BIRDS OF A FEATHER.

You can tell that I like birds quite a bit. I like to watch them, I like to wear prints featuring them, I like to draw them, and I like to blog on a blog called 'babybirdblog'! You can imagine my excitement when I first saw feather hair extensions popping up on the internet. What an amazing way to accessorise your hair!



When I found these little feathered wonders I was dying to add something different to my hair. I had thought of dying, but I didn't much like the thought of extensive bleaching and repeated colouring to get the effect I wanted. Feather extensions offered me the perfect alternative - a splash of colour without damaging my hair! I sourced mine from the wonderful Feather Ray - a London based feather-extension boutique who are currently pride of place in Oxford Circus's Topshop.

The feathers are natural, dyed to a number of beautiful colours, patterns and shades, which you can check out on Feather Ray's shop, and are held in place by little silicone rings which are threaded into the hair along with the feathers and squeezed (by pliers) to crimp them into place. They're also very easily removed (when - or should I say if - you want to remove them) by squeezing the ring the opposite direction to open it back up again. They can be washed, dried, straightened and curled with your own hair, so they're incredibly versatile too!

I bought my first set (the Rainbow Festival Mix) back in September and had them in place from then til mid December, when I took them out in hope of getting my hair cut and dyed. The feathers are more or less as good as new, despite frequent washing, blow-drying, straightening and curling, and I've even recycled the older ones back in again with the new ones I had purchased (2x Tequila Sunset + 1 Autumn Blues Mix) - which are absolutely stunning! I'm in love with the turquoise colours.

I'm in love with my feathers - they're pretty unique and add something a little special to my hair. I can't see me taking out these ones until it's time to chop my hair again, and I can almost guarantee that i'll be replacing them soon afterwards. Highly recommended!

Check Feather Ray out on facebook + twitter

love, Jessica

CHOICE NOTES.

Yeah, I know, I did it again! Good intentions do indeed pave the way to hell, as they say. I had the very best of them to keep everything running smoothly, but unfortunately a few ill-timed assignments have kept me too busy for editing photos and writing posts. I still managed to snap a few photos along the way - and I've posted up a few WIWT instagrams over on my tumblr - check it out for slightly more regular updates!

These photos are from around 3 weeks ago when my hair got a well overdue makeover. My highlights had grown out, it was a little bedraggled and the split ends were becoming an endless distraction for me, and it had been begging to be chopped and coloured since before christmas. Finally, with the exams and placement over, I took advantage of a free afternoon and got it sorted.


 
Sheer cream blouse - River Island
High-waist denim shorts - Topshop
Super-cosy tights - Primark
Moccasins - Minnetonka
Wine coloured bowler - UO

Brown leather belt - Topshop
Tortoishell doe necklace - H+M

So happy with the results, and still loving it! I had the ends lightened considerably and a few more blonde foils put in so it's less highlighted and more ombre. I know that several beauty blogs have claimed that ombre is 'over' but I guess I'm not just there yet, haha! It's a great colour option for darker haired girls, because when it's done right, it gives a lot of depth to the hair and of course, is easy to maintain and a lot cheaper than getting a full head of highlights. I definitely recommend going to a stylist though - some of the home-grown attempts I've seen on tumblr make me wince, usually the dyed hair looks totally burnt out by bleach. Poor hair!

I'm still listening to Gotye, at least once a day! Somebody I used to know is becoming a little bit of an anthem in my house in Belfast because we all love it so much. It's a regular on our dish-washing soundtrack. This week I've been enjoying tunes from the ATG Spring Mixtape (2011). Here's one of my favourite tracks, hope you enjoy!



love, Jessica