Love this post? Please feel free to share it with someone you think would enjoy it!

A couple of weeks ago I attended the wonderfully frenzied International Salon and Spa Expo (ISSE) Long Beach, the West Coast’s largest cash and carry beauty event. Almost every major salon beauty brand was represented along with industry professionals, all attending to checkout the hottest new products, services and trends that that are currently making their mark on the industry. It is a HUGE, lively, frenetic event and I love every moment of it! And now that I am more seasoned and experienced at attending these shows, it is much easier to navigate through the booths and crowds in my hunt for new and inspired products and trends. Below is a synopsis of the trends and products that caught my eye at this year:

Birds of a Feather Flock Together Given the boom of hair extensions over the last couple of years, I was thrilled to see an exciting new twist on this craze: Feather Hair Extensions! Basically, a variety of long or short, colorful or more natural looking feathers are clamped into the hair (individually or as a cluster) as a hair accent and I flippin’ LOVE IT! So cool and chic! You can wash, style, flat iron and blow dry them too (HairFlairs was one of the brands showcasing feather extensions at ISSE). These fab extensions reminded me of my beloved Yolanda Jo Feather Earrings (which people always compliment me on), and I see this as a fun and fashionable twist on statement jewelry. I have an appointment to get some feather extensions in this Friday and I can’t wait!

Healthier Hair Straightening and Smoothing The Brazilian Hair Straightening craze is still alive and well, but with all the recent controversy about the health risks related to formaldehyde in the Brazilian Blowout, savvy beauty consumers have been seeking healthier smoothing alternatives. At the beauty shows last year, I noticed that many hair brands were promoting formaldehyde-free straightening products and this year shifted to new and improved versions of this trend like Zerran International’s RealLisse, the first 100% vegan semi-permanent hair smoothing system without keratin, animal products or formaldehyde.

I was excited to discover another exciting grassroots smoothing and conditioning product called Luminary Hair Enrichment. This homespun product is based on an old family recipe and contains fruit extracts, elevating oils, and organic clover honey and is supposed to make your hair fuller, healthier and softer. Checkout how gorgeous Lillian’s hair is (pictured below-she is the creator of this delightful product). I am just beginning to try it on my winter parched hair and after only one application I can already notice a difference! Stay tuned 🙂

Long Wearing Nail Polish This is another one of my favorite products because with my crazy busy life, I just don’t have the time for weekly mani’s anymore and extended wear polish is my saviour. In my opinion, CND is the pioneer in this category and Shellac is the best version of these extended wearing polishes. After five years of intense research, Shellac is incredibly high quality, holds up beautifully, doesn’t damage the nail and literally rocks my world. I noticed alot of competitors at ISSE this year touting similar products with a vast array of color options, but Shellac just seems better. And I had the pleasure of visiting the VIP Suite at the show, to get a sneak peak at the 12 newest shades of Shellac 2.0 coming out in March 2011. I fell in love with Black Pool (shown below on my nails with pewter glitter) and Rock Royalty (a fab shimmery purple blue color). And as an added treat, I had the pleasure of chatting with CND founder Jan Arnold (what a smart, savvy uber chic woman!) and talking to her about nail trends for New York Fashion Week. So fun and fab!

Love this post? Please feel free to share it with someone you think would enjoy it!

STAY CONNECTED!

Subscribe to Romy Raves

Click the link below to subscribe and be in the know for every Rave-Worthy find!

BY SUBMITTING YOUR INFORMATION, YOU’RE GIVING US PERMISSION TO EMAIL YOU. YOU MAY UNSUBSCRIBE AT ANY TIME.

10 Comments

  1. Okay, I normally don’t like black nail polish, but with that pewter glitter, I LOVE it! How fun to see some of the new trends.

    Congratulations on your day as FB on SITS!

  2. I agree with Rene…it’s nice to see that manufacturers are trying to be more careful with the chemicals they put in our beauty products.

  3. I love love love this long wear nail polish/gel! I’m a nurse, and I can finally have manicured nails that last. They still look amazing 2 weeks old!

  4. 🙂 Oh the feather extensions are definitely cute! I’ve been wanting to try the Brazilian blowout for a while, but I will look into the RealLisse. Fabulous! As usual!

  5. Pingback: Tweets that mention Trend Report from the International Salon and Spa Expo Long Beach | Romy Raves -- Topsy.com
  6. I want to try the feather hair extensions so bad for summer! I think that they are super cute in a Boho Chic way! Also I’m a huge fan of Shellac already! I basically can’t live without the stuff!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *