This gorgeously sculpted anatomically correct heart is one of the wildest things I've come across in a long time. Some might think it's impractical—it doesn't actually do anything—but I disagree. Use it as a paperweight, pile it on top of a stack of books, station it on the mantel; no matter where it goes, its slightly creepy, subtly punky vibe transforms the atmosphere of a room. Worth noting: The site where I found this is the online arm of the edgy Miami men's store Base, which recently launched a spin-off called Base Annex that's dedicated to decor and womenswear, much of which is featured in its Web store, too.

When I was a dark-brown-haired 14-year-old, all I wanted was to be blonde, but my conservative Republican psychiatrist father would absolutely not allow it: There would be no dyeing of any kind until I turned 18, period. I begged. I typed up a why-I-should-be-allowed-to-go-blonde manifesto. I even offered to settle for red. No, no, and no.

Then, in 10th grade, I left home for a Massachusetts boarding school. Of course, the very first weekend, I went to a Boston salon, slapped down my for-emergencies-only credit card, and got a full head of golden highlights.

When I told my dad over the phone, he yelled—loudly—but miraculously, he just yelled, and that was that, and I was still blonde. And I've remained so ever since.

Here's the thing: Blonde is a lot of work, and you really have to keep up with it: Touch-ups, regular highlighting appointments, base-color regulation, chamomile shampoos, etc.—and I don't. I'm lazy. I shouldn't be blonde—I'd probably be better-looking if I just succumbed and returned to my natural dark hair—but the spurious, resentful adolescent in me just won't allow it.

Instead, I've found a product that really lets you get away with being a faux blonde with minimal effort: Artec White Violet Color Conditioner. It's incredible for neutralizing yellow, gives you that gorgeous white-pieces-around-the-face thing that little kids at the beach always have, and really softens too.

—Cat Marnell, beauty assistant

Wandering around the city lately, I've seen a couple of outfits so stunningly cool that I had to pretty much stalk the women wearing them for a block or two to get a better look. Both outfits were based around beautifully worn-in, low-heeled, brown lace-up granny boots—my newest I-never-knew-I-wanted-and-now-must-have-immediately thing. The first combination I saw consisted of skinny gray jeans, a plaid button-down, a big fringy scarf, and shoes that looked just like these. The second mixed a swingy little camel coat, a black minidress, extra-dark striped tights, and a slightly higher, more refined style like this pair. Both ensembles were interesting in a soft 80s-bohemian way, completely comfortable, and exactly the kind of thing I want to be wearing right now.

I grew up and went to school in Southern California—so I'll never forget my first East Coast winter. I don't know how I would have survived the windy city streets without my Meg Cohen scarf, and so every winter since I've prepared for the coming snow by buying another one. They manage to be thick and soft and lush, yet urbane and refined at the same time, which is no easy feat. This year, I'm leaning toward one of her skinny striped styles, which are extra long and would look rather British rock star looped around the neck loosely.

You know the metal shower caddies that hang over the showerhead and tastefully display all your glamorous products? My showerhead tilts every so subtly downward, so if you're taking a shower and happen to hit the thing the wrong way, or take a shampoo from it a bit too roughly, or if a whim just strikes the caddy, it all comes crashing down around your ears, soaps and conditioners flying. I practically have a heart attack every time it happens. There must be some small device, something to make a shower caddy stay where it's supposed to. Metal? Putty? Superglue? I purport to be a beauty editor, and yet I cannot figure it out.

— Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director

I've seen a lot of kitchen utensils in my day, but I'm not exaggerating when I say I've never seen anything quite like these. They are the laciest, prettiest earthenware plates, and they're designed specifically for the very mundane, inelegant task of covering the drain in your kitchen sink. There's just something so amazingly cool and luxurious about using a gorgeous handcrafted piece in such an unlikely, utilitarian way.

The worst thing about being a parent is making lunch (the kind that goes in lunchboxes —regular, non-lunchbox lunch doesn't bother me). Number two is detangling your child's hair. You hate it, the child really hates it, and you are cast as a hideous torturer—and you must return to that role, every morning, as if you were in Groundhog Day.

After years as the Hair Torturer, I have made an important discovery that significantly eases the job. Maybe the entire world already knew this and I didn't, but: If it's conditioning you want, go with a non-spray leave-in conditioner. A spray, however high-tech, just doesn't detangle like a clonk of full-on cream.

Philip B Lovin' Leave-in is expensive but smells incredible (tomato leaf, which is delightfully fresh and vaguely flowery), and it leaves the victim's hair so soft you just want to keep touching it—and with a burnished gleam that tempts you to try it yourself. Then you almost want to hoard it for yourself, except that you can't face the morning detangling without it. So you buy more.

—Jean Godfrey-June, beauty director

I've been on the hunt for the perfect gold hoops for years now. My ideal pair will loop all the way around (with an unobtrusive clasp) and are neither too big or too small, and definitely have to be real gold so they won't change color or turn the side of my jaw green (this has happened). Usually I find eBay's jewelry selection so exhaustive as to be overwhelming, but if you're conducting a precise search like "gold hoop earrings," the options become considerably manageable. Right now I'm pondering both this pretty, leaf-engraved version and this perfectly simple, rose gold pair. I can see wearing either in a dressed-up or more casual way, and at these prices, I won't feel terrible when the day inevitably comes where one magically disappears.

Our enthusiasm for Ciment Thermique—the genius half-conditioner, half-styler we ran in our November Do-It-Yourself story on bangs—has been seconded by none other than glamorous globe-trotting fashion director Hope Greenberg:

"My hair has been a disaster in the humid, rainy Paris weather; I was desperate.  I bought the Kerastase yesterday and used it this AM. Et voilà!  Soft, tousled, beachy waves.  I don't know if it's real cement, asphalt, tar, I don't care.  I'm in love!"

Shopping the J.Crew website is a reflexive pleasure for me—can anyone ever have enough of their cashmere sweaters? Really? And then sometimes you stumble across something as lovely and unexpected as this enamel bracelet. The thick black-and-white stripes are graphic and cool, but the overall effect is still sophisticated, so you could easily wear it with something evening-ish—to say nothing of the fact that the gold plating and slick finish feel much fancier than the $45 price tag. http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/product.jhtml?id=prod90229271&catId=cat240133