PopSugar

Protect Your Hair At the Beach

FabSugar — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 14:47:12 -0700

There are just two more official weekends left of summer, and you've already come this far protecting your hair from the sun and saltwater. So keep up the good work and don't damage that color that took your stylist hours to perfect. As soon as you get out of the ocean or the pool, apply a dime- to quarter-sized dollop of Helene Curtis ThermaSilk Moisture Infusing Conditioner to your wet hair. The sun's heat will activate the conditioner to protect your locks and leave them feeling silky smooth. Plus, the inexpensive product will save you tons of time and money in color correction and rescue you from from the horror of brassy highlights. Buy it here for $5.59.

Bella Bargain: Buy One, Get One Free at Miss Jessie's

BellaSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:00:09 -0800

Just in time for gift-giving season, Miss Jessie's hair care is offering an amazing deal: buy one item, get another free. The product line offers styling solutions for curly, kinky, and wavy hair, including the cult-favorite Curly Pudding. Through Dec. 31, you can choose a second item of equal or lesser value for nada. So if you're stocking up on hair care for yourself, or you're thinking of a more affordable way to give the gift of gorgeous hair, you're all set. Don't forget to check out our Beauty Bargains group for even more deals and steals.

Mom-Me Time: Pick Up a Copy of The Help

babysugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:30:49 -0800

If mama's got a few minutes to herself and is looking for something that will take her mind to another world, she needs not look further than this gold and purple hardback book. The Help ($12) is a quick read that will steal her attention and her affection and leave her wanting more. Kathryn Stockett's first novel, the book about the relationships between mothers and the women that help them (nannies in particular) will have mommy laughing out loud, tearing up in the eyes, dog-earring pages with special passages and thinking about how she relates to some of the closest people in her life.

Just pages into the lengthy text and I was hooked. Unlike any book I've read in recent times, the characters in these pages immediately come to life and fully color the imagination. You can picture their hair, dream up their clothes and hear their voices like they're sitting on the bus right next to you. While they may be fictional muses, I wish I could meet them, thank them, reprimand them and have a tall glass of sweetened iced tea with them. Though the book is set back in the early '60s, some of the conversations and lessons are timeless. For the rest of my review, read more.

Centered around the lives of three caretakers, the hired "help" who tend to high society's children may occasionally be called "mama" as they often forge a closer bond with the child than his own mother. And while some women may have their best friends to rely on, the housekeeper frequently knows and cares more than her "best" friends -the phrase "dirty laundry" having a double meaning when it comes to life behind closed doors. In the end, it is a story about women taking extraordinary measures to right some wrongs, even if it means risking it all. Of all the lessons to be learned from this rich novel, the golden rule speaks loudest - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Maybe that's why she wrapped it in a glowing cover.

Before this goes to the theaters, which it surely will, buy it, read it and gift it to everyone you know. It will not disappoint.

Share your favorite books, products, toys and trends with other parents. Join our Product Reviews group over in the LilSugar community!

Doing Drugstore: Palmer's Dark Chocolate Peppermint Lip Butter

BellaSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:59 -0800

I have a hard time going into Walgreens without picking up some sort of lip thing or other, and my initial purchase of Palmer's lip butter ($2) was no exception. I've always loved Palmer's cocoa butter - my dear mama swears by the stuff, and even sometimes sends me care packages with sticks of it - but I've only used it as a hair and elbow/knee moisturizer.

I assumed anything made with cocoa butter would be creamy and need a little heat to deliquesce, so I was pleasantly surprised by the lip butter's moist, gel texture (I think the result of added vitamin E). It's clear and not sticky, but gives you a little more shine than a Blistex or Lip Smacker, the dark chocolate peppermint flavor isn't at all artificial, and I didn't need to reapply all the time, which is a boon when you're trying not to look like a crazy lip balm obsessive. If you want a traditional gloss shine, this isn't the product for you, but at $2 it's a total steal, and it's made in the US, so you can feel good about its origins, too. My overall verdict: Yum!

Ask Bella: How Do I Lift Black Hair Dye?

