November Favorites

Is everyone enjoying December so far? I almost wrote September there, but nope. Are you excited for Christmas? buying presents? Do you celebrate Christmas? I do and I'm really excited to set up the tree, I bought new ornaments and I can't wait.

But let's go back a little bit before I turn this into a Christmas post.

Let me tell you about the products and things I've been loving this past month.

Essence Quattro Eyeshadow Palette in XOXO. I bought this because I lost my black eyeshadow and needed another one, I was looking for a single one and I couldn't find it so I got this one instead and I looove it, all the colors are really pretty and I can do a smokey eye easily. The pigment is really good too.

 Another Essence product, Essence I Love Stage Eyeshadow Base, this thing makes my eyeshadow last for so long, and since it's Essence it's also really cheap so win/win.

I have really sensitive skin so I can't use just any deodorant, also I avoid aluminium at all costs because of the health risks but then I found this, Mild deodorant, it's really soft on skin plus it does the job and you smell great.

I recently had my roots bleached and I don't know what bleach the lady used but my hair was feeling awful afterwards so I went to get some repair masks and I got this two products, they have really helped my hair and made it more manegeable and it's actually somewhat healthier now so I recommend them if you want to hydrate your hair. Ion Moisture Solutions Deep Nurturing and Hydrating for Extremely Dry Hair and Mane N' Tail Deep Moisturizing Conditioner.
 I almost didn't buy the Mane N' Tail one because it's supossed to make your hair grow like crazy and that's something I don't need! but I got it anyway and Im glad I did.

So those are my favorites of the past month, not many but I hope you like them!
What are your November Favorites?

China Glaze Travel In Colour

As I'm writing this I'm slowly realizing that I both own and post too much about China Glaze. I think it's safe to say that it's one of my 3 favorites brands of nail polish. But there's a reason! They're practically inexpensive, they have great colors and collections and they're easy to find (except for the special collections).

And so today I bring you China Glaze Travel In Colour from the Happy Holiglaze Christmas Collection, this is an iridescent effect top coat, it comes in a mini presentation only, 9.6 ml/.325 fl oz as opossed to the regular 14 ml/.5 fl oz size.

I almost didn't buy this because I'm not a huge fan of top coats that aren't clear but since it was on sale I got this, as well as a bunch of other polishes that I'll show you on a haul soon.

I decided to try this over black polish , I used a coat of hardener, a coat of ridge filler, two coats of Orly Liquid Vinyl, which is a great black polish by the way, and a coat of China Glaze Fast Forward just to even everything out.

Then I applied one coat of China Glaze Travel in Colour.

I did not have hight expectations of this polish, but wow it seriously amazed me , it looks so different than in the bottle and that's not a bad thing, I can't wait to try it over different colors and see the effect, but as of right now I'm super happy with the color it turned out over black. Plus I love how it looks different from every angle.

The consistency was great and it dried really quickly, I just used one coat.

You should totally get this since it's a special edition polish. I'm planning on getting another bottle since I have the feeling I'm gonna be using it a ton. I got this at Sally's Beauty Supply.

Do you like this top coat? Let me know what you think!

Ion Color Brilliance Brights Titanium

Hey! How's everyone? I'm pretty good!
So as I said before, I made plans to dye my hair gray and I finally did it! I initially had 5 tubes of Ion Brilliance Color Brights in Titanium. My plan was to dye it at night and leave it on overnight, as I usually do with semi-permanent hair dyes. The consistency of the dye was so weird and hard to work with so I mixed it with an Ion Hair Treatment but it still was really thick but I decided to go on anyway.Then halfway through I realize I was missing one tube and I looked EVERYWHERE and I couldn't find it, I even stained my curtains oops, also I ended up needing way more than I thought initially. Finally I could only dye half my hair. So Friday morning I woke up, washed the dye out and called all the Sally's near me to see if they had the dye in stock and when I found one that had 10 in stock I went and got 7 tubes, I almost got 10 but decided against it.

So that night I dyed my hair again, this time my sister helped me and I was shocked that I had to use all 7 tubes, this time I mixed it with conditioner so that the consistency wasn't so pasty. I left it overnight and when I washed it out I realized it came out this super dark gray color instead of a grandma gray,it still is a lovely color and I'm hoping it fades to a lighter pretty gray but we'll see!

