Goth or Glam? Blonde or Brunette?

Who is this glamorous redhead, you ask? Why, it's me! Don't worry, I haven't done anything drastic with my look; I've just been playing around with the InStyle Virtual Makeover and they have improved it since the last time I used it.

It is so much fun to try on not only different hairstyles, but different makeup too! In fact, I discovered that I look good in green eyeshadow, it brings out the green in my hazel eyes. I have been able to see what I would look like with blue eyes (it's actually kind of creepy looking on me) and I also realized that jet black hair is NOT the shade for me:

Yikes!

And much to my surprise, I kind of like the way I look in certain shades of blonde. I never thought that I could pull off blonde, and while I will never go plantinum, I do sort of like this Jennifer Aniston look:

But, ultimately I am a brunette and proud of it. I do need to change something up about my look. Perhaps I will do some caramel highlights for the Spring/Summer seasons. And since I am growing my hair out, there is the looming question: bangs or no bangs?

Maybe Ms. Bullock's 'do is the answer.

There is a lot more to play around with on the makeover tool. I recommend it to anyone who wants a change ... or who has a lot of free time.

That's My Girl

This girl loves to take rides in Kilroy with Daddy. Yet, she thinks he should put a roof on the Jeep to keep her hair from blowing around too much.

We are definitely related.

My Little French School Girl

To continue the story of my daughter's haircut, several inches are now gone from her head. She insisted that she wanted short hair. She insisted that she wanted hair like Mommy's. She insisted that she was on board with the whole haircut thing.

So, after I cut her hair I asked her if she liked it. Her response was a bashful "Not really."

"I'm sorry you don't like it. What don't you like about it?"

"It's just that I look really different."

"Well, are you going to cut your hair again by yourself?"

"NO!!"

So, until her hair starts to grow out, I'll just have to live with my little French school girl. I personally think she is beautiful and I love her hair. Was it the best job on a haircut ever? Um, no. I am surely not very skilled in wielding a pair of styling shears, but considering my inexperience, I count it as more of a success than disaster.

Plus it's comforting to know that hair always grows back.

This new style will be perfect for the hot summer months.

Lookin' good with the hair tucked behind the ears.

Fortunately, she is very confident and secure. She seems pretty unfazed by her new 'do.

I am thinking I should knit her a little pink beret to complete the look pour ma petite fille!

It Was Bound To Happen Sometime

It was inevitable. Every girl does it. I have been waiting for that moment ... my daughter decided to cut her own hair today. Slumped over a handful of her own hair, she tried to hide the evidence. After seeing a rather healthy amount in her hands, I braced myself for the worst!

Fortunately, the damage was pretty minimal. Wanting to cut her hair "like Mommy's" (which is about chin length), I think I will have to finish the job tomorrow myself . Perhaps a nice summer bob is in order.

And it may have to be with bangs.

My Very Hairowing Experience

It took a long time to get here. Months of neglect, moments of absolute frustration, many thoughts of Sinead O'Connor came to mind. But I finally got my hair cut!

I have whined about it for quite some time. I never intended my hair to get as long as it did and the split ends and boring style didn't help my mood. I couldn't wait to get the hair off the back of my neck! It may sound strange, but I almost equate my stress level with the length of my hair and as my hair grew longer, my stress level went higher, perhaps because it made me feel claustrophobic.

So, yesterday I got to the salon. I waited as patiently as possible on the leather couch, trying to act casual as I flipped through an old copy of Entertainment magazine. I would nonchalantly glance around the room at all the perfectly coiffed ladies. My time was near. Just had to wait a few minutes. Wait, wasn't my appointment for 2:00? What's taking so long? Don't they know that I'm ready? Let's do this alrea ... okay my name was finally called. Whew!

My hair stylist said she was excited to see what I came up with this time because I'm always well prepared with photos. After I showed her my inspiration she wholeheartedly approved! She assured me that since I have an oval face I could pull off anything. I could feel the tension leave my shoulders as she washed my hair. And I watched her as she took the first cuts into my mane and I did look in shock at the pile of long locks on the floor, but nothing deterred me from getting the cut that I wanted. I really have no attachment to long hair.

I am happy with my new 'do. I may even go a little shorter next time, but I am glad to have a change. Something more edgy and fun. Plus I finally have some lift at the crown!

This was my hair inspiration. A little shorter than what I have but basically the same cut. Ironically, I had found a photo of the same person (Jayla from America's Next Top Model, Cycle 5) with a slightly longer cut:

Of the two I think my style is more like this second photo.

And now the big reveal:

Ta daaaaaaa!

Now I just need to go on a shopping spree to an entirely new wardrobe to match my new look. Yeah right ... in my dreams!

I Hanged My Hair in Shame

Here's a fun little scenario. Imagine it's 6:30 am and as you get out of bed to take a shower, you hear that your husband is already in the shower ... running an hour late! So, since you need to have your daughter at school by 8:30, you decide there is no time for a shower and instead brush through your hair and throw a little makeup on. But your hair doesn't look good and it's obvious you have had a rough morning as you venture out into below freezing temperatures.

Deciding you have to stop at the store to buy a hat for your son and snow mittens for your daughter, you brave the strong winds and stinging snow to get into the dreaded Wal-Mart of all places. Then as if that isn't bad enough ... you run into your hair stylist near electronics ... and your hair is unwashed, unkempt, and you haven't had her cut it since June! Imagine the awkwardness.

In case you haven't guessed, this happened to me.

I wanted to tell her that I haven't been back to her, not because she has done a bad job or because I am going to someone else, but because I keep forgetting to make an appointment. Oh, and I'm lazy. But I didn't tell her this. She's probably thinking to herself that I have moved on ... and whomever is currently cutting my hair is doing a REALLY bad job.

Do Blondes Have More Fun?

Sometimes I just want a change. A look that is very different from my own. I often wonder what I would look like as a blonde or a redhead. How would short hair look on me? Should I grow my hair out and go for that Gisele Bundchen beach hair?

I have a scheduled hair appointment coming up in August and I keep thinking that a more drastic change would be nice for fall. I usually get my hair cut like this:

The Jennifer Aniston sleek bob

As I have grown older and perhaps wiser, I have determined a few things that do and don’t work for me. I have straight hair, so I look best with sleek styles. A forehead full of thick bangs does not look attractive on me. And I would never have the guts to actually go blonde.

As I started thinking about what styles I might try, I went to the InStyle magazine website and found this great Hollywood Hair Makeover tool so I could “try on” different styles. It is easy; I just registered, uploaded a photo of me, and began trying on the styles of the stars. I can even change the hair color and add highlights. Here are a few styles that I found to be most interesting:

BLONDE

This Kate Bosworth style is as blonde as it gets. Yikes!

Amy Adams strawberry blonde - my husband really likes this one!

LONG

I like this Rachel Bilson style, I darkened the color to see if I could pull it off.

Gwyneth Paltrow is very blonde, so I darkened this one.


EDGY

This one looks great on Posh Spice - and hilarious on me!

My daugher said "Whoa, that's crazy!"

Katie Holmes hair - see what I mean about the heavy bangs on me?

I actually sort of like this Rhianna cut, but being an uptight designer, the asymmetry would drive me crazy!

These styles are fun and it is great to see how I would look with them, but most of them require too much maintenance or growing out. Unfortunately, I still don’t know what to do. I keep thinking about going shorter and darker like this:

But then, I'll probably change my mind again tomorrow.