Check Out Them Buns

Why hello there,

Hope you and your curls are swell and stress-free.

It’s finals crunch time and I’m about ready to throw in the bag, call it quits, and trade my 3/4 of a finished degree in for a one-way ticket to anywhere but here.

Drama aside, two exams, one project and three days are all that stand between me, my summer, and the sad realization that I’m quickly approaching senior year.

The ladder has forced me to develop creative ways to relay next year’s undergraduate status without mentioning my senior standing.

I anticipate said conversations to go as follows: 

Random passer-by: “Hello Jenny From the Blog, what year are you at UConn?”

Me: “I’m in the first semester of the fourth anniversary of my freshman year.” 

Yes, i think that’s what I’ll say.

Woof.

Now’s the time when you wonder: “Isn’t this chic’s blog about hair? Why is she rambling about shit I don’t care about.”

Your thought bubble came in perfect timing because I’ll now explain how curls, hair, and finals all relate.

Mastering the art of finals means mastering the art of the messy bun. Why? Well, if finals are messy then your hair should be too…

The below photos highlight various heights, styles and accessories to help you achieve messy perfection.

 You’ll need: bobby pins, claw clips, hair spray and hair elastics. 

Get This Look:

  

1. The Sexy Messy Bun:  

This look is fabulous and worth trying. You’ll want to pull out face-framing pieces around your face and nape of the neck. Next, take your hair and gather it above the nape of the next. Twist all of your hair tightly, like you are twisting it to ring out excess water. Then, wrap your hair into a bun and press it against your hair. Depending on the thickness of your hair, you can either secure the lose bun using claw clips or wrap a lose hair elastic around the bun. Complete with hair spray.

2. The Messy Ballerina Bun:

Similar to the above, pull out any face-framing pieces around your face. Next, tie your hair in a lose pony right above the mid-level of your head. After that twist your hair into a bun and secure with bobby pins. This bun is tighter and makes for a more “pulled together,” messy bun look. Complete with hair spray.

3. The Headband Messy Bun:

This look goes with both high and low messy buns. Tie your hair into a pony tail but on the last turn of the elastic do not pull hair all the way through. You can then adjust the bun using clips or bobby pins to achieve the desired hight and width. Next, slip a full-head hair band (one that wraps around your entire head with a stretchy elastic that rests above the nape of the next.” Push the head band about a 1/2 inch away from the beginning of your scalp. Complete with hair spray.

4.The Braided Messy Bun:

Take a 1-2 inch piece of hair on either the left or right side of of your head (slightly above your temple) and braid this piece. Next, pull the piece back so that it rests along side of the head and gracefully into the rest of your hair, enabling you to incorporate the piece to prepare for a pony tail. You can then use any of the above messy bun instructions (which ever your prefer) to complete the bun and pin to perfection. Secure the braid in place with a bobby pin towards the beginning of the bun to ensure it remains part of the style. Complete with hair spray.

Using the above photos and instructions you’ll be on your way to achieving this finals-appropriate look. Better yet, everyone on campus will be checkin’ out your buns. 

(Messy) buns, I mean.

Sweet buns lovin’,

J

 

Beauty Queen

*Special thanks to the future of journalism and close friend, Lauren Cardarelli (@Sprinkeldwlove), for this post idea. During the past week’s utter “Blogger’s Block,” she gave me this uber fab idea. Whataa gem. Make sure to check out her incredible blog, Sprinkled With Love, for “classy kitchen creations from the heart.”

 

 

The Broke Folk:

Greetings Tribe,

Hope all is well.

Let me begin by apologizing to both you, the reader, and my professor, the grader, for my lack of posts this past week. Quite honestly, my topic ideas were boring and writing was subpar. In short, my creative juices were dripping, not flowing.

It’d be stupid of me to attribute this inspiration-less week to someone or something.

With that said, I hold my questionably low bank account responsible for the amateur  posts I almost published this week.

Simply put, I’m broke.

Somewhere between dinners out, cover fees and miscellaneous outings which appear fun but gobble my dough, my money tree has turned into a slowly dying (and very small) money bush.

