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BEAUTY – How To: Hair Chalking

Does your hair need a colorful, quick, and flirty dye job? Try this simple do-it-yourself trend that adds the most perfect, temporary tint—hair chalking. Yes, the idea has been around for a bit now, but it’s becoming more popular everyday and is quickly becoming the new ‘it’ hairstyle. Although Lauren Conrad was the first to be spotted rocking this look with her “Cotton Candy Bun”, countless of other famous fashionistas and runway models have been seen with the newest hair craze, including Katy Perry, and Lady Gaga.

So do you too want to add a little color to your life? Follow these simple directions and tips below!

- When you are ready to begin chalking, first twist the sections of hair you are about to add chalk to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*IF YOU ARE BLONDE- Do not wet your hair before chalking. This will cause the pigment stain and will last in your hair after a few washes, making the color not so temporary after all.
*IF YOUR HAIR IS DARKER- Make sure to wet your hair before chalking. You can do so by simply wetting sections of your hair using a spray bottle.
*IF YOU HAVE RED HAIR- Try chalking without adding water at first, if the pigment does not show up, add a little water. It really depends on how light or dark the red is.

-Try applying two different colors to a strand at once. This ends up giving your hair a more tie-dyed look, which is more fun!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Make sure to use SOFT PASTELS. The ones that work the most seem to be Senellier brand pastels because the color is more intense. DO NOT just buy regular chalk or oil pastels. This is important!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-When applying the chalk, make sure to wear a robe or cape and lay something on the floor because the chalk dust will get everywhere.

AFTER CHALKING
-Wearing an updo may be the best way to rock your new style—at times the chalk can rub off onto your clothing.
-Before showering, make sure to brush out as much of the chalk as possible. Most of it will come out after brushing.
-ALWAYS shampoo hair after chalking. There is a very small amount of “gum arabic” in soft chalk pastels, which is actually made from tree sap, so it’s important to get it out.
-YOU MUST also condition hair afterwards. The chalk itself can suck up a lot of natural moisture in your hair, so it’s important to replenish the moisture that was lost!

It’s as easy as that! It only takes a few minutes and can really add that extra POP you’ve been looking for! The best part is that it’s temporary, so you can switch it up every time! Have fun with this flirt look MANIACS, and send us your ‘chalking’ before and after photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~~ By Cody Wiegand

Trend Watch: Hair We Go! Colorful Strands….Just the Tips!

It seems that everywhere you look these days, there is another trend-setting celebrity or edgy fashionista rocking brightly colored locks! Rainbow hues were big for makeup, handbags, and denim, and now, they’re just as big for your hair.

Are you daring enough to brighten up your strands with hues of pink, purple, teal or orange? Rhianna favors fire-engine red, Katy Perry recently went to the pink side, Lady Gaga looked gorgeous with her lavender blonde locks and equally as cool with teal strands, and blue-tinted tips have been spotted on other young starlets such as Lauren Conrad and Kate Bosworth.

All-over color can be a little too daring for some — but, what about the more conservative looks of some streaky colored highlights or dying only the tips?

