The mystery of the “top knot” bun

~ Emmie ~ Leave a comment

As a  child I remember loving the Nancy Drew series…nothing intrigued me more than a good mystery and following it out as the teen-aged sleuth Nancy solved it.  The current mystery I have been trying to solve is about why every girl has been sporting a hair style known as the “top knot” these days. So I recently made an effort to make one of these things and two tired arms later, from combing my hair in an upwards direction, I finally understand.

In case you didn’t know, a top knot is a really, really high bun.  The kind that is so high, the round “bun” part is actually on the top of your head, and all your hair is pulled upwards along the face.  I had to ask myself why it has become so popular, and the go-to style for casual elegance and put-togetherness amongst women everywhere.   Because for some reason, a regular lower bun is granny-like, and unglamourous, maybe even too cerebral? But the higher top knot is alluring, fashionable and fun. Why is this great divide happening between where on the head you gather the bun?

After some thought, here is what I think:

~ Top knots are like an instant face lift.  Pulling the hair up, and out of your face has a gravity defying character that flatters and lightens up facial features such as the eyes, fore head and cheek temples.  It pulls everything up a bit.

~putting a bun at the top the head is dramatic, and adds height to a person.  It e-longens the face, making it seem slimmer and more delicate

~Because the bun part is on the top of the head, it doesn’t stick out in the back and doesn’t interfere with the line of the back of the head.  It’s smooth all the way down to the neck and swan like.

I gather and comb my hair up into a high pony tail. fasten with an elastic.
I gather and comb my hair up into a high pony tail. fasten with an elastic.
coil the hair in a bun shape around the base of the pony tail. Tuck in ends underneath the bun. arms tired yet? Mine were.
coil the hair in a bun shape around the base of the pony tail. Tuck in ends underneath the bun. arms tired yet? Mine were.

The second part of this mystery?  Why are top knots so hard to do in hair?  I have thick, ultra straight hair that really wants to go down in direction. The idea of making it go up is foreign.   My arms always get so tired combing my long hair in an upwards position, to wind into a bun.  But a few things really help tame hair so that it will get into place for top knots:

These are french pins. They do not pull or tease hair. They work by weaving through different layers of hair!
These are french pins. They do not pull or tease hair. They work by weaving through different layers of hair!

-have slightly dirty hair, or hair that has not been washed, using dry shampoo helps.  I find the added texture in your hair makes it grip as you are pushing it up.

-use french pins because they work, and do not pinch and pull hair the way bobby pins do. (French pins are awesome and so easy to use.  Ask me if anyone needs a tutorial!)

-Forget hair donuts (those spongy, foam donut shaped bun fillers used to make top knots), they are way too unnatural looking and uniform, if you get them to work–not everyone has thick enough hair to cover the hair donuts!

Am I right about why there is all this rage over the top knot?  What has been your go to hair style that never lets you down whenever you wear it?

The Holidays are depressing, but don’t go on an eat/drink binge…

~ Emmie ~ Leave a comment

It’s the holidays at the moment.  And consumerist North America would want you to believe this is the best time of the year.  A time for sharing and giving, hanging out with loved ones, and just being thankful, for all the stuff we can get!  But truthfully, it is a really stressful time of year in most people’s realities.  Family get-togethers, the obligation to give gifts and find outfits for parties…and just eat, drink and be merry.  But mostly we eat and drink and gain weight.  I actually quite despise the holidays.  Being forced to deal family relations that are mostly difficult, flawed and painful are on my list this year, and there is no awesome shade of lip gloss, smoking hot colour of eye shadow, or cute mini skirt that can lift my spirits.  Christmas music playing everywhere just compounds this feeling of suffocating repetition that is the end of the year.  Mostly, I just think about all that I wanted to get done and all that I didn’t.  Yes, this time of year always depresses me for all the above said reasons.

The depressing qualities on life in general. Degas paints it in a disconnected way with the clutter of zig-zaging bar tables. The sadness of drink.
The depressing qualities of life in general. Degas paints it in a disconnected way with the clutter of zig-zaging bar tables. The sadness of drinking a glass of absinthe.

But that brings me onto this topic of eating and drinking during the holidays.  I like food.  I like me the drinks.  But I recently found out how the two actually do not go together…drinking (alcohol) actually slows down your body’s ability to break down fat and sugars, raising the risk of it being stored as fat.  That means every drink you have actually makes what you eat during that time twice as fattening…simply because it is being ignored, and your body is busy metabolizing the alcohol.  So what does this mean in terms of our holiday eating habits?  It means we have to be careful when pairing the two.

Wine and beer tend to have more calories because there are still sugars and starches left over from the fermentation process.  Which makes straight up spirits the more slimming choice.  I like to treat myself to gin and diet tonics just because I know at least I am not adding sugars to my drinking.  But also think about how drinking puts a pause button on your metabolism, and makes what you eat before, during and after crucial in terms of picking what and how much to eat.  Therefore keep meals and snacks light.  And after drinking avoid the urge to gorge on super greasy fattening foods.  Just keep drinking tons of water to wash yourself out.

