Purple Hair 101

As someone who has had purple hair for over three years, I've learned some tips and tricks over time. One of the most common questions I'm asked about is how often I have to redye my hair. My answer is every 2-3 months, and mostly because my roots really start to show by then. So here is everything you need to know about having purple hair (or alt hair colors in general).

1. Stop washing your hair so much. I wash mine once a week. If your hair gets oily, dry shampoo is your friend. I like Batiste, personally. You can buy it at Target/Walmart/Amazon, etc. Shampooing your hair gets rid of oils and color, and you should really just stop using it so much already! ;) My girl @mercidarci has a whole insta series on how to train your hair to go longer in between washes.

2. Don't wash your hair in hot water. I legit hate cold water and I just can't really handle it anymore, so I essentially aim for luke-warm water temperature. Hot water opens or lifts your hair cuticle, essentially shedding color like an invisible snake skin.

3. Use sulfate-free hair products. Sulfates are your enemy, remember that. Here are the current shampoo and conditioner I'm using (no affiliate links, who do you think I am? a hotshot?!?)

4. Wash your hair separately from when you shower. It's just easier, trust me. Wash it in a tub or the kitchen sink. Shower with a shower cap. And I also use gloves when I wash my hair, so my hands and nails don't turn purple. Bleach is your friend for cleaning any color stains out of your tub.

5. OVERTONE. I tell EVERYONE about this conditioner. It is a game changer. It deposits color and keeps it revived with every wash. I just buy the Go Deep weekly treatment, and use it the one time a week I wash my hair. Shampoo and condition as normal, and then get your overtone on. It will extend the life of your color like.....forever. If you're already blonde, you can use their conditioner to dye your hair. I will say, this is probably the most expensive hair product I buy ($29/jar), but it is absolutely worth it. The Go Deep jar probably lasts me about 3 months, and keeps my hair looking vibrant. JUST BUY IT ALREADY, ok?!
FOR TEN DOLLARS OFF YOUR ORDER CLICK HERE.

6.  Use quality color to begin with. I use the Pravana Vivids line. I go to my hairdresser every 2-3 months to have her bleach my roots, apply color to the roots, and then pull it down through all my hair to ensure a nice evenly fresh color. Research color lines and ask your hairdresser friends what they recommend. Stalk alt-hair girls or hairdressers online to see what they use, and how the colors look.

7. Similar to #6, if you have to bleach your hair first (like me), GO TO A PROFESSIONAL. Please don't bleach it yourself. I tried to bleach my ends one time by myself, and that hair turned into mush and I had to cut it all off. Not a good look. To keep your hair healthy and looking awesome, you need to go to a legit hairdresser to have it bleached.

8. Black is your friend. I wear black or dark colored tops for the first couple weeks after fresh dye. Light colored shirts will turn purple wherever your hair is touching. If you have short hair, however, then you have it made.

9. Pillowcases. They will get color on them. I use white pillow cases, so you can bleach them if they're ever getting stained. Or you could use a dark color, or the same color as your hair. I know, I'm a problem solver ;)

10. Rock your hair color like there's no tomorrow. It is insane the amount of people who tell me they wish they had the courage to dye their hair, because they love it but just "can't pull it off" or "are scared" or whatever justification they have stashed away. If you want alt hair, just GO FOR IT. If you hate it or you can't get your dream job because of it, WHATEVER. You can dye it back. Or wear a wig. Whatever...you have options!! Have fun and experiment! Live your life!

I hope this helped someone. Cheers to all of my unicorn-haired friends, you are amazing!! Feel free to add any additional tips in the comments, and I will update as I think of any more. GO FORTH AND SHINE BRIGHT!!

#purplehairdontcare

I have wanted purple hair for years. A couple years ago I did purple ends, but it wasn't the same as all purple hair. I hadn't ever done it because purple is so high maintenance. It fades like crazy, and dyes everything purple. But after Miss Emily used photoshop to give me purple hair in a family photo, I made up my mind. I'm not getting any younger, so I was all in: PURPLE HAIR IT IS!!

