More stuff

Life is busy with school and lots of homework, but I've had time to make some more stuff for my shop. I'm also participating in my first self-made swap on TLHC, so some time is spent making stuff for my giftee too. I'm not fussing much about my hair anymore, I just let it do its thing. It's currently around hip length, so I'm planning on letting it grow a bit longer and then cut back to waist or something. 

Fuchsia

I received some more ribbons the other day (because I definitely needed more!), and one of them was in a lovely fuchsia colour. I decided to make myself a cherry blossom comb with it, and here's the result. I was thinking of putting it in the shop, but then I changed my mind. I'd rather keep it myself. I haven't made any hair flowers for myself in ages, mainly because of the summer swap on TLHC. That reminds me, I need to buy some more yellow flower stamen. Off to ebay!

Amethyst Jewel

I finally got the Amethyst Jewel, and it's really pretty but.. I don't know. I think I'm just underwhelmed by it. I've heard so much about the Jewels being amazing and glowing, and this one is just a bit.. meh. I do like it though and I'm sure I'll wear it a lot, mainly because purple is my favourite colour and I think this one will look lovely with my Silky Pink. It's just not as stunning as I thought it would be. I'm definitely done with the Jewels now.

 meh.

Violet Dreams

My new size L flexi-9 from Cultmate.de. It's like the Emerald Dream, but in purple! No action pictures this time, I haven't gotten time to take one yet.

EternallyInAmber Pink Granite shower comb

Surprise, I bought something new! The surprise isn't really that I bought something, because I do that all the time. It is that I bought a comb, because I think I have already made it very clear that I don't like combs. I have a wooden wide-tooth comb, and I absolutely hate it! I have only used my Tangle Teezers for the last 6 months or so, and I really like them. 

However, I'm easily brainwashed enabled by the things I read on LHC. I saw a thread about a shop called EternallyInAmber, which sell handmade acetate celluose combs, and I was intrigued. Smooth, seamless, nicely shaped, and so many pretty colours! I decided on a Pink Granite shower comb, because I wanted one with a handle. The shipping is high, but totally worth it. I don't think I have ever had an item arrive so fast, especially considering that it was shipped from USA (I'm in Norway, for those who didn't know that already)! It shipped on Friday, and it was in my mailbox on Tuesday. Amazing!

I think this comb is one of the prettiest things I've ever seen. Baby pink with dark purple and silver flakes, it's just perfect. Colour shouldn't matter much when it comes to hair tools, but for some reason it does. I want all my things to have pretty colours!

I had to try it right away, of course, and luckily I hadn't brushed my hair that day (not the day before either). I got to test it on some pretty nasty tangles, and it worked them out so easily. I'm amazed by how gentle and smooth it is. It just glides through my hair, enabling me to carefully get the tangles out. It's definitely much more hair-friendly than the TT.

I put it through the true test today, when I used it on my weird, clumpy, air-dried, post-wash hair. Same result as on Tuesday, it was so easy to detangle with it. This was partly because I was a bit naughty, and used it on towel dried hair too. I never comb or brush my hair when it's wet, but I wanted to see how gentle the shower comb was on wet hair. Answer: very gentle. No snapped hairs, and no pulling or yanking. I always pull my waves apart anyway, because I find that my hair dries faster when I do that. The comb does a much better job at that than my fingers do.

I'm so happy with this comb, and I've already ordered another one to use as a travel comb. The shop has a super awesome discount code, 50FOR10, where you get 50% off your order if you spend more than $10.

First Impression: The Turbie Twist

The amazing, magical towel that dries your hair super-fast, solves all your problems, and makes you look fabulous! Got a bad hair day? Put on the Turbie Twist and make a fashion statement!

Ok, I'll stop now.

I've read about this product on LHC many times, and I've seen it on various blogs and vlogs, but I've always put it off as something that would never work for me. Then I saw a video of CinnamonHair using it on her superlong hair, and I decided that if she could use it, I definitely could. And so I bought a 2 pack, purple of course, and somehow it managed to arrive on the day before wash day. Magical! 

