A Haircolor Fail

About two months ago, I was over my long, blonde wedding hair that I had strived for for the past few years.  I felt like my hair was pretty fried and damaged, so I decided I needed a change.  I LOVE the blonde ombre look, but I feel a little too old for it.  I know, I know, I'm NOT old at all, but I'm definitely an old soul, and pretty conservative in my dress and fashion choices.  I just don't think I could have pulled off.  In addition, my mantra is "What Would Kate (Middleton) Do?"  She, my friends, would never be caught dead with ombre hair.

I decided I wanted to go for an all-over, more natural color.  My natural hair is that dirty-dishwater, mousy blonde that has no real dimension or color in itself.  Not so flattering.  So, hair color is pretty much always a must for me.  I headed my beloved salon and stood my ground with my stylist asked me if I was absolutely sure I wanted to do an all-over darker color (she suggested some darker low-lights).  I wouldn't have it, so off she went to get the color.

I initially really liked it, but then reality set in.  I felt like a brunette, which gave me a serious complex.  No offense to brunettes, but I am a blonde.  It's what I've been all of my life, and a huge part of my identity.  Well, friends, here's how it turned out:

 
Brown, brown, brown.  And as it faded, it turned a greenish-hue  (which is VERY common when coloring blonde hair darker).  I HATED it.  That weekend, I went out of town and was self conscious the entire time.

By Wednesday (I had it colored darker on Friday) of the next week, I was already back in the salon pleading to be blonde again.  My sweet stylist just laughed and said she sees this about 99% of the times blondes try to go darker very drastically.  Here's how it looks today:

There's still some more coloring that needs to gradually be done to get it back to where I had it completely.  I'm happy to be back, baby!!!

How I Got Kate Middleton(ish) Hair

I have some wonderful friends who have an awesome blog and Facebook page called Get Kate's Hair.  Recently, on their Facebook Page, another friend of mine posted the most amazing YouTube hair blow drying tutorial I have ever seen.  I have been trying to perfect the blow out on my hair for weeks now.  I feel that, since I'm blow drying my hair anyway, why not be able to just put some effort into it and go?  In the past, I had always blow dried with my head flipped over with a paddle brush and THEN had to curl and/or flat iron.

After doing this tutorial, I was able to achieve this:

I know the picture is of horrible quality, but this was done with ONLY A BLOW DRYER AND A ROUND BRUSH.  I am still shocked my hair looked like that of my own doing.

I started with a root volumizer on damp hair, added a texturizing glaze, and then a glossing creme to the ends from the nape of my neck down.  I used said technique on the YouTube video with a small round brush, and VIOLA.  It's starting to get easier, but it's still a bit of a challenge...I won't lie.   I'll do a later post with my new hair styling routine, as it's changed a bit. 

Below is the YouTube video.  It's truly amazing.

If Your Beauty Routine Isn't Broken, Don't Fix It

I made a cardinal beauty-routine-sin last week when I ran out of my beloved Elta MD Clear Sunscreen and started the CeraVe AM Facial Lotion at the recommendation of my dermatologist.  Let me tell you, I was MISERABLE the entire day.  It was seriously like applying slightly watered down Elmer's glue to my face.  The texture was utterly thick and terrible with a bad sunscreen smell.  I could hardly spread it evenly over my face due to the thickness of the product.  It is also important that I live in what can only be compared to the center of the earth during the summer, and it is ridiculously hot and humid.  My face sweat about 1000 times more after applying the CeraVe, because it doesn't breathe whatsoever.  It was horrible.

When I got home I immediately rinsed my face and finally felt some relief.  My face was about 10 times and shiner and more oily that day.  Ick.  Massive fail, CeraVe AM!!  I love your PM face lotion, but AM is the devil in a white plastic container.

The next day, since I was so miserable the previous one, I decided to try a sample of the Bobbi Brown Protective Face Base with SPF.  It was just as bad, if not worse.  Once again, it had that glue-like texture, however I was spared that foul SPF smell.  Also, like the CeraVe, my skin didn't breathe.  I sweat like crazy once again and my face was also about 10 times more oily than usual.  Another massive, SPF fail.

 It is important to note that I don't think this stuff is available for sale anymore, thank goodness!  It is also important to note that I absolutely LOVE Bobbi Brown products for the most part.  This was a rare fail for me.  Sorry, Bobbi!

 

More Lush Love

I am full-on addicted to Lush now.  I have purchased and/or tried quite a few more items from there, and my obsession has just grown.  Also, most people don't know this, but the Lush here does free facials Monday-Friday.  They're amazing, and I would highly recommend one.  You have to have an appointment, but there's no pressure to buy any products; it's just a fun way to try new things.

Here's what I've tried and loved recently:

Buffy: Probably the best, most amazing Lush product I've tried.  That's a bold claim, but this bar is incredible.  It's technically under their soap category, but it's more of a lotion bar, in my opinion.  The bar contains some serious exfoliants and super moisturizing oils that make my skin incredibly soft.  I use this about every other day as the last thing I do in the shower.  I rub the bar only on my legs and arms, rinse off the exfoliating granules, and then pat dry.  The oil and moisturizers stay on your skin, no lotion required, and the softness lasts for days.  It truly is amazing stuff!

