Long to Short hair: Things to Consider and Pros and Cons

Hi everyone!

Sorry this post is a bit late, I forgot to hit the publish button when scheduling it!

Last week I talked about cutting my hair and donating it, so this week I thought I'd talk more about my feelings regarding the chop!


Before the cut, consider:
- Why you want to cut it?
Is it because you want a change, or because you've looked at one too many pictures of Taylor Swift? Since cutting your hair isn't something that is easily remedied, you may want to spend time thinking about your reasons first. While you may really like it once it's cut, you don't want to hate it because it's a passing fad.

- What style you want?
Do you want a lob (shoulder length) or a bob (chin length) or a pixie cut? Do you want bangs/fringe, or not? These are the things to consider before going to the hairdressers just to be more prepared. I personally just went for a straight cut as I wanted to grow out my hair again without having to get it trimmed soon, but I've previously gone for something similar to T-ara's Eunjung in Dream High (just google it). Try to pick one that suits your hair type as you don't want to spend ages styling your hair every day.

- Do you want to donate it?
As I mentioned in my last post, the reason why I wanted to cut my hair this time was to donate it, but even though you might not, why not consider it anyway. You don't lose anything by doing it, but it's up to you whether you want to or not.

-What is your wardrobe like?
Ok, weird one here, but having long hair and having short hair can really change the way an outfit looks. For example, I have a lovely long dress which I wore for my school ball, but it looks weird with short hair. Not a bad weird, but it looks less girly and elegant. I found that since cutting my hair, I've been favouring jeans and tees over skirts and dresses, but that's only my opinion. I don't think short hair is any less girly, but I just find myself wondering what to do with my hair sometimes. Think about the style you want and think about what you already own. Short hair can really make an outfit look different!

-What season is it when you're cutting your hair?
I cut my hair in winter and to date, that is the worst hair decision I made. I felt super cold the whole time and my ears have never hurt so much! I have a lot more respect for my guy friends now though! So if you're weak to the cold, you may want to wait for a warmer season.

OK that's about it for the things I considered (besides season, that's something I learnt after) so let's move on to pros and cons!


Pros:
1. Your hair will dry a lot quicker.
2. You will use less shampoo/conditioner.
3. It's faster to wash.
4. It's cooler in summer.
5. You don't have to worry about carrying around a hair tie (until it get longer)
6. You don't have to spend as long styling it (this depends on the type of hair you have and the style you have though!)

Cons:
1. You can't do as many braids/up-dos/styles as with longer hair. (though you will be able to do some different ones...) For me, a lot of tutorials I see on Youtube and stuff like that feature longer hair, so sometimes I find myself wishing my hair long again!
2. Your hair will need washing/dry shampooing more regularly. Maybe this is just my hair though!
3. When your hair is growing, it'll reach the awkward stage where you can't quite tie it up but it's still long enough to make your neck sweaty and gross (this depends on the original length you cut it to).
4. You may/may not be able to tie it up for showers/workouts/any other time you may want to tie it.
5. Hair envy/hair regret. Sometimes you'll look back and miss your long hair...


Those are the ones I found after having shorter hair for about 5 months now. Leave me a comment if you want to know anything at all or if you've had a different experience with short hair/long hair!

I love my shorter hair, but I think I'll probably grow it out for quite some time before I cut it again, if I do!

Signing off now!

Dusty Foxes

Donating my hair! Going from Long hair to Short hair

Happy Easter everyone!

First of all, that is my hair. I cut off 13 inches of hair last December and donated it to Little Princess Trust.  I've been sitting on this for a good few months because I wasn't sure if I wanted to share it. However, I decided that it was finally time to talk about it here on my blog because donating my hair is something I've wanted to do for the longest time now.

I first wanted to donate my hair about 10 years ago, but I never did. I have cut my hair short before (about the same length as it is now), but I never really grew it out until it was long enough to get it cut short.

Bit of background, I used to do ballet, so I used to have to do my hair up and that's why I never really cut it short. In my life, I've had it cut from quite long to a lob/bob 3 times, including this time! I love having long hair as I've always been very girly and I loved putting my hair up in fancy (but extremely messy) "up dos". I loved copying girls in magazines and doing my hair has always been something I enjoyed. There was also a time when I liked putting it all over my face and trying to scare people like the girl from The Ring...

