Ombre hair!

Ok are you guys ready??

I dyed my hair today... it's not a HUGE change, don't expect me to be a legit blonde!
But Man I absolutely ADORE my new hair!

I did them myself... so here is the before. Last time i dyed my hair was end of january, and was the best red ever! But spring is coming so I wanted to go lighter...
I basically just painted the color onto my hair and then divided my hair into 2 and bleached the ends.
Easy!
I really didn't know what to expect, because last time I bleached my hair last time i was with my mom and she did it.
I have decided to do this at home because when a go to a salon I don't really get what i want :(
Anyway...  Came out pretty good ;)

Top layers are just slightly touched by the blonde, but bottom layer is BLONDEE!
And Love it....
What do you think?? Let me know commenting below!

And the Oscar goes to.... Bread Pitt!

And the Oscar goes to... Bread Pitt.......Aka, my guide to sourdough!

For those who don't know, sourdough is used for making bread w/out using chimical yeast.
Making your own bread is the mother of all DiY.
And you know that lately I developed an insane passion for DiY, but when this all started?
I've always had a passion for baking, i loove making cupcakes and cakes and pizza and bread.... I am a nurse, but there's a little baker inside me!
SO when last september my aut gave me this little amount of sourdough I was like a child in a candy shop!
She gave me instruction on how to refresh it and a recipe for bread.... but I went my own way and bought a book with like 50 recipes with sourdough. So here is my advice for you, if you're starting sourdough.

First things first. You can make your own sourdough. It's not that hard, is just water and flour and you'll find lots of recipes.
Then you'll have to keep it alive. My best advice for you is to keep your dough in an airtight container in the fridge. My aunt keeps it outside, and you can totally see the difference.
Refresh. She told me to refresh it twice a week, but I am a lazy girl. Keeping your dough in the fridge helps you a lot if you're lazy like me. Refreshing you sourdough means mixing it with a little of flour and water.
Before making your bread you HAVE to refresh your dough with at least 100g of flour.

Bread making.
I've tried a lot of recipes, but the best one is by www.pappa-reale.net

This bread has a thin but crunchy crust and you can eat it even 4-5 days after making this.

Ingredients:
200g of sourdough
600g flour of your choice
350g water
1 teaspoon honey
1-2 teaspoons salt

Last time i made this with wholemeal flour and it was AWESOME. you can either make it half and half.

Warm up your water and use it to dissolve your yeast. The recipe calls for no lumps, but i must say I've always left some lumps :P
Put your honey in and try to dissolve it. Mix salt and flour. I like my bread to be salty, so i always put a little more salt than 2 teaspoons, from 15 to 20 grams of salt.
Mix your yeast with flour. Leave at least 50g of flour for your pastry board. Mix with your hands until it's even and make a ball. Put it back in the bowl and lat it rest for at least 1 hour.
Now let's have a little chit chat about pans. If you let your bread rise and cook w/out putting it in a pan you can be sure that is going to be stiff and hard and won't rise. I like to use a plumcake pan, and you can see how high and beautiful my bread is. You can either choose a glass pan or silicone or a simple non-stick pan.
I use a glass pan covered in wax paper, but i think that non-stick pan is the best.
So after an hour you take your dough and put it in your pan, and let it rise from 6 hours to overnight.
Cooking your bread. Preheat your oven at 480°F. Make sure is hot. Put your bread in and set the timer to 20 min. Then low your oven to 390°F and let you bread cook for at least 25-30 mins. The crust HAS to be golden brown.

Enjoy your bread.

Remember: Practice makes perfect!

DiY: Braided Beaded Bracelet

It's time for a DiY!

Summer is coming and summer means lots of bracelets covering our wrists!

So lately I saw a lot of tutorials about beaded bracelets, but i think that braiding and pushing beads one by one is too long and compicated for me since I'm using embroidery thread. So i managed to do it my own way!

