Last night on the season finale of Shear Genius, the final three stylists, Janine, Brig, and Matthew, competed for the grand prize. Sure, there were some beautifully gorgeous looks that came out of season three, but it's the crazier ones that are the most noteworthy. Here are a few examples of some truly avant-garde styles. Which ones are your favorites?
Photos courtesy of Bravo
With new host Camila Alves and a fresh crop of stylists, it looks like competition is going to get fierce on the new season of Bravo's Shear Genius, the reality show that pits professional stylists against one another in Top Chef-style challenges. It's been a fun watch in the past, but the show's coming into its third season, and clearly adding Camila was a way to shake things up. What's on your mind? If you watched it before, are you sad to see that former host, Jaclyn Smith, has been replaced? And if you haven't watched before, do you think you'll start now?
Photo courtesy of Bravo
Bravo has been running the reality competition show Shear Genius for two seasons now, and I've tuned in from time to time. You have stylists battling against each other — and the clock — to churn out the most inventive, best-looking hair for their clients. But this time around, the show is getting much-needed fresh blood for the judges' panel with the addition of Jonathan Antin (from Blow Out!) and Matthew McConaughey's lady love, model Camila Alves.
Antin never shies from doling out harsh criticism, so I'm sure we'll see even more breakdowns this season than usual. But I'm mainly curious to see how Alves delivers on her hosting duties. She's obviously gorgeous, but will she have the discerning eye needed as a judge? If nothing else, I can at least picture her serving as the contestants' counselor of sorts, a good cop to Antin's bad cop.
I plan on catching the show tonight (10/9c) to see how she fares, but how about you? Will you tune in? To check out a preview of the new season, just read more
Bravo's hair styling reality show Shear Genius is about to get a new host: Matthew McConaughey love, handbag designer, and model Camila Alves will be taking over from Jaclyn Smith when the third season premieres in February. (Also of note: hair reality show alum Jonathan Antin will be a new judge.)
I wish Alves luck, because it's a tough job — a host can make or break a show for its audience. There are the great emcees, like charming So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley, and then there are the unmemorable, such as season one Top Chef host Katie Lee, who was quickly replaced by Padma (let's not even get started on Top Chef Masters' Kelly Choi). And then there's those who can end things before they begin — I'm considering not watching Launch My Line because the voices of hosts Dean and Dan Caten from DSquared are so grating on my ears.
So, dish: which TV show hosts are your favorites — and least favorites?
Photo courtesy of Bravo
After talking to master stylist Meredith Venesile-Spiros about getting back to your natural color in a budget friendly manner, it was clear that this job was one for a professional — at least for the initial change.
While it may be tempting to do a little kitchen sink coloring at home to save a few bucks, stop before you break out those plastic gloves and make an unintentional mistake. "The fact of the matter is, hairdressers want to help. They are actually saving you money in the long run."
To learn more about Meredith's advice on going back to your virginal (er...in the hair sense, of course) ways, read the how-to below:
If going from an artificial darker color back to your natural lighter or gray color:
To find out more about getting back to your roots, read more
A few weeks back, Bella reader lotuslight wanted to go back to her roots — literally. She asked what it would take to completely grow out her artificial color and go natural instead, all while keeping it budget-friendly. So, I’ve done a little sleuthing and here’s what was uncovered.
To get the facts straight, I consulted with Meredith Venesile-Spiros, master stylist at Salon V in Chicago and former contestant on the latest season of Shear Genius.
Ironically enough, to get rid of color, you're going to have to add some color. When going back to the tones that nature intended, it's best to stay out of the drugstore aisles to avoid a DIY color disaster, regardless of how tempting (and cheap) it might be.
"At least for the first time, go see a professional to properly make that change," Meredith advises. Let the experts guide you on what it's going to take keep the integrity of your hair intact. In the long run, you'll "save yourself some drama, money, and multiple trips to the drugstore."
To avoid having the embarrassment of heavy roots while your hair grows out, your stylist will talk about gradually blending your previously colored hair into your natural (virgin, if you will) color. Stay tuned to learn more about what Meredith says it takes to make this change a reality.
Photo courtesy of Bravo.
Did you watch the season finale of Shear Genius last night? The last assignment was for each stylist to create a story of a woman's life from the ages of 18, 30, 45, and 60 — all through her hair. Pretty cool concept, right?
Dee's models were all redheads, and her story focused around a woman who started out with dreams of being a singer — who eventually succeeded, of course. Charlie kept it in the creative element as well, depicting the life of a blond child actress, from beautiful ingenue to famed director. Nicole's story kept it real. Her brunette models were based on the fairly normal life of her mother.
Whether you watched the show or are just judging by these models' hairstyles, who do you think deserved to win last night?
Photos courtesy of Bravo.
I surprised myself last year by really coming to love Shear Genius, Bravo's Project Runway knockoff about hair stylists. I'd been expecting to find the competition just more of the same, but all it took was one haircut with hedge clippers and one contestant named Dr. Boogie to get me hooked.
Tonight, the show is back for a second season, and I'm curious to see if Bravo's managed to recapture the offbeat magic of season one. Unlike the network's Top Design, which is getting a total makeover for its second season, Shear Genius has brought its principal people back for another round, including host Jaclyn Smith and mentor Rene Fris. It remains to be seen if any of the new contestants can top the antics of the scrubs-wearing Dr. Boogie, but Oshun (who's styled hair for NBC's ridiculous soap Passions) and Paulo (whose salon's name is Ego Mechanix) seem like early favorites to bring some drama.
Will Shear Genius make the cut (yuk yuk) for your viewing schedule? To watch a clip from the first episode, just read more
Tonight, Shear Genius returns to Bravo for another season of cut-and-color drama. You can check out the contestants for a preview of their personalities if you like; so many of them have terrible haircuts that I'd be nervous to let them near my head. If you aren't familiar with the show, here's a preview. Will you be watching?
Yesterday, we got a sense for what Lifetime has planned for Project Runway when it gets the rights to air the show in November (pending a lawsuit, of course). Today, we got a taste of what Bravo has in mind for the fifth season of Runway — plus the rest of the network's programming plans, including more Shear Genius and Top Design.
Runway's fifth season is now set to premiere on Bravo in July, presumably with the final designers showing off their collections at New York Fashion Week in September. While that seems like it will be a quick turnaround between the Bravo and Lifetime seasons, it's actually about the same amount of time the show took off between seasons two and three.
Among the other announcements:
Bravo also announced a couple of new shows in development. To see what they are, just read more
