The H&M Blazer and a new kind of Ombre

I have always felt a little too chunky to carry off the boyfriend blazer trend but a shopping trip to H&M a few weeks ago had me changing my mind.

I guess it's not a boyfriend blazer in the traditional sense but it is far less structured and fitted than my normal choice of blazer.  It hangs quite lose over the body with relaxed rolled up sleeves and loose roomy pockets.  For £19.99 (*i think*) it was too much of a snip to miss out on.  

Because it's a creamy off-white, I do feel I need to be tanned up to carry it off well but it's such a versatile jacket that can be worn with anything - proof of this is the fact I haven't had it off my back since I bought it.  

Case in point ... 

Super casual, t-shirt (Marc Jacobs), Scarf (Warehouse), jeans (unseen), trainers (unseen)

Smart Casual for a spot of shopping.  Vest (H&M), Necklace (Topshop), Wax look trousers (H&M), Snake Print bag (Mango), Studded pumps (unseen) 

Dressed up with a sequin cape for a quick makeover to take me into the evening.  Cape (Topshop), Vest (H&M), dark blue jeans (Primark), stilettos (unseen)

I also decided to bring back the ombre this week but a much more subtle version courtesy of the wonderful Stacie, whose blog you can read here.  It gives a much more sunkissed appearance than my first foray into Ombre but I will probably take it a few shades lighter on my next visit to see Stacie.  

A more natural red/auburn dye with bleached ombre weaved into the ends 

I am absolutely loving the new hair and have been wearing it in a middle parting more often just for a change.  My hair has also grown so long, at last there is so much I can do with it! :) 

What item of clothing are you obsessing over at the moment? 

x

Royal Raspberry

I've had an emotional rollercoaster of a week, I've experienced death, births and new beginnings ... a poignant week in my life that won't be forgotten for a long time but thankfully for all the right reasons.  

One constant in my week which has been my lipstick. Sad but true.  I found a stash of Barry M lipsticks hidden away in a drawer which meant I was able to reacquaint myself with some old favourites.

Barry M's lip paint in 141 Royal Raspberry is a gorgeous deep raspberry shade erring on the gothic side of blackened red.  It has a slight shimmer to it, almost appearing metallic in its tube.  I have worn every day this week and haven't found it drying at all.  It's pigment is lovely and quite long lasting.  When it does begin to fade their is still enough stain on the lips to maintain colour but I still love to reapply to make sure I keep that shade of deep glistening raspberry.

Barry M Lip Paints are £4.49 from Superdrug or online at the Barry M website.

It was a long time coming but yesterday I eventually got round to sorting out my barnet.  I had it re-dyed and trimmed which really gave it a little boost of shine and bounce again (no, I didn't go for multicolour unfortunately :( ).  Instead of my usual blow dry finish, Stacie, my hair fairy, tried out a conical wand on my hair to give me some voluminous waves.

The result had a bit of a 70's feel to it which I loved.  Stacie used the Diva Conical Wand from Sally's.  It has quite a thick barrel which is perfect for big waves.  It's priced at around the £40 unless you have a Sally's membership which will get you a bit of a discount.

So far I've never invested in my own conical wand but after seeing my hair like this, I think I might buy one for myself.

Are conical wands still making an impact on you?  Share your wavy hair tips?

x

Hairspiraton: Mermaid Hair

You may remember, although it was ages ago, I blogged about my fascination over dip dye hair.

At the time I was looking to find a good spray colour for the ends of my hair as there is no chance my work would let me through the door with anything less than 'normal' hair.  Lucky for me I was kindly sent a whole 7 cans worth of different colour sprays from Colour Extreme Hair Art.

I never got round to trying out dip dye even though I was dying to try out these colours.  That's until I read Claire's post here which then directed me to the talented Lou Clavé blog who created the amazing looks.

As you can imagine, dip dye just wasn't enough anymore, I wanted a full head of turquoise, purple, pink - basically full on rainbow mermaid hair!  So out came the Colour Extreme Hair Art sprays which had lay unloved for far too long.

I had 7 colours to experiment with: white; black; purple; blue; green; orange and pink.

I started off slowly and gently with a recreation of dip dye using the blue spray.  The blue worked quite well on my auburn hair making a noticeable difference.

I then began to layer some colour and moved onto the purple spray.  The purple spray looked fantastic on my hair which surprised me as I wasn't sure if it would show up.  When layered with the blue it created a lighter pink shade which gave a great effect of graduated colour.

I then applied the pink spray to some naked hair but it didn't really show up.  It would have been lovely if it had as a really vibrant pink would have been wicked thrown into the mix.  I then tried some of the green which apparently has a UV glow to it but again this didn't show at all.

I decided to try some orange at the top and fringe of my hair, this did show up but for a redhead like me, orange isn't really a colour I want my hair to be! ;)  I then decided to try some white, mostly for the layering purposes.  If I applied white to naked hair, I hoped that blue or pink layered on top would create some pastel shades.  The white was very obvious when applied and rightly so, pastel shades appeared when I layered the more vibrant colours with it.

with flash

The only colour I didn't try was the black, only because I was going for a full on rainbow fusion of colour.  

