NEW! Full Rihanna Spread for Vogue Italia

Glamazons,

Vogue Italia has done it again. Budding fashion icon, Rihanna, is a brilliant muse for the cover of Vogue Italia's September 2009 supplement. The Steven Klein-shot spread is equally fierce and futuristic. In all nine looks, Rihanna serves couture fashions in striking poses, easily distinguishing herself as the most fashionable pop star to date.

In fantastical fashions, including a space-age, structured Valentino dress, and with a bike, a bucket of water and her beloved pasties, the Bajan beauty is the perfect embodiment of "extreme couture." She owns each look, no matter how avant-garde and out of this world, so much so that the ubiquitous buzzed cut looks decidedly high-fashion on her (...and that, my friends, takes talent). Check out the full spread (courtesy of our friends at fresherthanchris.com) and tell me how much you love it!











Kisses,

Coutura

A Day in the Life: I Heart Ronson for JCPenney Summer BBQ Bash

Hey Glamazons!

As soon as I got the invite for the I Heart Ronson BBQ at the Piers, I knew I couldn't miss the event! Of all the JCPenney lines (including Fabulosity), I Heart Ronson is the most meticulously executed and expertly designed. On August 20th, I had the pleasure of attending the star-studded event with Beautylicious and Michel (who both have amazing blogs you should absolutely check out) and it was as fun as I expected.

We thoroughly enjoyed the music, which included a performance by Mark Ronson, the free drinks, the It-girl celeb sightings (Alexa Chung, Hillary Duff, Mischa Barton, Zoe Kravitz (who I adore!)) and the beautiful view of the Hudson river. The food left something to be desired but who cares when you're bbqing on a pink I Heart Ronson grill? Exactly.

Zoe Kravitz looking adorable as usual!

The Ronson family - too cute!

The socialite du jour Genevieve Jones was there.

Mischa Barton made an appearance in a black and pink floral ensemble.

It-Brit girl Alexa Chung showed up to the festivities.


Yours truly having a glass of wine overlooking the Hudson.

They even had a closet for editors where you got to choose one piece from the Fall collection. I snagged the paisley print dress and Beautylicious scored a chic, boyfriend striped cardigan (see both in the first image below). Can't wait to wear it during Fashion Week! The whole collection is amazing---sophisticated, effortless chic with a vintage feel. Check out the rest of the Fall 2009 looks, available at select JCPenney's stores for next to nothing (seriously, the price range is $15-$72).










Kisses,

Coutura


Photos: Starpulse.com. Nitrolicioius.com.

Glam or A Sham: Aubrey O'Day's New Designs

And the designer standards get even lower.

Aubrey O'Day, the buxom, rebellious castoff from Diddy's Making the Band, is trying her hand at designing. The reality star turned Broadway actress threw a launch event last week to introduce Heart on my Sleeve, her colorful new line of tees, underwear and doggy clothes (she's obsessed with her dog which she affectionately calls "Ging").

I didn't make the party as I was ultra-swamped with our fab Glamazons shoot and a cover shoot for the mag, but I had to investigate to find out more about this line. Why, you ask? Quite frankly, I don't see Aubrey O'Day as a designer. She's had way too many fashion faux paux for me to even take her seriously on the red carpet. And though it's great that she adores her dog, something just isn't right about all that dye.

Here she is wearing one of her own designs. Sure Obama is touched.

In true Aubrey fashion, the tees have controversial phrases like "My sex tape is coming out soon," and simply, "cunt" (LOL) but then also, "We were happy until we weren't" and "After him, the fairytale was over," which speaks to her sensitive, "Lifetime" series side. Check out some highlights from the collection below.

Yes, that's Jaslene and Caridee from America's Next Top Model. Reality stars have to stick together.

This shirt is from her organic line, Recycled Love. Protecting the environment is a good thing.

Clearly, these designs aren't for the hetero man.

And now for the prices: The tees are about $30, the briefs are $20 each, the dog shirts will run you $20 (and $70 for dog outfits) and the accessories range from $60 to 150 for a huge flower headband. (See below...frightening).

Disgraceful.

I also noticed the tees are actually American Apparel t-shirts with her logos printed on top. If it's that easy, look out for Glamazon t-shirts coming soon! (Just kidding...unless they'd sell).

Tell me what you think: Glam or a Sham?

Kisses,

Coutura

Hair Diaries: My Brazilian Hair Straightening Treatment

Hi pretties! So sorry for the delay in this post! I've had the craziest week and have had a lot on my plate. Right now, I'm hungry (and have no food in my house as usual...I promise I'll become domesticated ONE day haha), delirious with fatigue and still thinking about the 8 million things that I need to get done next week at work. 

Luckily, it's my birthday weekend (woo hoo!) so I can relax and kick back a bit.

Alright, here's what happened the day I got a Brazilian Hair Straightening treatment. 

