It's All About Taming the Hair: The Marilyn Brush

So you get the best coffee from your favorite shop of joe, you get the best school for your kid, you live in the best town for the recreation, you go to the best bar for killer mojitos, seek the best boots for the fall, and the list goes on... So, what do you do, when you have the best haircut ever (see my post on Lindsay hair), to highlight its features in the best way possible? I am talking about the gorgeous layers, the volume, and the shine.

Well, very simple: You get the best hairbrush possible!

Enter: The Marilyn Brush. Bristles made from 100% boar, these brushes come in many shapes and sizes, and you pick them depending on your need. The company offers ceramic brushes, made of a combination of plastic and ceramic, which allows the brush to heat for up to 10 minutes, thereby reducing time on-task with your blow-dryer and keeping your ends just spiffy without any heat damage! Now, that's not only a smart way to reduce your morning routine time but also a great way to go green at home. Now, here's a company that takes your hair seriously!

Recommended by my glamorous-haired friend (you're the best!), I purchased the one with the hour-glass barrel, size 3.5, to get more oomph and nip-tuck for my hair. (Ummm... Confession: I cannot wait until Nip Tuck's new season starts! Such a guilty pleasure, it's even on my mobile...)

I ordered mine online through the company's website- total instant gratification- you can also get it at Zitomer's Pharmacy; the closest one to GCT is at 40 W 57th St, between 5th & 6th Ave's.

Brush away those potential bad hair days!

SPACE.NK is here!

There are a few things I get excited about, and one of them is finding a beloved store in the City in my own backyard. To add to my excitement, this time it is a global favorite, and I am simply thrilled! I think the last time I felt this way was when Target partnered with Boots- a total "must-visit-when-in-the-UK" destination for me...

Space NK opened up its NYC flagship store on 99 Greene Street in Soho. I've made my pilgrimage, and opened up my wallet without a blink- I absolutely love the brands they carry as well as their own brand.

And now, they're in Scarsdale, right on Harwood Court- an ideal location for a boutique apothecary. Oh, I am getting goosebumps!!! It has a gorgeous layout- all white- and although some may not find the space large, I found it's pretty spacious for its location.

You know I love sharing my finds, so here are some faves from Space NK:

• Space NK Seaweed Body Polish- perfect way to exfoliate before that waxing appointment and pre-beach sunning session
• Philip B Travel Kit- a set of shampoo and conditioners small enough to put in your carry-on and large enough to have it last for that week in the summer cottage
• Space NK Foot File- very handy for in-between summer pedicures
• Go Smile Touch Up Mini Mint- a good excuse to run to the ladies room to get the red wine stain off your teeth

If you are not familiar with SpaceNK, then go online to their website (or, click here) and order their catalogue. It arrives at your mailbox in a handwritten envelope a couple of days after you click send.

Now, that's British sensibility!

About Lindsay and My Hair

Early July, HBO On-Demand was running Georgia Rule- a movie about a generation of women, clashing, congealing, and then clashing again and coming together for good. What interested me more than the plot was- ready for this one?- Lindsay Lohan's hair. Yes. She had gorgeous, long-layered hair. And I know, she has probably more extensions than anyone, more hair-coloring jobs than my years of hair dying combined, a stylist at hand, and all those countless luxuries that those in the eye of the public can afford. With all that said, I wanted her hair.

So afraid that I was reverting to my teeny-boppy years, defined by the 'original' 90210 days, I emailed my girlfriend who is always up and about these things. After a few confessional email exchanges, she reassured me that my obsessions was ok, it wasn't Lindsay that I was yearning after but her haircut. Whew. Then she made me promise that I pass on the research after I am through. No problem.

So, I went online. First things first, I needed to get a photograph of her from the movie. The photograph had to reflect the best part of her hair that I loved: the distinct long-layers, the length, and the tousled effect. Definitely NOT the color- so totally not! Not that it's not to die-for, but, see, I am a brunette who has finally found her own natural hair color and proud & protective of it. And here is why:

My dalliance with my hair color goes back to elementary years where I used to use a lemon-water mixture to lighten my hair in my grandmother's backyard. In the middle school, I continued using the lemon-water solution but added small doses of peroxide to speed up the process. Then, I moved on to experimenting with henna, trying every brand that Ricky's carried. Not only it added subtle color, but also gave shine to die for. After a few years of increasingly reddish hair color, I moved onto semi-permanent hair dyes. Now, in this territory, I started off with natural ones like Natural Instincts and Herbal Essences. After a disastrous "Bozo-the-Clown" experience where my then-boyfriend hubby had to run to the nearest CVS to get 'corrective' dark brown hair color so that I'd look semi-decent to his friends who were meeting me the first time EVER (still a story we share & laugh about), I went professional.

During my professionally-done hair coloring days, I first started with honey-ish highlights around my face. Noticing that my hair was increasingly getting lighter, I thought I would extend the highlighting from sectional to all-over my hair. During these years, I went highlight- obsessed: I would randomly ask women (on subways, business meetings,...) who I thought had amazing highlights about where they went. After a few different hair-colorists and four to five sessions of all-around highlights, I was on my to becoming a very light brown brunette. Now, with my olive complexion, that was not a pretty scene. In addition, I was spending a fortune that should've really been going into a 401k account per Suzie Orman. So, I decided to go bare, and forget all about highlights.

Well, that lasted, ummm, about two months, until I realized I needed some serious help: Coming down the escalators at Saks Fifth Avenue, I saw a woman- me- with multitude of hair colors that ranged from brassy orange blond to very dark brown. Literally tears running down my cheeks, I ran to Dean & Deluca and treated myself to a full-fat cappuccino and a walnut brownie. Now that explains my relationship with food, doesn't it?

I called my Mom. Now, my Mom who lives in Istanbul, visits her hairdresser on a weekly basis- which is a norm in major cities in Turkey- to get her weekly treatments, blow-outs, styling, and coloring. She said she would talk to Mehmet, her hair stylist of decades, and then get back to me. So, it was upon their urging, I waited until I went to Istanbul to get my now-multinational "hair issue" fixed.

Mehmet, true to his word, did a fantastic job! My hair was finally one color yet subtly multi-toned, and from what I remember, the closest to its natural shade. Now, I needed someone in the City who I can trust would maintain my hair in between my visits to Istanbul. This is how I started making the pilgrimage from Westchester to Astoria to see Baris, the owner of Friends hair salon.

Equipped with the empty box of hair coloring that fixed all my problems, I was treated like a queen at Friends- they are so friendly and so amazingly knowledgeable about hair, from the latest styles to the latest techniques. Yet, the travel was taking a toll, and I, very reluctantly, started going locally. By the way, from what I hear, those guys also work in Toka in the City, NYC home of the very famous DC salon. With the end of my visits to Friends came the end of my hair coloring adventure.

Going back, a picture of Linsday's haircut from Georgia Rule. Got it. Check. The next step: Find who does her hair. Thanks to the Internet, that was easy: Neil George. Bad news: There's no New York City outpost and I am not traveling to LA anytime soon. More research led me to Rare Salon in the Tribeca. I was conflicted at this point: Do I take the picture and go to my local salon (who has gone very price-y now), or do I give Rare a try?

I picked the latter and went to see Alana. I think this has been one of the best decisions I made about my hair without borrowing from my retirement account. Alana not only gave the most luscious layers to my hair but she also gave me so many usable tips to play around with my new hairstyle. It's been so much fun!

Now, who says a girl cannot have a movie star hair without paying a hefty price?