How To Beat Jet Lag

So you already know my main gig is being a makeup artist. That's been my career for years and years.
My second gig is blogging. I write around my insane makeup schedule. 
What you may not know is that I have a third business, which is taking small groups of women aged 35+ on private tours of Italy. They are called the Glam Italia Tours. Because frankly, they really are quite glam!

In June I have two Glam Italia tours, back to back. I'm so happy because Italy is my favorite place in the world to be.

With the combined total of both these tours I have no one who has ever flown internationally before. 
I'm thinking there are no doubt many of you reading this blogpost who have either never flown internationally, (or maybe never flown on a really long international flight before) or who are embarking on a big trip such as a trip to Europe, this summer.

The devil in long-haul travel is the dreaded jet lag.
Jet lag can steal the first few days of your trip if you're not lucky.
It can leave you in a brain fog, swollen, tired and irritated, and have you waking at 2 am and leave you barely able to put one foot in front of the other by 8pm.

Flying from Australia or New Zealand back to the USA gets me every time. The adjustment is always hard, partly because I get a heavy duty dose of homesick to pair with it, and partly because I break most of my rules to beat jet lag.

For my Glam Tour ladies and for anyone else doing some major travel this year, here is How To Beat Jet Lag

Before You Leave Home

So much of the key to beating jet lag happens prior to leaving home.

1. Get Extra Sleep

For as many nights as you possibly can, go to bed earlier than usual. An extra hour or more of sleep per night for a few nights can make a major difference. One of the worst things you can do is board an international flight sleep deprived.

Even if you do sleep on planes it's not deeply relaxing, restorative sleep. Unless you're up in first class.

For those of you who take a sleeping pill, know that that isn't proper sleep either. (and, oh lord! be careful taking Ambien - hello naked person running amok on the plane!)

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2. Get Extra Exercise

I love to do extra yoga in the days leading up to a long flight, and especially that morning if I can. I have friends who like to run (I hate to run) who add in an extra mile or two in the days leading up to their trip. Something you will never, ever catch me doing.

Whatever your exercise of choice is, go for it. Cardio and stretching/yoga/pilates types of workouts are generally the best. Bulky, heavy lifting not so much.

3. Super-Hydrate

For every hour you are up there you are going to lose an additional
8oz of water. You need to drink tons of water during your flight, but also drink extra in the days leading up to it.

4. Avoid Alcohol

Don't party-hearty before you leave. The effects of alcohol stay with you for a few days, so having a bunch of drinks in the days immediately prior to flying can add to the dehydration - feeling like hell syndrome that goes with jet lag.

5. Watch What You Eat.

Whether it's in the terminal before your flight or whether its at home, avoid high sodium, salty foods, processed foods and cruciferous vegetables  ( like broccoli). They will bloat you and make you gassy. 

image via Fresh Tart

During The Flight

1. Set Your Watch

Set your watch to your new time zone when your plane takes off.
You have to do your best to trick your brain into believing it's 2am not 4pm. If it's sleep time in the place you will be landing, try to sleep. If it's waking up time there, stay awake. Do whatever it takes to make your mind believe it's already on the new time.

2. Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol will super-dehydrate you and make you feel like hell when you land.
In saying that, I always have a glass of wine with my meal and a glass of champagne prior to take off when I'm flying first class. 
If you are going to have a drink with dinner, keep it to one drink and have an extra glass of water after, to try and offset it.

3. Wear Compression Socks

Absolutely the un-sexiest things ever, compression socks keep the blood flow moving and stop your feet and ankles from swelling. They also help reduce the chances of you getting DVT. I wouldn't fly without them.
Compression Socks At Nordstrom

If your seat doesn't have an ottoman or a foot rest put a bag under the seat in front of you and elevate your feet even just a few inches.

Read more about preventing Deep Vein Thrombosis on long flights

4. Sleep

If you can, sleep during the flight. 
Ear plugs, an eye mask, neck pillows can all help.
If you can't sleep on planes try using noise cancelling headphones to eliminate the buzz, and listen to yoga nidra. They say an hour of yoga nidra is equal to 4 hours of high quality sleep. I download yoga nidra programs onto my iPad, and if the airline doesn't have it on offer on their entertainment system I just plug into my own.
The one I use has some Aussie bloke chatting away on it. It's brilliant.

