Holy cats, what a beautiful salon! Where was I? Oh, I was FINALLY getting my hair done at Haus, a new(ish) salon on 42nd & Nicollet in Minneapolis that I’ve been dying to visit forEVER. It was founded by the oh-so-charming and adorable Charlie Brackney, who used to be the creative director for a very respected salon and is pretty much a genius. They’ve got a roster of baller stylists who specialize in either cut or color and a ton of great products. (Hello, Davines, No. 4 and the WET BRUSH, which is way, way cooler than it sounds.)

Though the salon in itself is beautiful, they also support local artists with installations that cycle every few months. Right now it’s collage work, though I’ve also seen a rainbow of yarn hanging above the shampoo bowls. It’s modern, open and airy and quickly becoming the go-to salon for trendy Minneapolis folks. This summer, Haus is launching a BLOWDRY BAR, which I am super excited for since getting my hair blown out is one of my greatest pleasures in life. I can’t do it myself!

Ever since I quit bleaching my hair platinum, it hasn’t been the same. The wave is lackluster, my hair feels dull and sad and HEAVY. In short - blah. Not sexy hair. I booked an appointment with Caitlin, who did my hair for a photoshoot a few months ago and who cuts a few good girlfriends’ hair. I told her, “Caitlin, my hair isn’t sexy anymore.” And she set to work.

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What a sweet gift! This pretty package arrived a few weeks ago from the lovely ladies at Kiehl’s Nordstrom MOA and duh, I love pretty packages. (Almost as much as I love Instagram. SORRY. Instagram makes my life look so nice!) 

I am a big Kiehl’s girl. The $7 lip balm in those cute little squeeze tubes? Love them, and I finally broke my mama of her Blistex habit (bad!) with them. I lost two tubs of the Olive Fruit Oil conditioner to my mother and baby brother and I like to give the aforementioned product stealers the Imperial Body Balm (mama) and Ultimate Man bar (bro) as gifts. 

I have long been interested in the idea of eye cream and I’ve definitely dabbled, but I haven’t really decided if I need one. I guess being 24, I probably do, so right now I’m using the legendary Creamy Eye Treatment (when I remember, anyway.) It’s made with avocado and looks so lovely and pea green and feels deliciously creamy.

What I’m REALLY loving, which comes as a complete surprise to my picky ass, is the Amino Acid shampoo and conditioner. We all know the sob story that comes from being post-platinum. My hair is kind of a mess right now, but it’s trying. The Amino Acid duo, which are full of my beauty love coconut oil, actually make it feel soft. For me with my coarse horse hair, that is absolutely HUGE. I’m buying these in full-size.

I love face sprays. I think I own five - they’re especially great in the summer when it’s hot as balls and you need a pick-me-up/your makeup is globbing all over your sweaty face. The Acai Damage-Protecting Toning Mist promises to protect against free radicals and all the bad things floating away in the air just waiting to get all up in your pores … I just really like to spritz it all over. I’m a child.

Just like that Jessica Andrews song that Leighton Meester sings in Country Strong, I am a SUMMER GIRL of the highest order. Now that there’s actually snow on our Minnesota ground I am experiencing major winter blahs. I miss tan skin, sundresses, messy waves and how sexy everyone looks when it’s like 100 degrees outside and the humidity is high. Ideally I’d like to spend the rest of my days in a bikini on a beach. I feel like a mega babe in the summer and I definitely do not feel that way right now.

I’m channeling my summer lust into beauty products, naturally. I nicked some inspiration from my current major girl crush, Cat Marnell at xojane.com - she likes to smell like summer and turned me on to Mario Badescu’s Summer Shine Lotion, which is only $10 for that amazing “skin/suntan lotion that’s mostly faded/sunshine” smell I am in love with. It doesn’t smell like some putrid tropical drink - just smells like summer. It works even better when you layer it like I do with Bobbi Brown Beach perfume (jasmine, seaweed, air, Coppertone) and/or Skin Musk, which I most definitely paid about $10 for at Wal-Mart and layer with all sorts of things. (SJP bought all the Bonne Bell Skin Musk oil when they discontinued it and that was a tipping point for Lovely, which is a fragrance that is so not me but I kind of like playing with anyway. This Skin Musk is a little different and probably not as good, but I’m all about Wal-Mart cheap beauty thrills as you’ll see in the future if I blog like a good girl.)

