Innocent Days

Every once in awhile it’s nice to blow caution to the wind and embrace your inner child. Afterall the days of summer camp, ice cream trucks and making forts were composed of innocence and simplicity. Why get done up in a strapping Shift dress and high heels when you can run around the backyard barefoot with your sundress whipping around your legs? Ahh those truly were simpler times and for Spring/Summer fashion’s big designers seemed to find something enviable in it too! From Miu Miu to Alexander Wang strategically disheveled side braids ruled the runway.

The look is less “perfect ballerina tightly woven braids” and more inspired by that carefree child who spent the day running around the backyard. Scruffier than its original counterpart, these braids should reflect a rougher texture and matte finish (it’s time to put down the shine enhancing serums!). Backstage stylists would tease strands and treat them with dry shampoo to get that matte grittiness before braiding. Remember this look is all about the imperfect. Hair should be deeply parted to the side or not parted at all for that “too cool for school look.” Start the braid at the nape of the neck and continue to a side. Once your braid is complete, secure with a clear band (no ribbons or bright hair ties please!) and then gently rough up the braid so it captures that disheveled, tousled look. Ideal for managing hair in high, humid temps, this style has equal parts playground innocence and rolled around the bed naughtiness.

Usage tip: Hair too short to muster a braid? With the help of V-shaped pins and a faux pony you can add your own extensions for the needed length. Just remember to rough up and tease the braid after securing it to your hair.

The result: Remember running around the schoolyard as the boys chased you for an opportunity to pull one of those braids? Ahh that was puppy love!

Beachy Keen

From late night ice cream runs (I have a new found weakness for Haagen-Daez Caramel Corn but a Tasti-D always hits the spot!) to body flaunting shorts and minis (afterall all those hours spent at the gym should be appreciated!) there are so many great things about summer. I must admit my absolute favorite though is my beauty regimen “less is more” philosophy. The endearing Nyc humidity and heat is like a one-two punch that melts makeup, frizzes hair and deflates your morning get ready routine. My answer? Let you natural goddess shine! Switch out foundations for the tinted moisturizers. Skip the eye liner and in lieu give your skin a soft sun kissed glow with bronzing products. And those 5 minutes you shaved off your morning beauty regimen? Hit the snooze button one more time or better yet get some AM cuddle action!

Without question when it come to hair you have to have the same minimalist touch. There’s nothing more painful or torturous than a hair dryer or flat iron in 90+ degree weather! Luckily there’s nothing more sexy or enticing than lose, tousled summer beach waves. They beg you to come play and recall days spent surfside and night loungin campside. So it’s time to give your hair a break and trade in the gels, mousses, and heat activating milks for Fekkai Beach Waves. This marine water spray texturizes hair for that ocean inspired, piecey body. Sea kelp hydrates and locks in moisture so hair looks supple and feels soft. The icing on the cake? UV filters which protect hair from oxidizing UV rays which rob hair color of vitality and cause fading. And as your sitting at your desk wishing to be at the beach, catch a whiff of you hair...the coconut undertones will transport you to the beach.

Usage tip: On a damp or dry hair spritz focusing mid-length to ends. Each 3-4” section needs no more than 2-3 sprays then use your fingers to scrunch strands giving extra support for the waves. For extra thick, long or super straight hair you may need a bit more coaxing to get this look. I would recommend first setting damp hair with rollers and then spritzing with the Beach Waves.

The result: This look demystifies guys obsession with the girl next door…it spells low maintenance, fun loving but yet damn sexy.

A Tip from the Grandma's

If there's one thing unanimously our generation will be remembered for is our ability to multitask like we are the President of the free world! Regardless of age, gender, race, employment status, iPhone or Blackberry user, right or left side of the bed sleeper we can juggle more tasks than we have hands for. Take me for instance. As I write this post I'm trying to pack for my birthday trip home while opening a bottle of vino in anticipation of my dear friend A dropping by as I tweeze my brows and finish my powerpoint presentation for work. Ugh that was a mouthful and I list this out I realize it's a bit crazy...no wonder my head is constantly spinning. That is why I'm all about efficiency, mainstreaming and simplifying. Anytime I can save a minute or two I jump at the chance.

Having long hair one of the biggest time suckers is blowing out my strands. Without question it can be a 20-30 minute task (ask the people who have had the misfortune of waiting for me!). So when I rediscovered Velcro-esque hair rollers (something my grandmother's did and still do to "set" their hair) I was in absolute heaven! These self grip rollers (no pins or clips required) come prepacked with various sizes so you can customize according to your hair length. They're absolutely ingenious! When my hair is partly damp I wrap 2-3" sections around each roller starting from the ends and rolling up to the roots. With only 12 rollers I have my whole head covered. Then I let the rollers do the work as I indulge and catch up on my favorite tv show...of course while I fold the laundry, load the dishwasher and respond to emails! 30 minutes later my hair is smooth, bouncy and touchably soft! The best part? No heat is required so you can give you overworked locks a much needed break! Afterall, it's not healthy to be heat styling multiple times a week. Who knew the Grandma's and I would have something in common? I predict "setting the hair" to be all the rage for our overwired generation!

Usage tip: At the very end blast hair with a quick stream of hot air followed by cool to lock in the style and shine. The best technique to unwrap the rollers is to pull them out perpendicular to your head in a swirling motion to help maintain the bounce.

The result: My hair looks good and I saved 30 minutes times 3x per week...you do the math, imagine what you can do with that time!

