maintaining my mane

At 29 my hair is the longest it has ever been in my life.  I’m not sure what took me so long to figure out longer hair is actually easier for me to maintain than any of the shorter cuts I’ve had which required more elbow grease, time and products.  As someone who doesn’t really enjoy going to the salon, I tend to put it off for as long as possible but when I do go I take comfort in knowing my stylist Jessie always delivers exactly what I want and offer’s great advice on keeping my hair from turning into straw between appointments.  I also try to help my stylist as much as possible by showing her pictures of long hair styles I like and learning how certain styles are cut so I know exactly what to ask for.  As for upkeep, now that my hair has achieved a new length I’ve started noticing more frizz and dryness than ever before at the ends.  While the ends are especially dry since they are the oldest, I’m wary about weighing my hair down with too much product so it was important to find the right fix that provides lightweight conditioning while keeping my daily routine as low maintenance as possible.

Bumble & Bumble is a brand I haven’t had much experience with but I decided to pick up a few of their specialty sprays to keep my long hair from looking lackluster.  I also picked up Moroccan Oil which I’ve always wanted to use because it makes your hair smell incredible but my shorter hair didn’t need the extra conditioning treatment.  I’m really enjoying all of these so far.

1.

2.

  

3.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. BB Tonic is perfect for dry/course/colored hair as a detangler and moisturizer.
2. BB Shine On was recommended to be as a great finishing spray that offers tons of shine without the weight of a ton of product.
3.  Moroccan Oil is a great conditioning treatment for damp or wet hair to de-frizz and add moisture and it smells amazing.

At my most recent haircut, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and go for a little feathery flare.  Here are some before & after pics of my beachy-inspired locks as they go from feeling sun bleached and tattered to sleek and more manageable.

        

 xo,

Lauren

lovesit hair: messy updo for day & night

If only I had known what an easier time I’d have with long hair I wouldn’t have been so keen on maintaining my ‘Lob’ a la Gwyneth all those years.  Though my hair is fine, I have a lot of it and it’s pretty straight but I’d have to straighten it in the morning when it was shorter (shoulder-length) to smooth it out.  Now that it’s long, my morning hair routine takes all of 3 minutes- I wash it at night or in the afternoon at the gym.  To give it a bit of a wave, I’ll usually go to bed with a braid and just brush it out when I wake up so its wavy and a bit messy.  If the roots need a lift, I’ll use a little dry shampoo and then I always slather Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum (previously mentioned here) to make the ends really shiny.  And I’m done. 

What I love about this messy up-do worn by Kim Kardashian, is that its pretty much the same style I go for but it’s a bit more glamorous since her hair is worn up.  This look is great for day, but I think it would also look really sexy and effortless for a chic nighttime look. 

To get the look:

Flip hair over and quickly flip it back to give it volume.  Gather into a high ponytail without smoothing the top of your hair so it’s a bit messy and uneven.  Wrap the ponytail loosely around the elastic to make a not-so-perfect bun and secure with bobby-pins.  Spritz with a shine spray, I love Sebastian Halo Mist.  Add a skinny, nude elastic headband for the finishing touch.

Try one of the elastic headbands from LoveBerman on Etsy:

      

Sebastian Halo Mist Weightless Shine Spray:

xo,

Lauren

lovesit haircare: get glossy

Maybe its this dry winter weather (I would love to blame all of life’s problems on the wintery mix destroying my city), the over-styling, washing and blow-drying I subject my hair to, or maybe my hair just needs a little TLC.  Regardless of why my hair is looking and feeling lackluster, I’ve found a lovely little product by John Frieda that puts the happy back into my locks.  And by happy, I mean silky-smooth, healthy, color-boosting shine that looks and feels like I’ve spent a day in the salon.  I came across John Frieda’s Sheer Blonde Luminous Color Glaze when I was looking for a little hair-repair therapy/do it yourself treatment.  It’s idiot-proof to apply (just add enough to cover your hair roots to tips after you wash & condition, let it sit in for at least 3 minutes and rinse) and costs less than most drugstore shampoos.  There are several variations of the Luminous Color Glaze that including a boost of color with mild dye for different shades of blondes, red heads and brunettes.  The dye in the Glaze is not permanent and it will not lighten your hair color but it will subtly blend away grays and revive your color-treated or highlighted hair.  There is also a Clear Shine version with no color boosting side effect.  I found most drugstores only carry the brunette and clear versions of the Glaze so I ordered my Sheer Blonde Luminous Color Glaze in Platinum to Champagne on Amazon.com for under $10 (sites like drugstore.com and Target.com also sell this product.)  I’ve only used it a few times, but the results are really wonderful.  This product is safe enough to use daily or you can use it only a couple of times a week to give your hair a little pick-me-up.  Enjoy!

        

xo,

Lauren

best beauty product breakthroughs of 2010

I love going to allure.com to see their best-of lists.  Every year, the Allure editors test thousands of products to provide their readers with a list of the best of the best in beauty products.   Whenever I’m getting sick of the items in my makeup bag or medicine cabinet and want to try something new, I consult this list to see what they suggest.  Some of the products I’ve tried based on their recommendations have become my all-time favorite products I now can’t live without.  To check out the Allure Beauty Reporter Best of Beauty Products, visit here

In addition to their Best of Beauty, Allure also comes out with a list of The Year’s Most Innovative Beauty Products.  I thought it would be worth sharing a few of these items since I was really interested in several of the products listed.  Enjoy! 

