the fashion & beauty guinea pig

Printed Tunic, Forever21, Orange Striped Bralette, Free People, Black Fei Vest with Brass Buttons, Anthropologie.

After Christmas in June, I wanted to brief you on some of the products I have splurged on -- because they actually have enough benefits to be worth the price (bonus -- some of them are cheap).

So tomorrow will bring a new day as well as new products from my product-junkie collection. Remember that I've worked at many retail companies with great products -- including Crabtree + Evelyn and Nordstrom -- so I have quite a pile to select from. Consider me the ultimate product guinea pig.

But for now, a little preview. The photo above came from a couple nights ago. Here, proof of the guinea pig statement: a fashion experiment, to see if the runway bra-over-plain tunic thing could possibly work in real life, and a beauty experiment to explore the results (however terrifying) of letting my hair air-dry. Results: the bra thing works with a very sporty looking or obviously made-to-be-seen bra (like mine, with orange stripes. Very non-lingerie looking). If you have a larger chest like mine, you need to wear a vest over the style concoction to avoid looking too wide. I saw the runway look in a Parisian fashion magazine, ripped out the page and put it on my wall for inspiration. Voila!

How-to hair:

1. If you have straight-across bangs like mine, always blow-dry them for styles where you're leaving them out front. Then straighten to sleeken and tame, depending on how unruly your hair is.

2. Next, mist a wave-enhancing spray (I used Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray, available at salons) all over hair, focusing on the part from the tops of your ears to the tips of your hair. Scrunch with your fingers, pushing up. You want to make a wave, so let it be as curly as possible.

3. Repeat scrunching until hair dries enough to keep the shape of the waves. If you're in a hurry, use a blowdryer to dry while constantly repeating the scrunching motion with your hands, all over your hair.

4. If desired, pin front hair back (i.e. stray strands that frame your face) with bobby pins so your face is more visible. But don't forget -- a little strandage is good because it looks soft and sultry (yes, I believe I just made up a word).