Multiple Haircolor Disorder

I'm sure many of us have gone through the whole hair chameleon thing. When I was super gothy, I had hair that was black in front, black on the underside, and blood red everywhere else. It's been completely unnaturally red, coppery red, dark brown, black, purple, tree green... you name it, my hair's probably been it. I started using Palty Sakura Creamy because I heard the dye really blends older colors well, will lighten darker dyed hair, and I loved the color.

The color on the box is very much a creamy red, slightly coppery, but subdued. It's a gorgeous color, and I fell in love with it immediately. This is what it looks like when my hair is freshly dyed.

Sadly, this does NOT last. My natural hair color is a sort of mousy brown that picks up a little red in the winter and a little blonde in the summer. I love having some red in my hair, and was a little upset when the color was gone in three weeks. The last time I dyed my hair was about two months ago, and this is what color my hair is now.

These were taken directly in front of the bathroom lights. (Please don't judge my poorly-styled hair; I'm getting it cut  and dying it later.) As you can see, it's pretty darn blonde except for my roots. It's a lovely golden color, and I don't really hate it. My hubby loves it, as do most of my friends, and a ton of people says it's very youthful on me. As you can see, however, it's NOT a creamy red.

Now, I understand why it's like this. Palty dye is meant for Japanese hair, meaning it will lift black. When one bleaches black hair, it turns orange initially, and I'm positive the dye takes that into account. When you bleach a lighter brown, it turns blonde. Mine will turn near-platinum with 20 minutes of 40 volume peroxide. That being said, as much as I love the Palty dye, I may have to give up using it if I don't find a color that will last better.

This is really hard for me, since I love nearly everything about Palty dye. It smells nice, it leaves my hair in decent condition, and the applicator bottle makes things so easy (I even saved one in case I change back to American dyes.) The only things I don't like is the super-tiny conditioner packet and that not as much seems to come in the bottle as American dyes.

Since my hair comes out this blonde color after a couple of weeks, I'm considering trying a different Palty color to see if I have the same issue. I'm considering Maple Doughnut.

It's pretty much the color the Sakura Creamy fades into, and I think it might be more consistent to where I don't have to worry about it changing colors on me. I still have three boxes of Sakura Creamy left, which means one box for my next dye job and probably two for the one after since I'm growing out my hair.

Ah well, First World Problems and all of that, but hopefully my experience with this helps shed some light on any person of Caucasian origin who might think Palty dye looks interesting enough to try. If your hair is brown, THE RED WILL FADE. Not in a bad way, but... it will.

J!

Falling In Love With Fall

It's hot here in Citrus Heights, CA. We're in the Sacramento Valley, so air gets trapped in this pocket during the day with the hottest part being in the later part of the afternoon. Of course, all the stores are already getting ready for Autumn fashions, and our friends overseas are no exception. I've been looking over blogs lately to get ideas, and so far, I'm falling in love.

I'm seeing a big trend going towards preppy/retro styles. (Read Mitsu's Egoist and Titty&co report.) Seeing everything from 70s prints to preppy sweaters to classic flower print dresses with cardigans has really made me think that fashion is going to be pretty fun during the transitional months until it gets too cold for that much leg. 80s-style suspenders are also coming in (*shudder*) and many earth tones and rich brick colors are to be seen (and some purples). Personally, I'm pleased to see the rather retro-classy look associated with Egoist and Laguna Moon this upcoming season.

So far, this is one of my favorite offerings from Laguna Moon. It's well-defined, classy, and still feminine, but overall it's still a functional outfit. It's perfect for cooler summer to fall nights and can easily be dressed up for a work day or for going out.


Now, the other side of my fashion tastes spectrum is d.i.a., which sadly has no online shop.(I again need to link to one of Mitsu's posts to show you pictures as I have a hard time finding anything online other than through Rakuten.) This store, to me, screams OraOra-gyaru-kei. It's fun with a bit of bad-girl edge to it, and what I love overall is the emphasis on monochromes with splashes of gold or something else bright. It's sexy and creative.

That's it for this blog entry. I'll think of something more exciting to do later, I promise.

J!

Make Up Battle! Urban Decay vs e.l.f.

Are you on a budget but want the joy that is the Urban Decay Naked palette? Loads of Gals swear by it not just for the use it has as an eye shadow palette, but for it's use in contouring, especially on the nose. There actually is an alternative. First off, however, let's look at Urban Decay.

What have we here? Twelve colors and a dual-ended pencil are included for your $48.00. There's tones included for smokey looks as well as deep neutral colors as well, with a combination of cool and warm tones to make any skin tone happy.


Where does that leave e.l.f.'s offering? Let's have a look.

This is a photo of the set I just bought, which I think is a few months old to be honest. You get twelve colors, a pencil, and applicator. There's some nice matte shades and a few shinier ones, so you have your contouring colors as well, and it has the same range of tones the Urban Decay set has. It also retailed for $5.00, though I purchased mine for $4.00 as it was an older package. This regularly gets re-released, and I think it's a great buy.

I'll be posting pictures of what I've done with it soon, so keep your eyes here!

J!

Why does it say 2000 kcal on my labels?

Seriously, I can't eat that much unless someone takes me to the Cheesecake Factory. 2000 kcal is a lot of food for some people! I see Gals restrict themselves severely, while some tend to hover between 1200 and 1500 kcal diets. I use SparkPeople as my calorie tracker, and it says I should have 1500 - 1850 kcal per day. The food labels don't care! They all say 2000 as the standard. Where did that come from?

I did some digging, and apparently it was the FDA standard established after rounding from 2350, which was the standard for post-menopausal women. It was easy to establish food plans with it, a nice round number that was easier for people to remember, and represented the aspect of the population with the highest average level of weight gain.

