Birchbox

Birchbox is like having a birthday each month...only you don't get any older!.  And you don't get a piece of cake, but that's a small price to pay for having the best high-end beauty and lifestyle products delivered to your door.

Each month, when my box arrives, everything stops.  I settle in, unwrap my petite package and read about each product tucked inside my tissue-lined box, including the additional product details provided on birchbox.com.

To give you an idea of what's included, in this month's Birchbox I received samples of a wonderful Mox Botanicals lip balm, Lulu Organics dry shampoo, theBalm highlighter, Juicy Couture fragrance, Twistband hair tie, and a Tili printed bag.  As always, I was happy with the selection; some of my favorite brands...and a couple sure to become new favorites.  All for $10.

Birchbox has grown in popularity and currently has a waiting list of a few weeks.  If you're considering joining their monthly subscription program, I'd fill out the request form now...before the wait gets any longer.  When you receive your emailed invitation to join, you can choose to either have your $10 fee billed each month or to pay upfront for the entire year for $110 (one month free).  Another Birchbox consideration is their 3 or 6-month gift subscriptions for that special friend, sister, or hip aunt or mother! 

Visit birchbox.com for more information on their subscription program and to purchase full-size products in their online store.

Aveda Dry Remedy

A couple of months ago my husband and I went to the Alliance for the Great Lakes' annual event Taste of the Great Lakes in Chicago (that's us in photo 173 in their Facebook album).  The event was lovely, as in years past, and we had a terrific time!  The evening was full of amazing food, delicious drinks, great people, and lots of money raised for a cause dear to my heart. I didn't think the night could get any better, but upon departing the ship, we were handed goodie bags containing products from Aveda's Dry Remedy line. I'm now hooked.

The Dry Remedy line includes a shampoo, conditioner, and treatment masque...all which smell like a little piece of heaven.  And the way they make your hair feel is amazing:  amazingly soft, amazingly smooth and amazingly healthy.  After two months of using these products, my stylist couldn't help but comment when I got my hair cut earlier this week.  Seeing as I have very long hair, I don't get it cut that often...she was amazed with how few split ends I had. 

Dry Remedy shampoo is much creamier than other traditional shampoos and needs to be worked into your hair a bit more to produce a lather...and then needs to be rinsed out thoroughly.  And like other conditioners, this one works best when left on your hair for a while.  I usually wash, apply the conditioner, and then let it sit while I shave to let it really soak in.  When you rinse out the conditioner, you'll notice an immediate difference in your hair's texture.  One you'll never want to be without again.  

I also use these products on my daughters' hair about once a week.  They have very long, thick hair like their mama so I want to be sure we're taking care of it and combating all of the sun and wind they encounter when playing outside.  It's so much easier to comb through their hair after baths when we use these products...no tears! 

You can learn more about the Dry Remedy line and purchase these products at aveda.com. 

Pylones Hairbrush

My daughters have long hair...thick long hair that gets many-a-snarl from their countless hours of playing outside. Getting them to brush their hair was a struggle before gifting them both with their very own colorful hairbrush. Thank you Pylones!

The colors and fun designs are sure to be adored by any little girl, and the fact that they're well-made and really get through hair (without hurting little one's scalps) make them a parent's best friend.

I purchased my girls' brushes from Garnet Hill, but they're available from Amazon as well as purchasing directly from Pylones.

The Beauty Department

You know how certain things come into your life and you instantly wonder how you ever lived without them? The Beauty Department is one of those things for me.

Lauren Conrad (an It Girl for sure, always spotted with gorgeous hair, perfect makeup and an obvious eye for all things fashion) partnered with her hair stylist and makeup artist, Kristin Ess and Amy Nadine, two experts who not only know what they're doing but are willing to share their knowledge with the rest of us...and The Beauty Department was born!

The site is full of hair and makeup how-tos (like the one shown here for Twisted Sister), countless quick tips, and discussions on trends, skin issues, and tools of the trade, as well as inspirations and beauty obsessions.

One change I've made thanks to the site is to spray dry shampoo on my bangs right after drying them instead of waiting for the inevitable hair separation that comes later in the day. I don't think I'm being dramatic when I say it's changed my life...at least the life of my hair!

Visiting The Beauty Department in the middle of my day has become a quiet and peaceful time for me, and not only due to the overflow of stylish goodies. The layout is simple, the format is clean, and the photos and graphics are breathtaking. I'm talking stunning. It's a welcome oasis in the middle of my jam-packed day of homeschooling and writing!

So take a look! Visit thebeautydepartment.com to start your journey into the site that will consume you...and have you wondering how you ever lived without it!

clio beautytrim

Let's face it, unwanted hair is not fun...to have or to talk about. But that's just what we're about to do. I recently purchased a clio beautytrim and have been so pleased with the results I thought I'd share.

Clio's tiniest electric dry razor is great to use on your face, tops of toes, or bikini line. The extra-fine blade offers precise trimming and is 100% painless while cleaning up unwanted hair quickly and smoothly.

