For Oily Creatures: John Masters Organics' Sea Mist

Let's be real: I'm a greasy creature. I'm Italian, so I've got oily skin, oily hair... it's a blessing and a curse. My dad, who has the same skin and hair type as I do, looks fantastic for his age, which hopefully bodes well for me, too. (Incidentally, my coworker said the other day that my dad reminds her of Roger Sterling, which gives me the willies because I have a huge crush on Sterling - who doesn't? But my dad also has more than two decades on John Slattery. Go, Dad!)

I've found that when dealing with oily skin, it's best to play to, rather than against, it's strengths. I'll never have Nicole Kidman's alabaster, matte skin, but I can totally pull off Jessica Alba's youthful, dewy look. I'm currently playing with my product regimen (expect a post on that soon), but I'm definitely finding that the less makeup, the better, and cremes work much better than powders.

However, you can't really make oily hair work (unless you're Taylor Kitsch). And in my case, even when I wash and style my hair in the morning, it's hard to keep it looking nice for the workday and beyond (I wash my hair daily because I work out almost everyday). In my experience, dry shampoo is very hit-or-miss, and the best method I've found to keep oil at bay is using a somewhat surprisingly product: John Masters Organics' Sea Mist.

I really like all the John Masters products I've tried, but they're pricey. Sea Mist is $16.50 on Amazon - certainly not cheap but worth every penny. Technically, this product is supposed to give you beachy waves, like you've been swimming in the ocean, but the idea of my hair having texture without some serious heat styling is laughable, so I use it in the morning to soak up oil.

Here's how I use it: after blow drying my hair until it's about 90% dry, I spray Sea Mist liberally, focusing on my scalp. Then, I blow dry it the remaining 10%. A few spritzes throughout the day controls oil, and if I want a pick-me-up after work, I can spray my scalp again, blast some warm air from the blow drier for a few moments, and I'm good to go.

Got any good tips to control oil for your skin or hair? Or are you one of those mythical creatures who washes her hair, like, once a week?

A Prom Queen's Dream

Okay, this is kind of embarrassing, but I've recently joined the Church of BumpIt.  I'm not really sure how I was converted, because by all means the scary trannylicious beauty queen hairstyles in the infomerical should have had me burning every teasing comb in my house.  They're like hair zombies who have had their brains eaten by the little teeth of the BumpIt.

I have to start off by saying that I have very strange hair.  Strange in that it's very fine, but I have a lot of it.  Great for curling and straightening, but not so much for maintaining any kind of volume.  I originally sent my mom a link to the website as a joke (she loves doing the bangs bump, but has a hard time getting it right), and last week we finally broke down and bought the set after spotting it in Walgreens.  One of our more adventurous moments, I'd say. 

Let me just say that the BumpIts deserve some credibility because Leighton Meester's hairdresser on Gossip Girl uses them all the time in her hair.  And, really, after I used the medium sized one (I'm pretty sure the largest one should be reserved for those of you that want to be Amy Winehouse for Halloween...), I could see why.  They really do stay in your hair with little help, but if you're worried about the insert falling out, use it when your hair is half up or with a ponytail.  They come in all colors, but I've only ever seen the dark brunette/black sets in stores.  What that potentially says about blondes and brunettes, I don't know.  All I know is, I like my little BumpIt boost, and if worse comes to worse, you can use it as a weapon and head-butt your attacker like Kiefer.  

Best, Meh, and Worst: The Golden Globes

I love the Golden Globes -- so much more relaxed than the Oscars, so much more legitimate than the SAG Awards. All the talent is drunk, and they have to hire tuxedoed men to escort tipsy actresses in heels up the marble stairs to the stage. There are no masturbatory film industry montages and no awkward, he's-usually-so-funny hosts (I'm looking at you, Jon Stewart).

I'm in a particularly good mood this year since Slumdog Millionaire swept (seriously, go see it), Kate Winslet won Best Actress AND Best Supporting Actress, and Mickey Rourke's cracked-out acceptance speech made me laugh, so, without further ado, I give you the best, worst, and should-have-been-better moments from this year's Golden Globe fashions.
Click on any picture to enlarge.