Tackling this  hairy issue (pun intended) will force me to:

a. Drink more UConn Coffee…sigh.

–> Insert green/sickly-looking emoticon here.

b. Fight the post “evening activities urge” to order-in cheese, carbs, and tomato sauce (AKA The Triple Threat).

–> Insert embarrassed emoticon here on behalf of my [now] admitted obsession with Pizza.

c. Remove ebay from my bookmarks and rekindle relationships with my current wardrobe.

–> Insert broken heart emoticon here.

Although I will follow said action plan accordingly, I refuse to allow my (temporary) financial frustrations impede upon the happiness of my hair. 

So, for all those apart of both the Curly Girl Tribe and The Broke Folk Tribe, listen up:

Unbeknownst to my curly self, posh celebrity stylist, Cristophe, known for his $500 hair cuts, created a financial friendly and sulfate-free line  of products THREE YEARS AGO. 

…And it’s sold at CVS. (Insert surprised emoticon here).

Why am I shocked, you ask?

Well, I’ve always thought CVS and (fab) curly products go together like Simon Cowell and Secretary of State, Hilary Clinton.

SC is to HC as Oil is to Water.

…they don’t go together.

The 20 million reviews I read about these products, however, may force this curly girl and addmitted product snob to think otherwise.

Averaging between $2-$10, all Cristophe Beverly Hills products are all natural and  even help boost hair’s  Vitamin C.

At just $8 measly bucks, I couldn’t help but purchase this sulfate-free Shampoo. Especiiiaaally because I’m running a teensy bit low on my more costly friend, Devacurl No-Poo. 

So, within 3-5 business days I’ll know if there’s truly help for The Broke Folk. I feel for you and if you too are in my uncomfortable position and I wish you the best on your quest to find financial success/relief.

 

Big Love Little Money,

J

The ‘(W)ABCs’ of Curls

Bonjur!

Every night around midnight I get a “Google alert” about curly hair. What this means is that I’ve signed up with Google to quite literally “alert me” of any articles, blogs, ect. about curly hair in the news. Most of the time the “alerts” are police blotters in which the suspect/perpetrator/murderer/thief has curly hair.

(Not exactly what I’m looking for).

Sometimes, though, Google does me some good and alerts me about something worth-wile.

And…this week  it did!

Lauren Glassberg

This past week, Lauren Glassberg, a straight-haired,  Emmy-award winning journalist who primarily serves as WABC TVs feature and lifestyle reporter, reported on “Tips for Managing Curly Hair.“

I have a few thoughts about this news package and they’re mostly positive. My only “sarcastic” (shocking) thoughts derive from Glassberg’s head of straight hair.

I think I’m offended, maybe even enraged that a straight-haired journalist reported on our tribe. I blame the aforementioned emotions for my post-package-viewing outburst in which I wanted to scream “HUMIDITY IS THE DEVIL AND HOW DARE YOU TRY TO EMPATHIZE WITH YOUR PERFECTLY STRAIGHTENED DO!”

I mean heeellooo, I didn’t call Tiger Woods yesterday and tell him which club to use at the Masters when I’m not a golfer and may have JUST found out what the Masters is.

Side Note: Dad doesn’t golf because “you don’t sweat in golf.”

Translation: my knowledge on the ‘mind game’ therefore peaked when Tiger couldn’t stop “putting it” in every hole.

…Sorry Ma, that was racey.

Bottom line is that although Glassberg is intelligent and talented, WABC TV reaaally should’ve had a curly journalist  report on what the CGT knows best.

Back to the positives.

Glassberg’s interview with Lorraine Massey of the Devashan Salon (also recent follower of mine on Twitter #nbd) was well done and I’m officially in love with Massey’s accent.

Lorraine Massey

Glassberg also impressed me in that she managed to report on both the major and minor aspects of  styling and caring for curly hair. Included were tips for cutting hair (cut when dry!), a polishing trick and a shout-out to The Curly Girl Handbook.

Also, I have to say that Massey threw out some preeeetty great curly quotes. My favorite?

