Red to Sombre with Christie Toffan

As you know I recently went from red back to blonde, and it was quite the process. Since I planned on doing a post on the process, I'd do a little mini interview with my stylist as well.

Christie Toffan

I've been seeing Christie for 4 years now, and she's recently started managing her own Salon Suite at Salon Concepts in Florence Kentucky. Since she's been cutting my hair for 4 years, and I knew that going from red to blonde would be a huge process, there was no one else I would trust to do it.

starting color

Especially because I had tried to bleach the blue out of my hair by myself, so not only did she have to deal with the red, she also had to deal with the left over blue and the severe damage I had done to my hair.

applying color remover

Why did you decide to become a stylist? and how long have you been doing it?
- I always wanted to do something in the fashion industry. I also wanted to help people. Cosmetology allowed me to combine both. I've been doing hair for 5 years.

and cooking it

What did you do before you decided to be a stylist?
-Let's see, I went to school for architecture and interior design, tended bar and worked in management. I tried on many hats, as my mother would say, until I find one that fit.

it's green

Who's your style icon?
-I wouldn't say I have a style icon. My goal is to provide my clients with an outward portrayal of their inner selves.

all washed out

Go to, can not live without products?
- Currently, I'm obsessed with Eufora. Their products are aloe based and smell SO good! I use the Aloetherapy shampoo and conditioner, Boost root lifting spray, Formation styling fish and Full Effect texture spray. My favorite hairspray is Sebastian Shaper Plus.

drying!

Worst things you've seen your clients do to their hair? And what they should do instead? 
- Not use at least a heat protectant on their hair.

after the color remover

Running late, go to hair style and outfit?

-Black, black and black. I keep my wardrobe simple, always. That gives me a little extra time to round brush my hair, even if I'm running late.

What do you do in your free time?
- I love to garden, spend time with my hubby and my two little dogs, Milo and Mayatoo.

all foiled 

Are there any other hair stylists work you admire?

- There are several! I've been blessed to be surrounded by many talented stylists.

and the rest of the dye

Favorite Movies, Music and Books?
- Ishmael is one of my favorite books, Avengers, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Moulin Rouge are definitely my top contenders for favorite movies. Music is huge.... Pretty much anything other than new country.

processing

What advice to you have for someone who's wants to make a 
big change to their hair?
-Photos. Look at a lot of photos and bring the ones you like to your stylist. They will be able to advise on what your hair is capable of. What color tones enhance your skin, and let you know how much time is required for styling




I can't tell you how happy I am with my hair. It was an awesome experience, having Christie do my hair.
About a month after dying my hair red, I really wanted to be blonde again, so for 7 months from July to February, I was really unhappy with my hair.

The final result

The entire process took two vists and 8 hours total. 5 hours the first visit, and then 3 hours the next visit for a second full foil because my hair decided too pull orangy/yellow after the first set of foils and dye. After all of this honestly I don't know that I'll ever dye my own hair again. This was a very long process. But it was definitely worth every minute and every penny spent.

 I have never been so happy with my hair.


If you're in the Florence, Kentucky area and are looking for someone to do your hair, you should definitely book with Christie

OOTD: Trends

I've never really thought about how trends influence my style until I was getting dressed yesterday. I had recently gone shopping and was looking through my new clothes and realized there were a lot of trendy pieces.

What I'm wearing: Tank- H&M, Jeans- H&M, Bra- Target, Shoes- Converse, Necklace- Unknown

Boyfriend jeans have never been a good look for me, but I had been on the hunt for a slouchy distressed pair of grey jeans. I decided to try out girlfriend jeans, and I found these at H&M. They fit perfectly, they're really comfortable and they're just the right amount of distressed.

Another trend I decided to give a try is a sheer top, because "ethereal" is huge this year. I've actually had this top for a while and this bra that I'm wearing under it, but it's the first time I decided to pair them together. The girlfriend jeans were high enough they covered my stomach, and the back of this bra is really cute. You can find a similar top here and a similar bra here and I actually like this one better because it offers more coverage in the front, so I'll probably be purchasing that one.

