Top Buys of 2014

2014 was full of shopping and new things for me, so I am bringing to you a post about my top 3 makeup, skincare, hair care and fashion buys. I'll include links where I can. If you've tried any of these, let me know how you liked them in the comments below (:

Top 3 Makeup Purchases:

1. MAC Mineralise Foundation in NW15

This foundation is amazing. It's light, it's the perfect amount of coverage and it's he perfect I between matte and dewy.  I've found this foundation has been the best for my skin. I have somewhat sensitive skin, as in I have to be careful what I put on it as I can break out really easily and this foundation has kept my skin smooth and somewhat blemish free. I highly recommend it if you like a light coverage. It is kind of pricey, especially if you live in New Zealand, but I think it's worth it.

2. ELF Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Black 

This eyeliner is my holy grail of all liquid eyeliners I have tried. I have hooded eyes, so I need quite thin lines when I do my eyeliner. This brush on this eyeliner is so thin, and super precise. I can get right into my lash line with this eyeliner and create the smoothest lines. It's also really easy to create winged eyeliner with as the brush is flexible. ELF is an amazing brand that is super cheap but super high quality. I recommend this if you have hooded eyes, like myself, or just like thin, precise eyeliner. 

3. QVS Beauty Blender dupe

If you can't afford the true Beauty Blender, I recommend grabbing this from Farmers or a pharmacy that stocks QVS. Ever since I bought my first beauty blender type sponge, I've found a huge improvement in the appearance of my makeup, as well as an improvement in time it takes to do my makeup. I've tried 3 different types. The first was the traditional egg shape, I'm unsure what brand it was but I got it from a cosmetics shop in Lower Hutt. The second one was a slightly different shape but still wide and flat at the bottom and pointed at e top. This was a Manicare one. The one I've loved the most is my QVS one.  It's the softest sponge, it's easy to clean and it really expands when you dampen it.  I'll have a blog post coming up in the next few weeks with a full review on all three. 

Top 3 Skincare Purchases

1. Herbalism by LUSH

If you have issues with acne or any kind of blemish then you really need to pick this up. In the few short weeks I've been using it, I've noticed a huge improvement in the appearance of my skin. It's smoothed out my skin and I also get less pimples. Here's a little bit of TMI but I also used it on my back as I could get a bit acne-y there too, and it's also helped clear that right up too. The small tub it comes in is going to last me ages. I've only had it about 2-3 weeks and I've only just dented the top. And that's with doing my face and back. 

2. Bio Oil

All of these skincare things are going to be about acne because that's been my biggest skin issue. But this covers anyone with scars, stretch marks and such. Because of my acne, I have a lot of scarring left over. I apply this as a moisturiser as well, because you can use it like that. So   put this on every morning before I apply my makeup and at night after my shower. My skin is a lot less bumpy than it used to be so this helps when I put makeup on. It also helps with my self esteem too because it's clearing up, and clearing up fast. 

3. Powerhouse Tattoo Balm

Not only is this amazing for healing tattoos but you can also put it on itchy bites and pimples. It contains lavender so it's super soothing. I use it mostly as a spot treatment and I notice an improvement by morning. It smells great too.

Top 3 Haircare Purchases

1. Coconut Oil

This has been my saviour. If you haven't read the post on how I went from red to blonde, you can read it here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/ch-ch-changes.html. The coconut oil has restored my hair from dry and snapping to soft and manageable. I also have a post on how I do my coconut oil treatment. You can read this here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/diy-coconut-oil-hair-treatment.html. It's a somewhat cheap treatment for damaged and dry hair.

2. Keratin Treatment

Now I've only just got this 2 weeks ago, but I've already noticed a HUGE change. My hair doesn't knot up like crazy anymore, I can just run my fingers through my hair every time. It's not frizzy anymore. I straightened it once this week and it's stayed straight. I'm in love with this stuff. And the best part, it's only $4 from Kmart. I'm going to do a more in depth review ins couple of weeks. 

3. Organic Care Shampoo and Conditioner

I'm going to put the condition of my hair down to all three of these products. But the organic care  brand is amazing. It's definitely contributing to the lightness of my hair. As it contains no yuck stuff, my hair is easy to manage. They smell amazing. They aren't ridiculously expensive like most paraben free products and they don't test on animals. They have three types of shampoo and conditioner. Colour shield, moisture and an everyday one. They also have two different ones for kids too. Here's a review on the Colour Shield range: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/organic-care-colour-shield-shampoo.html

Top 3 Fashion Purchases

1. Kardashion Kollection Bag

Since buying this handbag in March, I've not used any other. I can fit all my stuff in there easy as. Everyday I carry a book, a couple of different perfumes, tons of lipsticks and even more rubbish. There's always more room for stuff too. They are great quality bags that come in all shapes and sizes as well as different prints.

2. Daisy Vans 

For my birthday this year, Blake got me a pair of high top vans in a daisy print. They are literally the most comfortable shoes I own. Standing all day on a concrete floor kills my feet, but I can wear these all day without feeling the wrath of concrete. Vans in general are the most comfortable shoes. Their soles are super thick and bouncy so it's great to work all day in them.

3. High Waisted Ankle Biters

These jeans are amazing. Ankle biters are great for me as I am very short, so the length is perfect. And then there is the high waisted part. They have three buttons and a zip, so they hold everything in perfectly while still being super comfortable. I've had these in both the black and blue they come in, as well as the short lived bleach, although they weren't as nice as the other two.

