The perfect blonde hair color: Drew Barrymore

Picture by Harper's Bazaar

Right now my hair is my own color, which is a bit like chocolate brown, but when summer comes always love to go blond. Only how to explain the right kind of blonde to your colorist is sometimes quite a challenge.

When reading the October issue of Harper's Bazaar I read how Redken Creative Consultant Tracey Cunningham gave Drew Barrymore a subtle take on fashionable ombré hair color. And that's why I am writing about it... so when summer comes I know what to ask for ;).

Tracey began by applying Redken Color Fusion 7N to Drew's roots, and then highlighted the length of her hair with Redken Blonde Icing Ammonia-Free Lightener. For a healthy, blended look, Tracey followed with an all-over application of Redken Shades EQ Conditioning Color Gloss .

Put your hair up

During all the fashion shows that have just been and are still going on... I've seen a lot of woman putting their hair up. It's easy and always look great. Here are some styles and a description of how to get that look (thanks to www.hairfinder.com).

Debra Messing:

Begin with clean dry hair and section off parts of the bangs to hang off the side and along the temple area. Now, take your brush and begin to brush vigorously going back. Attach with a hair comb diagonally or attach two hair bands in the back with one on top of the other. Take sections of the hair in the back and begin to back fluff for stability. Twist the ends around and fasten with hair pins.

Don’t worry about irregularity, the more eccentric this style looks, the better. Be creative and bold. Place the two inch pieces of hair in abstracts of c curls and large sprigs. Take the bangs down and smooth out smaller pieces to hang along the side of the face across the forehead. Spray.

Angelina Jolie:

If you are thinking about trying this style for yourself, here are a couple of options to see if you can do it: Chances are, if you are wearing longish hair you can swirl it up and around into the many looks we have today. For an elegant look such as this, it might be easier for you to leave your hair unwashed. Now section off your hair in the top and sides and clip to stay out of the way. Take the rest of your hair and divide sections of about two inches; backcomb each section until you look like a scary clown with your whole head pointing in different directions. Spray lightly and allow to dry before touching it again.

When dry, begin to brush towards the back while smoothing out the outer layer of the hair shafts from the backcombing. Begin to use bobby pins as you place the hair up and in a circular fashion. When this is done, you should have a bunch of hair shooting out from your creative formation. Use your medium sized hot iron and begin to curl the different shoots of hair. When you are done you could randomly place hair pins or bobby pins inside your circle of curls, and then use a lift to gather the rest together.

The outcome all depends upon your talent. Another option is to make a shortcut by putting the hair into a ponytail and purchasing a hair piece that attaches to the ponytail and placing the synthetic hair where you want it and the hair ornament around your style. Some suggestions for a hair ornament are ribbons, scarf’s, necklaces such as pearls or synthetic braids. Don’t give up, if you feel you can’t do this, maybe your best friend can.

Catherine Bell:

How to have this style? Wash, rinse, condition and towel dry your hair and apply a good moisturizing lotion to style with. Air dry if possible for your best hair health. When completely dry, brush your hair vigorously with a good stiff brush. Brush all the hair back with the exception of the top and about two inches on each side. Take the hair in the middle of the back and twist around with your fingers, and tuck ends under each other Lay this close to your head. Fasten with hair pins all around this coil.
If you have naturally straight hair, simply brush the top smoothly over to one side and connect with the hair to be placed along your face and around the bottom of the ears. Do not worry about any strands sticking out or showing. Strands and wisps are in! With such impish eyes and a very confident smile, how can you lose?

Jessica Alba:

Begin by sectioning off the top, sides and two sections of the back from top to bottom and clip each area. Use your brush and back brush each section. Smooth out the top layers and bring all the hair back into a hair band. Allow the hair to fall over the hair band or curl naturally in whatever way it desires to hang. Now take your large hair pin and lift the top section on to the height you would like to have. Notice there isn’t a hair hanging or out of place. Smooth with spray.

My favorite beauty products

This week I have been cleaning out my beauty products ... threw away all the left over products, that I just did not finish completely and are now getting quite old. I also came across some of my favorite products I would like to share with you, in random order:

New comer is the Elisabeth Arden, Eight Hour cream. Until recently I've always used the rosebud cream for my lips, but I tried a little bit of the eight hour cream and bought a tube the next day and have been using it every days since, I'm hooked. I found it soothes, restores, calms and helps relieve chapped, cracked, dry skin. Soothes roughness, redness and minor skin irritations. As said I mostly use it as lipgloss, but also put a little bit on the heel of my feet and elbows and a little bit (when working in an airconditioned building all day) under my eyes (just above my cheekbone). You could also use it as a cuticle softner, or to keep your brows in place, or to highlight cheekbones, or just below the brow.

