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HOLY MAC, you guys. Readers have been applauding this $35 One-Step Styler for a while now as an easy way to give yourself blowouts at home, but I only just got around to trying it a few days ago.
I must admit I was dubious that anything would work for my thick and curly hair — when I used to blow it out regularly with a round brush it would take me easily 25-30 minutes for mediocre results. In fact, my policy over the past few years has been to just let my hair air dry/do what it wants 90% of the time, and get a salon blowout if I actually wanted to look nice.
But I tried the Styler on Friday, and couldn't believe it — after ten minutes of using the product on 85% dry hair, my locks were smooth, and silky, and actually looked about 95% as good as they would have if I'd gotten a salon blowout.
(The crink in the back of my hair is hard to get out, but I'm assuming that's technique/product and not the problem of the Styler.) The finished look was so good I ran over to show my husband.
The blowout lasted for days; the only products in my hair were my usual winter products: leave in conditioner and an anti-frizz serum. I clipped my hair into three main layers to do the styling.
At this late date you're probably looking for an after-Christmas delivery, but obviously pick-up and delivery options vary by region; you can also find it for $35-$59 at Amazon, Target, Ulta, Walmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Volumizer Hot Air Brush
(As noted on Thursday's discussion about Dyson hairdryers, this is generally seen as a great dupe for the $550 Dyson AirWrap — but note that if you're trying to avoid regular intense heat on your hair, you may want to investigate the Dyson a bit more.)
2020 Update: This thing is amazing! So we're adding it to our our Office Beauty Hall of Fame!
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Sales of note for 10.10.24
- Nordstrom – Extra 25% off clearance (through 10/14); there's a lot from reader favorites like Boss, FARM Rio, Marc Fisher LTD, AGL, and more. Plus: free 2-day shipping, and cardmembers earn 6x points per dollar (3X the points on beauty).
- Ann Taylor – Extra 50% off sale (ends 10/12)
- Banana Republic Factory – Up to 50% off everything plus extra 25% off your $125+ purchase
- Boden – 10% off new styles with code; free shipping over $75
- Eloquii – Extra 50% off a lot of sale items, with code
- J.Crew – 40% off sitewide
- J.Crew Factory – 50% off entire site, plus extra 25% off orders $150+
- Lo & Sons – Fall Sale, up to 35% off
- M.M.LaFleur – Save 25% sitewide
- Neiman Marcus – Sale on sale, up to 85% off
- Spanx – Lots of workwear on sale, some up to 70% off
- Talbots – 50% off 2+ markdowns
- Target – Circle week, deals on 1000s of items
- White House Black Market – Buy one, get one – 50% off full price styles
And some of our latest threadjacks here at Corporette (reader questions and commentary) — see more here!
Some of our latest threadjacks include:
- What to say to friends and family who threaten to not vote?
- What boots do you expect to wear this fall and winter?
- What beauty treatments do you do on a regular basis to look polished?
- Can I skip the annual family event my workplace holds, even if I'm a manager?
- What small steps can I take today to get myself a little more “together” and not feel so frazzled all of the time?
- The oldest daughter is America's social safety net — change my mind…
- What have you lost your taste for as you've aged?
- Tell me about your favorite adventure travels…
Anon
I’ve been asked by a state cabinet head to become the GC for a state agency. I’m currently in private practice, an income partner at a medium sized firm. This would be significant pay cut for me, but the area of expertise is right in my wheelhouse, the hours would be better, I’d have a lot of autonomy, and I’d have state benefits. My husband is supportive even with the pay cut, but I’m having trouble swallowing it. If you have made a similar decision, how did you decide? I’m trying to make my pros and cons list. I was very excited about the position until I heard the salary, so I’m feeling pretty let down right now. This whole thing also just came out of the blue on Friday, so I haven’t had a lot of time to process it. Any advice would be appreciated.
Anon
How secure are the state benefits, i.e. how solvent is your state’s pension fund if a pension is part of the compensation?
What is the net effect on your taxable income?
Do you need the extra income, i.e. do you have kids that you hope to put through private college, or parents who may need expensive long-term care?
What career options are available to you after being GC at the state agency? Would you find it sustainable to remain at your current firm or in private practice?
Anonymous
Also, if you are going in further on in your career, are you even pension-able? My mom had to buy a few years of service from her state’s plan to be eligible for a .5 FTE pension based on not quite enough years of service. It is like all or nothing, so no option for a .45 FTE pension.
AND, can you be removed at will? Or are there civil service protections? If you are so easily brought in, I’d be worried that you could just as easily find yourself out of a job and having to hunt for clients, starting again at 0.
I have a friend who has been with a govt agency for close to 20 years.
Anon
I haven’t made a similar decision although I have made some job changes that involved a big pay cut. My two cents is that if you’re excited about the job except for the paycut and you can make the paycut work on your joint incomes, you should go for it. If you can identify something specific the paycut would require you to give up, it might be a different story. But just having extra money for the sake of having extra money doesn’t add much to you life, imo.
Anon
My firm’s practice is government adjacent and connections and insider insight are important, so it’s common for our attorneys to take a job for a couple years and come back. That also means you don’t have to take a government salary forever. I’d look closely at those state benefits you think you’d be getting – many states have cut back drastically.
Ellen
The questions I would ask are as follows:
1) can you afford to take the pay cut? (i.e., what is husband’s income with your income, and will this pay for all your expenses, including the kid’s college?)
2) how secure is your husband’s job? (i.e. can you afford to live off his salary in a pinch, if you can’t get a good job after this gig ends?)
3) how solid is your marriage (note that you don’t want to have him bail on you after you take the pay cut).