I’m always amused when magazines do “beach hair tutorials” because that’s basically my natural hair texture. My hair + a day at the lake = perfect combination. But because I bleached the shit out my hair when it was platinum and am now trying to coax it back to happy, my waves are kinda meh. I stumbled upon Not Your Mother’s Beach Babe texture spray when prowling around CVS for beauty products, which is one of my favorite things to do in the world. $6 later (versus $22, which I almost shelled out for Bumble & bumble Surf Spray) my wavy crazy mermaid curls are back. It even smells (and tastes) like saltwater.

Next on my “beach beauty” list: Comptoir Sud Pacific Aqua Motu perfume, perhaps J Lo Miami Glow perfume (LOL for real, I know, but I wear Glow and it smells fab) and several spray tans via the greatest tanning salon in the Twin Cities, Golden Tan.

My girl Maritza Ramirez (fashion designer/event producer/girl-about-town/beauty guru at Kiehl’s Nordstrom MOA) joined in the beauty wishlist fun - now that she works at MOA too, we can chit-chat about our latest obsessions way more often! She’s going to Puerto Rico for Xmas, which I think is probably the best gift ever, but here’s what she’d like to see under her tree this holiday season.

SACHAJUAN Ocean Mist System 3: I’d say 9 out of 10 days I won’t got through the trouble of taming (attacking, really) my wild mane with a flat iron.  This is especially appealing to me, because I’m headed to Puerto Rico for the holiday next week and all I want is an effortlessly chic “beach look.”   I may be splurging on this as a Christmas present to myself.  (Woodley and Bunny, $72.25) 

Rodin Olio Lusso Luxury Body Oil: I’ve been DYING to try Rodin Olio Lusso products for quite some time.  Given the fact that we are about a month away from the coldest/driest part of the Minnesota winter, I think the time has finally come for me to indulge in the body oil.  11 essential oils in a chic, deco-inspired bottle?  Yes, please. (barneys.com, $95)

Jo Malone Vitamin E Treatment Body Scrub: While I am excited to be ringing in 2012 in a few weeks, I am haunted by apocalyptic visions of chapped, dull, dry skin. Ok, ok.  That may be a tad dramatic, but what’s a girl to do? I’m arming myself with this Jo Malone scrub and vowing to use it on the regular for the next 4 months.  (Nordstrom, $85)

Armani The Madreperla Harmony 1 Palette:  Why do I love this palette so much?  Let me count the ways.  Armani achieved perfection with this radiant golden palette that every girl needs at her side on NYE.  As usual, Armani lures me in with sleek, cutting-edge packaging.  (Nordstrom, $59)

A few more items that have made their way onto my beauty wishlist.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime - When I went brunette last winter, I bit the bullet and bought a bottle of this (it’s about $50) blend of three oils to help nourish my hair. I’ve been using it steadily since going back to blonde - and I went PLATINUM blonde, which is way more harsh to your hair. I’m not sure that it’s working miracles, but my bottle is almost gone and I’m kind of afraid what my hair’s going to do without it. It smells good too; not as good as Moroccan Oil, but that dried my hair out. Santa could slip this in my stocking … or a bottle or two of the It’s a 10 leave-in.

Rescue Beauty Lounge polish - This is the best nail polish ever, bar none. It’s $18 a pop, which is kind of nuts, but I’ve been lucky enough to score them during the yearly 50% off VIP events. (I used to skip class for it, I was that dedicated.) Chinoise is my favorite red polish of all time; I wish it came in coordinating lipstick. But there wasn’t a big sale this year, so I’m forced to add a few to my Xmas list. I got my mom into RBL too - the only polish she’ll ever wear is their Coral and she’s getting two bottles from me this Christmas. This year, Santa/Mommy, I’d like Grunge, Bruised and Opaque Nude. 

Arcona “Problem Skin” Five - Arcona is skincare you dream of and yearn for. Mommy bought me the five-step “problem skin” set on Black Friday, when the whole kit & caboodle went 40% off. It’s still expensive, but I’ve used it for two days and honestly, 100% honestly, I am madly in love. The Cranberry Gommage scrub alone is worth its weight in gold. I feel like a whole new girl when I use it. Detailed review to come after a few weeks. 

