Link Update & Call for Entries

Just in time for the gift giving season, I am asking you, my handful of readers to submit their favorite man-products (via email: alicewetterlund@mac.com, por favor!). Any unisex or dude-specific products that you/ men you know especially like, please spill it! I'm not talking just fanciness here either, if you are all secretly really into sea-breezing your forearms or something, I-- I mean my readers, have a right to know.

Also, I've added some links of friends and family, and my other personal web presences to my list so you can e-stalk me more effectivley. Links: Check 'em out.

Things That Are Worth your Hard Earned Cheese*

I'm gonna do one of those splurge vs. save features they put in women's magazines, except mine will be catered more to people who are living close to or exactly my life. Which is fine, because 80% of my readers are doing that. It means, more than anything else, that the items in the "splurge" category are in the expensive-yet-justifiable range (as opposed to exorbitant or just plain ripoff-caliber) and the "save" category is under $10 bucks or free. At the end of the post is a haircare-related SPLURGE/SAVE to inaugurate my mom posting for the 1st time ever to the blog I made her.

SPLURGE:
See a movie in New York City: Namely "No Country for Old Men" Josh Brolin + Texan Accent + Cohen Bros. Admirable return to form= H.O.T. Worth $11.

SAVE:
Taking the B61 Bus between Greenpoint and the North 7th bedford stop. So bad it's not even worth $2. Think about it- if it's raining you might get wet walking but you will probably wait at least 20 minutes for the bus, so you'll get wet anyway. In fact I am kind of advocating skipping the subway or bus whenever possible. I wish all kinds of bad on the MTA, it's like run by Mordor except without the organization.

SPLURGE: Kristen Lee Shoes (shown above is her "Newsome Bootie"). They are well made, comfortable and stylish without being trendy knockoffs. She's quoted as saying she designs in reaction to "shoes out there being designed by men for this idea of a sexy woman." Made in Italy, biotch.

SAVE: Kmart Basic Editions Black "keds." As worn by me, the lead singer from These Are Powers, other style icons. They're 6.99. Not so waterproof.

SPLURGE: Phyt club! If it makes me a yuppie to buy phytologie hair products then it might be worth it? The company's founder, shown at left, looks to be the Parisian hairstyling scene's answer to Father Yod, and the products themselves have indeed garnered quite a cult following. I wanted to wait until I'd been using their Phytocitrus vital radiance shampoo with grapefruit extract for color treated hair for about a month. The results: I have seen the light, am converted. I'm talking noticeable radiance and much less fading of my dyed red mop, red being notoriously difficult to maintain. $24.00 for 6.7oz. I'm also a believer in the vital radiance mask with plant butters and grapefruit extract, $22 for 3.3 oz.

SAVE: Fekkai: Stop the insanity! $ 28.50 16 oz. of Apple Cider Clarifying Shampoo, or if you want the effects of apple cider vinegar (a super useful home remedy capable of restoring the scalp's natural PH balance), get a bottle of apple cider vinegar for about $3, put a tablespoon in a mug of warm water and pour onto freshly shampooed hair. Wrap hair in a towel, wait 10 minutes and style as usual. Fekkai is annoying, and most of their products are overpriced and overhyped, but I will be fair and vouch for their Glossing Cream, because my mom loves it, and their Wash & Wear spray: No kidding, my boyfriend cannot tell the difference between clean hair and week-old gym hair when I spray it on. However, not everyone has had such a positive experience. Also- maybe it's just Windex?

*Note to my nerdy readers and family members: Cheese = Money

YO

My mom still hasn't posted on the blog I made her, so I've instituted a moratorium on posting useful, health & beauty related content until she does.

Until then, help me out over at FISTACUFFS by voting for you top 10 favorite girl-mascots for the blog. Mine is called Syntax Error! You need to have a blogspot account to post comments, fyi. My list of faves is towards the bottom of the list in case you want to know who I like.

Glamourous, Glowing Glitteration

Ok, so I did my research, I field tested, and the results are in. What to do when you want to be a face-glitter girl and you have the greasy skin (or any type of skin, really): Glitter eyes for day, or night even, should not be layered with color. I know I said I'd never be one of those "rules of makeup" hoes, but trust me- unless you want to look like you spent too long at the M.A.C. counter. Makeup that's "just a touch Bowie" is so much more rockin' than full on Bowie. Cuz you're not Bowie, only Bowie is. If really you want color with sparkle, I hear that Bobbi Brown Long Wear Cream Shadow will not crease, and comes in 16 shades of joy [via BBTBB].

So, with actual glitter the secret is to let the glitter itself be the color: for a cooler space-age look, wear silver glitter, for a more hippy-dippy look, choose warmer, but still neutral tones. It's best to get a loose glitter in a pot, Mattese NYC (which you get at Ricky's) has a vast color selection and the peices are really small, which is better. Now here is the incredible secret ingredient: waterproof fixer. Make Up Forever has a great one. Fixer is basically an adhesive that is safe for eye-area application and transforms non-waterproof makeup into long-lasting-go-nowhere goodness. Sqirt a little onto the back of your hand, dip a makeup brush into the glitter and mix with the fixer, then apply it to your lid, or undereye, or wherev. It will stay amzing for hours. Follow these instructions how to apply of the rest of your look.

My moms used to yell at me for wearing glitter on my eyes because she thought it would get into my ducts and cause a stye! It did, but stye is just one 'L' away from style, and that's close enough for me. Anyhoo, CONTEST! First reader to comment with their favorite Bowie song gets a set of Make Up Forever waterproof makeup including Mascara, Eyeliner, Eye Seal and Waterproof Sensitive Eye Cleanser. It's not used, okay? Jeez. It comes in an actual box.

