One thing about living in the city: you're always schlepping.

At least when I lived in Boston I drove everywhere. I'd drive to my tanning place which was the equivalent of 5 NYC blocks away and then I'd get in my car and drive across the street to get coffee. In New York you don't have that luxury.

I am now a slave to the public transit when I come into Manhattan for work. And let's be honest, we women literally have a lot of baggage! We have our purse, our huge computer bag, our gym bag. It's never ending and the constant movement of hoisting your bag on your shoulder is a work out in itself.

Personally I have my own climate. I walk outside and start sweating in the first 4 seconds. I'm like my own personal rainforest. So it's no wonder that when I finally arrive home from a hard day of trudging through the streets of Manhattan all I want to do is remove my makeup and wash my face.

But sometimes just a face wash isn't enough. Sometimes I need a serious cleanse after an 89 degree NYC August Wednesday.

That's when I break out Fresh's Umbrian Clay Face Mask.

This past Friday I had the day off so I decided to do some errands. I had a TON of returns to do so I headed to the mall and began my marathon return session.

One hour later I was making my way through Macy's when I simply had to stop at the Mac counter. I was checking out the DazzleGlass when I noticed the lip color of one of the makeup artists. It was amazing!

"What are you wearing on your lips??"

"It's Snob lipstick with Viva Glam VI gloss over it."

"Wait. Isn't Snob the lipstick Drew Barrymore was wearing to the He's Just Not Into You Premier???"

 
See pic below. She's totally wearing Snob by M.A.C.
 

I was reading the July issue of Glamour Magazine with Sandra Bullock on the cover

when I came across an column that made me think. It was a list of things that the writer did every day to make her smile. (Glamour is famous for their do's and don'ts so I guess you'd call this a spin-off?)

I decided to come up with my own list of Smile Inducing activities. Here are my top 5. 

1. Stock up on flowers. I love having fresh flowers in my apartment. And I'm lucky enough that the bodega down the street has bouquest of lily's for $8 and beautiful peonies for $10. Get a couple of bud vases from Ikea for $1 and you're good to go
2. Get a french manicure. I'm sorry but there is nothing like a french manicure to make me feel all dainty and girly. I got one this weekend and it's holding up so well. If you don't want to go the french route then just get a regular manicure. How can getting your nails done not make you smile? :)
3. Send a card to someone. I love sending random cards to people. #1 it makes me feel good and #2 there is nothing like that thank you text or phone call after they get it to say how nice it was that you were thinking of them and how your card make their day.
4. Say Thank You. The other day I was taking the bus from my apartment to the Path train. I was sitting all the way in the back of the bus with my friend and when the bus stopped I could've easily gotten out the back door but instead I walked to the front so I could say Thank You to the driver. When I exited my friend asked where I went and I said that I like to say thank you to the driver. "Aaaaw," she replied. "You're so cute!"
5. Be a coffee fairy. On occassion when I'm picking up my morning Starbucks I'll grab an extra one for a co-worker. Not because they asked but because I know that maybe they're not in the office yet or they are running late and didn't have time to grab one themselves because of a 9am meeting that some crazy person decided to schedule. (Srsly. Meetings at 9am should be outlawed.) So I'll take an extra 3 minutes and grab them a coffee. They didn't ask for it but I know that when I put it on their desk that I've made their morning.

Leave me a comment and let me know what you do to put a smile on your face!  

If you are an avid reader of These Lips are Made for Glossin' then you're aware that I've been on a crusade to become blond for the past 4+ months.

It was back in Feburary that I decided to go from black hair to slightly highlighted in My Blond Makeover Part 1. After that I wanted more more more! So five weeks later I went into my salon and told my stylist Joe at the Joseph Witt salon that I wanted to go even lighter. You can see the results in My Blond Makeover Part 2.

Well 5 weeks ago I walked into my appointment and told Joe that I wanted to go even lighter with the blond highlights.

"Oh..."

He was a little taken aback by this. Mainly because he wasn't sure that my hair could handle all of the bleach again.

I assured him that I had tough hairs and that I really wanted to go lighter so we needed to do this.

You've all seen me numerous times with my hair foiled so I'll pick up this blog with a photo of my head after it's been processed and the foil removed.  

After Joe began blow drying my newly highlighted hair we noticed a rather large clump of it on the ground.

"Oh. That's a lot..."

I looked up at him. "Um should I be worried?!"

"No. There wasn't a lot in the sink so that's a good sign."

"Uh. Ok."

 Let the blow drying begin! He told me to keep my eyes closed so I'd be surprised but I couldn't. I was too excited to see my newly blond hairs!!

All smiles as my newly blond hair emerges!

The warm weather is usually synonymous with cold drinks. I know when I'm out and about I like to order a grande skinny iced vanilla latte from Starbucks. It totally hits the spot and gives me that much needed jolt of caffeine. However the thing I alwas struggle with is how my plastic cup sweats!

Exhibit A

This is a huge annoyance to me. So much so that I'm usually seen swathing my cup in about 78 napkins just to keep the moisture at bay.There is nothing worse than trying to enjoy your favorite bevvy and having liquid drip down your wrist.

If you're like me and can't stand sweaty drinks fear not. I think I found a solution.

As I was waiting in line to give my order to the barista I glanced over at the accessories table. There stood a venti plastic cold drink cup with a green plastic straw.