Diptyque Tubereuse candle - Merry Christmas to me, from me! I bought the $28 mini at Nordstrom. Diptyque, Voluspa, Illume - I love me a fancy candle. 

I don’t know WHY I didn’t try this sooner; I had read that coconut oil was A+ for dry, damaged, stressed-out hair like mine. And mine was super pissed at me too, because I’d just bleached my roots twice in two weeks and done a toner too. Even though I’d had it trimmed, it was bone dry and frizzy and I was not going to Fashion Week with hair like that. (The color was beautiful, though!)

So with a little advice from Becky of Stormsister (I’ve talked about her shhh. bar before), I took Friday night and coconut oiled my mess of sad hair. (I was too hungover to go out anyway.) My jar had been purchased from Whole Foods a year ago for about $11 and I used to use it in smoothies. Coconut oil is super good for ALL of you, not just your hair. It comes hard, so you have to liquify it; mine had done the work for me by being stuck in a cupboard in my bathroom. Otherwise, just boil water and stick the jar in there.

I got my hair damp, slathered a ton of coconut oil from ends to roots, especially where it felt most damaged. Then I wrapped it up in saran wrap, covered it up in a towel and sat for about an hour and a half; good time to watch Kardashians and infomercials, paint my nails and do a Mario Badescu mask.  

The only thing about coconut oil is that, well, it’s oil. I had to shampoo three or four times to get it all out. But in the morning, my hair was far softer and less frizzy; it loves me again! (And my hair does NOT smell like coconut, which is A-OK with me.) I think coconut oil is my new go-to deep conditioning treatment. I might start taking it orally again too, just to see.

My hair is finally at the desired color: platinum blonde. It took a few dye jobs, a lot of toning and plenty of Kerastase Elixir Ultime and deep conditioning to get this far, and I’d like to share what I’ve learned about this much-coveted hair color I call my own.

Platinum Tips, Thus Far:

1. Buy a toning shampoo. Purple shampoo is a necessity if you’re going this light. Otherwise, your hair tends to get a little bit yellow, which is NOT pretty. All those girls I see with the yellow bleach-blonde hair, please go get a bottle of Clairol Shimmer Lights. I don’t shampoo that often (usually every eight days), so I always tone. Occasionally I will throw a Manic Panic Virgin Snow toning treatment into the mix for about a half hour. Don’t leave purple shampoo on for longer than about four minutes or your hair might turn blue.

Recommended products: Clairol Shimmer Lights shampoo and/or conditioner, available at Sally Beauty Supply; Pravana Pure Light shampoo for sulfate-free toning; Manic Panic Virgin Snow toner

2. Get trims. Bleaching is bad for your hair, obviously. I have been bleaching my roots every six weeks, but this time I redid my whole head. Certain layers were incredibly fried. So make sure to get trims often; I do mine every time I touch up my roots.

3. Deep condition. A lot. Fried hair needs love. At least twice a month, I deep-condition my hair, and by that I mean the whole shower cap/hot towel/shower steam deep condition for at least half an hour. An occasional salon treatment never hurts either. I’ve been trying lots of different masks and conditioners; this is what has worked for me.

Recommended products: It’s a 10 Miracle Hair Mask, Kiehl’s Olive Fruit Oil Deeply Repairative Hair Pak

4. Moisturize, moisturize, moisturize from day to day!  I have been coating my hair with Kerastase Elixir Ultime and Jonathan Overnight Oil treatment, then twisting it up into a coil and leaving it to soak for a day or two. 

5. Watch what you put in your hair. Certain products can deposit color and contribute to that dull yellowing. Plenty of hair companies make platinum-friendly hair styling aids, from Redken to Pureology. I try not to use hairspray if I can help it.

6. Platinum hair attracts attention. Don’t dye your hair this light if you’re not willing to deal with the attention it can attract. It carries with it an Old Hollywood, glamorous appeal, and people respond to that.

7. Keep it healthy from the inside, too. I’ve been taking both prenatal vitamins and Evening Primrose Oil supplements to help my distressed hair.