Overall, I would buy this dye again but making sure I got enough to cover my whole head.
If you want a really dark gray, then this is the dye for you, but I must warn you that you need to commit to it, otherwise you´d be better off with another brand. I'm really happy with the color it turned out but if you´re looking for more of a light gray I'd recommend buying a purple based blue preferably by manic panic and mixing it with conditioner until you get the shade you want.
Also, make sure you have really blonde hair before applying. I toned my light blonde hair before using the dye.

I really hope this was helpful and that you try this product out!

UPDATE:
Ok so I had my hair this color without redying for about 4 or 5 months before it completely faded, keep in mind I used a conditioner with some dye in it to keep the color vibrant, also I didn't wash my hair with shampoo everyday, just about once a week or two weeks, in between shampoo washes I washed my hair with conditioner or used dry shampoo. Also this dye stained my hair green! I have absolutely no idea why but it faded to an ugly green with then faded to a dirty mint color which in a way was good because I dyed my hair green afterwards, so if you're going with a super light hair color next you'd probably have to bleach the color out, but if you're dying it a super bright or dark color next I'd say you're good. I used Manic Panic Electric Lizard on top of the leftover color and it showed pretty much true to the color on the pot.

China Glaze Dash of Dazzle: Swatches

Hey everyon! Today I'm gonna show you the Dsh of Dazzle pack from the China Glaze Happy Holiglaze Christmas Collection.
I love how they always make little packs of the Chrisymas Collections, and I've always wanted the ones that comes with gifts but I can never find them but hey this is cool too since it's buy 2 get 1 free.

Dash of Dazzle comes with 2 foil polishes and one glitter.

First one is So Blue Without You, a light blue foil. Personally I don't love this polish, I mean the color is really pretty, but as a foil it doesn't do the job. Also it dries a little lumpy, maybe you can avoid this with a ridge filler. The consistency on the other hand was really great, I used 2 coats.

Outside: Sunlight.

Outside: Shade.

Outside: Shade.

Indoors.

Mingle With Kringle, a gold foil. This polish is absolutely gorgeous, I don't normally go for gold polishes but lately I'm loving gold on nails, especially foils. At first I thought this was gonna look like Goldie But Goodie from the Autumn Nights Collection but nope, this is a much more lighter gold. The formula was good, I used 2 coats.

Outdoors: Sunlight.

Outdoors: Sunlight.

Outdoors: Sunlight.

Outdoors: Sunlight.

Outdoors:Shade.

Indoors.

Bells Will Be Blinging, a blue holographic bar and hexagonal glitter. The glitter payoff of this was great, also the colors are really pretty, I wore 2 coats over Mingle With Kringle.

Outdoors:Sunlight.

Outdoors: Shade.

Outdoors.

Indoors.

Overall, this pack has really awesome colors and I highly recommend getting it, especially if you like foils.
I hope you liked the swatches and let me know if you want to see any comparisons!

China Glaze Touch of Twinkle: Swatches

I've always loved China Glaze Holiday Collectons so when I saw that they had this pack in store I had to buy it, pretty weird if you ask me since they haven't got Monster's Ball yet, but anyways I got Touch of Twinkle and Dash of Dazzle. From the China Glaze Happy Holiglaze Christmas Collection.

The box comes with three polishes, buy 2 get 1 free.

This pack comes with two red polishes and a glitter.

Just Be-Claws, this one is a really nice shade of red, really Christmas-y. The formula was ok, I used 2 coats for the photos below.

Outdoors: Shade

Outdoors: Sunlight.

Indoors.

Santa Red My List, this is a red foil, I love foils but this one looks more pink than red, the formula was ok though. I used 2 coats.

Indoors.

Outdoors: Shade.

Outdoors: Sunlight.

Be Merry, Be Bright. I'm not a big fan of glitters and this one it's not the exception, this one is made of hexagonal red and blue small and medium glitter, to me it's more 4th of July than Christmas. The glitter pay off is not great,I had to fish for the glitter and put it on my nail. I used 3 coats for the photos below.

Outdoors: Shade.

Indoors.

Outdoors: Sunlight.

Overall I think this is a cool pack if you only want a few colors of the collection and the colors are pretty so win/win. What do you think?

