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The Brunette and The Blonde: DRAMA

02:55 Unknown 2 Comments

OK folks. The big day came last Thursday, and it went... Well it ended well!



The end result 



 I couldn't jump straight to my inspo photo level of blonde - my hair was much too dark from the ombre and balayage. Firstly it needed to be lightened, brought up quite a few steps and toned. Hopefully by my next salon visit I'll be able to achieve the ash blonde balayage I've been dreaming of!

Firstly, the back of my head, where I have the most hair, was sectioned and popped into foils.

This was where things got interesting.
Bleach gets hot, and as it lightens hair it gets a bit warmer. Moisture tends to drip and leak through the foils, which I knew from the last time I was blonde. As I sat in the chair, though, my hair slowly (but surely) began creeping from a 6 up to an 8, with 10 being the absolute BURNING hottest and 1 being nothing. Soon my scalp was getting to a 9, and it was at this point my hairdresser noticed quite a bit of leakage, so quickly teased my ends and applied lightener. Within ten minutes I almost couldn't stand it, but hadn't said anything because hey what do I know? (I'm not a hair dresser haha) When my hairdresser felt my hair and said "I've NEVER felt hair this hot, we need to get you to the basin NOW!" I panicked slightly. 
Lightener had also leaked onto my shirt, so my lovely hair dresser threw it in the washing machine - meaning for the remainder of my appointment I was topless. Ha. 


Here we are, waiting for the lightener to do its thing, hoping my clipped-closed wrap stayed closed so no one would spot my bra.... Chilling.. Chilling... 

The ready half of my head was washed first


Believe me, I know a tiger striped head ain't attractive, but it didn't stay this way for long. Once all my hair had been washed, my hairdresser had the base to start working up to the blonde you saw above. 
 (I know, sexy right?) 

My salon has recently started using NAK hair colour, promoted as 'the soft colour range'. It's pretty cool, the choose your tones, pop them in this bowl that's then WHOOSHED around like a salad drier, to achieve the perfect colour. I wasn't sure what to expect, because I was used to old products, but the end result looked pretty. Did it feel softer than the old colour products? Not so much that I noticed, but I must mention that my hair was a tad dried out after the process. Not due to anything my hairdresser did, simply because going from such a dark shade to a light colour isn't a great thing to do to your hair, no matter how healthy it is. My saving grace was that my hair is extremely thick, so breakage isn't as big of a deal because there is, seriously, that much of it. 

I've washed my hair twice since Thursday, and I've been using John Frieda Everlasting Blonde shampoo and John Frieda Color Renew conditioner, which is purple as it contains toner, STOPPING brassiness (yay!)

It hasn't even been a week and I've received so, so many compliments and comments. Weird as it sounds, although blonde isn't my natural colour, I feel more like myself with this as my hair colour over brunette shades. I'll keep you all up to date with how my colour is progressing, and all I'm doing to keep my hair healthy and my colour looking fresh! 


(Before: Brunette balyage                                                After: blonde and bright!) 



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Stay tuned... My next post will be all-21st related, including a tutorial! 








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#australiscosmetics #almaycosmetics #forevernew #sportsgirlau,

Priceline Haul & Blonde Prep Update

21:48 Unknown 0 Comments

Hello little birds!
A quick little post, I popped into Priceline today and picked up one or two bargains, and some VIBP (Very Important Blonde Products) before my hair appointment tonight!



First I grabbed a new can of Schwarzkhof firm hold hairspray (because my brother keeps ‘borrowing’ mine without replacing it) and John Frieda Sheer Blonde Everlasting shampoo (extends your colour for up to two weeks – truly!). I love using John Frieda for my blonde hair, because the brand understands what your hair needs – the toning conditioner is excellent and cancels out all possible brassiness, whilst softening your hair after the trauma of bleach and foils.


I also grabbed some St. Tropez tanning products, as they’re currently marked down. I’ve always heard great things about the brand, but it’s so, so pricey! $50 for self tanner? On a student budget? Whilst also being blonde (at the time)? Er, nope. But down to $31? That was a little more do-able, for a one-off (as it’s my 21st birthday party tomorrow night!). To be safe I picked up the St. Tropez tanning mitt as well, as I would hope their mitt is designed to suit and help along their own product. I chose the mousse option as I find they dry a little bit faster, don’t leave an icky residue, and are easier to control than a spray.




Australis Stay Put foundation has quickly become one of my new favourites, as it actually does stay put! The only problem I had was I chose a shade suited to my (falsely) tanned skin, which didn’t suit my naturally pale beige complexion. I plucked from the shelves the shade ‘nude’ which will hopefully blend a little better. I also replaced my Face of Australia matte eye-shadow primer, as my last little $7 pot is nearly empty. 

I'll give the full run-down of my other preparation for going blonde on my next post, after my (eek!) appointment! 

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Come with me as I go from brunette to blonde!

03:28 Unknown 0 Comments

Hello little birds!

It's been almost a full year since I was blonde. What appealed to me the most was that going to a shade closer to (what I thought) was my original colour, I wouldn't have to deal with re-growth as often, saving me time and money that the blonde definitely did NOT.

Before I went to brunette, this is what I was dealing with.

As you can see my blonde was very brassy, re-growth coming through, the ends were dead and it was a struggle to deal with, and unhealthy. Something needed to change because as most blondes will tell you (even the natural ones!) it's not an easy colour to keep up. 


I won't lie, my first dive into brunette/balyage was much, much too dark and I was a little scared. WHAT had I gotten myself into? I looked so pale! I loved the balyage but I felt the hair closest to my face, and my roots, was borderline gothic.
I'd gone from a brassy blonde, above, to this:
Ignore the awkward facial expression, I think I was in shock. 
This is a few hours after the dye job, so you can see the dark marks on my skin. It took a little while to get used to seeing my own reflection! This was February 2014 - new semester, new hair. 

Fast forward to May 2014, and my re-growth was looking GREY. GREY! I'm only 20!
My hair wasn't turning old, I'd just misjudged my original colour. I'm naturally a very, very cool blonde/brunette colour, and unfortunately, against a bold, almost auburn brunette, that colour looks grey, even though it definitely isn't. My second attempt came out much, much better, richer and slightly lighter. 
As you can see the balyage has been pulled up a little higher, almost level with the cheekbone, which again softened the dramatic dark dye job no. 1
I loved this colour and the ombre, but as with all blonde ends, they began to split. That's why August this year I opted for a lob! 
August 2014 - the length was JUST at shoulder, and the balyage was still sitting at a comfortable spot - the brunette was also a lot softer than February, and without the dead ends weighing it down, my hair felt much lighter and heavier. 
Now we're in December (WHERE DID THE YEAR GO? NO SERIOUSLY I'M REALLY CONCERNED) and as much as I've enjoyed my hair this year, I need to be blonde again. I felt happier, brighter and more smiley as a blonde. For reference, 2011-2013 I went from a half head of foils 

To a full head of foils and full fringe by the middle of 2012
 

I loved being platinum, Barbie blonde, and I did love my fringe BUT HOLY MOLEY FRINGES ARE HARD WORK AND I'M STILL GROWING THAT SUCKER OUT. This time around I'm aiming for an ash-balayage blonde
Here are a few of my hairspo images!
 

I'll keep you all updated as I go from brunette-balayage back to blonde! (Fingers crossed it's not a disaster zone!)

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