High Five for Friday

I hope you all had a good week!

It has turned to summer around these parts, which is very much right on time, and I'm enjoying the few final weeks of low humidity before my hair starts to become quite a hassle to style!

My mom is coming this weekend and then my family is taking a trip over memorial day weekend down to south carolina--so lots to look forward to next week!

Here are my top 5 things this week!

1. My new iphone case arrived! I ordered this one from Rifle Paper Co. and absolutely love it. I chose the slim case ( I really don't like bulky, rubber-y cases ) and am very pleased with it! 

*follow on instagram at K8_smallthings

2. I'm really loving Oscar Blandi's Hair Lift mousse. I mentioned it in a few videos this month, so there's a chance you've heard me talk about it already. I use it in conjunction with Aquage Uplifiting Foam, although each of these products on their own would be great! If you can't get your hands on Aquage products (can only be purchased at Aquage salons), try this from Oscar Blandi.

3. My husband and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary on Wednesday. It has truly been a wonderful 4 years, and I'm so thankful for the time we've had together "just the two of us". While we of course look forward to having children, I'll always cherish these years we had!

4. I deep conditioned my hair with this mask this week. I just love the way it smells and how it makes my hair feel!

5. The mocha cookie crumble has returned to Starbucks for the summer. It will never compare to how delicious the Mint Mocha Chip was (remember that?) but it has become a favorite "dessert" drink of mine!

How was your week? If you write a high five for friday post, link up over at Lauren Elizabeth! 

Condition It.

Amika        It's a 10        Macadamia        Redken

Summer can be pretty rough on our hair. So can winter. Spring and fall are relatively gentle <---felt the need to include that just so I could go through all the seasons.

It's a great idea to deep condition your hair at the very least once a month. Depending on your texture, condition, and what your stylist recommends--you can deep condition up to once a week (this may be excessive for most textures, and really is aimed at very processed, dry and brittle hair).

If you have virgin hair (hair that has not been colored), and it's in pretty good condition, I'd recommend deep conditioning about once a month. 

If you have gently colored hair, maybe a few highlights or occasionally a demi-permanent gloss, it wouldn't hurt to deep condition at least two times a month.

If you have heavily colored hair, dry or brittle hair, or any texture that is excessively dry (colored or not), I'd recommend deep conditioning 2-3 times a month. 

The best time to deep condition is after your hair is freshly washed. Distribute a healthy amount of the deep conditioner all over your hair (avoid your roots if you struggle with a lot of oil production) , and rake through it with your fingers to spread it from roots to tips. If you need it, grab a very wide tooth comb, like this one, to comb the product through your hair. Follow the timing directions on the bottle, although most deep conditioners say to leave it in anywhere from 5-15 minutes. 

To maximize the benefits, twist your hair gently into a bun, and secure lightly with a plastic clip. Put on a plastic cap, and if you really want to take it to the next level you can wrap a warm towel around your head. Place cucumbers slices on your eyes and take a nap. That's an order.

Deep conditioned hair may weigh a little bit more than usual, so don't be surprised if your hair feels heavy or very soft afterwards. It's a good sign. My hair usually needs a rest day when I deep condition it, and it's back to normal the following day. 

My favorite deep conditioner is the Amika Nourishing Mask. I received a sample of it in a Birchbox awhile ago and fell in love with it. I just ordered the tub using some Birchbox points! It may be the best smelling hair product on the market.

If you don't know where to start when picking out a deep conditioner, ask your stylist. He or she can help you based on what they see your hair may need. Proteins for building, oils for softening, etc.

Happy hair conditioning!

Love Your Hair

The right hair product can make or break a fantastic haircut.

As a hairstylist, saying that I'm a "product junkie" is quite the understatement. I love trying out new products and mixing and matching until I find the perfect concoctions. There's such a huge variety in hair textures and needs and, thankfully, there are thousands of products that serve as styling aids to help encourage a great hair day. I've enjoyed the challenge of pairing the right product with the right texture in my experience of working behind the chair. I know the feeling of a "good hair day" and really hope my clients experience those more often than not!

ULTA Beauty is celebrating "Love Your Hair" for 21 days, May 12-June 1. It includes hair events, demos, and prizes that are sure to help you love your hair. Everyday there will be a Beauty Steal™ on hair products and tools--a great time to stock up on your favorites or try out something new!

 

 

These were some of my favorite products that will be offered during the Love Your Hair event. Abba Shampoo and Conditioner was new to me, but I was pretty impressed. It was light and fresh. I also really loved the silkiness that Orofluido Beauty Elixir left on my ends. I was able to get great volume, which is my measure of hair product success, after using a few of these!

 

 

There are so many products to choose from, it's hard not to find something you'll love. 

ULTA Beauty is promoting a "hair pledge" for women to love the hair they have for a chance to win free blowouts for a year. I'm a big advocate for loving your hair, so I love that ULTA is encouraging women to look at their hair in a positive light. All you have to do is tweet your hair pledge with the hashtag #ULTAhairpledge and you'll be entered to win. This starts on May 12th.

