Blame it on the ’80s and way too many episodes of Dallas, but I’ve never been able to reconcile my desire for big, bountiful, whiplash-inducing hair with the limp, lifeless reality. I know, I know: We should learn to love the hair we were born with (and pray for a winning ticket in the genetics lottery next time around), but I simply won’t settle for skinny, body-challenged strands. To make matters worse, popular volumizers always fell flat for me, until I stumbled on a setting cocktail that met my high hopes: Bumble & Bumble Thickening Spray ($24; amazon.com).

Granted, I usually don’t put much stock in hair products whose first listed ingredients are water and alcohol, but there must be some mysterious X-factor in the mix because this one’s got Herculean hair-raising abilities. For best results, spritz it generously on wet roots, blow-dry hair upside down, then coil it into a high bun. After a half hour spent applying your makeup and getting dressed (or better yet, three hours spent emptying your medicine cabinet of less-effective root lifters), uncoil the bun, and va-va-voom!—big, bounc-ilicious tresses that would inspire the envy of Lucy Ewing herself. —xoxoxJenny