Best:

Kate Winslet
Good Goddamn, Kate. Sleek, polished, understated, and fierce in a very "Oh this old thing? I just threw it on" sort of way. She looks like a goddess.

Salma Hayek
It seems like it would be in poor taste to make a joke about Salma's (sigh) Golden Globes, but seriously, her curves won't quit. She's also one of the only people on the planet who can pull off this particular neutral.

Mary Louise Parker
The color is electrifying, she's well-styled, and the shape actually makes her look like she's got curves. A+.

Christina Hendricks
Everyone's favorite naughty secretary brings it. The structural neckline works in a really unusual way with her curves, and having skin and hair that perfect makes basic black look new and different.

Anna Paquin
I know there will be those who disagree with me on this, and I'll be the first to say that I don't like her blonde, but I'm having a love affair with the draping and the color of this dress. I probably would have worn a necklace with it, though.

Madeline Zima
The little girl from The Nanny grew up HOT. Unusual color -- there were a lot of dark jewel tones and neutrals on the red carpet this year -- and she looks like she just loves wearing this pretty Grecian dress.

Honorable Mention: Mindy Kaling
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the fabulous Ms. Kaling, looking lovely in this understated toga-style number. Stay pretty, Mindy!


Meh:

Freida Pinto
Oh, Freida. I spent about two-thirds of Slumdog Millionaire wondering what genetic accident made her as stunning as she is, and nothing she wears, no matter how bad, is going to overshadow her beauty (just look at that smile). All the same, this is... not great. The color looks great on her, but I can't figure out the cut at all. Do better at the Oscars, Freida.

January Jones
Another instance of great color, bad cut. This particular sky blue couldn't be any more perfect on her, but the shoulder strap is weird and the dress as a whole doesn't look like it fits her correctly.

Angelina Jolie
This isn't bad, it's just boring. Angie, you're probably the most beautiful woman in the world. Were you just not trying?

Drew Barrymore
Pretty dress, Drew, but... what happened with the hair? Did you take a convertible to the red carpet?

Amanda Seyfried
A prime example of how not to do neutrals. In the thumbnail of this picture on my desktop, I actually can't tell where her skin ends and the fabric begins.


Worst:

Renee Zelleweger
What the fuck is this dress? Her bra/undershirt/thing is crooked, the cutaway shoulders look like she tore them on a doorframe, and the skirt doesn't fit. Combine that with that horrible hair and how strung out she looked when she was presenting and you've got... well, I don't even know. It's just bad. Also, she's making a fairly normal face in this picture, but in most of the other pictures from tonight she's making this truly bizarre, overly pleased-with-herself, on-some-serious-medication face. It's not pretty.

Olivia Wilde
I didn't actually know who Olivia Wilde was until just now, when I looked her up on Wikipedia. Turns out she joined the cast of House well after I stopped watching it. I will say that after seeing her in this dress, I never want to see her act in anything, ever. This thing could kindly be described as a chenille nightmare. It's a Barbie dress made out of grandma's bedspread. Also, girl needs to eat a Twinkie or three, because she's looking like she's about ready to take a bite out of the photographer.

Beyonce/Sasha Fierce
I have to say, I'm a little disappointed that Sasha Fierce didn't show up on the red carpet, because she would have been more likely to wear something that fit. This is too tight on the top -- she's holding her arms like she's worried her boobs are about to pop out, which seems to be a legitimate fear. There's extra fabric around her waist and the dress is lumpy over her hips. And did I mention the fabric is hideous?

Debra Messing
Wow. The top is fine, but from the hips down... wow. There's some awkward fabric bunching over her crotch and all that pleating along the bottom just looks straight up messy. Yuck.

