Hair Sparkle

I really loved the hair accessories on the runways for Fall 2012. Headbands of course made an appearance, but what really caught my eye were the sparkly and at times over sized hair clips that accessorized simple up-dos like chignons and twists. Sometimes designers used clusters of hair pins...

Tory Burch via Harpers Bazaar

Tory Burch via ToryBurch.com

Or one big statement piece...

Image via Elle

During the week my go-to hairstyle is usually a bun or some version of it. Adding little hair clips seems like a fun way to make your every-day look that much more special. At night, a big show stopper would look so pretty! The great thing is that you can find hair pins, clips, and bands everywhere in all price ranges...

1. Twigs & Honey $165

2. Champagne Flower Hair Pins  $22

3. Oasis Hair Clips by Asos $10

4. Dolce & Gabbana Swarovski Crystal Hair Clip $445

5. Cream Hair Pins $19

6. Muzetta Cameo Pins in Mint $24

7. Precious Cluster Barrett $24

8. French Connection Resin Hair Pin $10

9. BHLDN Wild Rose Comb $325

Braid

I've been braiding my hair a lot lately. It's been my go-to style of choice, which is a nice change from my high bun or pony-tail styles that I usually fall back to. Thanks to all the tutorials out there I've learned a few new tricks to keep my latest braid obsession from becoming boring. These are a few of my favorites:

Fishtail braid tutorial by LC herself

Crown braid tutorial at A Cup of Jo

Maegan's waterfall braid

This fun little slide-up braid that's been a fun little twist on braiding my bangs back

And this lovely pearl of wisdom from LC's braid master herself, who writes that her trick for LC's perfect side braid is to braid one of the strands first and then braid it with the rest of your hair. This was groundbreaking for me because my braid was always falling out. Now that I know this trick, my braid stays put for hours. Love!

Images from Pinterest, Cup of Jo, and The Beauty Department

Mondays and Braids

Boo, Monday is here. It was not at all easy for me to wake up this morning. I have a feeling there will be a little bit of napping at my desk in the near future since coffee is no where in sight and this chocolate milk isn't cutting it. 

In the spirit of my sleepiness I appreciate things that look like they are super complicated to do, but in reality are a no-brainer like this snake braid...

I love using braids as a quick way to pull my hair out of my face, especially my bangs, and I thought this snake braid was such a nice spin on the classic. When I first saw this image of Melissa I thought it looked like something that would require me to sit in front of the mirror for a while telling my husband that I need absolute silence to pull this off, but in her tutorial she shows that it is beyond easy! 

Easy is good for Monday.

Images via Pinterest and Oh My God, Unicorns