What you need:

-Embroidery Thread, leather cord, cord

-beads of your choice

-Scissors

-A button

First of all I wanna say something about embroidery thread. If you are a cross stitcher, like me, you'll never use Dmc or Anchor thread for Diy. I have like a little case with all skeins that i bought in packs or at the market that are not very good or expensive thread. If you're not a cross stitcher, go ahead and buy good quality thread. You can use also leather cord, regular cord, silk ribbon cord.

Let's start!

First you are going to cut 2 pieces of thread, one 26" and the other double lenght. You can double or triple the lenght if you like your bracelet to do multiple turns of you wrist.

Fold the longer piece in half and put the short one in the middle, then tie a little knot to secure the threads. make sure you leave a little loop. 

Now put your loop under a heavy thing, so you can braid easily.

Now take a needle that fits inside the beads, and put some of them on the thread. Don't take off you needle form the end of the thread or your beads will go everywhere!

Now start braiding your thread. After 2/3 inches you can start pushing up your beads. You can either push up the bead when the thread is in the middle of the braid or at the sides. It's up to you.

Push the bead up and keep it in place with your finger then continue braiding.

You'll think it's hard at the beginning but practice makes perfect!

When you're getting to the end, stop pushing up the beads and finish braiding the thread.

Now, to close your bracelets you can either choose to put a button or simply tie some knots.

If you put a button make sure to knot it in place with 3 or 4 knots.

Cut excess thread and.. you're DONE!

Pumps!

Pumps! by carlybar featuring platform heels

Christian Louboutin platform heels, $845
Miu Miu peep toe pumps, $645
Heel pumps, 599 SEK
By Malene Birger suede shoes, $595
Joan & David platform pumps, $200
Badgley Mischka silver heels, $200
Jessica Simpson platform heels, $89
ALDO platform shoes, $62
Steve madden shoes, $80

My Summer!

My Summer! by carlybar featuring long tops

Red Or Dead stripe shirt, £15
H&M denim short shorts, £20
Closed toe shoes, $30
Lot 26 Studio Burnish Birds Blossoms Vinyl Wall Decal, 16 x 24-Inches, $27

My HM Top Picks

My HM Top Picks by carlybar featuring short shorts

H M pleated dress, £15
H M flare dress, £15
H M button shirt, £13
H M printed shirt, £9.99
H M zipper jacket, £30
H M short jacket, £25
H&M short shorts, £15
H m jumpsuit, £13
H&M pleated shorts, £13
H&m shoes, £15
H&M peeptoe shoes, £9.99
H&M ballerina shoes, £7.99
H M genuine leather handbag, £15
H&M feather chain earrings, £2.99
H M brim hat, £6.99

Summer

Summer by carlybar featuring a hipster bikini

Melissa Odabash low rise bikini
$180 - net-a-porter.com

Wallis polka dot bikini
$49 - wallisfashion.com

Old Navy tankini swimwear
$40 - oldnavy.gap.com

Victoria s Secret bandeau bikini
$28 - victoriassecret.com

River Island floral bandeau bikini
$27 - asos.com

Bandeau top bikini
$25 - warehouse.co.uk

Bandeau top bikini
$25 - warehouse.co.uk

Striped bikini
£22 - republic.co.uk

Floral bikini
$21 - warehouse.co.uk

H M top bikini
£9.99 - hm.com

Ombre Hair Inspiration pics

I know I'm late, and ombre hair was in last year. But I looove it... thinking about getting my hair done...

My hair story.

Natural Hair Color: Mmmm... I'd say like medium brown, not too light not too dark
Current Hair Color: Red... Last time I used Palette Hair dye in the color Red.


Beware: Super Long Post. I told you!

feb.2008

With this being said, I really don't remember me in my natural hair color. I dye my hair since I was 15, and I've had them all. Well, I still wish to try pink and blue someday, but I have been a brunette, I've had purple, I have red now... Never been straight up blonde but I've had like blonde streaks. I loove blonde hair, but i have black eyebrows and I don't plan to lighten them just to have blonde hair.
My mum never stopped me from dyeing my hair and I think my booboo never saw me in my natural hair color.
When I was 15 i've had the longest hair, but I really didn't like taking care of them, I had split ends and lots of knots, mostly because I straightened them w/out brushing them. Fool.

