BETTER IN BLACK

The weeks I do my early work shifts I still go for some version of my black uniform I wrote about several years ago. Quick, easy, rather incognito, but still stylish enough considering I get up a bit after five in the morning (or, rather: at night).

Black is the great disguise, a perfect way to cover tiredness, pluffiness and bad hairdays. Sometimes in more drastic ways, sometimes in more subtle. I know for some this might not work and colours and flair may do the trick instead, but I am better in black and it has to be lots of it. Especially when getting up early in the morning, having loaded a few ships already before the average office worker has had lunch, and, especially, like here, when having to go some place and be representable in the evening.

(Cat pics added for bonus comments.)


As you know from before my basic trick is to cover my hair with my beret, and make a few big rolls in front. Basically if your hair is not too messy or dirty you could skip the beret and just do a plain chingnon in the back of your hair as the curls in front will look nice enough.

For my hair in this one I rolled four curls, all in the same direction, and secured them with one pin in the middle.

Some highlighter, a good f foundation and lipstick does the trick on my weary face, but I think the most important is to do my eyebrows - I never leave the house without a few quick lines and a brush trough on them.

For my black look I also, always, do a strong eyeliner. Another easy face-saver is to cut a piece of old false eyelashes, about 1-1,5 cm in length and glue it in the outer corner of your eye. The small pieces are really simple and quick to apply, idiot safe to so say, and gives your eyes a totally different look - perfect cat eyes!

You may have noticed, at least I have, that most of my hint and tutorials always contains the words "easy" and "quick" - I like to be fancy, you know that, but I like to get away with as little effort as possible, unless the occasion is very special, then it doesn't matter. But my poiint is that you don't have to have all the time and skill in the world for a nice look!

The dress is an old knitted one from H&M. You've seen it in drawn sometimes in the very beginning of this blog.

Edit : OK; I have to add as you all seem to read the post this way - I do not look like this at five in the morning, of course not! I put on my black stuff yes - the "uniform" I refer and link to or a black dress- but come on, I work in the harbour, outside, no false lash bits or hair rolls... This is after work, when tired and having to go somewhere! But maybe one is not very good at expressing oneself late in the evening when having woken up some 18 hours earlier :)

HAIRDO's #7 - THE ETERNAL ROLL

So, I'm not sure how much time I'll be spending in my favourite hangout, the internet, in the following days to come (you have to add a little sarcasm to that) - I'll be busy rehearsing, preparing costumes, running around on burlesque belly dance and Japanese fan dance workshops, warm up clubs and such.
But, meanwhile I'll keep you and your fingers busy with a new tutorial:

Eddi says his grandmother used to wear her hair like this. This do most likely even has some name that I just don't know of. It's easy to make and good for the days your hair is starting to get a little dirty or messy from old curls. But it will also work when your locks are too clean and light. If my hair is any of the two first options I like to make the do a bit loose and messy and if my hair is newly washed I roll it sleek and tightly. When rolled loosely with curly brushed out hair you can also imitate something of a belle époque look, and why not add some piece of jewellery too. But more on the variations later.

(You've seen the do here and here before for example.)

I'm making mroe of the messy do here; my hair is a bit frizzy and I'm in a hurry.


First, brush out the hair and keep it in your normal parting. I guess you could pin the hair in the back to keep the crown sleek, but I don't.

Start by twisting your hair upwards. I start a little bit before my parting. You have to twist quite tightly in the beginning as the roll will loosen up before you have the time to pin it. Keep on twisting along your hair line.

When you reach the ear you can stick in a pin to secure it, in this case my hair is messy enough so I won't need to.

Keep on rolling past the ear and downwards, grabbing more hair along. Roll it rather tiglty (and yes, it looks disguisting when the skin stretches but it will loosen up:)


When rolling the back, try to make sure all hairs join the roll, and that no sections are too puffy on the top of your head. You can correct this a little bit afterwards while pinning too, or in between if your grip on the roll is hard enough.


