Dear John Frieda,

As most people who know me know, I am a die-hard DIYer.

When I was 8 years old I told my mom I wanted to be a cosmetologist. I would practice painting her nails, give her facial treatments with Clinique samples and style her hair (read: brush for hours.) I honed my skills impeccably.

My dreams of endless hours of blow drying were shattered when my mother advised I go to college and then if I still wanted to be a hairdresser, I could.

Somehow, in college, I decided that writing was definitely my bag and I forgot about cosmetology to be a poet.

My mother still asks me to do her nails sometimes, less frequently now that we live 2,000 miles apart from each other.

The point is, I do everything as far as beauty maintenance on myself, by myself, to myself.

Haircut, hair color, waxing, tweezing, manicure, pedicure, micro-dermabrasion, exfoliation.

I wish I could massage myself, because I could really use one.

Anyway, the main focus of my endeavors is and has always been, perfect highlights. I am entirely vain about my hair (length, color, texture, etc.) The color must be honey/caramel/beige with a concentration of lighter blond at the tips.

I buy a very inexpensive highlighting kit at the beauty supply store (read: $3.99) and do four sets of foils.

This process can be terrifying--even now--after doing this process myself for nearly 10 good years. I started practicing on my BFF, N., in years past and then moved on to my own head.

I digress.

What I'd like to let you know is that if you want to do your highlights at home, or if you want to get highlights at the salon--if you want them to last longer--John Frieda has a color glaze that is just lovely.

The bottle of Luminous Color Glaze is $10 at the drugstore and comes in several colors, including clear (for shine)--I chose the Honey/Caramel color (the package instructs buying the color that best describes your highlights.)

You wash and condition as usual, then smooth the glaze on from root to tip. The glaze doesn't lighten or have peroxide in it. It just tones your highlights beautifully.

That's all.