Category Archives: the Skin stuff.

the Hair stuff., the Makeup stuff., the Skin stuff.

The weird, the helpful, and the not-so-weird: Some practical and perhaps unconventional beauty tips

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“Best beauty tips ever”. This is a commonly-used headline splashed on the covers of women’s magazine nearly every month. Don’t tell me you haven’t seen it. Typically it’s all the same stuff: turn your head upside when you blow your hair out for volume, wear sunscreen every day and reapply constantly (which, please, no one does unless you’re Nicole Kidman), prevent early signs of ageing by not smoking, drink plenty of water. It’s all pretty intuitive stuff, but none of the typical advice we find in magazines is … I don’t know … new?

I like weird-but-practical beauty tips. I like hearing about the strange little habits that seem to make all the difference in someone’s beauty routine. That’s where the good stuff is- when you find out that your mom used to use an iron to flat-iron her hair. You think I’m kidding? How do you think everyone managed to copy Cher’s pin-straight locks in the seventies? It warn’t no Brazalian blow-out, that’s for dang sure. So here, a list for you of some of the most helpful and somewhat-odd beauty tips or snippets of advice that I’ve actually found to be effective in their intended purpose. Some of this may not be new at all for you, but have at it anyhow:

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1. Keep your hair in better shape by keeping your nails in better shape. What do these two have to do with each other? Well, I tend to bite my nails, which causes them to tear and have tattered, uneven tips. But if there’s anything I do more than bite my nails, it’s run my fingers through my hair. Run those tattered nails through fine, fragile tresses and riiiiip. I can practically hear the strands of hair gettings caught and torn by my nasty nails. And you don’t even have to bite your nails for them to be uneven; it just happens when we work with our hands. So my advice? File those nails and keep them painted and even. That way, you can run your fingers through your hair all you like without the risk of ripping your strands. Speaking of hands and nails …

2. Use sunscreen as hand lotion instead of, well, hand lotion. We’ve gotten increasingly better at hiding signs of ageing on our faces, but there’s one commonly-forgotten part of our body that’s always a dead giveaway when it comes to age, and it’s the hands. Seriously, you may not be able to tell a woman’s age by her face so much these days, but see if you can get a look at her hands. Sunspots, wrinkles, dry and leathery skin … it’s all usually found there. The easiest solution I can think of is just using sunscreen for hands instead of common hand lotion, which moisturizes temporarily but offers no sun protection.

3. Cold showers. Not the most relaxing experience, but I swear they improve circulation and wake you up more efficiently, your skin tends not to dry out so much, and they’re great for adding shine and decreasing frizz in your hair. Which leads me to my next bit …

4. Treat your showers as if they’re traumatic for your hair, not therapeutic. So many of us go all lather-crazy when we wash our hair, and we pile it on top of our heads and just start to scrub away as if our hair likes it. The harsh detergents found in most shampoos, combined with rough scrubbing and hard water, tend to promote breakage over time and do more to exasperate our hair than replenish it with lost moisture and nutrients. There’s no need to saturate the ends of your hair with shampoo; just try and keep your shampoo product on your scalp and then gently rub it in a circular motion around your head. Any shampoo run-off will take care of cleaning the ends of your hair. Additionally, there’s also no need to condition your scalp and the top of your head. Your ends are typically in most need of the benefits that conditioner offers, and covering your scalp in conditioner creates build-up that you then have to scrub out, which will probably leave your scalp dry and flaky, and so on and so forth.

5. If you have a zit, you have a zit. There’s pretty much no overnight fix for a pimple. It’s there to stay and will probably be visible for at least 48 hours, and there’s nothing you can do about it. No amount of vigorous scrubbing or picking will make it go away, so do what I’ve been doing these days: Leave it. Leave it completely exposed and deal with it. Don’t cover it with makeup, don’t touch it, don’t spend an extra five minutes washing it cleanser. Just carry on as normal, let it live its short life and, whenever you can, cover it in Mario Badescu’s Drying Lotion. It’s the most effecitve stuff in the smallest amount of time.

6. Turn up the heat on your flat-irons and curling rods. Turn it up, you ask? We’re always getting screamed at by magazines and hair-care companies for using too much heat! True, and you should always apply some kind heat-protective product before blow-drying or anything like that. However, what do you think is more damaging: Passing a flat-iron over the same section of hair five times at 300 degrees, or passing a flat-iron once over a section of hair at 400 degrees? If you’re thinking the former, you’re probably right. Turn up the heat as high as possible (at least for flat-irons) so you can get the heat-styling over with faster without pushing your strands through the damaging process over and over and into oblivion. Oh, and if you truly have damaged your locks? There really is no other solution for getting rid of the damage other than trimming.