The tricky part is the other ear. Just keep on rolling past it, don't let go.

When you reach the beginning of your roll you start twisting the hair around it again. It sounds a bit tricky but it's actually not! You might have to do it a bit slower at this point and really twist and roll it to make it stay.

Secure with bobby pins; stick them in the roll. You can also use bigger pins in the back, twist them into the hair to make the roll stay.

Zig zag your hair a bit if it feels too tight by pressing the roll towards your headwith your hands, although remember the roll will loosen up after a while.

Correct and sleek uneven sections with you hands and/or a comb, spray or add your product of preference.



This will work on shorter and longer hair; the shorter the hair the thinner the roll will be.

You can also make the roll in two parts; one in front and another in the back (like the "back roll 'do". And, also, you can use a rat in both the front and the back for a bigger do, both in the all-round version but especially if you choose to make one in the front and another in the back.

This is a great do for small hats as they will fit nicely on in the middle of your roll. If it's very cold and your little ears will freeze without being covered up, you can use a head band, like I do here.

So, good luck with the rolling. And remember, if you ever try out any of these hairdo's I'd love to see pictures!

ps. mini version of the tutorial: click!

KEEPING A GIFT FOR MYSELF

I got myself a new art deco inspired hat. Or head piece, however you like to see it. Originally I did buy it as a gift for someone else, but as soon as I left the shop I got doubtful and at home I thought - what the hell! I'll keep it!

I mean, it even has a tassel for heaven's sake!

The hat is made by Linda in Ansa and the bangs are fake, re-coloured from platinum and thus useable for me again. I had to give the ends of my hair some fresh tint too as they are so bleached they started loosing colour and going matte. We only had to colour half of the hair however, as it is growing out in the "right" colour.
(My hairdresser is an old friend of mine, Josefin, and she works at Prof downtown, in case someone's interested or want to pay her a visit or so.)
The sateen outfit is Vivien of Holloway.

FOUR THINGS RIGHT NOW

(Or, actually, Four Things Friday. But time wasn't enough to post then)

I want to get our balcony to resemble something of a Mexican bar, Christmas season or not (meaning the lights will most likely stay all-year round). Might have to change these though into som other kind of lights, as there is too much chord and too few lights in order for the lamps to hang nicely.

I went to the post office to pick up some Vivien of Holloway goodies! One of the items came in the wrong colour though, and I was too f.. curvy for another so I'll have to return those and wait - I hate waiting- for the right ones to arrive. Gnah. Perhaps I go to the post office too otfen btw; one of the workers handed my parcel over to the desk clerk as soon as she saw me, before I had even opened my mouth.

Exciting; received my first letter from the little boy I sponsor in India! You know, I do put my money on other things than clothes and home decor too. But they do not get to show here that much...

Rolled my hair into faux bangs (before going to perfprm at the shittiest show of the year). Haven't had my hair like this forever! And yes, I know a lot have been asking for more hair tutorials - let's see what I can come up with :)

MAKING A WAVE / BY THE MAKE-UP TABLE

Concentrate...

concentrate...

concentrate...

That's it!

And now I'm off out to town for my sister's fare-well party from the harbour! In high waisted trouser and high heeled brogues but no time for pictures on that. And one has to leave a little for the imagination you know.
Have a nice Saturday night y'all!

ARCHIPELAGO WEDDING / EARLY SIXTIES INSPIRED UPDO

I have to break that image of me as a cabbage head and save myself for future references in the internet. All the following images should be named ulrikabacherulrikabacherulrikabacher.jpg to be sure they are the ones to hit the search engine first.

Well anyway Eddi and I went to a wedding last weekend (yes there's been a lot of weddings this year, my friend asked if we've done anything else this summer) in the far-away archipelago. I had a pretty dress and a nasty flu with me and did this 'do inspired by the early sixties. Mad Men if you so like (I have to start watching that show!).

The hair do takes under ten minutes to make with pre-culred hair and the help of some Bumpits'. The pearl bow hair comb is from Frollein von Sofa.