On my Face: Sonja Kashuk tinted moisturizer in Fair, The Balm Blush in frat boy, The Balm Highlighter in Mary Lou Manizer, Covergirl The Roses Palette, Colourpop Super Shock Shadow in Birthday Girl, Nyx Liquid eyeliner in Black, Makeup Forever Smokey Extravagant mascara, Nyx Turquoise Eyeliner, Colourpop Lippie Stix in Wifey


When I sat down to do my makeup I decided to try out ombre lipstick. Fun lip colors are always in for spring. And this is one I hadn't yet been brave enough to try. But I couldn't see why not, since I've worn every color from blue to black to orange and purple. So I took a Nyx turquoise eyeliner I never use, cleaned it off and lined my lips with it. Then I blurred it out a bit with a qtip and went over it with Colourpop's Wifey Lippie Stix. I really liked it, but I think next time I'll use less of the liner so more of the pink shows up.

And Finally for my hair I decided to do a dutch braid into a ponytail so it would better show off my newest earring. It's an arrow, and I'm so in love with it. I picked it up at a random kiosk in the mall so I can't link it, but I'm sure you can easily find similar.


What are your favorite trends for this spring? Anything you think I should try?

OOTD: Weekend Casual

This weekend ended up being super busy and I didn't get everything I wanted done. I did get some shopping done, and these photos taken. And Howl was very interested in what I was doing standing by the front door, and not taking him for walkies.

 

What I'm wearing: 

Shirt: Victoria's Secret Pink, Pants: H&M, Shoes: Converse Hi Tops, Necklace: Tiny Owl 

I may not have gotten everything I wanted to done, but I did find my favorite pants that I got a few years ago from H&M. These are high waisted, ankle length pants, with gold zips on the inside of the ankles. The only thing I'd change about them is I'd either get rid of the zips so I could cuff them, or I would make them about half an inch shorter.

  

On My Face: Sonja Kashuk Tinted Moisturizer in Fair, The Balm Blush in Frat Boy, Covergirl Roses Eyshadow Palette, Colourpop eyeshadow in Birthday Girl, Makeup Forever Smokey Extravagant in Black, The Balm Highlighter in Mary Lou Manzier, Hourglass Opaque Rouge Liquid Lipstick in Rose 

For my hair all I did was round brush it, and just got very lucky in how it turned out. Most of that is due the the amazing cut, some of that is due to the new hair products I've been using which you'll see in an upcoming haul.

These are my newest shoes, I got them for Valentines Day. I've wanted a pair for ages, but I became kinda obsessed with getting them ever since I saw Cara Delevingne wearing them in the trailer for Paper Towns,

Look at Howl's Face! He's just like "Why!! Why are you still taking photo's and not taking me for Walkies!" 

 After these photos were taken I ended up ill, and have spent the rest of the weekend in bed feeling awful. So we didn't get the photos from my session with Christie Toffan edited yet, but I hope that those photos will be up by Thursday or Friday. However, I'm still under the weather and my partner who takes and edits all my photos has been busy taking care of the things that I can't.  so don't quote me.

I'm ending on my favorite photo. Howl is just so cute! 

OOTD: Sombre

I mentioned in my last post I had changed my hair, and I would be revealing what I did in this post. 

Having vividly colored hair was fun, but after the nightmare that was trying to remove the blue to dye my hair pink, that resulted in my hair having to be dyed red, I just wanted my hair back. My natural color. But I wasn't about to attempt that on my own. No matter how many home dye jobs you've done, somethings you just should pay someone to do. So I saved up and as soon as I had enough money, I made an appointment with Christie Toffan, and over two different visits, and 8 hours total (5 the first visit, 3 the second) had her take me back to.....

BLONDE!

