Lipstick on Your Collar
Leave your mark this season with one of these seven sultry new shades of lip color.
If you were alive in 1959, you likely heard Connie Francis accusing her boyfriend of cheating on her with her best friend, Mary Jane, in her hit song "Lipstick on Your Collar." The evidence: the red lipstick on his collar. For the record, Connie's was "baby pink." We present seven new shades of lipstick for spring/summer 2007 that are pure temptation. —M.D.
 Napoleon Perdis HARA, Mineral Mine Cosmic Plum, Color Strokes Red Alert, Jane Iredale Kirsten, Your Name Professional Brands Desire, Naieme Reincarnation, Aveda Coco Plum |
PARIS MATCH
Paris Hilton is making headlines again. This time around, Hollywood's flaxen-haired "it" girl is the talk of the salon scene, having recently inked a deal with HairTech International to be the spokesmodel for their new hair-extension division—DREAMCATCHERS. Made from the finest European hair, which can be permed and colored, DreamCatchers are applied using an exclusive Micro-Cylinder technique that saves time, is gentle and won't damage clients' natural hair. For details on the line, which is being distributed to one salon per zip code, contact dreamcatchers.com. —K.D.
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SO RETRO
Hipsters and hip moms alike are sure to comment on this retro-styled ceramic shampoo sink with reclining chair from WIMEX BEAUTY. The sink is tilt-adjustable to fit all clients comfortably. The chair is also available in black. wimexbeauty.com —C.W.
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Add a subtle, sparkly touch to any updo with this hair stick from Evita Peroni. 305/259-0291
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Thai Treats
The exotic scents and essential oils of coconut, clove, lemongrass, sandalwood and jasmine contained in Pañpuri's holistic skincare line evoke the beauty of Thailand and are intended to comfort both the mind and body. Formerly available only in Southeast Asia's most prestigious hotels, spas and retail shops, the line includes facial treatments, body masks, hand creams and foot scrubs for head-to-toe pampering. 415/332-3586 —L.A.
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ALL ACCESS
Name a celebrity, any celebrity, and Mario Testino, one of fashion's most influential photographers, has probably photographed them. His new book, LET ME IN! (Taschen, 2007), is a collection of off-screen moments he snatched before, during and after his official sittings for magazines like Vanity Fair and Vogue. With its 300 unstaged photographs of more than 100 of today's most talked-about faces, it's the equivalent of a backstage pass. taschen.com —C.W.
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SHORT STORY
Since Aveda's Global Artistic Director Antoinette Beenders chopped off model Alison Nix's long hair last fall, Nix has been booked solid. The same thing happened in the 1980s when Garren gave Linda Evangelista a bob that landed her on the cover of Harper's Bazaar. —M.D.
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Obsessions
Here, Emmett Cooper of Emmett's Beaute Centre in Indianapolis, IN, shares his favorite things:
1. DESIGN I redesign my salon every two years. Whether it's interior design, architecture, art or sculpture, I love form and balance.
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2. FAMILY AND FRIENDS Where would any of us be without them and the love and experiences that we share with them?
3. FREEDOM This is something I never want to take for granted. In this day and age, it's so precious to us all.
4. SUNSHINE When the sun is shining it gives me an incredible amount of energy. Even a bad day can't get me down if the sun is out.
5. TOOLS I can't live without my favorite combs, triple scissors and razor.
6. ANIMALS I love large, exotic birds and my dog, Louis. I even talk to squirrels when I'm out for a walk.
7. IMPERFECTION It's the quirks that make things special to me.
8. MY PRODUCT LINE Working with products for 30 years and developing a line that meets my needs has been extremely gratifying.
9. MEDITATION When situations in life get out of control, meditation always seems to get me back to center.
10. RASPY-VOICED FEMALE SINGERS Janis Joplin, Stevie Nicks and Etta James touch my soul.
Eye Candy
The sophisticated and playful images in Jeweled Garden: A Colorful History of Gems, Jewels and Nature (The Vendome Press, 2007) will delight all lovers of gemstones and jewelry. From a contemporary Harry Winston diamond wreath necklace to a delicate lifelike bouquet brooch made of sapphires and rubies in 1947 by Van Cleef & Arpels, the authors present nearly 400 examples of jewelry emulating nature, by some of the greatest jewelers working during the previous two centuries. —C.W.
