Despite my hair not being cut or colored professionally in the last zillion years, I have been enjoying my calm, flake-free scalp thanks to the shampoo and conditioner Head and Shoulders sent me to review back in the fall.

I’m really enjoying it, especially now, in this terrible below-freezing weather. It’s easy to resist the urge to scratch my head like a monkey in public when it doesn’t itch in the first place. And not worrying about flakes on my extremely glamorous winter uniform of black cardigan over nursing tank is a definitely plus.

Sadly my bottles were getting mighty empty (I suspect my husband has been enjoying a healthy, flake-free scalp from their HydraZinc formula as well,) so when BlogHer asked if I wanted to try a NEW Head & Shoulders shampoo and conditioner combo I jumped at the chance. Especially when I heard it was shampoo and conditioner with a fresh, naturally inspired green apple fragrance.

Personally, I would like if EVERYTHING in life came in a fresh, naturally inspired green apple fragrance. It’s clean and tangy and comforting, and just knowing my hair smells like apples makes me want to toss my hair around like a model.

Toss sniff toss sniff sniff toss.

I’ve been wearing it down more often just so I can smell it. The shampoo’s scent is definitely stronger than the conditioner’s-strong enough to have me taking hits straight from the bottle as a morning wake-up call – but they both smell delicious.

My husband accused me of wearing some sort of man-attracting perfume, even though I was wearing sweat pants and no makeup, so I would say it’s definitely not too floral or feminine to share with a dude.

Just like all the Head & Shoulders Scalp Care products I’ve tried it leaves my hair healthy and shiny. It’s even pH balanced and gentle enough for everyday use on color treated or permed hair, so even if I do get to the salon for that color I’ve had my eye on, I can keep using it.

I also love that the conditioner doesn’t weigh my hair down even when I use it all the way to my roots, so I can skip a day (or two) of hair washing and still look great.

And once again, BlogHer and Head & Shoulders want to give YOU a chance to win a $50 Visa Gift Card!

Just answer the following question in the comments to be entered for a chance to win:

What beauty routine do use when you get ready for a date night (and don’t tell me you never get to go on date nights anymore-let’s make 2012 the year we all eat at high-chair free restaurants and see R-rated movies in the theater)?

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

This sweepstakes runs from 1/30 – 2/28.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win! And visit the Life Well Lived section on BlogHer.com for more great tips on looking your best.

I share a lot of personal stuff online. My kidney stones. The state of my uterus. Birth stories. One time, I wrote a post here on my blog about how I am really sweaty. That was pretty embarrassing. I thought at the time it was probably the most embarrassing thing I was ever going to write about online.

I was wrong.

Today, I am going to tell you my deepest, darkest, personal secret, one I don’t even think my husband knows because I am so ashamed.

I shave my moustache. Yep. Shave. With a razor. I could have participated in Movember and probably done better than a good percentage of dudes.

I started shaving it in college after I went to the salon for an eyebrow wax. The waxer said, “Obviously you’ll want your lip done too.”

I was like, “Um, NO, that WASN’T obvious to me until just now, so thanks for that. I’ll be over here in the corner weeping and wondering how many of my friends are silently hoping I’m going to do something about my HORRIBLE LIP HAIR.”

I let her wax it, a mistake I never made again because my pain tolerance is not that high. I tried a hair removal cream, but it burned and smelled terrible, and I was too poor to afford it regularly. So in desperation, I used my cheap disposable razor. POOR CHOICE. The hair is blond, but it grows fast and thick so now I have to do it every couple of days or I get stubble. STUBBLE. On my face.

So when BlogHer asked if I would review New Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Removal Duo, I couldn’t say yes fast enough, even though I knew it meant writing about my moustache on the internet. I was that desperate to find a better solution.

The New Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Removal Duo box comes with two things: a Skin Guarding Balm to protect your skin before you remove the hair and the Hair Removal Cream, which does the actual work.

The balm goes on like a lip gloss, complete with a lip-gloss-like applicator. It didn’t have any smell and was slightly waxy but not at all unpleasant. I was a little worried it might make my skin break out, but I haven’t had any problems in the days since I’ve used it.

When I smoothed the hair removal cream over the balm I didn’t feel a tingle or burn. I didn’t even notice a smell until the 8 minutes were up, and I wiped it off right under my nose. Then it smelled like typical hair removal cream. The hair was definitely gone, and I didn’t have any redness or soreness or lingering effects, unless you count feeling prettier and less self-conscious as a lingering effect.

Overall, it only took a few minutes longer than my old method, and the results have lasted much longer. I like that I can do it in the morning and not worry about redness even if I have somewhere to be or errands to run. And I REALLY like that I don’t feel like some kind of crazy weirdo who’s going to end up on a talk show called “My Shameful Secret Habit” with the lady who eats table sugar with a spoon and the guy who bites his toenails.

For more information on the New Olay Smooth Finish Facial Hair Remover Duo, check out their website!

And for a chance to win a $50 gift card from BlogHer and Olay, leave a comment on this post!

I’d love to know how you express your inner beauty or what inspires it!

Rules:

The sweepstakes runs from 1/3/2012 – 2/3/2012.