“Curls are not a trend, curls are a lifestyle.”- Lorraine Massey

^ Amen, sista.

In short, I’m thrilled the CGT made the news. We’re a very underrated bunch and it’s about time we hit the spotlight.

So, let’s revel in our newsworthy curly glory and be sure to watch this gem of a news package right here!

Curly Newsworthy Love,

J

Stitches & Curls

Good Morning,

Today’s blog post is fully inspired by last weekend’s traumatic events: stitches.

Yuuuup, I’ll tell you how it happened:

Last Saturday night was a big night-Final FOURmal.

(My sorority’s formal and UConn Vs. Kentucky final four game).  Naturally everyone dressed up, ate real people food and watched the game on a big projector screen. It was great.

 

Final FOURmal Date/BF

Watching Game @ Formal

Even better? WE WON!

Aaaand – we also happened to win Monday night’s game against Butler (whose entire undergraduate population is less than the fans we had at Gampel #lame)  

MAKING UCONN THE 2011 NCAA CHAMPIONS!!

#1 UCONN

Nbd, My school > Your school.

CHAMPIONS!

Anyways, mid-jumping up and down post winning excitement, I managed to not only jump onto a broken bottle, but ooze enough blood out of my right foot to save the lives of ten small children.

After leaving the formal on a stretcher (dramatic) and arriving to the hospital in an ambulance (even more dramatic) I got myself four shots, 10 stitches and a huge pain in the tush.

Curly in the ER

Note: I think it’s safe to thank my hair fairies, Lorraine Massey and Ouidad on this one. Despite the trauma of having my foot sliced open in two different locations, my hair remained gloriously curl-ay !

Thanks for being there for me gals, you’re too much. 

Well, the time off from walking has made me realize a few things: 

1. Analogies: Walking with one foot is to opening a banana without a thumb.

2. Nudity: Good thing I have no shame in nudity as my roommate has officially helped my naked self both in and out of the shower

3. Modeling: My career as a foot model is done. DONEZO FOR LYFE-ZO. (ooops sorry that horrible rhyme was vicodin-inspired).

So because I can’t do homework because these pills make me tired/loopy and I can’t go to class because I’m immobile, I just sit around, watch movies and eat goldfish 

While searching on netflix I came across one of my all time favorite curly girl movies:

CURLY SUE!

PG and Super Curly

“This John Hughes film features the unlikeliest of pairings between street-smart youngster Curly Sue (Alisan Porter) and her guardian, Bill Dancer (Jim Belushi), a sometime con man with the proverbial heart of gold. Managing to stay a step ahead of authorities, the pair even charms an icy corporate attorney (Kelly Lynch). But before the threesome can be a family, they must contend with well-meaning but misinformed advocates from social services.”-Netflix 

As a little girl, I absolutely loved this movie. I’m sure my mom had me watch it during one of my “MOM I HATE MY CURLY HAIR WHY ISN’T IT STRAIGHT” phases. With that said, Sue’s curly hair and witty street smarts always put me in a good mood. Now that I’m in Storrs and not on my couch in Jers watching TV with mama dukes nursing me back to health, I’ve reverted to my childhood movie days and rediscovered this PG-rated gem.

All I know is that this movie is curly, I’m curly, you may be curly and we should all just be curly.

Curly Crutchin’ Lovin’, 

J

A Little Curl

Evening All,

I begin this post with one word: Acceptance.

It’s easier to accept some things more than others. And, as a child, I could not for the life of me accept my curly hair.

My childhood was filled with dance classes, basketball games, Sketchers, Nickelodeon, the “NOW” CDs and a glistening pair of top and bottom retainers which still give me the world’s greatest lisp.

In addition to the above, the words “childhood” and “memories” reminds me of time when my lack of curly acceptance was at its peak.

It was hard when all I wanted was to “look like the other girls.” AKA look neat, put together, and most importantly straight (as in hair).

Especially on School Picture Day…

Yuuup, picture day sucked. 

While I was struggling to figure out how both my face and my hair would fit in the frame, the other girls were daintily brushing theirs because it was straight. I typically used excess amounts of gel or braided my hair to ensure my face and frizz would both fit.

