Best of Fashion in 2015 Awards

  I feel as about obligated as every other blogger around this time to create a "2015 favorites" of some sort and obviously as you can tell by this wonderful banner I created for myself, (I hate this phase where I have to make everything ironic or sarcastic I'm sorry) I have created the ultimate How Fitting awards ceremony for my personal favorite fashion icons/inspirations of 2015:

OK this is not yet another excuse for me to discuss my love, Harry Styles, but he honestly was one of my biggest style inspirations this year- he took a very vintage and 70s angle this year and oh my don't even get me started on his hair. Overall, I'm head over heels for the loose patterned button downs and (usually ripped) jeans he's been sporting over 2015. 

Also, if we're going to be on the topic of One Direction (or former) members, I'd like to give a shoutout to Zayn Malik for looking extremely high fashion this year- his red carpet looks have been killing it. 

Though her gorgeous outfits and looks are definitely not what Amandla Stenberg should be most recognized for this year, (look up any of the social justice arguments she's made), she was killing it in the red carpet and casual look game, her prom photo being one of my favorite instagram posts of 2015. She's got this awesome unique and elegant aura to her and just looked exquisite, probably one of my favorite people overall 2015. 

Speaking of Jaden Smith, I've been in love with his recent androgynous looks and immediately thought of him when writing this up. He's completely got the tee shirt dress down and how to style it along with how to accessorize all black outfits; his looks have been so interesting and my recent favorite person to look out for on the red carpet. 

I think we all saw this one coming. How could I not write up a fashion favorites and not include my biggest inspiration possible, Tavi Gevinson? Though she's been killing the game since 2009, her style has really developed over the years and her 2015 looks were much more mature and still interesting as always. She's been wearing a lot of mock and high turtlenecks recently which are a perfect compliment for her body type and looks just gorgeous oh my. 

Happy new years!

love is a losing hand

   
    Wow. Lots of time spent away. Over the past (almost) two months, I've been up to some pretty wild things definitely though:

♥

I saw Lights!! After two years of waiting, I finally ended up in Philly seeing her and ugh it lived up to every expectation of mine. 

♥ I'm working at multiple online publications!! You can find me at Mimp, Babytwigs, and Ando now! 

I'm really horribly sorry about this completely shitty post and even though that's really against my "blogging style" (ugh how pretentious) I felt the need to just get back into it with this. Will see you much more in the new year. 

fuck 'em only we know

♥Top: H&M

♥Skirt: H&M (I'm a sucker for cheap black circle skirts)

♥Jacket: thrift 

♥Bag: H&M (my sister and I painted it)

they grew so much!!

these babies are about three years old and I refuse to buy a new pair

I also made an playlist of some stuff I've been listening to lately because I've caught on to some REALLY good artists (ex: Sia, Banks, Cyberbully Mom Club)- play at shuffle because Spotify is a bitch to rearrange things.

I've got them bad boy blues baby

Ugh wow quite a lot has happened. I feel as though that will continue to be a common opening sentence. I need to write more one here. 

♥I saw The Front Bottoms!! It was hands down one of the best nights ever my god. Seeing my favorite band ever couldn't actually be any better- I was pressed right up against the barricade, Brian Sella nodded at me multiple times, and I ended up crowd surfing for the first time ever to my favorite song off Back On Top, "Plastic Flowers". They're incredible live like Brian is adorable and so fun and they sound just like they do (if not better) in recordings. God damn I'm kind of tearing up thinking about it. 

Elvis Depressedly also opened which was A+++ 

I actually ended up seeing in them in Upstate New York funny enough (my friend's grandmother lives there) and my god is it gorgeous there. 

your local nature loving gay boi 

♥I became a staff member of Ando! Everyone there is super duper sweet and we just published our November issue! If you want to hear about me sitting in an empty apartment with two of my lovely friends, I'd highly recommend it (also watch out for my cool picks on music this month because I'm a cool music kid)

♥So this has become a How Fitting tradition on any of these diary posts but here is the CRUSH CORNER!! 

♥Brian Sella: my god does this one need an explanation?? He's just so adorable and sweet and I love focusing on him and The Front Bottoms.

♥Drake: Not even current Drake but like young actor wheelchair Drake. I've been watching quite a lot of Degrassi lately.

♥Banks: All I've been listening to. Her voice is beautiful and the lyrics are SO fucking good- 10/10 would recommend.

♥Matthew Gray Gubler: When is he not on my crush list? With Halloween being a thing at the moment, he's even more important.

