Headband - Topshop, bracelet and choker necklace - Claire's, top - Hype, skirt - River Island, shoes - Vans
I think I'm hot
Wow finally, a post which has gone to plan and hasn't taken multiple days to complete!
For the start of BEDIS (Blog Every Day In Summer), I am featuring a black skater skirt. I bought this skirt a few days ago from River Island for only £10 with a giftcard I got for my birthday. It's slightly big for me, but I just rolled it up once. I love how it is made out of this shiny black material since it reminds me of skirts that you would wear for dance.
Also, I love having my hair like this in two little buns. I think it makes me look very Chinese and I think I should wear my hair like this more often. Lots of my favourite bloggers all seem to be so I think I should lose my inibitions and do too.
I am also very happy about the fact that I managed to finish a video in less than 10 hours for once and I think I might stick to this sort of format for my OOTD's as it makes them slightly more interesting. To enhance my videos further, I really want to include some sort of background music - anyone know of any good places to get royalty free music?
Anyway, thanks for sticking around, see you tomorrow!
Rebecca x
P.S. The title of this post is from a song called Lion by Eugene Mcguiness. I have literally been in love with this dude's music recently, and I think he is a lyrical genius, especially in this song Lion. Have a listen!
Where did I buy it and how much was it?
I bought this tube of Colour Restore Deep Red from Boots for £11.99 for 100ml of product and a pair of gloves & instructions.
What does it claim?
"General washing, styling, heat and sun damage can deplete the tone
and vibrancy of an artificial colour. The red artificial permanent
molecule is so small it’s prone to flushing easily from the hair leaving
behind a dull shade.
Colour Restore Red Pigment Hair
Infusion toner developed by Scott Cornwall replenishes and returns hair
colour to its former glory without the need to use a peroxide or ammonia
based colourant
Simple to use, just rinse through
(like a shampoo) to maintain tone or leave in for up to 25 minutes for
deeper tonal results.
Contains no ammonia, no
peroxide, no harsh chemicals.
Restores and
replenished red tones, adds a deeper ‘conker’ effect to mid blondes or
brunettes.
Creates vibrant lowlight results in
highlighted hair.
Can be used immediately after
perming, colour removal, straightening or bleaching"
Find more information on the Colour Restore website. Why did I buy it?
I bought this product because about half a year ago now, I dyed the tips of my hair red using L'oreal Majicontrast (I will write a proper review of this product sometime I promise), which has lasted a very long time, considering red hair dye is notorious for fading rapidly. However, my hair has finally reached a stage where whenever I wash my hair normally, no more red hair dye is coming out of my hair - i.e. all the dye has faded out of my hair. My hair is now a gingery/reddish/brown colour and I really want to restore the vividness of when I first dyed the bottom of my hair red, without having to damage my hair with further use of peroxide or ammonium.
Check out this post I wrote where I way up the pros and cons of using different methods to do this: "A Hairy Dilemma".
Therefore, when I saw this in my local boots, it seemed like the perfect product just to "top up" my hair colour with minimal damage. What did I do?
N.B. This is what I decided to do, not what was instructed on the instructions.
TEST: First test a small amount of the product by putting a spot of it behind your ear and leaving it for 48 hours to see if you react to it. I was very naughty and didn't do this, but I advise everyone to do this as it's better to be safe than sorry! I should really practise what I preach...
WASH: I washed my hair with a clarifying/clear shampoo because using a cream shampoo can leave a residue onto the hair, which will prevent Colour Restore from penetrating into the hair (lol).
DRY: I lightly towel dried my hair.
PROTECTION: I put a plastic bag over my shoulders and put some plastic gloves on.
MIX: I mixed 1 splodge conditioner with 1 splodge Colour Restore Deep Red
This was so that this process would condition my hair whilst dying it too.
COMB: I combed the mixture through the ends of my hair for about 5 minutes.
LEAVE: I left the mixture in my hair for 20 minutes
RINSE: I rinsed the ends of my hair with cold water until all the conditioner was out of my hair, NOT when all the Colour Restore was out.
If I were to rinse all the Colour Restore out of my hair, my hair would be back to the colour at the start, so don't do this!
DRY: I then towel dried my hair with a dark coloured towel, otherwise it would've been stained bright red.
