Meet Mikko Vincenzo aka NoodleLito, our bundle of joy and a bright ray of sunshine in our lives. He is now a toddler with a gorgeous mane and lovely curls that any girl would die (dye) for.

Quite the active little tyke he is and it's so difficult to get a decent photo of him these days.

Natural hair color and natural curls!

Back in 2011 after I gave birth to this handsome little fellow, I dyed my hair with this particular shade of Ash Blonde from HBC/Hortaleza as soon as my OB/GYNE allowed me to. Ugh. Pregnancy and ammonia. Anyways, I wanted to achieve the same color so I bought the same stuff to do it all over again. I'm surprised they haven't raised their prices and I'm so glad it's still affordable. This tube of hair color would last me 2-3 sessions since my hair is now so short.

This only costs Php125.00

12% developer for that sweet, bright shade

Do it yourself hair color at home!

I prefer to use the 12% oxidizing lotion because I don't like my hair color to be just subtle, plus the brighter the color, the better it looks in photographs. I was expecting the color to turn out yellowish but it seemed to be quite on the orange-y/rust/bronze side. Should I have bleached my hair first? I don't really know why it's not the same color as before, but I'm guessing it must be because I previously dyed my hair a shade of Medium Blonde when I did the Ombre Hair a few months ago.

Click to see larger photo.

So what do you think? Now I look sort of Korean with this hair... but not the Ulzzang one I was hoping for. I look like a KPOP singer from one of those boy bands. LOL! I love it though. It's a whole new look methinks.

Taken indoor with ambient lighting.

Taken outdoor with mid-afternoon sunlight.

Do you guys have any favorite hair colors from HBC/Hortaleza? Let me know so I can check it out and try that next time around. ;)



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Living out here in the province has its ups and downs, and one particular disappointment is the unavailability of certain "wants". Okay, I said wants because frankly speaking, I have everything I need here and wishes not to move into some urban jungle anytime soon. But thanks to the Internet, somehow the world has become smaller, people are much closer, and well, everything you can possible want can be bought online.

For this post, I'm going to show you how I "ombre'd" my dull lifeless hair. I'm not sure we have salons (parlors) that specialize in this and honestly, I didn't want to spend a fortune on something I feel I can do on my own. Ahem, with the help of the girls at home though. We're talking about bleaching here, so I can really use all the help I can get.


Thanks to blogs and tutorials I found online, I accomplished this little experiment for only like 1/8 of what I'd pay for had I chosen to have it done professionally. Ah well. I've my guts to thank too and HBC/Hortaleza for having everything I need to do this. Here are the things you'll need if you want to do-it-yourself:

1. Powdered bleach (DO NOT *under any circumstances* SNIFF THIS! LOL!)
2. Oxidizing lotion or developer 6% and/or 9% (or 12% if you will)
3. 7.0 Medium Blonde hair coloring cream
4. 7.5 Light Chestnut Brown hair coloring cream
5. Hair spa treatment (a must if you want to breathe in life to your dead hair)
6. Gloves (because the bleach will burn the hell out of your hands!)
7. Plastic bowl and comb/dye applicator


Alright, so first things first. Sectioning your hair to get that gradient effect. Bleach the tips of your hair first then cut the rubber bands and proceed to bleaching the next section up. Make sure to check on your hair (obsessively-compulsively) to reach the desired color. It took just a couple of minutes for my hair to go super light. Maybe because my hair was light to begin with. If you have dark hair, I suggest you leave it on for a while.


The last two top sections of my hair I did not have to bleach because I want them darker so I used the MEDIUM BLONDE and LIGHT CHESTNUT BROWN colors. This is so I can have that fade effect. I know it's not perfect, but hey I'm no professional. I can live with the uneven colors. ;)

Ombre hair by MyMaria

So this is how my hair looks like and how I managed to get it to look like that. It's not really that bad in real life. I actually did the hair spa treatment for 3 days in a row just to make sure I didn't actually [double] kill whatever fine hair I have left. Also my hair was layered to begin with so getting the colors right was really challenging enough. But I'm very happy really. I mean, for less than P500 give or take (since I used leftover hair dye so I can't really say how much I spent) I think we did a terrific job attempting ombre hair.

Filtered and posted at Instagram. Follow me @mrsnoodleboy!

My hair unbrushed and unwashed. It got curly because I twisted it into a ponytail bun the night before.

Anyway, if you can have a professional do it for you and you can afford it, by all means, why not? But if you are up for a challenge, then go for it!

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.

Tweet/Instagram/Tag me in your photos should you decide to do the ombre hair yourself! Good luck!