I told my friend Natalie (who is a hairdresser) my grand plans, and asked her to help me. She graciously agreed (yay!). We bleached my hair, which took a lot of work since I had dyed my hair dark after George was born. Then we used a purple dye that we thought would work really well. And......it didn't :( It turned my hair back to black with a blue sheen. We knew all of this was an experiment, so we just considered it a little setback and did some more research. I stripped my hair, we bleached it again (also a lot of work, to get the black/blue out...eeks...). Thankfully Natalie knows what she's doing and my hair was not fried!! And because we knew Manic Panic worked, that's what we used. VOILA, PURPLE HAIR!!! This was all just before Christmas, so I've had purple hair for about 3.5 months now. Here are some of the pics that were taken back in December of my new purple hair :)

VICTORY!! [don't mind me pretending i'm a model...]

Josh braided my hair.

This pic has a filter so it almost looks blue, but I still like it

For anyone who is considering going purple, I will tell you what I've found out along the way... Manic Panic fades like CRAZYYYY! Without even washing it, it would fade more with each passing day. I had Natalie re-dye it a few times, but felt like I was almost always walking around with faded hair. Finally we did some more research (who knew purple hair could make you research so much?! haha) and saw a lot of vibrant purple hair online that was dyed with Pravana. Of course, that dye isn't sold in my town. But Natalie picked some up for me when she went to Saint George, and we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

When I first washed out the Pravana I got really nervous because it looked like it went pretty dark. Compared to my faded Manic Panic hair, it was dark. But boy was it VIBRANT!! It's so perfect, and I'm in love with it. I've had the Pravana in for about a month, and haven't had to redye it yet!  I do mix in a little bit of dye with my conditioner, which seems to help keep the vibrancy up a bit between washes.

light coming through the blinds

this quote is from a kids book and I find it appropriate ;)

at the zoo a couple weeks ago

Even though everything is purple now (my pillowcase, my neck, my hands after I straighten my hair, the backs of my shirts, etc), it's totally worth it. I love my purple hair and I'm so glad I have awesome friends like Natalie who help all my hair dreams come true!! ;) It's pretty funny because now purple hair seems completely normal to me, and I often forget that it isn't actually super common. Or I just completely forget that my hair is purple. And then I get some really odd looks/stares in public and I'm like "What the heck are they looking at?? Is there chocolate on my face? Ohhh...right..". My favorite reactions are always from kids, who get really excited and intrigued. There have been several instances where kids will yell out to their parents "Mom [and/or Dad]! Look! She has purple hair!!!" It's pretty adorable.

I love the quote that I have in that selfie above, and I think it also applies to the fact that my hair is purple. So I'll write it out, because it's awesome:

I may be called a silly nut,
or crazy cuckoo bird-so what?
I'm having too much fun, you see,
for anything to bother me!
-"I Like Myself" by Karen Beaumont

grease lightning!

Ok, I promise this will not turn into a nail polish blog...haha. I just wanted to share my last manicure I did that I was really proud of. All my practicing with nail stamping is finally starting to pay off. But if you are a real nail blogger, don't look. Because this is still amateur hour!!

 

My sister got me this awesome yellow color for my birthday, and I am in love! Then I thought it would be perfect to pair with lightning bolts. This past weekend we went up north and saw all of Josh's family (minus BJ of course, boo), and Lila asked "why is one of your fingernails black?" It was really cute, just picture a little girl saying that in a sweet little voice. I said "just for fun!" She's only 5, so we won't worry about the fashion details toooo much yet ;)

Now, who wants to come to Jessie's Nail Shoppe?! Haha!

caviar nails

 I tried caviar nails. I just did my ring finger on each hand. I painted the nails black, and then poured the "caviar" beads over them. Then you kind of smush them down so they're all level, and you're done. I wanted to add a clear topcoat to prolong the wear of these, and I applied it on a little too thick on my left hand (you can see below). Afterwards I applied a thinner layer to my right hand, which looked much better. It has a cooler-looking effect without the clear coat (as seen in the first picture below), but I was worried they would all fall off a little too quickly.

