DIY Dryer Balls

I could have sworn I'd posted about these already, but apparently I haven't! Quite some time ago, I made myself two dryer balls using instructions from this blog: DIY Dryer Balls. The idea behind dryer balls is that it cuts down dry time and also reduces static in the dryer. You can buy them commercially, but these were super easy and inexpensive to make. I bought a skein of Patons Classic Wool Yarn and it made two nicely sized dryer balls. All I had to do was wind the yarn into balls and felt them. The blog has a really great explination of how to felt them, the short version being you feed them into pantyhose and wash them before tossing them into the dryer to dry them. I was very happy with the two I'd made and used them all the time.

Then, just a couple months ago, I bought some more yarn to make two more. Problem was, I got a super wash wool which, by it's nature, won't felt! Of course, I didn't realize it was super wash until I'd put them in the dryer and they just started to fall apart. Luckily, I ended up with a bit over half a skein of worsted wool from another project, so I wound the super wash back up and used a bit of the worsted to make another layer on top. And I still had enough for another complete ball. So here are my newest dryer balls!

Three little balls of yarn all in a row.

I use them every week with the piggy laundry and it really helps get all the towels dry. Turns out there are actual knitting patterns for more fancy ones on Ravelry, but these are much easier and work just fine!

Somewhat related, I got this green basket from work and figured it would be great to put all my yarn in. I started filling it up from all the boxes my yarn was in until it looked like this:

Pretty yarn just waiting to be used.

And guess what? That's not all of it! A bunch of small partial balls and some more sock yarn are in my metal knitting tub with all my knitting accouterments and there's several skeins in my various project bags. I think my eventual plan is to make room on a shelf and do something like this:

From All About Ami

It's so pretty! And, more importantly, it's easy to find what you're looking for. Someday.

Product Review: Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo

Selfie in the parking lot.

I both love the new Herbal Essences Naked Dry Shampoo and am very disappointed by it.

First, the good news: Like the rest of their naked line, the dry shampoo is free of heavy residues, parabens, and dyes. It also works fantastically as a dry shampoo. When you first spray it on, it's mostly colorless before quickly drying to a white-ish powder. I usually let that sit a couple minutes, then work it into my roots with my fingers. That not only makes sure to get the shampoo to all the oily roots that need it but also makes the white powder disappear. And then, poof! your hair no longer looks like you haven't washed it in forever. It is also amazing as a volumizer. Almost like you've teased your hair, but without having to take the time and then deal with the tangles afterwards. This morning, I put it in my hair (which hasn't been washed since Friday- two days ago). The greasiness was eliminated and it gave my hair some lovely body. I ended up doing a really cute style with my bangs, because after I sprayed them, they practically asked to do this. All it took was a tiny bit of shaping and a couple of bobby pins. My hair doesn't look freshly washed, but it looks good enough to go to work with and was fun to style.

And now the bad news. The dispenser is TERRIBLE. Go read the reviews. They almost all unanimously say that the product is wonderful, but the can fails. I had a full size one that I used two days before it stopped working. And it wasn't just a clogged nozzle, because that's something you can fix. No, the aerosol action ceased to function, making the whole rest of the can useless. What I used today was the travel sized one that I got free with it. I'm hoping I get more than two uses out of it.

The reason why I decided to use it today was because I'm trying to go as long as possible before washing my hair again, since that's supposed to be one of the ways to keep the dye in as long as possible. Yesterday, I used my DIY dry shampoo (arrowroot powder, ground oatmeal, cinnamon, and coco powder), but today needed something with a bit more oomph. My plan is to wait until Wednesday to wash it, since I'm off tomorrow and Tuesday. I really hope the dry shampoo will work again tomorrow!

Continuing the dye adventure: Manic Panic!

