Etude House Bubble Hair Coloring: No.4 Wine Red

I recently reviewed Etude House's No.7 Mocha Pink Bubble Hair Color. That time the dyeing experience was wonderful, but the color was less than wonderful. This time, the dyeing experience was puzzling, but the color is tolerable.

The way the Mocha Pink was fading was very unattractive. There were strange streaks in my hair and the back had a darker patch. I decided to try the Wine Red out. As Tabitha says on Tabitha's Salon Takeover- Color removes color. Hopefully this does something for my hair color.

Last time I said the bottle doesn't fit in the hole that the box has. This is an illustration of what I meant.

The color is a bit darker than last time (I'm scared!).

The dye turned purple! A promising color.

I must have done something wrong mixing the color this time. The bubbles were very runny- barely any bubbles. Last time I said I had the best application yet. This time was the messiest application yet. Dye was splashed all over my bathroom. I was thinking "Good thing it didn't get on the white towels", looked closer and yep, saw dye on the towels -___-. If you wash it off quickly, it comes off.

Don't be fooled, the dye stains very orange. My floor can attest to that.

The results? Well I didn't put the dye on too long this time. Maybe 15-20 minutes? Then I tried my best to get as much dye out as possible. I even shampooed this time. Huh. The shampoo made my hair silkier immediately. The hair must have been so damaged that anything added makes your hair feel nicer. Then I used the Sebatian conditioner which stripped out more color. Finally, I finished with the silk treatment in the box. Wow, it really makes it so much silkier. 

Haha, oops, guess I didn't cover everything well (no bubbles, couldn't really treat it like shampooing experience), because some areas along my part (~.5cm) are undyed.

Before:

After Dyeing:

At least it's not so dark this time =), and there is a reddish sheen. If I left it on longer, there would probably been a more intense red color.

'Til next time!

Etude House Bubble Hair Coloring: No.7 Mocha Pink

Finally tried the Etude House hair dye!

They include a cape too. Although, it's really basic -___-. I just tied the two corners together.

First time using both a liquid dye and peroxide (35%).

The pump is actually really nice. If you can see the picture in the back, the hole is for you to put the pump through. Maybe I'm just dumb, but it doesn't fit and I don't know how to use it.

Didn't see that they had instructions in English too, until I finished. That's really cool actually.

I really like this formula. It bubbles a lot and is very plush. It doesn't burn or have any bad smells. Easy to apply, and didn't drip everywhere. You have to make sure to clean off excess dye though. It started staining after 10 minutes. It's my cleanest dye application yet! But then things started getting weird.

The bubbles started turning a really dark color, and the box color was scaring me. I started thinking that I might have the wrong color by accident, but the color on the box is slightly pink...

When I washed my hair, it felt so damaged I didn't dare to mess with it much. I put in all of the treatment and it was like magic. My hair came to life again. I gently combed through, and when I rinsed, clumps of hair came out and clogged the drain. Ah, the pain of beauty.

Then my worse fears were confirmed. Not only does the shade not match the box, but it actually darkened my hair to black! Well, the roots were lightened a little, but the ends became so dark.

Hair before: roots and ends are clearly not the same color

Hair after: Much Much darker. I suppose I should be thankful roots and ends are basically the same color now -__-

What scares me most is that this was such a light color on the box. If it turns out this dark, what is the much darker Wine Red going to look like?! Even if you say that hair is darkest when first dyeing, it shouldn't be this extreme. I will have to try and shampoo out as much as possible.

Sample Society: August 2012

=D. I started out being a little more than peeved at SS this month. The account said that my box was to have shipped July 28th (receiving August 3), then changed to saying that it shipped Aug 3rd. Being so used to receiving it the second business day of the month, I wasn't too happy about the unexpected change (I'm a creature of habit, what can I say?)

THEN, I looked at the product list for this month and all was well again ~^o^~. This month's theme must be products with interesting concepts.

Let's get going, shall we?

