Three By Three.

Good morning!

Are you ever in the mood to braid your hair back but don't want just a simple braided plait? How about you try a Three by Three! I called it that because it's 3 pieces of hair in a braid, times three (duhhh). You simply braid back 3 little braids and then braid those braids together! You can make them as large and funky, or as small and neat as you like them. Have fun!

Sheesh... how many times can I say braid today? 8. To be exact.

P.S. My curls are thanks to my trusty Wrap Snap & Go curlers.

Formal.

With so many photos to share today... I don't need to do too much writing! Today I have decided to show you my step-by-step process to create a formal hairdo without a formal styling process. You know, since I can't use any hairspray, products, heat or tease my hair at all... I've got to make do with the basics. And you know what? Surprisingly the basics did the trick (this time).

I hope you enjoy the following photo montage of my before-to-formal look:

Put in Wrap Snap & Go curlers the night before and sleep
 on them to give your hair some good body the next day.

Take out curlers... and behold: Shirley Temple.

Adorb? Not so much.

Shake your head up, down, and all around to loosen
the curls and separate them a little bit.

I prefer to "shake" my head to separate and fluff the curls,
instead of brushing my hair because then it doesn't make
them too fluffy and still keeps the curl in place.

Whoops!!! During the formal event setup, I wrapped my curls
 in my scarf because I didn't want to sweat too much
 (we had to put 300 chair covers on!) and relax the curls all the way!
Oh, and P.S. ... that's Zoë from From A to Zoë.
This was our FATZy and Bee picture :)

Event time! You just know I rocked the Aunie Hawk
 for the event. Boo yah.

The Aunie Hawk delivered volume, oomph, and surprisingly
 didn't fall out at all. I skipped the bun with the longer hair
underneath and just let the whole back hang loose.

FATZy and Bee at the event! Finally... the event is here.

So, as you see... frumpy to formal can be done without products, processing and poofy hair (though I would've killed for some hairspray at one point in the evening)!!!  Do you think you're willing to give the Aunie Hawk a go yet? Or is it still to much of a mullet-look, as my sister says?

Braided Side Topsy Tail.

Don't worry. It's not that bad. Trust me, if I can do it... you can do it!

Last night I just didn't feel like washing my hair. I had done the Zoë Twist yesterday, and I really wanted to give my hair one more day to grease itself up before I washed it. And no-- that's not gross. It's good for my hair, OK? So, instead of the whole shampoo routine, I tried something different. I Wrap Snap & Go curled my dry, dirty hair.

When I woke up, I took out the curlers and was a little dismayed to find that the back hardly curled at all, whereas the front was all spiraled. Bummer. But I gave this style a go anyway and this is the braided side topsy tail that I came up with:

Oh my, I loved it! It's so simple. Here are the steps:

1. Begin with wavy, crimped, curly or whatever hair you prefer.
2. Create a deep side part in the front of your hair.
3. Braid the front sections of your hair and secure them with clear plastic bands.
4. Pull your hair into a side ponytail.
5. Using a Topsy Tail tool (or just your own awesome skill), create a small hole right above your ponytail holder.
6. Pull your ponytail up and through the hole to make a topsy tail. 
7. Finish with a flower or leave it as-is.
8. Voila-- you're finished!

This style would be so beautiful for those ladies with longer hair. I just can't wait until mine is longer so it will cascade over my shoulders in soft waves. Oh, that will be the day!

P.S. If you want to see the fun nails I did to go along with that leopard print scarf, click here!

Rock The Band.

When you're running late, and you know that your hair is going to be the least of your concerns, why not opt for something easy? Usually I'm so preoccupied with trying to attempt intricate hairstyles, that once in a while it's nice to go with something simple.

That's where the headband comes in. What headband, you may say? Any headband. Plastic. Rhinestoned. Alligator patterned. Comb-like. Fabric. Elastic... any and all headbands work.