How does it work?
In order to understand how this product works, I think it's time to dissect the ingredients and their properties - I'm really fascinated by the science behind everything so yeah.
N.B. Please bare in mind that I am a 15 year old girl, thus my chemistry knowledge is confined to the GCSE syllabus and whatever resources I can find on the Internet, so please excuse me if I get something wrong. I may not be 100% scientifically correct, but I'll try to express things in layman's terms.
Aqua
This is water and the reason that it is used is pretty obvious.
Cetearyl Alcohol
This is fatty alcohol used to thicken the emulsion and to keep it from separating. It also acts as a foaming agent, as well as having emollient properties which leave the hair soft and smooth.
Cetrimonium Chloride
This is a conditioning agent used as a softening, detangling and anti-static agent for hair care products.
~BONUS NUGGET OF KNOWLEDGE~ In dry conditions, hair becomes "static" as each hair becomes statically charged with the same charge, so they repel from each other and thus appear to stand on end. Cetrimonium Chloride carries a
positive charge that attracts them to the slightly negatively charged
skin and hair proteins, preventing this from happening, thus making the hair smoother and more sleek.
Triethanolamine
This is a strong alkaline substance, which is used to adjust the pH of the product and a surfactant. This basically means it helps emulsion formation by reducing surface
tension of the substances, enabling water and oil-soluble ingredients to
mix.
Methylchloroisothiazolinone and Methylisothiazolinone
This is a preservative and a biocide (prevents biological infestation such as harmful microorganisms from growing). It is also associated with allergic reactions, so remember to do your skin test!
Parfum (fragrance)
This is so that the product doesn't smell too bad (pretty obvious).
Basic Yellow 87 and Basic Red 51
This is what actually gives the colour, not all the other ingredients listed above.
Magnesium Chloride and Magnesium Nitrate
I honestly have NO idea what these two salts are for in this product, even after research. Anyone care to enlighten me?
Advantages?
From ginger straw to lushious red locks!
The colour!
As you can probably can't see from the pictures below since my
camera seems to make my hair look super red, regardless of what colour it is, I was pleasantly surprised
by the results for this product.
My hair went from a gingery-brown to almost the same colour as when I
first dyed it: a true conker/mahogany red (yay hardwoods)
The condition my hair was left it!
Because I mixed in lots of conditioner with the Colour Restore, this process also helped to soften my hair and make it more shiny as it was deep conditioning as well as dying. I used a normal conditioner to mix with the CR, but I imagine that if a deep conditioning masque was used, it would be even more beneficial to the hair
Because no hydrogen peroxide or ammonium was used in this process, there was no damage created - there were only benefits! As you can see from the ingredients list analysis, there are no products that actually affect the hair itself.
The little amount needed
As you can probably see from the image above, I used very little product when restoring my hair colour, so I can imagine this 100ml tube lasting a good while.
Since I diluted the CR further with conditioner, it meant even less was used.
Disadvantages?
The price
This cost £11.99, which could be seen as alot, compared to traditional dyes. However, bare in mind that only a small amount of product is required, so perhaps this isn't too bad value for money.
The mess
Red hair dye is also being notorious for being super, super, super messy and this stuff is no exception! This will stain hands, towels, tiles, clothes if you get it anywhere, so you must be extra careful when using this product, otherwise it will look like there has been some sort of bloody massacre.
Would I repurchase? Oh yes! Once you have bleached/dyed your hair for the first time to lighten it, I reckon you could just keep buying this product to "top up" your hair colour as it fades. Since I use so little, I think this tube will last for a long time, thus justifying the price. I have no idea about the longevity of the colour produced as I only used this product for the first time one day ago, but I have a good feeling about this (I will update this once I wash my hair again).
I think this product works in pretty much the same way as a semi-permanent dye, so if you have light hair (medium brown or lighter), this would also be a good way of dying your hair a bright red colour!
ScatterrBrained rating?
Four and a half brains out of five!
Keep calm and have good hair,
Rebecca x
P.S. Hello everyone, what do you guys think of this new style of review? I have ALOT to talking about regarding hair dying, and I was wondering if this was too long already or if you guys would be willing to read my ramble? Was this too sciencey, or you guys interested? Please comment below your opinions, as in the end, this blog is for you guys to read. :)
P.P.S. I've really gotten out of the habit of blogging regularly, so sorry! I have so many posts that I want to write, but I never seem to have time. :(
P.P.P.S. There is still time to vote for your favourite name for my second blog. Go to the top right of this page to vote!
