when your hair won't pick a direction

Seriously, does anyone know ANYONE who's happy with their hair?  Not to mitigate the plight of those who feel cursed with stick straight limpness or frizzy mess of curls, but I find my bipolar hair particularly frustrating.  The wavy/curly hair all the way around my hairline would be gorgeous if the rest of it would follow suit.  To make matters worse, all of it is resistant to hot tools.  Meticulously blow drying with a paddle brush right after getting out of the shower and constantly smoothing out frizz throughout the day was a must until I started using a couple choice products from Frederic Fekkai. 

 Glossing Cream- the perfect styling cream/leave-in conditioner.  This protects my ends when I blow dry and gives my hair enough slip to prevent tangled throughout the day.  It never feels heavy or makes hair look greasy, unlike silicone sprays and serums.  Just don't overdo, a dime-size blob is plenty for my long hair.

Luscious Curls Wave Spray- my favorite, all-purpose hair product.  This utterly lightweight hair spray sticks down frizz and baby hairs on straight hair days without feeling crunchy or heavy.  It also manages to convince all of my hair into reasonable, soft waves.  I wash my hair in the early evening, let it 60% air dry, spritz on some Wave Spray, and pin up into a loose, high bun before bed (make the bun too tight and it won't dry or will give you ringlets).  The pins fall out in the night, leaving me with perfect Kate Hudson beach hair in the morning.  To revive the wave, simply re-spritz and pin up for an hour.

Best of all, both these products smell incredible- like fresh, herbalish lemon.  They're pricey, but go a long way and worth the investment for performance alone.

dr. pepper, you make my lips look better...

Nothing like a looming graduation to kick up nostalgia.  So while cruising through the beauty aisle at Target I couldn't resist impulse buying a Dr. Pepper Lipsmacker from Bonne Bell.  This stuff pretty much lived in my pocket from middle school up to undergrad, when I developed my crippling addiction to Chanel lipgloss.  I remember why I loved this stuff though, I'm a sucker for the scent and taste of artificial cherry and it adds a healthy, subtle red shine to lips (SO perfect for a date night).  I love smearing a little red lipstick on my lips in the morning and using this Lipsmacker for touchups throughout the day, it's so effortlessly cool.  A while this doesn't do a damn for soothing irritation, it's moisturizing enough even here in the Tundra.  If you've never tried one of these, it's the best $2 guilty pleasure I can think of.

pretty in hot pink

Hmm, I wonder what color Lucky thinks is so hot right now?  Cover aside, the beauty section is packed with lip and cheek product recommendations in sheer hot pinks.  After glancing through the magazine a couple times, I kind of want to Tarte's Natural Swirl Cheek Stain in Full Blossom, it looks so pretty!  My current favorite hot pink product is Bobbi Brown's pale pink blush (very similar to the blush shown in this photo of the Pink Raspberry face palette) on the apples of my cheeks with the lighter two shades from Cargo Miami Beach Blush swept over the top to warm up the color.

be prepared

I've been a tea snob since my BFF from LA introduced me to the amazing quality that is The Republic of Tea.  I swear, once you start using unbleached paper tea bags you'll never go back to Stash or Celestial Seasonings.  Now that the midterm crunch has hit in full force, I've fallen in love with their line of Be Well red teas and my cabinet is now stocked for all sorts of health crises.  I swear, it's like The Republic consulted with college students because I do NOT know how I would keep sane without these delicious blends of herbs and rooibos.  My line-up:

get some zzz's- Nothing like insomnia to throw a wrench into your time management plan.  The one-two punch of chamomile and valerian root, which the health center at my undergrad swears by to calm down the anxiety center of the brain, is ultra relaxing before bed without the obnoxious "sleep hangover" feeling Tylenol PM can cause.

get clean- Here at SU, we work hard and we play hard.  But again, no one has time to feel gross in the morning and this root-packed blend gets me back on my feet all the faster.