I had someone ask me about the wear, so I'll just share here too. After a full day, about 5 little beads had fallen off of each nail. You couldn't really tell though, unless you were looking super closely. By the second day, a few more had fallen off. Then I started picking them off haha. I think that you could wear these 2-3 days.

pre-clear coat: you can see i missed a spot...but after the topcoat you can't tell 

i did the clear coat a little thick on my left hand, which made it look funky...

What do you think? I might do it every once in a while when I want to mix it up, but I probably won't do it regularly. Overall though, I liked it!

houndstooth happy

I recently got a nail stamping set, and some plates from Bundle Monster. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's ok. Basically you can get little metal plates with designs etched out, and you can fill the designs with nail polish and stamp them onto your nails. Which sounds easy, but it's much harder in person. After doing my research online, the main theme was practice practice practice. So I've been trying to practice, and this was my first decent attempt. Definitely far from perfect/amazing, but for the average joe like me, I'd say not too shabby ;)

I LOVE houndstooth, and it's one of the main reasons I wanted to try nail stamping. I mean, who doesn't love houndstooth, right?!

So the houndstooth doesn't match up perfectly, blah blah blah, whatever. It transferred over to my nails so that's the most important thing :) haha. I am pleased with the outcome. The next thing I'm going to try is caviar nails! I'm a little late on that trend, but who cares. I'll let you know how it goes. Have you been doing anything fun with your nails lately? I will say if you want inspiration, there are like a billion nail art girls on Instagram--I follow a bunch of them and it's awesome. [Confession: they're totally taking over my instagram! haha]

eShakti dress review



I was contacted by eShakti to do a product review. After looking into their company and at their clothing selection, I [excitedly] agreed! eShakti is an online clothing store, with the option to customize your purchase so it will not only fit you, but all the preferences will be to your liking! Have you ever looked at a piece of clothing online and thought "oh, if only that had [fill in the blank]" - longer sleeves, a different neckline, a different length, etc. - "I would totally order it!" Well...this website offers that. This customization allows you to alter a piece of clothing to match your size, shape, and style! They have sizes from 0-36w, so there are styles for every type of woman!

Now, tailoring can be very expensive. Basic tailoring can start at $50. So you may think this service could be very pricey. However,  with eShakti, the customization only costs an additional $7.50. That is amazing!! Also, they have an incredibly fast turnaround. After I ordered my dress, I got it in the mail within a week. I was very impressed.

I ordered the Ruffled tiers chambray dress, and had it customized. I added a short puffed sleeve, and I love the way it came out. Here are some pictures so you can see how adorable it is in real life :)

how the dress is shown online

and how it looks on me

i love it!

you even enter your height, so when you say you want it to hit knee length, for example, it will actually hit at your knee!

Henry approved

he was also happy he got to be in some pictures with me :) haha

 

he also loved my shoes ;)



The verdict?? I think the dress is fabulous. It hits at the perfect length, so when I'm going to church and Henry is climbing all over me, it won't ride up and show things I don't want to be seen haha. I love the sleeves, and I love the collar. I don't have a lot of dresses, so this is a wonderful addition to my wardrobe.

I definitely recommend this website, and I am very pleased with my dress. I love the customization options, and I think it is a unique, yet needed, feature. They have a great selection, so go check it out right now! Thank you eShakti, I had a great experience :)

DIY: confetti nails

as you may know, i love doing my nails. i always say if you didn't have to deal with feet, i would be a nail technician. i have an entire pinterest board called nail polish love. which is where i saw the below picture which inspired my current manicure:

the goal: confetti nails!

first paint your nails white (or whatever base color you'd like)

to do the dots, i used this method to create a "dotting tool" (take a flat pin and stick it into the eraser of a pencil). then i took a piece of wax paper and dropped the colors i wanted onto it as i went along. i dipped the "dotting tool" in the drop of nail polish and made the little dots on my nails. i kept it simple with three colors, but you can do however many you want.

