Hair Neurosis

I am totally neurotic about my hair. Whenever it comes time for me to get my hairs did, I fucking obsess over it. I obsess over what I could do and what I want to do and what I actually will do and then ultimately, I never feel like I end up doing anything that earth shattering. And I’ve totally written about this on the site too. Probably multiple times. Cause I’m seriously crazy about my hair.

When I was younger, I did crazy shit with it I suppose – relatively speaking. Manic Panic was where it wast at. I usually went with this dark, dark red color… probably now what they call “Vampire Red”, which is the stupidest name ever.

God. Remember this shit? Sometimes I would stray into purple and I used the blue once too. Like, one of the first times I ever got really underage drunk. That was fucking ugly and disastrous.

After the teenage allure of Hot Topic trips to pick up hair dye ended, I started working in a salon and of course because it was cheap as shit, I was in a better position to be more experimental with my hair and it was total fun and games. Until I graduated college  of course and wanted to get the hell out of dodge and decided to end my 4 year tenure as the best fucking salon receptionist ever and realized that my discounted $10 product charge hair colors sessions would now be upwards of $150 hair color sessions for the shit I was doing to it and therefore had to ask my favorite colorist to arrange it so my natural would grow back in seamlessly because with all my new student debt, I was in no position to move across the country with no job and splurge on hair color. … God that stylist was such a good colorist. I miss her. But the point is, I wasn’t doing jack shit with my hair anymore and that was fine … for awhile.

This is me and my sister, at a bar of course, with our natural locks. You can see they’re very similar. Probably about … 22 here.

Mad Natural. And oh yeah. I worked on a dude ranch and eating jell-o shots straight from the pan was NOT a one time thing.

So anyway, of course I got bored with that after awhile. And I got bangs. And then I chopped it all off. And then I dyed it practically black. And I made a really excellent Snow White:

That little timeline there amounts to the riskiest thing I have ever done with my hair. I know. It’s not even THAT crazy.

But that’s not surprising because I have pretty boring style, but … point is … I think I obsess with my hair because I always think I want something crazy, but never know what it is and therefore never end up doing anything about it and that is really annoying.

So I’m wondering what to do today. It’s been kind of fun growing it out and rocking a middle part and all of that, but I really want to stay away from anything too close to that time when it was au natural. And so I’m having a hair block.

So what do I do? I gave a shout out to my homegirl today on Instagram because she rocks a really crush-worthy ombrè:

But I’m sort of undecided if I want to go that route. I’m telling you, I want everything at once. And this always just makes me go middle ground, which is completely the wrong approach.

Eventually, I would really like to go copper/red, so do I start that process now? What do you think? Maybe you can tell me … I ask you to pick out shoes for me, so might as well ask for your brilliant ideas on my hair. Because sometimes it just feels like all I want is someone to make these decisions for me. So if there are any stylists out there reading this … your 2 cents would be appreciated.

As it is, I’m going to walk in to see my poor stylist, Alex, tonight who has to deal with this indecisive shit on a 2-3 month basis and tell her I don’t know what I want, but I want something different, and just make sure I still look hot.

Oy, poor girl.

I’m kind of thinking next time, I should just get really wasted and put a stop to any hair inhibitions … this could also be a disaster. See: blue hair story above.

Either way – I’ll post pics tomorrow. Show you what Alex comes up with 😉

xoxo, Lou

(ADDENDUM: I’m still obsessing. Literally, I just posted this and thought, wait, do I really want something different or do I just want to maximize a look that is bangin on me??? Seriously, I want to punch myself in the face too.)

Goodwill Hunting

Is that the name of that movie?

Even if it’s not, it’s what I’ve been unintentionally doing. And lo and behold, unintentionally succeeding at! (In my personal opinion of course.) Except ultimately it’s done a great thing in that it’s taught me that you don’t have to be a killer fashionista to find shit at Goodwill that is just as cool as shit you would find online or at some mall. In fact there’s way less pressure because you’re spending $10 on cashmere instead of $11o.

This is important for me because, being as saddled with student loan debt as I am, spending money has always been a major commitment for me. I’ve never been a frivolous shopper for the mere fact that I literally wasn’t able to be a frivolous shopper. Unless, it turns out,  I get a decent raise and I’m at Goodwill and I’m buying stuff that doesn’t matter for the same reason that it costs the same amount of money at Goodwill as it does if I were spending it at some burrito cart the second I find myself stuck at work on a Thursday morning with a massive hangover.

Ok so let’s see.

I got a sweater I really love and that I actually think I will wear. I’ve always, ok for like 4 months I’ve struggled with that fashion “nail in the coffin” where I want to wear shit that doesn’t actually suit me. You know? I really am happiest in jeans, t-shirts, hoodies, and simple stuff like that. I suppose the key is focusing in on how to maximize that.

This sweater  seems like something I’d wear all the time. Awesome. It’s 100% cashmere and blue and has awesome buttons and was made in Scotland and I’m pretty sure I think it’s awesome, which is bound to translate well. Oh, and it cost me $10.