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WHAT'S IN A NAME?
The founders of PROFOUND BEAUTY chose the company's name to foster an expectation of superior product performance and styling results, and to appeal to customers who see beauty as having a "profound" meaning in their lives. —L.A.
On the Nose
Your clients will love being able to extend the life of a blow-out, or skip a day of washing and styling, while keeping their hair smelling fresh and clean thanks to Pure & Petal Hair Fragrances. Available in four feminine scents—Sublime Citrus, Heavenly Clean, Linden Blossom and Summer Passion—the alcohol-free formulas are specially designed to keep hair lightly scented without drying it out or weighing it down. Provitamin B5 and silk protein help keep strands looking healthy. purepetal.com —C.W.
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Cool Mints
Say goodbye to boring breath mints and hello to Oral Fixation, a stylish way to freshen breath and a fun addition to your retail offerings. These mints are sure to tempt your clients at the checkout counter. Flavors include Fabulous Fruit Very Fruity, Jasmints and Antioximints Green Tea Mints. oralfix.com —N.P.
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King of Fashion
The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute presents Poiret: King of Fashion, an exhibit of designs from dressmaker Paul Poiret, who is known for liberating women from corsets and putting them in pantaloons in the early 20th century. If you've been reading "The Way We Were," our look back at 130 years of American Salon, you'll remember that we devoted an entire page to Poiret when we covered the period 1910–1920. Fortunately, you've got plenty of time to catch the exhibition, which runs from May 9 through August 5. 212/535-7710 —N.P.
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Pssssssssst!
"Hold, please!" Come July, that phrase will no doubt be at the tip of every beauty aficionado's tongue when Sebastian Professional's Shaper and Shaper Plus make their big screen debut in New Line Cinemas' remake of the cult classic movie, Hairspray. As the official hairspray of the film, the iconic styling tools will star as "Ultra Clutch," performing their magic both behind the scenes and on screen. In preparation for their close-ups, both products will get new packaging with pretty pink graphic accents. They're coming to salons everywhere this summer. sebastianinspires.com/hollywood —K.D.
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Sweet Charity
Talk about a breath of fresh air: The new limited-edition York Mint Designer Series not only features one-of-a-kind packaging, but the sales profits benefit a great cause. Designed by fashion icons like Nicole Miller and famous faces like Nicky Hilton, the artful tins retail for $25, with 100 percent of the proceeds benefiting the Young Survival Coalition, the only international nonprofit network of breast cancer survivors and supporters dedicated to the concerns and issues that are unique to young women affected by breast cancer. youngsurvival.org —K.D.
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Soulful Sensation
Celebrity manicurist Deborah Lippmann is known for creating perfectly polished nails and for her incredibly popular line of nail polishes. But Lippmann actually got her start buffing nails in order to support her dreams of becoming a singer. Looks like it paid off. The artist recently released her second album, Vinyl (NJ Records, 2007), a soulful and breathtaking collection of original recordings and new takes on modern rock classics. lippmanncollection.com —C.W.
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Spice It Up
SHINBI INTERNATIONAL debuts a new line of styling products in the U.S. called Spice. The Japanese line includes creams (pictured here), foams, sprays, waxes and glosses, as well as products for men. The packaging is fun and youthful—collections are divided by color and desired hairstyle for an easy shopping experience. 800/821-4260 —N.P.
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NEW YORK MINUTE
Tom Julian is senior vice president and director of trends for ad agency McCann Erickson. This month, he highlights burgeoning Lower Manhattan and the historic Financial District.
 TOM JULIAN |
Lower Manhattan, south of Houston Street, is changing. Home to the World Financial District and Wall Street, the area is having a resurgence of sorts, with many old office buildings being converted to luxury condominiums and high-end retailers moving in. In fact, during Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week in February, designers like Miss Sixty and John Varvatos took the influential fashion set all the way Downtown, where they experienced the building boom, the reconfigured skyline, the redesigned World Trade Center site and the future home of the Freedom Tower.