Everyone seems to like talking about hair, so I'm currently planning
what to do next with my barnet. The red ends have faded a fair bit, but
the bottom of my hair is still pretty light compared to the rest of my
hair. I still love the red, but I'm getting a bit bored of it.
A quick image just to show you guys what my hair looks like now. My face looked stupid, so I covered it with a yummy cheese burger...
The Options:
Go over the ombre with the same, permanent red dye
Damage caused: pretty bad
Longevity: very long
Awesome factor: average
Go over the bottom red bit of my hair with a semi
permanent red/other colour (will blue make purple?), such as
manic panic or something. This way, my hair will not be damaged anymore,
but I can imagine this being very messy and lasting not very long or
being very vibrant.
Damage caused: minimal
Longevity: short
Awesomeness factor: average
Bleach the life out of the ends. I mean, the
ends are pretty much dead anyway, I might as well squeeze any last
moisture out of it. This way, the ends will be very light, so I can go
over with a semi permanent and it will be super vibrant and I can change
the colours if I wish. My ends will truly be frazzled, so I assume I'll
have to get them hacked off, but it will be fun whilst it lasts.
Damage caused: apocalyptic to my hair
Longevity: short
Awesomeness factor: off the scale
Say tah-tah to the dip-dye and go short.
Damage caused: none - it will be better for my hair
Longevity: as long as I want
Awesomeness factor: not sure, depends on how it turns out.
Hair Inspiration:
SHORT
Here
are some reasons why I want to go short - these people are super
awesome...
I now realise why there are so many GIFs on tumblr, it's because they are honestly so fun to make! Here's one I made quickly on my phone - I was originally taking pictures just to show off my hair as I thought it looked cool, but then I decided to put on the negative setting. It kind of makes me look like some kind of freaky albino lady - I like it. I'm not too sure what exactly I am doing with my lips, but I thought it looked funny so hey, why not!? Try doing what I am doing in the picture, in time with the picture, with your own lips. Go on, try it, it's quite fun.
Anyway, I do acknowledge that this is a rather pointless post -they really have done downhill recently. I just haven't been that inspired by anything, apart from clothes, but I know not everyone is that interested those kinds of post. My life has be dreary and uneventful at the moment, so I don't have anything exciting to blog about. All I seem to do is waste time on my laptop, doing nothing productive when I have mounds of homework that require completing - exactly what I am doing at the moment. This is were I would like some help from you...
I've decided that I'm doing to do a questions and answers post, where you can ask me any sort of question you like, below this post in the comments section, and I will hopefully compile them together into one post next week. You can send them in anonymously too if you wish, so I suppose in that aspect, it'll be like Formspring, but on Blogger, so get asking! The more risque and thought-provoking the better! I bet this is going to be a flop and I am going to look thoroughly loser-ish if no one comments with anything, but oh well.
Time to take a break from the hair posts, and present to you
some cool things I have encountered on the internet over the past week or so.
Jeff Buckley- Grace (BBC Late Show)
Grace is one of the set works which you have to learn about
in the GCSE music course. I do like quite a lot of the pieces, but this is the
only one that I would truly listen to for my own choice. I was just searching
it up on Youtube for some further listening and found this version of it. His
performance is generally so intense and amazing, plus it’s pretty hilarious
when he lifts his hands up when his is said to also share his father’s “extraordinary
vocal elasticity”, at 00.28. Shame both father and son had such early deaths,
we can only imagine what great music they would’ve produced.
Lykke Li & Bon
Iver doing 'Dance Dance Dance' in L.A
Lykke Li is one of my favourite female artists, along with
Florence & the Machine and Regina Spektor. She with Bon Iver (match made in
heaven!) simply jamming and dancing in the street with their sleigh bells, kazoo
and accordion is so organic and delightful. I remember seeing this video a few
years ago, it’s only recently I just rediscovered it from Jazz’s blog, which
may I say is absolutely beautiful – I wish I could produce such amazing
illustrations!
