Red Hair Update

It's been a few months since I've gone red headed! And let me tell you, I'm getting sorta tired of it.
I love the color, and when I see red on other people, it makes me appreciate it more but like I said in my previous post...it's a lot of damn work to keep up with.
I refresh (I call it refresh rather than retouch because my hair looks horrible before I redye it. So it's refreshing to see bolder color) my hair with semi-temporary hair color and conditioner mixed together.

Doing this makes my hair bleed much more than when I dye it with L'oreal. So when water drops fall off my hair onto the carpet, you can REALLY see it. With L'oreal, you can see it if you look for it.
I also hate having to refresh it every 3 weeks or so. 2 would be preferred but I'm lazy and I hate having to spend money that often, even though I knew I would have to spend money to keep up with it. Sometimes, I even let my hair get close to orange before I redye it. This does make it somewhat brighter when you refresh it but I don't really care to go all the way to orange to redye it, unless I wanted a brighter red.

I've been using Ion Brilliance Color, in Red and Magenta. One time, I tried Red. Liked it, but watched a YouTube video and the girl said she likes Magenta because it fades better. I tried just Magenta the next time and, to me, it still faded the same. It wasn't really much less yellow even though it is pink-based and not yellow-based like the Red dye. The next time, I tried Magenta and Red equally, and to me, it seems like the results are all the same. The only difference is that Magenta is a bit darker. This last time, I tried Magenta, Purple, and a bit of Red. It just came out Red. I was hoping it would come out darker, a more maroon color but it didn't really work. I also can see the purple washing out very, very quickly even though there's really no purple results. So all that for not.

This next time, I'm using Jazzing in Cherry Cola to see how this one works and how long it lasts. I'll probably do it this weekend, and if I remember, I'll update my blog on it with pics.

Also, for the past two months, I just stopped doing my roots. I get too lazy to dye my roots one day and then the rest of my hair in semi the next. I tried doing both at the same time and that also was just an excruciatingly long process. I'm thinking about maybe just growing out my natural hair and end up with a red ombre hairstyle. It will take a few more months to get it to be a good ombre since right now, it just looks like I have grown out long roots but at the end, I'm only going to have to use half of the dye I use and end up with half the time to do my hair. And if I get REALLY tired of it, I can just cut it off next year. Applying the semi kind of lifts up my color, so it's becoming a good ombre. I predict that in the next few dyes, I'll have a very good gradation going on. I have good gradation now but it would be sweeter if it was a bigger gradation, if that makes sense.

Nail Art Binge

I'm not sure how I even got started with getting back into doing my nails! And when I mean, "do my nails", I mean more than just painting them one color. I think it was because I started to actually paint my nails again that the binging started. I also saw on eBay, all of the cool nail art stickers that you can buy. Simple, easy, fun! I can do stickers, much less work than the damn nail stamps. Here are some of my nail art, that I've been proud enough to take pictures of...and remembered to take pics of.

Sailor Moon inspired! Well Sailor Jupiter to be exact! I've been obsessing over Sailor Moon again! And got this idea from one of the sticker sheets I bought off of eBay. I only used two stickers, on the thumb and pinky, but they're roses with lace designs and a couple of little gold rhinestones. The green nail polish, by Nika K that I got off Groupon that came in a set of 5 nail polishes. These nail polishes are the best I have in my collection. I haven't tried Essie or any other expensive nail polish. I usually get Wet n' Wild, which is pretty transparent in all colors, so multiple layers are definitely needed. I have some various ones like NYC, Sally Hansen and a couple others that I don't remember. I bought the set because it was cheap on Groupon and I read good reviews on them and they are really worth it! Cheaper than Essie and OPI...but probably only with the deal (which came with Red, Blue, Green, Silver Glitter, and a speedy Top Coat!!). I also super glued a bow, which came off after a few days since I tried to glue it ontop of the nail polish.

