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Friend Friday

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After seeing them on Closet Confections for the past few weeks I’ve been toying with participating in ModlyChic’s Friend Friday.  And today I discovered that I actually read the article that inspired this week’s Friend Friday/it is not already Saturday and I can actually post on time! 

1. The move to do away with soap, shampoo and deodorant has been growing in popularity in the last year. What are your thoughts on this trend?  I can go without shampoo for more than a day and try to at least once/week.  As I get older my skin has been becoming drier and drier… and so has my hair.  If I don’t get my hair cut at least every 3-4 months the ends become… rather crispy.  Not sure that I could go without soap/body wash, I really like my Mario Badescu AHA.  And I couldn’t go without deodorant.  I lived in Japan where antiperspirant doesn’t exist (actually it does, it’s just not common and no one uses it) and when I ran out I bought deodorant… which I used only for about three days.  Think 85+ temperatures and 100% humidity every day… I went back and very carefully read all the labels on the products and found one with antiperspirant.  Going without is not comfortable.   

2. Be honest how often do you wash your own hair?  Surprise!  I have mentioned it before but everyone tends to forget that my hair is actually curly (just too short now to really hold a curl/not look more like a lion mane).  And if you don’t already know, shampooing curly hair everyday is extremely bad for it.  But I do it anyway.  I try to skip a wash when I can but my primary form of exercise is yoga… ashtanga and bikram.  And I like my clean hair.  When I don’t wash it I use Oscar Blandi’s dry shampoo (the powder, and I’ve heard Bumble and Bumble is better for darker hair — comes in colors) and T3/Orlando Pita dry shampoo (spray) and I always use my hairdryer to style.  

3. Have you tried to go the more natural route by forgoing shampoo? What happened? Or would you be tempted to try it?  In college I used to go every other day with washing my hair and that was especially important because my hair was chemically straightened at the time.  And it was colored red/brown — two very bad things.  But I don’t think I could give up shampoo.  I’ve heard the bar shampoos by Lush are really good, but that’s just more of a delivery system change.  I think I could use a traditional shampoo alternative but I really couldn’t go without something that doesn’t have a surfactant.  

4. What products do you use and have you ever gone with more organic alternatives?  Lately I’ve been using Suave’s rosemary mint shampoo and conditioner… and it’s very decent, not as good as Aveda (which I used in high school) but for -$2/bottle… count me in.  I used to use a lot of really high-end shampoos but I’ve become too cheap in my old age.  The shampoo I ever had was Frederic Fekkai and something like $30/bottle… ouch.  I tried at least six different organic/natural/sulfate-free shampoos (Cristophe, Burt’s Bees, Kiss My Face, Organix, Alba Botanica… I’m missing one, I can’t remember) over the past two years but I was unsatisfied with all of them… they left my hair still visibly oily right out of the shower.  So back to sulfates it was.  I use all Ojon styling products from Sephora except for my dry shampoos.  Tried argan oil but found it weighed down my hair too much.  

I use Mario Badescu’s AHA Botanical Body Soap and Johnson’s shea and cocoa butter baby wash.  I also use the Johnson’s natural baby lotion with allergen-free frangrance.  I have bad season allergies and anything with a strong scent (especially floral) bothers me a lot.  Almost all my skincare is Mario Badescu and REN/Ole Henrikson/DDF — I have more success with rotating products every 3-4 months because my skin becomes immune to things really quickly.  And Fresh Soy Face Cleanser is maybe possibly the best face wash ever made.  

5. What about that daily shower? Would you forgo that opting to shower three times a week instead?  No.  I’ll only go a day without a shower if I showered the night before.  And most times I’ll shower the next day anyway and just not wash my hair.  I couldn’t do only three times/week.  Unless I was lost in a desert and there was actually no water.  

Last Photos of Summery Fall

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10.27.10 – Wednesday

As much as I love sunny days… overcast ones make for fantastic lighting :)  Less problems with exposure (at least I think so).  I used to have major issues with lighting in my photos, but I gradually got better through trial and error + taking thousands of photos + photography blogs + photography book.  I like to use natural light whenever I can but sometimes… I would really like one of those umbrellas to direct light where I want it!  

Last week temperatures were still fairly warm but I was the only person I saw going around without tights/pants.  I’m actually extremely immune to temperature changes so I can go far into winter still wearing short sleeves and no sweaters.  I don’t get cold easily and hot weather is not extremely bothersome to me either (although you won’t see me wearing layers and sweaters during the summer, everyone does that in Japan, they must be even less susceptible to temperature than I am).  I actually barely own any long sleeve shirts and most of my wardrobe can be worn during any season with the addition of tights and sweaters.  Although I’m practically notorious for wearing sleeveless things in January and disliking all sweaters except for cardigans.  

Anthropologie shirt, LOFT skirt, Gap mohair socks, Frye boots.  

Your Socks Are Showing

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10.24.10 – Sunday – Brunch/Theatre

I posted out of order because of Halloween so now I’m resuming regular, in order of appearance photos!  Last week it was still warm enough to go out with bare legs and I had to take the sweater off eventually because I was too hot.  I guess bare leg weather is over now, it didn’t even break fifty degrees today.  This sweater is really old, maybe five or six years old?  I’m trying to decide to keep it or give it away.  It’s huge, and so heavy that it actually doesn’t stay on.  I think it actually weighs about six pounds and is bigger than a standard pillow when folded up!  I think I wear it about once a year… so it may be time for it to go.  

I’ve never really done socks sticking out of shoes before, not even the socks and sandals trend.  I actually have all these tall socks for underneath boots but I hardly ever use them/never pull them up out of boots.  I discovered I like it though, and maybe next time I’ll try it with tights?  

P. S. Any thoughts on the blog header?  I’m not really sure that I like it, I can’t seem to get the lettering to stand out without resorting to neon colors, and I honestly feel redundant on the header and then in the photos.  I might change it to a photo without me in it.  What do you think about photo headers?  

Free People huge monster sweater, Free People dress, Charlotte Russe belt, Gap socks, Frye boots, Cole Haan wristlet. 

I Still See Your Bright Eyes, Bright Eyes

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10.30.10 to 10.31.10 – Halloween 

Happy Halloween!  This is the second costume for Halloween 2010… and can I tell you that I was at a surprise 60th birthday party… in a biker bar… and it was a Mardi Gras party (but the invitation said masquerade, apparently that is the same thing out in the boonies)… and I was wearing this gypsy costume (about 2% of total guests were in costume).  I should have worn my leather and chains, I certainly have enough of those, but I didn’t know that it was going to be… yeah.  I just put on an extra layer of red lipstick.  

Do you like my Marie Antoinette-inspired mask?  I put it together in the afternoon with ribbons from A. C. Moore.  I didn’t really wear it at the birthday party, so I hope I get the change to go to a real masquerade sometime soon!  I didn’t wear it when I went out to party #2 later either.  When I got there gypsy was the next song they played after I walked in… hahhahahaha.  

Actually I quite like this skirt and I may wear it for real sometime!  

Thrifted blouse with lace, thrifted blouse with double collar, thrifted skirt, scarf from Dubrovnik, A. C. Moore leather ribbon belt, mask composed of ribbon from A. C. Moore, Frye boots.