Mane Thoughts

Now that my hair is a significant 5 inches shorter I'm dying to wear it tousled, loose and sexy~ exactly like Keri Russell in this InStyle editorial from last year (January 09). She looks sultry but fresh~ the very best kind of bed head. Throw a little more eye makeup on and put together a cuter, more eclectic, French girl style a la these photos and I'll be set for spring. Now if only it were April...

What do you prefer... curly or straight hair? Shorter or longer?

New Hair

So here it is.... me debuting my new hair colour, with Lulu the guest star. I'm still deciding how to feel about it... but I'm trying to embrace the change! Hey, it's only hair! 

Ally Redhead? Maybe Not Right Now...

I am not really a redhead anymore. 

And I don't know how to feel about it. 

I got my hair coloured for only the second time in my life yesterday. I was nervous going to the salon because the first time I had my colour done it was a very very dramatic change~ my light red hair going to a very dark reddish brown. I didn't feel like me. I felt like someone else looking in the mirror. Red hair is hard to dye and the colour washed out eventually but lately I've been in the mood for a change again. I had a colour consultation two weeks ago where the stylist and I carefully selected my shade from sample books and a picture. I was thinking Kate Walsh (Private Practice) red, even Ashlee Simpson red. A pretty, richer, slightly darker red. I was told the change would be fairly subtle, only to cover the persistent (and annoying) grey at my temples and even out the last of the colour from my previous process. 

Hmmmmm..... subtle it is not. The two shade difference we discussed is more like ten shades different. Or more. And again I don't recognize myself when I look in the mirror. Who is that dark haired girl? I don't even feel like me. I spent way too much time staring into my closet today, debating what to wear. I need brighter colour to counteract the darkness of the hair~ not to mention far more make up so I don't appear washed out. 

Ugh. Too. Much. Thinking.

I'm not the type who cries during haircuts (I always want to smack those girls on America's Next Top Model) or freaks out over the odd split end. Hair is hair. It grows, it changes. I trust the professionals. Am I crazy about my hair right now? Uh, no. I wanted what I asked for and that I didn't get. It's disappointing sometimes to put your faith in someone when they don't deliver their end of the deal. Have I learned yet another lesson? Yep. Clearly when it comes to my hair I have to be an aggressive, persistent bugger. I need to state exactly what I want and not budge a bit, not even a shade. I have another appointment booked in 8 weeks. Hopefully the worst will be washed out by then and we can start this cycle again..... 

just in time for Christmas. 

Photos may be provided soon of the new 'do but they have yet to be taken..... we'll see. 

Chop

Confession: I haven't had my hair cut since Christmas. Scratch that. Before Christmas! Ugh. I have been well overdue for a good cut! I felt that if I grew my hair long enough I would wear it in endless beachy waves and elegant curls. Um, not so much. I am useless at doing my own hair! So with fall rolling around I was looking forward to a cathartic chop. I've never been much of a long hair kind of girl so I was happy to say goodbye to a few inches without hesitation. My incredible stylist Rickie Lee also gave me thick, blunt bangs, which I adore. I keep calling it my back-to-school haircut, even though I'm not heading back this semester. The inspiration came from the recent film 500 Days of Summer, which I'm more than a little smitten with. I took in a photo of Zooey Deschanel in the film and said, "Make me look like this!" The result? Love! There is nothing like a good haircut to feel like a new person!

The Inspiration: Zooey Deschanel in 500 Days of Summer

The cutest girl in the world! 

What do you think? Do you like it? 

My amazing stylist and friend Rickie Lee can be found at Suki's at 1st and Burrard. Call 604.732.9101 to book an appointment. You will thank me! 

Redheads in Vogue

My one and only monthly purchase, without fail, is a pretty, shiny new copy of Vogue. I love everything about it~ the fantasy world of New York City socialites, the decadent homes of designers and, naturally, the insane fashion (good or bad, it's still amazing). I read it cover to cover, faithfully, every month, falling into a world I know little of but wholeheartedly worship. However, this month I was delighted to find not one, not two but three different spreads with redheads in them (July issue featuring Sienna Miller on the cover)! 

Sometimes as a redhead I feel left out from the glamourous and beautiful fashion world~ redheads are seldom considered as sexy as blondes or as mysterious and bombshell-like as brunettes. So I was thrilled to see The Spectrum's Ends (a high fashion photo shoot) with two different redheaded models, A Star is Shorn featuring model Iris Strubegger's new edgy (and very red) crop and my favourite, Steal of the Month (an article showing off things I may actually be able to buy!) featuring Karen Elson (wife of The White Stripes' Jack White) and Coco Rocha (a fresh face that is everywhere and was raised in the same city I was, Richmond~ local girl done good!). Coco, albeit, is a faux redhead, but I think she makes an amazing one! As a girl who grew up thinking red hair and freckles weren't beautiful, thank you Vogue for affirming that perhaps they are! 

Top: Coco Rocha for Michael Kors

Bottom: Karen Elson for Versace

(Photos via Style)

Style Inspiration: Blair Waldorf

Television's favourite vicious brunette, Blair Waldorf, has incited many a preppy fashion trend in the last two years of Gossip Girl's prime time reign, but none are as identifiable to her uptown character as the inimitable headband. Usually reserved for schoolgirls in braids and braces, the costume designers of Gossip Girl instead found only the most glamourous and chic headbands to parade Blair around in and soon the ever present hair accessory was as famously associated with the sophisticated teen as her conniving personality. Headbands have come a long way since the faux tortoise shell, plastic variety at the drug store. Instead they have become a fashion choice in their own right, as able to pull together a glamourous ensemble as the perfect jewelry or the prettiest handbag. For all out elegance choose a headband made with lustrous feathers such as these~ you will feel like a 1920's flapper goddess for the evening, guaranteed! 

The Etsy shop Feather by Feather has dozens of beautiful headbands in an array of colours and textures at an amazing price~ only $20US plus $4 shipping to Canada. I can just picture the Luce, the pale gray one below, with my hair curled and a little black dress! Ooh la la, tres Parisian, I think!

Half Hour to Gorgeous Hair at Blo

The calendar may technically disagree but, for all intents and purposes, summer is here! I'm not sure what it is but the dawn of the warm weather and smaller outfits always makes me long for a new look, hairstyle wise. Last year I chopped off my hair to a chin length bob~ a look I enjoyed at the time but grew quickly tired of. This year I don't want to act as drastically but I still feel the need to change up my look now and again. Blo is the perfect option for me. A wash and blowdry at my normal salon (Suki's, which I totally adore) can cost up to $50 or $60 with tip, and while I don't mind spending that kind of money on a cut I don't care to drop that much on a style that only lasts until my next wash. I tried Blo for the first time last year and the style I was given was an unmitigated disaster (think bad, crazy Shirley Temple curls....ick) , so I was hesitant to try it again. However, my friend Erika has booked herself and her 7 bridesmaids (myself included) into Blo for her August wedding so we opted to try it again this past weekend. Thirty minutes and $30 later Erika and I emerged with stylish, swingy hair and wallets only slightly dented. Two days later my typically stick straight hair is still bouncing along nicely and I'm trying to work weekly visits into my budget. Visit Blo here for locations around the city (including inside The Four Seasons hotel) and to see their "menu". 

Above are before and after pics of Erika and myself. Would you spend $30 for a blowdry if it made you feel like a babe?