Panasonic Close Curves Wet/Dry Shaver Review

I don't know how I even got to looking and buying this shaver but boy am I glad!!
I completely love this shaver. I got it today and read so many rave reviews that I tried it right away. I LOVE IT! 5 out of 5 roses!!

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You can do this dry or wet. I tested dry because if I was ever in a rush to go somewhere, I can do this in my car if my boyfriend's driving or when I'm parked really quick. It was soooo smooth. It caught no hairs and was really quick. My legs were at their full potential though, my hair was the longest and thickest as ever (thanks so much Indian genes). So this took awhile but I would say that it took almost the same amount of time as shaving. I had to go slowly and run the shaver backwards to get rid of the hair that's caught in the razor. But hell, this is a lot less messy than shaving. I didn't have to go through the trouble of getting in the shower, sit on my tub, apply shaving cream and shave multiple times while getting cuts and fearing the worst around my knee area.
Say goodbye to nicks, cuts, bleeding, razor bumps, shaving cream and disposable razors. This baby was completely harmless to my skin. I ran this over my knees multiple times and my elbows without fearing I was going to get wounded.
This shaver cut as close as a shaver. I'm pretty sure the next time I use this, to get stubble, it will only take me a couple of minutes, maybe not even that, to get each arm and leg.
I hope it lasts a long time, most people say they keep their razor for more than 2 years then replace it. You can buy replacement parts for it but each part was about $8 (you'll probably have to buy the outside blade and the inside blade which are each $8), so pretty much close to the price to buy a new one.
This is rechargable, so that is a huge plus...but, it has a "space saver" charger and the connection is on the square plug thing that you put in the outlet...there's no cord at all. So this takes out the possibility of using it while it charges.
The shaver states that it takes 12 hours to charge, which is nothing if you just plug it in at night before you sleep or during the day before you go to work. I would only charge it if I know I would need it the next day though (so I would plug it in the night before).
This is so great for quick-growing body hair, especially if it's thick! And it's such a great price! At $20, it's completely worth it to buy!! I wouldn't even be mad if it died after a year because of this cheap price and effect!!
This is the best product I have ever bought and I will NEVER go back to a razor and cream ever again. This baby is here to stay..or at least the method will.

L'Oreal HiLights Second Review

So I said in my first review that I will post up a pic of when I wash out the heavy oil in my hair so you can see the true color, here it is:

This is my second attempt at dying my hair with the L'Oreal HiColor dyes. I mixed Magenta and Red Hot the first dye job and then the second dye job consisted of Magenta and Red. I like it, it brighter than the first and you can really see the Magenta...but in all honesty, I want to go brighter now!!
So...I did :D This time I only use Red. It's so much brighter, but I still have the darker ends problem. For all three dye jobs, I did from ends to roots and my ends still didn't turn out too bright. What's weird is that the top layer of my hair is a good red but the bottom layers and still dark. Maybe when I piled my hair, since I did a loose twist, the top layer was on the inside and it kept heat in longer? Not sure, but next time I dye my hair, I will only do the layers on the bottom, the parts that aren't light enough.

Also to note, I did use 30 developer in the 3rd hair dye job. My hair is way too stubborn, I thought I was going to regret it, thinking it was going to turn out really bright, but it came out perfect at the roots. The brightness I wanted. ..Now only if I can get that color in the rest of my hair. Maybe another 2 weeks, and I will dye the dark parts of my hair. And then post pics of those results...damn my stubborn hair.

I Spit on Your Grave Movie Review

I wanted to check out this movie because I heard it was a really good movie. That it was really bloody and gory and a really good revenge movie. Of course, to make a revenge movie, you need an event/scene to make the revenge happen...to make it all worth while.

