Category Archives: the Hair stuff.

the Fashion stuff., the Hair stuff., the Makeup stuff.

Best of the 2013 Golden Globes … you know you want to.

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Disclaimer:  This post is about fashion.  While my aim is to keep this a beauty blog, every once in a while (read: AWARDS SEASON), you’ve gotta talk about the stuff we wear that’s not on our face.  Cool?  Cool.

Confession- I’ve been bored by the red carpet showings these past years.  So few people seem to take real risks these days, but I suppose not every person who shows up on a red carpet does it with the intent of taking a risk and I can understand that.  It’s just what I happen to value the most on such occasions.  As much as I’m into beauty, I’m also into fashion, and I’m not necessarily into it just for the sake of finding something that looks good on me.  I’m into fashion for the sake of fashion, and I love clothes for themselves and not exclusively for how they look on a body.

You know that whole phrase, “You should be wearing the clothes.  The clothes should not be wearing you”?  Well, I’m not always in agreement with that.  Sometimes clothing is about displaying a piece of art or making a statement, and it won’t always be in the form of a sexy, figure-flattering little black dress (and in fact, skin and body-hugging silhouettes are rarely a true necessity).  Sometimes folks might even call what you’re wearing “ugly”, say they don’t “get it”, and not a single guy will find it attractive.  And who cares?  If something is worn with conviction, no matter how “conceptual” it may be, just roll with it and enjoy the clothing for itself.  And this is what I so desire to see on a red carpet … gorgeous styling with immaculate makeup and hair, sure … but to top it off, an incredible dress that stands out on its own.  I’ll probably never walk a red carpet, and so I’ve often thought about how if I ever got the chance to do so, I wouldn’t want to waste any time on something safe.  And come on, it’s a little hard to be impressed by anything after this happening in 2010.  This what I’m talking about.

So, here are my favorites from the 2013 Golden Globes last night.  Some are obvious, some are not.  But I will say that I’m still waiting for a true jaw-dropper, which I haven’t had in a couple years.  I’m crossing my fingers for this awards season!

#1 The obvious answer for “Best Dressed”

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From everything I’ve been reading all day, it’s been clear that Jessica Alba was a true winner last night.  Brad Goreski styled her in a coral Oscar de la Renta gown with a jaw-dropping diamond necklace, but the other details of this look were what got me.  The coral-red clutch covered in feathers keeps the whole look young and fun, and her hair and makeup are perfect.  The orange lip is the way to go this spring, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t excited about it.

#2 The not-so-obvious answer for “Best Dressed”

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This woman does not care about conventions.  At all.  And I love her for it.  And you can definitely tell she’s French, where no one else cares about conventions either.  Marion Cotillard (in Dior Haute Couture) wears what she wants and, as I was previously discussing, clearly loves clothing for what it is (and not simply for how it makes her look).  And the extras, including the grey nails, leopard-print clutch, orange heels, and sleek hair, all add up to something so forward. It’s stuff like this that gets me more excited for Fashion Month next month, and you can kind of tell that she is too.

#3  The one that made me scream, “THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!!!”

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Seriously!  Gowns like this can take cahones, and I’ve got mad respect for those who wear them.  I remember a year or so ago when Sarah Michelle Gellar got trashed for wearing this dress, and man, just because you want to live your whole life in the same ole’ basic black dress doesn’t mean you get to push around the ones who actually take a risk like Lucy Liu and Sarah.  If I’d had access to every dress on Earth for my wedding and I’d felt stronger about stepping away from traditional white gowns, something like this Carolina Herrera gown would’ve been a strong contender.  Not kidding.

#4  These kicked butt, too.

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Kerry Washington in Miu Miu and Rachel Weisz in Louis Vuitton both had me squealing, as well.  I haven’t been a huge fan of Kerry’s straight hairstyle with the blunt bangs lately, but she still looked beautiful.  And I kind of can’t get enough of glamorous retro waves that give a nod to Veronica Lake, so you know I’m crazy about Rachel’s tresses.

#5  And the one where I might lose you all …

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Now, before you officially drop me as a source of any legitimate information or opinion,  just look at this picture.  Look at the coloring of the dress, that frothy shade of seafoam, and look at her hair.  Look at her makeup and the shade of rose on her lips.  The diamonds on her ears and on the cuff she wore can be taken into account, too.  Now, let me ask you- Is this not divine?  I am convinced that the only thing detracting at all from this look being one of the absolute best of the night is the loose fit on top that by now has been seen and trashed by EVERYONE.  And let’s be clear- Jessica’s bewbs do not need a lift.  It’s the dress that drapes and hangs somewhat low, which gives us the unfortunate illusion of an unflattering fit.  But I will defend this and say that this color is breathtaking on Jessica Chastain, and her hair and makeup are glorious.  The dress has a clear 1930’s silhouette, but it just didn’t work out.  But I don’t mind it!  She looks like an old Hollywood Calvin Klein-wearing mermaid!!

Oh, and who were the worst dressed?  The rest.  The rest were boring.  xo, MR

the Hair stuff., the Makeup stuff., the Me stuff.

Gettin’ all old-timey kinds of purtty. Or, styling myself in a smashing Mojave Desert wedding shoot.

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This is my first post on makeup I’ve done on myself.  Alright, I see that’s somewhat inaccurate.  I should say that this is the first post of makeup I’ve done on myself for a photo shoot (and that’s not many).  It’s easy for me to be overly critical of my own work, and especially work from over a year ago because … I don’t know … something about this year kind of just raised my standards on makeup all around, and it probably has something to do with the fact that I’ve started doing bridal makeup for others and the pressure’s gone from cat-sitting-on-my-chest to elephant-sitting-on-my-chest.  I’m happy to say that I’m still pleased with what I did for my wedding makeup, and I’ll post on that later.