Bose noise cancelling headphones

Read About Why You Have Trouble Sleeping On A Plane

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When You Land

1. Get On Local Time
No matter how tired you are, get onto local time.
If it's lunch time, go eat lunch. If it's evening, go for a stroll and then go to bed. If it's early morning, have breakfast - even if you're not hungry.

2. Walk. And Walk, And Walk.

One of the best things you can do after you've checked in to your hotel or wherever you are staying, is go for a long walk. 
It gets your circulation moving again, helps your body after its been cooped up in a small chair for hours on end, and it clears your mind.
I swear by it.

3. Don't Nap.

No matter how tired you are, keep moving and don't nap. You have to get on to local time, and that nap is going to mess you up and put you back to your previous time zone.

4. Hydrate

Drink as much water as you can to help offset what you just lost in-flight. You will be amazed at how much better you will feel!

5. Stretch

A few sun salutations go a long way after a long flight. If you're not a yogi, still take the time to do some stretches. Your body needs it and you will feel so much better for it!

The Nude Sandal - Spring And Summer's Perfect Shoe

Back when I first moved to Los Angeles, hanging out in her dressing room at CBS one day, Vanna White gave me one of the most important fashion pointers ever.
She told me to always buy nude heels - sandals and pumps, because a nude high heeled shoe will always elongate and slim the leg.

I've never forgotten it. To this day when I'm buying nude heels I always think of her. And right now I'm in the market for the perfect nude heel for spring, because a nude heel goes with everything.
Dress up jeans and a t-shirt, take the vamp out of a black dress, feel chic with a sundress, give more leg to your jeans shorts - there are endless fabulous ways to wear nude sandals.

I don't have time to go to the store, so I've been cruising Nordstrom.com looking for the perfect nude sandals for spring.

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Steve Madden Lavii Platform $99.95

Frye Sara Harness Strap Sandal $277.95

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Jimmy Choo Holly Sandal $925.00

Stuart Weitzman Elixir Sandal $455

Jessica Simpson Barrow Sandal $89.00

Prada Strappy Wedge Sandal $790

Everybody Wants Some Press Tour

I don't normally say too much about the totally cool jobs I go out on, largely because I'm old school. I started my career at a time when the goings on behind the scenes remained behind the scenes.

But today I'm going to tell you about a super fun gig I was on last week, because I want you to go see the movie.

Last week I was on a press tour for Richard Linklater's new movie
Everybody Wants Some!! which opens April 8th.

Basically I spent my time grooming the totally gorgeous and hilarious cast members Tayler Hoechlin, Blake Jenner, Glen Powell, Wyatt Russell, Juston Street, Will Brittain, J Quinton Johnson, and Forrest Vickery.
It's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it.

If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen this hair and makeup team selfie, taken at one of the Fox affiliates.

There are 8 ridiculously handsome men on set behind us, but we are dealing with the serious business of taking selfies

In the middle there's the statuesque Allison, flanked on the left by Colleen and me on the right.
If you don't follow me on Instagram yet, you should! There is all kinds of different content on my insta that you won't find here on the blog.

Anyway, The film is hysterically funny. It's set in Texas in 1980 and follows college freshman (Blake Jenner), his new baseball teammates and their disco dancing, girl chasing party crowd. It has a killer soundtrack, to which I know every single word, except for Rapper's Delight, (which the boys can drop and rap on a dime).
And have I mentioned it's hilarious??

A press tour basically involves a bunch of days doing media interviews. 

Behind the scenes at an NBC affiliate interview. I'm standing behind the cooking segment set

Early morning, breakfast TV interview

We had some at TV stations, and loads more with national media at a baseball stadium. These are the 2 minute interviews you see on TV promoting a new movie. sometimes they are pre-tapes that will air closer to the opening date, others are live interviews.

Blake, Will and Tara on the interview set

Blake, Glen and Will 

These last 2 images I lifted from TV personality Tara Hitchcock's
Twitter (@TaraTV1)

Tara, Tayler, Wyatt and Juston

Blake Jenner and Will Brittain with Tara Hitchcock

Check out the trailer for Everybody Wants Some

Us and them

Make sure you go see Everybody Wants Some, opening April 8th!