7. Salty snacks late at night = puffy eyelids and face in the morning. Trust me, I’m a champ at this. What’s great for depuffing and debloating by morning? Have a cup of fennel tea at night or some grapefruit. Or, if you have time in the morning, put some cold, wet black tea bags on your puffy eyelids and let them rest. The tannin and caffeine in the tea work a small miracle.

8. Bright pink is a more flattering lip color than red, believe it or not. Hot pink makes you look tanner and your teeth look whiter. One of my favorite shades of hot pink is actually a drugstore find- CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipstick in Spellbound. It’s a phenomenally gorgeous shade of fuschia and it’s perfect for spring.

9. Certain eye makeup looks, like Dianne Agron’s winged eyeshadow and cat-eyeliner, are difficult to pull off without a robot-kind-of-steady hand. For a cat eye, take a credit card and place it at the outer corner of your eyelid, and tilt it slightly upward. Trace along the credit card to create the outer “wing” of your eyeliner once you’ve finished lining the rest of your lid.. This is way easier than trying to do it free-hand. I find this technique is executed most easily with an angled eyeliner brush as opposed to a liquid eyeliner pen. For the punk-rock winged eyeshadow look, go ahead and first apply the eyeshadow all over the lid until you achieve your desired level of color saturation. Don’t worry about being precise. Next, take a concealer brush or a small sponge and dab some concealer on it (and use a cream concealer for this, not a liquid). Starting at the outer corner of your eye, stroke the brush or sponge outward-and-upward, shaping and covering any outlying eyeshadow at an angle. This is a pretty advanced technique a MAC makeup artist taught me, but before I’d always thought that with a look like Dianna’s the eyeshadow actually had to be applied that way with freak levels of precision. Not so! Concealer truly works wonders, doesn’t it?

10. And speaking of makeup brushes … please clean them. Please, please clean them. You can use a little Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap and some water, or a brush cleaner like Japonesque’s Parian Spirit. Once you’ve applied whatever cleaning agent you’re using, brush them gently on a fiberless towel to rub out excess makeup and let them dry overnight. And whatever you do, do not use those sponges they give you in foundation compacts to apply your makeup. Or at least, use that sponge once, throw it out, and then use a different one every time. Using the same sponge over and over just transfers all the dirt and oil from your face into your makeup, and then back on to your face when you use apply again, and so on. Brushes are always a better bet because you can clean them.

Let me know of any other weird, not-so-weird, or practical beauty advice you’ve found to be helpful over the years. I’m always curious if someone has covered their hair in mayonnaise or something like that and gotten fantastic results. Cheersies! xo, MR

the Hair stuff., the Review stuff., the Skin stuff.

Chronicles of the Amazon Shampoo Hunter

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I haven’t posted in well over one week.  That seems like forever ago.  A LOT has happened within this past week, but I’m feeling quite cozy and pleasant now that it’s Friday and the week has come to its end.  It was finals week for the kiddos at school and the Friday after is always a day off for them,  and therefore a day off for me too.  So what does one like me do on a rainy Friday off?

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DRIVE FAR TOO MANY MILES IN PURSUIT OF THE GREATEST NATURAL LUXURY SHAMPOO!!  DUH!  WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS IS? A BLOG ABOUT SPENDING TIME WISELY?!

No but really.  I don’t have kids yet, and I’m not the one grading the finals yet, so you can bet your mother’s rump that I’m going to suck the juice out of this free time while I can.  No excuses.

So I’ve been using my John Masters Organics Evening Primrose shampoo for quite some time now, and as happy as I’ve been to find a truly safe, plant-based shampoo for my precious locks, I’d been hearing through the grapevine that I could do even better.  It’s been particularly dry out lately (I mean like lips-cracked-and-bleeding-dry), and so while I know that dry scalp may be a consequence of this, I’ve been noticing that the John Masters has been leaving my own scalp feeling, um, stripped at times?  Of course, that’s nothing a healthy dose of conditioner can’t help, but you know me.  If I can do one better for my hair, you know I’ll try anything and you know by “anything”, that includes the possibility of going all Rambo on a few choice endangered plant and animal species.

The latest rumors have it that the very best in natural hair care (and don’t get me wrong- John Masters is still up there) is a name called Rahua (pronounced RA-WA as far as I know).  The key to this line is a potent restorative oil previously known only to the women of the Quechua-Shuar tribe in Ecuador’s Amazonian rainforests.  CAN’T MAKE THAT UP.  A couple blogs that I keep up with every twenty minutes have frequently boasted the name of Rahua, and so my itchy scalp and I decided to get along down south to the only location I know of that carries the line- a Planet Beauty on Bristol and MacArthur just off the 405 freeway in Newport Beach (or am I in Irvine?  Where am I?  We’ll just say I’m in a rich peoples’ shopping center).