Please excuse the huge stupid grin on my face, I can't even convey how happy I am with my hair. Christie is magic. Seriously. She's always given me a great cut, but I had never had her do my color before.

What I'm wearing: Trench - Express, Dress- Madewell, Shoes- Converse, Necklace - Kate Spade Nails - Essie Braziliant.

Honestly with the state my hair was in before I went to see Christie, with all the layers of red dye, and what was under the red, I never in my wildest dreams expected my hair to turn out this amazing. It's perfect and I am so outrageously happy with it. It's not strictly my natural color. The roots are currently a little bit darker than my natural color, and will fade out to match as my roots grow out. Then she blended baby highlights into my ends which are lighter than my roots, but not too much lighter, for an over all sombre effect.

Makeup: Sonia Kashuk Tinted Moisturizer, Nars Blush, The Balm Highlighter, Nars Satin Lip Pencil, Covergirl The Roses Eyeshadow Palette, Makeup Forever Mascara, NYX Liquid Eyeliner, Maybelline Brow Drama Palette.

Hopefully one of my next posts will include a little interview with Christie and the pictures we took while she was doing my hair.

If you were going to dye your hair for spring,what color would you choose?

Haul: Spring Things

So lately I haven't been buying a lot of clothes. I've started buying less things and trying to find more quality pieces like the dress you'll see for Sunday's post. But just because I'm not buying clothes, doesn't mean I haven't been doing any shopping. I did a little bit of damage to my bank account this past weekend.

All of the things I bought were completely necessary, because I was either running of the things, or felt it was time to switch it up for spring since it's been warm here lately.

First I picked up First Aid Beauty's Ultra Repair Cream.

I use Retin-A Micro on a daily basis, so my skin can get very dry, but when I'm using this, no matter the season, my skin feels amazing. I first heard about this brand from FleurDeForce, and she has mentioned her skin leans to the dryer side, so when my skin started getting dry from the Retin-A Micro, I remembered this brand and decided to try it out. I'm so very glad I did. It smells lovely, exactly how you'd expect a skin cream to smell. It's definitely made washing my face one of my favorite parts of the day.

Next I was running low on my body wash I normally use, so I went to Victoria's Secret only to discover that they aren't selling the secret fantasies body washes anymore. So I decided to finally try some products from The Body Shop. They were having a sale, which is awesome because I like to switch up which soap I use each time I shower.

First I picked out this Satsuma gift set which was on sale for $15.60.

It comes with a full sized body wash, a full sized body polish, a mini body butter, a bar of soap, and a bath poof.

I really love citrus scents, all year round, but especially in warmer weather, so I've very excited about this.

Then I picked this blueberry bodywash

because it was on sale for $4.50 and I really love fruit scents in the spring and summer. I think it smells more like pomegranates than blueberries, but I still really like it.

Finally I picked out this strawberry bodywash

which I think is actually my favorite of all of them, because it was recommended to me by my friend Katy. This is the one that she uses, and I can see why, it smells amazing, and I wish I had gotten more stuff from this scent line, but now I know for my next order.


Then I picked up these hair ties*.

I don't know if I've mentioned it recently, but I've been on a mission to grow my hair out again, especially after I cut it so short in 2014. Since my hair is damaged from all the dying and heat styling and everything else I've done to it, I've been sticking to hair ties that are more gentle on your hair.

These scrunchies aren't only gentle, they're also really cute, and have lots of fun different prints. And the little bunny ears/bow is super adorable and perfect for ponytails or buns. I love the bright colors for spring, especially with my current hair color which you will see on Sunday.

I think my favorite prints are either the pink star print one

 or the white and pink polka dot one.

Bonus photo bloopers: Howl being bad while I tried to take the photos:

 He desperately wanted to run off with that bag of hair ties


That's everything I've bought recently, have you started switch out your products for spring yet? Or are you holding out for more consistent warmer weather?

*Note: If you order those hair ties you may not get the exact same ones I received as they are a variety pack and will be randomly chosen each time