Archive for July, 2010

Sally Staff Favorites

Jul 28th, 10 / 0 Comments

We’ve interviewed some of our employees to get their take on the products they can’t live without. First up, Mandy, Assistant Brand Manager.

Mandy says, “I have a great job with awesome perks. The atmosphere is great and the people here are so easy to work with. I am such a girly girl when it comes to beauty products, so this is the perfect place for me to be.”

FingerPaints Nail PolishThere are so many different colors in this line that I have a hard time picking out my favorite shade. I usually do the pinks in the summer and deep, darker colors in the fall. The polish lasts for weeks after I’ve had my mani/pedi.

GVP Mini Flat Iron
This iron is awesome. It comes in all different designs, heats up very fast, and is ready to go as soon as I need it. I use it every single day before work.

Argan OilArgan Oil is perfect to use any day. I take it in my purse with me everywhere. I use this product while I’m straightening or curling my hair to help eliminate all my frizz. I love the way it makes my hair feel.

Femme Couture Eye Shadows
These eye shadows are fairly new to Sally. I tried them and I was instantly hooked. The loose mineral shadow is easy to apply and I love how shimmery they are.

FingerPaints, Make-up, Styling Products

Behind the scenes at Sally Beauty

Jul 26th, 10 / 2 Comments

Here at Sally Beauty, we are proud to offer more than 6,000 great products. But being the world’s largest beauty supplier is not a solo effort. We rely on our vendor partners for many of the quality items we stock in our stores and online — the products you use every day — and we’re fortunate to work with a lot of great companies.

Once a year we honor our vendor partners by singling out several for special recognition.We call it the Sally Beauty Partners In Progress Awards. This year they were presented during Cosmoprof North America in Las Vegas, which is one of the largest professional beauty shows in the country. It’s always a highlight of my year.

The honorees are selected for their ability to bring creative, innovative products to our stores that solve our customers’ every beauty need. They must also meet four specific service standards. Here are this year’s winners:

Zotos International

Namaste Laboratories

Cosmetic Design Group

Betty Dain Creations

First, an abundant breakfast of pancakes, bacon, fruit, and Mexican egg dishes! Then each vendor was recognized individually and presented with an engraved crystal award by the Sally Beauty merchandising director for the product category.  The principals of each company made comments to the group, and each recognized and praised their teams who were present at the event. Some of them became emotional when they recounted the importance of each player and their key contributions to the success of the company. It was a fun event and an inspiring one.

Even though you might not be familiar with our vendors’ company names, I know you will recognize their products. Take a look at some of them below.  Do you have a favorite that you can’t live without?

Beauty Industry

Gym Bag Essentials

Jul 21st, 10 / 2 Comments

I flipped open my calendar the other day to see how long I had until my end of summer pool party when my eyes popped out of my head and made that cartoon “BOING” noise. Six weeks? Seriously, I only have six weeks to get ready to wear a bathing suit in front of a bunch of people? Yikes! It is definitely time to get myself to the gym.

Since I hadn’t been in awhile (a.k.a. forever), I needed to restock my gym bag with all my beauty essentials and make sure I was prepared to get physical. Every girl knows that just because you’re sweatin’ it up, it doesn’t mean you have an excuse to look anything less than fabulous. 

Here’s what you’ll always find tucked in my bag right alongside my tennis shoes:

  • Beyond The Zone Rock On Dry Shampoo is the ultimate time saver, especially when trying to fit a workout into an already hectic schedule. It refreshes, revives, and rejuvenates hair in a matter of minutes—no water or blow dryer required. I love the clean, citrusy scent.
  • Looking a little shiny after a session on the treadmill? Palladio Rice Paper Powdered Blotting Tissues are unique, oil-absorbing two-sided, tissues that are made with natural rice, which is gentle for the skin and helps eliminate shine. The matte side is for blotting to absorb the excess oils and the powdered side is for finishing.
  • It’s important to clean your face before AND after working out to prevent clogged pores and breakouts, so Beyond Belief Deep Cleansing Towelettes are a must. Plus, they’re perfectly portable!
  • The uses for MetaGrip Premium Bob Pins are endless. Have bangs or short layers? Nothing is more distracting than having hair stuck to your face during a workout so use these to pin up any loose strands. After you finish your workout use them to create an easy updo. Just gather your hair into a low ponytail, twist into a simple bun, secure with bob pins, and voila, you have a style that works great for hair that’s not exactly at its cleanest.
  • The Plugged In Mini Flat Iron’s small but mighty size is great for on-the-go beauty and won’t take up much room. It’s perfect for smoothing bangs and straightening hair at the nape of the neck where it tends to get a little wavy during a workout.
  • Rubber bands can leave an indentation, so if you need to go from the gym to another event, be sure pull your hair up with a DCNL Hair Twister.  They effectively secure hair without leaving that tell-tale ponytail line.