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This Planet Beauty is huge.  It’s a legitimate planet.  Apparently it’s the original location as well, and to my surprise it had no shortage of the rare, luxury brands that I’ve been reading about for years now.  Many of them I still cannot afford and dare not spend the tuppence on, but it was still weird finding them.  It was like meeting a celebrity, like running into Alan Arkin at a Souplantation or something.

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Rodin’s Olio Lusso is the stuff of the gods for celebrity skincare.  It is literally thee product that famed makeup artist Tom Pecheaux massages in Victoria’s Secret models’ faces before applying makeup for their annual fashion show (because I’m sure they all need more pampering … dem poor widdle models!).  Rodin’s site lists the special oils that the stuff is comprised of, but at $150 per 1 fluid-ounce bottle (make sure to clean up the floor now that you’ve spit up your lunch), I have a funny feeling that there’s some other ingredient Rodin ain’t letting us in on.  TINY BITS OF JERKED SNOW LEOPARD, RODIN?!  OR THE TEARS OF THE JOLIE-PITT TWINS?!  You can’t keep secrets from the American public for long!

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Here we have the full line of Tata Harper skincare, sitting right at the front entrance like it’s no big deal.  I once used a free sample of her Reparative Moisturizer and I have to say, I got a nice case of Doutzen Kroes face for the day.  It was great!  What was even better?  Wasting my Doutzen Kroes face on five classes of freshmen who literally could not care less because they’re too busy popping their own zits.  I’ll be saving that sample for when I do something swank next time, like when I go to Mother’s Market and order a juice.

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This Planet Beauty location also carries the full lines of Sonya Dakar and Dr. Hauschka skincare, with the latter known for being very natural and very potent.  Jennifer Aniston is known to use Dr. Hauschka’s products, along with various other celebrities that can do things like buy horses for fun (unlike us lay-folk, who buy horses for transportation).  Even Madonna itself uses Dr. Hauschka’s line, and look how well-preserved that thing is!

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And finally, I happened upon this- the full line of Kerastase hair products, save for the one product from the line that I use.  Of course!  But I was still quite overjoyed to see the rest of the full spread here, which is typically so hard to find.  And this photo doesn’t even cover the whole selection they had!  I will also say that I got to feel like quite a professional for one minute as I gave a customer the run-down on the whole line and what each color family is for.  But what product did I ultimately sell her on?  My amazing Rahua shampoo harvested straight out of the rainforest!  Let’s hear it for the natives!  Did I tell her I haven’t used the stuff yet?  No!  Did I tell her it’s awesome and she’ll be amazed by the glorious Kate Beckinsale-like results?  Yes!  Who loves lying?!  ME!

There were countless other luxury brands crammed into this tiny little gem of retail space- Philip B., Mustela (a line of great baby products that make Johnson & Johnson’s look like chemical waste), Kai, Juliette’s Got a Gun, the entire Davines line, Rene Furterer, and a billion more.  I would have to say that it’s been a Friday afternoon well-spent (and fear not- I’ve balanced out my super fun times by doing a little work and reading for my thesis). I’ll be letting you know how my Amazon shampoo turns out, and hopefully it’s a success and I don’t have to fear the wrath of that stranger I sold it to.  xo, MR

the Makeup stuff., the Review stuff., the Skin stuff.

B.B. creams and my scheme for becoming the Hulk.

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I have many dream jobs.  Many dream jobs.  I dream of being a makeup artist to the celebrities (though I hear from Laura Mercier that you have ZERO-POINT-ZERO life when you achieve such a status).  I dream of doing animation voice-overs for cartoons because apparently my impressions of Butters and the oh-long-Johnson cat are impeccable.  I dream of writing for fashion and beauty publications (so feel free to pay me for this any time, or do you pride yourself in robbing the poor and disenfranchised?).  I dream of being a spectacular teacher that is somehow able to incorporate culture and film and art into every lesson on American history.  I dream of being a model because I’m hot for approximately two out of seven days during the week so long as I remember to shower and check my feet for toe jam.  I dream of being a professional restaurant reviewer that literally must only eat the best food your sorry fanny can serve up in a five-star kitchen.  And bring me a side of Takis with that lobster bisque, you lemming!

