Bringing out their true colors
Darla Albornoz (left) colors her hair, and she's not afraid to admit it. In fact, doing so landed her in a national print ad for Clairol. Albornoz, who is 27 and lives in Pasadena, was one of three women who won the modeling gig as part of the Clairol Nice 'n Easy Be in an Ad contest. All the software engineer had to do was send a photograph and a 100-word essay about how the product "brings honest, natural beauty" into her life.
In her essay, Albornoz, a brunette, wrote about how she and her mother color their gray together. Her color of choice? Nice 'n Easy #141GY Ultra Gray Coverage Medium Brown.
Albornoz says the three-night trip she took to New York to shoot the ad, was "phenomenal." "The trip was every girl's dream come true." Coverage of the shoot will appear on "E! Fashion Emergency" in the fall.
The ads, which also feature contest winners (redhead) Sky Hixson of Charlotte, N.C., and (blonde) Debra Philips of Osprey, Fla., will appear in magazines starting this fall.
Fresh face on the cover
"I was flabbergasted," Aladrian Crowder says of her reaction to seeing her face on the cover of this month's Essence magazine. "It was beautiful -- so elegant. I never see myself in that way."
Crowder, who's from Owings Mills, won a joint contest in March by Essence and Wilhelmina, the modeling agency that launched the careers of Beverly Johnson, Cynthia Bailey and Tracy Ross. The contest was designed to discover a fresh face with modeling potential.
Crowder, one of 7,000 contestants, took home the grand prize: a $50,000 modeling contract with Wilhelmina. The magazine's cover marks her big-time modeling debut, though she's done some local work before.
After such a win, one might think the 18-year-old knockout would rest on her laurels for a while and maybe relax by the pool, but that's just not Crowder. She's spending her first summer out of high school at the University of Delaware taking 6 credits, which she'll apply toward the chemical engineering degree she hopes to earn at the college.
"Biomedical engineering," she says, "is what interests me."
Beauty and brains -- not a bad deal.
-- Tricia Bishop
If your wardrobe needs the blues
By mid-August, the shorts, shifts and tank tops purchased in May are beginning to look a little tired. Give boring summer clothes a shot of color with a wrist of turquoise and sterling silver jewelry.
Turquoise not only looks great with black, white and vivid oranges and reds, but also is considered to be an amulet for good fortune and beauty, according to Carolee, manufacturers of costume jewelry.
Mix a number of turquoise bracelets of various shapes and sizes with sterling silver bead bracelets.
You won't be bored, or sorry. -- M.B.
New line prevents lines
The sun, changes in temperature, global warming and free radicals such as pollution and smoke all damage skin -- damage that might not become visible until years from now.
Exuviance by NeoStrata, a new line of skin-care products, may be able to protect your skin now from future damage. Exuviance products contain a unique combination of alpha- and polyhydroxic acids, ingredients previously available only from physicians, as well as botanicals such as chamomile and rosemary and marine extracts to restore and moisturize the skin.
Prices range from $8.50 for lip balm to $29.50 for Evening Restorative Complex.
A sampler collection, $22.50, features six products. Exuviance by NeoStrata is available in select Nordstrom and Sephora stores. For more information, call 800-225-9411.
-- M.B.
