Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Summer-proof your beauty routine

It's hot out there!

Summer means a lot of time outdoors. And while I know plenty of women blessed with gorgeous skin and coloring that requires no makeup, I am not one of them. That means that when summer comes I start worrying about raccoon eyes from melted mascara, unintentional smokey eyes from smudged eyeliner, creasing shadow, and oily skin. That means adjusting my routine to accommodate the heat and humidity as well as the increased oil my skin produces when it's warm.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

New dumb trend: socks with sandals.

One of my favorite things about summer is the fact that I can pack away all my socks until it gets cold again in favor of bright pedicures and sandals. Well, bad news for me, because apparently socks with sandals is now a trend.

I ask you, does this look cute?
Image courtesy of NYMag.com

That's actually not the worst example they've got – you should really check out the slideshow. This look was all over the spring runways, too.

I don't get this. Isn't the point of sandals and open-toe shoes to be... open? Isn't that why they exist in the first place? So we can enjoy one less layer of fabric in a hot season? I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but here in New England it's hot and sticky. The less unnecessary fabric I can get away with, the better. Even worse, all the socks in the New York Magazine slideshow look like they're mostly nylon – can you think of a sweatier, less desirable fabric to wrap around your feet in the heat of summer?

Sorry fashion world, I'll be sitting this one out. I'd rather flaunt my brightly-polished toes in your disapproving faces than deal with sweaty, hot, smelly feet. Also, I'm not really interested in taking fashion tips from this guy:

Image courtesy of Top10Kid.com

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Quickie: The bracelet that tracks your sun exposure

So you've applied your sunscreen dutifully. Great! But what if it wears off? How will you know before it's too late? Now there's a way to tell: the UVSunSense bracelet:


Developed by a nuclear physicist, the UVSunSense wristband technology is similar in principle to monitoring devices used for personnel at nuclear power plants or in jobs dealing with nuclear medicine. But instead of measuring gamma rays, UVSunSense is calibrated for ultraviolet – or UV – radiation present in sunlight. The band’s four color stages indicate changing conditions and how a user should adapt to the sunlight. The wristband is orange when removed from the packaging. It becomes purple when exposed to the sun, indicating that it has been activated. When it transitions to a dark brown the wearer needs to immediately reapply their protective sunscreen. If the band turns a salmon color, the wearer should get out of the sun completely, having approached the recommended daily limit of UV radiation. Further exposure will likely result in painful sunburn and increase the risk of sun poisoning, also known as photodermatitis.


Here's a diagram to illustrate the color changes:



The UVSunSense band is available in packs of 7 for $6.85 (plus shipping) at Amazon. Or you can check out the "Where To Buy" link on the UVSunSense website (linked above) for local retailers.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

What price beauty?

Keep young and beautiful,
It's your duty to be beautiful!
Keep young and beautiful,
if you want to be loved.


So says the Annie Lennox song:







But sometimes we get a little crazy in our quest for beauty. The search for that miracle cream that will sweep away blemishes and wrinkles, or the magical hair product that will give us luster and shine, can lead us to some outlandish places.

One salon in London is offering clients a protein treatment made from – wait for it – bull semen:


Touted as “Viagra for Hair,” this 45-minute treatment ranges from £55 to £85 ($90-$138 U.S.) and uses semen from Aberdeen Angus bulls. Hari’s combines the sperm with the root of the protein-rich plant Katera. The protein-enriched potion is massaged into the client’s hair after it has been shampooed. Then the client is put under heat so the treatment penetrates the hair. The final step is the blow out, which gives the hair an awful lot of body, as well as shine.


As someone who has spent plenty of cash on different conditioners and treatments in the pursuit of frizz-free, shiny hair, I can honestly say this is a bit much for me. But it's nothing compared to using urine as a facial treatment. Urine! On your face! It seems to me that if your body had much use for what was in that urine, your body would have kept it in the first place. But don't worry about that, because you can skip the urine and get a facial that uses synthesized human sperm or snail slime instead.

Total Beauty has a list of ten strange beauty treatments that includes the bull semen hair treatment as well as procedures involving live fish, the feces of nightingales and crocodiles, and placenta.