Once the spray dries on your hair, you can touch it without any colour transfer so no need to worry about getting it on your skin and hopefully this translates the same with clothes, it certainly didn't cause any problems with what I was wearing although I would probably steer clear of white tops.

Because I used so many colours, layer over layer, my hair ended up quite hard to touch but I am sure had I applied a normal amount, i.e, enough to create the coloured look you desire rather than an experimental session, then this wouldn't be the case. 

However, I can guarantee this will dry your hair out so be sure to give your locks a nice treatment afterwards for a bit of TLC.  

It washes off easily, although I recommend shampoo-ing twice to be sure you are rid of all colour. 

I can't tell you how much I loved having coloured hair and will be using these sprays again for a night out.  This time I will stick to the white, blue and purple to create graduated colour and pastel shades all over my hair.  

You can buy Colour Extreme Hair Art Sprays from Boots for around £4.

What do you think of rainbow hair?  Do you dare?

x

My hair ...

My most frequently asked question on my blog and in 'real life' is 'What colour do you dye your hair?'

In fear of repeating myself over and over again, I am going to fill you all in unanimously.

I get my hair professionally coloured using L'Oreal Richesse in Saffron Mahogany 6.5.  It's a deep auburn shade and I find that after a few washes it's the closest that comes to my natural colour.  When I say natural colour, I mean my purest state of hair that existed from the ages of 4 to 20 before I started dying it and stripped it of any goodness and rich colour.  It helps to start with that I am a natural redhead so it really enhances those tones, if you are lighter or darker haired, this shade will appear a lot different, I've seen it on some brunettes as very plummy.

Now for the bad news.  This is a discontinued colour and up until now I have been buying surplus tubes of it on eBay.  However, my dear hair fairy Stacie (who is the best in Glasgow) tells me that all of the products in her salon are changing so as of the not too distant future I WILL have to switch to another shade.  Of course she will try and match to this colour as best possible but I have grown a bit of a sentimental attachment to this one :(

I try and change up my shampoo every couple of months but the products that consistently re-appear in my hair care regime is Kerastase.  I use their Nutritive range (in the orange bottles), I find it works well at moisturising my often dry hair and gives a gorgeous shine.  When I am stuck in a rut with my shampoo and conditioner, I always know I can rely on Kerastase Nutritive.  I use Bain Satin 2 (shampoo) with Lait Vital (conditioner).  Every once in a while I also use a treatement from the same range, Masquintense.   Kerastase can be a little pricey but I think they are worth it.

Whether I am styling my hair up and down, I like to add a bit of volume and I usually do this using mousse.  Hair mousse used to be the devil in my eyes and I would avoid it at all cost but now I find it gives an extra boost of volume and keeps my hair in shape.  I am currently using Charles Worthington Volume Boosting Mousse which does the job well but sometimes makes my hair feel a bit heavy so I am still on the search for a fabulous volumising mousse.

I have avoided using straighteners on my hair for a while to see if it makes a positive improvement on my hair but to be honest I have noticed no difference at all other than frizz!  To avoid frizz I now use Macadamia Oil.  It smells lovely and smoothed over your hair it leaves it silky and glossy and never gives you that greasy appearance that most serums do if you use too much.   Even when I am using heat tools I will still use the oil before hand to help protect my locks from the heat.

Once I have dried and styled my hair, I usually like to give it a final boost of volume and have found a brilliant product.  For longer hair this is supposed to add a bit of wave and give that candyfloss hair effect which I love.  It's Tigi BedHead Sugar Shock...  I spray it into the roots and give it a bit of a scrunch and it gives that extra bit of va-va-voom and texture to my hair.

Finally, I always like to 'set' my hair, just like Granny used to ;) For day to day I avoid a heavy hairspray and the best one I've found for a light fix is Trevor Sorbie Beautifull Moisturise Hairspray.  It smells lush and is so light but gives enough hold to keep your hair in shape and in place all day.  I have just run out of this which is disappointing and explains the stock photo.  I will need to restock soon as I seriously love this hairspray.

That sounds like a heap of products lumped on my hair and I guess it is but I do try and rest my hair as much as I can and usually all of these products combined is reserved for nights out or a particularly dressy day.  

What products do you swear by?

x

Are you worth it?

Getting your hair swish on is a girls prerogative, right?

Well, now you can do something with that swish thanks to a new campaign from L'Oreal Paris Casting Creme Gloss.

L'Oreal Paris are looking for 3 girls to star in the next Casting Creme Gloss advert alongside spokesmodel, Cheryl Cole.  Whether you are a deep brunette, honey blonde, or my favourite, fiery redhead ... you could be the next colour crush!

From 31 October to 27th November you will be able to enter the competition by visiting the L'Oreal Paris Facebook page and click on the application button on the left hand side.  Upload a photo of yourself and after that it's down to the vote so make sure your friends and family get clicking for your win from the 28th November to 4th December 2011.