Fast forward to now, and I still love doing my hair, especially as the heat tools I own have increased from a plain hairdryer to straighteners and curling wands. But despite that, my hair has remained quite healthy and I grew it out to the longest it's ever been. So, with the support of my mother, I cut off most of that and decided to fulfill my childhood dream of donating my hair.

Here is the before and after. I tried not to move the camera and tried to stand in the same spot, but the difference speaks for itself. I wore this pink dress from Boohoo as it was the only top I had that wasn't black or needed a wash. 

I decided to donate my hair to Little Princess Trust as they seem to be reputable and they are clear about what happens to the hair that is being donated. Here is a link to their page on donating hair as I think they explain it better than I can.

I'm not trying to brag about how "kind and good" I am or ask you to praise me. This was a personal decision, that I have wanted to make for 10 years and I wanted to share it in the hopes that if one of you who are thinking about cutting your hair short, even if it's just to follow the new trends, then you could consider donating your hair as well.

I don't have a sob story to share, I don't have any particular deep meaning in cutting my hair, it's just something I wanted to do.

If you're considering the chop, consider donating if you fit the requirements. You don't have to, but if you're curious then do take a look.

Next Sunday, I'll be posting about things to consider before the chop which is relevant even if you don't want to donate, and how I am getting on with short hair. If you have any questions you want me to answer, then please let me know in the comments below!

Signing off now

Dusty Foxes

P10P Review: Colab Dry Shampoo New York

Hello! Before I get into the review, I thought I'd mention that last Monday, I guest posted my 5 product face at Kat's Beauty Tales, Katrina is a lovely blogger who hasn't been blogging that long, but has a great blog! Go check her out. She's really friendly so comment and say hi!

Onto the actual review, I recently finished this and I originally wasn't going to include aerosol dry shampoos as part of my Project 10 pan but it's taking longer than expected and I wanted to feel like I'm getting somewhere.

I love dry shampoo. It saves me when I have been lying down too much or if it has rained or if I wear my headphones/beanie/hat too much. If you don't know what it is, it's basically something to help absorb grease in your hair and give it a refresh - without needing to wash it! (it also gives volume and some people use it after washing their hair for the volume as well) I tend to use dry shampoo on second day hair as I like to wash my hair every other day, but sometimes it gets a bit gross and lank. The most well known brand and the one I compare all others to is Batiste, so if you're familiar with that then this review may be more useful. If not, then hopefully it'll still be useful!

The Colab dry shampoo is known as Ruth Crilly (amodelrecommends)'s dry shampoo and has 5 scents (though the range is expanding). I chose the scent New York, which is described as a fruity fragrance and I would agree with that. I personally love fruity scents, but I'm not a fan of coconut-y scents so this suited me. The scent lasted most of the day on me, but it wasn't offensively strong. It made my hair smell nice, but didn't interfere with my perfume or anything like that, so that was good.

The packaging looks really trendy and comes in 2 sizes, a large can (which I had) and a small can for travel. I like that the cap and bottle colour matches the scent and the pattern for each is different as well. I feel that the design was very well thought out and I really liked that. If you follow Ruth Crilly, she always (to me anyway) seems very on trend and the design seems to follow that. Besides that, it is just a normal aerosol so there isn't much to it.

The original launches have a "sheer invisible formula" as stated on the can and it's marketed as being invisible, even on dark hair, which is a big plus if you have black/brown hair like me. Compared to Batiste, I would say that this is invisible, but if you spray too close to the roots or spray on the same spot for too long, this does come up white as well. If that happens, just run your fingers through it and spread the product onto other (greasier) parts of your hair. I like that it isn't too white and it was easy to use.

I tend to spray this onto the underside of the roots of my hair (lifting sections and spraying under) then "messing" it into my hair. It works quite well, but if you have very greasy hair, then it may not be as absorbent as you need. I find this works best if you just want a bit of a refresh and some volume, like before a night out or if you (like me) wash your hair at night and your hair doesn't look its best the next morning. If you have Snape like hair, or if you tend to use dry shampoo on worse case emergencies where you need something that can really do the job (and quickly!) then this product probably isn't for you.