But most of all … I dream of being paid for the oh-so-miserable task of reviewing makeup products.  And I’m even willing to be a human tester for the unfinished products too so the lab rabbits no longer have to suffer!  Animal testing typically involves a product being placed directly on to an animal’s eyes or skin, and if they go crazy from pain and perhaps break their own necks while struggling to free themselves from the restraint they’re being held in, then the consensus is that the formula probably needs some improvement before showing up at your local drugstore as the latest and greatest liquid foundation to slather all over your face.  Am I making this up?  Nope.  So test unfinished products on my eyes, I say!  Maybe a  faulty new eyeliner formula will turn my eyes violet and I can be Elizabeth Taylor come back from the dead with a search-and-destroy mission on Lindsay Lohan for soiling my good name with Liz & Ick (you read that right).  Or even better, a testing of a bad moisturizer will turn me into the Hulk (the Ed Norton kind).  I’ve always wanted to be able to open tightly-sealed jars of salsa without crying and bruising my fingerbones.  HULK SMASH SALSA JAR!  Or maybe it’ll just turn me into Ed Norton.  Either way, I’ll get more respect and more free meals.

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So for the moment, I’ll choose to review a product that’s already passed the rabbit-neck-break test.  Actually, I don’t think the B.B. cream I’ve tried even had a rabbit-neck-break test to begin with because the brand I’ve used says a big fat no to lab rabbits (or as I like to call them, “labbits”)!  That brand would be Boscia, by the way.  It’s a Japanese skincare line that’s a little more on the pricier end of things, but they produce some seriously good stuff.

I first read about B.B. creams (or Beauty Balms, or Blemish Balms) maybe two years ago, I believe in either Vogue or Elle.  The idea sounded fantastic, like the ultimate multifunctional tinted moisturizer.  Their alleged purpose is to provide hydration, conceal imperfections and give natural coverage, firm and even out skin tone, protect from future damage with SPF, and repair existing flaws with ingredients like antioxidants.  It read like a hybrid of makeup and skincare.  They’d originated in Japan and had already started trickling into the United States through brands like Dr. Jart, Boscia, and Dior, and I was interested.  I’m not really into foundation (especially for everyday use), but the idea of something that could provide a light bit of evening-out along with sun protection sounded like a good way to ramp up my routine.

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I purchased the Boscia B.B. Cream SPF 27 PA++ (with PA being a superior grade of UVA protection) at Sephora and gave it a shot.  And you know what?  I liked it, and I still use it!  It comes in one self-adjusting shade and it blends extraordinarily well.  I also can’t express enough appreciation for it’s lack of phthalates, parabens, and sulfates (though it still has PEGs and lots of “-cones”). Now, have I tried any other B.B. creams?  Nope?  Do I intend to?  Nope.  I’ve found a high-quality one that I love and, as far as I know, is the most natural one currently on the market counting both drugstore and luxury brands.  And as I’ve explained before, I’d rather pay more for safer, higher-quality ingredients (or at the very least, fewer sketchy ingredients), especially when it comes to face makeup.  So do I recommend this product?  Yes.  Below, I’ve applied a light layer of the B.B. cream.  Pretty even with a decently dewy finish, I’d say.

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And there you have it- my one review of the only B.B. cream I’ll probably ever use (and I don’t wear it everyday because I don’t wear makeup everyday), and my plan to give myself up for animal rights so I can become the Hulk or an undead Liz Taylor or a reasonably healthy Ed Norton.  Be at peace now that your day has been nothing short of MADE.  xo, MR

the Makeup stuff., the Me stuff., the Skin stuff.

The Bright Blush- Uganda edition!

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My amazing friend Kelsey works for a non-profit organization called the Kwagala Project, based in Gulu, Uganda.  This organization continuously seeks for new ways to combat sexual violence, human trafficking, and the forced labor of women and girls.  Taking action to help victims of sex trafficking is so necessary in countries like Uganda, because the issue is such an on-going one as a consequence of constant war and insufficient, unstable government.  Kelsey has always had such a heart for global justice in communities less fortunate around the world, and her time is truly consumed by doing things that actually matter.  What cracks me up though, is that whenever I publish new posts for this blog late at night, I can always check my stats just a bit later and see that there’s been one recent view in Uganda … and I always know that’s Kelsey, probably eating lunch and reading my latest post.  She may be taking care of some the most important business on this Earth for her job, but it makes me happy that she always has a moment to read my stuff, as ridiculously unimportant as it is in comparison to what she’s thinking about on a regular basis.

What made me even more happy was when Kels emailed me about doing a possible post on this blog, not about her, but about one of the girls she’s met from Uganda through the Kwagala Project!  Yes that’s right- this blog has gone global, folks.  I’ve always loved learning about beauty routines that are completely unlike mine, and I had to figure Uganda might be pretty close to “unlike mine” considering it’s halfway around the world.  I’ve loved reading about African beauty routines in the magazines I’ve kept up with.  Native African women seriously have some of the most striking faces I’ve ever seen.  Case and point- South Sudanese model Alek Wek , who has dominated the catwalk for the likes of Chanel, Donna Karan, and Calvin Klein.  I’d see some of the photos on the Kwagala Project’s site and just think, Ummm, these girls should be modeling.  So, let me introduce you all to the model for The Bright Blush: Uganda edition … This is Stella!  So beautiful!

