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: - 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Cloisonne Hair Ties Here I model the Cloisonne 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 Cloisonne Hair Ties than I could count. This style would also look great with the Amber Hair Ties or Czech Glass Hair Ties. The Cloisonne 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. Social Media Network Information Please follow me on Twitter at: http://Twitter.com/HairBoutique. I look forward to meeting new people from all walks of Twitter and learning from their Tweets. Visit us at Hairboutique.com located at: http://www.HairBoutique.com, on Facebook, MySpace and YouTube. Thank you for visiting us at The HairBoutique Blog and for leaving your comments. They are very much appreciated. We apologize in advance but must remove any direct advertisements or solicitations. - Revised Publication Date: 05/22/10 |
