MERMAID HAIR! How I dyed my hair, using BLEACH LONDON: WASHED UP MERMAID

What I used:
Directions Silver Toner
x2 bottles of Bleach Washed Up Mermaid Hair Dye
Bleach Silver Shampoo
Aussie Three Minute Miracle Conditioner

To Maintain:
Aussie Miracle Dry Shampoo - Mega Instant
John Frieda Intensive Hair Mask Satchet
Pro:voke Touch of Silver Shampoo
Organix Coconut Milk Hair Serum

I will just mention now that I'm not a professional hairdreser (disclaimer time), so I'm not telling you how you should dye your hair, I'm only explaining how I did mine. Ok...here goes!

1) This is how my hair started. On the morning of dying it, I washed it with Bleach Silver Shampoo to help tone out any yellow but I put no conditioner or other products on it. Ideally you shouldn't wash your hair on the same day because dye doesn't take as well to super clean hair, but my hair was disgustingly greasy so I just had to wash it. I then waited until later to dye it

2) Skip to the evening...I brushed it through thoroughly. Make sure you don't skip this step otherwise the colour will not be applied evenly. I also took note of the most brassy coloured areas of hair - which were the roots and some of the strands at the back, these would need the most toner

3) I applied Directions Silver Toner (this cost £3.99 from a local store and is the cheapest and best toner I've found). The instructions suggest to put it on wet hair, but I applied it to dry hair because it's more effective. My hair is naturally dark blonde but having already treated it with bleach, it was only the darker areas I needed to focus on. I rubbed the product through the roots thoroughly, waited for an hour and then rinsed it out. To get the best, most vivid result you need to start with the lightest hair colour that you can achieve. I would ALWAYS advise getting the lightening process done at a hairdressers, following an incident a few years ago where I tried to lighten my own hair from black back to blonde at home and it started to break and fall out

4) After rinsing the toner out, I towl dried my hair gently, brushed it through and hair dryed it so it was completely dry. The toner didn't actually lighten the roots, it just removed some of the brassiness and gave my hair a slight lilac hue which was actually quite interesting as a colour. But, onwards and upwards. Also, I think I timed the whole dying process pretty badly. By the time it came to actually dying my hair, it was late at night, having started mid-evening, and I was tiiii-red

5) Next I poured a whole bottle of Bleach Washed Up Mermaid hair colour in to a bowl, and mixed with it a small-ish blob of Aussie Three Minute Miracle Conditioner, as a treat for my hair and to make the dye go further (tip: if you have medium length or thick hair buy two bottles of dye in case you run out, it's always better to have too much rather then too little). I applied this all over my hair, starting at the right front, taking a small section and working the product through and then clipping it up. I found that rubbing the product it in to the hair helped the dye penetrate better. I did this all the way around paying special attention to the roots and trying my best to reach those pesky areas at the back that usually always get missed out. I ended up using half the second bottle of dye to cover all of my hair, so I was happy I bought two.

I didn't wear gloves which was really really stupid, just wear gloves, or prepare to have dyed hands for the foreseeable future. Bleach dye isn't like Directions - it's stronger and definitely stains surfaces/skin more

6) I left the dye on for around an hour, against the advice on the bottle - which instructs to apply to wet hair and leave for 15 mins, but you know, go wild, and those in the know, know the longer the better with this dye. As I'd mixed conditioner in and the dye doesn't contain bleach I knew it would be ok to leave it for a longer amount of time. After the hour was up I rinsed it all out and applied the conditioning hair mask to make my hair extra shiny. I left this mask on for a further 45 minutes

7) After 45 minutes I rinsed my hair through, finishing with cold water because this makes your hair extra shiny. I towl dried it and rubbed a small amount of the Organix coconut serum through it, I then left it to dry naturally. Et voila! The colour was super super bright when it dried, which is kind of what I wanted. The Washed Up Mermaid colour is supposed to be a pastel turquoise, but knowing  this would fade quickly I wanted it to be darker and brighter at first. If you're going to use this method be prepared for it not to be pastel but then for it to fade out to a more muted tone after a few washes. It took me and my wardrobe some adjusting to get used to the radical new colour (I always need a few days to learn how to dress accordingly to any hair colour change)

Maintaining:

The upkeep has been a bit of work...I've been using Pro:voke Touch of Silver shampoo when I do wash my hair, but I've been trying not to wash it as much and using Aussie's dry shampoo (which I accidentally missed out of the photo with all the products!) instead to keep it looking fresh. Admittedly it feels a bit grose after a few days of not washing it and the dry shampoo builds up in your hair so it needs a good wash now and again. The Aussie dry shampoo is a new thing they've brought out which I tried because I love their shampoos and conditioners - but I wouldn't really rate this to be any better or worse then the Batiste ones, and it's more expensive.