The Best Braids Of Spring 2016

Don't you just love braids? I think they are fantastic.

The spring 2016 runways were full of braids.
You can wear them messy, you can wear them sleek, you can wear them chic.

wrap around braids at Herve Leger

Images by Frazer Harrison/Getty images

Make a braid the focus of your look, or use it to keep your hair out of your face when its hot outside.

Versatile and fabulous here are the braids of spring 2016, courtesy of The Outfit.com. You can see more of these braids here

sexy, messy braids at Alexander McQueen

image by Fracois Durand / Getty Images

braids at Celine Spring 2016

 Images Bertrand Guay / Getty images

braids at celine spring 2016

sexy, messy high pony braid at Alice and Olivia

 Image by Andrew Toth / Getty Images

messy braids at Lauren Conrad Spring 2016

In the mood for more braids?

The Barefoot Blonde Amber Fillerup-Clark is easily the reigning queen of braids.
I love checking out her Instagram just to see what she is doing with her hair, and what type of braid she's sporting today. If you search "braids" on pinterest your feed becomes the Amber Fillerup show.

Which type of braid would you like to wear??
Happy braiding!

What To Eat In Venice

What To Eat In Venice

Food in Venice often gets a really bad rap, which is such a shame because the local cuisine is fantastic.

Unlike stateside, in Italy there isn't just one type of Italian food - the food of Italy is regional, so you need to know ahead of time about the local delicacies from the region you are traveling to.

Wood burning ovens are largely prohibited in Venice, so pizzas and breads are not that great. Eat your pizza in Naples, in Venice satiate your hunger with the fruits of the Adriatic.

Venice is a city of seafood. In spite of the lagoon getting churned up by unending cruise ship traffic, it still is full of fish, as well as all the seafood gleaned from the surrounding area in the Adriatic.
A walk through the Rialto Market (in San Polo - you can't miss it!) will show you a dazzling variety of seafood, some you've probably never seen or tasted before. Local restauranteurs shop here, so you are previewing what you will be eating later in the day. You will also find an unbelievable array of spices in the mercado ,having made their way here centuries ago dating back to the spice trade. 

** Spices from asia and northern africa accessed the rest of the world via the world trade center, Venice.**

Make sure you try fritto misto, a mixture of deep fried squid, octopus and prawns. Unlike the heavy, oily deep fried seafood you're used to, Venetian chefs are superbly light handed, creating a divine misto that doesn't weigh you down.

Venetians are also celebrated for their cakes and pastries. Step up to the bar in a coffee shop, order a caffe (espresso to non italians) and enjoy a baicoli or a busolai, little local light biscuit/cookies.

One of the most fun ways to enjoy eating in Venice is to go bacari hopping.
A bacaro is a bar. Stop in for the local drink, prosecco, and pair it with a tapas like snack known as ciccheti. 

These are little finger foods, perfect with a light drink. 
Try sarde in saor, grilled octopus, baccala Montevarchi, shrimp prepared in many different ways - it's a great way to get a taste of Venice. 
If you are like me, a total lightweight when it comes to drinking, you can order un'ombra (a shadow) or smaller taste of wine.

 By stopping here and there for ciccheti you wind up eating far less than if you are sitting down in a restaurant for a full meal. Plus it's much more fun, especially in the early evenings when all the locals are out and about, stopping to socialize on their way home. 

How To Enjoy The Best Of Venice ~ learn what most tourists don't see or experience

Another thing you will see is people sipping on sunset colored drinks, normally red or orange. These are the famous Venetian spritz. White wine with a splash of campari (the red) or my favorite, with Aperol (the orange). The loveliest way to end the day and welcome the early evening is to sit outside a bacaro with a spritz and some snacks and watch the world go by. Avoid Piazza San Marco (as it will cost the same as your car payment!) instead head into the other neighborhoods, such as Cannaregio, and join the locals. The people watching is much more fun here! Read more about it in my post on Ca' D'Oro (linked here)

Read more about traveling in Venice here

Check out my favorite neighborhood in Venice, the magnificent Dorsoduro