What women in their 20′s want

In my all but futile attempt to save $12,000 I’ve had to give up some luxuries and scour the internet for deals. My latest mission: how to get a fabulous frock for just a few bucks? I know the traditional New York City discount haircuts, which include The Aveda Institute‘s $20 dos cut by semi-seasoned students and Bumble & Bumble‘s slightly edgier Monday night cuts, but decided there are some things a girl grows out of and cheapy haircuts is one of them. Plus, once I tried the whole $20 haircut and ended up sitting for three hours while the poor student slowly snipped away strand by strand.

I browsed a bit on Craigslist’s “free” tab and saw some dollarless offers, but each required sitting for a certain type of cut – bob, perm, with curly hair, with cowlick, without color, etc. I just wanted my long layerish cut shaped up minus the style restrictions. Free things don’t always come easy my friends, so if you aim to score something awesome without opening your pocketbook, some patience will be in order. And in Recessionville, USA, you better start looking a few weeks before you need the actual cut and act quickly if you see anything that might suit you. In the follow up emails you can evaluate the legitimacy, inquire into their experience and the salon and measure your instincts. But in the initial email just say your name, number and when you are available. They have a lot of responses and won’t reply if you ask a barrage of questions off the bat.

One Saturday morning, I saw an ad from a hairdresser asking for a long-haired model for promotional purposes. From my understanding, the salon was hurting for business and decided offering free cuts would increase marketing via word of mouth. It turns out the Oscar Bond Salon I visited around the turn of the millennium changed face to a Sam Brocato Salon where I was to meet the hairdresser.

I walked in and was greeted like any paying customer. They offered water, lemonade, coffee, tea and wine! (I had the wine, duh.) Then she lathered and massaged my noggin, questioned my hair’s aspirations during a very thorough consultation and began cutting. I was in and out in an hour, which was perfect since I went at lunch. It was wonderful and honstesly one of the better haircut and styling experiences I’ve had. It turns out, she has worked in that salon for six years.The following week, I had a friend who owns a nearby salon ask if I’d sit as a hair model for one of his employees just for a blow out. I was short on time that day, but reluctantly agreed. Well, when it comes to your locks, trust your gut. I ended up being there for two hours, one and a half of which was spent actually drying my fine mid-length hair. I for sure smelled it burning at one point. Needless to say, a free blow dry is probably something to pass on. If the person doesn’t even know how to blow dry hair, you don’t want to go to them.

However, if you see an ad for a hair model by a woman named Yasue Ida at Sam Brocato Salon, jump on that. She’ll rock your locks.

Complexion-wise, my teenage years were clear sailing:  good skin care habits, practiced since an early age, meant that I breezed past the plague of acne angst that affected so many of my peers.  You can imagine my surprise, then, when I became plagued with a palette of problems well beyond my control in my 20s.  Cystic breakouts, blackheads and discoloration replaced the smooth surface I had previously enjoyed – and appeared seemingly out of nowhere.  Like many adult women, acne, for me, is a problem that exists beyond puberty.  Shifts in hormones, lifestyle and age can all play a hand in this disruption; being someone who likes to tackle the problem at the roots and tired of hiding behind the cloak of concealer, I was quick to jump into my dermatologist’s chair for a diagnosis of this dilemma.

And saddened, oh TVC readers, I was, to learn that his best suggestion was to “keep my hands off my face” and “try Differin.”  Differin, if you’re wondering, is a retinoid-based product (similar to Retin-A) that costs $100 a month – with health insurance (really good health insurance, at that) – because it’s considered a “cosmetic” treatment (as opposed to my previous acne prescription, a topical antibiotic, which ran me $15 a year).  I gave it serious consideration – until the samples the doctor himself had given me to try caused my skin to erupt into a venerable Mount Vesuvius of pimples.

Since I don’t subscribe to the school of, “It’s got to get worse before it gets better,” and because I enjoy being a guinea pig for the sake of beauty, I dug deeper and tested a few other alternative treatment products worth sharing with The Vogue City.

iQ Derma Clear Skin Remedy System ($135 at iqderma.com)

“Ah,” I thought to myself.  “Another 3-step system that promises to cure every skin woe in the book.”  Having been warned of the dangers of everyone’s favorite mail order 3-step system – Proactiv – that my skin would become acclimated to such products and then go haywire if I stopped, I was wary to even test the waters.  Since I had nothing to lose but a couple of zits on my chin, I figured it was worth a shot.

Step 1, the gel cleanser, left a funky film behind on my skin that required a second washing by my stand-by Origins face wash.  Step 2, a salicylic acid treatment, did wonders for a crop of pesky whiteheads along my jawline and unlike its drugstore counterparts, didn’t dry out my skin.  It also helped fade some redness on my cheeks – bonus.  Step 3, a moisturizer, kept my skin moist, but not oily – but also contained more chemicals, compounds and additives than a transmission flush at Jiffy Lube.

The verdict?  I’ll stick with the salicylic treatment for now, used in between nights when I apply the prescription antibiotic.  Luckily, you can buy each product individually for far less than the cost of the full monty.

The ANSR Acne Starter Kit ($185 at ansr.com)

Shiver me lightbeams!  An at-home LED device, similar to the same one my dermatologist offers in his office at $150 a treatment, for under $200?  I was intrigued.  And so were my neighbors, I’m sure, when bright beams of blue (bacteria-destroying) and red (collagen-building) light shot across my window late at night.  The device is small, about the size of a deck of cards, and happily hums as you navigate the product around your face while in laser bliss.