Living Proof Full Thickening Mousse, $19.50

There’s a whole new approach to adding oomph to your hair. Most volumizing products try to hold hair off the scalp with a gluelike ingredient…that falls apart in wind or when you so much as touch it with a brush. This mousse instead contains a flexible polymer (the company worked with MIT researchers to create it) that adds volume through the length of the hair and stays effective—through mussing and fussing—until the next time you shampoo.

 

 

 

  Advanced Home Actives Brazilian Peel Professional Strength Facial Treatment, $78

 

Glycolic acid peels fight wrinkles and leave skin glowing. But the struggle has always been to find an at-home version that’s superstrong—but not so intense that you could risk burning your face off. This peel has a neutralizer—inspired by stomach antacids—that can switch off the acid in its 30 percent glycolic peel (this is high enough that, typically, only professionals use it) within ten minutes of it hitting your skin. In other words, there’s basically no way it can irritate. (The key is a double-barreled dispenser that keeps the glycolic solution away from the neutralizer until you hit the plunger.) “The strength of the peel brings a high percentage of glycolic acid to the home market safely,” says Amy B. Lewis, clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Yale School of Medicine. “That means a better and faster improvement in skin texture and tone than can be achieved using at-home peels that aren’t this strong.” sephora.com. 

  

 

 Garnier Fructis Style Sleek & Shine Blow Dry Perfector, $11.99

 

 Salon hair-straightening treatments have their fans—but the services involve long appointments with repeated applications of noxious straightening chemicals and a price tag that could make your hair curl. This kit gives a similar straightening effect, but at home—and the results last for up to seven shampoos. The first product in the kit goes on damp, clean hair and breaks down the physical bonds within the strands. After 20 minutes and a rinse, the second product, a leave-in smoothing balm, goes on. It contains rice oil that’s activated by the heat of a blow-dryer, allowing it to soak into hair to set a new, smooth structure in place. Flatironing is an optional next step, but recommended. ulta.com. 

 

     

 

 

Aveeno Ageless Vitality Elasticity Recharging System, Neutrogena Clinical, and RoC Brilliance Lines, $35.99-$49.99

These product lines have technology that helps skin cells stay young. Skin cells communicate using various processes, including one called bioelectricity, in which small electrical pulses tell the cells when to repair themselves, store energy, and make internal changes necessary to stay healthy. The currents can slow down as we age, and this can make it harder for skin to recover from sun damage and environmental stress. The scientists behind these products found that copper-plated zinc helps boost the skin’s bioelectricity.   They developed a serum with the ingredient and a moisturizing “conductor” that activates the process—and found that this combination stimulated collagen and elastin production, helped reduce inflammation, and may fight hyperpigmentation. target.com, walgreens.com.

 

  Lancôme Ôscillation PowerFoundation, $48

Some people love mineral foundation (it’s natural; it’s long-lasting) and some don’t (it’s heavy, cakey, messy). This version has a battery-powered sponge applicator that solves the problems by producing a smooth, uniform finish. You just dip the sponge into the mineral powder and press the handle’s “on” button, and the tip vibrates 7,000 times per minute—massaging the powder into skin evenly. “This oscillating applicator breaks down the fine particles in the makeup, eliminating the need to blend,” says Ni’Kita Wilson, a cosmetic chemist. “It also massages them into skin and fills fine lines.” nordstrom.com.

 

 

 

 L’Oréal Professionnel INOA Color

 

Coloring your hair has always involved a bit of suffering. The chemicals can sting the scalp and stink up the hair, and the color starts fading with the first shampoo. INOA professional hair dye replaces traditional ammonia with an odorless ingredient that only opens the cuticle a smidge (instead of lifting the whole thing like a flap). And to ensure that the color goes into the hair shaft, it is combined with oil right before application. The result is gentler to both the hair and the scalp, and the color is completely odorless and more resistant to fading. “What makes this hair color revolutionary is that it is not water-based—a significant departure from traditional coloring systems,” says Hammer. “The oil-based system provides excellent color penetration into the hair, which should reduce fading, and the process is far more mild, odorless, and nondamaging.” lorealprofessionnel.com.

 

 

 

 

for more information on any of these products, please visit here

 

xo,
Lauren

backstage beauty: hair & makeup looks for spring

Here’s a peek at some of the looks spotted on the runways, setting the trend for spring hair and makeup  Most of the ‘natural’ looks contained a full, filled-in brow, nude lips and dewy finished faces with a slightly dramatic swipe of black liner on the upper lids (this is so perfect for daytime or night).  Prada and Lanvin chose to add a bit more drama to their makeup looks- they kept their faces clean while adding a brave wash of shimmery color to the lids in hues of purple, pinks, blues and green.  Jill Sander left her mark with a nude face and matte hot pink pout (I Love it).  Hair was generally slicked back, regardless of length.  But if kept long, it was styled into low ponies or intricate braids at Lanvin, Herrera, Christopher Kane, Proenza Schouler and McQueen.  Marc Jacobs broke the mold and went with smokey eyes, big & wild hair and medusa-like braids.  I really love the look of minimal makeup and hair that’s less highlighted and more one-dimensional.

product suggestions for these looks:

xo,
Lauren

naughty knotty

Now that my hair has some length and braids are BACK!!! I’ve been sporting them pretty often come to think of it- how much easier does it get than to transition back to work from the gym with damp hair than with a simple braid.  However, I’m loving the avant-garde twist the common updo spotted at Michael Kors’ Spring 2011 Fashion show- Half braid, half chignon, the models were all sporting knots!  Actual knots- as in, part your hair into two sections, and double knot them like a shoe-lace knot.  To give your hair some texture before styling, try spritzing with a surf spray before tying it up- Never has anything so elementary looked so chic.     

xo,

Lauren