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

I thought and wanted more blood and gore. Disturbing to watch at first because of the rape scene, and it doesn't help that it took up half the movie. This wasn't just a revenge nor just a rape movie, it was a half and half and I would've loved to see more revenge...than rape. Too much rape for my taste...kind of a weird start off. I don't see too many rape movies where the first half hour is seeing her half naked, making it seem like she was just asking for it, seeing the rape (go on for another half hour), then seeing her naked again for a little more while...very uncomfortable. To me, it felt like they were trying to have her seduce you at first, to show that the boys weren't ALL in the wrong, like some of it was on her for walking around half naked. Then the rape scene. This takes TOO LONG. Bluntly, half of the scene was rape foreplay. Disgusting but true. Then they get on with it and they prolong that by having her walk away slowly, in a daze, into the forest and somehow, the guys are already waiting in an area that she walks into. Then it continues, the disgusting partake in  the event of why I do not trust most men. I don't trust people in general, but men the most. 

This also shows that, the authority isn't good for shit. I saw some comments on the trailer page in Youtube and a couple of people mentioned, "Well, they didn't have to die" or "Well, they didn't deserve to die", and then topped it off with, "We let the authorities take justice". Yeah, because the authority takes justice for people all the time. Especially, when they pat you down, smell your ass, grab your titties and call for more rapists backup. Let's just face the truth, some justice is served and some are not. We have many real cases that involve injustices. People not bring put away as they should and even excessive "justice" being brought upon citizens.

Anyways, after the grotesque scene, we're still left with her naked body. For another 15 minutes, we see her walk in the forest..naked. As if seeing her half naked, like as if we're supposed to enjoy that right before a rape scene, wasn't enough. We had to get full on nudity right after a rape scene for a few more minutes. It's just uncomfortable at this point. And you also wonder to yourself...why is this bitch walking so slow? Yes, she's traumatized, but she's walking as slow as a zombie (Walking Dead slow), when these men can easily just walk over, hell, not even walk over, just shoot her. But for some reason, they also slowly follow her to a bridge. They prepare to kill her and she raises her arm. At this point, you know that she's about to jump, no one in their right mind should raise their arm waiting for a shotgun death and yet, these guys didn't realize that. She jumps and is not seen, seems like for an hour or so? Scene "changed" and they were still there so they must've been there for awhile. What I wonder, is how did she get away?

I discussed many possibilities in my head, maybe she swam underwater all the way downstream...miraculously somehow. And then I thought, maybe she swam underwater to the bridge and came up for air under the bridge so they wouldn't see her and just waited there...forever. Of course, you know that she is not dead. Otherwise, what kind of movie is this....a rape movie...which would not fend well in the industry...not even in the porn industry.You find out that she survived in the woods the whole time...so how does a city writer know how to survive in the woods? How to hunt rats and fish old-school style. Maybe internal survival skills took over...hmmm, I kind of highly doubt that with our people in this country now and the fact that she couldn't even hold her wine glass and put her laptop on her lap at the same time. But she survived and now she's out for revenge. 

The revenge is pretty realistic. Not too graphic at all really, it was...pretty much like I said, realistic. Most people are violent but not too violent to where you start going Hostel and Saw mode, super brutal. But for a movie, I don't want realistic, I want movie. I want blood and gore and lots of torture. And there was NOT ENOUGH. I wanted long torture and lots of bleeding over time. Some more body parts getting cut off. The revenge was short. I don't know if they meant to make it "short and sweet". But revenge should be LONG and SAVORED. Especially when the damn rape scene and half naked and full nudity scenes were TWICE as long as the revenge. 

Regardless, I liked it. I never dislike revenge. I'm a Buddhist and even though we are not supposed to condone to violence...we believe in Karma and I'm a believer in harsh karma, harsh VISUAL karma. 

