Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Guide to Clip-in Hair Extensions


Hair extensions are wonderful accessories for us girls, they can give you that extra bit of confidence on that special night out knowing your hair looks fuller and longer. They can make that simple braid/plait look like something very special!!!

Last year I was sent a set of hair extensions that I did a little review on and that I wore quite a lot, of course over the summer months it’s a little impractical to wear extra hair as it’s so hot and humid where I live but now that the cooler weather is here again I’m loving extensions.

I was recently asked if I wanted to try out some ‘salon’ extensions that were only available through hairdressing salons and were top quality and it got me to thinking what is the difference in clip in extensions???

So I’m going to be talking about a few different sets of extensions and telling you the difference in price, weight and quality that I personally found and hopefully if you’re looking to buy some yourself it may be of some help.

These sets are all advertised as being 100% human Remy hair. The main points to consider when buying extensions online is the length of the hair and also the weight, obviously 90grams of hair is going to be almost half the weight of the 160gram sets. The pieces are not going to be anywhere near as thick as the heavier sets.

You should decide whether you want the extensions for length or fullness, and decide on what colour closely matches your own hair if you want a seamless look. If you are wanting to dye your extensions then always try to buy a shade lighter than what you want. It’s much easier to dye hair darker than lighter.

When something is advertised as Remy hair it just means it is the ‘highest quality’ human hair whether it’s from brazil, india, china or wherever, it’s the highest grade for that hair.  You can easily curl, straighten, dye, braid and style remy human hair just like the hair on your head. The hair is a full cuticle hair that all runs in the same direction (from cuticle to tip).

Having a sturdy clip on your extensions is very good, you don’t want those clips flipping the wrong way or being too obvious on your head so the colour of the clip is important too, try to get them to match the colour of the hair extensions. Clips should be securely sewn on on at least three sides. Sometimes after many uses these stitches can come undone and it is a simple thing to sew them on again.

When you hear the word ‘weft’ being thrown around, think of the 'weft' as being a curtain of hair sewn together at the top so when weft is referred to it means is how many layers of hair are on the extension piece (not to be confused with how many clips are on the piece). A double weft would be two layers of hair, a quad weft would be four layers. Be sure if the extensions are more than one weft that they are not positioned directly on top of each other which would make a thick band. They should ideally be placed above each other in a ‘step’ pattern which would make the band thicker but flatter against your head.

Eg:  like this    ________                                       not this        ________
                                ________                                                ________
                                         ________                                       ________



VP Fashion – my extensions from last year

22" clip in extensions in #4 (medium reddish brown) they cost approx $110 last year but I think they sell for $99 now.

These extensions have been through a lot of use, they’ve been styled in lots of ways, washed numerous times and even dyed and they still look pretty good. I never actually liked the clips on these ones as they are silver and not attached very well and now that I’ve seen different types of banding I don’t really like this banding either.  You should check with the website to see if they have changed their clips. These extensions are a ‘double weft’ extension sewn directly on top of each other which means they have a bit of a ridge when they are on.

Hair Extension Sale

15” clip in extensions in colour #2 – 90grams - $49.95 (on sale) – they come packaged in plastic bag

These were quite a surprise when I received them, they are much smaller than what I expected and very light, the ends seam to look a little ‘scruffy’ too. To be honest I’m not sure why you would really want such a lightweight set, I know if you have fine hair a lighter set is required than normal but these just seem a little too thin to me although if you are someone with very fine and short hair they may work very well. These are ‘single weft’ extensions.


My Fantasy Hair

10 pieces - 18” Delux clip in extensions in ‘Melted Chocolate’ – 160grams - $165.99 – packaged in plastic

I was quite happy with this set, the larger piece is really nice and full, it’s called a ‘quad weft’, I can wear this piece just by itself and it makes quite a difference. You can also purchase this piece alone for $55.99 which is a pretty good idea. The band and clips on the larger piece are sturdy and strong with the wefts sewn in a stepped pattern and the hair itself styles up beautifully. The smaller pieces have a smaller and less sturdy band and are ‘double weft’ pieces sewn directly on top of each other. I have noticed that a couple of the clips have come unstitched in places already so I will have to restitch them.


