The Budget Babe | Affordable Fashion & Style Blog

Backstage Beauty: Mackage Fall 2010 Hair Looks

top/bottom left: Tippi Shorter styling behind the scenes at the Mackage Fall 2010 runway show

One of the coolest new-to-me designers that I learned about at fashion week was Mackage, makers of sexy, sleek apparel and outerwear (see the video I took of the runway show finale here.) During the show I was smitten with the edgy hair looks, and while I did not get to go backstage, my friends at Avon filled me in on all the details.

Avon's Global Stylist Advisor Tippi Shorter created the 'dos, along with a team of Avon stylists. Tippi says the Mackage looks were inspired by those occasions when a woman who leads an exciting life wakes up and tries to recreate the perfect 'do she had the night before. "It's a look that I refer to as 'second day chic,'" she explains. "It's a sexy and mysterious look that works perfectly with the designs."

Key products used include Avon Advance Techniques Volumizing Mousse for the perfect foundation, along with Advance Technique Moisture Sleek Smoothing Serum and Shaping Gel for shape and Advance Techniques Mirror Shine Spray for a high shine finish.

The Look for Less: Ralph Lauren Stacked Glass Ball Table Lamp



Ralph Lauren Home at ShopStyle


Chic decor for less seems like a natural extension of my "fab without a fortune" mantra, so I've decided to feature the occasional home item here on my fashion blog. Hope you like it! First up, this Ralph Lauren Stacked Glass Ball Table Lamp. Fashioned after Art Deco styling, this timeless lamp is on sale for $1,360 down from $1,700 at Bloomingdales.com. Yowza!


Decorate your home for a lot less cash with this Crystal Ball Table Lamp by studio for JCP.com, on sale now for $79.99 (orig. $160). At this price, you can afford to buy a pair.

Backstage Beauty: Fall 2010 Hair Looks at Tadashi Shoji





Backstage at Tadashi Shoji, I had the chance to talk with lead hair stylist Rodney Cutler, a veteran of Tadashi's shows, about creating the hair looks for the Fall 2010 runway show. Cutler explained that while Tadashi usually requests chic up-dos, this season the designer wanted hair completely down and uncomplicated to show off the beautiful clothes. Key products used to get the look include Cutler Volumizing Spray and Redken Workforce 09. "We wanted hair to move on the runway, to be fresh young and a simple look," Cutler said.

Keep reading to see the finished look!