Love: Grey

As a lover a neutrals, my wardrobe, accessories, and color palettes contain a lot of grey. Grey by its very nature is incredibly versatile, it can be cozy-casual, professional, and sophisticated chic. Depending on your own style, grey can be the base for your look, but it is definitely strong enough to stand all on its own. Unlike black, which can be striking, the shades of grey lend themselves to an appealing softness. I suspect this is why I have just as many LGD's as LBD's!

These are all grey things that I own and use frequently:

1. She looks so happy to have this awesome shirt!
2. Essie - Master Plan
3. OPI - You Don't Know Jacque
4. ULTA - Finely Pruned
5. A Versatile Kohl Style Liner - Great for Everyday Wear
6. Budget Friendly Neutral Palette
7. Comfortable Shoe for Work & Casual Looks
8. (Similar) Flattering Classic Dress
9. So Great I Bought it in Both Colors!
10. (Similar) Soft, Chic, and Cozy Sweater
11. A Pant for Every Occasion - I Have These in Both Colors as Well
12. Great Tights at a Great Price

Eyebrow Magic - For Blondes and Redheads

Having fair coloring and being of the strawberry blonde persuasion has lead to an easy life in regard to hair removal. Thankfully, I do not have to shave my legs often, worry about furry arms or make multiple waxing appointments every month to have hair ripped from its cozy follicles. However, this comes with certain drawbacks, mainly, invisible hair that looks best visible: eyebrows and eyelashes.

For a couple of decades, I walked around with completely invisible eyebrows until I had the idea to dye my strawberry blonde hair a dark brunette. Once that was done, the lack of eyebrows was ridiculously prominent and my stylist threw some dye on them as well. Voila! What a difference it made...kind of...they were brown but very fine, though a nice coat of brown mascara remedied that. A few months later I decided that the brown was not flattering and I went back to my natural hair color, but kept the brown eyebrows...awkward! 

I tried many different options - some powder fillers, eyeliners, more dying - but none of the options filled them out, colored the existing brows and color matched. Finally, I found this, a miracle in a tube! It fills in the sparseness, matches my natural hair color, and put color on the actual hairs instead of being a layer under the glowing white hairs in light. The best part is, I can put it on in a general swipe and refine the shape with a damp Q-tip to get perfect arches. This also helps as a guide to pluck away all the unnecessary "invisible" hairs that catch the sunlight.

Be Bold AND Beautiful

So you have all seen them, especially if you happen upon a JCrew catalog, but I am willing to bet many of you don't utilize their beauty power! Your Mom knew their power, your Grandma probably even more so, what you ask is this super beauty powerhouse??? BOLD lips! Nothing can spruce up your face or your outfit like a bright beautiful lip. Whether you go for classic red or current hotties, hot pink and red-orange you will instantly appear to be a chic stylish lady with minimal effort. A little trip to Sephora or your favorite make-up test zone with your BFF is a great way to find the best color for you. There are also a lot of make-up specific bloggers out there that will recommend a number of super fancy ( NARS-$$$) lipsticks, which I am sure are incredible, but if you don't have tons of money to spend on a test drive your local Target store has more than enough offerings to get you going. However, it is very important that with you purchase of lipstick you also purchase a lip liner, this is essential to a long lasting non-feathering successful bold lip. You can go one of two routes, either purchase a lip liner that closely matches your lipstick color, or purchase a clear lip liner that will keep your edges clean with multiple shades.

   Hot Pink                          Classic Red                        Orange-y Red

Steps to get long lasting bold lip color:

1. Carefully line lips on the very edge with a nice clean smooth outline.
2. Fill lips with liner - if using a same color liner
3. Apply a coat of lipstick
4. Blot lips
5. Dust a layer of your face powder over your lips
6. Apply a second coat of lipstick
7. Blot

Voila! Be prepared for a few head turns...

Holiday parties are a great time to bust these out for a great WOW factor, but don't hesitate to mix it into your everyday make-up and give those smokey eyes a break or give your  glasses a geek chic upgrade!

Golden Girl

Be brave! Add a little golden glitz to your day! Keep these pants (1,4) and skirt (8) casual with a chambray shirt or dress them up with a classic fitted black sweater. Throw on these metallic shoes (2) or tote bag (7) and add a touch of glam to everyday errands. For an even subtler approach put on a slash of golden eyeliner (5) or a slick of metallic polish(6) for some surprise shimmer. This snazzy collar (3) infuses an elegant cuteness over a simple blouse or crewneck. Go ahead, you can do it!

1. Go for Baroque
2. Midas Toes
3. Hardware Neckware
4. Golden Gams
5. If Cinna can do it, so can you!
6. Good as Gold
7. I have a couple of these in different colors, no cute name, just facts
8. "Flash" Some Thigh

Nail How To: Cuticle Care

Once a week or so I sit down for an hour in the evening in front of the TV with my big basket full of nail polishes and goodies and give myself a manicure. I used to be an extreme nail biter - ragged nail stubs, bloody shredded cuticles, the whole nine yards of obsessive chewing. One day I decided that I just wanted to put a stop to it once and for all, and I did. The key to this cold turkey bad habit quitting was making my fingers something that I wanted to admire, not devour. Hence, the start of the weekly manicure. As long as my nails and cuticles are well groomed I am able to avoid the temptation to nibble and the side effect is fabulous nails!