Hairvenly Extensions (Australian site so if you’re in Australia the postage would be much quicker)

10 piece - 20” Delux clip in extensions in ‘Dark Brown’ – 160grams - $159.00 – come packaged in plastic

This is a beautiful set of extensions, all pieces are solidly constructed and all have a wide band, secure clips with silicon and with plenty of hair on each piece. I’ve worn these quite a bit and they have styled up perfectly and have performed very well. Hairvenly Extensions also has a YouTube channel which demonstrates how to care for your extensions along with some great style ideas - HERE. These extensions are also ‘double weft’ extensions sewn in the stepped pattern.


Hair Secrets (Australian salon supplier)

7 piece - 20” luxury ‘ultimate volume’ clip in extensions - $425.00 – colour matched to your hair
Available from salons only – packaged in silk organza bag inside a thick cardboard cylinder.

This set is the first set I’ve owned of ‘salon quality’, I wasn’t really sure if there would be much of a difference between this set and the last two sets I showed you but even when I first opened them the quality and thickness in this set was obvious. From the packaging to the actual performance and feel of these extensions (they actually feel like satin) there really is a sense of luxury. This set is also cut with a more blunt end rather than a natural layered end which is great for those that want that look or want fullness right to the end (which is great for braiding too) and because they are only available from salons you could easily get them cut to suit your style while you’re in the salon. All the pieces have a sturdy band and well placed clips with silicone strips for extra girp. If you are someone who wants to wear extensions on a long term basis it would be worthwhile to invest in something like these. You can also get sets suitable for fine hair which are 5 piece sets. These extensions are advertised as being ‘ethically’ obtained (so no poor Russian prisoner had to give up their hair against their will!!) and they are ‘double drawn’ which means all the hair strands are the same length all the way down and they have been thoroughly checked twice.


********************************

So overall, are the salon extensions really worth the approximate $200.00 more than the online extensions? Well they certainly are beautiful and seem to be of a excellent quality and if you can afford to pay for that luxury then I say go for it, if on the other hand you are a teenager with limited funds, I can quite happily recommend the extensions from ‘My Fantasy Hair’ and ‘Hairvenly Extensions’.

My Fantasy Hair - http://www.myfantasyhair.com/
Hairvenly Extensions - http://www.hairvenlyextensions.com/


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Putting in extensions is quite easy once you’ve had a little practice and there are hundreds of ‘how to’s’ on youtube to show you how, heck I even have a simple one myself – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDH_QuaUxaM&feature=plcp  :D

MyFantasyHair has a great slideshow that shows you where to place the pieces - http://www.myfantasyhair.com/Style_Guide.php   Remember, you don’t need to wear every piece in the set, I quite often just wear one or two of the larger pieces, one parallel to the top of my ears and the other just above. The size of your head will also determine how many pieces are best for you to wear.

Caring for hair extensions is pretty easy, you need to remember that extensions do not produce oil like your normal hair so they will dry out quicker. Simply giving them plenty of loving care, especially when you wash them will keep them looking healthy. Always apply a heat protector when you’re styling them with anything heat related. Deep condition the ends occasionally too with argon/moroccan oil or something similar.

It’s not necessary to wash your extensions after every use, because they don’t have natural oils they don’t actually collect as much dirt and dust but of course if you use a lot of products in them they will need washing when you think they need it.  Normally after about 4 wears is a good time to wash. When you wash them, use a gently shampoo for dry hair and then condition them with a conditioner (leaving the conditioner on for about 5-10 minutes before rinsing) you can then use a deep conditioner if you like.  Don’t vigorously scrunch the hair when washing, just gently massage the shampoo in and then rinse out.

It’s always better to let your extensions air dry rather than using a hair dryer, you can lay them on a clean towel to dry but I prefer to hang mine over the towel rail over night. Using wide tooth combs and brushes or special loop brushes on them is best but not when they are wet and you should NEVER sleep or swim in your extensions. It’s best to store them in a clean dry place, I store mine in boxes so they stay clean and out of the dust, some people like to hang them up.

So I hope this post was of some use to you, here's my video :)



Sunday, May 27, 2012

GIVEAWAY!! Romwe.com

Congratulations to the Winner for this Giveaway,
Lorna - 'dupy80 at yahoo . com . ar'  :)



Thank you to everyone who entered!!



