The Vanity Mirror: For beauty tips and other such things

Yeah, I have some colors that I already really like and don't really have much money to spend on makeup right now... the second one helps, though.

I agree: oil makes the colour go. Another tip is to be careful what you eat and drink when wearing lipstick. Deep fried food? Say goodbye.

And, using a straw can help.

I have three colors, a red, a purple, and a black. The red is already a "long lasting" variety and works so well that I have trouble getting it off, but I got it in the Netherlands so I have no way of getting the brand again. The purple, well, concealer-lipliner-lipstick-blot-powder-lipstick-blot works okay but it doesn't look too weird when it starts to come off because there is at least some common ground between the color of my lips and the color of my lipstick. The black I'm not sure how to deal with.

For a long time, I thought that what I needed when I put product in my hair was hold (high strength gel), and then I thought lightness of the stuff was what would do it (light dusting of hairspray), but now I think the look I really want is best served by working it in, letting it dry, and then brushing it out. I don't want a shellac look, I just want it to stay in the general shape.

Can y'all give advice on hair styles? I'm just wanting to do something different than the fauxhawk I've had since junior year.

(Don't have any pictures right now, but on an affirmative reply, I'll post one)

I recently switched from parting on the right to parting on the left because I read that left-side parts are masculine and right-side parts are feminine (Superman's hair parts on the left, Clark Kent's on the right, at least in the Christopher Reeve movies). I guess I was doing that without compensating for the mirror.

I'm still figuring out how to get exactly what I want, and this process has been going on for at least ten years now.

Say, what kind of fashion is the one in the far left?◊ I think it's prett stylish. The blue clothes. Is that a jacket or a blouse, or what is it?

edited 29th Aug '14 8:22:56 PM by dRoy

That is a white camisole with a blue dress shirt that has rolled sleeves. Essentially it's men's wear (blue collar, to be precise), but feminized a bit.

I edited this post far too much but I hope it gets the point across.

edited 29th Aug '14 8:38:25 PM by Leradny

Looked up what camisole is.

...Really? Huh, that one looks like just a white shirt.

Camisole, or tank top. I judged based on the rounded low neckline, thinnish fabric, and bias binding that it probably had spaghetti straps or was at least sleeveless.

In the world of fashion, a shirt is never simply a shirt.

I splurged on a tub of.. I think this is pomade. There were several hair products of the same class, but only one of them was actually labeled pomade, and I don't think this is that one. I went with an Old Spice one made for clean-cut styling, matte finish. Today's my first day not wearing a too-small baseball cap for work, so I gave it a try, and I think this is exactly what I want.

The first time a colleague saw me today, he commented on my nice haircut, which he's seen me since I got a few weeks ago, but not very much. He asked me if I was taking over the world.

The right hairdressing goop can make a world of difference. Glad you found one that does what you want.

My previous strategy had been to spray or gel, brush it in shape, wait for it to dry, and then brush it again to get the shiny helmet quality out while retaining the basic shape. But that's way too much time to invest in my daily grooming, so I pretty much never did it.

Okay I guess this is the place for this. My hair is really hard to tie back, it tends to be described as both thick, and fine however that works it's also fairly wavy, or rather it ties back, but the tie slips out, and it's rather hard to braid even the sort that is supposed to stay in your hair well slides out eventually and if I need my hair tied back I have to constantly adjust it, also any barrettes tend to slide out (bobby pins work slightly better but tend to go under instead) my aunt once used water to keep it in place while braiding it, but I'm not sure how to do that for myself personally.

My hair is also fine and slightly wavy. Any thing that I try to do to it when it is dry will fall or slide out. The only way it will hold is if I do what ever it is while my hair is wet. Mousse and hairspray help with sticky-ing it up but it still works best when dampish. If your hair is already dry try spritzing with a spray bottle, and (to reference my favorite line from Desperately Seeking Susan...) spritz a lot.

My hair is also very thin. This sucks. My stylistic choices are Frau Blucher from Young Frankenstein or Albert Einstien's demented sister.

I'm also in the "have lots of the stuff, but each strand is skinny" brigade. Also, it's fairly curly.

My hair, it wrestles any style more complex than a bun (and, can give buns a run for their money).

I steer clear of mousses and gels, as a rule. Only bad things happen. Hairspray is where the smart money goes.

edited 13th Jan '15 9:20:58 PM by Euodiachloris

I'll maybe try the spray bottle, I don't like adding things to my hair, it's actually fairly thick, but in the lots of it, but thin individual strands sort of way too I guess

While I fall into the fine and thin category with 'cat, one trick I've learned for buns is to braid the ponytail (secure it with a small tie at the end) before coiling it. Stays together much better that way, plus you get compliments on your "unique style" from people. Also, if you can find them, use the larger "roller pins" to secure the bun, instead of the more common bobby pins.

For hair ties, I would experiment to find out which types stay in best for your hair. I personally find that the thinnest cloth covered ones hold best for me, although I do still end up having to adjust semi-frequently if I'm wearing a ponytail.

edited 14th Jan '15 4:42:59 PM by Nocturna

Oh they are what work best for me too, it's still adjusting like twice in half an hour though.

I gave up on my fine hair and chopped it into a pixie. Now when it does anything it really shouldn't people don't realize my hair is misbehaving and call it "sassy".

@Bur I'm way too attached to my long hair though. Neat that it worked for you though.

A couple of haircuts ago, the stylist used hairspray that he sprayed into his hand and then worked into my hair. I never saw that application technique used for spray before, but since I didn't want to chance my tub of pomade through airport security and I experimented with hairspray before I moved out and left it at home, I tried it this weekend. I think I used a lighter amount than he did, but the result is even better about keeping my hair in place without adding weight and grease or crustiness than my regular pomade use.