As intimidating as homemade skincare prodcuts was to me, I finally decided to give it a go. Through the years, I’ve spent a lot of money trying out different products to deal with acne, blackheads, and oily skin. I’ve even cut out gluten and dairy. Some of the products I tried out were pretty helpful in controlling my oily face situation, but I wasn’t happy with the list of chemicals in their ingredients. Lately I’ve been passionate about eating whole foods and trying natural remedies, so why not try natural skincare products? Continue reading »

I felt all eyes on me the first time I wore one. Sure, I had worn winter caps and slouchy berets before, but the first time I took a real chance and wore a vintage hat in public, I was terrified. Would I look like a goon? What would people think? But it was 2010, and this was the year I had firmly resolved to wear more hats. Although stepping away from the mirror and stepping out in public, I was so close to giving up on the whole silly New Year’s resolution.

Maybe it was the fear of what horrible hat hair laid beneath, but I resisted the temptation to leave the hat in my car, and to my surprise, I received so many compliments and delighted looks throughout my whole day! When I got home and put my hat back into its box, my feelings of insecurity had been changed into the heroic sentiments of a do-gooder. Really, wearing hats does make the world a bit of a better place!

It’s true that wearing a hat these days can take quite a bit of courage. They’re an endangered species, so wearing a hat will steal your anonymity and invite attention from strangers. But if you’re like I was, always admiring women who wear hats and wishing you could pull it off, you might decide to make a fun resolution this new year and commit to giving hats a chance. What’s there to lose? Okay, so there’s a little at stake. You don’t want to waste your hard-earned dollars on something you might never wear. So you’ll want to find a hat that you can wear with confidence. One that seamlessly blends in with your wardrobe and makes you feel like Audrey Hepburn reincarnate. Or Anna Karina. You just want to exude awesomeness. So let’s talk about some guidelines and tips that will get you to Awesometown. Continue reading »

You guys! Purging one’s wardrobe creates this weird anomaly of needing to make over one’s self. Well, a frumpy outgrown hairstyle will do that too, I suppose. The combination of the two? Deadly! And dramatic haircut inducing. Alright, so maybe this haircut isn’t too dramatic or spontaneous, considering I have been mulling over the style since I initially chopped off my long locks almost a year ago.

Every month, Phil and I put five dollars into an envelope called “hair care.” Because, of course, we care about our hair! You just wouldn’t know it by our behavior- my aversion to hair salons and preference to creative updos, and his begging me to be the one to cut his curly salt and pepper locks in the middle of our kitchen. So, today I decided to gather up the dollars from our envelope and splurge a little! I think in a month my hair will be exactly how I want it (not that I don’t love it now!). And by that time, we’ll have a little baby girl demanding my attention, turning me into a hair salon recluse once again.

Nothing inspires me more than the mod fashion sense of 1960′s style icons. Sylvie Vartan is exactly my ideal, if I were a blonde, that is. But just because her hair is a million shades lighter than mine, doesn’t mean I can’t be inspired by her style!  I think her mid ’60′s hair style is the perfection transition cut to get me from my last style to my next one. And who knows what that will be!

Sylvie Vartan emerged in the 1960s during the French YeYe movement in pop music. She married a rock star and trail-blazed the modern music scene with her song and dance performances, all the while setting trends with her schoolgirl-glamour style. Her demure outfits, including Peter Pan collars, pussy bows, and pastel alongside classic black and white color schemes, are so enviable, and the cute bob hairstyle and dramatic ’60′s makeup is an iconic look I’m dying to try on for size!

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Since Phil and I are living without air conditioning these days, and I’m working on growing out my short hairstyle and bangs, my Summer style includes lots of updos. This variation is inspired by 1960′s piled-high hairdos, famously sported by the likes of Bridget Bardot and Jane Fonda. The little ponytail atop the head secures your bangs, and gives height to the style. Check out the easy instructions below!

You will need: Curlers, Aeresol hairspray, ponytail holder, bobby pins, comb, and a curling iron

1 & 2: Heat up a set of small hot rollers (I used this set). After they’re ready, pull up small sections of hair (starting at the top of your head), spray generously with aerosol hairspray, and roll your hair downward into the curler. If your hair is short like mine, don’t worry about curling all of your hair. Just the top and front will do.

3 & 4: After the rollers have cooled, remove them and gently pick through your hair, fluffing up the curls a bit, without tugging too much.

5 & 6: Gather a generous amount of hair from the top of your head, and secure with a small ponytail holder. Make sure you get your hangs in here too! If your bangs are shorter, secure the ponytail closer to the front of your head. If they are longer, you can secure the ponytail closer to the crown of your head. Then spray and tease (I backcombed mine with a bristle brush.) the hair you’ve secured, and also the hair that still remains loose.

7 & 8: Using a bristle brush or fine toothed-comb, pull up the loose bits of your hair, not too tightly, and secure with bobby pins near the ponytail. After all of the loose hair has been secured, brush the sides upward with a brush or fine-toothed comb to smooth everything out.

9 & 10: Now, separate out some chunky curls, pinning them into place with bobby pins. After your curls are placed how you like, pull a tiny bit of hair out from around your temples, and curl with a hot iron. Check your curls once more, and give your hair one last generous coat of aerosol spray.

I love that my hair can now stay off my neck and forehead all day, but I look much more sophisticated than if I had slicked it all back into a ponytail, with randomly placed bobby pins to keep my bangs in placed. Now I just can’t wait to get some more length and really get a great, big, beautiful pile of hair going on the top of my head!