Time to move on...

A girl in a cute outfit at the Gorman sale. She's got the right idea: keep it moving.

The past couple of weeks have swept in some very big changes. Changes which, if all goes well, could be very exciting. Keep you fingers crossed for me!

In the meantime, here's a few things that have been keeping me happy.

Sugar can be good for you...

Better than wax, anyway.

Last night I tried "sugaring", the traditional, home-made alternative to waxing. I don't have any pictures (because I was busy sugaring) - but I still have to report on the success of my experiment.

After doing a bit of reading, I started with this recipe but reduced it by a quarter. The recipe is so simple:

• white sugar;
• lemon juice; and
• water,

in proportions of 8:1:1, respectively. While it was boiling, I watched the mixture like a hawk and stirred continuously until I had a dark-caramel, sweet-smelling, bubbling mixture. To test the consistency, I dropped it into a glass of cold water and took it off the heat when it 'balled up' in the water.

When the mixture had cooled down sufficiently (by which I mean that it was not too hot when I applied it on the back of my hand - not just when I touched it with my finger) I experimented with a little bit on my leg. I used a strip of an old sheet as the backing. I think that it's best to do this in the bathroom where you can splash water around (and because tiles are easiest to clean sugar-mixture off!) 

In short, I found it far less painful and much easier than traditional at-home waxing. I've you've got an extra 20 minutes to cook up a sweet, toffee-like concoction and you don't mind DIY waxing, this is definitely worth a try.

I've been doing my own touch-ups for years with wax strips, which (in retrospect) seemed to stick to the skin as aggressively as they did to the hair itself. The sugar 'wax' on the other hand, peels right off the skin with minimal pain. And the best thing; it can be washed off the skin! Once you've made yourself a batch you can also re-heat and re-use it - the only precaution is really making sure that it's cool enough before you apply it to the skin. However, if it's still a bit hot (or if you make a mistake) you can just run it under water and it melts right off. And to top it all off, it uses ingredients which are cheap and readily available. Brilliant!

If you're interested, try this recipe here: http://www.ehow.com/way_5479075_homemade-sugaring-recipe.html or experiment with other online variations, such as those containing honey. Just make sure to see if you like it with a small batch first. Good luck!

Great-Grandmother's Bad-Hair-Day Fix

When I have a 'bad hair day' I usually turn to the trusty silk scarf to hid my laziness, lack of inspiration or lateness. However, for the most extreme days, I've just discovered the 1920s classic - the turban. The ladies back then knew what they were doing - this little gem hides it all in mere seconds.  In addition, it can also be a cute evening look with big earrings or a bold necklace. I've been zealously experimenting with variations:

"The Everyday"...Roots? What roots?!

Never contend with boring conversation at parties ever again. Just pull your (preferably bejewelled) turban down, smile and  have another drink.

"The Rio"

Layer Cake

For the past few years I've been hair modelling for the truly amazing team at Yoshiko hair in St Kilda. They have taken me from short hair to a bob, an undercut and back to long again; from dark to platinum blonde, caramel, strawberry blonde and red. And every time, I find myself getting stopped by complete strangers asking "who does your hair?". Unfortunately I don't always have the time to style the old locks to their best advantage - but even then I think that they still manags to look OK... The cuts are that good people.

I've gradually become used to environment of photo shooots - but it's still a pretty exciting experience. I love being involved in the process of developing a final artwork with some amazingly creative people and watching it build from makeup to amazing clothes, hair (of course!) and photography. Standing under the lights in front of the camera, surrounded by music, observing the process of wrestling every stray lock into place - of creating the perfect image - is pretty cool. I've also been lucky enough to watch some amazing professional models - the way that they move is quite extraordinary. It involves much more hard work than I initially imagined!

Recently, I managed to capture a few behind-the-scenes shots from a hair shoot which Dani (the Director) titled 'Layer Cake'. It was so named on account of the intricately layered splices of caramel, blonde, strawberry and red in through the front of my hair. It sounds quite hideous but the results were beautiful. The cut itself was quite strong and blunt. However as the hair moved the subtle layers of fine colour became accentuated, creating a softer effect. Here's the work in progress:

 Such neat foils!! (...and the process of waiting begins: lots of magazines to read and gossip to catch up on!..)

The shoot itself was fast and simple, focussing primarily on the hair cut and colour for a competition. Dani styled the shoot herself with some strong and jewelry and sleek leather pants. Here are a couple of shots of the final stages, experimenting with a flicked-up look. This is Dani at work:

As you can see, the colour was quite bold but softened beautifully over the weeks: a sign of a good haircut!