♥Evan Peters: Yet another Halloween one but he's always up there.

♥Buffy: Not even Sarah Michelle. Buffy. 

Have a $uper cool Halloween,

she spoke words that would melt in your hands

   Whoa. It's been quite awhile and as much as I'd hate to say it, with school, FIT just starting, and the complete jumble of my social life, it's been kind of hard to update. I've literally been just laying in bed watching SVU on Netflix and stressing out about really irrelevant situations I've created in my head that lead intricate lives of their own. At this point, I think I've got everything under control. Or at least I hope I do. Anyways, I've been looking a little like this:

these days. I buzzed off a large part of my hair off in hopes I could could look a little more queer and so far, that's been pretty good. Ever since I came out, I had this uncanny obsession with wanting to be that stereotypical lipstick lesbian due to the fear that people in fashion wouldn't take me seriously if I wanted to be more masc which I then realized was FUCKING RIDICULOUS because look how CUTE I look. I feel like tearing up a bit as to how adorable I am like wow good job Lou for being the gayest person you know. Oh right. I'm now calling myself Lou because that's name I feel I connect more to and all. Don't want to completely get into that. Maybe at a later date.
   Since How Fitting is obviously where only the most important matters are gone over, I feel as though it's ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY discuss  my current celebrity crushes because I'm a teenage girl thing and I guess it's scientific that I have those.

♥★Lou's Celebrity Crush Corner♥★

(I spent WAY more time than I ever should have creating something ironic) 

♥Top left: Poppy Harrold, ever since I saw them in Blue Sushi (AMAZING movie by the way, you've got to watch it), nothing has been the same)

♥Top right: Kat Blaque, ugh she's so intelligent and funny and gorgeous and oh my I love her.

♥Bottom left: Amandla Stenburg, honestly this one is so basic because who DOESN'T have a crush on her but I get so happy whenever I think of her.

♥Bottom right: Mandy Lee, my God. I was going through a breakup a month or so ago and Misterwives was my complete band during that time. God bless Mandy Lee. 

   I predict this year is the year How Fitting is flushed down the toilet (we've been hanging in there for quite awhile) now that this exists. Anyways, I've decided to stop taking myself so seriously and actually not pressure myself to create something well spoken and intelligent sounding every time because 9 out of 10 times, I just say stupid shit and spend a good fifteen minutes creating ironic collages of girls I have crushes on. Who knows? The next post on here may be some sort of feminist piece or just a continuation of my ramblings. It's really a 50/50 at this point. 

An Open Letter to Nicole Arbour

Dear Nicole,
   Your recent video has caused me to feel a lot of different things, one of those being shame for myself and body. I am not a large woman, I do have curves and fat around my stomach and large thighs that have taken me awhile to love and on some days, still be ashamed but just like you, have never been classified as "fat" or "obese". I don't mean to attack you or criticize your "type" of comedy, but there is a line between satire and flat out offensive and you crossed it in "Dear Fat People". In a way, I can see why you thought of this as OK. I have noticed you make quite a lot of videos in which you mention how you don't care about offending others and even in this videos paid notice to that but to me, I don't think what you created is humorous or "just being silly". Though you may have not meant to, you caused harm to your viewers.
   Starting off, you claim,
"fat shaming is not a thing, fat people made it up" using hyperboloid situations of large people complaining about not being able to fit through doors in a condescending voice. How many times have you heard this actually be said instead of I don't know... complaints on how modern media completely shoves about every body type that isn't thin under the rug and lack of representation because that's mainly what plus sized people are talking about. I would also like to point out your comment that fat people should "stop eating" to become skinny which speaks for itself on being wrong and perpetuates eating disorders as something OK to lose weight with. You even say fat shaming is a great idea because it makes fat being stop being fat. Though I can't speak for your experiences, I can bet you've never been fat shamed. Having others comment on your body isn't fun. It isn't inspirational. Being shamed for the body I live has never inspired me to change, it has brought me personally, and others all across the world to hate ourselves. You calling being fat assisted suicide and comparing obesity to being a shopaholic is also a problem. I'm realizing I don't even have to write this post because all these things you claim speak for themselves without explanation.
   Another thing worth mentioning is your comments on body positivity. For some enlightenment, there is a difference between body positivity and encouraging obesity. The idea of #bodyposi is to share love of human beings, who are constantly being attacked for their appearance, to spread love and well, positivity about themselves and to encourage self love and you comparing this community to things such as chain-smoking and meth completely invalidates and disrespects self love and the ideals around it. This hashtag isn't to help fat people lose weight and your condescending words aren't appreciated.
   The internet does not need a conventionally attractive woman (also your comment on being a minority was an offense in it's own) talking about plus sized people. And please don't try and claim you're being helpful because you aren't. You're horribly undereducated on this topic and should actually understand what you're discussing before clicking "post" to YouTube. I'd really recommend you watch Meghan Tonjes because she wrote a much better response than I did.
Thank you,
Annie