But for this post, I once again invoke the magical name of Bethany Carlson (sorry for the wizard-y phrasing … too much Harry Potter lately).  Nearly a year ago, Bethany developed a concept for a mock wedding that she wanted to shoot, and she asked my husband and I to model for her.  The main point was to shoot in the Nevada desert around 4:00 pm in order to catch the perfect light of the “golden hour”.  The styling of the shoot was something we weren’t entirely sure of to begin with, but we knew we wanted to go for something dramatic if it was possible.  I set out to find some kind of white dress (any kind of wedding-type dress, really) that would hopefully set the tone for the shoot.

Somehow I ended up finding this for the rental cost of $35.00 at a vintage and costume store maybe two miles away from my apartment.  Believe me- I’m flabbergasted, even ’til this day.  One does not simply find an incredible 1970’s gunnysack wedding gown in decent condition for the rental cost of $35.00!

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I’d really wanted to find a dress with character for the shoot, and upon trying it on and realizing that it nearly fit (being a little big in the waist), I figured I probably wouldn’t happen upon such a unique item at this kind of price, with this kind of close fit, ever again.  I was sold (and to actually buy the dress would’ve only cost an extra thirty bucks!).  Bethany was able to go all-out with prop styling once she’d seen the dress, and the shoot’s aesthetic developed into an almost Downton Abbey-inspired look with some antique Western elements happening (and she even had invitations created!).  Now, I know the dress looks all soft and dainty in the photos, but believe me, it was like wearing a couple of tumbleweeds stitched together.  The thing itched like fresh-cut grass on your freshly-shaven shins.  Some of the lace trimming was tearing, it looked more yellow than any kind of ivory in a few spots, and it smelled old.  It also was lacking any lining or slip, so I had to find a flesh-colored cami and pair of dance shorts to wear beneath it (and I wanted you to be able to see through it more or less, because sheer was going to be big for that spring).  But let me tell you, that dress just seemed to come alive in the desert, in that light.  Bethany found gloves, put together a silk bouquet in sync with the color scheme of the desert, and things just happened.

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Hair and makeup were all on my end, and I was more than excited about it.  Now, I have to confess that for my hair, I tried a new technique I’d learned that proved a bit ambitious.  I blew my hair out straight for the most part that morning, and then proceeded to take 1-2 inch sections of it and twirl them up into pin-curls all around my head.  I secured them with bobby pins and light hair spray, with the intention of leaving them in for 45 minutes.  They were in for nearly two hours.  My bad.  So, you may feel that my hair looks a tad wonky from some angles, but I tried to just do my best Janice Dickinson and werk it.  A couple sections of hair just weren’t able to relax much because they’d been pinned for too long, but that goes for most of us anxious people- Stay wound up for too long, and you’ll find that you’re never able to relax again.  But honestly, it didn’t really matter.

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In doing makeup, I learned the real reason why celebrities have a team of artists there for every shoot- That junk’s gotta get reapplied every five minutes for it to even look remotely similar to how it originally looked.  But did I touch up at all once we got going on the shoot?  Nope.  My bad.  That was a major note-to-self:  Despite however much you may have put on to begin with and despite whatever Armageddon-strength primer you use, it will wear off and you’ll need to touch-up.  How can you get your makeup to last all day?  By reapplying it every three hours, that’s how.  And we weren’t dealing with heat or wind or hostile elements of any kind out there.  In fact, it was decently chilly and still as death.  Seriously!  This is where the mob takes you to put you out for a dirt nap!  See those mountains behind me?  Know where that is?  It’s nowhere.

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For my face, I wanted a navy-blue smokey eye with basically just bronzer on the cheeks.  I can barely remember everything I used for this shoot because I kind of flew by the seat of my pants, but I do know I used an awesome deep navy shadow by Urban Decay called Perversion, and for bronzer I tend to use nothing other than NARS’ Laguna.  I didn’t use false lashes (my bad), but there was plenty of MAC Kohl Liner in Smolder.  Yes, I’m lookin’ at you, Glamberace.  And I seriously couldn’t tell you what I did, if anything, to my lips.

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Bethany and her husband literally piled a room full of furniture in and on top of their car for the drive out to our desert spot.  The two of them found and brought along table settings, chairs, DOORS, everything.  Oh, and we were packed in that car too.  I can’t describe what the whole experience felt like other than Wow … we’re doing this? … we’re doing this … we DID this!  It was literally a game of chasing the light and watching it all come together.  It was thrilling.

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I loved everything about this.  Bethany was on her A-game (though I have yet to see a shoot of hers that presents otherwise), I felt proud of my own styling (even if it wasn’t perfectly executed), and my husband was looking all kinds of old-timey handsome.  And look at the prop concept Bethany designed!  Again, I really can’t encourage you enough to take a stare peep at my dear friend’s work, and who knows?  Maybe one day you’ll find yourself all alone in a desert getting shot.  Hopefully it’s just not by someone named something like Toothpick Charlie or Luca Brasi.  xo, MR

All photos in this post are credited to Bethany Carlson Photography.  For more of Bethany’s work and for more of this shoot, visit her site/blog at http://www.bethanycarlson.com.

the Hair stuff.

Which Disney princess are you? Or, a post concerning hair color.