L'Oreal HiColor HiLights/HiColor Review

I've been wanting to dye my hair red for a veeeeery long time. So long, that I never thought I would really do it unless I was drunk. BUT, I finally grew a stronger vagina and went for it. It's still not a super bright red like Rihanna's hair color or just bright red like most people have done with these hair colors but I like it and maybe it will fade to a brighter red. I think after a few times of dying my hair, it just won't dye brighter as much as other people's hair has. There's red halfway down my hair but it's still pretty dark, even after a second dye. Pretty let down by how dark it is. But it could be due to the a couple of factors. I oiled my hair like crazy after I rinsed out the dye (shown in the pic directly below) or it could be because I mixed colors rather than just dye it straight up one red color like others.
I wanted a dark red color that was bright. I got that color...I just want a bit more bright in there, especially halfway down my hair. It's still pretty dark. Almost like a dark, dark cherry red.

Because it wasn't as bright as I wanted but is still the best dye I have ever used, I would give this a 4 rose rating.

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I HIGHLY RECOMMEND L'Oreal HiLights and this way of achieving red from dark hair colors. I DID NOT WANT TO BLEACH MY HAIR. This is a great and successful way of getting from brown to red without that much damage. The dye does contain some bleaching components but not so much to where your hair feels like hay (I regretted bleaching my hair years ago). It is also said that this way is more true to its color. You shouldn't get a brassy color, or fade to a brassy or orangey color like how you would if you pre-bleached your hair.

Anyways, here's my results from the second attempt (and sorry for the no make-up):

So from the pic you can see that halfway up my hair, it looks great. That's the bright I wanted throughout the whole hair but it didn't turn out that way. Again, I don't know if it's because I heavily oiled my hair or if it's really that dark. I again, do still recommend this method for achieving red hair from black or just dark hair though. I would keep using this hair dye for future red dying.

READER DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL AT ALL, WHATSOEVER.

All of the information in here, I learned from reading articles, blog posts and experiences and viewed a few videos. I will post the Youtube videos I liked and viewed at the bottom of this whole post.

So overall, this was a messy and somewhat expensive experience. It was expensive because some of my choices and the fact that I had to buy EVERYTHING. It cost me about $60 for everything in the list below. It can cost you less if you buy other things that I can list after my bought list. 

What I bought:

Salon Care 30 Developer (16 oz. bottle) $3.69

Salon Care 20 Developer (16 oz. bottle) $3.69

L'Oreal HiLights (Red Hot) $6.49

L'Oreal HiLights (Magenta) $6.49

L'Oreal HiLights (Magenta) $6.49

L'Oreal HiLights (Red) $6.49

Ion Color Sealer Conditioner (bottle/tube not small packet) $6.99

Colorful Professional Protein Filler (Red Red) $5.29

Clear Tinting Brush (Large) $.99

Clear Tinting Brush (Large) $.99

Sally's Clear X-Large Bowl $2.00

Sally's Clear X-Large Bowl $2.00

Sally's Black and White Hair Clips $2.39

Tax $2.97

TOTAL $59.27

I bought two different numbered developers, 20 for my roots and 30 for the rest of my hair since root dye faster and much better and brighter. In the end result, you see that my roots are super bright. Well, that's my mistake because I got lazy and just put 30 on it rather than 20 like in my first attempt. It probably would've come out all even if I did 20 but it's soooo much work. I also bought reusable gloves because I dye my hair a lot and I know I would like this dye enough to keep using it after reading a viewing videos of reviews of the L'Oreal HiLights dyes. I bought two bowls and brushes, one for my roots and the other for the rest of my hair. I also bought the big tube bottle of Ion conditioner rather than just the separate individual packets because I know I will want to use the conditioner later on, maybe once or twice a week to keep the color in longer. I got large brushes because I have long, frizzy...and a lot of hair so I thought a bigger brush would fasten my dying process. I also needed clips because I had none, I only have fat scrunchies to tie my hair up and I didn't want to have to use those to hold my hair up with red dye everywhere. 

NOTE: Do not use a metal bowl and do not use clips that have a lot of metal. The clips I bought had metal on the top part of the clip but was not going to touch my hair. I bought the protein filler because it seemed like a good idea. I wanted thorough color, even when it starts to fade, I don't want blotches later on and you can also use it for touch-ups. And I bought four hair dye boxes for two applications. Two for each application to mix because I didn't want super bright Ariel red hair...at least not for my first try. I needed to see how red would even look on me, so I wanted to go bold just not Courage the Cowardly Dog Muriel's-In-Trouble Bold/Brave. 

