commitment

Commitment means different things, to different people. I've been married for 6 years, that's a commitment... but it isn't the one we are talking about today. Today, we talk purple hair (again). I went to Walmart today, and I was stared at, snickered at (small town) and scowled at. Was I dressed offensively? No. I simply have purple hair. Hair that makes 4 year old girls smile, and wave, and I love that. To the people who think that it's okay to make fun of me with your 12 year old son... shame on you. I am committed to my purple hair. My 'my little pony' esque locks bring joy to me, and my kids (Crue cried when he thought I was going back to blonde), and my husband thinks it's hot, so there.

Anywho, I've made such a commitment, that I asked my favorite graphic designer to whip me up a logo based around my tresses. Lekit came up with a design even more stunning than I had imagined!

Isn't it glorious?! I can't wait to don my business cards, comp cards, and website with this lovely, violet hued cameo.

What do you think?

-C

Purple hair... trial and error.

So, I have purple hair. Over the last few weeks it's been everywhere from bright, in-yo-face purple, to pale violet, which I LOVED. Unfortunately, that faded to grey-white pretty quickly, so I pretty much started over with a new band of dye last week. In case you're interested in my journey (a woman too cheap to pay a pro), here's an outline:

First of all, here is my 'natural' hair color (your average highlights and such)

So, I had to bleach it out to get it as close to white as possible if I wanted to achieve my desired look, which was that of Ms. Kelly Osborne, as seen here

Isn't it gorgeous? I think so. Although, I've reevaluated my feelings about her. She has gone on and on about bullying, yet she made an ugly comment about how she has 3 years to do fun looks like purple hair, because only some sort of idiot would be 30 years old with purple hair. To that I say, YOLO. No, seriously, I shout it.

But I digress.

I decided to use a box 'non bleach' I found at the grocery store first... so, that was a mistake. It didn't do much, but at least it didn't force me into hiding

So, as you can see, it was lighter, but not NEARLY what I needed it to be. That's when I really started my research. See, my biggest DIY fault, is that I am a measure once, cut twice kinda gal. I know, I know... I just get so excited that I completely forget to do things right, ha!

Okay, so I went to Sallys and got a packet of bleach, and a little bottle of 20v developer. Mixed it up, and took my husband up on his offer to do it for me. Can anyone else spot the mistake here? Yeah, not only was it not enough bleach, but he sucks at hair. Why, oh WHY did I do that? So, enter patchy orange hair. I skipped the gym all week until I could get to Sallys again. 

This time, I got a TUB of Quick Blue, a liter or Wella 20v developer, and Wella toner in T18, to make it extra pale. I also picked up Special Effects 'Wildflower', planning to dilute it with conditioner to make it a pretty pale violet, like I wanted.

Everything went okay, except the color turned out much darker than planned...

But it grew on me, and my husband loved it, and YOLO.

Eventually it faded into this

which took maybe 2 weeks? Again, it was super uneven... some parts faded darker than others, so (here comes the part where you think my hair might actually pack up and move away from my head, or at least file a restraining order for abuse), I bleached it out again. Yes, two weeks after all that bleaching, I did it again. I was really hoping to get it even so I could finally get the color I wanted, using Pravana Violet and Silver together. 

The hairdresser friend I have that sent the Pravana to me told me to use a DOT of violet, and the whole tube of silver. I (not knowing how to measure a 'dot') used a 1/8 of the tube... this was again, WAY to much, and I'm back to bright purple... ugh. But, as I said, my husband likes it, and it's already beginning to fade (much more evenly this time), so maybe I'll keep it around for a while.

So, what do you think of the pastel hair trend? Would you ever do purple, pink or blue?

-C

Courtney's head shots!

My friend Courtney wants to get into theater acting... she also looks like Marisa Tomei, dontcha think?

She is super gorgeous, and always lets me do her makeup, which is always fun. When it came time to get her headshots done, we chose 4K photography because we absolutely adore their work, and them! They are a couple who work together, and always create the most intimate images. And they're sweet as can be, to boot!

Here are a few images we captured, and later this evening I will be reviewing some of the products used, from bloom.com.

A marathon shoot!

I am so excited to announce another partnership... I will be working with a very talented photographer in June for a 2 day marathon photoshoot!

I am so excited to show y'all the pictures from this shoot, because I LOVE Kristi's work so much. 

Stay tuned!

-C

C takes on... change

In an attempt to spruce up my neglected blog (isn't every post at least 2 months apart and has the same apology?), I am going to be moving in another direction... beauty reviews and set talk from photoshoots pretty much exclusively right now. I can't be trusted to go off track here. So, in my latest review, I bring you... My latest Bloom.com purchases!

