What do you get for a beauty professional who seems to have all the right miracle beauty products this holiday season? Check out some of these products below that will kickstart your favorite beauty professional’s new year in just the right way…

Hair Stylist
If smooth, straight hair is what you’re after, then Living proof’s frizz straight making no frizz styling cream is just what you need. Attempting to beat the evil known as humidity, to keep split ends down to a minimum, and help cut down on drying time, this no frizz styling cream is seriously a no-brainer. For the professional and amateur hair stylist alike, you’ll love to have this in your repertoire of secret weapons.

Buy the 4 oz. bottle of frizz straight making no frizz styling cream at Sephora for $24.

Esthetician
Even those with flawless skin can get a blemish on their face from time to time. Don’t let it get you down. That’s what CoverFX’s Camouflage Concealer is for. This concealer really camouflages anything from a pimple to redness to signs of a sleepless night. It’s high-definition ready and helps to even out skin tone. It even comes in six different shades. What more could an esthetician ask for?

Buy the 0.5 oz. bottle of Camouflage Concealer at Sephora for $25.

Nail Technician
We’re always looking for the longest-lasting manicure that will help keep nails at their strongest. Perfect Formula’s Nail Guard System does just that with some gel and crystals. The gel coat, also known as a “Suit of Armor” helps to thicken and strengthen the weakest of nails as a base coat. The crystal nail file helps to shape and seal nails to keep them looking fabulous even longer.

Buy the kit on http://www.perfectformulas.com for $33.50.

Makeup Artist
Most girls long for longer, fuller lashes and that’s usually what mascara is supposed to do for us. CARGO goes one step farther by helping grow your lashes with LashActivator. By using products like Marine Algae extracts, citrus-derived Flavonoids, and Peptide-biotin, LashActivator helps promote better looking lashes with a slow lash loss rate. Perfect for everyday use, you can expect to see a difference within 30 days.

Buy LashActivator at Sephora for $35.

-Amanda Fornecker

I watched MTV’s “Jersey Shore” last night and can I just say I was definitely entertained. But it doesn’t take a beauty school professional to know that these looks are part of a culture very different from other parts of the country. In fact, many people who have been born and raised in that very area (aka me) don’t necessarily fit that stereotypical bill. The following are some beauty adjustments a beauty professional might love to make on these young partygoers.

The Poof
If volume is what you want, then you may be able to achieve this look with just the right cleansing and styling regimen. No need to tease and spray like the days of the ’80s. By visiting your hair stylist, you’ll get tips and tricks that will look more natural, instead of passe and exaggerated.

The Tan
This is an esthetician’s nightmare. By tanning, you’re killing the top layer of your skin. But the worst part is that it normally looks pretty fake when you put yourself in a box all year long or decide to get an orange spray-on tan. Tanning all summer or on your vacay is one thing but creating a fake appearance is not always the best for your image.

The Gelled Spike
Do boys really sit there for 25 minutes, gelling and blowing out their hair? Unfortunately, I’ve met some who do. Don’t let the gel go to your head. Take a trip to the barber shop to stay groomed. Use the gel, but you don’t need to create a weapon with your hair that wouldn’t allow you to pass through airport security.

The Fake Nails
I’m sure a nail technician would agree – sometimes less is more. In fact, the more natural and light-colored manicure is what’s in this season. Tips and wraps are still totally fine, but there are some out of control claws out there that seem extremely unnatural if you ask me.

Now, not everyone in the vicinity of the Jersey Shore is like those portrayed on MTV’s new show. And they’re not bad people, either. But I bet some beauty professionals would love to do a Jersey Shore makeover. Who would you make over?

-Amanda Fornecker

Throughout the recession, I’ve always believed that even frugalistas couldn’t ever cut out a haircut from their list of beauty services. So when I heard about an upscale New York salon with free haircuts I just had to share it with you.

Cristiano Cora has a salon in Manhattan’s West Village and on Tuesdays from 10am to 1pm he is offering free haircuts to the unemployed, as long as they can prove this. Normally, haircuts with Cora, himself, cost a whopping $300. But if you’re unemployed, they are free. I guess it pays to be unemployed in this instance.

Cora told ABC7 News in New York: “My goal is to make you look good, so you can walk away feeling good and go for an interview and have energy and feeling will help you get a job.” What a great idea and way to give back to the community. It’s a great way to help people who may not be feeling so good about themselves in a difficult time. With a new look, they may be able to go out and become a brand new person.

It’s charitable gestures from people like Cora that really restore my faith in other people. What a great hair stylist!

Visit the salon’s website and schedule your appointment by emailing CristianoCoraUnemploymentCuts@gmail.com.

-Amanda Fornecker

Now that Labor Day Weekend is over and the weather has been getting progressively cooler, it seems that Fall is upon us. So what can we expect for hair styles in Fall 09? We got the scoop from the 2009 Autumn/Winter Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week and celebrity hairstylist, Paul Labrecque, shows us how to take those crazy high-fashion runway model hairdos and turn them into something we can manage for everyday living.

Crimping
Crimping isn’t just a thing of the 80s. In fact, we saw crimped-out hairdos all over the runways of designers, like Karl Lagerfield and Stephane Rolland.

If your hair doesn’t have any natural texture, wave or body, LaBrecque says:

• Use a styling cream such as Paul Labrecque’s COLOR STYLE Fade Protection Foam to give hair the grip it needs before blow drying and using a crimping iron.
• To avoid a frizzy mess, lightly spritz dry hair with an anti-frizz spray and pull the front of the hair up into two high twists.

Parting
Ah, the age-old question of the middle part or the side part? The Paris runway shows tell us that both middle and swooping side parts are very much popular hairstyles for this Fall.

To achieve this sleek, chic chignon, follow LeBrecque’s advice:

• Apply a frizz-fighting, straightening cream to wet hair and blow dry in 1 inch sections with a round brush.
• Part the hair in the middle and smooth strands with the Paul Labrecque DAILY STYLE Alcohol Free Holding Gel and a boar bristle flat brush for amazing shine.

For a soft, swooping side part that gives way to a simple, low twist:

• Part hair on the side and use a 2inch barrel curling iron to set the heavier side of the parting in alternating curls.
• When brushed out it will yield big, soft waves that can be formed into a dropping scoop.
• Loosely pull everything back and mist with the Paul Labrecque STRAIGHT FINISH Humidity Control Hair Mist to tame fly-aways and hold the shape without hardness.

The “Poof”
Defying gravity has been a continuing trend over the past few seasons and remains a hot commodity this year. The “poof” could be seen on the runways of designers, like John-Paul Gautier and Cengiz Abazoglu, in boiffants and other exciting hairdos.

To gain some height, volume and drama:

• Spray the Paul Labrecque VOLUME FINISH All Day Holding Mist directly on the root before teasing (back combing) your hair in sections, working from front to back.
• Finish the look by flat ironing only the lower half of the hair shaft for that sleek, straight look.

-Amanda Fornecker