Thanks for a great year and here's to a new one !

Shannen xx

Links that I could find: 

http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/shaded/158/24923/Products/Face/Foundation/Mineralize-Moisture-SPF15-Foundation/index.tmpl

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/eyes/eyeliner/precision_liquid_eyeliner

http://www.qualityvaluestyle.com/products/cosmetic-nail/sponges-puffs#deluxe-egg-sponge

https://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/1021_159/id/94/face-cleansers-herbalism-cleanser

http://www.tattoos.co.nz/store,shop,2,1,TBalm.html

How To Get Curls That Stay: A Modern Interpretation of Pin Curls

Left: Curls pinned and cooling, Middle: Curls out and brushed, Right: Back view of curls

If you guys have hair that struggles to curl, or hold its curl then this tutorial is for you. This can also helps girls with shorter hair too.
When my hair was longer, it held curls amazingly. So well in fact, I didn't need hairspray and they held for a couple of days. Now that my hair is almost shoulder length, they don't stay if I curl my hair like I used to.

I have seen this method a lot on The Cherry Dollface's YouTube account, as it's a curling method she uses a lot called "pin-curls". Named so because once you curl the hair, you pin it with a bobby pin to retain the shape until the hair has completely cooled down.

I think this style of curl looks great on shorter hair. I also know it looks amazing on longer hair too.

There are two methods you can use when curling your hair in this fashion. One is with a clipless curling wand and the other is with a curling wand that has a clip.

In this tutorial I'm using a curling wand with a clip, but I'm not using the clip. If you want to see how it's done with a clip, let me know and I will film another tutorial to go along with this one.

Now to do this, you need a curling wand, heat protectant, a brush, hair spray, and tons of bobby pins.

I find leaving the pins in as long as possible helps the curls last longer, so I recommend doing this first, before doing your makeup, but do get dressed first in case you accidentally pull the pins out while trying to get a top on.

Curl the piece of hair as you normally would, then drop the curl in your hand.

Pin the curl in place so it retains its shape.

Repeat this all over your head, hair spraying every couple of curls.

Once you've finished, hair spray lightly all over your head.

Continue on your routine, taking the pins out just before you leave, and then run your fingers through the curls to break them apart.

Here's the video I filmed to go along with this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WosgLQvO1BQ&spfreload=10 , hopefully this helps explain it a bit better.

Talk to you guys later xx
Shannen
Photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Photos edited on fotor.com

Organic Care Colour Shield Shampoo & Conditioner Review

Any dyed red-heads or brunettes out there? Struggling to find a shampoo that doesn't fade your colour? Well look no further. I have found the best shampoo and conditioner for you!

You would've been told that shampoos that are sulfate free are best for your hair because that's what strips colour out. You also would have realised how hard that is, even when you've looked at shampoos that say they are for 'colour-treated' hair. If there are any sulfates listed at the top of the ingredients list, then put that bottle down. Sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate,  and ammonium lauryl or laureth sulfate should either be at the very bottom of the ingredients list, or completely absent. If they are at the top then that shampoo will fade your colour faster than you can say 'sassy'.

If you are like me and don't like spending heaps of money on salon brand shampoos and conditioners that are "made" for colour treated hair, and supposedly don't fade the colour, then you need to go into a supermarket and buy Organic Care's Colour Shield. It is a more pricier super market brand, but it's still a lot cheaper than what you will buy at the salon. When I bought it, it was about $5 for the shampoo, then $5 again for the conditioner. Normally I go for the 2 for $5 deals because I'm quite cheap. But then I decided to go red and I know that it is a really hard colour to up keep, especially when you don't have the proper products for it.

After the first wash, I noticed no difference from the colour it was before, and when I used it for the first time, it was the first time I had washed my hair since dying it red. I thought that if it was going to fade my hair, it would've done most damage then.

Left: first wash, Middle: second wash, Right: third wash. 

I give this product 4.5 out of 5 stars. Not completely 5 stars because I'm not completely sold on the scent. It's nice but not amazing. 

Shannen xx

Photo of the shampoo taken from Google Images. 

Photos of myself taken on my iPhone and edited on the fotor app for smartphones. 

A Day In Photos #1

Today I had a Saturday off, and I don't normally have a weekend day offal I made the most of it. I started the day off with catching up on my tv shows and YouTube subscriptions. Once that was complete,I rang my sister and we made a time to hang out. Before she got to my house, I did a heap of house work. I was super productive and got most of it done. Justine and I hung out for a bit at home. We then went to Feilding for lunch. As you can tell from the photo we decided to pig out a bit and had KFC. After lunch we still had time to kill before she had to go to work so we wondered around the Warehouse for about an hour. I ended up getting a top and she got 2 skirts. We came home again and played with Carwen before Justine had to go. I then worked on my blog, gave it a bit of a redesign. I also filmed a video to go up on Monday. It was quite a productive day in my opinion. 

Let me know how your day was in the comments below! Maybe even do your own day in photos? 

Don't forget to subscribe and follow me on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and facebook. 

Shannen xx

Photos taken on my phone

Edited on fotor.com

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _kaleidoscopecolours

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

Toning Platinum Blonde Hair

When I tone my hair, I mix a little bit of toner, I use Fudge's Clean Blonde Purple Shampoo, with a conditioner, preferably a white one. I make a pale purple mixture and apply it to dry hair. If I have some on hand, I will add a dollop of pink hair dye to warm up the mixture a bit. I leave this on for like 15 minutes, enough to just take away any brassy tones.