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Princesses

Truth: Girls tend to favor the Disney princess that has the same hair color as them.  You know it.  I know it.  I’ve known a few to have a favorite princess based solely on their story and what they do, but if we’re honest (and for the sake of this post), we’ve tended to love and identify with the princess that looks most like us, and an undeniably big part of that has been hair color.  If you had blonde hair (speaking in past tense because I’m mostly referring to our preferences as children, though you still may very well favor the same princess today), you were probably all about Aurora in Sleeping Beauty (or nowadays, Rapunzel).  If you had brown hair, you tended to bat for the Belle team, or perhaps Tarzan‘s Jane in later years.  My personal Disney brunette of choice has always been Megara from Hercules, but I admit that I never felt quite on par with her sass to feel like I fully identified with her.  Meg was an embittered, distressed woman who sold her soul to the Devil.  I sang in the church choir and ate Spaghetti-O’s.  And my hair was never the size of Michigan either, least so in a ponytail.

Girls with raven-colored hair have had a couple options over the years (with most of them admittedly being introduced to us just within the past fifteen or so), with each princess varying in ethnicity.  Jasmine, Mulan, Tiana, Snow White, Pocahontas, and Esmeralda all have glorious black hair, with Esmeralda always having been my personal favorite as far as hair was concerned.  Seriously, if you’re some five-foot-eleven, bronze-skinned Eastern European chick that can pole-dance your butt off, Esmeralda is your girl and you ought to be proud (because I’ve seriously yet to meet any girl with enough self-confidence to cite Esmeralda as her I’m-most-like-this-one Disney princess.  Kanye West probably fancies himself as an Esmeralda).  If it was the case that you had a kind of in-between, walnut-y, off-blonde shade of hair, you may have favored Cinderella.  And of course, lastly, if you had even the slightest, most diminutive hint of red in your locks, you were most fiercely a redhead and you most fiercely held allegiance to Ariel, and you would cut the fool who tried to futilely convince you otherwise (though Giselle is now here for those who feel best known as “strawberry blonde”).

Hair color’s a funny thing, it is.  I was recently told that I need to post more about non-brunettes, and I confess that if you’re, say, a blonde and you’ve perused my writings, you have probably felt somewhat ostracized.  Can’t say I didn’t see this coming.  I insist not on remaining an entirely solid brunette all my life (and having my ends ombre’d has already taken care of that anyhow), but I do think we can agree that for most girls there’s usually one kind of hair color that they seem to attach to at least a little bit, and mine’s been brown for lack of a more descriptive term.  But for the sake of diversity (but more so for the sake of proving to you that I don’t immediately throw shade at the sight of yellow hair), I shall now present to you my favorite non-brunettes simply based on their hair color and cut, be they redhead, blonde, raven-haired, or a shade in between.

2012 Golden Globe Awards

Oh, Julianne Moore.  How I envy those deep copper strands of yours.  I’d only wear such a shade with a thoroughly Scotch-Irish complexion like Julianne’s, but boy does it look lovely.  And of course, it’ll come as no surprise to you to say that I’ve loved that she’s never cut it short.

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According to everything I’ve read on the girl, Amanda Seyfried keeps her natural hair color, and God bless her for it.  I love this gold-spun shade of wheat with it’s more ashy, cool tones.  So many girls I’ve known actually have natural color like this, but they’ve all seemed to move on to something different, either in the bottle-blonde range or beyond.  A bloody shame.

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For the majority of this country’s existence, Westernized ideals have determined what is seen as beautiful and what is seen as less attractive (see PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING ABOVE … Lord help me) here in the United States.  Natural African-American hair has all-too-frequently been seen as undesirable according to those limited ideals, and a great deal of African-American women have sought the help of weaves and relaxing treatments to achieve a look more in line with cultural standards.  However, there’s recently been a wave of women sticking it to the Westernized man and letting their hair go natural.  I’ve especially loved how Solange Knowles has been rocking this style lately.  Not many of us can do the ‘fro like Solange!

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I have a difficult time deciding what to call the shade of Karlie Kloss‘s hair.  It’s the color I was referring to when I was mentioning the walnut-y, in-between shade of Cinderella, so I guess we’ll just call it that- walnut.    If I could go for a complete change in hair color, I’d shoot for this.  I just can’t tell if it’s in the blonde family or in the brown camp, so it counts for this post!  And she just recently ditched her lengthier locks for this shoulder-grazing bob.  In the words of my teacher-friend Amanda, “Le freak so chic!”

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  This is Elin Kling.  She’s Sweden’s most influential fashion blogger (stylebykling.nowmanifest.com) and prolific style maven, and I can’t get enough of her hair.  There’s something to be said for that true Scandinavian shade of blonde, not all yellowy like we see so much of in California.  I love blonde when there’s a touch of ice to it.  Oh, and that haircut is about the hottest thing since Gregory Peck.

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Does Liu Wen color her hair?  I could never tell ya.  Is it a perfect shade of jet-black, nonetheless?  Yup.  I’ve loved the model’s minimalist, almost layer-less cut for some time, too.  It’s actually what I’ve been attempting to grow out my layers for, and I’ll soon be trying a center-part like Liu’s, too.

