Truly. Assuming your home is in the first world, which, if you’re spending your free time cruising internet beauty blogs, I think I can safely assume you’re not in extremis, you already have the greatest beauty product ever right there at home: water. Most folks don’t drink nearly enough water. Coloradans probably skew the average with our ever present sport bottles, but even then we’re probably not consuming as much as we should. I may just be speaking for myself. I’ll be honest. In the past, not drinking water was a deliberate time management strategy for me. When I went... Read More

No, this isn’t a tutorial on how to use last night’s campfire ashes to create a smoky eye, although, that is a kind of genius idea. Instead we have a list of practical ways to be less of a greasy B.O. ball when you’re without running water in the middle of nowhere. 1) Sunscreen I mean, are you really surprised? Sunscreen is my number one, all the time, yes-every-single-day, beauty item. This doesn’t change when you’re out roughing it. In fact, it becomes even more paramount. You know what a hot mess looks like? Red, peeling skin in a distinctly sunglasses outline.... Read More

I may or may not be quite bitter about the spat of snow we had lately. Snow. In the words of Cher Horowitz, it’s “a full on Monet.” Sure, from far away it’s beautiful, but up close and personal it’s a big ole mess. I’m not a fan of winter in general. Sure there are lots of “activities” and “fun” and “major heart warming holidays,” but I’d much rather read a book on a porch with a comfortably warm breeze idly ruffling by. In that scenario I imagine the wind flirting with the effortless waves of gorgeous hair I have flowing... Read More

Caroline, “I’m from Minneapolis Minnesota and I have family that lives close by. I grew up skiing  Keystone for so long that I just felt like a draw towards Colorado. My passions are that I really love learning languages and learning about other cultures in the language as I grew and I’ve been learning about different cultures and now I am starting Spanish. I really love adventures and waking up every morning in Boulder is inspiring, and arguably life changing. I want to go out there and I want to explore and maybe draw something in nature. I think learning other languages... Read More

My best friend had a baby last night. A healthy little girl who is already screaming at her. I decided that on my little pseudo-niece’s first day in the world I couldn’t write about makeup or vanity or anything addressing one’s exterior. I want her to grow up to be a strong, confident woman who knows she can be anything she wants to be and that no matter what, she is already the most beautiful woman in the world. So, today, I’d like to remind us all that we are most beautiful when we are ourselves. Without apology. Welcome to life, baby girl.  Read More

Eva is a 22 year old student that is in Boulder attending a university and I loved interviewing this woman. Costa Rica, located in Central America is where this piece of joy is from. Movement is something that is in her everyday life, because movement makes things happen, movement is satisfying, and quite frankly movement is what has gotten her to Boulder. For example, Eva loves loves loves to snowboard! She feels like its her “flow” and and it’s the closest thing she can get to a tropical thrill. As far as I can see Eva is very active and a very driven young lady. Her mom is... Read More

Ole’ blue eyes knew a lot about a lot — Do it your way? Absolutely. Wake up in a city that never sleeps? Sure. Strangers in the night? Ehhh… I guess… But I should’ve known he wouldn’t be the best authority on night and day moisturizer. I mean, he “had you under” his skin. That can’t be good for the pores. So, I stand corrected. While a separate day and night cream may be a ploy by the cosmetic industry to rake in bigger bucks, it is a ploy of which we should take advantage. What I’ve learned is your face’s skin needs utilitarian... Read More

Admittedly, this post is a little dim the lights, don a beret, and go all out Sharpie with your lower lid liner, but sometimes when it rains all day every day fora week straight you tend toward a little drama. My perception of beauty has always been tied to weight. It’s not like I had a specific experience that made me think ohhh, skinny is pretty, not skinny is not… I just knew. It was as innate as green meaning go. Sure, somebody must’ve decided it at some point, but I never gave it much thought. I just absorbed it as an aspect of society. It pains me to look back at photos... Read More

Recently a friend asked me my feelings on charcoal. That’s easy. Charcoal’s smell triggers cravings for hot dogs and watermelon and therefore is a lovely, lovely tease. Apparently she meant charcoal as a beauty product. I balked. Rubbing your body in charcoal? That seems as good an idea as bathing in mud. Which… while messy… and counterintuitive… happens to be a major luxury at spas worldwide. Interesting. Maybe gasoline fights really are next.  Ooh… except somehow that movie (Zoolander) came out in 2001… HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE. I feel old. Serendipitously, charcoal touts anti-aging... Read More

Jamie, the 22 year old from Aspen, Colorado, is a quite interesting young woman. Her passion is photography. Photography that not only pleases the viewer, but also includes and samples in social issues that are not so simple to discuss out loud. She implicitly does art about explicit topics in our society. She’s in Boulder to finish her degree, that she hopes will get her into one of her dream art institutes. What she likes about boulder is the way the city and university is a unified community! She enjoys the astonishing atmosphere and support she gets from her peers. Jamie chose to do... Read More

