Style Lush

The Sock Bun

By Hillary

I love the sock bun for numerous reasons. You can make it polished and formal or leave it messy and casual. You don't need perfectly blown out hair to make a sock bun; it actually works best with messy, air-dried, second day hair. Of course my favourite part of the sock bun is that it looks like I spent 15 minutes doing my hair when really it takes about 15 seconds to do. 

Right! You need a few things to make a sock bun: a hair elastic, a few bobby pins, and a sock that you don't mind destroying (you don't need to match the sock to your hair colour but it should be similar. I used an old black sock for my dark hair.) 

Put your hair up in a ponytail wherever you want your sock bun to be. I don't have bangs so I did a little side part and pinned my layers on the side. Sock buns look fantastic with bangs, though.

 

Cut the toe off your sock.

Roll it up until you have a little sock donut.

Thread your ponytail through the sock donut until the donut lies flat against your head.

Spread your ponytail out and over the sock donut. I find this step easiest to do if I flip my head forward. You want the sock donut to be completely covered by your hair (but it's okay if a bit of the sock shows through because you used a sock that is similar to the colour of your hair!)

Hold your hair in place and use your other hand to sweep the hair around (and slightly under) the sock donut. This step takes me about 3 seconds because I don't care if it's a bit messy. If you want your sock bun to look polished, take your time and really tuck the pieces in and around the sock donut.

Secure your sock bun with a few bobby pins.



You end up with a nice, full bun even if you don't have much length or fullness to your hair.

Baby cuddles always win out over getting ready for work so the sock bun is the perfect hairstyle for me. It takes just a few seconds longer to do than a simple ponytail but looks polished enough for the office. 

Color Glaze: Yes or No?

By Tara

I've been using John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Daily shampoo and conditioner ever since my sister-in-law raved about the Sheer Blonde line a couple of years ago, and I've never had a complaint. I don't get any kind of residue build-up that some other shampoos seemed to leave behind, but it's not so thin that I feel like I'm using water.

And because I liked the shampoo/conditioner so much, I decided to try the Liquid Shine Glosser, as a straightening serum, and I'm kind of in love with it, too. I thought it wasn't doing much for me a couple of months ago, so I stopped using it for awhile, and it turns out, I was wrong. It was actually keeping my hair from looking like a dry, limp, mess of nothingness every day, which is pretty much all I want from any hair product, so I added that back to my hair routine.

But, since I can't ever seem to leave well enough alone, I'm on the hunt for my next favorite hair product. And I'm wondering if I've found it in the Luminous Color Glaze, which advertises itself as a temporary/slight hair color that you can apply right in the shower. I've never been big on coloring my hair, for the simple reason that I am much too lazy to deal with the upkeep it would require, so I'm hoping this might be a little something extra that will add some shine, while also helping to cover those stupid gray hairs that keep sneaking in when I'm not looking. Plus, the reviews I've read all seem positive, so I figure it's worth a shot.

So, what say you, lovely readers? Has anyone tried this product in the past? Worth it, or waste of time?

{photo credit: all photos are from johnfrieda.com}

Pretty Ponytails

The ponytail gets a bad rap. Sure, we throw our hair into ponytails when we don't have time or when our hair is being difficult (like mine has been, lately), but the ponytail can also be gorgeous and stylish. Here are three tutorials for pretty ponytails: 

Messy Side Ponytail

Knot Your Average Pony

Formal Ponytail

Do you wear your hair in a ponytail?

{Illustration by Inslee}

Adult Hair Clips

By Jen

I am trying to become a person who accessorizes. In this quest, I've been looking at hair clips that I think I could pull off as an adult. 

{Image credit: Little Birdie Secrets}

{Image credit: Melinda Rose Design}

{Image credit: Flowersbythevase}

What do you think?  Can I pull them off or should I stick to my trusty elastic hair bands?

Hair Dryer as Flat Iron

By Beth

My hair is problematic.  I won't go into the details (yet again), but it takes significant amounts of hair product and ages with a blow dryer and round brush to get it just how I want it, which is straight.  Since spending half an hour on my hair rarely makes it onto my daily priority list, I generally run around town in a nasty mom-ponytail, which makes me feel like a slob.

But I have a new trick!  I blow dry my totally-dry hair with a round brush and a high-powered blow dryer with one of those condenser things on the end.

And it works!  I mean, it isn't the world's most perfect hair, but it is done and it is decent and in five minutes or less I can have my hair done with no ponytail holder in sight.

Now, this works for me only if I have not previously styled my hair, as in it has been washed and air dryed, even slept in.  And I have to have no product in my hair other than my usual straightening shampoo and conditioner.  But it works for me, I swear it does.

I'm curious, has anyone else every tried this?  Does it work for you?

Photo credit: Amazon.com

Found: My Holy Grail Hair Product, Resurrected

By Kate

I have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to achieve just the right beachy waves look for my hair. Easily tousled, with a little bit of volume and some wave -- but not too much! And lo, it has been harder than I'd like. 

When John Frieda discontinued their much-loved Sea Spray for hair, I was, well, sad doesn't even begin to cover it. That was the perfect hair product -- not heavy, but gave your hair perfect piecey, wavy, beachy texture without being sticky and had a light salty coconut-y smell. It even worked on my stick-straight, super baby fine hair. All this, and it was CHEAP to boot. It was truly my holy grail hair product.

