A young Pearl Bailey reminds us to take some time to embrace the rhythm.

As we age, so might our confidence. And this is exactly why we need Pearl Bailey’s Frankie to pull us through tough times. Sure, an impromptu dancing and singing number on stage can be seen as a ploy for attention, but it can also be an empowering move of self-expression when one hears the music calling. Sometimes, a girl just wants to dance.

Here we see Bailey performing in Carmen Jones (1954), one of the first mainstream Hollywood movies featuring an all African-American cast. It’s a retelling of Bizet’s opera about a strong woman “who lives by her own rules and discards men when she tires of them.” A well known singer, Bailey’s sexy, throaty rendition of the “bump bump bump” in the music is enough to get her grooving. She’s vibrant, powerful, and most importantly – confident.

A fantastic vision of an all-black world set on an army base in the South during World War II, Carmen Jones courted controversy for director Otto Preminger and star Dorothy Dandridge. Opinions weren’t sure the lead’s slatternly ways were a good role model for black women at the time. Then lady-like Dandridge showed up for her second audition with heavy makeup and asked screen test partner James Edwards to blow on her freshly-painted toe nails. Dandridge got the part, going on to become the first African-American woman to be nominated for Best Actress.

Megan, of the movie Bridesmaids, remembers the joy of just being yourself.

If you work from home, you often make interesting style choices. One choice could be a negligee tucked into yoga pants capped off by a plaid wool shawl purchased in 1991 Edinburgh (where it was terribly stylish at the time). Another choice could be an upturned ponytail, fresh from the shower, paired with frayed jeans and the “Save the Earth” t-shirt they were handing out free at yoga.

But when you leave the house? Suddenly, you’re Alexa Chung, matching your washed-out grey denim with a nude, textured clutch. You feel great and look amazing. But still, you might long for the comfortable moments swathed in your plaid wool shawl and frayed pony tail.

Or you could just be Melissa McCarthy in the 2011 blockbuster, “Bridesmaids,” and just express yourself, no matter what.

McCarthy’s Megan is the New Woman of Hollywood, the first widely-popular character in recent memory who is completely motivated by inner confidence. With her slacks, wrist guard, and spastic pony tail, Megan is a heroine of self-expression. Because sometimes, one just wants to shout out to the world, “See me, I think my hair is falling out!” Or maybe, “And I have a weird wart on my elbow that flakes!”

And if everyone acted like Megan, think of the consequences. Marilyn Monroe’s breathy sensuality could be replaced by the practical common sense of Megan. Angelina Jolie’s angles would have nothing on Megan’s curves. The world would realize in one giant, crystallized moment of Zen: no one will care if your hair is standing on end, or your teeth are filled with spinach, or your lazy eye is lazy. Because you don’t. More important things matter, like communing with an undersea dolphin or embracing the charms of a tall, middle-aged men.

Oh, what a wonderful world of Megan it would be.

7 ways to moisturize your hair in the dry, winter months.

It doesn’t matter if we are raven-haired, red-headed, blonde or brunette. It doesn’t matter if our hair is thin, thick, textured or kinky. During the dry winter months, we might as well hook our heads up to outlets for all the static electricity we produce. The cold, dry temperatures of winter can siphon the moisture from our skin and hair like a sponge. So how best to fight back against winter?

Stop washing your hair every day
We live in a world where most people make best friends with anti-bacterial wipes. Dirt is the enemy. But so is washing your hair too much. Over-washing can strip important oils from your scalp, resulting in dry, over-stimulated tresses. Plus, what’s better for dry hair then your own, natural oils? At the least, try to skip a daily washing.

And when you do wash, consider a homemade shampoo like this one from beauty expert Narine Nikogosian: Combine one tablespoon of dried jasmine with one teaspoon of honey with two eggs yolks. Boil the dried jasmine with one cup of water for five minutes. Steep for ten minutes, then strain. Blend the jasmine, honey and egg yolks. Apply to your hair, and then rinse with cold water.

