Side Swept Glamour

The side ponytail is huge lately. And I've got to say, I don't hate it. The look is glam, yet low maintenance and is the perfect solution for what I like to call "next day hair".

You know what I mean. It's Sunday morning and your hair is still a little wavy and styled from your Saturday night hair look...Instead of simply pulling it back into a messy bun or regular ponytail, try an updated side version.

The look is a throwback to the 80s (which is still hot right now), but with a little more elegance. To pull it off, leave your hair fairly natural. Mine is a little wavy, but if you have straight hair or super curly hair it still looks great. Run a pea-sized amount of smoothing hair lotion through your locks, give yourself a side part, and sweep your hair to the side (low, at the nape of your neck). Secure with an elastic or a big hair clip. For going out, I love some of the new embellished ones that are coming out with huge crystals or small simple flowers.

Paris Hilton does this well, and lately it seems like all the celebs are embracing this side swept look. It's different and can definitely take your look from day to night. It is just so versatile that it literally works for every occasion. And what's not to love about that?

Vintage Chic

I love lockets. Always have, always will. I just love the idea of being able to keep your fave picture (in mini-size) with you at all times. Not to mention, looking totally fab while doing it.

Kuo Ting’s "Vintage Heart Necklace" (found at CoutureCandy.com) is absolutely gorgeous. It is tiny and delicate, and actually looks like something that could have been passed down for generations.

The piece is $66. Not cheap, but not steep either. You could easily get away with wearing this everyday, so I think it's well worth it.

Lockets are big right now, but they never really go out of style. So, ditch your huge layered necklaces for a while, and throw on a classy locket. I promise, you'll look divine.

Glossy Hair Sans Grease

So getting my hair to do anything decent can take me up to two hours. No joke. as I've said before, my hair is literally a cocktail of wavy frizz grossness when left to it's own devices. I've tried to embrace my waves, but I find I have to put so much product in my hair to get rid of the frizz, and by that point my hair just looks greasy.

So I usually stick to flat ironing it.

Still, that is damaging to the hair (I have breakage galore) and getting all the flyaways and frizzies straight is ridiculously difficult.

So thank god for Frederic Fekkai's Glossing Creme ($19.50-$26.50 at Sephora). Now I can get away with doing a so-so straightening job and smoothing out the rest with this stuff.

To use correctly, I take a tiny bit (really, just barely enough to feel on my hands) and work it through my hair from the tips up--the tips are often the most prone to breakage and frizz. Then I blow dry. Then out comes the flat iron and I do my thang for a bit. Immediately, my hair looks shiny and all hairs are in place. Simply amazing.

For particularly humid days, I'll take another very small squirt and run it through (again from ends up) to avoid frizziness later.

I'm in love with this stuff. If you aren't sure you're ready to spend the big bucks, a small trial size is available from Sephora as well for around $9. The best part is that this stuff lasts forever since you only use the smallest amount at a time.

Woohoo! I love hair miracles!

Lip Smackin' Good

No matter what expensive lip gloss I find, I keep on coming back to Lip Smacker Dr. Pepper lip gloss.

It's the perfect color for us fair-skinned mavens. When I put it on, my lips immediately have just a tint of light red to them, which looks natural and simply gorgeous. I love wearing this particularly in the summer, because who wants to look overdone with bright red lipstick while beachin' it? Not me.

You can pick up this fabulous beauty find at most drugstores for under $2. Not bad for a natural lip look. An added bonus? The flavor is divine and smells just like that classic soda that we all know and love. Yum.

Tweeze Please!!

If you've been reading this blog for a bit, you must know how I feel about unruly eyebrows--I hate them.

My brows are fairly decent, and I usually only need to pluck a few stray hairs every couple of weeks.

That said, I'm in love with Tweezerman's animal print tweezers. I mean, come on! They're adorable. Personally, I really dig the zebra print, but they all rock in their own unique ways.

And for $25 at Sephora, how can you go wrong?

Have a friend who is tweezer-wary? Show her these gorgeous pluckers and let the magic happen. They're too awesome to resist.

Sorry, Guys!

It's been a while since my last post. My grandpa died on June 26th and I've been an emotional wreck, and just simply haven't felt like writing or even had the time.

But I'm starting to get back into the swing of things and figured I'd start off with a blog about my gramps.

He was really like a second dad to me, and really was the most hilarious guy in the world. He was really special to me.

Fashion-wise, he was always dressed for success. Even while he was in the hospital (battling lung cancer) he looked pretty suave.

My grandpa has really helped me become who I am today and I miss him greatly. I have so many great memories of our time together and I know that he is in a better place now.

Love you always, gramps!!