Miss Jessie's New Wash and Go Stylers Launch

 

If you're a curly, kinky, wavy girl of any type, chances are you've heard of Miss Jessie's products. As one of the pioneer companies to focus on curly girls, these were some of the first products I heard of when I first went natural so needless to say I jumped at the chance to get to attend their event in partnership with Birchbox.





During the event, Miss Jessie's cofounder, Miko, discussed their three newest products while giving live demonstrations on curly girls with various hair textures.



The products feature a new tube container and help to quickly style "wash and gos" looks for various curl patterns. The new products include: "Transitioner's Magic", "Curly Custard", and "Multi Cultural Curls".



Transitioner's magic is ideal for anyone with both curly and straight hair textures from transitioning to natural or heat damage. The product encourages the hair to curl without weighing it down and works best used with a diffuser to further encourages straight ends to curl. Multi cultural curls is the 2nd lightest product out of the three and was inspired by Miss Jessie founders biracial heritage. This product also helps to encourage curls and works best sectioned on wet hair. Last but not least Curly Custard works similar to Multi cultural curls but is the heaviest of all three products. Curly Custard is ideal for ladies with tighter curls as well as loose waves to provide a more defined and bouncy wash and go.

Personally, I've been wearing my hair straight lately but can't wait to try these products once my hair is curly again.

Comment below and let me know have you heard of Miss Jessie's before? Do you plan on trying these products

xoxo,

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Fancy and Frugal: Nuance by Salma Hayek Spring Beauty Line

Nuance by Salma Hayek is a premium beauty line sold exclusive at CVS pharmacy that combines exotic, natural ingredients, ancient beauty secrets and advanced science to create products that are designed to enhance the “nuances” that make up every woman’s beauty.



Last week, Nuance Salma Hayek launched their Spring collection, adding 10 new beauty and hair products to the shelves. All of the products contain key moisturizing ingredients such as: Shea Butter and Coconut, Avocado and Macadamia Seed Oils which soften and help maintain moisture levels in skin.



To celebrate the Spring launch of Nuane Salma Hayek, beauty editors were invited to attend "Selma's Secret garden" where we learned about the details of the line and the nourishing ingredients inside.





Below is a list of the ten new items added to the collection and the benefits of each. Personally, I can't wait to try the Eye Balm, Glycolic Cream Cleanser, and Neck & Chest Balm.

William Okpo FW14 Recap

[gallery type="slideshow" ids="4567,4570,4569,4566,4572"]

February 11th, 2014 thirteen women marched single-file to mount carefully placed wooden crates, signaling the start of the William Okpo FW14 presentation. The pieces seemed to simply exuded brightness and warmth on a most cold and dreary day in New York City.The presentation included elements of a homage to their African heritage in the music selections and in the photography displayed in large color format from their partnership with charitable organization 14+.

The looks, which ranged from a blue-and-white crossed- culottes, A-line dress, jumper with skinny pants, draped skirt and top - were clean and crisp. The collection, seemed to shout a return to a time where paint and playtime reigned - yet incorporated an element of sophistication that kept it far from childish. This "unofficial theme" was visible in everything from the denim pieces, part appliquéd with flowers and finished with daisy buttons at the collar, ala 90s Mary-Kate and Ashley; down to the glitter accented sandals and oxfords. When describing the inspiration behind F/W 14 (and arguably all predecessor collections), Darlene Okpo, one-half of the formidable duo behind William Okpo, articulated this desire to channel the spirit of their father. In her thoughts, he was this eclectic man of the 70s, one who took care in how he dressed and took his time, finding himself as a human being. It is this journey of self-discovery that comes out in this collection. With this in mind, the duo was able to make each look fun, incorporating color, and staying true to how Darlene and her co-collaborator Lizzy Okpo felt in the months and days preceding Tuesday night’s presentation. This organic process, Darlene notes, gave them the freedom to create and allowed William Okpo to escape the fate of fellow young labels that are so concentrated on getting into retail stores, they lose their style setting.

 

xoxo,

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*Reporting done for Fancy-Francy.com by Lami of LifewithLami

 

Noon by Noor FW14 Recap

Noon by Noor definitely did not disappoint as they showed their Fall 2014 collection on February 10th. The theme of the collection, nature, was referenced throughout the show through the beautiful colors and unique prints. Cloud formations, crystalline structures and geometric patterns seen in minerals were all sources of inspiration the designers found in the natural environment and translated into the brand’s signature prints.

