Temporary Hair Color with Hair Chalking! (& some Senna Cosmetics)

So I have been seeing a lot of beauty bloggers doing this hair chalking thing, so I figured I would give it a go. Since doing something to yourself is usually a hell of a lot harder - I recruited my friend Kelli (aka Same Name) as my guinea pig in this endeavor. You might remember her from my Prom makeup posts awhile back. She has huge boobs.

What you need (and I'm doing this in the cheapest, most cost effective way possible. I am not going to tell you to go out and buy all kinds of expensive shit that you don't really need):

- Soft Pastel Chalks (do not freaking buy oil pastels or you will HATE YOUR LIFE)

- A handful of plastic sandwich bags (if you plan on doing a lot of strands, you'll need more - I used these instead of rubber gloves because I don't have rubber gloves laying around my apartment for fun)

- Container of water (I used a Cool Whip tub)

- Blow Dryer

- Straightener

These are the pastels I used.. 

I got them at Pat Catans craft store & they were like $6.99

Here's what our finished product looked like:

Step 1: Dip the strand of hair you're going to dye into water. I varied the sizes of strands I did on Kell, but I wouldn't go much bigger than like an inch or so. Unless you plan on dying the entire strand from the root, you only need to wet the parts that you want to have color on them (about halfway up if you're just doing what we did).

Step 2: Dip the tip of your chalk into water and then color the strand while holding it in your hand with a plastic baggie over it. This part gets pretty messy, so the baggie helps a little bit. Make sure you don't rub the strand back and forth or up and down because you will matte the shit out of the hair and whoever you're doing this to will want to strangle you. Just use a downward motion and try and spread the strand out so you don't miss any sections.

see how it's all over my hand? 

the baggie makes it easy to just color it without getting it all over yourself

Step 3: Once your strand is colored, let it air dry for a few minutes and then hit it with a blowdryer to dry it out a little before you straighten it to prevent frying your hair. If your strand is really knotty (some of them will get like that, there's no preventing it sometimes), try and brush it out GENTLY before you dry it. If you brush it after it's on the dry side, you're going to get a bunch of chalk dust flying around and you'll lose some pigment.

Step 4: Once your strand is dry (or mostly dry), run it through a straightener to seal in the color. I didn't turn my straightener up all the way heat-wise since some of the strands I was going over were still slightly damp, but it's up to you. I also curled her strands during this part, too - but you can just straighten them if you don't want curls. NOTE: THE CHALK WILL GET ON YOUR STRAIGHTENER BUT IT WIPES RIGHT OFF SO DON'T WORRY !!

We also used a double color technique where we did some strands red on the bottom and then purple on the top.. It looked pretty because they kind of faded into one another whenever we dried them. 

And just a couple tips - the chalk dust got on Kell's shirt a little bit, so you might want to wear something you don't really care about when you're doing this. It wasn't anything crazy though, so you don't need to go buy a poncho or anything. 

And since we were doing hair, I also did her makeup :)

I used Senna's "Itsy Bitsy Lashes", which are just meant to go on the outer wing of your lashes & are great for a more subtle look. They definitely did enhance her lash line even though they're small, though. I'm a big fan of them and they come with glue right in the package. I also smudged some of Senna's Black Violet Velvet Eyeliner on her lower lash line, as well. I did a post on that a little while back.

Purchase Senna's Itsy Bitsy Lashes here!

Hopefully this gives you guys some creative ideas for things to do with your hair this spring & summer! The chalking could be really pretty with prom hair if it was worked into an updo, as well :) Let me know if you will be experimenting. Thanks for reading, as always! XO!

Five Favorites Video... Featuring Luna.

Out of all of the emails I get from readers, I have found that you guys are really interested in the crap that I use on my face everyday. I opted for the video format just because any lengthy posts can get a little bit annoying to read - so I figured this would be more entertaining for you all. Let's be honest, when you see a blog post that rivals one of the Harry Potter books in terms of length, you click right back to Facebook or Twitter or whatever you were doing and continue like you never even saw the damn thing.

