I don’t normally shoot portraits, but these locals’ colorful expressions drew me out of my comfort zone and into their Indian world of magic. They were so kind and I remember in the moment wanting to preserve their smiles and expressions forever. So here we are…
Archives for September 2019
My Tips for Keeping Hair Color Vibrant
Since I am always on the road, my color can fade hard before I find time to visit a regular stylist. I’ve rounded up my top tips for keeping my hair color as bright and vibrant as possible between visits. I’ve also tested a couple products that hide outgrown roots (my beauty nemesis). Check them out below!
BFF a Dry Shampoo
If you’ve read my last post on dry shampoos, you know I am a massive fan. Dry shampoo is my ultimate go-to hair product, and for one good reason. Even using sulfate-free shampoos, I still find my hair color fades with consistent washing. I avoid consistently washing my hair, which is gross but very important. Much to my mom’s dismay, I can proudly go 4-6 days without washing my hair. There needs to be a Girl Scout badge for that achievement. Fortunately, there are tons of brands out there from drugstore to organic indie brands. I firmly believe all girls should keep a travel size buddy in their purse or gym bag at.all.times.
Go Blue!
I have become a big fan of blue shampoos over the past year. The blue pigments combat the yellow brassiness that can appear in blondes in between salon visits. Most brands also give hair really nice shimmery highlights that make color POP! Some brands pack a lot of pigment, so you can actually turn your hair a blue/purple if you aren’t careful. Some brands are more low key, making them “safer” for those worried about the blue pigment. For instance, I once left Clairol Shimmer Lights in for a few minutes too long, and definitely had blue hair for a couple days. Whoops. Personally, I live for dpHUE’s cool blonde shampoo and conditioner. It leaves your hair feeling amazing and is a fab toner! However, if you’re looking for a budget-friendly version, Not Your Mother’s is fairly comparable. It isn’t as vibrant pigment-wise but still leaves hair looking super shiny!
Avoid Sulfates
Sulfate-free shampoos reportedly slow the stripping of color from hair, so it is best to avoid those with sulfates. Fortunately, most major beauty brands now offer sulfate-free “color safe” shampoo and conditioners at drug store prices. This isn’t a full proof method for avoiding color fade, and definitely depends on the amount of washes your hair goes through each week. I would still air on the side of “dirty hair, don’t care.”
Root Touch Ups
For the brave beauty lovers out there, you can also try at-home root touch up kits. To be completely candid, I have never tried the full on color systems with processor, dye, etc. But I have tried the convenient one-day powder palettes. These are super convenient for traveling since they are a powder (some look like a face powder compact, others come as a spray or stick), and you really can’t screw it up since it’s temporary. However, if you’re up to playing hair expert, take a stab at the home dye kit and let me know what you think!
A bonus pro tip for keeping your color safe for pools or hot tubs? Soak your hair with fresh water (i.e., tap, bottled) prior to jumping in the body of water! Keeps your tresses safe from turning green. How are you safeguarding your dyed locks this season?
LimitLes in Argentina: The Fab Five
I lived in Buenos Aires from 2013 to 2015. I remember landing at the international airport with two suitcases and subpar Spanish skills *completely* in over my head. I was a 20something who’d moved to a new continent without proper language skills or a well-paying job. What could possibly go wrong?
Well, not much. In fact everything went kinda really right. Here’s where I bring in my favorite quote about growth by Argentine Chef Francis Mallmann who I met at an asado in L.A. just this month. Ever since I heard him speak these words during a Chef’s Table episode a few years back, they’ve stuck with me:
My life has been a path at the edge of uncertainty. Today, I think we educate kids to be settled in the comfortable chair. You have your job, you have your little car, you have a place to sleep and the dreams are dead. You don’t grow on a secure path. All of us should conquer something in life and it needs a lot of work and it needs a lot of risk in order to grow and to improve you have to be there at the edge of uncertainty.
Insert LimitLes in Argentina. I’ve always wanted to share this magical land with everyone I know (and don’t know). When I launched this destination, I was straight GIDDY. Never in a million bajillion years did I think I’d be back here with 10 incredible strangers-turned-friends.
As a way to recap future LimitLes trips, I’ve decided to let the group speak! From here on out, I’ll be spotlighting the group’s top five favorites from each trip (all based on their feedback form so ya know it’s real). This is the best way to keep the full itinerary sacred for each individual group while highlighting the best of the best for all of y’all!