As the Downtown landscape continues to be transformed, here's what we've got our eye on:
Expect a retail boom this fall. When BMW opened an auto showroom on Wall Street in 2005, many luxury labels took notice. Indeed, a specialty retail neighborhood is beginning to emerge along lower Broadway. Sephora, Hickey Freeman and John Allan's men's spa and salon, on Church Street, have all put up stakes Downtown. Tiffany announced 37 Wall Street would be home to its new 7,000-square-foot Downtown mecca, while Hermés is moving into nearby 15 Broad Street. Italian menswear label Canali will be opening at 25 Broad Street in a 2,600-square-foot space. But even with luxury retailers moving in, those with a penchant for deals can still find plenty of them at Century 21 Department Store, "New York's Best Kept Secret," with four floors of discounted apparel for women, men and kids, as well as accessories and home décor. Off-price retailers Syms and Daffy's are all within a few blocks, too.
 HERMÉS |
Designer dwellings are hot. Trendy Downtown condos are making headlines. Revamped old buildings are coming back to life with high price tags, as art and fashion meet architecture and design. Giorgio Armani did the interior design for the building at 20 Pine The Collection; André Balazs unveiled his Downtown concept of hotel and residencies at the William Beaver House; and Downtown by Philippe Starck is being billed as "imaginative living" on Broad Street. Many of these buildings are being constructed with amenities like spas, libraries, state-of-the-art gyms, pools, gorgeous rooftop terraces, billiards rooms, and studios for yoga or meditation.
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Anything but "Roux-tine"
Roux celebrates 75 beautiful years of innovation.
It's said that necessity is the mother of invention. That was certainly the case for George Kremer, Jr., the son of a New York salon owner, who, in 1932, became frustrated by the lack of reliable and affordable haircolor formulas available. Armed with his salon experience and knowledge, Kremer set out to create the perfect product.
The result was Roux, a company that cranked out a slew of innovations from the 1930s to the 1970s, including Fanci-Tone Tint, a full-coverage formula that remains a hit among colorists and clients today; Roux Lash & Brow that enables beauty pros to easily color both brows and lashes; Fanci-Full Rinse, the top-selling temporary haircolor; Speed Bleach, which quickly lightens while minimizing damage; and Clean Touch, the ideal tool for making haircolor stains disappear.
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An acquisition by Revlon in 1978 prompted more advancements. In the 1980s, Roux received high-fives from the teen crowd for Fanci-Full Mousse, which made it a cinch to achieve "punk" looks sans commitment.
Another acquisition followed in the 1990s—this time by the Colomer Group—which invested heavily in new packaging and eye-catching visuals to ensure a bright future for the brand. According to Dan Easton, vice president of sales and marketing for the Professional Systems Group, Colomer USA, Roux's name will continue to be synonymous with innovation thanks to the June debut of Violites, a dust-free, violet-based bleach that lifts up to seven levels and can be used on- or off-scalp. "And that's just the tip of the iceberg," says Easton. "We're looking forward to more product introductions later this year, including one that offers a unique approach to temporary haircolor for men. It's important to keep the beauty industry moving forward, and Roux is poised to do just that in the months and years to come." —KELLEY DONAHUE
Divining for Louise Brooks
Cheryl Kaplan visited Louise Brooks' grave to uncover the real life behind the star of Hollywood's silent-film era.
The day I arrived at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, NY, the snow was knee deep. I'd come to see Louise Brooks, the Hollywood silent film star of the 1920s and '30s whose iconic bob haircut was the perfect foil for a volatile combination of innocence, seduction and brutal intelligence. Here, she was merged into a list of names on the front office's computer screen: Mary Louise Brooks, 1985. As the clerk turned away, I saw her old address: 7 North Goodman Street. It was her all right, but now she was in plot 33S. Climbing through the snow, a man in yellow waders pulled a shovel out of his truck and began divining for Louise Brooks. As he cleared the stone, the letters filled with white.
