Sassy Pastel Hair Tips

One of the most difficult hair colors to do is any in the pastel shades. Now, they make dyes that are already pastel, but they don't seem to adhere to my hair too well and from what I hear online, it seems typical to most. I also find they tend to fade within a wash or two, which is just too quick for my tastes, unless I want to test a color out before committing.

After decades of dyeing my hair, and several bouts of pastel colors, I feel I have a system that keeps my pastel color fresh for longer and also, getting the shade I want on the first try. To be fair, many people have their own systems that work as well, but I like mine because it works and I am used to it. Plus, I feel like it is fairly uncomplicated to follow.

Before Dyeing Tips:

• Apply the dye to unwashed hair. By this, I mean don't wash your hair before applying the dye. Give it a day or two. It helps the color stick better.
  
  
• Apply petroleum jelly to neck, ears and face where your roots are. This is basically to keep the dye from staining your skin. I have made this mistake and ended up with colored blotches all over my face.

• Cover any surfaces like the floor or sink you don't want to stain. Again, this stuff will stain everything and then people (roommates) get mad when they find purple spots everywhere.

• Have everything you need handy before applying the dye. This means your gloves, phone, comb, hair clips, towels...anything you will be using because you don't want to be digging around with dye covered hands later.
• Start with light hair. Pastels especially require a super light base to work. I bleached my hair almost white a few months ago, so I start with that. If you already have light hair, awesome. Bleach it lighter. If you have dark hair, also bleach it. You can DIY this or get it done at a salon. I do it myself and then, my hair stylist yells at me for damaging my hair. However, she costs a lot more than I do. Your choice. I won't go through this process. Just know, start with hair that is as light as possible.

Now, On to Dyeing Time!

1. Mix your dye: I have a dye bowl I bought from a beauty supply store, but in a pinch, a cheap tupperware works fine. I usually start with a conditioner as the base to get a lighter color because it is cheaper than colorless mixer and gives my hair a nice, deep conditioning. Start small...you can always add more. I generally add two or three table spoons worth of conditioner. Now, add your dye. When doing crazy colors, I recommend colors from Manic Panic or other similar dyes. I used Argan Oil Perfect Intensity as seen below. These are temporary and won't damage your hair, plus they have all the colors you can think of. Add a little bit at a time and stir into the conditioner until you get the color you want. When doing pastels, you really don't need much if you are working with a darker color.

2. Apply the dye: I generally do full head coverage, but feel free to get crazy if you want to. You can use a dye brush if you want, but I tend to just scoop it up with glove covered hands and go to town. Make sure you cover the entire surface of hair that you are dyeing. Seriously, work this shit in. Saturate the fuck out of it.

3. Let Set: Now, the package may say 20-30 minutes. IGNORE THAT! To get a color that sticks, you need to leave this stuff on for hours. I generally pin up my hair with clips and cover with a shower cap and a towel. Then, wait. I usually do about 2-3 hours, but I have friends that used to sleep with the dye in overnight. This is entirely up to you. To kill time, I do my nails or give myself a mini-spa session. Or game. You do you.

4. Clean Up: This is really an up-to-you step, but I like to wipe the dye of my face, clean my tools and the area I used for dyeing my hair. \

5. Wash Out: After you have left the dye on for however long you please, hop in the shower and rinse your hair. DO NOT SHAMPOO! It will cause all the dye to fall out and you will be super sad. But do rinse until the water runs clear. The longer or thicker your hair is, the longer this is going to take.

TA-DA! Pastel Hair! Or whatever color you chose. This works for any bright dyes...just don't add as much (or any) conditioner to get more bright tones.

Now, these dyes don't last long and can fade fast. There are a few ways to extend the life of your color between dye jobs.

Tips:

• Don't wash your hair daily. Use dry shampoo if your hair is oily. If you have dry hair like me, wait a few days between washes.
• Lighten up on styling your hair with heat tools and applying products. These can be super damaging plus they require you to wash your hair more to get out all the gunk. I only style when necessary.
• Make your own colored deep conditioner. Just mix leftover color with conditioner to get the shade you like and apply once a week or so while in the shower. I let it set for ten-fifteen minutes while I do other shower things. This helps restore some of the color as it fades.
• Re-dye as necessary. When it is time, go ahead and recolor. Follow the same routine and you should be good to go. Try a new color or stick with the same! The possibilities are endless!