I think had the nicest outfit I've worn this year so far, but as you really can't have your picture taken all the time I don't have any proper shots of that. The dress is trashy Diva however.

I don't smoke anymore btw. Only sometimes. Like when I have the flu because it helps, eh.

THE HAIR PROJECT GETTING STARTED

I have started a project this fall to get my long hair back,and to get it thick and healthy again. These past months it jsut breaks andfeels really thin in the edges. It will take a lot of effort and some sacrifice and a hell lot of time but we'll see how it goes!

The first thing I did was putting acid in my head. Not as crazy as it sounds and not really as an actual part of my project, but more to try it out; I read an interview with an ecological hairdresser mentioning ascorbic acid, which helps remove the metals and pollutions your hair sucks up form the environment. After som googling I also learned that ascorbic can remove greens and yellow shades from blonde hair, which sounded promising since my cool blonde always tends to lean to yellow after a while. I also recalled another article about another eco-salon I read ages ago, where it was said that cabbage also has the property of sucking all that evil stuff out of your hair.

So, first off to the pharmacy (the lady there was a bit sceptic about the combination of acid and hair but I decided to give it a shot anyway).

Eddi could not hold his laugh when he heard for what I needed the cabbage I sent him to by… Well I did make a salad of most of it.

I thought the ascorbic acid would turn into some sort of jelly as it is used in jams and gelées, but it did not (it is used as an antioxidant and not a jelly substance, so it is pretty clear now that ones thinks about it…) It was a bit runny to apply easily and got into my eyes and I thought I was going to go blind for a moment but just a little water helped, sight still intact :)

The cabbage leaves were so easy to apply due to their shape and stayed in pace well. I was struggling a while weather to post any pictures of me during the process (also with a clay mask on my face once I was at it) bearing possible future employers typing my name into google in mind. And just the plain fact itself weather one really wants to be seen with cabbage on the head and clay in the face on the internet. But then again, I know you all want to see that cabbage hat of mine so here we go.

Ta-taa! (Let's see how many end up here after googling 'cabbage head' or 'girl with cabbage on her head' now shall we).

I'm not sure how much the cabbage actually soaked up in the end, but they were a whole lot floppier afterwards than when applying them. And I kept on thinking I can feel it suck up all bad things from my scalp, even though that might have been mostly psychological. (But I still don't consider this any eco mumbo-jumpo, in the end I'd rather trust the natural cabbage over a bunch of silicone combinations to restore my hair :)I of course had to try everything at once, so I reined my hair first with plain water) with a mix of water and apple-vinegar, as I read that's a natural substitute to conditioner. (But as I otherwise am not that into ecological hair care I did put a hair mask afterwards. You know, putting all those non-organic chemicals right back in my head.)

As far as the ascorbic comes, my hair did feel quite light afterwards but I wouldn't really say it removed any yellow tones. I almost think it dug those faded pink striped out again and made them orange. Not really, but in a certain light it seemed that way. I have some of that acid left so I might do this again at some point, perhaps. Although I think I prefer the cabbage :)

BANGS.

Faux bangs. As in faux-faux, truly fake, not the one you create by rolling your hair into a fringe, but as in clip-ons.
But you can't really tell can you?
Mine is made of human hair and bought form Cybershop.

A bit too peroxide toned when it arrived, I have coloured it more into my own (or, should I say "own") shade at the hairdresser's and slightly re-styled it.(My hairdresser calls it "The Rat". Not like the rat you roll our hair with but the actual animal; it was a sad little grey piece of lump during the colouring, hence the name. Now I will have to colour the poor little rat again the next time I go to the hairdresser for The Big Change. Ahum. Nothing. Forget that. Ladi dadi da. *whistles*)

(The dress is my newly arrived Americana Dress from Trashy Diva)

THINK DRINKS WITH PARASOLS AND LOTS OF FRUITS IN THEM

Today it's really warm and sunny, in ohter words perfect day to go a little tropically kitsch covering my frizzy curls from yesterday's show with a turban and a whole lot of flowers.

