Thursday, March 22, 2012

Top Beauty Myths


There are lots of misconceptions that we blindly follow because our peers think it’s true or our mothers believed it was true, so we’ve accepted it as it is without troubling ourselves to find the truth.
Working in the beauty industry means we take upon ourselves to correct these misconceptions and present the truth. Here are some of the top myths about beauty; feel free to add yours in the comments section:
  • Washing the hair with hot water makes it cleaner than with cold water
Wrong: Cold water cleans as much as the hot water does.

  • Oily skin does not need moisturizing
Wrong: Moisturizing the skin is essential for all types of skin. Oily skin should be moisturized with oil free creams.
Tip: Try Mama Mio Mighty Moisture for a perfect non-shiny look.

  • “Parfum” and “Eau de Parfum” indicate that the fragrance is only for women
Wrong: these two labels indicate the level of concentration of essential oils in the bottle and has nothing to do with the gender of the perfume.

  • Shampoos that produce more foam clean better than those that doesn’t
Wrong: Foam is formed from Sulfate, an ingredient  added to shampoos to produce foam. It’s healthier to use shampoos that don’t have sulfate in it; ‘foamless’ shampoos are NOT less effective than others.

  • Battling aging lines starts when lines appear
Wrong: It’s a proactive approach; one shouldn’t wait for the lines to appear to start addressing this ‘issue’…start early and prevent getting them earlier than desired.  
Tip: Try Eve Taylor Age Resist Day Cream & Night Cream which work to minimise the signs of premature ageing such as fine lines, wrinkles and dehydration.

  • Certain products can bring back lost hair to bald scalp
Wrong: Shampoos, creams or any other products that claim to bring hair back restore the existing hair and prevent it from falling, but they don’t reverse baldness. Lost hair is caused by the closing of the follicle, and once it’s closed it doesn’t open again by using topical products.
Tip: Try the Extreme Caviar Hair Loss Shampoo from Miriam Quevedo, it helps keep your follicle healthy and prevents hair loss. 

  • Damages caused by the sun only happen when we’re sunbathing
Wrong: Sun UV-rays can cause damage even if we’re not directly exposed to the sun. Using sun block is very important on a daily basis. It protects the skin and prevents symptoms such as early aging and pigmentation from happening.
Tip: the sun is a natural supplier of Vitamin D, but the excess of sun exposure can cause serious damages; don’t leave without your sun block cream.

  • Perfume smells the same on every body
Wrong: Our skin has different chemical make-ups which can react with the perfume applied and alters the smell of the fragrance. These chemical differences between bodies mean the perfume often smells differently on two different people.  
Tip: Before purchasing, spray the perfume on our hand and wait sometime before smelling it again and deciding if you like it or not.

  •   Hair doesn’t age, only our skin does
Wrong: Hair, just like skin, has an aging process which can happen as a result of the following:
1.      Natural: aging due to age progress. 
2.      Environmental: due to harsh weather conditions especially high humidity, heat and air conditioning.
3.      Chemical: due to chemically treated hair that has been intensely  subjected to heat styling tools and chemical products.
Tip: Start using anti-aging shampoos and products such as Miriam Quevedo Extreme Caviar Anti-aging shampoo and mask.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Top Ten Essential Beauty Tips

A little while ago, we put together a list of tweets under the hashtag #BeautyTips. Here are the top ten tips you need to know about skincare, hair care and perfumery. These tips are brought to you straight from the experts' mouths. 

  1. Always apply eye gels and creams at least 2 hours (especially those containing hyaluronic acid) before bedtime to avoid waking up with puffy eyes
  2. For puffy and allergy affected eyes, place 2 cooled green tea bags over them before bed to relieve inflammation and redness
  3. Incorporate an eye make-up remover into your routine – removing the daily impurities and allowing for deeper penetration of eye gels and creams
  4. When conditioning the hair remember to gently massage the scalp to increase circulation to the hair follicle
  5. Don’t leave the house without your facial spritz or flower water spritz to refresh throughout the day! Especially during season and humidity changes
  6.  Incorporate a facial oil to your daily routine during summer to winter transitions to assist with humidity changes and prevent the skin from drying out
  7. Make sure your perfume for the day reflects your mood – your pheromones will enhance the scent for others to also enjoy
  8. Perfume should not be dubbed as either for male or female but should be seen as a reflection of your soul at any given time
  9. The heat of our bodies warms the essential oils in perfume to give off the fragrance, that is why a perfume smells differently on your skin from a blotter
  10. Did you know there are a number of different perfume architectures? These different architectural shapes such as the pyramid, linear or star are responsible of how the scent of the notes flows (please see the image below)
An example of the star shaped perfume of Skarb by H&G


Monday, March 12, 2012

Story in a Bottle


Ineke in her garden

We promised you to start telling the stories of the niche luxury perfumes' creators. Here's the first story about a dream coming true...

The story began when Ineke Ruhland followed her dream to become a professional nose. She grew up in the country side in Canada where the wide-open skies, green rolling hills, and the sharp, pure sensation of winter air made her realize her passion for perfumery.  Young and enthusiastic, Ineke then moved to Europe and lived a nomad life which led her to study at ISIPCA, the only university level perfumery school in the world. She then apprenticed at an esteemed fragrance house for three years before moving to San Francisco and eventually launching her own line. 

Each of her fragrances tells an intimate story, inspired by every day’s life and mainly by literature and visual arts. Ineke named her first perfume ‘After My Own Heart’, a romantic fragrance that sums up her passion and her journey to fulfilling her dream. 

Ineke runs little experiments in her small garden which gathers a collection of rare scented botanicals, trying to replicate the heavenly smells into her fragrances. 

So far, there are seven fragrances in Ineke collection, alphabetically named, reflecting a little story about the creator which we can all relate to. 

You can read an interview with Ineke here or follow her Youtube channel for more details on the creation of her perfumes.  

Ineke perfume is available in the UAE in Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Harvey Nichols and Galeries Lafayette .



Sunday, March 4, 2012

How Unique is a Limited Edition?

Following up from the previous post about individuality, we announced that the luxury niche fragrance BOIS 1920 is launching its limited edition in Dubai! This is very exciting news for everyone who wants to stand out from the crowd and accentuate their individuality. 

The female fragrance of the limited edition is Come L'Amore and has been launched exclusively in Bloomingdales in The Dubai Mall. If you are to be a proud owner of this fragrance, be informed that you will share it with only another 1919 women in the whole world and 99 women in the region! Now, that's quite unique, isn't it?

The fragrance speaks of the untold emotions and is inspired by the land of gorgeous landscapes and rich artistic legacy: Tuscany. 

Come L’Amore’s notes include tangerine, South African freesia, solar accord, mirabelle plum and white tea in the head; Egyptian jasmine, imperial gardenia, Brazilian seringa, wild lily, rose and pink pepper in the heart; and a base of cedarwood, benzoin, white musk and styrax. 

Only 100 individually numbered boxes of this fragrance are available in the region and exclusively at Bloomingdales.