BellaSugar — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:01:19 -0700

Recently, a distressed reader contacted me about an unfortunate incident regarding a box of black hair color and the subsequent regretful results. Here's her story:

Three months ago I had an adult identity crisis and dumped a box of jet black dye on my naturally medium brown hair. Now I can't get it to lift out for anything - professionally or at home. Can you make a suggestion? I'm a 25-year-old woman and I look like a scene kid. It's rough.

There's no excuse for looking like a Brokencyde groupie. Lifting pigment can be a tricky endeavor, though, so you have to be careful. For my advice on helping this reader to lighten up, just read more.

More Tips For Making Curly Hair Gorgeous

BellaSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:00:19 -0700

Years ago, when hair expert Keneesha Hudson allowed her curly locks to go natural, it proved to be a positive experience. "I feel a great sense of freedom wearing my own hair," she told me. "It definitely has a much more organic feel to it. It doesn't hold me back from any activity - from anything," she added. As owner of Urbanbella salon in Atlanta, Keneesha educates women about embracing their own curl. She's already offered us tips on taking care of curly locks, as well as taming unruly strands, and now it's time for tips on cuts and styling. To find out her sage advice, just read more.

Good Hair Has a Greater Point

BellaSugar — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:00:22 -0700

If you've ever felt as though you'll look bad unless you straighten your hair, get highlights, go blonde, get a perm, or cover your grays, you should see Good Hair. If you care about the effects narrow normative beauty ideals have on the people around you and the larger world, you should see it. Heck, if you've ever felt like you "needed" to do anything to be attractive or accepted, you should see it.

This movie's great triumph - and great tragedy - is that it deftly picks apart our social constructions of beauty and shows us just what they look like underneath. And believe me, though it's sometimes funny, it's certainly not pretty. Chris Rock has, disarmingly, disturbingly, hilariously, and sometimes very poignantly explored the minefield of hair products and social signals that African-American women are forced to navigate. The result is a film that's brimming with life as well as contradictions. See this film, and you'll never look at a hair process (or extensions, for that matter) the same way again.

Link Time!

BellaSugar — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:00:16 -0700

Hairstyles of the last century - Life
The new "she uses Botox" giveaway: bunny lines - Stylelist
All about the "hair down there" - and it's not where you think - Lemondrop
Benefit's holiday makeup offerings are super cute - Makeup and Beauty Blog
Four things all dudes need to know about skin care - Future Derm
Primate-kissing Paris Hilton wears huge fake lashes - FabSugar UK
How to make Rihanna's makeup work in real life - Beauty Product Junkies
Don't forget to share your Halloween makeup ideas here - Halloween Challenge
A different kind of Avon lady - Glamour
The nails at McQueen: in-sane - Allure

Check Out the BellaSugar Community. Good Times.

BellaSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 10:00:29 -0700

Have you had a look at our new BellaSugar Community section? There's something to help everyone tackle the wild world of beauty:

Join more than 60,000 people discussing the latest in hair, makeup, and skin care in Beauty Product Junkies
Share your spooky makeup and hair ideas in our Halloween challenge group
Pinch your pennies, pretty, with ideas from DIY Beauty
And check out Problem Solved for easy fixes for common problems

It's easy to start your own group, too, so join the party. It's a more-the-merrier place to be.

Why Are Invisible Beauty Items Credited in Magazines?

BellaSugar — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:15:27 -0700

Magazines can be indispensable in identifying trends, and while looking through any given issue, I usually spot some hair and makeup ideas. (On that note, Freja Beha in this month's W is so dreamy. Why can't I look that chic when tomboyed out?) It's easy to understand why editors leave credits for certain things: hair products, lipstick, nail polish. It's helpful to know which items are used on the models. Of course, what's listed is often not actually what's been used, but that's another story entirely.

Still, one thing I've never understood is the concept of crediting fragrances and skin care. For instance, the credits for this photo in W tell us, "A touch of 3Lab Perfect Neck Cream is just what an exposed decolletage needs." While I'm sure my exposed decolletage would like to be massaged with a $120 neck cream, I'm not sure I'd wonder about neck cream from looking at the photo. Mentioning fragrance in credits is even goofier to me, since unless you're the ghost of Tim Leary, you can't see scent. Are editors trying to be overly helpful? Is it a way of throwing an editorial bone to advertisers? Or am I the only one who overthinks this sort of thing?