And there you have it.  There are seriously a million other heads of hair that I obsess over on a daily basis, but we all know that way too many of them are that deliciously bland shade of mud.  Okay, okay, I know that this isn’t exactly bland.  And that’s why I’m so committed!  How can I ever betray my brunette roots with locks like this out there representing?!  HOW?!  I’ll admit though that I always wished that brunette representative Belle weren’t so introverted and independent.  I’m about as independent as a four-month-old, and Belle would probably write me off as petty and superficial while I’d find her pretentious and aloof.  Come on, Gaston.  Let’s hit up the tavern and talk of common-folk things over a cold one.  We don’t need this woman’s intellectual arrogance.  Oh, and I’m pretty sure if a seven-foot-tall beast screamed at me and asked me to join him for dinner Russell-Crowe-the-phone-thrower-style, I probably wouldn’t exhibit patience or the compassion with the power to change hearts.  I’d probably just pee my pants and die.  xo, MR

the Hair stuff., the Makeup stuff., the Me stuff.

WORST Beauty Moments of 2012 … or, in which I give cause for everyone to hate me.

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Cool your jets.  Yes, I haven’t even said anything yet and I’m already telling you to cool your jets, just in case.

I initially began writing a post on my favorite beauty moments of 2012, but then I thought to my self, “Self, you’ve kind of sprinkled your favorite bits in posts throughout the entire year already.  No one’s shocked to see another shot of Keira or Kate on this blog.  What may be shocking though, self, is what folks discover that you actually don’t like.  And let’s face it, self- we’re always a little more interested at hearing about what bugs the crap out of us as opposed to what we squeal over.”  And admittedly, many of the “worsts” seen here may not be that shocking to some of you at all anymore.  If you read regularly, you know what I like and what I don’t.  But in case some of the following does take you by surprise and you find yourself wanting to set fire to me, let me just preface by saying this: Relax.  This is just me giving my opinion.

#1  Demi Lovato perfectly demonstrating my concept of “overcooked” and my eternal frustration with extensions.

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Too … much … everything.  I literally want to rip the extensions right out of her scalp.  Or brush them like a crazed maniac until they cease to look like Disney princess wig strands.  And if these are not, in fact, extensions, well, they look like it and that’s still a problem.  And the shape of the hair looks rather like pigtails with a life of their own as opposed to healthy, curled locks.  They’re so perfectly positioned, it’s like someone’s taped them to her blouse.  Just makes me wanna chop ’em.  Chop ’em right off.  And then there’s always the very makeup-looking makeup.  And the nose piercing.  And the tan.  And the door knocker earrings.  And the cleavage.  And you get it.

#2  Julianne Hough doing it wrong.

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By now you all know that I love me a messy topknot.  I like ’em nice and unflattering, and right there at the top of the head.  So very Je ne sais quois, so very Man Repeller.  However, when you find yourself in a fancy dress at a fancy premiere, it might be time for a touch of effort.  But what gets me about this  particular topknot is that I’ve got a bad feeling that whatever stylist responsible for this (maybe even Julianne herself) tried too hard to not seem like they were trying too hard.  Know what I’m saying?  Like, I get the whole 21st-century irony of going for a messy topknot in a designer gown, but you can still detect the hard work that unfortunately went into this.  You see the pins.  You see the pretty, well-done makeup oddly-yet-intentionally juxtaposed against the haphazard hair.  You see how the knot is so obviously off-center on her head with its plainly uneven shape, almost as if it was planned.  The point of topknots is to not give a damn.  This one, all too clearly, does.

#3  People cut their hairs off.

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2012 New York City Ballet Fall Gala

I know, I KNOOOOOW.  But before you get your panties all in a wad, keep this in mind- I am simply very strongly attached to hair with length.  This one is truly more of a personal “worst”, and there’s no expectation to agree that Miley’s or Anne’s or anyone’s pixie cut is bad (and I wasn’t exactly a fan of Miley’s look before anyhow).  In fact, it’s pretty safe to say that these haircuts are quite good.  Anne looks great, and the cut does nothing if not frame her beautiful face and earn her that Oscar that she’s so desperately been jonesing for.  But again, just bear in mind that I’ve got a thing for long hair that you can do stuff with.  It’s just me.  I couldn’t do what Anne did, or I’d at least do it and then shamelessly plop a Kate Beckinsale wig on my head for the next six months to come.  In her own words, “I dreamed a dream of times gone byyyyyy, with lots of hair and lots of braidiiiiiiing …”.

#4  Taylor Swift still looking like Taylor Swift.

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Fine.  Hate me.  Hate me with everything you’ve got, but I don’t care.  It’s time for a change with this one, it is.  And this one looks like nothing if not Disney princesses personified, so you know that’s really saying something when it comes from me.  I applaud Taylor for sticking to her stylistic guns, but you’ll have to forgive me for saying that there’s just not enough excitement for me in her look.  I’m bored.  To tears.  Taylor made the Earth-shattering change of adding red lipstick to her look some years ago, then shocked the world by styling her hair straight instead of with those teenage curly-cues we were so used to!  THEN she cut BANGS!  What WILL she do NEXT?!  I mean, Nicki Minaj must’ve gotten a hold of her or something … BANGS!!!

#5  People pinning airbrushed, Photoshopped, Kim Kardashian-esque eyeshadow looks to their Pinterest boards.

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Because nothing inspires more confidence in a makeup artist (for brides, no less) than seeing something like this and a caption below reading “PERFECT FOR WEDDING!!!  EXACTLY WHAT I WANT!!!!”.  Yes, you pin looks for the purpose of suggestion, for inspiration.  But bear in mind that the perfection typically exhibited on such images like the one above usually involves Photoshop editing, like that used for photo spreads in magazines.  It takes a steady hand to create this look, along with a steady few clicks of a mouse.  But I will, however, submit that I could recreate this look to the best of my abilities, given all the proper resources.  Just don’t freak out when you see a tiny bit of eyeshadow fall-out on your cheekbone, and relax!  I’ll have these with me!