Today I used a pre made purple mixture of Manic Panic's Cotton Candy Pink, Manic Panic Shocking Blue and conditioner (Organic Care's Colour Shield). I put that all over my hair, but I ran out halfway through doing my hair, so I super DIYed it and mixed my toner with my conditioner to make a similar version of the pre made mix. I smooshed this into my hair, blending it as much as possible so the two colours don't turn out too different. I then leave this mixture on for about 45 minutes. I'm aiming for a lilac look so I don't have to tone my hair for a while.

To maintain the toned look,  I use Fudge's Clean Blonde Purple Shampoo once a week, in the shower. I wet my hair, and then use a little bit and smother it over my hair. I wash my face then rinse it out. I always do it in between washing my hair and conditioning. I don't know why I do it in this order, it's just the way it's always been.

That's basically all there is to how I maintain white blonde hair. To make it easier I do all my hair care/maintenance the same day. So on Tuesday night, I soak my hair in coconut oil (sleep on it) then wash it out the next morning. I then tone and condition and carry on with my day.

Shannen xx
Photos of products: stock images off google.com
Other photos taken on Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Edited on fotor.com

How to repair very damaged hair

If you guys read my post about my big hair change then you might be wondering why my hair isn't damaged at all. If you haven't, you can read it here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/ch-ch-changes.html . Or if any of you have damaged hair from heat or colouring it then hopefully this post can help you.

Whenever I colour or bleach my hair, I always use the little conditioner it comes with. In my opinion, the Napro Pallette one is the best because it contains 7 different oils that are good for restoring the strength and shine to your hair. An added bonus is that it smells amazing because of the apricot oils it contains. I've had a few of these lying around recently, so every second or third day I've put these in my hair for about 5 minutes. 

Every other day that  I don't use those, I use a hair mask. I have been using the Schwarzkopf Kertain one for very damaged hair. I leave this on for about 5 minutes, even though the instructions say to only leave it on for about a minute. 

About once every two weeks, I use my purple shampoo. Now this is for a number of reasons. Mainly it's to tone my hair and remove any yellowness from my hair. But Fudge's Violet Toning Shampoo also helps to cleanse, restore strength and moisture as well as shine to your hair, so it does a number of things in order to restore it to it's healthier state. I leave this on generally for my whole shower as I like my hair very ashy, bordering on silver.

I always rinse out conditioners with cold water. It seals the cuticle and keeps the moisture in. You will also end up with shinier locks once your hair is dry!

When I get out the shower, if I've wet my hair, I will apply a few drops of macadamia oil to my hair. I'll also apply a pump of anti-frizz serum to my hair, because when my hair is dry it gets really frizzy at the ends. Sometime, if I don't use the anti-frizz serum, I'll spray some of this Schwarskopf spray into my hair. It's from the same line as the hair mask. I normally shower at night so my hair has all night to soak in the beautiful smelling oils and moisture from the products I use.

Something to keep in mind if your hair is damaged is to wash it up to 2 times a week. If you are normally a 'wash my hair everyday' type of person, you can train your hair into only needing to be washed once or twice. I used to wash my hair every second day, but even that is bad so I trained my hair into only needing to be washed once a week. I've saved heaps of money doing this because I don't go through shampoo and conditioner as fast. After one to two days after washing my hair I sometimes use dry shampoo. My favourite brand is Batiste and you can get this from Farmers.

Another thing to avoid when you have damaged hair is heat tools. I have a post on one way to do no heat curls, with more coming. But the simplest way to do it is to put your hair into braids and sleep on it. When you wake up you'll have beachy waves. If you must use heat tools, always use a heat protectant. Once i've styled my hair, I use Lush's Shine So Bright split end balm. It helps seal the split ends so they don't travel further up your hair. Split ends take about 3-4 months to form so this is when you should aim to have your trims, not every 4-6 weeks. Unless you aren't bothered about your hair growing that is. 

Once you've got those split ends though, the best thing to do is just cut them off before it gets worse, which is what I did. I'm quite lucky and have hair that grows fast though, so it won't be long before my hair is back to the length it was before I got a cute bob.

I hope this helps with your damaged hair problems. If you have any questions or feedback, hit me up and I'll get back to you!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

DIY: Vitamin C Hair Stripper Treatment Thing?

Remember when I had red hair? Remember how I stripped it? Remember how I tried to lighten it a little bit more and it went mauve? This is how I lifted the ugly mauve colour to bleach it platinum.

After I lightened it (FAIL), I did some searching on Pinterest. I didn't want to bleach it straight away in case my hair went even darker. I found a few different methods that said they could lighten a few shades. I found one that seems really promising so I youtubed tutorials and reviews and whatnot. The vitamin c method seemed to be the best bet.

The vitamin c method had a few different variances on the ingredients aside from the vitamin c. You could use clarifying shampoo, baby shampoo or dish soap. I used clarifying shampoo because I'd had a good experience with it when I was trying to get green out of my hair.

