What gives you a beauty rush? Is it thinking about dressing up like Paula Abdul and making out with Keanu Reeves? Is it going to for a haircut at Rush? Waiting for packages from StrawberryNet or Gracie Lou to arrive? Seeing Rush-ia from your house? So many ways to get a happy on! I think buying cheap beauty products for a cheap pick-me-up is okay, but I have also been loving the rush of getting to use a friend’s nailpolish (Rainbow Connection!), and sharing mine in return. You both get new things at no cost to yourself! And speaking of which, I’m thinking of organising a fatty boom clothing swap in March. Who’s in?

The great thing about winter is being able to hide under layers of clothing and blame the wind and lack of sunlight for your pallid girl-from-Twilight complexion.  But those days are over, and now you may want to defoliate, exfoliate, and paint those toesies a pretty colour. If not, then you are going to have way more time than me this summer to make cocktails and organise pool parties. I salute you.

If however, like me, you wish to have a (fake) tan and just generally have an excuse to buy fun new things from our friends at Farmers, please read on.

Summer = tan. But tan = early death. So the first product in my summer arsenal is always fake tan.  I’ve used Piz Buin a lot, since my Mum used to use it and introduced me to it, but since the arrival of gradual tans things have gotten a lot more convenient. So much so that I don’t think I would trust myself to do a proper fake tan job now.  I’m currently using:

Now, the colour is good, it’s non-streaky, I don’t mind the smell too much, but the spray thing is useless.  I spray it into my hand and then apply (I paid good money, I will use it up).  So it might pay not to buy the gimmicky spray version.

In summer I also want to look well-rested and “glowy”.  Get ready for my number one product of all time (and not just summer, all year round) – I recommend this product 100%. It is:

This is the Maybelline Dream Touch Lumi concealer. It is wonderful. It brightens, it doesn’t crease, and it’s basically the best concealer I have ever used. It makes me look awake even when I’ve had five hours of sleep.

For additional glowy-ness, I recommend a good highlighter. This product is ridiculous, I know. But trust when I say that it does make a difference for night-time “yes, I look naturally fabulous” makeup. The one I love is discontinued (dang it, Natio) but for overall glowy-making goodness, I hear Mac’s Strobe Cream is good.  Someone try it and tell me whether I should buy it.

This summer has a very distinct beauty trend, which I plan to embrace whole-heartedly, even though I think beauty trends are dumb. Get the chapstick out girls and drink plenty of water because it’s time for a bright coloured lipstick.  My personal summer selection is:

Revlon's Love that Red

Rimmel Funtime Fuschia

Chi Chi Lah de Dah

Yup. Red, hot pink, and a lipstick that is bright orange regardless of the outrageously poor photo quality above.

We gotta look after the tresses and with my curly mop this is particularly important.  I already use Kerastase’s Ultime product which I highly recommend. It smells amazing and it is the reason I haven’t had a cut in 6 months and don’t have any split ends. Hooray! Summer is a great time to start using a good quality conditioning product as your hair gets pretty dry from the sun and salt water combo.  V05 oil treatments are really good too, and are super cheap times which is cool if you have masses of hair.

Finally, don’t forget the sunblock on your face AND your decolletage at a minimum, and break out the waterproof mascara because you never know when an impromptu after-work swim will happen. Have a FAB time this summer and remember that having fun and enjoying all the good stuff out there is what will really enhance how gorge you are!

After making dinner I had what is technically known as a shit-load of coconut milk left over. I tried to think of something else I could use it for, but got stuck at “another curry”. Then, in a moment of happy coincidence, I came across a post at My Makeup Reviews mentioning using coconut milk as a hair treatment.

Ordinarily I would test something out before posting it, but as my hair is currently 3 centimetres long and undyed (a story for a whole other post) there isn’t really a lot I would be able to tell you about its effectiveness. Of course I’ll still be trying it out. Not because I expect it to improve the condition of my entirely undamaged hair–give me a year and I’ll get back to you on that–but because sticking coconut milk in my hair sounds like a fun thing to do. And gives me a chance to play Polynesian Princesses in the bath with my cat.

Has anyone tried this before? How did it work for you?

1. Wash out your hair colour as usual.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of ACV to a large glass of water and pour over your hair. Give it a bit of a smoosh about and then rinse out.
3. Condition your hair.

Done! ACV makes a great rinse any time for clarifying your hair and leaving it nice and shiny. And as long as you use it after shampooing and before conditioning, you won’t end up smelling like salad dressing.

I’m particularly intrigued by their pricing structure – you pay per hour (billed in quarter hour increments), with stylists ranging from $55 to $85, depending on their expertise. Another awesome service they offer? Vintage hair dos! I was lucky enough to get to model for them as Dom and Charlotte were trained by Kat from Australia, and the Victory Rolls I got were seriously awesome. Photos are after the jump.