Stella is your regular ole’ girly girl- she loves long dresses, getting all done up, and being in front of the camera.  In this photo, Stella’s just finished washing her face.  She looks like one of those ads you see for face washes, looking all squeaky clean and ahhhhh!  Stella and her girls use only water to cleanse their faces.  I have to say, keeping up with this routine is probably so healthy for your skin in the long run.  No alcohols, no extra substances, no trying all kinds of gimmicky products until you land on the right one over years and years … just the ultimate universal cleanser.  Stella also pats ground, white chalk powder on her face for a lighter, shine-free look.  She and her friends prefer to appear lighter than their natural skintone.  This is one of the ultimate ironies in global beauty, and something I find so fascinating- white women work so hard to be tan, because they seem to associate it with wealth, tropical vacations, having the time to lay out and pamper their bodies, and glamour.  But many African, Asian, and Middle Eastern women work hard for the opposite effect- they prefer to appear lighter.  I actually just read an article in Marie Claire about a Pakistani woman who modeled in ads for skin whitening creams, and her inner conflict that she experienced as a result of it.  It was so interesting to me, because I’ve literally never seen a skin-whitening cream in a store, Sephora, anywhere.  Ever.  All we’ve got here are tanning lotions and bronzers!

It is common for women of eastern cultures to want to achieve a fair-skinned look because light skin is, in fact, associated with wealth in these cultures.  Historically, this preference came from the idea that if you had dark skin in these cultures, it most likely meant that you were a poor laborer and worked long hours outside under the sun, farming and working.  However, if you had light skin, this meant that your time was likely spent indoors, in your beautiful home, privileged and wealthy, away from toil under the hot sun.  It’s so funny to me how physical beauty, while in many ways universally identifiable, can be so relative from culture to culture.

For any kind of zit, Stella and her friends use the old-wives’ trick of applying a bit of toothpaste to the zit.  I’ve known a couple folks who do this too.  Toothpaste is supposed to be great at drying out zits, but I admit that I’ve never tried it myself.  Stella uses a toothbrush to groom her eyebrows, and she uses a razorblade to shape them.  She uses eyeliner to fill in her eyebrows and to draw in sideburns.   I love it!  When Ugandan girls (or at least the girls in Gulu, where Stella lives) get dolled up, sideburns apparently are always included.

I love that just by knowing this little routine of Stella’s, I feel as if I’ve gotten to spend time with her and all the girls in Gulu.  The small details of a beauty routine are some of the most exciting and most fascinating to me, and I’m grateful to even be able to enjoy them myself.  I love that organizations like the Kwagala Project work to help girls be able to enjoy the small, joyful details of beauty and life, too, when these girls’ lives have been so fraught with pain and heavy burdens.  The freedom to savor the small things and really enjoy being a girl is a beautiful thing, for me and for Stella.

Be sure to check out the Kwagala Project’s site at http://www.KwagalaProject.org and see how you can get involved or help out.  There’s always a way to help, no matter what time zone you’re in.  Just read a little bit about what’s been going on with the Project on the blog, and check out some of the stories of the girls impacted by it.  Beauty is blossoming in Gulu, and that’s something to celebrate!  xo, MR

the Makeup stuff., the Me stuff., the Skin stuff.

Waking up is hard to do. Waking up and getting pretty is even harder.

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I am currently working as a high school substitute teacher.  As you may know from earlier posts, I’m also undertaking the composition of my Master’s thesis, I’m very involved in my husband’s ministry, and I’ve got another part-time job on the side.  Although nothing I do these days is particularly cumbersome or overwhelming in and of itself (and everything is, in fact, pretty fun), I am undeniably busy and my schedule is kind of all over the place.  Because I’m not guaranteed a subbing job everyday, I frequently go to bed uncertain as to what time I’ll be getting up the next day.  I may not receive any call to sub and not get up until later, or I may receive a call at 5AM and not be able to fall back asleep.  I also may be up late working at my other job (at a coffee shop) and then come home with enough energy to clean my place for an hour, or I may be up late hanging out with the college students that my husband works with.  I might even already know that I have a subbing job the next day, and I may choose to go to sleep early enough or I may be dumb as usual and choose to stay up until 1AM watching I Love Lucy.  Sometimes I stay up until 1AM watching I Love Lucy and get real lucky with a surprise 5AM-er.  Those mornings are just peachy.

