Superior style periodicals

... make me feel inferior and illiterate. I'm looking at you, Vogue.

 I rarely pick this up because I cannot relate to the people the articles are about. For instance, this issue features the Clarins sisters/cousins who live in Paris. They are tall and beautiful and inherited their wealth, fashion sense, and beauty from their families. And two of them are TWIN sisters. That makes me feel even less worthy. Plus the article was full of words I can't understand. And people, I AM IN 22ND GRADE, and a DOCTOR. Well, not a "real" doctor, but whatever. Who can relate to this malarkey? Tell you what, go ahead and throw them a page with a big picture and a caption, that's fine. Then use the rest of the pages to write an article on how to spot a good vintage find, or for quality craftsmanship when shopping for clothes. Better yet, can you get someone to write a piece on the incompatibilites of half-loop stitching on the hem of a low-viscosity rayon garment?

 That would be a piece I could get behind. Why did I buy it you ask? Because I wanted to look cool at the checkout counter. And lets move on.


This week I'm loving Essie's Turquoise and Caicos polish. I wanted to try it when I saw one of the younger Kardashian Jenner girls wearing it on KUWTK's. Yes, the teenage ones. What? ANYway, then my stylish coresident was wearing it and it was awesome, so purchasing this color became a matter of urgency.

And you know what? It makes me feel glamorous as I drink my glass of days old red wine in my living room after a long week of call. Thanks for that, pretty turquoise Essie nail polish. Cheers!

You'll always have a place in my heart, Elle Woods (photo credit.)

I'm gonna get more shine than a little bit

 I do declare, I don't love nothin' like I love somethin' that makes my hair shiny.

In my continued journey for Kardashian-like hair (I know they have extensions, its fine, leave it alone,) I picked up a couple of new post-shampoo products.

Technically I've had this leave-in conditioner for months, but I accidentally left it at my parents house and just remembered it a few weeks ago. Bo-nus! I think it cost around $35 at my salon.

I used approximately a double-pea sized amount and applied it to wet hair from the nape of the neck to the ends. I've applied from the roots before with less than desireable result. (greasehead.)

I then sectioned my hair in a manner not unlike Sanjay's ponyhawk of 2007.

Except its only 4 sections and I roll the ponies into a ball and secure with clips.

Then I used about 1/3 pea size of Joico K-PAK Protect and Shine Serum in each section. I applied it first to the ends and comb through the remainder from a few inches down from the roots with my fingers. I try not to put it too close to the scalp (to avoid the aforementioned greasehead.)  And people, its ah-mazing.. I got i at Ulta for around $18.

I blew out each section with my hairdryer. I have a BaByliss Pro Porcelain Ceramic Hair Dryer. And well, its a whole other post for a whole other day. The bottomline is I wouldn't recommend it, but it dries my hair fast, and it was the nicest hairdryer that I couldn't afford at the time. A big factor in the purchase was that it had orange accents and I had a 20% off coupon from Bed Bath and Beyond. Whatever. It does come with a concentrator that I use.

ANYway, moving on. I then straighten with my Solia straightener.

This was a purchase I made earlier this summer because my friend Ali uses this flat iron. Best hair tool decision ever. Ali has amazing hair so I just copy whatever she says in this department.

I finish it with Nexxus Comb Thru hold and finishing spray. I got it for around $10 at Walgreens last Christmas and its just now starting to run out. I love it. It also prevents those hair dents you get from your ponytail holder.

My hair looks like I got a professional blowout. And I think its mostly because of the Joico product. I've used the Kerastase with a different drying accelerator/shine serum and it was not as great. I may just be using the Kerastase at this point because it cost a fortune, but I'll never fully admit that, so lets just leave that where it lies. So the stars of this hairshow are definitely the K-PAK, the flat iron, and the Nexxus spray. I would recommend them whole heartedly. Happy hair day everyone!

Photo credits: {Kerastase Sublimatour Jour}{Sanjaya}{Joico K-PAK}{Hair Dryer}{Comb Thru}