like so

i chose pink dots. i just placed them randomly in the general area i wanted my confetti for each nail

then i added blue, randomly placing the dots intermixed with the pink

and finally i rounded it all out by adding green dots

and voila! confetti nails! remember to top it all off with top coat so it lasts longer :)

switch it up: hair-do

i'm bored with my hair. i was just telling josh that my hair hasn't been this tame since highschool... also, i have wanted purple hair for years! i've had purple extensions before and i LOVED them, but of course extensions aren't permanent :/  while browsing on pinterest for hair beauty, i found the following styles that i am lusting after. (and because i'm lazy, all sources can be found on my hair and beauty pinterest page)

i am in LOVE with this hair and want it so bad!!

prettiness

that's a lot of hair!

i'm thinking of doing something like this, but in purple

i like the little shaved portion, but i'd probably end up hating it

i think everything about this girl is gorgeous

what do you think? do you hate them all? love them all? i wish i could rotate through each of these throughout the next year. that would be awesome. if only i had magical powers and could make that happen...!

make me up!

i always like seeing what kind of makeup other people use, so i figured i would post my every day essentials for makeup so you can have a peek. and just as a disclaimer: i'm suuuuper picky about makeup. so this is a list that has been refined very well over the past decade:

 clinique moisture surge. 

i think i've blogged about this before, but that's because it is SO AMAZING! it's my gold in a bottle.

seriously the best moisturizer i've ever tried (and i've tried a lot!). we're bff.

 

clinique acne solutions (in fresh ivory)

i love this foundation. as some of you may know, i have acne (it used to be a lot worse!). finding this foundation was a lifesaver for me. it helps my skin to be clearer, and prevents future breakouts.

past foundations i've worn make me feel like i'm probably making my acne worse, but this has the opposite effect. if you struggle with acne, i highly recommend this!

MAC mineralize skinfinish natural (in medium)

i wear this over my foundation to even out my skin tone, cover blemishes, and give me a more finished look.

i like a more full coverage, so this extra layer of powder does just the trick. 

i've tried a lot of different mineral makeup, and this is definitely my favorite.

clinique lash doubling mascara (in black)

i know i've blogged about this before. i was on the quest for the perfect mascara for about 4 or 5 years before i found this. now it is my staple. there's nothing else to say about it except it is perfection.

MAC powder blush (in peachtwist)

love this color. it's perfect year round too--on fair skin or tan skin.
(i prefer powder to cream blush...that's just too annoying for me to deal with..)

clinique quickliner for eyes (in slate)

i'm super picky about eyeliner (of course), and like everything else i've tried a lot of different kinds/brands to find the perfect go-to liner.

this goes on smooth and stays smudge-free all day long. easy peasy :)

ulta eyebrow gel

keeps those pesky eyebrows in their place all day long.

this gel's got your back (or your unibrow...?)

as you may be able to tell, i love makeup. i don't wear eye shadow super often, but i will for special occasions or when i have a lot of extra time to get ready (which doesn't happen that frequently..). almost all my eye shadow is MAC, and the rest is Ulta. i love bright colors, but try to keep it under control ;)

do you wear makeup? what are your favorite makeup essentials?

brake for nails!

hi, who wants to come do my nails like this? i LOVE SuPa Nails, and i wish this lady would come do my nails every week so i could be as awesome as her. here are my recent favorites:

who doesnt love owls, right?

peacock nails? i die.

love this.

have you been getting creative with your nails lately?

solicited advice..

skincare tips welcome. especially concerning acne. i've been trying neutragena stress control acne facewash and moisturizer. it's been 2 weeks on the facewash (twice a day) and 1 week on the moisturizer. i can't tell if it's working yet or not.

what do you use for your skin? i like hearing what other people do and what they like. plus, my skin needs some help. without buying anything super pricey. boo.

