Chalky roots, Begone!

Chalky roots, ugh. Since becoming a pink haired fiend I've been washing my hair less and have become a slave to the wonderful world of dry shampoo. Always used it since it become the new thing but just never as much as I have in the last few months! Personally I love the Batiste brand as it comes in so many yummy varieties, but following that is Klorane, the scent may not be as delicious by but god it does the degreasing job like no other! Both of these varieties can be easily found at Priceline.

Anyway, I've discovered a neat little trick to avoid the chalky roots that makes it so obvious that you didn't have the time to wash your hair.
Spray your hair with dry shampoo the night before! You want to do it the usual way, shake the bottle, lift sections of your hair to focus on your roots and remember that a little can go a long way.
By doing this you ensure that while you're sleeping, the product will get dispersed throughout your hair and you won't get obvious marks. You may need to change your pillowcase, but to me that's a small price to pay for perfectly non greasy hair the next day.

Have you got any other nifty tricks for dry shampoo? What brands do you use?

So I went for a Sidecut

Admittedly I have been off the radar for a the last few weeks, I guess I got myself into a little CBF funk that I'm now digging my way out of, ever have that feeling that's there's just so much to do that you don't know where to start? Yeah had that. Big time.

But I've felt myself come out of that little sooky corner of my mind this week, and after a chat with some of my most honest friends I went to the hairdressers and did something I've been pondering for months now, and had part of my head shaved.

This may well be the first time in my blog I've actually shown my face

Earrings: Lovisa
Top: Dotti

And I love it!

I based it on recent photos of Rihanna, it's easy enough to hide in my corporate day-job, but I've found it no problem so far. But for visiting Nanna all I have to do is change the part and then it only shows a little when I tuck my hair behind my ear. I went about the office quietly thrilled with myself and no one being the wiser on the day I had it done, until I excitedly revealed it to a few of them ...

What I find really curious is that the vast majority of people love it, and because I'm certainly not the first to do it in recent times, I'm not getting many stares on the street. A friend of mine warned me that doing something alternative can make Joe Average really judge you, but in this town of Brisbane where I happen across someone almost daily who is twice my age and has brightly coloured hair, perhaps society is becoming desensitized to the alternative and odd?

Even though I know it's prettymuch done it's round in fashion, with the nineties Grunge Trend taking off in a big way this season it's still relevant to fashion. while the clothes of the nineties don't really appeal to me, I find this haircut makes me happy.

Have you ever done something drastic to your hair? What was it? Did you love it or hate it?

The right way to use a Hairpin; Discuss

I came across this Meme the other day and admittedly I had a giggle, but it also made me stop and think, it's a good point, have we been doing this wrong the whole time?

I have asked a few of my friends who work in hair and beauty and heard a myriad of opinions. Some of them had the same reaction as me (What is this witchcraft!) While some others had heard of it and tipped me off as to why this method is useful.

Apparently by using the hairpin (hair grips, kirby grips, whatever) with the grooves towards your head makes the pin fit your head better, as well as ensuring a better grip on the hair it's holding.

But why do pins normally curve to fit your head on the straight side? Why do they have pretty things glued to the side that kicks out too?

I tell you what, I am puzzled. It seems that manufacturers believe they should be used one way, but hairdressers and other frequent users of the product have developed new ideas.

So perhaps we look for hairpins that don't curve along the straight side and use them in this new way?

What do you think of this new information? Will you be changing the way you use hair pins from now on?

Diva and Lovisa Hauls Boxing Day 2012

I'm glad to say that there are sales that I can always rely on to help me ensure that I don't overdo it on Christmas, Who really wants to be lying around with a throbbing head at home when there's shopping to be had? I may have been a day late to the party this year due to being out of town (and range!) for the holidays, but Diva and Lovisa are yet to disappoint. With everything on sale under $8 I picked up this haul from Diva for the teensy price of $68.

