Graduation Day Hair at Believe

It’s finally here! Graduation season.

You’ve probably noticed your mailbox filling up with invitations (and your wallet shrinking from the checks you’ve got to send the graduates) or maybe you are a lucky enough to be a graduate yourself. If so, congratulations!

We at Believe hope there are lots of parties, good times with family and beautiful photos to commemorate the occasion…but if you’ve been wondering what to do with your hair under that mortarboard, we have a few suggestions for hairstyles and tips that will look good through those endless speeches and when you finally get to make your escape:

Straight behind the ears: Pulling your hair forward will give you too much of a boxed-in look, so wear some simple earrings (not too dangling, your robe will pull your whole look down enough) and flat iron your hair so it goes smoothly behind your ears and spray in place.

In a low ponytail: Pull your hair sleekly back and through elastic set low on your neck. Spray the whole thing so when you pull your cap off (to throw in the air?) your hair will stay in place.

In a bun: Sculpt you hair into a loose bun, looped back under an elastic band. After the ceremony you can pull out your hair, give it a shake and be ready to party.

Braid it: A long braid in the back or even two loose braids (with or without ribbons woven through in your school colors) will keep your hair neat under your cap but let it fly free (and wavy) for dancing afterward. Braid it dry for minimum wave or wet and by the time you get your diploma, it will dry into a mane of waves.

If your ceremony is outside: Make sure to use anti-frizz products like Chromastics Repair Extreme so that the heat and humidity doesn’t make your hair stick straight up or hang on with static electricity to your cap when you take it off (Hint: Rub a dryer sheet around the inside of the cap to keep hair from sticking and another sheet rubbed all over the inside of the gown and/or --heaven forbid--any panty hose you have to wear will keep the gown from riding up or showing off your figure in ways you don’t want.)

Moms & Grandmothers: Remember, you are going to be in all the photos, too, so take a little time from the hectic getting-ready period at your house before the graduation and tend to your own hair. Wearing a bun or French braid isn’t a bad idea to beat the humidity and use voluminizer like Aestleance Volume Spray (without alcohol) at the crown of your hair so the weather doesn’t beat your do down as flat as a board. Give it a little extra height and spray like crazy. Photos are more about what your hair looks like (and less about how touchable it.)

Don’t forget to plan for sun: Remember the sunscreen for everybody whose attending the graduation! It is best if you use waterproof (you are bound to get sweaty) and tear-proof (getting sunscreen in your eyes can ruin the whole day) and you may even want to take a page out of the Miss Universe Playbook—run a gentle ribbon of antiperspirant on your brow and upper lip---no extra “glowing” will then show up in those photos. It’ll keep any bangs dry, too.

Gift Giving: We all know money is the favorite present for every new grad but a personal touch never hurts. Gift that graduate with a beautiful start to this new chapter in the lives, stop by Believe for a gift certificate to redeem for a new style, cut and even color or some fantastic products from those we carry at Believe to take on summer vacation or hoard for college. Such a gift will tell them you love them. We ALL know how proud you are of them—and we are too. Congratulations to all grads from all of us at Believe.

Best Graduation Speeches (& Congratulations From Believe)

It's graduation season and we at Believe would like to offer our congratulations along with those proud family and friends who are doing a lot of hugging and back-slapping about now. Whether the superstar graduated from high school or college, here's a hearty “well done” from all of us. We'd also like to add to the good advice being handed out to the graduates with a selection from some of the best commencement speeches of all time:

Mary Schmich, Columnist, Chicago Tribune gave one of the most famous commencement speeches without giving a speech at all. She wrote it for her column Advice, Like Youth, Probably Just Wasted on the Young in 1997:

“Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now...
“Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they've faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.”

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Scripps College, 2009 “(I) expect and want that most elusive thing for you: to be happy, to find contentment in this life that we have that is far too fleeting. It may be that you will spend this gift of life in pursuit of scientific discovery, making great art, growing our nation's economy, or bringing relief to the world's poor. It may be that you will find the calling of your heart inside the creation of a loving family. Whatever it is that is calling to you, I urge you to ignore the voices that are telling you what you ought to do with your career and your family choices. You cannot authentically live anyone's life but your own. That is the deal life offers us. We as women have fought too hard and for too long against the narrowing confines of social expectation to have anything less.

Here at this wonderful point in your lives today, this hatching into your future, it is now time for you to embrace what was denied those who came before — it is now time to follow the passion inside your heart and listen to its voice above all others.

And what it says to you in the years ahead may surprise you and invert the notions of how you thought your life would turn out. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being confounded like this, especially in your early twenties. So yes, I am saying being happy is more than just something to hope for. It's something to expect.When you do this, when you tune out the critical voices in your head and embrace what your heart is saying, you don't just make your own life better. You make the world better."

Bono, Rock Star, U2, University of Pennsylvania, 2004:
 "You have worked your ass off for this. For four years you've been buying, trading, and selling, everything you've got in this marketplace of ideas. The intellectual hustle. Your pockets are full, even if your parents' are empty, and now you've got to figure out what to spend it on. ”So, my question is : What's the big idea? What's your big idea? What are you willing to spend your moral capital, your intellectual capital, your cash, your sweat equity in pursuing outside of the walls of this college? 
My point is that the world is more malleable than you think and it's waiting for you to hammer it into shape.”

