Ode to red

You're new here, so am I.

The direction of this blog is 'up for grabs', but where its headed is with dalliance into the finer things in life, and an utterly shameless indulgent expression of the loves, life and glamour of one self-confessed 'must have pretty things' geek chic.

I'm intending this as a perky peak into what's cute, gorgeous and must have now. Which i've probably gone out and bought, loved a lot, worn a little and later thought 'eeep how much, but so worth it!' Hmmm, my bank manager may come down hard.

For now closest to my heart, nay head, is the turn to Autumnal fashion. My absolute favourite time of the year. Where the beautious turning of the seasons, is echoed by the soft expectant thud of weighty Vogue and Elle tombs. I should point out that I am a mere six weeks from completion of my doctorate thesis. But one should always find time to dabble on the prettier side of life. Especially when this need not involve other weighty tombs of strong theoretical texts and long hours in the library. Or in my case 'poking about' on Facebook, writing the guide to Proper Facebook Etiquette, and exploring the Seriously Social side of the information age. (This must mean this blog is counted as 'research'?)...

So first post, first fashion obsession. I'm going red. Redhead. For the first time. High-maintenance has never known 'geek chic' before, so I'm hoping to shake things up. It might even inspire some thesis writing. And when I say red. I mean va-va-Jessica Rabbit-voom.

Image from renowned Australian Phortography Ted Szukalski.com.au

See what I mean. Show-stopping, heart-stopping, awe-inspiring RED. Oh this picture isn't me. But the red will be. And that counts.

I am aware this means going a little higher maintenance than I'm used to. Oh don't get me wrong I LOVE my bathroom products (there's practically a shrine to UK Lush stuff, American based Bumble and Bumble and Le Francais Phyto products), but red is going to require a little strategic thinking. Which is when I came across the following helpful hints,

How to be the best redhead

1. Wash your hair as infrequently as possible. Rinse with only tepid water (never hot, oh the shame!), or dust your roots with a dry shampoo. Personally I hate dry shampoo. I don't care how many Vogue beauty editors claim otherwise. This seems to render my locks dry and nasty. Not to mention flakey. Oh and did I mention smelly. Yuk. Time to spray? Time enough to have a shower.

2. Avoid harsh shampoos. These are Death to redheads, accelerating the fading process by weeks. Eeek more expenditure on posh (Lush? Are they colour safe) products.

3. Ask your colorist for a 'to-go' kit, a small vial of their hair color to apply two weeks after their salon visit. This keeps the color looking bright and fiery all month long. Well that sounds fabulous, but what am I paying my colourist for? And do I trust myself not to dye head, forehead and ears my latest shade of rogue?... I may have found a way round this little tip, with the fore-purchase (that's products you don't need now, but will in the future) of Bumble and Bumble Colour Support red hair shampoo and conditioner. The temptation to wash my muted locks in this now is inescapable, and then I remind myself of the price tag (£16 per bottle). But they look pretty on my bathroom shelf!

4. Cover up. Red hair color oxidizes faster than any other, throw a hat or scarf over your strands. Oh for goodness sake, then what was the point of going red? I'm guessing we're not in much danger of 'over sun' exposure in the UK anyway. Although new red locks would look suitably glamorous with a chic Gucci scarf. Now there's a thought.

5. Don’t be tempted by eggplant tones. Purplish-reds don’t look natural and are rarely flattering, choose a color that can be described as 'coppery', 'auburn', or 'strawberry'. Hmm or in my case be RED, red, or dead.

And there follows, 'Makeup tips for redheads':
# Avoid dark, smoky eyes. They compete with your attention-grabbing tresses. Are you kidding? Smoky Audrey Hepburn eyes are THE Autumnal/into Winter look. Hmm I'm going to have to work on this.
# Do think pink. Pink lip color and blush look gorgeous on redheads. Oh this is easy. I have pink specs too.
# Don’t match your brows and hair; it looks bizarre. Well quite. I would imagine, the same goes for hair to brows, it's not like shoes and handbag after all.

I'm going to have to wrap this post up, not least as the latest issue of Elle with Alexa Chung as a 'fashion guru' is calling at me for a critique. Seriously Chung, as a 'guru'?!... I'll get back to you on this. Plus I've just realised I've made that classic (new) social faux pas, of Friending someone on Facebook you find attractive, when you have a 'bad' Profile picture attached to your message. This will simply not do. And must be changed immediately. Oh if only I were redhead now. This would never have happened.

I leave you with this date for your diary, Thursday 11th September, Midday is RED day. Then my locks will be luscious glorious rogue. Until such time I must content myself with mildly brunette and whether there's Proper Facebook Etiquette for the 'my' ex I'm missing on Facebook, or someone elses...