This is a beautiful blog by a beautiful girl, but I
especially love this blog post. Her hair is so striking, even Arial from The
Little Mermaid would be jealous!
"Copy-cat!"
Go Beyond The
Cover: Behind the Scenes
A very simple, yet effective advert, where Zombie Boy (a man
covered with head to toe tattoos) has his entire body of tattoos covered with
some concealer, inciting ideas about “judging a book by its cover. I find it
really interesting, and is it odd I find him kind of attractive?!
I first found this video on OogleMakeup’s blog, probably one
of the eloquently written and insightful blogs dedicated to make up and beauty.
My favourite posts of her’s are usually about consumerism and the beauty
industry as a whole, as they are so often very thought provoking about society’s
perception of beauty.
That’s it! I really do hope you look at some of the
videos/pictures I have linked, as I find them so interesting!
Don't understand what this is about? Click here to read from the first post.
Let me clear up a few things before we start in the actual
dying process...
1.These posts is going to extremely extensive/in
depth/over the top for something so trivial. I am going to state absolutely
everything I know about hair-dying here, because I know that if I had something
like this to read before I were to dye my hair, it would’ve been so much
easier! I am going to try and make it slightly easier to understand, but it is
going to be a lot of writing. If you are not interested in dying your hair,
then press the little x in the corner right now.
2.This is not an instructional post about
dip-dying hair. They both involve two different colours of hair on one’s head,
but they are slightly different.
~BONUS NUGGET OF KNOWLEDGE~
Ombré literally means
“shaded” or something like that – French is most definitely not my best
subject.
Anyways, this means that there is
a gradation of shades between the two colours, as one slowly blends into
another. Dip-dying is more about having two different colours that are abruptly
change into each other- I.e. there is no fading into each other.
The Hairington Twins
3.I am mainly going to explain how to ombré to red
from black, but of course this will also work with other colours. I will state
in italics if any steps will change if you wish to ombré blonde/blue/rainbow/etc,
from any other hair colours.
THINGS TO CONSIDER
BEFORE YOU OMBRE YOUR HAIR:
·Do you only want this semi-permanently?
Well, if this is the case and you have very dark hair (like
black Asian hair, like mine) then it is simply not going to be possible to ombré
your hair to a lighter colour. If you use a semi-permanent dye, the colour on
the box will NOT be the colour that will come out of your hair. If you use a
coloured semi-permanent dye (like a red or purple colour, which seems to be all
the rage nowadays), your hair will have very little difference, unless you are
directly under sunlight, then a slight tint would be visible. If you want an ombré
which is actually visible under normal light, a permanent dye will HAVE to be
used. The only way of removing this colour from your hair is I suppose chopping
it all off, or dying it all black, as that would be the only colour dark
enough. I have seen colour removal kits on the market, but I doubt it would
work on dark hair, purely because they only remove hair colour which is darker
than your natural colour.
If you have light hair such as blonde, then it will be
possible to use a semi-permanent or temporary hair colour to achieve ombré to a
darker shade or colour, but not a lighter ombré.
·Do you want to keep your hair in perfect
condition?
If so, this will not be possible. Obviously, if your hair is
already strong, healthy or resistant to split-ending, the damage could be
reduced. However, there will always be a negative impact to its condition when
dying hair, regardless of whether you use semi permanent or permanent dye.
There are temporary hair dyes that are vegetable based dyes (e.g. manic panic)
which are ammonia and peroxide free, but still will dry hair out to a certain
degree. Of course, aftercare is highly important and can prevent any further
spilt-ends from forming, but subjecting your hair to such strong chemicals
inevitably will cause significant damage.
·Do you do lots of water sports/swimming/wish to
shower a lot?
If so, then this may be a slight problem. If you are wishing
to dye your hair an unnatural colour (such as red for example), even if the
small print of the packaging says that it is permanent, the colour will
undoubtedly fade and also bleed when in contact with water. If you are in
contact with water a lot, then the colour is not going to last very long at
all, plus chlorine from swimming pools also cause detrimental effects on the
colour – you don’t want green hair (unless you are going for that look!).
IN SUMMARY:
If you are aware that...