So once you've got those 2 ingredients, what you do is, get a bunch of vitamin c pills and smash them up into a powder. Again the recipes varied. Some only used a couple while others used a whole jar. I suppose it depends on how much hair you have. I used 10 pills. I also got Blake to smash up the pills for me because they were tough little buggers. Once you've smashed all the pills ups, mix it with your choice of lather. Like I said, I used clarifying shampoo. You want to use enough to make a paste with the powder. Then once its all mixed, you smoosh it into your hair, covering everywhere that needs to be covered. Once its all lathered in, chuck a shower cap on and leave in for an hour. Or longer if you want, that also varied on the instructions. After an hour, I got in the shower and rinsed it out with my clarifying shampoo. 

The outcome of this was  so much more better than what I was expecting. Once my hair dried, it was a light peach colour, similar to what I had when I bleached Manic Panic's Shocking Blue. I kept it like that for a couple of days before I bleached it properly blonde. 

I definitely recommend this method if you just want to get rid of a semi permanent dye if you don't want to bleach your hair. I think it will work amazing. It won't lift all the colour out, but it will probably get most of it out. 

I do recommend conditioning afterwards, as it does dry the hair out a tiny bit. 

Let me know how you go if you try this!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on my iPhone and Canon 600D

Edited on fotor.com

Review: JoBaz Hair Colour Remover

Do you ever dye your hair and hate the outcome? Or maybe you wish you could get rid of the colour buildup in your hair to start all over again, nice and fresh? Hate bleach, but want to go from dark to light?

I've found the product for you!

JoBaz Hair Colour Remover is a miracle sent straight from heaven itself. As you all might know, I had bright red hair. I even had some buildup from dying over the red with more red. 

When I was thinking about going back blonde, I did a lot of research on this product. I read reviews, i watched youtube videos. I did everything I could. I bought it from Countdown. It's a pricey product, I got it for $35 on sale. Normally it's $40. I haven't seen this product anywhere else, just at Countdown.  They also have a chemical straightener type product by the same brand. 

There wasn't too much reviews on people who had used this on red hair, so I wasn't completely sure if it would work as red is a stubborn colour to remove, and my hair being so porous, it could have stained. So I bought it. And I followed the instructions to the t. I didn't want anything to go wrong with this at all. I needed this to work. 

The great thing about this product is that it doesn't damage your hair like bleach. It dries your hair out a bit, but nothing that leaving your conditioner on for an extra couple of minutes won't fix. 

I was completely blown away by the outcome of this product.

It left my hair a orange blonde, where I only needed to lift it a few more shades to get it to yellow so I could tone it to an ash blonde. It removed all of the red, except for one tiny strip that I missed. It was all gone. All of it. And I was pretty much a blonde again in one easy step.

I highly recommend this product. For anyone. But do follow the instructions or you might not get the outcome that you desire.

By the way, this stuff stinks, so do it in a ventilated room.

Five out of five stars from me!

Let me know how you went with it if you've tried it.

Shannen xx

Photos of myself taken on either my iPhone or Canon 600D

Edited on fotor.com

Photo of the JoBaz product taken from Google

Ch-ch-changes

Ch-ch-changes

Just gonna have to be a different man

Time may change me

But I can't trace time

Yes, hello. I am blonde. Yes, yes. I also cut all my hair off. 

Now I don't know if you guys know this, but I get really bored with my hair colour. Very quickly.

Also, I have always wanted to cut it into a longish bob thing. SO I DID. 

I stripped my hair using JoBaz's Hair Colour Remover, review coming soon. Then the next day I used an ultra light ash blonde. Then the next day I used a Vitamin C treatment, DIY coming soon. Then I bleached my hair, twice (not very good of me at all). This is why I chose now to cut all my hair off. My ends were quite damaged as you would expect. 

I'll let you all know now. DO NOT TRY THIS IS AT HOME. If you have red hair and want to remove it, go to a professional. Red is the hardest colour to remove, and I could have done it in a less damaging manner, but I am way to impatient for my own good. In saying that, it did give me the best excuse to cut all my hair off. 

I love my new haircut, thanks Harmony! It's something completely different and I'm glad I did it. Also, I'm always much happier with lighter hair, why did I ever go red? Brunette is not my thing. 

Since bleaching my hair, to restore it I have been alternating between a keratin hair mask, coconut oil and almond oil. All have helped wonders. Now that my hair is all cut off, I am only using coconut oil. Mainly because I don't have either almond oil or a hair mask to use at them moment, but coconut oil is enough for the time being. 

I will post a 'how to' on short hair in the next few days if anyone is interested! Although, do keep in mind I am still learning myself, so any tips and tricks will be much appreciated!

Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

DIY: Almond Oil Hair Treatment

This treatment is very similar to the Coconut Oil treatment I talked about a little while ago (you can read about it here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/diy-coconut-oil-hair-treatment.html?m=1). You follow all the same steps, except melting it. It comes in a liquid form already, which makes using it so much easier.

Almond oil has many, many uses. One being for hair, obviously, and others being skin and food. Almond oil helps seal split ends, so they don't split any further. It also substitutes for other leave in products. It can treat dandruff as well as makes your hair soft and shiny. If you want to know about not uses of almond oil, go here: http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/benefits-of-almond-oil-for-skin-hair-and-health/?ref=grk1

I was recommended almond oil by my friends Jo and Sherie. Jo actually gave me some to try, which I did last night. 

I saturated the lengths of my hair, where most damage has been done, especially the ends. I then wrapped my hair up in a towel and went to bed. I went to bed about 10pm and washed it out the next morning at about 8. 