Who Is Danny?? (Stonewall Movie)

   Just like everything else, I am completely late to this discussion- mainly because I wanted to gain as much research and perspective from others as possible before going in with my own words and opinions. I believe it's always best to have multiple points of views from various ideas before voicing everything I have to say and that's why I sometimes end up being the person to drag things out. But, it is MUCH better to be later than never and to be honest, there's no real way to be "late" to this discussion since it should keep going and going and not be dropped until change is made! As most of you probably know, the trailer for the Stonewall movie, coming out in September, was released in the beginning of the month and for those who aren't aware of the true events, it can be seen as a powerful and progressive piece whereas just the trailer is riddled with problems and fabrication.
   For some background, Stonewall or The Stonewall Inn was known to be the most popular gay bar in the city, non conformists found haven in this area of Greenwich village and though it was extremely progressive for the LGBTQA+ community, the state of New York wasn't as much with sodomy laws targeting mainly gay men. Laws also included homosexuals not being able to congregate and bars not allowing to serve them liquor. This prompted the creation of the Mattachine Society, a group of homophile (pro gay rights) men who held sit ins inside of the local bars. In truth, Stonewall was pretty infamous. The drinks were watered down and it was mainly populated by those too poor to go elsewhere. It was famous for the dancing however because of the laws against display of homosexual relationships and this was one of the only places true representation could be shown. Being technically illegal, Stonewall was fueled by bribes to the police and the mafia. Sometimes, the cops would raid the bar to make their pay higher. Most of these nights would consist of the bar goers having to line up against the wall and provide identification. Even after doing what they're told, the police department still had the right to arrest patrons. In the trailer, it shows a blond haired, blue eyed, fictional, white man going by the name, Danny, throwing the first brick when riots burst on June 28, 1969. However, that couldn't be any less true. The main characters of Stonewall included Sylvia Rivera, a Puerto Rican drag queen and trans-woman, Miss Major, an active advocate for trans rights mainly for those of color, Storme DeLaverie "guardian of the lesbians" and drag king, and Marsha P. Johnson, a black trans-woman and sex worker. On the night of the famous Stonewall riot, Sylvia was celebrating her birthday with Marsha. When police raided the bar, Sylvia wasn't too worried since she was barely wearing any makeup and abiding by the common rule of having at least four items of "gender appropriate" garb. When cops got to her in line, one asked her if she was a boy or girl and Sylvia almost hit him until she was held back by a friend. More of the expressive people attending Stonewall, exited the bar and struck poses outside for those passing by to see but the mood completely shifted when patrons began being arrested one of them being Storme. DeLaverie screamed as she was being put into a paddy wagon, "Why don't you do something?" to people outside. It is said that Marsha was the first to throw a shot glass at Stonewall, known as the "shot glass heard 'round the world", along with Sylvia who launched a bottle at the cops. The tone became furious and violent as brutality from the police department ensued. One of my favorite and the most famous moments is when a kick line of drag queens and trans-women broke out, singing "we are the stonewall girls, we wear our hair in curls, we don't wear underwear, we show our pubic hair". This night, people of the LGBTQA+ community could vent their anger. The riots went on for days after and the most well known members of the riot continued onto creating their own organizations. Sylvia and Marsha formed STAR, Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, The Gay Liberation Front, an organization most well known for gay pride was also made. Miss Major and Storme DeLaverie both went onto to making speeches all over the country and standing up for LGBTQA+ rights.
   So with all these empowering advocates, why does the film portraying the event feature a fictional white man? Where are the lesbians? Trans-women? Where are the people of color? The Stonewall movie completely strips all true history from the event by not even mentioning a single one of these memorable women. It's absolutely devastating to see such an iconic event and moment in history be completely white washed by modern media and as much as I love the idea of there being piece in the mainstream about Stonewall, there is no way I can support this movie.

