the pros and cons of being blonde

I'm going to start off by saying, I am not a professional hair stylist. I do work in a hair salon, and do have knowledge about professional products. BUT this is my experience, and my experience only, take what you want from it :)

I am naturally a level 7 (dark blonde) before I started working in a salon, I usually just went with blonde foils, which kept my hair healthy because I only got it done every couple months. When I started working at the salon, I was a dark reddish brown, and decided I wanted to go all over blonde, white blonde.

We started by stripping my hair (bleach), if you were going to a salon, it would be called a colour correction and can cost upwards to $200. Once my hair was bleached, I was a copper colour. I kept this colour for a few months, to give my hair a break before we bleached again. After a few months, we bleached it again, resulting in me having to cut off about 6 inches of my hair that were damaged.




This is me on the right, in November of 2011. I had a full head of blonde foils, and long healthy hair.










Then, I dyed my hair dark reddish brown towards the end of november.












After Christmas, I stripped my hair, and had to cut half of it off.












This is my hair now, this was taken in July of 2012.









I am completely blonde now, after about 5 months. I love my blonde hair, but have come up with a pros and cons list.

PROS:
-blonde is nice for the summer
-I can wear any of my lipsticks
-blondes have more fun?

Okay, I can't really think of many pros to being blonde. I mean sometimes blonde can make you look younger, but I don't think it does for my case. It could also just go with your skin tone better, but from my experience, brown suits me also.

CONS:
-DAMAGE, DAMAGE, DAMAGE
-cost of hair treatments,etc
-cost of getting it toned
-roots!!

Clearly the cons outweigh the pros, in my case anyway. I recommend, that if your heart is set on being blonde, don't rush it! take your time becoming blonde, your hair will thank you. Start off with foils and keep getting more, it will look more natural and will not be as damaged.

It's also good to know what your natural colour is before you go blonde, my hair is naturally ashy, but it pulls yellow, (apparently if you have irish heritage it will do that) because of this my hair looks pissy after about 2 weeks, while I am more of a fan of the white blonde, on myself. So the maintance for me to keep my white sandy blonde is super high.

OKAY so, I am going to post some pictures of the products I use in attempts to keep my hair healthy while it is still blonde. I recommend using professional products, especially if you are blonde.

Firstly, I shampoo my hair twice. The first shampoo removes products, dirt, etc, the second shampoo actually cleans the hair. Currently, I am using a few different shampoos. I am using Joico K-pak reconstruct shampoo to repair damage, I quite like this shampoo, it has a good lather. I also sometimes replace this shampoo with Sebastian Light Shampoo (great for fine hair), I love Sebastian products, they smell AMAZING. For my second shampoo I use purple shampoo, which is a toning/brightening shampoo for blonde/white/silver hair. My favourite purple shampoo is AG Sterling Silver, it is very pigmented and lathers purple, also smells amazing. Purple shampoo is not meant to be used every time you shampoo, but I do anyway. I also leave it on for about 1-3 minutes.

 

Second, I use treatments on my hair instead of conditioner, because my hair is so damaged. Currently, I am using Joico K-pak reconstruct deep penetrating reconstructor. I hate this treatment, I am only using it to finish it up because I don't like to waste products. It smells terrible, like rotten bananas or something and the texture is super weird. Usually I use Sebastian Penetraitt Masque, which has been my favourite treatment that I have used. The moroccan oil treatments are amazing as well. Also, about once a week I use the Redken Extreme Strength Builder Plus. This is a nice treatment, but does contain a lot of protein, so definitely don't use this too often. As too much protein can crack off your hair :)

Lastly, once out of the shower, I use a leave in treatment, I switch up between Moroccan Oil Light and It's a 10 Miracle Leave in Lite. Both products I absolutely love, the whole range of It's a 10 and Moroccan Oil is fantastic and I recommend it for everyone. It's a 10 is a bit more affordable and all their products do so much that it can cut down on the amount of products you need in your hair.

Stay away from: volumizing shampoos and conditioners, if you have damaged hair, this will just dry it out even more.

Okay, enough from me!
I hope this has helped anyone who has been on the fence about going blonde. I love being blonde, but you have to be prepared for the cost of maintenance.

xxo

Cait

skincare routine

Hello people. This is my first blog (besides the few stories previous to this- it was a school project). I am going to start a beauty/fashion/travelling/movie/music/everything blog. I decided to start off with my skincare routine. I have combination skin, it gets dry in the winter and in the summer my t-zone tends to get a little oily. I have had trouble in the past finding a good routine for my skin and can tend to get break outs. Since I have started with the routine I am using now, I find my break outs are fewer and my skin has been getting better. I am not opposed to trying different products and my switch it up once I am done with what I have.




