Red to Pink Ombre

I got tired of feeling washed out with bleach blonde hair and got my hair done at work! We used a half  auburn shade, and half red pigment mixture at the top (Matrix 7RB + So-red for anyones interested), and Pravana pink at the bottom. 

The Matrix washed out pretty quickly(as expected, My hair was pretty bleached!), and the pravana did not seem to budge. Pravana is notorious for not being pretty permanent when it comes to unnatural hair colors which is why I was interested in it in the first place. I could not tell you if it's going to stain badly or not, as I haven't tried to get it out of my hair(obviously!). My coworkers said it doesn't fade very much(especially since they'd watched diluted Manic Panic come out of my hair in under a week!), but should come out. If you're interested in a semi-permanent color that you can wash daily it's probably a good choice.   

 After about a week, I ended up getting Vampire red, and Hot hot pink(Manic Panic), I applied the Vampire red directly onto my hair and even used heat(Purposely trying to get it to stain!) and diluted the hot hot pink just a bit. 

Overall, I like the manic panic results much more than the matrix/pravana. Mainly the matrix and pravana are just a base so that my colors are more permanent, and I no longer have to bleach my new growth(I'm trying to grow my hair out! :p).  After a week, it's held on much better than it's permanent counterpart.  I'm also considering trying different manic panic shades over my bases(Magenta to pink anyone?) 

The one manic panic downside? The vampire red does bleed onto EVERYTHING, including the pink at the bottom, leaving it sometimes a hot pink/red color! My neck also gets it's own red stains. In the long run, I'd say it's very worth it. 

Outfit dump: Lolita + many work friendly outfits

Cardigan: Target

Dress/bag/shoes: Bodyline

Hair accessory/necklace: Starlight deco dream

hair accessory(pink): Little Cookie

socks: sock dreams

So, I only seem to have outfit posts these days ><;. This time around most of them are what I wore to work in the last week or so. We aren't allowed to wear color up there, so no pink haha. I'm starting a new tag for it though, as I do see a lot of 'corporate goth' in a lot of blogs, but mine will just be 'work friendly'.

Of course my other outfits are only going to end up getting pinker! xD  Namely the lolita one at the top, which I had a lot of fun putting filters on! This is actually the first time I had a chance to wear this dress, it's one of my favorite things I've bought from them.  :) 

Sorry about the lack of other posts, I'm still really adjusting to my work schedule, and standing all day (I've been pretty tired lately). Eventually I'll get back into regular writing again :)

♥ Outfit dump ♥

Not much to say here, I've been taking a lot of outfit posts lately but haven't gotten to post them. The last one there is actually something I wore to work. The rest is mostly just hanging out. I've been experimenting with wearing more pink a lot lately, sort of mixing "kawaii" styled stuff with more punk styled clothes. I guess that's my new casual clothing style for the moment. I think I've cited where most of this stuff is from in other outfit posts so I won't bore you with a really long run-down.

Personal:

I started work Tuesday, and I'm pretty excited about getting started there. At the moment I'm an apprentice(mostly a receptionist who also helps out/only does hair when we're super busy), but I'll be doing hair more regularly after around 6 months to a year. 

Hair post 1/2 2013

I have products, and progress.... and I think I should do this periodically seeing as I'll always have products and progress, so I'm calling it a hair post and maybe I'll do one every...six months? I don't want to overdo it... and six months seems to be enough time to quantify progress and results. I'm planning on doing this as more of a January/June thing(pictures are from then anyway). Which would mean a Winter/summer thing, but for now I'll just go for 1/2 and 2/2 to avoid confusion.

Progress

In early June I chopped off about 3.5 inches of really damaged hair, from my already broken off hair. I've noticed my hair is right back where it was before the cut, so I'm pretty excited. I've been trimming maybe a quarter inch every three months so I won't have the same issue with damaged ends, and hair breaking off. I rarely use heat if any, occasionally I color with manic panic but have only had to use one (Very light!)soap cap. Generally I bleach(new growth only!) maybe every four months, sorry that's a real guess-timation. I'm going to try to bleach every three months from now on though. 

Oh yes, celebratory collages ♥ I should do this more often... The first one is from my instagram if anyone follows it. Mainly I'm glad for my progress, but I can't wait for my hair to at least be waist length again(Prolly another six months?). I'm just used to my hair being longer! >_<   

Products

So, I've quit using organix all together. I liked them for a little while, don't get me wrong. They have great smelling products, I'll give them that. Otherwise their products are pretty lackluster. The deep conditioner I used was alright, but not amazing. I also had a leave in which I realized was a bit too heavy for my hair. I've just sworn it off for now, their products cost too much(IMO) to work that badly! 

 I've also quit trying Biotin, which didn't work so well for me seeing as admittedly, I'm not /I don't eat healthy enough for it to do very much for me. I considered using it with a multi vitamin but I have not tried it. I wanted to mention this seeing as the last time I posted I said I was using it. 

I still like/use Shimmer lights and the Garnier Fructis leave in.

Matrix Instacure

I've been using this one for a while. I've used quiet a few leave-in conditioners, but this has to be my absolute favorite. It is very moisturizing without feeling oily or sticky like so many others have. I use it daily, and definitely recommend it for a bad hair day! (Another fun use? When I tease my hair up I use this to help get the tangles out---after washing product out and conditioning  of course!)