Research:

♥Storme DeLarverie, Early Leader in the Gay Rights Movement, Dies at 93

♥Remembering The Stonewall riot and the start of a movement

♥What Caused The Stonewall Riots (I SERIOUSLY recommend this one- Kat Blaque explains everything really easily and it's crazy well done)

♥Sylvia Rivera Law Project

♥Meet The Trans Women of Color Who Helped Put Stonewall on the Map

♥Marsha "Pay it no Mind" Johnson

Summer 2015: A Summation in Albums

   Summer is always when I discover my new favorite artist (ex: Lights circa 2013) or album (Danger Days circa 2012). Maybe it's with the excessive free time I get but I'm always hooked on someone new by the end of the season and this year was no exception with a pretty wide array of albums.

♥American Candy (The Maine)
key song: "Diet Soda Society"
I'd heard a couple songs off this one (meaning "English Girls") before the summer started but hadn't really listened to it in full or on complete repeat. I've never been a giant The Maine fan (I'd only seen them at Warped 2014 and maybe knew a couple songs) so the entire album wasn't a huge priority but I'm so so so happy I actually got around to it. Though they lack in lyrical development, the songs are incredibly catchy and easy to be used as background music while writing (something I can just kind of sing along to without paying much attention). The vocals are also extremely well done (I find it interesting the album is called American Candy when there's kind of a British twang to everything). 

♥How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (Florence + The Machine)
key song: "Hiding"
I took way too long to get around to listening to this one. Florence is one of my favorite singers but when the album came out, I skimmed through it without really going through everything as it deserves. Her vocal progression is pretty much the same, if not calmer, but the songs are a lot darker. A common theme of HBHBHB is danger I'd noticed and I appreciate how her voice puts that across- she sounds a lot more intense and almost frightening at points. All together, yet another good Florence + The Machine album (can you ever go wrong with her?)

♥Mayday Parade (self titled album)
key song: "No Heroes Allowed"
This is such emo trash oh god. Overall, I don't think any band (other My Chemical Romance) can hold a candle to the amount of emo in these songs- is there any type of enjoyable, feel good, Mayday Parade song? Pretty good track list though- about everything is catchy once you get past the incredibly dark pieces, it's fun to kind of zone out and sing to (there's a common theme here I think).

♥Cavalier Youth (You Me At Six)
key Song: "Room To Breathe"
Though I considered You Me At Six to be my second favorite band in 2012 (I found this out in an ancient artifact called "Ann's 7th Grade Journal"), I'd never actually heard their latest album (which had come out in 2014) and I wasn't sure what to expect. Sinners Never Sleep was already so good it really can't be beat and though Cavalier Youth really can't stand to it, in a way, I could call the album the darker older brother of SNS. The tracks are pretty heavy and though vocals really haven't changed, it's not exactly a bad thing. In truth, Josh isn't the greatest vocalist but he makes up for it in the emotion within his voice. It was the best it could be after Sinners Never Sleep.

♥Throne (Bring Me The Horizon)
key song: "Happy Song"
This can't even count as an EP but the two new songs Bring Me The Horizon released this summer were exceptional. With BMTH, I'm either in love (ex: Sempiternal) or think it's shit (ex: Suicide Season) and as good as "Drown" was, I didn't have much faith in these two new singles but after listening, I can't be more excited for the new album. When hearing this with Sam, we both commented on how damaged Oli's voice is- which oddly enough, is my favorite part. It's rough and scratchy-ness adds texture to the tracks. Though "Throne" sounds incredibly like something you'd hear in an emo hair dye tutorial, I'm surprisingly into it. Also, BabyMetal. You can't go wrong with them. Ever.

♥Rooms of the House (La Dispute)
key song: "Hudsonville, MI 1956"
Never listened to much of La Dispute. I've skimmed through Somewhere At The Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair (typical) but really hadn't given them much of a chance. The thing with La Dispute is that about everything sounds the same (fast paced guitar, scared talking, then a breakdown full of breathing) but I mean, I'm into it. The album is well done and tells a really clear story which is always a bonus for me. As I said early, though the vocals are about always the same, I'm really in love with the strange style.

♥Consider This (Tonight Alive)
key song: "5 Years"
Two words: Jenna McDougall. Extremely strong vocals beyond belief and Tonight Alive before signing to Fearless. Pretty self explanatory. I mean my best friend is practically Jenna so how can I not be absolutely in love with this EP?

♥New Politics (self titled, Vikings, and "West End Kids")
I've been somewhat big on New Politics since around the end of eighth grade- I even saw them live. This summer, I just got listening to their first album along with the newer songs and sneak peek of Vikings. Fun stuff. As absolutely great as Bad Girl in Harlem was, I'm extremely excited for something that sounds marginally different.

