Roller clips vs. Roller Pins

I recently received a set of hot rollers. It makes me feel a little like a granny owning a set of these, but with long hair and little time to get ready for work in the morning, they really do wondrous things. When I had shorter hair, rollers were not my friends. They left it looking poodley at best, and frizzy at worst. However, now that my hair is longer, they give it a nice curl on the ends, while keeping it smooth and shiny on the top. It essentially looks like I spent some serious time with a curling iron coiling all the ends, but with way less effort.

Granted, there is a special technique to acheive long lasting curl from rollers. You must roll a strip of hair down the center of your head from front to back in 4 rollers then roll the sides in about 2 for each side. You have to wait until they are almost burn your fingers hot, and let them set with the clips in until they cool. Then unroll, replace in their container, flip head over, shake, and you're done. Voila! Natural, bouncy curls that stay longer than with a curling iron (for me at least) and with only one final coat of hair spray at the end rather than spritzing each section before twirling it around an iron.

This is the first set of curlers I've owned since just stealing them from my mom or my sister, and there have been some changes since their sets were made. First of all, there are different clips. The clips mine came with (shown above) are plastic little claws that claim to hold tight without crimping hair. YES, it even said that on the box. Which is one of the reasons I thoguht this was the right set of curlers for me.

Now let's rewind to about 5 minutes before I'm supposed to run out the door this morning. I'm all dressed, teeth brushed, and I start to unroll my hair, ready to shake, spray and run out the door looking fab. I take out 1, 2, 3, ALL of the rollers and my head is peppered with crimps every single place the clip touched my hair. HORROR! DISMAY! I'm going to be late!

After a quick rummage around the apartment for a hair straigtener, and finding none, I had no choice but to pull my ruined hair into a pony tail and dash out the door. I was NOT happy to hide my bouncing curls with a rubberband, but the whole head kinks did not leave me much choice.

I don't know why they don't make curlers anymore that come with the wires shown below. Not only do they pin the curler to your head more securely (so you don't risk hot rollers falling out and flying across the living room while you're ironing your outfit....not that that happened this morning or anything), but they DO NOT and HAVE NOT ever left a kink in my hair.

I know I plan to order some roller wires online to go with my set to avoid this catastrophe in the future. But don't be fooled like me! The box lies, and the clips will crimp your hair.

Spring Coats

Recently, I bought two spring coats. I had been searching for a new spring coat for a while. My wool coat is a little bit too heavy for this time of year, my rain coat is only appropriate when the weather is bad, and my fleece coat is just a little too casual for the office. The search has been on for a while. At first, I was convinced that I needed to have a brightly colored coat (yellow, blue or coral). I was enjoying the brights of spring, but the more and more I ran into people wearing easter egg hues in the subway, the more the colors offended me, and I realized I needed a nice neutral to add to my wardrobe. I mean, a bright yellow coat could be very limiting to my work wardrobe unless I want to run the risk of looking like a bumblebee every time I wear black.

The first one I purchased was from Ann Taylor Loft. Their spring stuff is SO adorable. It was all I could do to walk out of their without maxing out my credit card. Their sandals, accessories, coats, and dresses are totally wearable for work and play, and I left with a list of at least 5 things I want to go back for. It doesn't help that I am slightly brainwashed by What I Wore because she makes everything look so cute, and LOFT is currently sponsoring her. I am happy that LOFT is getting the publicity they deserve this season.

The second is from H&M and is part of their garden collection, which is made with all "green" sustainable materials, and some of them organic. What a better excuse to feel good about shopping than saving the environment? I went back and forth about buying this coat, because a coworker has the same one. But from the moment I saw it, I knew it had to be mine. Finally I gave in and just bought it. I'm not usually a copy cat, but we both have such different styles, it's almost like a different coat. AND it is a gorgeous creamy beige that I am such a sucker for.

The initial plan was to buy them both, compare at home and then return one. But let's be serious, does that ever work? I tried them both on at home, and decided that I loved and had to keep both. And I don't feel bad about it either. The Ann Taylor one was on sale for a mere $75 from and original $128 (half off!!!). And the one from H&M was only around $50 to being with. You can't beat two coats for only about a buck twenty. I've already worn them both about 4 times. They are perfect for the slightly warm, slightly chilly spring weather we've been having lately, and totally worth it.