According to Kim Donovan, Marketing Director of Aloxxi, “Women know the color their manicurist puts on their nails, the product their esthetician uses on their skin, but if you ask a woman the color their hairdresser puts on their hair, most don’t have a clue.” So true, right? Even me, a self-professed beauty junkie who has her hair professionally colored every couple of months, leaves the hair color selection and formula to the pros. Well, Aloxxi is fixin’ to change all that with their brilliant category busting approach to professional hair color by creating a hair color experience that engages the consumer and even makes it fun for them. I just love this concept!

Actually and not surprisingly, George W. Schaffer, the Founder of OPI, who turned the nail care industry on it’s head with amazing nail color formulations with catchy and memorable names, has recently acquired Aloxxi and wants to create a new blueprint for professional hair care with this line. It starts with having an amazing, high quality product that offers intense, pigment rich color and ground breaking technology that emphasizes the overall health of color treated hair. And second (and here’s the game changing innovation), Aloxxi has designed an approach that allows the professional to  engage their client in the hair color process by collaboratively creating a statement making color that showcases their personality. Basically, Aloxxi is shining a light on the mystique of professional hair coloring and making accessible to the consumer. Kinda cool, right?

So here’s what to expect from an Aloxxi Hair Color Consultation & what mine was like:

• First, you and your stylist spend some time perusing the Aloxxi Hair Color Consultation book to explore a variety of color personality possibilities. Skin tone, eye color, lifestyle, commitment to maintenance, as well as your starting color are all taken into consideration in order to determine the best color for you. This book is fabulous, sorted by shades, and within each shade there are hair color swatches with amazingly catchy OPI-esque names like Don’t Prosciutto The Messenger & Expresso Yourself. These names make it easy to see what color resonates with you. So once you pick your color, next time you can request it by name, and with fun names like these you are not gonna forget it.
• I had the pleasure of working with celeb stylist Marco Pelusi (whom I hit it off with right of the bat) and based on my washed out brown/blond balyage color and highlights, Marco and I collaboratively decided that I needed to go darker and richer to freshen me up and highlight my features. I just loved the rich deep warm brown color and catchy name of Steamy Porcini, so we decided on that. I really enjoyed being part of the color selection process, it was certainly more fun and it empowered me to know more about the color that was going on my hair.
• After this fun consultation, Marco applied the Aloxxi ColourPrime Pre-Color Treatment to get rid of buildup and prepare the hair for a more even color application and then he put the color on my hair. I sat and caught up on celeb gossip for 20-30 minutes (not under the dryer) and then as the final step he applied Aloxxi’s ColourLock Post-Color Finisher which cleans, conditions and treats the hair with antioxidants and closes the cuticle all in one step. All these products work synergistically to give you gorgeous shiny silky hair with color that lasts.
• As an added bonus, I was treated to a chic haircut from Christy Pacifico at Marco’s West Hollywood Salon.

And here are several shots of my finished look:

I love the rich dark color, shine and how healthy my hair looks and feels. And the modern cut just ties it all together, what do you think? Am I rockin’ my Steamy Porcini or what? (FYI-The top two pics more accurately reflect the rich dark color and the last picture showcases the chic cut.)

So, I have also been using Aloxxi’s ColourCare products at home for several weeks to preserve this color and protect the health of my hair. I am very impressed with the how long the color has lasted and how well these products support the Aloxxi system. I am especially loving the Leave-In Conditioner which revitalizes my hair and the Dry Shampoo which sprays on clear, gives my hair volume and smells like grapefruit, yum!

Disclosure: Aloxxi and Marco invited me to experience their new color system for editorial consideration. All opinions and sassy Steamy Porcini hair are my very own.

Hello Beauty Mavens and fans, so sorry I haven’t posted in a while, but I have been super busy with a whirlwind of activities and exciting events the last few weeks that I plan on sharing with you here on my blog. First up, one of my favorite new unique discoveries from the International Beauty Show New York: PaperSelf Paper Fashion Eyelashes! Super fun, hip and statement making paper eyelashes that I fell in love with! Watch me trend hunting at the IBSNY show and then discover and try out this exciting new product, and let me know what you think

Disclosure: The Paramount Hotel in New York City graciously offered me a three night stay at their awesome centrally located  hotel during my visit and they also provided me with a delightful videographer to accompany me  on my beauty trend scouting mission. This videographer also complied this slick video that you just watched (and personally I think he did a great job!) The opinions, trends, and insights are all my own

For those of you that know me, it probably will come as no surprise to you that I love being on camera and I will always jump at the chance to put myself in the spotlight. With the recent boom of vlogging, my opportunities are increasing (although my techie skills leave something to be desired) and I am very much enjoying sharing my thoughts, expertise and insights on camera. Now, I just need to learn how to edit and put those snazzy videos together!