 

On top of this Love Your Hair event, ULTA Beauty and BlogHer have provided a $100.00 ULTA Beauty gift card for me to giveaway to a lucky reader! Enter to win by answering the question in bold (leave your e-mail address in the comment too!)below.

 

Are you an experimenter, or a "I'll stick with what I know works" kind of product user? I have my all-time favorites, that I always have in back stock under my bathroom sink, but I love incorporating something new that looks appealing.

 

 

 

Sweepstakes Rules:

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: "#SweepstakesEntry"; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/15/13 – 6/1/13.

Be sure to visit the ULTA Beauty page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

 

Homemade Rosemary and Peppermint Foot Scrub

We're approaching that time of year where sandals and other strappy toe & heel baring shoes make their way into our wardrobe. And if you're like me and haven't had a pedicure in about a 5 months it may be time to give your feet a little tlc. 

What you won't find on this post? Photos of my feet. Not because I don't like them, I think they are fine, but simply because there is no way, NO WAY I tell you, to photograph feet in a "cute, blog-able" way. So, I will trust that your imaginations will fill in the "steps" where my feet are not shown.

First, this is the easiest project you may ever do. And you can create whatever "flavor" or type of scrub you desire. You can swap out salt for sugar, kosher salt for sea salt, peppermint for vanilla, etc. It's completely up to you.

I was in a minty fresh mood when I created this scrub so I reached for the peppermint essential oil and the rosemary. I was wavering between that combo or perhaps grinding up some coffee beans and mixing a little vanilla in for a coffee scrub. Maybe I'll do that next week. 

So, grab your ingredients of choice and measure out, to your liking, what you would like to mix it. I like using table salt and kosher salt for a variety in grit.

Here are my rough measurements for a 1 time use scrub on 2 feet.

1/4 cup Kosher salt

1 tbsp table salt

1 tsp coconut oil

2 tbsp olive oil

3 drops peppermint oil

1/2 tsp rosemary

Toss everything in a cup, and stir together. If it's too dry, add a bit more oil. If it's too wet, add more salt.

I loved the fresh smell of this scrub and the peppermint oil completely cleared my sinuses as I used in on the shower*. My feet felt smooth and hydrated when I was finished. 

Have you made a homemade scrub before? What are your favorite ingredients? 

*of course, be careful using this in the shower since the oil will be slippery on the shower floor. And use a plastic container, instead of glass, to avoid a potential disaster of glass shards in the shower from a broken dish. This did not happen, but in hindside I should have grabbed a plastic bowl! 

Double Braided Ponytail tutorial

Today's tutorial is a quick and simple way to wear a ponytail. It's perfect to prepare for those hot summer months when you just want your hair off your neck! 

While I did this tutorial on straight hair, I think it would look great on curly hair as well, so don't hesitate to give it a try even though your texture may be a bit different.

The type of french braid I did in this tutorial is called a dutch braid, and you can learn how to do that here.

Recovery

The thing about being under the weather is that everything on your "to do" list never gets done.

My house is a mess.

I have spent literally the bare minimum amount of time on my blog this week. 

All I do is sit on the couch after an exhausting day at the studio.

Grits has been my buddy.

It's mentally hard to be sick! And I've really realized how much I take my health for granted! I have a to do list a mile long and usually I chip away at it at a regular pace. But this week, it became stagnant. And I really struggle with that.

I'm not good at rest. I like to do. I like to go go go and take on new responsibilities and projects. But I learned a very valuable lesson this week--rest is good. And there are going to be chapters in my life that require rest. And that's okay. Be prepared for those. 

So, I've added a few more things to my "to do" list now that I'm feeling better. First, draft some back up posts for weeks like this. I usually spend a little bit of time on the weekend and a lot of time on Mondays and Tuesdays when I'm not in the studio to draft my posts for the week ahead. But when the weekend and my blog work days are taken from me? I got nothin'. 

Secondly, I'd love to embrace rest better--and not look at it as a hinderance.

I'm filming a new tutorial this weekend for Monday (glad to be getting back to doing those!) and hoping to have fresh, new content all next week! Thanks for bearing with me during this dud week here on the blog.

Mothers (or mother-figure) Gift Guide

While I was certainly blessed with a wonderful mother, there have been several other women in my life that have been particularly meaningful to me as well. And as this day approaches where we "honor" our mothers with a gift or sentiment, I think it's also important to be sensitive to those who don't look forward to this day--for whatever reason.

I know so many women who have lost their mothers, who are longing to become mothers themselves, or never had a relationship with their mother. 

So for the women in your life, who have had some sort of "motherly" affect on you--I think we should thank them too. And yes, their birthday is a good time to do that --but I imagine a "thank you" card, or small sentiment, on Mother's Day would be particularly meaningful as well.

Here are a few of my top gift picks for that person in your life.

1. Who doesn't love a gift box full of bath items?

2. A mint jewelry box. 

3. A pretty catch-all bowl.

4. Lovely hand creme.

5. Very decadent body products.

6. One of those beauty items that is nice to have that you wouldn't often think to buy for yourself.

7. Cute little animals that could live on a side table.

8. A magazine subscription--the gift that keeps on giving! 

9. Such a cute, and useful, salt pig. I'd love to own this--I'm a big salt fan!