Every season of Lakme Fashion Week is incredibly exciting & the last one was no different. However the long days can get quite exhausting, not to mention it’s difficult to always look your best day after day when you hardly have time to come home & get enough sleep!
Which is why I was so thankfully for the LFW Apartment & the TIGI Counter there. I am a big fan of BedHead by TIGI products & their whole philosophy of playing with your hair & having fun with your look. Ever since the last time I recolored my hair red I have been using their color goddess shampoo + conditioner.Not only does it smell like heaven (seriously, you have got to take a whiff – it’s like caramel / toffee & the smell lingers too!) but helps maintain the vibrancy of the red for much longer.

Along with hairstyling for bloggers at LFW Apartment TIGI also had a fun session & a launch! These are five in trend hairstyle that are quite easy to recreate, I like how they incorporated models with different hair lengths & textures.

They also launched TIGI Copyright Colour with expert stylist & educator Andy Cheong. He showed two looks that he created on Indian hair with Copyright color, one was warm toned & the other was cool. These hair colours are ammonia-free & are available in permanent and semi-permanent formulas. Copyright Color had me very excited & will soon be in salons across Mumbai, Delhi & Bangalore!

I recently wrote about my #HairIsFashion makeover at Lakme Absolute Salon so I thought I’d put in an update as to how my hair looks / is behaving two weeks later.
Shefali who did my hair gave me a few pointers, such as the vibrant red part would bleed when it was wet, to avoid washing my hair too much & only use colorsafe shampoos.
So far it’s been a breeze to handle, I’ve had some bleeding in the bathroom during washes & onto the towel, but it hasn’t come off on any of my clothes.

My hair, in it’s natural state isn’t the easiest to deal with, but I’ve been blow-drying it & I really like how it looks – quite natural (in texture at least, if not color) & there’s no more frizz even on stuffier days, just looks thick & healthy. I will review the color safe haircare range I’ve been using soon! I don’t think I’ve ever been this pleased with my hair & it’s just such a great feeling, looking into the mirror. I didn’t know I’d like being a redhead this much. I thought I’d switch back to a natural color in a few months after my roots started showing prominently but now I’m pretty sure I’ll get this touched up!
Tomorrow is the last day to enter to win a Hair Makeover for yourself, all details at the bottom of this post.

Today I’m going to share the details of my very recent hair makeover or how my hair went from the image on the left to the image on the right! I know that when people talk about hair in their blog posts I want details so I’ve gone into as much detail as possible in this blog post
There’s even a vlog at the bottom of this post where you can see the hair makeover as it’s happening & yes I will be giving one of you lucky duckies the chance to win your own #HairIsFashion Makeover.

I’ve wanted to experiment with ‘unnatural’ hair color (like pink, blue, bright red) ever since I was about twelve, obviously then I wasn’t allowed to do so, and it’s always been a ‘bucket list thing’ but I just never got around to it.
So a few weeks ago I got the chance to get a #HairIsFashion hair makeover at Lakmé Salon with their new Show Stopping Hair Collection for Autumn Winter 2014 & just looking at the catalogue made me very excited so I quickly booked my appointment.
When I reached the salon, I was introduced to my stylist, Shefali Balsara who is a Senior Stylist there. I cannot speak highly enough about this lovely lady. I’ve had a lot of haircuts in my lifetime, & I’ve spent anywhere between ₹100 – ₹2,000 on haircuts & I’ve learnt a lot of things, firstly it is that a fancy price salon chain or hefty price tag doesn’t always get you a good haircut. I’ve been to style directors at good salons who have been judgemental & pushy & forced me into doing something that I wasn’t comfortable with. I know what you’re thinking, ‘they didn’t hold a gun to your head’ but when you put yourself in a hairstylists chairs, you’re in a vulnerable spot & you’re pretty much at their mercy. And why am I brining up all this stuff now, you ask? Well because for once, this experience was in complete contrast of it. Shefali was smart, cheery & respectful. She didn’t try to force anythhing on me, listened to what I had to say & offered her inputs wherever pertinent. I can’t speak about the other stylists there, but I recommend Shefali completely! The first part of my appointment was the consultation. The Show Stopping Hair Collection for Autumn Winter 2014 is a set of edgy, bold cuts & colors (see the whole catalog embedded above). You can get exactly what you see in the catalog or of course tailor your hairstyle to suit your choice & requirements. I loved the Auburn Blend as it is but my hair is obviously too short for that exact look.  I also liked bits of the Phoenix Contrast, i.e. how the color was placed but wasn’t a fan of the brassy copper used, it wouldn’t look good with my skin tone. Besides I had my heart set on red. 
Finally we came up with something that I was happy with. I wanted a bob (because it’s quite easy for me to blowdry & I’ve had a bob in some form or the other for the last year). However, at my last haircut (see the ‘before’ picture at the top of this post) when I said bob he just gave me this really straight haircut with some tapering from the back to the front (like most bobs). Otherwise, all the hair was the same length. That sort of thing may work with thin, caucasian hair but it doesn’t work with my thick / voluminous / frizzy Indian hair, it resulted in my having triangle hair where the top sat flat on my scalp (no root volume!) & the rest tapered down to form a triangle. Ugh. So I asked Shefali to give me a bob while taking off some of the extra volume & weight around the side & to give me a sideswept fringe as I need something to cover up my large forehead but I didn’t want to commitment of a full fringe. Generally we kept the length but of course everything was trimmed to deal with pesky dry ends.
Color wise, we decided to go with a reddish-violet global color with some very vibrant peek-a-boo red streaks that start around my left ear & go till the back of my head on the left side, I thought it would look nice just blowdried or even tied into a pony tail.Shefali started with applying the bleach (on unwashed hair in my case) as the very vibrant red bits would need pre-lightening & afterwards she applied the global color, of course I captured that in my vlog because I looked like a scary tinfoiled alien at that point. She then took me for a wash, applied the bright red & then rinsed it off too. I know they used Schwarzkopf Inoa Colors on me, I’m not sure of shade names sadly.
After the wash my hair was cut. After my hair was blow dried completely, she cut it some more. Cutting dry hair sounds like a scary concept but of course she knew what she was doing, she just gave some shape & added texture, apparently it’s a signature thing they do at Lakmé Absolute Salon, with every stylist having a slightly different signature.
The End Result : I really couldn’t stop smiling!

