Experts have agreed that the hottest color in the new year will be one they dubbed “honeysuckle,” a bright, warm pinky-red shade.  The Pantone Color Institute, which sets trends for the fashion and home industries, chose it for its liveliness, saying that it “lights a fire to the senses.”  They also describe it as hopeful, and I agree that it is definitely an upbeat hue.

The experts who chose it suggest pairing it with white rather than black, and predict that honeysuckle will appear in materials with complimentary colors like blues, greens, and oranges (more…)

English is a funny language, full of weird expressions that people use without always knowing why.  My inspiration for this post came when I searched Google News for the word “hat,” to see if there has been anything interesting going on in the world of accessories lately.  But most of the hits that I found had to do with hockey players scoring hat tricks!

So, I got curious, and found a website that explains the meanings of all kinds of strange idioms.   Then I hunted up a whole bunch of hat-related sayings.  How many of these have you actually heard used in conversation?

• Hat trick*: to score three times in one game (especially in hockey or soccer) is called a hat trick. (more…)

Ok, I freely admit that this is my opinion, and you all probably disagree with me.  But in every generation, there are some fads that come and go that people look back on and say “I can’t believe I went out looking like that.”  Here are my predictions for styles that, twenty years from now, people will remove all images of them from their photo albums to avoid having their kids snicker over them.

1. The big hair bump.  If you push your headband forward a little, ok.  But when your bump towers over your forehead like Marge Simpson’s bouffant, it stops being flattering and starts looking ridiculous. (more…)

Whether you cover your hair regularly or not, I can guarantee that just about all of you use a comb or a brush on a regular basis.  Detangling, straightening, styling, pest removal – they’ve been doing it all for thousands of years.  They help distribute natural oils from the scalp to the ends of hair, keeping in shiny and soft and manageable; it also increases the circulation on the scalp, which leads to stronger, healthier hair.  Unless you’re bald (or shaved, or have dreadlocks), brushing is an essential part of your daily hair care routine.

The oldest examples of combs have been found in Persian tombs dating back over 5,000 years; Egyptian tombs also contain hair combs.  They are mostly made from wood or bone; decorations like carving are found about 3,000 years ago. (more…)