Staple heart studs to suit any other jewels I have on and cute articulated owls

Superhero matching cuffs, I could get them engraved but I think I'm satisfied wearing them with a hi-lo skirt and boots

Cute bangles in pastels and black

Rose Gold Torque, ethnic inspired necklace and statement choker

On top of the above I also picked up this bundle from Lovisa for around $40

Sweet bow and owl brooches, and perfect Deco style hairpins

Darling heart earrings and more Deco inspired earrings

I can't really escape my favourite staples of owls and hearts when there are such cute earrings in store, but what I'm really glad to pick up are the Deco inspired jewel bargains. The Deco trend is set to explode this year thanks to Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Not to mention period dramas lighting up our lounge rooms such as Boardwalk Empire and Downton Abbey giving us beautiful examples of Deco fashion inspiration to introduce to our wardrobes.

Did you take a look at Diva or Lovisa in your post Christmas shopping trip? What did you pick up?

GIft Guide 2012 - Priceline Stocking Stuffers

This is part of a series of gift guides I am putting together and posting up until Christmas. Please be sure to check out the others Here! 

We're getting down to the last week now, and it's truly heading towards panic stations. Unfortunately you don't have much chance of receiving anything from overseas in time now, so it's into the shops we go!
Priceline has a great range of stocking stuffers, ideal for tweens, teenagers, women, and the odd surprise for boys and girls too. As far as I'm concerned, to make an gift a good stocking stuffer it has to tick a few boxes:

• Bulky - Does it take up a substantial amount of room in the sack?
• Suited to the receiver - Men won't often appreciate a Hello Kitty bathwash.
• Good item to price ratio - Gives you change from a $20? Good. Gives you change from a $10? Perfect.

Here are my current picks from Priceline - 

A - Models Prefer Hot Hair Styling Kit

B - Batiste Dry Shampoo Bonus Packs

C - Umberto Giannini Hair Styling Kits

I love how retro glamour is coming back, this curling tool kit will get you well on your way to getting perfect curls. The Batiste packs are awesome, for about the same price as a normal bottle they have released two varieties with useful hair tools: A hair towel and a shower cap. I may have bought a pair just for myself, (I was in the market for a shower cap anyway....)

With the Umberto Giannini packs, I'm not sure if they're available from all Priceline stores as I only spotted them at Carindale. However, if you see one, snap it up. I don't think you will find a cheaper way of purchasing the tools included, hair donuts, tail combs, velcro rollers etc. and last I saw they had buy one get one free ...

Have you nabbed all your presents yet? Who do you still have to shop for?

Incoming: Baroque Trend

I'm sad that I won't get the chance to wear this trend well for another four months as it's certainly better suited to cooler weather, but that doesn't mean our friends on the north-side can't get into it now! Baroque fashion is something that had it's heyday in the 80's in the time where nothing could possibly be too excessive. Opulent, Decadent, Elegant, Lush, all words that describe this look to a tee. It's a very European trend, A trend where more is more, and jewels are not just an option, they're obligatory.

Asos Brocade Baroque Skinny Jeans

The reason why this trend works so well in winter is because so many of the fabrics used are heavy. Brocades, jacquards, damasks, embroidery, sequins, beading, they're all fabrics that tend to be thick and warm. You can still wear it in the warmer months by wearing fabrics that have been printed with detailed and baroque style prints, but I think to truly pull it off you need the genuine article. The colour scheme first time around tended to be dark and moody, but for this remix gelato and pastel hues have been added to update for this season with flashes of metallic gold and silver. Dolce and Gabbana, and especially Versace have this look nailed.

Ally Pastel Skater Skirt

One way to quickly add this trend into your wardrobe vocabulary is the adopt something with a 'Scarf print' Scarf peint is a pattern that features ropes, tassels braids and occasionally equestrian themes. I kind of giggle when I think of this, as my Nanna has a great scarf print suit in her wardrobe that she brings out for special occasions... I may just have to steal it.