You often see people washing down burgers and fries, wings and nachos with alcoholic drinks, wine and beer and as normal as this would seem, it is probably the easiest way to gain weight.  Our culture is about living, and enjoying life.  But what is enjoyable about looking in the mirror a few days later and having a double chin, or having your pants feel overly tight?  It is not always worth it, if you think about it.

You often see ads about drinking responsibly during the holidays…and this is true.  Equally as true is the sentiment that it pays to be responsible to your waist line too.  The saying everything in moderation is always one of my favourites to live by (except when it comes to great love, in that case I say live like there is no tomorrow!).

 

 

To curl or not to curl (eyelashes, that is)…

~ Emmie ~ Leave a comment

When I was growing up, I had the shortest most sparse lashes ever.  As a teenager I cried at my barely there lashes, and coated them with loads of mascara to try to make them show up.  But the look I got was just clumpy.  It was also the norm back then to use an eyelash curler.  Every woman knows this instrument.  It is a hinged metallic or plastic clamp that crimps lashes and forces them to go “upwards” in direction, so they give the impression of being more full and long.  The problem with using this is that it never looked natural…lashes don’t all of a sudden push in an upward direction. And my tiny young eyes were too small to fill in the contours of a lash curler, meaning only the tips/ends of my lashes were being curled.  So all the make-up experts that said lash curling was a “mandatory” step in make-up application probably never had my eyes or my lashes.  The other problem:  they pulled out lashes.  Seriously.  I had few and short lashes to begin with, so pulling them out by crimping them with a clamp was definitely not a good idea for me.

My boyfriend recently stumbled into possession of an eyelash curler and asked me what it was. Us girls and our medieval face-put-together tools...
My boyfriend recently stumbled into possession of an eyelash curler and asked me what it was. Us girls and our medieval face-put-together tools…

Fast forward fifteen years into the future:  I have thrown away all lash curlers.  No I don’t believe they make my eyes bigger, or my lashes appear longer.  I have a feeling they actually damage my lashes and cause them to fall out!  Think about it.  Everytime you clamp down on that tool, your lashes are bent and pulled.  So with long term use, wouldn’t your lashes get even more thin and sparse with time and using a curler?

The new trend today is  making lashes grow.  Have any of you seen the new growth and conditioning eyelash treatments available out there recently?  So now instead to buying tools to crimp up our lashes, us women are supposed to embrace expensive serums that “grow” lashes.  But honestly, we can’t grow lashes. The most we can do is take care of those lashes we do have.  My simple solution is this:  stick to a good non-clumping mascara and get some nice false eye lashes.  No relying on serums, or pulling lashes with a clamp lash curler.

Make the Most of your Lashes:

1. Two coats or more of non-clumping mascara.  Push up on the lashes with a clean finger after application to encourage the drying of mascara into an upward natural curl of lashes.  No need to clamp down with a curler.  Fingers can gently guide lashes to the shape and position you want!

My half length "accent" lashes that I applied, just to the outer half of my eyelash lid. They do the trick and look rather natural...
My half length “accent” lashes that I applied, just to the outer half of my eyelash lid. They do the trick and look rather natural…

2.  Use falsies:  There was and probably still is this Asian make-up trend of super doe-like lashes, full and long to mesmerize the onlooker at how gorgeously lush your eyes can be.  Nobody is born with it, but with the help of false eyelashes, girls that were deficient in the eyelash gene were suddenly and amply blessed!!!  Use a thin layer of eyelash glue and stick falsies as close as possible to the lash line.  Instant babe-a-licious glam!  I use accent halfies–fake eyelashes that are half in length, used just at the ends of the eye for drama.  I like them because they appear more natural than full lashes on my petite eyes, but still deliver on giving intensity to the eye.

This is me in my half length falsies. Believe it or not, because of my eye size, half lashes add enough drama...
This is me in my half length falsies. Believe it or not, because of my eye size, half lashes add enough drama…

 

Tips for applying fake lashes:

*Use a small amount of glue…too much glue actually hinders the look and feel of wearing falsies.  They make them super uncomfortable because of overly strong bonds, and is potentially messy, getting everywhere on your lid as you are placing them on.

*After applying the glue to the lashes, wait about 1 minute.  Most people say to wait about 20 seconds, but I find the longer your glue sets, the more easier it is to place them close to the lash line because the glue is more set and will not cling to the lid until they are in the right place and you intentionally push them onto the skin to adhere.

*Just have fun!  Nobody really cares if you have thick, long or thin lashes.  But I do admit, long lashes frame the eyes wonderfully and make them sparkle!