Deborah Lippmann Nail Lacquer, Private Dancer

• I love purple! This is from the Mirrored Chrome collection. The colors have a duochrome effect. This one is purple and gold. Originally I was wondering if I wouldn't've liked Sugar Daddy or Swagga Like Us better, but I don't wear gold, and Swagga Like Us swatches make it look like oxidizing copper.
• LOVE the square bottle.
• Applies smoothly and without streaks. It's not completely opaque until 3 coats for me.
• It didn't look too unusual or impressive at first, but after a few minutes I started digging it. It makes me feel like some evil queen witch. Doesn't make me feel like a private dancer though.
• Full Size worth $18

Elemental Herbology Cool & Clear Facial Cleanser- Water lily, Green tea and Aloe vera cools and soothes sensitive skin. Olive oil acts as a cleansing agent to gently purify pores. Lavender and Tea tree extract help provide an antibacterial and sebum-regulating action.

• Clear, liquidy, lathers nicely. Smells like lavender (well ok, maybe not, but something strong, plant-like, and pungent)
• At first I thought "Oh great, another cleanser that's gonna dry me out". Turned out to not be the case. When applied it actually has a bit of an oil feel to it. My face didn't really dry out at all. I did a double take. Must be the olive oil.
• Didn't really feel any cooling effect.
• Full size 3.4 oz worth $46, sample size 0.8 fl oz worth $10.82

Jane Iredale Longest Lash Mascara, Black Ice -Longest Lash Mascara contains sea minerals to condition lashes while thousands of cellulose fibers coat the lashes without clumping or flaking.

After- applied on left of picture

Before

After- applied on left eye in picture

• THANK YOU! For the Black. Any other color and I honestly wouldn't know what to do with it. Gray lashes? NTY.
• The interesting thing here is the packaging concept. It's in a squeezable tube! How many times have you cried over not being able to use up every last smudge of mascara. It must be congregating at the bottom. This way, you can actually manipulate the product in the tube. If you would like more or less product, you can also control it that way. I hope the packaging doesn't dry out the product any faster though.
• Love the big brush with the pointier end (helps to get the lashes on the inside without smearing mascara everywhere).
• No clump application. Appears to lengthen and thicken slightly. I think there are fibers in here too.
• Full size .42 oz $33? Yikes, that's not cheap. Sample size .1 oz worth $7.86

Phyto Phytonectar Oil- Phytonectar Pre-Shampoo Ultra Nourishing Oil Treatment easily penetrates deeply into each strand bringing damaged, dehydrated hair back to life. The formula, rich in proteins, lipids, and vitamins from egg yolk, restructures ultra-dry hair while preventing oxidation with sunflower extract. Hair feels immediately replenished and its original softness and shine are restored. Use Phytonectar oil once-to-twice a week for five consecutive weeks. Do not use for one week after color process.

• I don't know what Phytonectar is, but this whole pre-shampoo oil concept is new to me. 
• Was going to dye hair, but it says not to use for 1 wk after so I held off and tried this instead.
• You have to leave it on for 15 minutes. I didn't know if you're supposed to apply to wet or dry hair so I applied to dry hair. Had to use the whole vial.
• Went to rinse the vial, and interestly the oil inside turned into a milky white concoction! How strange is that?? It wasn't even very oily feeling anymore, just slightly.
• Didn't have the Phytonectar shampoo, so I just used my own. Wondered if the shampoo doesn't just wash out all the oil and negate the effects, but surprisingly my hair was untangled after shampooing as well.
• The overall effect is that my hair was still dry on the ends. It may have to do with the Sebastian condition that I'm using from the July 2012 Glossybox.
• Full size 1.7 oz worth $30, sample size .33 oz worth $5.82

Arcona Cranberry Toner- This three-in-one formula tones and hydrates, while also infusing skin with protective antioxidants to leave your complexion looking and feeling refreshed. Antimicrobial cranberry, containing vitamins, phyto-nutrients and essential fatty acids, clarifies and protects. Use Cranberry Toner anytime to cleanse and tone or to remove makeup.

• Multi-use products have been a mini-rage recently, and this is supposed to remove makeup, refresh the skin, and protect against free radical damage.
• Can't evaluate it's ability to protect against free radicals, but I wasn't feeling very refreshed after.
• Has cool shimmers floating around. Smells like fruit at first, then becomes mixed with a potpourri smell. Quite strong.
• I was amused at having two plastic shrink wraps on my bottle.