Install a water filter on your showerhead
Municipal waters contain drying chemicals that can strip your hair of its essential oils. Chlorine and other chemicals used to clean our water supplies can wreak havoc on our hair. Anyone who has spent a significant amount of time in a swimming pool knows that hair follicles will eventually make hair like a Brillo pad if not properly rinsed. Here’s more information on shower filters.

Wash your hair backwards
Horst Rechelbacher, founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients, is also famous for this hair care tip. First, apply half a teaspoon of your favorite oil to your scalp and work it through. You can use jojoba, olive, or sweet almond oil. Second, apply your conditioner and let it sit for a few minutes. Third, use a small amount of shampoo to wash out your hair. Finally, if your hair feels tangled, put a little remaining oil on your fingers and comb through your hair. The oil treatment helps loosen and attract dirt which the shampoo then washes away.

The avocado: not just for salads
The avocado is a triumph of moisturizers, oils and vitamins. But before you add some to your salad, you might want to consider treating your tresses to a homemade avocado mask. Take one small avocado, mash it together with one tablespoon of honey and one tablespoon of olive oil. You can even blend them together. Apply to damp hair for at least 30 minutes, then rinse. This recipe works on all hair types.

Rinse with olive oil
You can give yourself a fancy “hot oil” salon treatment with a mere tablespoon of organic olive oil. First, rinse your hair with warm water. Then work the olive oil through your tresses with your fingers. Let it sit for twenty minutes. Then rinse with cool water, following up with a bit of shampooing if your hair feels too oily.

Sooth your scalp
An irritated, dry scalp can throw your hair out of balance. Organic stylist and expert Felicia Howe recommends Simply Organic Scalp Spa Treatment ($23.99) to tame your irritated head. As Felicia Shares, “I’ve been using this all season, it’s been saving my hair and scalp. It’s amazing.”  This professional-grade product contains olive leaf extracts.

It’s all about serums
Sometimes you need a serum to act like the really great sequel to your favorite conditioner. Serums can leave your hair extremely hydrated while giving you the fresh out of a spa smell. Basically, a serum delivers the goods to your hair in a concentrated punch. So you want to make sure you use one that has clean, green ingredients.

Yarok Hair Care offers a serum entitled Feed Your Youth ($25) containing hydrating Yarrow and avocado. John Masters Organics has their Dry Hair Nourishment and Defrizzer ($16.00) which combines certified organic jojoba, lavender and rosemary. Both can be used in a “set it and forget it” fashion where you work the ingredients into your hair in the evening, only to be washed out in the morning.

Image:Erintaylormurphy, hulagway, wordridden, [g] [e] [r] [y]

Helen Mirren’s Queen Elizabeth I shows us how to behave in the face of adversity.

Anyone who believes life is easy probably lives under a rock, inside a cave or in the magical, enchanted land of Denial. Life is more like a visiting carnival in the local church parking lot. You climb into that rickety “Black Hole” spinner ride – it shakes, spins, and pins you to the sides of its walls until you have the strength to peel yourself out of it at the end of the ride. But you have to know how to cope with the pressure when life straps you in for that wild ride.

This is exactly why we need Helen Mirren in our lives. The always eloquent British actress, who has played six queens in the course of her career, knows how to inspire both on and off the screen.

Here she plays Elizabeth I in an HBO mini-series of the same name. Mirren delivers the queen’s famous speech to the troops at Tilbury in Essex. The year was 1588 and England was facing a possible invasion from the Spanish Armada. The Queen herself rode out to greet her troops, who were massed to face the Spanish Duke of Parma. The text of this speech was found among royal papers in 1624, and it is believed that Elizabeth I herself delivered these very words to her troops.

Mirren spoke of playing Elizabeth I to HBO. As Mirren explains, “Queens are always such fascinating creatures, especially queens who equip themselves extremely well. They don’t fall prey to their circumstances or to men. It’s much harder for a woman to do that than a man. Much harder. She [Elizabeth I] earned our respect over the many generations that have come after her.”

