Look, look!

I found a good picture of me modelling so ta-dah!

My opinion is still that my makeup looks plain scary on me but none the less it was kind of cool!

I need to ask Designer Friend if I can use the rest of the pictures too

Hair details

The Dutch “crown” braids have stayed perfectly nice since the fashion show so I haven’t taken them out.

I like how it looks when they’re braided into one big braid. 

I did it!

First of all: Thank you all for wishing me luck!

 

Second of all, I have to apologise for not taking any pictures. Sorry! I tend to forget that, but everyone else was busy with their phones so I think I can borrow a bunch of pictures from other people. I did get a single picture though. It was the first thing I did when I got to our designated changing room. Well, first thing was to crack up.

Yep, in the glamorous modelling world, this is a changing room and storage room for your personal stuff for a grand total of 6 people:

A corner in a freezing cold staircase.

Modelling is really not for the shy people!

I was sent down to makeup done by student makeup artists. I’ve never tried that before and found it completely uncomfortable. I don’t think I could ever get used to having a stranger so close to my face that I can feel her breath on my skin. Plus it tickled terribly when she applied eye liner and mascara!

I found the makeup very unflattering but then again, I’m that kind of boring girl who prefers the “polished” but natural look above all. However I think the simple eyeliner with a short wing she applied might be something I could copy quickly and wear almost daily. Hmm?

Designer Friend was very pleased with the result though.

The stylists’ station on the other hand really scared me. I generally keep my mouth shut about hair care and advice unless asked directly, and even then I try to keep it short and not preach, but wow, that one was a torture chamber for hair!

When you walked past there, the air was noticeably hotter from the heating appliances (Which was extra scary since it was just a couple of tables in the middle of the big main hall where the runway would be!) and the air was heavy with stink from sprays and chemicals. Yikes!

It made me quite sad inside to see the finished results and knowing I could easy have recreated their sock buns and fishtail braids with just a comb and a handful of leave in conditioner.

Oh well.

I try not to push advice on other because I don’t like when people push unwanted advice on me. And I keep it very short when asked directly because I personally dislike it when people go on a long monologue when you’re just being polite and not genuinely interested.

But it was still hard to keep my tone neutral when I had to decline an eager stylist who asked me if “Do you want me to do something to your hair?” several times.

My hair was quite the icebreaker though. I must have received comments from almost every single person behind the scenes. I really need to get better at receiving comments!

I tend to get completely shy and stuttering when someone compliments me.

Anyways, the whole modelling experience wasn’t as much fun as it was fun to have experienced.

It was long, long waits interrupted by short periods of hectic activity.

The runway walks were terrifying. The first round I could feel my heartbeat all the way up my ears! Yikes.

I’ve held presentations and speeches for more people than were at the show, but that was in school or at work. As in: Things I actually am good at.

Designer Friend asked me to “walk proudly” but I think what I showed was “pissed off”, yikes.

They had a professional photographer and I know there were videos too, so I wonder what they will turn out like… 

It’s time to model!

My hair is freshly fixed up and now its time to go.

It’s still slightly damp and wavy from an emergency bun but it should fix itself.

I’m nervous! Wish me luck!

 

Fail and more fail

Some days ago I found a really big and soft old towel in the back of our closet. I claimed it as my personal hair towel.

My hair has been pretty tangly and irritated for a few days too. I just assumed it needed an S&D and some moisture. I put it on top of my mental to do-list.

Yesterday I picked a tangle apart and found it had been formed around a piece of lint. Again, nothing weird about that: When my hair is dry it seems to attract lint.

This morning in my half sleeping state I grabbed the wrong towel for my hair and wrapped the soft one around my body. I noticed my hair was a lot easier to detangle but didn’t connect the dots until I unwrapped the body towel and noticed my skin was covered in lint.

Crap! The soft old towel had “shed” lint in my hair and caused tangles!

Who would have thought a simple thing like a towel could cause tangles? 

As I combed and braided my hair I pondered how to add it to my beginners guide to healthy hair-article.