After picking up my order I walked over to the display and saw that the venti plastic cup was actually an insulated drink cup! The text even says "Keep your drink cold and your hand dry."

Someone answered my prayers!

I didn't even hesitate when I saw the $14.95 price tag. All I thought about was the aluminum SIGG bottle I'm using now to drink my water and how it creates rivers of water on my desk whenever I fill it up.

I instantly snatched up one of these venti insulated cups. They look like they're selling out fast so I recommend you go out and get one too!

I admit, when I hear that new lipgloss is out on the market that claims to "stay all day long" I'm totally skeptical. Because even if the product does stay, it usually ends up drying up my lipos.  

I steered clear of long wear lip glosses for that exact reason until I tried Maybelline's Superstay Power Gloss. I don't know what compelled me to purchase it at Duane Reade last weekend. Maybe it was the Cotton Candy pink color with lots of shimmer that drew me in. Either way I was trying on this gloss and loving it before I was even back home!

There is a huge range of colors from sparkly light pink, to grape to bronze and it feels really good on the lips. I've been using this product non-stop for almost a week now and I haven't had any drying or flaking on my lips. See...

"Hi. I'm flake free."

 If you're a beauty addict and looking to try something new, or if you really want a superstay lip gloss try this out! At roughly $8.00 a tube you can afford to be courageous!

I'm a big ring person. I love wearing over the top baubles. And let's face it, I'm not going to be rocking the Hope diamond any time soon so most of my outrageous rings are faux and fabulous.  One of my favorites is the one pictured below. I purchased it at H&M maybe two months ago for around $6. If I had a nickle for every compliment I received for this ring I'd probably be able to put $20 on my Metrocard.

So after perusing one of my favorite online stores, Forever 21.com (or XXI as my friends and I like to call it) I picked out a few of my favorite wallet friendly chunky rings that I know will go perfectly with my newly purchased Mossimo maxi dress.

F21 Jewel Trim Stone Ring - $5.80

F21 Round Cluster Ring - $4.80

F21 Polished Flower Ring - $4.80

F21 Lacquered Floral Rhinestone Ring - $5.80. This also comes in white!

I'm a firm believer in "It's not what you wear, it's how you wear it." The only person who knows what size jeans you're wearing or if you got that dress at Old Navy is you. So if you're on a budget don't think you can't wear something just because you got it at Marshall's. It's all about how confidence!

You all know that I'm obsessed with Moroccan Oil. You also know that the second something new comes out I run out to purchase it.

So when I heard that this new anti-frizz cream was out on the market naturally I had to try it, even thought I had just restocked up on my Moroccan Oil.

I first heard of Living Proof while reading Allure Magazine. Apparently these guys who went to MIT and invented the polymer, came up with this hair care line. (Woohoo! Go MIT! Score one for my hometown!!)

It is absolutely amazing! I use the Frizz Straight Making No Frizz Styling Treatment for Thick to Coarse Hair. I put it on when I get out of the shower and then I follow up with the Moroccan Oil and my hair has never looked better.

With the warm weather coming I highly recommend that you run to Sephora and pick this product up. It comes in a mini 2 oz size for $14 so you can try it out and see if you like it. Trust me though, if you have problems with frizz this product will be for you!

Let me know how it works for you!!

I just love summer. I love not being a slave to my big black puffy coat and being able to roam around in a maxi dress all the time. Plus I adore being tan. I find that my mood is much improved when I have some color on my face.

But let's be honest, who's going to the beach in New England already? And while I do admit to occassionally fake-and-baking it I know it's not something I should not make a habit of.

So what to do if I want my face to glow but no sun to make this happen??

I use Fresh's High Noon Freshface Glow.

I am not the biggest fan of washing my hair. My preference is to wash it on Monday and then not again until Friday.

You're probably wondering why I'd rather go with dirty hair rather than clean fresh hair. Well for one I color my hair so the less I wash it the longer my color lasts. And two my hair looks better on day 2 or 3 of no washing!

In order to get the perfect "dirty hair" look, I look towards the following products in my grooming arsenal.

Baby Powder

This is a life saver for me. I know that there are a ton of fancy dry shampoos out there these days, but baby powder does the same thing (absorbs oil) and it's the fraction of the cost as the high-end dry shampoos!  I just put some on my hands and massage at the roots of my hair. Then I brush through. It's as easy as that. I also find that the powder gives my lifeless unwashed hair some much needed volume!

Moroccan Oil

I swear by this product. You may have even read the blog I wrote about it. When my hair is dull looking because of not washing for two days I just put a tiny bit of Moroccan Oil on the ends and voila! My hair is shiny and looks like I just stepped out of the shower. I cannot even tell you how amazing these products are. I use the Oil, the Hydrating Style Cream and the Gold Shimmer Spray. Give them a go. You won't be disappointed.

L'Oreal Elnett Hair Spray

This is another product that I've raved about on Daily Makeover as well! The price point may scare you (it retails for $15 a bottle. Eek!) but if you use hairspray on a daily basis like I do it is worth your dollars! Elnett does not leave any build up in your hair and one stroke of the brush removes all traces of the product. Use half the bottle on your head and you can still run your fingers through your hair!

How do you manage your unwashed hair??