Best Hair Ever-Dec.2008

Then one day, right after christmas I went to the hairdresser with a picture and said: cut them all, like that.
Bad, bad decision. But they grew again stronger and pretty quick. In two years I had my long hair back. Then I met my man (2006), and he said to me one summer day: you'd look good with short hair! My mum was saying me the same thing, so I went and cut my hair. THE WORST HAIRSTYLE EVER. But they grew back. And by christmas they had no more style or shape. At that time, Rihanna cut her hair in a bob. I did it too.

My hair are not curly, but not straight at all. So after i washed my hair the first time i looked like... I can't even say, I don't even want to remember.

Dec. 2009

From that moment, my hair NEVER grew longer again. I kept cutting them, I don't know why. At the same time I was dyeing them. RED. Well, orangy colour, because the red washes out pretty quick.
After three or four month my hair were at my shoulders, but the colour was awful. Man. So i went to my hairsalon to dye them(2007), to cover the red dye. So I went dark brown/black. And i decided to cut the fringe. I looked like Cleopatra's ghost. Oh God, my man hated my hair. And I did too.

Dec.2010

But that period passed and I want red again, for new year's eve. The BEST hair I've ever had. You know when you look at pictures of you and think, oooh, I loove this color, why I don't wear it anymore? That feeling.
But the red washed away quickly and I went brown, and on Dec.-24-2009 I decided to go purple. Lovely colour. Really pretty. Dark but not black, and washing out it came pretty good.
I stayed a little with brown hair after that then I decided to go lighter. Really light. My mom helped me. She has been my haircolorist for the last three years, except for rare occasions. We bought bleach and developer and started making highlights in my hair. And came out good, I kept them for months, then right after christmas(2010) I decided to go red again. I always dye my hair near christmas, every year. It's like a tradition.

Dec. 2011

But every time I go red I have to go brown again because the red washes out. This year, in November i got my degree and became a nurse. And I had brown hair. But in my head i was like "I'm gonna go red again. I know. Soon." And four days after my graduation, right before my graduation party I went red. The colour was called "Intense Red". And was really dark. But I did it myself, without my mum's help, for the first time. Yayyy! It was the beginning of my hair colouring indipendence. Big time. And I got so many compliments for my red hair that I've decided to keep them, but it's pretty hard to keep them really red looking. I don't want to dye them much so I dyed them after two months, eventhough the color washes out a lot in two months, and became like an orangy red, not too light,but not to orange. End of November- End of January.
Now it's almoust the end of march. And I have to decide what to do.
Keep red hair or let the color wash away? That is the question.

Gardening Mama

I am a super lazy girl. And I'm terribly sorry for that.
But this couch potato likes gardening, so today i'm gonna show you what I did on tuesday.
A couple weeks ago I went to the market and I bought 7 packets of seeds for like 60 cent each. These days the weather is warmer and the sun is starting to heat, so i said to myself: I want to have a container garden. I don't have lots of space, I have just a little terrace but I became obsessed with gardening!
So, first of al you're gonig to need:
-Pots or plastic containers
-Soil
-Seeds
-Watering can/spray can/water bottle
-Fertilizer

I bought some plastic knives to mark my plants, because i'm never going to remember where is what :P
But you can skip this step or use ice cream sticks or whatever. I've found a packet that already have a little plastic something to mark your plant.


Ok so first you must decide which plants you want to plant. I choose sunflower, camomile and basil.
Now look at the back of your packet and make sure it's time to plant and if the weather is right.
Take your pot and fill it with your soil, leaving 2-3 inches from the top. Slightly water your soil. Now take your seeds and put them on the soil w/out pressing them. If you have small seeds make sure to sprinkle them evenly onto the soil. if you have big seeds like sunflower, put just 2-3 seeds, according to how big your pot is. Now cover with some other soil, like an inch and water them carefully. You don't want your seeds to move or float.
I inserted the knife before putting the seeds.