Dr Brandt Microdermabrasion is the best exfoliating face cream I have ever come across. It promisses that it polishes away dead skin cells, smoothes skin’s texture and reveals radiance and it does all that and delivers something close to a professional microdermabrasion facial.

All OPI colors! At the moment I use Gargantuan Green Grape (a green color) and What's with the Cattititude (light blue) a lot on my hands and for my feet Blue My Mind, which looks great with jeans :)

  
When it's the season and therefore available freshly picked, I eat fresh raspberries a much as possible. Besides that I just love to eat them, cause they taste good. They make you skin looks radiant and fresh - even if you party a lot-  and they contain a minimum amount of calories. they are high Vitamin C and naturally have no fat, cholesterol or sodium. They are also a good source of iron and folate (which is used especially in treatment of low red blood cells or anemia). Some fact about Raspberries: they contain a natural substance called ellagic acid, which is an anti-carcinogenic (cancer-preventing) compound. Raspberries have been shown to lower high blood cholesterol levels and slow release of carbohydrates into the blood stream of diabetics.

Lip balm with a colourful twist. Luscious, high-gloss shades treat your most undermoisturized skin to soothing shine. Instantly relieve dryness, protect with antioxidants and more: Clinique Superbalm Moisturizing Gloss.

This stuff is great, the Weleda Birch Cellulite Oil. This product is chalk full of some really great oils that will do wonders for your skin. Also, it's not very expensive. If you often experience dry leggs try it, also if you are going to wear a short of skirt which shows your leggs (when wearing no stockings)it gives your leggs just "that extra" shine... without looking to oily. It also helps against cellulite, but with all cellulite products you need to do more (adjust diet, excercise, massage, etc) for it to have a real effect.

The perfect eye shadow - that's all I have to say about Mac's eyeshadows.

To use underneath your daily skincare is Estee Lauder's advanced night repair. After using it for only two nights, my skin feels and looks nourished and smooth. The Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex is one of the best hydrating serums I've tried so far. The only downfall to the serums is that is a bit pricey, but a little goes a long way so it's a great investment in preserving your skin healthy and youthful!

I still have not found my "perfect" daily eyecare or skincare product ( I'm in my thirtees and have a combined skin) ... If anyone has a good suggestion :) please let me know??

Winter is coming ... Snow Polo as well

Argentine polo player Ignacio Figueras, known simply as Nacho

Here in Holland Autumn is settling in, last weekend for me the end of the summer really arrived when the beachclubs where giving their closing parties. A lot of friends are expanding this by going this and next week to the Ibiza closing parties.

But it got me thinking about all the nice things winter brings ... and one of them is Snow Polo! It is always fun to watch is a game of polo, it's a fast and attractive game ... and not just because most of the polo players are quite nice to look at ;).

An good example of the average polo player is Nacho. He is also the face for Ralph Lauren Polo Black, check out this video... everytime very very pleasant to watch ;)

So if you are going to Switserland this winter, visit one of the games and enjoy the atmosphere, the horses, the sport..... 

For those of you who don't know the Polo game, in short:

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a long-handled mallet.

Field polo requires two teams of 4 players. A full-size field is 300 yards long, and either 200 yards or 160 yards wide if there are side boards—these are generally 6" high. There are tall collapsible goalposts at each end of the field spread 8 yards apart. The object of the game is to score the most goals by hitting the ball through the goal. Polo teams change direction after each goal in order to compensate for field and wind conditions.

There are two basic defense techniques allowed in polo. The hook, or hooking, is when a player uses their mallet to block or interfere with an opponent's swing by hooking the mallet of the other player with their own mallet. A player may hook only if is he is on the side where the swing is being made or directly in front or behind an opponent. A foul is awarded for any hooking that does not fit this stipulation. For example, a player cannot reach over the mount of another player to hook their mallet, and this would be considered a penalty.

The other defense technique is the bump, or ride-off. This is similar to a body-check in hockey. It is used to break an opposing player's concentration, move him off the line of the ball, or spoil his shot. A ride-off is when one player rides his pony next to an opponent to lead him away from the ball. This is only allowed when the angle of collision is not greater than 45 degrees.