Overall I had a wonderful experience at Lakmé Absolute Salon getting my #HairIsFashion makeover, I’d even go so far as to say it was the best hair experience of my life until now, & I do not use superlative terms like ‘best’ lightly. Never underestimate the role good hair can play in your entire look, I feel like a whole different person!

And here’s the vlog of my hair makeover (with a little bit of a cool YouTube party I attended after).

And now I know what you’re waiting for, the rules of the contest!
Thanks to Lakmé Salon one of you gets to win your own #HairIsFashion Makeover. I’m running the contest over on YouTube (you have to enter through this video) but I’m reprinting the rules here for convenience.

Step 1. Like this Video (Thumbs Up!) & Subscribe to my Channel: http://magali.co/subonyoutube (COMPULSORY)
Step 2. Leave a comment on this video telling me why you think #HairIsFashion! (COMPULSORY)
Step 3. Tweet me why you think #HairIsFashion. Don’t forget to include the hashtag & tag @magali_c & @LakmeSalon! (OPTIONAL, maximum two tweets)

Last date to enter is 10th January. One winner will be picked & announced here & on twitter on 11th January. Good luck!

Contest open to Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata only.

So what do you think of my look? And what are you waiting for, head on over to the video to win a makeover for yourself, good luck!

love,
Magali

 Titan Eye+ spectacles (Enigma Collection) // KOOVS sweatshirt // bhane. jeans // Casio digital watch // silver Vans // Forever New camera purse (via KOOVS)

Happy New Year, friends! I’m so excited to present my first post for 2015! A few days ago I showed you a little glimpse of the Titan Eye+ Enigma Collection & today I’m showing you a look I styled with one of the glasses. I think this pair might be my favorite one from the entire collection because they have so much going on, in the best way possible. I really like the wayfarer-like shape & the beautiful ombré! They’re also made of metal, & ordinarily I wouldn’t go for metal in spectacles because it can be too heavy (I’ve had the nose pads leave deep, bluish-black marks in the side of my nose after a day of wear) but these are just so light & comfortable! Don’t take my word for it, go to your nearest store & try them on for yourself.

Mumbai has been delightfully chilly through most of December so I styled this with my favorite jumper & of course my silver Vans to match the silver appliqués on the jumper.

It was really fun styling an outfit with spectacles. I’ll be styling some more frames from this collection soon so watch out for that, also make sure you’re following me on twitter (@magali_c) because I will be giving out Titan Eye+ vouchers soon!

PS- You will have seen this already if you follow me on instagram but what do you guys think of the new hair? I’m crazy about it, will be addressing it in a post tomorrow so do check back!

I got my hair Rebonded. A few years ago this was a completely alien term to me. I knew it was similar to straightening, but how?

Well, straightening is when someone just applies some chemical on your hair & irons it out. It can be terribly damaging.

Rebonding, on the other hand, is quite different. It is a lengthier, permanent & pricier. Chemicals are applied that break down the texture of the hair & re-form it as completely straight hair. Also, it leaves the hair very silky, shiny & of course poker straight. It is completely permanent, & you just have to touch up new growth after a few months.

So I went in for this procedure (yes, procedure! It’s so lengthy… ) a few days ago. I’m not going to go into minute detail, all I’ll say it that it was annoying! It took over three hours (& three hair washes). Also the part where they iron your hair can be a tad painful because they have to pull the hair a bit while ironing. After the three hours I was so glad that it was over, but I was in for an unpleasant surprise. The rebonding process would go on for two days, during which I was not to wet my hair, leave home (I was allowed to leave only if I was going to be in an air conditioned environment continuously. No sweat or dirt could touch my hair! Also, I had to be super careful that my hair was straight at all times, it could not be put behind my ears or ‘sit’ on my shoulders.

So over the next two days I had to cancel a date with my girl friends & just sit at home. And the care for those two days was exhausting! I didn’t even take this much care of my full back tattoo.

Finally, yesterday I went in to get my hair washed. A quick wash & a session with the blow dryer, & my hair was transformed! It was not only poker straight but soooo shiny & silky. So those two torturous days? Worth it!

Now my hair looks like this:

I will be the first to admit that I’m not all that thrilled about the poker straight bit. But I am in love with how soft, silky & oh-so-manageable my hair has become. I mean, I can get out of bed, just run my fingers through my hair (I don’t even need a comb!) & be ready to leave home. It’s an absolute delight.

So what do you think of rebonding? Have you ever tried it? Would you?