Pin Straight Smartness

There are just some looks that are so iconic and in a sense timeless that they become synonymous with that certain tweed jacket or enviable quilted bag. Back in the '90's our go-to-girl, Ms. Rachel Greene (aka Jennifer Aniston), evolved her shag that spawned a million "me too's" to a sleek, pin straight layered look. The moment that happened there was a stampede of a million women running to buy their very own flatiron...and the copycatting continued. Over 10 years later that polished look has stayed relevant and mainstream. Ms. Aniston still sports it and the house of Gucci and Givenchy made the modern sleek hair front and center of their autumn/fall campaigns. Of course like all things there's a right way of doing it and a wrong way. I'm still haunted with the memories of my first flat ironing experiences. Within months my hair was ravaged. The ends became prone to breakage, my hair lost its luster, felt straw-like and began to make this almost scary crinkling sound when touched. Unfortunately I was still in my beaute guru apprentice days so there was much to be learned!

Now having perfected the look, I want to share the "right way" to do it to avoid the unnecessary damage and scary side effects! Let's think of this as the Whole Foods, yoga approach to flat ironing.

Pin Straight Hair (the healthy way!)

1. After washing and gently towel drying hair, apply a heat activated milk/serum from mid-length to ends. Protecting hair from heat damage, this type of product prevents against breakage and the scrunchy feeling to keep strands healthy and strong. I recommend Kerastase Ciment Thermique.

2. Blow dry strands till they are barely damp.

3. Take a paddle brush and quickly smooth hair in 2" sections with the blow drier. This preps the hair by beginning the early straightening stages helping to cut down on the flat ironing time. Reminder: this is just a quick prep so don't focus on making it perfect.

4. Starting at the root, rest hair on the inside panel (the one closest to your scalp) of the iron and gently pull it taut or straight with your hand. Closing the iron at the root causes an unsightly kink/bump so this technique gives you pure smoothness.

5. After straigthening the 1" section of hair near the roots, gently press the iron closed inch by inch as move down the remaining length of hair. Never, ever drag the closed flat iron along the hair. This will only damage your hair shaft.

6. After your straightening is complete, mix a shine spray or serum between the palms of your hand. Then clamp 3" hair sections between the palms and almost in a clapping motion apply the shine enhancing product. This method avoids ruffing the hair cuticles and maintains the frizz-free smoothness you worked so hard to attain.

Et voila ma belle! You got the look without the burn (yes this is one of the few cases it's good to avoid that burn, baby, burn feeling we all seek at the gym)

Usage tip: Always use a flatiron with ceramic plates and make sure that the temperature does not exceed 180 F. There is absolutely no reason your iron needs to be hotter than that! I once met a women who liked her flatiron to be 450 F. When I told her that at the temperature she could literally melt her hair she started crying! Melted hair is not an iconic look so please be smart. And learning from our last post it is imperative to nourish your hair weekly with a conditioning, restorative masque. Afterall we all need a little TLC!

The result: Beautiful yet sleek, healthy yet polished straight hair.

Summer Wavy Hair Minus the Blowdrier!

The New England summer humidity has just so many charming traits. Let's begin counting the ways:

1. By the time you get to work you need another shower to get that "disgusting" feel off
2. You can save on spa treatments because the misty feel is exactly like a steam room
3. Your hair permanently resembles a "hot mess" despite the sweaty hours you spent trying to blow it out

I realized there wasn't much I could do about one and two unless I somehow wanted to trade my eco-conscious subway rides for the pricey air-conditioning taxis and hire a personal assistant who's sole responsibility would be to constantly fan me (could you even imagine?! - sadly I do know some narcissistic people who would/have tried to that). BUT I could do something about point 3! 1 out of 3 is not bad...it beats most pitchers batting averages (disclaimer: I really don't care for baseball so I'm not sure if that last statements is even accurate). On another random Target shopping trip where I bought more things that I needed or even wanted, but then again that's just the beauty of Target, I discovered the Conair Flexi Sticks.

These bendy rollers were like discovering the most rare jewel possible...I swear I heard the heavens call out hallelujah! Just think what sort of magic tool can you give you that incredible, tousled wave look without needing any heat appliances or time spent sweating in the bathroom? Available in various diameters, you simply wrap 1-2" sections of your hair around each stick to achieve the desired curl length, and then bend the ends of the stick in to keep it in place. Depending on how damp/long your hair is, leave the sticks in for 30-45min while you catch up on the laundry, emails or indulge in an Entourage episode. Then poof! You're done!

A couple of things to note: when sectioning off hair, I recommend rolling similar length strands together so that you can get a more choppy, textured finish. I also like to apply hair spray just before I remove the sticks to really help set the curls. If you like a more defined finish leave the curls intact once the sticks have been removed. I like more impressionist-inspired look so I use my fingers to gently break up each curl. The first time I did my hair this way this summer season, not only did savor the extra hour and stress-free styling routine vs my normal blow outs but next day at work my very handsomely gay coworker took one look at me and said "Umm what did you do last night? You have that devilishly seductive tousled look only achievable by spending hours rolling around the bed!" Enough said!

Usage tip: Towel/air-dry hair to the point of light dampness before applying the curlers. If hair is soaking wet it will only take triple the amount of time for the curl to set. Keep the sticks vertical to your head during wrapping to get that soft, tousled wave you crave. Short on time? Quickly blowdry each section to speed up the drying and setting process.

The results: Beach-inspired, sexy waves for that amazing slept in look (no hot curling irons or blow dryers necessary!).