Capri With Ouidad

Oh Capri.
So incredibly beautiful!
I took my 2 most recent Glam Italia tours to frolic glamorously on the most chic island in the Mediterranean (and maybe the world?).

view from the boat off the coast of Capri

I chartered a private boat to take us on a half day tour around the island, with multiple stops to swim in the sapphire blue waters off the coast of Capri. 

girls reclining glamorously on a boat named the Sophia Loren

of the coast of Capri...

Really I should dedicate an entire post to the hott-ness and total fun that was Captain Paolo, but I'm sure that would embarrass him, so I won't.

Captain Paolo after a quick rain. Honestly,  I've had worse days :))

Baring in mind that  there was much glamour to follow, I normally would have either been stressed out about getting my hair wet and the total frizz induced fiasco that would have followed, or I might have skipped swimming. ( Which would have been completely lame.)

Those of you who aren't Jennifer Aniston might understand the problem. You see I never emerge from the sea and get hair that is glorious with beachy waves.
I get frizzy, dull, completely trashed looking hair that I liken to a home perm that has gone terribly wrong. It's quite mortifying.

This trip though I came armed with the good stuff, in the form of Ouidad travel sized magic potions. I brought the travel sized Curl Essentials Trial Set with me.

My hairdresser (to whom I give all the credit) set me up with 3 products guaranteed to bring out the curl and amp up the shine.

The first is the Moisture Lock Leave In Conditioner that you put through your hair before going in the water. 

Pre-swim conditioner. Note the limoncello glasses on the floor of the boat!

It both protects your hair and keeps it soft rather than ocean-brittle, but also moisturizes from the inside out, which is a key part of creating perfect curls post-swim. For those of you with color treated hair it adds an extra layer of protection.
(I should add here that my Glam Italia Tour travelers who have straight hair used it too, and post swim had gorgeous, glossy locks.)

Once out of the water and towel dried you use the Climate Control Heat and Humidity Gel. There is a trick to this. She told me to rake the gel through my hair with my fingers, and then hold the ends and shake them, literally shaking the curl into your hair. 
It sounds like much more drama than it actually is - because its no drama at all. The whole "rake and shake" deal is actually doubly brilliant because it helps dry your hair more quickly too.

The last part of the equation for me was spritzing a little Botanical Boost Refreshing Spray into my hair once it was dry. (I used it the next day too to refresh the curl a little.)

The sun setting on Capri and my beachy hair!

I loved my Ouidad hair!

That night went on into the wee hours, and my hair instead of turning into a static-y frizz ball stayed wavy-curly and shiny all night long. Allowing for the fact that it took approximately 2 minutes of my time to do while flirting madly with Captain Paolo, I was thrilled to pieces!


I don't think I will bother any more with blow-drying and doing the do when I travel. In fact post Capri the remainder of my time in Italy was with Ouidad hair, which was a first for me! I normally waste time smoothing my hair when I'm traveling.

The only down side to my Ouidad story is that on the way back to the US I flew through London Heathrow airport with my travel sized Ouidad products in my carry on luggage, and along with my Tatcha skin care products and a bunch of makeup products they were confiscated. It was super annoying, but on the bright side they were only travel sized so won't be expensive to replace.


Read about why I wont use Heathrow Airport here.

You can order Ouidad products here.  

7 More Things To Do In Florence

I just love Florence.
Florence is one of those cities that I just cannot ever get enough of. Every time I go there I always discover something new. In the past 6 months alone I have been to Florence three times, and each time leaving has felt a little bit like dying. I can't wait to go back.

final morning in Florence. I never want to leave....

I've written before about 30 Things To Do In Florence, Mornings in Florence, 10 Things You Absolutely MUST Do In Florence, and now I'm fresh off the plane back home from Florence again so while it's fresh in my mind here are 7 more things for you to do in Florence

1. Go To Santa Croce

The best church art in all of Florence is inside the Basilica Santa Croce.  

The frescoes in this church are just staggering. 

Dating back to the 1300's, they are still true in color, are absolutely breathtaking, and as an art lover they never fail to bring tears to my eyes. 

