| Shop Till You Drop |
Karen Marie Shelton
Revised - 7/23/2004 |
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Introduction
I don't know about you, but I hate crowds, traffic jams, hot malls and
frenzied sales people. I prefer to hang out at my PC and surf my way through
my Christmas shopping. I used to be one of those "catalog"
shoppers who would send everyone pre-wrapped gifts from Swiss Colony (they
make great gingerbread houses) or other food basket shops. Hey, who doesn't
like food for Christmas?
I have to confess that I even sent fruit cakes. But only to my mom who
loved them....or my favorite phone solicitors.
This year I am planning on dumping all of the catalogs and doing most of
my shopping online. I always get email from people asking for suggestions of
good hair and beauty gifts for their loved ones.
I thought I would take a few minutes and help you get some ideas on how
to empty your wallets along with "yours truly".
Books Make The Best Presents
They don't spoil, they are easy to wrap, the last forever and you can
always save them and give them to someone else next year. The Hair Boutique
book store specializes in books on hair and beauty. Hair Boutique has some
great books available through Amazon.com. Here are my favorite gift books
out of the over 80 different books we currently have:
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Patrick Cameron's
Dressing Long Hair
There is very little danger that your gift of Patrick's
book will be a duplicate. This is a rare, hard-to-find book that
is chock full of some of the most beautiful hair styling photos
and instructions for longer hair that I have ever seen. I
personally bought several copies just in case anything happens
to any of the books I have. In my review of the book I
"cheated" and included three of the color photos that
are just a few of the eye-popping color photos jammed into this
gorgeous book. The cool thing about this book is that is can
double as a "coffee table book" or as a real guide to
some stunning hair styles.
This book would make a great gift for your hairstylist (who
could use it to get some new ideas). It would also be great
motivation to your significant other or loved one that is always
searching for new ways to create some new hairstyles. This is
probably one of the most visually beautiful books I have ever
seen. In a special association with amazon.co.uk, the Hair
Boutique can offer you this book directly through our web site.
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388 Great
Hairstyles
While Patrick Cameron's book is specifically for long hair,
Margit Rudiger and Renate Von Samson created a great book for
Universal hair.
This book is totally devoted to hair styles. The book has short,
medium and long hair styles. Since I have long hair myself I
have to report that this wonderful book has over 40 different
pages of glorious color photographs dedicated to long hair
styles. The models are stunning.
Don't get me wrong, the short and medium hair styles that are
presented are just as impressive. Since I have long hair, I
always check that out first.
There are literally hundreds of photographs of all three hair
lengths and every imaginable hair color and hair texture. The
title of this book is 388 Hair Styles and there are literally
388 different styles presented. Yes, I counted. There is an
incredible style on page 95 where spiral curlers have been used
to turn bangs and hair at the temples into a sexy romantic veil
of soft curls. Hair is braided softly in the back. My mouth was
hanging open.
This book is a great gift idea for basically any female with any
type of hair. There are endless hairstyling ideas that will last
for years.
-
Hair Wraps
by Anne Akers Johnson
This is a perfect gift for any females that like to experiment
with their hair.
The book comes complete with everything you need to do hair
wraps. It includes 10 color of embroidery floss, assorted glass
beads, little charms and great instructions. The wrap colors
include a multi blue, black, white, red, turquoise, purple, jade
green, navy blue, gold and a maroon type of color. There were
four little gold colored charms and 4-6 little glass beads.
The book explains all the basics about hair wrapping. It also
teaches you how to do The Basic Wrap, how to stripe the wrap,
add charms, add beads and do a rope wrap. There is also detailed
instructions for an X wrap, a woven wrap and a spiral wrap.
The book has very clear instructions with lots of color photos
and thumbnail illustrations throughout the entire book. This is
a great gift book for basically any season. I am sure it would
be well received under the Christmas tree.
-
The Bald Truth:
The First Complete Guide to Preventing and Treating Hair Loss by
Spencer David Kobren
This book is for the men on your list that would never buy this
miracle book for themselves. At the prize it would make a nice
little stocking stuffer. Many men worry about hair loss but are
too embarrassed to buy a book about it. This is a gift that
could be very well received in the right circumstances. You will
have to be the judge on whether it would be appropriate or not.
I can tell you that Hair Boutique's Spencer David Kobren is a
walking success story. He followed the instructions presented in
his best selling book to reverse his own hair loss. David now
sports a full head of hair.
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101 Secrets to
Winning Beauty Pageants
Did you know that there are 7 basic hairstyles that win the
most beauty contests? Did you know that long and glamorous hair
is the biggest winner in the Miss USA and Miss Universe
contests?. As a long haired fan, this was great news. Below the
shoulder hair doesn't win for Miss America or Miss Teen USA
because longer hair is considered too sexy. What an interesting
fact indeed.