The print on this sweater is made of bunnies. It’s pretty cute. And always makes me pretty happy when I look at it in the middle of the day. AND it’s good for work, so sometimes that’s great as well. Oh and it was $6.

Ok. I had this backpack I really loved that I got off the free table at my last apartment. I didn’t even want a backpack. I just found one and I thought it was great so I started using it all the time. Then, when the strap on that one broke, I felt sort of lost.

This was that backpack.

Then, when my bf needed a backpack … this is a long story. Fact is … I found this cute purse for $6 at Goodwill the other day and it was awesome because … it was comfortable and cute. Just like my cat …

That’s a $10 100% cashmere crop-top I found at Goodwill. 100% cashmere cropped tops kind of confuse me, but I do think they’re cute and I will, I believe, find the perfect evening to wear this.

And more purse.

Let’s see. I also found this mug for $2. I certainly didn’t need a new mug, but … come on.

And oh shit. Speaking of tumble-upons. I decided for $5 to read Rob Lowe’s autobiography.

And there. I guess I’ve gone and successfully summed up a trip to Goodwill with me. All for like … $39.

xoxo, Lou

Personal Shoppers: Shoes

It’s almost summer in Portland and as a general rule, I suck at buying shoes. And yes, these things are more or less unrelated, except for the fact that I want some new shoes for summer – see the connection? I blame my student loan debt for developing this fear of committing to cute shoe purchases and I need your help to get over it. So let’s look at the shoes below and you tell me which ones I should splurge on for summer.

To preface, I primarily prefer flats. I live in Vans and cheap ass H&M flats right now. In the summer, drinking and stumbling down sidewalks is a consideration. So is looking really great. Mutually exclusive of course.

There are two things I know I want to buy, which shit, totally goes against my shoe shopping phobia premise, but whatever! I still think this will be fun. So on the to-buy list: some oxblood Dr. Martens (fuck, talk about a splurge, right?) And some Yosi Samra flats. Have you heard? The birds the word on these. My sister love, love, loves hers and they come in great patterns – which I can’t decide on – so you know I’ll throw those in the mix too and take your temperature on what I might look best wearing.

I am really weird about buying shoes and feel weird in most of them, so thanks in advance for your help.

And you can’t choose to hate all of them unless you give me alternatives in the comments section. Fair’s fair! Plus, I honestly didn’t work THAT hard on this list, so suggestions appreciated. I’m a lazy shopper.

Ernie Oxford – seen on Nastygal.com

Mikhail Oxford – seen on Nastygal.com

Oasis Boots – seen on Nastygal.com

Vans hi-top – you are a total asshole if you pick these, but I won’t be mad.

Dude these are Jeffrey Campbell, just saying. Probably too pale for the white and probably actually would feel weird in the black, but you tell me.

Seen on Nastygal.com

And now for your Yosi Samrapoll – I chose three options, but there are a fucking TON – so visit the site, pick yourself out a pair, and if you think I should stray from these three, tell me that in the comments please! I’m curious what you bitches like.

My sister has these leopard print ones – pony hair – and currently maybe in the lead for me.

And just for shits, let’s look at some adorably red Dr. Martens:

Key ute. Ok – polling time. Remember – don’t blow this for me!!!

And the Yosi Samra poll …

xoxo,

Lou

Blue Lip Beauty Experiment

Someone commented over on the ol’ Facebook page about trying out blue lipstick.

I’m not sure when blue lipstick became a thing, but I suspect that slut Ke$ha has something to do with it.

And now it’s made its way from the very cesspool of celebrity stardom to Portland, OR where me and two of my lady friends saw some broad sporting it at Dig a Pony. Of course, right?

We stared at her all night trying to decide if we liked it or not. I came to the conclusion that she looked stupid. Jordan said she liked it cause everything else about the girl was ‘normal’. I maintain that she liked it cause everything else about the girl was 90’s, but I still caught her drift. It wasn’t like she had on full sci-fi Mad Max fashion accessories.

And Jessica, pretty sure she just couldn’t stop staring at the hideous heels on the bitches behind us. They were like, I don’t know, like this maybe? (I was on my second vodka drink by this point)

Anyway, blue lips. Yeah…it’s a thing now again, huh? I kinda wanna try it. It’s so kooky and zany! Except, actually it’s not. I’m just afraid that with my fair skin I might end up looking like Laura Palmer.

But screw it. I aim to please. Especially my readers. So, for Ian Alexander Galloway, I will do this.

Here is some inspiration to draw from. I largely think how my own face turns out looking will largely depend on whatever $0.99 option Wet & Wild offers.

Ok! So watch for that. Me and my blue lips.

I also know I was drunk last night when I wrote about Rachel McAdams, cause I apparently also started a post about Lana Del Rey’s fashion that I don’t remember and that I was too tipsy to finish. Watch for that too.

xoxo, Lou

I’ve lost my inner hipster, help me find her

I’M BACK!!!!

We finally moved back to fabulous, weird, rainy, snarky, hipster supreme Portland!

