Chili Pepper Vans

Okay so my mum finally bought her coveted red suede-ish Skch +3 wedge sneakers. And whilst in the store, she asked me what I wanted. I basically lack sandals as compared to shoes and so I pointed to the wedge sandals on the photo in the store. Well, she said no. She said it had to be something I could and would use to school everyday. -_-

Moving on, I told her I wanted Vans. I forgot there was a Vans store in Ayala so I brought her to Complex. I tried on like 5 pairs of Keds but seriously, there was nothing that caught my eye and made me want to die with excitement. I wanted the classic red one because I've been wanting a pair of red shoes for a while (practically because I never had one). There was no red pair in my size. Boohoo. So after all the effort Kuya Salesman did to fetch me the 5 pairs, I asked him where I could possibly buy Vans in Ayala. He directed me to the Vans outlet just across where we were but on the lower floor. I said sorry and thanked him.

I told my mum I was buying a red pair. It was either that or nothing for today. So I went to Vans, hoping that there was a red pair because shopping and shoes and shopping for shoes thrilled me. When I went in, I realized that I forgot how Vans shoes had awesome designs. I was heartbroken. There was my red pair waiting for me (the size on display was my size too), but then there were others. :(((

There were a lot of really kawaii Hello Kitty shoes and another one with different-colored shoelace holes, among so many others. I was heartbroken because suddenly my red shoes didn't appeal as much anymore. I wanted them all.

These were the only all-red shoes they had in the store. It's the authentic slim hiker Vans in Chili Pepper.

I don't even like the laces! I will change them, yeah. Or completely ditch laces.

They're not even as vibrant red as the classic red ones. :(

I'm sad. But I'll try to be happy. I've got new shoes at least. Basta next time I'll buy the Hello Kitty ones. Or the more colorful ones. Or the one with galaxy prints. Oh well. I've got a long way to goooo.

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Disclaimer: All images, except for the Chili Pepper Vans, were taken from the almighty Google.

Eyeglasses > contacts

This Tuesday, one of the nose pads from my eyeglasses decided it wanted out of my life .. just kidding .. well, it broke. I was in the middle of class and suddenly I was practically blind. Luckily, it was already past ten in the morning when we got dismissed from that class so I immediately went to the mall to have it fixed. Luck run out so quickly because when I arrived at the optical store, the lady told me to go back in the afternoon because their technician wasn't available till then. I was soo upset because I only had an hour break from classes, which I spent going to the optical store, only to be turned down. I knew I couldn't go back to school without my glasses on, else I'd be squinting my eyes just to see everything and everyone, and I didn't want my one hour break to be put to waste, so I purchased a pair of clear contact lenses.

*image taken from Google

Reuniting with contact lenses again after many years was okay, but it was weird being without eyeglasses. I went to school and became busy the rest of the day that I forgot to go back to have my eyeglasses fixed. I came back to the optical store the next day but then ironically their technician was on break again and I had to wait for an hour. I was really tired so I just paid for it and decided to get it back the following day.

Anyhoo, FF to today. So I was really happy I got my specs back. But then, I decided it'd be my last day to wear contact lens (supposedly 4th day) since I'd be playing badminton with my friends. I put it on but then suddenly, my eyes felt itchy. I put in some eye drops, then it was okay. After a while, I realized it felt weird. I wondered if I had my contacts reversed, i.e. left on right eye, right on left eye. So I took them out and exchanged their places. It felt even weirder so I decided to exchange them again. This time, when I put one on my left eye, it itched. It itched so bad even eye drops couldn't relieve it. So I took it out and decided to stick with my glasses. I played badminton with my eyeglasses and they didn't fall off. Yay! ^_^

So anyway, I realized that I love my eyeglasses more than contact lenses. Before, I sort of wished that I wore contact lenses so that it wouldn't hide my eyes and that, if I wore eye makeup, it'd be noticeable. But as time passed, I learned to love my eyeglasses and I accepted the fact that I will be wearing eyeglasses for a very long time. I know that some people find wearing eyeglasses annoying, and I'll admit that I've had that phase for a while. However, wearing glasses doesn't have to be a hassle. There are plenty of frames that are available which will suit any face shape and preference. There are also many features available, such as polarized lenses and anti-fog, so eyeglasses-wearers don't have to worry about the sun, and those hot beverages or soups.

The heat just got to me.

SUMMER!
And Cebu heat is just crazy!

March 22 - I finally did it. I was able to bundle up the guts and have my hair cut. Now, it wasn't just another trim. It was a totally new hairstyle.

Two weeks preceding that day, I was already planning and anticipating having my hair cut. You see, it's been getting really hot and it was becoming tiring putting up my hair all the time. But also because I'm quite the adventurous girl. I like trying new things, extremes even. Hmm.. I'm thinking this'll make a good blog post. Soon, yes.