Asado on the Terrace
Asados are a way of life in Argentina. Similar to a BBQ, they involve lots…and I mean MUCHO…meat, fire and of course, a social gathering. I knew the best way to go about introducing the group to Argentine culture was to kick off the trip with an asado on our very own terrace in the heart of Palermo Hollywood – just a couple of blocks from where I lived in Buenos Aires for two years of my life. We hired the most wonderful family from Casabierta Catering who put together the best asado I’ve ever experienced – empanadas and chorizo and morcilla and bife de lomo and chimichurri and dulce de leche and AHHH my mouth is watering. Augusto and his wife Carina make the MOST AMAZING TEAM in the history of teams. He’s a sommelier, she’s a chef and for the cherry on top, they rent out a pretty epic Airbnb. Please contact them for all of your home-away-from-home needs.
Journaling & Sharing
I strongly feel that human connection and community is vital to our well-being. After learning various practices during my 32 years on earth that help fuel both of these needs, I put them into practice during LimitLes trips. It may seem like a *very* strange thing to gaze into the eyes of another woman for many minutes at a time, but holding space for others allows for so much release, growth and connection to unfold. We practice nonreactive listening as we share our truths with one another, only to journal about different topics throughout the trip. This safe space is where everyone becomes real, raw and themselves through and through.
Kayaking
I’ve waited five whole years to kayak these glacial waters! To do it with this specific group was truly unforgettable. Allow me to set the scene. We all woke up at 5am that morning in Buenos Aires to catch a flight to Patagonia. Even before the sun woke, energy levels were high. We made it to the airport, ordered some terrible coffee and boarded our 3-hour LATAM flight south. Quasar Expeditions (a favorite tour agency of mine) picked us up, gave everyone a really delicious boxed lunch (seriously didn’t know they could taste SO good), and we drove 1.5 hours to Los Glaciares National Park.
My only regret was not filming the actual act of putting on these dry suits since it basically looks like you’re being born from the suit itself HA. Ahhh, memories. If you find yourself in El Calafate, please for the love of God – do this.
Helsingfors Lodge
A lot of me doesn’t want to share about Helsingfors. To me, it’s the best kept secret in all of Patagonia. But alas, I am a travel blogger and here to share my favorite places throughout the world. On the shores of Lago Viedma, this magical lodge (with Hansel and Gretel vibes written all over it) is surrounded by a natural landscape, protected by lush woods giving away to a panoramic view of the lake, Mount Fitz Roy and the Andes Mountains. Listen up: there is no better view or more perfect vibe out there. If and when I pass, please scatter my ashes here (and then go across the border to Torres del Paine National Park in Chile. Scatter there, too.)
Perito Moreno Glacier Trek
I’ve been lucky AF to do this trek twice now, and it was just.as.much.fun the second time around. The mini ice trek on the growing glacier of Perito Moreno involves learning about geology (!), putting on crampons (!!), hiking a freaking glacier (!!!), and drinking whiskey on glacier ice afterwards (!!!!). I think we quite literally peaked in life at that moment. This ice field is the world’s third largest reserve of fresh water and is one of the only glaciers in the world that is growing instead of shrinking – yay for fun facts!
12 of the Most Unusual Hotels I’ve Slept In Around the World
A bubble in Iceland
The locals call this unusual hotel the ‘5 Million Star Hotel’ and after spending a night here, I know why. I was literally living inside my own bubble with only a thin, clear barrier separating me from the trees, wind, wildlife and Northern Lights. Ahhhh that’s my kind of luxury adventure if I’ve ever seen one. Before you ask, yes, a service house with toilets, showers and a kitchen was only a few yards away!
Transparent capsule on the side of a mountain in Peru
I was 1,200 ft. high in a transparent pod, dangling on the side of a rock face and yet, sleep came easy that night. The king bed was equipped with heavy down comforters and was honestly one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever had the pleasure of sleeping in. Just behind a zipped compartment lies a secret land of toilet, sink, fresh water, towels, and the best bathroom view one could ask for.
Big Sur Yurt
When the homepage of a hotel includes features like, “What’s a Yurt?” and “Human Nest,” you know you’re in for an adventure. Being my first foray into the world of “glamping”, I was very excited to see what was in store at Treebones Resort. Would my yurt have electricity? Would I have to utilize the great outdoors as a bathroom? (Answer: occasionally.) What is a human nest?!? So many questions. So much anticipation. So, what’s a yurt, you ask? It’s a portable Mongolian hut-like circular fabric structure with wood lattice frames raised on platforms. One of these babies could be all yours for a few days while in Big Sur, just 60 miles south of Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Beer Tent in Argentina
I lived in Buenos Aires for two years and left a large piece of my heart there. That’s why when Anheuser-Busch asked me to join a beer tour through Argentina, I was completely taken over with pure elation…and then had to have a few beers to calm down. Sure, I had lived and worked in Argentina prior to this trip, but to return to my favorite place in the world for business and beer touring…SWOON. Spending the night in barley fields was something new and exciting, not to mention absolutely stunning during harvest.