I'm recovering from some allergy/sinus issues - so I'm sorry if I sound nasally lol.. I also want to give a disclaimer that there is an attention seeking italian greyhound in this video that wants nothing more than for me to throw her tennis ball. Enjoy.

Tarte Lip Tint ($24.00) <- apparently the color I showcased isn't available through the site, but there is a very similar shade called "joy"
Senna Matte Eyecolor in Blend ($16.50)
e.l.f. Mineral Foundation + SPF15 in Light ($5.00)
Kat Von D Sin-Full Lash Mascara ($19.00) <- not as bad as I thought price-wise

Never hesitate to email me suggestions, comments, or questions! I love hearing from each and every one of you! You can direct everything to unnecessarydrama@gmail.com!

HANAair Professional Hair Dryer Review

Hi Chickadees

Sorry it's been awhile. I will leave you with a picture of what has been occupying most of my time lately:

YES! I got a puppy!

As I speak, she is crawling all over my laptop, so as you can imagine - I have been a little bit preoccupied lately. But I have a review that needs posting. And it's one of the best ones yet.

So the great people from Misikko got in touch with me in order to review one of their professional hairdryers. Now I am going to be straight with you here, ladies. I effing hate blowdrying my hair. It's annoying. So when I got this inquiry, I basically said to myself: if this bomb-ass hairdryer can't change my mind about blowdrying my hair, then I will be an air-dryer for life. 

I've had the shitty hairdryers before. The Revlon ones that are $30 and last for a year before they start smelling like you lit a cat on fire in the bathroom. So when I was given the opportunity to try one that was actually of professional quality - I said hey, rock my world, Hana. Change my mind about the hair drying game.

So Misikko has a ton of professional blow dryers up for grabs (you can view them all via that link), but I had the pleasure of rocking out with the HANAair Professional Hair Dryer. HANA is a great salon brand that is super high-end and if you have never used one of their hair dryers, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: they freaking rule. 

But spoiler alert here, they are pretty pricey. So while I had the honor of reviewing this little gem, keep in mind that they are on the higher end of the price spectrum. But if you're tired of paying $30 for hair dryers that leave your bathroom smelling like burnt hair after a few months of use, it's not a bad investment. This dryer runs $194 through Misikko's website, but that's a pretty significant discount since it usually runs over $300. 

The number one thing that I like about this dryer is that is cuts your drying time down so freaking much. It typically takes me 30-35 minutes to dry my mop, but with this, I can dry it with a cooler heat setting (meaning I'm not frying my hair) and get done in a shorter amount of time. It took me under 15 minutes all three times I used it prior to writing this. It's beautiful. I didn't feel like I was drying out my hair with a fiery blast of heat, either. It does a great job of keeping the moisture alive and keeping frizz to a minimum. If you aren't a fan of drying and then straightening - this dryer will be a godsend since it prevents a poofy, frizzy finish.

It features three different heat settings, two fan speeds, a ceramic heater, a "cold blast", and (HERE WAS THE CLINCHER FOR ME) - ion technology that cuts down on static electricity. CAN YOU DIG IT LADIES??? DOES ANYBODY EXPERIENCE THE SAME PAIN THAT I FEEL WITH STATIC IN THE WINTER??!? Plus that same technology promotes healthier, shinier hair. So... consider that a definite win/win.

So my consensus? This dryer rocks. Sure it's pricey but I think there comes a point where it's worth it to pay a little bit more for a product if it means a longer lifespan and better quality. This dryer comes with a 2 year warranty, as well. So that's awesome, too. Misikko offers a ton of great products, and this is just one of them. Whether you're in the market for a new ceramic flat iron or hair care accessories, the site has got you covered.

I want to thank the folks at Misikko (here's looking at you, John) for the awesome package they sent me and for giving me this opportunity. The company is amazing alone and next time you girls need high-quality, professional hair styling tools, you'd be crazy to shop anywhere else. Thanks for reading!

Down with Dry Shampoo

I like a good shower, yes. I don't enjoy smelling bad and being clean is something I would say I am particularly fond of. But there are days. And if you're sitting there like "ew" right now - shut the HELL up because I know you have them, too.