I love these giveaways from Romwe :) I love it when the winner finds out they have won and how excited they are.



So here's the latest Giveaway for you, this time the prize is a gorgeous backless dress, this is the dres that I wore in my 'Nina Dobrev' video which I'll link below. The dress comes in three colours and the lucky winner will be sent one of these plus $50.00 to spend at Romwe plus a secret gift will be sent to the winner as well!!! Not a bad prize at all me thinks :D

All you need to do is

1. Share this giveaway in some way (twitter, facebook, blog etc) and post the link in the comments
2. Be registered at Romwe.com and leave your email you registered with in the comments
3. Follow my blog (that would be nice :))

This Giveaway will only take place on my blog to avoid all confusion and will end by 6th June, 2012  :)

I wore this style dress in this video (at the end)

A few new things and DISCOUNT CODES ...

There are a few new things I've been lucky enough to get this past month or so and I thought I'd share them with you.

First up there's my new Paddle Brush, it's glitzy and big and so bright that it's impossible for me to loose in my room (.... or is it? haha) there's a British flag on the back that's made from gems and I reason to myself that at least the Australian flag has this too :D This brush makes brushing my hair a breeze now and I actually enjoy brushing my hair.  That sounds really strange doesn't it? Well I wasn't really a fan of brushing my hair before, I mean I did brush it but only when it was necessary, I find that over brushing makes my hair oily and I only really had combs and a small round brush so I was missing out on something. This paddle brush glides easily through my hair and probably massages my scalp in the process (well I like to imagine it does :P) this being said, I still don't like to over brush it because I certainly don't want oily hair!!! This brush is 21.99e (approx $28.00 au).

Another thing I've been really happy with is a new hair straightener that I received, now I didn't know I was getting this and I didn't really need it because I only recently got the Remmington hair straightener so I put off using it for a while, oh and also, it needs an adaptor to fit the Australian electrical sockets so that was another reason I put it off :)

Anyway, it's called the 'Ti Touch Titanium' by Ti Creative and IT'S WONDERFUL, the tongs are very long and slim making it absolutely great for making those 'indie style waves/curls' I like to do. It heats up quickly so I can even use it if I'm in a hurry. This straightener also has the Keratin infused plates like the Remmington which leaves your hair feeling very soft and shiny and there is no offensive odour either.  Like I mentioned before, I didn't realise I was getting this product but I'm really impressed and will be doing a video tutorial using it shortly. This straightener does fall in the upper end of the price bracket at about 165e ($213au approx). Both the paddle brush and the straightener came from a site called 'MySalonLooks.com', if you're interested I have a coupon code for a great discount which I'll link below but please be assured I'm not making any money from this company and wouldn't recommend something I didn't really like ... oh and it straightens the hair great too ;D hahaha


Ti Touch Titanium
photo property of 'mysalonlooks.com'

Coupon Code for 50% off the purchase of a 'Ti Touch Keratine + UK Brush' -  KERATINEAU


Next up and also a straightener and curling iron in one is the Remington Styles Unlimited, this is a tapered hair straightener that actually locks together to form a curling iron. I really love the curling ability of this tool, it really does make great 'ribbon like' curls, I used it recently on my friend Rachel's hair for a photo shoot we did together (see pic below) but I'm not overly impressed with the straightener part, in my opinion it doesn't do a great job straightening the hair compared to a 'normal' straightener. This styler has a cool tip, swivel cord and variable heat settings and a small foot to balance it when you put it down. It's very economically priced at around $59.00 (aus) and is available from most department stores and some Electrical outlets.

** Edit - It seems the Remington Styles Unlimited I received was a little faulty because the plates didn't meet right, I was sent a replacement and it works very well  :) I think this would be a great purchase for someone just getting into styling their hair because you get the best of both worlds with the straightener and curling iron :D 


My friend Rachel, I used the 'Styles Unlimited' for her hair
and was very happy with the results.