Beauty pageants are big business. This wonderful book gives you
all the scoops. While I would never dream of entering a contest
because I am too lazy to do all that hard work, I have always
been fascinated with people that do make the effort and succeed.
This is a great gift item for anyone on your list that is a
budding contestant.
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Natural Beauty at
Home : More Than 200 Easy-To-Use Recipes for Body, Bath, and Hair
There is talk from time to time in Hair Talk about recipes for
natural shampoos that you can make at home. If you have a person
on your Christmas list that likes to create their own recipes
for body, bath or hair this book is the perfect gift. It is
relatively hard to find. I have had to order it every time I
give it as a gift. However, it is worth the effort.
This is a great no-fluff book on creating beauty at home.
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Creative Bead
Jewelry : Weaving, Looming, Stringing, Wiring, Making Beads by
Carol Taylor
This comprehensive, how-to guide allows even a novice to be able
to make incredible necklaces, bracelets, earrings, barrettes,
and more. A basics section covers tools and materials. Detailed
instructions are accompanied by more than 200 line drawings.
This book caught my eye because of the new beaded look in long
hair designs. Page 59 has a gorgeous beaded hairpin that looks
very easy to make if you have some time on your hands. I got
lots of really great ideas on using beads for all types of hair
accessories. I might even give the stick pins a whirl.
What I like about this book is that the instructions seem fairly
easy and klutz proof. I also like how Carol Taylor has taken
some simple ideas and turned them into beautiful jewelry. A lot
of the pieces can be adopted for the hair. There is just a lot
of great bead information that is included. I liked the sections
on how to create different beaded patterns and what type of
beads to buy for different looks.
This is the perfect gift for the "do-it-yourself"
person on your shopping list. If you have a friend or loved one
that loves to work with their hands and make beautiful jewelry,
this book is a great selection.
Other Books That Are Great Gifts:
Hand Made, One Of A Kind, Hair Jewelry
The Hair Boutique's stylist, Shelley Pryor (972-516-4718) helped me come
up with some stunning hairstyles to show off all of the
Hair Boutique's Marketplace
hair jewelry which makes great gifts for year-round giving.
Jeff was lurking behind the corner taking photos and I have agreed to
include a few of the best ones to show off the gorgeous jewelry in my hair.
I love all the hair jewelry but I have to admit that my favorite are the
hair sticks and hair ties.
What can I say. I get nothing but compliments when I wear the hair
jewelry. They are perfect for every style from the French twist (the hair
sticks) to the half Asian Knot to just a big fat soft bun.
Hair
Sticks
The Hair
Boutique Hair Sticks just knock my socks off. They are incredibly delicate
and beautiful. The blue hair sticks look stunning in my hair with a classic
French twist. They hold my hair in place really well although for these
photos my stylist did "cheat" and pin the hair. In these photos
the hair sticks were used as decoration. We played with alternating the
colors. That also looked stunning. What can I say.
There
is no better way to dress up a style. This style also works well with the Zuni Bear Hair
Sticks and the delicate Nei-hua Hair
Sticks.
Golden
Cloisonn Hair Ties
Here
I model the Cloisonn Hair Ties which is used to beautifully tie
off the bottom of my short fishtail braid piece that is at the
bottom of the soft loose braid. I got more compliments on my hair
and Cloisonn Hair Ties than I could count.
This style would also look great with the Amber Hair Ties
or Czech
Glass Hair Ties.
The Cloisonn ties can be worn for special events like the office
Christmas party or in a more casual style at the top of a ponytail.
This
hair jewelry
is a wonderful gift for anyone who loves beautiful jewelry for their medium
to long hair. It is hand made, one of a kind and only available at the Hair
Boutique.
Cloisonn, or literally "closed cell" is another art form of
the ages, perfected hundreds of years ago in ancient China and practiced
today in only a few places around the world. The process takes no less than
nine separate steps.
Zuni Bear Hair
Sticks
Traditional
symbols of wisdom and inner strength, the zuni bear is a powerful talisman
for its wearer. Here, hand carved from a variety of colorful gemstones such
as jasper, quartz, amethyst, onyx, banded agates, snowflake obsidian,
fluorite, marble, serpentine jade and others, each carefully rendered fetish
charm dangles from atop a shimmering hematite bead, a mineral said to help
focus ones energy, balancing the mind, body and spirit.
Here my hair is twisted up in a type of double Asian knot that shows off
the beautiful
Zuni Bear Hair Sticks
along with the length of my "fast growing" hair.
Here
is a great "close up" of the double knot and the beautiful Zuni
hair stick.
This beautiful hair style can be worn in multiple ways. For these photos
my hair was worn half up in the Knot and half down. You could actually wear
the long hair in curls, braids or even a second knot. |