#6  Speaking of Kim Kardashian …

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Yes, Kim.  Thank you for the contouring tips.  But now that we all know that you have to paint A TREE on your face everyday to look the way you normally do as you stomp the pavement with Tracy Jordan Kanye West at your side, I can’t say that we’re all that interested anymore.  Or at least, I’m not.  And that tree on your forehead isn’t including the rest of the clown mask you’ve got going on there.  For the runway, yes.  For the pavement with Tracy Jordan, no.

#7  THIS IS NOT THE FACE OF SNOW WHITE.

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This … I … I can’t even.  I.  CAN’T. EVEN.  Yes, I know we’re going for the face of the I-pull-myself-up-by-my-own-armored-bootstraps, I-play-in-the-mud-and-I-wield-a-sword-and-I-won’t-be-gender-stereotyped feminist Snow White.  And toward that I have no qualms.  But THIS is not even THAT face.  This face may have remained fixed with this EXACT expression for the entirety of the film (that so sorely disappointed me that I can hardly bear to discuss it).  And in fact, I’m pretty sure we can find this expression on Ms. Stewart’s face  throughout every other film she’s been featured in this side of FOREVER.  But the red lips, the alabaster skin, the hair a shade of raven’s black … I got none of it in Snow White and the Huntsman.  I get that the point wasn’t to Disney-fy Snow White in this case, but the look just wasn’t there.  I don’t know.  Maybe that’s the problem.  Maybe I just don’t know what I want, and maybe it’s not such a problem with the styling as it is with the confession that I just didn’t want her.

#8  Christina Aguilera looking like she rolled around in the MAC stockroom.

NBCUniversal's "The Voice" Press Junket And Cocktail Reception

We’ve already discussed this situation, so I won’t add much.  But the lavender ombre’ really caps it off for me.  It’s subtle, like a garlic sandwich.

#9  Justin Bieber looking prettier than Kate Beckinsale.

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Those baby pink lips.  That perfectly smooth skin.  Those fluttery eyelashes.  Those immaculate eyebrows!  That shiny hair with those beautiful diamonds!  No, I’m not talking about a Victoria’s Secret Angel strutting her stuff in the Fantasy Bra on the catwalk, or some girl that George Clooney is seducing in Lake Como.  I’m talking about Justin Bieber.  Yes, this guy, the alleged heartthrob of this current generation of young teenage girls.  Maybe I’m just partial to the scruffy, rugged look, or maybe I’m not being patient and allowing puberty to catch up with ole’ Justin, or MAYBE I’m just NOT cool with the fact that this, *ahem*, young man so clearly spends more time in front of the mirror applying his Creme de la Mer and strawberry-scented Bonne Bell lipgloss than I ever have or ever will.

#10  And lastly, the kicker …

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Um, ma’am?  Excuse me, ma’am?  You … you’ve got a sock on your head. I know you’ve shaped it into a purty little Cinnabon roll the size of a cabbage with your hair, but … you’ve got a sock on your head.  Oh, but I can’t see the sock?  Well, here’s the problem- I still know it’s there.  And it’s bothering me.  I want to poke it.  I want to poke it bad.  I want to shove my foot in your sock-hairs so I can keep warm in the winter cold.  Oh, you’ve cut a hole in that sock?  Well then lend it to me as a wristband for my awesomely sweaty workout.

Consider sock-buns the Bump-It of 2012.  Every time I saw some girl last year with a conveniently-placed tuft of volume at the top of her head, I so desperately wanted to play Whack-A-Mole and throw down a hammer on that bump just to see if it was some Bump-It impostor or if it was just real hair, teased and sprayed for height.  Same game goes for sock-buns this year.  Should you ever feel some bony finger poking your giant bun on the back of your head, I apologize in advance.  It’s just me being curious.

Welp, there you have it.  I’ve got a feeling I’ll be cranking out a “Best of” list sometime soon in order to make up for this one, but in the meantime, enjoy.  And you be sure to let me know if you’re feeling particularly enraged by any of the aforementioned.  I’ll send you a complimentary sock in the mail.  xo, MR

the Hair stuff., the Makeup stuff., the Me stuff.

On January, drugstore makeup, and why Olivia Wilde may hate me after reading this.

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January is a funny month.  The huge climax of the holiday season has worn off, it’s consistently cold out, and things go back into their typically mundane routines.  You’ve got all your new gifts (and might be over them already), have probably returned from your vacations, and are perhaps well on your way to breaking keeping any resolutions you’ve made for the new year.  You work out, you go the movies, you shop around for yourself … nothing particularly special.  Nothing particularly new.

What I love about the fashion and beauty spheres, however, is that everything is always new.  Everything is always forward.  You are more than welcome to enjoy the present moment with all its current trends and styles and happenings, but you also have every right to anticipate the coming season with all the excitement and future-minded thinking in your being.  In fact, it’s the only way to operate in such a world.  In fashion and beauty, it’s never too early.  The magazine issues you are seeing on stands today are the January issues (and they’ve been there for at least a week now), and they will all have some kind of spring preview in them.  The spring previews will only continue to grow bigger in the February issues, until the March issue comes out and there you’ve got the second biggest month for fashion and beauty publications of the year next to September.  And I love that things work this way.  There’s always something to look forward to.  In fashion and beauty, today is pretty much yesterday, and tomorrow can be seen everywhere today, and yesterday will probably serve as the inspiration for tomorrow so be sure to hold on to yesterday’s stuff today just in case for tomorrow.  Yes, fashion just got meta, Looper style.