Vanity is a strong force, isn't it? We spend so much of our lives being judged on how we look that it can make us crazy and the next thing we know we're paying hundreds of dollars to have things smeared on us that we'd otherwise avoid in the hopes that it will make us beautiful or keep us young for a little longer. I certainly have nothing against natural remedies – I'm a fervent champion of honey and its many many uses. (I use it mixed with my conditioner and occasionally with crushed aspirin tablets as a facial mask.) But there's a difference between embracing the idea of alternative methods and leaping into any unproven (and/or gross) new thing just because it's trendy. A few years back Gwyneth Paltrow caused a stir when it was rumored she was using a facial moisturizer containing snake venom because the paralytic venom was believed to have a Botox-like effect on the face. Like a lot of these types of things, the claims were unproven and the side effects potentially dangerous. But tell women the stars are doing it (or just charge a lot of money) and we'll line right up.

Some of these things do have a basis in science – the bull semen hair treatment is high in protein, for example. But you can get any number of protein-packed hair treatments without spending that much cash or drenching your head in bovine bodily fluids. In fact most of these trends have lower-priced and less insane counterparts. If you look at what's supposed to make it work, it's usually based on the ingredients and science already present in the beauty products you can get at any drug store. (Well, maybe not the live fish that eat the dead skin off your feet... but that's another story.)

The Beauty Brains are a great resource for topics like this. The site, run by cosmetic scientists, explains the science behind beauty in terms anyone can understand and debunks a lot of the claims made by trendy beauty treatments.

It comes down to research. Before you try any new "miracle" treatment or product, do a little Googling and a little reading. It might save you some cash and some time.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Yet another dumb way to cover your assets.

Remember the Backtacular? The silly-looking bedazzled patch made to cover your ass crack in low-waited pants? Well apparently ridiculous crack-camouflage is a growth industry. I give you the Hip-T:

Image courtesy of Refinery29.com

In case you think your eyes are deceiving you, yes, that is a band of fabric made to do nothing but sit around your waist and look like you're wearing a tank top underneath your shirt. To which I ask... why not just wear a tank top underneath your shirt? Most retailers make nice long tank tops now – I have a long waist and I own plenty that are more than long enough for me. And all of those tank tops cost less than the $14.95-19.95 that they want for the "Hip-T." $20 for a band of useless fabric! For the price of two of these things, you could get a pair of jeans that covers your ass! (I'm sorry, Hip-T calls it "bum cleavage." I guess that's better than calling it a "coin slot.")

I really just don't understand why there's a market for overpriced items like this. This one is especially confusing – what keeps it from riding up? Or just bunching itself up into a rumpled sloppy belt? What's the point of paying money for a glorified ace bandage to mummify your middle? I have to agree with the folks at Refinery 29 who covered this before me: you're better off just buying pants that cover you. Or invest in a few long tank tops for layering.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Weekend Quickie: Hit the Sales!

It's a big sale weekend, so if you have the time, hit the stores for some great deals.

I just got this dress at New York & Company for $19.99, reduced from $56.95:

Image courtesy of NewYorkandCompany.com

It's smocked under the bust which creates a flattering line, and it's super comfortable. Plus the halter top let's you adjust the strap length.

Other retailers having big sales this weekend:

Bath and Body Works – Up to 75% off bath and body products, perfumes, and cosmetics.
Victoria's Secret – Get deals on lingerie, clothing, and beauty products (though the clothing is only available online).
Gap – I saw better deals in-store than online, so check out the store in person for additional discounts if you can.
Payless – Select styles as low as $7!

There are plenty more that I've missed, so hit your local mall if you have the time for some great summer deals.

Friday, June 18, 2010

Don't believe what you see!

It used to be you could trust a photograph to show you a factual representation of a source or subject. But not anymore! Why? One word: Photoshop. I confess, I am a Photoshopper. Any photo of me that touches my computer gets "fixed:" teeth whitened, color corrected, blemishes banished. But magazines and advertisers go a lot further than that. They use Photoshop to take an existing image and turn it into something that not only doesn't exist, but sometimes can't possible exist.

For example, Ralph Lauren caused a controversy last year over the image on the right of an impossibly proportioned model (her shoulders are wider than her hips!).
Image courtesy of the Huffington Post.

Before that, Redbook caused a stir with a heavily retouched cover shot of Faith Hill. More recently, ads featuring Demi Moore and Julia Roberts have been so heavily altered that it's hard to tell that these already beautiful women are even human.

Not even Betty White is immune! She's 88 years old and they've removed all her wrinkles. Is it no longer acceptable for an 88-year-old woman to have wrinkles?

In a world where women are expected to aspire to beauty ideals, these types of images create an even more unattainable idea of the beauty norm. (Though if you can find me an actual adult human woman whose shoulders are wider than her hips, I'll consider a retraction.) We're constantly bombarded with images of women who are impossibly thin, ageless, and devoid of imperfection. How can any woman feel comfortable in her own skin surrounded by this crap?

