Top 5 of Life/ May 31st, 2016

Another edition of Top 5!!! YAY!!

1) Love Me So by Stereo Kicks. SO Stereo Kicks are a 8 piece boy band that was put together on the TV show, X Factor UK, which I watch religiously. I vividly remember Stereo Kicks and loved them but didn't like how there were 8 of them. The judges wanted to "try something different", so they put them all together as a boy band. If I recall correctly, they didn't make it to the end or anything. But in June 2015, they put out a song called Love Me So, which I just recently came across, instantly loved, and can't stop playing. Less than a year after their formation, they broke up as a band because apparently they couldn't get a record deal (plus they had some scandals...) I'm oddly devastated since they only put out one song. I guess an 8 piece boy band is too much boy band.

2) BBC Radio 1 'School Run.' So School Run is on YouTube and it's where 3 kids get a rid home from school (or to school) from a celebrity (this takes place in the UK, by the way). The kids ask the celebrity questions and they talk to them and it's an all around good time. There are only a couple of them, but the celebrities that have done the school run are Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas, Matty from The 1975, and 2 members of The Vamps. I think Matty's was my favorite because he raps R. Kelly's "Ignition." Although, Nick Jonas singing Camp Rock in his school run is a close second favorite.

3) Raw sunflower seeds. I admit that at first I hated these things. They're just sunflower kernels, unsalted, and thrown in a bag. Now, I can't stop eating them. I bought a bag of Bob's Red Mill raw seeds for $4 (WHY DID I SPEND THAT MUCH!!???!) and I eat them at night to curb my craving for other food. I keep them on my desk next to my laptop, so now whenever I go on my laptop, no matter what time of day, I eat a handful. I really want to home make granola one day and I think these seeds would go perfect in granola. AND THEY'RE HEALTHY!!!

4) No7 Beautiful Skin purifying mask for normal/oily. My mom gave me a bunch of face masks because she's not using them anymore and this face mask was interesting. You  have to rub it in your face and it heats up (you can definitely feel the heat) then leave it on for 2 minutes. Like all face masks, it's suppose to "draw out the impurities." I followed the directions, then rinsed it off. And MAN, was my skin soft! A lot of face masks don't make my skin soft because I have rougher skin, but this stuff really worked! I also had 2 pimples about to show on my face and by the morning, they were gone?!?! I have never had a face mask actually work like that before. I admit, I don't know how much this stuff costs, but it's worth it!!!

I would like to change it up a bit and tell you one thing I DON'T like this week:

5) Relvon Luxurious Colorsilk Buttercream hair dye. So, I went to Walmart in search of brown-black hair dye and I didn't want it to cost much because I'm broke. I found this Revlon brand surprisingly for $4-$5 per box! It was permanent hair dye and everything! I was so excited. I got home, dyed my hair with the formula, and here to find out, I should stick to more expensive hair dye. This stuff is pure crap. It didn't even dye parts of my hair, which were left spotty and my old color was a faded blue/gray and with this Revlon stuff, it turned half my head a sickly green. Now, at first is was perfect and I loved the color and was so confident in it that I overlooked the spottiness at first. Then when I washed it over time, it turned more and more green. I was embarrassed to be seen in public a little bit. I redyed it again with the same brand and color (because I had bought 2) and the roots were STILL not the color that it was suppose to be. Now my roots have a red-ish tint that I DON'T WANT! So I advise everyone NOT TO BUY THIS HAIR COLOR WHATSOEVER!! 

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My Review of Jawbreaking

I have a (semi) history with a small online clothing company called Jawbreaking. In 2014, I saw a band member where a shirt that I immediately fell in love with. I asked about it on Twitter and my friend, along with Jawbreaking, responded.

I bought 2 shirts, the lips one and another one that Zayn Malik wore years ago (he didn't wear the actual shirt, just the design!!!) 

The Zayn one, even though it was an XL, was very tight so I never actually got around to wearing it. It's one of those shirts that are most likely in junior sizes, even though it's for 'women'. It's just sitting in my closet, somewhere.

Fast forward to March 2016 and I still loved Jawbreaking. They had a really cute design that said "boy bands ruined my life" that I loved but didn't have money at the time and they're the type of company that sells things but rarely get them back once they sold out of them. Which is a shame because I'd love to buy that shirt now that I have money. 

Then, Jawbreaking suddenly had a "mystery grab bag" sale that I saw where they give you 4 shirts for $25. I was all in. All in all, I spent $32 for 4 shirts. Which is TOTALLY not bad. 

So I waited for my shirts. And waited. And waited. AND WAITED. It said on my receipt email to wait at least 5-10 days for grab bag items, since they have been swamped with orders, which was fine, I was in no rush. 

10 days past with no shipping email conformation.  15, then 20 days past and I finally decided to email them to make sure I was still getting my package. They emailed me back very promptly and friendly to say that they were still swamped with grab bags and they'll send it out in a week. 

A week passed, no email. Finally, after 2 months of no shipping email, I emailed once more, and I gave them an ultimatum: please send out my items by this week, or give me a refund. 

They once again responded in a very nice manner, apologizing, and even gave me a $15 gift card to their store (which they don't have anything less than $15, so you're still going to be paying them SOMETHING.) They also said to expect a shipping email by the end of the day and they're going to ship it via 2 day shipping to say sorry.

I thought the gift card was very nice of them and I bought something right away. But alas, no email by the end of the day for my grab bag. The next day comes around, and it's now May, and I FINALLY GET MY SHIPPING CONFORMATION EMAIL!!! It was like winning a prize. 