Now as my hair is really damaged, I didn't use actual shampoo to wash it out. I rinsed it out under hot water for a couple of minutes and then applied my purple shampoo. Purple shampoo cleanses as well as helps strengthen weak hair. I left this on for about 5 minutes, rinsed it out and then applied my Shwarzkopf hair treatment. After a couple of minutes I rinsed that out and got out. 

When my hair is wet, I like to braid it so it's not getting in my way or making me cold. I didn't apply any of my normal leave in products just so I could see how well the almond oil worked. 

Now my hair is dry and it now feels just as smooth and soft as it used to, when I first went red. The ends haven't frizzed as they normally do due to the split ends, and I actually like touching my hair now. 

Next, I'm going to try a combination of both almond and coconut oil and hopefully all the perks from both oils will do their magic. 

Shannen xx

Photos taken on my iPhone. 

Birthday Lookbook and Swatches

Welcome to my first LookBook! For those of you who don't know what a LookBook is, it's basically a compilation of outfits that all come under a certain theme. Like sometimes you'll see a black and white LookBook, where all the clothes are black or white. Or maybe you'll see seasonal ones for summer, winter, spring or autumn. But in this case, my LookBook is a compilation of outfits put together from clothes I bought while in Wellington shopping for my birthday.

In the first picture I am wearing a t-shirt dress I got from ValleyGirl. I paired it with black socks and a taupe pair of ankle boots I got from Dotti. I wore my hair down and straight just to make it a bit more casual. Also it was a semi warm day so I skipped on tights and just threw on a black cardigan. 

In the middle picture, I'm wearing the dress I picked up form Mirrou. This day was colder so I wore the boots I got from Glassons, a pair of tights I picked up at the same time and my camp jacket from JayJays. I also threw on a cream scarf just to lighten up the dark tones a bit. To add a bit of a girly touch, I clipped my hair back in a half up half down style.

In the last picture, I wore this outfit out to my birthday dinner. The t-shirt dress I got from ValleyGirl along with the first one. I wore tights that I grabbed from Equip as part of a 3 for $10 deal and I just chucked on my creepers to add a bit of an edge. With my hair I just clipped back my fringe. I threw on a black cardigan as it was night and cold outside.

From my second half of my trip, I picked up a lot of make up. I've swatched here what I think is worthy of showing off the colours. In other words I didn't bother to show my foundation and concealer as you wouldn't be able to see them anyways.

Lime Crime Velvetine's go on like a lip gloss and dry matte. There is no need for a lip liner (or so the packaging says). I found this amazing to wear all day. I didn't need to reapply once, even after eating and drinking. It stuck on hard. Which also made it a bit hard to get off, but they do say on the packaging to use a certain type of makeup remover. I got the shade "Wicked" which is a very dark vampy red. Beautiful!

MAC's lipsticks in "Candy Yum Yum" and "Heroine" were eye catchers for me. They're bright, vibrant, last a long time and are matte also. And my god, do MAC lipsticks smell amazing. They smell like a vanilla cake batter or cookie dough. It's incredible. Heroine isn't showing up as true to colour. It's a much more pale, but vibrant purple. Candy Yum Yum is a bright true pink.

Nars blush in "Orgasm" is used by almost everyone. A lot of the gurus I watch on YouTube have it and rave about it. So I decided to give it a shot. And it's amazing. I don't even bother using a highlighter anymore when I use this. Its the perfect peach and its so shimmery (which I love) that it replaces my ELF facial whip. The colour is perfect for pale skin like I have. It's not too much but it still stands out in a subtle way.

Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

OOTD: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Here's my 90's inspired outfit (Look how cute Carwen is!). I rocked this ensemble whilst at work today. Totally comfortable and casual. I wore coated jeans on the bottom. For those of you who don't know what coated denim is, the denim is coated in a kind of plastic feeling material to give a leathery look. The ones I have no longer have that leathery look as I've had them for a while now and they've been through the wash a few times. They are still super black though which is why I still wear them.

Then I have a stripey crop top, although in my opinion its not really a crop top, just more of a short top. This top reaches the top of my jeans, which are a mid rise. I've just chucked on my black cardi to warm things up as it's still cold where I live.

All three of those items are from JayJays. I am a fan of that brand, so you will notice as I post more OOTD posts.

Now, onto the most important part of my outfit, my shoes! These I recently picked up from Glassons. I've had my eye on them for a while now so I didn't mind dropping the $60 on them, and also, they were part of a birthday present from my beloved.

I just wore my everyday makeup (http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/07/my-go-to-make-up-look.html). This consists of a normal face of makeup: foundation, concealer, powder, highlighter, bronzer and powder. Then I wore winged eyeliner and chucked a dark purple lipstick on (Australis Grunge).

For accessories I wore my 90's tattoo choker and bracelet as well as my Hello Kitty watch from Thailand (Thanks Jo!). My nails are painted in BYS Black.

That pretty much covers my entire outfit. Any questions about where things come from or prices, just ask and I'll let ya know!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on 

DIY - Coconut Oil Hair Treatment

If you've coloured or bleached your hair as often as me, or if you were given dry, frizzy hair at birth then this post will help you out a lot.