Bullet Journaling

So, I have never really been into the whole journaling thing. I try it every couple of years and quickly lose interest, probably because my life isn't that exciting and mostly, I write about how much anxiety I have about everything. Not exactly an riveting read, but I try it to deal with said anxiety. Sadly, it never helps.

However, about a week ago, I discovered

bullet journaling, which has turned me into a journaling monster. I have spent an hour, at least, every day, writing in this thing since it combines a bunch of stuff I love. Now, you might be asking, what is a bullet journal? I had the same question, so after a in-depth internet search, I can now vaguely explain it.

First of all, it is a journal. But it is also a planner, a sketchbook and a way to track whatever you want. What I love about it is that it is highly customization to fit the needs of the user. I am one of those people who always has doodles, lists and reminders surrounding them, usually on Post-Its or other scraps of paper. They end up shoved in pockets and drawers, found months later when they are no longer useful to me. I have tried the whole use-your-cell-phone thing and it doesn't work for me. I either forget what the fuck I am supposed to do, or just ignore it. Not really an effective way to manage things.

So, I took the plunge and decided to give this whole bullet journaling thing a try. And I am in love. Or at least, super like. I can track what I have read, jot down short notes of my day, have to-do lists, track ym habits (good and bad) and really, do whatever I want to do with it. You can make it crazy simple and basic or you can get crazy and add design elements. (I get crazy and make it all fancy). It basically allows me to be artistic and also attempt being organized. I also find it helps me with my anxiety since I can express myself as little or as much as I want.

So, how I got started:

1. I used Google and Pinterest to find articles and guides
2. Spent hours looking for the perfect dot-grid journal on Amazon (and end up making my boyfriend help me pick one)
3. Yay! It arrived. Make an Index, a Future Log and then, get overwhelmed and start searching the internet again.
4. Sad that I don't have pretty colored pens and nice black ones. Buy pens.
5. Wait for pens by outlining everything in black using my one nice black gel pen (well, boyfriend's nice black pen)
6. Pin page ideas to Pinterest
7. Still learning, but it is getting pretty. Plus, I added some book lists, idea lists and a habit tracker. Look at me go!
8. Realize I am making it more complicated than it should be
9. Relaxed and had fun.
10. Pens arrived. Color time!

I don't recommend this path for anyone, since it is all over the place and I tend to get a little over-fixated on small things. Don't do that...it just makes you anxious and you start having an existential crisis over a notebook. However, if you are interested in this whole thing, do a web search and see. Maybe it is the journal for you...it was for me. Plus, I am finding some truly beautiful pages that make me ache for that level of skill. I will get there...it is now my life goals. Kidding...sort of. Anyways, check it out and let me know what you think.

Peripera Ink Velvet in Inkrush Orange

Recently, I purchased a large amount of Korean skin care items and a few cosmetics.  It was quite the haul and I am still going through it all and testing it out.  I wanted to try the whole Korean skincare routine and so far, so good.  But that is a post for another time.  Right now, I am going to review Peri's Ink Velvet in Inkrush Orange.

First of all, I love orange lip sticks.  I like the way they look on me and the pop of color they add to my face.  I do plan to try other colors that are more "normal" but I couldn't resist this shade when I saw pictures of it online.  I was wary because I don't generally wear matte colors.  I find them drying to my lips, but I figured for a few dollars, why not?

I am glad I did.  The color is a beautiful bright orange with a velvet finish.  The color stays put pretty well, considering I have a nervous tick where I rub my lips all day and bite them, usually removing any color I put on them.  It also made my lips look full, unlike some lipsticks that make them look smaller.  Plus, it comes in an adorable bottle!  Overall, this is rapidly becoming one of my favorite lipsticks and I plan to purchase more colors in this brand.  There are some really gorgeous ones out there and I suggest taking a look, if you like matte velvet lipsticks in a range of colors.

Inside Light

Now, this is a tad drying.  At least for me, but that is due to the fact I have super dry skin, including

Outside Light- Overcast Day

 my lips.  I tend to exfoliate my lips with a Lush Sugar Scrub, apply a beeswax-based lip balm, line the lips and then, apply the color in a thin layer.  I let the first coat dry for a minute, blot and repeat the application.  This works well for me and seems to keep my lips from drying out as bad.  I do apply lip balm over the color as needed.

