Meet your new favorite hair accessories designer

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Look, it’s Nicole Richie’ sister from another mister! No, it’s Melissa Fliss, my new favorite hair accessories designer and soon to be your favorite. Ever since she sent me samples of her new spring turbans (shown below), I’ve been hooked, rocking them nonstop indoors and out and getting tons of compliments wherever I go.

At just 30, the half-Mexican, half-Polish Fliss from Aurora, IL has accomplished so much already—her handmade Mila Rose Designs are sold at the Henri Bendel flagship store in New York City, and also on her website (for those of us who live elsewhere). She takes custom orders, so start thinking about that perfect hair accessory you want to wear yourself or give to a friend.

Fliss is also a Lucky Magazine contributor, and her latest column, “Dream, Believe, Achieve”, is all about how she can’t believe her dream of becoming a successful hair accessories designer has come true. Isn’t she super cute and inspiring? Best of all, she’s her own model!

Here are some of my favorite items from the spring Mila Rose collection.

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This was originally posted on GlamLatina.com

How to get Shakira’s waves in 4 easy steps

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Sure, I miss Xtina on The Voice, but I’m also really excited for Shakira’s debut as a coach tonight. I just know she’s going to kick all the boys’ butts, including that of her fellow new coach Usher. In honor of her first night–and because I’ve loved Shak’s hair texture through all its different color incarnations (gypsy black, rockstar red, bombshell blond)–I called on Luis Alvarez, co-founder and the creative force behind the awesome Aquage haircare line, to teach us how to get the new mama’s signature waves. If there’s one thing Luis knows, it’s curly hair.

Here’s his guide to transforming natural curls into sexy Shakira waves in 4 easy steps:

1. Prime hair with Aquage SeaExtend Silkening Shampoo – “This is my favorite for curly hair, because it’s infused with a blend of sea botanicals that seal the cuticle and help restore hair’s flexibility, pliability and shine,” Luis says. Follow with Aquage Silkening Power Infusion. “It’s my OMG! 
go-to product, because the results are instant. It’s a 60-second rinse-out treatment that repairs and silkens naturally curly and color-treated hair.”

2. To style, I recommend Aquage SeaExtend Silkening Oil Treatment. “This styling treatment is infused with ultra-light argan oil and sweet almond oil to smooth, silken and add brilliant shine,” Luis says. “The key to fabulous curly hairstyles is making sure to use enough product to evenly saturate hair from roots to ends. After applying to clean, wet hair, blow-dry using a cup diffuser with the dryer set on high heat and high air flow.”

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3. When your hair is dry, grab random sections no wider than 2 or 3 inches across. Right before curling, lightly spray each section with Aquage Beyond Body Thermal Spray. “It’s a medium-hold, body-building, heat-activated thermal setting spray with fortifying proteins that seal and protect hair’s outer layer,” Luis says. His curling technique: Loosely wrap each section around the barrel of a conical curling iron. If you don’t have one, use a regular curling iron without using the clamp, to avoid flattening the hair. Instead, just wind the hair around the iron for a few seconds and gently slide the iron away. “This technique unites random, organic natural curls into a thicker, looser, undulating curl pattern,” Luis explains.

4. “Last, but certainly not least, apply a pearl-sized amount of Aquage Detailing Creme to the palm of your hand and thoroughly emulsify, especially in between the fingers,” Luis says. “Lightly, gently and delicately run fingers through the hair with the goal of creating strand definition and separation without overly disturbing the newly created open-ended curl pattern.”

¡Y listo! You’ve got sexy Shakira hair in no time flat!

This story was originally posted on GlamLatina.com.

Meet Glam Belleza Latina, Glamour’s gorgeous new beauty magazine & website!

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Do you remember the first time mami let you put on her makeup? I must have been around 7 or 8, and it was a very specific beauty product that I was obsessed with—the loose powder from Maja, the vintage Spanish cosmetics company. It had a flamenco dancer on the red-and-black packaging, and it smelled like roses, just like my mother. From her I learned that being “put-together” is important because it’s a projection of what’s going on inside. And it was never about looking like someone else; it was about loving yourself and then making an effort to be the best version of that—in every sense.

Fashion icon Isabel Toledo says it best in the inaugural issue of Glam Belleza LatinaGlamour‘s new beauty magazine, on select newsstands starting March 5. She said, “Discover your uniqueness—that is your very strength—and then highlight that.”

The first magazine of its kind dedicated solely to nuestra belleza, this is a celebration of Latinas’ unique beauty, a rainbow that encompasses so many different colors, textures, and shapes. How amazing is it that this is what America looks like?

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But it’s more than a magazine; it’s a love story. And who better to tell the first chapter of that story than the forever-glowing Jennifer Lopez? For this first issue, Glam Belleza Latina’s editor Veronica Chambers (a proud Panamanian!) sits down for an exclusive interview with our favorite multi-hyphenate, who, at 43, has never looked or felt better. Call it La Lopez’s ultimate beauty playbook. For instance, you might be surprised to learn that J.Lo gets some of her best beauty finds at the supermarket. Who knew?! Read the full story right here.

Lopez and Toledo are in good company in this first issue. The list of super-talented contributors includes renowned yoga instructor and our natural beauty expert Hilaria Thomas Baldwin, Cuban-American designerNarciso Rodriguez, celebrity makeup artist Leslie Lopez, Emmy-winning journalist Lynda Lopez, and Today show anchor Natalie Morales. Then there are all the experts, artists, and bloggers who shared their knowledge and passion for all things beauty.

But the most important person in all of this is you, our muse and the source of our daily inspiration. Tweet us @glamlatinamag and visit us at glamlatina.com on March 11, where we’ll be bringing you the latest in celebrity beauty, hair, makeup, skin, and nails, as it relates to you and your life.

This story was originally posted on Glamour.com