Oasis Scarf Print Dress

Another fast update would be to go into the jewellery, big, bold and colourful gemstones set in gold are the ideal, with door-knocker and drop style earrings being the perfect item.

Diva Black Opaque Stone Drop Earrings

You have to be careful with your makeup when you wear this look, it's the only part of the trend where 'more is more' need not apply. For a modern take keep your make up fresh and natural using nudes and pale pinks with a light fake tan, but if you want to carry on the bold theme of your outfit, play up your lips with a dark shade of lipstick. This trend is perfect for a deep red, or even purple contrasting against a pale base. If you're not feeling brave enough for bold lipstick then strong eyebrows work just as well. Russian doll style hair will complete the look, Think a straight middle part with hair either up or down in a smooth style.

How to Hair: Gorgeous summer waves

I'm really in a summer mood. Here in Brisbane the weather has been beyond wonderful and already reminding us that summer is just around the corner. I love how hair and makeup becomes much more natural and relaxed, so here's is how I do a loose beachy look for my hair.

Source

Step one: Put some oomph in freshly washed hair by blow drying it upside down with a texturising sea salt spray, comb the product through with a wide tooth comb and then use fingers alone while drying hair, as a brush will smooth hair out too much. This step alone may give you the look you're after but if not ...

Step two: Take a curling iron and curl random sections of your hair by wrapping pieces around the tong and not using the clamp. You do not want clamp marks for this look.

Step three: Just to groom and finish off, pull apart the curls lightly by combing your fingers through, then use a little more salt spray and pull hair out a bit to piece it up.

Quick tip: To glam this look up a little for the evening I like to put a side part in and wear it over my shoulder like Miranda Kerr has here.

Source

How do you wear your hair in the summer? Let me know in the comments!

Priceline Haul: July 2012

It's always those times that I never intend to buy anything that I come away with a stack of beauty booty, anyone else have this problem? It's never when I go on the mission of finding a new foundation or when I'm after this particular shade of nail polish, those times I normally come away with nothing.
So, the goodies!

Loving this week: Spin Pins

So I chopped off a huge chunk of my hair last week, and I am sad. I've spent years growing my hair but the damage was just too much to deal with anymore.
But I've been playing with new hairstyles, (the fun part of a new haircut!) I found that Gibson tucks are adorable, but kept becoming too loose and messy, needing a few readjustments a day, so a friend of mine pointed me in the direction of Spin Pins.
WTF is a statement I am expecting from a lot of readers at the moment, check these out.

These pins once inserted in your hair are not going anywhere! Your style will also last longer and stay pulled together. Easy to use, all you do is hold you hair in place with one hand, and rotate the pin into place with the other. You can use them with numerous up styles, practically anything that you would use normal pins to hold a bun like structure in place.
My advice is to look up Spin Pins on your local eBay site, as the 'authentic' ones are ridiculous in their price, when all they are is a small piece of wire.

Bought! John Freida Salon Shape Air Styler

Hands up who wants an easier way to blow dry at home? I should be seeing a lot of hands in the air! Priceline are doing a fantastic deal in the last week where if you spent $40 on products across ten or so ranges you got a goodie bag packed with almost $200 worth of product! Since I missed the beauty version of this the other month I was dying to get my paws on this one, and lucky me, the new John Freida air styler was just around $50. You can check out more details about the bag deal here!

I've been stalking this kind of product since I spotted it come out around a year ago, but I couldn't justify the near $100 price tag that came with it. So I decided to wait until something more thrifty came out, and I love it. Instead of juggling a brush and a blow-dryer and still quite frankly needing another hand to assist to get a good result at home, this type of tool combines the dryer and brush in one. I have my hair styled in less then ten minutes (excluding prior drying time) and don't get so frustrated with my hair not doing what I want.
The styler comes with three settings; low temp, high temp and a cold shot to set your style. The end result was that I have shiny, bouncy, oomphy, straight hair with a nice sense of movement through the ends. Perfect.
While I don't have any real problems with the styler, I did buy it thinking that the brush head would rotate, it doesn't, but it's still very user friendly and easy to use without this feature.