Overall, I give Peripera Peri's Ink Rush in Inkrush Orange 4/5 stars.  It is not perfect, of course, but it is a solid product for a good price. 

I purchased all my K-Beauty items from RoseRoseShop.  However, these lipsticks can also be found on Amazon, e-bay and many other Korean Beauty sites.

Korean Exfoliating Washclothes

So, after reading reviews and debating it for a while, I finally took the leap and purchased the Green Korean Italy Towels. I suffer from keratosis pilari and have tried everything to get rid of the bumps. Scrubs, cloths, lotion (that gave me a rash)....you name it, and I have given it a try.

So, I thought, what the hell? Worst case scenario, it doesn't work and it was cheap enough not to matter to me.

Two days later, thank you Amazon Prime, I received a pack of four mitts in the mail and was eager to give this a try. If you haven't looked these up before, do so. I mean, if you like seeing people taking pictures of their skin coming off in gray little pills. It was super gross, but hey, to each their own.

Alright, in order for them to work, you have to soak in a (super) hot bath for 20 or so minutes. They recommend no bath oils or bubbles...but I cannot stand to have nothing in my bath water so I dropped in a bath bomb and climbed in after putting on an episode of My Favorite Murder....like you do.

So after about 15 minutes, I got bored (and super hot) so I decided to just give it a go. I stood up because of all the steam and heat and went to town, starting with my legs. At first, nothing was happening and I figured it was because I didn't soak long enough. However, within a few moments, I started to get the same little gray wads of skin I had seen others get. Yay!

It was super disgusting, but oddly satisfying especially on my arms and back. I could feel the little bits of dead skin and dirt clinging to my wet skin. I probably did this for about 5 or so minutes because I have dry skin and didn't want to end up making anything worse. I rinsed off because eeew and then applied coconut oil and a body butter.

And lo and behold, my bumps were already better. Now, it wasn't like miracle level gone, but I could tell a difference. They were way less noticeable and my skin felt a million times better. Of course, I made my boyfriend pet my arms and confirm it. He agreed with my analysis although he could have been just humoring me.

I am totally sold on this. A few more baths and scrubbing, I think I may finally get rid of the bumps that have plagued me my whole life. Plus, softer skin! It is totally a win for me. I highly recommend this product and suggest everyone who wants baby soft skin get it. Or who enjoys watching their own skin peel off. Always a good times. This is definitely a new staple for my bath routine. No regrets here!

PS I do not recommend this for your face or sensitive areas. The green towels at least. If you want a face scrubby, they make other colors with different uses. I think the red is better for delicate areas, but that is up to you of course.

Now, go forth and scrub, my pretties!

Introduction

Hello, blogging world. I am relatively new to this whole thing, even though I have toyed with blogging for a while. I just never quite got around to it and I am excited to give it a go. We shall see how it goes. Basically, this is just sort of an overview of what I am about and the kinda things I am gonna blog about, I guess.

A Wistful Curiosity is a combination of a few of my interests, with a focus on bath and beauty. As an avid DIY'er, I will occasionally post projects or crafts I have made. I may even post some recipes if I get a whim in that direction. I have no formal beauty training...I am not a hair stylist or a professional makeup artist. I just have a love for makeup, beauty products and trying new things. I love to dye my hair bright colors, play around with makeup and I love a good skin care routine.

Of course, I wasn't always this into it. Growing up, I barely brushed my hair and my makeup routine was sadly lacking. No one ever sat down and taught me the finer art of applying eye shadow or foundation, so I probably looked like a sad clown. As for skin care....that was slapping on some lotion when my skin got itchy or testing out a toner that inevitably made my face burn.

As I aged, I found myself enjoying the routines of caring for my skin, hair and even, applying makeup. My hair is still a hot mess due to the amount of torture I put it through (any good tips to fix dry damaged hair...send them my way) and I sometimes am too tired to care so I used a face wipe to get off most of my makeup and hope for the best. But mostly, I find pleasure in caring for my skin and trying out new makeup looks.

Now, to be fair, I have crazy dry skin and hair so many of my reviews and picks will most likely be more in that direction, but I shall do my best to mention other products (mostly by harassing friends and family about their routines and recommendations).

I shall try to feature a variety of content to keep everyone interested. Feel free to send recommendations my way and offer up any (constructive) advice to improve this blog or it's content.

So, thanks for reading and I shall return shortly.