Grammy Award winning train-wreck Amy Winehouse is reportedly launching her own fashion line of cosmetics, perfume, and head scarves according to The Sun.

This is perfect for all of the women out there who want to get that raccoon eyed, crackhead, just jumped out the dumpster smell while bundling up their dead gnat-ridden hair in a scarf that can also be used to raise a vein in their arm for those oh-so-sultry moments of “chasing the dragon.”

Image: The Superficial

Article: Satchel of Gravel

With endless days of freezing weather, filled with the dreary drizzle of rain and thick fog, it’s impossible to get our heads around that fact that spring is just around the corner. But trust me, the warmer days and longer nights that spring promises aren’t far away and it’s time to give our hair a little pick me up to help it recover!

Whilst we cozied up in jumpers and coats to stay protected, there was no such luck for our hair, it’s faced every damaging winter day naked! That’s why springtime is definitely the season of renewal so here are a few professional secrets to putting the spring back into your hair!

Re-build: - All that central heating and harsh winds have drying effects on the hair and actually your hair loses keratin – the substance that keeps our hair strong and flexible – with harsh daily aggressions. Add to that blow drying and straightening and your hair could be a lot weaker than you think! Give some strength and literally add more spring to your hair.

Great hair starts with a good cut This is the perfect time for a professional haircut to ensure that your hair is free from damaged and split ends that winter caused and will make your hair look healthy. Follow up visits, which include regular trims, will also guarantee that your hair will look and feel its best. You don’t need to have a dramatic cut, even the smallest of trims will keep your hair looking it’s very best!

Sleeping Beauty: - When you are sleeping you’re body will be trying to repair all of the damage brought on by the winter months. To ensure that your hair can get back to it’s healthy self; help it along by sleeping on a satin pillow to reduce rubbing and that flyaway frizz.

Keep hair fit: – Yes you really can keep your hair fit from the inside! Your body’s health can be seen in your hair so eat well and avoid smoking or drinking too much alcohol!

Lighten up! – Seeing as we’re leaving the dark days of winter behind us, why not celebrate by going lighter for spring! This seasons hot look is platinum blonde (think Sarah Harding). To get the look you’ll need a full head lightener (bleach) applied to the scalp and lightened up to a pale yellow then toned to remove the yellow tones to leave a clear platinum shade. Remember that you can’t go lighter with anything other than a permanent hair colour so make sure it’s the right choice beforehand.

This colour requires regular attention to keep it looking at its best – you can’t let your roots get too big before the next application or you will start to get ‘colour banding’ which is very hard to correct.

Product Overload: – It’s tempting when your hair is dry to go overboard with the number of products you use. This actually can end up resulting in your hair looking dull and greasy. Instead ask your hairdresser to recommend products that are light and won’t cause build up like Clynol’s Massive Volume Spray a light spray that gives hold, body, yet doesn’t weigh hair down or make it feel sticky.

This article was written by Lisa Shepherd. Content courtesy of Girlznight Mag.

With the warmer weather just around the corner it’s time to spring clean your hair along with your house and wardrobe! What better way to do that than by adding some colour! Colouring your hair is the physical equivalent of painting the walls; it simply transforms the whole character of your face…that’s why it’s so important to get it right!

Dying your hair is a scary prospect – what if it looks awful, turns orange, or goes patchy? There’s no need to panic, hair colouring can be made easy both in the salon and at home. The colour you choose needs to fit in with your lifestyle, as well as suit your colouring, there’s no point in a brunette going blonde if you don’t have the time to keep getting your roots done!
Follow my top ten hair colour tips, and avoid nasty mistakes!

1. If you’re planning on going from blonde to dark then firstly, leave it to the professionals! If you want a minimal change then its not so risky but if you are thinking of a drastic change don’t try to do this at home. Hair colourists have a skilled eye and will know instantly what will and won’t suit.

However, ‘bitter’ colours flatter almost everyone…think chocolate, cappuccino, biscuit and caramel and get the celebrity look by using a selection of shades throughout the hair. If you’re worried about it, the best solution is to go for chunky zones of chocolate and lighter browns – then by adding this into your blonde you can see it next to your face and decide whether you’d like it all over or not. Finally though, the general rule is to keep the darker colour a natural tone.

All too often when going dark, the result is too warm, which makes the colour look quite fake and by insisting on a semi permanent or direct tone in addition, you’ll get mega shine and improved condition.

2. If you are going lighter, choose a shade that is a maximum of 2-3 shades lighter than your own. Check on the box what your result will be and if it is not possible on your hair colour PUT THE BOX BACK ON THE SHELF! You also need to begin by lifting the existing colour with a colour remover. Depending on how dark you are and how much colour is on to begin with will affect the length of this process. If you hair is naturally dark then you will simply lift with a lightener or high lift tint.