Skincare, Styling Products

Driven to Madness

Jul 19th, 10 / 1 Comment

This photo is just for illustration purposes. Kasha wouldn’t really harm me if I got my hair cut elsewhere in an emergency. (I don’t think so, anyway.)

I have a Wahl Cordless Trimmer that is AWESOME. I use it to trim my eyebrows and to touch up the hair near my sideburns and ears. It’s great between haircuts. If your man doesn’t have one, get him one.

However, a trimmer is too little too late when a haircut is overdue. When the entire head needs attention, self-trimming around the ears is as futile as an amateur using a Sham Wow to clean up a giant deep ocean oil spill. It needs the full attention of a professional.

That’s where I am right now. I really, really, really, need a haircut.

Kasha cuts my hair, and I’m a Saturday customer. Poor Kasha, she was out of town for a family emergency the last two Saturdays.

Bless her heart, as we say in Texas. But I’m losing my mind.

My hair has a heaviness that I find uncomfortable. It looks and feels too long, and I’m pretty sure I can actually hear it growing.

I’m doing my best to concentrate, but I’m losing the battle. I’ll bet you’ve been here. Driven to the brink of insanity because you’re overdue for a haircut.

I confess – all day Saturday, I kept thinking, I can get my hair cut at this place or that place. No, no, no! I’ll wait for Kasha. She has a special talent for bringing order to this stuff that grows randomly on my head.

Now I’m counting the hours until Saturday and trying to turn off all self-awareness of my head. I’m going a little nuts.

So what’s the point of this blog post? Let’s see. The Wahl trimmer is nice, waiting too long for a haircut can be maddening, and PLEASE TELL ME YOU FEEL MY PAIN!

I promise my next blog post will be more useful and purpose-driven. I will have had a haircut and recovered by then.

Men

Beautiful Brows

Jul 14th, 10 / 0 Comments

Let’s talk eyebrows!  Women tend to forget the most important area of the eye – the BROWS! They make all the difference in how an eye can be defined and can make or break your look.  

Just recently I applied make-up to a wedding party of ten girls.  A couple of the girls had the perfect brow without any tweezing needed (lucky!) but I still needed to fill in the sparse areas a  bit to create a full, defined brow.  The perfect product for filling in the slightly bare areas was the Femme Couture Soft Powder Brow Pencil.  It allowed me to gently pencil in light stokes that mimicked real hair.  One girl had had a little too much fun tweezing her brow (Haven’t we all been there?), so I needed some help to create a false brow. For this the Femme Couture Brow Powder was ideal.  The kit came with two stencils that really made my job easy.  The powder was very soft and gave a nice, natural look. For the unruly brows in the group, Femme Couture Brow Wax was a miracle worker. The wax was so light weight you couldn’t even tell it was there, but oh how wonderful the brows looked all the way to midnight!! 

Thank goodness I had pretty decent brows to work with; however, having the right tools/products sure does make a difference when completing the look – especially for the most important day in one’s life!!

For more tips and tricks, be sure to check out our brow couture video!

Make-up, Uncategorized

My Search for the Perfect Eyeliner

Jul 12th, 10 / 1 Comment

I hunted for the perfect eye liner for eons.  Here is my problem:  I have very small, squinty eyes with an upper eye lid that obscures part of my lash line. So, I have to use a liner that will make a perfect thin and smooth line. Other requirements for this wonder product are that it must glide on with no splotching and then stay in place throughout the day with no bleeding. 

After buying literally hundreds of eyeliners through the years, I finally found THE one – Femme Couture’s Liquid Eyeliner.  I use the black, but it comes in brown as well. 