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Trust me when I say I've tried so many hair dyes in this lifetime that if my hair could speak it'd be yelling at me to stop torturing it or perhaps it has already sued me for that matter. But since my hair is one tough cookie, ahem, like me, so for 20 years it has endured all the hydrogen peroxide and ammonia it could that it no longer really cares what gunk I put in it. Now, you know what I did the last time. I got plenty of feedbacks stating the raven hair Twilight look doesn't really suit me and even if it did, a lot of people still prefer I go brown or blonde. It's been 6 months since I colored my hair so now it's time to change my image. Omnia Vanitas.


From Wella to Clairol to Revlon and even Kolours, nothing gives the perfect shade like HBC Hortaleza hair dyes. I wanted to go all the way and make my hair as light as I can since it's really dark so I started with bleach then the lightest dye of them all, LIGHT HAVANA 8.5.


My hair looks so dry and considering the stuff I will be putting on it now, I think I'll need that hair spa treatment after all this.


I left the hair bleach cream on for like 10-15 minutes. My hair turned so light and it freaked me out just a little bit.


Then I washed it and applied the Light Havana cream with Oxidizing Lotion 12% (for maximum effect!) for about 30-45 minutes. Obviously, even though my hair is pretty long now, a tube was quite enough because I got really fine hair. The result was exactly what I was aiming for.


And all this, for only...

*

*


*

WAIT FOR IT...
That's right, barely $8 and you got yourself a hair makeover. Best of all, these hair dyes don't smell bad at all! None of that harsh ammonia-ish odor whatsoever!

So for those of you looking to make your hair way way light, then I recommend getting the Hortaleza Light Havana 8.5 shade. You know I like to take camwhoring/self-portrait shots then overlaying it with vintage effect. Look! My new Light Havana hair is just perfect.



So what do you think?


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Today I woke up wanting to shave my hair off. It had been terribly unruly... kinda sexy but it was bugging me so much. So I decided to dye it so dark I now look like I've been casted for Twilight. FML!





Product used to achieve a provincial Bella Swan look is none other than 4.0 DARK BROWN hair coloring cream from Hortaleza and a 6% developer... all for less than Php300!



Oh well... it looks black after the first wash, maybe it will lighten a bit after a few more washes. But that's okay, I'm kinda feeling this whole new look now anyway. Totally different from the last one!

Twifuckinglight I say! (Sorry, not a fan!)

And my son looked at me today as if to say...



So which do you think is better? Light or dark?

xoxo,

 

It is a fact that I change my hairstyle ever so often, say about twice to thrice in a year. Why? Because that's just me. I can be impulsive, spontaneous, and impetuous. But hey, again that's just ME. And even though I've gone past my quarter-life crisis (thank God!) and have become a mother myself (a miracle!!!), the hair thing is still there. Some things will never change. I think it will always stay this way.

What am I talking about? See for yourself.



I know, vain right? Nevertheless, changing looks every now and then has its benefits. You don't have to go all the way for an entire makeover. A simple hairstyle, hair color, or haircut will do. Not only will you feel good about yourself and boost self-confidence, you will also attract people and impact their lives without you knowing it! How many times have I talked about change in this blog? A couple of times, yeah!

It took a while for me to change looks this time because I got preggers and we're not supposed to dye our hair when pregnant. Although some say it's okay to dye your hair past the first trimester, well, we can never be too sure. So I waited until after 2 weeks of giving birth until I could color my hair.

I didn't get a haircut now even though I wanted a fringe because it's easier to keep hair away from my face when it's long as I could tie it in a bun rather than get short hair that will surely end up all over my face and give me zits.

In case you're wondering, I colored it ASH BLONDE this time. For a mere P125 bucks, you can buy a tube from Hortaleza.



Then also purchase their Oxidizing Lotion as a developer and DIY at home!



I love this new gel-type dye because it leaves the hair smooth and not frizzy like other local hair dyes. It seems to condition the hair, too. I simply washed it after 40 minutes (recommended is 15-30 minutes) of application with Pantene Glossy Shine shampoo then washed it again with Pantene Total Care Intensive Treatment before air-drying my hair.



The result is awesome! Just the hair I wanted, minus the bangs. And Noodle Boy loves it!!! He says I look like a doll... Awww...

Maybe when I shed off 20 pounds more of this postpartum fat, I'll sport a fringe again. Teehee!

Til then!


“I would rather have had one breath of her hair, one kiss from her mouth, one touch of her hand, than eternity without it.” -City of Angels, Nicolas Cage


xoxo,