pastel hair

Oh so Pretty

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It’s the most wonderful time of the month! No, not that “time of the month”- I’m talking about hair appointment time! It’s always a bit of a challenge to decide what I want to try next with how many different colours my hair has been over the past five years, but this time I’ve known what shade I want for weeks.

I call it milky pink peach pastel sunset (Yes, that’s totally a thing), or “flamingo hair” for short.

I’ve never really accomplished a truly perfect peach on my own at home, so when my pals at Good Day Hair Shop in Kensington Market invited me in for a date with their dreamy colourist Jaymi I jumped at the chance to do something different. If you haven’t seen Jaymi’s colour work yet, check it out immediately: @kaleidoscopejaymi. This lady is seriously a pastel hair goddess, and I couldn’t wait to meet her irl.

True to her online awesomeness, Jaymi was a bubbly babe with the prettiest rosy coral locks. We immediately got to work with the usual bleaching and toning, and then the fun started. Jaymi described my idea as “putting a flamingo in a blender”, and though it sounds rather violent she definitely got my vision. She covered my whole head with a peach toner, then “ribboned” a touch of hot pink through the bottom while my head was in the sink. She even made me a take home hair mask tinted with peach so I can keep my colour fresh- what a peach!

The end result is, well… see for yourself! I basically transformed from a sad grey pigeon to a vacation-ready flamingo, and I can’t wait to flaunt my new feathers!

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Ready to take the pastel hair plunge? I highly recommend Jaymi at Good Day Hair Shop!

Oh so Pretty

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I’m no stranger to messing around with my hair- its been bleached, toned, and dyed almost every pastel colour you can dream up over the past 6 years, and I’m not planning on putting a stop to the strain anytime soon.

When Dove contacted me to get wild and try a weekend #HairDare I honestly didn’t know what I could do to my hair that I hadn’t already done. I’m really lucky to have strong hair that puts up with just about anything pretty well, but after all this time subjecting it to intense chemicals, the breakage is undeniable, so I try to avoid hot tools and teasing as much as I possibly can.

Luckily, Dove sent me their new Regenerative Nourishment collection so that I could take part in the Hair Dare! Loaded with Red Algae and Keratin NutriComplex, this 3-piece collection is the perfect way to nourish and repair damaged hair, and with the products added to my beauty lineup I felt confident to try something I would never usually put my delicate mane through: I took my hair to new heights!

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I’ve always loved the teased 1950’s beauty queen look, so it was pretty exciting to finally have a reason to put my inspiration into action. I headed to Her Majesty’s Pleasure’s decadent blowout bar, and after a seemingly endless session of washes, blowdries, curling irons, brushing and some VERY heavy all-over teasing, I finally had the vintage-inspired locks of my dreams.

Of course my hair was NOT in a good state by the time I got into the shower the next morning. Matted bits were sandwiched between layers of hairspray, and the humidity from the rain the evening before had caused a whole new level of frizz.

With the help of my new Dove lineup, I had my hair back to normal with one wash, a deep condition, and a light layer of their new serum-in-oil treatment. Shiny, smooth, and good as new, my hair was ready for a whole new hair dare before Monday had even rolled around. Thanks to Dove’s Regenerative Nourishment range, I’m no longer terrified of taking hair risks!

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This post was sponsored by Dove Canada, but all opinions are my own. To inquire about sponsored posts, please email jess@shineinfluencers.com

Dress Up

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And just like that, TFW is upon us all over again. It honestly feels like we were *just* running around from the tents to parties and dinners and back again at SS16, but right as actual Spring hits we’re hitting the tents again for FW16.

Are we organized and on top of the crazy schedule to come? Nope. Do we have any idea what we’re wearing each day? Not even close. Does that make us any less excited? NO WAY!

Fashion week may seem a bit silly to some, but it really is the only time of year when you can get as dressed up as you want and no one batts an eyelash. We spent our weekend rifling through our favourite local boutiques (like CONVEY) for treasures, and we can’t wait to see what our favourite Canadian designers (like Hayley Elsaesser) have in store. We’ll be posting outfits and updates here, but to keep on top of real-time pastel reporting be sure to follow us on Twitter too!

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Dress via CONVEY, Shell purse via Skinnydip, Shoes from ASOS, Vintage Coat, Hair by Blyss Salon

Oh so Pretty

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When planning my trip to California this week there wasn’t much to worry about (thanks Expedia.ca!), but of course I had a few crucial decisions to make. Packing, nail art, and shoot locations all came into play, but as per usual my biggest conundrum concerned my hair colour.

Thanks to all of my crazy experimentation over the years, coming up with new hair colour looks had started to become a bit of a challenge. Luckily Blyss Salon in Yorkville has taken me under their wing, and more often than not they’re the ones behind my hair these days. When I told my colourist Amanda I was headed down to Cali there was talk of “the perfect California Girl blonde” and mermaid-inspired streaks, but in the end she came up with an even better idea: why not make my hair look like a sparkling pastel California sunset?

To read all about the process, what products was used, and the team’s techniques, head over to XOvain!

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