3. Highlights are always best when tackled by a professional. Always have several shades of highlights rather than just one. This will make the result look more natural and will give less of an obvious re-growth.

4. Semi-colours or toning mousses are great for reducing warm tones if you make a mistake and also for refreshing blonde tones.

5. As a general rule, pale and pinky toned skins look better with cooler tones – creamy blonde, caramel, and olive skins can take warmer shades – however if you aren’t sure then go for neutral shades of coffee, chocolate and biscuit which suit virtually everyone.

6. Do read the instructions carefully before using a colour product always stick to the development times and always do a skin test 48-72 hours before you colour if you are going to apply colour to your scalp. We use Colour Start Skin Tests in the salon that are like a temporary tattoo. Ask your salon if they stock them!

7. Do be careful when re-applying re-growth. Don’t let the roots get too out of control or you are likely to get a ‘banding’ effect on the next application.

8. Do care for your coloured hair properly – choose shampoos and conditioner products that are specifically for coloured hair like Clynol iD Colour Care Range.

9. And if you colour your hair regularly then also treat it regularly with repairing treatments. You can get ones to use at home that will put moisture back into your hair and help repair split ends. Or you could give your hair a real treat and have salon treatment like NANOMAX Repair or Intensive .

10. It’s always a safer bet to get a professional to colour your hair, but it can be done with success at home. Firstly it’s always a good idea to get a helping hand, someone else helping you can reach the difficult areas underneath your hair and will reduce the risk of patching! Plus it’s worth considering what length your hair is. If you have very long or thick hair, one box of dye will not cover all of your hair!

This article was written by Lisa Shepherd, the hair colour doctor of the UK. Content courtesy of Girlznight Magazine.

Fashion week may be over, but the make-up trends we saw are burned into our craniums. Surprisingly, the looks are doable for the fashion forward, non-models. (Read: Girls Like You and Girls Like Us!)

This season, it was all about smoky eyes and nude lips. Yawn, right? No way. This perennial look has been updated and modernized. Smoky eyes aren’t black or raccoonish; rather, slate and icy shades of grey in all sorts of textures like matte, shimmery, satin, and full-bore, intense color were the order of the day. Faces were generally contoured and sculpted –hello non-surgical, yet non-God-given cheekbones! This look proves our theory that make up is truly a miracle! The bare faces emphasized model’s strong features and the look was achieved through alternating white, brown, and beige powders. We recommend MAC Sculpt and Shape Powder to give you definition that you didn’t get from your gene pool! Lips were, well, lipless; they were nude to the point of looking corpse-like; puckers were smoothed with concealer and sometimes coated with gloss, and they disappeared into the skin. But for the most part, the models looked like mouthless dolls. We know; you’re thinking that makes sense, since most models subsist on Tic Tacs and Diet Coke!

On the flip, though, there was almost a ’60s influenced color trend. Pops of colors like electric fuschia, neon orange, and brilliant blue were blinding: on the eyes and on the mouth, and glitter just won’t go away. No matter how hard we may try to ignore o bury this trend into the effing ground, it still shows up on lashlines in fashion shows. Hopefully, that is where glitter will remain.

While many of these trends are designed for the runway, not the real way, they were easily translatable to the street. We’d suggest using a more beige-toned lipstick or gloss to achieve that super sexified minimal lip, and lighter shades o’ grey to smoke out the eye without looking like you belong in the Panda cage at the Bronx Zoo.

Our verdict: Well, you can’t go wrong with smoky eyes. Sculpting is a super modern make up technique, and when done right, it can enhance your face and highlight those gorgeous features. Done wrong? You’ll look like you’re still wearing your accident victim costume after Halloween.

Stay tuned next week. After we root through our beauty loot, we’ll report back on some of our fave, new finds. See ya then.

Fashion week is meant to douse us in advertisement on and off the runway in a multitude of ways. One sure way to grab the attention of the VIP’s and fabulous nobodies is to find a way to offer a sampling of your product inside a gift bag. It is these advertisers that make fashion week happen for nearly all designers, because they often sponsor the show with their free services, which is why it is important we recognize them here at Fashion Indie.

I’ve been to many shows from Paris to New York and a few parties here and there. I can honestly say I’ve never gotten my manicured fingertips into anything quite like the swag bag that Bui-Lavry PR put together for the Mandate of Heaven show. I was so impressed that I had to simply lunch with the ladies and introduce my creativity so we could work together in the future.