Cameron Diaz
Man, I hate Cameron "Jokerface" Diaz. There's some quality about her that I can't quite put my finger on that makes me wish she'd just drop off the face of the planet. It might be different if she EVER looked good, but sadly, this... thing she's wearing is pretty typical, as is the poor styling. As Michael Kors would say, this dress is a whole lotta look, and she is not the person to pull it off. There are pleats and ties and bows in places where such things ought not to be, it's puffing out in odd ways, and I can't imagine what her left boob could possibly have done to deserve the treatment it's getting here. Go away, Cameron.

Pretty Photos!

I've been trying to clean up my desktop a bit, and I decided it was time to tackle my folder of photos I save for this blog. And since I'm sure everyone could use a break from shopping for a few days, here are some photos that I found sartorially inspiring in the last year:Amy Adams is rocking my world with her shiny turquoise t-straps. Such a great compliment to a black dress that's a little on the boring side.
This photo of a chic Brazilian woman is from the Sartorialist. I love the ribbon sash at the waist and the intricate lace of the rest of the dress.

In my opinion, Sienna Miller's style is a cheap, tacky rip-off of Kate Moss's. But I have to give her props for this unfussy, fresh white dress.

Speaking of Ms. Moss: she makes me want to get married in a Burberry bikini, no small feat considering how much I adore dresses.

Ok, so Lauren Conrad looks a little fake n' bake in this photo. But she is rocking the ultra-mini dress and intense platforms. I would kill to raid her closet.

I was gonna post about Robin's shirt, because I thought I found it on Anthropologie, but then it sold out and I had no use for this still from How I Met Your Mother. But Robin and Barney looks so cute, and I do really like her shirt, so I refused to trash it until I could share it with the world.

I know that these sort of across-the-head braids a bit played out, but I'm still determined to master them. They look so fun and easy on Reese Witherspoon! I wish I had that sort of braiding skill.

Speaking of hair, this random Dove model has my dream ringlets, even though I'm unwilling to spend an hour of quality time with a curling iron every morning.

And Kate Hudson has my dream straight hair-- it looks so shiny and soft! And I want to play with baby lions, too.


I didn't see Iron Man, and I hate giving Gywneth any props, but I'm in love with her strawberry blond hair color in that movie.

Coming Up Roses

You'll have to excuse us for being so quiet lately--we are but simple college girls, with dorms and apartments to move into, classes to reschedule, and Olympic swimmers to watch.

So, onward!

I'm sitting here, minding my own business when I discover that Forever 21 has launched For Love 21, an official accessories line. Actually, to be completely honest, I'm not sure how it's different from Forever 21's accessories, but that's beside the point. Any cheap crap is good crap in my book.

Let me start off by saying that I have a total love/hate relationship with F21. I go into the shop and find absolutely nothing. I order stuff online and half of the time it doesn't fit or looks incredibly cheap in person. Really, it's like a game of Russian roulette. Oh, and did I mention that you can NEVER FIND WHAT THE MODELS ARE WEARING IN THE PICTURES?!?!?!?


All that aside, as I search desperately for one of the handbags featured in one of the shiny pictures (IT IS NOT ON THE WEBSITE!! STOP TORTURING ME F21!!), I noticed a little trend that they seem to have going on for fall: roses/flowers/pink. It seems a little counterintuitive to have this happy pink flowers headline your fall collection, but, hey, what do I know.

Up first we have the Artisan Wool Beret, which is totally cute if you're the kind of person that can actually pull off wearing a beret:


This little beauty runs for $12.80, comes in four colors and is dry clean only. Just so you know.

I've been inspired by the USA gymnasts to reinvestigate those snappy little hairclips, and, luckily for me, F21 was ready for me:

(Rosy Barrette Set, $4.80)

We also have my personal favorite--the rose ring. And, yet again, we run into the frustrating fact that if you have no idea what size you are, you have to guess. And if you're like me, you guess wrong. The good news? It's only $5.80. The better news? There are at least 7 different kind of rose rings on the site. If I had the mental willpower, I would link them all. But trust me, this one is the prettiest!