I combed through my unbraided hair to smooth it over before braiding the last bit when…

*Snap*

Yep, the one Hairsense comb I thought was remotely ok broke.

I guess when I last wrote that “I seriously couldn’t be more disappointed in Hairsense than I am right now” it was taken as a challenge?

I bought 6 combs from Hairsense. I have only used 4 of them so far.

• One of them developed a nasty tear in one of the teeth after just 5 uses.
• Another one broke after having owned it for 2½ month.
• The combs all have a rough and unimpressive finish. (And yet their website sings the praises of how fantastically amazing and handmade their combs are and how they “Put an end to cruelty to hair!”. Right.)
• The owner didn’t notice me of shipping the combs or even having received my order and when pressed for information hinted that it was somehow my email that was at fault.
• She basically wrote lolspeak to me in all communication.

Yea, she is a real piece of work and her products are awful.

Google has mostly good reviews (Maybe I was just really, really, really unlucky with her?) but also some really telling ones… 

Here is a quote of a conversation with this woman back from 2008 where she writes the same weird lingo missing a bunch of “the”s.

Someone here also found the combs to be sharp. Also it seems their eBay combs are a lot cheaper than in their website?

A review from someone who also comments on the rough state of the combs.

Someone had her sending the wrong comb twice.

Another warning about the finish on the combs being sharp and damaging.

I feel guilty for ordering a comb for a friend as well!

Fantastic hair sighting

On my way home from the gym I drove by a women who must have hair both thicker and longer than me.

Wow!

Seriously, I can count on now two fingers how many times I have encountered someone in real life who had longer and thicker hair than me.

This woman had medium brown hair in a braid reaching slightly below classic length. Even though she was on the short side that is definitely long hair! What was most impressing was how thick it looked- and she even had bangs!

I’m slightly jealous, haha! 

Glorious post cassia hair

Ah, the glossiness

Oh, the increased thickness

M-hm! I like! 

   

   

New skin care line

Sigh. Yep, another line. I’m so tired of buying stuff and trying stuff and hoping every time but knowing it will most likely be another fail.

Seriously, how much have I tried over the years?

Product lines

• ACO. The toner didn’t seem to do anything and the cream seemed too fatty and irritating.
• Bulldog. It’s specified for male skin but I tried this it anyways because it doesn’t have parabens, sodium laureth sulphate, artificial colours, and artificial fragrances but instead contains a bunch of natural extracts and stuff. My skin didn’t care for it and I really missed having a toner in the line.
• Clinique 3 step line. My skin actually seems to be pretty okay with this line, but I’ve heard and read a lot of critics to the line from people who really know their skincare stuff. It sucks though, it seems to be the line my skin liked the best out of the list!
• Decubal. I love, love, love the body cream! But didn’t care for the facial line. The cream was too fatty for my face and I really missed having a toner in the line.
• Dove deep moisture. Made my face itch.
• Dr. Hauschka something-something cream that contained sea buckthorn. Made my skin boiled-lobster-red and my face swell!
• Dr. Hauschka. The products felt too heavy or greasy for my skin and I really missed having a simple cleansing gel available, I never liked using cleansing creams.
• Elisabeth Arden 8 hour line. Made my face itch and I hated the scent.
• Garnier Scandinavian skincare line. For the first time ever I found a cream that was too light for my skin!
• L’Oreal youth code. My last attempt of using an anti-age-line. Sensitive skin and anti-age doesn’t mix!
• La Roche.Posay. My skin didn’t like it and a few times it felt “crawly” when applying products.
• Lancôme something-something I can’t remember. My skin didn’t care much for this.
• Matas basic line. Cleansers and toners don’t seem to do anything at all and my skin didn’t care for the creams.
• Neutrogena rapid clear. My skin didn’t like it and the cooling effect felt mildly uncomfortable.
• Nivea the classic blue cream. Makes my face break out but I love it on the rest of my body!
• Ole Henriksen. Expensive! And my skin didn’t seem to like it.
• Plaisir Scandinavian skincare line. My skin seemed to love it at first but gradually developed irritation to it.
• REN clearcalm. Holy crap this was expensive! And my skin didn’t seem to care.
• Vichy, several lines. My skin seemed to love it at first but gradually developed irritation to it over a year or so.

