Just a little bit more

A few months ago I made the mistake of having my mom (oh the perks of your mother owning a salon/being a hairdresser your whole life!) throw a few highlights in my hair.

Apparently no one felt the need to tell me that bleach is a real life addiction, and every four'ish weeks (this mop grows like a weed) I find myself sitting in that chair saying 'just a little bit more'.

The problem here, is that my hair has been every color under the sun, except blonde. I've never wanted to be a "blonde". I'll still adamantly deny that I'm a blonde. More like a caramel cafe mocha latte brunette, 2% skim. But I'm approaching the roots stage again and teetering on big life decisions, like do I 'add a little bit more' or do I revert back to my dark haired lady ways?

I did spend a good majority of my childhood as a lightheaded brat, might as well let it stick around for a while, eh?

Life's so full of hard decisions. 

(How do I keep my hair from turning to beach & bleach induced straw? This.)

Today I love... must haves

I'm pretty easy when it comes to beauty products. I don't wear a lot of makeup, and have a reputation for getting ready in 15 minutes flat. On the flip side, I'm fiercely loyal once I find products I love. Today I am sharing a few of those with you!

1 // African Black Soap // I can't stand fruity smelling body soaps, and have crazy sensitive skin, so stumbling upon this was a win win for me. 

2 // alba hawaiian lip balm // I made the mistake of looking at the ingredients list of my old lip balm and was immediately freaked out. This stuff is 100% vegetarian, and made of things I can actually pronounce. Not to mention it's like spreading a tropical getaway right onto your lips!  

3 // Burt's Milk & Honey lotion // The scent of their Milk & Honey lotion is so light and easy, and I love the richness of this lotion. It actually feels like it's moisturizing my skin instead of just laying on top of it.  

4 // Marrakesh KaHm // I absolutely LOVE the smell of this hair care line, and it doesn't leave the buildup in my hair like the It's a 10 products do. With my love of changing hair colors, and curling my hair, this also helps make sure I'm not walking around with a head of nasty nappy-ness!

5 // TokyoMilk DeadSexy No.6 // Hands down my favorite perfume. I originally picked this up at a boutique in Maryland when visiting LT, and have been reordering it ever since.  

What are some of your must-have's that I need to check out? 

Cheater curls

If you know me, you know I "cheater curl" my hair at least 3x a week. Even though I have naturally stick straight hair, it's easier for me to go to bed with a wet head and wake up and do the whole flat iron curl trick.  (I call these cheater curls, because it takes me approximately 9 1/2 minutes to do my whole head... with a curling iron it would be at least double the time, and not even last half the day!)

Which means I was super excited when Brian from Misikko contacted me asking if I would be interested in reviewing a flat iron.

A few days later a box arrived on my doorstep from Hana Salon, and I eagerly tore into it. It just so happened to show up the day before I flew out to Baltimore so I threw it in my suitcase and tried it out that weekend.

Now, my mom is a hairstylist, which means I have used top of the line flat irons. I grew up using a CHI, and then traded that for a GHD, so I have a pretty good familiarity for the "best flat irons" out there.

How did the cheater curls turn out with the Hana Elite Flat Iron?

I'll let you judge for yourself...

The curls turned out great in my opinion! The Hana Elite is a 1" flat iron, which is the same size as I am used to. While it was nice that the flat iron had an adjustable temperature setting, I personally found it slightly intimidating. It doesn't seem healthy for your hair to be ran between two ceramic 400degree plates, but I had to go that high to get the curls to hold. Eek. Maybe all flat irons get that hot, but the 'ignorance is bliss' part of not knowing the temperature is more settling in my mind!

I also wish it had an automatic shut-off like my GHD flat iron does. I frequently rush out of the house every morning and forget to turn my flat iron off. My GHD turns itself off sitting idle for a set amount of time. The Hana Elite did not. Thankfully, I didn't catch anything on fire in our hotel room though!

I was pleased with the results of the Hana Elite, I would say it's comparable to the other "top of the line" flat irons I have used. And definitely a whole world better than any drugstore brand straightener!

(While I was contacted by Misikko to review their product, the opinions are 100% my own) 

How to train your dragon. Or your hair.

