Once Again, It’s All About My Hair. Oh, And That I’m A Total Cougar.

Tip Of The Day:  That’s right, you heard me – today’s post is all about hair products (and body care, for variety’s sake), plus a discussion on being a cougar.  Hair care and cougars, not exactly chocolate and peanut butter, but close enough.

Tip For Tomorrow:  Free exercises you can do anywhere, at any time.  As long as you don’t mind looking a bit strange and/or sweaty.  For me, that’s a daily occurrence.

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal:  If you are new to Cheap But Not Easy, welcome.  Pull up a chair and sit a spell.  And?  I tend to write a lot of posts about inexpensive hair care products.  They’re a bit of an obsession of mine.  Granted, there are worse and more costly things I could be fixated upon – like keeping up with the Kardashians.  Literally.

As winter cranks up in the TC, so do our furnaces.  And with dry furnace heat comes dry, static-cling hair.  NOT CUTE.  I try to counteract the affects of hot air blowing at my head all day long with extra strong conditioners.  And since my hair is colored (what, you thought this blonde was natural?  Sorry to disappoint), I need conditioners specially formulated to not dull my precious, foiled ‘do.

First up on my new favorites hit parade is John Frieda’s Sheer Blonde Glistening Perfection Conditioner for Honey to Caramel ($6.99).  The name sounds so sparkly and yummy, no?  This stuff completely moisturizes my hair, leaving it a tad slippery – even after rinsing.  Which, in the winter time, is actually desirable.  That slip makes my hair easier to blow-dry and less prone to frizz.  Which makes it look shiny, which makes it look blonder.  And for me, blonder is BETTER.

My other new love is Garnier Fructis Color Shield Fortifying Deep Conditioner 3 Minute Masque ($2.99).  This stuff doesn’t promise to change or brighten your color – instead, it swears it will protect your hair color from fading with UV protectants.  Plus, it will soften the holy heck out if it.  Which, as I stated above, makes your hair and hair color look so much prettier.

While we’re riding the whole “moisturizing makes you look better” train, let’s add two more cars.  Wow.  That’s a horrible analogy.  Moving on.

I like most Suave products, but I really liking their Natural Oatmeal Body Lotion ($1.99).  It’s insanely moisturizing – absorbing quickly, leaving your skin feeling ever-so-slightly damp.  As opposed to slick or oily, like some other moisturizers (ahem, Neutrogena Body Oil, AHEM).  I don't care to feel greasy; I much prefer the aforementioned dampness.  Plus, the lotion is virtually odorless, so it won’t compete with your perfume.

And to get the whole soft skin party started in the shower, I’m currently using St. Ives Collagen Elastin Advanced Therapy Body Wash ($2.99).  It’s supposedly going to make my skin look younger – a claim I don’t believe from a product that’s rinsed off mere seconds after application.  However, the Wash is very gentle and moisturizing.  I can use it on my face AND my sensitive areas, with no adverse reaction – like a rash, or dry patches, or violent screaming.

And Now:

Tonight, on a very special episode of Cheap But Not Easy…

One woman comes to grips with her unquenchable lust for boys MUCH TOO YOUNG FOR HER, given her advancing age.  Presented with limited commercial breaks.

Last Tuesday, I went to my very first open casting call at a local talent agency (which will remain nameless, to protect the innocent).  I was expecting a bevy of stick-figure, teeny-bopper girls and their doting, overly ambitious parents to be in attendance.  WRONG.  What I got was a room full of breath-taking, 20-something, well-built young men.

That’s right.  It was me and a bunch of guys – like a scenario out of the Desperate Wives of New York’s fevered imagination.  The loveliest of the lovelies (and the one I GUARANTEE is going to be signed by that agency) sat next to me.  Fortunately, he kept his heavy coat on for most of the night.  If he had removed it any earlier, revealing his perfect chest and perfect biceps, I may have passed out.  As it was, his perfect face and perfect, curly, shaggy hair was distraction enough.

How old was this paragon of manliness?  24.  That’s right, math whizzes, 11 YEARS YOUNGER THAN ME.  I could have baby-sat him in high school.  Ugh.  Also?  Gross.  The oldest hottie in the house was a mere 26 years of age, and the youngest was a cradle-robbing 19.  Double-ugh.

It gets worse.  While we waited for our individual evaluations, Mr. Hottie McGee decided to chat up the old biddy seated next to him.  That would be me.  It seems he is a recent college graduate with a degree in English and wants to be a writer.  Of course he does.  Because he is the most PERFECT MAN ON EARTH.  Sigh.  Modeling will allow him to travel, and make enough money so he can pursue writing on the side.

So ladies under the age of 30?  There is right now, as we speak, a totally HOT 24 year old man just wandering the streets of the TC , looking for the right girl to support his dreams.  You could be that lucky lucky girl.  Oh, and one more thing?  He loves to work out.  AND IT SHOWS.

Let me ask you, who is the youngest man you’re crushing on right now?  Zac Efron?  Daniel Radcliffe?  Please share with the group.