 …And probably a bunch I’ve forgotten!

“Alternative” products

• “Kitchen witch routine”. This was a rather funny routine where you exfoliate with ground almonds, dap cold coffee on your eyes, wash with oatmeal and stuff like that. No effect.
• Aloe vera gel as moisturiser. Didn’t seem to do anything for my skin, but I guess I should be glad! I have later learned that I’m allergic to aloe vera but since I didn’t break out from this particular aloe vera product, it seems I’m allergic to aloe vera pressed with the skin and not just the pulp.
• OCM. I have blackheads and whiteheads extremely rarely so they didn’t do anything for me. They do feel quite nice though, but are too much upkeep for no effect on my skin problems.
• Rubbing raw, undiluted lemon juice on my skin as cleanser and moisturiser. It bleached my eyebrows and my skin ended up being tender to touch.
• Spraying cooled green tea on my face several times a day. No effect.
• Washing and moisturising with honey. It bleached my eyebrows platinum blonde but otherwise had no real effect. Honey as once-in-a-while face masks are nice though.

Things to eat or drink

• Fasting with protein drinks to maintain a protein intake. Well, this shot a big fat hole in the “Processed foods are bad!”-theory. There can’t be a lot of foods that are more processed than protein drinks.
• Fasting. My skin seemed to like this, but of course this is not something I can keep doing just for my skin!
• Grapes. Supposedly really good for your skin, but had no effect even when I ate so many I got sick of them. 
• High water intake. It did seem to help a little when I had increased the “dose” to some 3 litres a day, but it felt like I had to run to the damn toilet constantly and in the end it annoyed me too much to continue deliberately drink a lot of water.
• Organic only food. Expensive! Also no effect on my skin.
• Pineapple. Supposedly really good for your skin, but had no effect even when I ate so many I got sick of them.
• Raw food diet. I missed meat!! No effect on my skin.

Things to not eat

• Avoiding dairy. I don’t eat a lot of dairy products anyways and it had no effect on my skin.
• Avoiding gluten. Had no effect.
• Going vegetarian. I missed meat!! No effect on my skin.
• Not eating anything processed. This was pretty troublesome and it had no effect.
• The master cleanse. My skin seemed to like this, but of course this is not something I can keep doing just for my skin!
• No soda at all in any form. I missed soda! A friend remarked it made my eyes clearer though (Eh?) No effect on my skin.
• No sugar allowed at all. This was mildly troublesome and had no effect.
• No white bread or pasta. I don’t eat a lot of bread or pasta products anyways and it had no effect on my skin.

Supplements

• Aloe vera in pill form. This was where I added two and two and realised I’m allergic to aloe vera when pressed with the skin. It made my stomach burn and my skin didn’t improve.
• Birth control of various forms. Estrogens and/or progestin only pills. None of them made a difference, even that one brand that was marketed as “The modern pill that also fights acne!” Yea. Right. 
• Evelle. Expensive! No effect.
• Fish oil. This actually seems to help my skin.
• Grapeseed extract. No effect.
• High dose vitamin B complex. I read it was supposed to “purge” the skin and a lot of people recommended it. Yea, I wasn’t always that boring anti-biotin-nutcase, hah. It didn’t improve my skin and I got a huge cyst on my chin from it (It hurt for months before I could finally steam open and drain the disgusting ball of puss)
• Hudpleje (“Skin care”) No effect.
• Imedeen. Expensive! No effect.
• Ren hud (“Clear skin”) No effect.