Like this!

Which wil be perfect for an evening to spend at Storyville's terrace sipping rosé wine and listening to great music ( at their summer Sunday club). Even though I guess a drink with parasols, pineapple slices and rhum in it would suit the outfit better...

Or then I might just skip all the city fun and drive out to Eddi in the countryside; after all, the man surprised me with pancakes, ice cream and strawberries in honour of my name's day this morning.

We'll see.

HELMET!

I've been shooting a commercial today and the hairstylist put a whole bottle of spray into my hair - it looks like a wig and feels like a helmet! Like I can safely go and bump my head into doors and walls now.
Insane. (And we cut off hairs peeking out of the 'do. That's insane).
But anyway, it looks normal on film.

OH AND I ALSO FORGOT TO MENTION MY HAIR IS SORT OF PINK NOW

(I guess one could've seen it coming since I've been obsessed with the idea ever since this happened (<– click) even though I didn't quite go all cotton-candy-head.)

Now I'm off to a party in connection to the TV-show I participated in some time ago.
Have a nice weekend!

THE FIVE MINUTE-PINUP'ISH-TIKI INSPIRED-HAIRDO

Hairdo #6:


This is an easy 'do that could be seen last week in my polka-dot skirt-post. It's quick way to do something about your locks if your hair is a bit untameable after a wild night out or due to yesterday's curls, like mine at the moment; extra dry and textured of heat and hairpsray from a photoshoot the day before.

If you start from scratch you might like to curl your hair first to make it more easy to work with. It's easy to roll and secure your hair around a stick (I use the same decorated, glossy chop stick you've seen before; a life saver) and it can give you a sligthly exotic look if you so wish, especially combined with a flower.

So, here's how you do it:



If that was a bit too fast (and epilectic) for you, we can give it a closer look:
(Bare with me and the computer photos as it is an easier, although a perhaps less aesthetic way to do this -who knows, maybe I even at some point will give it a go at a video tutorial. Oh my.)

Well - first, brush out the hair, it doesn't matter if it gets real frizzy.

Then separate the hair in the front with a rat-tail comb (fasten the hair in the back for the moment if you feel it gets in the way). Separate this part in three sections, roll each section towards your head, secure with one bobby pin stuck trhough the roll. I try to put the pin in just were the roll turns over so it won't show too well. You can lay the rolls as you like, standing, more flat, or more inwards.(Click the links for examples)

Lately I've been sporting these three rolls a lot as I'm growing out my bangs, and I've been rolling all three in the same dierction. Here I twist second roll more inwards, and lay it against my forehead, as well as the third.

Grab the section of hair on the side of your head, parting at the ear, and twist it upwards. (As seen before in my very first tutorial.) Fasten it with a comb, or hair clip. Of course you can make a victory roll too, but we're not going to go all hi-fi here now (plus then you might have to count in a little bit more than five minutes for this one, unless you're a pro.) Repeat on the other side.

You can also leave it like this (it will look like this do then) but if your really doing it the "day after" you most likely want to continue.

Grab the rest of the hair and twist it in to a round or banana shaped bun and stick the chop stick trhoug to secure it. Well curled "day afer" hair stays well in place with just the stick for me, but add some pins and hide them well on the sides if it feels unsecure. I have to add some pins at the neckline to tame those small annoying fly-aways.

To finnish the look of, add a huge flower, and spray if needed.
Then, go out and look great!


(PS. Prefecta tells me she has a giveaway where you can win a fat free cream cake with a puppy that never needs walking or the latest issue of Lula! Go to the giveaway here :)

HAIRCUT

If you're a guy not only the best but the one and only place to get your hair cut is at The Barber Shop!



Eddi got his hair done the other day and Ina and I popped by for coffee at the same time as Rody, the barber, is also a great guy.



I liked Ina's vintage jacket (reminds me a bit of the one I have myself now that I think about it) :



But most of all I liked her shoes :)



(+ one sneaky outfit picture squeezed in here at the end)