Beach Waves, pt. 2

If you've read any of my previous posts, you know I love wavy, beach hair. It's just so easy and it looks soft, pretty and surfer chic, especially with my long ombre hair.

Well, I have a new favorite product that helps me pull off the look - Oribe Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray. I got it last month in a gift bag at work (one of the perks of working in the beauty industry), and now I'm hooked.

Don't go telling everyone you know, but thanks to this product, I've put absolutely zero effort into my hair this summer. Seriously. I step out of the shower, towel dry my hair for a few minutes, spray Oribe and let it air dry. I don't even comb or brush my hair! My hair dries into loose, natural waves and has a pretty sheen (seen above!).

Now for the actual product deets: The directions on the back read, Spray on wet or dry hair. Tousle to taste and let dry in the St. Tropez air. Follow with lipstick and heels. So cheesy. But it works!

The spray has an aerosol pump so I'm able to get the product all through my hair within 10 seconds flat. It smells nice, too. I can't quite put my finger on the smell, but it's really airy. Sort of like a clean beach (duh) or a freshly cut lawn with flowers.

One caveat - I have noticed that it doesn't work as well when I let my hair air dry overnight. It's probably because I toss and turn in bed, but I've woken up with kinky ends. As the directions (sort of) state, I think it really works its best when I let my hair dry outdoors, whether I'm walking my dog on the weekends or letting my hair dry on my way to work. I'm curious to see if I'll love it as much during the fall/winter months when I won't be able to do that anymore.

It takes a lot for me to love a hair product. I get so many freebies at work, I don't like actually spending money on beauty products (especially expensive ones!). But, for the convenience and the results I'm seeing, I think I'll make an exception. Available at Space NK, $35.

Nails Are Having a Moment

In the beauty world, nails have totally been stealing the scene lately.

OPI Shatter polish.

Katy Perry and her ever-evolving nail designs (seen above).

Sally Hansen patterned nail polish strips.

The Bad Girls Club and their special finger of different polish...

I don't think I've noticed people's nails this much since high school when everyone got tips, airbrush designs and exaggerated French manicures for school dances. I think back to those days and cringe at the tackiness. The difference today? Short nails are in and the designs don't take themselves too seriously - it's all about having fun with your nails.

The recent development (for me) is that I've decided to join the fun. See, I've been a nail biter since I was 3 years old. There are definitely worse things to be addicted to, but still...my nails are gross. It's a disgusting habit and I've never painted my nails bright colors for fear of drawing more attention to the issue. I've tried unsuccessfully to quit biting my nails about 15 times in my life, and it's never worked. Who knows if it'll last this time around, but I'm going on four weeks strong! It's helping that I'm not going with muted, plain colors - I want to play like everyone else is!

Week 1 - Princesses Rule! OPI (shimmery pink) with purple and green glitter on top

Week 2 - Princesses Rule! OPI with Crown Me Already OPI (silver glitter) on top

Week 3 - Essie Splash of Grenadine (bright berry)

Week 4 - Significant Other Color OPI (a lavender-mint oil slick)

After four weeks of no biting, my nails look healthy and are the perfect length - still short, but cute and respectable-looking. I've been using a great nail hardener base coat from my nail salon that I love, too - my manicures last a full week with zero chipping.

I can't wait to try out all these silly nail trends - now that football season is back (YES), you can bet I'm going to rock a gold glitter polish with black Shatter for Steeler Sundays. At age 26, I'm finally embracing girlhood full-on. Better late than never!

How a Beauty Publicist plans to survive Bonnaroo...

I'm going! I'm leaving momentarily! Yep, a beauty publicist is going camping at a big hippie music fest for the next 5 days or so. And I can't wait.

Wanna know what I packed to allow me to look hippie chic and not dirty patchouli grunge? Check it:

Dry Shampoo

The savior of lazy girls everywhere, my favorite brand is Klorane, and I always buy it from Sephora.

Baby Wipes

If the showers are just too gross, at least I will have a ton of Natracare organic baby wipes with me.

Mattifying Powder

DermaQuest's On-the-Go Finishing Powder is awesome. It comes in a convenient travel brush, goes on clear and has SPF 30. No burns for me hopefully!

