Design

Image from Pentagram

The "Perfect Block"

Never has a single image captured my heart in it's entirety until I discovered Larry Wamble's 'Perfect Block' drawing of Baton Rouge. As a Baton Rouge native and LSU Alum, I have an unmatched love for anything related to the city I call home. The print features all of my favorite local places, including my absolute favorite hang out in college - Bogie's Bar.

Wamble's 'Perfect Blocks' started from an incredibly thoughtful gift to his wife featuring all of their local favorites in Oxford, Mississippi. It wasn't long before Larry was creating 'Perfect Blocks' for cities and college towns all over the country. And, luckily if you don't find your favorite city in Larry's image catalog, a commissioned print is just an e-mail away!

Sophisticated Nomad

Lydia Hobo Bag - Madewell necklaces - Shortcut bootie - BDG denim legging - cropped sleeve blouse - Starr engraved cuff - Desert Drifter cardi - feather earrings

With the weather in Atlanta suddenly turning chilly, I thought I would share with you my current cold weather favorites. Since this season seems to be all about layers, I'm sticking with the motto: "The more, the merrier". Start with a great (not to mention affordable & ultra-versatile) pair of jeggings. This pair by BDG at Urban Outfitters couldn't fit the bill more. The dark wash means they can dress up or down, and the ultra slim fit, moderate-rise make them the perfect complement to boots or shooties. Next add a soft oversized blouse (I JUST purchased this one from Gap and I'm absolutely in love), a cozy sweater that hits about mid-thigh, and an awesome vest (fur is back (faux and real) and this one was a steal, $29.95 at Old Navy of all places - not exactly a performance fleece, Thank God.). Slip into a buttery leather bootie and pile on the accessories. I am personally 150% obsessed with all of Madewell's accessories right now. They are a dream to just pile on! Polish your look from being too boho with an incredible alligator hobo - so, so pretty & officially on my wish list! What are your current cold weather must haves?

A frank and serious conversation about the one thing that can save your life.

Dry Shampoo.

Now, as a blonde with fine hair (don't get me wrong, I can absolutely tease it to the moon - it's a smoke and mirrors situation giving me all of the volume I achieve - you're all aware of my commitment to Ellnet) I have been cursed with the end-of-the-day lack luster, borderline grease pit most blondes face. Which, in my young, inexperienced junior high and high school days meant, on Fridays, I would take a shower in the morning - wash, blow dry and style my hair - and then repeat the whole hour long process after school to make it out in time for what I'm positive were spectacular Friday night plans.

Now, some of you might be thinking, "why wouldn't she just use the ol' baby powder trick?" to all of you I'd like to confirm: I was VERY familiar with the baby powder trick, but we all know, that's an in-an-emergency-I-need-to-be-somewhere-in-5-minutes fix, and I can't think of anyone wanting to walk around trying to impress anybody smelling like a baby's bottom. Except for maybe those of you over the age of 12 that think wearing Love's BabySoft is still appropriate - which is another issue entirely.

Since baby powder refuses to come in any other scent but baby powder, I was determined to find something that would de-grease my hair without leaving said fragrance. Enter Clubman's Talc Powder. I discovered Clubman's while getting a heinous updo for Homecoming in the 10th grade. It couldn't have been more of a Godsend! It did the exact same thing baby powder did but didn't smell like a baby!! I felt like my search was finally over. But, after the occasional Clubman's snafu, usually consisting of using too much, resulting in what I can only describe as a powdered wig that smelled like a 1940s barber shop, I grew tired of Clubman's and turned down a path of determination so fierce, I'd honestly be scared to add up how much money I have wasted on dry-shampoos over the years. 

Bumble & Bumble's hair powder

More like spray paint for your hair. Makes hair sticky and leaves a weird color residue. Also, I caution anyone to actually venture out and use the colored versions. That to me just spells Halloween disaster, where instead of springing for the $40 hot pink wig, you thought you could get away with the $3 can of pink hairspray. Just buy the wig.

Oscar Blandi's dry shampoo

I absolutely love this product, however, I don't love that it is $22 a can/bottle. I do have the sprinkle cap (aerosol tends to clog) currently in my hair arsenal, however, it's a last resort. The light lemon scent is nice too because it's not at all overpowering and does help neutralize last night's bar hair smell.

TRESemme dry shampoo

The smell is WAY too overpowering. It's as if you've actually put the fragrance concentrate for TRESemme in your hair. Also, the degreasing benefits only last around 2-3 hours. You're not getting past lunch with this bad boy.

Rene Furterer Naturia dry shampoo

Don't be fooled by the Parisian label. This is simply an $8 waste of time. While the scent is subtle and clean, it leaves a thick, powdery film on your hair.

Any and all "refreshing mists"

Mix some leave in conditioner with water in a spray bottle and you'll get the same effect. I've tried just about every refreshing mist under the sun and the only benefit I've found from using them is removing smells from hair. None, I repeat, NONE remove oil.

Pssssst Dry Shampoo (aka the best hair product ever invented)

I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that Pssssst is the single best thing to ever happen to my hair. Every single one of my girlfriends I have turned on to Pssssst have been instant believers and swear by it. It's $6 at CVS or Walgreens. There was a Bed Bath & Beyond that carried it, but was discontinuing to carry it a few weeks ago, and had it on sale for $2 a can. I was with my best friend, and fellow Pssssst devotee, and we cleaned them out. 9 cans to be exact. Besides being able to Pssssst and re-Pssssst your hair without issue, it's virtually unscented, doesn't leave a thick residue and leaves your hair soft and ready to restyle (if you even need to) after use. Pssssst is a life saver.



Re-Introducing: Southern Flair!

Hi! I have MISSED this little blog! It's been a while since I last posted something truly inspired, so I thought I would start off my re-commitment to Southern Flair with a post featuring some of my favorite finds in my inspiration folder. This post is also slightly sentimental, because I decided to name each picture after all of my most inspiring friends. This is for the girls that keep me fun, light-hearted, loved, grounded, wild and above all continue to remind me how lucky I am to have friends like them!

This one's for you.

 Ainsley

Alex

 Emily J

 Emily M

 Jess

 Lindsey

 Molly

 Megan

 Lauren R

 Erin

 Natalie

 Lauren B

 Kristen

All of you make my life more...



 richly wonderful

 unmistakably fun

subtly sweet

and classically pretty.

My apologies for not having the correct citations for any of the above images. If I have used your image, please contact me at allison@csflair.com and I will absolutely give you proper credit. Thank you.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Image from Kate Spade

You've never felt so sassy...

The Jemma Kidd line at Target is AMAZING! I am completely in love with this new lip gloss, if not purely because of the name - "Sassy"!! It's not sticky, super pigmented and stays on your lips longer than 10 seconds. The color is a pretty, nude pink that manages not to wash me out, despite my pale winter complexion, although I am a total cheater - I never leave the house without a little bit of bronzer... Which by the way, I may or may not have already given you the low-down on my faves when it comes to bronzers... if not, let me catch you up to speed...

I am a devoted Bare Minerals girl and ALWAYS swirl on a tiny bit of warmth after applying my foundation. Then, depending on the season, I layer on either Tarte Cheek Stain in Sunkissed (warm weather) or Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Bronze (cold weather). I like the stain for the summer because it works well with humidity and stays on really nicely, the brick works best in colder weather when skin is a little dry because it sits on top of the skin, disguising the cold weather lack-luster. I highly recommend investing in both!