So, where in the beauty world can we see tomorrow, today?  Well, if you keep up with any beauty blogs or magazines, you may have noticed articles or features over the past month beginning to drop the names of products that you’ve never heard of.  Like, you’ll see a feature on some makeup guru’s “must-haves” and they’ll mention some kind of lipstick or  whatever that you’ve never found in a drugstore.  For all you know, it doesn’t even exist.  That’s because us low-life plebeians can’t get our hands on such things yet because the product hasn’t been launched to retailers, but January is usually the time that you’ll see them making their first appearances!  Now, the new products have all been sent in advance to important folks in the beauty world (celebrity makeup artists, etc.) to get the word out early, and of course, part of getting the word out is mentioning them in magazines and interviews to ramp up public anticipation.  January is also a common time to release advertising campaigns featuring a new spokesmodel.  My best example I can think of for this year would be Lea Michele for L’Oreal Paris.  Next time you see Lea in a magazine, you can bet your butt that she’ll be either in a L’Oreal ad, pictured alongside some kind of L’Oreal product, or she’ll speak about it in any kind of interview for the next couple months.  Last year around this time, it was Emma Stone and Olivia Wilde for Revlon.

I admit that I get a bit cynical about spokesmodel campaigns because I feel those kajillion-dollar contracts seem to discourage these women from being truthful about what products they really use and really enjoy.  I mean, prior to being paid enough money to support all of Indonesia for a year by Almay for her current spokesmodel campaign, did Kate Hudson really love and use their products?  Somehow, I think being paid what I’ll probably make in thirty years of work for a single two-to-three-year contract makes that drugstore makeup and box-dye haircolor a lot more effective to you- yeah, I’m looking at you, Gwen Stefani.  You will literally never convince me that the QUEEN of platinum blonde hair regularly uses L’Oreal Preference box dye for those icy perfect locks of hers.  Never.  And isn’t Olivia Wilde some kind of proud vegan?  Why, oh why, would you agree to be a spokesmodel for Revlon, a brand that (like most drugstore cosmetic brands) is notorious for animal testing and nowhere near natural in it’s ingredients, if you’ve claimed to adopt such a lifestyle?  Oh, they’re paying you my dad’s salary times a thousand to do it?  Yep.  Sounds like a good time for looser vegan standards to me, too.

Anyhow, for as much as I bash on drugstore products and all the advertisements they come with, it still is exciting to see them make their debut.  A junkie is a junkie is a junkie, and I’ll come clean and say if I were extended a whopper of a contract to grin and bear it for Maybelline, I’d take it (or at least, with what I’m currently earning I would).  I was wandering through a Walgreens earlier today and it looks like January came early (which is no surprise, since, again, everything is early in these spheres)!

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As you can see here, we’ve got all kinds of newness coming from the folks at L’Oreal.  New hair products for the EverCare line, new shadow palettes, all sorts of stuff.  And there’s Lea, peeking out from behind the Telescopic Shocking mascara!

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Here’s what’s new from Revlon.  I think they’re trying to make a pretty big deal out of that Nearly Naked makeup line, as Revlon threw a giant launch party for it complete with an appearance by Emma as its spokemodel.

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Additionally from L’Oreal- A huge new line of hair care products (and not just in addition to the sulfate-free EverCare line).  This line is simply called L’Oreal Advanced Haircare, but there are five types of product families within it to suit all kinds of needs (like dryness, color treated, etc.).  And there’s Lea’s face again!  I doubt these items will match up to salon quality or beat more natural care for your hair, but time will tell if any of these products give effective results and become household staples.

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I took a shot of all the five families in this line except for the kind tailored toward “dry” hair (and it’s minty-green packaging).

So as 2012 winds down and 2013 begins to take the stage, be anticipating all these items to appear in your local drugstores very soon.  And just learn to deal with the lies of Halle Berry saying that Revlon has made her “photo ready”, while failing to credit her skincare routine that costs the price of Brazil with tax and consists of a moisturizer made with one drop of blood from every endangered species on the planet and hand-crushed tea leaves from the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.  And something called “Adobe Photoshop”.  xo, MR

the Hair stuff., the Magazine stuff.

Give me liberty or give me … a liberty roll!

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I am not particularly talented when it comes to intricate hairstyles.  Trust me.  I can’t French braid (yet), and I’ve found that it’s more difficult for me to manipulate others’ hair into something pretty as opposed to my own.  I don’t know, I’m just more comfortable with my hair’s own texture, weight, and versatility.  But I know I need to get over that.

What helps me improve, however, are well-written how-to articles that provide steps and visuals for tackling difficult hairstyles.  I’ve mentioned such articles before, and I’ve been keeping one from the September 2012 issue of InStyle that I’ve just now put to use.  It took a little patience to work out, but I think I actually managed some success!

These here are what we call “liberty rolls”.  In American history, we saw them popularized during the 1940s as “victory rolls” on women during World War II, and they’ve continued to evoke old-fashioned flair ever since.  I actually believe they may have had even earlier roots as a hairstyle worn by fighting proletariat women during the French Revolution, but I can’t find enough scholarly research to back up my hunch.  But I like that they’re a little medieval, a little punk rock, a little French proletariat, a little Andrews Sisters … a little everything in history.  And as as girl who loves her some history from almost any time and place on this Earth, I’m totally down.