And you're done! 
But now.... i don't know how to keep my seeds!


I've found a seed packet template on the internet and i said: i'm going to make myself seed packets!


You're going to need:
-Seeds, of course
-Paper
-Template
-Scissors, tape or glue, pencil, permanent marker.

Take you template, cut it and mark on paper the outlines. Cut them and fold the paper where needed. Glue or tape where needed. The template has on it all the measurements and stuff so it's easy to make the packages.




With the permanent marker write on your packet all infos about you seeds, like harvesting and stuff, so you can replant them with ease the next year or give them as a gift.




Put your seeds in and close your package with tape...

Et Voilà ;)

DiY: Animal Printed Pot

Today we do it ourselves!

Spring is coming and it's time for gardening! Since outside is still cold, we can start by pimping our flowerpots with some animal print stencils.

For the stencil you need:

-Scissors
- Wax paper
- Pencil and rubber
- Ruler
- Cutter or Exacto Knife
-Prints of you choice, I picked mine on the internet.

How to: Take your wax paper and line it over your image.
With you pencil draw all outlines carefully. You can double your print if you have a bigger pot.

Take you cutter and cut your paper. Do this over a board or foamboard.




Now that we have our stencils, your hands shoud have dirt all over them, so go and wash your hands.

It's time to paint our pots!

I had 3 smaller ones and a bigger one, that i bought at a market last year. Mine were brown, so I painted them white to have a uniform base color.

I used acrilic paint that dries really quickly, but spray paint would be great.

Now choose you colors. I had only white, red, blue and brown paint, so I made a red pot, a pink one, a light blue one and a purple.

I paited them twice, to have a solid color. Don't forgeto to paint the inside as well, at least half way through.

Are you ready to print??

Take your stencils and line it onto your pot; hold it in place with tape and paint!

Remove the stencil, let dry the paint and.... enjoy your animal printed pots!

I made the stencils, but you can easily go free hand if you want!


I can't wait to plant some flowerssssssss :))

Elle Anniversary + Diorshow Mascara

I have to say that i'm not a big fashion fan. I'm not into fashion magazines, trends and stuff.... I do really like clothes, and I've never met a girl who doesn't.
But yesterday I was at the mall and I saw this beautyful Elle Magazine 25 anniversary edition and felt the need to buy it.....

It's like a cardboard box, that on the front says "25 years with Elle", and has on each side the sentence "Dior celebrates Elle's 25 years"

Inside the box you find the magazine split into 4 volumes:

- Trends of the moment

- Elle's interviews

- Global fashion girls

- Shopping

When i was youger i used to cut the commercials of my favourite models and i kept them inside plastic folder. maybe i'll start again keeping outfit that i like.
I'm not a daring person, i stand always with the same colors, i have my best pieces and i stick to them all the time. I love clothes but i don't have enough money to buy everything i want, so I wear most of the time the same stuff. I'm a dress lover, especially in summertime but since i'm a little overweight i can't wear them as much as i wish. Lately i developed a passion for sewing and i'm planning to do more clothes myself in the future.
But let's go back to the start... inside the box you find a sample of DiorShow Mascara.
I tend to buy all drugstore stuff, i'm not a high-end make up person. I don't have a lot of money to spend on high end make up, and i can't find the point of spending even 14 euros on a drugstore foundation.
I have to say that here in Italy we have lot of stores that sell high-end and  the retail price is way toooooooo high, a lot higher than Usa and Uk price.
For example, the DiorShow mascara at Sephora here in Italy is 27,50€, which is 36$. At Sephora.com the Diorshow Mascara is 25 $. There is a big gap.

This is the before. I like my natural lashes, i have pretty long lashes, but i always go for volume and lenght and having lots and lots of lashes. I know i could wear false lashes, but i'm a goofy and i can't put them on w/out messing my eyemakeup :P

And this is the after. Man, this mascara works so well. I have on 2 coats and the difference is massive. I love it.


