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The hottest beauty salon right now? Your home

Relaxnews
Friday 19 March 2010 01:00 GMT
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With the beauty tutorial boom on video platforms such as YouTube, it is becoming easier than ever to turn your own four walls into a 'professional' salon, and brands are taking advantage of that fact.

British company Airbase has just launched a home-use airbrush and compressor set (retailing for £134.95 or €148) as well as another kit containing foundations and blushes (£195 or €214) that are meant to facilitate achieving a professional makeup look at home. The new products come with video tutorials uploaded to YouTube, explaining each step. Airbase says the look is especially popular for weddings.

http://www.airbasemakeup.com

TEMPTU's AIRbrush Makeup System has been ranking on Sephora's bestseller lists since its launch last year, selling within the same price range (€164).

http://www.temptu.com

For an alternative, there's always the spray-on Skin Airflash foundation by Dior (€43, for example via sephora.com).

Stila also acknowledged the trend when it launched its Makeup Player vanity late last year: retailing for $69.99, it comes with its own music player and speaker system as well as some of the brand's beauty essentials and an instruction DVD to "transform you into your own Stila pro artist."

http://www.stilabeautytube.com

But if you think that's already a technological innovation, think again: Philips just released Lumea (€500), a handheld laser device for hair removal. The new beauty tool resembles a blow-dryer and uses pulses of light, called IPL (Intense Pulsed Light) technology, causing the hair to shed and inhibiting it from growing back.

http://www.philips.com/lumea

Its biggest competitor remains no!no! whose hair removal devices use heat-based Thermicon technology to reduce hair density.

https://www.my-no-no.com

More brands surfing the do-it-at-home wave include Quasar and Perricone MD that have both launched light therapy devices for the home that are meant to counter aging, as well as Clarisonic, whose skincare and cleansing systems are steadily growing in popularity according to Stylophane's Facebook Cosmetics Index.

Try these sites for more home salon inspiration:

Apartment Therapy on home saunas: http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/bathroom/5-compact-home-saunas-111233

Skincare Beauty Zone on home facials: http://www.skincarebeautyzone.com/skin-care/facial/how-to-get-yourself-a-facial-at-home

Shelter Pop on the ingredients for a spa-like bath: http://www.shelterpop.com/2009/10/12/the-ingredients-for-a-spa-like-bath

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