Manolo for the Beauty

Oh BB creams, we hardly knew ye.

You are now being unceremoniously shoved aside for something called a CC cream.  The CC stands for color correct, or color and care, or something similar where you can mix and match appropriate-sounding words that begin with C.

Whatever.

CC creams are supposed to provide better coverage than BB creams yet still retain their sheerness, contain more anti-aging ingredients, and moisturize better.

Well, I guess I can see why BB creams would be a thing of the past.

However, I’m sure there is someone waiting in the wings to invent a DD cream, or even an EE cream.

I think I’ll wait a little while before I spend my money.

Sure, I’ll bite.

It seems to me that there is an interesting trend occurring with women’s hair.

Mainly, that nobody seems to give two hoots about “proper” hair color any more.

Which is both good and bad.

Good that women feel that they can walk out of the house with lime green or purple hair, dammit, if that is the mood they are in today.  I am all for experimentation of color.

Bad in that sometimes color can be injudiciously applied, thus making one’s freedom of choice amount to choosing to look like a clown.

It is a double-edged sword, my friends.

Katy Perry’s orange hair is actually a surprisingly subdued look for her.  I don’t mind it in the least.

Well, most of you think that Queen Latifah looks juuuust fiiiine for a hot August night.  57% of you, in fact.  12% of you thought she could have done something more, and the rest just respected the thought of not having to worry about makeup melt.   Personally I thought she looked fresh and lovely, as always.

Today I want to know how you feel about the dip-dye trend for hair.

OK, fine, maybe it is a micro-trend.

But is it just me or is the fuzziness/unkempt nature of the braids kind of wrong?

To me, the best thing about braids is the smooth, shiny quality of them.

I especially loathe Blake Lively’s fishtail braid, which looks like someone combed it with a pasta grabber.

I know, I know.  It’s just me.

58% of you voted thumbs down on purchasing an at-home gel nail kit, which can be pricey.  5% of you were excited about the idea, and 36% of you weren’t sure.  As someone who really likes nail color but dislikes the upkeep, I have a feeling that gel nails might be the wave of the future for me.  But, not yet.  Probably after my toddler gets a little older and I’m not washing my hands eighty billion times a day.

Now, with a pinky promise not to look it up on the sly, I’ve got a question for you:

I must be totally out of touch, because I had no idea True Blood was popular enough to inspire an entire collection.

Deborah Lippmann created polishes inspired by different characters and her first ever lipstick in, of course, red.

There are also body creams, a perfume, home fragrance candles, and diffusers as well.

The blood starts dripping on August 9th on hsn.com.

Is it just me or does it seem like this should come out closer to Halloween?

71% of you are willing to overlook commercialism in beauty products, and you’ll buy them if you like them, regardless of the product tie-in.  7% say hooray for capitalism and are all for it, while 21% of you disagree.

Today I’m all about nails. Gel nail polish, that is.  You know, the kind that lasts up to three weeks without needing a touch-up and requires an ultra violet light in order to set properly?

Apologies for the lack of polling, but when 50% of your family is down with a fever/flu thing, then not too much gets done.  Don’t worry, I neglected my housework, too.

The subject of bangs split 41% of you into the “love them” group and another 41% of you into the “love/hate” group.  17% didn’t like them at all.  I have to say I am in the love/hate category, because on some people, they just don’t look right.  Other people, however, can wear them beautifully.  My forehead is actually extremely low, and although I have had bangs in my past, I think I look better without them.  I’ve been bangless for over twenty years at this point, which sounded a lot dirtier than I intended.

Today I want to know how you feel about about a current makeup trend….

I’m trying to get behind these shots of model Simone, but for the most part, I can’t.  Something about her looks consumptive, even though the editorial does a good job highlighting some of the spring 2012 makeup trends.  I think I might like the last one best, mostly because of the hair.

The majority of you, 54% gave Heidi Klum two snaps up for her “makeup-free” modeling.  20% said she should have gone for the full coverage, and 25% felt she looked like she was coming down with something.  Awww, poor Heidi!  I don’t think that’s the best she’s ever looked, but major props for going that bare in front of the camera at her age.

According to Harper’s Bazaar, spring 2012 has quite the few makeup trends.