[gallery type="slideshow" ids="4591,4578,4588,4586,4582,4583,4585,4589,4584,4581,4587,4580,4577"]

The collection featured a nod to the oversized silhouette with voluminous coats, culotte pants and sweatshirts juxtapose straight dresses. Hints of masculine tailoring balanced sporty, effortless daywear; while the expanded evening wear repertoire focused on intricate embellishments unexpectedly scattered on tops or cascading down tiered gowns. The looks were modernized through experimentation with texture such as neoprene, waffle wool, mohair and a houndstooth jacquard wool. The color palette was almost as striking as the texture choices and boasted hues of  blue, cool mint, mauve, navy, burgundy and vanilla with pops of yellow, chartreuse and royal purple.

Overall the collection seemed to personify Fall fashion and had many looks that would work perfectly for crisp Fall work days or chilly gala nights.

xoxo,

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Emerson FW14 Recap

Doc Martin combat boots stomped on to the brightly lit stage in tune to the loud upbeat music as the Emerson FW14 show began on February 7th in Lincoln Center. The theme of the show was "Break the Mold" and even featured a model wearing the slogan on a shirt. Designer Jackie Fraser-Swan’s Emerson collection portrays the perfect combination of rock meets romance that is her brand’s signature, this season adding in a hint of contrasting darkness mixed with soft blush pastels. As Jackie explains, “For Fall/Winter 2014, I was inspired by strong women who are breaking the mold; shattering the idea that women are supposed to dress or act a certain way.



I loved the feel of the overall show and how she combined femininity with "rocker edge", a look I've always been a fan of. The collection featured lots of leather, geometric prints, and sparkly sequence; in a color palette of navy, black, white, purple, and pale pink. Jackie choose to pair her designs with Oxford style flats and classic Doc Martin boots done in fun updated styles like quilted leather.

The Makeup Show Holiday Pop up Shop - NYC Event

The Makeup Show opens its doors to the public at the return of their highly anticipated Holiday Pop-Up Shop on December 7^th and 8^th.   For these two-days consumers and pro makeup artists alike can pick up beauty products offered at steep discounts and get their holiday shopping done for the fashionistas on their list.  Attendees won’t want to forget to pamper themselves too!  Some of the brands will only be offering these discounts exclusively at The Makeup Show Holiday Pop-Up Shop.

Indie Lee and Beautylish DIY Event Recap

 

Last week, Beautylish and Indie Lee got together to host a DIY event for NYC beauty mavens. The unique event was held at Penthouse 45 in NYC and treated guests to cake pops, adorable logo cupcakes, and Bindie Bellinis. In between noshing and mingling we created our own DIY beauty products (a lip scrub, a body scrub and bath salts) while learning about Indie Lee.

At the end of the night all of the guest got to take home their DIY creations and two Indie Lee cosmetic products (more on that in my upcoming beauty haul post.)

Check out Beautylish and Indie Lee here, or shop a few of Indie Lee's best sellers below.

Be sure to look out for a DIY beauty post inspired by the event coming soon!

xoxo,

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Swoon App Relaunch Party

As the saying goes, in NewYork city one is always looking for either a new job, a new apartment, or a new significant other. While any of these can be challenging to find, a new app called Swoon, promises to help cross one of these items off your list.

And to prove it, recently they invited techies and tastemakers to test drive it at the Gramercy Park Hotel during their relaunch party.

Emerson by Jackie Fraser-Swan SS14: Punk Rock Garden Party

Emerson designer, Jackie Fraser-Swan, presented her Spring 2014 collection on September 8th in Lincoln Center. Fraser-Swan was inspired by the idea of a "Punk Rock Garden Party" and imagined that "a group of punk rock kids crashed a private garden on the Upper East Side where the Ramones were playing a secret show ."

To help convey this "clash of two worlds", Fraser-Swan teamed up with senior hairstylist Jorge Luis for PRIVE, and master makeup artist Tia Hebron for Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. The model's nails were entrusted to technicians from "Miss Pop Nails".

Inline with the signature aesthetic of the Emerson collection, Fraser-Swan contrasted punk elements with classic femininity.

The collection color palette consisted of black, white, purple, fuchsia, sky blue, greens, and yellows.

The Spring 2014 collection featured three custom designed prints: Garden Gate, Allium Flower Field and Painted Hounds Tooth; with Garden Gate being the main focal point of the collection inspiration. Fraser-Swan's favorite flower inspired the Allium Flower Field, a whimsical and fun print, which was often combined with sheer black organza in a "paneled" effect throughout the collection.
Additional prints include a black & white Painted Stripe (hinting at Fraser-Swan's love of Tim Burton), Stone Tweed in black & gray or purple & gray, a Black/White Swir Stripe, featuring marbled/water like effect, and a Black/White Checker Print.

