Lighten Up

I love colouring my hair; every spring I start the lighter and medium blonde highlights, and every winter I do caramel and dirty blonde lowlights (For reference, I get the 'Nicole Richie' look). Since I'm broke as all hell, and highlights start to look really bad if you don't keep up with maintenence, sometimes I go to the esthetics schools here in town to get my work done.

Whoa, whoa whoa, you say? Don't I end up with blotchy crap highlights that make me want to cry, you say?

This is what FEAR looks like...

Well, I reply, the esthetics program is winding down right now, so most of the students are basically fully trained hairdressers that just haven't gotten their little piece o' paper yet. And, if you happen to be a student, Marvel College (Kelowna, Red Deer, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg) has a 50% off deal if you have a valid (or still passable as valid) highschool or post-secondary student I.D. A full head of foils will set you back only $25 bucks. Yeah, seriously. Even if you aren't a student, foils will only cost you $40-$55 bucks. That's at least half price from what you would pay in a 'salon'.

I think everyone needs a little foil-age in the summer, even you dark haired girls. I'm not saying go get Russian Mafia wife or bad asian teen bleached highlights, I'm saying get a colour one or two shades lighter than your base colour. It really brightens things up, without you looking totally fake or like your best friend combed L'Oreal's Chunking through your hair. So, if you have nearly black hair, get a deep auburn or medium chestnut shade partially foiled through (a la Megan Fox), and you will be looking at your self in store windows as you pass. Or, if you'd rather D.I.Y., Sun-In starts to hit the shelves at this time of year. (Please...no...)

Listening to: Just A Phase - Incubus

Ring The Alarms

Just incase you don't know, both Elizabeth Arden and Estee Lauder have gift with purchase promotions going on right now.

The Elizabeth Arden GWP is going on at Sears, and actually looks pretty sweet. It is a 9 piece set with a $38 purchase. It includes:

• 15 mL Ceramide PP Moisture Cream SPF 15/30



• 7 Ceramide Gold Ultra Restorative Capsules (3.2 mL)



• 50 mL Ceramide Purifying Cream Cleanser



• 5mL Prevage Anti-Aging Formula



• 15 mL 8 Hour Cream Skin Protectant



• 3mL Ceramide Lash Extending Treatment Mascara in Black



• Deluxe Compact with 3.6g Bronzer Duo, 2 eyeshadows in Wheat and Teak, and 2 lipglosses in Mandarin Shine and Frosted Camellia



• 3.5 g Ceramide Plump Perfect Lipstick in Perfect Shine



• 5mL Mediterranian Perfume
  

Seriously. That is a pretty sweet GWP.
At The Bay, if you choose to support ol' Aerin Lauder, Estee Lauder's GWP is a 8 piece set with a $32 purchse. It contains:

• Take It All Away Total Makeup Remover



• Your choice of Perfectionist [CP+] Wrinkle Lifting Serum or Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher



• Your choice of warm or cool lip stick



• Your choice of warm or cool eyeshadow duo



• 3 makeup bags in blue (sm), lime (med), and navy (lg)



• And, with any purchase over $75, you can add 3 extra Hydra Lustre Lipsticks and a pink makeup bag.
  

I'm not totally impressed by this one, but if you're in to Estee Lauder products, now is the time to strike. I honestly have never used either of these brands, so I can't give you a run down on whether or not these products are good, but it might be worth your time to get something safe (foundation, bronzer, etc) from Elizabeth Arden, because by the looks of it, you get to try half of her line in the GWP. And if you need to stock up on your favorite Lauder or Arden products, you might as well get something extra for your hard earned cash.

Listening to: Underneath It All - No Doubt

The End Is Near!

For all my Canadian friends, Clinique's awsome gift - with - purchase promo ends Sunday. Yes, you need to get on down to the Bay and get this stuff. Spend $26.50 and get:

• Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion


• 7 Day Scrub - Rinse Off Formula


• Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara


• Clinique Blush with a brush (But the brush is probably crap)


• A lipstick


• And a purple and white makeup bag

I actually kind of like the Clinique lotion, and the blush looks like a pretty and neutral colour, but I'm excited by the lipstick they offer. You have the choice of Black Honey and Air Kiss Pink. I have both of these lip colours, and the Air Kiss is a sticky gloss type of thing that attracts my hair to it like fly paper. And it really isn't any kind of colour at all...unless sticky pale crap is a colour. But the Black Honey is a great sheer red that looks good on winter pale skin. It really does look almost black in the tube, but it wears very sheer and pumps up your natural lip colour nicely. If you're a little shy about going for a full fledged red, this is a good colour to break you in. Go get this 'bonus' kit just for the lipstick. To spend your $26.50, go for Clinique's Happy To Be perfume.

Listening To: Right Round - Flo Rida