Some lovely pieces of jewelry I got recently deserve to get a mention here, from SofiaGraceJewelry
I have both the 'Mya' and 'Vasara' necklaces, they are very easy to wear, lightweight metal alloy and come in very distinctive designs. The 'Mya' is made up of varying lengths in a 'chocker' style and you can adjust the length, I wore this one in a receent photoshoot I did with Juanita where I wore my 'Rhianna' dress from StyleMeCeleb, I think the design complimented this dress beautifully. The 'Vasara' necklace was so much nicer in person than on the website, I know that sounds a bit odd, but yes it looks great on the website yet it is soooo much nicer in person!!!! I used it recently for my '60's' makeup assessment at my Academy, it has that touch of art deco going for it so it was perfect. All designs from this site are limited edition, once they are sold new and different pieces will be made.




Check out outfits #3 and #4 in this video to see these necklaces and how I wore them :)



I have a 50% off Coupon available for current stock, just type in lilcammo93 for the discount word!!

Romewe always have great things, the only drawback with Romwe is that the cool stuff sells out really quickly, the collar necklace I have can no longer be found, hopefully they may restock it shortly but I'm not sure. This of course is a great thing for the store itself, any store wants a quick turnover of stock but it also means if you see something you like you need to grab it quickly!!! haha and how adorable does 'Tom Bear' look wearing my 'moustache' necklace, all he needs now is a monicle and tophat!!! haha




You can see the collar necklace in this video here



I can spend hours pouring over their clothes and accessories, I love that they have free worldwide shipping too. It takes about 2 weeks for a package to arrive in Australia from ordering to receiving. Romwe regularly have specials and discounts going, I have some discount codes for you here, these codes are valid until 31st May, 2012 and you can only use one code with one order, enjoy!! :D

$7.00 cash coupon code - ROMWE7
20% off discount code - ROMWE20%

*Always check the site for other additional sales that may be happening!!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

May Giveaway from Romwe.com :)

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!!! Winner has been contacted
Thank you to everyone who entered this Giveaway :)


I'm so excited to be bringing you all another Giveaway from Romwe.com :) I really love this store and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone there :)

Once again this month one lucky winner will win $80.00 to spend at Romwe and not only that but they will also receive a pair of sunglasses too!!! The winner will get one of the four sunnies in the picture above, YAY!!!! and if you hadn't noticed, the sunnies I'm wearing in those photos are also from Romwe :D hehehe

So here's what you need to do to be in the running to win this fabulous prize, just head on over to Romwe and register then come back here and leave me a comment below and let me know your email address that you registered with at Romwe :) easy!! If you've registered at Romwe before then half the work is already done for you, haha

Good luck everyone :D

For those who want to do a little shopping right now, I have some discount codes for you ....

Coupon Code: RomweMotherDay1 - save $10 on purchase over $60
Coupon Code: RomweMotherDay2 - save $15 on purchase over $90
Coupon Code: RomweMotherDay3 - save $25 on purchase over $120

*Coupon codes can be used once with one order*

This giveaway ends 20th May, 2012.

Oh, and before I forget, I just want to mention that the clothes sell pretty quickly over there so if you see something you really love don't hesitate for too long because it may not be there a day or so later :/ I know this from experience!!! Some things may get restocked at a later date but not everything will, The lovely blue dress I wore in my Get Ready With Me #4 video sold out quite quickly and I only got it  a couple of weeks ago o___O

Visit Romwe.com HERE .....  Ok, have fun :D

Luxurious Locks with Sebastian Professional

I'm such a sucker for hair care products and I can't seem to get enough of them, I love trying new potions and lotions and when they work really really well I'm in love with them :D



After trying out the Sebastian Professional 'Potion 9 Lite' and 'Volupt Spray' for a little while now I thought I'd write a post about what I think.

They both come in nice sleek, clean looking packaging which are easy enough to use, the 'Potion 9 Lite' in a white spray bottle with a small cap and the 'Volupt Spray' in a black spray bottle with a large cap, so they are easy enough to grab and not get confused. These two products are meant to add 'volume' and shine to your hair.

The Potion 9 Lite is designed for fine to medium hair, I fall in the medium category so it was right for me. This product is meant to be a styling potion and conditioner in one and to be used before blow drying your hair, you can use it all over your hair and you can also gently mist your hair with it any time just to add a little bit of a boost.

I found that this Potion worked well for me, it did what it was supposed to do but I wasn't exactly 'wowed' by it, but my hair did feel nice and soft and shiny after using it.