I’m not lying, this style looked intimidating.  What made this tutorial difficult is the fact that you weren’t given a picture of what it could look like from the back, so I kind of had to just make that up on my own (and I forgot to take a picture of the back when I finished … sorry!).  The article also suggests blowing out your hair and then immediately going into styling it, but I always feel that such styles form much easier on second day hair so I’d suggest waiting to try this the day after you wash.

I used the Wella Flowing Form Smoothing Balm that they suggested, and it works well at giving the hair flexibility with frizz control.  Pretty good stuff too at thirteen bucks!  I coaxed my hair into a deep side part and brushed the hair tightly away from the side I parted on.  I then combed on some Wet Look Gel from the TIGI Catwalk Session Series line to give the combed-over side a sleek look (and to secure it in place).  I pinned all the hair on that side back, just to temporarily keep it out of the way.  For the rest of (and the majority of) the hair, I then began just kind of twisting it upward into a roll.  Starting at the front of my head, I twisted back, back, and back.  There was little method to my madness; I kind of just kept twisting and coaxing until it looked something like the pictures.  I’d occasionally stick a bobby pin into the roll to secure it in place against my scalp.  Once I’d rolled all the way to the back, I had to decide what to do to finish it all off.  That’s where I used the Goody Spin Pins.  I just kind of joined the two sides of hair together in the back, twisted them into a small knot, and “spin pinned” them in place to create a neat little low-set bun.  A couple extra pins to nail down strays, top with some hairspray, and I’m satisfied.

It’s not as exaggerated as I’d like it to be (like in the Donna Karan picture in the article), but I liked it!  And what an accomplishment for me!  It felt really chic with my new, darker hair color, too.  I like that as elegant and old-fashioned as it looks, it still has this edge to it that feel sassy.  It won’t exactly be my go-to for fast styles (I’d say it took fifteen minutes), but I love that it’s an option I can handle by myself now.  Give it a whirl and let me know how it goes!  xo, MR

the Hair stuff., the Me stuff., the Skin stuff.

How to become a filthy beast.

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So, one of the more peculiar aspects of my beauty routine revolves around my hair-washing habits.  I figured I’d share this because friends of mine often tell me they hate me (out of envy or something) after first hearing about it, and I’m here to say that this habit can be yours, too.

I wash my hair twice per week.  Maybe.

Now, when I tell folks this, the most common response is something along the lines of, “Oh, you’re so lucky.  I can’t do that.  I have to wash it every day.”  Nine times out of ten this is the response, followed by the reason why they believe they have to wash it every day, which is usually oily scalp.  Well, I have something to say to those that believe my my hair routine is the result of sheer luck and “good genes”- Nope.

Let me give you a small dermatology lesson.  When you over-work your skin, your skin over-works itself to compensate for what you’ve taken from it.  Just think about that for a minute.  When you wash your scalp every day, your scalp is stripped of its natural, essential oils.  Yes, some of that oil is good for you.  Such oils keep your hair and scalp balanced and moisturized.  Stop trying to get rid of it!  And so, as a reaction to being stripped of its essential oils, your scalp actually overcompensates by working twice as hard to produce more oil.  Get into the routine of washing your hair once a day (or more), and you’re asking your scalp to work overtime.  Keep this up, and you’re guaranteed to have oily roots every evening.  And of course, this will freak you out, and your impulse will be to “wash out the oil”.  You don’t need to wash your hair everyday because your hair is oily- your hair gets oily because you wash it everyday.  I must add too that what really doesn’t help is the fact that most of the shampoos we use contain harsh detergents that don’t work gently to clean our hair.  If you find the word “sulfate” anywhere on the ingredients list of your shampoo bottle, know that that’s some rough stuff going into your hair.  In fact, I’d say that if you can’t identify or pronounce the majority of the ingredients on your shampoo bottle, I would suggest finding a new kind.

As for my own journey toward not washing my hair more than twice a week, I can tell you that it began with a little something called dry shampoo.  Now, I started using this stuff in 2007, and since then pretty much every drugstore brand has come out with their own version of it.  My advice?  Go for the natural, more expensive stuff. Two brands I can highly recommend from experience are Frederic Fekkai Au Naturale and Klorane.  Both are sold at Sephora.  I remember reading about dry shampoo in a magazine and thinking it sounded like a miracle product.  Extend the life of my blow-out by another day or two?  Are you kidding?!  And what do you know- it was a miracle product.  Slowly but surely, I started going two, three, four days between washes.  I felt filthy for doing such a thing, but my hair was showing no signs of filth!  And if a little oil ever cropped up in my bangs or front layers, just a touch of dry shampoo whisked it away.  I’d even rub a little on the crown of my head (where it can get really oily after four days) just to see if I could go one more day without washing.  Additionally, I began being conscious of how I washed my hair.  I started rubbing shampoo just into my roots and trying my best to keep it off my ends (as in not piling your hair on top of your head and lathering it all up).  I also took care to condition just my ends for the most part, as conditioner can create lots of build-up.  I’d only cover my whole head in conditioner when giving it a deep treatment with oils.

I began to notice after a couple months that my hair wasn’t a total mess after just twenty four hours anymore.  I’d wake up, and it would be manageable and relatively similar to what it had been like the day before.  No more extreme oiliness, no more nastiness.  I just didn’t need to wash my hair that much anymore.  My schedule loved me for it, my scalp loved me for it, and even on the days when a washing seemed much needed but I didn’t have the time or energy, why not just throw it up in a knot or use a headband?  Take advantage of your already-greasy hair and go swimming!  Or work extra hard at the gym!  Your hair does not need to control your time.  It.  Can.  Wait.  And what was even more freeing was when I started air-drying my hair ten times more frequently than blowing it out.  My hair hasn’t been the same ever since, and for all you color-treated ladies, let me tell you that my color lasts forever now.  I just went full brunette thanks to Justin Kamm (as pictured above!  Weeeee!) at Salon 9, and I know it’ll be looking fresh for a looooooong time.