Any way you slice it, no week seems to turn out the same as the last, and I allow myself no time to get ready in the mornings.  My sleep is inconsistent, I have the terrible habit of eating salty snacks late at night, it takes me forever to fall asleep no matter the circumstances, and I’m extremely bad at that thing called waking up.  I am one of those alarm-goes-off-six-times-before-getting-up people.  And until I have a baby or land a full-time job, I believe my personal routines will remain somewhat irregular.  I know babies don’t always have strong routines either, but at least their irregular schedule will become my regular schedule.  I know I’ll find a way to squeeze my lazy, inconsistent butt into a full routine somehow once a career or kid puts the pressure on me and I’m forced to conform, but for now, I continue to float along as I can.  I’ve gotten pretty good at laying things out for the morning before I go to bed, because these days I either already have a sub job lined up for the next day or I may very well get one from the automated subbing call system at dawn’s crack.

So, what does a makeup routine look like with this kind of schedule?  Well, there isn’t really a routine.  I don’t wake up every morning and stand in front of the mirror and put on makeup.  Somehow, my current bathroom space just isn’t conducive to a refreshing, early morning makeup application.  I really need a zen-like environment when I go for the whole schtick, and I don’t have that set-up yet.  And like I said … I’m pretty bad at getting my butt out of bed in the first place.  Like, there have been days where I’ve given myself maybe five minutes to transform from something looking like a “Tazmanian devil” to “acceptable civilian” status, and then jam out the door and on to the freeway.  So, some days I go teach without a single stitch of makeup on, not a lick, without even getting to groom my eyebrows.  Other days, once I’ve arrived at the school, I somehow manage to accrue the time and energy to get on a full face before the kids come in the classroom, but I have to pack my goods first before taking off for the school.  So, what do I pack when I’ve got thirty seconds to grab whatever I can to cover all the bases?

I skip the face makeup because, I don’t know, I just don’t need it everyday.  My skin doesn’t need it, and I mean that in the sense that it’s not good for it.  It’s one less thing I have to take with me too (and powder can get messy) and I can consequently leave behind my biggest makeup brush as well.  I do throw in moisturizer with SPF 15 and an eye cream that de-puffs and helps clear up dark circles.  I can usually get that all on during the car ride to school, at red lights.  I use NARS bronzer in Laguna everyday to warm up my face a little (with a travel kabuki brush), and I use a NARS cream blush in Lokoum on the apples of my cheeks.  No brush necessary for cream blush … just fingers!  I’ll pat on a little undereye concealer after my eye cream dries (before touching the cream blush, of course), and then comes the part that takes the longest- as many coats of mascara as I can get on before the bell rings.  I sometimes pack three different kinds of mascara and I put them all on in multiple coats.  It’s an issue I have, and no, I’m not dealing with it.  And here’s the final touch that only happens if I’ve arrived early enough and have gone over all the lesson plans in advance- I take out my angled eyeliner brush and my Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink that I’ve packed, and I draw a slow, careful line just across each of my top lids.  Lightly sketch in the gaps in my eyebrows with an eyebrow pencil, put on some Burt’s Bees beeswax lip balm (although that’s usually what I do first before even brushing my teeth at home), and I’m done.  I don’t bother with lip gloss because once it’s worn off I forget to ever reapply it, and before I step out the door I’ll maybe do two spritzes of a light perfume but never any more than that.  I’ll throw in a couple Almay Makeup Eraser Sticks too for undereye smudges that occur throughout the day (because you know how those high school kids make me cry).

Anything more than this is too ambitious.  And I hate rushing a makeup job anyhow.  This whole routine, without getting any steps done in the car, takes me about seven minutes while seated calmly at a desk.  Sometimes if I can just manage to get the bronzer, blush, concealer, and eyebrows taken care of, I’m satisfied without the mascara or eyeliner.  The point is to just look awake.  And with some calls coming in at 5AM, that’s as much as I’m going to ask of myself at this point.  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 Makeup stuff., the Me stuff., the Review stuff., the Skin stuff.

Sometimes I’m very unhelpful.

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I recently posted a status on Facebook asking for suggestions on posts for this blog.  Apparently I was have an uninspired moment and felt the need to open up the floodgates, which is odd considering that I always seem to have ideas for posts.  I guess my point though was to see what others were interested in reading about, because sometimes what I’m interested in may not always be … interesting to other people.

I received many more responses than I’d anticipated.  Folks asking about product reviews, “best” lists of what to use for this kind of skin type, tone, and the like, and a few other unique ideas.  What’s funny is how being approached with certain questions makes you come to realize that there are territories of a subject you love that you really haven’t explored.  There are parts of the beauty realm that I really don’t know much about.  Some of these particularities haven’t been explored because I haven’t been interested, and others remain relatively untouched because I just know exactly how I feel about them and haven’t bothered beyond that.  Anyhow, the little flurry of suggestions I received has prompted me to address a couple of them, more or less, with an unknowing or uncertain shrug of the shoulders.  Or, perhaps I will address the topic suggested, but my response will probably be very, very unhelpful.  Cheers to unhelpful-ness!