♥ PB

PS. If you hate all Bowie songs but still want the goods, you crazy, but you can go ahead and comment with how many times I said "Bowie" in this post.

Beesley Hair

So, in honor of The Office being on tv again (Yes, I can haz TV), I'm doing a hair post because my hair is just like Pam's: Flat as a pancake (made of hair) on top and kinky beneath. Apparently it's a common prob, so says my hairstylist,* Laura. But I never read this problem being addressed in Allure or any other beauty mags or columns, so I'm breaking the story here! WTF is with curly-on-bottom hair? My friend Chelsea says she thinks it's because bottom hair is dirtier (ew), and I suspect it's because the bottom layers are less damaged and are exposed to more humidity from the neck sweat region (double ew). Regardless, while you struggle to maintain some sort of wave equilibrium, it's important to not damage the hair you are trying to straighten or curl, because this will just lead to more drama. Go ahead and get a hairdryer with a nozzle, says Laura. When you point the dryer at the separate sections (which you should do, from a close range, but never let the dryer just sit in one spot), the nozzle will prevent the hot air from going every which way, creating frizzies. Always aim the nozzle in the direction of the hair growth so you're not teasing your delicate mane with hot, damaging air. That's like when you pet a cat in the opposite direction of the fur growth. They hate that! I'ts good to use a styling spray with heat protection in it too (apply before drying, after washing). I'm partial to Bumble and Bumble's Thickening Spray.

One more tip- for those of you that work in an office like Pam and think it's necessary to shampoo each day. Its so, so not necessary to shampoo daily! Even if your hair is fine and your scalp is oily- try brushing! That oil is good for your ends. We at Cheek Beauty shampoo thrice weekly at the most, and we only hit the roots with the sudz, not the ends. In the inbetween days you can spritz your hair with the amazing Summer Hair Wash and Wear by Fred Fekkai. Our boyfriend cannot tell that we haven't washed our hair in a week when we spray it on, and neither can we, except that we know cuz we were the ones who did it. Anyway it's awesome.

*Yeah I have a hair person now. Sigh. But I do love her! She gives me beer. Go see her at Public (in the 'burg).

A Chat About Hair

The esteemed Esperanza and I politik about our hair on our way out the door:

me: Ok toots! Call me tomorrow or im me

We will hook up

Esperanza: ok, will do sweets
yay!

12:57me: I'll try to have concept hair or makeup for you

Esperanza: yes PLEASE

shave my HEAD

me: hah

I feel you with that one

Esperanza: i'm sure you'll come up with something fab

haha

me: I'm all, why does someone come in the night and only gheri curl the BOTTOM layer of my hair?

every night

Esperanza: HAHA

yes, precisely

that is what I ask every morning

12:59 me: haha! I'm glad I'm not alone

Esperanza: i could tell you stories, haha

1:00 me: Totally! Plus my scalp is like waco a few days after the fire

Ok, gotta go get ready now

Esperanza: its all hurricane katrina on my head

Lori I didn't forget you.

I'm drafting a post about glitter eye makeup options for you greasy-glowy girls, and I promise it will be rule. But I saw this on Jezebel and I had to throw this up: So according to Shopping.com the most popular pop-culture costume idea was a Jail-Bird Paris Hilton. Wee-he-hellll I happen know a girl in L.A. that works at a fancy lingerie store and apparently Paris came in and bought a jailbird-themed lingerie ensemble "for Halloween". I guess so that everyone would be like "Oh of course!" when they see her. Seriously why so predictable? Maybe she saw the poll. But know that it will be lingerie with some accents to designate it as a "costume," A la Mean Girls.

Blue Nails and Glitter Makeup: Why Am I 12?

Oh man! It's been awhile. I have left my dozens of readers bewildered and wandering the isles of Ulta III wondering what is the new thinking woman's nail polish for fall (It's navy blue, btw. Try Russian Navy by Opi) Busy with daily grad school application freakouts, and ofcourse, Topmodel Cycle 9 amazingtown. I, like Rich of the afore-linked fourfour, love Heather to peices. I'm so excited that reality TV is getting the representation of Asbergers People it has always needed. You have Heather, and basically half the contestants of The Pick-up Artist. Especially Scott. God I love and miss Scott!Especially how he was always waking up at 6 to go over his notes from Mystery. So logical! And fuzzy! Fuzzy-logical! Anyway, Heather has already won my heart and I can't wait to tune in tonight to see the first real photoshoots that will look like they are Sketchers ads from 3 years ago and utterly arbitrary challenges.

Anyway! I have 1 tip for you- Anna Sui, with her nasty ass, showed glitter makeup in her spring runway show. In case anyone wants to wear glitter in a un-halloweeny frightfest prior to Oct. 31, here's how I'd do it. Pick a cream shadow with some intense shimmer in it. The one I use you can only buy in the UK now for some reason, so just go to the store and look for one you like. It should be a cream or liquid in a neutral shade that goes with your skin and has major shimmer but not a ton of actual giant glitter chunks. Now here is the key: Put that shit on first! Before concealer or whatever. Smear it all over your eye, lash to brow and all over under the eye too. Now, wash your hands so you don't get the glitter everywhere whilst putting on the rest of your face. Follow with your foundation, applying it over the glittered areas but wiping off your hands or applicator often as you apply. Follow with mascara and rouge and gloss or some subtle lipcolor. Last, take a Kleenex or piece of cloth and blot yover all the glitter areas. This will polish the tiny pieces of glitter and make them really sparkle.