Training boyfriends - totally experienced; training fire-breathing scaly creatures - inexperienced; training my hair - somewhat experienced.

I once did a lot of research on the best way to go about 'training' your hair. I studied the benefits, made positive/negative lists and evaluated the long-term benefits...

Eh who am I kidding. i started 'training' my hair a handful of years ago because I was plain lazy. That 36 minutes it takes to wash and dry my hair was deemed more suitable for shuteye so I started skipping a day. Day 2 was dedicated to ponytails, messy buns or hats.The thing is, when you're in college and you have an 8am class every day sometimes days become a blur and day 3 rolls around and you decide you actually can rock a Bo'Sox hat pretty well. And then that cycle starts repeating.

In all honesty, it's gross. Training your hair... in the beginning. It will be that shiny, piecey look. That's why you tease and hairspray and pull it back. But after a while your oil glands realize they don't NEED to produce so much oil to keep your hair healthy. And they chill out... and after a lil while you notice you don't get that dirtykid hair until day 3 or day 4.

Let's note that I don't work out or anything, I don't kick it with smokers, I don't typically douse my hair in product...  so my hair isn't getting any 'dirt' from sweat or any other external forces.

Constantly washing your hair strips it of it's own natural oils and other jazz that protects it and keeps it healthy.  Therefore your hair will produce more oil to help make up for the absence. High school econ, people. Supply and demand.

I'm no expert, there's tons of articles in magazines about it. Do a bit of google research.  It may or may not be legit... but it works for me. I typically wash my hair every 2 or 3 days. Nowadays I just curl it on day 2 or 3.It takes a while though. My whole 'training trend' started years and years ago. Don't expect it to instantly adapt in a few weeks.

(That right there... that is 3rd day hair. It holds curl SO much better)

Do you have your hair 'trained'? Cheers to all the fellow Linus' out there... rock that dust cloud with pride.

So What Wednesday

It's my favorite blog day of the week!

So What Wednesday

Link up with Life After I "Dew" if you wanna dish too!

So what if we had the most perfect snow yesterday. It was those big fluffy flakes, and I just wanted to stand out in it and kiss someone. Yea, it was THAT kind of movie-scene snow! Clearly, that wish didn't come true, so I settled on chasing Russell around in it instead.

So what if I really wanted to watch the VS Fashion Show last night... which meant this delicate balancing act had to happen. What?! I don't watch TV much therefore can't justify actually paying for cable. (hangs head in shame. hillbilly deluxe) 

So what if the highlight of my Thanksgiving was quite possibly the fact that my Japanese aunt showed up with fresh rolled sushi.

So what if these are the sort of shenanigans that go on at the house of booze. Apparently some new guy started, and he is all sorts of good looking (note: that is new guy's manager)

 So what if I cringed when I saw this goin down across the street from my house. Those are inflatable lawn ornaments! Please no... why me?! Is there anything more tacky (and don't you dare bring up my tv antenna)

So what if I have my hair trained so I only have to wash it every 2 or 3 days. Some people don't believe me that you can train your hair. Ahhem, Lindsey.  Of course, day 2 or 3 always ends up as a messy bun. 

So what if I took ALL of the above to an open house, and none of it sold... but I've since sold like half of it. Clearly, whoever attended said open house had no taste ;) 


So what if I spruced up the look of the ol bliggityblog a bit. I was so bored of the way it looked but haven't had time to do a complete redesign




What are you saying So What to this week?

Hair Play - oil pastels

I bet you've all seen this little gem floating around the internet.

Source: strawberryswisher.tumblr.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

Before reading the caption I thought 'oh, colored extensions... that's fun - done that before!'

(Circa 2006)

Then I actually realized what it was - temporary streaks compliments of oil pastels! For all you non-art school kiddos, oil pastels are like a little oily crayon, a popular medium for drawings and paintings.

So I pulled out my set of oil pastels, settled on a blue color and set to coloring my hair one evening.

It was messy. Soft, oily crayon + hair = colored hands. And with my hair straight it looked those silly feathers that I despise!

So I played a bit more and ended up with this...