I have long searched for a replacement with no luck. Bumble and Bumble's Surf Spray had the right smell, but the wrong texture (and was uber pricey.). Garnier's sea spray didn't do anything at all. John Frieda briefly revived something sort of similar, but formulated differently with lots of silicones and consequently all wrong. Other, pricier replacements also just fell flat. Most of them literally.

Y'all, I have finally found it. The perfect replacement. At WalMart, of all places. It's Not Your Mother's Beach Babe Texturizing Sea Salt Spray, and it is amazing. Just a little bit gives your hair a touchable wave that lasts, and best of all, it is less than $5. 

What is your holy grail hair product?

{photo credit: NYMBrands}

Using a Chi Flat Iron, or Why My Hair No Longer Hates Me

By Tara

I should probably just title this post My Sister Buys Really, Really Awesome Gifts, because she totally does. I've wanted a Chi flat iron for a very long time, but because my hair is pretty thin, I never really felt like I should spend the money to buy a good straightener for it.

But I have been wrong for all of this time, because the Chi that my sister got me for Christmas might be my most favorite hair product of all time.

Although my hair is thin, it has a kink to it. A very stubborn kink. And to get rid of that kink, it takes some aggressive flat ironing, which led to a lot of broken hair with my old $15 straightener. But this one? Straight, shiny hair in no time at all, with absolutely zero pulling/breakage. After two weeks of using it, I am hooked.

I still don't know if I would spend the money on it myself, but as a gift? It's perfect.

(Also, who am I kidding? I would absolutely spend the money on it myself, if anything happened to this one, because I don't think I could ever go back now. Unless my sister wants to keep me in a steady rotation of flat irons, that is...)

Leak-Proof Travel on the Cheap

By Leah

I apologize for posting this after you've completed all your holiday travel, but stick this tip in your back pocket for later, and maybe plan a trip for spring just so you can try it out:

One thing remains constant in my air-travel experience: my container of moisturizer gets jacked up on the plane. Since I pack it in my checked luggage with my other toiletries, it gets thrown around a lot between Points A and B, and whenever I take my first peek at it once I've arrived at my destination, the only unknown is which brand of jacked up it will be. Squeeze bottles explode with the change in air pressure, pumps leak, and containers with lids become covered with goo both inside and out. Just to save everything around the moisturizer, I'd taken to sealing each individual problem container in its own plastic bag so I could at least scrape out the leaked contents and use them instead of just wash them down the sink. 

Lightbulb!

Last time I flew I took a spoon to my jar of moisturizer and scooped out the perfect amount directly into a zippered baggie. Nothing leaked and it took up a fraction of the space of an entire jar.

From now on I'm doing this with moisturizer, sunscreen, and even shampoo and conditioner. I'm a changed woman. A changed woman who needs to book a flight somewhere fun.

To Bang or not to Bang?

by Natalie

Well, lovely readers, it's that time again. Riiight about this same time last year, I asked you all if I should cut my hair. You came out in full force with great advice and I got spooked and totally got a medium length cut and... no. I should have gone big and cut it all off or not cut it at all; the medium length didn't do a thing for me and I ended up growing it all out again anyway.

So! Brisk clap and fast forward a year, and I'm back in the same spot. Though I'm not ready to make the total chop, what kind of advice can you give me on bangs? I've got a whole Pinterest board dedicated to haircuts at the moment, so I think that right there should tell me something.

At the moment I look like this, though not always with a cup of coffee in front of my face (though OFTEN with coffee in front of my face):

And I can usually be found wearing my hair like this (in a knot on top of my head):

(Side note of advice: if you are the chief picture taker in your family, please do yourself a favor and teach your significant other how to use your camera so that there will be semi-decent of pictures of you taken at SOME POINT in your life. I have obviously not gotten around to teaching my husband these things yet.)

Here are the bangs that have me thinking "yes! I like! I could possily still even rock a top knot with these bangs and it might not even look too crazy!"

Do you like option A: longer, choppy, able to be pulled back bangs?

{Photo credit: apartment34.blogspot.com}

Option B: Zooey's (the patron saint of bangs) long ones that can be sideswept?

{Photo credit: thefuchsiaelephant.tumblr.com}

Or option C: a mix of those?

{Photo credit: hairstyles-blog.info}

Or do you think, as my husband does, that those are all THE SAME BANGS?

Let me know your thoughts, lovely people. Any and all opinions welcome... I have a hair appointment tomorrow!

Help me curl my hair.

by Christina

I've been flat ironing my poor hair into submission for years. I have plenty of hair but it's fine, and a little unruly if I don't blow it out properly and then iron it. But I've been wearing this same look for a really long time. I've had a few cuts over the years but I've always worn it straight. Then, this weekend, my husband said something about maybe trying to curl it. Hmm, okay. The more I thought about it, it sounded like fun. I love my current cut so this would be a fun way to change it up for date night or some random day that I feel like doing something a little bit different. Not an original or ground breaking thought, I know. This is what I want it to look like..

(via hitfix)

It's of Christina Applegate in Samantha Who. My hair is a little longer than hers but still. Super cute wavy-curls. So, how do I do it, use rollers or a curling iron or one of those funky wands that A'Dell asked about? A few of you like those. I own a huge barrel iron and that totally didn't work. Any advice? I have a date this weekend and would love to try it out!