swag haircut | thebrightblush

I got a bang trim today. It was my first trim since getting them on January 2^nd, so it looks like I can go about five weeks before they’re on top of my eyelids. I could probably let them grow longer and just part them in the center a la’ Alexa Chung, but that’s not really the look I’m going for.

It hasn’t been half bad taking care of bangs this time around, honestly. If you’re considering them, just remember that you will need to style them every day. And if you typically let your hair air-dry, well, you’ll still want to give your bangs just five minutes of time with heat and a brush because they may not look as naturally flattering as the rest of your air-dried mermaid hair. You may just look like you’ve got mermaid hair with a Medusa forehead.

Here are a couple extra tips for keeping your bangs in Charlotte Gainsbourg condition, should you be interested:

No round brushes! EVER! Unless you’re going for the perfect pipeline-shaped bangs you had when you were five, I urge you to stay away from round brushes hen drying your bangs. I’ve found round brushes just make my bangs too, well, round. The best instructions I’ve found on blowing out your bangs can be found here on my Pinterest. Using a blow dryer, I’ll give them a little air from the left, then from the right, a little from straight above, and then I’ll very carefully use a flat brush (my Bass paddle brush is all I have right now, though I’d like something smaller) to pull them taut in sections.

Use a drop of styling cream to keep your bangs in place. While they’re still wet, I’ll distribute just a pea-sized amount of R&Co Jackpot in my bangs before I hit them with heat. Blow-drying bangs without any product can leave them almost too soft and pliable; a bit of styling cream gives them just the right amount of hold and grit that’ll last you a day or two.

Bangs look their best when the rest of your hair has volume. Unless you’re going for an intentionally sleek look, get out all the mousse and texturizing sprays you have and go to town on the rest of your hair. Bangs paired with flat hair can look a bit childish, while bangs with some nice teasing at the crown look more balanced with a Bardot feel. I’m not trying to tell anyone how to look; these are just my personal observations.

Dry shampoo, as you can imagine, is your best friend by day two. It’s very difficult not to keep touching your bangs because it is literally hair in your face, but a spray of dry shampoo can easily remedy a case of the 4:00pm greasies. But don’t overdo it- I seriously get by with one spray of Living Proof’s dry shampoo in my bangs. It’s harder to brush dry shampoo out of bangs and make it disappear because there isn’t as much hair to absorb it.

When you’ve had your bangs cut in a way you like, ask your stylist for the exact steps on what he or she does (and take a picture of yourself with your ideal length!). Chances are you may end up in a different salon for a quick bang trim on the fly (or at least, that’s what I’ve done). You should be able to repeat the steps to another stylist. Otherwise, if you give no instructions, your blunt bangs could end up wispy, your long, fashion-length bangs could end up too short, and so forth. Pictured here, my ideal length. And an accompanying shot of what happens when they do what most hair does- grow.

Careful with the flat iron. I think it’s tempting for many to air dry their bangs and then give them the treatment of death by flat ironing them into submission. I strongly advise against this. While you don’t want tunnel bangs, you don’t want them slap against your forehead either or with weird stick-straight ends jutting out. I only use a flat iron for touch-ups, like after I’ve woken up and they’re bent all weird. I try to keep the tools squared around the brush, the comb, and the aforementioned potions.

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I think that’s all I’ve got from this past month of experience. I’m excited that I have a little excuse to drop into a salon every month or so now; bang trims are typically complimentary. And I wasn’t too ashamed to dash out quickly after this trim, considering I was left with a cowlick as high as the heavens. No seriously, it was a half-inch higher than the rest of my hair. I literally put my hood on as I walked out of the salon. No one needed to see that on a Friday. xo, MR

Let’s see. When we last talked about my empties challenge, I’d forgotten that I was doing it in the first place and got a blowout that wasn’t even worth it. Kudos to me. Over the past two months, I’ve managed to remember my challenge but Christmas, Sephora gift cards, and an appointment with my home hairstylist happened. Yikes. And I was silly and decided that I wanted to try ColourPop cosmetics, too. I felt like I could justify it because ColourPop items are six bucks each, but add in the shipping and you’re basically at eleven bucks. Oh well.

My main expenses, when it comes down to it, were the hair appointment and the extra money I spent at Sephora on top of my gift card. Because you know how getting one item for free at Sephora somehow makes purchasing two more seem okay? Yeah, I don’t know how that works in the brain’s economy, but somehow it makes sense, kind of like the real estate bubble of 2008 and subprime mortgages. Oh and I also stopped by Lush Cosmetics and picked up their Eau Roma Water Toner, because I had a staff lunch right next door and I wasn’t sure when I’d be there next. I’m really exercising such a great sense of self-discipline.

Anyhow, I have run out of a couple things this past month. I’ve finished off my Origins A Perfect World Age-Defense Treatment Lotion With White Tea, A Perfect World SPF25 Age-Defense Moisturizer With White Tea, and another CoverGirl Clump Crusher mascara. I’m closing in on the following: NARS Creamy Radiance Concealer in Custard, Unite Eurotherapy 7 Second Condition Leave-In Detangler, Sally Hershberger Hyper Hydration Super Keratin Spray, Acure Organics Argan Chlorella Night Cream, Burt’s Bees Sensitive Facial Cleansing towelettes, and quite possibly my BareMinerals SPF15 Original Foundation in Light. Still little progress on any color cosmetics, but I have been doing better at applying more frequently. I don’t exactly blast through stuff like this blue and purple eyeshadow duo from NARS quickly.

So if I’m going by the ratio of the challenge (and not counting any of the things I received as Christmas gifts, because it’s just too difficult), I’ve “paid” for my hair appointment by running out of the two Origins products. I purchased some Simple Micellar Water again too, so the mascara and one of the others that I’m almost out of will pay for that. The two other things I picked up at Sephora and the Lush toner, however, are unpaid for until I officially run out of the rest of the almost-empty products plus one additional item. Time to keep working. And notice I’m just not even counting the ColourPop, I’m just that over it. Whatever.

All this to say, it’s very easy for non-necessities to accumulate. It happens quickly, and we tend to make purchasing decisions impulsively. I need to learn to take my time. It’s becoming much easier to see what I really need though, which is kind of neat. I found I couldn’t do without the micellar water as a makeup remover after a couple weeks, and I repurchased my same Origins moisturizer with my Sephora gift card after deciding not to spend it on something more frivolous. So, I’m learning, but I’ll keep hammering away at the color cosmetics in the meantime.

I have to say that the ColourPop decision wasn’t exactly the worst, though. I took my time figuring out what color of their UltraMatte liquid lipstick I wanted to try and I finally landed on a shade called “Chilly Chili”. Like the Stila kind I’ve mentioned before, this stuff does not come off but the color payoff is pretty great. I can’t wait to wear this plum-brown in the city, and I like it with my bangs.