Yes, I had to borrow a picture from google this time, because I ripped my box in pieces, one towel is wet, and the other is... hidden somewhere in that black hole I call a closet.


I still had my doubts about it, especially after opening the packet and seeing how small-ish it was. Not exactly small, but it didn't seem big enough to hold all my hair. Turns out I was very, very wrong. I actually have lots of room to grow in, and I think the main reason for that is that my hair is so thick. Twisting my hair up and putting it over my head really eats up a lot of length, and I didn't have much hair to put in the twisty loopy thing (I know that doesn't make much sense, but I had a hard day at work and my brain isn't working properly). 

As for drying capacities, I'm very impressed. Actually, make that incredibly, extremely, super-impressed. I  left my hair in the Turbie Twist for about 15-20 minutes, and it had dried up a lot during that short amount of time. It wasn't wet or drippy when I took it down, it really didn't drip at all while I put on my leave-ins and serum. Some parts, like the very ends, had almost dried completely! During regular air-drying draped over a towel, my hair remains drippy for a very long time, and it takes ages for it to dry.

After I had applied products to my hair, I draped it over a towel, as I usually do, and then waited for it to dry. It didn't take long. I think my hair was almost completely dry after some 3-4 hours, which is pretty amazing for me, as my usual drying time is 8-12 hours.

My first impression of the Turbie Twist is very positive, and I'll continue to use it. It's so easy to use, and it really speeds up the drying. I'll report back in a few months and let you guys know if I still love it.

Mint and Purple

Today's updo: Folded braid. I thought these were impossible until I saw JJJ Longhair's tutorial. Then I realized that I had just been doing it wrong - at least wrong for my hair. I'm extremely pleased with this method, and I may try it with a Ficcare tomorrow. I tried with a Flexi-8 today, and that didn't work at all. I had to re-do it with these clippies.

I really like how my hair colour looks in the sun. I just ordered a new batch of henna, and it should be here in two weeks time. I haven't hennaed for months now, and my roots are getting crazy. ^-^

Greetings!

Good news, everyone! This is a post I wrote two weeks ago. I'm returning soon, and I shall hopefully bring lots of lovely pictures for you. I'm also sure that a ton of claw clips have arrived in my absence, and those shall be tried on too. Have a lovely weekend!

Just for fun..

.. I put all my EmergentGlassworks sticks in my hair. I did it for a thread on LHC, and man that was heavy! Certainly not something I'd want to wear for a long time.

Forged of Violet

I got the prettiest fork from MountainMusings today! Actually, it's a french twist comb, but I can't do french twists, so to me it's just a little fork with lots of tines. Very bendy and sort of soft tines. As with my other Kanzashi fork (which I managed to break, by the way! Long story short, it fell out of my hair and got run over by a few cars. I can fix it with glue though, thank goodness!!), this is mainly a decorative piece, and I have to be careful when putting it in. This one did hold one side of my cinnamon bun, while a few long bobby pins held the other side. It could never hold my entire bun, but it's at least a bit functional. 
I also got some freebies this time, two cute bobby pins that match the fork. I forgot to take a picture, so maybe some other time. ^-^

But let's get back to the prettiness. I had of course anticipated that it would be quite pretty, because it's purple and why on earth would I buy something ugly, but I had not anticipated this level of gorgeousness. Oh. My. Goodness! It's the most perfect, deep purple, starry night sky captured in the most magnificently crafted Kanzashi flowers ever (you get a cookie if you get through that sentence)! And I love starry night skies! I've looked through most of the Kanzashi flowers on Etsy, and in my opinion, MountainMusings has the most beautiful ones. So many different colours and varieties to choose from.
My camera thinks that this fork is a blueish purple, but don't let it fool you. In reality, the fork leans more towards reddish purple.

Something pretty..