The Cimabue crucifix dates back to the 1280's, and although severely damaged in the flood of 1966 is still achingly beautiful.

While the rest of Florence will be bursting at the seems with tourists, hardly any make their way to Basilica Santa Croce, which suits me just fine! Art is far more enjoyable when you're not trying to view it 5 people deep.

2. Buy Leather Jackets At Jimmy's

I've written about buying leather at Jimmy's before, (in fact that blog post still gets hundreds of hits per week) and I constantly get messages from readers who make their way to Jimmy's Leather Collection in Piazza San Lorenzo and buy his fantastic leather jackets. It's quite the fabulous and fun experience, and Jimmy's designs are to die for.

Read about where to buy leather in Florence here

3. Walk Up To Piazzale Michelangelo Before Sunset

dusk from Piazzale Michelangelo

I hadn't done this in years, but on the second 2016 Glam Italia Tour we took an early evening stroll across the Arno at Ponte alla Carraia and worked our way up the river in the lovely, residential and much less touristy Oltrarno, to Piazza Poggi where we wound our way up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo as dusk was falling.
The view of Florence from up high is just gorgeous, and after a day exploring the city you not only get to breathe some fresher, quieter air, but you get a wonderful perspective of the terrain you've covered that day.

And of course there's the green guy on the hill, watching over the city!

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4. Take In Sunset From Ponte Alle Grazie

Ponte Vecchio at sunset, from my iPhone

From Piazzale Michelangelo it's maybe a 10 minute walk down to Ponte alle Grazie bridge, which is the perfect place to take in the sunset, looking down the Arno toward Ponte Vecchio.

5. Grab An Aperatif

After taking in the sunset from the Ponte Alle Grazie keep walking across the bridge and continue up Via De Benci a block or two to the intersection with Via dei Neri and Dei Tintori where you will find several options to sit at a sidewalk table and enjoy an aperatif. It used to be that spritz aperol was a drink you'd associate with Venice, but now it is everywhere. After sunset on the bridge try drinking a sunset colored spritz.

6. Eat The Best Sandwich Of Your Life.

Seriously. The best sandwich ever. 

I discovered this one when I rented an apartment around the corner and every night I would see the locals spilling out of Al Antico Vinaio all night long. 

the street of sandwiches, Florence

Everyone was milling about in the street with these giant sandwiches, or sitting on the curb with the sandwich in one hand and a huge glass of red wine in the other. When I travel one of my rules is eat where the locals eat, avoid where the tourists eat, and absolutely never eat at any restaurant that has photos on the menu.

the three of us had sandwiches from al Antico Vinaio on our last night in Florence

Although you can order a la carte, just pick from the favorites list and have it the way it was meant to be eaten. You will get a giant sandwich on fresh focaccia, with local creamed pecorino cheese, about a pound of freshly cut salami or porchetta, a slice of eggplant marinated in chili flakes and olive oil and maybe some arugula. What you won't see is processed food, condiments like mayonnaise and mustard, no added salt and pepper. Its all real food that just explodes with flavor and doesn't need any additives. And it only costs $5.
If you don't believe me read their reviews - people dream about these sandwiches.
Al Antico Vinaio is on via Dei Neri 2 minutes walk from the Palazzo Vecchio.

7. End Your Evening With A View

end your night with a view

Florence has so many spectacular views, whether they be of the city skyline, the piazze, the monuments, the buildings - so many amazing things to lay your eyes on! So take time at the end of the night to sit somewhere fabulous with a glass of wine and take in a view to remember forever.

Where to stay in Florence:
I'm not much of a hotel girl when I'm in Italy, I prefer renting an apartment instead. A friend of mine has just put her gorgeous apartment in San Lorenzo up for vacation rental on AirBnB. 
You can check it out here

Traveler Beware - 3 Reasons To Avoid London Heathrow Airport

I just got back from a month in Italy leading two more Glam Italia Tours. They were amazing! It is so incredibly gratifying and exciting to see the look on ladies' faces as they discover Italy for the first time, and to be part of these fantastic memories that they will have forever.

