Hair

Curl, Interrupted: The Revlon Perfect Heat Tourmaline Ceramic 1 1/2” Styling Iron

May 15th, 2013 by Karen 33 Comments

The Revlon Perfect Heat Curling Iron 1 1/2″ Styling Iron working its magic…

I’ve been the beneficiary of a few hair compliments lately (thank you!), but I do feel obliged to point out that, left to its wild, unchecked state, my natural locks look a little something like this…

And this…

At one time I estimated that I’d spent approximately one quarter of my life growing out botched haircuts.

Why so much time?

Because my hair! — it’s so moody! It’s the frizzy, slightly-wavy-but-not-curly and hella heavy mop on top of my head, man, and it’s moody like Tabs on Monday morning.

It wasn’t until I was in my 30s that I figured out some reliable ways to regularly wrangle it into submission.

Finding a stylist who knew what to do with my mop, and could show me how to do it myself, made the biggest difference.

Her name was Alis Peralta, and she works over at A-Line Salon out here in Corte Madera, California. Getting some good styling tools, like the $17 Revlon Perfect Heat Tourmaline Ceramic 1 1/2″ Styling Iron, helped, too.

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Skip the Salon, and Trim Your Layers at Home

May 3rd, 2013 by Karen 34 Comments

Written by Sophie

Today Sophie of Soof the Geek shares a fast, easy and affordable way to trim your hair’s layers at home.

I wanted to show you guys how to thin your hair out and soften your layers at home — all with a simple disposable razor blade! First of all, I’d not recommend this to you girls with curly or thin hair. Slicing thin hair or hair that isn’t straight can be tricky. It will take too much off, so please don’t try this yourself, and go to a hair salon instead.

How did I come up with this trick? The last time I went to a hair salon they unfortunately took a very “creative” route, and I ended up having choppy layers that needed a lot of styling… That’s something I don’t have time for, and later when I was browsing YouTube a video caught my eye. In it this guy was styling his hair with a razor blade he got at a hair salon, and I figured that if he could do it, so could I. So let’s begin!

What you’ll need:

A *new* disposable razor
A hairbrush

First, brush your hair through very, very thoroughly. You don’t want any knots or kinks, or the razor will take off that entire section! If your hair isn’t straight yet, you should straighten it now.

Next, stand in front of a mirror, and take about a 1-2 inch section of hair in your hand, keeping it apart from the rest of your hair.
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En Root to Second Day Hair, I Ran Into theBalm’s New Detour A-Head Dry Shampoo

March 13th, 2013 by Karen 38 Comments

theBalm En Root Dry Shampoo — Using the new $19 theBalm En Root Detour A-Head Dry Shampoo

This is how I feel when I don’t fuss with my hair in the morning:

The joy stems from the extra 20 minutes of sleep it saves me, I kid you not!

And, truth be told, I think my mane just looks better after a day or two between washes (or um…three or four).

But then there’s the whole greasy roots thing, which is why I’m never too far from a bottle of dry shampoo. Rocking my world these days is En Root Detour A-Head Dry Shampoo ($19) by theBalm. Yes, theBalm, as in the makeup line.

They just launched a line of hair care products that includes shampoos, conditioners and styling products.

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Four Beauty Pick-Me-Ups From RenÃ© Furterer, Repêchage, Dolce & Gabbana and EstÃ©e Lauder

March 4th, 2013 by Karen 16 Comments

Kicking off the week with a beautiful start! Well, trying to at least. 🙂

Last weekend, ugh! — totally floored me. That two-day migraine felt like a symphony of jackhammers in my head, and it was rough. It’s gone now, thank goodness, and I’m feeling more like myself again.

So, earlier today, just as I was about to jump back into the pet assisting grind, I thought, “Ya know what? What I need right now is to do something that makes me feel really, REALLY great, even if it’s just for a half an hour.”

I needed a beauty pick-me-up, so I made a cup of chamomile tea, grabbed a few new fave beauty products from RenÃ© Furterer, Repêchage, Dolce & Gabbana and EstÃ©e Lauder, and told Tabs that I’d back to work in a few.

RenÃ© Furterer KaritÃ© Intense Nourishing Mask

First order of business: a hot shower and RenÃ© Furterer’s KaritÃ© Intense Nourishing Mask ($46 for a 6.93-ounce jar), a five-minute deep conditioning treatment for dry hair that smoothes and hydrates with a mix of fair-trade shea butter and plant oils.

I just started using it last week, and I think it’s the reason why I had a series of near-epic hair days — like, the best I’ve had in months. KaritÃ© adds body, shine and leaves my hair smelling like lilies. I love it!

Repêchage Hydra Dew Illuminating Cream Mask

Have I mentioned that I’ve been on a face mask kick? I don’t know, but there’s something about a good face mask that gives me…hope, LOL! I’m also a big fan of sitting on my butt and doing absolutely nothing while I wait for a mask to work its magic.

My skin’s been a little dry lately (you know, ’cause winter) so after I jumped out of the shower, I applied a layer of Illuminating Cream Mask for Normal to Dry Skin ($38 for a 2-ounce tube) by Repêchage, an under-the-radar brand actually carried in spas all over the world. Their whole line contains products with “nutrient-rich seaweed” harvested off the Brittany Coast of France.

After 10 minutes, I tissued off the mask and could almost hear my skin sighing with relief. Ahh…

Dolce & Gabbana Desire

If I could, I’d hug every single one of the perfumers over at Dolce & Gabbana. I feel like they get me, ya know (says the girl who wore Light Blue on her wedding day)?