.. to start the weekend with. I used my L Ruby Bouquet yesterday, because it's so pretty. Size L is perfect for half-up buns, so now of course I wish I had more than just 4. Ah well, maybe the next FOTM will suit my tastes? Or I could always just make do with what I've already got. ^-^

New bun method

Last Saturday I did a sectioned bun for the very first time. I'm not the first person to do this, but it's so new and wonderful to me, so I feel like a genius. I made a high nautilus bun with two thirds of my hair and a XL flexi-8, divided the remaining hair in two, wrapped around the bun and secured with spin pins. It was marvelous! I've never been able to do anything other than low buns because my hair is so thick and heavy, but this worked so well. It felt great to secure the bun in a different spot for once, as I was getting a bit sore where I usually secure it. I suddenly started wanting more XL flexi-8s, but I'm holding off for now. It's almost April, which means a new FOTM will be released. If it's pretty, I hope to get one in XL. 

Signs of life

Well, I splurged on toys and tools. Actually, it wasn't particularly splurgy. Hardly spent any money at all. I bought a purple Salong Elite TT and two flexi-8s, XS and S. I took the liberty to slightly alter one of them, because I'm hopelessly addicted to aurora borealis sapphire beads. I'll pass on the EGW clear glass stick for now, I'll get it some other time. I have a few custom Mega flexis thought out, but I'll wait a bit with those too.

Ficcare has been hinting that the Jewel Collection might be released soon, and I'm on the Maidenlike waiting list for 3 of those. Though 'soon' in Ficcare terms could mean next year. And I'm pretty far down on the waiting list, so I may not get any clips right away. I'm not even sure if I want more clips, because I'm so thrilled with the collection I already have. Pretty sure I'd regret it if I didn't get any though, because Amethyst, Royal Blue and Emerald sound amazing. I'm confused.

In other news, I went into Glitter (Norwegian store full of shiny, pretty jewelry and hair stuff) for the first time in many, many years, and discovered that it's actually pretty awesome. They had all kinds of fun stuff that other shops don't carry here, like Hair Scroos. I bought two pairs, and last night I used them to do a sloppy cinnabun. Great success! I was so excited that I stayed up much later than I had planned, because I didn't want to take the bun down. I need more of those.

I also did a successful scalp wash today. I made a loose braid, tied a plastic bag around it, and held it up with one hand while I washed the rest of the hair. I wasn't in the mood for sitting around with sopping wet hair the entire day, because I've got stuff to do. Like baking! I've made cranberry buns with custard filling twice this week. Delicious. I make my parents and my boyfriend eat most of them.

And picture time, because I wore a Mega flexi in a disc bun today.

Buns

Here's a bunch of buns I've done during the last month. :)

Opal

My Silky Opal Ficcare, it's so pretty. The colour is just incredible <3

Snake Jewel Fuchsia

My first Ficcare, hopefully there will be many more. Size L. I like this one :)

Winter Swap

I participated in the Winter Swap on TLHC, and my gift arrived today. It came all the way from Canada, and it arrived in style.

I LOVE this box!

Here's a group picture of the gifts I got. The wrapping paper is so gorgeous!

Here's a close-up of the card I got. I love aurora borealis! Inside was a sweet message from my gifter, FB.

The first gift contained two packets of liquorice, my favourite candy. Both are delicious, and I'm trying really hard not to devour it all right away! =D

Chai tea, another favourite of mine. I've had a cup already, and it was excellent!

I got a beautiful cat ornament. It was so hard to get a good shot, and my picture doesn't do it justice at all. It's absolutely gorgeous in person!

Purple arm-warmers, handmade by FB. I'm wearing them right now, and they are very soft and comfortable. Purple is my favourite colour! I also got a Tree of Life necklace, which I'm wearing as well. Both items are perfect!

A leaf-shaped plate and a facial soap. The soap smells absolutely amazing, and orange is one of my favourite scents. I'm always obsessed with oranges during the winter.

Decorative purple rocks to put on the plate, and a purple snowflake ornament. Purple!! =D

Last, but not least, a gorgeous stick from Nightblooming! This is from FB's own collection, which makes it even more special for me. I adore it, and it's plenty long enough to join me to knee length and beyond. =D

Thank you so much, FB! The gifts are amazing, and I love all of them :)