Clarissa, born and raised in Houston, TX, has been in Colorado for  7 years now.  She lives with her caring aunt and uncle! Clarissa is really drawn to Boulder because she loves the healthy lifestyle that it promotes, whether it’s healthy food, a place to get a great workout, or just walking and biking everywhere to make it around town. “The people here in Boulder are amazing.” Kickboxing is Clarissa’s cup of tea. She really likes to stay active, and kickboxing is beneficial to her in multiple ways. I found this tough cookie at CU’s Rec Center, so be sure to find... Read More

It’s Memorial Day Weekend! A sentinel marker of summer’s imminence! Cookouts, picnics, and the opening of pools everywhere! Buuuuuuut… the weather still sucks. If your outdoor fun and frivolity has been side lined due to Colorado’s insistent impersonation of the Pacific northwest, here are five ways to bring on the patriotism and brighten up the party, even if it is indoors. 1) Add a patriotic hair accessory. 2) Consider an Amer-I-Can DIY manicure. 3) Swap out the brown and black mascara for a patriotic navy blue (like this, this, or this)(is it weird that I think this... Read More

Now I lay me down to sleep, with lotion on my face that’s cheap. If I should die before I wake, I pray my skin won’t crack and flake. If should live a few days more, I’ll find a cream I don’t abhor.   Sephora, unto thee I pray, thou hast not led my face astray, help me find a good night cream, one that gives a youthful gleam, for the sun, and time, and dry air weather, has made my skin resemble leather.   Okay. So maybe not like, leather leather. I mean, I don’t see aged animal hide when I look in the mirror. But my skin certainly does have a… dehydrated... Read More

One of my biggest inspirations these days is Cassey Ho. She is a Pilates group fitness instructor turned self-made perky internet force to be reckoned with at 28 years old. And I think that’s awesome. She has helped my fit more comfortably into my pants, feel better about my whole self, and honestly, has encouraged me to pursue this writing thing as more than a wistful hobby. It’s not like I’ve met her. She has no idea she’s done this. But through the power of her videos, her message, and her brand, her encouragement sticks. I encourage you to watch this and share. She’s... Read More

When I was a barista in Brooklyn, I remember a customer asking for the café’s unwanted coffee grounds for his home composting. We had tons of it—leftover from the espresso grinder and from making drip coffee—filling up our trashcans so we were happy to pass some on to him. Recycling coffee grounds into your compost or fertilizer is a fantastic way to cut down on coffee waste. It’s also a great way to add valuable nutrients to your garden, since coffee is full of nitrogen and antioxidants. Another fun use for coffee, which I also learned while working at that shop in Brooklyn, is for skincare.... Read More

So… two things blew my mind this week and simultaneously confirmed that I live in a delicate balance of stupor and caffeination. Number one, this: UHM, WHAT!? THAT’S JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE. He posted this in January. The baby was born April 9th! HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS? I once considered taking a job in Bozeman, Montana and WHAT IF I WAS HIS BABY’S PEDIATRICIAN!?!? Yes, of course this is relevant. Clearly there’s more beauty in the world now that a member of *NSYNC has procreated. The second mind blowing factoid is this, which also surfaced back in January, but I just found out... Read More

So it only took 3 weeks, but we’ve finally arrived at the post I started out writing: make-up tips for the beautifully bespectacled. I tend to reserve my glasses for my lazy days. You know the ones. The days that invite a uniform of yoga pants and hoodies. Or not! That’s the beauty of lazy days, the ambivalence, the ease, the lack of caring how you’ve presented yourself to the world. Liberation. But not everyone feels similarly. Some people wear their spectacles and eschew contacts on the daily. And indeed some days I need to wear my glasses in situations where I want to be... Read More

Most mornings I head to work with only sunscreen and reluctance on my face. I generally wear makeup when I’m feeling chunky, feeling sad, or have anything on the agenda that demands a little extra courage from me (meetings, presentations, the possibility that Peyton Manning might be roaming the hospital’s halls). I completely understand the idea of war paint and not just because of my half Native American-ness. Makeup is like a power suit for my face. It just makes me feel better, more confident. Except if I’m trying out a new look or style. Then I’m absurdly self-conscious... Read More

Alright, friends. The time has come. You can release the horses you’ve been holding, salvage teeth enamel from the bits you’ve been chomping, and abandon your seat’s edge to use the whole of it to sit, because yes. The makeup glasses were delivered. For those of you who were spared the suffocation that comes with seven days of bated breath, I’ll recap. Last week I discussed my very limited vision and how it hinders eye makeup application. If I want to eyeline or mass-scare (the act of applying mascara)(or I suppose scaring the masses) I have to have my contacts in. Without... Read More

I’ve been a four eyes since the 2nd grade. Evidently binge reading plus optically challenged genetics equals functional blindness. It’s a formula that holds true to this day. My first pair of glasses had comically large pink plastic frames, because why wouldn’t they. It was like I was trying to earn another merit badge in dorkdom. High waters? Check. Preference for books over human interaction? Check. Thick corrective lenses that if swiped off my face rendered me helpless? Aww yeah. Because of this, I only wear makeup and glasses simultaneously if I’ve already done my makeup... Read More