2B top c/o; GAP 1969 jeans; Rebecca Minkoff bag c/o; Sendra ‘Sara Clare’ boots c/o; hair by Joseph Chase

My darlings, I’ve finally found love! With a hair stylist that is. I’ve always secretly envied girls who had trusted stylists that they returned to over and over again. Despite “dating” many, I never found my perfect match. Until today.

And I have Groupon to thank, no less! Remember that great deal that popped up last week at Argyle Salon in Sunset Tower? Well, I nabbed it and I’m so glad I did. Frankly, I was in a pretty rotten mood all day Jesse Spano-ing out (time, time there’s never enough time!), so I wasn’t expecting much. In fact, I had visions of myself crying in my car (again) after my having my haircut (um, I’m not the only one who does that, right?).

But then I met Joseph Chase. We chatted delightfully for a good 10 or 15 minutes about what I wanted, what would be a good fit for my lifestyle, options, etcetera and finally decided on a Nicole Richie-esque bob with a long side-swept bang. I had been feeling like a troll, and walked out feeling like a million bucks. If you are in need of a wonderful hair stylist who truly listens and “gets it” and gives you exactly what you want, I couldn’t recommend him more. And the salon itself was lovely too. Low-key (which is saying a lot considering the A-list celebrity clientele they cater to), great West Hollywood location, extremely friendly staff. Check it out and tell Joseph I said hi xx!

[Photos by BussBuss]

Beauty, The Blog, The DailyBuss

Welcome to 2011, darling readers. It’s the year of the rabbit, and while I might not be munching on kale anytime soon, I’d like to kick things off with five things in my beauty arsenal that I can’t live without and think that you’ll love too. Because feeling your best should be an everyday goal, not just an annual resolution (that said, I may or may not consume a chocolate before, during and after #3). Wishing you a gorgeous, shiny, delicious 2011!

1. NARS Funny Face Lipstick – It was on my Christmas wishlist after seeing my darling fashionista friend Helen wear it, who then surprised me with a tube of my own for Christmas! It totally brightens up the everyday and makes me feel vavavoom instead of blah blah blah doom. Bonus points for not being drying at all — I was purely a Chapstick and lipgloss girl before, but my eyes have been opened — and my lips brightened.

2. Colure True Color Care – The only hair products that have truly changed my hair for the better (shinier, softer, less frizzy), so much so that I got my Mom the Super Rich-Texture Trio for Christmas and she loves it as much as I do. “Because we’re worth it.” Oh wait…

3. Netflix Workouts – Different things work for different people – the gym, studio classes, personal trainers, rollerskating in a thong. But enough about my Dad, for me, I like the privacy of sweating and looking like a fool in my own home, so workout DVDs are for me. Which is why Netflix rocks. The live streaming option lets you access so much instantly (though you can also get DVDs in the mail, or just buy the DVDs on Amazon). I’m a huge fan of SELF Magazine’s DVD workouts (SELF — Your Best Butt Fast – ha!, SELF — Bikini Body Fast, SELF — Slim and Sleek Fast), which I then embarrassingly have to follow up the next day with Healing Yoga for Aches and Pains, undoubtedly cheesy, but it helps my hammies so I can walk (to FroYo Life) again. The best thing is having access to so many options that it’s impossible to get bored (boredom, the arch nemesis of tight buns).

4. Shake Weight – Yes it makes you look like Jenna Jameson and is to this year what the Snuggie was to Christmas last year, completely embarrassing yet coveted all at once. But, it’s way more fun than lifting weights and it only takes six minutes. After getting it (and giving it) for Christmas, I’ve already seen a difference, proven by the fact that I walk around constantly saying “feel my bicep!” Watch out Ripa, there’s a new Kelly in town.

5. Lancome FLASH BRONZER — While I have no desire to look like Snooki, despite my penchant for beehives and short skirts, I’m a fan of anything that easily makes my complexion look better and lets me wear less makeup. After Lucky editors insisted that this self-tanner gel for legs was the best self-tanner for not only your body but also your face, it shot straight to my Christmas wishlist and my sweet sis gifted it to me (along with another must I just remembered, Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Gel Eyeliner – it truly is the best, as is my sis, obvi!). It doesn’t have a strong fragrance like typical self-tanners, it doesn’t streak, it dries within minutes and doesn’t come off on your clothes. Wham, tan, thank you ma’am.

