Two hour skirt

The fastest way to make a new skirt in a very short time is to cut up an old one that fits you well enough but that is too worn down to be of any use anymore. Lay down the separate parts of the skirt on a piece of fabric you really like and cut out the same shape. Stitch it and add an elastic waistband...finished! You can re-use the pieces of the old skirt any time for making new skirts with other fabrics.
This is not a skirt to make a big impression with, but if you've used a beautiful fabric it will be a nice daily asset in your wardrobe.

 

An evening at the Body Shop

I've just returned from a late night visit to The Body Shop. Every customer with a 'vip card' could stop by after 6 PM and get a 10% discount on top of the 10% discount they already receive with their card on regular days. There were free drinks, lots of candy and everyone received an appealing goodie-bag. I had waited especially for this evening to buy the skin products I needed, which is the wonderful Tea Tree line against oily skin. Works miracles for me! If I spent more than 20 euros, my vip card was used enough times to choose a free product worth 15 euros! All this meant that I ended up buying my skin products with amazing discount ánd getting an amazing amount of wonderful free products:

One the left: the Tea Trea products  
On the right: Monoi body balm,  miniature Love Etc..bodybutter, showercream and body lotion, heart-shaped soap with strawberry scent, Nutriganics test package (all for free!)

 

Earlier in the afternoon I had already received another free product at 'Kruidvat': a 0,5 liter bottle of Wella shampoo worth 5 euros. 

What a fruitful day!

One year of hair growth

This month it's been a year since I let my hair grow and below you can see the result. Not bah, eh? I guess I do really need a trim now, after staying away from the salon for a year. The ends of my hair are pretty dry and although it's hardly noticeable, I don't think it's a good idea to just leave it like this. I'm also thinking of getting side-swept bangs. I used to have straight bangs for quite some time, but they tend to make my face look very narrow. Side-swept bangs will make my face look less 'boring', but at the same time avoid the disadvantage of the straight bangs.

  

2010, with straight bangs:

                                                                             2011:

Then, I'm curious to hear your opinions on the color of my hair! I now have the lower layer of my hair dyed black, but it's not always very well visible because I have so much hair in my natural color covering it. Do you tink I should add some black streaks, perhaps? I've actually found an example of what I mean, after a long search. Avril Lavigne's old hair-style comes closest to what it would look like:

 

I would leave some blonde streaks at the bottom though, because when I'm wearing black (which is 90% of the time) my hair doesn't stand out anymore against the background. 

Some other examples, which show what it would look like with bangs:

[I couldn't find the second picture in better quality]

 

What I would also like a lot is to have some bleached streaks near the face, like this:

(I would leave the rest of my hair in my natural hair color, more like the second pic)

 

 What do you think would look best? I need some advice here! :)

Long hair care

If I ever want to succeed growing my hair really long (for me that would be 'classic length', reaching my buttocks - or perhaps just waist length) I'll need to keep it in perfect condition. Considering I tend to dye my hair once in a while (mainly black streaks), conditioner and hair masks are an absolute necessity. Of course I can't speak for anyone else here, but the products that work really well for me in keeping my hair healthy are:

- Jumping Juniper shampoo bar by Lush: this solid shampoo might appear a bit weird at first when you're used to washing your hair with liquid shampoo, but works great! You just rub the bar against your wet hair and it starts to foam considerably. I'm especially fond of this shampoo because it really combats oily hair; I can go by with one extra day of not washing my hair now, which is a great time-saver! Lush has shampoo bars in many variants, so there's always one that will fit your requirements. Another positing thing about the bars is that they last really long. Plus one doesn't have to throw away all those shampoo bottles all the time, so it's better for the environment too. I'm hooked now and don't feel the need to try anything else soon!

- Rainforest moisture mask, Brasilian nut moisture mask and Poppy seed oil reviving mask, all by The Body Shop. All three of these are great for giving your hair that extra treat every week! I don't really notice much of a difference between them, but I have only started using them for a couple of weeks now. They smell wonderful and leave your hair really soft. I'm usually very happy with products from The Body shop and its hair masks are no exception. Definately worth the money!

- Gliss Kur oil nutritive wonder-serum for long hair. This stuff is some kind of  leave-in conditioner and it protects the hair from damage. Personally I use it only to combat frizz and to add moisture to the ends of my hair.

- Guhl vochtbalans. A great spray to give a little extra moisture to your hair. It leaves my hair softer and healthier looking, at least for the day.  Also great in summer after a day at the beach!

-  Andrélon perfecte puntjes. This creamy liquid is to be rubbed on the ends of your hair. I have to say it really works miracles for me. My ends are pretty dry and damaged at the moment, since I haven't visited a hair salon in more than a year. This prevents my hair from getting even more damaged, so I'm using it every day. Even though it's a creamy substance, it doesn't make my hair much heavier.

I'm thinking of getting a small trim soon, just for healthy ends. I also have many ideas about dying my hair again or getting side-swept bangs, but I need to make up my mind about what to choose first. I might post some of the options on my blog soon.

...and a new longsleeve!

Yesterday I finished another project I've been working on. Actually it only took me two evenings to make this top, so it's very easy for beginners as well! The (German) pattern can be ordered at Farbenmix. The original design doesn't have wide sleeves and one is supposed to apply a rubber band at the wrist part, so the sleeves will have a gathered look. I prefered to make them look a little bit more special and medieval-looking though. It's not that hard to just adapt a pattern a little bit and make it something that really suits your personal taste. I'm with the way the top turned out, especially since it fits me perfectly. (No, unfortunately that is not so common as one might expect, at least not in my experience ;) ).
I think I'm going to make many more shirts with the same pattern and simply use different fabrics!