lauren on lately

did you guys see lauren conrad on chelsea lately earlier this week?

i was dying over her hair - that braid was so adorable!  

also excited about her new clothing line, paper crown, coming out this fall!

 

check out this clip from the show...

Hair and teeth.

I think I need a new 'do. This "sunkissed" look I've been shooting for is looking a little more trashy, less classy these days.

So, I was at my dentist this morning and I saw this photo of Jessica Biel on the cover of New Beauty magazine. What do you think? Kinda hot, right?

PS: I have the most amazing dentist on the west coast. Dr. Raymond with Bling Dental absolutely rocks. Free teeth whitening with every appointment, massaging chairs, the Princess Bride playing on the ceiling above you and young, super nice, fashionable hygenists. He has a bit of a celeb following too! Shar Jackson and McKenzie Phillips both fly up to go to Bling and were at his 1 year anniversary party, which was at a club. Do you have a dentist this cool? Jealous? :)

fishtail braids

i'm currently loving fishtail braids (especially to the side)... although i'm not good at doing them to my own hair, i'm trying to get better! 

here's some instructions i found via the beauty bible: 

To braid:

1. Start by dividing the hair you want to braid into two equal sections.
2. Now hold the right section with your right hand. Then, using your left hand, pick up a one-eighth-inch chunk of hair from the outside of the left section and cross it over to the inside of the right section. Trust me, its not as hard as it sounds – you just need to practice.
3. You now need to repeat this process on the other side so hold the left section in your left hand and use your right hand to pick up a one-eighth-inch chunk of hair from the outer right section and cross it over to the inside of the left section.
4. Continue this process making sure you alternate sides after each cross over just like you would a normal braid until you reach the end of your hair then secure with a hair tie.
5. To make sure your braid won’t be going anywhere finish with a spritiz of hairspray.

images via we heart it, flickr, and google image search

All about the hair.

I have color issues. I know what I want it to look like, but no matter what, I'm never happy with the results when I get it done. Too streaky, too highlight-y, too soccer mom-y, too brassy or too purple-y. I always prefer it about 3 weeks grown out, but by then the ends are dull, plus there's such a harsh line where it's grown out.

Enter Balayage. This technique is designed to make hair look sunkissed and more natural. I guess they sort of "paint" the hair, instead of using foils. We recently had an intern at work who had it done and it looked awesome. It's apparently used on all of my hair idols (see below) and I found a gal in Portland that does it. Word on the streets is she's kind of a rock star. Stay tuned!

Love, love, love Gisele's hair....and her husband.

Thanks San Diego Songbirds for the inspiration!

Who else could pull this outfit off?

Like she just stepped out of the surf...

Who doesn't love Jennifer Aniston's hair??

Black weekend...

I'm bored. When I'm bored, I spend. I normally dread the crowds that Black Friday draws, but decided to brave it anyway this weekend. I bought several Christmas presents (hint: Santa's lovin' cashmere this year, folks!) I also recently "donated" all of my bath towels to my former "roommate", which meant I had to go get all new white fluffy towels today . . . darn. TJ Maxx had DKNY, 100% cotton for $7.99 each - love that!

I also visited Aritzia, where they were having their 25th anniversary sale. Everything in the store was on sale and thanks to my sweet, saintly mother, I had a $100 gift certificate. I picked up some fab gray leggings by TNA and a great cashmere/cotton/silk wrap cardigan by Wilfred. Together they'll be super cute with a skinny belt and heels/flats/boots.

Finally, I killed some time in the easiest place in the mall to spend money . . . Sephora. Here are a few of my favorite beauty must-haves:

I'm obsessed with the creaseless cream shadows by Benefit. I've tried Birthday Suit and Flatter Me, both amazing shades, but this time I went with R.S.V.P. I love these because they truly, truly don't crease at all, they have great shimmer and they last forever. You can also layer powder shadows over them. I usually go with MAC Satin Taupe or Style Snob for the crease.

Also by Benefit, this Eye Bright stick is fantastic. They call it a "nap in a stick" and that's exactly what it is.

I also recently picked up this concealer compact by Laura Mercier and so far, I'm kind of loving it.

Everyone knows the baby powder trick for greasy hair, but I love this hair powder by Oscar Blandi. It smells more citrus-y, less baby and has a great texture.

I heard about this new lipstick, Our Pick, by MAC on whowhatweardaily.com and while it is NOT the best color (it's like a cement, taupe-y shade), it layers amazingly with almost every other lipstick I have. It's almost like a "base" color or something.

Finally, my good friend turned me on to this nail color like 7 years ago and I have never looked back. It's truly the best red there is. Two words: Malaga Wine.

What else do I need to try? xoxo