HOT 5 - 2/14/21
Happy Valentine's Day HOT Friends!
I hope you have something fun and sweet planned for Valentine's Day. It's been almost a year filled with meaningful dates celebrated in strange and different ways. I guess the important thing is that we continue to celebrate no matter what form it takes. I plan on indulging in chocolate and Champagne this evening!
Here’s this week’s HOT 5:
1. Let’s Just Call Them Crowns!
2. Vogue Wardrobe Essentials Guide
3. A Brand New Blue
4. Have You Heard Of Jones Road Beauty Yet?
5. Gong Xi Fa Cai!
1. Let's Just Call Them Crowns!
I'm sure everyone caught the beautiful and brilliant poet Amanda Gorman in her red padded Prada headband at the inauguration. Or maybe at the Superbowl in her dazzling pearl one? Wasn't she regal in both? I love headbands for their ability to instantly clean up your hair act. They smooth and control the hair, draw the eyes up, and add interest to your outfit through color and design. And I've discovered that two headbands are sometimes better than one when you want to give your look a little something extra. This article from the Times Style pages looks at headbands through the years and today. And don't forget we have some pretty headbands and other hair accessories on HOT and more are on the way!
2. Vogue Wardrobe Essentials Guide
Lately, I've had a real case of deja vu when perusing editorials on fashion for this upcoming spring and summer. I've been taken straight back to the 90s when I was working as a stylist in Singapore for Elle magazine. It was the height of minimalism and I spent most of my time on set removing accessories instead of adding them. It seems after the year we've just had women are looking for paired back basics that they can depend on. This article from Vogue does a great job of rounding up the essentials we all need in a hardworking wardrobe. I'm sure we all have versions of each of the 34 listed and this might give you some ideas of new ones to consider. I would suggest that we don't give up on adding a little something that expresses our individual style personality though! One great way to do this is with a Maskeraide.
Perfect for your Valentine, this gold chain Maskeraide features new and vintage heart charms and is very lightweight and pretty.
Mask not included.
3. A Brand New Blue
How cool is it that we have a new color for the first time in 200 years? Called Min Yn Blue, it was discovered entirely by accident by a professor in 2009 when he was conducting experiments with rare earth elements. Apparently, blue is a very difficult color to make. It was finally approved for use by artists last May. My favorite part of this story is that Crayola Crayons was so inspired by the new blue that in 2017 they named a new crayon, Bluetiful, in the same striking shade of deep blue. Yin Mn blue is extremely expensive and fairly rare and the high opacity paint is $180 for just 40 ML! Read all about it here.
4. Have You Heard of Jones Road Beauty Yet?
Thirty years after she debuted at Bergdorf Goodman with her revolutionary natural-looking makeup line, Bobbi Brown has launched Jones Road Beauty. In the same vein, the brand features products that are simple to use, multi-purpose, and high performance. This time around though the products are "clean" which means stringent guidelines and transparency on what ingredients are used has been enforced. 5 years after launching her makeup line Bobbi Brown Essentials, she signed a deal with Estee Lauder said to be worth $70 million. She stayed for 22 years growing her brand into a billion-dollar business. But then it was time for her to be the boss again and so Jones Road Beauty was born. Read her inspiring story from Allure here.
5. Gong Xi Fa Cai!
Some of my fondest memories of the years we lived in Singapore were of Chinese New Year celebrations. Imagine Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years’ all rolled into one to get an idea of how big this holiday is for people of Asian background all over the world. Here's a fun look at how the Lunar New Year is celebrated in different Asian countries. Do you know your Chinese zodiac animal? There are 12 and they're based on the year you were born. Find out yours here.
Terry xoxo
P.S. Follow me on Instagram for my special daily tribute to Black Americans who've made history in the creative arts.
