February Beauty Buzz

When amounts of formaldehyde exceeding the Cosmetic Ingredient Review’s recommended limit were recently found in salon formulas of the popular Brazilian hair-straightening method, hairstylist Peter Coppola became curly girls’ latest hero. His new Keratin Complex Hair Therapy by Coppola straightens locks for the same three- to five-month span that the Brazilian process promises but contains none of that noxious chemical. At Francky L’Official Salon, New York, and Peter Coppola Salon, Boca Raton, Florida.

Burt’s Bees is fed up with other beauty companies calling their lines “natural” when they’re not. “Since the FDA doesn’t regulate what’s deemed natural and what isn’t, any brand can slap the word ‘natural’ on their shampoo or soap,” says Mike Indursky, chief marketing and strategic officer at Burt’s Bees, half of whose products are 100 percent natural. The company has teamed up with the Natural Products Association to create the Natural Standard, a set of guidelines outlining which ingredients and processes qualify and which ones don’t. Products that meet the standard will be marked with a seal, which will begin to appear this year.

New York plastic surgeon Gerald Imber has noticed an odd aftereffect in several of his abdominal liposuction patients: larger breasts. “At first, I wasn’t sure whether what I was seeing was the change of relationship between the smaller belly and the breasts,” says Imber. “But no—it’s real.” And documented: A study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery followed 48 abdominal liposuction patients and found 40 percent experienced a measurable increase in breast size. “Some doctors believe this could be due to a shift in the relationship between estrogen and progesterone,” says Imber. “Perhaps the trauma of surgery could cause that reaction.” San Francisco plastic surgeon Carolyn Chang believes the cause is simple rearrangement. “It could be the result of weight gain in people after the fat cells have been removed from their abdomens,” she says. Don’t expect the phenomenon to replace breast augmentation, though. “It’s not predictable. I tell patients that they may experience this side effect,” says Imber. “Though in our world, that’s hardly a side effect—it’s like the tail wagging the dog.”

Instead of reaching for a hot toddy after that last run, some Aspen schussers are reaching for their toes. At day spa O2 Aspen, the Après Ski Stretch class has become all the rage. “It kind of grew organically,” says studio director Mindy Naumer. “Skiers were coming in after runs to stretch, so we designed specific stretches for a body that’s tackled a mountain all day.” The hour-long class is held most afternoons after the lifts shut down. O2aspen.com

After decades of slumber, Chloé, like Dior and Gucci before it, has been reincarnated to great success as fashion lovers fawn over its dresses, bags and shoes. The next logical step, of course, is a fragrance. Hence Chloé Eau de Parfum, which debuts in February. Unlike the original Chloé scent, a jasmine blend that launched in the Seventies, Eau de Parfum is a spicy yet soothing floral with pink pepper, peony, lychee and freesia notes, topped with a hint of powdery rose. At Saks Fifth Avenue.