Well, that’s where Your Little Film comes in! I was delighted to meet the Hales (an adorable husband and wife duo) and discover this wonderful company at the Live The Dream Expo in Pasadena, CA in January. Your Little Film takes your photos and videos (you know, all those hours of unused video clips or all those great photos in your smart phone) and edits them into a slicky produced and polished “little films” that can easily and instantly be watched and shared with all of your friends, family and even your twitter followers

I, of course, jumped at the chance to do a Little Film of my own at the Expo (thanks to the Hales!) and here is the finished product. I just love the look and style of the film and it is a perfect little video bio for my blog because it really showcases my personality, niche, and comfort on camera. I hope it encourages you to make a Little Film of your very own, Let me know what you think!

Of all the beauty treatment and enhancements out there, I would say that eyelash extensions are hands down my absolute favorite beauty indulgence. Why you ask? Because men make passes at girls who wear lashes. . .no no I meant to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE lash extensions because they instantly make me look sexy, flirty, awake and refreshed without one stitch of make-up. Some mornings I barely have time to brush my teeth and then I am out the door, but with my lashes on I feel ready for the day with no effort. What’s not to love about that??

Well, every summer for the past few years I have always gotten extensions from various stylists and while they all have been great, Arlena Parker takes the cake! She is a gifted pro who is the only Advanced Certified Xtreme Lashes Stylist in Los Angeles. Xtreme Lashes is one of the leaders in the lash extension industry, their products are top notch and Arlena exclusively uses these products. Well a couple of weeks ago, I had the delightful pleasure of putting my eyes in Arlena’s hands so that she could customize a gorgeous full long lash look on my eyelashes, she took before and after shots to show the dramatic difference (see left) and OMG all I can say is WOW!

It took her about two hours to create these amazing extensions that she meticulously glued to each and every one of my lashes and the effect is truly amazing! Xtreme lashes are synthetic so that they last longer, are wider at the base and taper at the end to mimic the natural curl so the they really look like an amazing enhancement of your natural lashes. Arlena is a pleasure to be around and her work is so amazing (she is the go-to-girl for botched extensions BTW) that you could not detect where my lash line meets the extension. My lashes are going on three weeks and I conitually get stopped for compliments on my amazing lashes (and now after three weeks time, it is about time for a fill-in.) You do have to be a little more gentle with these lashes than you are with own, you can’t use any oil based products but the results are stunning.

And I am also loving a couple of the amazing Xtreme Lashes products that are beautifully made and extend the life of your lashes. Xtreme Eye Makeup Remover and Facial Cleanser is a delightfully soothing aloe vera juice-based formula that gently cleanses the skin and easily removes make-up from your eyes and lash extensions. And I am obsessed and addicted to GlideLiner Long Lasting Eye Pencil becasue it is made out of an innovative long lasting gel technology that glides on easily without tugging, is easy to blend and then it sets quickly and stays put all day. OMG this beautifully pigmented liner achieves the perfect lined look and it really doesn’t move. My true test of whether a liner stays put or not is that with most liners, the line ends up on my lids, but GlideLiner never does and it even looks good at the end of the day–I LOVE IT!! This liner makes it into my hall of fame favorites!

So I can’t RAVE enough about Arlena’s work and these amazingly addicitve Xtreme Lashes. However, good extensions don’t come cheap (usually $300+ for a full set) and they are slightly high maintence, but the results are SO worth it! So take note LA/CA beauty mavens, give Arlena a call and ask for the Romy Raves Speical–She is offering a full set of extensions to my readers for $275, normally she charges $350 and believe me she is well worth it!

Arlena Parker, The Beauty Boutique in Studio City, California (818) 506-6400

In these tough economic times, do not miss out on your chance to dine out at some of LA’s best restaurants for a major bargain.  This recessionista is not going to miss out and neither should you!

 Everyday this week, you can enjoy three-course lunches and dinners ranging from $16 at the less spendy restaurants to $44 at the most spendy joints (not bad for 3 courses). Go to Dine LA Restaurant Week to find a list of participating restaurants and to see the special menus that they have created for this special event.

Bon Appetite! 

Last week I RAVED about an amazing deal from Restaurant.com (which already expired), and I am so excited about this new discovery of mine in these economically challenged times, that I wanted to share another deal with you that is almost as good: This week for a limited time only they are offering 70% off their regular $25 gift certificates for $10 rate, making it only $3 for a $25 gift certificate–AMAZING! 

Have you ever visited the Restaurant.com website? It is a great place to buy significantly discounted restaurant gift certificates in your local area that you can print out instantly on your computer. They regularly offer $25 gift certificates for $10 at over 13,o00 restaurants nationwide which is a really good deal (and they are TOTALLY legit BTW).

All that you need to do is click on the picture offer link below, search for restaurants in your area, then enter the discount code FEAST and hit apply before you purchase, and it will adjust the price to 70% off. I know it sounds too good to be true, but this is the real deal. I bought five certificates last week for some of my fav restaurants in my area and I can’t wait to use them.  Make sure to to take advantage of this insane offer immediately because these certificates tend to sell out quickly! This offer is valid until 1/26/10 at 11:59PM PST.

