From the Hip: Hip Secrets from South Tulsa

March 28, 2011

Jill VanTrease,

Hello fellow mummies! Welcome to the new “Hip Mom” column. Join me as I sleuth about Tulsa on the lookout for shops and spots that carry unique, affordable products that make you, the busy mama, break out in a giddy grin (you know: espadrilles with big pink foofy flowers! Butt-enhancing jeans! Kahlua truffles! MARGARITAS!).

Now let me share with you my highly unscientific definition of “Hip Mom”: a hip mom loves to follow trends, even though she can’t always wear them or afford them. She recognizes that becoming a mommy does not mean becoming a martyr, even if she doesn’t have a nanny, cook and stylist à la Angelina Jolie. She refuses to wear ill-fitting Mom jeans, even though all she is doing is driving to Pre-K, soccer and baseball practice. (Unless she had a puker last night. Then she has every right to look like a she was beaten with an ugly stick.)

So how did my quest for hipness in T-Town begin? When I moved here a few years ago from Seattle, I was shocked and chagrined to find that there was no Nordstrom in Tulsa. Nay, no Nordstrom in all of Oklahoma. How despondent I was! I used to love to go to Nordstrom with my (then) two boys and, even if I didn’t buy anything, even if I just spritzed on some new perfume, drooled over some springy stilettos, and mauled some soft buttery handbags, suddenly I would remember that there was a lot more to life than boobs and blowouts.

Fortunately, there are a few little treasures here and there that are ready to help a frazzled mom in her quest for hip. Kate 918 is a warm and welcoming little boutique within the Shops of Seville at 101st and Yale. It’s the perfect place to get a frilly, sherbet-hued top to update your wardrobe from a winter fashion rut. I found these adorable dresses that are perfect for spring: you can wear them with flip flops on a warm day, or pair them with leggings. You’ll look super hip and (bonus) feel comfortable. Best of all, the dress is a mere $55. The girls at Kate 918 are always helpful, sweet and don’t cringe when you have a kid in tow.

For cosmetics, I visit Ulta at the Tulsa Hills Shopping Center at Highway 75 and 71st Street (two other locations in Tulsa). Here are three products that I just love:

1. Smashbox’s Photofinish Foundation Primer. Smooth this over your face before foundation, and it fills in pores, wrinkles, and makes your skin look flawless. Or less flaw-full! You’re then able to use a lighter coverage foundation, instead of using a heavier product alone, which tends to settle into wrinkles and make them more – shudder – visible.

2. Phyto’s Phytonectar Ultra-Nourishing Oil Treatment. When I was pregnant with my fourth child, I went through an “Earth Mother” phase and started growing out my hair. So now my mane is pretty long – and requires all sorts of nourishment so that it doesn’t look like the pelt of some frazzled road kill. This oil is so easy to apply — you just slop it on about 20 minutes before you shampoo. It helps my hair stay glossy and healthy during these bone-crackingly dry Oklahoma winters.

3. The Ulta salesperson also highly recommended a new product from Dermadoctor, Photodynamic Therapy Sunlight Activated Laser Lotion with SPF 30 (I know, HUH?). This product attempts to mimic light therapy available at medical spas by capturing UV light and transforming it into a visible red light. In essence, it “builds” collagen. Ulta was actually out of this product – a testament to its popularity – but I tried a sample. After just a few days the creases around my eyes did appear a little less visible. But I’m torn about some of these anti-aging creams. For $85 and almost imperceptible improvement, am I better off nursing a glass of Pinot Noir and letting out a big guffaw over my fine lines and wrinkles?
That’s what I thought.