Things to do

• A weird little tapping/massage routine. It was supposed to improve circulation and natural skin processes but it had no effect. I guess it couldn’t harm though.
• Disinfecting things you touch a lot every single day: Keyboards, headphones, phones, remote controls, tables. It’s supposed to be good for people prone to picking. Every day is a little too much but I still think it’s a good idea to do once in a while. Especially keyboards get icky!
• Exfoliate often. This just pissed my skin off further. Sensitive skin shouldn’t be exfoliated more than once a week!
• I tried wearing those white cotton gloves at every chance I had (Wasn’t in public) to keep myself to touching my skin. 
• More sleep. The theory was that if you go to bed so early that you wake up on your own in the morning before the alarm goes off, you give your body the time it needs to finish the natural processes it needs to go through to cleanse and regenerate itself and stuff. Yea, lol. It may have had a little effect but was actually quite annoying!
• Steam face daily. I guess it couldn’t hurt since it does stimulate circulation but other than that it took a lot of time and had no effect.
• Wash + tone + moisturise several times per day. I think it made my skin a little happier but not enough compared to the time and effort! 
• Washing my hands every hour. It’s supposed to be good for people prone to picking. Every hour was a “little” excessive, but I still think it’s a good idea to remind yourself to wash your hands often.
• Zone therapy. It was very comfortable and I guess it couldn’t hurt, but it had no effect.

This got really long and I still think I forgot something! 

Ficcare attempt no. 1

I gave the braided Nautilus bun a shot with the Ficcares. First I tried the centre held version but that one felt extremely uncomfortable and was really asymmetrical (Something I try to avoid since an asymmetrical updo always ends up pulling or being uncomfortable sooner or later)

My best shot was this one…

Even though it looks acceptable, the Ficcares were forced open so hard to fit over the bun that the ends were pushed into my scalp and felt uncomfortable within minutes.

I took them out and put a Ketylo set in instead.

Thank the Follicle-gods for my awesome readers who gave me so many ideas! It’s wonderful to have tips and styles ready to try. I will try more tomorrow! 

Ficcare help please

I have 3 sets of Ficcare that I can’t seem to get any use out of.

• 2 icy silver in large from the pearlized collection
• 2 blue jeans in large from the border II collection
• and 2 emerald from a border collection that appears to be discontinued both at Ficcare headquarters and headgamesonline. Hmm?

(Yikes, that is 252 USD worth of hair toys I don’t use!)

   

 Some years ago I could wear them for cinnamon buns

But then cinnamon buns lost their stability and I started using them with braided buns

Then the braided buns lost their stability too and that was pretty much the end of me using them.

I have tried an experiment to see if a crown wrap would work

Slightly messy in the back because it was just a quick attempt. I could make it look sleeker if I braided it to the side to begin with I think?

But I guess it doesn’t matter how it looks in the back because it looked huge from the front!

I tried holding a Figure 8 bun with one and it looked good from the back but…

...It gapes uselessly over most of the bun and looks ridiculous from the side

I tried one in each Figure 8 last I made doubles, but even that they are too small for!

I mean, Ficcares are even almost too small for just gaping over my base braid!

(Okay, this is a “Fakkare” from Evita Peroni, but the statement still stands)

I thought of putting them up on the trading board alongside the Hairsense brush that doesn’t work for me at all: It just “slips” over my hair without getting through to my scalp. (Figures that the brush would be a disappointment too!)

But I can’t get myself to do that. They blue and green ones are flaking and peeling along the edges and I’m generally not very impressed by them. “The Rolls-Royce of hair clips”? Hah.

I did get double Ficcares to work for holding a rosebun, but they also almost drown out the details of the bun.

I got a single Ficcare to hold a braided Nautilus 1-1½ year ago, but it wasn’t completely comfortable or stabile.

Maybe I could use doubles to hold the centre first and then slip the outer coils around the Ficcares later?

Now that I’ve gone digging through my old photos I found an old favourite I haven't done in ages: The “horseshoe bun” or “super flat bun”

I wonder why I stopped doing these? I really can’t remember. Hmm? 

Annoying picture-spam aside, I guess tomorrows hair-plans are to give the braided Nautilus a shot and see if I can hold it with one or two Ficcares. And if not, see if the “horseshoe” bun still works.

Anyone have another style that might work?