Coconut oil has many uses. It can be used in cooking, hair, skin or makeup. Of course we won't be talking about cooking today. But I will give you a method on how to use it in your hair. Coconut oil makes your hair soft and shiny. This is because it is a heavy oil that actually penetrates into the hair shaft unlike lighter oils like canola or sunflower.

To use it as a hair treatment, you need about 3-5 tablespoons. This will depend on how thick or thin your hair is, or how damaged/dry it is. In the jar, it is a complete solid, so you either need to melt it down into a liquid, or rub it between your hands until it becomes a liquid. In it's liquid state it is easiest to apply to the hair. Personally, I think spooning it into a bowl and then microwaving it is the best for doing this particular hair treatment. I used about 3 heaped spoonfuls and melted it at 20 second intervals, stirring in between until it was melted completely. You don't want the oil to be hot, but it needs to be warm. Once it's melted and your hair is brushed out smooth, spoon it onto your hair, or you could use your fingers, but I found spooning it on easier. Now, you could choose to just the ends or your whole head. As my hair is ruined from years of dying and bleaching, I decided to do my whole head. You need to get all your hair saturated in the oil. Once this is done, tie it up into a bun or stick it up into a shower cap. You can leave it on for 30 minutes or for a few hours. A lot of different tutorials on Pinterest say 30 minutes to an hour before showering and washing your hair, or to leave it on for a few hours to overnight. It all depends on how much time you have. Personally, I think the longer you leave it on the better. The more time it has to penetrate the softer and shinier your hair will be. Either way, you need to rinse it out and wash your hair with shampoo. Again, the tutorials say to rinse your hair at least twice with shampoo to get rid of all the oil. You can condition as usual to make your hair even more softer, but it's not that necessary.

For extra shine, you can add a raw egg.

As an added bonus, to smooth out any frizziness on a non-hair mask day, grab a small pinch of oil and warm it up in your hands then smooth it over your hair. It'll smooth the frizz down and add some extra shine.

If you guys try this, leave me a comment on this post or comment on my facebook and let me know how it goes for you.

Also, if you would like to see a video on how to do the hair treatment to clear anything up, let me know and I'll get onto it as soon as possible.

Shannen xx
Photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Photos edited on fotor.com

No Heat Waves Trial. Did it work?

After browsing on Pinterest the last couple of days, I've decided to start a series on my blog, similar to Grav3yardGirl's "Does this thing really work?". But instead of as seen on tv products, I'm going to do different no-heat curls methods.

Today I am showing you one of the easiest ones I have come across in my browsing. This is also an alright day style too if you're alright with the milkmaid look. To start off with, you part your hair in two down the middle. Starting on one side, you twist that half away from your face. Once you get to the end of the hair, lift it up over your head, similar to the milk maid braid style. Pin it there with whatever you want, I used bobby pins. Repeat on the other side. I did this when my hair was still damp after having a shower and washing my hair. You could try it with dry hair, but I'm not sure how it will work as doing it on damp hair, it'll set that way. I slept on this for the night.

In the morning, I unpinned it and then brushed it out with my fingers. I didn't give great curls like I expected from the pictures on Pinterest, but it did give nice waves.

Overall, this no heat curls method does work somewhat. I think it would work better on thinner hair rather than on thick hair. Maybe to do it on thick hair, try separating the hair into smaller sections. I did this look the day before I got my hair cut and thinned, so I'm going to try it again tonight with my now thinner hair. I'll post an update on my facebook (https://www.facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx) about how it goes, and also how long the curls stay in with no help from any products.

So yes, this method does work, but it will depend on hair type and thickness.

P.S. I'm going to film videos on how to do the no heat curls methods you guys can see how it's done, instead of reading it. Videos will be uploaded more regularly in a few months as I get more comfortable with editing and sitting in front of a camera talking to no one.

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

Tangle Teezer Review!

PLEASE EXCUSE MY TANGLE TEEZER. I NEED TO CLEAN IT.

I have a quick tip on having great hair. And that's owning a Tangle Teezer. These small brushes are great. I almost never brushed my hair because it hurt, it pulled my hair, and sometimes it literally ripped my hair out, so I tended to avoid brushing my hair as much as possible. Then came the day I finally bought a Tangle Teezer. They're a bit pricey but in my honest opinion it's definitely worth it. My Tangle Teezer I got from Life Pharmacy and it cost about $30-$35. Like I said, pricey. It comes in a variety of colours as well as travel ones and ones made specially for water based activities. Ever since I got my Tangle Teezer I've been brushing my hair every day and I've noticed a considerable difference I my attitude towards brushing my hair.

The official Tangle Teezer website (www.tangleteezer.com) states that "Tangle Teezer The Original professional detangling hairbrush is loved by hairdressers and used in professional hair salons. It's a super smooth operator that works the minute hair is lathered and 

rinsed. Glides through wet, vulnerable and colour treated hair with no pulling, tugging or yanking. Hair peace at last!"

Taken from tangleteezer.com

Everything they say about this hairbrush is true. It doesn't pull, or tug or rip. It just slides through the hair as if there was no tangles or knots to brush through. Hands down, I'm never going to buy another hairbrush again. Tangle Teezers for life!

I give this product 5 stars. 

It deserves every single one and it's made my mornings and evenings much more cheerful and pain free. I definitely recommend this to everyone who can get one. They're available in most pharmacies and online. 

On a side note, for all those who already own a Tangle Teezer, here is a quick guide on how to deep cleanse you Tangle Teezer. Doing this helps removes product and oil buildup as well as clears it of hair. 

