Hair: Balenciaga Headpieces SS 2013.

Hair: Messy Chignon.

This summer heat has been a little out of control. Days where 90 is the lowest and 102 quickly rushes in by mid-afternoon and all I want to do is lay in a bath full of ice cubes. Yeah, it's that bad. My hair has sort-of taken a back seat in my beauty routine because just the thought of turning on my blow dryer or hair straightener makes me seriously cringe. I have resorted to plenty of pony tails, braids, top knots, etc. but lately if I don't have it just down and messy, a low chignon has been my go-to. It's super easy and looks really chic. Literally, your bed does most the work with this look. Get up, grab and twist, use a couple bobbies if needed and go. Whats not to love! Alright, maybe you don't want to looks so 'rolled out of bed' so let's make it a little more 'public' acceptable. 

 1. Hair Ties (the thinner, the better) // 2. Dry Shampoo (here & here) // 3. Bobbies

I like to do this look with hair that hasn't been washed in a couple days because it holds better. However, if you just got out of the shower and let it air dry and need a little lift, dry shampoo is the best thing to use. I'm obsessed with dry shampoo, I'm not sure what I would do without it. I use it by the third day after washing and can for a couple days after, depending how lazy busy I am. 

-You want to part your hair the way you normally do, you're not going to a wedding in this (I'm hoping) so make it as easy as possible. 

-Grab the hair at the nape of your neck, keeping it centered or even moving it a bit to the side (or a lot, it's up to you darling). 

-Tie as if you're doing a pony tail. 

-Twist the hair around the pony a couple times as if you are going to do a messy bun but leave part of the hair out. Also, don't worry about the left out pieces, the messier, the better.

-Secure by tieing another tie around the bun but not fully around, let the tie come on top of the bun so that it isn't a circle. Basically just twist it where ever the tie goes. 

-Voila, you're done. No joke. If need be, take out some pieces to keep it messy and if it's a little too messy, pin some pieces loosely back. 

Can't get any easier. 

To make this look more formal, curl the hair in loose waves and the result is more elegant and put together.

Best thing about this chignon, it looks different on everyone because we all will twist it differently. So, whether you're at the pool or out grocery shopping this hair is appropriate.

(PH: various tumblr + pinterest //

Collage: Mindy Erazo)

Style: Tucked Hair.

Over on The Sartorialist Mr. Schuman took some photographs of women with their hair tucked into their jackets and scarves outside some fashion week shows. I was really excited about these pictures because I have been tucking my hair into my jacket since I was in high school. I always thought it gave off this elegant, chic, laid-back look like 'I'm too lazy to pull my hair out but it looks amaze anyways so I'll just leave it at that'. Yeah, that's what I get from such a simple style choice but most of it attributes to my trip to Paris when I was 15 and saw an extremely chic French women with her hair as such coming out of Galeries Lafayette. Something about the face being framed so drastically by your hair just looks great to me. I have been doing it so long that my mom has stopped pulling my hair out when we are together (she used to do that incessantly and I would literally have a freakout when she did). Also, it was sort of convenient having decently long hair and if I forgot a scarf, tucking my hair into my jacket was a way of warmth. 

Oh, and did I mention MK and Ashley Olsen have also been doing it since they moved to New York, so technically not a 'new' thing but I guess it's trendy now and I'm still loving it. 

 Seriously, what's more chic than this?

(PH: via here)

Beauty: Bangin' Bangs.

It's sort-of a bit excessive how many times a day I ask myself, "To bang, or not to bang?" hair that is. I am extremely content with the length of my hair at the moment. It's taken me since freshman year of high-school to grow it out when I one day decided I wanted short hair like Lizzie McGuire (thanks Hillary Duff, I blame you). It's finally long and layered and I love the versitilaty that comes with long hair. Buns, pony tails and braids galore.

BUT, yes, a big but, I still sometimes crave a change. Should I chop it off a la Elizabeth Olsen? Color it? or just get bangs? I had blunt bangs and stick straight hair for a couple months during my sophomore year of college and really enjoyed them but, I think my timing was off because it was Fall/Winter and the wind was out of control which meant hair in my eyes/mouth, I had to wash my face like five times a day so my forehead didn't break out and having to take an extra 10 minutes with a mini straightener to style them just wasn't in the books for me. So I braided them, pinned them back, and let them grow out. Mais, I think I'm ready again for the responsibility, for real this time. What really took me to this point is this amazing beauty editorial for Elle España. These bangs are the perfect length, they look great straight as well as textured and wispy. I'm obsessed. 

 

HAIR: Retro Waves.

With the Holiday season approaching fast, I've been taking a little time figuring out what I'll be wearing to dinners, parties, and church for the next couple weeks (after finals, of course). Well one thing that always seems to sort-of slip my mind is my hair. I can be adventurous with it but it's getting long and up-do's take forever so usually I just leave it stick straight or curl it. Well, I'm getting bored, so I went over to Pinterest and found a new kind of curl that looks very glamorous for the Holidays. The Retro Wave looks beautiful on any hair of any length and can easily be pulled back into a chignon for a more dramatic look.

I found some great tutorials at The Beauty Department and also on Refinery29 which I think will work better on longer, thicker hair. I'm hoping my hair will hold the wave so, fingers crossed!

Any of you going to try this retro-glam look? If so, e-mail me pictures and such so I can see how it turned out! 

XX

 (PH: tumblr/Refinery29 - Edit: M.E.)

Pony up.

yeah girl. This is one hot editorial. Gah I wish I could dye my hair pastel colours!

XX
M.E.

(PH: Bon Magazine)