It's about the size of a pen and when the cap is in place looks just like one too! Easy to store in your purse or take on beach vacations.

Included with the beautytrim is a dual length eyebrow trimming attachment...but I haven't tried that yet and don' t know that I will, to be honest. I figure what I've been doing with my little pair of scissors has worked just fine...why risk cutting off half a brow off? If you're braver than me and have tried it, let me know how it works!

This handy little gadget is only $6.99 at amazon.com and ships FREE! Why not give it a try?

Fine Featherheads

Today the sun is shining, the temperatures are rising and my children and I are done with school for the year! Summer is right around the corner!

With summer comes loosening up a bit, having some fun and letting go...and one way my daughters and I are welcoming the warmth this year is with feather hair extensions. While my girls are rocking turquoise, emerald, pink and purple, I opted for neutral tones of browns and khakis that are similar to my hair color (after all, I will be 36 next month).

There are quite a few brands out there, but I'm going to sing my praises for Fine Featherheads! Their colors are amazing and their patented technique of bonding the feathers together before installation ensures your feathers stay in longer...I'm talking months, ladies!

Feather hair extensions can be washed, dried and styled just like your regular hair without the risk of them falling out or being damaged. They're applied to your hair using a silicone-lined bead that is crimped with a needle-nose pliers. To remove them you simply crimp the bead in the other direction. The feathers can then be repositioned and reused.

Visit finefeatherheads.com to locate a salon near you who provides these fun, quirky and stylish hair extensions...but be prepared to get stopped repeadedly by people wanting to know where they can get the look!

Twistband

I have very long hair that I like to wear down...except when I don't. I like to pull it back when I'm cooking, when I'm hot, or simply when the mood strikes me. My girls also have long hair and they too like it pulled back when they're active. It's probably no surprise that I keep a lot of hair bands handy.

The hair bands I've fallen in love with in the past couple of months are from Twistband! Their hair ties are so cool, they're now a piece of funky jewelry as much as they are a necessity for me. I always have at least one around my wrist, on a bag strap, or in my or a daughter's hair...or all three!

My girls and I love the fun colors (I'm wearing a yellow one as I type this in honor of my beloved Green Bay Packers playing in the Super Bowl later today) and we've built up quite a collection. My favorite are the tie-dyed and Martha's pick is the pink set with the heart.

If you're not a fan of the ponytail or if your daughter has shorter hair, Twistband also makes some great headbands that offer the same cool factor as they can be twisted a few times around a wrist to keep on hand.

Twistband has now hit the big time with their products being offered at Anthropologie...but don't fret, you can still get a great deal. Enter coupon code LUCKY2 at checkout and you'll receive 40% off your order! Prices start at only $2.00 at thetwistband.com.

Goody Spin Pins

I have been so busy...very excitedly busy! I've seen Oprah Winfrey once and Martha Stewart twice! Can you even believe it?! You do all remember my daughter's name is Martha, don't you? It's been amazing! I'll write more about it later...but for now, like Oprah, I want to tell you about one of my new Favorite Things! Goody Spin Pins!

As I sat with the rest of the Oprah crowd, I watched a women pull two Spin Pins out of her purse and put up a no-fuss bun in 2 seconds flat! I was amazed! As a woman with very long hair who loves to try different styles (and spends way too much time doing so), I had to find out what they were...so I asked. The gracious women who flew across the country to be in the Oprah studio audience was amazingly kind and gave me a lesson. The next day I picked up a pair.

They do take some practice and time getting used to, but I've now tried many different styles with them and have even used them in Martha's hair...all with great success. Right now I have three small messy buns at the nape of my neck...something that took about 30 bobby pins and 20 minutes before now only took me 2 minutes and 3 Spin Pins! I'm in LOVE! As Martha Stewart would say, "They're a good thing!"

Available at drug stores and on amazon.com.

Glop & Glam

I'm so glad there is a wide variety of safe and eco-friendly shampoos and bath gels for children. But if you have a child with naturally curly hair like my daughter or a son with longer hair and want to create texture like me, it's tricky to find safe hair care products...until now!

Glop & Glam are here to help! Each of their products is free from harmful alcohol, parabens and formaldehyde. Glop & Glam combines organic ingredients like aspalathus linearis leaf extract, euterpeoleracea fruit extract, glycine soja (soybean) protein and punica grantatum extract with amazing natural nutrients such as aloe, camellia leaf extract (green tea) and echinacea derived from purpurea extract. These combinations protect kid’s hair from ever present and damaging environmental toxins.

So the products are safe...but how do they work? Amazingly well! Each product holds wonderfully while being touchable and light...and they smell divine! What child doesn't want to smell like chocolate, bubble gum, watermelon, banana or creamsicles?! I know mine do!

Visit glopandglam.com to see their (beautifully packaged) products and to purchase. My favorites are the Glam Bubble Gum Glitter Gel, Glam Creamsicle Mist Leave-in Conditioner & Detangler, and Glop Chocolate Controller.