Body Shop- Seaweed Cleanser So far I am enjoying this cleanser, I tend to use it in the mornings. I like how this cleanser is milky and the seaweed is good for combination skin. 




















Makeup Remover Wipes I don't have a picture, because I use many different brands. They all work the same in my opinion. I use them at night, before I wash my face to remove all my make up before I cleanse. It's a good way to make sure all your makeup is off before you actually wash your face. 




 Body Shop- Tea Tree Blemish Exfoliating Scrub
I usually use this exfoliator at night, I'm not the biggest fan of the smell, but anything with tea tree oil doesn't smell great. It is great to keep my face clear, the exfoliating beads are a decent size, you can feel them when you scrub. I don't use this as often as the cleanser, but I would repurchase it for sure. 












 Body Shop- Tea Tree Oil Nighttime Blemish Cream
As you may have noticed, I am currently using quite a bit products from the Body Shop, there was a sale on everything, buy 3 get 1 free, so I decided just to try out a good range of their skin care products. Now, the blemish cream is great, just a dab to a breakout and it's practically gone the next day. It also lasts quite a long time for the size of the bottle. 














  Lush- Eau Roma Water Toner Okay, so I am completely obsessed with this product. It's my first skin care product from Lush and I'm dying to try some more of their products out. I'm not usually a fan of toners, they dry out my skin and cause breakouts. I was a little apprehensive about trying another toner, but the Eau Roma Water has no alcohol in it, and has lavender and rose in it. I love how it feels on my skin, it has a soothing effect, as if you have a sunburn and are putting aloe vera on it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I think it was around $10. I use it at night, before I put on my blemish cream. 




That's everything for my skin routine. I'm not sure on the prices of everything from the body shop, I bought it a couple months ago. I'll try to remember prices from now on, I find the body shops skincare is pretty reasonably priced, plus they seem to always have sales on. Once I update my skincare, I'll post an updated version of my routine! 






 Live and be prosperous! 

Reginald Gamache

Every morning is a struggle for Reginald to get out of bed. As soon as his eyes open at 6 am he is disappointed that he must begin another day, in his mediocre life. Reginald married his high school sweetheart, and has never been with any other woman. Although, he loves his wife, he feels like he walks through his days as a zombie. He avoids looking in the mirror because he is afraid of what he will see; a middle-aged, balding man, with a huge protruding beer belly. Only thirty years ago, Reginald was any women’s dream. He had a luscious head of brown hair and a chiseled body that made the ladies swoon. Reginald and his wife have three children, all sullen teenagers. His children despise him. They don’t see the loving active father they once knew, but a depressed man who always says no.
He begins his day, just like every other day, with a shower and a grey suit, which was once a nice suit, but is now wrinkled and worn. A bowl of Raisin Bran, and a cup of decaffeinated coffee, that is always just a bit too watery. He heads out to his 1976 red Mustang, his pride and joy; it is the only thing that allows Reginald to remember the good ol’ days. The twenty minute drive to work every day consists of heavy rock, loud enough to drown his thoughts. He arrives at work and finds his parking spot next to the entrance. The parking spots aren’t designated, but Reginald arrives early enough to claim it.
Reginald walks into his building and patiently waits for the elevator instead of walking the three flights to his floor. He has given up on exercise. Once he reaches his floor, a small stubby man behind the front desk shouts, “Hey Reggie!” Every day, it’s the same, doesn’t he know by now that Reginald hates being called Reggie. A once kind and funny man, Reginald now doesn’t have time into interact. He passes his subordinates, all who stare up in fear, and makes his way to his huge office with a view. Not ever does he say hello to any of them. Reginald is the director of his department. A job that he has worked extremely hard for, but a job that has made him the man he hates to be.
His whole life, Reginald dreamed of being on top. During University, he was always the one to beat; top of his class. Now that he is right where he wanted to be, Reginald realizes it’s not all it’s cracked up to be. He has no time to spend with his wife and family, no time to exercise and no time to enjoy his life. The day ends the same way, usually not until almost 8pm. He gets back into his red Mustang and looks forward to spending the evening with his family.
The drive home is always quicker in the evening, there is less traffic. He pulls up to his three-story Victorian mansion, and parks his car in the four car garage. Reginald opens the front door, to hear his children bickering and yelling and his wife gabbing on the phone, and remembers why he hates his life.

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The hot sun soaks my skin; I can already feel it burning. The sun is so bright; it’s hard to look at. Sweat drips down my forehead, but none of this matters. I am bruised and sore, from a long week of work. The air is dry, I can taste it. I’m thirsty, but that’s the least of my worries. The ground is hard and grass is trying so hard to grow. The hot sun and lack of rain makes it difficult for the grass.

