Friday, December 26, 2014

Wattpad and After

So if you've been on the internet really at all the last couple of years, I'm sure that you've managed to hear of Fanfic, however if you haven't, Fanfic or Fan Fiction is where fans write fictional stories about either characters from movies, books, or their favorite celebrities. Some of these stories are decent, some are so horrible you cringe, and then there are stories that make you realize that person should be a writer. Fanfic that deserves to be published.


That's where websites like Wattpad come in. You can post your stories on Wattpad from your phone, computer or tablet and almost instantly get feedback from your readers. Or if you're a lover of Fanfic, you can search out stories inspired by your favorite celebrities or characters. Or stories about magic, vampires, or anything else you can dream of.




Anna Todd is one of Wattpads success stories, her fanfic inspired by One Directions Harry Styles had so many readers that she got the attention of Gallery Books which is an off shoot of Simon & Schuster who published the novel for sale on October 21st 2014. Prior to that it had been garnered over 1 billion views on wattpad. Pretty amazing for a story written almost entirely from her phone.



I haven't had a chance to read After yet but I'm really curious to see what it's like. I will be posting a full review when I've finished it.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Stylishly Late: Unseasonable

This post is late because I've been sick. But the weather here has kinda been unseasonably warm lately. So I decided that if it was warm enough for skirts and tights, that meant there was no reason for my favorite skirt to be hanging out in my closet.




Trench: Express, Top: H&M, Skirt: The Limited, Tights: HUE, Shoes: Old Navy

I love love love this skirt, it's navy with little red polka dots and you can't see it that well here, because it was dark outside by the time I was able to get my photos taken.



On My Face: Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation in light ivory, Nars Deep Throat Blush, Marc Jacobs The Lolita Palette, The Balm Mary Lou Manizer, Makeup Forever Smokey Extravagant Mascara, Rimmel Scandaleyes eyeliner, NYX Matte Lip Cream in Amsterdam, Victoria's Secret Lip Balm in Cherry Balm

Please excuse the doe in the headlights look, sometimes I really have trouble posing for photos. So you get wide eyed and frozen.



I have worn these boots to death this year and they're absolutely scuffed, and definitely showing their wear, but I still can't stop wearing them and I really hope that I can find a pretty similar pair in black, grey or brown very soon because these have been my absolute favorite shoes.

What has the weather been like where you are lately?

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Purple Hair: Dyeing and Maintaining

Warning this post is long:

Right before Halloween I decided to dye my hair purple. I was having a major existential crisis, and feeling like I had no control over the things I was doing and then while I was at the grocery store this image popped up in my twitter feed:


 The always lovely Gaby Dunn

and then I looked down to see this:



So I bought it. But this isn't what I used.

For those of you who don't know the woman in the picture above is Gaby Dunn. You can (and should) find her here, here, and here, and other places like Buzzfeed, and this interview that she did with Tim Minchin, which I think everyone everywhere needs to read.

I posted on twitter that I had been inspired to impulse dye my hair purple because of Gaby's image and tagged her in it with a picture of that dye. She told me that Splat has a tendency to wash out quickly and that she used Pravana.


 The always lovely Gaby Dunn's hair braided by Kristen Mortensen

I didn't end up using Pravana either though, because once I get an idea in my head I have to do it right now. So I went to Sally's and bought Color Ion Fuchsia and Lavender, with the Color Ion Color Shield Conditioner.





This is how it turned out:



This is how I got this color: I mixed 1/4th of a tube of Fuchsia with a dab of Lavender in a Dye bowl that I bought for about a $1 and it came with a brush:


Then I added about 20-30 pumps of conditoner:



And I mixed it all up until it looked like yogurt:



and I applied the mixture to dry hair, put on a shower cap and left for it for 3 hours:


 You are not getting a picture of me in a shower cap, only tumblr is that lucky

To maintain the color I wash my hair about once a week with the Regis Purple Shampoo:



and then I make the above mixture using less conditioner and dye than in the above picture and I leave it on for about an hour or two depending on what time I've put it in my hair.

When I went to Sally's recently to get more dye they had the Violet dye that I had originally wanted:



so I added it to my usual dye mixture so that it looked like this:



If you're wondering why I didn't just switch straight to this since it's the color I originally wanted, since my hair is already Fuchsia the lady at Sally's recommended I mix it in using less Fuchsia and more Violet each time until I'm using only Violet when I run out of the Fuchsia.

and after I applied it I got this color:


the color is a bit brighter than this, it was dark outside when we took the picture[/caption]

I did not bleach my hair when I dyed it, which is part of why my hair isn't as bright as hers is. My hair was a pretty light blonde already, but I do plan on bleaching it come summer when I change colors.

If you could dye your hair any color, what color would you dye it?



*I got permission from Gaby to use her photo's in this post. You should always get permission before you use someone else's photos, it's just the right thing to do.



Sunday, December 7, 2014

Stylish Sundays: Stripes and Plaid

Have I ever mentioned how much I love flannel shirts? No?

Okay well I love them because they're soft and they're cozy and they make me feel stupidly snuggly and very 90's grunge at the same time. And I love Grunge.



Flannel: Forever 21, Striped Tee: Victoria's Secret, Pants: H&M, Shoes: H&M

These were actually taken before my Thanksgiving photo's and I'm 100% certain that I was just running errands for thanksgiving.

Do you notice the Howl monster trying to hide behind me?



Hair: Color Ion Fuchsia and Lavender, thrown up into a messy bun.

On My Face: Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Foundation, Nars Deep Throat Blush, Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush, Makeup Forever Aqua Liner, Makeup Forever Smokey Extravagant Mascara, NYX Snow White Lipstick, The Balm Mary Lou Manizer Hightlighter, Marc Jacobs The Lolita Palette,

The Post about dying my hair will be up this week, probably on Tuesday, and then I have a couple other posts that I have planned, including a tiny makeup haul.





I love this photo because it has both mine and Howl's feet in it, like he wanted to show off his feet too.