Strong words from a strong woman about one of the most badass female icons. And yet, we can all carry this strength into our daily lives and livelihoods, even after the carnival ride, or in the case of Queen Elizabeth I, after a bloody war.

Body snark is the universal language of women, translating across all cultures.

Getting a professional manicure is like sitting in on a group therapy session, but with acetate fumes. Everyone is over-sharing, and it’s often to people whose mother tongue is way more complicated than yours. “His mother is staying with us for two weeks. She leaves the bathroom door open all the time,” shares the newlywed with the freaked out eyes and the French manicure. “It’s about crossing the line. I told him that I didn’t want to have this conversation again, especially when I’m in Happy Baby pose,” sighs the women with the bitten down cuticles. “Những người này là idiots,” says one manicurist to another.

But it seems there’s one universal topic on which everyone can chime in, and that is body image. “I am disgusting right now,” says a woman rocking a newborn in baby stroller. “You should see my stretch marks.” “My arms are so flabby they should be rigged to a sailboat at first wind,” says a slim woman pulling on her shirt sleeves. “Fat feet,” says a manicurist, pointing at her sandal. Suddenly, everyone is putting their freshly-polished toes on display, pointing out imaginary pockets on flesh on their heels and ankles. Body snark is the universal language of women, translating across all cultures.

So it’s refreshing to see women taking a stand against the seemingly endless walls of assault we rage against our own bodies. Here’s America Ferrera as Ana, a Mexican-American teenager fed up with the status quo.

“Real Women Have Curves,” which won the Sundance Audience Award in 2002, resonated with audiences determined to see past the superficial. A young America Ferrera spoke out about the emphasis Americans place on their bodies. As she told SplicedWired, “It overshadows more important things in life like loving yourself, loving who you are and finding yourself on the inside.” Ultimately, we yearn to look like different people without really knowing much about our own selves. Except, of course, that we have fat feet, flabby arms, and stretch marks.

A weekend with the in-laws, an alcoholic husband and a slinky white slip push emotions to the forefront.

As children, we are taught to take all our bad feelings and put them in a place where we can’t find them. Negative emotions go to a place where they are ignored, starved, and neglected to the point that rebellion is inevitable. And usually at the most inopportune moments. Anger will demand to be expressed, usually over a holiday dinner. Frustration will find its voice, generally with your in-laws. Jealousy will rear its ugly head, mostly at a happy hour in front of all your work colleagues. We could easily kill ourselves with the weight of our own dark emotions, festering and oozing within us.

This is where Elizabeth Taylor comes to the rescue. The screen legend’s indelible performance in the 1958 film “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” shows us the power of expressing our deepest fears, strangled emotions, and thwarted love.

Taylor plays Maggie the Cat, the wife of alcoholic, ex-football player Brick Pollitt (Paul Newman). Maggie and Brick have come to his father’s Mississippi plantation to celebrate the man’s 65th birthday. Surrounded by family drama and dysfunction, Maggie struggles to regain the love of an embittered Brick. But Brick suspects Maggie of cheating with his best friend, who has since killed himself. Maggie wants Brick, and Brick wants revenge.

Maggie the Cat is unquestionably a complex and volatile character, but it is Taylor’s energy which makes her scream. The actress’ own tumultuous private life was one of survival and heartbreak. Paul Newman speaks of her great tenacity, calling her “a courageous survivor, a helluva actress and someone I am extremely proud to know.”

In the end, it’s Maggie who best speaks to her relevancy across the decades. As Brick asks her, “What is the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof?” Maggie simply replies, “Just stayin’ on, I guess. Long as she can.”

15 good reasons to approach the season of cocktails and cookies with healthy aplomb.

Caring about our weight is part of the American experience, like finding a Victoria’s Secret next to a Cinnabon at the mall. We shouldn’t count calories but we do, despite reading subscriptions to Cosmo and remembering that beauty comes in all sizes. 