 Brooks' gravestone at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, NY |
Fade to 1971. The documentary filmmaker Richard Leacock is visiting Brooks at her apartment in Rochester. He removes his shoes, entering her small, austere apartment. The actress is barefoot in her housecoat and nightgown. At 64, this would be one of her last, yet most stunning interviews. The actress, who toured America dancing with Martha Graham in the Denishawn Dancers troupe, hadn't been outdoors since 1960, except for a few visits to local doctors. She was holed up in Rochester, where, in 1956, James Card, film curator of the George Eastman House, helped her move, believing in her insights into silent film. Rochester wasn't Hollywood, but it was the home of Kodak.
With Card, Brooks would screen her films for the first time, including two by German director G. W. Pabst, though Brooks later would admit she was drunk at the time. In 1928 in Pandora's Box, Brooks played Lulu, the free-wheeling call girl caught in a tangle of affairs with a newspaper magnate, his son, a circus entertainer, a lesbian, a dirty old man and Jack the Ripper. Set in the excesses of Weimar Germany before World War II, doom and gloom play to a dramatic end as Lulu unravels her life, standing trial for the murder of her newspaper magnate husband, then running off with his son to London where she's murdered by a dashing but demented Jack the Ripper. In her famous 1982 autobiography, Lulu in Hollywood, Brooks wrote: "The finest job Pabst ever did was to cast himself as the Animal Tamer of Pandora's Box, a film adaptation of Franz Wedekind's Tragedy of Monsters." Lulu may have taken a secret to the grave, but Brooks knew hers. At nine, she was molested by a house painter named Mr. Flowers who lived down the street. Brooks called him "Mr. Feathers." He damaged her for life, leading her to alcoholism and insatiable love, including affairs with Charlie Chaplin and CBS Chairman William Paley. The actress' films would parallel her real-life story. In Pabst's 1929 Diary of a Lost Girl, Brooks is raped, gives up her child, is sent to a reformatory, kept under sadistic surveillance by the headmistress and escapes only to be sent back, but this time as a society lady. In both of these films, as in all of her work, it isn't the plot that defines the actress but the undaunting intensity of her eyes combined with raw vulnerability, precision of movement and a haircut that no one ever forgets.
Born and raised in Kansas, Brooks was a cult classic who influenced a generation of women and girls who wanted to be her. But nobody could be her because the role of "Louise Brooks" was one of the most complex of all time. As she told Leacock: Pabst "knew instinctively that I was Lulu . . . He was a great psychologist. He treated everyone in a completely different manner . . . He was more a choreographer with me, and I was a dancer." Pabst would unleash her finest performances.
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Brooks' mother, a staunch feminist who rallied for women's rights, took her to a barber when she was 10 to cut her braids, leaving her with a razor-sharp line of long bangs and a Buster Brown Dutch bob, identifying her for life. Director Howard Hawks, who worked with Brooks in 1928 said: "Just think how modern she looks." Brooks was modern enough to stand against Hollywood. In a legendary fight with Paramount executive Bud Schulberg, Brooks refused to stay on at $750 a week without raising her options. The Studios were saving their dimes at the advent of talkies, spreading false rumors that silent-film actors couldn't speak. But Brooks had a remarkable voice and a telegram waiting for her from Pabst. The director had seen her in the Hawks film and knew her lethal combination of innocence, style and deadly seduction was the ticket.
Her haircut was the perfect metaphor for her cunning sexuality. The bob, originally inspired by Joan of Arc, was invented in 1909 in Paris by the hairdresser Antoine. It was popular in literary circles in Bloomsbury, London, before World War I, and later more popular in the Roaring '20s. In 1924, the razor-cut shingle bob was introduced. In 1927 Paramount Studios dubbed their version the "Louise Brooks bob": a combination of cuts from Pola Negri and Florence Vidor to Colleen Moore, who wore her cut in the 1923 hit Flaming Youth. This bob featured Moore's cut in front, Negri's side effect and the Vidor rear ensemble. A 1926 publicity still for the film A Social Celebrity shows Brooks in a barber's chair. Adolphe Menjou is about to give her a trim. Since the 1960s, the Brooks bob has never gone out of style; it's now worn by Vogue editor Anna Wintour. To see what all the fuss was about, rent Pandora's Box in its 2006 re-release and be transfixed.