Looking back, I wish I had just accepted my hair and recognized that I was just going through an awkward stage.

…A terribly frizzy and lanky awkward stage (which my friends so kindly love to remind me of).

Which is why I fully respect this ten-year-old “little curl” from New Jersey and share with you the following story:

My other mother, Ruth Serino, is a fourth grade teacher in New Jersey. While grading the class’s spelling homework, which was to write 10 sentences using the week’s spelling words, she e-mailed me Sabrina’s sentence for the word “accept.” 

“I must accept and embrace my curly hair.”

Sabrina!

I’m envious, impressed, and inspired by this “little curl.” Acceptance is hard at any age, especially when you’re 10. 

So, cheers to accepting frizz, curls, and everything in between.

Love,

J

Boy Meets Curl

Hello Curly Girls AND Curly Boys,

After writing several posts dedicated to all curly-haired women, I realized something: Men have curls too.

Not just curls, but feelings and emotions about their curls. And that, my friends, must be addressed.

So, as I seclude myself in a cafe with large coffee in hand, pretending my scenery is the bustling city of SoHo and not the farmland of UConn,I’ve decided to debut the newest edition to Jenny From the Blog:

Boy Meets Curl.

In order to successfully post about such an underrated topic, I needed proper inspiration and a curly man worthy enough to spotlight.

 So, mid 21st birthday celebrations, when my curly male friend excitedly shared that he would soon be getting his ‘curls did’ at Greg&Tony’s, a Ouidad Salon in Westport, Connecticut, I knew I’d found my match.

With out further ado, I introduce to you:

Daniel Scott Berger

What a guy

Simply put, dan is a Mensch.

(Pronounced mench).  

For the non-yiddish speaking folk, bubbygram.com defines Mensh as “literally, ‘man’, but usually referring to a decent human being, a good, honest person who always takes the high road.- Being called a mensch is the ultimate compliment.”

 To highlight his mensch-like qualities, I share with you this:

Several weeks ago, a few friends and I attended Shabbat Dinner at Hillel. Among the sea of hungry jewish students who came with friends, I spotted Dan…with his grandparents. Yup, how cute is that? The only time I see grandparents on this campus is when there’s a women’s basketball game, so seeing them at dinner was extra adorable.

This question and answer interview highlights his hair and personality- and made me realize that he really does look like Mr. Shuester on Glee.

Mr. Schuester

Nick-Name: Justin Timberlake (JT)

Styling Trick: Run fingers through hair with Tress F-X on it. Never use a brush.  <–wise words.

As a guy, why do you love being curly? “It’s something unique that not many guys have or take the time to style.”

Was there ever a time in your life you didn’t like your hair? “Growing up as a kid, I always had silky-smooth hair and then it changed to a course brillo-pad thickness which I absolutely hated. I always just kept my hair very short in a buzz cut. Then my girlfriend convinced me to grow out my hair and that’s when I discovered my natural curls.”

How did the ouidad experience compare to previous hair cuts? “They took the time to listen to me and customize each haircut to fit the needs of the client. They never use clippers and only scissors to get the right shape. They cut it so my hair grows back evenly.” 

Dan Being Proud and Curly

Dan Getting Full Curly Treatment

Why did you go to Ouidad and whose idea was it? “After I came home from my freshman year with a terrible Jew-fro, my parents (both of whom have curly hair) graciously paid for a Ouidad cut. They told me it was for my best interest.”

Do you think you’ll go again? Do you enjoy your time there? “I would never get a haircut anywhere else.  I’ve learned from my mistakes going to $12 Mondays.”

  Funny story (if you have one) about your hair: “I got a buzz cut from the local barbershop with a shape-up that looked real ghetto. A girl that I was dating picked me up to go out to dinner and refused to go show me in public looking like a shaved-dog. From then on, I grew my curls.”

One word to describe your hair: Mr. Schuester (The adorable glee club teacher on Fox’s hit series, Glee). 

Do other guys/girls ever comment on your hair? “All the time, thanks to Ouidad, it’s my best feature. It’s a conversation-starter. Some guys wish they could have curly hair.”

