It's Simply Lindsay

07/31/15

Behind the Chair with Deanna

*This post contains an affiliate link. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.*

In the first post of this hair series “Behind the Chair,” I went behind Chicago hair stylist Deanna Dituri’s chair to see what’s trending and to see how you can get the most out of your hair appointment.

What’s Trending in Hair

Balayage: ba-la-whaaaat?

If you’ve opened a magazine in the last few months, there is no way you escaped the biggest trend in hair color: balayage. Celebrities, beauty bloggers, and the everyday woman are loving this gorgeous style, which is the more natural, fresh version of its ombre counterpart. So what is balayage anyway? Or better yet, how do you pronounce it? Balayge, meaning ‘to sweep’ in French, is a coloring technique that involves hand painting color in a fluid sweeping motion. The result is a very naturally shining highlighted look, and because the color is concentrated on the mid-shaft and dissipated upwards towards the root, it allows an ease of outgrowth that traditional foils do not allow.

07/27/15

Easy Everyday Bun

I always envied girls with that street chic, effortless, slightly tousled everyday bun that looked like they just threw it up as they were running out the door. Though I have mastered the sleek sister version of this somewhat messy bun, I don’t always want to sport the polished top knot.

It couldn’t be so hard though, right? What was I missing? When I attempted to throw my hair up effortlessly the way those girls seemingly did, the result was a lumpy, limp, lifeless bun sagging on top of my head with a weird tale sticking out.

Hmm not quite the style I was going for.

After buckling down and practicing, I have now achieved the easy everyday bun I was hoping for, in 5 easy steps that takes 5 minutes or less. This style works well on my fine, medium-length hair.

07/23/15

How to Grow Your Eyebrows

As if women weren’t held to impossible standards already, now we have one more item to add to our ‘strive for perfection list.’ Because of a push in social media for healthy role models, many outlets in the modeling industry have publicly vowed to promote a healthier body image with healthier models. For their runway shows, designers are choosing strong over skinny, showcasing larger sample sizes to demonstrate how curves will fit in the clothes, and companies like H&M have pledged to only “use healthy models, with the aim of representing a diverse spectrum of women in its campaigns and adverts.” Great news for women everywhere! But wait…now I have to achieve the perfect blend of healthy and fit, which means being thin, but not too thin, with some curves, but not too many curves, to look strong, but still soft and feminine…that sounds easy!

 

07/20/15

The Art of Writing Thank You Notes

When I was brainstorming what to write about during Sunday dinner, my husband suggested I write about composing thank you notes because he knows how much I love writing them. This might seem like a strange thing to be passionate about since many people 1. dread writing anything or 2. dread writing something that’s not a text or email.

My love for writing is deep-seeded, going back to childhood. Not only did my mother encourage reading and writing, but she taught my siblings and me manners and the ‘proper way to do things.’ As soon as I could answer the phone, I answered, ‘Rosasco residence, who’s calling?’ I knew how to speak to and address adults in person and on the phone (because I called my friends on landlines- gasp! What’s that?). My sister and I attended etiquette classes and even an old fashioned handwriting class given at the local historical museum (possibly inspired by our love of American Girl Dolls. We may or may not have worn our matching American Girl doll dresses to it…).  It’s no surprise that my mother took my sister and me to this beautiful, elegant stationary store every year to choose stationary, cards, and thank you notes to have on hand.

 

07/17/15

Simply Featured: Jenny Taylor Boudoir Photography

Through the wonderful world of social networking, I crossed paths with the talented entrepreneur Jenny Taylor of Jenny Taylor Boudoir Photography. If you’re already familiar with boudoir photography, great, you’re a few steps ahead of the game. If not, you might be wondering A. how it’s pronounced (boo-dwar) or B. if you should be embarrassed from reading about it.

Side note: as I was just about to write that NO, you should not be embarrassed about it, my husband looked at my computer screen where I had boudoir pictures up for some research, and he strangely inquired what I was up to…okay, so I felt slightly strange about it at first…

The teacher in me wants to give you a little background- boudoir is a late 18^th century French word meaning a woman’s bedroom or a private sitting room (private sitting room…sounds extremely stimulating, eh?). Today, women have boudoir photography taken in private settings to capture a woman’s essence- depending on your preference, these pictures can be sweet, classy, or sensual. Since this rising trend is here to stay, I teamed up with Jenny to go over some questions about boudoir photography and her business.

07/15/15

A Letter to My Daughter (About Her Two Last Names)

I’d like to write this letter to my sweet baby Ginny regarding her very special string of names. As you may or may not know, I kept my last name after marriage. Changing my name was not an option for me; I view the tradition as very archaic and incompatible with my beliefs, and though it definitely works for other families, it did not sit well with me; therefore, I could not make such an important change out of convenience to society. Even after two years of marriage, I still get the confused looks, eye rolls, or comments about how I’m “one of ‘those’ feminists.” But that’s for another time and day.

This letter is to explain to perfect little Ginny why she has two last names.

*Below are some family pictures, including both namesake “Virginias,” grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.