Wine and Winged Liner

Hi everyone!

I felt as if I was to really get the ball rolling I needed to start posting right off the bat. I was a little stuck on what I should post about, since at the current moment I don't have all the proper equipment (camera, good lighting, etc.) to give you guys a really complete experience.

I decided I could talk a bit about my current hair routine. I made the big decision to cut my hair this past October for my birthday. I have always had long hair, and it is still quite long, but I felt that it lacked a bit in style. I decided to get myself some bangs. It was a bit of a rash decision, I was generally very low maintenance when it came to my hair, as you will see later. I went for a straight across, Taylor Swift inspired look and was very pleased with the results (even if it does mean I have to wake up a little earlier to make myself look presentable).

On the left is the style I had been sporting since I was in middle school (shamefully). The right is my current style. Also let's excuse the older picture, I had a horrible way of making faces.

Before the change, I pretty much just washed my hair, blow dried it if I wanted to straighten it, and went out the door. Now that I have these dandy bangs, my hair requires a bit more styling.

I wash my hair with Herbal Essences Long Term Relationship (the smell, absolutely wonderful) typically every day. I can't stand the feeling of dirty hair, and even though I know it's bad to wash your hair every day, I can't help it. At most I can go one day without washing, but that's a bit more difficult now that I have these bangs to deal with. Sometimes I switch it up and use Head and Shoulders Smooth and Silky when my scalp is feeling a bit flaky, and use Aussie 3 Minute Miracle (it is, I swear) as a deep treatment a couple times a week.

Once I'm out of the shower, I brush through it, separate my bangs from the rest of my hair and hold them together with a couple bobby pins, and throw it up in a towel while I do my makeup. My hair stays in the towel for about 15 or 20 minutes, depending on how much time I want to devote to my face that day.

After my makeup is finished, I take my hair out of the towel and use a 1.5" round brush and hair dryer and style my bangs. Essentially I just roll my bangs around it and blow dry it on low until it's almost dry, then I take a larger round brush, about 2 or 2.5" and do the same thing until it is dry. After it's dry, I go back in with the smaller brush and do a bit of a tighter curl, don't ask me why, but it's necessary.

Once I've completed those steps for my bangs, I take Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Blow Dry Perfecter and apply a dime size amount of that through the rest of my hair. I brush that through and then apply Garnier Fructis XXL Thickening Mousse to my roots and blow dry it with either the larger round brush or a paddle brush. When that's done, if I'm wanting a more polished look I spray on some of the Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Straightening Mist and go over it with my straightener. Then I spray everything with Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Hairspray to set it in place. I'll tease my bangs if they need some more volume or they're separating. I've went ahead and listed the products and prices (Walmart) for you guys. I just now noticed all of these products are Garnier Fructis. Well I guess that tells you something!

I know that was an absolute ton of steps and instructions, but this hairstyle is new to me so I'm still getting the swing of it myself. If anything changes I'll make sure to make an update!

xoxo,
Caitlin.