Sun hats and headbands

Bad hair day? I'll just cover it up...and look cute doing it.

Eye Mask

Our tent is white. Meaning I'll wake up as soon as the sun rises. Um, no thanks. Silly eye mask it is. I may even stick it in the cooler so it's nice and cold going on each night. ( I got that tip from Gary Chardonnay!)

Okay, I'm off! Full review will come afterwards. Eeee!

Ombre Hair

I first read about "ombre hair" around January of this year. I was bored with my haircolor and kept seeing pictures of celebs (including one of my favorite style icons, Rachel Bilson) with dark hair that gradually faded to a light brown/blond at the tips. It looked so naturally un-perfect with just the right hint of surfer chic. It made me wish my hair could be sunkissed despite the frigid cold temps and I made the goal right then to go lighter and get these "ombre" highlights as soon as the weather warmed up.

As the months went by and I continued to daydream about kickass highlights, I saw more and more articles about the style... WhoWhatWear, Allure, Glamour, etc. It seemed like every actress I loved was embracing the look, too. So I assumed that when I went to a Manhattan salon in late May, the hairstylist would totally understand the look I was going for. Au contraire, my friends. She had no idea what I was talking about when I said "ombre highlights."

"You don't want your roots done?? Umm okay..." (with a scrunched up stank face, I might add) was her response.

Uh oh. Thank goodness I brought pictures with me. I know every magazine tells you to show your stylist pictures of celeb hairstyles you like before a cut/color...but do you guys actually do that? I always feel so corny whipping out a fan photo of Nicole Richie. Well, pride aside, I've learned my lesson over the years, and sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand descriptive words. Good news - the highlights turned out great. It was subtle and pretty and grew out to look even better than it initially did. And, special bonus, once I actually got some sun over the summer, the highlights lightened even more! I haven't had to touch the color since May.

But now, six months later, the color is fading away and my hair is unruly (it's long and thick and turns into a knotty bird's nest if I don't trim it every few months), so I decided to redo the color and get a cut over Thanksgiving at a salon back home in Pittsburgh. Good ol' mom called and booked the appointment for me yesterday and guess what - hairstylists still don't know what ombre highlights are! Say what you want about Pittsburgh, it's no New York and sometimes trends do get there a little slower...but the term "ombre highlights" has been used on ten million beauty blogs and magazines over the past year and 1 in 5 Hollywood celebs are rocking the look. Why do I still have to fully explain myself and sound like a crazy person that "doesn't want their roots done?"

...Or AM I a crazy person? Does no one else outside of the beauty PR world know what ombre highlights are?

Sigh, someday you all will catch up to my coolness and ahead of the curve-ness (kidding).

*check out my lovely little montage of various ombre-headed actresses...plus me, with wind-whipped and messy but oo-la-la ombre hair in Cali this September. Jolie, ne c'est pas?

Thoughts on Beauty and Life as a Girl

I remember using Cision (PR speak for the Yellow Pages of editors, bloggers and producers) for the first time almost 3 years ago at my first job. I was updating our Beauty Bible of editors and thought it was a tad strange that they were all classified as "beauty and grooming editors." The word "grooming" conjured up images of cats licking and matting down their fur...why not just call them beauty eds?

Fast forward to last week when I was leaving the salon near my office after getting a wax. It suddenly hit me...in today's world, beauty IS grooming.

grooming - to care for the appearance of; to make neat and trim

And let me tell you, for ladies, there is a lot to care for. Manicures, pedicures, brow tweezing, waxing and shaving everywhere, expensive face creams, makeup, lash enhancers, haircuts (TG I don't have blond hair, getting regular highlights would be such a bitch)....

And this really isn't an exaggeration - there is NO SUCH THING as a natural beauty. We aren't in the times of Adam and Eve anymore. It's not being fake, it's just the reality of being a girl.

The upkeep can get exhausting and I swear it's not always fun (some parts of grooming do NOT feel good), but without shaving everyday, getting regular hair trims and just generally taking care of ourselves, we wouldn't be considered confident women...and we probably wouldn't get any dates either.

That's all. Just a thought on grooming's place in the world of beauty. It's both the savior and bane every girl's existence!