I'm in love with Necoco ネココ

I'M IN LOVE WITH NECOCO. Picked it up when I was in Japan this last April. It's my most-beloved product for my over-processed, heat-styled hair. Disclaimer, I don't have the most luxurious hair by any means, but this part of my beauty regimen keeps my hair soft, silky (but not oily), smooth and nourished. The cute packaging is a bonus- super kawaii! 

If you can read Japanese, learn more on their website. 

Necoco is an organic hair oil that is made in Japan. Besides the benefits to the health of my hair-- this hair oil smells AMAZING. Like perfume. It's floral and refreshing with a hint of amber musk. It makes me feel like a walking flower garden, and gives hair a shiny glow without weighing it down. I use it in damp or dry hair, and very little product goes a long way. One pump of product, rub it in your hands, and work it through starting at the ends of your hair. You will want to smell your hair all day long. :) 

The oil contains essential oils obtained from the petals of damask rose, an evergreen shrub called Argania spinosa (Sapotaceae), olive oil, baobab seed oil, laurel leaves, and sea buckthorn, an ingredient used in Chinese folk medicine. You can snag a bottle of your own Necoco on Amazon now for around $27+....but I've found it hard to source at times. If you're headed to Japan, please pick up an extra bottle for me! 

Prepping for Fabulousness at a Fab Salon

This post is about my fave place to get my hair done, Paul Brown Salon, but let me tell you what prompted my most recent visit there...


After having worked my way up the ladder in my marketing career over the past several years, I've finally done it. I landed my dream job. You know the saying, "do what you love and you won't work a day in your life..." -- I will be the first to tell you that this is true. I didn't get this job without hard work, long days, and blood sweat and tears-- but I do think this job was somehow made for me. Is there such a thing as career destiny? This one wasn't on my dream board...but somehow, I knew I would be working in a fashion-related position. 

Voila! I am beyond excited to have the opportunity to be a part of the leadership team as Marketing Manager at Saks Fifth Avenue Hawaii. Get excited! Opening August 25th, the new Saks Fifth Avenue and International Marketplace are going to be awesome. Happy days are here. I'm currently sitting on a Boeing 737, cruising at maximum altitude, Chardonnay on tray and Vogue Magazine on deck. I'm headed to training at the Beverly Hills Saks, staying at the Beverly Hilton on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Someone pinch me...I must be dreaming. 

It took me a few days to prepare for this week of fabulousness. After my routine manicure, I made sure to stop by and visit the talented hair experts at Paul Brown Salon & Day Spa. Note-- they were awarded the title of BEST salon on the island by the Star Advertiser in 2015 (winners are selected by popular vote, people love this salon). If you want to get fabulous treatment and a hair style that you will love, make sure to set up an appointment (you can easily book online or with a phone call). There are two locations, one in Kailua and one at Ward Centre. I prefer the Ward location as I often see the man himself, Paul, and it's also closer to home for me. This salon also carries Kerastase, one of my favorite hair care product lines-- one of the few salons on the island who has it. 

The salon underwent renovations last year, and the space is welcoming, modern, clean, and fresh. Upon arrival, you are always greeted with a smile and offered a beverage-- hot tea? Lemon water? Keurig coffee? You feel pampered from the start. 

The salon is inviting, not snooty-- yet still upscale, and has free wifi, lots of parking, and excellent stylists-- all attributes I look for in a salon. Occasionally, you just might catch a celebrity getting their hair done, just don't try to get their autographs in the salon- that's frowned upon. 

Paul Brown is known around the world for his work. He also has a line of hair care products that are wonderful. I have a Paul Brown shampoo, conditioner and a shine spray that I use consistently. I went in to get my dark blonde hair to more of a Beverly Hills-shade of blonde and I left feeling like a million bucks! The shampoo experience alone was its own spa experience- best scalp massage I've ever had. I like to visit Davis, as he rocks at doing blonde coloring (and, well, everything), but all the stylists are amazing. Most of them have assistants who do the shampoo for them. If you are lucky enough to see Paul himself, he's a master in his craft and a pleasure to be around. Just a cool guy, and super fun to chat with. Here is a cute pic of him and I at one of the Honolulu Museum of Art ARTafterDARK events earlier this year. I love seeing Paul out and about-- the guy is everywhere!