So let me challenge you- tomorrow, don’t wash your hair.  Leave it.  Will it be oily that evening and the next morning?  Yes.  Will it bug you?  Yes.  But stick with it.  Commit to washing it every other day.  Use a little dry shampoo on oily patches that bother you after the long day or after the gym.  But stick with it.  Then, try switching up your shampoo.  Do some research on natural kinds with minimal synthetic ingredients (and not just ones that say “no sulfates”- you can do even better).  Have tough standards and be willing to spend a perhaps five extra bucks (because if you aren’t washing as much, the bottle will last longer anyhow).  You can do it!!  I believe this is the solution for oily scalps and dry scalps.

Please fill me in on your questions, comments, and your own experiences in this area.  I really am curious!  Cheers to filthy habits!  xo, MR

the Hair stuff.

I did not like this.

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We’ll get one thing straight right out of the gate:  Stacey Keibler does not deserve to wear Marchesa.  Simply because you are George Clooney’s flavor of the week does not mean you qualify as a candidate for wearing the garments meant for royalty and the likes of Grace Kelly and those who truly, truly love and care about clothing.

Alright, so now that I’ve said my piece of derp for the week, it’s time to move on to what really bothered me about this look- the hair.  I’ve said this before, but what really can make or break a red carpet look (and any, in fact) is the styling.  You can have an out-of-this-world gown and a superstar with goddess-like features, but I’ve always felt that if the makeup and hair are done in a haphazard way that doesn’t accommodate, the entire thing can go to squat.  Take for instance Miss Keibler’s hairstyle here:

There’s no denying that Stacey is a beautiful woman.  However, I am a make-it-perfect-from-all-angles kind of girl, as in make sure the hair looks great from every perspective.  This just missed it.  I mean, am I actually looking at a giant pair of bobby pins sticking out of her hair from the back view?!  Unless you’re going for some sort of avant-garde presentation, you should not be able to see the pins in your hair.  From the front, it looks alright (although it is a little too much asymmetry, for my taste), but that back view just kills it for me.  Seriously, I could’ve thrown this together within ten minutes.  And that’s not a good thing.  xo, MR

the Hair stuff., the Makeup stuff., the Me stuff.

Ooh dang, she look fine! … or, my celebrity beauty crushes.

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Everyone’s got a favorite celebrity when it comes to fashion. We follow their style, pin all their outfits on Pinterest, and are most excited to see them on the red carpet. Sometimes, we even like a somewhat questionable outfit on them because, well, it’s on them. But have you ever thought of who your favorite celebrities are when it comes to beauty? You always love their hair, or you know they use great products, or their makeup is always different and fun in every photo. Perhaps they aren’t your favorites for style (or vice versa: you love what they wear but their makeup is always the same), but from they neck up, they always seem to get it right. Here are my three that I’m always ecstatic to see a close-up shot of:

1. Diane Kruger

Diane’s hair and makeup change dramatically with nearly every appearance. The German beauty is reminiscent of Grace Kelly and is never easily predicted, and she’ll take risks that’ll keep you on your toes. Pin curls, fishtail braids, easy topknots, bright red lips, dramatic winged eyeliner- you never know what she’ll do. And the coolest thing is that Diane’s known for frequently doing her hair and makeup herself!

2. Olivia Wilde

It probably doesn’t hurt that she’s a Revlon spokesmodel, but Olivia always looks so chic in the beauty department. She had an incredible cut with bangs and beautiful ombre color for a while that I loved, but her new cut for 2012 (pictured above) served as one of the most inspirational looks for this year’s ever-popular long bob cut. Her stunning blue eyes are so easy to play up with colorful shadow, too.

3. Jessica Biel

I’m mostly into Miss Biel for her locks. This exact picture served as inspiration for my hair leading up to my wedding, and I continue to obsess over every style and color Jessica tries with her crowning glory. Her mane just seems so healthy, and the health of my hair has taken priority over its everyday appearance partly in thanks to seeing incredible locks like Jessica’s. She’s commonly known as one of the most fit celebrities that maintains a stellar diet and exercise regimen, and dedication like that tends to manifest itself everywhere in your body, including your skin and hair.

There are, of course, other ladies that I’m crazy about including Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Connelly, Thandie Newton, and Mila Kunis. The originally mentioned ones, however, seem to be the most consistent in impressing me both on the red carpet and sometimes off, too. And I love my listed three specifically for what they do with their hair and makeup, not because I simply think they’re the prettiest celebrities. For instance, Miss Connelly’s features are so striking that I enjoy her more for how she naturally looks rather than what’s done with her makeup (though that raven shade of hair is greatly complemented by those rose-colored lips). I appreciate it too when a celebrity’s hair and makeup is translatable and easy to relate to. My counterexample of this would be the 365-days-a-year goddess known as Miss Beckinsale. Kate always seems to look just a tad too perfect. There’s no ease to her beauty; it’s immaculate glamour all the time with no hair (or, ahem, hair extension) out of place. However glorious and coiffed she may always look, such beauty can be hard to relate to.

The three featured in this post are those that I look forward to seeing the most at every awards show, in every magazine, and on every website. Their beauty isn’t so other-worldly that I feel I can’t take inspiration from them, and they each try new ideas that any other girl can try. So tell me, who are your favorites?