The taste of rooibos can take some getting used to, but the results are worth it.  I like mine with a teaspoon of honey, and my parents like it with a splash of milk.  Check out the full product range here.

road test: sally hansen natural shine

My manicurist back home was a firm believer in nail polish, used in moderation and not re-applied every few days, as a way to protect nails from harsh winter weather.  Until I moved to Central NY I found that to be true and could generally maintain my nails on a manicure scrub and coat of Revlon Sheer Snowflake Pink or Essie Ballet Slippers once a week.  But now that we've had a couple weeks of rain/snow and it's down to 9 degrees outside, I'm finding even using nail polish remover once a week is too harsh.  It seemed like the perfect time to try one of the new vitamin-packed protective nail polishes.  I opted for Sally Hansen's Natural Shine Instant Nail Finish because it boasts purse-portability, speedy drying time, and all sorts of beneficial ingredients from white tea to Vitamin E.

But to really put this product to the test, I packed it along in my messenger bag for a week to see if this product is really an on-the-go fix for beat up nails.

Sunday- Applied two coats. The low-viscosity gel dried to a buffed look with one coat and a reasonable shine with two.  One caveat: the dead skin on my nail beds wasn't masked at all; clear polish usually does the trick, but not so with this product.  I should have used a manicure scrub beforehand.
Tuesday- It was starting to look a little flaky on the sides by the cuticle, so I applied a quick and stealthy coat in about a minute during a coffee break at work. I was concerned the fumes would give me away but it was dry enough to type after about 30 seconds and was completely set in about a minute. After a dab of lotion my nails look perfect.

Wednesday- The temperature dropped and wrecked my cuticles, so I experimented with using a manicure scrub with the polish still on.  My cuticles looked great and it didn't seem to wreck the polish at all.

Friday- By the end of work the area around my cuticles was chipped beyond repair, so I removed it.  My nails seemed a little less brittle, but not much.

Overall this product's fast drying speed is a huge bonus, but it really didn't do anything to mask the dry skin at my nail bed.  If you're not a big polish wearer, I would definitely recommend this for a quick spruce-up before an event but you'll only get a perfect manicured look if you use a scrub before application.  If you like the look of lacquered nails, this product is probably not for you.

wind burn much?

It was a mild, snowy 20ish degrees today (hah) but the wind made things less than fun for those of us trudging up and down the SU hill today.  Fortunately I had a sample of Patricia Wexler M.D.'s MMPi-20 Skin Regenerating Serum handy, courtesy of Bath & Body Works.This stuff is insanely expensive even on sale online for $55/3.4 oz, but B&BW seems to like giving out the .5 oz sample- a while back there was a promotion in the back of Lucky and recently they handed out vouchers with any purchase.  I've been using it regularly on my forehead and smile lines and I'm not sure if I really see a difference, but it did a good number on my cheeks and nose.  The soft (hot pink!) silicone texture, similar to the renowned Smashbox Photo Finish Primer, melted into my skin and soothed on contact without making my face a greasy mess.  I don't think I would shell out the cash for this, but if you have one of these samples floating around or have the chance to pick one up, it's a worthy winter skin saver.

I <3 Alex Bay Alex Bay <3's Burt

After several intense weeks at school, my SU BFF and I peaced out for the weekend and took a trip to her home in the Frozen North Country, otherwise known as Alexandria Bay, NY ("within spitting distance of Canada").  
View Larger Map

Highlights: Shamrock Shakes at McDonald's, not one but two hockey games (go Ghosts/River Rats!), the annual Polar Bear Dip- where they turn the marina into a giant bar and everyone watches crazies jump in the river through the hole they cut through the foot of ice on top, raiding Canada's Duty Free, a late night at the local bar complete with live music, and plenty of wild goose stew to nosh on.

As much fun as it was, the North Country did a serious job on my skin- especially my lips, which didn't stand a chance against all the eating and drinking in the cold air.  Although anthropologists warn against going local, I did take a page from my Bay Girls and swiped on some Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm before bed on my nails and cuticles.  This creamy formula is packed with ultra-soothing beeswax and coconut oil, plus it packs a minty tingle and smells just like a thin mint.  I woke up with healthy looking lips- no chapping or skin tightness, and my cuticles were smooth.  I imagine this will be a personal carry-on staple from now on, since airplane climate is not unlike that of Upstate NY in the winter.  At around $3 a tube, this stuff is a steal- it's definitely worth keeping one in your desk and one in every pocket you own (or in your snow mobile or in your hockey bag).

have date, need mascara!