Today I picked my simple, black plastic Scunci headband. Last night I had thrown my hair into a couple of Wrap Snap & Go curlers (not freshly washed since I washed it yesterday morning), and this morning when I took them out I had a simple wave instead of corkscrew curls. I tossed a headband on and was out the door.

Easy as pie... well just kidding. If I were a baker, it would be easy as pie. But I surely am not (I make a fabulous bowl of cereal!) so I guess this hairstyle is more aptly said as easy peasy.

TBD Inspired.

Boy, oh boy. If there is one beauty site that I love out there, it is The Beauty Department. They feature makeup, hair, DIY, tutorials, polls, and all sorts of fun stuff. I check out their site each and every day looking for new ideas and things to try.

One downside of TBD's hair section is that they are huge fans of hairspray, hair products and teasing. Considering that I'm not allowed to tease or touch products for the next 350 days, I have to modify a couple of the hairstyles to suit my needs.

A particularly fun hairstyle that caught my eye recently was their Short Hair Chignon. It is meant for girls with long bobs, but considering my hair is just past shoulder-length, it works just fine. In fact, I'm a firm believer that this hairstyle will work for just about any length of hair if you secure it right.

For today's style, it's important to make sure your hair is curled or has some good texture. Yesterday, my hair had been Wrap Snap & Go curled, so it was just relaxed enough for this style today. I chose to keep my hair parted in the front just to make it easier. I grabbed one of my favorite elastic headbands and placed it on top of my hair and pulled it down a little bit to make it snug. With the hair at the back of my head, I simply separated a couple pieces, twisted them, and tucked them up and into the headband. And that is it. This style is so so so simple. The only bobby pin in my hair is the one holding the front curl in place (I can't stand loose hair around my face). Since my hair had some body from the day before, I didn't have to tease it or anything. I just tugged on a couple pieces to give it the teased look, and went on my merry way.

If my messy rant is too confusing, you could also visit the Short Hair Chignon link, since TBD was awesome and posted a video tutorial for how to do the style.

Basically... I love TBD. Love, love, LOVE. If I could be as cool as they are some day, that would be fabuloso. But until then, I'm the dork in the corner. Peace out, yo!

Aunie Hawk.

As you know, my name is Annelise. It is pronounced Ah-nah-lease-ah. Kind of like Monalisa. But not. It's Norwegian, thus the funky pronunciation. If you've been saying it Anna-lease, you're wrong. Or Ahna-lease. Still wrong. Or even Ann-elise. Nope.

AH-NAH-LEASE-AH. This is the only name I go by. No Anna, no Lisa, no Mona. Well... there are a few exceptions. My family calls me Icy, some of my friends from Redlands and former Boise State cheerleaders call me Lise, and my bestie Ashton and a few other awesome people refer to me as Aunie. But other than that... just Annelise.

I have taken a particular liking to one of the previously mentioned nicknames. Aunie. It's cute. It has a unique ring to it. Done.

So I decided that I needed to create a hairstyle, in honor of this blog, just for me. It has to be a go-to style. Something that can be done with second-day or clean hair.

Thus-- the Aunie Hawk was born.

I was in a particular rush to pick my mom up for the Boise State vs. Airforce game this weekend, and I needed to throw my hair into something-- and fast. My hair had lots of volume and hadn't been washed from the day before (remember the Wrap Snap & Go look?). So I grabbed a couple bobby pins, some hair comb clips and a single Wrap Snap & Go curler. A few short minutes later, I ended up with this:

The Aunie Hawk. It can be done to look very elegant and fancy, or it can be a messy updo for a night out on the town.

