I was that girl.  Granted, I was not the worst of my friends but I still jostled for mirror space with the best of them.

When I was 8, I used to take my $1 allowance down to the drugstore on the corner and buy cheap .99 eyeliners and nail polishes.  I coveted Dr. Scholls clogs and all the makeup that was out of my budget – the Cover Girl and Maybelline and Revlon.  I can still picture the aisle of that store, I loved to just sit in the makeup aisle and drool over all the sparkly, shiny colors.

I still do that, except now I stare at the Sephora catalog and I covet higher end eyeshadow palettes from Urban Decay, liquid eyeliners from Boujois, airy foundations from Smashbox, lipsticks, lip balms, lip glosses – any brand thankyouverymuch.  Skincare from philosophy and Bliss and Aveda; hair products from Bumble and Bumble – I love them ALL.

Unfortunately for me, the painstakingly developed step-by-step daily routine has become somewhat…over-developed.  It is no surprise to anyone that knows me that I am most definitely the highest of high-maintenance.  I require 5 products in the shower alone (shampoo, conditioner, 2 kinds of soap, and facewash) and that’s not counting the deep conditioning or shaving days.  I step out of the shower and layer on face serum, face lotion, eye cream, body lotion, deodorant, tinted sunscreen, and two kinds of hair products.  That’s before I get to makeup, hair dryer, velcro rollers, hairspray, and on and on.

If I’m being honest, I don’t particularly care about becoming lower maintenance or streamlining my routine.  I love these girly things, and when there aren’t kids hanging off my legs I can go from bed to out the door in 35 minutes.

The problem is, it sure is a bitch when I have to get ready away from home.  For one thing trying to remember all this stuff is next to impossible and I’m guaranteed to forget the critical basics, like deodorant or a bra, in my haste to remember three kinds of moisturizer.  It’s also somewhat embarrassing to unpack, repack, and cart all this stuff around in the locker room or at a friend’s house.

This problem has manifested itself, along with all the other emotional and physical stuff that comes up, in my yoga teacher training.  We practice a hot yoga class each morning, then have lecture or posture clinic the rest of the day.  I have to shower after the class.

I can easily reduce the skincare stuff and not wear makeup, but I am not and have never been a wash-and-go-hair kind of girl.  For my professional life, I have a shoulder length cut that requires…something.  I can’t wear a hat because my hair is too short and my ears stick out.  I could try a headband, or bandanna I guess.  Or what about those buff things that Survivor contestants wear?  Could I pull that off?

Suggestions are welcome.  My hair thanks you.

Guess what suckas?  If you needed evidence that I WIN the game of LOOK ALIKE, I think the following photos are pretty indisputable.

Look at those chubby cheeks!  And eyes! 

So no more talk about how he looks like Brett’s sister/my sister-in-law, mmkay?