Have you tried this product or something similar before? What did you think?

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia

You'd have to be living under a fashionably void rock to have missed the fact that it's the biggest week in Australian fashion! Very jealous of anyone who is down in Sydney to enjoy it, but for now I'll just have to be happy with checking out the incredible coverage. Here's a quick look at what has caught my eye.

I was so excited to read that Romance Was Born would be having a comic book hero themed show! Their range is always great for pieces that stun, you can't fade into the background in them. My favourite look of the show is the gorgeous black and white dotty dress, it's taken the idea of how they shade in comic books and would make a fantastic conversational piece! I want.

I'm in love with the hair and make up at the Toi Et Moi show too. There were two hair looks for the show and the one I'm adoring is the gorgeous shabby buns, perfect to work with the humid conditions over winter. You can emulate it by creating a high bun with teasing and a braid as a feature. if your hair is looking too sleek, use your palm to muss it up. Chic, flicked eyeliner completes the look with a slightly coral lip.

Polish your buns!

Tehheh, I just had to with that title. Of course I am talking about the buns you have on your head!
So I've found an awesome trick to give your buns a more polished look. Without doing this, you can get ends that stick out awkwardly and can ruin the look, and date it back to the nineties.
When you are prepping your hair, heat yourself up your curling iron and curl the very ends of your hair, for the sake of ease it's good to take a wide barrel with the wider bar to hold in the ends. Otherwise use your straightening iron to flick the ends.
What you'll find this does is help your hair shape itself back into your your bun a sleeker bun or topknot. Giving you a more polished and perfect look.
Give it a try next time you put your hair up!

Avoiding hair product overload

So tell me, where do you first start to apply products to your hair? Whether it be mousse, gel, or oil out of habit it will often be the very top and front. But when you do this, your hair will become greasy and lanky in a flash, while the ends of your hair will be relatively product-less.
The trick to applying these sort of products is to start at the ends of your hair, it's easier if your hair is longer, but try to just apply product to the ends of your hair with your hands, and once you're done with that, grab a brush or combs and brush through the rest of your hair as your normally would.
The brush will carry some of the product up to your roots but not overload this section of your hair, where product overload can cause all kinds of limp, lank problems.
Of course it's also wise to start with just a tiny bit of product, less then what you think you need as you can always add more, but once you've applied too much you'll have to wash your hair!
This also doesn't apply to powder products, dry shampoo and hair powder/dust are designed to mop up grease at the roots, so you are fine to apply these there. My trick with hair shampoo is to spray it on, and then rough your hair up with a towel to distribute, this way there is much chance of that dandruff type build up you can get from dry shampoo.

Do you have any other tricks to stop product overload in your hair? Tell me in the comments!

How to Hair: Serena Van Der Woodsen's Ponytail

My recent post for an easy bad hair day solution was pretty popular so I'm going to talk you through another favourite and easy hairstyle of mine. It's a very chic up-do that looks great on everyone.
On Gossip Girl, Serena has an iconic hairstyle. Blake Lively looks fabulous and instantly done when she puts her hair up, (but wouldn't we all if we had hairdressers on our beck and call?) It's actually quite easy to do at home too.

Source

Step one: If hair is a little on the dirty side spray some dry shampoo through it, and if it's clean, apply some mousse and blow-dry upside down, this will give the hair some texture to play with.

Step two: Without brushing too much, pull hair back into a ponytail at the lower crown of your head, about halfway down the back of your head. You don't want it to look smooth, it if is looking a bit too smooth, rake your fingers from your face, back to the pony to rough it up a bit.

Step three: Rough up the pony a bit by getting a few chunks of it and teasing with a tail comb, spray the pony and make sure it still works as one piece, not a strange tangle.