What are your beauty musts and resolutions? I’d love to know!

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Behind the Buss, Kelly's Picks

Behind the Buss, Kelly's Picks, Shopping Guides

Could your mineral makeup, lip gloss, sunscreen and wrinkle cream be killing you? Dr. Oz thinks so. As someone who converted to mineral makeup in large part for its natural benefits (built-in sunscreen, it’s from the earth, so clean you can sleep in it), I’ve wondered on more than one occasion if all that loose powder swirling around my head and up my sniffer could be getting into my lungs. So when I tuned in to The Dr. Oz Show on Dangerous Beauty, my ears perked up. His expert guest (another doctor) said that miners and construction workers have health problems that don’t show up until 10-20 years after they’ve been working around minerals/dirt and that mineral dust used to make mineral makep is 10 times smaller than it was a decade ago, leading to particles small enough to be inhaled into the lungs (scary!). Over time, this could lead to scarring, inflammation and lung disease in women. Note to self: Mineral makeup is bad for you; find a new foundation (or, maybe that’s worse?).

Apparently mineral makeup isn’t that only beauty product we need to be worried about. Your beloved lip gloss? It likely contains petroleum jelly (now being studied for its link to cancer), which gives you that nice shiny finish, but also is the equivalent of ingesting gasoline (according to Dr. Oz). Alarmist or not? He said over a decade, the average lip gloss-wearing woman ingests seven pounds of petroleum jelly (see video above – eew). That’s a lot of jelly, folks. He did say, however, that it was okay to put on the skin.

However, many wrinkle creams are not. Confused? Me too. Most wrinkle creams do more harm than good, actually causing skim inflammation that breaks down collagen, leading to more wrinkles and making you look older faster. Apparently the ingredients in most wrinkle creams can penetrate through the skin to the blood stream and that’s not good for your wrinkles or your health. He also says that natural ingredients are not necessarily good for you either, citing lavender, cinnamon and eucalyptus as irritants.

Beauty Is a Bitch

Check out Dr. Oz’s  Beauty Cheat Sheet for alternative recommendations.

On the lip gloss front, he recommends beeswax, zinc oxide and wearing sunscreen with your lip gloss. For wrinkle cream, make it fragrance-free and color-free and look for products that contain Vitamin A, Vitamin C and Alpha Hydroxy Acid. With the recent controversy over sunscreen, am I the only one who finds this advice a little confusing? Vitamin A and Alpha Hydroxy are no good in the sun, so I suppose we should be sure to only use those products at night? If anyone knows, please weigh in below in the comments. Instead of mineral powder, he recommends liquid foundation, cream blush or bronzer and pressed powder as alternatives — and that you open a window when applying it. Eeesh.

Via Facebook, I found out that my beloved Suave shampoo and conditioner are highly toxic and apparently so is ChapStick, my beauty staple for the past 20 years. What next, Oil of Olay? Basis? Even more alarming, according to Natural Skincare Authority, 99% of skin care and cosmetic products on the market have never been evaluated for safety by the FDA or any other publicly accountable institution. And, 74% of personal care products on the market contain carcinogens (cancer-causing agents), teratogens (cause of birth defects), reproductive toxins, allergens and mutagens. And 57% of skin care products contain “penetration enhancer” chemicals that drive down deep through your skin and illegally hijack your bloodstream (I guess this is what Dr. Oz was referring to regarding wrinkle cream).

What do you think? Oh dear gawd or purely alarmist? All this anxiety is causing me wrinkles, so I need some answers, stat. At the very least, I’ll be covering up with a cute sunhat (that should be safe, right?).

[Photo via Modern Mechanix; More beauty products to be aware of here.]

The Blog

After flying from San Francisco to Amsterdam to Norway to Amsterdam to Chicago, BussBuss is le pooh-ped. Jetlagged. Or, shall we say, jethagged.
And while we could go on about beauty solutions to make us look perkier, we’d rather just sleep.
All.
Day.
Long.
How to block out that gorgeous Chicago summer sun?
With a firecracker of an eye mask by Hambone and Jennicakes, of course.
We’re sad we missed them at last weekend’s Renegade Craft Fair in San Francisco, but thank the Internet gods and sfgirlbybay for leading us to them.
Take a peek!

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Fashion, The DailyBuss