This photo illustrates why I shouldn't cut my own fringe. Luckily they fixed it for me.

The blue robes are great. My face in this pic? Not so much.

I could sit and have people play with my hair all day. This only took 80 minutes though.

I took my Victory Rolls out to Mighty Mighty to celebrate

How my hair looked at the end of the night. There were 50 pins in it.

I wish I could tell you exactly how it was all done, and that I had some proper photos of the back of my hair to show you because they were seriously amazing, but alas, those photos are on other people’s cameras. I’ll update once I find them though!

If you’re going somewhere special and need an amazing hairdo, or just even a regular cut, I definitely recommend Wildilocks. I’ll be going back, just as soon as funds allow it.

When I was about ten, a girl asked me if my hair was a wig. Looking back, I can see why she did that, my hair was this horrible, curly, coarse, mousey mullet. And that stuck with me. I hated my curls. I pined for the hair I had as a child, wavey, glossy, blond locks. I was cute!

So, from the age of 13, when I grew out the mullet (and no, there exists no photos of that period of my life) til the age of 30, I had the same hair. It was varying lengths, and a multitude of colours, but it was almost always the same shape, and always always could be tied into a ponytail. I rarely wore my hair out, because it was too annoying, and too frizzy.

And then. Then I found Erin. I had been to Erin, at Glory a few times already, so I knew I trusted her. I knew I liked her. Not only did she like my curls, she knew how to cut them. And then one day I was sick of my hair. Horribly sick of it. And she said the magic words: “How do you feel about a shaggy bob?” And I felt excellent about that.

Until, that is, I saw exactly how much length she was taking off. More than half my hair. I’d no longer have the security of a bad hair day ponytail. I’d have to do it every morning, instead of just chucking it up. I had a fringe.

But here’s the thing. It’s so easy. It takes maybe five minutes longer than putting it up. Because it is cut for my curls, not in spite of them. It’s not a picture I saw in a magazine, that I wanted, that is impossible. I grew it longer for my friend’s wedding recently, and hated it. And it made me lazy, because I just could put it up again.

I spent 20 years buying expensive product. I don’t have to any more. I love Paul Mitchell Round Trip, but when I run out, I use a supermarket mousse, and it is fine.

So, ladies, the key is a good hairdresser. One who you trust, who understands your hair, and who will make you take risks. This is good advice for anyone, but especially for those of us with curly hair, because lots of hairdressers don’t get it. It took 30 years, it could have gone horribly wrong, but I finally love my curls.

But anyway, finally scientists have found the gene responsible for curls. Which means they can more accurately profile crims from DNA samples, AND create new treatments for straightening curly hair that don’t involve heat.

The article seems to assume nobody wants curly hair. That’s pretty mean. But I’m not really one to comment, as someone who has fought my curls all my life.

Read the article here (from the telegraph.co.uk).

PS I did a little google-ing and one of the scientists involved is a Kiwi girl. Still can’t make sense of the percentages though.

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]]> http://prettyprettypretty.com/2009/11/13/redken-shampoo-amnesty/feed/ 1 http://prettyprettypretty.com/2009/10/12/review-dry-shampoo-thats-right-dry-shampoo/ http://prettyprettypretty.com/2009/10/12/review-dry-shampoo-thats-right-dry-shampoo/#comments Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:25:29 +0000 pretty http://prettyprettypretty.com/?p=2424 We’ve had a fair amount of discussion here at ppp on greasy hair and I’ve collected a few great tips. I have a fringe and don’t like washing my hair that often so I now wash my fringe separately (instead of washing my whole head); pin back my bangs over night so my forehead doesn’t grease it up; and have talc at the ready.

But life has changed for me somewhat, having discovered Batiste Dry Shampoo. It really is like a shampoo in a can.

The idea is that you spray the can at your hair, just like you would with hairspray, wait a moment and then brush. Perfect for between washes and emergencies.

It sprays a fine powder that absorbs the grease immediately and leaves hair feeling soft, clean and completely degreased.

And it’s great for curly-haired girls like me. I spend ages straightening my hair and usually wet hair products ruin my straightening. But since this is a dry product I can spray it any time and my hair will remain straight.

I use it on just my fringe, or all my hair depending. And I love it. I bought the one with the tropical fragrance and it smells devine.

You can by it from Radius Pharmacy and probably others. It’s about $20 for a big can, but if you want to try it before investing in the big can, a mini-can only costs $9 and is the perfect size for handbags.

Tania!

Tania, congratulations and I’ll email you shortly to get your delivery address off you.

btw, I generated the winner by picking a number from random.org.