The cosmetic modification of our bodies–  I am a bad person to talk to about this.  Why?  Because in so far as it has applied to myself, I have been almost wholly against the cosmetic, physical modification of our bodies as they are.  I am so to an almost extreme, sometimes strange degree.  One might say, “Oh, but you’re ok with the use of retinol creams to combat wrinkles?  Isn’t that a form of modification?”  And I would say, “Ehhhh…”.  Yeah, just “Ehhh …”.  It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain why I feel the way I feel, but I can definitely tell you that I do feel a certain way about it.  Wrinkle creams I’m fine with, but putting out cash for the immediate and irreversible alteration of one’s physical appearance (read: breast augmentation, plastic procedures on the body for purely cosmetic reasons, etc) doesn’t sit well with me at all.  Ever.  And then again, one may say, “Well, coloring your hair is an immediate and irreversible alteration of one’s physical appearance, and you do that”.  And again, I say, “Ehhhh … “.  I just can’t easily explain my feelings on this one; it seems to hinge on the reasoning behind the choice for modification, as well as the severity of the modification.  Sometimes I have weird feelings on body modification in smaller, more trivial forms (or “add-ons” as I call them), too.  An example of this would be how I’ve never considered wearing hair extensions.  I just don’t like the idea of wearing hair that’s not my real hair.  I don’t mind at all when I see others wearing them however (and I’ve got a good lot of friends that do, and they always look good), but for myself, it’s just never been one of the cards on the table.  I don’t know, I think I’ve got some kind of odd purist obsession going on.  I’ll never do acrylic nails, color contacts freak me out, and it took me some time to be okay with the idea of … false lashes *gasp* (I’m now all about those for your wedding, though).  All in all, it’s tough to articulate, and I expect no one to agree with me on the little things.  But in the more severe things like surgery, there’s no question as to where I stand.  And to be honest, I’m not yet exactly sure how I feel about wrinkles creams anyhow … the ingredient typically involved in such products can be a little harsh and out of sync with … I don’t know … nature?  We’ll see on that one, though.

Speaking of wrinkle creams … – I know nothing.  Because I haven’t tried any yet.  I know the magical ingredients to look for are things like retinol or retinoids, rhamnose, various plant extracts from green tea or shitake mushrooms, and other random stuff that Allure writes about in literally every issue.  At this point, I’d simply suggest to continue using natural moisturizer every day with SPF (the greenest you can find for your budget), moisturize at night with a rich, natural night cream after removing makeup, and the big not-so-secret secrets: drink … green … tea … and … DO … NOT … SMOKE.

And speaking of SPF … – Again, I’m not much help.  I just haven’t tried many kinds.  I will say that it’s definitely the number one rule when taking care of your skin.  From birth until death, use it every day.  And I’ll continue to sound like the broken record that I am and advise that you find the most natural kind you can for your skin and within your budget.  That’s really the only advice I have, though.  I’m willing to deal with a somewhat greasy texture if it’s natural and protects from the sun.  Additionally, I always use a daily moisturizer that has SPF in it so that I can knock out two steps in one.  I have loved the Desert Essence Organics line for their facial products for years (at Sprout’s or Whole Foods), and I’ll continue to push for them.  A non-natural kind of facial sunscreen that gets plenty of great reviews is LaRoche-Posay.  Have I used it, though?  Nope.

Minimizing pores– Unfortunately, you can’t actually make your pores shrink, but one particular product works wonders in lending a hand at minimizing their appearance: primer.  The kind that you put on under your makeup, and after your moisturizer, for the purpose of giving your makeup some serious hold and minimizing the appearance of pores and fine lines.  For a higher budget, I like BeneFit The POREfessional, and for a lower budget I like Revlon PhotoReady Perfecting Primer.  I use the former on brides, and it has a great mattifying effect.  I highly recommend it.

Biotin and hair growth supplements- I tried taking biotin for a couple months a few years back.  I saw absolutely no difference, but I do recall getting strange headaches (which, I’m sure, had no relationship with the biotin but it was a little strange nonetheless; I remember hoping that the headaches were from my hair growing so fast out of my head).  I think my nails grew faster, though!  But basically, I couldn’t tell you.  I feel that supplements like biotin vary in effectiveness from person to person.  My thing is, you can’t really grow more hair.  You only have so many hair follicles on your head and you can’t create more.  You can strengthen each strand though, which is wear I think good diet and supplements can help.  I hear a lot of good buzz about Viviscal, a supplement meant to support skin and hair strength and health.  I’d look into that.  I love leaving oils on my hair for an hour or so before washing too, like jojoba and vitamin E oils.  And honestly, good diet can’t be stressed enough.  When I’m putting junk into my body (which I’m pro at), my hair kind of turns into junk.  And my skin, too.  I don’t necessarily get break-outs or lose hair so to speak, but my skin and hair turn dull.  Look into stocking up on things like kefir, salmon, quinoa, kale and green juices in general, strawberries, acai juice when you can get a hold of it, and lobster is the beauty treatment of seafoods.