Mendoza Vineyard Loft
If I talk about Argentine beer, I have to be fair and give Argentine wine a shout out, too. Set among the vines and away from the main building of the hotel, Entre Cielos’ Vineyard Loft/Pod comes complete with expansive deck and Jacuzzi where I spent most of my time, plus cozy indoor luxuries. Seeing the sunrise and sunset over the snowcapped Andes mountains and plucking grapes off the vine just steps away from this home-away-from-home is something everyone should experience.
Patagonia Yurt
YURTS! I love them, especially this one complete with luxury bathroom, terrace and heating. Eighteen yurts exist on the shores of enormous Lake Toro (facing the Paine Massif), but if you have a thing for views, go for yurt #17 closest to the water. If you have a thing for wifi, go for yurt #8 because I believe that’s the closest yurt to the dining area, the only area at Patagonia Camp with wifi. I’m guilty of always on my phone posting social media or writing blogs, but who really needs wifi when you have Torres del Paine out your window?
Maldives hut on the water
A private hut on the water? That’s what fairytales are made of. Sure, the deck and widow’s peak were impressive, but the outdoor shower and glass-bottom tub had me giddy like Christmas morning. They were the perfect Maldivian accessories complete with views of the deep blue sea. Have you ever seen anything like this tub?!
I didn’t think so. I had my eyes peeled for fish, sharks and manta rays, but it wasn’t until after the fact that I remembered the snorkelers… 😉
Four Seasons Tented Camp
One of the most unique place I’ve visited to date exists in an exotic bamboo jungle where elephants rule the land, a land that conjoins three countries into one mystical place – The Golden Triangle of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand. It’s a scene straight out of The Jungle Book, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that leaves you craving lush greenery, fresh air, and mind-blowing scenery – the bare necessities of life. I think this is what they call glamping. Perhaps this even takes glamping to the next level, mainly because this tent housed the bathtub of my dreams!
Overnight Train to Germany
From Hamburg I took an overnight train to Zurich which was a unique experience. I was in my very own deluxe sleeper car (with sleeping aid in hand) but as it turned out, I slept very well that night rocking back and forth with the gentle twists and turns of the train. There wasn’t any Wi-Fi on board, so I took a breather from my computer and phone while I watched the German sun set out my window before bed. I highly recommend overnight trains in order to save daylight hours for sightseeing!
Galapagos Yacht
A seven-night stay aboard the classic M/Y Grace yacht offers boutique hotel service while being outfitted for true expeditions. The ultimate luxury adventure can be found sailing from island to island in the name of royalty on the same boat where Princess Grace Kelly honeymooned. This 18-passenger iconic yacht has more history than meets the eye. Born in 1928, the yacht has seen varying times, names and owners over the past near century. She did a stint with the Royal Navy during WWII, was once in possession of Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis, was the honeymoon destination for Prince Rainier and Princess Grace Kelly, and was finally acquired by Quasar in 2007 and rechristened the M/Y Grace: a name that would take her back into her history, her most elegant years.
Lodges during Peruvian trek
The 5 day/4 night trek would take me to some of the most amazing landscapes I’ve witnessed to-date. It’s important to note here that while Machu Picchu is an incredible sight to see, Peru has various out-of-this-world landscapes. I urge you to see more and do more in Peru, such as hiking the Ausangate Mountains (and Rainbow Mountains!).
Andean Lodges, in partnership with locals of the Community, incorporates four distinct lodges along the trek with homemade meals and comfy beds, but no heating system (or electricity in general) is in place. We slept in about 35 degree weather each night. Thankfully, the Community staff put hot water bottles inside our beds to help us fall asleep in the cold. Speaking of the cold, our electronics got just as cold as we did. They die faster in extreme temperatures, and no electricity means no charging. Interesting. So how did we overcome this obstacle? We brought multiple batteries and slept with all of them (and our phones!) in our pockets every night to keep them warm. Comfortable, right? Mmmhmmm. It’s a small price to pay for being able to capture the surroundings the next day.
Japan Ryokan
Ryokans are Japanese style inns found throughout the country ranging from no-frills lodging options to hotel-like establishments. This type of VERY authentic lodging option allows guests to experience the traditional Japanese lifestyle and hospitality, incorporating elements such as futon-like beds, Japanese style baths and local foods. Keep in mind that the majority are pricey and their 5 star rating may not be equivalent to a Westerner’s idea of what 5-Star hotels consist of – instead, it’s the Japanese interpretation (so don’t forget that). Also, don’t be surprised when you walk in to find a minimalistic room with a bed that can fit in a closet for $500/night. This was my experience while checking into Sumiya in Kyoto, but that price includes a very lovely sushi dinner + breakfast!