If you follow my blog at all, you will know that I love to dye my hair red. It started way back in high school. Nearly all my forays into dye had been the semi-permanent box dyes (we won't talk about the one time I got permanent red highlights, it just wasn't a great look). Sometimes I go for a more natural looking auburn, and sometimes I got for the very red or purple reds. I then experimented with henna from Henna Color Lab (I LOVE their wine red henna). Recently, though, I've been itching to do something a bit more extreme. Something that looks even less like my real hair color. I'm still shying away from lightening my hair to make any color I put over it really pop, so I decided to try Manic Panic over my natural hair as a first step. Similarly to the henna I buy, Manic Panic is vegan, contains no harsh chemicals, and is not tested on animals. Unlike the henna, it comes in all sorts of wacky colors. For this first go around, I didn't go too far out of the box and picked up some Pillarbox Red. I decided to document the adventure. No judging because I'm not wearing make-up for most of this since dying is a messy process. I'm also wearing my fabulous dye clothes (yes, I dye my hair enough that I actually have clothes I wear only when I'm dying my hair, though in a former life they were paint clothes).

First step is to wash and dry your hair (but no conditioner!). It's funny because the box dyes always caution you to dye over unwashed hair so that the oils can help protect the hair from damage. The good dyes (henna, Manic Panic) always have you wash your hair w/o conditioner because the dye formula will actually condition your hair as it dyes it.

Next I had to set up my station:

Not pictures: gloves!

I've gotten pretty good at not being messy, but I still do occasionally drip, so it's better to be safe than sorry and cover the counter and floor with newspaper. I also always wrap a towel around my shoulders, held on by the ever glamorous clothespin. Then I have to have a comb to make sure the dye gets spread evenly, clips to hold up the hair as I go and when I'm done, the dye, a mirror to check the pesky back of the head, gloves, and dye brushes (a recent purchase). Also very important, is the Alba Un Petroleum jelly to put around my hairline and ears to help keep my skin dye-free. You can use Vaseline or conditioner, but I find the un petroleum jelly is far kinder to my skin.

Looks like ketchup, smells like...well, not much actually.

The Pillarbox Red out of the jar looked A LOT like ketchup. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that the dye had little to no odor. The box dyes always smell rather chemically and henna has a particularly strong herbal scent (Lily claims it smells fishy, but it's really just a wet herb smell in my opinion), but the Manic Panic is pretty darn close to odorless.

Applying it was a bit tricky, as at first I tried to apply it as directed: starting at the nape of the neck, 1/2 inch from the root, a section at a time. I found this rather difficult, however, and switched to the way I apply all the other dyes I do: starting with a center part, I put dye from the roots about 2 inches over on either side of the part, then move the part and repeat. Once all the roots are done, you slather dye onto the tips of the hair. I suspect I will end up with a red scalp for a few days as a result of this, but I was much more confident that I'd actually gotten the dye everywhere. After a few comb throughs and much mirror checking, I was satisfied that I'd gotten the dye everywhere.

Rachel Red-Scalp

The recommended time to leave it in is 30 minutes, or 5-7 under intense heat. However, because it is not a chemical dye and actually conditions, it is safe to leave in as long as you want (there are lots of people on the internet who leave it in overnight). I have work later, so I'm actually typing this up as I let is sit. I'm shooting for an hour and a half for this first time. One great thing is, I only used about half of the jar, so I can dye again with this color whenever I want (aka if I really botched this, or just when it starts to fade). Depending on how it shows up, I may switch to a more drastic color next time. Oh yeah, did I mention I'm wearing a poor-man's shower cap?

Thumbs up for plastic bags!

Yeah, I'm wearing a plastic bag on my head. Woot. Okay, off to make dinner while I wait some more.

[TIME LAPSE]

So I'm all rinsed out! I actually tend to find rinsing out the dye one of the hardest steps. Trying to do it in the sink and getting it all out always proves impossible, so when I'm nearly done I usually just switch to the shower, as it is the only way I'm able to actually get the water to run clear. Anyways, here's the not-so-dramatic reveal. (Keep in mind this photo is inside, on a cloudy day, with wet hair, so it will look more red later. I'll try and take a picture the next sunny day we have.)

Red head, but not Ariel.

