Today the WSJ picks up on a trend that most Go-Getter Girls already knew all about: the blowout. Or as some like to call it, getting your “hair did.” This is one of the easiest, most effective ways to take your glam factor from zero to wow– and to avoid the stress of bad hair days. We saw GGGs designer Liz Lange and beauty entrepreneur Polly Blitzer “can’t live without” their blowouts. And you know that I’ve gotten my hair blown out in salons all over the world, enduring awkwardness and language barriers if need be, to avoid doing my hair myself.

Spending an hour in the salon a few times a week is actually both time and opportunity cost efficient: Unless you’ve got major skills, all the right products and tools (and a healthy dose of patience), chances are a professional blow dry will look way better than you can do yourself. Plus, you’ll have more time to focus on more important things, like what outfit you’re going to wear, what you’re actually going to say during that big presentation.

Maternity maven Liz Lange began her career as an assistant to a features editor at Vogue, but it never felt like the right fit. After meeting a struggling clothing designer, she caught the fashion bug, and begged him to let her apprentice. “I still didn’t have any intention of starting my own line,” she says. That is, until she saw her pregnant friends squeezing into regular clothes and became obsessed with an idea to create maternity fashions that were cuter, tighter, and stretchier than what was on the market.

First came her high-end line (loved by celebs like Sarah Jessica Parker) and several boutiques, then a wildly successful marriage with Target.  Having sold her company for a reported $50 million in 2007, her newest ‘babies’ are a non-maternity line for HSN called Completely Me, and a shopping newsletter with her sister called Shopafrolic.  “I’ve never written a business plan for anything I’ve done,” Liz says. “For me, it’s very organic—jumping on new opportunities that come my way.” Below, more work and life secrets from the designer and mom of two.

Currently reading: “My friend Alexandra Lebenthal’s fantastic page turner The Recessionistas and Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh (the CEO of Zappos.com).”

Must-have make-up item: Laura Mercier bronzing gel. “I mix it with my moisturizer every morning to give my skin that tan, glowy look.”

On trusting yourself: “The first year of my business I was paralyzed. Some days I just lied in bed in a curled-up ball when I could have been getting things done! I was asking for validation instead of actually doing something—instead of just believing in my gut instinct and going forward.”

Can’t live without: Constant blow-outs. “My hair is my obsession and I just can’t do it myself. Embarrassing but true!”

Hiring m.o.: Passion matters more than a fancy resume. “One of my best employees ever was a girl who wrote me a very specific letter when she was still in college, describing her excitement for my brand and her experience working for a competitor. She started as an assistant, and was eventually our marketing director.”

Fave vacation spot(s): Palm Beach and the Mayan Riviera with the kids during the winter, Paris in the Spring, Capri in July

Holiday stay-slim secret: “All year long, I never just eat to eat; I only eat what I love. (Okay, and I work out with a personal trainer 3 times a week so that I can eat what I love!)”

Advice for recent grads: “Spend your twenties allowing yourself to try a lot of different things. If there’s some way you can focus on what you might love—something that doesn’t feel like work (at least not all the time)—chances are you’ll end up being very good at it and making money.”

Wish for the new year: Clarity and contentment

To learn more about Liz, visit her website, or check out her latest venture, Shopafrolic.

Dear GGG, Can you clear up a holiday tipping rule? I’ve heard so many different things when it comes to hairdressers. Someone told me it’s the cost of one visit– but my highlights are $150– and if I tipped that much, I’d have almost no tipping budget left for anyone else this year! I’ve also heard that you’re supposed to take the cost of a blow-dry and double it. And what if your stylist actually owns the salon? Does the tradition still hold that you’re not supposed to tip the owner? Thanks! — Jane*, 36, Ft. Lauderdale

Hi Jane!

Few etiquette rules are as awkward as holiday tipping– and the hair stylist is at the top of the list. While some old-school experts still adhere to the “cost of an entire visit,” this measure is very confusing depending on what type of service you get (color vs. cut vs. regular blowdries). In practice, the custom is much more relaxed nowadays, especially given the economy. New rule: up your normal tip on your pre-holiday visit to about 50% from your normal 15 or 20%.  And while cash is king (!), many stylists told me that it’s common practice for clients to go for a more traditional gift such as a bottle of wine or gift card. About not tipping the owner, that’s also seems to be a rule that’s fallen by the wayside. Nowadays, if the owner is your regular stylist, go ahead and tip him or her!

For more info on whom to tip what this holiday season, check out some segments I did for ABC News and Good Day Atlanta on the topic.

Dear GGG, What’s the most appropriate nail color to wear for a “business casual” office environment? Can I do trendy? — Yasmine*, age 24, New York

Hi Yasmine! Business casual can vary widely depending on industry, so it depends where you work. The no-fail, safe strategy is to go with a pale pink or beige, think OPI Bubble Bath, Passion, or Samoan Sand. One coat of these sheer shades always looks elegant and (forgive the pun) polished. In industries like fashion, media, art, and design, you get a lot more leeway with trendy colors—even the dark raisin shades like OPI’s Lincoln Park After Dark (at left) or black shades (remember Chanel Black Satin?)– though you might toe the line at bright neons/greens/blues.

Remember, bold color only looks chic on very short nails; the nail should not extend beyond the edge of your fingertip. One big disadvantage of going the non-sheer route is that chips show easily—a major office ‘don’t’. As one fashionable GGG executive once said to me, “You can’t walk into a board meeting with chipped nails!”

Photo: OPI

Susan Fales-Hill knows how to make an entrance. While a senior at Harvard, she had a fortuitous meeting with Bill Cosby– and arrived with a parody script and audio tape she’d prepared. “I knew you don’t just go meet someone and show up with nothing but a smile,” she says. “I thought, this is an opportunity; show him your stuff!” That performance earned her a job as a writer’s apprentice on The Cosby Show.

She went on to work for A Different World–becoming its head writer/co-executive producer– followed by 15 years as a television producer and writer. Next, she shifted to prose, writing the critically-acclaimed memoir, Always Wear Joy, about her late mother, actress and performer Josephine Premice. Now, she’s turned to fiction. Her debut novel, out this month, is One Flight Up, a juicy, fun-filled take on the lives of four multi-cultural girlfriends. Think Sex and the City, with an international twist.

Here, Susan shares a few of her secrets in work and in fashion (she’s been named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame).

Inspired by: friendships; textiles; books by Charles Dickens; the painting of her mother in the mezzanine at the New York Public Library (her go-to writing spot).

Style trademark: blouses with dramatic poet sleeves; bias cut gowns for evening

Writing motto: Don’t get it right; get it written.

Work look: “I get dressed to write: slacks, dresses, maybe even a suit.”

On following your bliss: “Don’t think you’ll necessarily become a multi-millionaire by doing what you love. You might just have the gift that you get to do what you’re passionate about. It’s a risk you’re taking.”

Footwear: Flats by Tod’s. “I don’t believe in wearing flip-flops– except at the beach or leaving the nail salon!”

Fitness routine: Reformer pilates, three times a week.

Beauty must: Perfume. “My first love is Amazone by Hermes.”

To learn more about Susan (and peek inside her swoon-worthy “closet”), visit www.susanfales-hill.com.