A veteran magazine beauty editor/writer (and a member of the 40+ club), Genevieve Monsma created MediumBlonde to help Gen Xers and Baby Boomers age the way they want.
All in Hair
If you’re a regular reader, you know I’m a fan of purple shampoos to combat unwanted yellow tones in my (salon-blonded) hair. I thought I’d tried pretty much every purple haircare option out there. Then I discovered this.
As part of a regular series, I’ll be asking inspiring, in-the-know women to share their best tips and favorite products. The point? As always, to find out what works. Today's beauty insider: Barbara Close, Founder and CEO of Naturopathica
This post is the third in a series on weaning myself off my blowdryer—and learning to like my natural waves. The first post tackled the importance of moisture, the second explained how to make a product cocktail to coax beachy waves, and this installment is all about what to do when you wake up the day after you’ve shampooed and styled…and your hair looks like an SOS pad.
Earlier this month, I started a series outlining how I care for my wavy hair. As someone who has regularly straightened her hair for years (most of my adult life), learning to style my waves (and actually liking the way they looked) has taken time—like a year and counting. For a longtime beauty editor, it’s been a surprisingly steep learning curve. Thus, I decided to share the tricks and best products I’ve discovered along the way in hopes it will help those of you trying (or tempted) to go au naturel too.
Today in Ann Arbor, it’s sunny, 93 degrees and feels like mid-July. To me, this signals it’s time to start spritzing Bobbi Brown Beach again—and indulging in these warm-weather finds:
I’ve straightened my naturally-wavy hair for most of my adult life. When we lived in New York, I blew it dry almost every time I washed it (or, better yet, I went to a salon and had it professionally done). In my headshot, my hair is straight. When I got married, my hair was twisted into an updo—after I blew it straight. For job interviews, school interviews, television interviews...whenever I had an important event, my hair was always, always straight.
In case you missed the news, a class-action lawsuit was filed last month against Rodan + Fields, contending that Lash Boost, the brand’s $150 lash serum, violated consumer protection laws.
Not so long ago, to get your hands on French beauty products, you had to trek to a French Pharmacie and buy them in person (or beg a friend visiting France to stock up for you). No longer. French beauty staples can now be found pretty easily Stateside, either online or in specialty boutiques.
I was talking to a beauty industry executive the other day about clean/green/natural (insert your own earth-centric buzz word) beauty. She confessed that, while there is no single traditional skin, hair or makeup product that she views as particularly harmful, the quantity of beauty products laced with chemicals we use over a lifetime does give her pause. Like one pack of Twizzlers at the movies=not so bad. But eating sugary twists daily for the rest of your life=not so good.
I am impatient. Nearly two decades of living in New York City taught me to loathe long lines, inefficient service, and slow-walkers (if a New Yorker bumps you while you stroll down Fifth Avenue, you probably deserve it. Think how you’d feel if she went to your town and drove a Suburban 10 mph down a one-lane road.). When we first moved to Ann Arbor, I even stopped visiting one coffee shop because the barista was too chatty, greeting my order of a soy latte with “soy-tainly!” and then taking 15 minutes to mix my drink. Nope. Not before 8 a.m. Buy-bye.
I spent last weekend in suburban Chicago, zigzagging between ice rinks for my son Heath’s hockey tournament. His team won their division, which made all that travel (and a not-exactly-posh stay at a Hampton’s Inn) worth it. The other upside: I rediscovered Neutrogena’s Body Lotion Light Sesame Formula
Every winter, my husband complains that his skin is itchy and dry—and he asks me to get him more of that “stuff” that provides quick relief. Heath, my teenage son complains about his chronically parched, peeling lips, and my hair can become so dehydrated and static-y come January that I develop a permanent halo of flyaways. I assume you or your family are similarly moisture-challenged by mid-winter so here are some solutions that work for us:
Most people who watched the Golden Globes last night are talking today about Oprah’s speech, Seth’s monologue, the all-black dress code, and Natalie Portman throwing shade while announcing the all-male best-director category. But one of my favorite moments was a hair commercial.
When I interviewed Erin Cotter, GOOP’s VP of Beauty, earlier this fall she raved about Jao's Goe Oil, an all-natural, plant-based hydrator she said smelled like a tropical vacation. Sounded nice but I wasn’t totally motivated to try it until this week when Mother Nature dumped eight inches of snow on Ann Arbor, and I started to feel like I was never not buried in a goose down coat and heavy Sorel boots.
As part of a regular series, I’ll be asking inspiring, in-the-know women to share their best tips and favorite products. The point? As always, to find out what works. Today's beauty insider: Lisa Sugar, Founder and President of POPSUGAR Inc.