Fortunately, the wide exposure of recent years has started a backlash and is – slowly – beginning a movement in opposition. Jessica Simpson famously posed for the cover of Marie Claire with no makeup and no retouching a few months ago. (And if you ask me, she looks fantastic.) And now a UK department store is openly displaying before- and after-Photoshop shots of a swimsuit model in their stores:



Image courtesy of NYMag.com


It's a refreshing move, but there's still a long way to go. The truth is that Photoshop is never going away. It will always be used to clean up flyaway hairs and blemishes and correct color at the very least (and you can pry my copy from my cold, dead hands!). But until the fashion and beauty industries scale back the usage to those parameters we're going to have to treat every image we see with skepticism. Jezebel has a really interesting gallery of Photoshopped images here. Check it out and see just how much you're being fooled.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

DIY Quickie: The 1-Hour Dress

Summer is the time for dresses! And if you like making your own clothes, check out this 1-hour dress at CraftStylish:

Image courtesy of CraftStylish.com

There's some argument in the comments about whether this dress can actually be made in an hour. (I don't sew, so I can't say how accurate those comments are.) But they include a detailed list of what you'll need and diagrams to help you along your way and the instructions were easy enough for a non-sewer like me to understand. I love that the silhouette is simple enough that you can make it in stretch jersey and have a comfortable day dress, or bring up the hemline and use a fabric with metallic threading for a cute cocktail look.

If anyone makes this dress at home, let me know! I'd love to post your pictures and hear how well this pattern actually works.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Quickie: You're not as fat as you think!

A study conducted in London has found that the average person's body image is seriously distorted:

Scientists have discovered that the body image a person projects in their own brain is “massively distorted” and can be up to two thirds wider than it is in reality. The brain’s own “body model” is also around a third shorter than the body actually is, according to the study at University College London.


The scientists who conducted the study think that this may offer new insights into those affected by eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia.

I was sort of comforted reading about this study as I'm prone to anxiety about my weight and body image. I was a very skinny kid. Adulthood came along and these days I'm... not so skinny. I spend way too much time worrying about my weight and the size labels inside my clothes. The image perpetuated by the fashion industry (remember when we talked about this?) certainly doesn't help when we're surrounded by images of an "ideal" most of us will never meet. It makes sense to me that so many of us are walking around with a mental self-image that doesn't match the reality when we're constantly comparing ourselves to those ideals.

But next time you look in the mirror and feel like you're having a "fat day," take a deep breath and be a little kinder to yourself - it's not as bad as you think.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Finding Your Style

Have you ever seen one of those quizzes called something like "Which Style Are You?" where some magazine tries to pin you down into a category? If you like beaded jewelry, your style is bohemian! If you like black, your style is classic! Those never made any sense to me. Why do you have to pick just one "style?" Where did we get the idea that women can't develop our own eclectic look comprised of a variety of things? I think the idea is to distill the "personal style" question into something so simple anyone can follow it, but to me it's just too restrictive. So I say ignore all that and do things your own way! Here are my tips for discovering and developing your own personal style.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Saturday Quickies

Happy weekend, everyone! Here's a couple of quickies for your style file:

The Budget Fashionista (a great site) has some options for wearing the current skinny jean trend, even if you're not so skinny. I have a few pairs of skinny jeans (I'm a size 12 with not-inconsiderable hips) and I usually make sure to pair them with a long top that has some volume to it to balance out the proportions. Or I'll add a big, bright scarf to draw the eye upward toward my face. The trick with skinny jeans is finding a comfy fit and choosing the rest of your outfit with proportion in mind.

Stylelist investigates the idea that a "go away gray" pill might be in our near future. I hope so!

Have you heard about the new Huggies faux denim diapers? Personally I think they're a bit silly... since when is it taboo for a baby to be seen in a diaper? But one writer actually hates them so much she cites them as a symptom of a blurring line between childhood and adulthood and rising obesity rates. She even goes so far as to say that "People swollen with fat look like giant babies, the lines and wrinkles pressed from their faces." Yes, she managed to blame all our societal ills on silly-looking diapers and insult overweight people all at once. I for one am impressed.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Braids aren't just for little girls anymore!

If you have wavy/curly hair like me, the approach of summer means one thing: frizz. At least once a summer I consider chopping off all my hair to escape the heat and the frizzy mess it becomes when exposed to humidity. There are ways to fight frizz (Allure has nine handy tips), but some days you just want that hair off your neck, out of your face, and off your mind. The hot way to handle that hair this summer? Braids. Check out this season's looks after the jump.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Quickie: Here Comes the Sun

Sun protection is important year-round, but once the weather warms up we all spend more time outside. Gone are the days when brown, tanned skin was in style – the new tans are fake and sometimes unfortunately orange. But whether you choose to fake bake or embrace the pale, you need to protect your skin from sun damage!

