Jack & Hill: A Beauty Blog - make-up, cosmetics, perfume, and the substance of style

Shear Bliss

After walking in to a random threading place and getting an excellent set of new eyebrows for a measly $6, I thought it must be my lucky day. So I walked into Shear Bliss in the Murray Hill/Kips Bay area of Manhattan while walking home from a meeting and asked what the odds were of getting a cut and color right then. As it happened, they were excellent, and I'm very happy with the job Coco did for me. As a new customer, I also got a free haircut and discounted blow dry with the color, for a total of only $95.

As much as I was loving how my hair was growing so long, a) it's summer, b) the long and short layers thing was annoying the crap out of me, and c) I don't think long hair does much for me.

I mean, I'm always pulling it back to get it out of my face, and I'm too lazy to use a curling iron or straighteners on it very often, even though I tell myself, "Well, I can STYLE long hair in such pretty ways!" Except that I don't. Hair that just hangs there, looking average, is the ugliest hair of all.

I'm pretty sure this length also makes the most of my bone structure and eyes (or at least that's what lots of people tell me.) As for the color, it's a dark chocolate like I naturally had as a child. Coco informed me that my natural hair color now is not, as I have claimed for years, light brown. She said it's a dark blond. I say let's just call it mousy and leave it at that. So I especially love the darker shade I've got now, which goes best with my coloring.

What a fortunate day. Shame I didn't buy a lottery ticket.

Shear Bliss
397 3rd Ave
New York, NY 10016
(212) 213-6050

Psychological warfare in styling

I'm not crazy about the way I look with my hair up, but sometimes it's the easiest option. Usually, it's just what what I do when I wash my face - throw it in a ponytail or ugly plastic clip.

For my own good, I've decided to make a concerted attempt to get over myself (in more ways than one). Wearing my hair up occasionally is part of that. I feel positively naked with my face so exposed, but I think ceasing to take something so trivial quite so seriously will be good for me.

Are there any styling issues which fill you with similar angst, or am I the only weirdo around here?

New haircut and color

Side view
Originally uploaded by dynamist.

It's not as dark as I'd wanted, and is a little more in my face than I like, but overall it's a big improvement. (Here's the other side and a straight-on view.)

I really need to do something about my complete intolerance for having hair touch my face at all. I cannot bear it. Even a wisp just barely brushing my cheek drives me crazy. Most cute hairstyles include some kind of face-sweeping, so I get stuck in the ghetto of cuts like this.

Suggestions? (I'm already in therapy.)

I badly need a cut and color

 So I'm going to get one in sixteen minutes. Fingers crossed.

Skin mismatch

  Me & Mr. Claus 
  Originally uploaded by dynamist.

My face and chest are darker than my neck. My face is a bit darker than my chest. Even though my foundation matches my skin, I still always look to be wearing a mask in photographs.

Now, this doesn't bother me as much as it once did. But I do wonder if there's a solution. Suggestions welcome.

First Lady Style

LA Times fashion critic Booth Moore has an amazing piece in today's paper on Michelle Obama's real-world style.She correctly observes that Obamas mixing of haute couture and off the rack isn't just about humility, it's a truly American way of dressing, one that emphasizes personal style over class, status or labels. She also notes that it's smart. Referring to Obama's choice of a $30 dress from the Gap for a 4th of July picnick: "She also thinks about appropriateness, something that is missing in the sartorial dialogue of so many Americans. An inexpensive sundress is more appropriate to wear to a parade than a stuffy pantsuit, or an expensive frock you might spill food on."

Moore's piece touches on so much sartorial history that I hesitate to paraphrase any more of it, lest you not click through to read the whole story. I'll just say that she makes an excellent case for how and why Obama stands to be a true style leader, as opposed to a style figurehead.

What's your go-to lip color?

MAC Composure (Mattene)
Originally uploaded by dynamist.

Mine is MAC Mattene in Composure: It's not too dry, doesn't slip off easily, smells good, and most importantly offers full-on color that somehow still manages to look somewhat natural. It goes great with no makeup or, as in this photo, just blush and mascara. (I should also note that I did not pay for this - it was a freebie from MAC - but I will happily do so once I've spent this stick.)

How about you?

How often do you really fix your hair?

On my way to work
Originally uploaded by dynamist.

Hill took this picture of me on the way to work this morning; she was trying to get a shot of my eyelashes (MAC Plush Lash with a layer of Lancome Hypnose on top), but it captured a momentous occasion: I actually used something more than a bit of product and the blow dryer on my hair this morning. I even busted out the flat irons to give my hair an actual style. (The occasion: I had an extra hour to get ready, since Hill surprised me by offering a ride right to my office.) This doesn't happen often.

It made me remember being 14 and getting up for school two hours early just so I could curl my hair. By the time I was 16, and the novelty of being in high school had well and truly worn off, I was out of that habit. I don't think I ever got back into it.

I have friends who use hot rollers or flat irons on their hair every day, though - or at least every time they wash their hair. This astounds me. It's just such a time suck.

How about you? What do you actually do to your hair on a day to day basis? How much time per week do you spend on fixing your hair? (Please don't talk me into high maintenance hair; I get up early enough as it is.)

Happiness and the art of eyebrow maintenance

Arkansas Jax
Originally uploaded by dynamist.

I've been MIA from this blog for far too long. Huge thanks to Hillary, Alice, and Nancy for picking up so much of the work. I can only blame moving and a new mission in life (as director of marketing for Qik).

Last weekend I made a big change, deciding to thin my eyebrows considerably - you can see the results here. Once thick brows became fashionable, I took that as an excuse to be lazy. I still went through my usual waxing and pruning regime, but I didn't do much thinning.

I don't know what got into me, but I'm really pleased with the results. The right brows should make you feel as if you don't need much makeup at all, if any. That's exactly what this new pair has done for me.

Sorry to make such a big deal about something so small, but I agree with Nigella Lawson (owner of an exquisite pair of brows herself), who tells her children to take pleasure in the little things, since there aren't enough big things in life to keep you happy.

Back to...brunette

  Back to...brunette 
  Originally uploaded by dynamist.

I know you're supposed to go lighter in the summer, but I'm just contrary that way. I've come to the conclusion that nothing suits my skin like dark hair. It's almost as if the way I was born was really okay...