If you already have hair dying supplies, such as the bowls and brushes, then your cost would just be the developers and dyes. The developers, will last you both applications! And the 20 will be plentiful for any touch-ups in the future and future dye job. I bought the big bottle because I didn't think the small one would completely do the job. I wish they had an inbetween bottle but there's only small, big, and gallon size (I think it's a gallon). You also don't need to mix colors like I did. Red, Red Hot and Magenta are beautiful by themselves. BUT you will still need two tubes of dye for TWO applications. If you have dark hair that has been dyed previously, you will definitely need two applications. If you have virgin black hair, you probably only need to do one application with 30 developer. You can also just use one developer for all of your hair rather than do roots and rest of your hair separately.

If you don't already have the supplies, here's how you can lessen your cost:

Disposable Non-resuable gloves $1

Sally's Clear X-Large Bowl $2.39 (It was $2 each in my transaction because it was 2 for $5. Other bowls were a bit more expensive by a few cents)

Clear Tinting Brush (Medium) $.89

Ion Color Sealer Conditioner (Packet) $2.39

L'Oreal HiLights (Color of Choice, Red, Hot Red, or Magenta) $6.49

L'Oreal HiLights (Color of Choice, Red, Hot Red, or Magenta) $6.49

Salon Care 30 Developer (16 oz.) $3.69

TOTAL $23.34 (not including tax)

Prices will range from store to store but should be all around the same price. This is for BUDGET-CONSCIOUS people. If you have some more money to spare, I would suggest to buy the color filler, it's recommended by a lot of hair dyers. I also would buy one more Ion Conditioner packet if you have long hair. Two packets could probably last 3 applications, using up most of one and still have enough in that packet and the second packet for another. And if you dye your hair a lot, I would suggest reusable gloves. But you can always buy the gloves later when you have more money. Same with the Ion conditioner, you can always buy more packets or a bottle later on when you get more money. 

As a FOREWARNING: Red hair is a lot of money and suffering! So much care and moolah to spill out of our life!

~You will have to care for your hair in cold water. I'm not looking forward to it, but I really want to try red. So you need to shampoo and rinse in cold water! After you're done with shampooing and conditioning, you can always turn your shower back to warm or hot, not saying you need to completely shower in cold water. 

~Red will stain EVERYTHING. Make sure to rinse out your tub, walls and shower curtains after a shower. And your red hair will always bleed in the shower and when it's wet. So shampooing often,wet hair and rain will be your enemy. I got a bottle of dry shampoo to use so I only have to shampoo my hair every other day or two days. And for certain times, you will want to blow dry your hair. I hate blow-drying my hair but right after I rinsed my dyes after each of the two applications, I blew dry it since the dye is still "fresh". 

~I've heard red can rub off onto your light shirts on the back of your neck. DON'T WEAR LIGHT-COLORED SHIRTS WHEN YOUR HAIR IS WET. If you like to dry your hair naturally, either wear a shirt you don't care about or wear black. 

~Towels would have to be black, purple or red, or something you don't care about. 

~I heard you have to touch-up your red hair more often than other dyes. So it fades faster than other dyes. I dyed my hair red burgundy before and it bled for like a month or two. BUT the color stayed in for about 2-3 months. Then it starting showing the faded color by turning brown. When I dyed my hair black or light brown, it bled for a few days and stayed in my hair for almost ever. This can be done with dyes like Manic Panic and such. But I will be reviewing more videos and posts for touch-ups and post what I found and have done.

Now onto before and after pics:

Before the Red Dye Job. It looks kind of reddish, but it's a brown with a little tiny, teensy bit of red.

