BellaSugar

Bella Brand: Hair Rules

BellaSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:00:46 PDT

Longtime readers know that PopSugar has beautiful curly hair - perhaps you remember her advice for curly girlies? So when I found out about Hair Rules, a new collection of hair care, I knew who could help me try the products. What's cool is that the line is divided into styling products for kinky, curly, and wavy hair; it's not a one-curl-fits-all kind of thing. The products are meant to hydrate and protect textured hair without weighing it down or trying to straighten it out.

To find out whether it lives up to its promises,

read more. Pop tried a few products from the line over a three-week period, so she has plenty of things to say. "The smell of the products alone is reason enough for me to buy them," she raves. "The citrus-pineapple-papaya-like smell is so fabulous to wake up with every morning. They use words like shea butter, coconut, jojoba, honey, ginger root, lemon, and gardenia so I'm not sure the best way to describe the scent - I will just call it heaven." I'll let her take it from here: Wavy Mousse "This was my favorite product. I substituted it in my mousse routine and it made my hair smell great, feel softer, and have more-defined curls. It is more watery than a regular mousse. At first try, it felt like I had shampoo in my hair, but once I kept using it and got used to it, I loved it!" Daily Cleansing Cream Moisture-Rich No-Suds Shampoo "First I had to get used to a shampoo that doesn’t foam. I know it still works, but it's weird. That said, knowing I need as many moisturizing products as possible this is a great choice. Again, the smell is amazing." Quench Deep Conditioner "I might have a new favorite conditioner. Again, the smell is unbelievable and my hair felt really well moisturized after I used it. Some days I skipped the shampoo altogether, but I used the conditioner. It’s a medium thickness but goes on well."

Hair Rules: Too Cute or Too Much?

Annie Tomlin — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:19:12 PDT

It's not hard to make a charming commercial when your stars are unstoppably cute, curly-haired little girls. This new Hair Rules spot features four girls dancing, hopping around, and generally having a fantastic time. I'm loving their sass and confidence, but some of their dance moves are a little more (unintentionally) sexualized than others. The girls probably picked up the hip-gyrating from music videos, and lots of kids innocently mimic grown-up behaviors, but there's still something a little off-putting about seeing children move provocatively. Do you see it that way or is this just a fun video?

Olympian Natalie Coughlin Dives Into Beauty

BellaSugar — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:05:42 PST

Two-time Olympic champion Natalie Coughlin is legendary for her 100 meter backstroke, impossible to beat as part of the freestyle relay team, and one of Team USA's brightest hopes for this year's London games. We met up with her at a shoot for her new Pantene ad and discovered that Natalie's also quite the glamour puss when she's on dry land. "I'm a girlie girl when I have the chance," she said. "I love playing up my eyes, and after my Dancing With the Stars experience, I love doing false lashes."

When she's in a pool all day, however, there's no reason to wear makeup. "It’s just the last thing I want to think about," Natalie admits. "But I do use a lot of sunscreen." With so much chlorine exposure and time in the water, painfully dry skin is also an issue many swimmers face. "I have to moisturize every day," Natalie says, "and I dry brush at night, which I think is important."

As anyone who was ever on a neighborhood swim team can attest, though, a swimmer's biggest beauty challenge is always hair. Natalie is known for her long, healthy mane, and says she's avoided the chop by following a cardinal rule. "Always wet your hair before you get in the pool," Natalie advises. "If you can put conditioner in your hair before you get in that helps, too." Wetting your hair... so you can get it wet? Apparently not as weird as it sounds. "If you think about it, "Natalie explains, "your hair is very much like a sponge, so if it absorbs tap water, that’s much better than chlorinated water." Thanks to Natalie, next time we go for a dip, our strands will have taken the plunge beforehand.

Link Time: Hot-Rodding With Prada, Blake Lively's Hot-Water Remark, and More

FabSugar — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:21:41 PST

Hot-rodding with Prada: see the Spring '12 campaign video - Style.com
Is gray hair the new pink hair? - The Daily Beast
Gisele's got a plan to help Tom Brady win the Super Bowl - HuffPost Style
11 ways to declutter your purse - Stylelist
Lauren's ladylike rules for restaurant dining - Lauren Conrad
Alexa Chung designs a teddy bear for charity - Lucky
Which will you watch: the Super Bowl, or Anna Wintour's 60 Minutes special - The Cut
"More Brown Bras" campaign calls out lingerie makers - Racked
Check out the full Jason Wu Pre-Fall handbag collection - Purse Blog
H&M debuts David Beckham mannequins - The Gloss
Blake Lively tells Elle she wants her kids to be "trannies" - Styleite

Uh Oh! Watch Out For These 12 IRS Audit Red Flags

Kiplinger — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:06:09 PST

We're thrilled to present this smart Kiplinger story here on Savvy!

The IRS audits only slightly more than 1% of all individual tax returns annually. The agency doesn't have enough personnel and resources to examine each and every tax return filed during a year. So the odds are pretty low that your return will be picked for review. And, of course, the only reason filers should worry about an audit is if they are fudging on their taxes.

However, the chances of being audited or otherwise hearing from the IRS increase depending upon various factors, including your income level, whether you omitted income, the types of deductions or losses you claimed, the business in which you're engaged and whether you own foreign assets. Math errors may draw IRS inquiry, but they'll rarely lead to a full-blown exam. Although there's no sure way to avoid an IRS audit, you should be aware of red flags that could increase your chances of drawing unwanted attention from the IRS.