To cut straight to the chase, there are some days where my hair looks somewhat greasy and I just don't have time to take a shower. Plain and simple.

So when dry shampoo came into my life, I felt something like this:

I've tried my fair share of these little wonders and honestly - there has only been one that I have said "you suck" to and tossed in the can. The rest of them do a pretty good job. They're obviously not meant to tackle a mane that hasn't been washed in weeks. If that's the case, you need a hell of a lot more than a freaking aerosol can to solve your problems. But if you have greasy bangs syndrome or your roots need a boost so you can go about your day without being judged... well, these will do the trick.

Let me give you a rundown:

1. Ojon Rub Out Dry Cleansing Spray $24

2. Tresemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo Spray $5

3. Oscar Blandi Invisible Dry Shampoo $23

4. Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo $6

5. Tresemme Fresh Start Foam "Dry" Shampoo $5

Ojon - It's the most expensive of the bunch and rightfully so. It does a pretty freaking good job and doesn't leave your hair feeling totally weighed down. It definitely leaves a little bit of a "white residue" so if you have darker hair.. probably not going to be your favorite. Smells like baby powder - not terrible. But to me, this one had the most grease sucking power. You absolutely have to brush it out though.. so if you have curlier locks - you might end up with some frizz. You can rub it out a bit, but I found that the whiteness is really only beaten with a brush.

Tresemme Spray - I have tried both of the Tresemme dry shampoos and this is definitely the better of the two, but I still wouldn't say I recommend it. After trying other brands, I don't even really use this one anymore. The things that turns me off about it is that #1 - it's SUPER white when it dries on and #2 - it actually goes on kind of.. wet. The other sprays are almost like a powder when they go on. This is like.. more of a hairspray? Yeah, it dries and sort of does what it's supposed to - but if you need a quick fix... not the best choice. The few times I've used this, I've ended up pulling my hair back and saying screw it... so it doesn't really do the trick for me.

Oscar Blandi - It's another of the more expensive options, but I'm a fan of it. The smell is sort of similar to Ojon and I used this one whenever my hair was on the darker side. The "whiteness" is not nearly as bad as most other dry shampoos. It does give you a little bit of a tint, but it's nowhere near the same as Tresemme or Ojon (especially not Ojon). It was definitely more than just a "bang fix" for me, meaning I would use it all over my head when I needed de-greased, and it did the job. It's quick drying and you can easily work out any "whiteness" with your fingers.

Not Your Mother's - By far the best cheap option when it comes to dry shampoos. For only $6 - it's a great product that does what it promises. However, the can I had ran out very very quickly. I don't know if I just got a dud or if this is how they all operate - but I only got about 3 weeks out of the entire can... and I wasn't using it daily. It makes your hair a little on the stiffer side, but for me, this isn't a huge deal since when my hair is greasy my roots need a little help anyways. Overall, for the price - it's a great dry shampoo. If you can't spend $20+ - this is the way to go.

Tresemme Foam - Throw it in the trash. Not only does it make your hair wet (obviously), that's about all it does. I don't know what they were going for here, but consider the target missed.

Hope I helped. Let me know your favorites xo

The NuMe Silhouette Styling Iron!

I recently had the pleasure of working with NuMe - a Europoean brand who just started offering their products to us folks in the United States. They're a salon brand & were made to fit the needs of stylists (aka - they've got it goin' on). I was given the opportunity to try out their Silhouette styling iron which promises to use this wild ion technology of the future that "seals moisture in the hair cuticle keeping your hair shiny, healthy and silky smooth." Sounds like something Judy Jetson would use & I am DIGGING IT.

Judy did have some kickass hair...

Anyhoo - The Silhouette iron has a "no-slip grip" so its got a rubbery texture on the outside, but it's really smooth at the same time. It's textured, too - so it looks pretty :) Has sort of a quilted vibe. It's an extremely high quality iron (hands down the best I've ever used) & it does have 100% ceramic plates. Another thing I noticed right off the bat was that the plates kind of .. float? I know it's specific to NuMe irons, but it's really cool because it allows for perfect alignment each and every time you clamp down. Pretty innovative.

