Festival 'Survival Kit'

I love festivals. However, being the organised person that I am *Typical Virgo*, I like to be prepared for everything. When I decided to go to Wireless festival last summer, although I was staying in a hotel, I did not anticipate the amount of things that I should have brought with me on the day. For this reason I thought I'd prepare a festival 'survival kit' that in my opinion is a necessity for a care free day/weekend.


Tissues: I cannot express how much of a life saver these tissues become when it comes to the toilet situation. At most day festivals especially, the toilet roll is completely gone by mid day and that's seriously not great situation to find yourself in when your a girl! They are also really handy for any makeup madness, like Mac Morange lipstick ending up everywhere apart from on your lips...guilty.

Sun cream: Although most festivals come hand in hand with angry looking clouds and the festival must have...rain! occasionally our summers do include the odd day of sun. Honest. When this day does arrive a miniature sun cream is an essential. This sun cream is the perfect size for your bag and will protect you all day long against the dreaded sunburn.

Mirror: Ever since I purchased this mirror it has travelled with me virtually everywhere I have ever been. Seriously, I'm talking foreign countries n' all. Its the perfect size, sleek, compatible and it even folds so you can prop it up. What more could you want? A must have for the times when you can't get near the toilets mirror's for the sheer amount of girls inside. Obviously I'm not talking port-a-loos here.


Money, Card's and ID: All essential however ID is a must! Most festival's can be strict and surviving a festival without alcohol? yeah...not great. not great at all.

Hair Brush: This brush is amazing, not only does it fold in half but it also has a miniature mirror so if you have a really tiny bag, there's no need for an additional one.

Makeup: As all girls will be aware, what goes on the face initially doesn't necessarily mean its going to stay on! Touch up's are a must, particularly at festivals.

Sunglasses: Excellent for covering those horrendous under eye bags due to lack of sleep and perfect for shielding eye makeup from the rain. Festivals are also one of the only times that you can get away with wearing sunglasses without any actual sun needed and still look chic, rather than an idiot.

Raincoat: Unless your wearing it, they can be a pain to carry round. This raincoat could easily fit in a slightly larger bag or tied to the strap of a smaller one. It also has ducks on...how could you resist?! This one's only from Primark and therefore if you lose it, it wouldn't be a big deal. They are also great to sit on if the field is muddy. Two in one? bargain.

Extras: Bobbles, hair clips, mints, chewing gum, deodorant, hand gel, camera (although I usually just use my phones, saves losing it which I seem to have a great talent at).

Hope this helps you out and prevents any festival disasters!

A Brand New Me?

So, I've decided to start blogging again - this time properly! To sum things up, my life has completely changed since I last blogged (I decided to delete all my previous posts as they were so outdated!). I'm not going to go into detail as I've not decided whether I even want to properly share my life changing...event? yeah I think I'll call it that for now. However, I've decided to not let this setback completely take over my life and after possibly the worst 8 months I think I'll ever experience, I have decided to stop feeling sorry for myself, solider on and start blogging again.

This time however, I most definitely am a 'brand new me'. Hopefully a stronger, more positive and life loving (if that's even a phrase!) version that is.

Ombre Hair - DIY

Hi!

I ombre'd my hair during the Summer and I wanted to share my step by step guide as I was very pleased with the finished look! I am not a hairdresser, but I did do lots of research before attempting it myself and I found reading posts like this very helpful. I hope you do too!

Step by Step:

1. Mix the bleach (just read the instructions but ignore the times as there meant for full head bleaching and highlights which won't be the same as ombre hair). I used the BBlonde Powder Bleach by Jerome Russell which you can purchase from superdrug/boots etc.         

 

2. Put the bleach on your hair, now you have to do this in two steps:

Step one: Put the bleach on your hair as high as you want it to go. I decided to stop mine at roughly the bottom of my chin, but it really depends on what look you're trying to achieve. DON'T use the brush they provide as bleaches your hair in weird lines (happened to me first time) just use your hands, treat it almost like shampoo.

Tme: The time you keep the bleach on for largely depends on your hair colour, so just keep in mind the longer you keep it on, the lighter it goes! To speed up the process and to ensure minimum damage to your hair, wrap the hair in tin foil and leave the bleach on for about 20 mins (if you have a similar hair colour to me - light/medium brown). Keep checking the colour by scrapping the bleach off a few strands.

Step two: Wash the bleach off but DON'T hair dryer your hair as it will be very weak. You should towel dry your hair then blow dry the bottom with the cold option on your hair dryer (if you have that option)

3. Put the bleach on again but now just focus the tips, I re-bleached about an inch of the bottom of my hair but it largely depends on your hair length. This will give you the ombre look and will ensure that you do not look like you just have massive roots. VERY important step.

 - Keep it on for an extra 10 mins, again keep checking (and use foil).

4. Finally, wash off and let your hair air dry.

Extra tips!

Your hair will be damaged, even if you don't notice straight away you will in a few weeks. (Mine is still very dry at bottom even though I've had my hair cut recently:-/ ). You will need to make sure that you use lots of conditioner every time you wash your hair. I even bought Moroccan Oil, its quite expensive at about £30 but you could use a cheaper alternative if you are on a budget.

You may not be completely happy with colour straight away, (I wasn't) but don't be tempted to do it again. You should WAIT at least 2-3 months and repeat process but this time you will need to cut the time in half. I didn't and was shocked at how blonde it went, I got away with it because my brown hair was quite light, but you may not like that if you have darker hair.  

I would also recommend using silver shampoo to keep it blonde and not brassy!! I've seen girls with brassy orange tints to it and its looks awful. I bought my silver shampoo from bodycare for a couple of pounds and it was amazing, there's a whole range you can get, but I just used the shampoo.

Good Luck!

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