Hair dye disaster!

Have you ever dyed your hair and it turned out not how you wanted? I have. The dye took to my hair better than expected turning it jet black instead of the deep chocolate brown i was after, it wasn't put my head in a plastic bag never go outside bad but it just made me look pale and washed out. After looking online i found a quick easy fix to speed up the fading process.

This is going to sound like the most unusual and weird hair fix in the world but i can assure you that it works because i have used it on my own hair. So don't worry. 

You will need: 

Lemon washing up liquid

Bicarbonate soda

3-4 eggs

Vinegar

Bowl

Fine tooth comb

Step 1. 

Mix the lemon washing up liquid and bicarb together until it creates a gloopy green mixture

Step 2.

Wet your whole head then pat with a towel to get rid of excess drippage

Step 3.

With a fine tooth comb, comb the mixture through your wet hair. Make sure you cover the whole head. You may need someone to help you.

Step 4. 

Wash off the mixture

Step 5. 

Instead of using shampoo, use vinegar to soak up the excess mixture. Wash this off.

Step 6. 

Break 3-4 eggs over your head (you may need someone's help) and lather into the scalp. Wash off as well. 

Step 7.

You then just towel dry your hair as you would after a shower. 

Step 8. 

This will have to be repeated once a fortnight or once a month depending on how much you want your hair to fade. 

As i said, yes this method is strange, but from first hand experience i know it works. 

- Kayla. 

Spring/Summer 2011

Spring is fast approaching, so I figured why not check out what's in this season. So I logged onto this website called fashionising, which is basically my online bible. I'm on there all the time reading up about what's in, what's out etc. but although I spend all this time on there, it hasn't crossed my mind to check what's coming up in the trends this year. Here's a quck guide on what your investments should be to keep you on trend for S/S 2011.



Sheer maxi dresses and skirts

This trend is new yet old. Last year Maxi dresses + skirts were the in trend and this year, that doesn't change, however the materials do. This year they're going sheer. The sheer fabric makes it very cheeky and quite sexy while the length balances it out with a very demure touch. Maxi dresses give your look a little bit of a romantic spark because it outlines your silhouette and letting your imagination do the rest instead of showing off your body to it's full extent. Celebrities such as Ashley Tisdale, and Rihanna are already sporting the trend. As I am one the petite women of the world I find it difficult to find a maxi dress or skirt that doesn't make me look smaller than I really am so in all honesty i'm looking froward to this summer challenge of finding a maxi dress because I feel that it must somehow be in my wardrobe this season.



Lace
Lace has held on to it's place in the trends for multiple seasons yet we're still not sick of it. It has different meanings to different people, to me lace is beautiful with a delicate aurora. It's a timeless material that will be used for years to come. This season the trend has been given a romantic edge, neutral lace dresses will be taking the high street by storm. Too much lace will make the look trashy so stick to one piece at a time. Kristen Stewart is one of the celebrities that has given lace a modern romantic twist.

Tassels
Looking through fashion websites lately, I have been bombarded by the site of tassels! Tassel bags. Tassel skirts. Tassel dresses. You get the drift. Tassels was once a form of art that signified luxury, this season, they're bigger, brighter and more voluminous than they ever have been. Also now they're not just being made from strands of fabric. Now feathers are being used as tassels too which has given the trend an edgier look. I love the feather idea being used as tassels, it's such a fun way to revamp a trend. Emilio Pucci, Louis Vuitton and Roberto Cavalli made tassels the main focus point, showcasing tops made from tassels, and tassels cascading from bags.

Capri pants
Although capri pants have JUST come into season, I have been wanting a pair since I saw Vanessa Hudgens sporting them in High School Musical 2, pretty sad right? They just looked so comfy, so summery and really sweet. This trend is an opposite to one of the other trends around right now, wide leg trousers. I love how all capri pants are a skinny cut without clinging to every curve, it gives women more confidence to bare a bit more skin in the know it won't advertise their "flaws" to the outside world. They come in a range of outrageous colours but the majority seen on the catwalk are subtle colours such as white, cream, grey, slight gold, or khaki.