The packaging is awesome, too. The box has a magnet closure and is made of sturdy cardboard - so it'll actually make a nice little storage bin, too. In the lid of the box (and in a pamphlet included under the iron), NuMe throws in some styling tips on how to use the iron to create different looks. This totally helped me since I was pretty clueless on how to do the curls :)

I dig an iron that can multitask because my vanity space is limited. If I have to have a curling iron and a straightener plugged in at the same time - one of them is getting knocked off of my minuscule dresser thing and directly onto my bare foot. The fact that this iron can not only straighten, but create volume-y waves and curls is freaking PERFECT. The barrels are rounded, so there's no weird kinky dent things going on, either. The Jetson's technology NuMe uses also reduces static. And GOD KNOWS I hate static more than anything. Know when you run a straightener through your hair and POOF - you pull it off and your hair sticks to your face and intrudes your lipgloss? Yeah. The Silhouette doesn't do that. It doesn't even think about doing that. Talk about winning.

So here are some examples of what the iron can do. And for the record, yes - half my head is different from the other in that first picture :P You can do big curls, flip ends under & amp roots up with volume, or just straighten for a nice sleek look. You can honestly tell the difference with this straightener as opposed to other brands in the sense that it really leaves hair shiny. Not greasy or flat - but all-around healthy looking.

This iron is definitely an investment piece. It currently retails for $300 (find it here on the NuMe site), but you've gotta keep in mind - this is a professional brand so you're going to get salon quality results each and every time you use it. You can adjust the heat & for as hot as it can get, it gets there pretty quickly. All around, I'm really impressed.

Coincidentally, my friend Sierra is running a NuMe giveaway on her blog right now. You'll get an iron and a bunch of NuMe products if you win, so if you're interested - definitely give it a shot. If you win and it's because you clicked my link - just know you owe me something somewhere along the line ;) You can click here to check out her post.

If any of you have any questions about the brand or the products or anything - always feel free to comment below or email me at kelspot@gmail.com. I hope you're all having a great week! Talk to you soon.

Hair Change!

So as you know - the hair has been bothering me lately. I don't want to do anything too wild and crazy, but I did make somewhat of an impulsive change to my mop-top after coming home from the mall today. I don't know whether it's fall creeping up on me that's making me want to do crazy things - or that I'm just sick of looking the same. Attention span of a fly, folks.

So yes - I rocked the bangs as a young'n:

try not to be too intimidated..

But around I would say - 9th grade - I started doing the side swept thing. I realized today that everyone does the side swept thing... which is fine - but that's soooo not me. Gotta stand out. I'm the idiot who gets the jersey of the hockey player that nobody else has and then he gets traded 4 months later all because I HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT. Why get the star player when eeeverryyoonnee elsseee has the star player's jersey. That's my logic... So as I was innocently trimming my bangs today, I kind of brushed them to the side and they kind of fell in this somewhat-cute way and I thought to myself... well what the hell - what do you have to lose, kell? So I pulled a little snip snip here and a little snip snap there and (now that everyone is thinking of vasectomies):

VOILA!

I'm really diggin' them :)

Great Products to Create Beachy Waves!

Quick video post on 3 products I've recently been loving that allow you to create quick and easy beach waves! These obviously work best if you already have a bit of a wavy texture to your hair, but if you purchase curl goddess (available on www.meetmark.com) - it'll help to activate any wave you have, even if you have fairly straight hair.

Super Easy & Cute Hair Thanks to Spin Pins

I don't know about you guys, but when I wake up in the morning at 7:30 for work - I typically don't feel like spending an hour curling my ends to perfection just so I can sit at my desk all day. Who do I have to impress at work - my 72 year old co-worker? Sure, I want to look nice - but I don't need prom hair. I go for simplistic hair styles that I can do in a couple minutes and I'm good to go with a few spritz's of hairspray.

This is where the bun comes into play.