From the Glam Italia Tour 2016

But let's talk about Heathrow.
Since I left London a lifetime ago I have steadfastly avoided using Heathrow airport. (Much as I will do anything to avoid Chicago O'Hare, where you are basically guaranteed your flight will be delayed)
Back in the day London Heathrow was always an absolute zoo, and with so many other airport options available I've always taken a more palatable option. On this most recent trip I broke my own travel rule and allowed myself to be routed through Heathrow. Never again!

Three Reasons To Avoid London Heathrow Airport

1. They Were Ridiculously Short Staffed.

I flew to London from Rome, arriving late in the evening. Terminal 5, the British Airways terminal had a total of 3 people working passport control. 
Three! If ours was the only plane arriving, that would have been bad enough, but there were other planes arriving too, each dumping hundreds of passengers, so the wait was excessive. Personally I got through in about an hour an 15 minutes, but other passengers were in line over 2 hours. This could be disastrous for anyone connecting to another flight. 
I had to catch a bus (in the pouring rain) to Terminal 4 and just made the last bus of the night by the skin of my teeth.

2. Of the 3 passport control workers, 2 were sick. 

They had the nastiest, meatiest, lung curdling coughs you have ever heard in your life, and rather than cough into tissues or into the crook of their elbows, they hacked up their lungs into their open hands. And then without so much as batting an eyelid used the same hands to pick up each passenger's passport. 
I would have been grossed out if they were using disinfecting wipes or hand sanitizer after rustling up fluids from the bottom of their lungs, but watching them attach their cooties to each person's passport was just revolting. I wonder how many hundreds of people they exposed to their germs? 

3. Incredibly Small Allowance At Security

At the security x-ray leaving Heathrow they gave out zip lock bags slightly larger than an American Zip Lock sandwich sized bag, for all your liquids and creams. Each passenger was allowed one bag only and it had to zip closed.
I fly internationally multiple times per year, round and round the world. I take the exact same travel beauty products on every flight, packed in the exact same see through travel cosmetic bags. All the airports that I fly in and out of have the same rules, except for Heathrow. 
The security people at Heathrow Terminal 5 threw so many expensive products in the trash - it was unbelievable! I am all for keeping travelers safe, and I do appreciate that they don't consider our shoes to be a threat and as such let us keep them on, but seriously I do not see the merit in confiscating travel sized skin care products (all of my beautiful Tatcha products!), a MAC Paint Pot, Chanel lipstick, mascara (just how much damage can a girl cause with a tube of DiorShow Blackout???) cream blush, a half tube of Makeup Forever Lift Concealer, a travel sized (1.6 oz) Oribe Cote d'Azur Hair Refresher, travel sized toothpaste (although one glance at their manky grills and you can see that British teeth and toothpaste don't necessarily go together). I can't remember what else they took, but it really was ridiculous. 

The way I see it, if there really truly is a safety threat in a carry on bag that contains more than a sandwich sized plastic bag of beauty products, why not just tell your unsuspecting fliers at check in when we still have the option of throwing them in our suitcases?
The poor lady who went through security ahead of me was in tears as her beauty products were thrown in the trash.

I do appreciate that the Brits are the best at counter terrorism and that they confiscated my eye cream as a means of keeping the plane in the air. I want all planes to stay in the air and therefore happily comply with every rule, but in the future I will avoid Heathrow like the plague that it's passport control workers want to spread, and maybe get to keep my travel sized toothpaste while I'm at it.

How To Pack For An International Trip

I always read about people who pack an entire month's worth of travel into a carry-on bag, and although part of me is impressed with how clever that is the rest of me is horrified at the thought of wearing the same thing over and over!
When people tell me they pack one black dress and the next day wear it with a blue scarf and hey presto! a whole new outfit! I always just think "no, you are wearing the same now dirty black dress with a blue scarf. No difference."

I actually do work relatively hard to have items that mix and match and create lots of different outfits, based on a neutral palette, but that also bores me silly. There is this part of me that thinks a trip overseas is a major deal, and therefore I want to wear clothes that I love and feel happy in. And for me that tends to be bright colors that don't necessarily mix and match. So how I pack everything becomes a little more important because even though I wear everything I take with me,  by most people's standards it's too much.