Step four: Pull aside a small bit of the ponytail and wrap it around the hair-tie to hide it, then pin in place, for a hard to spot job, pin underneath the pony, and aim the pin back into the pony.

Step five:  Mist with hairspray to finish.


All you need is a pair of bold earrings or a statement necklace and you've got a 'done' look in no time at all.

What styles do you do to look done in a hurry?

Bright coloured hair tips

I posted a little while ago about this trend but not really on how to do it, I've become a real fan of it when done properly and the great thing is you can be as subtle or daring as you like, Depending on the colour and how much you apply.
A few quick tips:
-It will only really show up on light hair, so make sure you tone your hair below applying any colour, this is more important when you are going to be using colours like blue (not toning will make it green!).
-Choose a colour that will compliment, if you have balayage with dark roots choosing red and pinks are flattering, if you are completely blonde you can have more of a variety.
-If your doing this at home the easiest option is to stick to the nape of your neck and clip the rest of your hair up and out of the way of your dying, get a friend to help if you can.

Fudge make a brilliant collection of semi permanent colours that will gradually wash out call paintbox, my tips for using to is to apply to product along the length of your hair, then blast it with a blow dryer to really lock in the colour to last before letting it develop and then washing it off. I love Pretty Flamingo for a real in your face pink.

If you're after something that will wash out before you have to go to work the next day Kevin Murphy have come up with colour bugs, which you can apply to your hair and dry quickly, a bit like the hair mascara of the 90's but a much better formula.Kevin came up with the idea stemming it from make-up, why can't hair colour be as easy to apply and remove as make-up? Awesome idea. Spray with hairspray to help keep it in place and then wash out once you're ready to remove it.

Birdette's fave bad hair day solution.

So here I'm going to take you through my recent favourite bad hair day cure. It's quite easy and is good for oily, and frizzy hair days, in fact it will benefit from it! I hate the fact I'm using Jennifer Love Hewitt as a hair model, but this is somewhat what it will look like.

Step one: put your hair in a high ponytail. I put mine on the crown, not too high or this will turn into a dreaded top knot and I will laugh at you. You can make the scalp and smooth or textured as you like. But if your hair is oily, I'd recommend smooth.

Step two: Grab sections of the ponytail and your teasing comb, tease the entire ponytail section by section giving some oomph along the entire pony. by the time you are done. you should have quite a thick pony.

Step three: Spray your pony to help keep it boofy.

Step four: Lightly twist the pony until it coils back onto your hair like a bun and pin in place. What we are going for here is to try and create a ring shape.

Step five: use bobby pins to pin into place, I like to use them on the outer and point the pins toward the base of the pony. Try to tuck away any bits that are poking out.

Step six: Spray with hairspray again and you're good to go!

I like to add some good dangly earrings to accessorise, then you need very little make up to look quite glam.
I'll add some pics to this another time to help show what I mean too!

Tip of the day: Flattering hairstyles

I've been noticing something about hair lately, I do a lot of people watching and have realised a few things.

Slick ponytails can make you look bigger.
Sad but true, the fail safe hairstyle for bad hair days can make you appear weightier then you are. Depending on the type of bad hair day, I'd suggest products and a blowdryer to try and save it, Dry shampoo if your hair is too oily to wear out, and a blow dryer to coax wayward hair in the direction you want it. However conversely girls who feels their heads are too big for their bodies could benefit from this hairstyle?


Big hair looks good almost universally.
I've only recently discovered the teasing comb, and my god, once you get the technique down-pat, it is epically useful. The trick to me is tease the underside, and section by section, going from the front to back, it is much harder to grab a section when it has been partially teased by the previous section. Little rockstar quiffs are fantastic for growing out your fringe, while getting into Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany's look is so much easier then you think after a little practise.