1. Remove all hair

2. Rinse well

3. Apply shampoo to the brush, then add some baking soda

4. Add a little water so the shampoo and baking soda react a little 

5. Rub it in the bristles, using a cleaning brush might help (like a toothbrush)

6. Rinse well and let it air dry for a few hours on it's back, bristles up. 

Now your brush will be like new!

Shannen xx
Photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Edited on fotor.com

Seeing Red

I've had a bit of a change. The peachy pale colour didn't stay long, but my plan the whole time was to go bright red. Which I've now done. I have to say, I think it's one of my favourite colours I've had so far. It goes with plenty more outfits than any other crazy colour and now I don't get as many people coming up to me and asking a bunch of questions about my hair. It's a much more peaceful life being a redhead. It seems to be a lot more socially accepted than blue or pink or yellow.

Now, I've actually had my hair red since about last Friday I think. But it's taking me ages to get around to blogging about it. But I have done it now, and the world can finally know I have brilliantly red hair!

There's a bit of a funny story about when I was getting it done. I don't go to any salons, it's all done at home and this time, I had the help of Chloe, who is quite possibly the best hair colourer I've met. We had almost finished my hair,  managing to get all but my fringe and a chunk of hair about an inch thick done and saturated with dye. Thanks to Chloe and Blake, we got another box (Schwarzkopf Brilliance Luminance in L43 Smouldering Red) to complete the job, and I actually preferred that colour to the original (L'Oreal Paris Feria Preference in P67 Pure Scarlet).

Before I bought the L'Oreal box, I did read some reviews on it, and a lot of people were saying it came out plum. It didn't turn out like that at all. I find it was more of an orange red than a true red. The Schwarzkopf box came out a much more richer true red. I've also found that the L'Oreal box has already faded a lot and I haven't even washed my hair yet! Although in saying that, it has been really sunny lately and that does fade hair quite fast. I will probably repurchase the Schwarzkopf red once I need to redye it as it was very vibrant, very true, and made my hair look really shiny.

That's all I really have to say about red hair at the time being, although it's probably going to stick around for a while. I love it and I know Blake does too. If any of you guys think it does too, let me know!

Shannen xx
Photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Photos edited on fotor.com

MOVING HOUSE

Sorry about the lack of posting lately but me and Blake moved house! Things have been quite hectic with having to pack and move from one house to the next.

But today I'm going to tell you about our move. We moved from a one bedroom flat into a sleepout in order to start saving money. I plan on going back to study next year so we need to do some serious saving in order to be able to afford to do that.

Now, having a whole house full of furniture and moving into a single room caused a bit of a conundrum. What were we going to do with all our furniture? I had a room still at my dad's that we could store it all in, which definitely came in handy. We sold a few bits and pieces that were too big for my room, or that we didn't need whatsoever. I also sold some shoes to free up some space for when we moved.

In our new place, we have our room, a bathroom and a little kitchenette in the corner. Blake built us a new bed with drawers underneath so we didn't have to bring our dressers. They went to dad's and to Blake's sister. Our old bed also went to dad's.

So in our new room we have our new bed, our tv on a small tv stand, my rack, two small bookshelves and one large bookshelf. With all this furniture we still have plenty of space to move around. It's also great having our own bathroom. We have our two shelves in there from our old bathroom too.

Since we don't have any use for our fridge we had to eat as much frozens and fridge food as we could before we left our old flat. Whatever was left went into the house. We now only keep snack foods in our little kitchenette.

I love our sleepout. Its so much more warmer and cosier than our old flat, and we have the added bonus of having pets now too. Dora the cat stays with us the most, probably to avoid the puppy.

Talk to you guys soon!
Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Photos edited on fotor.com

Unexpected Twist

If any of you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you would have seen my hair getting less and less blue. I was fading it out as much as possible before I bleached it for my next hair change. It was patchy blue, pink and lilac. Which was kinda cool but I was completely bored of blue and ready for a new colour.

Now I have a few colours sitting around at home and I had settled on a colour to go to next. So I get my bleach and wait for my next day off so I have the whole day ahead of me to do my hair. Saturday rolls around and around lunchtime I decided it was time to get my ass into gear and do my hair. I follow the instructions on the box of bleach and continue on my merry way. I always leave my bleach in for about the length of an episode of whatever I am watching at the moment, currently the eleventh season of CSI. So now comes the time to wash my hair out. And the biggest but best accident happened.

Turns out when you bleach Manic Panic Shocking Blue, it goes pink. I'm assuming the more vibrant the colour, the more vibrant the pink will be when you bleach it out. As my hair was super faded and washed out, it went a beautiful peachy pink that I probably would never be able to get otherwise. I am stoked with this, so much so that I'm gonna wait a while before I actually go to the previously chosen colour. I still have a small patch of faded blue but that's due to me only using one box of bleach versus my usual two.

Who knew that I was gonna get two amazing colours out of one? This is the type of beautiful mistake I would love to happen again. Kinda like that one time I left purple shampoo on for too long (I was super engrossed in House and forgot it was in my hair) and ended up lilac for a while.

Good things can come out of accidents. Even accidentally on purpose.