One of my good friends always buys a new pair of jeans before a date with a new guy.  Another always swings by Victoria's Secret (I've never asked what she gets).  Not surprisingly, I often find myself at the makeup counter- something about hanging out with someone new always makes me want to tweak my routine and give it something a little special.  For my college sweetheart I bought my first Chanel Glossimer in Spark; the one after, Bobbi Brown's Pale Pink blush.  This time I wanted the look of false lashes, but who has time to fuss in front of a mirror with tweezers and glue?  Instead I opted for Lancome's Lash Fatale, probably one of the most impressive beauty products I've encountered.  

I used to think that the whole "adds drama to your lashes" thing was just marketing jargon, but I see what they're talking about now- I had no idea my lashes could be this long, thick, and black without looking even a little spidery or droopy.  The three-sided comb is a bit bizarre, but placed at the lash roots and slowly combed through it coats each of my lashes, lengthens them, and gives a little lift.  As a bonus, it gets the base of the lashes so perfectly coated it almost gives the effect of liquid liner.  I've been a devoted fan of Maybelline Full'n'Soft since high school, but it really doesn't hold a candle to what Lash Fatale does in terms of making my eyes look gorgeous and huge (and will probably thus be demoted to weekend mascara).  I don't even have eye shadow on today and I can't get over how great my eyes look; I can't even fathom the impact this will have on the battle against looking like a zombie in the morning.  And conveniently, Lancome counters carry disposable versions of the brush so if you want to try it on you can get the full experience- no crappy spoolie brush will get in the way!  Retails for $23, but if you love the idea of ridiculous lashes this is a MUST try at the counter.

the morning after

I was browsing the Lucky beauty blog yesterday and found this cute post about can't-be-bothered weekend makeup, which mentions how rocking smudgy eyeliner that looks like it's from the night before was so hot at the DKNY show.  True enough, slightly messy eye makeup is foxy in that Brigitte Bardot bedroom romp kind of way.  But the reality of waking up the morning after wearing some serious smoky eyeliner with asymmetrical gray smears below both eyes is just never as pretty as the engineered versions that grace the runway.  So, sick of washing off the perfectly good day-old makeup on my face and spending ten minutes working with eyeliner to achieve the ideal, I spent the morning experimenting with a way to clean it up and rock it a second time.

The strategy: Gently run a q-tip coated with Clinique All About Eyes, which I posted about a few months ago, under the eye and up to the lash line, which removes all the smeariness and gets rid of any under eye puffiness (because there was probably a reason so much eye makeup was worn last night).  Work a little sparkly dark bronze or gunmetal eye shadow into the lash line so it doesn't look flat, re-apply mascara, and you're good to go.

study break: "The Spiderwick Chronicles"

I've been excited about "The Spiderwick Chronicles" since I saw a teaser trailer last summer.  I wasn't expecting it to be as awesome as it was ("Labyrinth" meets "Jumanji" with some pretty darn good acting) but I also wasn't expecting the makeup to be so darn pretty!  I could believe the makeup artists at Lucky magazine had a hand in it.  It's exactly the sort of effortless look they love to rock (see picture below)- stainy red or soft pinky nude lips and cheeks paired with full lashes and bare lids, perfect for the office or a walk in the woods.  It was just stunning on Mary-Louise Parker and Sarah Bolger, and fit with the practical-fantastical vibe of the movie.  I couldn't find a good picture of either actress from the film, so consider this an excuse to hit the cinema!  To get the look, I'd recommend Stila Convertible Color in Rose or Peony, one of the best (read: low maintenance) dual lip and cheek products on the market.  Both colors are natural and romantic and the formula melts into skin beautifully.