I  ordered a bracelet that said "internet princess" on it (because honestly, that's me) with my gift card and the next day, I got a shipping conformation email for that too.

I got the bracelet in the mail before my grab bag (which by the way, turned my skin green. I'm not terribly mad, but isn't there something you can do to coat it to make it not turn green....?) but  I was terribly confused? I keep checking the tracking code for my grab bag and for 8 days, my grab bag has been in "pre-shipment". They haven't even really shipped it yet. I'm planning on giving it two weeks, then emailing them about it again. While writing this, it's STILL IN 'PRE-SHIPPMENT'.

One thing is for sure, I will not be ordering from the company again until something changes. I hate making posts like this, because I want everything to be happy, and I DID really appreciate the person I talked to via email, but I don't want other people to go through what I did. It's such a hassle and honestly, a little bit of a headache. 

Great products, nice people,  but a less than satisfied customer. 

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Bleach London Interview

Bleach London is one of my dream jobs.

And a lot of people who know me, know that fact.

Bleach London is a salon that specializes in funky hair dye colors, to put it frankly.

They were unattainable to me because all their branches were in England until they opened one in California recently. I was ecstatic. I mean, it was still unattainable, but it’s LESS unattainable now!

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I came across a girl named Kira on Instagram (Her pictures are so great) one day and loved the pictures she was taking of her hair and other people’s hair so I followed her. I then realized (after some time), that I also follow her on Tumblr. AND THAT SHE WORKS AT A BLEACH LONDON IN ENGLAND!! I decided to pull myself together and ask her if I could interview her for this blog.

AND SHE SAID YES! I was ecstatic. So here are my questions and here are Kira’s beyond wonderful answers:

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1. When did you know you wanted to become a hairdresser?

"I always wanted to be a hairdresser when I was younger, but once I turned 12, I realized I couldn’t even tie my own hair up into a ponytail, so that kinda put me down a bit. So I jumped around with a few ideas, all work that involved being around other people, like a teacher and stuff, but i started doing my own hair on the side. I really liked the brand and idea behind Bleach, so it wasn’t until I was actually working for them that I figured that’s something I wanted to do for the rest of my life."

2. What was the best part of working with Bleach?
"I guess it was working with such an amazingly talented and creative team who loved exploring the fashion world and their own abilities every single day. Everybody in the team is creative and has got their own style, which makes every day fun. They are all very helpful in making you better if you, yourself, are focused on getting better at what you do. Everybody is helping everybody. It’s a nice place!"

3. What was the hardest part of working with Bleach?
"For me personally, it would have to be the fact that I just moved overseas, which means English isn’t my first language, but also the physical exhaustion from working in a salon which I hadn’t tried before. The language barrier can sometimes still create problems for me, although it becomes easier with time. And with the physical work you have to do in salon; you are always on your feet, long hours, but also you are interacting with a lot of different people on a day to day basis, not only with stylists but also with clients. It is a tough job and you are often dead on your feet by the end of a day in the salon but there’s nothing better than knowing and seeing how happy the clients are with their new hair."

4. What are your favorite Bleach products?
"I like the colors a lot. They are easy to work with and they’re brilliant when used the right way. Also I absolutely cannot live without the dry shampoo. I have been looking for the perfect dry shampoo for ages, and this is the only one I absolutely love. The smell is good and my hair does exactly what I want it to. I also have it in my bag."

5. What colours do clients ask for the most and what is your favorite color on you?

"The demand on colors differ from time to time. It changes with the fashion world. When Kylie Jenner went and got her dusty blue hair, the blue colors were requested more, but a soft pink is always fun and looks amazing, so it’s a color we do quite a lot.
As for myself, I like the colder tones as warmer tones clash with my skin. I like purple the best, but blue is also very high up on the list. They’re difficult colors to use, but I like them a lot and couldn’t imagine going for warmer tones unless it is to neutralize unwanted colors coming through."

6. What are your favorite hair products?

"I’ve got quite a few when I think about it actually.

I like the elasticizer by Philip Kingsley as a treatment, and then I use the heavier reincarnation mask from Bleach as a conditioner after my shampoos.

I like the damage defense spray by Philip Kingsley to help untangle my hair. It also works as a heat protector, which is really important!

For styling; as i said earlier, the Bleach dry shampoo is definitely a must have. I have just tried the miracle ends by Fudge and was really impressed with how well it helped my frizzy ends. (Side note by Megan: Miracle Ends by Fudge is one my favorite products for my ends. You can’t get it in America anymore, but I got it when it WAS in America. Fudge is my absolute favorite) and I use a lot of hairspray as well. I have been using the same one for about 7 years because it helped me through a lot of difficult (and questionable) hairstyles through the ages haha. I use Polywore by Schwartzkopf stronghold 3."

7. Was it difficult coming from a different country to London and what motivated you?

"Moving to London had been a plan for me for more than 5 years so I had heard a lot of stories before I moved, but everything really depends on you as a person and what expectations you have. I moved with no big plans except for the fact that I wanted to live in London for a year and I think that really helped me look at things in a positive light.

London is big and exciting but it can also seem very claustrophobic at times which has been difficult for me as I am from a much smaller city.

I love London though, and it still makes me happy seeing all these things and places everyday and I am definitely planning on coming back as soon as I can because it is the place to be if you want to do grungy, underground fashion.
What really motivated me was getting a job at Bleach and being surrounded by these talented people. If I hadn’t worked there i would still be unsure of my future."

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(This interview first took place in November of 2015!!)
I want to thank Kira for being so caring and answering my questions! All pictures here are respectfully from her Instagram.
Follow Kira on Instagram: @KiraHellsten
and Tumblr: @Bleachinme

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