I'm not a fan of regular ol' ponytails cuz either I feel like I'm 11 when I have them in or I look like I'm going to the gym. I do the messy bun most of the time at home, but I can't really show up to work with something atop my noggin that looks like a cross between a furball and an octopus. I like the look of low buns just because you can dress them up or down. The problem is - without the right equipment, you can also end up with a head full of hairspray and bobby pins which totally defeats the whole "simple and cute" theme we have going..

This is where my new obsession comes into play:

BEHOLD! The Almighty SPIN PINS!

($5.99 at drugstores & wherever you typically buy Goody products)

I did a segment on these in one of my videos a little while ago and I've been in love with them ever since. You can get them in blonde, brunette, or red & they work great with all types of hair. I'd say you'll need at least shoulder length to make them work, though. Basically what you do is twist your hair into a bun (kind of around itself) and then corkscrew one of these little suckers down through. You don't need a hair tie or additional pins because the spiral shape grabs all the hair and holds it to your head. I'll admit - it took me a few tries to get it perfect, but once you get the hang of it - you're gonna be hooked. They're perfect for summer when you just want your hair up off your neck and you can easily sass your bun up with hair accessories for a dressier look.

I just threw a bow in there since I had a pink undershirt on & I'm a matchy matchy freak, but you could easily do the bun alone if you wanted to. You can't see the pin at all and it's such a cute way to wear your hair. Mine is a bit off to the side & I always pull a little bit of hair out just cuz I'm not a big fan of the "perfect" hair look, but you could easily make it sleek. I think these are such a great investment & for only $5.99 (for two!) - you seriously can't lose!

Humidity Stricken Hair is Not Cute.

I have the pleasure and honor of being blessed with wavy-ish hair. Wavy-ish in the sense that it's not totally wavy, and it's not really curly, either. It's just a weird ass texture. I'll tell you what it totally is, though - a huge pain in the ass.

I can't just let it air dry and be on my way. Oh hell no. If that happened - I would look somewhere along the lines of this:

..and that's actually putting it lightly.

So obviously, I'm always looking for great products to help keep my humidity prone locks "in check", so to say. There's nothing that pisses me off more in the summer than when I straighten my hair and then it suddenly rains somewhere throughout the day and the SECOND I step outside (without even so much as looking at a raindrop), my hair expands to 10 times it's preferred size. Super glad I spent 45 minutes making my hair look good so Mr. Heatmiser could fuck up my day.

I appreciate it, asshole.

Well thanks to the great people from Tigi & Garnier - there are 2 products that have made my life just a little less stressful. "Some like it hot" anti-humidty serum & "anti-humidity" hairspray have officially come to save the day. 

The "Some Like it Hot" anti-humidity serum is the absolute best way to prevent hair from becoming unruly before it even has a chance. You put it in towel-dried hair, style normally, and boom - you've given your hair a little shield of armor against unavoidable conditions. If you're planning on spending a lot of time outdoors (think amusement parks, picnics, graduation parties, etc...) - this is a great way to plan ahead. It's super lightweight, too - so if you have oily hair, you're not going to have to worry about this weighing you down and giving your hair a greasy look. Remember, though - with any serum - a little bit goes a long way.

The Garnier hairspray has been a favorite of mine for awhile now. It's absolutely perfect if you have issues with your ends poofing up  since it's available in the "flexible hold" formula (which is the one I use). You can use it without giving your hair that "hard and crunchy" feel, so it's great for "spot treatments". If you're doing a pony-tail or another style that requires your hair being pinned up - poofy edges can totally ruin the look for you. By doing a quick once over with this stuff - you're good to go. And it's a great flex hold hairspray, as well, if you do need it for actually keeping things in place. You can get stronger hold formulas, as well.

I don't want you guys looking like electrocuted house cats this summer. So please - do me a favor and pick these up. They're available at drug stores and I promise, they'll be a staple in your summer haircare arsenal :)

R.I.P. Platinum Head

I've been thinking about doing this for quite some time now. I dyed my hair DARK once before & it turned this shiteous shade of auburn that washed me out to the point of almost being see-through. This time - I had a game plan. I would not choose ANYTHING with the word warm in it (for those of you who are unaware - hair dyes are available in cool aka ash, neutral, or warm.. anything warm probably has shades of golds and reds aka - your hair MIGHT turn a color you're not expecting). I am fully aware I could pay someone $100 to do this for me, but I did it myself and it cost $4 and I love it.. so I think I win.

