Spring Must Haves

It's raining right now in Southern California, so I decided I would post my favorite spring trends and products to lift my mood! Some of these are trends that I have noticed and others are things that I'm just in love with and thought I would share with you all.
1. The Peplum Top: When I first saw this style trending I wasn't too sure about it, but when I tried on a dress from Forever 21 I fell in love! It really flatters all body shapes because the ruffle sort of distracts from my tummy area and it looks really cute.
2. Pink Fragrance Mist: I am seriously in LOVE with this scent. The bottle I have is nearly empty and I always bring it out when Spring/ Summer hit. There are so many floral notes to it, it just makes me feel fresh and clean and ready for a day out in the sun.
3. Buxom Big & Healthy Lipstick- Barcelona: I was talked into purchasing this lip color by a friend of mine while I was working at Sephora and it was seriously one of the best purchases I made there. This lip color is the perfect shade of red that would compliment any skin tone, and the great thing about all Buxom lip products is that they nourish your lips and leave a slight tingle. I personally think red lips are always in season, and this is one of my top picks.
4. Peep Toe Flat: I just purchased these flats from H&M in a coral color and they are so comfortable! I love that peep toes are in so I can show off my pedicure and still look a little more classy than a sandal because I really don't do well in heels.
5. Aveeno Nourish + Condition Leave In Conditioner: So I stole this product from my Mom the other day and I'm in love with the way it smells! But I'm gonna be honest I haven't used it long enough to know if it really helps repair your hair, I'll update on that soon. I just love that it's a mist and not a cream so it's not too heavy for the Spring/ Summer weather.
6. Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream: BB Cream is huge right now and Spring is the perfect time to put it to use. It is a moisturizer, primer, SPF, oil controller and foundation in one. You can buy similar products in a multitude of price ranges. I personally love it because when the weather is warm the last thing I want to do is put on a thick layer of foundation. 

How To: Ombre Your Hair Pink

Ok I'm finally getting around to posting this and now that I see how sort of difficult it is to explain in text, I think I'm going to make a tutorial video about it. But for now I'm just going to do my best to explain it. So if you want your hair to look like this, read on!

Just a disclaimer before I get started with explaining this, I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL! I'm just a broke woman who wanted to change her hair, and because I tend to make these decisions on a whim it's easier for me to just do them myself, and much more cost effective. However this is the first time I've used bleach on my own head and though I like the way it turned out, it was a learning experience. 

Process One: Bleaching The Tips

I began this process with hair that had not been washed in a day or 2. I've been told this helps the color stick, and I would say that's accurate. I mixed equal parts of the bleach powder and developer in 30 volume. From what I've read you should not go above a 30 volume because it will seriously damage your hair. I've even heard using 20 volume, however this slow but steady way of bleaching is more for those who want to bleach their whole head, or in really large portions. Once I mixed the bleach I parted my hair down the middle and divided it into about 2-3 inch sections.

With the ombre technique it's really important that both sides of your head be even, so if I applied the lightener on one side of my head, I IMMEDIATELY did the same to the other side.I applied the bleach first to the bottom 3-4 inches of my hair, then wrapped the ends in foil. For this first process it stated to let it sit for about 30 minutes, but after I checked my hair at that time I saw that it wasn't nearly enough, so for the first round I left it on for about 45 minutes, then rinsed it out. 

Now some people say to apply the second layer of bleach after the hair is still damp, but I personally was more comfortable with rinsing it, drying it completely, then bleaching again. However, this time I took the color about 3 inches higher. I still incorporated all of the hair, even the previously bleached ends, to be bleached again. I then wrapped the ends in foil and let it sit for about another half hour. I also forgot to mention this for the first step of bleaching, but for both sessions I placed a plastic bag over my head to lock in the heat. I also took a blow dryer and inserted it in the bag for my heat to activate the bleach. 

I then rinsed my hair and towel dried it. Because my hair was black when I began, the color was not a true blonde, it came out quite brassy. I anticipated this problem so I purchased a toner in a grey color because I was told grey takes out the brassiness. I placed the toner in a bottle and just applied it directly to my damp hair and left it in for about 15 minutes which turned out to be the perfect amount of time. Because I mistakenly did this a second time and left the toner in longer and it turned a darker color that I did not want. So for future reference, if you are toning with grey, use a lite amount on damp hair and don't leave it very long if you want to take the brassiness out. Here is what my hair looked like after this round... 

Process 2: Adding the Pink (Or any other color you want)

I purchased the Color Jamz Semi Permanent colors in Bubble Head Pink and Candy Apple Red. I did this because originally I wanted to do just the red, but I thought to be a little more daring I'd start with Pink then let that fade and add the red after. So I took the Bubble Head Pink, put on some gloves and just went to town. I squeezed it straight from the bottle onto the blonde tips of my hair and just worked it with my hands. Once every inch of blonde was covered I wrapped my hair in a bun and put a plastic bag over it. I recommend letting it sit for a VERY long time because it takes a while to grab onto your hair. Also this product is vegan so there are no harsh chemicals that will damage your hair if you leave it in too long, and it smells really great. After my first round of hair coloring it turned out looking like the first picture I posted. 

One thing I noticed is that the color does not last as long the first time around, so after about a week I decided to color it once more, this time using the Candy Apple Red. But instead of getting this true red color I actually got a really hot pink, and I ended up really loving it. This is how the color was the second round with the Candy Apple Red...

I like how vibrant and deep the color is and it has lasted much longer than the color did my first time applying. So from now on when I apply the color I'm going to alternate between the Bubble Head Pink and the Candy Apple Red to keep this vibrant hot pink color going. Also I posted the picture of the Dove Conditioner because it is SOOOO IMPORTANT to deep treat your hair when you do something like this. Especially if you're like me and you're going from black to blonde, damage is to be expected, but it can be much less if you take care of your hair. 

And that's really all I did! I'm sorry I know this post is really long, thank you so much for taking the time to go over it. If you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them as best I can, but as I stated before I'm not a pro.