~
While waiting for the hairdresser..
Friend: Dem, sure najud ka ani?
Me: Oo.
Friend: Wa ka nahadlok?
Me: Wa man.
( Friend: Dem, are you sure about this?
Me: Yeah.
Friend: Aren't you afraid?
Me: No. )
~

I rarely wear my hair up in school since I am quite conscious about my square/angular, or Lego as I'd like to call it,  face. I only do so on extremely hot days. If I do tie it, I always do a low side ponytail. However, during the final weeks of the semester, I prepped myself into this whole new look by wearing my hair in a bun, which I only do at home.

The Hairstyle

I wanted to go drastic. I realized the summer time would be a great opportunity to rock a very short hairstyle with all the heat going on. I also would see a few people from school since summer classes only had few students, so it'll allow some of my hair to grow back in time for June.

I already knew it was going to be a short SHORT hairstyle, so the next issue is what kind. I stumbled upon some pictures of short hairstyles before (see some here), but this one really struck me.

pixie cut

A pixie cut came to mind when I thought of drastic short hairstyles. Well seeing a lot of Emma Watson in Facebook contributed as well. But anyway, I thought that if only I didn't have such an angular face, maybe I have had my hair cut like this ages ago. And so yet again we face the Lego issue.

Fortunately, being the adventurous me, I battled my insecure self and fought for the fact that I, too, can rock a pixie cut. \m/
So my search began. Well at least for short hairstyles that would somehow match my Lego face. These were what I found, and they just made me happy really.

The Salon

Bench Fix wasn't my first choice. As you may have read in my previous post, I usually go to David's Salon (in Country Mall). But since the hairstylist, who usually does my hair had transferred to Manila, I had been reluctant to having my hair cut. So anyway, my mum recommended Bench Fix. She said their hairstylists always get it right, and so on. And because Google is awesome, I researched about their branches here in Cebu. I also read comments about people's experiences in the salon. I noticed that the most repeated comment was about the bad service they had. Nonetheless, I decided to go with it and hoped for the best.

The Experience

I came in at noon. I was the first at the waiting list. I thought, well it wasn't so bad. I sat and I waited. I scanned through some magazines and then this guy came in. I overheard that he was second on the waiting list, so it was good so far. About fifteen or twenty minutes passed and suddenly two men simultaneously came in and were told to go inside. I was like, "Hmm okay maybe they had reservations or something." The guy, who was supposed to be second on the waiting list, went to the front desk then he was ushered to go inside. That was when I said, "WTF?!" Another ten minutes maybe, more people started coming in. I worried that maybe the woman put my name aside so I went over to the front desk as well and asked when I was coming in next. She assured me I was going next. Ten or fifteen minutes later, I was finally called in.

I was told to sit and wait. After some time, I was called for shampooing. I have to say the products they used were quite good. Then after that, I had to wait quite a long time before the hairstylist/hairdresser came. I showed him the last three photos from above, and off the scissors went.

The Result

Here are some pictures that I took some five or six hours after I had my hair cut.

right side / shorter side

left side / longer side

peekaboo | creepy face photo

raw/unedited

"I'm a Dove girl, and I love it!"

I have actually put on quite a ridiculous amount of hair wax into my hair because I have issues of the shorter ends weirdly sticking out. Obviously, that didn't help much. Right now, I've decided to leave it alone, but it gets dry so I put on three pumps of hair serum when it's damp.

The Verdict

At first, I didn't really like it, and I couldn't understand why the hairstylist cut it REALLY effin short. I mean, I wanted it to be short, yes, but take a look at the (inspiration) pictures I showed and you can see it really does not look like it. My hair was cut way too short. Fortunately, my friends and my family showed support and that's all I needed, really, to feel confident about it. I didn't receive any bad comments about my hair so far, except for the teasing I get once in a while from my boyfriend and my granny that I look like a boy.
"Well, yes dears, I do have an angular face and short hair, but I wear headbands and lipstick, so that makes me a girl still. Haha."
Wait until my hair grows a bit longer, and it'll be sensational. :p

As for the salon experience, it wasn't awful, but it wasn't that good either. I don't think I'm going back to Bench Fix, if that's what you're wondering. It did cost a lot (250 pesos) considering their customer service.  Charged to experience.

~
That's it for my drastic hairstyle change. I hope you had fun reading about my experiences, and hope it also gave you some insights about being confident. Till next time! ;*

demidawn♥


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Mentions:
David's Salon - Gaisano Country Mall branch, Banilad, Cebu City
Bench Fix - Ayala Center Cebu branch
Bench Fix Professional - Deputy Shine: Shine and Define Pomade
Dove Damage Therapy Conditioner Hair Fall Rescue
Dove Nourishing Oil Care Hair Serum (review)

Note: First three photos of me are blog-exclusive photos. 

My Hair History (and failed hair plans)

Before we get to the actual post about my new hair cut, I decided that I'll share with you some plans I had for my hair, most of which did not really push through. Alrighty, let's get to it!