Season’s Greetings Beauty Mavens! If you are anything like me, this time of year is a whirlwind of wonderfulness and busyness all bundled together. And then there’s taking the time to think of inspired and creative holiday gifts, so I thought I would help you out. Over the next few weeks of the holiday season, I am going to post some new fun, inpsired rave-worthy holiday gift ideas that I have recently discovered and think that they would make delightful gifts for your friends and family. Keep coming back to see what inspired discovery I am sharing next, I have some wonderful treats in store for you. And I am even going to sprinkle in some wonderful giveaways and recipes too (so keep checking in), because it’s the season of giving after all.

I couldn’t resist starting off my very first gift recommendation with one of my absolute favorite new products of the season called the Nuddle, an uber soft, snuggly, luxurious, functional lounging blanket. I adore this new blanket, it is ridiculously cozy and very inspired. The brilliant creator of this blanket was frustrated by her other throw blankets that were never long enough to keep her feet warm when she lounged and read magazines on her couch. So she decided to create a super snuggly soft comfortable blanket with a pocket to keep her feet warm and openings so her hands could come out and hold her magazine. And thus The Nuddle was born (which means Nap+Cuddle = Nuddle BTW, too cute!). It is the perfect blanket that you can use to nap or cuddle on the couch, watch t.v. and read a magazine at the same time, all while keeping your body and feet warm and cozy–Love it!

This is a holiday must have! It is a high quality, beautifully made blanket and I am totally addicted to its snuggly softness, love the chocolate and latte colors, and I get so excited to curl up on my couch each night and wind down with it. And my six year old loves it too and is always stealing it from me (they also have Nuddle Kids too–sized perfectly for the little ones).  This yummy blanket retails for $68 (and is SO worth it IMO) but Romy Raves readers receive a 20% discount with this code FB09. You can purchase your Nuddle HERE. Enjoy and happy cuddling, I mean Nuddling!

As any beauty junkie would agree, having the right mascara is critical to our well being. No seriously, I could not survive without the right mascara (or lash extensions,which is cost prohibitive for this recessionista at the moment). For me, mascara (and my Benefit Erase Paste Concealer and Shu Uemura Lash Curler) is crucial to my beauty maven persona. Without it, I look tired, asleep and dull, but with the right mascara I look awake, alive, pretty and occasionally flirty.

Allow me to introduce you to my newest fav rave worthy mascara Anastasia Lash Lifting Mascara–WOW!! This mascara packs a lot of punch and va-va-voom. What I absolutely LOVE about this mascara is the instant bold noticeable results. After I apply only one coat, my lashes look fuller and lifted and my eyes look awake and flirty. It gives me instant movie star lashes in moments, and I think Anastasia hit it out of the park with this new creation. I have tried many mascaras over the years and nothing has impressed me in quite a while, until now.

This inpsired mascara was created by Anastasia Soare, brow guru to Hollywood’s finest. She worked with product developers for years until she created the perfect formula. This mascara is made of a rich creamy formula that conditions lashes and gives them body, volume, and lift without clumping. And for me the BEST feature of this product is that it takes just ONE coat of mascara to get volume, thickness and uplifting curl! Exactly what I want and expect from my mascara. This double effect saves time and money, which makes this busy recessionista very happy.

Thank you Anastasia for giving me Kim Kardashian lashes! You can get some of this wonderful vavoom mascara of your own HERE. And if you have a ‘rave’ worthy mascara that you love, please post and tell us about your Bette Davis Eyes

Rumor has it that 40 is the new 30 (lucky me!), so beauty companies are smartening up and creating anti-aging products that address the concerns of our maturing skin. Let me introduce you to Striking Skin Care.

Striking is a wonderful new line of skin care products that I recently discovered which are specifically marketed to women over 40 (woo hoo!). Supposedly, us forty-something babes (and our flux of hormones) tend to have more age related skin concerns than our younger counterparts. We tend to be more concerned about fine lines and wrinkles, so Striking has seized the opportunity and designed a line to address these more focused aging concerns.

The line consists of four anti-aging skincare products: Multi-Vitamin Cleanser, Multi-Peptide Serum, Restorative Moisture Cream and a Rejuvenating Eye Cream which all contain a proprietary blend of SmartPeptides which stimulates collagen, reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and increases the firmness of the skin. This advanced technology helps your skin feel firmer and more supple, and look younger, vibrant and refreshed—this is certainly something I am looking for in my skin care, how about you?

What I am really liking about this new line is the simplicity of it all. Simple and clean packaging, a simple four step regimen, and straightforward effective products. I like the clean fresh smell of all the products and I especially like how gentle it is on my skin–I think even those of you with sensitive skin would be pleased with the gentle efficacy of this line. I especially like the Multi-Peptide Serum which absorbs instantly and noticeably hydrates and slightly firms my skin. I have noticed a subtle shift in my skin since using this line–softer, brighter, and perhaps a bit younger looking. And while this line is geared towards us older broads, I really think is gentle enough to benefit any skin type young or ‘mature’.

If you would like to find out more about this inspired line or purchase products please visit www.strikingskincare.com And I would love to know what your age related skin concerns are and what products you love using that help soften the blow. Make sure to check back next week for your chance to win a Striking Skincare Set of your very own–I will be giving away 2 sets valued at $170 each!!