“Red hair, sir, in my opinion, is dangerous.” - P.G. Wodehouse

The lovely people at VocalPoint offered me a coupon for a free box of Clairol Nice'n Easy Non-Permanent hair coloring to try out. I've always wanted to be a redhead so here was my chance and if I didn't like it then it would wash away slowly. I decided to take a chance!

I chose the Deep Mahogany (815R) online and then went out to the store to find it.  I should say... stores.  I went to Publix and they had some but not the right shade.  I went to Rite Aid and found more options but still not Deep Mahogany.  I tried again at CVS with no luck. Finally, Walgreens had it and bonus... it was on sale.  I noticed most of the boxes cost around $8.00.  This one was on sale for$5.99.

So home I go and read the instructions.  I've never, ever colored my hair before so I was excited and nervous at the same time.  I find out that I'm supposed to do a skin test for 48 hours and I'm supposed to do a hair test too.  Also, you aren't supposed to wash your hair right before you do it and you shouldn't have any product in your hair.   I decided to wait until the weekend to do it.I did the skin test on my arm and nothing happened and I skipped the hair test which I don't think it mattered but you can do it to get a better idea of how long to leave the color on your hair.

So here's a before picture of my hair...

Oh horrible. I just fell asleep looking at that blah colored frizz.  I also have about 10 grey hairs right on the top of my head at my part.  They are all clumped together... a grey spot if you will.  Stacy London has one too.  It drives me crazy.


I put on the fun little gloves and poured the color in the cream, shook it up and started applying.  Piled it all on top of my head and set the timer for 15 minutes.  My hair is past my shoulders but is thin.  The amount of color was more than enough.  I had a bit left over.  I do wish I would have put a little more around my face and by my ears.  I don't think the color took as well there (or now looking at this picture I think maybe I didn't put as much on there).  There was no horrible smell either.  It actually smelled quite nice!

15 minutes later I wash it all out until the water runs clear.  I started this in the sink but was having a hard time getting it all out.  I recommend just jumping in the shower and rinsing.  Then apply the conditioning cream and wait a couple of minutes and rinse that out.  It was a very nice cream but I felt like it might have been bit heavy for my thin hair.  I also felt like it was hard to rinse out. Anyway... I hopped out of the shower and styled as normal.

Here is my after picture... in the same spot as the before picture:

Hello,Gorgeous!

Here's a side by side.  I can't believe the difference!

Now it is a bit more red than I thought it would be.  I was shooting for more of a reddish brown color but I'm ok with how it came out.  I'm just completely shocked by the difference.  And the color did cover up my grey streak!  While those hairs are a bit lighter than the rest of my hair it blends in much better now.  My hair is so shiny and light feeling.  

Overall... I think this product is definitely worth the price.  If you are a regular colorer or just want to try something new for a month or two then I would definitely recommend it!  (Be sure to check the drugstores for sales!)

                                           Sincerely,

                                              Rachel (The sassy redhead)

Enter to win FREE Combat products!

The LOVELY people at Purex Insiders sent me two products to try! 

If you are interested in trying them yourself just complete the form below!

 One winner will be chosen at 2:45pm EST on 9/14/12.  Good Luck everyone!

This giveaway has ended.  Please keep an eye on our page for future giveaways.

Dollar Store Design School - Paper Flowers

As the seasons begin to change and Fall is right around the corner I start to think about different craft ideas to decorate the house for the upcoming string of holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and my birthday. Ok so that last one isn't technically a holiday but moving on...

My goal is to always have the perfect balance of mature sophistication and fun when decorating especially with the front of the house. I want people to drive by and say "Ooooo I love what they did with their porch!" and I want kids to walk past our house in October making a mental note to come back and hit up that awesome house on Halloween. Of course I am on a pretty tight budget and have most certainly not been to design school so I do the next best thing... scour the internet and hit The Dollar Store.

The other day we were doing an ice breaker at work and I was asked to share what my favorite store is. When I said Dollar Tree everyone erupted in laughter but I expected it. Sure it's full of a bunch of individual cheap items but when those items come together with a little imagination then you could have something amazing!

So to start off my new "Dollar Store Design School" teaching course I will walk you through how to create adorable paper flowers!

Items needed: tissue paper, pipe cleaners, scissors
Optional items: vase, ribbon, balloon

1. Choose one sheet of tissue paper, lay it out flat and then fold it in half 4 times.
2. Slide your scissors in at the folds and cut the paper. When you are done you will have a stack of 16 squares.

3. Make sure the squares are stacked neatly and then fold the stack of papers back and forth (accordion style) 8-10 times. Wrap a pipe cleaner around the center of the paper to secure. Be sure the pipe cleaner is in the center of the paper so your flower will be event. Twist the pipe cleaner so that it is tight around the paper so it will hold it will not move.

4. Next cut the ends of the paper into a 'V' shape or you can round them off. This will make a nicer shape for the flowers "petals".

5. Begin to open the flower by pulling each layer up towards the center. Do one side and then do the other.

Done! Beautiful flower! Just shape it up the way you want.

Now you can arrange them in a vase. These were both bought at The Dollar Store. The clear one is actually a glass. I added a balloon (also from the dollar store) to one. You could also tie together a bouquet of them with some ribbon.

Next time on Dollar Store Design School - Creating a Halloween Wreath!