I felt like it was Christmas time as I plowed through the Vidal Sasoon gift bag for a huge sampling of their hair hydro mask and cream polisher. Makeup Forever supplied their luxuries of a cosmetic bag filled with liquid foundation,lip gloss and a sparkling diamond eye powder. Skinny Skinny Soaps samplings of bath salts were made available as well in more than a sampling packet. I’m happy to say that I just bathed with the revitalizing substance. Oh dear I wish I had a picture of the fabulous high heel shaped cookies that where baked and in sight everywhere, fashionably delicious, which we owe a big thank you to Sabina who runs the Corner Stone Bakery…

Best of all and completely decadent, at the very bottom of the bag was a packaged box full of jewelry hand crafted by indie designer Dana Blair!!! I was lucky enough to receive a semi precious jeweled bracelet which sells for $140.00!!! Actress Mena Suvari just bought the same one the designer herself informed me as I worked the room.

As I left I felt as if I’d seen the catwalk and won a shopping spree in downtown Soho!!! Now that’s swag!!!

Todays Fashion Myth is centered around models.

These young, waif like creatures that grace the runways of Milan, New York, and Paris and the covers of every magazine, these little gems are often seen as the ultimate prize, a trophy to hold for the rich and beautiful. These pretty tiny things with their size 0 waists. These recessed faced, no assed, pale beings. These thin, vapid, uninteresting, can’t hold a conversation beauties. These tall, shapeless wasps. These disassociated clothes hangers. These models. Yeah, they aren’t that special.

No dude (unless he’s completely insecure) wants to end up with a professional runway model. Yeah, the Victoria Secret girls are a major exceptions, but when it comes to the Gemma’s, the Cole’s, and the Moss’s of the world, the “runway girls” and “supermodels”, there is not enough substance or beauty to support the normal mans interest level. Give me some meat on them bones. Give me a booty and a side of breasts. Flat-chested, pancake bottomed skeleton bags need not apply. Personally, I need some insecurity, some body issues, some real people problems in my girls. Insecurities aren’t sexy, but they are very refreshing when compared to the attitudes of todays “I’m better than thou” catwalkers. Their image of beauty of unattainable, their devotion to their addiction of thinness or proposed “beauty” is unrealistic. And don’t get me started on their downwardly spiraling age. A 16 year old should not be on the runway. Give me real women, don’t sell me the image of a child.

Men don’t want models or at least this one doesn’t. Disagree or agree, I want to hear what you all think?

Amy and Sam were like two meteors – one from New Jersey and one from The Bronx- crashing into each other in the workplace, which happened to be a heavy metal record label. But it wasn’t a messy crash; it was slicked in lip gloss and smoky eye make up.Realizing their mutual adoration of metal music and gorgeous make up, the two forged a beautiful friendship, offering each other tips, suggestions, support, and often sneaking into the company bathroom to play with that new eye shadow they bought on their lunch break.

Sam has a degree in fashion and is a certified make up artist, actively continuing her education in the make up industry by attending courses, workshops, and enjoying he regular make up gigs such as fashion shows and photo shoots where she is in high demand. Always with her finger on the pulse and with an eye for style and an ability to transform a plain face into a flawless, work of art, Sam knows the ins and outs of make up and loves sharing her knowledge with everyday girls, helping them feel more confident and working with them on an individual basis, teaching them how to apply make up. There’s a lot make up artists in NYC, but there’s only one Sam.

Amy is a veteran rock journalist, spending (or misspending, depending on who you ask) her youth backstage at rock shows and rocking out. She also spends her days as a professional babysitter for rock stars, and loves every minute of it. Along the way, she fell in love with make up and refuses to be seen without eyeliner, mascara (she used to resist using it because of her impossible-to-curl lashes, but after Sam taught her how to apply it correctly, she was hooked), or lip gloss. In between calling radio stations and writing press releases at work, Amy often saunters over to Sam’s desk for her critique of her daily eyeshadow look, which Sam was always waiting for while dealing with $10 million budgets. Amy has been writing about beauty products for 3 years, offering herself as a guinea pig for the hottest new products, willingly. Oftentimes, coworkers at the office asked Amy and Sam for advice, tips. Angela, the make up loving receptionist, never went a day without saying, “Your eye make up looks amazing today.”

Realizing that they were doling out advice and suggestions by the hour, the lightbulb went off and Fashion Indie caught on. It was time to go beyond the office. Hip and fun-loving, girly girls at heart, with a love for super aggressive music, Amy and Sam want to share their knowledge. They’re not snobby, elitist, hipster, too cool for room, nose thumbers or bitches. They love make up. They love fashion. They love talking to other people about what they like. And they want to talk to the readers of Fashion Indie.

www.myspace.com/slennonmakeup

www.myspace.com/amysciarretto