Ever hear of Russian Amber Imperial Shampoo? It’s actually been raved about by Vogue, Lucky Magazine, and REDBOOK beauty director Cheryl Kramer Kaye and beauty editor Krista Bennett DeMaio declared it a “Most Valuable Product.” But a 1.8 oz bottle will cost you $140! It is a multiple-award-winning shampoo, but still!? Could you bring yourself to spend this much? Don’t know about you but now I’m curious…

I give pop singer Pink credit for always taking risks with her hair…but this new boyish ‘do is just not working for me. Really? Pink? What were you thinking? There is nothing sexy about this haircut. Maybe she was going for the Halle Berry look and her stylist got it all wrong. Her color is pretty plain jane too…don’t you agree? Like her better as a blonde.

Photo: Getty Images

Have you seen Hayden Panettiere’s do short ‘do? She showed up yesterday to the Global Home Tree Earth Day reception hosted by Director James Cameron in Los Angeles with an all new cropped hairdo.

This celebrity looks like she has gone from young Hollywood to A-list overnight! While we loved her long locks, her new chopped,  slicked back is ultra-chic.

You know that feeling you get when you wear a brand new, sexy little dress, for a night on the town? That “I must look like a million bucks” feeling? Well, that’s how I felt the other night….and guess what! I wasn’t wearing a new dress.

I was wearing one of L. Erickson’s new pieces from the Palm Beach collection from FranceLuxe.com. In particular, the Sunburst Barrette. Let me start by saying this is one of the most beautiful hair accessories I’ve ever seen, and it is truly a statement piece. I can’t even tell you how many compliments I received from both men and women. It features a dazzling combination of floral design, bright happy colors, and matching crystals on a gold metal barrette. Perfect for big thick hair, I was out dancing all night and it barely moved. Plus, you know how barrettes can be really hard to close? I had no problems with the clasp at all.

The Sunburst Barrette is just one of many stunning pieces in L. Erickson’s Palm Beach Collection…

These Mini Jaws are great to hold back small portions of hair…and cover up a bad hair day!  Adorable brightly colored butterfly, dotted with crystals, sits on top of a mini six pronged clip. Need a stronger hold? These Double Pinch Jaws will do the trick.

And then for a more elegant look, there’s the Palm Beach Long and Skinny Barrette. You’ll truly be amazed by how much hair this barrette can hold back. You can do so much with this hair piece – for thin hair, use it to secure a french twist, and for thick hair, part hair on the side and pull back your front shorter layers. You can wear this piece during the day for a girls brunch, at night on a hot date or for a special event.

All of the hair accessories in the Palm Beach Collection come in the same colors – Pink, Aqua and Lime Green. Whether you have really dark or light hair, these hair pieces pop and won’t go unnoticed. So listen…don’t spend $100 on a new outfit! Instead, try one of these beautiful crystal hair pieces. The SunBurst Barrette is only $34, and it’s all you need to jazz up a simple dress. For more info or to purchase, visit FranceLuxe.com.

Where do I begin with my personal hair story? I think every black woman has about the same one, most which go like this: I wore ponytails as a child, my mom permed my hair right before I became a pre-teen, and then my hair and I lived happily ever after, the end! That’s about the gist of my story until in September of 2009, I decided to let my natural hair grow out — after more than 15 years of having chemically-straight, trips to the salon every week, easy to manage, but don’t ever get wet, sit under the dryer for at least one hour hair! Don’t get me wrong, I loved my hair. . . I’ve always loved it. But believe it or not, I love my hair even more natural than I did when it was permed — well, that is for now. I cut my hair short (as in an Angela Davis afro) in April of 2010. And so now, I am on a journey to discover my natural. . .Premium Grade Hair!

Gossip Girl’s, Leighton Meester has just been named Herbal Essences global ambassador. If you ask us, it was only a matter a time before someone snagged the fashion forward beauty for a hair endorsement role. She’s known to take risks and try new things with her hair.

We hear that apparently Leighton was turned onto the brand by her own personal stylist, Charles Baker Strahan, who is also a celebrity stylist for Herbal Essences.

Leighton told WWD, “I would need Tousle Me Softly. That is one of my favorite products and it’s really a look that I love since my hair is stick straight.”

Celebrity stylist Ken Paves is launching a new collection of professional haircare products in June for damaged hair called Self-Help: Care of Ken Paves. The products are designed to get color-treated hair back into tip top shape.

The line includes a sulfate-free shampoo, conditioner, deep nourishing balm, color-boosting finishing product, volumizing glosser, styling mist and holding hairspray. All of these are designed to give you the look you crave while restoring your hair back to health.

For curlies going straight for the winter (like me), this seems like a cool product line to try out. I know I want to! The collection includes a shampoo, conditioner, smooth finish serum and a straightening balm that is supposed to give you a salon blow-out look sans stylist.

Hmmm, sounds too good to be true. Well, I got an e-mail today saying that to celebrate the launch, book a silky straight blowout in any Fekkai salon and receive a complimentary bottle of Ironless Straightening Balm (3.4 oz.). For a list of salons click here.

On the bottle, it claims it does the following instantly:
1. Repairs dry, damage hair
2. Adds shine
3. Detangles
4. Controls frizz
5. Seals & protects hair color
6. Prevents split ends
7. Stops hair breakage
8. Creates silkiness
9. Enhances natural body
10. Flat iron spray & thermal protector

Sounds like a pretty good all-in-1 solution! I’ve been using It’s a 10 for about 2 weeks and so far I really like it. My hair is still looking healthy, shiny and I think it’s even getting easier to style.  I reccommend this to anyone who has dry, damaged or chemically treated hair.

Paul Mitchell has just come out with the Express Ion Dry Travel, a 1300-Watt travel dryer.  This will definitely fit in your carry-on, so no more relying on the hotel’s blow dryer – let’s face it, it usually sucks and it’s certainly not for big hair.

The Express Ion Dry Travel packs powerful performance, ionic conditioning and reduced drying time—all in a lightweight,
go-anywhere size. With convenient features like a folding handle, compact design and three temperature settings, this small dryer is big on professional results—so you can hit the road with style.

Get more details here.