Tail hem dresses

For awhile celebrities like Selena Gomez have been gracing the red carpet wearing tail hem dresses, they've also been on the high street for quite awhile too. I recently purchased a charcoal tail hem dress from Topshop, which I adore but I am yet to find a way to wear it without looking like an old granny. This trend comes in a range of lengths which causes a balance between mini to midi or midi to maxi, either way if the front is shorter than the back it doesn't really matter which length you choose it's still right on trend.


Stripes
S/S 2011 has held on to the traditional trend of traditional pattern and given it a modern twist. This pattern turns a blank canvas into a work of art even though there are numerous variations of it. Stripes are quite a powerful pattern because it can give an outfit architectural complexity and a very definite structure. For a basic guide on how to wear this pattern this season skimming through the amazing collections of Besoni, Marc Jacobs, Moschino, Prada, Paul & Joe, Jean Paul Gaultier, Isabel Myrant and Matthew Ames. Although each design is unusual and different they're all beautiful.


Playsuits/Jumpsuits

Want the comfort of your sweats whilst still looking fashionable? then this trend is for you! Playsuits + jumpsuits are for all height ranges, even the petite girls + women out there, you can just pair some heels or wedges to give that extra sophisticated height to your figure. However if you already have the height covered then a pair of sandals will do the trick. I love how this outfit used to be associated with the likes of clowns and babies but has somehow evolved into a prima-trend and are now socially accepted as a wardrobe staple.  I adore this purple jumpsuit from Diane von Furstenberg, the simplicity of it is all it needs to make it pop as the colour is already bright + beautiful. I haven't seen many celebrities wearing this trend however I found a gorgeous image of Jennifer Lopez wearing an embellished halterneck jumpsuit.

Crop tops
The 70's era may be ruling the runway and shops, the 80's have managed to jump in to the trend list in the form of crop tops. Personally I don't recommend anyone spending a ridiculous amount of money on this trend because we all know it won't be around for a long time like some trends we've seen and is only for the younger women of the world, (only for 23 and under). However this is a fun trend and is meant for experimentation so get working with those accessories girls!  I'm going to be honest, i'm not a major fan of crop tops and feel that there a vast majority that look very trashy and look like they come straight from the fame era. With the right styling, a crop top can look very chic and stylish. I guess this trend is based more on personal preferences than catwalk trends. If you're confident enough to bare your midriff then I encourage you strongly to do so as crop tops look very cute with hot pants over a bikini at the beach or with capri pants around town. For those who aren't as confident as those lucky few you DON'T need to avoid this revival, you could pair it with a simple tank top to cover the midriff but have the modern style of the crop top. Cheryl Cole works this subtle crop top with sophistication and class.


Hope you enjoyed,
- Kayla

Grecian flashback

Lately I have been slowly but definitely falling in love with the Grecian/Romanesque style that comes around every so often, even though it isn't on trend this S/S 2011 it will blend in without looking too out of place due to the sheer fabrics that the dresses tend to be made of. Although Grecian isn't on trend, sheer fabrics are for sure. I even bought a bracelet earlier that reflects this trend (can be seen on the previous post), shockingly what made me fall in love with this trend was contemporary architecture, which I then incorporated into the design which reminded me of Grecian fashion and i've just kept falling.

On Thursday in college, my course started an introduction to pattern cutting and me + my partner for this exercise picked the most complex design you can ever think of to pattern cut. This was our first time pattern cutting for garments as we have only ever made patterns for bags, which is completely different as you don't have model measurements and darts to worry about.
The design me + Leah chose to follow was a grecian style dress with a gathering detail throughout as the main focus detail. This meant we had to cut out separate panels where we needed to gather it, we added at least 5 darts overall to make it cling to the body and had to make several alterations to get it the way we wanted.

If I choose to ever make this dress out of material, it would have to be made out of chiffon and a lightweight cotton to give it the complete grecian look. However I am aware that chiffon is one of the hardest fabrics to handle and sew. If you sew it the wrong way it's impossible to get it to lie correctly etc. but it is possible to work with as we can see in the fashion industry.

- Kayla

 #update#
Here are the photos of the paper dress, sorry that they're in black + white but i couldn't change the settings, my blackberry was having a funny 5 minutes on me (N)

They're not amazing quality because they were taken on a 2mp camera, unluckily that's all i had on me at the time. In future I will be taking them on a 12mp camera to ensure higher quality but until then these will have to do.