So...long story longer...shout out to my favorite Hawaii salon, Paul Brown Salon and Day Spa, thank you to Paul for being amazing and assembling a stellar team...and mahalo Davis for my amaze blonde highlights and getting me ready for a fabulous week in Beverly Hills. Finally, THANK YOU UNIVERSE for gifting me with the opportunity to work in my dream job. I feel very blessed, very fortunate, and ready for Saks Fifth Avenue. 

The nearest exit may be behind you. Part 1.

Nestled in my cozy apartment in Makiki, I have views of Diamond Head, ocean and city. I love watching airplanes grace the skies of Honolulu. It's constant.

I daydream about where they are going (Dubai? Hong Kong? Wellington? Tokyo? Kansas?!). What kind of interesting people are buckled up in those uncomfortable seats, eating crappy salted peanuts-- and if they aren't first class-- they aren't even warmed. First world problems. The nearest exit may be behind you. In case of emergency, illuminated movie theater-like lights on the floor will surely guide you to safety, life vests are under your seat and instructions about how to escape a downed airplane are ignored by well-traveled passengers who simply turn on their $400 Bose noise-cancelling headphones and read through Sky Mall mag. You'll be fine.

Me, before donning my Bose headphones on a flight from Dublin, Ireland last summer...

There's always one person who thinks their bag can fit in the overhead bin and everyone watching the chaos and struggle, this person trying to stuff it into the tiny space, knows that seriously, it's not going to fit. We all know. Then, stewardess intervention, every time. Like clockwork.

Also, what's up to the dude who always drinks too many mini Jack Daniels (or whatever) to keep us all entertained. Glad to hear you, you crack me up, but also glad you aren't sitting right next to me.

Why do people actually choose the aisle seat as opposed to a window where they can lay their head to rest? Every time I get an aisle seat, my arm and/or leg is nearly chopped off by unruly, 500-pound beverage carts. On top of that, views from the window are rad. Breathtaking. And instagrammable (it's an adjective, right?). I think those with aisle preference need bathroom access or hate the feeling of being "trapped" behind two other passengers. That's my guess. I still don't get it. Also, there has to be zero people who request a middle seat. Unless they are creepy. Amirite?!

Babies are usually crying on airplanes-- 99% of the time I just feel bad for the parents who, as hard as they try, can't seem to calm them enough to stop their sobbing. I think their ears hurt? Or being crammed into a plane in economy is simply unnatural and it sucks-- and they know it.

Another rant? Can I please never get on a plane that doesn't have a personal screen? Have we not come far enough in our technological evolution that we still are forced to sit in planes without personal TVs and on-demand movies?! I can't sit on a pan-Pacific flight without it, people. Yeah, I am spoiled, but hey, airplanes should be like, super high tech. I mean, they fly. TV's in every seat is not too much to ask. 

But however uncomfortable, however comical the process of air travel is, I dream of being on that plane. Gracing the sky. Jetting off to exotic places. Even living in this paradise that is Hawaii, to see a whole new world, country, explore, have new experiences, it's so exciting to me. Can I please get paid to travel? I'm really good at it. And I have solid experience. Promise.

One pro-travel tip-- if you are doing a long flight, like from Tokyo to US-- try to upgrade. You get free champagne and actual silver (fake silver) utensils. And cloth napkins. And way more food. And way BETTER food. And legroom.  And better blankets. And nice stewardesses. And sometimes eye masks and socks! Worth every penny (or mile), especially if you have to work the next day.

Also, enjoy the view as you leave where ever you are...take a deep breathe, get a little sentimental, and take it all in...you might never return..and it is, at least for me, cathartic, to say the least. Last view of the Ryukyu Islands in December 2015 (I vow to go back):

We fall in love 100 times...part 1

I realized one day that people fall in love a hundred times over. The most profound love of my life? Fleeting glimpses and flirting glances at a tall, dark and handsome in Bilbao, Spain. The Guggenheim, to be exact. We shared loving glances across the room-- gazing over Jeff Koons sculptures and wandering amongst masses of Asian tourists clinging to their audio tours. His shoes a tan leather that I'm pretty sure were an upper echelon Italian designer. I never knew his name, not one word was spoken, but for a half hour, we loved each other. Maybe not traditional love- but love all the same. Lingering over smiles across galleries. 

