I’d like a show of hands: does anyone actually manage to stick to the recommended six to eight weeks between color appointments? No? If you’re anything like me, six to eight months can go by (okay, maybe not quite that much, but still) before you realize that your hair is basically screaming for a trip […]
So, here at The Decoder, we do lots of chatting about pretty products—as we very well should. But, since I’m a firm believer that the painting will only look as good as the canvas it’s on, today I want to talk about how to get skin that is not only beautiful, but downright healthy. Keeping […]
I don’t know about you, but when it comes to festive winter dressing… I’m often at a loss. And, no winter festivity is harder to dress for than New Year’s Eve, am I right? Unlike a casual holiday cocktail party, NYE is a night where you’re expected to go all-out with your wardrobe—even if the […]
I’ll be honest: when I heard that my assigning editors wanted me to write a story on glitter makeup, I was a little skeptical. Maybe I’m still scarred by the memories of the scented glitter body gel that me and my friends used to apply before middle-school dances (does anyone else remember that gross, goopy […]
Typically, we associate shiny hair with health—but, the products that we use can make a major difference in the luster that we see in our locks. The key is to find the correct balance between keeping hair healthy and keeping it clean. Sounds pretty simple, but since many hair products are either overly drying or […]
Ah, bath time. Every time I have the luxury of doing the whole soak-and-scrub thing in a tub of bubbles, I have the same reaction: WHY don’t I do this more often?! The concept of self-care is one that’s thrown around a lot these days, and if you’re anything like me, it can be easy […]
Face cleanser. Let me take a guess — it’s probably not the most exciting product in your medicine cabinet. Out of all of the fun lotions and potions out there, cleanser is one of those categories that we usually look to as a utilitarian product: does it take off my makeup and leave me feeling clean […]
So, it’s no secret that girls love fall (Pumpkin spice! Changing leaves! SWEATER WEATHER!), but I love this season for a slightly more uncommon reason: fall lipsticks! There’s nothing like the first time you swipe on a rich berry, matte brick, or velvety nude lipstick after months of applying the same pink-and-coral lippies all summer. […]
I know, I know… it’s fall. So, you might expect me to be advising you to switch out the light tinted moisturizer that you wore all summer with a heavier, more opaque foundation in honor of the changing season…right? Well, if you’d like to get your foundation recommendations, you can head right over here. But […]
I’ll be honest: while I like to believe that I’m not as high-maintenance as some ladies out there (like my always-immaculately-turned-out mother), the truth remains that I am not a tomboy. I like beauty products, and I like them a lot (hence the career choice!). However, while I’ve always been enamored by the search for […]
There’s a time and a place for a good beauty splurge, for sure—think your fail-safe foundation that costs more than a few bucks, or a pricey lipstick that makes you feel like Wonder Woman. But for your everyday staples, the offerings at your local drugstore are better (and cheaper!) than ever. Drugstores are where are […]
There’s a time for a post about the best tools and products for getting and keeping and blowout… and August is not one of those times. We have all year to battle our manes into submission, but when the temps (and humidity!) are this high, it’s time to embrace your natural texture and enjoy the […]
I’m going to be honest with you: the original concept of this story was “pool-proof makeup,” but my daily commute has gotten so humid that I basically feel like I’m swimming to work every day anyway. There’s nothing more depressing than arriving at the office to discover that three-quarters of your masterful face of makeup […]
Sure, it’s a fun indulgence to get a pedicure—I do believe that every girl deserves to have her tootsies detailed every once in awhile. That said, whether you’re on a budget, short on time, or (like me) lack the patience to sit in a nail salon for an hour, sometimes you need to take matters […]
It’s officially summer, which means that along with ditching my wine lipsticks and heavy foundation, I’ve officially waved goodbye to my blowdryer for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, however, my hair doesn’t necessarily behave when I let it air-dry; without a little product, my locks somehow end up looking both flat and frizzy. How is that […]
Until recently, color-correcting makeup seemed to be one of those things that was relegated to the category of “makeup artist voodoo,” (also known as something too complicated for us mere mortals to use on a daily basis.) Plus, some color-correcting products of the past had thick, chalky textures that could almost make the uneven situation […]
Ah, summer. You’re finally here, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. There’s nothing like feeling the warmth of the sun on your face after a long winter (and a long, chilly spring, depending on where you live)—but, if you’re not careful, that hint of sun on your skin can turn into a full-on burn. You […]
Toners: they kind of seem like the weird outliers of the skin care industry, don’t they? For many of us, just the word “toner” conveys a bracing liquid that we used to apply in an attempt to fight teen acne—and, now that we’re out of high school, the entire category of product seems pretty unnecessary. […]
I don’t want to start any fights here, but in my opinion the much-beloved fall season has nothing on spring. Those first few soft breezes on your skin, the dappled light flowing through the fresh blooms on the trees, the scent of aforementioned blooms in the air—it’s simply magic. (Plus, it means that summer AND […]
As fun as it can be to take one’s time to apply a full face of makeup and get everything exactly right, let’s be real: most of us busy ladies rarely have more than ten or so minutes to prep our faces for the day. Whether we’re prepping for work, the gym, or just wanting […]
With the weather finally warming up, I know many of us are pondering spring cleaning (myself included!) but today I’d like to steer our focus from vacuuming and scrubbing to a more fun topic: the big spring makeup-bag clean. I firmly believe that every woman should, every season, give her beauty stash a good once-over, […]
It’s no secret that there are more sketchy chemicals lurking in our personal care products than we’d like to admit. While as a beauty lover I’ll never give up all of my products for say, a jar of coconut oil, over the past couple of years I’ve been much more aware of the toxicity of […]
It’s officially that time of year where I’m feeling so pallid and run-down that I’m practically dying for some sun. So, naturally, I’m dreaming of a more grown-up take on a college spring break trip (with less booze and more sunscreen, of course!). I’ve put together a list of everything needed to stay protected and […]
It’s right about that time of the winter when I start to feel… a bit run down (to put it mildly). Between the lack of sun, lack of humidity, and lack of a meal that doesn’t involve carbs and red wine–hey, a girl’s gotta make it through somehow–by the end of February, my skin has […]
I don’t think I’m alone in saying that Valentine’s Day can sometimes be anything but romantic. In my mind, a holiday that centers completely around men meeting impossibly high standards for romance in the middle of dreary February is just kind of unfair. However, even though most of us enlightened ladies know that Valentine’s Day […]