The most popular brunettes, blondes and redheads will be shortlisted for a casting day where you will be preened to perfection in preparation for a live audition in front of a panel of judges.  The winners will be chosen to appear in an exclusive new L'Oreal Paris advert alongside Cheryl.

So go on, prove you're worth it!

Dislcaimer:  Opens to female UK and ROI residents aged 16+. Entrants must register with L’Oréal Insider, colour their hair using Casting Crème Gloss and upload a photo on facebook. No purchase necessary. Closing date 27/11/2011. For full Terms & Conditions and to enter visit this page 


x

Hairspiration: The Top Sknot!

My lazy hair style of choice is the top knot.  I have become far too lazy to wash, style, straighten/curl my hair these days and find it easier to scrape up in a huge big bun on top of my head.

I have now stopped feeling normal unless my hair is sweeped up in some form of nonchalant bun.  However, it gets a bit boring when people see you looking the same all the time, so to mix it up I have started wearing my bun to the side in a look that I like to call - the top sknot!  A top knot to the side.

Hardly groundbreaking.

It adds a little variation to a style I love and gives it a bit of edge for nights out.  Here is my inspiration.

Sourced from Stockholm Street Style

I am not sure I could brave a full on bun to the top, side and front of my head like Thandie Newton but I like to give these other styles a go once in a while.

What do you think of the top sknot?

x

Hairspiration: Dip Dye

My first insight into the dip dye phenomenon that is taking over the split ends of the famous and not so famous was in London when I spotted Bleach salon at Topshop Oxford Street.

The girls there had fabulous dip dye and ombre creations going on ... but at the time I was looking to get rid of my own ombre hair that had seriously dried out my ends.

I promised myself I wouldn't buy into this 'trend'.  For a start I hate trends as such, it makes me feel like a bit of a clone and when ombre became too popular I swiftly got rid.  Also, how do you dip dye as a professional?

I work in an office that is still stuck in the 1950's.  Unfortunately not in the glamorous sense of Mad Men but instead the ignorant, backward thinking sense.  Oh Miaow!  So, you see, neon pink hair will not go down well.

Anyway, I'm rambling ... I will let these pics do the talking ...

I LOVE this girl! How cute/cool does she look? 

I adore how the pink hair clashes with her gorgeous orange lippie! 

Apparantly this is Lauren Conrads hair... subtle but daring

I love Drew, she ain't afraid to experiment. The block black ends look wicked and
go perfectly with her Alexander McQueen dress

Nicki close your mouth love! The Queen of the Dip Dye! 

Cute or what?

In reality I can't commit to a visit to Bleach London to have my ends perfectly blended into shades of lilac, peach and violet so instead I am on a quest to create a temporary solution.

I want to enjoy dip dyed-esque hair that can easily be washed out in time for my Monday morning team meeting.

Therefore, I am going back to my youth (read: 8 year old me) and will be picking up some spray on colour this week to recreate a colourful ombre barnet.

I could do with some advice though ... can anyone recommend a good brand and/or colours to spray the ends of my auburn locks?

I'm thinking violets, turquoise and pink but can you think of a better colour combo?  Direct me to the best shops and brands too please!

I will keep you posted with photos of my experimental hair frolics!

x

Hairspiration 2

I think i've always lusted after beach waves but I don't have the kind of hair that lends itself well to that effortlessly tousled fashion.

That niggling desire for carefree, casual locks has started haunting my dreams again and the more I think about it and the more images of luscious, sexy beach hair I see - I am starting to think it could be possible but maybe it just takes a little more effort than it looks.

Florence combines a block fringe and beach waves - perfect juxtaposition

I aim for a look like Drew - complete with hair feathers

Isla Fisher has beach waves down to a T

Christina Hendricks has a more glam approach

Oh, I did have beach waves once upon a time! ;)

Could it be that my aspiration for easy, breezy, beautiful locks take a lot more effort that meets the eye? 

I definitely don't have the type of hair that can be left to dry naturally.  Although I have natural waves, my hair needs a bit of teasing to keep it look thick and healthy, without that it would just look drab and lifeless.  

I have a couple of salt spray products in the form of Bumble and Bumble and Trevor Sorbie to try out and hope they will help my waves stay in place.  I also have the Babyliss waving wand for some extra oomph.  I think some thickening products also wouldn't go amiss. 

How do you achieve beach waves?

x

Hairspiration

My hair is at that horrible in between stage where it is neither short nor long. It's starting to flick out at the ends and look completely shapeless no matter how I try to style it - this is the pains of growing hair long.

For Summer, I would love long, sleek locks so that I can mess it up and braid it a la Conrad. Braids have been in for a while now but I am only just jumping on that bandwagon. When it comes to braids, Lauren does it best:

A more complicated version maybe?

I love Pixi's halo effect braid and beach waves

Our girl Lauren again with tousled hair and her trademark braid again

Considering vitamins to help my hair grow quicker ... any suggestions? Or will I just have to patiently sit it out?

x