Braids save your ass at the Gym.
The greatest hairstyle for gym is far and away a plait or a braid, much easier to get out of the way and not get it stuck under weights. Because all your hair is one big mass, it's easier to grab it and flip it when it needs to go so you can do your workout properly. Wear it with a soft wide headband if you have a fringe and you're golden.

So Balayage?

I haven't had the time to talk to guys through my new hair. This is ecxiting for me because as I previously mentioned I have never done something like this to my hair before. when I was growing up, we were quite poor, and even a yearly trip to just cuts was a treat because it meant mum wasn't cutting our hair herself! Because of this mentality in my family I did grow up rather frugally, it wasn't until I was in my twenties that I got my first professional wax jobs. Even nowdays most of the time you will still find me in some sort of pretzal position in the bathroom doing the backs of my legs! You know, spending $60 on your own wax pot that you can use for ages just makes ten times more sense to me.
Either way, ranting.
So the procedure my hairdresser did to me was a halo of foils, followed by a dark blond toner. She and I had a chat beforehand and since I was a bit nervous she suggested we didn't go as extreme as the picture I brought in.
Probably about half my hair was bleached, as the toner fades it will lighten and I can have a lighter tone next time.
All in all, I spent 3.5 hours in the chair, but that also included an hour or so of styling, Lisa was keen to get some curl in my hair for my date that night and the blow wave just didn't do the trick.
Would I do it again? Oh my yes. But next time, I think I will get more hair bleached.

Incoming: Textured hair

After the noughties obsession with hair straightening it looks like the trend is finally starting to slacken with the amount of curls, waves, updos and texture appearing on the recent catwalk shows. Creating some interest with your hair may seem daunting but the great thing is there are no rules! Just look after your hair properly. Treat it with kindness and make sure you use heat protecting products!

Hair at Vera Wang was worn low and teased, you can acheive this look yourself with a back comb. If you are back combing on the surface of your hair it is easier to work from the nape up, unlike normal teasing. And don't forget to be gentle! Make sure to use conditioner to help detangle. If you've gone too far, gently brush it out from the ends up.

Tail Comb

Another trend that caught my eye were detailed ponytails. These were still rather sleek but will be great in long sticky summer days where you don't want to worry about your hair! I don't want to even think about how to achieve Marchesa's detailed pony, but Herve Leger had some simple and do-able looks.

 Marchesa's Fishtail Ponytail

Herve Leger's Triple Ponytail

To get this look, all you need is a steady hand. Part your hair across the crown from ear to ear and brush into a half up ponytail style, then part straight across the back and add the first tail into it, then gather all your hair into the last at the bottom. You may require a friend or extra mirrors to get this right, I think it'll look even cuter with hair wrapped around the elastics. Practise also makes perfect!

Bought: Priceline Haul

Went a bit beauty crazy in the last week or so too, after a fortnight of complete scrimping, and then all the great workshops I did have a few moments where as soon as I saw what I could do with a product, I wanted it ... ooooh dear.

Just the results of one such shop up.

Palmers Cocoa Butter Formula SPF 15 +: Because we should always wear sunscreen! Smelling like chocolate is an added bonus

Models Prefer Professional Mineral Eye Shadow in Bronzed Belle: Bronze is super flattering on almost everybody, and black and grey smokey eyes just don't work in summer, these colours are gorgeous, stay in place all day, and being minerals won't annoy your skin.


L'Oreal Paris Touche Magique: The thrifty girls answer to Touche Eclat, brilliant for hiding dark circles.

Prestige Ultimate Brow Definer in Toffee: Some make up artists suggest that blond eyebrow products are good on anyone, but I'm not a fan, they do not do a thing for me. This is the medium shade, and would be good on anyone darker then a light brown. my eyebrows are naturally quite dark, and this is perfect.

John Frieda Full Repair Touch-up Flyaway Tamer: Mentioned in a previous post, Got my hands on one and think it's great. Doesn't smell half bad either.