Accidentally In Love: Lavender Streaks

In case you are not a Twitterer, let me introduce you to the course of events this Sunday…

Then…

So here’s the background story. I am a natural blonde. As a kid, I had white-blonde hair. That has always stayed pretty much blonde, but it has darked in areas over time to a more ashy blonde. I get highlights/lowlights for dimension every six weeks – and I love my colorist. She’s phenomenal with blondes. Amazing. If you’re a Houstonian, I can give you her name and number.

Anyway. I have little time these days. What with studying for the USMLE Step 1 exam and fashion blogging, I have very little time to drive to the other side of town every six weeks to spend most of the day on my hair.

So I decided to take matters into my own hands – I wanted to quit with the highlights and go for an all-over, summery, beachy white blonde (like I was born with). Enter: drugstore blonding kit. It was $14.99 and worth every penny.

Loreal Superior Preference Dream Blonde in Glistening Magnolia (11, the lightest shade)

I loved it! Here’s a good before picture from one of my outfit posts…

BEFORE: multidimensional tones (highlights/lowlights) created over months/years

Super easy to apply, and 30-45 minutes (total prep + application time) later I had this result:

AFTER: overall blonde, but slightly too buttery warm for what I wanted

Slightly too buttery-yellow blonde, though it was acceptably light enough for me, considering I had years worth of expensive highlights/lowlights – I think it handled the multi-dimensional color differences pretty darn well.

I’m lucky enough to live a few blocks away from a Sally Beauty Supply, so after doing a bit of YouTube research, I learned that a toner (to tone down the inevitable “brassy” tones that come with blonding) was just what I needed. It sounded scary (mix toner + 20-volume developer? I guess I can do it!) but watching others do it on YouTube allayed my fears.

The purple/violet counteracts yellow tones, so prepare to be amazed (aren’t you glad I’m not afraid to make myself look like a total fool on my blog?)…

(after the jump: the AFTER pictures!)

Wow.

I got a kick out of the temporary purple hair (sadly, only 30 minutes) – I have been coveting pastel highlights for months but have been (a) afraid of being scorned by hairstylist if brought up, and (b) medical professionalism prohibits me from having any overt, unnatural hair color. So unfair! Same goes for nail polish. But I ignore that detail.

Proof I’m not making the pastel-streaks trend up: (Obviously, this is not me. Do not be alarmed.)

THIS is the hair I have been coveting. Very "My Little Pony" in the coolest sense of the word.

After rinsing out the toner, shampooing, and deep conditioning (for the second time that day), I was shocked and flabbergasted to find that I had accidentally created the most perfect, subtle, barely-there version of the lavender highlights I was so coveting:

the darkness at the bottom is just shadow.

The cool thing about this is – you can’t even tell unless you’re about five inches from my face. It’s the coolest accidental hair episode that has ever happened to me! Next: I will purchase the toner that tones down orangey-brown tones (to counteract that residual lowlight brown) – it will still be dark, just a cooler, more neutral color.

The way I see it, this candyfloss “hint-tint” I am accidentally in love with is the Junior Mint to pastel-streaks’ Altoid.

My first thought?

I am so blogging this.