Shannen xx
Photos taken on Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Photos edited on fotor.com

Manic Panic Shocking Blue $29.90
Schwarzkopf Nordic Blonde L101 Cool Metallic Lightener $14

Imported Candy VS Homeland Candy

Just a warning, none of the food mentioned in this post is healthy whatsoever, except maybe the chocolate drink. That only has 60 calories in it.

Today is a post about my third love. No makeup, no clothes, all food. I love food. Food is my friend. I am always eating. I have more of a taste for savoury food than sweet, but I still have a very big sweet tooth.

I have a strong aversion to all candy native to New Zealand. Pineapple lumps, bleurgh. L&P, yuck. New Zealand marmite is alright, but no way near as good as the UK version, which by the way can't have it's label on display in this country. We went to the Brit shop today and UK marmite has had its label covered, same with Weetabix, the UK equivalent to Weetbix. Which is stupid because the UK has been around for so much more longer than New Zealand, who cares if they have the same name?

Anyways, a short trip to Milson and we come home with some Tea Cakes (equivalent to MallowPuffs for all you kiwi folk), 3 cans of Dr Pepper (although these came from the Pie Factory for only 99c a can!), Fox's Party Rings (childrens biscuts), NikNaks (crisps), a bag of M&S Percy Pigs (BEST CANDY EVER) and one sachet of Options Indulgence hot drink in Chocolate Fudge.

I find myself way more attracted to foods from the UK or America. It has a much better taste than food developed in the land of the long white cloud, imho. It may be more artificial and full of preservatives than the food here, but darn heck does it taste good.

Dr Pepper will be hands down my favourite 'exotic' beverage. Next up would have to be Kool-Aid Jammers in Cherry. These taste so artificial and great. I also like all things Reese's. Reese's Cups, Reese's Pieces.

I will always be willing to pay that extra amount to get candy I actually enjoy, and also because my beloved who is from the UK, gets excited when we find more food he's grown up with. The market in New Zealand is slowly getting bigger, with United Sweets opening up all over the country as well as their online site, along with British food shops.

Also, quick story, Blake and I are currently eating the pack of NikNaks and he grabbed one out of the bag thinking it was just a small one, turns out it was a solid lump of flavouring. These are the Nice 'N' Spicy flavour. He said it hurt.

Shannen xx
All photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used 
Photos edited on fotor.com

BLUE HAIR DON'T CARE

I have had many hair colours since I was about 14 or so. Mostly natural colours like black, brown and an assortment of blondes up until my last year of high school. That was when I started experimenting with bright colours. Because I was still at high school, I wasn't allowed to actually dye my hair all one bright unnatural colour, but I didn't really care for the rules and did what I wanted to do anyways (I do not recommend this as it gets you in a lot of trouble). So as an introduction into the world of colourful hair, I started a simple dip dye. As I didn't know of a lot of brands that did colours like I wanted, I used Fudge Paintbox. The first colour I used was called Red Corvette. Now this sounds like it would be an amazing bright red colour but it leant more pink on my hair. After that colour faded and I bleached my hair again, I used Fudge's Green Envy. This colour was amazing and so uber bright! It lasted a very long time on my hair without much fading. I eventually got bored of this colour (I have a short attention span and need change regularly) and that was when I discovered La Riche Directions. This is one of the best brands I have ever used. This was the last time I dip dyed my hair. I used turquoise in this brand. After high school I pretty much stayed normal because of my job, but then I started studying and had to leave my job as it was too hard to work and study at the same time. So when I left I straight away brought Direction's Cerise. And for most of the year I was doing my diploma I had pink hair. Then I had lilac hair, which was just purple shampoo mixed with a tiny bit of cerise and left on for hours. Then I went yellow, which was meant to be orange, similar to Hayley Williams of Paramore. After all that dying I decided to give my hair a well deserved break and went back to my natural hair colour. After about 6 months I decided to do what I love most, which was dye my hair crazy colours. So now I am blue. This time I used Manic Panic which is like the second best brand I have ever used. My blue is Shocking Blue heavily diluted by conditioner.

For my blue hair I don't really have a recipe or whatever that I follow. I just pour a heap of conditioner into a bowl and then squirt tiny amounts of dye in at a time until I reach my desired colour. This time I used a deep conditioner as I had run out of my normal conditioner that I use when I do my hair. Once it's all mixed I do all my roots with a tint brush then I just scoop it up in my hands and rub into the lengths of my hair until its saturated and I'm pretty sure I've covered all of my hair. I then leave it on for about an hour. To make my colour last, I avoid washing my hair as much as possible as it is only a semi permanent colour. I get about 2-3 washes out of my hair before I feel like I need to do it again. As this is the second time I have dyed my hair blue, I noticed that this colour fades to a really nice lilac colour, but leaning more pink. So I don't mind letting it fade a bit longer than I normally would.

I love having crazy hair, but with it comes a lot of attention. I'm not a big fan of this attention I get. I'm very shy and uncomfortable and awkward when it comes to strangers. I'm happy that they like my hair and they think I'm brave to do what I want with it, but sometimes I just wish they would admire from afar. I know I signed up to all the attention having bright coloured hair and I am grateful for all the compliments I get.

I have a video of me colouring my hair coming up on my YouTube channel which I will link below.

https://www.youtube.com/user/shannensykess

Shannen xx
Canon 600D camera used 
18-55mm lens
Photos edited on fotor.com

Products used :
Manic Panic Shocking Blue
Schwarzkopf Ultimate Repair Anti-Damage Mask