Personally, I think I may repurchase this as it's less work than Batiste, and it isn't too pricey at £3.49 for the big bottle, though I would probably wait until it's on sale (like I do just about everything). It does actually work (to some extent) and the scents seem nice so could even be used as hair perfume if you wanted to do that.


Have you tried this product? Let me know what you think in the comments below and let me know your favourite scents!

Signing off now,

Dusty Foxes

P10P Review: 17 Hide Away Cream Concealer Medium

 

Some of you may have seen my Project 10 Pan post or my  Project 10 pan update  where I said I would be doing full reviews of the products I've finished.

So first off is the 17 Hide Away Cream Concealer. I got this when I first stared wearing makeup about 2 years ago, and I had no idea what "undertone" was, I chose the first one that looked close enough to my skin without even testing and walked out the store, so I take full blame that this was not the right colour for me as it is too pink-based.

For texture, I found that this was quite creamy and not that drying, but had a tendency to crease under my eyes. For the record, I don't drink enough water/get enough sleep so that tends to be a problem area for me and this product did nothing to hide that. If anything it highlighted it!

On blemishes, it lasted a few hours (I think) but I didn't really take note as I don't check my face when I'm out. I find that if I'm out for about an hour or 2 it's fine before needing to be touched up. I tend to use it around my nose area, which is quite oily, so that may be a reason why, On a "normal" skin type area of my face, I found it lasted quite well, about half a day if I didn't touch my face a lot.

Personally, I would not recommend this product as I feel there are other better options out there for the same price or less but let me know in the comments below if you've tried it and what you thought about it.

Proof that I finished it nonetheless. 

Let me know your thoughts on this concealer and leave me some recommendations in the comments below!

Signing off now

Dusty Foxes

Project 10 pan/ empties update!

 So, it's been about 3 months since I started Project 10 pan and I finished 4 items (one of which was actually on my list!). I actually photographed this a while ago and haven't gotten around to posting yet, so the update at the end has progressed a lot since, but more on that later.

I will be doing full reviews of these products over the coming weeks, so follow my blog if you're interested in seeing those!

17 Hide Away Concealer Cream in Medium

I admit, this finished a lot faster than I thought it would so I guess there was less in the tube than I thought! I also admit to using this rather excessively to finish it up. I liked this when I first got it, but after a while I realised it was the wrong undertone for my skin as it is very pink based. I would not repurchase.

Color Club 0-60 Speedy Top Coat

I had about half a bottle left of this and I painted my nails incessantly since starting Project 10 pan. If you're interested in what polishes I've been wearing, I did a post on my Favourite Autumn/Winter Nail Polishes.  I guess focusing on a single top coat does help it go faster! I did like this, but I found it wasn't really as fast drying as my Seche Vite, so I probably won't repurchase.

Skin Food Nail Vita Base Coat
Nothing else made me as sad to finish as this. I originally got this... 3 years ago as a birthday present from my sister. This is a Korean brand so it's not readily available in the UK so I probably would not be able to repurchase.

Colab Dry Shampoo New York

I admit to getting this because it is Ruth Crilly's product but I enjoyed using it. New York is a very fresh fruity scent, which I love. It's a very light spray and I might repurchase this once I finish my other dry shampoos, but I'm not sure yet.

 A quick update, like I mentioned before, I have made a lot more progress than shown in this picture. The Barry M powder has a bit more pan, the 17 pwoarr paint has a lot more pan and the MUA shadow has a lot of pan. I've also hit pan on my Soap and Glory Glow All Out powder and I've made good progress on some other stuff. Overall, I'm quite excited about my first "prize" which I hope to be sharing with you all soon!

Like I mentioned earlier, a full review of each of the products I've finished will be up in the weeks to come, so watch out for that.

Signing off now,

Dusty Foxes.

Favourite Autumn/ Winter nails 2014!

Happy International Women's Day! I was going to write a #DearMe, but it all got a bit too personal and I couldn't finish it, so I decided to do a seasonal round up instead!

