Beauty / My New Favourite Mascara

April 1, 20153 Comments

Up until very recently I had been using the same mascara for years, for no particular reason other than I’m a creature of habit and picking up that same mascara every time made my tendency to be indecisive far less debilitating. I didn’t give much thought to whether it enhanced my lashes to their full potential or not, and to be honest, I never much concerned myself with that because I have quite long, full lashes that often get mistaken for falsies. But, for one reason or another, I decided to pick up a different mascara and see how it worked for me. And oh boy, was there ever a difference! Enter, L’Oreal Telescopic Shocking Extensions Mascara, a silly name really, but to be honest, quite accurate. If I thought my lashes looked long and full before, this mascara enhanced them in such a significant way. An added bonus is that it lasts way longer than my previous mascara, so I don’t feel the need to apply more throughout the day, and it doesn’t clump! Thank god! I have a tendency to apply quite a lot of mascara because of my ginger, almost invisible lashes, so the fact that it does not clump is a life saver for those of us who need quite a bit of mascara to actually prove we have lashes.

If you are looking for a new mascara, I can’t suggest this one more. I didn’t think I’d ever be so excited about mascara in my life (what has my life come to!?), but here we are. A whole post dedicated to it.

Beauty / Styling My Fringe (Bangs)

March 26, 2015March 26, 20156 Comments

Today I’m going to share how I style my bangs/fringe, each and every day. I’m sure the way I style my fringe is not uncommon, but I do see a lot of people using a straightener to style a straight-across fringe, which I used to do ages ago and that works pretty well, but what I do now I find is longer lasting and gives the right amount of volume, in my opinion. Also, I’m in desperate need of a bang trim, so my fringe is a bit wonky, I apologize for that.
STEP ONE: To style my fringe, it is an absolute must that my fringe is wet. But since I normally wash my hair in the evening, I wake up with totally dry hair. What to do?! Well, I just run my comb under water and then comb through my fringe, getting all parts of it wet, not to a super sopping wet degree, but just enough that it is malleable and will agree with my blow dryer.
STEP TWO: Now the styling part! I split my fringe in 3 sections (left, centre and right) and using my round brush and blow dryer I place one section over the brush and dry that section by holding the brush near my hairline and then pulling out (that’s what she said) away from my face. The round brush will create a lovely lifted, round shape to the bangs, that is both bouncy and clean looking. Then I continue on to the rest of my sections, until all is even and dry. Since my fringe often has a mind of it’s own, I usually guide the outer sections in the correct direction so that my fringe covers all of my forehead. To give the whole look an extra lift, I’ll take little sections of hair from the top of my fringe and do the above process again. Side note: you may be thinking, why the heck are you not holding the handle part of your round brush? And the answer is, I’m not sure? It feels more comfortable for some reason.
And that’s it! Every so often I give my fringe a little spritz of hairspray after I’m done, but not always. I find this way of styling a straight-across fringe is great for holding on it’s own, with little or no product.

Beauty / Braided Headband

March 19, 20154 Comments

Today I’m going to show you how to create a headband for your beautiful hairs with your very own hair. Crazy! This style is pretty fun and versatile as you can make the braids as thin or as thick as you like. I went with thin braids this time around, but I assure you that thick ones are quite striking. So! Here we go!
STEP ONE: Start by parting your hair near your ear and simply pull out (not literally) the desired amount of hair you would like to braid – the hair you use for your braid should be quite close to your ear, sort of like when you wear a headband and it sits right behind your ear, that’s where your braid should be coming from. Now you can braid those hairs! Once your braid is finished no hair elastics are required, just get a bobby pin to hold the braid in place while you start working on the other side. ~~How many times can I say braid in one paragraph?!~~
Now you should have a braid on each side, which I have decided to turn into… this? I also look like a fish. And I’m rhyming. What’s wrong with me?!
STEP TWO: Now you are going to make your headband! Take your desired braid and guide it over to the other side of your head, and then fasten the end of your braid with bobby pins behind your ear, right where the other braid starts. One down! Now do the same to the other side.
STEP THREE: Once you are done, your braided headband should look something like this. I like to fiddle a bit with the hair that I place over the braids so that it hides the bobby pins holding everything in place, and just for general pulled togetherness.And that’s it! Another easy one, cause ya’ll know I like simple (most of the time). Let me know if you guys try this one out. And as always, if you have any hairstyles (or any other beauty fun) you’d like me to share, let me know.

