The Cut(ting) Edge.

So I did it. I kept my appointment and finally got my hair professionally cut. What I failed to mention in my last post was that, for the last little while, I've been taking my hair style into my own hands. Literally. I trimmed it and kept half an eye on my fringe but after months of this it was starting to look a little lop-sided so I needed a specialist to step in.

Here's the pictures I shoved in the poor hairdressers face as soon as I arrived:

Yes, I went for The Claudia.

Of course the usual thing still happened - despite me stating exactly what I wanted there was the predictable conversational tussle over trying layers, a different length, different fringe or colour etc. etc. I don't know what it is with hairdressers and my hair but only 1 or 2 over the years have ever just said, "OK," and got on with what I've asked for.

Still, after slightly more insistence than I was wanting she cut it blunt and sorted my fringe and here's how my head's looking now.

I'm absolutely thrilled with it and will now make the vow not to leave it so long again. This is a look I want to preserve.

Tomorrow's task: copying Claudia's eye makeup! Anyone any tips for me?

Hairs Lookin' At You, Kid.

Considering that I class myself as the type of person who looks after herself - I eat healthily, exercise, regularly paint my nails and enjoy good makeup and clothes - it's strange that the one thing I am rarely on top of is my most prominent feature. My hair.

I've always been blessed (thanks Mum) with thick, shiny hair and it appears that no matter what I do to it, heat styling wise, it refuses to look damaged and needs very little maintenance to look acceptable.

However, after last years foray into the dip dye scene my hair has been a little lack lustre. I don't blame it - I took half of it and bleached the life out of it leaving the ends noticeably irate and leaving me panicking and staring at shelves and shelves of hair products in Boots that I'd never even seen before, let alone used.

Hair masks, leave in conditioners, colour restorers...I've seen, and used, them all now. But still my locks seem unwilling to return to their former glory, choosing instead to taunt me with my self inflicted battle scars - split ends. So I've come to the conclusion that there's only one thing for it. The chop...

This is my current head of hair. I took this picture about 5 minutes ago and you can see clearly the fly-aways and general unruliness I am facing. So tomorrow at 5.30pm I am handing a lovely woman some money to make me look human again.

Now, I fear the hairdressers the same way some fear the dentist or doctor. One (or 3) bad experiences have left me, on average, getting my hair cut about once a year - with a large amount of morphine in my blood. Which means most of the time my 'style' is 'default'. I let it hang as it grows.

In the past I have been to several different salons and asked several different stylists to do this, that or the other and every time I have left near to tears at their sheer determination to ignore what I've requested and do what they think looks best. I sometimes wonder that because I have such thick hair they have a bit of a creative field day with it - and there's very little you can do once they've turned you into what appears to be the love child of John Lennon and Thelma from Scooby Doo. (You laugh but this happened once and after 3 days of tears I demanded my money back. When I went to get it back it turned out the head stylist (and moron who'd wrecked my hair) had been sacked for several similar offences. Encouraging.)

But I have found a good salon on the recommendation of friends whose hair doesn't make them look as if they've just walked away from a terrible accident and I'm off to test it out tomorrow. Now all I need to do is decide who to use as inspiration.

I've whittled it down to Freja Behan, Alexa Chung and Claudia Winkleman.

While I am a long standing fan of Freja Behan's I'm aware she's just too cool for school and although she suits disheveled-chic down to the ground I fear I may end up looking to most that I've just woken up and simply had no time to even run my fingers through my tresses.

Alexa Chung, on the other hand is someone whose style I could definitely get on board with. I already look to her in the sartorial department regularly so why not in the locks dept. too?

And finally we come to Claudia Winkleman. I've always admired her for her infectious presence on television, drawing you into whichever programme she's commentating on. I think she could even get me enthused about football. But just these past couple of years she's really been upping her credentials in the style stakes and she looks incredible for it. Now I just need to master the year round light glow and perfect day to night eyeliner.

So I think the picture I'll take to the salon will most likely be.....

Stay tuned for a post cut update. (And wish me luck!)

Updates and Resets.

The beauty of having a housemate who works as a buyer in women's shoes is something that I, admittedly, sometimes undervalue. Well, not anymore!

In recent posts you'll remember I've been in search of a new sartorial identity and I think I'm onto something but the void between the 'old' and 'new' wardrobe can sometimes be made bigger by lack of funds to instantly update the whole thing.

This is where my housemate comes into her own. Last night she asked if I'd like to join her for a gig but as I already had plans I declined and ended up heading home earlier than her. On my way home she messaged me again and said to look in the yellow bag on the sofa as she'd got 'things' for me. Things? Things? 'Things' doesn't cover what gems awaited me. Three brand new pairs of slipper pumps from Matalan that I'd gushed over a few months back at their press day in London.