Waterproof mascara– I don’t use it.  Sorry.  I’ve got a tube that I use on brides because I know it’s standard, but I’ve actually refrained from using it on myself.  I don’t like how difficult it is to remove, and I haven’t ever found a kind that’s entirely waterproof.  And let me tell you, when you get waterproof mascara in your eyes … it … hurts.  So what do I recommend?  Wear your normal mascara, and bring some Almay Oil-free Makeup Eraser Sticks with you to clean up the mess when you turn into one yourself.

So there you have it.  Sometimes I’m helpful, and sometimes I’m not.  But I’ll continue to welcome the questions as long as an occasional unhelpful answer is welcome too. xo, MR

the Makeup stuff., the Me stuff., the Skin stuff.

She sells sea smells by the seashore.

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I’d never been much of a girl for summer, but since my appreciation for fashion in all its seasons has grown, I’ve begun appreciating the varying climates and environments that inspire designers more and more. I’ve evolved into a woman for all seasons these past couple years, and now I can’t enough of whatever it is … sunshine, rain, crisp breezes, fog (just not wind).

My favorite times of summer consist of taking a drive to the beach by myself, packing a couple mags, and bringing a couple favorite beauty products of mine that tend to do simply two things: moisturize and smell like vacation. But other than that, I won’t wear a drop of makeup to the beach. Slather on the sunscreen, and brother that is it.

Monoi Tiki Tahiti Tiare is an oil product that smells nothing short of divine. I found it at a Mother’s Market and it’s a little escape in a bottle. I’ve only recently fallen in love with the idea of tropical places (because for so long I was strictly a forest girl), and now I can’t get enough of scents that transport me to pristine beaches of golden sand. You can put this stuff in your hair and all over your skin, and it solidifies under 68 degrees. Deeeee-lish.

I typically favor neutral nail colors, as seen here on my fingers (Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Honey Whip). I chose a similar color for my wedding day and just used it instead of French tips or acrylics. I don’t know why, but I just can’t get into what I call ‘add-ons’, like hair extensions or acrylic nails. I even had a hard time with false eyelashes at first, but I couldn’t argue with what they did for pictures.

I’ll go a little more dramatic on my toes for some pop. This one’s Chanel Le Vernis in Black Pearl, from the Spring 2011 collection. And that’s a picture of Jessica Alba with a faboosh topknot. Can’t get enough of those things. xo, MR

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

Drugstore Cowgirl

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Familiar sight?

Yes, I do frequently find myself perusing aimlessly through my local drugstore. In fact, I frequently find myself perusing aimlessly through the not-so-local ones as well. CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreen’s, and whatever others there may be … I’ve wandered them all, near and far. However, I should add that it is especially awkward with the local stores because the check-out attendants see my face quite a bit. But that’s not really what makes it awkward, when I think about it … it’s the fact that nine times out of ten, I walk out of the store without buying anything. I literally … just … wander. And then I leave.

I’ll wander down the hair care aisle and open up maybe five bottles of shampoo or conditioner, smell them, and then shut them, put them back, and leave. Or I’ll stare at the L’Oreal eyeshadows, pick one up, walk around with it, and then put it back and leave. Or I’ll be staring at the skin care products and I’ll pick up the package of pre-moistened face towelettes and kind of squish them in their package, and then put them back and leave. Or sometimes … I just stare. And then leave.

Don’t ask me why I do any of this, or what it does for me when I do it. Believe me, I’m aware of how I may look as I engage in these behaviors. Shoplifter? Social disorder? Obsessive compulsions? Incurable boredom? Yeah, it could look like it (and trust me, I’m not kidding when I say that the cashier attendants know who I am … they give me the look every time).

Wandering through the drugstore beauty aisles will probably remain one of my favorite ways to kill time, though. Maybe it’s just the idea of being around the products of an industry I enjoy. But seriously- there’s enough to look at, there’s usually something new, I’m not too tempted to buy anything there because most of the products ain’t that great for your skin or hair (and if I do buy anything I probably won’t be spending too much). So if you see me creepin’ at Rite-Aid next week and sniffing a deep conditioner without any intent of purchasing, just keep your side-eye to yourself. You know you do it too, honey boo boo. xo, MR