15 Minute Beauty Fanatic

Sarah Potempa is the Aussie's Celebrity Stylist and her tips have been among my most popular posts. (Check her out with quick hair tips for new mommies and great hospital hair for childbirth.) Today she has some great tips for fast hair that lasts.

Sarah suggests playing with your hair's natural texture to create a day look.

Daytime Fun
This all starts with enhancing your natural waves and going with the weather. Start by taking a test day where you have a little free time...pull out your products and ¬play a little:
• Test your natural wave pattern by spritzing Aussie's Heat Protecting Shine Spray on damp hair and scrunching it up with a towel.
• Take the diffuser attachment of your blowdryer and lightly dry the ends to the roots by scooping large sections into the diffuser.
• Spritz a flexible hold hairspray on hair and allow to air dry as you do your makeup).
• Once you’re done and your hair has dried, you can always enhance this wave by making "C" shapes with your flat iron.

After your test day is over and you know your natural hair texture, this style turns into a quick 5-minute “scrunch and go” look that dries instantly in the summer heat, which is perfect for any mom! I also love to add braids on top or hidden ones on the side for a boho chic beach day.

Christine's Note: I followed Sarah's suggestions and you can see the results above. I especially loved the Shine Spray and have been incorporating that into my daily routine more often. I can't tell that it is in my hair and the shine is very natural, though definitely present. I've found that it is pretty hard to overdo it with this product, so if you've had problems with that in the past.

Nightime Chic
After you’ve mastered your natural texture, add a textured half-up section or a messy high bun with accessories to instantly glam up your style for the evening!

Textured Half-Up
Waves and volume combine to create the perfect, fun style.

• Start by teasing your roots with a large-toothed comb and spritz on a heat protecting shine spray on hair, and curl small sections with a ¾” curling iron.

• Pull the sides up and back and secure with a small elastic. Then take the top section and separate into 2 pieces.

• Take the pieces and tie them in a knot and secure them to the base of the half-up ponytail, leaving the volume throughout. Although this look is textured and fun, it doesn’t mean it needs to be dull-looking.

High Bun
Hair pulled into a knot on the top of the crown of the head is very trendy and cool (literally, when it comes to the summer, very cool!) This style can be done in under 5 minutes.

• Flip your head over and spritz Aussie’s NEW Spray Gloss all over. This new conditioning spray will add instant shine to your hair and allow for a polished look to a super easy style

• Secure hair in a high ponytail, twist hair to one direction and pin with large 2” bobby pins as you wrap into a bun. Allow little pieces to stick out, as this style is meant to be carefree and natural.

• Then add an accessory, like Collette Malouf's metallic headbands. They are sophisticated and dressy, and can add style to any outfit. I also love a double wrap headband to wear with a messy updo. Zipper headbands from gla.MAR.ous (shopglamarous.com…which has tons of amazing, cool hair accessories!) are unique, but much more casual.

Aussie

Recently, MAC released a new line of foundation that promises to be completely different from all of their other foundations. The pigments are different. The idea is that the pigments are encapsulated within little spheres, which helps to reflect light and in theory make the pigments blend more easily with your skin tone. Rather than needing that "perfect match" that we all find so elusive, you should be able to take a foundation that is in the ballpark, put it on, and since it mixes with your own skin tone you'll look fab.

In addition, this foundation has a demi-matte finish with oil reduction capabilities (sounds amazing to this combination skin girl), a medium coverage that is buildable and soft focus powders to help soften the appearance of lines and wrinkles. For real.