Alas, my laptop battery is about to die... but fear not. If you search F21, there are shirts, earrings, rings, necklaces and even purses that are all decorated with dainty little roses. Awfully purdy.

Some Hairy Products

The bitches tend to come out when they’re severely guilted. Sorry darlings, I may as well be a guest contributor. I giveth you the deals, and then I horedth them away for myself. Yes, I am a greedy little bitch. But, occasionally, the gates of my two-sizes-too-small black heart open wide, and, like the Grinch returning the presents to all the Who kids in Who-ville, it grows three sizes in a day and I share the golden goods.

(Okay, in reality, I had finals, a dorm to close, and spent a night in Richmond bawling my eyes out after I missed my flight. Really. A disaster. If I had posted anything it would have been about all the amazing shit I found in the dorm that people left behind and the bag of in-flight pretzels the AirTran employee gave me to get me to stop sobbing.)

First up: The Mason Pearson brush:


This is actually a really famous product… and for a good reason. When you use it, it feels like an angel’s fingers stroking through your hair. Not joking. The brush was first developed in 1885 and was the first to use (and patent) that air cushion mentality. It’s very gentle on your hair and it actually does massage your scalp in a light, delicate way. Also, if you flip your hair and brush under, it definitely does give you volume!

Because the brushes are renown for being very easy on the hair, I told my mom to buy it when she felt like her hair was thinning due to all the weight she’d lost (side note: way to go Mama!)—I also told her to buy it so I could use it the minute I got home from school. They have three different types depending on how thick your hair is (and sensitive your scalp is). Unfortunately, the brushes run between $80-$170 dollars (read more about pricing and the brush company here).

Okay, gather round Who kids, it’s story time: up until the time I was in seventh grade, my hair was short, thin, and shiny. At one time (you know, when I was two and three), it was actually blonde (I have photographic evidence!!). And then, one day—that day being February 2, 2000--I woke up and had a bad hair day. A bad hair day that is known to many as puberty. All of a sudden, on top of my Harry Potter round glasses and my sweet metal braces (with alternating hot pink and fuchsia bands), my hair started growing out of my head in frizzy girls. So maybe it wasn’t puberty. Maybe it was my latent Greek blood, finally rearing its ugly head.

So that was a very long way of telling you that because my frizz hasn’t ever really gone away, I’ve gone through many different products. It really is a struggle not to overload your hair with all the different products: you need your shampoo, hair conditioner, smoothing milk/leave-in condition, stuff to protect your hair from the vital, but hair-frying monster known as the flat iron… and then the nice finishing spray. After all products are used and I’ve finally managed to scrape the product from my hands, I’m left with flat hair from product overload.

This is where It’s a Ten comes in and saves you from having to use a gazillion products. My hairdresser couldn’t kept this in stock, so Mama had to go out on her own and find it on her own. It’s a typical leave-in conditioner… you take a shower, towel your hair and spray it in. Easy as pie (and it smells as delicious as pie). That’s pretty much the only way it’s typical. This is a little hair warrior:

It's a 10 Ten - Miracle Leave In Product is an amazingly new product on the professional salon market that does 10 things instantly:
1.) Repairs dry damaged hair
2.) Adds shine
3.) Smoothes & controls frizz
4.) Seals & protects hair color
5.) Detangles
6.) Prevents split ends
7.) Stops hair breakage
8.) Creates Silkiness
9.) Enhances natural body
10.) Flat iron spray & thermal protector

Really. It’s pretty damn awesome. The bottle is $15.00, but so far it’s lasted.


And on one final note: check out the latest Isaac Mizahri dresses at Target. If you weed through the crap, you’ll actually find some really pretty silhouettes and colors! I won’t go into detail because this post is already long enough, but how pretty is the Envelope Dress? Here’s a picture of the front and back in yellow; it’s available in quite a few colors (I at least saw navy and black), but I thought you could see the detail and shape of the dress a little better in yellow. The back is my favorite part of the dress, and the good news is that it looks like you can wear a bra with it.

It retails for $39.00.