Big Shampoo: I was able to try a sample of a purchase my Mom had made of this stuff, and I truly love it.  It consists of super coarse salt granules and a shampoo that causes major scalp exfoliation and cleanliness.  I try to use a clarifying shampoo once a week to remove dry shampoo and product buildup.  I have always used the Neutrogena one, but find that is strips my hair like crazy.  The Big shampoo cleans my hair without stripping.  I notice a huge difference in my hair's softness and texture with the Lush shampoos.  It feels baby soft and smooth.  I use this once a week now and notice a huge difference!

Ocean Salt: This was used during my facial, and I was instantly in love.  Although, my Befine Exfoliating Cleanser is still my absolute favorite, this one is something I use about once a week on my chest and face (I use my Befine every morning).  The smell is divine (like a margarita), and it really works to exfoliate a bit deeper into my pores.  It's a bit too harsh to use daily for my skin, but I absolutely love it. 

The Sick Post

I'm home sick today and pretty miserable.  A sinus headache has turned into a probable sinus infection complete with fever, nausea, and all the other fun things that come with a sinus infection.  Good times at the R household.  At least the Olympics are on, right? 

I have a few things that have helped my allergies and sinus issues (and believe me, I have had lots of them), that I wanted to share with you guys. 

Crane Humidifier:  If you have allergies/nasal congestion/children, run don't walk to get this thing.  I purchased mine on Amazon and have never looked back.  It's currently saving my life on my nightstand as I type.  It's filterless, super quiet, and has a great amount of cool steam.  I love this thing dearly. 

Neti pot:  You may judge neti pots until you are in desperate need of relief from one.  I have had a neti pot for years, and use it often when I'm sick.  I don't even buy the solution any longer, I use generic salt (a very small amount) mixed with water.  I especially like using it when I first wake up in the morning.  I know it's gross, blah, blah, but it's incredible. 

Another great non-pharmacological item to use when you're sick is eucalyptus oil.  It's so soothing.  Also, I've heard that marshmallows are good for soothing sore throats.  Go figure!

I'm back, baby....with Coconut Oil

So, I've taken a two month-ish hiatus from blogging.  June was super busy and July was the month from hell personally, but now I'm back in full force.  I have a LOT to catch you guys up on, but first, I want to start with my new love:  coconut oil. 

I'm a certified Amazon addict.  One day, while I was searching for God knows what, I stumbled upon this coconut oil.  First of all, it's super cheap.  Secondly, the reviews were amazing.  I figured I'd give it a try. 

It arrived at my doorstep of course, completely liquefied, because I live in hell (aka South Texas).  It took a little while to solidify in my house, but once it did, I got to town examining it.  The texture is almost like a really fine, fragile shortening.  It's a milky opaque white when solid and clear when liquid.  It melts at the touch of your hand, or in the microwave in about 20-30 seconds.  The smell, also, is AMAZING! 

Here is what I have used this magical stuff for:

1. Makeup remover:  Bye, bye harsh chemical makeup remover that burns my eyes and stings my skin.  This stuff is incredible and leaves my very dry eyes extremely moisturized.  I get a little dab on my fingers, rub my eyes with it, and wipe off with a cotton ball or dark towel. 

2. Hair mask:  I love using this stuff when I take baths.  I apply from about the nape of my neck down and put my hair in a bun.  Then, I put a shower cap on to generate some heat to open the cuticle of the hair so the oil can penetrate the hair easily.  I leave this on as long as I can, usually about 20 minutes, shampoo and condition normally, and my hair feels amazingly silky and soft afterward.

3. Cooking:  You can replace coconut oil with any cooking oil.  I've used this mostly in sweets.  My absolute favorite thing in the world right now is to add a dab of coconut oil to peanut butter and dip pretzels in it.  It is decadent!

4. Dogs:  Cooper (my longhair Dachshund) has severe skin allergies and issues.  His skin dries and flakes very easily after bathing.  I usually use shampoo and conditioner on him, but sometimes the conditioner residue irritates his skin.  One day, I added a dab of coconut oil while shampooing him.  I rinsed thoroughly, and his skin and fur have never been softer.  It was also super moisturized, smelled great, and saved me the added step of applying conditioner.  I've also given Cooper a small spoonful when I want an instant breath freshener.  He loves it, and it's supposed to be a natural anti inflammatory and good for gum health, so win-win.

5. Sun burns: My sweetie is a keeper in soccer, so he usually comes home with sun burns on the weekend, no matter how much sunscreen he applies that morning.  One day after a particularly hot soccer game, he came home with a red face.  After his shower, he slathered some coconut oil on his face felt instant relief.

There about a million other uses for coconut oil, and tons of forums which recommend uses you probably have never thought of.  It's incredible stuff, and I would absolutely recommend it!