Is it fun? Sure. Is it worth it - in my opinion, no. Due to the nature of oil pastels, the color never really 'seals' even after multiple coats of hairspray it'll still come right off on your hands. Would it be fun for a quick pop on a night out, definitely. I personally would rather just throw a few colored extensions in though.

Hey, yah never know until you try though!

(And it surprisingly washes right out very easily, which I was sorta concerned about)

Two more fails

Remember the time I tried the Super Easy No Heat Sleep On It Wake Up With Gorgeous Curls for only $19.99 and if you call within the next 10 minutes we will even throw in another for free! (whoops got a little carried away...) anyways, remember when I tried that hair trickamajig I saw on Pinterest and woke up with a ratty mess?

Well, mama always taught me that when you get knocked down you gotta get back up again.

So I said, look her Sock Bun Curls... I know that the Super Easy No Heat Sleep On It Wake Up With Gorgeous Curls trick did not work, but I am giving you a shot. I have faith.

And so I woke up looking like this.

And had my straightener turned out 10 minutes later. (And didn't even bother taking an after picture because it was so bad)

Curling tricks picked up from Pinterest apparently just aren't for me. I will stick to my flatiron curling method, I've got it down to a 15 minute process and it never fails me!

I also attempted the tiedye nail thing too...

Source: weheartit.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

Ended up with huge globs of swirly paint coating the top, bottom, sides, behinds and in general all over my hands. Maybe I missed something? Fail numero dos.

In other news, I'm newly obsessed with the 'Paint One Nail a Different Color Trend',

and I rock my bright yellow Tekkies like it's my job (because it's totally safe to take photos of yourr shoes while desperately attempting to drive a stick shift, right?).

Meh, that's all I've got. Hey... it's August now, wow where did that come from?! Here's to hoping it's a good month!

Hey shorty!

A couple of you noticed on the calendar picture yesterday I had a hair appointment scheduled! Kudos to you sleuth's!

I've been talking for a while... and I finally took the plunge and chopped it off!


A couple of you noticed on the calendar picture yesterday I had a hair appointment scheduled!

I've been talking for a while... and I took the plunge and chopped it off! I was goingto go a little longer, but realized if I went this length I could donate to Locks of Love, so that's the route we went!

I am having so much fun playing with it - it can be floofed up to super volume (ie Kimberly Caldwell) or sleeked down like I've got it this morning...and there's a couple peek-a-boo blonde streaks on the side too, I'll try to get some better pictures tonight on my camera, I just snapped these in a hurry this morning!

What d'yah think?! Eeekk my hair hasn't been this short in about 6 years!

Top 2 Tuesday : Hair products

This week's Top2Tuesday topic hits close to home since my beautiful momma is a hairstylist and I practically grew up in a salon!

1. Aquage Sea Salt Spray
I use this when I want wavey beachy hair... I'll spray it on after I towel-dry my hair and then either use a diffuser on my hairdryer & scrunch, or do pin curls... either way it gives it awesome messy texture without the stiff/shiny hairspray or mousse look!
2. Aquage Silkening Oil
This stuff not only makes my hair super soft, it also cuts my drying time in half!! Just run a pump throughout your hair (I concentrate on the ends) and proceed to blow dry!

I use Aquage shampoos & conditioners a lot and love them, they all smell so good and natural!


Runners up:3. HealthySexyHair Pumpkin Spice (smells SO good, love this shampoo/conditioner in the fall!)

Come play along at Taylor's blog

4. BedHead Small Talk - Hellllllooo volume! I wish it didn't have such a grapey-sweet scent though, I am weird about my hair smelling and this makes it smell like candy!

Post your favorites and link up over at Tay's blog!

Chopped

Lately I've been contemplating taking my hair from this

back to this(circa 2007)

I miss having short hair for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to - shorter drying time, much easier styling, funkier hair color (I don't think fun crazy streaks/multiple colors look right in long hair) and MUCH more volume...

I would miss my long hair though... I wouldn't be able to have long curly hair, I would miss my ponytails, I would look like a boy if I wore a hat...

Cost of upkeep isn't an issue, like I've mentioned before - momma's a hairstylist which makes me one lucky lady!

Thoughts? Discuss amongst yourselves...

PS Check out the adorable little girls quilt I made on my crafty blog