Beauty Tech : Beauty and Fashion Tech

New Hair Technology: Remington Style and Shine Hair Dryer

Remington has long been a respected name in beauty and personal care appliances. They also have generally been a good source of decent quality, yet affordable, hair dryers and flat irons. That is an area that has seen quite a bit of new technology over recent years, with ionic and ceramic technology becoming the standard. Now the company is bringing out some additional new tricks.

Around the end of February, Remington is releasing the Style and Shine Hair Dryer and Style and Shine Flat Iron Straightener. Both of these products include the ability to infuse the hair with a very fine mist of shine enhancing moisturizers such as avocado oil with vitamins A, E, and D to help tame the frizzies and condition the hair.The idea is wonderful. When the hair is heated, the cuticle expands and will absorb products better. Heat also isn’t the best thing for your hair. So combining treatment with heat styling allows for the best use of the conditioning product, while also helping to protect.

Here is how it works: The dryer comes with a cartridge containing the conditioning and shine enhancing treatment. The cartridge snaps into appliance and a button is used to control when it is applied, and how much. The dryer can also be used without the cartridge in place. It comes with two approximately 30 use cartridges which will also be available for sale in two cartridge packs.

The straightener is a bit different. It has ceramic plates with porous properties that have been infused with a blend of conditioners and avocado oil that evenly emit during styling.

I gave the hair dryer a try and have so far been pretty happy with it. First off, all new tricks aside, the Remington Style and Shine Dryer is a good basic hair dryer. It uses ionic and ceramic technology, and has three separate speed and heat settings. Without using the oil mist, it did a perfectly fine job of quickly drying my hair without causing any serious frizzies.

When the oil most is added, then things get interesting! Before you get worried about an oil slick, rest assured that the mist is very, very fine. In fact, it is nearly impossible to detect unless you spray some on a tissue to verify that it is working. So as long as it is not overused, it won’t leave the hair greasy. With that said, it is possible to overuse it and it takes a bit of experimenting to find the right amount–something the product literature makes note of. I found that if I sprayed it on each strand while round brushing, that my hair got too weighed down. I also decided to keep it away from my roots which can get a bit oily on their own. But when I mist the oil on my ends when my hair is almost dry and run a brush through a few times while misting at that stage, I end up with wonderfully shiny and soft hair. It seems to tame my winter frizzies very well when used that way.

Overall, the Style and Shine Dryer is a product that I recommend. Even as just a basic dryer, it is a good value and if you have dry hair that could use some taming and shine, the oil mist feature is a neat addition.

Remington’s Style and Shine products will be available in February 2008 in select stores and at mass retailers by April. Each appliance retails at $49.99, cartridge refills are $9.99.

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Popularity: 5% [?]

Timelapse Wand Wrinkle Treatment

The Timelapse Wand is a pretty neat little product that I was sent to try. Advertised as part line filler, part relaxer, part treatment product, it is rather utilitarian.

I have been playing with one for a couple of weeks now and find that it is best as a filler. The wand contains ingredients that do a pretty good job of filling in lines, and with the wand applicator it is very easy to target the right spots. I have loved it on the days when I don’t want to wear a silicon primer on my entire face, yet still want a bit of line filler under my makeup.

The wand also has some wrinkle relaxing and firming ingredients, so it tingles slightly, and has ingredients to promote skin health. I can’t really tell if it does much there, but the firming sensation is kind of nice.

Overall, it is a fun little product. Price is $25 through the link above.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Eight Beauty New Year’s Resolutions

The new year often brings the standard lose weight, save money, quit smoking, and other similar resolutions that are good for the health or pocketbook.

How about some resolutions that will keep you looking beautiful as well? Here are a few ideas:

(1) Wear sunscreen daily. Sunscreen is not just important to avoid skin cancer, it keeps you from wrinkling! If you start just one beauty habit this year, make it this one! Need to find some sunscreen? Take a look at the ones I have previously reviewed!

(2) Clean your makeup brushes. Dirty brushes are not just nasty looking, they harbor bacteria as well. Give them a good regular cleaning. Don’t have a brush cleaner? In a pinch, or to save money, use plain old baby shampoo!

(3) Keep brows neat. Want to give yourself a new year’s gift? Go get your brow professionally shaped. Also try out regular grooming. For a nice brow kit, look at Estee Lauder’s brow kit.

(4) Do regular manicures. Having nicely done nails can make you look and feel polished as a whole. If you lack time for full blown manicures, check out Sally Hansen’s Natural Shine, Instant Nail Finish. For a whole lot of nail polish ideas, check out the blog All Lacquered Up.

(5) Start softening your feet now for the summer. Getting rid of calluses can take awhile. Start now, and your feet will be gorgeous when spring sandal season arrives. Check out my previous post on getting your feel ready for summer.

(6) Experiment with new colors. I recently did this and was pleasantly surprised to find that I like some of the bolder colors. If you always wear neutrals, try out some brighter eyeshadow colors or deeper color lips. If you usually wear a lot of color, try out the natural look for a change of pace.

