Balayage: Will You be Trying It?

It's one of those trends that, at first, had me sceptical. Mainly because circa 2009, photos of it-girls "rocking" the balayage look pretty much looked like they had let their apprentice haridresser younger sister* experiment on them at home:

Allegedly this is the look that started it all. Done correctly, the idea is that it's a softly graduated, freehand application of colour which can do amazing things to highlight and soften the face. Done incorrectly, it can just look like skanky regrowth. Oooh, harsh! But what I mean is, perhaps a softly, softly approach will work better for the majority of us...

Cameron Diaz "first" sported the look on the red carpet. Jessica Biel showed it off late last month, as did Drew Barrymore and Rose Byrne. Loose, flowing curls or a softly undone look works best - plus if you're lazy with your hair-doin', it's perfect as it's minimal in the upkeep department. And on these ladies, it looks downright amazing:

Will you be rocking this cool-as look this season?

(Pics)

Whip It, Whip It Good

Our resident movie wench Renee A has recently been busy with such unimportant life events as buying a house and getting married. Thankfully, she's now put such trivialities behind her and can get back to the important stuff, like watching movies and giving us a rundown on why you should or shouldn't fork over $15 to see it. Or $6 if it's straight-to-dvd.

Having just returned from a glorious honeymoon in New Zealand, and facing the inevitable return to work depression, I needed a movie that was going to make me feel good and Whip It seemed like just the thing. Directed by Drew Barrymore and starring adorable Juno actress Ellen Page, Whip It follows teenager Bliss Cavendar’s (Page) discovery of roller derby while trying to negotiate the usual teenage issues of boys, friends, parental expectations and deciding one’s future.
Sure, the plot for Whip It isn’t mind-blowingly original; it follows the usual sports movie formula (including the training montage and will they/won’t they win finale) but I’m at a complete loss to find anything negative to say about it. Page was great as Bliss, the quiet quirky girl trying to find her own identity, and she was surrounded by a talented supporting cast including Barrymore, Marcia Gay Harden and Alia Shawkat (Maeby from Arrested Development). The thing I loved most about this movie is that it’s full of positive female relationships. And it was great to watch a movie where the girls weren’t just sidelined as the girlfriend/wife/mother of the protagonist – they were all front and centre.

I made a pleasant discovery while watching this film too – ROLLER DERBY IS AWESOME. It’s a sport where girls get to be tough and sexy and have loads of fun while wearing rollerskates. Rollerskates, people! None of this inline skate crap. Oh no, this is old school. And they get to have silly names (my personal favourite was Smashley Simpson). In fact I was so inspired by this movie that I have since researched the roller derby scene in Tassie and have discovered that we have our very own league. I might even go and check it out (which is kind of a big deal for me – sports activities and me are like oil and water, or other such unmixy things)...

I give Whip It four out of five shiny retro rollerskates.