The collection was best summed up by this quote by Fraser-Swan:

"The "Emerson by JFS" girl is not afraid to be herself or stand out in a crowd, she is intelligent and can think for herself. She is a leader, not a follower." As Fraser-Swan's distant relative Ralph Waldo Emerson believed: Non-Conformity, Positivity, and Self-Reliance."

For more from this line, visit www.emersonbyjfs.com

xoxo,

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*PHOTO CREDIT/RANDY BROOKE:

Opening Ceremony Presents William Okpo S/S 2014 Collection

September 12, 2013 - William Okpo presented their Spring/Summer 2014 collection alongside Opening Ceremony’s BTW* series at the Super Pier in Manhattan.

The collection stayed true to William Okpo's usual "quirky cool" aesthetics of red, white and sea foam green. The collection featured a print of faces inspired by illustrations on barber shops the designers Lizzy and Darlene Okpo saw on their trip to Senegal which embodied a youthful innocence with the cartoon faces, fun silhouettes and the usual William Okpo cool quirk in red, white and sea foam. The looks were completed with loafers and Mary Janes from Dr. Martens.


The models wore a natural face, done by makeup artist Logan Slaughter of Privé Salon. The look consisted of brown eyeshadows, bronzer, and a light peach lip. Nail artist Christina Rinaldi complemented the look by using Mischo Beauty nail polish in “Mischo”, a solid bright red. Rinaldi had all the nails a solid red, with a longer accent nail that featured a mesh detail.

Hair for the models was also done by Privé, led by Creative Director Aaron Grenia and owner Laurent D. The duo created a unique look for the models which included a high ponytail on top of the head, braided upward with a puff at the end. The look was influenced by traditional West African "binding" and "pom pom" hairstyles.

After the presentation, guest were invited to stay for an after party on the pier which had Opening Ceremony pop-up shops, food by Cafe Habana, drinks by Tiger, photo booths and DJs A$AP J. Scott and Huggy Bear.

About William Okpo
Sisters Lizzy and Darlene Okpo launched Wiliam Okpo in 2010. The line, named for their father, is defined by a combination of his style, their Nigerian culture, and culture and style found in New York. They are GenArt alumni, having shown at Fresh Faces of Fashion in 2011 and again at New Garde in February of 2012. William Okpo is sold by Opening Ceremony in New York and Los Angeles, Cloak and Dagger, End of Century, and Village Verve.

xoxo,

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NYFW SS14 Coverage Jonathan Simkhai

The name Jonathan Simkhai might not ring a bell to you yet, but we have a hunch that soon it will. Known for his "sexy athleticism" style, and even dubbed a "young Michael Kors" by some Jonathan's Simkhai's latest collection did not fail to deliver. Shown at Milk on September 7, Simkhai's SS14 was inspired by the "infamous 1960's fight between the Mods and Rockers at Brighton Beach". To convey the perfect look, Simkhai enlisted the help of CATWALK by Tigi global creative director, Nick Irwin, to help him design just the right hairstyle for the models and top makeup artist Gucci Westman of Revlon to create a flawless face.

Irwin explained to us how he worked with Simkhai to create an "expensive yet simple" hairstyle to compliment the abundance of lines and stripes in the collection. Although luxurious, the aim was to keep the hair simple, stylish, and sleek in order to allow the clothes to have the attention, "this is not a hair moment. This is about the clothes." Irwin remarked. To achieve this "high end" yet simple hairstyle, Irwin added mousse to dry hair (his favorite hair secret) then blew it out and finished with a defined side part. The overall look was "classic, sleek styling with a hint of cool." To create this, he used CATWALK by Tigi Sleek Mystique Fast Fixx Style Prep, Curlesque Strong Mousse, Your Highness Shine Spray, and Sleek Mystique Look-Lock Hair Spray.

Makeup artist Gucci Westman gave the models an "all American" look to complement the "sporty cute/boyish chic" style of the collection. To achieve this look Westman used the new "Bronzilla" bronzer and "Nearly Naked" foundation by Revlon. Westman added brown "Lego" eyeshadow in the socket and underneath the lower lash line and cream highlight under the brow. , To finish up the look, the brows were darkened with "Fantasy" and light freckles were added to the model's face.