Desire’s, a de-lovely fruity floral, is their newest scent ($93 for a 1.6-ounce bottle). It lasts all day long for me and brings to mind overseas adventures, exploring foreign cities at night with a new love.

The official fragrance notes include…

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Big Bang Theory! Pump Up Your Volume With This Hair Tutorial for Big Bangs

November 15th, 2012 by Karen 31 Comments

Yet another hairstyle to try if your mane ever starts looking like this…

LOL! (Note to self: call the salon first thing tomorrow morning. For realz!!)

I wore this big bang hairstyle last week for the Xenia Onatopp Bond Girls look, and it’s quickly becoming a favorite of mine to keep my shaggy mop in line. It’s a little bit Joan Cusack in Working Girl, with some Marge Simpson and a dash of rock ‘n roll, and best of all, it’s pretty easy to do — 10 minutes, tops.

Maybe you’re growing out your bangs. Maybe you’re neglecting your long layers. Or maybe you’re just in the mood for something kind of casual and messy to wear to a concert or a club. Whichever the case, try big bangs. 🙂

For this style, I start by sectioning off my bangs and spraying my roots with a lightweight hairspray. Right now I’m loving Suave Touchable Finish because it doesn’t flake or leave my hair uber-crunchy. Plus, it’s only $3.

Next, I aim a hairdryer at my roots to get things moving along. It usually only takes about 10-20 seconds for the hairspray to fully stiffen.

Then, I start building some volume at the roots…

I couldn’t find my teasing comb today, so I improvised with a boar’s hair brush. The stiff, dense bristles tease the heck out of hair, and they’re great for adding lots of lift.

Now it’s construction time. I start shaping the bangs, BIG, gathering them and kinda pushing them up in the back.

Then I secure them in place using several bobby pins.

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Sonia Kashuk’s Crown Jewels Set Keeps Rebellious Heads of Hair From Raising Hell

November 15th, 2012 by Karen 18 Comments

sonia kashuk crown jewels hair set — Wearing the new limited edition Sonia Kashuk Crown Jewels Hair Set ($9.99), available now at Target

For morning hair mayhem — those cracks of dawn when your hair is staging a rebellion, and you don’t even have the hair-withal to attempt the faux bob — there’s always Sonia Kashuk’s new $9.99 Crown Jewels Hair Set.

Yes, once again, Sonia ventures into The Land of Hair Accessories to bring us something great.

Truth be told, though, I’m a little confused by this item’s name. I’m not sure why it’s called a set, since it’s just a single black- and gold-beaded elastic headband…and it lacks any visible jewels.

But I digress…

More importantly, I like it! Like Sonia’s Haute Hair Sets last fall, this headband looks tough girl approved. It has an edginess that I like, despite the elegant beading, which keeps it from looking too cutesy.

As for the elastic? Holla! Comfy as can be (and it doesn’t squeeze my brain).

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Easily Corral Crazy Hair and Long Layers Into Place With This Step-By-Step Faux Bob Hair Tutorial

November 13th, 2012 by Karen 27 Comments

No matter how many mystical chants and dances I do, no matter hard I will it to happen, there are some things I just cannot seem to control…

Like the weather, or Tabs (why do lurvies and lap time always have to be on his terms and never mine?), or the relentless drive to consume large quantities of Nutella, or the passing of time, or the mop of hair currently partying on my head like it’s 1999.

Yeah, my hair’s extra cray at the moment because I’m waaaaay overdue for a salon visit. My layers refuse to layer correctly, my roots are like, “OH, HAI, LADY!!” and the situation with my bangs? — let’s not even go there.

I’ve had to resort to hair trickery and disguise to get my mane looking semi-presentable, and one trick I’ve been loving lately is a little something I like to call, “The Faux Bob.”

I got the idea from a similar hairdo Taylor Swift wore a while back. I can’t remember exactly where or when, but I recall that her hair was long at the time, and it looked like she’d tucked it underneath, almost like a shoulder-length bob.

I’ve been wearing mine this way on the weekends because it’s just so easy to corral my hair into place.

If you have long, chin-length layers or side-swept bangs that frame your face, or if you just want the look of a shorter ‘do but don’t want to chop off all your hair, it’s easy and might be worth a try.

First, I start by gathering my hair into a loose, low pony and securing it with an elastic.

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Rachel Weisz: Her Best Hair?

October 12th, 2012 by Karen 10 Comments

Mrs. Bond, James Bond.

Rachel Hannah Weisz, born March 7, 1970 in Westminster, London, could introduce herself that way. If she wanted to. She is, after all, married to the current 007, blond-haired, blue-eyed Bond Daniel Craig.

Rachel started acting and modeling long before her role as a real-life Bond girl. Her mother, having wanted to act herself, encouraged Rachel’s theatricality and pushed her daughter in that direction. She sent a holiday picture of Rachel to a magazine, which led to Rachel’s first big modeling job.

After graduating with an English degree from Trinity Hall college in Cambridge, Rachel landed a few acting roles on television, but her film break happened in 1996 opposite Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman in Chain Reaction.

Nine years and about 20 movie roles later (two of them with mummies!), she earned an Academy Award for her performance in The Constant Gardener.

This year, Rachel mixed it up with a good-looking spy guy (no, not her husband) in The Bourne Legacy, and next year she works on her witchcraft in Oz: The Great and Powerful.

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I really like how Rachel plays with length and texture. Wish I had the guts to rock her short, cropped style!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Hair

Written by Sophie

RenÃ© Furterer KaritÃ© Intense Nourishing Mask

Repêchage Hydra Dew Illuminating Cream Mask

Dolce & Gabbana Desire

Which of Rachel's hairstyles do you like best?