I've also been using the Bleach Silver Shampoo for the occasional wash too. I find the Bleach  shampoo is a lot stronger then the Pro:voke one, it adds colour to your hair and is a thick consistency which is strong enough to stain the bath/shower if you don't rinse it off in time, where as the Pro:voke Touch Of Silver Shampoo is better for daily maintenance, it's lighter in colour and consistency and it's great for preventing colour fade rather then maintaining the colour

I hope this is helpful! If so let me know and I'll do a hair update  ;-)

Peace out

LITTLE FLUFFY CLOUDS

Something NEW

I like making lists and filing things away. It's really sad but it's just the way it is. Therefore, imagine my delight when one morning a couple of weeks ago I conceived the idea of starting a new blog, seperate to Idea, You Gave Me A Fright Dear, with an aim to record what outfit I wear every single day, for a year. 

Why a year you ask? Because it's hard. I've started jogging and going to yoga classes recently, the jogging partly inspired by an article I read in a magazine about a woman who ran a mile everyday for a year. This goal of doing something everyday for a set amount of time appeals to my somewhat obsessive nature. But I can't commit to running everyday. Mayyybe every other day. It's JUST. TOO. SPORTY and EFFICIENT.

What I do do every day is get dressed. And what I do love is the art of constructing outfits. The shapes, colours, patterns of an outfit and how this balances the look out, how it makes you feel, how it makes you act. How your outfit is read by society, how it fits in with current trends, or doesn't. I find it all fascinating. 

This paired with a desire to 'dress up' more (as Vivienne Westwood said ''when in doubt, overdress'') lead me to start 'On Getting Dressed'. My brand new blog detailing every outfit I wear, everyday. And you now know how I like to file stuff? Well that's not limited to physical paper files. No. 

I will continue to write in this blog, when I feel like it. It will be like my bit on the side. My yucky secret casual blog where I write about dumb stuff like the top five men I fancy who are aged over 60... (Robert Redford etc). And the posts won't come thick and fast. They will continue to saunter in as and when they feel like it. 

In this way I've got a blog for fashion/my career and a hobby blog; which feels a lot like filing, and suits me well.

To finish, I'd like to breifly explain why I called this blog 'Idea, You Gave Me A Fright Dear'. I started it whilst I was at university studying fine art. Me and my friends were, let's be honest, not the most prolific bunch. It was more common to spot us in the pub then in any kind of environment that would be deemed useful (gallery, studio, exhibition). We could have tried harder, but we were too busy having fun. Therefore, when I did get down to some work and managed to sprout an idea about some performance art piece, it was frankly a shock. A surprise you could say. Therefore this name was born, fitting for a blog which ambles along doing what it wants, when it wants. 

If you'd like to see me try harder, check out On Getting Dressed HERE

Subscribe, follow, comment, see what you think. Expect fashion faux pas all over your screen.

PACK//UNPACK

With a trip around Asia scheduled for the end of this year, I have already started to think about what I'll need to invest in for the trip; what I'll pack, and having already done some travelling, what I'll leave out this time. I love making lists and have decided to format this thought process in to a list and share it with you. I guess it's really for the first time traveller, and doesn't include basic stuff like your passport, because you're not stupid. So here we go...

1) Padded bra - Don't go bringing any padded stuff. How do you think your boobs are going to fair under a load of polyester padding in a 30+ degree climate? Not very well.

2) Socks - I brought three pairs of socks with me when I went to India! I don't know when I thought I'd need these socks. I think it was just panic packing. However, I did wear one pair of socks for ten minutes during the trip, but only because I forgot what it was like to wear socks and they had become a novelty by then. So, yeah, don't pack socks if you're going to a hot country. Unless they're flight socks.

3) Decent Bag - A good bag is a MUST. And it needs to be a rucksack, not a carry bag or 'roll' bag. In the below picture, there I am with my giant roll bag, looking a bit ill as I quickly realise I'll now have this bag to lug around with me for the duration of the trip - throughout all my struggling to find somewhere to stay, roaming endlessly through packed out scorching streets, on the trains, on the beach, every time I change places. I learnt the hard way...the only choice if you're doing the kind of travelling where you move around and don't really know where you're going (what other kind of travelling is there?!) is a rucksack, like the one from Blacks below, and I shall be investing in one for sure. NB: A swishy good quality rucksack can always be found in the various trekking shops (or whatever they are, walking shops?!), so you should only be paying around £45 for one, tops. 

Blacks Alpine Aqua 60+10L Rucksack - £75 www.blacks.co.uk

 4) Guide Book/Lonely Planet Guide - Your initial bout of homesickness and culture shock may well be helped significantly if you bring along a book about the specific place your going, as it did for me. On the first night of my travels, arriving in India shit scared and alone, the ONLY thing that helped was reading my Lonely Planet Guide. It sure felt like a lonely planet then, and that's when these books come most in handy. To read about someone who has been exactly where you are, also as a foreigner and written about the do's and dont's is invaluable when you first arrive in a new place and throughout. Make sure it's specific to the place you are, a huge guide book about the whole of India won't help if you're just based in the South, for example.

