VintageELLE is a British Lifestyle blog, focussing in on a Twenty Something's passion for all things Travel, Style & Food related. Follow for weekly Life Updates, Travel Diaries or Style Advice!
Whether it's for your mum,aunt, grandma, sister, friend, work college or Brenda nextdoor- this is such a cheap, easy & quick gift idea to make & it looks personal & different to the normal box of chocolates you would have given!
So go to your local thrift/charity shop or to the local ikea & grab a photo frame of any shape, size or colour & get started!!
^^^^^^ Watch the video here ^^^^^^
Let me know if you try this for yourselves & how it turned out :)
So I have had A LOT of questions about how I ombre my hair & what products I use to keep my hair in the condition that it is in.
So I made a whole video about it!!!
As you may remember, back in April/May time I did a post (HERE) about whether I should or shouldn't ombre my hair. I had been toying with the idea for months, trailing pinterest & various websites for inspiration & finally in June I thought.... yes, I will do it!!
DIY or Hairdresser?
Now I wasn't sure whether to go & get it done professional in a salon or DIY it at home. For months, I wanted to do it myself at home-
number one. because it's cheaper,
but two. because I wanted to experience the whole process myself (as I had never dyed my hair before!) But that sensible voice in my hair said, "I bet it will end up looking green if you do it yourself!" So because of that I booked an appointment at my local hairdressers.
I must admit, I did have two trips to the salon. First trip was good, it was the colour I wanted & not streaky at all, however after just two washes I found the colour to have seriously faded. Not faded as in it had slightly turned darker, I'm talking it had pretty much gone back to my old colour- if not a slight light brown! I was very disappointed to begin with, because I had spent a lot of money to get it done & I wanted it done well. But my hairdresser (Sonia) explained that it may have been because I had 'Virgin Hair', as it had never been dyed before (which could mean the dye would not fully stick to the hair). So naturally because of this fiasco I returned to my hairdresser & this time she added more peroxide to the mixture & it all turned out a hell of a lot better, if not a better colour then the first trip!
What did I want?
I wanted something slightly more natural looking & inkeeping with the tones I have naturally in my hair (reds, coppers & rusty tones). So we ended up putting three different colours into my hair to make a perfect gradient effect, going from darkest to lightest as you reach the ends. Starting off with a shade lighter then my natural colour, followed by a lighter brown/blond, ending with a coppery/blond colour at the ends. The way it was applied was from the top of my ear downwards, so my natural hair colour was still visible from the roots & also the whole of my shortest layer in my hair was left un-touch too. This was so it hid the line of colour you could see around my head- from where the first colour started, but also so that it blended in better & looked very natural. As I wanted it to look as natural as possible, my hairdresser 'wove' the dye into my hair. For this method you basically do a 'weaving', zig-zag motion through your hair, picking up strands that you want to place the dye to and leaving others with your natural colour still coming through. So like a cross over between old colour & new colour (this prevents your from looking like a zebra!). Many people call ombre hair may different things: Ombre, Dip-Dye, Smudging- my advice is just take a picture in & they will know instantly what you want!
What products do I use to maintain the colour?
John Frieda Sheer Blond Colour Re-new Tone Correcting Shampoo & the conditioner too
Altogether I was extremely, extremely happy with the way my hair turned out, especially curled I feel my hair has more dimension to it! For anyone who is considering having it done- go for it!
Any questions just let me know & I hope you found this interesting :)
I have been dream, nay lusting over Chanel for years. Fashion & beauty products a like, there is something extremely enchanting & luxurious about owning something by Chanel- maybe it's the connotations of Parisian sophistication or maybe it's from watching my mummy (yes I call my mummy mummy, so!?) apply Coco Chanel for years & playing with the bottles at age five, but there is something about it that makes me happy! So I had been toying with the idea & going back & forth every time I went into Boots, of buying something from the Chanel counter & two months ago I had a bad day at work (no better excuse than a bad day at work to buy Chanel!) & thought 'sod it, I am going to buy something!' & I exited with a little white bag, tied with a black ribbon, with that magical word written across the front. Rouge Coco Hydrating Creme Lip Colour in 36 Chintz.