As you know from my previous post, I headed over to the Rita Hazan Salon on 5th Ave to see my hair colorist/love of my life Adrian Wallace (that's him right there!). Before he could even start, I grabbed his hand and was like, "Adrian, are you sure my hair isn't going to fall out?!" Everyone in the salon laughed at me like what is this girl talking about?! Although it was kinda embarrassing to have them all laughing at me, it was still pretty funny.

So, cockiness=trust...well at least in my brain anyways haha

One of the assistants (the one pictured below with the long black hair that's putting in my treatment; I love her and can't even remember her name!; turns out that she also get the brazilian hair straightening treatment as well and her hair always looks amazing) took me over to the bowl and washed my hair three times. 

Then, they dried my hair with a blow dryer.

Next, she (along with Adrian and another assistant) began to put in the treatment. (Or, as my other fave assistant there Susana calls it "that purple stuff" hahaha) I was reading a magazine the whole time and felt no burning or pain. Don't worry, the formula was keratin based and formaldehyde free! Adrian said he tried the "illegal stuff" once on the owner Rita's hair and it was horrible. 

"I couldn't breathe and I was coughing at night," he said. "So, we knew there was no way that we could give this to our customers."

Afterwards, I was given a blow out with a round brush and a blow dryer.

The last step was just for me to sit and get my hair flat ironed. Piece by piece. This was the only tedious part of the process. Adrian said the heat from the flat iron is what sets the treatment in best.

And voila! Just like that, I now have super straight hair that moves with the wind and doesn't frizz up.

I LOVE it!! It's changed my life.

Now you're probably wondering why I just don't go and get a perm. I got a perm once and let's just say that my hair didn't like it because chunks of it fell out. That was in college; and I've never messed with it since.

I'd always just stick to hair color.

Even though my hair texture is very fine and pretty easy to straighten, it's the frizzy part that I always would hate...ugh.  

It's not that I hate my natural hair...it's just that, for my lifestyle, it doesn't quite work for me. (ie I'm on- the go- busy- working- out -don't- have- time- nor- do- I- want- to- worry- about- my- hair status.) 

I had the opportunity to see the Chris Rock documentary last week "Good Hair" and I thought maybe this would change my mind about getting the Brazilian, but it didn't. If anything, I thought of this as a spoof on black women and their pursuit of what they deem as "good hair" (ie the perms and weaves). It WAS funny at times, but I didn't take it very seriously...and don't think anyone else that sees it will either. (Do let us know what you think of it after watching!) I'm an adamant believer that you should do whatever fits you with your hair; and this idea transcends to all races. If you wanna shave your head, dye it hot pink, grow it down your back or rock a 'fro, do it! I love to change up my hair look (be it with weaves, wigs, hair color, etc) and do so freely on a month-to-month basis. 

With that said, I'm very happy with my super straight locks and wouldn't change it for the world. Say what you want, but it fits me just perfectly. =)

After you get the treatment, you can't wash your hair, put it into a ponytail, sweat in it or curl it for 3 days. The only thing that you can do is flat iron it. I also have to use a special shampoo, Barex ColourLife Shampoo. When I wet my hair, Adrian says that it will still curl up, but the curls will be more like waves and easier to manage.

Below are some pics of the process...enjoy! And let me know what you think.

xo

Ferocia 

Step 2: Getting my hair blow dried after the wash

Step 3: Getting the treatment put into my hair 

The Last Step: Going over the hair with a flat iron 

Would You Wear...Cassie's Designs for Dimepiece?

Glamazons,

Is every celebrity a designer these days? Cassie is designing a black and white collection for L.A. sportswear label DimePiece.

To be fair, the design venture wasn't initially her idea. According to People, after she ordered clothes off the DimePiece website, the owners approached her about designing her own line. She spoke to People.com about the collaboration: “We’re still in the process of designing different things. They are amazing girls with such eclectic style and I really admire that. They inspired me not to be afraid of fashion. Most people are so self-conscious, but with this line and how they’ve created it — it’s really amazing. I just wanted to be a part of it.”

I'm on the fence about this---fashion is surely more her speed than singing (sorry, Cassie fans, if you're out there lol) as she used to model for Delia's and that's how she got discovered. Furthermore, in most design-star cases, the celebrity is merely the face of the brand and the extent of their actual work is adding a sequin or ruffle to a finished look.

On the other hand, one "trend-setting hairstyle" (that Kelis actually rocked years ago) does not warrant a chance at designing. Yes, she has been looking rather fashion-forward lately (afterall, I did just give her the Glam seal of approval) but I'm sure there's a glamorous, vintage-loving, dahling-saying stylist behind that.

Diddy was so kind to send all his Twitter followers pics:








What do you think? Is she poised to be the next Beyonce (i.e. making a fortune off your name clothing line) or is she taking the trendsetter title too far? And would you wear the clothes? I've gotta admit I'm loving the tiger shirt and the see-through bubble skirt! (Don't judge me.)

Discuss.

Kisses,

Coutura