I couldn’t be happier about being back here. It feels like home. It’s so good to have Lou sitting in front of me, chugging tall cans of PBR and spouting off a steady stream of amazing ideas on how to make this blog more awesome.

Unfortunately, I picked up some bad habits in sunny San Diego. The biggest Portland fashion faux pas: Being too well groomed. Working in La Jolla, land of the yuppiest of yuppies, it was important for me to have unscuffed boots, blown out hair, well applied natural make-up and smartly put together outfits. I could get a little funky but it still had to look…expensive and new.

In Portland, being polished is practically a sin. My severe bob with straight bangs seems like it’s trying to hard. I need artfully mussed hair that always looks as if it’s been ground into the pillows by some fabulous, sweaty sex. Mary Kate Olsen has perfected the art of just fucked hair.I would slap a child for that hair. Hell, I’d slap five.

 My shoes all look too new. My dresses look too generic. Everything in my closet made sense when I was in SoCal but now it makes no sense at all. It’s like going to Alaska with a wardrobe better fit for Hawaii. Getting dressed every day has been so confusing that I keep pulling on the same skinny jeans and hoodie.

My daily project is putting the things I own together in different ways. I have to regain my fashion spontaneity. I need to get comfortable taking risks again. The last year has been a reasonably boring year fashion wise for me. I mean, it’s San Diego. I spent most of my days like this:

The other night we went to the art show of a friend of our’s and in spite of the fact that I was biking there, I made an effort to look cute, Portland-style. The end result was pairing grey jeans with brown boots (which for some reason was a huge faux pas down south) and throwing on a fedora that someone left at my house.

It’s a start!

Got some Portland hipster fashion advice for me? Something that normal “fashionable” people would never do? Tell me!

It’s great to be back!

xoxoxo-SB

 

I’m a bunny loving hippie

This is a something I posted over on my personal blog but I wanted to post it over here as well. Xoxo-SB

 

In the last year I’ve become a bit of a hippie. I still shower though, don’t worry.

My boyfriend had been vegan for 7 years when I met him. We agreed that if he stopped smoking (which he had been doing for 14 years) that I would go vegan. Granted I was shitfaced when I made this deal so there was a lot of struggle on my part to hold up my end.

When we moved in together it was agreed that it would be a vegan household. So I became vegan…ish for a good 7 months. I still ate dairy if we were at a restaurant and definitely slipped up and ate meat  while I was away from the boy.

Fast forward to now…the boyfriend decided to eat some dairy and fish (mostly due to my sushi obsession). I have now fully stopped eating meat other than fish. I know that this is not a cruelty free diet but for someone that used to crave cheeseburgers on a daily basis, it’s huge for me. I have no desire to eat beef or pork ever again. I feel too upset by the thought of what I would actually be eating. And while fried chicken is delicious, I don’t think I could kill a chicken, so therefore I should not eat one.

See, such a hippie.

Being with the boyfriend has made it impossible for me to blindly plow ahead in life with my eyes closed to how my actions don’t match up with my morals. He’s a huge animal/environmental rights guy. I have always loved animals with a fierceness that I rarely bestow on humans. Yet I was eating them, wearing them and using products that tested on them. What a load of bullshit.

In my slow going process to be more aware, I have been making sure that I research the cosmetics that I buy to make sure that there is NO animal testing involved.

Most of us have huge make-up cases full of cosmetics that we adore and that we’ve never thought twice about purchasing. We would also be disgusted to hear about the gut churning tests that are being done on animals so that can have those cosmetics. I’m not going to go into gory details here because I don’t believe in shoving information in people’s faces. There are plenty of websites that will give you the rundown of exactly what’s happening. It happens whether you read up on it or not, so I suggest looking into it. Yeah it’s uncomfortable and easier to not know the details but suck it up.

Feel like you want to be more aware and make some changes? Then I give you the challenge that I have given myself:

-Go into your bathroom and look at all your products. Do they have the little cruelty free bunny on the bottle? No? Go look up that company and whoever owns that company and see if they test on animals.

-If you find that you have a lot of products with no bunny on the back, use them cuz you already bought them and there’s no need to be wasteful.

-But then next time you go out for shampoo, moisturizer or make-up, go armed with a list of companies that are cruelty free. Need help? Try one of these sites to guide you.

My Make-up Mirror

Peta

Leaping Bunny

If you want to know if a specific product that you love is cruelty free, just type into Google and ask. Leaping Bunny talks about how just because the bunny may be on the bottle, that doesn’t always mean it’s safe so do your research and do it well. More and more products are available that are safe, even at Target and Sephora. You don’t have to go to all natural stores.

It’s a slow transition to make. There’s always more that we could be doing. I know I shouldn’t be eating dairy or using products that have any animal products. But it’s a transition. To stop everything at once would be overwhelming. Even changing one thing is good. If everything changed one thing, it would be huge.

So all you animal lovers, put your money where your mouth is and be aware of who you’re buying from and what you’re putting on your face. It feels good and it’s great karma.

See..such a fucking hippie.

PS…wanna get really freaked out? Go watch this two minute cartoon on the toxic chemicals in our products and how we can help change it!

Safe Cosmetics!