Laughter is circling me and is precious to my ears. I look around and I see sadness, sadness that is being cured for these prized few hours. I see tents, where far too many children pile into, to protect them from the dangers of night. I see a fence, to keep the kids in and strangers out. I feel a hand on mine; so tiny and calloused. She is speaking to me, in a language I don’t understand, but her words are beautiful. A cool breeze blows by, and we look at each other and smile. When I look around this time, I see smiling faces, these smiles make everything okay, and they make my sadness go away, if only for a moment.

We are in the hut now. Everyone is sitting down, patiently waiting for what is coming next. I have coloring sheets in my hands; they feel familiar, from when I was a child. I hand them out, to each and every one of the excited children, anxiously waiting to start coloring. Laughter turns into silence as the children concentrate on coloring inside the lines. The only thing I can hear is the constant sound of crayons on paper, scribbling back and forth. It is hot in the hut, hotter than being underneath the burning sun. The tarp, which is used as a roof attracts the heat and makes the air almost unbearable.

I can taste the sweat dripping down my face, I am constantly wiping the sweat a way, and it has almost become a routine. The children, aren’t bothered by the heat, they have become immune to it. They have finished coloring, and want to show me their master pieces. I admire their work. I see inside them, the joy I found in coloring, when I was a child. I forget about their circumstances, and see myself inside their big brown eyes.

Stuck with a funny face

Growing up, I was that kid that liked to pull funny faces. It was just something I did all the time, something that most kids do. To be honest, it’s something I still do.

One day, my Mom told me, that if the wind blew while I was making a funny face, my face would get stuck that way. It might have been because my family was embarrassed to be seen with a child that always had a weird looking expression on their face, had their eyes crossed or had their tongue sticking out, but I became worried. What was I going to do? Making funny faces was my trade mark! It was my best way to make people laugh. It was like telling a soccer player they couldn’t play soccer anymore, because if they did, they might fall and die or something along those lines.

At first, I didn’t believe it. How could the wind possibly make my face change? There was just no logic behind it. So, I did what any other kid would do, and asked my friends (please note this was before the internet age, so I couldn’t google it). Surprisingly, my friends had heard the same thing, if my friends believed, I had too as well, you know the whole “if your friends jumped off a bridge would you?” Yeah, these were the days when I didn’t think for myself.

So, I stopped. I gave up making funny faces. Instead, I just smiled, every day, all the time. If I had to bet on it, I would have believed that the wind thing worked for smiling as well, because my face seemed to be stuck in a permanent smile. Those were the days. Anyway, moving on with my story, every time I saw someone with a funny looking face, I was mortified. I had thought that they looked that way all because of the wind, for the longest time, it’s what I believed.

When I grew up, I realized I was told this “legend,” because I could have been offensive to some people, and it was impolite and possibly rude. It also could have been because my parents were embarrassed to be seen with me, either way, the moral of the story is, if you’re going to make funny faces, don’t let your parents see.

Can I have some more?

It’s been a long time since I've had amoxicillin, and no, I’m not allergic. If you can remember as fondly as I can the taste of banana medicine, it tasted pretty fantastic. I loved it! In fact, I loved in so much I drank a full bottle of it.

The year was 1992, I was the mere age of 3, a toddler, and I was incredibly smart or so I liked to believe. Whenever I was sick, the only thing that would make me feel better was banana medicine. I don’t mean, actually make me feel better, I mean make me feel better in my own mind. I craved it, was attracted immediately to the bottle whenever it entered my house. Nothing good ever comes from an attraction to drugs, let me tell you that.

It was an early morning, and I was running around the house, as usual- I was a pretty active baby. Gave my cat, Smokey, some attention, then made my way to the refrigerator. I don’t understand how, but I managed to open to fridge door, and to my relief, found exactly what I was looking for, banana medicine! A full bottle, screaming out to me to drink it! As I told you before, I was a smart kid. Somehow, I managed to open the child proof lock, and chug back that delicious banana concoction. I even remembered to put a little in my cat’s dish, I was also generous, I may mention.

You may begin to wonder, where my parent’s where, while I was overdosing on medicine. Well, they were getting ready for work. I found my mom in the bathroom, doing her hair, and asked her, “Mom? Can I have some more?” As banana medicine dripped down my face, my Mother freaked, and ran to the kitchen. What she found, was an empty bottle of Amoxicillin on the floor. Oh boy was I in trouble.

A few moments past, and I was dragged to the car, and racing to the emergency room. I couldn’t possibly understand what was happening; I had only drunk some delicious banana drink. I remember the hospital all too well. It was frightening, because I had no idea what was going on and what I did wrong. The next thing I know, there are tubes going up my nose, because I apparently wouldn’t drink some black gunk they were trying to get me to take. So what do they do, they put it up my nose, oh yeah, that was fun. Then I proceeded to have my stomach pumped.

I don’t understand why I remember this story so well; I guess it’s hard to forget your first overdose.