4) will you be able to deal with the slowness in goverment? (i.e, you are in a high paced job as a law partner, like me, so will you be able to stand dealing with a bunch of dullards who watch the clock rather then do their jobs like you would expect them to?)
If you can answer positively to these 4 questions, then you will have your own answers. Personally, I would not be in a rush to take this job, but that is just me, a high powered young partner on the way up in my chosen legal profession as a member of the NY Bar, but you may be different. Think about it in any event. Do not just jump into it.
Anon
Is it a political appointment? You may be out in four years, or whenever an administration stays. At which point you could likely go back to private practice. They don’t call it a revolving door for nothing!
Anon
OP here: a little more color — this would be a 4-8 year gig, if you get my drift, so I’m not viewing it as a long-term job or thinking of the state pension as something I’d be relying on for retirement. I would have the chance to shape policy, however, and it’s in a niche area. I’ve been told that the experience translates well into either further public service or back into private practice.
Thanks to everyone for all the feedback thus far, this has been really helpful.
Anonymous
I live in a state capitol, and based on what I see happening here, you’d have no problem going back into private practice after your appointment ends. If you can make the money work, I vote do it.
Anon
I think we’re in the same state. If so: to what extent do you think you’ll be able to influence policy in this particular administration, given the composition of other branches of government and other statewide offices?
Certainly not a deal breaker, but something to consider.
Mrs. Jones
My hair is fine and thin and I also love this dryer.
Anon
Yep, me too. It’s pretty magical and I bought it with low-to-moderate expectations. It cut my styling time for my fine, stick-straight hair from 25 minutes to 10. I do blow dry my roots to about 80% dry before I use the styler, but once I turn the styler on, my hair is done in about 5 minutes. And I never seem to end up with the random weird waves or cowlicks I would sometimes get when I used a round brush.
Pep
This is on my Christmas wish list – hope I get it!
Anon
Mom’s page is dead, so can I get gift ideas for kids (infant and 2.5 year old)? Their mom is my BFF. She won’t really give me ideas, just says I don’t need to feel obligated to get anything and they have a lot of stuff already. I’ve asked about experience gifts but she says there’s no museum or zoo they visit regularly enough to make a membership worth it. They have a pool in their condo community. I’d be happy to skip the gifts entirely but she sends my kid a TON of stuff and I feel really awkward sending her kids nothing in return. Halp!
pugsnbourbon
Books! My sister, who loves art, had her first baby this year. I bought him a set of Mini Masters board books on Amaz0n – it looks like there are a bunch of different sets. For the 2.5 year old, anything by Mo Willems is a good bet. I also like Jon Klassen’s Hat books but they’re a little more surreal, so YMMV.
anon
I’d get books. There’s a book called Alphablock that my kid loved at 2 years old. And for an infant, either a crinkle book or one of those indestructible books.
Anon
I would do books too or otherwise a one-time outing for somewhere the 2.5 yo will appreciate.
BeenThatGuy
You said they pool in their community so maybe a swim themed gift. Maybe matching bathing suits, some water toys, fun hats and sunblock? Kids get to much at Christmas that it’s nice to gift something they can use in a few months rather than right this second.
Anon
The Wirecutter’s gift guides for various aged kids are pretty good (unlike some of their other recommendations).
DLC
I would do clothes for the infant- maybe a few sizes and seasons bigger than current. For the 2.5 year old I would do art supplies- crayons, a pad of construction paper, fun scissors. I like arts supplies over books because they are consumable. Dress up clothes are fun too.
Anon
Books were my go-to before I became a mom, but now that I have kids I feel like you’re very likely to duplicate what they already have. If you can find something really unique, it can be great. But we received at least three copies of so many classic childrens’ books for just my one child. I can’t even imagine how many copies of The Very Hungry Caterpillar I’d have received if I had two or three kids. Duplicate books are sort of better than duplicate toys (you can donate extra copies to the library or daycare and at least know they’re not going in a landfill) but still not ideal. I like the idea for something consumable.
Anon
For consumables, bath tub finger paint. At least for the 2.5 year old. My kids love ‘em and they are something that gets used up quickly.
Anon Lawyer
I absolutely love the book You Are New. Incredibly charming. The NYT had a list of baby books recently that had that and some other great looking books on it.
Erin
I LOVE this thing. I bought it earlier this year after reading the crazy good reviews. I have super thick hair that dries a bit wavy and frizzy. I can get okay results with a hair dryer, but it’s never as good as the salon. Agreed that this thing gets you 95% of the way to the salon blowout.
Anon
Forgive me for a naive question, but what exactly is the benefit of a salon “blowout”? I know how popular they are, but I guess I’ve never understood the value add, at least for women who are good at doing their own hair (which is admittedly not me). It’s really just blow-drying your hair, right?
Anon
I guess it depends on your hair, like if you have curly hair and want it blown straight, it gets that look. I have straight hair so stuff like this is pointless for me.
Anon
This may be age-related. I’m middle aged and have more challenging cowlicks and strange bends in my hair than when I was younger. A salon blowout smooths those out, which I often can’t do myself, though I have this tool and it definitely helps. A salon blowout also lasts a day or two longer than when I do the hair myself.
UHU
Has anyone with straight hair tried this? How is it for adding volume?
Lila Fowler
Straight hair here and I love it. It adds volume for me with little effort and no product.
ChrisLovesCoffee
I have used the similar Revlon One-Step Hair Dryer & Styler for more than 3 years and love it. The main difference is mine is a paddle-style brush. It dries my somewhat thin shoulder-length hair in less than 5 minutes, leaving it straight and sleek and shiny!
April Blake
I just bought one of these, here’s hoping it helps with my out of control hair in this humidity. Only in the South would one have humidity hair problems in December!! Fingers crossed.