Most facial moisturizers and some foundations contain a sunscreen now. But the sunscreen in that facial moisturizer and foundation may not be enough and the rest of your body needs protection too.

Confession: I don't wear sunscreen every day. I use a facial moisturizer with SPF, but I don't apply sunscreen anywhere else unless I'm planning to be outside all day. And with my fair Irish skin I really should. The truth is, almost everyone is making mistakes with our sun protection.

Allure Magazine explains the nine biggest sun-protection mistakes most of us make every day. Did you know that your face should get about a nickel-sized amount of sunscreen every day? And that your scalp still needs protecting? And that certain medications can increase your sun sensitivity? I didn't either until I read this!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Quickie: Keep a Style File

A while back I was lucky enough to attend a fashion show hosted by Liz Claiborne's Creative Director and my personal idol, Tim Gunn. Those attending the event were given a free gift – a black accordion folder made of heavy, coated board labeled a "style file." The idea is that when you see a look you like in a magazine, or something you like in a catalog, you tear out the page and drop it in your style file. That way you don't wind up buried under old magazines you're keeping just for one article, and you can easily access all the ideas and inspirations you've kept when you want to update your look.

Any accordion folder will do for your own style file. Or even a binder with internal folders – anything that will allow you to keep things neatly organized. I have mine separated into these categories: fashion, beauty, social, accessories, hair, miscellaneous. I keep pictures of outfits I like, advertisements for products I want to try, makeup tutorials, trend reports, and anything else that catches my eye. That way when I want to refer back to something I have it easily at hand.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Go get yourself some cheap sunglasses...

Christina Aguilera in two-tone sunglasses.
(Image courtesy of CelebritySunglassesFinder.com)

Time to break out the shades, people! (Actually, eye doctors recommend you wear sunglasses year-round. But spring and summer are when the new styles seem to come out anyway.) There's no need to pay for a designer price tag when you're looking for eye protection. Plenty of lower-priced sunglasses will do the same thing and look just as good.

According to EyeDoctorGuide.com you just need to keep a few things in mind:

• Look for a pair of sun glasses that provides UVA and UVB protection. Most glasses providing this protection have a label that designates them as UV safe. If they do not, do not assume that the glasses will protect you from UV radiation. Just because eye glasses are tinted does not mean they will provide you with ample protection from UV rays.

• Look for glasses that are dark enough they will help reduce sun reflection and glare, but not glasses that are so dark you have difficulty distinguishing traffic lights or signs.

• Find a pair of glasses that covers your eyes and line of site entirely.

• If buying children's sunglasses, be sure they also protect against UV radiation.

• Make sure eyeglasses do not obscure your line of site.


This year's sunglasses trends are very retro – oversized Jackie O. shades, the wayfarers look of the 1980s, and 1950s cat-eye shades are all hot right now. Brightly-colored two-tone frames (as seen on Christina above) are also popular. As someone who loves color (the more and brighter the better!), I love the two-tone look. It feels fresh and summery. But the more standard tortoiseshell or black shades are a perennial classic. The most important thing is to find a shape and color with which you're happy – if you're not comfortable, you won't wear them. And no matter how much of a deal you got, no bargain find is really a bargain if it doesn't get worn.

My current pair of sunglasses cost me $8 on sale at Target (my trusty shopping friend). You can see some of their current sunglasses here, but they have a lot more in-store.

GirlProps.com has a few different color options for only $9.99 if you like the two-tone look. (They have plenty of other styles too.) House of Sunglasses has a lot of options, from the classic to the crazy, all for just $9.99. If you want to imitate a celebrity look, try CelebritySunglassesFinder.com - just be aware that anything you find there will probably be expensive. I recommend using this site for ideas and finding a less pricey option elsewhere.

Keep in mind if you buy sunglasses online that you still want to look for that UV protection. Without it you may actually do more damage, since your pupils will dilate from the dark lenses but won't be protected from the sun's harmful rays. And remember – no trend is as important as your confidence! Find a look that fits comfortably and flatters your face and you can't go wrong.


(Thanks to ZZ Top for the post title.)

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

20 Summer Dresses Under $50

The temperature is going up, which means it's time to break out the breezy dresses! I love the way a good dress is an instant no-work outfit that looks put together and fab. After the jump, 20 dresses for your summer wardrobe under $50...