Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow!

I recently mentioned in passing that I couldn't quite decide what to do about my hair. In typical me fashion, I made the absolute worst decision and decided to visit the the local walk in hairdressers. 'How much of a mess could they make of a little trim?', I thought to myself. Well, as they completely missed the fact that the lengths were asymmetrical, the answer was a very big mess, in just over five minutes. I never learn, do I?

A week on, and the cut looks a bit less severe. Unfortunately, the cut also turned my partially hidden unnatural colour in the longer lengths into a full on stripe. In order to make it look less obvious, I decided to colour it purple again, so I haven't had opportunity to try out my recently purchased bottle of Peacock Blue. On my bleached section, Hot Purple fades to a two toned blue-green which I really like and I'm hoping that Peacock Blue will cut out the middle-man. I had been considering bleaching more sections into my fringe but after taking pictures of myself today, I'm actually wondering if I should just cover the grey and the purple with a brown semi-permanent. Harumpf!!

On a more cheerful note, my hair is in excellent condition at the moment, including the side section that I doubled bleached for the Crazy Color. I have been using Alterna Caviar Repairx Instant Recovery Shampoo* and Phytobaume Hydration Express Conditioner together for a couple of months now and they make a really good pairing. I particularly like the fact that they leave my hair soft without it becoming greasy quickly, so I can still leave a day between washes.

I found the opening mechanism of the Caviar Repairx shampoo tricky to work and managed to pull the twist off cap right off on the second use. Oops! Fortunately, it's still water tight and works just fine despite the cosmetic damage. It foams well, rinses away easily and doesn't knot my hair up. It's sulfate and paraben free formula (however, it does contain silicones) and the formula reminds of the Pureology Shampoo I've used in the past. It is quite expensive at £33.50 for 250ml.

I'm very pleased that I picked up the Phytobaume on London MakeUp Girl's recommendation. I've found it a good substitute for the very lovely, but more expensive Rahua conditioner. It smells divine and reminds me of the creams they used to encourage you to slap on before hopping into the tanning booths (don't judge me to harshly, it was a long time ago). The Phytobaume conditioner is a really rich, cream conditioner and you don't need to leave it on for before rinsing. However, I rather like massaging it in and find it lathers slightly when I do this. It rinses from my hair without too much trouble but I do find it has a tendency to leave a slightly greasy residue in the bottom of the shower. It costs £13.50 and I bought this tube from SpaceNK but you can also buy Phyto from John Lewis and Feel Unique.

I had vowed to style my hair more often when I initially had it cut short. I haven't stuck to this as much as I meant to but before my most recent trim, it had been cut in such a way that it was easy to make it smooth or give it texture. I liked to mess it up by pulling out random sections and then running my straightners through these sections straight up from the roots. I'd finish off by breaking it up with a bit of Fudge Rocker Wax. The Rocker Wax has clearly been a hit with Mr MB too based on the speed it has started to disappear!

* Indicates press sample

My Week in Pictures

Well, it's probably more like the last week and a half but let's not argue over a technicality. I know I've been rather quiet on the blogging front lately. Although theoretically I have more time to myself these days, with the constant round of viruses attacking the MB household, it's been hard to find the time or impetus to write. So, here's a little glimpse at what has been keeping me busy.

It was Miss MB's 3rd birthday just over a week ago and as you can see, she celebrated in style. I still can't get over the fact that she's a little girl now and not a baby. When I first started blogging, Miss MB was only seven weeks old and I still remember my old Twitter avatar with her very fondly.

I'm not very good at baking but I think that cake is an absolute must for birthdays. I made this chocolate sponge cake following Mary Berry's recipe from the BBC website. It was actually very straightforward to make (easier still if you use a food processer, I imagine) and it tasted delicious.

I bleached a section of my hair weeks ago with the intention of adding some colour to it. I've only just got around to adding the colour and you can see the end result below.

I used Crazy Color in Hot Purple and this is the result of two applications. The first time I applied it, I was quite nervous so I diluted the colour with conditioner and applied for the time indicated on the bottle (15-30 mins). The colour didn't really take on this first try, instead it acted more like a toner on the bleached hair. The second time round, I added the colour neat and left it on for a couple of hours, wrapping the section of hair in clingfilm to prevent the dye from drying out. I was very pleased with the end result and may well brave adding another slice of colour in a more obvious position.

New shoes! I bought these boots from Dune to wear to hen do I went to over the weekend. I'm absolutely thrilled with them and I'm also surprised by how comfy they are to walk in. I expected my feet to be sore after walking around London in them on their first wear but there wasn't a blister in site. I suspect I will be rather precious about avoiding scuffing them for the next month or so.

Son1's class have been studying Viking's as their topic this term, and today they had to go in dressed in costume. So, once again my creative skills have been put to the test. I like to try and avoid buying new things when it comes to these sorts of costumes as I always feels it's a bit wasteful, particularly if they are items that that won't be worn again. I had a rummage around in the local charity shops and managed to find a beige top men's that I cut up to make an over-shirt and makeshift leg bindings, but unfortunately I couldn't find anything that would work as a cloak.

Whilst looking through my stash of bedding for something suitable, I came across an old cot-sized white flannel sheet and had a light bulb moment. I thought it would be interesting to have a go at dyeing it and discovered via Google that coffee can be used to dye fabric. It turned out to be a rather effective way of getting rid of some ancient coffee grounds and a minging jar of Nescafe too! You can cut up a pair of tights to make a filter for coffee grounds and I wish I had discovered this before I made the first batch of dye above. 

If you have access to a fixative like alum or you are able to pre-treat the material with vinegar or washing soda beforehand, you would be able to achieve a darker shade than I was able to. I'm still happy with my handiwork though and I rather like the random darker patches as it adds character.

Here's my son modelling the finished outfit. I used an old plaited leather belt of mine to tie around his waist. He's wearing a maroon undershirt (read old pillowcase with head and arm holes) and the black trousers from his Dracula outfit. I also used some brown laces to hold up the 'leg bindings'. I am extremely pleased that I opted for a budget outfit as multiple items have disappeared during the day.

And finally...

After years of saying I would never watch the films, I finally succumbed to the Twilight series. I have also developed a new crush. And, before you ask, yes I am ashamed of myself. Hoooowwwllllll!