The point of this post is that we all have the ability to love, and coupled with that-- at least a dozen soul mates around the globe. Love that spans language and cultural barriers. For me, love can be a glimmer of a moment. The locking of eyes in a New York City elevator. Romantic? Maybe. Real? I think so. My list of the loves of my life includes instantaneous and fantasy and fleeting, as well as real, drawn out and dramatic. The feeling is the same, I think. It's an adoration and a feeling of comfort. I won't name names - but my list is, at minimum, as follows-- let's start with a few...5 of the loves- a hundred loves, part one:

1) The South American who gave me a rose at Disneyworld. I was like 16. He told me I was beautiful. I will never know his name. And I don't care to know...his accent was  gnarly yet music to my ears. My mom still tells the story. 

2) The local taco truck guy. I love tacos. He was gorgeous, yet worldly. Who can say they went on vacation to Tobago? Moscow? Intriguing. And tacos. 

3) The Irish guy I met on a plane to London. He worked out of Australia. We drank mini liquor bottles in business class and talked about life. He had a beard. First time I liked a guy with a beard. 

4) The guy with the spiral staircase in his house. He wore a beanie and cooked with black truffles. 

5) The Cali MadMan ad man who bought me my first bottle of Dom Perignon. I drowned in jewelry and flower arrangements....

This is me in love with life in Spain: 

If anyone cares to hear, I'll make sure to speak of the 95 more...whether fleeting or deep, love and lights of life in my shoes, usually high heels...and always either interesting or beautifully complicated....

WE CANNOT DATE IF... (part deux)

The list continues. Some snarky, some serious! 

16) You don't eat Mexican food
17) You can't handle occasional shitshows
18) You don't like the Beastie Boys
19) You don't let me shine bright like a diamond 
20) You dont care about politics / international relations / news
21) You don't like the ocean
22) You have a man bun 
23) You don't like Christmas
24) You have a flavor saver
25) You love to wear True Religion, Ed Hardy 
26) You don't listen
27) You're a total gym rat
28) You leave the seat up
29) You look anything like Carrot Top 
30) You don't like art or art museums 
31) You won't watch kung fu movies 
32) You never give me flowers
33) You don't respect my headstand abilities 
34) You like Michael Vick (puppy killer)
35) You never, ever think to take a photo of us (if dating, and this is based on experience) 
36) You aren't loyal. Just don't cheat.
37) Your vs. you're - you don't know the difference or you don't care
38) You don't like me wearing high heels. Stoop! It's ok for me to be a little taller than you. 
39) You like Harry Potter (sorry fans)
40) You shush me
41) You really like Texas (sorry Farrah. And Austin)
42) You talk to me when I'm putting on my fake eyelashes - I already done told you it takes my full concentration! 
43) You don't like pizza. Who doesn't like pizza? 
44) You mistake my professional networking / friend time with flirting
45) You don't eat gluten. C'mon. It's a fad. 

Finally, in a totally unrelated topic, I need this flask: 

...

WE CANNOT DATE IF...(part one)

More journal jabbering. Lucky you! This ended up being a long list, so I am breaking it into parts. Dating can be challenging, especially on an island - where everyone knows everyone. As I get older, I have come to realize that you have to know what you want in order to find someone that makes you happy (you also have to be happy in the first place on your own). This list helps me to shape some kind of vision for whoever that lucky guy is that gets to be my forever BFF. Know what you're looking for.

While I am somewhat flexible on a few of these items, there are some that are deal breakers (you have to have a sense of humor...and watch football!) Take it or leave it, but I hope my list just might make you laugh. :)

1) you don't like football

2) you're not funny

3) you're super haole (says the super haole girl LMAO) 

4) you don't enjoy an occasional drink

5) you're vegan 

6) you don't like dogs 

7) you're super duper religious / judgmental

8) you've never traveled or you don't want to 

9) you'd vote for Trump

10) you enjoy Kid Rock songs 

11) you give no props to me for my career achievements, or you use my success against me

12) you have zero passion (I need romance! And fire! And love!)

13) you love Hurley (I just really don't like the brand!!)

14) you're rude to waitresses / servers 

15) you're married ummmm NO (that may seem obvious but you would be surprised!)

....Part two coming soon.....