Matrix ULTRA-hydrating Balm

The one I'm using is supposed to be for "Thick, course" hair, but the original product was painfully light. I remember using the original on people at school and not noticing a huge difference... Which is what made me decide to buy this version. My hair is fine, and dense but I haven't seen this do anything but good for it. My hair seems to be a lot softer and easier to manage since I started using this product. I use it once a week, which is recommended for bleached hair. 

Herbal essences: Honey I'm strong

Only drug store item! This is my daily wash, and I love it. I used to use the hello hydration shampoo and conditioner, but they didn't do as well as this one does! I can definitely see a difference in my hair's strength, and softness. 

Anyone else growing out their hair? I hope some of this was helpful :)

LBC: Adding DIY touches to a lolita wardrobe

I really thought that this weeks topic was perfect for my blog... After all my most viewed posts (with the exception of my hair color posts) are generally my tutorials! I've talked about making your own OP, and making your own petticoat. I've considered a tutorial for altering a thrifted button down shirt into a blouse, but haven't done it yet... :p Lolita is the real reason I started sewing, of course my first few things weren't very cute, but eventually I got a feel for sewing lolita clothing. If you wanted to you probably could find enough tutorials on the internet to build up a wardrobe. I've been told at one point that was the only way to have a Lolita wardrobe at all, which is pretty amazing. 

Some of my DIY projects

Places with tutorials:

ABC Lolita

Cut out + Keep

Advanced

Anyways, the theme here is DIY touches, so in general I think an easier clothing item is usually a simple lolita skirt. I mean for me it's just a rectangle of fabric with a kind-of complicated waistband. You can experiment with new colors, cheaply and easily. Also, I'm only now getting into a more detailed look with sewing... If you wanted to, you could easily experiment with different decorations and such(ruffles, layers of lace, ect). I guess my favorite part is really the skirt anyways.  

Intermediate
An even easier one is altering things to be lolita. Such as oversized T-shirts/Button-down shirts. Making cutsews is actually pretty easy, (aside from the fabric itself at times) and is great for casual lolita. Generally with these all you need to do is make them smaller around, and re-do the sleeves. These take way less time, making them less frustrating. 

Cut-sew tutorial 1
Cut-sew tutorial 2


Beginner

Accessories are best for the absolute beginner, you can always learn sewing basics while making bows, or headdresses if you prefer. 

The one thing I can say about making your own lolita clothes(or even entire wardrobe) is be patient, don't take on way too much at once if you're just learning how to sew. Try some altering here and there, and make something with a pattern if you have to. Remember to use the right length of skirt, the right kind of fabric, ect. The first things you make may be terrible, mine were pretty bad. Don't panic if you don't do so well the first time you try! Trying and failing is the only way to get better and grow.  

Other LBC posts(Will be updated!)
Jessie Dress Up

Belated Holiday Haul(Corsets Queen, Bodyline, Sock Dreams)

Hi guys, I know I'm several weeks overdue for this(even after my Bodyline stuff got here). Sorry about that! For anyone who follows me on instagram you've already seen my bodyline dress. 

♥Bodyline♥

Of course I had my usual shipping mishaps, it took a lot longer than usual for these to arrive, but given when I made the order(less than a week before Christmas) and the fact that I chose airmail... I don't hold a grudge. Honestly I'm just used to it by now anyways. 

The pink dress looks so much nicer in person than it did on the website, both are true to size, and nice looking.

♥Corsets Queen♥

I haven't ordered from them before, and I was really impressed by this corset. This is the least expensive I've been able to find a real tight lacing corset, the shipping was even free. I didn't have a problem with the shipping at all even though it was shipped from India, and I'm definitely not disappointed in the quality!

Initially I was worried about the length of the corset, but a normal one did just fine!

 ♥Sock Dreams♥

Sock dreams had great shipping as usual, I guess I'm just so used to things coming in from Japan and such... My socks never fail to be in my mailbox within a week xD 

White fishnets: 

These actually stay up on their own which I didn't believe when I ordered them. I haven't needed a garter belt at all!

 

Lavender thigh highs: 

I already have the pink version of these, I love them, they're really long and great for scrunching up too! Definitely warm as well!

Zombie Thigh highs: 

As you can see I have a thing for white socks right now haha. I really like them, they're  and the material is so much better than the older pair of (Hot Topic)knee socks they're replacing. ( They are also a bit shorter than the other socks but great nonetheless)

Pink thigh highs:

They're not as opaque as I was hoping but very cute nonetheless. They're also pretty long which is nice. 

21st Birthday Outfit Post

Not sure that I'd call this lolita, not because of the corset but the way the shirt looks with it... (You think we could call this ero lolita? For now I'll go with that.) I'll have to alter a lavender blouse for the future, would you guys like a tutorial(Button down shirt altered into a lolita blouse)? 

For the time being I have lavender hair to match my cake/outfit/life. It'll be out pretty soon though. I also want to make a post featuring all of my christmas/birthday stuff(My corset, some sock dreams, forever 21 bodyline), but my Bodyline package is taking forever! I've actually never had it take so long. Once that's in the mail I'll be writing a gigantic review I think :)

I've had the top forever, skirt is from bodyline.co.jp, Corset is from corsetsqueen.com, socks are sockdreams.com, shoes are from a vintage store, and the necklace is etsy.com/shop/StarlightDecoDream.