In a world of Occupy Wall Street, the Great Recession, and an overseas war, life can feel out of control so we control what we can. We hold our bodies up as some kind of indication of how “good” or “disciplined” we’ve been and in a world of fantastical thinking, that life will then reward us with great jobs, healthy relationships, and a reliable economy if only we can just put down the carbs.

We set ourselves up to fail. Alanis Morisette, famous noter of irony, admits to iVillage, “I remember being at my most thin one day, feeling like I could barely drag my lethargic body around, only to be met with the most compliments I had ever received.” At the same time, she has felt the scorn of extra weight. “Equally, and perhaps more abrasively, when someone inside the struggle with food tips the scales high above the average Hollywood red-carpet star, comments are thrown out about how indulgent and undisciplined they are.”

Pop culture forbids us from ever forgetting about our weight. Open up a web page and you’ll find that actress Mischa Barton is too thin. Reality host and soap star Alison Sweeney went spinning on Thanksgiving day. Jennifer Love Hewitt did Pilates while her family ate mashed potatoes. Jessica Simpson may or may not be getting a $4 million deal from Weight Watchers to lose her baby weight. Good thing, because Mariah Carey calls her baby weight body “rancid.” All of this seeps into our brains like high-fructose corn syrup.

We have the right to be a little bit chubby or a little bit skinny. (As long as nobody is giving themselves diabetes or an eating disorder, right?) We are more than numbers on a scale. We are more than our jean size.

And just in time for the holidays, 15 good reasons to approach the season of cocktails and cookies with healthy aplomb.

1. It is a universal truth that the last three pounds you triumphantly lose will go completely unnoticed by everyone else.

2. Sneaking a bag of sliced celery sticks into a movie theater is as pointless as the $8 box of Sugar Daddies you will buy halfway through the movie.

3. When a “friend” caresses your upper arm and says “You’d be gorgeous if you just toned this up,” you will look him up on Facebook ten years later and find that he died alone.

4. We are living in a glorious age where leggings paired with a flowing shirt are fashionable.

5. The law of nature gives women periods. Periods give us cravings. Cravings give us Tater Tots. This is the law of nature.

6. If a burger comes with a side salad, is it really a burger? (See above: The Law of Nature.)

7. After a certain age, your face looks thin despite a muffin top around your waist.

8. Fretting over your muffin top will just make you want to bake muffins.

9. The more weight you gain, the bigger your breasts. Money once spent on push-up bras can be redirected towards organic donuts. Donuts made of buttermilk, organic cane sugar, and ripened strawberries which melt in your mouth.

10. If your significant other is male, accept the fact that he will likely eat three times as much as you and still retain a flat stomach.

11. If you find yourself hiding the last of the Thanksgiving potatoes from your significant other, no one will judge you.

12. A cupcake will not kill you. However, falling off your spin bike because you were distracted by visions of cupcakes just might.

13. In some circles, abstaining from once-a-year delicacies such as eggnog means you hate children, Santa, and the Baby Jesus.

14. If we could harness all the energy we spend worrying over a few extra pounds, we would have the ultimate renewable energy source. Seriously.

15. Pop culture says we are all too skinny or too fat. Common sense says we are all beautiful. Suck it, pop culture. Suck it.

Images: powellburns, puikibeach, kristinausk 

How far will the branding of Occupy Wall Street go?

For anyone born after 1965, the current political climate feels like we’re living the pages of a history book. But now, Flower Power is repackaged into 140 characters or less. An iconic image of young protesters flower-bombing police officers is replaced with a soon-to-be iconic image of an 84-year-old activist bombed with pepper spray. For many of us, supporting or opposing the ideals of Occupy Wall Street places us firmly in roles that feel familiar. We’re the hippies, now. The police. The veterans. The armchair activists. We are the American experience.

Except in the 21st century, there’s one big difference. Now, we’re being branded.