I skipped the topical products and went straight for the LED, or light-emitting diode.  I knew I was to expect results “in about 2 months,” but I saw mild changes the very next day.  Deeply embedded nodules that were in my right cheek softened; mild scarring leftover from a bad breakout six months ago appeared lighter.  Within a week, my skin was softer, smoother, and more evenly toned.  I’m a cynic when it comes to this stuff, but I was honestly shocked, happily surprised and ready to call my mother to tell her I had met the love of my life.  Unfortunately, LED-human marriages aren’t legalized yet, so I’ll stick to using the ANSR once or twice a week for now.

The Clear Skin Prescription by Dr. Nicholas Perricone ($15.95 at Borders)

The “prescription” behind this treatment – which is a book – is really just common sense.  Eat well; drink a ton of water; incorporate yoga and exercise into your routine; reduce stress and get some sleep – I feel like my mother could have written this book in her sleep.  He (Dr. Perricone) does hit the nail on the head by presenting the idea of an anti-inflammatory diet, rich in omegas, antioxidants and other good-for-you vitamins and minerals.  Basically, a lot of salmon, berries and greens, and not so much McDonald’s.  My grocery bill jumped a bit – I don’t usually buy salmon or strawberries on a weekly basis – but that, combined with the cost of the book, cost less than the other two treatments I tried.  Plus, these are good habits that one can incorporate into her lifestyle for as long as she likes – no refilling or recharging required.

Above all, I learned that there is no magic wand or universal product that works for every single person.  Our skin, just like our personalities, is unique, and should be treated as such.  Treat it well, and you can rest assure that the only diva accessory you have to worry about are some killer stilettos – not a crop of acne on your forehead.

When the temperature heats up, skin kicks into overdrive, spewing out more technical problems than a 1989 Audi.  A perfectly temperate complexion may suddenly transform into a hot mess of oil spills, dry patches and irritation, leaving one to wonder if she needs to call her dermatologist or a mechanic for a fix.  While summer is welcome with open arms, problem skin is not.  A good face mask is like one-stop shopping for the skin, offering temporary relief from the throes of humidity and, with continued year-round use, the promise of more even skin tone, a subtle glow, and well-behaved pores.  I tested a few for the sake of The Vogue City readers’ inquiring minds (and even included a homemade favorite that costs pennies – literally) and budgets. 

Clay masks reign supreme in sopping up T-zone oil, and are goof-proof:  apply, let it dry, and wipe clean.  I like Best Bath Store’s Dead Sea mud mask for $19.95.  Its rich formula is chock full of minerals, nutrients and has a grainy, thick texture that feels glorious when swiped on the cheeks, chin and nose.  I use it about once a week, usually when I’m busy stalking, er, browsing, Facebook and sipping a cup of green tea.  Do-it-yourself relaxation, indeed. 

If your forehead is dryer than the Sahara and your chin might spontaneously combust from dead flakes, I recommend the Body Shop’s 3-in-1 Honey & Oat scrub mask for $16.50.  While my genetics have me destined for a lifetime of blotting paper and hand-held fans, I have friends with dry, sensitive skin who swear by this eco-friendly power product.  The option to apply twice a week is there – if your skin is sensitive, start with a once-a-week application and work your way up.  Kind of like the starter boyfriend you have mixed feelings about:  easy does it.

Now, if your skin is neither here nor there and is lost in the transit of being labeled (and what’s in a label, really?), look no further than your pantry for a cure.  Honey, that delicious sticky sap that sends my aforementioned tea into a tailspin, can be applied as is to dry skin for a tasty – and cheap – mask.  Honey is naturally moisturizing, but also zaps oil and provides a hit of natural antioxidants to calm even the sassiest skin.  Just be careful to wash, not lick, it off after about 10 minutes or so.

Masks:  summertime skin saviors or time sapping treatments better left for the birds?

-Karyn Polewaczyk

I unpacked my summer accessories last weekend – sayonara, North Face – and came across a bevy of lightweight, airy scarves that remain in my drawers year after year because I’m eternally lost on how to wear them in the middle of a 95 degree day.  Rumor has it that Miss Thing, Anna Wintour, always wears a Hermes scarf (or at least that’s what ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ would have us believe), whether it be around her neck, wrist, or interwoven through a purse or belt loop.  I figured, if my fairy godmother can pull it off, well, so can I.  (I hope.)

The first attempt was actually unintentional but highly successful.  I was headed to a fundraiser and stuck between two tube dresses that weren’t quite ‘cocktail attire’ friendly.  I folded a cotton muslin scarf that my uncle sent me from Paris (printed with a map of – you guessed it – Paris) around my waist, but it wasn’t quite right.  I moved it to my neck, but it competed with the statement necklace I wanted to wear.  And so it was settled:  I re-folded the scarf and wrapped around it my chest, bandeau-style, and created an entirely new dress in a single knot.  I was impressed with my creativity – and so were people who thought it came like that from the store.

A few weeks later, I had a lunch date downtown and a serious case of bedhead.  I threw a silk scarf into my hair, prairie girl-style, but it didn’t quite cut it – tufts of unruly hair poked out and were not consoled by even the strongest pomade.  I knew I needed to distract my man from the hot mess atop my head, and so I took the same scarf, rolled it into a twist, and beaded large, chunky cocktail rings between knots on the scarf, wrapping it back up and placing it around my neck as a choker.  The result?  He paid the tab and told me I looked beautiful.  Then again, it was his turn to pay.

What are your favorite ways to reinvent your scarves and breathe new life into tired accessories?

-Karyn Polewaczyk