The 'Volupt Spray' is designed to make your hair soft while adding lots of volume, you just spray it on your dampened hair and work it through to the ends before blowdrying it as you normally would, the key is to make sure you 'shake' that bottle well to activate the special two part formula inside, allowing the product to work properly.

I found that my hair was lovely and soft and very shiny and that my waves were enhanced but not overly 'volumised' as I was hoping for, I had images of huge '80's' hair but ended up with 'inspired 80's' hair : ) hehe  Overall I'm happy with this product but not overly impressed with the results.

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Zuca, Manfrotto, Canon .... ahhh the fun stuff :)

Well this post isn't really beauty related but rather background stuff because you see, without these kinds of things in the background life just doesn't run too smoothly :/

ZUCA


So firstly lets talk about the 'Zuca Sports' bag that I recently got. I was so happy that this bag came as part of my Student Kit for my course because I'd been looking at these bags earlier in the year and was going to purchase the pro bag if I had to get my own 'kit' together. They are really easy to pull along and very smooth, they have a metal frame that will hold up to 300 lbs so you can sit on it if you have to and also put other bags on top. My bag came with four plastic (not sure if it's plastic or some similar material) zipped pouches inside that can stack on top of each other. There is a little tab so that you can write what is in each one and they are super easy to wipe clean.

The bag itself is very compact, it has zippered pockets on both sides along with a mesh pocket and when you open the front door there are more zippered pockets for storage.

So this is currently my favourite new toy, it's much better than having to carry heavy bags up stairs and onto buses and trains and hopefully will look after me for years to come :)


I recently made a video showing my 'Student Makeup Kit' if anyone's interested in seeing what came inside my bag for my course. My course is more focused on 'special effects' makeup and is really interesting so far. The kit I received was included in the cost of the course I am taking so yes, I did/am paying for everything myself :) Along with what I show in this video I got a 'Set Bag' which I forgot to show and there's also a few more things that haven't arrived yet that need to be added to this kit.



MANFROTTO

What is that you may ask ..... hehehe :D it's my new tripod. Over the past month or so I've noticed that the tripod that my brother bought me for Christmas just wasn't what I needed and when I was borrowing my other brother's camera I really made my mind up to look for a new tripod.

I didn't want to spend hundreds of dollars on one, I'm not a photographer but I did want a sturdy good quality tripod so I went for the Manfrotto MKC3-P02, this is a compact tripod that is ideal for travelling and setting up on my cupboard top, it has a light weight aluminium frame but it's not flimsy and the central column can be removed and put in upside down for compactness. It has a quick release ball head for easy adjustment of angles and for portrait shots and locks easily with one quick screw.

This is the most compact 'full size' tripod I could find, it has easy leg adjustment and little rubber feet that also adjust to the lay of the land :)

So far I'm very happy with my new tripod :D


CANON

As some of you may know I was having trouble with my camera lens, for some reason it just started to go all blurry on me so I had to send it away to get looked at. It was still under warranty plus I did buy an extended warranty when I bought the camera in December, 2011 so hopefully between the two it would be ok.  I received my lens back last week in perfect working order, now I'm not quite sure if it's a brand new lens or they fixed my original one but either way I'm really happy that it's back.
This lens is a 18-55mm that can cost up to $150 if it has to be replaced so for it to have problems at this early stage (approx 3.5 months) isn't good, I'm still not sure why it happened or how because I always put the lens cap back on and keep it in a padded camera bag that has a extra padded nose in a very safe place??? Fingers crossed it won't happen again!

LAPTOP

I purchased a HP laptop back in January and it DIED in March??? What the ... ok so I wasn't impressed at all, I know it wasn't an expensive top of the range kind of laptop but I did expect it to last longer than 2-3 months!!!! Not Happy!! >:( ....... anyway, after taking it back to the store and them sending it away to be looked at I was informed that it was DEAD!!  They gave me a store credit to get a new laptop, so I did, hopefully this one will last longer than the first one.

Now I know that old saying that 'you get what you pay for' but honestly I can't afford a great quality laptop right now, if I could I would probably get a macbook or something but right now I need to get what I can. Fingers crossed this one will be around for quite some time :D



So it seems that March was the month of my equipment failures, let's just hope it's all over now and things will work the way they should.

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