Each team consists of four mounted players, which can be mixed teams of both men and women, who must be play right-handed and all have a certain position to play in. Each position assigned to a player has certain responsibilities:

1. Number One is the most offense-oriented position on the field. The Number One position generally covers the opposing team's Number Four.
2. Number Two has an important role in offense, either running through and scoring themselves, or passing to the Number One and getting in behind them. Defensively, they will cover the opposing team's Number Three, generally the other team's best player. Given the difficulty of this position, it is not uncommon for the best player on the team to play Number Two so long as another strong player is available to play Three.
3. Number Three is the tactical leader and must be a long powerful hitter to feed balls to Number Two and Number One as well as maintaining a solid defense. The best player on the team is usually the Number Three player, usually wielding the highest handicap.
4. Number Four is the primary defense player. They can move anywhere on the field, but they usually try to prevent scoring. The emphasis on defense by the Number Four allows the Number Three to attempt more offensive plays, since they know that they will be covered if they lose the ball.

The mad hatter

Mylene at the Polo Match

A couple of weeks ago I went with some friends to a polo match. When we where shopping around a bit in one of the booths they had some great hats. We tried a couple and suddenly a certain model reminded me of some other similar ones, that lately I see more en more off. Although I don't wear a hat often, I might get this one as it looks very good and makes a great accessory with this winter's fashion....

Picture by: Fashion Toast

Picture by: Fashion Toast

Picture by: Fashion Toast

Picture by: Fashion Toast

Picture by: Fashion Toast

Model Jessica Hart



Bambi



Bambi

Picture by: Jak and Jil

Pictures by: left Lookbook, middle and right The Sartorialist

Where to buy a hat like this?
A great place to do so is the Chicago based Optimo Hat Company. I Just love their "Al Capone" style promo video... Check it out... It takes you back in time immediately, and shows a kind of craftsmanship you don't see often anymore.

OPTIMO HAT COMPANY from samuel j macon on Vimeo.

You can also buy them for approx. Euro 39,= at the Mango stores (and online) as they are part of Mango's winter 2010/2011 collection.

Denim & Stripes

It's such a simple, clean and classic combination, which looks good everytime. How does it work .....

Picture by: Jak & Jil

Picture by: Jak & Jil

Bambi in a picture by: Jak & Jil

Picture by: Lookbook

Picture by: MyPeeptoes

Kate Moss, Penelope Cruz, Elle McPherson



Kate Moss



Bambi and the Fashion Shows

This rising new model has only rececently started modeling and already graced "the rising supermodel issue of Bazaar Magazine" and is called the next "it model".

She's Australian, she's just nineteen, she's called Stephanie Northwood-Blyth but changed her name to Bambi and she's only be 5'7'' or just about 1.74 cm.

But she stands out with blue-green eyes, a sweet smile, and, most importantly, her bold " Brooke Shields" brows ( and the tattoo of Disney's Bambi on her right wrist). Her look ranges from feminine boho to androgynous rocker to ultra glam.

Bambi Northwood-Blyth's Career Highlights:
1991    Born in Australia
2009    Models locally in Australia
2010    Signs with Elite
APR 2010    Appears in RUSSH editorial, photographed by Beau Grealy
JUN 2010    Featured on the cover of Australian Harper's Bazaar, photographed by Simon Lekias

It will be interesting to see where she appears the next coming months….

How to wear your jeans this winter?

Throw away your harem pants, if you've got them... most women look like they are wearing diapers anyway! The boyfriend jeans is still acceptable but the best way to wear your jeans this winter is:
A) Wide legg medium to high waist and with a thin belt (or no belt)
B) Skinny legg with a pair of killer heels and a thin (or no) belt

Picture by: The Sartorialist

Picture by: The Cherry Blossom Girl

Picture by: The Sartorialist

Picture by: Jak and Jil

Picture by: Jak and Jil, detail of thin belt.

Black Butterflies

I'm really looking forward to the release of "Black Butterflies". It's a movie about the life of the South African poet Ingrid Jonker. The film will be directed by Paula van der Oest; Scenario by Greg Latter; Leading parts: Carice van Houten als Ingrid Jonker, Rutger Hauer als Abraham Jonker and Liam Cunningham als Jack Cope. The film deals with the life of Ingrid Jonker (1933-1965) and her relationships with men in particular the difficult relationship with her father Abraham Jonker, a Minister in the era of apartheid.

Not only is Carice one of my favorite actresses, Rutger Hauer a childhood hero, but I also can't wait to see Carice wearing the glasses by Ralph Vaessen. Ralph is one of THE rising stars and not only in the Dutch fashion scene... his glasses are worn, among others, by Christian Louboutin, David Lynch and Kate Moss. In the pictures: Carice wearing "Ralph Vaessen"