Friday, April 24, 2015

A Redhead's Life


Grandma and me. I was about 2 years old here.
Hi, all!

In case you don't know me (or missed the title), I'm a redhead. I was born a redhead and even when I've had black hair (or brown hair or burgundy hair...), inside I've always been a redhead. I've been thinking a lot lately about why my hair, specifically my hair color, is so wrapped up in my identity.

The college years.

I remember once in fourth grade a new girl came to school. She had hair the same color, length, and thickness as mine. Once we got over our mutual jealousy, we became great friends. There was a boy I was friends with in elementary school who called me Fire Baby. It sounded like a super hero name, so I loved that. I loved the idea of shooting fire balls and commanding volcanoes.

My Dad. This is where my hair color came from.

My Dad (a redhead) was so attached to my hair that Mom had to sneak me out to get it cut. He cried. Or nearly cried. There's a good chance I exaggerated the incident in my head. Either way, he was very upset. His Dad was also a redhead. And so is my brother.

Chauncey says hi!

The stereotype that I've heard my whole life is that redheads have terrible tempers. For me, that's very much untrue. I'm rarely angry. There's just not that much to get riled up over. Also, (Note: South Park writers PAY ATTENTION!!!) for the record, if souls exist we have them the same as anyone else. To be honest, my dog (also a redhead) has more soul than most people I've met. Just saying. He's awesome.

Ginger to the left, Ginger Grant to the right. No. Just no.
Photos from WikiPedia.

I've heard about all of the "ginger bashing" that's been going on. I never experienced that in the United States. It wasn't until I started going to Europe that I encountered any of that. I've had a man shouting "ginger" in my face while walking into Tesco. I've had a group of tourists pointing at me and calling me a leprechaun. I was in the audience of a talk show and the host felt the need to walk through the audience and point out all the "gingers". That was the last time I watched his show. It was a bit shocking to have so much hatred directed toward me considering that part of Europe has the highest concentration of redhead population. Also, I seriously hate the word ginger. How does a brown root compare to vibrant red hair? It doesn't. And if it's a reference to Gilligan's Island's Ginger, that's not my name. She's gorgeous and I'll gladly take the compliment, but that's not my name.

My natural state. See how much brighter Zara's hair is than mine? Waaaah!

In the States, people would constantly tell me how much they love my hair and have stopped me to ask me the name of my dye. At that point my hair was natural, so they were out of luck. Now, not so much. The thing about being a natural redhead is that red fades over time. I can't do mousy hair. I'm not about that life at all. So, when my hair starts feeling like it needs a pick-me-up I throw some color on it. Actually, my super-genius hair dresser throws some color on it. She's amazing. We went with a bolder, darker shade of red recently. I love it. It's definitely a statement color.

Not so matchy-matchy any more.

Now my daughter Zara's getting so much attention for her gorgeous hair. She loves it!

Bonus photo of my dog being awesome.
He's snuggled up to Caius with Berkeley in the background.

The redhead life is not for everyone. You have to be comfortable with being noticed. A lot. It's not a color for wallflowers. If  you're lucky to be born with it, you're lucky enough. For the rest who wish they were, thank goodness for great hair dyes. If you're interested in trying out a red (or any other color), check out the shades at Madison Reed. They have so many to choose from. If you haven't heard of Madison Reed, they are a hair dye company that has created a dye free of PPD, sulfates, resorcinol, ammonia and gluten!

Love,

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Beautifully Bohemian: April's ipsy bag




Hi, all!
It's time for my monthly ode to ipsy. The theme of the month is Beautifully Bohemian. I'm really not sure what's so Bohemian about this month's goodies, but that's okay. Many of the themes have puzzled me. It doesn't take much.

1. JulieG Nail Color in Damsel - I flat out love JulieG nail polishes, so I was thrilled to get this one. They're inexpensive, great coverage in one or two coats, and are chip resistant. What's not to love? This one is described as a mid-tone pink creme. Yup. It photographs darker and a bit more purple than it actually is.
(Value $3.99)


2. KCO Colors by Beauty Brands Cream Lipstick in Natural Born Beauty -  This lipstick is just lovely. It's supposed to do all sorts of things like protect your lips from the environment. I dunno about that, but it is moisturizing and so pretty. It's a brownish rose sort of shade.


It is nicely pigmented. The first swipe goes on slightly sheer, but it can be built up easily. There's only the barest hint of a scent to it. It lasts like a normal lipstick. Reapplication will be necessary after drinking or eating.


After playing with it for a while, I thought that it looked familiar. It's pretty much an exact dupe for Make Up For Ever's Rouge Artist Natural in N9 Copper Pink (except it's $12 cheaper!) The Make Up For Ever lipstick has a bit more of a shine to it and is slightly more coppery.
(Value $8.00)

KCO on the left, Make Up For Ever on the right

*edit - May 8, 2015 - Yeah....so this happened....

Nope. Nope. Nope.

I tried gluing it back, but nope! I had to de-pot it. It literally lived in my lipstick drawer. I didn't carry it in my purse or stick it in my pocket. I wasn't rough with it. I had only used it a couple of times and then it broke. I'm so not impressed with the packaging. I still love the formula and the color. I'm just not sure I'd buy more.

3. theBalm Cosmetics NUDE Dude Eyeshadow Single in Flirty - I've been wanting to try theBalm for a while now, so I was happy to get this in my bag. This shade is from the NUDE Dude Volume 2 palette.


I love the packaging. The whole pin-up thing is adorable.


Flirty is described as a shimmering golden violet and I'd say that's about right. To be totally honest, I was hoping for more impact, but it does go on beautifully and blends out like a dream.
(Palette $36. Sample Value $3)


4. MicaBeauty Eye Primer - This primer is really good. It's kind of sticky, which grabs on to eye shadow. It doesn't crease. It's also a great color for me. It covers up all the imperfections on my eyelids to create a blank canvas.


Can you see it? It blends well into my own skin tone.


The swatch below on the left is without the primer. On the right the swatch is over the primer. Big difference! My only real issue with the primer is the price. I currently own a few primers that do the same thing, but are much (much!) cheaper.
(Full size $44.95. Sample value $22.48)


5. Olive Natural Beauty The Olive Lip Balm in Oats & Honey - I'm totally on the fence with this lip balm. It performs well. I love that it's organic. It feels great and is very hydrating. The scent, however, is a bit strange. You can really smell the oats. It smells like some sort of baked goods. But in a weird way. If something smells like a cupcake, I'm all about that. This is more like a bran muffin. It's not bad, really. Just odd. I'd be interested in trying some of their other scents.
(Value $5.95)


The bag - I flipping love this bag! I love that it's woven. When I saw it previewed, I was afraid it was a print, but no, it's really woven. The colors are fun. Maybe this is where the Bohemian theme comes into play because it does have a bit of a retro-found-this-at-a-market vibe. It's lined with a khaki nylon.


I'm definitely a happy camper this month. I did like everything, even though the lip balm smells strange. The grand total for this month's bag is $43.42. If you're interested in checking out ipsy, you can use my referral link or just ipsy.com. Either way. It's a monthly personalized beauty subscription service that's only $10/month.

If you already subscribe, what did you get this month?

Love,

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...