Peacocks + Vitamin water

I have decided to start a kind of fashion/beauty blog alongside my kind of personal day-to-blog so that will include things i've bought, make-up reviews, things i love right now etc. I was inspired to start this by a youtuber called Fleur De Force, her videos are just amazing and need to be watched! Here is the link to her channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/FleurDeForce

Anyway, today me + my best friend went shopping today and as I have hardly any money I was only able to buy a select amount of items but even though that was the case I was overall happy with what i bought. First, we went to Tesco and I bought 2 bottles of vitamin water because I just love the   taste of the water because it's basically flavoured water but there's a wider variety of flavours than other brands. They look like this:

The red one is a pomegranate + blueberry flavour and claims to make the skin glow by releasing antioxidants that act against age-accelerating free radicals, protects cells + gives the skin a healthy appearance by renewing it. The clear one is an elderflower + pear flavour and claims to detox the skin by releasing an antioxidant that protects the body cells from free radical damage, tops up vital vitamins, carries nutrients around the body and removes any unnecessary bit from the body. Although I haven't tried the pomegranate + blueberry flavour yet I am so satisfied with the elderflower + pear one, it just tastes so good + after drinking it I feel energised and quite replenished. I got these for £1.80 (for both) from Tesco.

Next we took a trip to Peacocks and I bought some accessory pieces on the sale rack.
This first item I have been wanting since it first came out late spring/early summer last year and  have just been in love with it ever since. It's a gold cuff bracelet, the cuff is a kind of battered effect but in a neat way, The detailing of it is very bold, very dramatic. It has a gold circle on the centre of the bracelet and is decorated with pink gems and dimantes. It reminds me a bit of the Egyptian/Greek/Roman era as this is the sort of thing they would have worn. I will probably wear this with a simple dress or maybe shorts and vest combo.

      

         £2.50 from Peacocks






The second thing I bought was as much a statement piece as the bracelet and just screamed for me to buy it, Normally I find it really difficult to find rings to fit my fingers as they are incredibly small, most the time it just takes the biscuit because I see gorgeous rings then find out i can't buy them because they're too big for me even though they are a standard small. However this one fit on my finger with no trouble whatsoever. It would have to be an accessory worn by itself or just with simple earrings and a simple necklace as if it was paired with bracelets or fussy necklaces/earrings it would just overload the outfit and people just wouldn't know where to focus. I love the fact that it's just a massive flower, it catches everyones eye just like it caught my eye while searching the sale rack. Although the design is basic, the scale of it makes up for this factor.

       £2.50 from Peacocks







The last item is more delicate than the other two. I just fond it so cute + adorable and knew that it was a must-have buy. It's an item that can be paired with basically a while wardrobe and can be worn through Spring + Summer. I have never seen this ring in the store before so was quite shocked to see it on the sale rack but considering it was the last one, it must've been a very popular piece. It is a simple large 'diamond' completely surrounded by an arrangement of lilac + white flowers with gold detailing. Although statement pieces are dramatic, I find simple pieces very quirky + often subtly bring the whole outfit together as a whole.

          £2.00 from Peacocks






In addition to all this amazing stuff, my mum ordered some mouthwash off amazon for me. I am weird when it comes to mouthwash, I can't stand mint. Mint is like my biggest hate after spiders and heights. I can't eat it, the smell doesn't bother me as much but as soon as i taste it we have problems. Th only mouthwash I can find in my local pharmacies are all mint mouthwashes and I can't have them because my eyes water and I begin to gag. So earlier I was like 'well i need to fix this problem' so I went on the amazon website and found a Listerine citrus mouthwash, this seems perfect as I love citrus fruits they are just my favourite things ever. Kind of reminds me of summer. My mum ordered it off her card because I hate not being able to use mouthwash, it frustrates me to the max. It'll be arriving anytime from Tuesday to the following Monday. I will definitely be doing a review on this in case someone else has the same problem as I have and would like to know how to avoid the mint flavour but still have mouthwash. It only cost about £3.80 and the shipping costs were free, meaning there's no difference in price from your local drugstore, which is an extra bonus for mint haters. Here's the link for those that are interested: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Listerine-Antiseptic-Mouthwash-Citrus-500ml/dp/B000KU734G/ref=sr_1_6?s=drugstore&ie=UTF8&qid=1296326784&sr=1-6

- Kayla