The Ultimate Fashion Forward Updo at Christian Siriano SS 2011, by Aveda!

It's definitely not surprising to me that Christian Siriano is the most successful designer to come out of the stress cooker that is Project Runway. I hate to make the obvious statement, but his designs are fierce, and I admit to really wishing I had places to wear his designs. And the money to afford them. But I digress.

Really, I wanted to share the amazing hair in by Aveda's lead stylist Antoinette Beenders in Christian's Spring 2011 show. True, this is not an updo that would work for every occasion. But, you have to admit that it looks amazing with Cristian's designs, and now I want to invent occasions to have this hair style.

Prevention Magazine Picks the Top Anti-Aging Products

I'm sure everyone is familiar with Allure's annual beauty awards. They've been insanely successful over the years, and when a product wins you can be sure that the company is going to brag about it!

However, you might not be aware of other magazine's beauty awards. They're out there, and truthfully if a magazine has similar interests you're more likely to find products that work for you in their features and awards.

Case in point: Prevention Magazine's 2010 Beauty Awards. Their primary focus? Anti-aging. Honestly, they didn't just decide to throw up a list of anti-aging best sellers either.

Read on to see why their awards are different.

The Race Wasn't Even Close: Conair's Newest Infiniti Pro Blow Dryer

I've been timing myself during my morning routine quite a bit over the last week or so. Why? This new blow dryer is why.

This orange thing you see before you is Conair's latest Infiniti Pro dryer. I'm sure you are thinking to yourself, "Self, do I care about yet another Conair blow dryer? Don't they just change the color or the controls every few months? Do I care that it is orange now?"

So, the reason that I'm writing about this isn't because the Infiniti Pro is now Orange. I was pretty happy with my previous grey model.

Microdermabrasion at Home: Really!

With noninvasive procedures becoming more and more popular, it is only understandable that there is growing interest in at home options for these procedures. From laser hair removal to home microdermabrasion, the options are expanding.

This little handheld device (it's the size of a small flashlight) is a home microdermabrasion device from PMD, and I've been testing it out. Exfoliation is one of the key steps in a great anti-aging regimen, and for those of you keeping track I have now found a grand total of 4 facial scrubs that I like. While scrubs are great, if you want bigger results than just smoother skin you might want to look into microdermabrasion. Usually offered in dermatologists offices, this uses the same aluminum oxide crystals found in their machines. Rather than shooting the crystals at your face, the machine uses little discs embedded with the crystals and uses them to exfoliate your face. Simply turn on the device and slowly move the disc around your face. Make sure you keep moving, staying in one place for too long will over exfoliate that location, basically scratching up your face.

I used this machine a few times over about a 2 week period and the result was definitely smoother skin and fewer clogged pores, they were definitely looking smaller after 2 weeks. I didn't have any issues with abrasions on my face, but I admit that I was pretty scared of moving the disc around too slowly. My results were great and I recommend trying this out if you're looking for stronger exfoliation.

Personal Microdermabrasion System from SkinCareRX

Marilyn's Secret to Perfectly Matte Skin? Erno Laszlo's Shake It

Is it an oil absorbing mattifier or a light coverage foundation? Even better, is it truly one of Marilyn Monroe's favorite beauty products? Rumor has it that bottles of Erno's products were found in the room when she died, and you can see it in multiple images of her dressing table.

Channeling Veronica Lake: Oribe at Armani Privé Fall 2010

The Armani Privé Fall 2010 show was this week in Paris, and I'm in love. I know what you are thinking, weren't the fall shows ages ago? Well, these are the Couture shows, not the Ready to Wear most of us pay more attention to. You can see more about the collection over on Style.com, but the focus of my love is primarily the hair. OMG, the hair....

It's Veronica Lake, but it's not. It's more modern, more natural with movement than Veronica's perfect waves. The buttery shades of blonde almost made me cry when I first saw them, regretting dying my hair a more natural brunette last month.

I received an e-mail about how the look was created, which was a little light on the details. What I can tell you is that Oribe described the look as "super-soft and glamorous... it's rich looking with a bit of texture. It's a very blown out look that almost sweeps into the models' faces. We kept a little curl at the front, with everything mostly straight at the back."

Oribe says to "start with a really soft blowout, making sure to keep quality texture." I'm not certain what that means, other than that he likely means your hair should be soft and move, not become a helmet due to so much product. He recommends Royal Blowout Heat Styling Spray. "You should be able to move the hair... There should be nothing stiff about it whatsoever."

While there was no mention of a curling iron, I think a few twists with a large (>1 1/2") barrel curling iron in the front will achieve the right amount of wave. Just finger comb after curling. Oribe finished with Imperméable Anti-Humidity Spray to lock in the style and keep the movement.

This is the hair I'm wearing this Fall.

Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Liquid Sunblock Review

While it would be ideal to have your daily sunscreen included in your morning lotion (can't forget, and can't use an excuse to skip a day)... The truth is that it isn't always possible. Most moisturizers don't include sunscreens. Those that do might not work well for you, might not have broad spectrum coverage or may just not have a high enough SPF. That's when it's better to add a second sunscreen product.

I think that I'm likely not alone in the way I view this product. When it was released there was a lot of talk about it on-line. Would it be light enough to wear daily under makeup? It's broad spectrum, high SPF (yes, higher than the SPF 30 many derms recommend for daily use, but that gives you a bit of leeway if you apply it too light one day), and many women just love the Neutrogena brand. (Yes, I'm one of them.)

So, did it live up to the expectations?