My whole life I had straight hair and you know how people always want it the other way around so naturally I wanted curly hair. In 2010, my mum got tired of me raving about curly hair that she finally gave in to my "requests".

the gorgeous Tricia Gosingtian

Originally, I wanted this kind of hair - straight, but curly at the bottom. However, the hairstylist said that my hair could not achieve this kind of look because I had thick hair and the curls would just be weighed down, so he told me to have curls staring from the head. And this was the result.

January 2010

Unfortunately this was the most decent close-up photo of my hair back then. Surprisingly I didn't have a lot. So anyway, my hair was curled from the roots, but just days (maybe 3?) after the treatment, you can see here that the top part already kind-of straightened itself out. Although you can still see most of the curls, after just a couple of weeks, most of them already loosened, leaving me with hair looking so frizzy. I thought this over after all the curls had gone, and I thought that it couldn't be the treatment that was used since I was sure that they used a pretty strong one. I also made sure I used a very wide-toothed comb and I seldom combed my hair even. Maybe it was because I used normal conditioner as opposed to using a volumizing one? Maybe my hair was too thick and more treatment had to be used? I really don't know. But given the chance to have my hair curled again, I'll surely invest in more appropriate hair products.

After growing out my curls, I focused on bangs. I've had bangs forever as a kid, the straight-across, blunt ones which my own mum cut. I eventually grew them out as I graduated from elementary school and wore them long (with the rest of my hair) since. Then at this time, I ventured into the idea of having them cut again. I learned that the cut that I used to have wasn't supposed to be right for my face shape as it made me look more Lego-like (square HAHA!), and so I decided on this.

Tricia G. again, the girl who ALWAYS has perfect hair, I tell you

Side bangs that were long enough to reach the eyebrows but short enough as to not make me blind. That was my next goal.

August 2010

Turned out quite alright. I believe I had this done in David's Salon.

It had to grow out, of course. I tried a salon near where I live (Jun Esma) and had it cut again. This is that they did.

December 2010

Reminded me of Pucca, so I put the rest of my hair up like that. Haha.

And then I defied the "no straight-across, blunt bangs for square face" rule and had it cut like that anyway. It was VERY blunt and very weird from the time it was cut, but it came out okay after two months. (David's Salon)

April 2011

After that, my bangs were left alone. The next time my hair was cut was on December 2011. (David's Salon)

24th of December, 2011

By the following year, well the next month that is, I remember wanting ombré hair. I wanted to dye my hair but not all of it, since I really like how black my hair is and I didn't want to destroy it (well at least not completely or all of it). First I planned on having blue on the tips of my hair, but then I saw this photo and I absolutely adored it! I loved the colors she had on here and I wanted pink, blue, green, purple on my hair as well.

Well hello surprise, this did not happen. And I'm furious about why they don't sell permanent or semi-permanent VIBRANT color hair dyes in the department stores where I'm from. I only always see varieties of black, brown, red, and some blonde. Why not sell pink and blue and green? Sigh.

Moving on.

I was into the whole "I want curly hair" phase again. After December of 2011, I didn't have any trims anymore. I was looking forward into growing my hair really long and maybe convincing my mum into having my hair curled again. Here were my inspirations.

Vanessa Hudgen's beachy waves

Obviously, this becomes the first of the failed plans.

Meanwhile, my hair continued growing and growing, and I began to lose hope that I was going to get that long curly hair that I wanted. I comforted myself with this photo, that maybe I could get my hair this gorgeous when I had it long enough. I even considered having it dyed to this color. Ash brown, I think.

Tricia G. with straightened hair

This is, however, about a series of unfortunate events, so of course I wasn't able to achieve this look. My hair was far too frizzy. I blame all that pollution from commuting everyday. I also was thinking twice about dying my hair.

Then I thought of cutting it again. Short, yes. Some inspirations I had:

But I worried about my face appearing too big if I had my hair too short blah. So maybe shoulder length and wispy bangs?

And then I had it! I was going to have shoulder-length curly hair!

Alexa Chung's messy wavy hair ♥

Keira Knightley ^_^

When I saw these Filipino bloggers rock the same look, I felt like it was a match made in heaven.

the kawaii Shai Lagarde

and yes, another Tricia G. photo.
This girl always gets it right.

I was all set, even to the point of researching about the type of curls that would suit my face shape. :D

These are what you call CUPID CURLS.

But then, guess what? .. YES! No curls happened. :(

I became discontented with my hair as 2012 came to a close.

October 2012

December 2012

To somehow relieve this "wanting to cut my hair so badly" feeling, I had my hair trimmed some 5 to 6 inches off on January of this year 2013 (you can read about that here), before I had my current hair cut. 

:)

I hope you enjoyed browsing through all those pictures and maybe gave you some inspiration as to what hairstyles to try next. I had fun making this post, even though it was quite heartbreaking thinking about those hairstyles I badly wanted to try. Well at least I'm happy with my hair now. Yay! ^_^

I promise I will quit stalling and my next post will already be about my current hair style. :D

So ciao for now!

xoxox,

demidawn ;*