I was really hoping that the color would pop more than it does, but I knew it was a long shot given how dark my hair started. And I totally did wind up with a red scalp. The result on my hair is definitely a nice all-over red, but really not much different than the box dyes or the henna. I'm glad to have covered up my sad brown roots, but I'm thinking this may mean I have to foray into lightening my hair first...

Introducing: Roy!

I was so busy with tech that I forgot to let Roy say hi! Roy is the newest member of the pig family. We got him a week and a half ago. He's a ginger with a white blaze and he's a Teddy, which means his fur is all kinky. He has settled in quite quickly. His wheek is adorably squeaky and he likes to explore a lot.

Snuggling with the daddy right after we got him home.

Saying hello from under his tent.

TJMaxx Mini-Haul

I ran out and did some shopping today after the 10am matinee (groan). I was on the lookout for some clothes for work and some shoes, specifically black heels and a new pair of sandals since my white gladiator ones broke on Sunday. I did end up finding a bunch of t-shirts for work at Target, but the things I got really excited about were my TJMaxx finds.

Things not pictured are a bunch of perishables that I knew would make great gifts. For myself I got this:

Drink anyone?

I'd been thinking of getting some grenadine for cocktails, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to procure it. Well, this sort of fell into my lap and it was a bargain to boot.

Nothing more British than tea with a British saying on the tin.

Technically also a food item was this afternoon tea. But, let's be honest, I got it entirely for the tin. I'll throw the tea in as iced tea to use it up, but the tin I will keep forever! I have no idea what I'll keep in it, but it was super cheap and super adorable so I just bought it.

My final awesome purchase was these Converse All Star sneakers:

The epitome of cool.

They may technically be one size too big (and also not at all the kind of shoes I was supposed to buy today) but I simply could not pass up salmon pink high-top Chucks for only sixteen dollars! I guess I'm wearing sneakers all summer. :)

Opening Night Make-up Look

There was a great article on Glamour's beauty website a few days ago about summer-ready looks, three of which I really loved. One of them was this gorgeous and slightly retro look featuring white liner and red lips.

Credit: glamour.com

I decided to use it as my inspiration for my opening night make-up look. I always like to make an effort for opening night, especially when tech has been especially long. So I took the extra few minutes in the morning and came up with this look:

It was a nice sunny day too!

Looking down so you can see the liner more.

It really didn't take much longer than anything else I do. I used most of the same products I do everyday for my foundation, blush, highlight, etc. For the white liner I used my wet n wild Kohl Eyeliner in White 656A with a bit of white eyshadow on top for staying power. My eyelashes got a couple coats of Maybelline The Rocket Volum' Express Mascara and on my lips I used L'Oreal Color Riche Lip Liner in Always Red. I just used a liner on my lips for maximum staying power since it needed to last from 1pm until 1am. And it did! I only re-applied once, after dinner.

I put my hair up since it was hot and it's was something a bit different and special. I used my butterfly bobby pin as a tribute to the fact that the show was The Secret Garden.

I only realized later that he was technically flying upside-down. Oh well!

And that was that! I got quite a few compliments, mostly on the lipstick, so I considered the look a success.

Make-up Look of the Day: Winged Liner

Bare arms! Iced tea! Sunglasses!

It's finally been sunny and warm lately! Like it's actually spring! The "look of the day" I'm featuring is technically from a few days ago, but I didn't have a chance to blog it until today. So here it is!

I really loved colored eye shadows, but I decided to do a very neutral, almost not there color for this look. I used a couple of the peachy tones from my e.l.f. palette.  Then I did a nice small wing to just elongate my eyes. I've been doing wings more and more lately because I really do think that they flatter my eye shape. I've been getting better and better at doing a quick, small wing with an eye pencil. I have a new black pencil that actually works really well for this and is the one I used in this look. It is a Beautique Eyeliner in Black 714000. I can't tell you where to buy it, because I got it from someone. But it has a really smooth application and sharpens to a nice point which makes it ideal for doing winged liner. It's also just a really nice black when it comes down to it.

And that was my make-up look of the day!