Ombre.

Hello! 

I hope everyone is having a great summer. I can't believe it's already almost mid August! Luckily, us quarter kids don't start till late September, so I still have some time to relax and enjoy the summer sun. To all you semester kids, high schoolers, and everyone already working, good luck on this upcoming school year! Take advantage of this fresh start :)

This summer, I took summer school from late June to end of July, so I've only been home for a little less than two weeks. I've been enjoying being able to catch up with old high school friends and just chill at home with family. Yesterday, I was quite bored and decided to do something spontaneous... so I dyed my hair!  

I've been contemplating Ombre hair for awhile, but I thought it would only look good on girls with lighter hair. However, seeing how great it looked on Ashlee Simpson and Rachel Bilson, I finally decided to go through with it. If you're unfamiliar with what ombre hair is, it's basically when the color of your hair has a gradient effect. It is the most dark at your roots gradually getting lighter till it reaches the tips where it is the lightest. 

 Me being gutsy and honestly semi-broke, I decided to do it myself after watching a lot of youtube tutorials. If you're contemplating doing this yourself, I suggest you watch this one!

I decided to get the L'Oreal Frost and Design in Caramel. This is originally intended as a highlighting kit. I did highlight my hair as well to help the ombre effect blend in my hair, but I mainly used the dye for the ends of my hair. It has lightening properties in it, enabling the dye to lift even darker hair colors.  This dye actually works surprisingly fast, so if you use it I suggest that you check your hair often. My hair became light brown in about 20 minutes! Since I have super dark hair, the lighter parts do seem slightly brassy...nothing a toning shampoo can't fix!

 

After lots of hole poking, aluminum foil ripping, and inhaling disgusting fumes, here are the results: 

Click to enlarge and for better quality pictures. 

 

I know this look isn't for everyone, but I think it's a fun change for now!

What do you guys think? 

Superlove & Endless Summers, 

Emily 

P.S. Even my older brother helped me! Yay for nice siblings :)

How to trim your own side swept bangs/fringe!

I've had bangs for about 95% of my life. Yes, that means I even had them as a toddler! Name the style of bangs and I've probably had them. Short, long, straight across, side swept, etc. Honestly, I'll probably have bangs for as long as I still have hair, because I love the way it frames my face. However, there is one thing I dislike about them. They grow so fast! Well at least mine do, so knowing how trim them is a necessity. 

Knowing how to do this surprisingly easy task comes in handy, especially if you're growing out your hair but still want to keep your fringe. Some salons charge up to $10 to trim your bangs, so you'll be saving up money! You can also trim your bangs whenever you want, instead of having to schedule an appointment. And the best part, once you get the hang of it you can trim your bangs to your liking every time :)  

Disclaimer: I am not a trained/professional hairstylist nor do I claim to be one. This is the method that I found worked for me. Please be careful when trimming your bangs and do so at your own risk! Remember if your bangs don't come out the way you want them to, hair grows! :)

Now you can see both of my eyebrows!

Materials:

 

1.) Hair Shears 

2.) Some sort of long object to use as a guide (I used a lip liner)   

3.) Comb 

4.) Clip/Hair tie

Notes: Please do not use any regular household scissor! It is not sharp enough, so you'll ruin your hair! If you plan on trimming your own bangs regularly, I suggest investing in a pair of hair shears. 

Step 1: 

 

Using your comb, separate your bangs from the rest of your hair and secure everything with a clip/hair tie

Step 2:

 

Comb your bangs straight down and use your long object as a guide, to visually see exactly where you'll be cutting. For me I want the shortest part of my bangs to start a 1/2 inch underneath the arch of my right eyebrow and the slope downwards to the top of my left cheek bone. I usually like leaving the left side of my bangs slightly longer so they blend in with my hair.

 Step 3:

 

Figure out where you'll be cutting your hair. I like cutting mine over the sink because it is easiest to clean up and a mirror is right in front of me.  

To clean up, I take a slightly damp paper towel, pick up as much hair as I can, and throw it all away in the trashcan. Whatever little bits of hair I can't pick up I wash down the sink. 

(Don't be lazy and wash all your hair down, or else your sink will get clogged)

Step 4:

    

Starting from the shortest part of your bangs, hold a 1/2 an inch thick section between the sides of your index finger and your middle finger. I like the shortest part of my bangs to be a 1/2 inch below my right eyebrow arch. Hold your scissors vertically and cut. 

By holding your scissors vertically you get a more natural cut than a blunt horizontal cut. It may take 2 or 3 actual vertical cuts to trim the 1/2 inch section of hair. 

Don't cut too much right away! Remember you can always cut more, but once you cut it off you can't put your hair back.

 Step 5:

 

Hold the section of what you previously cut along with a new 1/2 inch section (moving towards the longer end of your bangs) between your fingers. By grabbing a small section of what you just previously cut, you can use the length to gage how much to cut off your next section. With side swept bangs you want the length of your bangs to gradually get longer as you trim across your face (remember the guide?), so you won't be cutting this section to the exact same length as the previous section. Instead you'll be cutting them so they're slightly longer (around 1/4 of an inch longer).  

In the picture the I am holding both 1/2 inch sections of hair between my fingers (towards your left was what I previously cut toward the right is what I am going to cut). 

 Step 6:

  

After every two cuts comb your bangs straight down to make sure you are cutting your bangs at the correct angle. Continue to cut and move across your face gradually making the lengths longer and longer till your finally at your cheekbone and end of your bangs. Remember to hold the two 1/2 inch sections of hair (what you previously cut and what you are going to cut) while you are cutting.

 

Here is a picture of me with the guide starting from 1/2 inch underneath my eyebrow to the top of my cheek bone just like before. Now you can see how much I trimmed.

 Step 7:

 Style your bangs how you usually do! I just comb mine to the side.

And that's it! I really hopes this helps and that my explanations were clear enough. 

If you have any questions leave me a comment below :)

Superlove & Yay for Newly Trimmed Fringes, 

Emily