Buy a really good suitcase. 

I am clearly not a backpack or duffle girl, although when I first started traveling I would happily have been.
A couple of years ago I changed suitcases and bought a 25 inch Samsonite suitcase.
When you are shopping for suitcases look at the construction over all else. The shops are full of super lightweight cases, but most will crush if a heavy bag lands on them, which means anything breakable you have inside, will break. My Samsonite is relatively lightweight, but super sturdy. Find a Samsonite like mine on sale  here and similar suitcases on sale at The Container Store here.

Don't buy black.

When you are standing at the baggage carousel after 10 hours flying and you are exhausted, watch how many black suitcases go swirling by you. They all look the same, which makes it easy for another weary traveler to pick up yours and head out into the world with it.
I bought a red suitcase, last year one of my travelers brought an orange one. They were easy to spot, and there were very few circling by us in the same colors.

Get 360 degree wheels.

Sooooo crucial! The difference in maneuverability is incredible, and the decrease in stress on your back is worth its weight in gold!
This is another reason to buy a quality case though, because you want wheels that stay on and don't break when your suitcase is being thown around by baggage handlers.
I found plenty of cool looking, chic cases that had flimsy looking wheels or cheap plastic wheels. Samsonite stands by their product and repairs any breakages, so should I have one at least they will fix it. My red suitcase has done multiple trans-world trips and so far nothing has broken.

Size matters.

I really can't do anything smaller than a 25 inch case, but I definitely won't go any bigger. I have friends that travel with a 23 inch, but that is too small for me. Always keep in mind how you are going to get your bag on and off the baggage carousel, and how you are getting it to and from where you are going. The bigger the bag, the more you will fill it.

Don't use a hard case carry on bag.

This may sound odd. For years I used a hard-sided rolling carry-on bag. It was genius in the airport, right up until I got my suitcase off the carousel, at which point it was hell. Especially traveling in Europe where you are getting on and off trains, maneuvering along cobble stoned streets, and climbing stairs to get to your apartment.
I now use a soft carry-on, and as soon as I have my suitcase at baggage claim I put the carry-on inside it, leaving me with just one suitcase and my handbag. Frankly it is one of my best travel hacks ever!

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Roll your clothing.

My mother is a world traveler, and is super chic. She told me years ago to roll my clothes when I pack them to stop creasing and to maximize space. It took me a while to get on board with it, but now I roll all my clothes.

Use packing cubes.

This is the best thing ever, especially if you need clothes for different occasions and climates. I use the Eagle Creek packing cubes, and I have them in a variety of sizes. I compartmentalize clothes for different parts of each trip, or breakdown clothes into categories and have one cube for lingerie and swimwear, another for T-shirts and tanks, another for skirts and sundresses - you get the picture. It makes travel so much easier. 
I also have a small cube that I use for all my chargers and electronic gadgetry. I always know where everything is, and I never have to rifle through a suitcase to find anything.
I always pack a cube with three days worth of outfits and necessities in case my suitcase doesn't arrive with me. Again it keeps everything super organized.

I bought my Eagle Creek packing cubes at The Container Store.

FYI The Container Store has a travel sale on right now, which would have been perfect timing for me, except that I already have everything. Except for maybe one of these Tab Messenger Seat Back Organizers. They look pretty cool.

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18 Ways To Wear A Pony This Summer

A ponytail is the perfect accessory for summer. Be it sleek or soft, worn high or slung low, you really just can't go wrong with a summer pony!
You can dress it up, simmer it down, wear it to the beach or wear it to a ball. I love the summer ponytail!

I found this article on MSN.com, and there is a link to the original at the bottom of this post.

18 Ways To Wear A Ponytail This Summer

Olivia Wilde bubble pony

Mara Rooney slick pony

Katy Perry

Nicki Minaj

Rihanna

Rosie slick pony

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Zoe Kravitz

JLo 

Ariana Grande

Kerry Washington

Bella-Hadid

Priyanks Chopra

Read the original story here