Here's the how-to for the Aunie Hawk:

1. Separate your hair into two parts. One will be the upper half, like if you were going to put your hair half-up. The other will be the lower half.
2. Secure the lower half in a bun at the nape of your neck. It can be curled up in a Wrap Snap & Go, like I did (photo below), twirled into a bun and secured with Spin Pins (which is what I did when I repeated the look on Sunday and it was SO MUCH easier), or just tied in a bun with a ponytail holder.
3. Pin the top front pieces of your hair up in a bump on the top of your head. Pull out pieces to your taste to make it more poofy.
4. Take the sides of your hair and secure them back with hair comb clips. The clips should be inserted toward your face, to make sure they stay in place.
5. With the "hawk" hair left over in back, tousle it to achieve the look you desire. Since I couldn't use hairspray to keep the style in place, I inserted bobby pins in a couple of locations to make sure the curls stayed secure.

And that's it for the Aunie Hawk! It's so easy, quick, and really fun. You don't have to secure the bottom half of your hair in a bun under the top layers of hair... but I like the "updo" feel of it when the bottom half is pulled up.

What do you think of the Aunie Hawk? Is it lame or could you rock it?

You know I rocked it with my mom at the Boise State game. Go BRONCOS!!!

Shirley Temple.

You asked for it... you get it! In homage to the legend Shirley Temple, I attempted her spiraled, corkscrew 'do.

While shopping at Sally Beauty the other day, I spotted the As Seen On TV Wrap Snap & Go curlers. With no haste, I snatched those babies up. I'm definitely looking for new hair innovations to try to give me some body and OOMPH, and those promised to give me the curly, voluminous look. How could I resist?
As with all my curling and braiding methods, I washed my hair and began while it was damp. The directions suggest to roll the middle section of your hair, interlocking the curlers as you go, and then begin on the sides. I started curling the middle section and found that it wasn't hard at all.

This would definitely be easier on longer hair. I want to try this method with more of a spiral along the roller next time. This time, I just rolled the hair under itself, like a sponge roller. I wasn't sure (since I couldn't use hairspray to keep it in place, as they suggest) that it would hold if I tried the spiral approach. Overall, it took about 20 minutes to roll my entire head. That's not bad at all! If I could get results from a 20-minute prep, it's definitely worth it.

It doesn't look like it would hold too well, since they are just little cloth/foam rollers. Surprisingly, they were quite tight and held all throughout the night. In fact, they didn't budge a bit and they were almost too tight. I looked like I had a face lift when I had finished rolling. It was pretty amusing.

I awoke this morning to find a few of the rolls still a little damp. Bummer. I took them out right before I got to work and found myself with cute little Shirley Temple curls. They're so bouncy and fun!

As you might expect, I really didn't want to leave them like that all day. I mean, they're cute on Shirley, but not on a grown woman... er... lady... er... they're just not cute on me (hehe, I don't consider myself a "grown woman" quite yet). Actually... they are cute, but cute isn't really the look I'm going for. Not for work at the hospital, anyway.

Since they were still a little damp when I took the curlers out, I waited about an hour before running my fingers through my hair to relax the curls. The final product was astounding! I love getting voluminous, curly hair from a 20-minute, super-easy prep.

The downside of this style is that I began while my hair was still a little too wet. Unfortunately I've made that mistake quite a few times over the last week. But, when I began, I didn't know how fast my hair would dry with this technique, so I charged ahead with my damp hair. I think this style is one that really should be done on hair that is only slightly damp or completely dry. Just to be safe.

The upside of Wrap Snap & Go is that they are so easy to use. They stay in all night and their instruction book includes lots of fun things that you can do with the curlers. Also, the curl is bomb-dot-com. I am really surprised at how well this style worked, considering my hopes weren't too high. You know, it is one of those As Seen On TV products... how was I supposed to know it would actually work? I mean, I tried the As Seen On TV doggie Pedi Paws, and those were just horrible for trimming my little puppy's nails. And don't even think about it... I will not be trying the As Seen On TV Bumpit. No way Josè.

Well, to wrap up this Shirley Temple tribute... Shirley, we love you. Here's to 83 years of your greatness. Keep it up, lady!