1.Ombré hair is going to be a permanent commitment
(unless you chop it off or dye over with black)
2.Your hair will be damaged by it
3.When you go swimming, you will leave a trail of hair
colour behind you
Hello there cool people. I had such writer’s block about
what to post next, but as my “Whip it Real Good” has proven rather popular and
I always get asked about it in real life, I’m going to instruct and inform you
about how to achieve ombré hair.
Magritte style, mainly because my face looked silly, and apples look cooler
What on earth is ombré hair?
“Ombré
hair colour is generally darker at the roots through the mid-shaft and then
gradually gets lighter from the mid-shaft to the ends. It is usually achieved
using a balayage technique and is ideal for clients looking for a
low-maintenance style.”
That is the definition from About.com and I have to agree
with it. Last year it was very popular both on bloggers and celebrities. One
reason why it is probably so popular is that it is just so low-fuss and budget friendly
as root touch ups are not required- it basically just having really bad roots.
That sounds so easy doesn’t it? Just slap on some peroxide on the ends of your
hair and then you’re done! Well, yes if you want to turn your hair into straw.
However, I don’t have the ever so popular brown to blonde ombré, instead mine is
black to red and dying black hair to any colour (which is lighter) without
bleach is usually pretty hard. Nevertheless, I have managed it and I really would
like to spread my knowledge of not just the method in achieving that hair
colour, but also the science behind it (because I love chemistry- sounds lame,
doesn’t it...), to everyone.
After I started planning my initial post, I realised that it
was going to be absolutely ridiculous if I were to put it all into post, so I
am going to create a mini-series on my blog called “Chronicles of Ombré hair”.
I’ve decided to break it down into bite-sized chunks that will be easier to
follow, rather than a never-ending essay with me over-analysing filamentous
biomaterial sprouting out of one’s head.
Expect to see reviews of hair dyes, explanations of the
science behind how hair dye works and colour theory, maintaining hair colour
and easy to follow step by step tips on taking the plunge.
Keep checking this blog and especially this post, because as
each part of the guide goes live, I’m going to link them all back to this
post. I hope to try and add a section
each day!
P.S. I can’t believe I’m starting a series about something
as trivial as this. I’ll try to make such a superficial topic as in depth and
scientific as possible (LOL WHAT A JOKE)
P.S.S Sorry for all my readers who probably don’t care at
all about hair dying, I will continue with normal posts next week!
P.S.S.S Just noticed that the three pictures of me, Jessie J and Snooki all involve some sort of animal print in it... weird!
Disclaimer:
I would first like to say I AM NOT A HAIRDRESSER nor do I claim that my method is the “correct” way of doing it. I have simply done a lot of research before proceeding onto the dying process, so I wouldn’t end up of with a hair disaster. Since I am just so nice, I am going to inform you about everything I have gained from experience and research, so you don’t end up with a hair disaster either (not guaranteed!).
I’m going to write an entire post about my hair. Conceit and
pointless? Yes. Oh well, it’s my blog muahaha. My blogging powers are sensing
that it’s going to be a long one today, to make up for the lack of posts in the
last few days! Sozboz.
MY HAIR:
At the moment:
Currently, my hair is just past the boob area, with some
long layers and a long fringe – both of which have pretty much grown out. The
most noticeable feature of my hair is that I have ombréd (NOT DIP DYED) the ends of
my hair, fading from my chinny chin chin downwards, getting more and more red
further down you go. I didn’t bleach my hair, so it’s a subtle red, but quite prominent
at the same time if that makes sense?
·Another blogger who I can’t seem to find, but
she had the most amazing hair :(
Sad times. But all I remember is that she was asian, with blonde ombre which she dyed red with manic panic.
N.B. I had this hair way before the likes for… (kind of
ironic as so many people have ombre hair anyway)
1.Snooki (whoever she is!)
2.And Jessie J (Even though it was just
extensions)
Just like to add how much I love
her outfit with the disco pants and bright red creepers. I want them.
At the moment, I actually really like it for once, but I am
very tempted to change it up. This is because I am encountering some annoying
problems.
Problems:
1.SPLIT
ENDS: The first and probably most obvious problem would be that constantly
dying your hair in the same area (the ends in this case, which are most fragile
since they are the oldest part of your hair) leads to inevitable damage. Now, I
do not have lots of split ends compared to the major of people who dye their
hair, but it’s the fact that I have split ends at all which is annoying me. I
had never had a single split end in my life until year 9, when I touched by
first home hair dying kit. Now I look down and I see so many, it’s
heartbreaking! Okay, slight exaggeration, but I don’t like it.