(7) Develop a skin care routine. If you do nothing other than a soap and water rinse, consider developing a skin care routine. Explore some of the great skin care products out there, then start a morning and evening routine that works for your skin type and stick with it. Your skin will love you for it. Need ideas? Check out the skin care posts here on Beauty and Fashion Tech. Also check out Savvy Skin, which is a great site devoted to all things in skin care.

(8) Be kind to your hair. Quit all that daily drying and straightening or curling. The heat is horrible for your hair! Let your hair dry naturally whenever possible, use good products, do some deep conditioning, and use heat protecting sprays. My favorite spray is Schwarzkopf Bonacure Moisture Kick. It is hard to go wrong with that one!

Popularity: 4% [?]

The Dove Campaign for Real Beauty: The Dove Self-Esteem Fund and The Reality Diaries

Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty is a fresh concept coming from a beauty product company. Now, as part of that campaign, Dove has spearheaded the The Dove Self-Esteem Fund to foster and raise the self-esteem of girls and young women. The fund supports specific charitable organizations in a variety of countries, and in conjunction, Dove has produced some very intriguing programs to compliment it.

For example, to promote self-esteem building, Dove is also sponsoring The Reality Diaries, a 6 week program revolving around the lives of four girls who through the use of blogs and videos, share their personal self-esteem stories online. Each girl presents a different self-esteem issue and the Diaries reflect the media influences on self-esteem.

Presenting some interesting and educational insight, The Reality Diaries is a great resource for girls, young women, their parents, and older women alike.

Popularity: 3% [?]

An Oasis for the Editor: The Pierce Mattie Public Relations Media Oasis

From one of my favorite PR Firms comes one heck a great idea! The Pierce Mattie Public Relations’ Media Oasis is an oasis for the beauty editor or media representative.

Housed in a beautiful area designed by the Architectural Firm Thorton and Associates, and meant to interact with all of the senses, the 4000 square foot oasis consists of items such as an elevated hair and makeup studio, bar and lounge, and motion-activated aroma therapy units. The lobby converts to an exercise and yoga studio, with an adjacent fashion studio and media learning hub.

Because the majority of brands represented by Pierce Mattie do not have corporate facilities in Manhattan, the oasis provides the firm with the opportunity to showcase products in-house. Guests are able to receive a wide variety of spa and hair treatments depending on what is being pitched at the time for a unique hands-on experience.

The Oasis appears to be an innovative tool for all involved. For the client, the firm can better pitch the products, while at the same time offering the media better and more personalized access. What a great idea!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen

I recently came across the following video accredited to Baz Luhrmann, who happens to be a favorite writer and director of mine. It is rather remarkable.

Even more interesting is the history behind it. Derived from what is commonly referred to as the “wear sunscreen speech” by Mary Schmich, the video puts the speech to music. From the wiki entry:

Mary Schmich “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young” was published in the Chicago Tribune as a column on June 1, 1997. In her introduction to the column, she described it as the commencement address she would give if she were asked to give one.

The column soon became the subject of an urban legend, in which it was alleged to be an MIT commencement speech given by author Kurt Vonnegut in that same year (in truth, MIT’s commencement speaker that year was Kofi Annan). Despite a follow-up article by Mary Schmich on August 3, 1997, in which she referred to the “lawless swamp of cyberspace’ that had made her and Kurt Vonnegut to be “one”, by the year of 1999 the falsely attributed story was widespread.

When the column was later turned into a song, Schmich’s “wish” came true when Zagreb’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing started to play the song Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) at every graduation ceremony.

The poem-like piece has drawn frequent comparison to the Max Ehrmann poem Desiderata, which was also the subject of an urban legend misattribution.

“Wear Sunscreen” was set to music, renamed “Baz Luhrmann Presents: Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen): The Sunscreen Song (Class of ‘99)” or in short “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” and released on an album by Australian film director Baz Luhrmann.

The video is quite inspirational. Initially, I viewed it looking for things to write on sunscreen. I was left with something to present containing words of wisdom for life’s endeavors.

You can view the video below, it is a bit long, but well worth your time.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Can You Reuse the Zeno Tip? No!

I have been asked on a couple of occasions whether the Zeno Tip Cartridge can be reused. At first I did not definitely know the answer because the tip on mine had not yet expired. Now that it has, I can safely say that the answer is no.

When the device gets down to only a few uses left on the tip, the tip itself seems to quit heating up as effectively. I found that I was basically cheated out of my last 2 uses. Then it just quits and will not heat up at all. I took it off and put it back on to see it it would reset, and it did not. Basically, it appears to have a little chip in it that kills it after the set number of uses has run out.

I should also mention that even if I had found a way to re-use it, I would not recommend doing to. It really is best to follow the manufacturer’s directions on such things. Regardless, I couldn’t find a way to to cheat it.

Interested in acne treatment devices? Read my review of the Zeno and review of the ThermaClear.

Comparison shop for Zeno products

Popularity: 4% [?]