But i'm never ever ever going to spend 27 euros on a mascara. Ever.







Here's a side picture, so you can see the lenght.







My opinion on this mascara:
Brand: Dior
Name: DiorShow Mascara
Wand: i have the sample size, so it's a preatty small wand. Funny shape, but does his work.
Colour: nice black colour, but i already have dark lashes....
Price: pretty expensive, eventhough it's under 30 euros.

I would give it an 8 out of 10.

Sparkly eyeliner ;)

It's a rainy day... Sooo sad... But what's best than sparkly eyeliner to brighten the day??! I choose turquoise with a pinch of matte green, and lots of mascara, as always :)

Superhero Cupcakes

Ahaha, i'm joking right? No, i'm not.
My real first one post is not beauty related.
Last week i made this superheroes cupcakes for me and my boyfriend. He is like obsessed with Marvel Superheroes and made me became a fan of superheroes.
I mean, how can you not love Wolverine, if it's played by the handsome Hugh Jackman? I've seen and enjoyed all of the superheroes movies. I swear.
And then last week i thought: I looove cupcakes. And I looove superheroes. And so does my boyfriend. Let's make this.
So i grabbed my favourite moleskine notebook and drew 12 cupcakes thinking about what superheroes i wanted to make. I made Wolverine (of course!), Hulk, the X-men, DeadPool, Cap, Fantastic 4, The Punisher (boyfriend helped me pick this one), Iron man and Spiderman. Man, I have 3 missing.
My boo doesn't like DC comics that much. But how can you not have Superman, Batman and Green Lantern cupcakes? You can't.

I must say that they are NOT how i expected them to be. I wished for better. But they are close enough.
Want to see the result? There you go. Sorry for the lame picture.

So, what do you think? I think that they are UGLY. I was laughing so hard i cried.

But they were sooo fu** good. And Boo liked them.

Next time i will do better. Or at least I'll try :)

Intro..

Ok so, first post.
I'd like to say that i'm Italian 100%, first of all.
Then... why i'm writing in English if i'm italian? My current dream is moving from italy to the US, sooner or later.
And i have to practice my english skills.
I have a passion for make up, and that is why this is a BB, Beauty Blog.
Now is time for introducing myself: my name is Carly, i'm 22 and i'm italian (already said, i know). I graduated last year and now i'm a nurse, looking for a job. In my spare time (wich appens to be a lot lately) i do EVERYTHING. Tell a thing and i can say oh, yeah i did / i'm doing it last week/yesterday/a month ago/ tomorrow/ in a week etcetcetc.
Let's start from what i like doing the most: make up. I could spend hours reading blog posts, watching youtube videos, searching for inspiration all over the place.
Then, DIY. I discovered diy like at the end of last year and started really doing it last month. But i am obsessed. Wherever i go and whatever i see/buy i'm thinking of diy.
Cross stitch. It make me feel so relaxed and peaceful laying on the couch with something to cross stitch. I could spend days only cross stitching (but then even a month without doing it).
What else... Gardening, sewing, baking, cooking. Name it.

My biggest fear is talking. you know, i know that i could make videos and stuff but i'm too shy to do it.
I always think about what other people could say.
And it's so funny because i know that i can speak english, and that i do it well, but with other people looking at me and asking me questions i can't. I mean i've been studying english for like half of my life and still i can't speak. My boyfriend is so outgoing that he speaks eventhough i knows like 5 words and no grammar at all.
The problem is that when someone asks me something in english in my head i go like " well i could say it that way, or do like that", but in the end i'm speachless. Not because i can't speak, but because i think too much on how to say it the right way and spelling it right so that the person i'm talking to can only think "oh, that's good". HATE myself when i do that.

You see? My mind is all over the place. Always thinking about making a good impression. Silly me.

So, let's get back to the blog. I will take this as a diary of my experiences and my life, w/out pretending someone to read it. But if you are, i really appreciate that. And if you're english/american/australian/whatever i'd really appreciate comments on my english and corrections. I'm a little bit rusty.

Welcome to my life.