Should we all be sticking to 2000 kcal? Well, that depends on your genes, level of activity, and your own body. Don't go hungry, but don't eat until you're stuffed. Be mindful of portion sizes and eat your fruits and veggies. Here's some good visual references:

What One Serving of Fruits and Vegetables Looks Like from The Kitchn
A Visual Guide to Fruits and Veggies from The Chow
Another Visual Guide to Serving Sizes from HealthUnit

Now I'm not a nutritionist/doctor/physical trainer/blahblah, but I do my research. Hopefully the stuff I found will help my readers out, too. =) What good is it if you don't share?

J!

Bicycle Race! (cue Queen)

First of all, I'd like to welcome my new followers! Greetings!

I'm going to jump back today to the whole health and fitness thingie today. No, really, it's not a lecture, just sharing a few things. First of all, this is my pride and joy right now:

This is my bike, an Electra Townie 21d. I LOVE my bike. I really hadn't ridden a bike regularly for quite some time now, so I'm excited to have the chance again. The problem is that my body isn't used to the work, so it's like I'm training myself all over again. I can go farther and farther every day, and my time is improving, so before too long, I'll be able to ride my bike all day without worries.

A lap around my neighborhood block is about 2.5 miles, according to Google Maps. Well, I did that twice and another mile, so 6 miles for me is pretty good. I have to stop because my butt gets sore while I'm getting used to it! Still, I can go farther every day, and while the scale hasn't twitched much, my clothes are already fitting better.

So why the bike? Well, I kept reading about all of my friends in Japan who bike to work or wherever they need to go and ride public transportation for the rest. I'd be saving something like $40 in gas and getting exercise! A number of friends lost weight when they moved to Japan from eating better quality/lower quantity food and regular exercise (like bike riding). I'm inspired by that. =)

So watch out, California. Look for that green blur on her way to the Farmer's Market!

J!

Make Up Lines Are FAIL

Well, I've had a hell of a time finding examples of this online, but there is something that I think we all recognize, and that's the Makeup Mask. Here's my definition: gorgeous make up with a visible foundation line along the jawline. Perhaps your face and neck are two different colors after you're done with your foundation? Here's an example borrowed from Skin Deco:

That doesn't drive me as crazy as the ones that are orange in the face and white on the neck. It looks tacky. If you're like me and use a darker color than your facial skin tone, this is something that is difficult to combat, so I'm going to share some of the tips I've picked up over time.


1. Use a foundation brush.

You'll get a much more even blend with your skin tone using a brush, and you can fade it out to the edges of your face. Since I use a darker foundation, I spread it out to my hairline and to my ears. Do I stop at my jaw? Nope, I keep going down my neck until it's fully blended and seamless. It also doesn't require an expensive brush. I use e.l.f.'s foundation brush that costs a dollar.

2. Try tinted moisturizer.

For an every day look, tinted moisturizer is the way to go. It blends much more evenly with the skin and, in my opinion, blends very well. Save the thicker foundation for meet ups and events. One can still have smooth even skin without caking it on. The point of foundation is to hide flaws and even the skin tone, not look like you're about to go perform for the circus. If you do use regular foundation, make sure it's water-based and that you can still blend it smoothly.

3. Bronzing/Blushing/Powders

I'm a fan of bronzing, but something that contributes to the cake-mask face, too. If you use a darker bronzer, tap off the excess so that you don't use too much, and layer it until you have the effect you want. Don't be afraid to use it on your neck, either, to make sure your color stays consistent. Sometimes using a larger powder brush to blend in edges makes it a lot more natural looking and less glaring.

The same goes for contouring. I see sooooo much on the "Gal-nose", meaning the dark contours on the side with a light stripe up the center to thin the nose out. The problem is that I'm not seeing a lot of blending done, so that ends up on my pet peeve list, too. Here's a good tutorial from Chaigyaru on proper contouring:

See? It's not that hard, just blend it in.


4. Give yourself a good once over.

Look for visible lines, get a second opinion. Do your make up in the right light and really blend. Again, don't forget your neck, ears, and hairline. Visible contour lines and foundation lines are really distracting and detract from the overall package. Keep the illusion going! A couple of minutes of reviewing your finished make up and blending in places you might have missed will go a long way.

I hope you all found that helpful. I know most of what I bring up are pet peeves and the unglamorous side of being glamorous, but these are all things that I believe are necessary to presenting oneself properly. If you have tips of your own, please share them in the comments!

J!

Exercise and Smoothies

Yeah, yeah, I should update more often. =P

Well, as all ten of you who read this know, I'm putting an effort into working out again. So far, the scale hasn't moved, but my waistline has, which is good. The hubby and I have been doing circuit training and regular cardio at the gym, but we also take our bikes out. Yesterday we went bike riding for two hours, going almost 12 miles on a trail! (SO SORE!)

The green bike is mine, the red one is Dan's. =) We both have 21-speed Electra Townies. SO CUTE and very comfy!

Anyway, like an idiot, I went out to the gym today to do circuit training, which is amazing for exercise, but oh-so-painful when one is recovering from something new. However, maintaining good health is very necessary, so activity must continue. It's important to have at least an hour of activity every day, even if you don't feel like it (unless you're sick).

I'm going to share with you all a recipe I just made up. You use the following ingredients:

1 Banana
2 Tbsp Ovaltine Chocolate Malt
1 Scoop Spiru-tein unsweetened vanilla protein powder
10 oz soy milk

Throw it all in a blender, make sure everything is blended smoothly, and drink that numminess up! Want the stats on it? This is according to SparkPeople:

354 kcal
052 g carbohydrates
006 g fat
024 g protein

So really, it's not that bad at all. Since I work out before lunch, I have it as my lunch, and it really fills me up. ｖ（≧∀≦）ｖ

J!