8. Work with your hair’s natural texture. At first, I was wearing my naturally wavy hair pin straight. As my hair gets lighter, I heat style less and less. Try your hardest not to heat-style too much, because that zaps your hair’s moisture content. 

As I said before, my platinum hair is a work in progress. Any tried and true tips for me? 

This is Jackie Roscoe WITHOUT MAKEUP. She’s flawless, and I should know; she gave me my very first lapdance last April. You’ve seen her here before, but I think she’s so pretty I wanted to feature her lovely face again. LOOK at her eyebrows. Let’s play in her makeup bag!

When did you start wearing makeup? - I started experimenting with makeup when I was in 6th grade. The smoky eye was my immediate favorite, but my mom wouldn’t let me wear makeup to school until I learned to tone it down. I still have trouble with “day” and “night” makeup.

Who taught you/what products did you use? - I’m grateful my mom taught me all the basics…and she taught me right! I started off using her products: Lancome, Shiseido, Chanel, YSL, etc. When I started buying my own makeup, it was MAC. I don’t think I’ve ever owned a drugstore compact.

What is your greatest beauty strength? - Probably my eyebrows. Most days I will just fill them in and skip all other makeup. A perfect pair of defined brows is the finishing touch on any face.

What is your daily beauty routine? - My beauty routine changes daily, and I could write a book on all the weird things I do. My “beauty” matters the most on weekends, so after the gym/tanning, I will take a long shower and exfoliate/shave and wash my hair with my new favorite product—baking soda. That’s right, I’ll probably never use real shampoo again. I’ll condition with Moroccan Oil and an Apple Cider Vinegar rinse. My hair is sooo soft and perfect after that. I then apply makeup (mostly Makeup Forever, Kat Von D, or Urban Decay), and blow dry/flat iron my hair!

What are your favorite products? What can’t you live without? - I have so many products, and I use them ALL (depending on the day). My absolute favorites are my T3 blow dryer, CHI flat iron, everything from the Make Up For Ever HD line, and my current fragrance—Cleopatra by Tocca. I wouldn’t be able to live without Bumble & Bumble Tonic hair lotion, Follique (a wonder product that banishes ingrown hairs), coconut oil (for hair and body), NARS lip gloss in “Super Orgasm” and my rhinestones that I glue around my eyes.

Who are your beauty icons? - Pornstars and drag queens. 

What’s a beauty trend you’d like to see disappear forever? - Pastel lips!! I know lavender lipstick is really tempting, but it looks good on NO ONE.

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Abbey Lee. Her hair is PERFECT. How does she keep it healthy? My top layer of hair is FRIED. Tips? Help me fix it please!

Welcome to Baby Reviews, wherein I review (succintly) beauty products I’ve tried in the last month or so. Helpful, right? As always, helpful’s what I aim for.

Pravana Pure Light Brightening Shampoo (above) - Since I have a keratin blowout, I was instructed to stay far, far away from sulfates. This makes finding a purple shampoo to tone my blonde difficult, but I found Pravana thanks to Google and ordered it via Amazon. It’s runny. Really runny. And it stains your hair purple in the shower, but it washes out. And it tones like a dream. My hair is champagne platinum, not buttercup yellow.

Essie Bahama Mama polish - Pretty plum that isn’t too dark. Needs about three coats to apply evenly. 

China Glaze In the Limelight polish - Neon green, so it dries matte. I needed about four coats for it to look opaque; better as an accent color, I think.

Bumble & Bumble White Hair Powder - Comes in a cutie-pie little travel spray size, but isn’t worth the money. (It’s $19 for the teeny size, $34 for the big one.) Gives nice texture and so-so coverage, but it sheds like snowfall … or dandruff. “Psssst!” or baby powder work just as well.

MAC Pro Longwear Lipcreme in Perpetual Flame - Cool texture, easy application, long-lasting raspberry red color.

Dior Addict Lipstick in 578 Diorkiss - This is the color Kate Moss is wearing in the commercials. I probably like it so much because I like the tube, which is high tech and holographic. The pink lipstick inside is pretty too, but yeah, not $30 pretty.

Lolita Lempicka Fleur de Corail - Beachy with a side of laundry detergent. (Appealing to you? I’ll sell.)