What to buy a lady when you don't know what to buy!!



I believe that one of life's greatest pleasures is in giving gifts. Not just any gift but giving something that is truly unique and will spark complete surprise and enthusiasm in the receiver.

I was snooping around Inika's website, a 100% natural Australian cosmetics brand, and came across their Eyeshadow Chocolate Box. Yum!

It's featured in their Limited Edition and Specials Offers section so it's obviously something unique to their range. The box comes with three Belgium Chocolates and six limited edition eyeshadows and is beautifully packaged in a classy black gift box.

The eyeshadows are multi-purpose so they can be used dry as a shadow or wet as an eyeliner. They are rich in pigments and can be layered to create metallic or iridescent looks. The luxurious shades are Lemon Cream, Mint Choc Cup, Coffee Cream, Creme Caramel and Turquo.

All this and my favourite part is that they're completely free from harsh petrochemicals, fillers, talc, fragrances, other nasties and won't clog your pores.

Inika is one of the very few makeup brands where their products are either certified vegan, certified organic or both and 100% halal.

Is the Ombre Hair trend over?

I have to confess that I absolutely hated this look when it first debuted last year. It went against every fibre of my being because for so long it has been one of the worst fashion crimes that one can commit: to allow your roots to hideously grow out nine inches long, and what's even worse, not care that your hair has reached this vagrant state. However, the more I saw it the more it grew on me.  



The Ombre hair colour trend is achieved by keeping the roots dark and gradually getting lighter at the ends. It can be done subtly and naturally, for example Jessica Biel's style, or it can be bold and eye catching. Although as of late Jessica Biel has swapped her Ombre hair colour for shiny brunette tones and Drew Barrymore has swapped hers for rich red. So could this be a sign that the Ombre hair trend is over? I think yes, but ombre could just have been a warm up for another new trend.

Jessica Biel

Drew Barrymore

Rachel Bodt a Senior Colourist to models and celebrities at Cutler Salon in NYC, has given us her prediction that "Colour Streaming will be the the hottest colour trend for Spring 2011".



So what exactly is Colour Streaming? Well it's very similar to the Ombre trend but has a little more to it. Your natural hair colour is kept on top and underneath. You have bold streams of colour that are two to three shades lighter and continue to get lighter at the ends. This works really well for brunettes.



So the new trends that are hot this season, apart from Colour Streaming, are strong blonde, especially platinum and the redhead colour. We're even seeing splashes and strands of hot pinks, blues, greens and purples much like Rachel Mcadams latest hairstyle.

Many of the celebs that have dipped their heads in varying shades of red this year include Scarlett Johansson, Beyonce Knowles, Rihanna, Drew Barrymore, Khloe Kardashian and the list goes on.

Brunette is still in vogue from rich dark chocolate shades to light caramel.

 

Rachel Mcadams and Scarlett Johansson

Chic bedhead - How to get the look

Kate Bosworth 
Source: Neil Rasmus / PatrickMcMullan.com/Sipa Pres

Bed hair is easy and effortless. You don't have to spend an hour using a GHD to get this look. It's been around before in the past but this time I think the trend will stay put a lot longer. Kate Bosworth, Kate Moss, Ashley Olsen and Jessica Biel are just some of the celebs who have been spotted numerous times with these lazy and carefree locks.    



So how could you get this edgy hair style? Consider going to bed with wet or braided hair and allow kinks to develop over night. Resist the urge to over brush in the morning, finish with hair spray and voila, you have bed hair.

If this doesn't work well for you, try fabricating the look with some of the following tips.

• Wash your hair without conditioning it.
• Once dry, apply a volumising spray or a product like the David Babaii Bohemian Beach Spray.  
• For straight hair - using heated tongs, wrap hair around in the either different directions for more wavyness or in the same direction for a simpler kinked look. Allow waves to relax.
• For wavy hair - use product like a hair polish to define some of the waves. Then by using a diffuser on your hair dryer, let your hair fall onto the diffuser keeping its wavy form and blow dry. Don't blow dry too much.
• Gently tease hair at the roots.
• Finish with hair spray without over touching your hair. 

Kate Moss & Jessica Biel   Source: Getty Images

Beautiful and beneficial

Right from the word go, I've been a fan of the 'David Babaii for WildAid' range. Mainly because they have been designed for modern hair styles and are completely free from harmful parabens and harsh chemicals as well as being eco-friendly.

It's also nice to know that when you're paying decent coin for these products, a non-profit organisation called WildAid is also being benefited. WildAid works with local communities and governments to help end the illegal wildlife trade. This cause has gained great media attention and support from celebrities such as Kate Hudson, Harrison Ford and Jackie Chan to name a few.

All the products seem to work better with the less is more rule. They are quite concentrated so only small amounts are needed. There is also no build up with the products which is one less thing to worry about.

The products have some intriguing and not so common ingredients such as volcanic ash in a sculpting clay, blue algae extract in the hydrating shampoo and white ginger in the amplifying shampoo. Who would have thought that some of these wild elements would end up in our glamourous manes? Well I never would have expected it but I'm sure glad that it did, as I've found the products work magically.