The two things that I love the most about this product is the colour & the texture. In the beginning when I was swatching away on my hand all of the colours, I thought this colour was slightly too nude & would be too translucent on my lips (would look like I was wearing no lipstick at all!) However, the sales assistant recommended that I tried it on my lips to see the true colour, as she said it was the perfect rose brown colour for a natural look- generally I always stay well clear of trying products on my eyes/lips, as the thought that other people have also applied it to these places sends (& this is true) chills up my spine! I mean..... yuck! But I thought 'Hey it's Chanel!' & tried it on & honestly it is the most beautiful colour I have ever tried, swatching it on your hand does not do it justice! Now I don't like bold lip colours, I'm always a nude or subtle lip kinda girl but I honestly honestly love this colour, it is me to a tea! I would definitely describe it as a subtle, classic rose colour (trust me the photos do not do it justice!) & is such a dream to apply & wear- a creamy texture which last quiet a while before further application & is not drying in the slightest (there is nothing that I hate more than the feeling that you are wearing lipstick, am I right?!) & I get so many compliments when I wear it, it is unbelievable!
Of course I also love the packaging, it's beautiful, heavy & feels every inch glamorous. I was also extremely happy with the way this little lip stick was lovingly wrapped & placed in a simple white bag with a ribbon- I felt like it was a present!
A couple of weeks ago me & Adam had a week off together & from the last post you can see that we spent a few days in Guernsey- however for the rest of the week we decided to visit somewhere a little closer to home & settled on Oxford.
We found a place via lastminute.com (literally booked it the night before) just outside of Oxford in the extremely pretty village of Woodstock- before you ask there were minimal hippie's & no music festivals taking place! I loved the buildings, tree lined streets, foliage changing from green to orange to red, the quirky independently run shops & the 'lazy' vibe of the village & people.
Of course we also visited Oxford city centre, unfortunately for us the weather was not on our side, as it was pretty much raining constantly since we got there! However this did not put a dampener (cheesy weather pun not intended- cringe!)on our day & we had a great time strolling around the shops, university campus & cobbled streets.
Oxford has a huge variety of shops- from the high street stores such as Topshop, Zara, Whistles, Jack Wills ect, to more independent stores & this little undercover market place we found! Me & Adam were both extremely fascinated by the pheasants hanging in a butchers window- we were unsure if they were real or fake!
I really enjoyed our mini break in Oxford- it was relaxing, enjoyable & a nice change of atmosphere. For those interested here is the hotel just outside of Woodstock that we stayed in.
Now as most of you may know, I love to travel & if I have a spare opportunity whether it be for a few days or a few weeks, I have to go somewhere different & 'get lost'.
Last week I booked a full week off work to enjoy some quality time with Adam (boyfriend) but also to see & spend time with family. Now I don't think many of you know this but we have family in Guernsey, who we had not seen in nearly two years!
Guernsey is one of the Channel Islands off the coast of mainland France, but it is part of the British Isles. I absolutely love everything about the island- the people are genuinely friendly, the scenery is beautiful, the food is fresh & tasty & I love the way of life out there.
Ever since me & Adam started dating nearly 6 years ago (gulp!) we would 'holiday' in Guernsey every single year, visiting his family & enjoying the weather & beaches & everything the island offers- history & all. However the last couple of years we felt like we had seen everything & been everywhere & seen everything we wanted to see, so decided to visit new places.
This is why we decided to visit only for three days to see everybody, as the weather this time of year is windy & cold so not exactly beach weather! Having said that, we both had such a great time that we wanted to stay for longer & will probably be visiting again in the new year. Our time there was the best weather of the week: blue sky but very windy & cold! We spent most of our time driving around the coastline of the island with the windows down, but also we visited the town, started Christmas shopping, ate some amazing food, spent time with the family, walked along the beaches & generally chilled out!
Salmon Fish Cake Starter. Steak & Chips with Garlic Butter Main. Ice Cream Dessert
