hologram from the Restylane family product(s) used in your treatment.

Mail in the completed redemption form with your receipt and box end flap by January 13, 2012, and get in on the Restylane Rebate.

Restylane and its sister, Perlane, are popular cosmetic injectables that can correct moderate to severe facial wrinkles and folds, by adding fullness and volume to the skin.

To learn more about the Restylane family of injectable gels, visit Restylane.

Hot House Of Harlow Makes Nicole Richie Style Icon

Nicole Richie has never looked better, and she's definitely on a roll this season. The petite beauty has picked up 2 major citations:

'Influencer of the Year' at the ACE Awards
Elle Magazine 'Style Icon'

Nicole has become a well-respected jewelry designer of House of Harlow 1960 and fashion and accessories designer of Winter Kate. Both lines continue to surge in popularity, and we can see why.

Nicole Richie has great bohemian chic style and a good eye for what's hot and haute. And she's one celebrity who REALLY wears the stuff she designs out and about....her own sunglasses, bracelets, rings, dresses, shoes, handbags, etc. Plus, Nicole has a wonderful website that keeps her fans up-to-date on her collections, projects and fashion/beauty tips. Check it out here.

This is what she told Elle magazine inspires her sense of fashion:
"I'm really inspired by the '60s and the '70s. I really just love the freedom of that time, the idea that clashing didn't really exist, and the mixture of fabrics, bold colors and prints. That whole ease is something that I'm drawn to."

Take a look at Nicole's House of Harlow 1960 Holiday 2011 Collection and get your list ready for Santa.

Ho Ho Ho! Bring us House of Harlow!