On my continuing crusade against an oily t-zone, I started using blackhead removing strips to help clear my pores out. They work great, but in order to get all the areas I want to address I end up cutting up five strips to cover my forehead, nose and chin. There had to be a better way. What I really wanted was a mask that I could apply to all my problem areas and pull off in one piece that would also be effective in removing my blackheads. I used the charcoal mask - the one that feels like you're ripping [...]

My friend Erika - that's her with her adorable rescue pup, Ginger! - is an amazing human being who is smart and talented and generous and thoughtful and funny and inspiring and, on top of all this awesomeness, she has ridiculously white teeth and rocks the heck out of red lipstick and I'm insanely jealous about it. As a blonde, I've always been encouraged to wear red because it's supposed to look fabulous on me, but it just never looks right. I could say it looks too bold and dramatic or that it's the wrong shade of red (I'm definitely more of [...]