One Direction (and other): Why I Need Feminism

   Just this week, One Direction finally released the music video for their latest hit, "Drag Me Down". To say the entire thing was creative is an understatement; it includes robots, the boys running after a camera at rather awkward angles, and the ultimate point in which our favorite boy band is shot into space. Though I could write up an entire post about my love for the extravaganza that was the "Drag Me Down" video, there's actually a pretty big elephant in the room that comes with the attention the band is receiving, mainly from a male standpoint. Though most reactions towards DMD were positive and excited, there of course, had to be a chorus of "girls only listen to their music because they're hot" and though these things usually pop up with anything, there's an actual problem within saying this. Let's completely take everything we know about One Direction/ any biases against them and start from the beginning. "Drag Me Down" currently holds the title of #1 in 80 countries. EIGHTY. And this isn't even the first time something like this has happened- about all of their previous singles have hit first place on the iTunes charts without preorders. Going off of that, the British band have broken the Vevo records multiple times along with playing sold out or close to sold out shows every single night in the most well known venues on their world tour. So why don't they gain more respect? Why does a large portion of people still claim females who enjoy bands like One Direction are only there for the looks of the members? And no, it's actually not the performer's faults comments like this are usually put across, it's the demographic. One Direction's main audience is extremely versatile. Their listeners go from eight year old girls to college students. Mainly all female. This group of people is incredibly impressive- it's tough to land the pre-teen population already but also having young through older teens, and young adults (think recent college graduates) calling themselves directioners is almost considered impossible. A band that appeals to such drastically different age groups is usually something celebrated. But with their almost 97% fanbase of girls, One Direction is thought of as talentless because females can't possibly actually enjoy music, they must have a crush on one of the members to latch onto a band like this. Yes, it is very much true that most of their audience is attracted towards the boys but that's completely understandable; in a video done by Lacy Green, she describes "fangirling" or having a crush on a famous person as something completely normal and actually scientific in the minds of girls growing up (which fits most of 1D's fans). Another great point to bring up is these ladies' source of income. Being young, these directioners are mostly working minimum wage jobs or relying completely on their parents. They aren't giving up their paycheck or birthday present for the album or tickets to see four talentless boys. They enjoy the music and yes, the members but this behavior isn't driven from the pure attraction of Harry Styles. It's a love for the content this band creates and the way it makes them feel.
   Think of it as this: if One Direction's fanbase was mainly all male, their reputation and music would be taken much more seriously. The idea that the bands and artists that have a co-ed or mostly male audience are more respectable and talented is ridiculous. The statement, "girls only like One Direction because of their looks", also puts across the idea that all women are boy obsessed and can't appreciate something unless they find attractive value within the artist. When you turn it on it's head, the situation is actually pretty funny because of how large a double standard it is. For this year's Victoria's Secret fashion show, more men tuned in live than woman to watch supermodels walk across a runway in lingerie. Though Taylor Swift gave a pretty killer performance, it is easily argued that this male audience was there for the looks of the models. So why are guys allowed to literally just watch conventionally gorgeous women walk across a stage whereas girls can't enjoy a band with attractive members?
   It's sad to watch a band that has one of the most powerful fanbases and has put an influence on the demographic of teenagers (one of the hardest to hit ever) can't be taken seriously because directioners are mainly all female. It's even sadder that these fans are constantly having to prove themselves to guys (and even some women) for their taste in music because of being seen as "boy crazy". Though this post only covered One Direction specifically because of my own liking and experiences, this can be applied to any artist within the industry- these double standards hitting females are ridiculous.

 

How To: Half and Half Purple and Pink Hair + Pravana Review

 

   A couple weeks ago, I made a MAJOR splurge at Ricky's and picked up two tubes of Pravana hair dye: "Pink" and "Luscious Lavender". Though it was way more money than I ever spend on dye (or can afford to), I'd heard great things about Pravana so I couldn't help myself. Yesterday, I finally got around to using it and to be quite honest, I'm kind of disappointed in the way the colors showed up. First, they weren't even sticking to my skin which is always a major red flag. When on my extremely faded out hair, neither were showing up either. In the end, this was the results:

Both colors barely came out into my hair and that was even mixed with brighter shades of Adore and only a dash of conditioner. I'm really unsure why my results were so incredibly horrible but I'm going to stick to just Adore after this whole thing because not only is it cheaper, but I trust it more. The one good thing I have to say about this dye is the texture; it felt like conditioner and was really soft and had a good balance between thick and thin.
   Anyways, after these disappointing results, I dyed my hair this morning! To do this, I used:

♥Adore Purple Rage 

♥Adore Violet Gem

♥Adore Hot Pink

♥Adore Pink Rose 

The process was like any- One bowl had a bit of the Pravana Pink left because I still wanted to have a little faith in it- sadly, the color just wasn't sticking to my hair so it was a lost cause, the main mix I used on the pink side was a large amount of Hot Pink with just a small amount of Pink Rose, the purple side was mainly Purple Rage with just two drops of Violet Gem. I parted my hair down the middle and went through all my hair with each color. What I mainly do when dyeing is take a large chunk of dye onto the brush and rub it into my hair like shampoo. 

I was scared about the dye not showing up so I left it in for about an hour and then washed it out in freezing cold water with color protecting shampoo and hydrating conditioner. My hair is now super cute and I'm wildly happy with how it looks. The Purple Rage is gorgeous and oh my I'm so excited!!

check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead

  This week, I'm in Long Beach Island and even though I'm not wild about the beach, I sure do look cute in a swimsuit. 

♥Bikini: Forever21

♥Top: H&M

Oh! I dyed my hair once again- I faded the color out and realized that was a really bad mistake so I put some Adore Emerald  (with a shit ton of conditioner) and REALLY diluted Violet Gem. In the mixing bowl, the emerald looked very sky blue and even once it was in my extremely faded blue hair, it seemed around the color but has turned to a more greenish (well, emerald) color. It looks cute either way so whatever.

Things I ♥: Hair Masques

*completely unsponsored (I'm too unpopular for this kind of sponsorship)*

   Over the past couple months, the health of my hair has changed dramatically. Though my hair definitely was damaged beforehand, after going through multiple bleaching processes (don't even mention that one time I bleached it three times in one day), the state of my locks is definitely not awesome. Ever since I began home dyeing this year, I have created a pretty great Rolodex of DIY hair masques and cheap treatments (mainly from Ricky's) to help split ends and dry hair.

-DIY: putting your entire kitchen on your head
Though most of the treatment packets I buy are under $3, I sometimes become incredibly cheap (and also too lazy to make a Ricky's run), resulting in mixing about everything in the fridge together and putting it on top of my head. OK so yeah you could just grab everything and do that but items I recommend are: milk, eggs (just one yolk), honey, banana, vegetable oil, coconut milk, and mayo (I can't deal with the smell/consistency/existence of mayonnaise so that one is never an option for me). For semi-permanent dyed hair, I would recommend leaving out any oily products since it will fade the color- a few days before re-dyeing I will add the oils back in. Making and applying this masque is also crazy easy- simply mix everything you want into a bowl, section off your hair, and spread evenly.
Cost: Free! (unless you buy your own groceries...)
Time: 20 min.- whenever (I usually do it for 40 min but I have a friend who will leave it for hours)

-Not Your Mothers: Intensive Hair Unit Renewal Treatment
Not Your Mother's is one of my favorite brands ever for hair (their dry hair shampoo and anti- split end conditioner is the greatest) so when Sam and I found packets of their hair repair treatment I had to try it. The first time I used one, I'd just done a bleach bath and though it didn't feel marginally better, it was definitely good for just bleached. The application is simple (wash hair, massage with product, wait 3 min) my split ends were also pretty minimal afterwards and I could actually touch my hair without wanting to cringe!
Cost:
8 oz bottle- $8
1 packet (it took me 2 to cover my head)- $2
Time: 3-6 minutes

-Hask Keratin Protein Smoothing Deep Conditioner 
I'd gone back to Ricky's a couple weeks later to grab a couple more Not Your Mother's packets and since it was a different location, they sadly didn't have them in stock so the next best thing was to try one of these. I've used this product twice now and it's super easy and quick to use (wash hair, leave in for 10-20 min, wash). I haven't risked blow drying afterwards but once my hair is completely dry, it feel so crazy soft and adds shine.
Cost: $3
Time: 10 min (I leave it for 20 just to make sure)

sugarcane in the easy morning

   LIM is going positively great- I mean they give us free pizza on Fridays and my best friend there, Sam, came in the other day wearing glitter costume boots. What's not to love? This week, I ended up in a blog class- how fitting (what I'm so funny oh my god) and on the last day, we took a trip down to Tudor City park and overpass where we partnered up and took outfit photos of us. My lovely friend, Ashley, is responsible for these works of art.

♥Betty Boop skirt: stolen from Vivi

♥Crop top: H&M