 


More fashion week coverage to come, in the mean time follow fancy francy on Instagram and Twitter for up to the moment coverage.

 

xoxo,

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*Images from style.com and fancy-francy.com

Out and About: Yuna Yang Q&A at the Mandarin Hotel

Now that the madness of Fashion Week is over, and I've had time to settle back into my regularly scheduled life, I would like to introduce an addition to the Fancy Francy team!!! In an effort to have more content I have been trying to "beef up" the behind the scenes Fancy Francy team and now I am excited to announce my first regularly reoccurring guest writer, Anne!! Anne is my sister and by default my in-house "photog". In addition to taking pictures for Fancy Francy she is also a talented writer and will be a contributing editor on Fancy Francy. During fashion week Anne attended a number of events I was unable to attend and got to get up close and personal with a number of designers, including Yuna Yang. She's excited to finally have a chance to give you all a rundown and details on a few events! First up, the Yuna Yang Q&A at the Mandarin Hotel!

 

 

So how often do you get a chance to talk to an actual fashion designer who is showing at New York Fashion Week, in a posh environment with other fashion loving attendees? If you're me then never, so needless to say I was beyond excited when Francy asked me to go in her place. As I said, the venue was very nice! The Mandarin Hotel in conjunction with HTC did a fabulous job of ensuring a quality environment for this event. They provided snacks and coffee (which was totally needed because I really was having that "2 o'clock feeling" by the time I got there), a place to charge your phone, and just an overall tranquil oasis in the midst of the craziness that was NYFW.

Ok now to the meat and potatoes of this event, I mean snacks and coffee are great but meeting Yuna Yang was awesome! If you don't know Yuna Yang's work, here are few of her pieces that she showed this season. (I'm obsessed with the blue lace dress!)

Photo Source: Audrey Allure

Photo Source: Audrey Allure

The initial interview was conducted by Jenny from Jenny by Design. The beginning of the interview focused on what inspires her work. She said that she is inspired by art in all of its forms; she described the process in which she developed her current collection, which was inspired by music from a rock band called Civil Twilight. She went on to describe how interesting it was to develop tangible art (the pieces for her collection)  from such an intangible artistic form like music.

 

Additionally, she discussed her background in fine arts. Prior to entering into the fashion world, she received a B.A. in Fine Arts, and upon moving to Milan, she became inspired by the style of the women in the city and shifted her artistic outlet to fashion. I spoke to her briefly after the interview, and she talked at little more about this aspect of her transition. She stated that she loved fashion because it was like creating fine works of art that people could actually live in. Luckily for us, she made the switch to fashion because her pieces are truly works of art!

Comment below and let me know what you think of the Yuna Yang S/S 13 collection?

 

xoxo,

Out and About: Birchbox Sample Stop NYFW

 

After a long week of work and NYFW events, I was in dire need of a little R&R. Luckily Birchbox teamed up with several other great beauty brands to provide a Fashion Week rest stop, conveniently located near Milk. If you've somehow been living under a rock for the past year and haven't heard of Birchbox yet, let me quickly fill you in! It is a monthly subscription service that allows you to try out beauty products before you buy the full size product. What's better than getting to try out new beauty products every month??? Um... getting said goodies mailed directly to you in a pretty box!

Click continue to find out more!

Out and About: Benefits NYFW Party

[caption id="attachment_674" align="aligncenter" width="572"] Benefit's NYFW Party
Source: Alex @http://delayedmissives.com/[/caption]

So as many of you might know, fashion week has kicked off in NYC, and all can say is thank God I live here now! I personally didn't fully appreciate the awesome mayhem of fashion week until I experienced it firsthand. I thought I knew, but I had no idea! One of the big highlights of New York Fashion Week is definitely all of the events that stores and brands put on to showcase their products and interact with their customers. Why are these events so cool you might ask? Because you get to learn more about awesome brands (not to mention free swag and drinks!)

[caption id="attachment_676" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Benefit's NYFW Party
Source: Alex @http://delayedmissives.com/[/caption]

This past Wednesday, Benefit Cosmetics hosted a pre fashion Night Out event co-sponsored by Belvedere. The Benefit employees who were running the event were very nice and friendly. One of the women who work for Benefit was so kind and helpful while doing our make-up. In general, the atmosphere was friendly and attentive.They had something for everyone, including Belvedere mixed cocktails served by a couple of hotties, make-up artists doing touch-ups and full make-overs, free eyebrow arching (which unfortunately I had just gotten done the day before), and awesome swag bags!