It’s ironic, really. Occupy Wall Street is a movement born from frustration with a perceived capitalist’s greed. People are angry, fed up, tired of seeing the inequities of a supposed democratic society washed and diluted into a sea of bad decisions and wasted money. And yet, simply, we are still a society that revolves around consumer demand.

Accordingly, “occupy” has become a buzz word with businesses using it to market themselves and pop culture infusing it into the vernacular. Just, how did we get here?

It started with a casting call on Craigslist. Unemployment rates for the under 25 crowd is at 18 percent, compared to the national average of 9 percent. Hence, young people are pissed. And MTV, the youth network, wanted in. “If you are over the age of 20 and appear to be between the ages of 20-24,” wrote the October 17th, 2011, posting, please send three recent photos and your bio to realworldcasthing@bunimmurray.com.

From this call came “True Life: I’m Occupying Wall Street,” where we met Bryan and Caitlin, two middle class youths disenchanted with their present and future prospects.

Then there was Jay Z’s line of Occupy Wall Street t-shirts. Last week, the rapper-mogul came under fire for marketing a line of Occupy Wall Street cotton shirts on his Rocawear clothing line – without planning on sharing the profits with the movement. Called a “scrotum” with the “political sensibility of a hood rat,” Jay Z was accused of cashing in on a movement that is protesting cashing in. Ironic, but not too.

The t-shirts inevitably disappeared from the Rocawear website.

Then “Occupy” started showing up in blog stories unconnected with the movement. Gawker called a New York Times report on the “sell-out” California college kid’s trend to “Occupy McMansions.” Twilight enthusiasts occupied “Twilight Street” ahead of the latest movie premiere in Los Angeles. In fact, “Occupy” is officially part of our vernacular, soon to be validated as a buzz word of 2011.

Hell, even the conscious businesses are getting in on it. A recent email blast went out from Solar Mosaic to “occupy” rooftops with solar energy. As the company’s enthusiastic press release writes, “Called Occupy Rooftops, this new wave in the Occupy movement is being spearheaded by solar finance company Solar Mosaic and 20 other companies and organizations to help people kick start a project on a building in their community such as a school, non-profit or place of worship.” For as little as $100, you too can have solar energy occupying your home.

It seems as if we’re drawing on Occupy Wall Street like a leviathan swirling around a fleet of rogue pirate ships captained by dashing, dread-headed swains. (Copyright, The Walt Disney Company.) It’s enough to leave you wondering, just who is occupying who?

But if it changes the way we think, does it matter? We are all consumers. In the end, remembering this may be one of the best ways to effect real change. We can choose not to buy from giant chain stores. We can choose to support American-made local businesses. We can invest and bank responsibly. We can buy ethical house wares and local, organic food. And yes, we can even consciously source our energy.

We are the 99%. Time to occupy our own choices.

Rita Hayworth’s Gilda was the ultimate femme fatale, but do we want to emulate her?

Becoming a classic Hollywood femme fatale is very simple. Start with the basics. Lean back in your posture at all times. Lead with your breasts. Work your eyelashes vigorously as if live tarantulas are in fact affixed to your lids. Keep your arms akimbo with your hands on your hips. Make direct eye contact a lot, but don’t look too alert. Then start slapping everyone you see. (*Don’t slap everyone you see.) You’re out for revenge.

Becoming a new Hollywood femme fatale is simpler. You flash your crotch at the camera and then take an ice pick to anyone who gets in your way. Luckily, you sometimes get to wear flats.

But back to the old school way of femme fatale thinking.

Rita Hayworth used to say “They go to bed with Gilda, and they wake up with me.” Her 1946 turn as Gilda was made iconic by her one-glove striptease, placing Hayworth permanently into the American cultural brain as the ultimate femme fatale. She played such havoc on the zeitgeist that her “bombshell” image was affixed to the first nuclear bomb tested after World War II. You know you’re sexy in America when your cinematic image evokes mass destruction.