Steve Jobs, Apple CEO, Stanford, 2005: “Don’t spend so much time trying to choose the perfect opportunity, that you miss the right opportunity. Recognize that there will be failures, and acknowledge that there will be obstacles. But you will learn from your mistakes and the mistakes of others, for there is very little learning in success.” 
Remembering you’re going to die, is the best way I know, to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Harry Potter author, JK Rowling, Harvard, 2008: “You might never fail on the scale I did. But some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all. In which case, you fail by default.”

Oprah Winfrey, TV host, philanthropist, Stanford, 2008: “I consider the world, this Earth, to be like a school. And our life, the classrooms, and sometimes on this planet Earth school, the lessons often come dressed up as detours, or roadblocks, and sometimes, as full blown crises. And the secret I’ve learned to getting ahead, is being open to the lessons – lessons from the grandest universe of all, that is the universe itself.” 

We hope the advice comes in handy sometime in your bright future (which we can help make a little more beautiful with our services here at Believe) and truly hope all your dreams come true.

Looking Good In Photos

With Spring having (finally) made an appearance, what might be called "The Celebration Season" is upon us. First Communions, Confirmations, Graduations, Passover, Easter, Baptisms and Christenings--all events to be marked with some good wishes and lots of photo opportunities. The pictures taken now will last a lifetime (or several lifetimes now that family photos are being saved in digital archives) and if you want your great-great granddaughter to think you were gorgeous, here's a few tricks to help make those of us not naturally photogenic look our memorable best:

Stand Up Straight: Your mother was right. Don't slouch. Breathe normally, push your shoulders back, then relax them. You will look healthier and in a group setting you'll come out looking better than the your droopy cousin.

Put Down The Plaid: As the weather warms up, we want to break out the bright floral or printed fabrics but, while strong color can be good in a photo, patterns can overwhelm you. Horizontal stripes make you look wider and closely-spaced stripes can create weird effects (and tend to run together when printed.) Solid and neutral colors work best, though watch out for red, black or white—they present too much contrast in digital photography.

Improve On Nature: Hide those dark under-eye circles, annoying zits, and any skin redness with makeup. Come on into Believe and we'll do a makeup consultation with you, featuring our incredible GIELLA custom blended cosmetics, before the big day. Or make an appointment to stop by early in the morning and we'll do all your makeup for you. For now, here's some makeup-for-photo tips:  keep blotting papers and a soft brush with a little loose powder on hand for last minute touch-ups on-site and, if the day is warm, run a little antiperspirant over your forehead and upper lip to avoid sweating. 

Get The Red Out: Use eye drops to clear the red from the whites of your eyes. Staring at a light source (not the sun) for a few minutes before the photo will shrink your pupils and reduce the chance of red eye. (A professional photographer or even an amateur with access to Photoshop software will take care of this problem in the final product anyway.)

Haircut Time:  Come into Believe for a haircut a few days before the occasion for a cut and color, giving your new “do” time to settle in before the big event. We'll not only give you a cut that will flatter the shape of your face and a color that will play well in a photo, but suggest some products like AEstelance's Butter or Keratin products like Ricci and Latte to keep down the frizz on a humid day, Agadir Moroccan Mousse or AEstelance's Volume (sans alcohol) to pump up the volume so your hair doesn't go flat, and White Tea Embrace hairspray to keep from looking wild and windblown.

When to Blink:  Halfway through a count of three (if the photographer gives you one) is the answer, so that your eyes won’t be mid-blink for the shot. 


Work The Angles:  Known as the model's pose, stand so your body is 3/4s towards the camera and put one foot in front of the other, with one shoulder closer to the camera than the other. Turn your head slightly to the side and look straight ahead—you’ll look like your are looking straight at the camera. Look slightly above the camera when the picture is taken (unless the photographer is at a lower level—then you'll have to look directly forward or it will look like your eyes are closed.) Lean slightly towards the camera to improve facial definition and minimize the look of wrinkles and flabby skin. Oh and your “good side” is usually the side where your hair parts.

How 'Bout That Double Chin? Everybody's nemesis can be hidden by tilting your head up slightly and position yourself so that the camera is a little above or at your eye level. Or put a hand under your chin like you are resting your head in your hand (keep your thumb side out of the camera’s view) and don't put any real weight on your hand—you'll smush your skin and make things worse. Lastly, put your tongue up on the roof of your mouth. (Our makeup expert at Believe can also help you cheat a little with shading makeup for under your chin and to narrow your nose and slim your cheeks. Cheaper than liposuction and your secret it safe with us.)

Smile And Relax: Don't hold your breath and don’t clench your teeth and don't say “cheese” no matter what the photographer says. Try a relaxed closed mouth smile or an open mouthed smile with the lower lip relaxed and down (you might have to practice) and make sure your smile reaches your eyes. If you have to pose all day, you might try a trick taken from the Miss America pageant—Vaseline on your teeth to help your lips slide smoothly for hours of smiles. Best of all, think happy thoughts. Your state of mind will shine through into the photo.

Remember to make your makeup ad hair appointments with us at Believe early—particularly at this time of year—and we will do our part to help make sure you'll be looking your very best for your special (and memorable) occasion.