My application method is a little unorthodox, but it works for me. That makes it okay, right? I start by using a matte neutral eye shadow such as Sally Girl in Champagne over the entire eyelid.  Then you dip the tiny brush into the bottle and wipe it off slightly on the lip of the bottle to shape the brush into a flat wedge. I start at the inside corner of the eye and make a line right against the lashes, letting the lash guide the brush. Stop the brush at the center of the eye. If needed, reload the brush with liner and finish the other half of the eye by starting at the outside corner and lining to the middle of the eye to meet the line from the other side.

And then…Voila! Defined eyes that look wider and more dramatic!

What tricks or eyeliner products do you like to use?

Make-up

Lessons Learned

Jul 7th, 10 / 4 Comments

Let me introduce myself, then I’ll move along to something useful. I promise.

I’m a grown male who writes for Sally Beauty Supply. It makes sense that I find myself here.

I’ve been surrounded by women all my life. I was raised with three sisters, including my twin. My part-time job in high school was running the stockroom at a women’s clothing store. And today, I have two teenage daughters.

My daughters have benefited by the expertise I’ve acquired at Sally Beauty.

Such as…

We have many, many products that our customers tell us they can’t live without. A perfect example is our Miracle 7 line of hair care products. When I bring home Miracle 7 Leave In Conditioner, I’m a hero. If you haven’t tried it, please do. And let me know what you think.

Want to try something fun? Have you ever colored your hair a wild color? Sally has temporary hair color that washes right out.

My daughter Erin painted her hair blue for a football game, and I told her, “After it dries, spray it with hair spray. It will last longer.”

Wow – that useful tip rolled out of my brain without even thinking! Thanks to Sally Beauty, I’m both a father and a mother!

I believe every woman should paint her hair a bold color to spread the fun at a party or event at least once! Try that sometime and report back to me.

And as long as I’m sharing knowledge, one last thing: Eye cream. It is NOT to be used on the eyes. It’s meant to be used AROUND the eyes, to moisturize and cover wrinkles. Let’s all spread the word about that one!

Color, Men, Skincare, Styling Products

Hello everyone!

Jul 5th, 10 / 2 Comments

So, I was thinking about what my first post would be about. What can I share with the people who will read this? People who know me well know that I don’t ever have a problem coming up with something to talk about, especially my personal story and my experiences. I have a story for everything or an opinion, take your pick.

So, I’ve decided I’m going to share my love of nail polish. I love, and I mean I LOVE nail polish. I love color in general whether it is on the walls of my house, fabric or nail polish. I’m like a kid in a candy store when I see polish in stores. My eyes light up and I get really excited! My favorite color is red. I’m not scared of using a green, blue, orange or even black, but I am drawn to reds and bright pinks. Have you ever taken a quiz about colors and how it connects to your personality? My personality is red. Does your personality match your favorite color? What’s your favorite nail polish color to wear?

Find out what your nail polish color says about you!

Polish

Happy 4th of July!

Jul 3rd, 10 / 0 Comments

*To receive free UPS standard ground shipping on your entire order at SallyBeauty.com, add at least $10 worth of items to your cart and enter promo code 555114 in the space provided in your shopping cart. Offer expires at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 7/08/10. To receive a free full-size sample of Ion Effective Care Shampoo, add items to your cart and enter promo code 555256 in the space provided. The free shampoo will be added to your cart as a bonus item. Offer limited to the first 650 online customers. Offer valid online only. Not valid in stores. Offer expires when all 650 free shampoos have been redeemed or at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on 7/31/10.

Deals

We’re here!

Jul 1st, 10 / 2 Comments

Welcome to Eye For Beauty by Sally Beauty! We are unbelievably excited to share our view on everything beauty related with the blogosphere.

At Eye For Beauty you’ll find anything from tips, product news, reviews and the scoop on celebrity looks – all brought to you by a dedicated team of contributors who are just as obsessed with beauty as the rest of you!

Now that you know what you can expect in the future from us, I should probably tell you a little bit about myself.  I’m Lindsey, editor of Eye For Beauty. I’ll be keeping my eye on the beauty beat so I may bring you all the latest and hottest news.  I am truly a girly girl and love experimenting with different colors and styles.  Some of my earliest memories include digging through my older sister’s caboodle for some electric blue eye shadow and borrowing her hairspray to imitate her mile-high bangs. You could say I started young!  Although I still like to rock the blue eye shadow on occasion and hairspray may very well be my soul mate, luckily my look has refined a bit over the years. 

Long story short, this gig is perfect for a little product addict like me and I can’t wait to share my love of all things beauty!

General