After the first application:

It came out pretty well. For this first application, I mixed Magenta with Red Hot. Despite the Red Hot name, Red Hot is actually a darker red than just Red. So I did this mix because I was too scared that it would turn out too bright. I would actually LOVED this color but I wanted brighter!! Remember to mix 1 part dye and 2 parts developer. So there was a lot more developer than what you see in videos on Youtube since I used two tubes rather than one. There was enough to cover all of my hair and to top it off after I done with my whole head. What I did different from Youtube videos (I will post a link at the end of this blog to which ones I viewed) was that each section of hair, I combed, brushed on dye (20 on the roots and 30 for the rest) then combed it again and brushed it with dye again. It was a long process but I got overall same color results. After I was done with all of my hair, I literally dunked some fingers in the rest of my dye and just slapped it on the hair below my roots then just piled my hair ontop of my head and covered my head with a plastic shower cap. I also blew dry my ends and halfway up for a couple of min. I waited 30 min or so then went to go rinse it out. I did not shampoo it like how it said, just rinsed in cold water and conditioned. I wanted the color to stay on for a day longer before shampooing. After showering, I HEAVILY oiled my hair with Garnier Fructisse Triple Hair Oil Spray (which I regretted buying because it made my hair too greasy but now it's useful) then blew dry it.

In flourescent light. It's a dark magenta with red higlights.

In natural lighting

The very next day, I did the same thing but I did not use 20 on my roots (damn my laziness, I wish I did). I also did a mix of Magenta and Red (not Red Hot). I did the Red instead of Red Hot because I wanted it Magenta with brighter red highlights (or color in the sun). I also didn't blow dry it while I was waiting for the dye to process...I wish I did. I waited 30 min or so, rinsed in cold water (no shampooing still), conditioned then out of the shower, I heavily oiled it and blew dry my hair. I think the red is lighter in my hair than in the pictures because the pictures show my hair heavily oiled (which makes my hair look wet). 

Second attempt:

I will take more pictures and do another post once I shampoo it tomorrow and it's dry to see the real results. The oiling made it darker and I'm sure that not shampooing, left a lot of red in my hair. The color reminds me of a vintage-style red...almost like the Moira from American Horror Story?

After the dyes, my hair does feel a bit frizzier, but I'm not sure that's due to my blow drying or the dye job. The Ion conditioner is amazing though. It makes your hair feel super soft and amazing. It also helped detangle my hair after the rinse. Even with the comb jobs, once you start rinsing, it turns back into chaos so thank goodness for the conditioner. I recommend heavily hair oiling to help repair your hair from the dying stress. My hair doesn't feel so damaged, not like when I used box dyes so that's a plus! And from my transaction from Sally's you should be able to tell that this was my first time ever dying my hair this way. I have ALWAYS used box dyes but, man, you cannot (or at least I can't) get results like this with a box dye. Now I don't feel so afraid to dye my hair this way. It's not different from the box dye, just that you have to measure stuff out yourself (which I actually just eye-balled). 

Youtube videos I watched: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifo9bEwVSLA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xctzIvdxcRM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtS3WMJJvYs

So! I guess that's it? I will make a new post for my results after I shampoo and dry my hair! I hope it's brighter but if not, I can always re-dye it to a brighter color later, once my roots start getting too long (like in my before pics) or once it starts fading.

2014 Kawaii Sailor Moon Calendars!!

I just finished my 2014 calendars!! And may I say, they are super kawaii! It's a Sailor Moon theme with images I found on Deviant-art! None of the images are created by me. I repeat, the images are not mine. I just compiled the Calendars and designed them with the artist's images. There are links to download all of the claendars as one PDF file and a link to my Google Drive to download each calendar separately as a JPG. Links to each artist are also provided!

Sneak preview:

Please tell me if there are any issues with downloading them or with accessing my Google Drive. This is the first time I have used Google Drive and I hope I changed the permissions correctly. To access the calendars, just go to the "2014 Calendars" link up above in the navigation bar.