ban.do Bridal

It’s that time of year again…the start of wedding season!  I’ve been busy lately helping my girlfriends plan their celebrations and I can’t help but look at all the wedding stuff myself.  I am already married but that won’t stop me from checking out anything wedding related…ever.

I have never been a veil type of girl and didn’t wear one on my own special day so ban.do’s bridal collection would’ve been the perfect substitution. I wish I had known about them before.  I would have LOVED to wear any of these fine creations in my hair.  So, I won’t keep them to myself and I’ll share…here are some of my favorites.

I am in love with the retro glamour of this headband.

Crystal Overload Head Wrap

Sparkly and delightful!

Glam Crystal Headband

What’s better than a flower in your hair?  Three of them.

Flower Trio Combo

This feather is heavenly.

Grecian Headband

A clip as timeless as it is beautiful.

Crystal Swirl Bobbi Pin

 

Just because I’m not getting married doesn’t mean I won’t throw a fabulous party just so I can wear one of these pieces!

 

XO,

Anna

 

*images via ban.do

 

Spring Hair 2011

The Spring hair trends this year takes classic looks and fusses them up.  Here are a few examples…

Bobs are now worn longer and blunt. The added texture makes it more fun than stuffy!

The middle part.  Always cool, now even cooler.

Ombre hair color.  It’s a recession so why should we get our roots done?

The pixie is back but it doesn’t have to be short all over.  The longer bangs give it a more rock and roll feel at the same time softening the look.

Iconic Jane Birkin bangs are fresh and Emma Stone pulls off the look flawlessly.

 

All the styles this season are so fun and versatile, they all look good dressed up or down.  Which hair trends are currently your favorite?

 

XO,

Anna

Birds of a feather…

Blame it on the movie Black Swan, Steven Tyler or our need to be closer to nature but feather extensions are the latest thing to hit the hair scene.  Remember when Christina Aguilera used to have strips of brightly colored extensions in her hair?  I guess we can now replace those with feathers!  You can find an abudance of them here on Etsy  or they will probably run you about $50 at the salon.  The feathers are crimped into your hair with micro beads and take about 10 minutes to put in.  Once they are in you can wash , dry and curl them with your own hair, although I feel they won’t stay nice as long if you style them all the time.  I don’t know how I’d feel about feathers in my hair every day, although I think they look cool, I’d feel a little creepy too.  Maybe for a fun night out!

Hilary Duff

Ke$ha

Steven Tyler has feathers in his hair every night on American Idol

*image via Feather Heads Blog

 

What do you think of the feather extensions?  Hot 2011 trend…or should we notify PETA?

 

XO,

Anna

*I am told the feathers come from happy birds…and they are not harmed in the process, but if any of you know exactly where they come from I’d love to know!

Beach-ey Waves

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to create beach-ey waves so here goes!

If you have hair longer than your shoulders you’ll probably need at least a 1″ curling iron.

Beach in a bottle is always good to have.  It helps give your hair the “I’ve been hanging out at the beach all day” texture that will definitely help, especially if you have really straight or fine hair.  I have found that this one by Alterna works great.

1. Start with dry hair.

2.  For those of you that have really straight hair I would clip up most of the hair and start at the bottom.  Girls that already have somewhat curly or wavy hair can start midway or anywhere on the head.  Use at least 2″ sections I would say…depends on how loose you want the curls/waves (the bigger the section the less curly it is, with this look you would want more of a wave vs. curl).

3.  Start midway along the section and wrap it around the iron.  Curl it vertically like you would if you were doing spiral curls but leave out the ends.  Repeat this step over until you’ve done everything.  Girls that already have curly or wavy hair don’t have to section the whole head and curl every single hair.  I would leave out some natural sections as this would give it a more relaxed “beachy” look.

4.  Once you are done curling it should look somewhat like this (loose curls).

5.  Break up the curls with your fingers.

6.  Twist or braid your bangs out of the way if you like and voila!  Beach time!

(At this point you can apply some pomade or wax on your fingertips and break it through the curls for some definition on certain pieces if you like or more beach spray.  This look is easy to do because you don’t need it to be perfect, the less perfect it is the better.)

Hopefully this post helps and you have a better understanding of how to get beach-ey waves.  If you have any further questions feel free to email me!  Now, get out there and hit the surf!

XO,

Anna

Braids for days…

Summer is the perfect time for braids.  The look is young, fresh, pretty and best of all, they look good even when they aren’t perfect!  Braids are a great way to get your hair out of your face and they soften updos that would otherwise be harsh and stuffy.  Here are a few of my fashion icons and how they wear them.

 

I love Lauren Conrad’s california cool.

I love wearing my hair like Jennifer Connelly here in the summer with a maxi dress.

This fish braid style braid is always timeless and fun.

Rachel Bilson’s braids are hippic chic.

Rachel McAdams’ updos show that you can go super glam or super cute with braids.

Nicole’s braided do is cute and simple in the front and more intricate but just as cute in the back.

All these braids are so much fun.  I hope they inspire you to play with your hair and see how creative and chic you can be!

Kim at the salon did this five strand braid for me recently when I went to a party.  I got a ton of compliments.  Thanks Kim!

XO,

Anna