Anyways - I've been blonde most my life & recently I've been platinum. This means a number of things & these numbers of things started bothering me:

1. My natural hair color, shockingly enough, is not platinum blonde. It's dirty blonde. Know what that means? I have to dye my roots A LOT. And all that BLEACHY hair dye? Yeah - my hair is screaming.
2. Thanks to all the bleachy hair dye, my ends started looking ratty & almost see-through. Not good, especially since I'm trying to grow my hair out & cutting an inch off feels like I've wasted 3 months of growing.
3. I know platinum blondes don't have platinum blonde eyebrows but like I said - my natural color is dirty blonde and my eyebrows are a smidge darker than that and for some reason they really were bothering me lately.
4. I hate how platinum starts looking brassy after awhile. I feel like unless you maintain it constantly - you're going to eventually get some weird shade of gold that looks so unnatural it hurts.

It was all building up, folks. I didn't want to go dark dark - just something closer to my natural shade, ya know?:

I'll probably lighten back up at some point - but I'm loving how healthy my hair is looking :) And to all you blondes out there, I'm still one of you at heart :P No worries.

Brush Love Brushes Review

I had some of you ladies asking me about good hairbrushes to use & quite honestly, I wasn't too experienced in that department. I have my faithful brush that I've been using since highschool & well.. telling you guys about that would do you a whole lot of nothing - so I got in contact with Thiago of the wonderful website www.brushlove.com & he offered to send me out a few products to try.

Now for your reference while reading this review - I have hair thats more on the thin side, but it's not exactly stringy either. The texture is slightly wavy naturally, but when I blowdry it - it's poofy - so I do have to straighten on the daily. Thiago did ask me my hair type before sending these out - so if you have a similar hair type to mine - these are gonna be great for you. If not, brushlove.com has a HUGE selection - so you'll be sure to find something you like. These brushes are also available at Ulta - so if you don't like online shopping, you can stop in to your local Ulta & check out their selection.

These are the two brushes I had the opportunity to try:

 

Brushlab Pretty Pink Dual Mirror/Brush - $9.99

The thing I liked the most about this brush is how large it is without being unportable. Most brushes you see that have mirrors on them are teeny tiny and totally impractical. Brushlab's is honestly the perfect size. You could definitely take this on a vacation or even throw it in your purse & have a good, quality brush with you. It feels durable, too. I know I've used some brushes like this in the past that the bristles move and bend really easily and you're afraid you're going to find one of them in your hair later in the day. Not the case with this one. It's also non-static inducing which can be a major concern with these style brushes and if you're anything like me - static is your worst enemy :) Plus it's pink - get serious. I'd absolutely recommend this if you're looking for a great everyday brush.

Brushlab Pure Ceramic Large Brush - $10.98 

(also available in Medium & Jumbo)

If you're like me - you need to create some type of volume with your hair so that when you straighten it, you don't look like a pinhead. I used this brush when I blowdryed today and the fact that the ceramic base makes it totally heat resistant makes it the perfect blowdrying companion. Good round brushes have been hard to find, for me at least. They're either too hard and hurt my head, too small and create the wrong volume, or they get tangled too easily. The bristles on this brush are sparatic enough that they won't tangle your hair, but there's enough of them to distribute your hair evenly on the brush for blowdryings sake. The rat tail tip also helps majorly if you need to create a part, cuz I know I hate having to put my regular brush down and dig for the teeny tiny rattail comb for that purpose alone. Anything that multi-tasks for me is a friend of mine.

If you've tried either of these - let me know, but if you're looking for some new brushes - I hope you'll consider either stopping by the website or seeking these out next time you're spending an entire paycheck in Ulta :) Thanks for reading, lovelies! Have a great week xo