Of course I am wearing a pair today so here's a closer look.

What I love about them is the colour matched studs - I've still not seen this anywhere but Matalan and she got me the same pair in the cobalt that I had seen at the press day and adored so much. Both are actually available online now. Black here and Cobalt here.

Here's the cobalt version for you to feast your eyes on.

What I think I love the most about these is that the studs are on the outer edge and top of the foot only. Any girl who bought Topshop's iconic version last season will know the raw pain of dragging a stud across your inner ankle and the torturous, slow process of it healing. No need to worry about that here though - hurrah!

In other news I'm bored of my dip-dyed hair after a week so am dying it back tomorrow evening. I know, crazy Friday night plans, right?

So here's a last look at it before I reset it to its former glory. (This is it yesterday french plaited down one side.)

Dye 2DyeFor.

A couple of posts ago you'll remember me wittering on about how much I adore Jessica Alba. I came to the distressing conclusion that I'll never actually be her some time ago so decided to use her as sartorial inspiration instead. It was all going very well until last week I saw some pap shots of her which left me with a totally new thing to lust over...her hair.

I have, for a while, looked at the ombre (dip-dye) trend with jealous admiration; never having the guts to change my own hair so drastically but over the weekend, after spending time with a friend and her newly 'blonded' tips I caught the fever and couldn't think of anything other than getting to my local Boots to get a home-dye kit. After some research it seemed the most easy to use for first timers like myself was L'Oreal Preference - Wild Ombres which has kits according to original hair colour. Being a very dark brown haired gal I was keen not to use a dye designed for lighter hair that would leave me looking as if I'd attacked myself with a bottle of spray bleach.

Next on my 'to do' list before taking the plunge was to look up celebrities and bloggers who'd inflicted the same style upon their own poor hairs. And it wasn't difficult. A single search of Google and I was inundated with images of women with bleached tips. While the idea of subjecting my hair to such damage scared me the results I was seeing on other people's heads were doing little to dissuade me from going for it too.

Alexa Chung, Drew Barrymore and Billie Piper

Bloggers who've home dyed too

So Monday night, glass of wine in hand and housemate looking at me as if I'd had some sort of brain malfunction (this is generally a sign I'm doing something right) I trundled into my bathroom, L'Oreal in my clutches, and set to work. Here's what happened next:

Oh, just look at the optimism!

Here's when I realised what I was actually doing...

First attempt at styling it

Blonde tips

First style before applying toner - I told you, I'm a newby at this!

That was how it looked on Monday night and the tone alarmed me a little. I'd been looking for a duskier blonde, not a strawberry blonde! After consulting some friends whilst trying to keep a cold sweat at bay someone used the word 'toner'. I was in a blur so I can't remember who but what I can remember is getting up 30 minutes early yesterday to get to Boots and buy the relevant products to try and salvage the image in my head.

So last night off I went again, back into the bathroom and here's how it's looking today.

After finally getting the guts to tell my mum (yes, I'm aware I sound 16, not 26 but she loves my hair so I felt bad) it's safe to say she had a mild meltdown. And then by chance, while still on the phone to me and simultaneously flicking through the television channels she happened upon a girl entering the Jeremy Kyle stage with the same hair...Eurgh.
My mum is someone whose opinion really matters to me so the fact she really dislikes it has made me think twice about what on earth I thought I was doing.

After the JK relevation

Now I want to dye it back. What do you think I should do? I need mass opinions and fast!

Awe.

Jessica Alba. I am in awe of this girl. I haven't seen her look anything less than fantastic for about 3 years now.

That's it. I'm off to live in a climate that allows silk skirts, bare legs and leather jackets in October. We, in England, were promised an 'Indian Summer' but that has yet to arrive (I know it never will) so being the practical girl I am, I am seriously considering getting my furs out. 

Uber cool couple alert. I love how much monochrome she's been wearing of late. It's definitely a trend I'm going to embrace this A/W. Hair extension ponytail: optional.

Even on her chill down days she looks the epitome of chic. I might plaster my inner wardrobe doors in images of her to help inspire me of a morning.

Why don't I look that cool when I'm just strolling along, phone in hand? If I tried that I'd more closely resemble a discombobulated gazelle who's just been introduced to technology for the first time. All awkward strides and clashing head first into innocent passers-by.

There is definitely something about her that I'm looking into copying though so stay tuned for updates via this blog...I feel a change coming on.