The first half of my manicure is grooming my cuticles. I am not one of the lucky people who have nice smooth set back cuticles, I have the dry - would creep over half my finger nail if I let them - type. Below is my four step process diagrammed out in full detail. 

Tools:

1. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU NEED! I have tried other cuticle removers this is by far the most effective, and cheap!
2. Cuticle Nippers
3. Metal Cuticle Pusher I couldn't find the one I have exactly, its a few years old, hence why I like the metal, they last forever and can be cleaned and sanitized and keep a sharp edge, unlike the wooden ones.
4. Paper Towels 

1. Apply a generous layer of the cuticle remover onto the cuticles of one hand. Let it sit for a minute.
2. Use the cuticle pusher to push cuticle back, it shouldn't hurt, but you will have to push hard enough to scrape them back. It may take a few tries to get this down, but you learn in time how aggressive to be. 
3. Finger by finger, firmly wipe away the gel with a paper towel and use the nippers to cut off the excess cuticle. *Cuticles if cut to far will bleed profusely, I learned this the hard way, and still do it on occasion.
4. Check out all of your fingers and make sure you don't have any little bits to clip.
5. Repeat on the other hand.

Now you are ready for polish....or you are done, depending on how you like your nails!

Nail Polish: Essie - beyond cozy

What a lovely way to welcome winter with a bit of comfortable glam! I suspect this bottle will be used up by February.

Essie - beyond cozy

Making Waves - A Hair Curling How To

I have had a few requests for how I make my super straight hair wavy, so here is a picture step-by-step. 

Supplies:
1 in. Curling Iron
The Best Hair Spray Ever!
Clips

1. Start with completely dry hair, this is my fresh out of the shower two minute blow dry, no need for fancy brush tricks.
2. I grab the very first front piece of my hair and start wrapping the top of my hair around the top of the barrel away from my face. Notice I don't close the clamp, and yes you just stand there holding the end and count to thirty or so.
3. See the nice curl? It should look like that once you release.
4. Now I pull back the top layer and secure with a clip. (Sometimes I skip this and just grab chunks, it's up to you and your skill level)
5. Make your way all around the bottom layer with approx. 1 inch chunks until you get to the back of your head. Always wrap your hair in the direction away from your face.
6. Release the clip and do the same with the top layer, it will be easy to sort the straight chunks out from the curled chunks underneath.
7. Get as far around the back as possible so hopefully you will meet both sides in the back.
8. Start the same process on the other side of your head and repeat all the same steps.
9. There is always a sneaky hiding piece in the back!
10. Make sure to point the curling iron down in the back your arm might get a little tired but don't drop is sideways or the curls look odd.
11. Smile at your patient and silly husband and let you know appreciate his help.
12. Once all the pieces have been curled, separate them by gently pulling them apart.
13. Tszuj!!!
14. A little bit of hairspray to keep things in place.
15. Immediate results, mine tends to settle after an hour or so, to not be as precise and a little more be beachy.

FOXY!

I combine this look with my dry shampoo regimen and get at least two days, if not three, of wavy hair wear. The second day looks much more relaxed and tousled, which I actually prefer.

Dry Shampoo - Dirty Little Secret

A few months ago I discovered a not-so-secret secret. Apparently, I was just in the dark. For years I was always jealous of the women with thick beautiful voluminous tousled hair who would casually toss out that they really only washed it every three days! What?!? My fine thin limp hair barely made it to the end of the work day before it started hazing over and clumping. After reading more and more articles and online reviews and finally being handed a can from my hairdresser neighbor, I took the plunge. Now I can’t imagine my life without it, I can be so dirty AND lazy, it is a dream come true for beauty slackers everywhere. The trick I discovered after some trial and error is that you should spray it on immediately to your freshly dried hair after washing, this way the oil never has a chance to grab hold of your precious locks and instead is immediately absorbed. I also spray a nice coat on before bed each night to keep the greasy griminess at bay. Now, don’t get me wrong - by day three, I’m ready for a wash, but not because my hair looks dirty, I just feel gross, and likely worked out that day, so I need to shower.

A little disclaimer: women with darker hair may like the brown-tinted versions because the regular spray may leave a white chalky residue. However, making sure to give the can a few good shakes remedies this somewhat, also brushing your hair out - and most likely, sleeping on it - will solve the issue for the most part.

I have tried out a bunch of different offerings, it is definitely a personal chemistry thing, what works best for me may be the worst for you, but I didn’t have any luck with the drugstore brands, sigh, and instead hit up Ulta for all my dry shampooing needs, my three top contenders are pictured.

1.Oscar Blandi Pronto

2.Rockaholic

3.Batiste