• Full size 3.72 oz. worth $32, sample size 1 oz worth $8.60

Malin+Goetz Vitamin E Face Moisturizer

• This is an extra that's included. I'm not sure if Sample Society is following Birchbox and Glossybox with the "extras"
• I was excited to try this since I love the jojoba facial exfoliator.
• This seems like a normal moisturizer. Doesn't have a scent as far as I can tell.
• Full size 4 oz $45, sample size 0.04 oz worth $0.45

Overall Box Value: ~$51.55

There wasn't anything that I'm head over heels in love with this month, but I had fun trying them all out. The Cranberry toner I will probably not use because I never use toner, and this one is strongly scented. Vitamin E Face Moisturizer is also not that special. Facial cleanser and Phytonectar oil are interesting, but I don't see any huge improvements with them. The Jane Iredale mascara didn't give a stunning effect so I'll pass. DL nailpolish is cool. I'll see if I can find an occasion for it.

Trending: Hair Chalking

This has been around for a while, but I just stumbled across it. At first I was skeptical that anything would show up on my dark hair. Everyone's pictures of colorful hair had me convinced they must have stuck colored extensions into their hair instead. Still, any possibility of bright color intrigues me, so I went to Michaels and picked up a pack of SOFT PASTELS (do NOT use OIL PASTELS).

I read that Senneliers has bright pastels excellent for this technique, but Michaels has none. Sennelier pastel sticks have paper wrapped around so that might help in keeping pastel from getting all over your fingers. They're a bit pricey, but if you want to color your hair to go out for something special- these are worth the investment.

I had a coupon and picked this set up for just under $10 (some people were able to find sets for $5). These are 1.5" good for maybe 5-10 streaks depending on size and color density. Right away I knew that the light blue and the bright pink would show up really well because they look like they pack a lot of pigment. I also wanted to add in purple and yellow. The colors that are more "neon" show up better for dark hair.

Start by covering everything. EVERYTHING. You will see that the chalk gets everywhere. Wear an old shirt- I poked a hole through a trash bag and stuck my head and arms through. Disposable gloves are life savers.

Pick your colors and have a general idea what you would like to do. If you have light hair, you can just color and it will show up. If you have dark hair, wet it with water before coloring. You can twist the hair strands to get more friction (can scrap at the chalk better). It may not show up immediately for dark hair, but just keep putting pigment on and let it dry after you think you've finished. Once dry, the color will POP. 

TRY YOUR BEST, to only pull the chalk downwards (don't go up again). Scribbling up and down leads to a "backcombing" effect --> tangled hair. Don't believe me? Pics are below.

For longer lasting effects, you can heat style your hair (combing will make you lose color so don't). Light hair supposedly makes for more permanent color staining (2-3 days I hear). Although people say dark hair won't leave color stains, I found that mine did. Most of it washed out, but I still went to work with pink, purple, and blue streaks (thank goodness no one noticed, it was very light & in a ponytail). To keep chalk from falling out as much through the day, you can also try setting it with hairspray and other products.

This is VERY drying to hair. I didn't believe another blogger who noted as much, but once I was done I literally wanted to grab the Oscar Blandi hair oil and slather some on. Be prepared for some heavy conditioning!

It does come off a little through the day so make sure you wear a shirt which won't show the color deposits as much if possible. You'd think it'd be smart not to wear a white bra as well- guess i'm not that bright -___-||

The purple actually wouldn't show up. I even tried layering white underneath at first to help. Eventually I found that it would show up with flash. The next day in bright daylight my purple streaks were quite obvious. Maybe they're just camera shy.

CLICK TO ENLARGE.

While attempting to take photos I thought it'd be nice to use no flash. Camera decided to make me look a bit goth. I put it here for kicks. See how it's not really showing up as nicely without flash? (You can see the colors other than purple very well irl though).

 Originally I thought to braid 3 colors, so they're all together. It didn't look as nice as I thought it would so I took it out.

And by the end of my photo taking, the colors really faded. I didn't put any hairspray or setting product though.

Send me pictures and let me know how yours turn out! These are especially cool if you're able to do gradient effects.