2.LONGEVITY:
Having dyed hair – especially brightly unnatural coloured hair – is never going
to stay in hair permanently, unless they make some sort of chemical
breakthrough in hair dying technology (possible career path?). This results
keeping hair washing to a minimum, otherwise the colour will be gone in a
flash. Being a teenager who cares about personal hygiene, this is a problem.
3.KNOTTY NUISANCE:
I rarely brush my hair through, resulting with the back of my hair becoming
more and more matted. I’m surprised that it hasn’t started dread-locking. This
is probably not helping the split end problem.
4.COPYCATS:
It’s not that I’m getting bored with this hair, but so many lower years are in
my school are dip-dying their hair. Most
aggravating is that they only do about 2 inches of a colour at the end of their
hair and leave the rest hair natural, thus looking absolutely ridiculous, since
there is a harsh line. Furthermore, more stupid year whatevers, dying the ends
of their hair different colours means that teachers are going to notice this
trend and try to eradicate it, resulting in me getting probably having to get
rid of my redness as well.
Because of these 3 reasons I am very tempted to change up my
hair in either of these ways:
CHANGES:
What?
Why?
Inspiration
Verdict. Yes/No
Get a fringe
I currently love the look of a slightly long piecey fringe which skims over
your eyes and splits in the middle.
I realised that I hate having hair in my face, plus my forehead would
become so ridiculously spotty if I were to do so, so that’s that idea off the
list.
NO!
Bob time!
They look
so edgey and yummy, plus I feel that long hair makes me even shorter (if that
is even possible!). You’d also save a fortune on shampoo and conditioner.
Alexa
Chung
Arizona
Muse
I would
miss my long hair at this moment in time, plus growing it out would be a bum
so
NO!
So I suppose my hair is going to
stay the same for the moment being. This doesn’t rule out those options for the
future though.
Enough about me, here are some of
my more general musings about hair (Yes I am being serious).
HAIR TRENDS AT
SCHOOL:
I find it really quite interesting
how there are always trends in hair styles in school which come and go. Here
are the most obvious ones I have notice.
The girls:
In secondary school, there is one prominent hair style: long
with a far side parting and side-swept fringe. An interesting thing which I have
noticed is that in the UK, the messier and more backcombed the hair is, the
better, whilst on the other side of the Atlantic, the Americans much rather favour
a sleek, poker straight look.
I don't own a hairbrush.
The boys:
A few years ago (and still in some schools) the Bieber look
of having helmet hair was all the rage. Low and behold, just as the Biebster
opted for a shorter hairstyle, this is being emulated within the classrooms of
our nation. Now it has evolved into a
short back-and-sides style with a longer fringe, which I can’t say I dislike.
Going for the chop!
POSSIBLY THE
COOLEST WEBSITE ON THE INTERWEB (for hair):
This is a truly pointless website, but it’s a guilty
pleasure of mine. Here are some rather embarrassing
screenshots of some of the hairstyles I tried on.
Here is a selection of hair related songs to tickle your
fancy.
1.Lady Gaga: Hair
2.Regina Spektor: Samson
3.Willow Smith: Whip My Hair
Lastly for this post, I would like to condone you for
reading an entire post on me over analysing filamentous biomaterial sprouting
out of your head. (Sounds ridiculous thinking back!) I hope you haven’t
lost too many brain cells whilst reading this post. I’m going to leave you with
one last nugget of knowledge to compensate for the absolutely superficial post.
~BONUS NUGGET OF
KNOWLEDGE~
Did you know that the
quills or spines of a Porcupine are actually hairs? They are modified hairs
with thick plates of keratin which are embedded into the skin’s musculature.
Keep calm and have good hair,
Rebecca x
P.S. Blogspot please update your video uploader, having to post links to Youtube videos is becoming rather tedious!
P.P.S I will blog more regularly promise!
P.P.P.S More regular shorter blog posts or better, more indepth but longer and less regular posts like this one? What's you opinion? In the end you're reading it, not me.