We enjoy ourselves a femme fatale, but we’re not sure we ought to. Like a George Clooney girlfriend, they seem interchangeable. Sure, she might have red hair, or blonde ringlets, or sleek black bangs, but doesn’t it just seem like she’s there to make the man look good? We covet their style, their hair, their ability to work an evening glove. But the femme fatale is often a non-entity, a woman who doesn’t seem to be in control of her own life. Her central theme is inevitably a man’s downfall or redemption. And really, where’s the fun in that?

So let’s reclaim our femme fatales. Gilda does not have to be anti-feminist. She’s like a lollipop. They aren’t inherently sexist, until you place one in the hands of a greased-up 24-year-old woman on the cover of a men’s magazine. Instead, let’s see Gilda as a window of empowerment. We can all vamp in red lipstick, corsets, and elbow-length gloves, but we’re doing it for ourselves and carefully, in heels.

Prepare yourself for cold and flu season with these immune boosting products.

Many people may watch Mad Men for the human-interest stories, intense character arcs, and glimpses of history. I watch for the women’s gloves. Gloves to this germaphobe means never having to open another public bathroom door with my sleeve. Or successfully touching my nose after riding the Metro. Or pushing a grocery cart without fear. Oh, what a world it would be.

So what’s a glove-lusting germ-hater to do at the advent of cold and flu season? Green beauty has a nice selection of immunity boosters free of toxic ingredients. Check out our favorite picks to boost your immune system and see you through the winter.

(None of these products are meant to be consumed internally, nor has their effectiveness been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. They are not intended as a substitute for a doctor’s care, so see your doctor if you are sick. Embrace hand washing. This announcement is courtesy of the common sense side of everything.)

I-Booster Salve by Buddha Nose ($24.00)
The last severe cold I (heroically) endured, I heavily employed this salve from Buddha Nose. As creator Amy Galper writes of her product, its intention is “to wake us up when we feel fatigued and to activate and protect us when we feel run down.” By rubbing it on your neck and shoulders, you are said to receive a natural boost to your energy. Made with USDA certified ingredients, this lemon, clove, and cinnamon blend brings a pleasant scent up to your aching head.

Cloud of Protection By Nieves ($18.00)
Perhaps one of the most fragrant spritzers I’ve ever come across, this formula contains essential oils that claim to fight bacteria and viruses. With naturally antiseptic ingredients such as juniper needle and eucalyptus, this product goes airborne to keep you in a lovely haze of scent. Its creators also recommend it to clear negative energy in your vicinity and to help with some “odor guidance” in public bathrooms and more.

Vapor Bath Elixir by Farmaesthetics ($31.00)
Another slam-dunk product from the green experts over at Farmaesthetics, this fragrant immune boosting “spa in a bottle” brings to mind evergreen forests when it’s added to the bath. Containing certified organic ingredients to open congestion and boost the immune system, its mix of menthol, clove, eucalyptus and lavender is not to be missed. I actually keep my bottle on my desk to use as an aromatherapy boost throughout the day, it’s that good.

Aromatherapy Personals Immune Boost ($17.00)
Eucalyptus and lemon make another appearance in this fragrant roll-on from Aromatherapy Personals. Made with certified organic ingredients, it contains bacteria-fighting tea tree oil. It also has lemon, frankincense, rosemary, and sweet orange to sooth your senses. You can roll it onto pulse points along your wrists and use it on your temples and the back of your neck. Aromatherapy Personals also offers a product to sooth a sinus headache.

Hand Sanitizer Spray by EO Organics ($1.99)
Anti-bacterial sprays can be controversial. Loaded with triclosan, they kill off bacteria but not all of it. The surviving bacterium gets angry. And you don’t want to see bacterium get angry. This product from EO Organics is ready to fight bacteria. What’s more, it contains certified natural ingredients such as fragrant lavender. Yes, perhaps we can’t walk around sporting Betty Draper-friendly elbow gloves. But at least we can dose our hands with some lavender-scented product to make life just a little easier during cold and flu season.

Image: Fran Ulloma

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