Dan & Girlfriend Alison

Does your girlfriend like your curls? If so, why? “Yes, she does. She’s a big Glee fan and thinks they look like Mr. Scheuster’s. Makes me look more Mature.” (I’d have to agree 

Hair advice for other curly men: “Take care of it and enjoy it while you still have it. (Baldness runs in my family).”

Future goals in life: “Pass on my curly hair to my children.”

So there, Boy has officially Met Curl.

I apologize for neglecting the curly male population prior to this post,

we know you have feelings too.

 

Love to all the curly men,

J

Curly Girl of the Week

Hayyy Curly Gals,

Happy first day of Spring! I hope your Spring was not marked with the snow that UConn’s was.

To add some sunshine to this less than Spring-y day, I’m awarding this week’s…

Curly Girl Of The Week

I’m very excited to award this particular young woman. Not only is she well-deserving, but she got weak in the knees and blushed like I was Justin Timberlake inviting her to dinner when I awarded her.

This week’s Curly Girl of the Week Award goes to, (Drum Roll please) ….

KELSEY CUNNINGHAM!

Kelsey!

Kelsey Cunningham is the third recipient! Doesn’t she just SCREAM cute with a capital “C” ??

Kelsey’s relationship with her hair is simply happy. She struts her curls around campus with a permanent smile on her face. Better yet is that Kelsey and her curls took on D.C. this past winter break along with the other  executive members of UConn’s Model United Nations Organization.

Background: Kelsey is a fellow sister of  Pomfret, Connecticut and double majoring in Communications and Political Science. I know Kelsey because we are both members of Kappa Alpha Theta at Uconn and we live in a house together with 28 other woman. (It’s fun, I promise). Not only is she always smiling, but Kelsey happens to give the worlds greatest hugs.

Ms. Frizz

Nick Names: Curly-Q, and Ms. Frizzle, the teacher from the children’s show, The Magic School Bus. Kelsey says, “unfortunately I probably could have passed for her until I discovered Frizz-Ease. John Freida saved my childhood dignity.“

Fun Fact: “The only thing that comes to mind is that I didn’t have hair until I was 2. Unless there was a bow on my bald head people thought I was a boy. After my bald years I had a blond afro for about 4 years. By first grade I was finally able to grow out my hair in a normal fashion.”

Favorite Products: “Frizz Ease Dream Curls is a John Frieda spray that is effective without making your hair crunchy like a hairspray would; just spray, crunch, and go. I usually use that after the John Frieda Frizz Ease serum.”

Serum

Styling Trick:” I NEVER brush my hair, only comb it in the shower. Also using a curling iron for a couple small pieces really helps define curls and look more composed.” <–I swear by this and have full intentions of doing an entire post about the curling iron!

Why She Loves Being Curly: “I love being curly because I think it adds personality. Most of the time my hair has a mind of its own.

Also this is kind of gross but I can go days without washing my hair and it still looks good (I think you may have mentioned that in your blog though). I also love being curly because it is a trait passed down from my father and his mother so I am proud to continue the trend.”

One Word to Describe her Hair: Sassy!

Favorite Curly Story: “The first time I went to a hairdresser I was 15 and in my sophomore year in high school. (My mom insisted on cutting my hair herself).

The first time I got it done at a salon the hairdresser (well accustomed to cutting curly hair) layered and cut it in a way that made it easy to style-she  even gave me products that would minimize frizz! To this day I wish I had gone earlier  to help avoid my countless bad hair days in middle school (even though my awkward stage would never have been complete without that ball of frizz).

I still go to that hairdresser and don’t think I would trust my curls with anyone else! “

Why I Love Her Hair: It matches Kelsey’s personality; happy. Similar to the way I believe Dogs can smile, I believe hair can smile too. And, Kelsey’s hair most definitely does this.

And there you have it everyone, Miss Kelsey Cunningham in all of her happy and curly glory!

As always, if you’d like to nominate someone for this award please e-mail me at:

jenniferannehurwitz@gmail.com

Happy Curly Love,

J