5) Weird travel cosmetics (don't go to Boots travel section) - Never used a tinted moisturiser with SPF 30 when you were at home? Well then, you won't use one whilst your away. Travelling isn't the time to try out weird and wonderful new products from the 3 for 2 bit in Boots travel section. Promise. Chances are you'll want to use the same stuff as always, but less. So if you use tons of products, then single it down to the bare essentials... and make sure you have sun protection that you can use on your face, wala! You're done. NEVER go to the Boots travel section before travelling. You'll discover a thousand things you think you need, like a special hot country face mask treatment etc etc, and you'll think HELL YEAH! No. Those special moisturisers and face masks will just drip off your face within moments of you putting them on in a hot climate, and isn't one of the charms of travelling going without and seeing how little you can survive on?!

6) A Good Book (Swap) - I got obsessed with Haruki Murakami on my trip. I read Norweigen Wood and then when I arrived in a new place and found that there was a make shift book shop on a beach that sold some of more his books, I was so happy! So, bring a good book, read it, then swap it with your travel companions/someone you don't know, a book shop, or with the place your staying. If you're doing the hostel thing, some of them have a book swapping service too, therefore bringing one book is your ticket to a wholeeee library of books without taking up space.

7) Thermal Tops - Sounds a bit crazy, but If you're travelling around a continent, you may find yourself in a boiling country at one point, and then in a coldish country next. I'm planning to go from India/Thailand to Vietnam. It will be Vietnam's winter when I arrive so I'll need warmer clothes with me. A country itself can also differ majorly in climate, especially if the terrain is mountainous in parts (cold in the mountains, warmer on the ground). This point is not tried and tested, but having thought about it, I'm going to buy two or three thermal cotton tops that fold up tiny in my bag, and should I get cold, layer them up. Lugging a coat around India doesn't sound good. You can get these tops very cheap from budget stores like Primark.

Marks and Spencer'sThermal Fleece Long Sleeve Top in Grey Marl - £17.50  www.marksandspencer.com

8) A Tablet - Yeah, you're going travelling to escape all that shit, right? Well, chances are you're going to want to stay in touch with you family and/or friends whilst your away. Whether this means the odd message or long skype conversations, a device like a tablet would be ideal. I didn't have anything on my travels, but what I didn't anticipate was that I'd want regular contact with people from back home at least for the first few weeks, and I must have spent a fair amount in internet cafes.

9) Nothing Too Precious - Contrary to what I have just written above, don't bring any precious pieces of technology, jewellery, keepsakes etc with you. Certainly don't bring your BEST £1000 camera (unless you're a professional photographer/safety genuis). It will probably get damaged or stolen, then what? Tears. Bring a semi decent digital camera that takes good enough photos, but if anything happens to it, it will be a pain rather than the worst thing ever. I am very reckless with my possessions sometimes, and this means I got my cheap-ish camera stolen within the first two weeks of my trip to India. An annoyance, but no tears. Would I have looked after it better had it been an expensive one? Probably, but I didn't want the responsibility.

10) Soap - How are you going to wash your clothes? Soap! Pick up a few bars of decent soap, enough to last you your trip (rough guide - one bar soap = 3 to 4 weeks) when you have enough laundry for a wash, fill a sink, any sink, with your dirty bits, fill with water, scrub clothes with soap, then leave soap in the sink with the clothes and the water, go out for the day and when you return, your clothes will be much cleaner then they were! Give them another scrub with the soap, rinse, and leave to dry on a balcony/window ledge/washing line. If you're somewhere hot, they'll be dry in no time. I recommend Faith in Nature Organic Coconut Soap, £1.39 for 100 gram bar. 

www.ecogreenstore.co.uk

11) Shoes - It's getting spring like therefore the inevitable onslaught of ethnic inspired clothes/shoes/accesories will soon be arriving in shops everywhere. Don't be tempted to pick up a pair of woven sandals especially for your trip. They'll be uncomfy and you'll be a fashion victim fool! The only good that can come of packing such shoes is that you can give them to someone when you get there. I did exactly that and ended up giving a bag full of stuff to some Indian girls who wanted it. Bring decent shoes. My parents are obsessed with 'Ecco' shoes, and I think there's something in it, they're designed to be comfy, sturdy and last for ever. Might be worth investing. A few pairs sometimes crop up on Ebay too, as they're bloody expensive to buy new.

Ecco Offroad Walking Sandals Light in Black, £85  www.zalando.co.uk

And don't forget to have a good time, all the time. Even when you're sick.

Ok, that's all. If you have any of your own packing for travel tips, share them below!