Susie Castillo

At the premiere of Vice in Hollywood, Andrea Harrison and Nadia Bjorlin were not the only two ladies dressed very stylish. Susie Castillo had this beautiful, strapless dress that showed her long legs, and of course, she matched the outfit with a real cool pair of shoes. Enjoy the photos in this slideshow.

Nadia Bjorlin

It turns out that Andrea Harrison was not the only one wearing great shoes at the premiere of Vice in Hollywood. Nadia Bjorlin wore equally outrageous shoes.

Andrea Harrison

Andrea Harrison is a beautiful actress and in this red dress at the premiere of 'Vice' at Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California, she looked breathtakingly beautiful, but what also caught my attention are her cute shoes.

Paris next week

I have been busy preparing for my trip to Paris next week. I am very excited and I think I have read a lot about Paris and I have a clear idea of the places I would like to visit. This is my first time spending "time" in Paris, I have been there in and out, but never experienced the city of lights.

If anyone of you have any recommendations I will appreciate your input. Just leave a comment on this page.

I am planning to have tea at Ladure; it is an expensive place and I hope it is worthy. I will also attend the fashion show at Galeries Lafayette. I am planning to go to Versailles, and of course the Iron lady, Notre Dame, the Louve, D'Orsay and the rest of the tourist attractions.

I prefer to eat vegetarian food and I know this is difficult in Paris. I am not planning to eat beef, but I may eat at least once some fish. The rest of the time I will survive on cheese, bread and salads (and of course, croissants, pastries, chocolate and macaroons). This is one of thereasons I may not do one of the grand French restaurants.

I would like to really experience Paris itself far from the tourist places. I want to go to cafes and read or do people watching. I want to get up early one morning, go to a café or just stand in a bus or train station and see how Parisians dress to go to work.

Of course I want to do some shopping. I am not planning a big shopping, because the dollar is too low right now. I am also planning to go to the exclusive boutiques such as Hermes, Chanel and Dior. I have been wanting to buy Chanel No. 5 perfume, and though, I can buy it anywhere here in the States, I may buy it in the main Chanel boutique. I have been told that perfumes are at the back of the store there.

When I come back I will share with you all my experiences, but we plan to blog from Paris every day.

How to maintain a positive body image?

While everyone talks about the pressures the Hollywood celebrities have to look good every single day, things aren't much different for the rest of us. On a much smaller scale, we are also being judged all the time by family members, friends, colleagues, and perfect strangers.

So how do you manage to keep a positive body image and fight back like Tyra Banks or Jennifer Love Hewitt? Obviously, the best thing to do is to exercise regularly and eat right, but other than that, keep your head high and not get carried away by what others think.

Heidiwood by Heidi Montag

I am always skeptical of Hollywood celebrities, often with zero experience in fashion (other than what they gather during their days in Hollywood where looking good is the #1 goal), come up with their own labels. I have previously discussed Bitten by Sarah Jessica Parker and DEAR by Amanda Bynes. Heidi Montag from The Hills is also capitalizing on her success and now has a clothing line that also includes accessories and handbags. The clothes are somewhat affordable (they are more expensive than Bitten and Dear) and modern. Here is a video of the runway.

How to get the perfect butt?

To get a perfect butt is any woman's dream. Obviously there is butt augmentation surgery, but it comes with a big price and risks. Alternatively, butt fitness can also be achieved through a combination of aerobics, lunges, and squats. Valerie Waters, a personal trainer to Hollywood celebrities, shows in this video how to do a proper butt workout.

Bomb Cosmetics

In the Int. Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference my favorite company was Bomb Cosmetics. This is a company similar to Lush, but they sell their products in shops and spas, rather than in a retail store. It is a UK company just entering the market in the US.

The products are beautiful, playful and smell wonderful. Their line of products is huge and I like all of them. Their bath bombs are delightful to see and smell. These products are ideal for gifts or just to indulge oneself. Check out the pictures.

The International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference

Next to the IBS there is a spa trade show (see previous post). This is relatively a new show,but it has been growing every year. Just like in the IBS we saw more natural products meaning products without potentially harmful ingredients such as parabens preservatives, sulfates and others.

We also saw more equipment for anti aging treatments, cellulite and others. The equipment available to spas seems to be becoming more and more sophisticated.

IBS in New York

Last Sunday I spent my time attending the International Beauty Show in NYC (IBS). This is a trade show that takes place every year in the City. It used to be The Show in the hairdressing sector, but last year it was a total disappointment. Fortunately that was not the case this year; the show was good, and it had a lot of interesting exhibitors. These are some of my notes on
trends in the beauty salons industry:

Nails with art
Nail art is very popular around the world, but in the United States it has not been well received. Perhaps we are very practical people and to deal with fussy nails is not our style. Things seem to be changing, though; a lot of companies are creating more paints and innovative designs -- we saw a lot of them in the show.

More hair extensions

More "natural products"
This means products without parabens, sulfates and other potentially harmful ingredients.

More knives to cut hair
Nick Arrojo, the hairdresser on the TV program "What not to wear" gave a presentation on his signature razor cuts. We saw other presentations from vendors doing haircuts with razors. The haircuts with razors are more popular in England than in the US. These haircuts are more precise and give more volume to the hair. I personally do not like these haircuts on me, because they require more frequent maintenance.

Keratin hair treatments
These originally Brazilian treatments to restore the hair or to straighten it seem to be becoming more common. There were many products using keratin as a main ingredients. Keratin is a hair protein.

Many salons are already offering these services and the results are great. However many salons are also presenting the Brazilian hair straightening as a keratin service when in reality the main ingredient is a high amount of formaldehyde that can be hazardous to health.