9 Ways to Remove Semi-Permanent Hair Dye

Hello! How are you? I´ve been feeling under the weather but I'm better now!

Since my last post was about using vitamin c for fading hair dye I thought I'd make a post about all the things you can do to help fade the color before you use bleach! A lot of people immediately go to bleach to remove dye. But bleach should be used as a last resource! There's a bunch of ways to remove color and I'm gonna tell you about the ones I've tried!

• Washing your hair.

The most common one of course is washing all the color out of hair, if you just dyed it and didn't like the color it turned out, immediately wash it to try and remove all the color you can. Also, if you're bored of the color you currently have, wash it more often until you notice there's no color coming out.

• Anti-dandruff Shampoo

This shampoo is a big no if you're trying to mantain your color, so obviously if you're doing the opposite you should use this kind of shampoo. It strips your hair of the color and helps it fade faster.

• Clarifying Shampoo

The same kind of shampoo it´s recommended to use before any semi-permanent hair dye since it strips your hair of all the oils and dirt leaving it squeaky clean. This is also great for fading your color.

• Hot Oil Treatments

This particular one is a win/win because while getting rid of the color it also hydrates your hair. You can get them at beauty supply stores, do a DIY one or just use olive oil.

• Vitamin C.

I talked about this method in a previous post and is the one I'm currently using to remove the leftover dye in my hair.

• Baking Soda.

This mewthod is very similar to the vitamin c one, just mix baking soda with shampoo put it in your hair and let it sit then wash out.

• Lemon.

Again, this one is really simple. Just mix it with shampoo and put it in your hair, just be careful not to go out n the sun and to wash it out really well.

Now let's talk about some other ways that while not as damaging as bleaching, still cause some damage.

• Color Stripping.

You can get this kits at beauty supply stores and what they do it's pretty much just remove all the color build up you have on your hair.

• Bleach Bath.

Bleach Baths are less damaging than bleaching but you should still be as careful. It's like bleaching but less strong and depending on your hair it works as well. 

Now you know, before you go bleaching to remove the color try these! You can get the same results with less damage! And always remember to deep condition.

 

Vitamin C for Fading your Hair Color

As you already probably know, I'm on my way to silver hair but to achieve that I first need to fade the leftover color I have and over the years I've found that this is one of the most effective and less damaging ways to do it. It's also really easy to do.

You'll need:

• Vitamin C pills or powder.
• Dish Soap.
• A Container.

I got some really cheap ones that have Rose Hip extract in them. I used about 12.

Grab the container and put the pills in there, then smash them, you can use a spoon, I used a wood utensil. You can also put them in a sandwich bag and smash them there.

Make sure you're left with a powder and no remainder bits of pill.

Then pour enough dish soap to make a paste and stir,  my hair is just below my shoulders so I used about half a cup of soap.

Then mix it and apply it on the hair you want to fade, for me it was from middle to ends because my roots are my natural color.

Let it sit for 2 hours or so and then rinse it out. It's always important to condition afterwards because this can dry your hair quite a bit. You may have to do it more than once to remove the dye, because some dyes are more stubborn but the vitamin c will remove most of it. Remember not to do it more than twice a week because it can dry your hair, so be careful.

Let me know if you tried this and what you think!

DIY Hydrating Hair Mask.

A few posts ago I talked about healthy hair and I mentioned an oil I use on my hair, well today I bring you the recipe. It's a really simple recipe with only 3 ingredients but it will help your hair so much.

You'll need:

• Vitamin E pills
• Coconut oil
• Argan Oil, I used two kinds of Argain oil to make it less thick but you can just use regular one
• A recipe or bottle to put it all in

I used about 20 pills, they look like this

I just cut them at the top with a some cuticle scissors and pour the oil into an empty argan oil bottle I had laying around. Try to squeeze out as much as you can.

Then put about two teaspoons of coconut oil and shake it until there are no lumps left.

Pour some Argan Oil, about 7 teaspoons or more if you want.

Shake and that's it!

You can heat it up, put it in your hair, wrap your hair with a warm towel and let it sit for about 30 minutes or more if you can, then wash. Just keep in mind that this could fade colored hair.

You can also put a drop or two in your hand then massage into your hair from middle to ends whenever you feel your hair dry. You can pretty much use it any way you want!

Hope you like this and make your own! 

Have an awesome day!