Be Careful What You Wish For ...

Sigh.  That's what I have been telling myself all day.  Cold comfort, but the truth.

You may recall that I have ongoing issues with my hair and various stylists who have cut it.  Though I would love to have luxurious hair, I have very fine hair (thought lots of it), and I am too lazy to fool with it more than is absolutely necessary.  And once the weather gets hot, I can't stand to have it on my neck at all.

A few years ago, I got a cut that I absolutely loved.  I think it might have been one of the best haircuts of my life.  And it was one that apparently everyone else thought was a good one, too, as I always received compliments on it.  Basically, it was a messy pixie - meaning there was no specific part, and I didn't have to blow it dry.

But that place was really out of my way, and kind of a pain to get to, especially in the winter.  And the stylist stopped working on Saturdays, which limited me even more.  So I shopped around.

For the last year or so, I've been going to a place very close to my house.  It's nice, it's in the neighborhood, it's reasonably priced, and I really like my stylist.  She does a good job with cutting, and an awesome job at color.  Everyone in the salon is great.  My only complaint is that I could never get her to cut my hair as short as I'd like.

I ran into an acquaintance about a month ago, who told me that the person at the other place was going to be working on Saturdays in March, filling in for another stylist on maternity leave.  I gave it some thought, and devised a plan which I felt was *such* a good idea (which actually should have been a warning).  I decided to make an appt with her, and then when it was time for a "clean-up" I would go to my current stylist to show her what I meant, and we would all live happily ever after.  I talked to the girl who does appts at the current place, and she said no one would find that a problem, people do it a lot.

You know the result, right?  Well, to add insult to eventual injury, it was POURING this morning, so I had to trudge over in that.  Then the stylist was half an hour late (I was her first appt).  And when all was said and done, I ended up with a slightly longer haircut than a buzz cut.

I'm doing my best to look at the bright side: 1) my hair grows pretty quickly, so it should look at least a little better in a week or so, 2) when I go for my "clean up," it will hopefully be pretty much the way I want it to, so the current stylist will see what I mean, and, 3) it's convinced me once and for all to stay where I am.

In the meantime, I'll live.  But for about the millionth time in my life, a lesson has been learned.  I wish these lessons - once learned about one thing - would apply to all other things, so it would be done in one fell swoop.  But I'm pretty sure that would be too easy, and people would forget, or start ignoring the lessons.

As my sister would say, "White People Problems," and I agree, but I sure wish I didn't have to walk around with this haircut at all, even for another day ...

Lip Solution

Like a lot of people, I get chapped lips during the winter.  Unlike some people, mine get really awful - to the point of bleeding.  I regularly use some kind of lip balm, with varying results.  Some are so temporary, that by the time I leave the room where I applied them, my lips are dried out again!

I really like wearing lipstick, too, so it can be really disappointing to have my icky lips make the lipstick look awful.  Besides cracking and bleeding, at a minimum they start to peel, and the whole thing just looks bad.

Fast forward to a couple of weekends ago, when my niece and her husband asked us to spend the weekend with them at a beach house in Rehoboth Beach.  One of our favorite places to visit while there, is a soap shop called Little Egg Harbor Soap Shop.  First of all, it's a cute shop, and they have really nice, handmade soaps.  We went there last fall when we visited, and by the time we were going this time, the soaps we'd bought then were gone.  So we were really hoping to get some more, and hoping the shop was open in the off-season.

It was, so we were able to get more of the soaps we liked, and try one or two new ones.  But the best thing I bought that day was this little jar:

I bought this as a kind of afterthought, while waiting to check out.  The lady who works there said that it had been very popular, and that she really liked it.  It was $5.00, so I figured, what the heck I'd give it a try.

Wow.  I love this product.  A teeny amount rubbed across your lips not only feels good and even tastes OK, but immediately softens, exfoliates, and conditions your lips.  You wash it off, and your lips feel like you put a really lovely balm on them for about an hour or so afterwards.  All of a sudden, my lips were in good shape, even after only two times using this!  And you need such a small amount for big results, I think I'll have this for a while - so the $5.00 price tag is a good deal!

Little Egg Harbor Soap company has a website here, and the specific link for the lip scrub is here.  Of course, if you are in Rehoboth Beach or any of the other locations, you can buy it in person, while also getting a whiff of their lovely soaps.  But if you need something to help your lips, it may just be worth ordering it and paying for the shipping. 

I, for one, couldn't be happier about the way this works.

Do You Anthropologie?

Do you ever shop at Anthropologie?  I know so many people who are addicted to that place, and truly live for their sales.  I go back and forth - I think a lot of their stuff is way overpriced (at least for my budget) for what it is, and I also think a lot of their stuff is just too much.  Too cool, too perfect - you know what I mean.  But I also like a lot of the things they sell.  I don't go in to the store all that often, so I can't really claim to be an expert.

For reasons that I can't explain, I got a coupon in the mail at the end of February, giving me 15% off on any purchase during the month of March, for my birthday.  As I said, I have no idea why I got it, but I figured it was worth going in to look around and see if I wanted to treat myself to anything.  I saw a few things I really liked, but decided were either too young for me, or just more than I would be willing to spend, for what they were.  I was walking out, and I saw a t-shirt that really struck me.  I took a closer look, and decided that if the price was in any way reasonable, I was going to use my coupon and buy it.  So I did, and here is what it looks like:

Pretty, right?  I love the shade of blue, and the fruit print is fresh, but not too sweet or hipster-y.  With my coupon, it was a price that I was willing to pay.  I like the way it looks on me, and am looking forward to wearing it.  (So of course now we are having a cold spell again!)  When I was checking out, the clerk said, "This is the kind of shirt I can see myself wearing while drinking a margarita."  At which point I really wanted a margarita.  (It was 11:00 a.m.)

So I am very happy with my Anthropologie purchase.  It's nicely made, and even fairly practical, and will be a versatile addition to my wardrobe.  It also made it possible for me to get rid of another shirt from my existing wardrobe that I finally admitted to myself that I would never wear again.  Hopefully someone will want to give it a good home, and think it's beautiful.

I'm not sure when I'll visit Anthropologie again, but I'm happy that I had the coupon to give me a push this time.

The Monthly Review

Do you "review" your makeup regularly?  Well I do, every month.  Yep.  Every month, I wash my makeup brushes* and go through my makeup to decide what has or has not worked.  Sometimes I resurrect things I've put away, and other times I add some new things.  At changes of seasons, I do adjust things like lipstick colors - for instance, really dark colors get put away in spring and summer.  It's all part of my desire for organization, and my low-level OCD.

I recently saw a segment on a TV show about a quick way to do everyday makeup that looked polished and natural.  So of course I became obsessed.  I had a gift certificate to Blue Mercury, and so today on my way home from a dr's appointment, I stopped and treated myself to two eyeshadows that - in theory at least - will work for this "look."  The person who waited on me tried it on me as I had described, and I liked the way it highlighted my eyes without making me look like I was loaded down with eye makeup.  Which let's face it, is not a look I want every day at work.

I bought a Bobbi Brown cream eyeshadow in Suede:

and a regular eyeshadow in Slate:

Now - just for the record, it's not that I spend a lot of time on my makeup on any regular day.  But I am, in the end, lazy and as a result, any way it can be even less time, and still look good, works for me.

Whether this will all really work for me, or passes the test of staying for more than a month, who knows?  But I plan to have some fun trying it, that's for sure!

*Yes, I know I should clean them more frequently.  But it's an improvement for me, since I used to just use them until they were really disgusting, and then throw them away.  Baby steps, people ...