vintage lace, redone

[poor lighting, it looks better in real life haha]

i added vintage lace on top of my pink nail polish. i think it looks cool. sort of lady gaga-ish. you have to trim your lace to the size of your nails, and then "glue" the lace on. i just coated the nail with topcoat, put the lace in place, and then loaded up the topcoat on top of the lace. i did this last night and it has worked good so far. there are a few loose strings of lace that are hanging over, but you just need to trim those off if that happens. it was easier than i thought it was going to be, and a pretty cool idea. i wanted to do black lace but i didn't have any, so gray was the next best thing. the worst part was cutting the lace to the same size as your nail, which really wasn't even that hard or too time consuming. and jay-z only knocked some lace pieces to the floor one time. he wanted to feel like lady gaga too, of course. what do you think? will you be trying this out?

new hurr

i got my hair done today. i wanted a drastic change.


what do you think? i'm starting to second guess it but i guess i could just dye it back to a darker brown pretty easily. i sort of feel like sandra bullock on that movie 'all about steve' (which i never saw except for the previews).

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Corioliss hair straightener from misikko

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. THANKS FOR ENTERING!

guess what? i have ANOTHER awesome giveaway for you!! ever heard of misikko? they have professional hair straighteners and the best hair dryers. they carry a variety of brands, including these lovely ones that you may recognize: chi, paul mitchell, hot tools, and of course: corioliss.

misikko generously sent me one of their top sellers: a Corioliss Classic 1” Black Flat Iron to review, and offered to give one away! yippee! when i came back from camping, the hair straightener was waiting for me at home. i was sooooo excited. when i opened it up, it was the loveliest packaging i have ever seen for any kind of hair product. it also included a couple free gifts, as well as a heating pad you can place the straightener on when it's hot (before this i was using a sushi plate to keep mine on...classy i know...). it also included a little booklet explaining the corioliss line, product information, and even a how to guide w/pictures.

so, i wanted to take some before pictures so you can see what my hair does naturally. it gets kiiiind of crazy. if i hadnt put my product in it before it dried [naturally], it would have been worse. so this is what i was dealing with:

awesome, huh? i told you so. ok, so i sprayed my hair with heat protectant first (a must do!) and then went at it. at first i didnt have the heat up high enough for my craz-o hair so i was worried and thought "oh no! i dont like it!" but then i realized my problem and turned the heat up a bit. then it was perfect. the plates are longer than my last straightener so it can handle more hair at a time and get it all straight. it heats up in record time, which was awesome. when i was finished i got this lovely end product:

cute, right? by the way, the adorable shirt i am wearing came from the etsy shop come shop pink lemonade. you should definitely go check her out and snag one for yourself!! now back to the review: i would highly recommend this hair straightener. it also comes with a 2-year guarantee, just in case something goes wrong. 2 years? hollaaa! it works great and as you can see it straightens like a dream.

how do you get one?* well, you can buy one here at misikko (valued at $200, currently on sale for $89!), or you can enter this giveaway! here are the rules:

1. [MANDATORY] Leave a comment telling me how you usually style your hair everyday (1 entry)
2. Follow my blog and leave a comment saying so (1 entry)
3. Follow Misikko on Twitter and leave a comment saying so (1 entry)
4. Blog about the giveaway on a personal website & leave a link to it in a comment (2 entries)
5. Join Misikko Newsletter and leave a comment saying so (3 entries)
6. Tweet this: "@yourstrulydear is giving away a @misikko corioliss hair straightener! enter here: http://yourstrulydear.blogspot.com/" (1 entry)

that is a total of 9 possible entries. as always, be shameless (you know i would be). enter away, and good luck! Also, please leave an email address so I can get ahold of you if you win!

*this giveaway is [unfortunately] only open to the US or Canada since this particular iron is not dual voltage. so so sorry!

GIVEAWAY WILL END @ MIDNIGHT (mountain time)
FRIDAY JULY 2.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. THANKS FOR ENTERING!