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Fashion and Beauty

Yesterday's haircut at The Curl Ambassadors was an interesting experience.

Am I happy with the cut? Yes, actually. It isn't so different from how Van cuts it. But the way this woman styled my hair is another story!

She straightened out my bangs completely but then spent a significant amount of time arranging every other hair on my head into a perfect ringlet - Shirley Temple style. In addition, even though we discussed which SIDE I wear my hair on several times, she gave me a middle part while simultaneously pulling my hair up and back so it was BIG. Not even the rain or my bike helmet could put a dent in it!

The final effect was circa early 1990s suburban mom. I felt like I should have been wearing tapered, high-waisted jeans with a kelly green mock turtleneck.

She also educated me on proper curl care - apparently I do EVERYTHING wrong. I need to avoid mousse and hairspray, which are drying, and the cheap drugstore shampoos and conditioners generally contain ingredients that also dry out curls and lead to frizz. What should I be using? The extremely expensive products they sell, of course!

Funny thing though, do I care about my appearance? Hell yeah! But am I willing to pay a lot of money for it. Nope. I shop at clothing stores like H&M, Jacob, Joe Fresh, etc. I buy makeup and beauty products from the drugstore. Preferably on sale. I think part of the reason for this paradox is that I don't really believe that expensive products can really make a huge difference. I think overall health (sleep, diet, exercise), confidence and genetics have a much more significant impact on one's appearance.

Speaking of clothing stores, am I the only one who thinks that sizes are growing larger? Vanity sizing I suppose, to make us feel better as we, as a population, get bigger and bigger.

I am 5'2 and somewhere between 110-116 lbs (depends on the scale...I don't weigh myself regularly, so I'm not really sure), so clearly I'm not a huge person, but the Banana Republic jeans I got in Florida are a "00". Really? I'm a "00"? I bet if you put me beside Victoria Beckham, who is a true "00", I would look like I ate her and all of the rest of the Spice Girls for lunch. And the size 2 pants I just got at Joe Fresh were at least 1 inch too big or more around the waist. And I don't even have a waist, I'm completely tubular. And I got size 2 pants there a few years ago that fit well - and they fit the same way now that they did when I bought them.

It's funny that health experts are pressuring the restaurant industry to display calories on their menus in order to increase consumer awareness, but does nothing to prevent the clothing industry from enabling us to deny our growing girth.

I will admit, however, that it was pretty devastating when I bought my wedding dress in 2001 (apparently wedding dress sizes have not changed over the years) and had to let OUT a size 10. You know, I think I'll stick with being a "00"!

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