RIHANNA RED

BEFORE

Rihanna's Loud album was the inspiration behind my hair. On the cover, she had this exact same fiery red. She's one of my top fashion icons and I look to her for many hair and wardrobe ideas. I just love how unapologetic and unpredictable she is. Loud was released in 2010, so it took me almost a decade to do this. 

The Internet simply confused me, and I couldn’t find a general consensus on whether I had to my bleach my hair or not. Black hair is always tricky to work with, since extreme colors usually require bleach. Some said they had to start with bleach, while others said they achieved the color without it. Since I couldn’t find the answer, myself, I emailed Lan, who dyed my hair last year. She ironically did the same shade several months ago and bleach was in fact, the answer.

Last year, she dyed my entire hair blonde, but it had grown down to my ears. I’m so glad that I reached out to her because I would have grown it out, otherwise. Before moving onto another color, I wanted to appreciate the blonde for as long as possible. Now that I knew it would save so much time and money, I booked an appointment, immediately.

AFTER

This session took a total of 5 hours, which is half the amount of time it took to go blonde. Lan began by bleaching my hair and leaving it in for 2.5 hours. She had me sit under a heating lamp to help speed up the process. The bottom portion of my hair was already blonde, so the color was really uneven after being bleached. The top half was yellow, while the bottom half was nearly platinum. I was worried that this would also make the red uneven, but I didn’t see any patchiness, at all.

After washing and blowdrying my hair, Lan applied the red dye, which made my scalp extremely tingly. It was really uncomfortable, at first, but the feeling disappeared after 15 minutes. She sat me under the lamp for another 30 minutes, and then shampooed and conditioned my hair, again. She left my roots unbleached and dyed it burgundy, so that it will look more natural once it grows. For the final touch, she sprayed my hair with Ionic Color Lock to help retain the color. 

The red turned out exactly as I envisioned, and I walked out of the salon feeling like a completely different person. It’s the boldest color I've ever done, so I definitely turn heads and stand out everywhere where I go. Not only is it a kickass color, but it’s also so forgiving and low-maintenance. Unlike shades of blonde and pastel, I only have to use red shampoo, once a week, to maintain its vibrancy. This is the best color experiment I’ve had yet, and I can’t wait to come back to see what else Lan can do.

+ Tube Top | Wild Fable (Poshmark)

+ Necklace | Etsy

+ Lipstick | MAC’s Ruby Woo

xx

Dana

I HAVE A PROBLEM

Those who know me know that I’m a devoted MAC customer when it comes to lipstick. I love their bold colors, black packaging and affordable prices. Over the past few years I have collected 7 tubes of lipstick (and counting). I tend to gravitate towards their dark matte colors. Here’s a look of my MAC lipstick collection and how each of them look on.

As you can tell from the stubby tube, this was the first MAC lipstick I’ve ever purchased. I actually wore it so much that the lipstick broke in half. It’s a maroon color, but with a hint of pink. 

This is my new favorite color, and it basically became my everyday lipstick. It’s a warm brown that’s perfect for fall, but I’ve been wearing it all winter. 

The tube looks like a plum color, but against my skin tone it looks magenta. I’m not usually a fan of pink lipstick, so this is the only pink color I own.  

So this purchase was a mistake, and I thought I was ordering MAC and Lorde's collaboration lipstick. Little did I know that Pure Heroine was the actual name of Lorde's lipstick and that it was a limited edition. In contrast to Pure Heroine's dark plum, Heroine is a candy purple.

This is a deep burgundy that’s perfect for the holidays. It’s a romantic and vampy color that's my substitute for a traditional red. 

Before purchasing black lipstick, I wanted to transition to it by trying a shade that was almost as dark. At first glance it looks black, but it's actually an ultra deep violet. 

I’ve been waiting for MAC to come out with another black lipstick for years. Every time I try to purchase it, it sells out, but this year I finally got it. What I love about this black is that it has a hint of gold speckles in it. 

Of course, my MAC collection doesn’t end there. Now I’m on the lookout for a bright red and nude lipstick. Please feel free to comment below with your MAC favorites! I'm always open to trying new colors.

Photography | Dana Nguyen + Anand Patel

xx 

Dana

SILVER LINING

Before | After

Last week I stumbled across i-D magazine’s video on the tattoo artist, Grace Neutral. Neutral has a series of body modifications, including purple eyes, elf ears and a forked tongue. Although I would never go as far as getting plastic surgery or being decked out in tattoos from head-to-toe, Neutral made a point that really resonated with me:

“Just imagine, if everyone was themselves, how different everyone would be, and how refreshing it would be to walk out the door everyday, and the people that you would meet, no one would be scared…When you’re 100% yourself, I think you’re as beautiful as you can be.” 

After watching this video, I immediately got a “fuck the world” mentality. I knew that I had to start checking off everything I’ve been putting off just because of what other people would think. One of those things was this haircut. I’ve been waiting to get the Skrillex cut for years, but always had second-guesses on whether the style would compliment my face. 

My orange hair has also been bothering me, so I thought this was a great opportunity to dye it a pastel color. Silver was on my list of colors to try, since I love the idea of having a gradient from black to grey.

I ended up getting my hair done in Chinatown, since the prices are so much cheaper there. I went to Kevin’s Beauty Salon, which my boyfriend recommended. 6 cups of bleach and 4.5 hours later, my hair was finally done. Even though the result clearly wasn’t perfect, this was the happiest I’ve ever been with a new color. My hair isn’t fried or falling out, and aside from the blond lining, the rest of the color is really even. I couldn't have thought of a better way to start off Chinese New Year!

+ Lipstick | MAC's Black Night

+ Necklace | Forever 21

+ Threader Earrings | Forever 21

+ Hoop Earrings | Asian jewelry shop

+ Stud Earrings | Brandy Melville

Photography | Anand Patel

xx

Dana