Here's what we have in my late January purchase to review:

Stila Stay All Day Liner in Snow

 I am so impressed with this liner. I would estimate in the past 10 years or so I have purchased approx. 9 million white liners, and none, not ONE of those achieved my desired effect, which is a stark white line with one pass. Stila got it right with this one, delivering an opaque, solid line, with no tugging or pulling... Bravo! I have read reviews that these dry out rather quickly, so I will report back on that one. So far so good :)

Stila Smudge Crayon and Primer in Antique I typically use paint pots myself, but on clients in sometimes those can be difficult.. scooping out product and all to preserve cleanliness. What I love about the Stila smudgestick primers is that I can scribble one on the back of my clean hand and use a brush to pick up product. I have used this exact shade my last few shoots, and really loved it's effect for a smokey gold eye. It goes on smoothly, and primes quite well. I have not seen creasing or fading, but I also use primer potion underneath. The color of this is a nice gold, with not too much yellow, which I appreciate. It has a rosy undertone to it, and looks beautiful on pretty much any skin tone.
Cargo Lip Gloss Quad in Argentina and Oceania I love the Cargo line all together, because it's really made with a makeup artist in mind. All of their products are easy to stack, compact, and without a lot of packaging to take up space. This is no exception. Their lip quads are 4 beautiful shades, that are really easy to work with. They have a sheer finish with just enough sparkle to make the lips appear fuller, but not so much that you look like a disco hooker. I really like every shade in both of these , which is a rarity for pallets... right?

 
  soft shimmering berry, deep rust, deep burgundy, and golden copper
  soft icy-pink, vibrant wine, cotton-candy pink, and bright berry

Next post will have my reviews for the remainder of this order, as well as a recent haul, including Benefit's High Beam and more! If there is anything you would like to see, please let me know.

-C

On a seriously sexy note...

When I heard about Cherie Ami, and Be Sexy Buy Fair, I'll admit, I thought... wth? What in the world does selling lingerie have to do with fighting poverty? Well, for Tara, the connection was simple. Sell something that women already love to buy, and in the process, help women across the world make a better life for themselves.

I don't know Tara... I've met her a few times, and we're friends on Facebook, but I wouldn't call her a friend. However, her story inspires me. Her mission, her passion, her devotion to people, not just women she saw everyday, but ones she had never met. She wanted to help make this world a better place, and was in the process of doing her part. Please read more about her story and her endeavors at the link above.

"This entire year of fundraising was to get her to Cameroon and have the pieces made...She got back last night with all the goods so we could launch the website on black friday and it caught fire just a few hours later. So terribly heartbreaking"

Quote from one of her models, Amanda. Her models, her makeup artists, her whole team... all worked so hard to make this dream come to fruition, and like that... it's gone. Thank goodness Tara was not injured in the fire, but her pieces were ruined.

If you think you can help, please help here. It's a small thing to give $10 for most of us, but this could mean the difference in so many lives.

-C

So, it's been a while...

I hate that I keep going weeks without blogging. I know it may seem like it only takes a few minutes to throw these posts down, but I really hate to do it in any rushed fashion. It's a due process, as any blogger can tell you. It typically involves an outline, key points, and a little ad libbing to make it more me thrown in at the end.

With all that's been going on, from the kids getting sick, to buying our first house (hooray!), blogging is something that I've let slip away. So, to get back on track, I have a contest! It's a contest sponsored by the wonderful Bloom.com. If you are a college student, and want to participate, please do! I really want one of you to win... did I mention there's a prize? A BIG one! A $1000 shopping spree at Bloom.com! They carry beauty products, in case you haven't already signed up (you can do so through that link up there!), everything from TheBalm, to Essie and OPI, to Stila... and they are expanding all the time. A wonderful company, and a great group to work with!

So here's the low down:
See the rules here!

THE CAMPUS BEAUTY BATTLE
When it comes to campus beauty tips and tricks does your school make the grade? Put your skills to the test against other campus beauties for a chance to win $1,000 in FREE beauty products!

SOCIAL BEAUTY 101:
1. Share your best looks on Bloom.com. For example: going out looks, 5 minute hairstyle, everyday makeup looks, etc.
You can upload photos to Bloom.com or our free Bloom BeautyTrends app available now on the Apple Store.

2. Share how you got the look in the details section and include #socialbeauty to enter your photo. You can even tag which products you used!

3. Once you’ve saved your photo, click the share button to encourage your Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest followers to vote for you!
The photo with the most “Looks Good!” votes wins! Feel like sharing your $1K beauty prize? Amp up your chances of winning by getting a team of friends to upload their photos. There is NO LIMIT to how many photos you can enter.

Voting starts November 1st and runs through November 20th. The photo with the most “Looks Good!” votes will be announced on Monday, November 26th.

So in order for our 'looks' to be tracked, you tag them with #socialbeauty AND #juneeffingcleaver

Good luck ladies, and please spread the word! The more people we get on team #JuneEffingCleaver the better!

-C