1. Making too much money

Although the overall individual audit rate is about 1.11%, the odds increase dramatically for higher-income filers. IRS statistics show that people with incomes of $200,000 or higher had an audit rate of 3.93%, or one out of slightly more than every 25 returns. Report $1 million or more of income? There's a one-in-eight chance your return will be audited. The audit rate drops significantly for filers making less than $200,000: Only 1.02% of such returns were audited during 2011, and the vast majority of these exams were conducted by mail. We're not saying you should try to make less money - everyone wants to be a millionaire. Just understand that the more income shown on your return, the more likely it is that you'll be hearing from the IRS.

Read on for more red flags.

Photography Tips For Your Holiday Greeting Cards

Kristy Korcz — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:30:39 PST

Capturing fabulous family photos for your holiday cards isn't always easy, especially if you're wrangling little ones and pets for a sit-down photo session. You don't have to drop a fortune on professional sessions - you can DIY your holiday cards this year, save a bundle, and have some fun in the process. Make your family photo shoot go a little smoother by preparing your setting and camera equipment ahead of time, and get a handle on these basic photo tips and tricks before you begin.

Setting it up - Make sure your setting is well-lit to capture the best images. Natural lighting is best, but if you must use artificial light, bring in a few extra lamps and place them around your camera to prevent shadows and dark spots.
Use a tripod - A prerequisite to self portraits, a tripod will keep your image steady and blur-free.
Using the rule of thirds - Having been used since the 1700s, it's widely accepted that adhering to the rule of thirds helps to make your photographs, paintings, and videos more visually interesting and evoke feeling from the viewer. If you were to look into your camera's viewfinder, and imagine that there are nine lines running across the entirety of your image - three vertical and three horizontal - the rule of thirds states that your main focal point should be aligned with one of the linear intersections.
On looking good - You don't have to overdo it for photos. Keep your hair and makeup natural to prevent dating yourself, and check the duckface at the door. Since most people blink from the anticipation and shock of bright light and flash bulbs in their eyes, take two to three photos in a row to get used to the light. Additionally, use your flash if you're outside to prevent sun shadows on your pretty faces. Finally, shoot at eye level or above - shooting from below isn't flattering for anyone.
Keeping pets happy - Although you should clear the area of unwanted clutter, you'll want to keep your pet's favorite toy or treat handy for when it's time to snap the pic. A little coaxing goes a long way.
Have fun! - Posed images are nice, but your friends and family want to see the real you. Take plenty of images, and even consider using some funny outtakes to show your family's silly side.

Source: Flickr user Wolfgang Lonien

Sugar Shout Out: Last-Minute Ideas For Your Pumpkin Decor!

Katie Henry — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:55:29 PDT

10 Things That Take More Time Than a Breast Exam

FitSugar — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 03:06:07 PDT

It's easy to remember to do self breast exams in October, but the other 11 months of the year so many of us often forget. While there's no definitive rule on whether women should perform SBEs, my doc says to keep it up. The thought being: the better you know your gals, the more likely you are to detect a problem early without being alarmed by the normal monthly changes in your breast tissue. Yet, somehow the task seems daunting, even though it really takes no time at all. To put some perspective on the time commitment, we've listed 10 things that many of us do routinely without batting an eyelash. All of them generally take more time than a SBE, which could potentially save your life.

Blow drying your hair
Boiling an egg
Shaving your legs
Lacing up a new pair of sneakers
Folding the laundry

Come see the other activities that take longer than a SBE.

Glee-Ful Highlights From Season Three Premiere "The Purple Piano Project"

Shannon Vestal — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 07:51:51 PDT

Glee is back for season three, and the brand new school year has brought with it a few shakeups: several characters have quit the glee club, a few are off the show entirely (Sam, we hardly knew ye), and since it's senior year for a few of the students, we're starting to see plans form for when the year ends.

The season opener set up some arcs for the next few months, but it also glossed so quickly over many things that changed my head was spinning. Still, it's nice to see the gang back - even if they're not singing all together again yet. It's time to talk about everything that goes down in the episode, though, so let's go over it all when you keep reading

Lauren Conrad's Dress Code Tips For the Business Professional

Lauren Conrad — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:30:14 PDT

We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with LaurenConrad! The TV personality, writer, designer, and style maven started LaurenConrad.com, a social networking site that features daily posts by Lauren on all of our favorite topics - fashion, beauty, food, party planning - and Lauren will be sharing her latest fashion finds with Fab every month. This month, Lauren's got the perfect answer to your business dress code questions.

To kick off my Dress Coding series, today I’ll be cracking the code behind “business professional” dress, also known as “business formal.”
If you’re a fashionable girl working in a buttoned-up, ultra conservative world, dressing professionally is an absolute must. Unfortunately, professional settings are not exactly friendly to the fashion forward. Luckily, you can maintain a level of style by working in fashionable elements through subtle accessories and chic silhouettes.
Business professional attire for women is very similar to what men are expected to wear: The Power Suit. No, this doesn’t mean you have to wear a boxy jacket, pinstripe pants and a tie… Instead, opt for a slim cut pantsuit, a skit and jacket combination, or a structured (and modest) dress.
Keep reading . . .