lemon blue

In an attempt to surprise grandmas for x-mas, I decided to bleach out all of my brown and blue hair and be a blonde again. I was planning on bleaching it all out to a light blonde and then maybe leaving it that way for a while. It needed a trim, it had lost all of its color and coolness and shape and I wanted a nice new look.

I used level 40 with a strong powder bleach kit (if you know about the beauty supply type of stuff this is the strongest there is) and slathered it all on. As the natural "roots" got blonder and blonder, the blue wasn't doing much of anything...wow...I have experimented with color since I was 18 years old and this was news to me. I let it sit and sit and the roots went as light as they should be allowed to and still, over 50% of my hair was blue, bu a lighter blue. A beautiful if I may so say, very special shade of light light blue which i have always wanted but you cant really buy (that i know of)

So I washed it out, deep conditioned it and cut it a bit. Yellow head with 1/2 minty blue. I was pretty mortified but as we had a family party to be at in a matter of hours, i dried it and curled it and slapped in a semi-festive red flower thingy with red earrings, held my blue and yellow head up high and went to the party.

I don't know what to do now. I could try to go for a light blue or let it grow and grow and keep cutting the blue off and remember that blue can be verrrry hard to remove. I could re dye it blue which would be really vibrant with these freshly bleached roots. Ideas?

Makeup talk-- feels so girly and forbidden!

Iam 32 years old and I have been wearing makeup since I was about 12. Crazy huh? Back then, i did it for fun, or because if you didn't have a little blue stripe under your eye it meant social death in my school or whatnot. I would get the occasional zit and spackle it and enjoyed choosing different lipsticks to go with my outfit. But I didn't feel like I NEEDED makeup until way, way later. Like after my third child.

Go ahead, call me whatever you want to call me. I'm a card carrying member of the third wave-- I read The Beauty Myth the day it came out and Ive gone 2 years without shaving before. Ive been there and done that from different decade-era styles to a seriously short lived period of au natural, dying my hair back to light brown, and eschewing even earrings and bras. (College, what can I say) Where I'm at now is just evening out, perking up, and doing it cheaply and quickly and I think wriitng about it will be of interest to my readers ;)

I think I am doing the world a favor, and certainly my own self esteem in presenting a face that looks like I feel inside. Because the person inside of me does not have grey lips, blotchy broken capillaries on her cheek, straight blonde eyelashes, or light purple sacks under her eyes. The person inside of me is cheery, rosy, sparkley, and yeah, I'm gonna say it, youthful.

So here is the makeup basics that I do to look like myself. I will start with the Wintertime/Bad skin version:

Pluck a few eyebrow hairs. After years spent overboard with that whole thin arch look I endured a long time of looking pretty freaky to have my eyebrows back. I shape a little to enhance the arch that I have which makes me look more awake and friendly and less neanderthal and cross.

Concealer on my zits and my blotches and my scars and my undereye circles.

Mix a tiny tiny amount of some basic beige foundation with some water to make a very translucent and thin wash of color-evening tone in the palm of my hand. Smooth over my face.

Cheapo-bronzer gel on my cheeks for blush. This is a little tube of Bonne Belle that I have had forever but it is so nice and foolproof.

Then I do a big-brush of powder over the whole thing to finish it or whatever the professional term is.

I use lipbalm mixed with red lipstick on my lips and I line them with a darker reddish brown lipliner. I know lipliner is out of style but i need it. My lips are GREY. They need edging. If you don't understand then you are not blessed with grey lips. I applaud you.

I curl my eyelashes. Yes, the scariest of lady-devices, the eyelash curler is now my friend. I used to be afraid f this thing but it is great. You look perky or happy or something when your eyelashes are curled versus straight.

I often wear mascara, but it is double edged sword for me. I feel too fancy with eyemakeup on unless I "do" my whole self up, you know, with an outfit, etc. I have never liked or known how to do too much fancy stuff with the eyemakeup and always feel like I look like a hooker or an old lady or a newscaster and so I shy away from it. So alot of times I don't wear the eyemakeup, just curl the lashes. I had a wealthy friend when I was young whose mom let her get her eyelashes dyed black. She was a very fair girl and had very blonde eyelashes. I thought this was the most exotic thing I had ever heard of and it was only $8. Now I worry about going blind, a little bit, and I just never remember to think about this procedure, but it would be so cool to have dark lashes without gooey glop.

Then, being truly addicted to blush, I usually put on even more blusher in the form of powder blush, a goldey-pink one I have had forever as well.

In the summer, I just do my lips and put on the gel blush and that's it! Even though I haven't purposefully"tanned" in years, I always have a clearer complexion and colorful skin tone when it is summertime.