I know that technically it's spring now, but I thought I would highlight some of my favourite nail polishes this past 2 seasons! This was the "nail polish wardrobe" that I ended up with on my nails most days. In fact, I have one of them on today! Read on to find out which!

China Glaze- Concrete Catwalk (2011 Metro Collection)

A gorgeous grey colour that looks really chic against sweaters and dark colours. I got this because I wanted more dark colours (that weren't black) for Autumn/Winter as I was growing bored of brights. This goes on really nicely and is shown here with 2 coats and no topcoat.

China Glaze- Foxy (2010 Vintage Vixen Collection)

This is a dark-ish red with shimmer through it. It's so pretty and I wore this the most in Fall! In fact I repainted my nails with it twice in a row and that's super rare for me as I have a rather large collection. In this picture I was wearing 2 coats and no top coat but I usually like 3 coats for a really rich finish. 3 coats does chip a lot more easily though!

China Glaze- Choo Choo Choose You (2014 All Aboard Collection)

This is a duo-chrome colour that I can't really describe. My swatch definitely does not do it justice as this is an amazing colour. The base is a blurple (blue+purple) colour with green-y duo-chrome. I highly recommend this colour as it's really really pretty. Shown here with 2 coats, no top coat. 

China Glaze- Conduct Yourself (2014 All Aboard Collection)

I have just 2 polishes from this collection, but they are both stunning. This is a dark wine red with some purple shimmer that is just very classic looking on the nail. It's quite a vampy shade so I'll probably be retiring this for the Spring/Summer. Shown here with 2 coats and no topcoat. 

OPI- The World is Not Enough (2012 Skyfall Collection)
This is a greyish purple base with multi coloured shimmer. It's a super pretty shade and my picture is not showing the full effect of this. The formula is a bit thin so it's shown here with 3 coats and no top coat. I'm wearing this today and I can't stop staring at my nails!

Barry M- Crush (Matte Nail Paint)

A matte deep red shade. I used to wear this non-stop in January 2014 and I brought it out again for the new year. It is a bit streaky at times, especially on my right hand, but I love the colour and it's one I keep coming back to. Shown here with 2 coats and no top coat.

Angelica- Twilight

This is from Primark and it was marked down to £1 about a year and a half ago, but it's a really pretty purple and blue duochrome-y colour. It's one of the colours that I love all year around, but I think it looks especially pretty with a grey sweater I have. It's just a really easy to wear colour and for the price, I think the Angelica range is pretty good. 

So these were the nail colours that wear nearly always on my nails this past season. I normally have a black polish in the mix, but recently I've been loving dark shades that aren't just plain black. 

What nail polishes are your favourites? Let me know in the comments below!

Signing off now,

Dusty Foxes

Review: 2True Rose Cheek and Lip tint

I love lip tints and stains. I just really like the long-wearing, easy, no fuss-ness of them. Most of the time I can't be bothered to touch up my makeup throughout the day, so long-wearing is one of the things I look for. 

I picked this 2True Rose Cheek and Lip Tint up a while ago after looking for stains on the Superdrug website. I think there was a top 10 section and this was on top. It's really affordable at £1.99  and if I'm being honest, I feel like it's worth much more than that.

As you can see from the picture above, it looks like a nail polish with a little pot and a brush applicator. The size is also reminiscent of a nail polish. It has a very watery texture, like food colouring. 

I personally never use this on my cheeks as I find it doesn't blend, but on lips, this is my everyday shade. I either use one layer, patted in lightly for a slight tint or build it up for a rosy look. I also use this just on the middle and blend it outwards with some concealer/foundation on the outer edges of my lips to give a bitten look which I did for Valentine's Day. 

I will admit, it tastes disgusting; so keep your tongue away until it sets. It's a little bit drying as well, but because it is a tint, I can apply lip balm over it without worrying about moving it or ending up with some colour on my balm. I find it lasts best when I apply it before lip balm as it tints my lips and not the layer of balm I have over it.

For the price, I really cannot fault this product as it just gives a lovely sheer tint that is perfect for laid back days. 

Have you tried this? Or have you walked past it many times like I did? Let me know in the comments below!

Signing off now,

Dusty Foxes