30 Days of Twist & Pin

When it comes to styling my hair, I am almost completely inept. I did manage to have a semi-curled style (using a flat iron no less) recently, but that came about as a total accident and a complete (but happy) surprise. But now, thanks to the heads up from Wit & Whistle, I can follow the Hair Romance 30 Day Hairstyle Challenge. Every day in May (sorry, I’m a bit late), there is a new twist & pin hairstyle to show how versatile the technique can be. I will be spending some time looking through the archives since we are almost at the end of the month. Lord knows my awful hippie hair ponytail mess could use some teaching!

3 fluid ounces

Since the recent resurgence of crazies on airplanes, airport security is back to checking the size of your toiletry containers, ensuring that they are no more than 3 fluid ounces. I cannot express to you lightly how much I despise this policy. Sure, I have appropriately sized travel containers, but it’s anyone’s guess as to what is actually in them.

Well, thanks to a new website, 3floz.com, we will suffer no longer. This online boutique specializes in TSA-friendly beauty products that are all regulation size, many of which from brands you know, trust and love. Among them are Pangea Organics, Jonathan, Malin and Goetz and Philip B, just to name a few. And the site sells everything from shampoo to eye cream to nail strengtheners, so there’s plenty of products to fulfill all your travel needs!

via jaunted

In the swim

Girdle lovers, rejoice! Spanx has recently announced that they are selling swimwear. And just in time for beach season. So ditch that granny suit with the attached skirt, and pick up a Spanx suit – designed to make you feel comfortable and give you lift and support in all the right places!

mark.tini!

Love the smell of summer fruit? How about refreshing your skin with a mark.tini – a fruit-infused, hydrating body mist from mark. Scents (flavors?) like peach, mango, tangerine and watermelon will leave your skin feeling hydrated and conditioned – not to mention fruit juicy! Maybe try popping one in the fridge for a burst of cool flavor on a hot day. At only $10, it’s the best piece of fruit you’ll buy all summer!

Sunscreen on the go!

We all know about the dangers of sun exposure, but unfortunately most of us learn the hard way (okay, maybe that’s just me). And so it is that I bring you this post with Rudolph’s nose in the middle of summer. I don’t normally think to carry sunscreen around with me everywhere I go. Until now. Thanks to LA Fresh’s travel sunscreen wipes, I can be prepared on a moment’s notice. The pre-moistened (I hate that word) towelette is biodegradable and contains SPF 30. This is definitely one of those products that makes me wonder why I didn’t think of it first.

Shampowder

I know what they say about not washing your hair everyday because it wrecks havoc on it and drys the crap out of it. Which is just nifty for me since my hair is freakishly parched to begin with. That whole concept must have been tried true on a blond woman because it absolutely doesn’t work on brunettes. There is a big difference between sleek, straight and shiny and greasy, sticky and stringy. The latter being what I end up with if I don’t wash my hair every day. And even more so because that baby powder trick most definitely only works on blonds. I tried it once and ended up looking like a greasy gray-haired lady. Not good.

Well it seems, a smart brunette some where has solved the problem. Enter Shampowder. It comes with a unique portable brush-on applicator in three shades that blend naturally into black, brunette/red, and blond hair. It instantly freshens hair and absorbs oil, making those everyday washings a thing of the past. And what’s best is that it costs about the same price as salon shampoo or conditioner, making it completely affordable to add to your beauty collection!

Still on pins and needles.

Hair accessories are all the rage these days. Long gone is the big fat scrunchy and oversized leather headbands. Now they are so dainty and feminine. I just love them.

top to bottom, left to right:

Clover green hair pins: $10
Sweet flower hair pins: $6
Persephone gathers sea poppies: $14
Floral bobby pins no. 4: $12
Mini white leather bobby pin: $10.99
Spotted owl bobby pins: $4.25
Type it back: $5.00
Bumblebee circles felt hair pin: $2.75
Emily bobby pins: $3.25

Pamper your pout!

I love the sun. But the one thing that comes free with every sun-filled outing is chapped lips. Yuck. But it seems I’ve found a cure thanks to Gabrielle Reece in the June issue of Shape magazine.

The Lip Scrub is like a facial for your lips. Just apply it like you would a gloss, gently exfoliate with your fingers, and wipe it off. Your lips are left feeling and looking smooth and soft. The scrub comes in six flavors, including cocoa, peppermint, cinammon sugar, brown sugar, almond creme and vanilla bean. It’s a little pricier than your average tube of chapstick ($24) but if it leaves your lips soft, flake-free and more kissable – I’m in!