Tell us – is this a trend that you’re on board with … or is it a little too “maniac” for your taste?

~~~ Ashley Boynes-Shuck

Trend Watch: Owl Over the Place!

Kitsch is always fun for summertime and to add a nostalgic or vintagey flair to your look.

This summer, owls are “owl” over the place! From earrings to pendants, rings, and even t-shirts and dresses, this wise bird has become a fashion muse no matter your style.

Celebrities such as Kelly Killoren-Bensimon and Katy Perry have been spotted rocking owl accessories…

…and we want to know WHOOOOOO else is a fan of this trend!

~~ Ashley Boynes-Shuck

Maniac For Katy Perry

The Maniac Girls headed to the Peterson Events Center Thursday night for Katy Perry’s California Dreams Tour. While singing all the favorites such as “Teenage Dream”, “Waking up in Vegas” and “Peacock”, she also sang her own rendition of “Black and Yellow” and “Friday”. The fans couldn’t have gone crazier!

The set was transformed into a dream land with candy as far as the eye could see. With live tweets and texts streaming across screens near the stage, those at the concert were able to share their experiences and bring the tour to the digital world.

Maniac was lucky enough to go backstage and meet Katy,  where she gave us her most “Maniac Moment” and just like her set, she couldn’t have been sweeter. In true Maniac style, she told us she jumped off a bridge in New Zealand with 15 of her crew members!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hola to Oh Land! Laura Petrilla shoots our April/May Covergirl in Austin, TX

Hola to Oh Land! - Laura Petrilla shoots our April/May Covergirl in Austin, TX
How I had never heard of her prior to my SXSW experience is beyond me.

 

Fair skin and hair, Ms. Nanna “Oh Land” dressed in a cosmic scene paired with black fringe and combat boots, her striking model-esque presence taking to the small stage after her fellow band-mates comically do sound check.  The audience sings along, as if her latest album had been released quite some time ago, although it had only been days.

 

Her voice reminiscing of those whom I hold already in my own collection of music; a bit of Bjork, meets Coco Rosie and Lykke Li is what first comes to mind. Her dancing and on-stage energy, equally hold my attention. I snap away, enjoying all aspects of her performance, eager to capture her again when she steps off stage for our impromptu coatroom photoshoot.

 

Her Epic Records publicist Joseph Carozza, graciously agreed to share their time, while I photographed post show. Filled with natural light, the small room echoed from the white brick and sparse furnishings. I guess being that we were in a venue called “Swan Dive”, that all made perfect sense.

 

Efficiently, I captured what I needed on camera and then filmed a short and sweet interview recap of SXSW, where this girl performed 10 shows in 5 days before hitting the road to play some more and appear on television in LA.  Impressive.

 

Great grand finale of to my 7th and final day at SXSW! Until next year…

-       Laura Petrilla

 

Update from Epic Records:

 

Oh Land will be touring this summer in the U.S. on Sia’s “We are Born” tour and Katy Perry’s “California Dreams 2011 Tour.”

 

Oh Land’s songs “We Turn It Up” and “White Nights” are currently featured in Honda Civic and Hershey’s Chocolate ad campaigns.

 

 

Trend Watch: First, Nail Art. Now, Lip Tattoos?

So, it isn’t exactly a huge trend…..YET…but…one of the latest trends to take the more “edgy” population of the fashion world by storm is that of  lip tattoos.

First, there was a fringe trend of nail art that slowly went mainstream. Now, will these printed-and-patterned lip tattoos do the same?

These temporary appliques come in “do-it-yourself” kits and are made by a company called Violent Lips.

While some of the looks would be great for a runway show or in an editorial, this trend is definitely not suited for the average person’s everyday life.

Unless, of course, you happen to be Katy Perry or Lady GaGa.

… Thoughts?

 

— by Ashley Marie Boynes

MANIAC picks the top 2011 Grammy performances

If I could use two words to describe this year’s Grammy awards, this is what
they would:  Lady Antebellum.   I mean, it’s going to take weeks for me to
get the hook of “Need You Now” out of my head.  It played so many freakin’
times!  One for every award the group collected….and there were a lot of
those.

But Lady Antebellum’s biggest accomplishment of the night wasn’t nabbing
Song Of The Year – it was ensuring that the show wasn’t completely dominated (the way so many awards shows are these days) by another Lady.

I’m talking about Gaga, whose premiere performance of “Born This Way” looked and sounded an awful lot like something Madonna would have  done in her heyday.  It was more toned-down than most, but it was another typically impressive Gaga number.

The ladies weren’t the only standouts: Cee Lo gave an impressive and
authentic (am I the only one thought that his occasional pauses only added
charm to the performances?) of his hit “Forget You.”  He was joined by
Gwyneth Palthrow, who did the number during her guest spot on Glee.
Suprisingly,Gwynny’s got a pretty powerful voice packed into the skinny body – and I don’t have a negative thing to stay about her stage presence.  You stand on that piano, girl.  I don’t hate it.

And the third most impressive performance of the night?  Usher and
Bieber.  Usher is known for his showstopping performances, and JB seems to following in his mentor’s footsteps.  For such a young artist, he can really sing, dance, and command the stage.

Bruno Mars brought it as well  – he can definitely realllyyy sing.  But who
was that girl onstage with him?

Like any awards show, there were some misses alongside the hits.  Rihanna,
for example?  Sure, she’s beautiful and seems to have the Midas touch – any
song she touches instantly turns to triple platinum – but she really isn’t
much of a vocalist.  At all.  Both of performances (Love The Way You Lie and
What’s My Name?)  fell a little flat because of this.

Speaking of stars who can’t sing….Katy Perry really wasn’t doing it either.
I thought it couldn’t get any worse than her fairy tale-inspired ballad -
trying to channel Taylor Swift during a live performance isn’t the best
idea, after all – but then she got up and added some awkward dance moves to the mix….and it did.

Also…that medley at the beginning?   Kind of seemed more like a battle of
the divas than a collaboration.