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about the promotional products and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

While we’re on the subject of looking good, you might want to check out the “Looking Your Best” posts in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com. There are some great tips and expert posts!

The first time I went to get a haircut after Evan was born, I mostly went for the shampoo and blow-dry. My hair hadn’t been both clean AND dry in five months and the thought of wasting precious napping time on something as frivolous as a shower was laughable. So I figured hey, three birds one stone! A haircut will TOTALLY make me look less exhausted and overwhelmed!

When the stylist took the elastic out of my hair and started brushing it out-“So! What are we going to do today?”-my scalp started flaking off. It looked like it was snowing on my shoulders. As if the huge dark circles under my eyes and the spit up on my pants wasn’t humiliating enough, now I had dandruff too.

All the hormonal changes from pregnancy and birth had changed my hair from oily but manageable to dry, itchy and flaking. Ugh, babies are the WORST.

A couple weeks ago, I got an email asking if I’d be interested in trying the new Eucalyptus Head & Shoulders Itchy Scalp Care collection of soothing products. I thought, “Ooooo, that sounds nice.” And then I scratched my head. And then I scratched it some more. (I bet now your head itches too. The power of suggestion, man.)

Look! My hair is clean and dry AND flake free!

By the time I got my bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the mail, I was desperately scratching like a monkey and praying their magic shampoo was as magical as advertised. Although I don’t have real dandruff, the kind caused by the fungus Malassezia globosa, I do have a susceptibility to skin irritation, especially now that the weather is cooler and dryer.

The Head & Shoulders shampoo was definitely soothing. I loved the scent, not at all medicinal or chemically, but clean and refreshing. I was also pleasantly surprised that the conditioner actually conditioned and detangled my crazy horse’s mane of hair. I used it all the way to my roots to make sure my scalp was extra soothed (I really like that word,) and it didn’t weight them down at all.

I am looking forward to a scratch-free winter. And hey, you didn’t think I’d keep all the free stuff for myself, did you? BlogHer has a $50 Visa gift card for one of my readers, just for answering this question and following the directions below:

How do you change your beauty routine in the colder winter season from the warmer seasons? Leave me a comment to be entered for a chance to win.

Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 11/21/11 – 12/22/11

Be sure to visit the Promotions & Prizes page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

Want more great tips for winter hair care? Check out the newest “Looking Your Best” post in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com.

Oh, right, I had a giveaway going on. Sorry for the delay, folks! Winners coming atcha right now!

#17 – Katrina!

#43 – Henria O!

#36 – Jenn Smith!

Congrats guys! I hope you love your Shutterfly cards. I’ll email each of you a code ASAP so you can get started. I ended up spending WAY too much time today looking at EVEN MORE designs but eventually I managed to choose. Want to see?

(That card is attached to the Shutterfly site and if you were to click through and purchase a card I think I get a coupon. I’m not trolling for commission, I just couldn’t figure out how to get a screenshot that wasn’t super blurry and/or possibly violating their TOS.)

My BFF Erin took the photos. Expect a whole post of them for Wordless Wednesday!

Stationery card

View the entire collection of cards.

I spent two hours yesterday trying to pick a family photo from our beach pictures to put on our Christmas cards. I was super excited to get them designed and ordered and maybe even addressed before Thanksgiving. I am On Top Of Things! I am Planning Ahead! I have 9 whole weeks to get this done! People will know I thought of them BEFORE January 1st! (Although last year’s late card can probably be excused due to the baby-having I was busy with the week before Christmas.)

Of course, after two hours staring at 300 practically identical photos I decided I didn’t like ANY of them and we’ll have to take a new one. I just can’t bring myself to put a photo of myself in a tank top on a Christmas card. OK FINE, so the real reason is I’ve lost 10 pounds since that trip and who wants to send every single person you know a picture where you’re fatter than you actually are? So “take a really awesome family photo” is on our list of things to do this week, right along with “clean entire house” and “knit a couple of sweaters”.

FORTUNATELY, Shutterfly makes the rest of the card super easy. Even more fortunately, they offered me free Christmas photo cards this year (although my beach photos were already all uploaded to their site, since I ordered an adorable photo book for Sara, the friend whose birthday we were celebrating) in exchange for telling you all which one I like best. How could I say no?

Pros: Lots of pictures, classic design, short and sweet

Cons: My family is never going to look that picture-perfect and I’m jealous

Pros: Cute and creative, I look good in blue

Cons: Not very Christmasy

Pros: I don’t have to write a separate Christmas letter!

Cons: I don’t think we did enough interesting stuff this year.

Pros: Fresh design, love the message, could use a black & white picture so our clothes don’t have to match

Cons: I CAN’T MAKE UP MY MIND!

Now here’s the best news of all: Shutterfly has given me three codes, each good for 25 free cards, to share with you.

Leave a comment below telling me about your holiday card tradition – do you skip them? do you write the BEST family newsletters? do you make your family wear matching pajamas and pose in front of the tree? – and I’ll use Random.org to pick a winner next week. You don’t have to be a blogger to win, just make sure you use an active email address when you leave your comment so I can contact you if you win.

Good luck! Are you totally freaked out now, thinking about how Christmas is only 9 weeks away?