So, in a way, it is nothing, a little color on the lips and cheeks, but in a way, I feel like I cant believe how rough I look without makeup, after so many years of it being just for fun. Thats ok. I am 32 1/2 years old and it could definitely be worse!

Real youth and 10 minutes of product, side by side.

Tattoo dreaminess

http://blog.tokidoki.it/?p=17

Ummmm
I knew if I waited long enough in my life, and I have, I would find the perfect tattoos for me. Now I have found like a million of them. (see above)

I also want a huge atom on my arm, with maybe little electrons for all of my children, and then the rest, along the lines of these that you see above. I really cant quite fathom how somethings can be so cute.

Yippee!

TV

London Ink! Who knew?

I adore the tattoo shows but the people are so cheesy...like, I like their tattoos but hate the whole Florida/California vibe. But LONDON ink, now? TiVo here I come. I got to watch some of one episode last night and the people couldnt look cooler. I feel a kindred with folks who do not surf 12 months a year, you know? (I also hate Rockabilly style with any smidge of a tan, ewww)

So go watch it on TLC if you have cable and if you want to see beautiful people get incredible tattoos. Sure beats network sludge....

The History channel has completely freaked out! Whereas of course, it was always a noble and austere and "good" thing to watch, I will be the first to admit that World War One shows were usually my natural sleep aid if you catch my drift. But this season, they are doing all these amazing and exciting shows! Shows about death and danger and intrigue and I am really excited to TiVo them (and have no idea when I could watch them! )

I watch Survivor but since my wrestling Playboy freak girl got kicked off, along with my James, I have been kind of disappointed. Its a weird show, but a tradition.

I watch Heroes when I can and am caught up for the season.

With the kids we watch How Its Made (Science channel) and Yo Gabba Gabba and Teletubbies and thats about it. Greta liked Goosebumps for a while but now hasn't asked to see it.

Winter. Sigh. Wish I was doing something jaunty but it seems so difficult once the cold really comes!

Wassup tonight

Hey there! I feel like so many people are not blogging lately-- "holidays" perhaps? I don't know. I have blue hair now and I adore it. the green was kool but this is me fave of all time. I feel like this is what I look like. I used Manic Panic After Midnight Blue. The places in my hair that were nice and damaged took the blue like a sponge-- like the most brilliant indigo, and the healthy newer parts of my hair hardly took the color at all.

Work is still cool, after a little pouting attack on my part last week that "they" were picking on me in the form of new checklists and repeated sticky notes everywhere reminding "us" of the most obvious of our tasks, I had a small paranoid/defensive freak out but I am over it. At 12:15am I am actually kinda grateful for a checklist of all the things we are supposed to do before we can officially close the bar, so I am fine with it now. The customers still love me and tell me the greatest stories! Tales of drunken escapades, curling stories, stuff about their jobs and their grandmothers and their children and The Olden Days. I can't get enough. My face hurts from smiling, and I wonder if they know how genuinely I am enjoying their sharing these things with me. Braggadocios stories of golfing, fishing, bowling, curling and hunting prowess. Embarrassing stuff, personal stuff, wild stuff. Why does the bartender always end up being the shrink? Hey now Grandma can't keep saying I didnt use my degree, heh heh. I listen to peoples problems, I nod and laugh and shake my head at the appropriate times, I care, I worry, I give gentle advice when prodded to, and I remember a good deal of it next time we meet. They tell me thanks for listening, I feel so much better, you really helped me....how is that not psychology? Oh, I know, I don't wear pantyhose, sit in an office, or have to put my children in cindercare for 80% of my income.

Well thats my little contribution to the Everything Joy blog tonight. it is Tuesday and so me and Steve have been having an All American Classic Evening of eating dinner at the actual dining room table with our kids, folding and distributing laundry mountain, reading bedtime stories to one kid while assisting in the teeth brushing of another kid, hanging visquine plastic stuff on our windows with the blowdryer to keep out the drafts, trying to download anything by the incredible band Slumber Party on SoulSeek and being mortified that noone has anything by these guys, laying out little outfits for the kids tomorrow, semi cleaning the kitchen, checking on fantasy football guys online, taking showers, sweeping up Christmas tree needles, and getting ready to watch Heroes and make a little fire in the fireplace while hanging out with Kitty.

I CANNOT believe this is what we used to do 7 nights a week. I am happy for my job but so excited for it to be over, too. Unlike so many couples, we love this and need this, and it has been creepy and sad to not have it. Our household has suffered from the complete cessation of this second part of the day, but hey. We will get used to it, but there is definitely a need for 2 adults here to keep it all going.