Here we are at the end of April ... it's hard to believe the year is already almost half over! I hope you all had a wonderful month of April.

I have some really random favorites this month ... many of them online.

source: SallyHansen.com

Thinning shears
You might be thinking "what the heck are thinning shears?" They have been a good friend to me through my teenage and adult years, but it wasn't until recently that I finally invested in a pair myself. Because I have thick hair and a lot of hair, stylists have been using layering shears to "thin out" my hair (in addition to layering my hair) in order to rid my hair of a lot of the extra volume and thickness. The shears have varied "ends" so that when you cut your hair, it chops off strands at different lengths, to minimize fluff and volume at any given length. Now that I have my own pair (which cost something like $15), not only can I do it myself at home between cuts, but my hair has been so much more manageable -- and, for the first time in a long time, I finally feel like I have something close to the hairstyle I've been wanting!

New Kids On The Block, "10"
It's not that this particular album is the be all, end all of boy band pop music or anything, but I haven't been this excited for a new album's release in a really long time. I'm not even sure that I was this excited about the release of "Unfinished" by Jordan Knight in 2011, when my crush was fresh and new. And the excitement really crept up on me -- I didn't even listen to the free stream until the weekend before the release of the album, and after that, you bet I made a beeline to Target to pick up the version with the 2 bonus tracks the day it was released! It's so nice to have a physical copy of an album in my hands, photos to pore over and thank yous to read. And that odd chemically smell CD booklets always have, ahhh.

source: New Kids On The Block Facebook page

Mind the Science Gap
Along with CBS' "Sunday Morning," I've just happened upon a lot of shows or sites lately that give you little doses of knowledge in a really approachable, applicable way. Mind the Science Gap is one of those sites that gives you little bits of science every so often, so as not to overwhelm.

Kellylovesbeauty1
I don't know why I spend so much time watching "beauty gurus" on YouTube, considering I don't really wear makeup and don't have any intention to start wearing much more makeup than I already do. There's something very calming about watching someone apply makeup, or applying makeup on another. In any case, I stumbled across Kelly's channel and really enjoy it -- she does a nice mix of videos, from beauty and fashion to weekly vlogs, and she has a really upbeat personality.


EWG's Skin Deep
Last but not least, I've been using this cosmetics database lately to check on some of the bath and beauty products I use at home. This database rates products on how toxic they are, and in what ways. I was surprised to find that some of the brands that market themselves as more innocuous than most rated almost as high on toxicity as your average drugstore brand! Check it out for yourself if you're interested in knowing what sort of chemicals (and the effects of those chemicals) are lurking in your bathroom.
'Til next month ...