Beauty / Rag Roll Curls

January 28, 201517 Comments

The most frequent comments and questions I receive are about my hair, so I thought it was due time I teach you guys a few of my go-to hairstyles. Now, when I first started blogging I did a tutorial on rag rolls, but I thought I should probably update it since my hair is much longer and I’ve learned a few new techniques since then to ensure some pretty stellar curls.
This is my hair in it’s sort-of natural state. I’ve got really straight hair – those slight waves are likely from being in a braid – so I’m hoping I can show you that even if you have pin straight hair, you can also have voluminous curls with little effort.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

your beautiful hairs
an old t-shirt, towel, whatever.
scissors
tape measure, if you want to be precise

FIRST STEP: Weeee! Time to make our rags! My rags are from awhile ago (maybe gross…I don’t care), but I originally cut up an old sweater into about 20 rags, from what I can remember. I only use about 8 in my hair now, but it really depends on how you want your curls to turn out – I prefer mine a bit thicker, so I use less. I cut my rags to about 1″ in width and 7″ in length – you don’t have to use those measurements, but they have always served me well.

SECOND STEP: Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’. I like to roll my hair dry, but when I first started out I liked having it a bit damp because it is a little tricky getting the hang of rolling that hair up when it’s not very malleable (hair sometimes has a mind of it’s own). Take your desired amount of hair to be rolled – whether that be a clump, chunk, bundle or strands does not matter, this is your life – and wrap the end of your bundle around the rag and start rolling upward. Once you reach the top (also subjective), tie your rag into a single knot.

Et voila! Your first rag was a success, now onto the rest of that head!THIRD STEP: I often like to give my rag bundles a little spritz with hairspray. I have found this helps immensely since my hair often likes to stay curly for a few hours and then slowly go back to it’s straight, boring life. Take that hair! I’m the boss!Eventually, you will look darling like this. I used to call her spider head because I had so many rags in that resembled a plethora of spiders, but now I call her perogie/dumpling head, for what I feel is obvious reasons, but maybe I’m insane.FOURTH STEP: I usually do my rags in the evening so I can sleep on them and wake up with excellent hair in no time at all. I find giving your hair many hours in the rags is important…especially if you have thick hair. You could also do your rags in the morning if you are going out at night and are planning on spending the day inside…unless you want to walk around in public with these…if so, you are brave and you are my new best friend. If you are concerned about your rolls coming loose while you sleep, you can also tie a head scarf around your head so as to not upset the rolls. I’m too lazy for that shit so I just sleep as is. Don’t worry, it’s not really uncomfortable.FIFTH STEP: In the morning I often use my blow dryer on the little bundles even though they are not wet because the heat will help to keep the curls intact. Make sure if you do use the blow dryer to let the curls cool down before taking them out. Now, un-tie your knots and slowly pull the bottom piece of the rag downward so you don’t upset the curls. Once I’ve taken out all the rags I give my curls another spray with my trusty hairspray just to be sure they don’t get out of line, then I just give the top, uncurled part of my hair a little brush (since I slept on it) and I’m good to go. You could also tease a bit of the hair at the top of your head to get that ultra 60s look, which sometimes I do.Congratulations on a job well done! Now go take on the day looking and feeling fabulous as ever.

You look so familiar

June 9, 2014November 11, 2014Leave a comment

Recently, Meaghan and I were talking about getting out of our comfort zones. We are both people that get nervous about the unexpected and unfamiliar, and so we sort of avoid it, convincing ourselves that nothing good could come of it. We both came to realize we have always had best friends or partners that pull us from our comfort zones and show us that the unfamiliar is not always so bad. In fact, it can be great. And while that is really nice, it’s something I wish I could do on my own more regularly. The same rings true for my appearance. I pretty much wear my hair and makeup the same everyday. I used to be far more experimental when I was young, but maybe as you get older you just know what you like. I have not had the desire to change around my makeup routine in years. Probably because I wore far too much of it as a teenager, and I like to keep things as natural as possible nowadays. But – not to toot my own horn or anything – I’m quite good at makeup. It’s something that has always felt natural and easy for me. I cannot draw a picture for shit, but I can make a perfect cat-eye in no time. It makes me consider possibly adding a beauty series to this blog, because I’m going to be real, you won’t see me walking around with blue eye shadow any time soon, but I’d happily share some tips and fun ideas on here. But I digress… My hair is much the same way, although I have never really considered myself very savvy in hairstyling. As a teenager I’d play around with different styles all the time, nowadays I go through months and months of wearing my hair the same way. When I was growing it out it was always up in a bun, when it was a little longer I would rag roll it, and now I wear it wavy, which takes the least amount of effort out of any of those and I really like that because I have a shit ton of hair. In the grand scheme of things, wearing my hair and makeup the same everyday is small potatoes and honestly doesn’t matter, but it is an example of how I generally stick to what I know and feel comfortable with. The familiar is good, I like it, but adding a little spontaneity to my life probably won’t kill me.