adventures in fashion, travel & nightlife
I shared my new hairdo a few posts ago; now it’s time to introduce you to the awesomeness of the Leopard Lounge vintage hair salon, where I got it done!
The Leopard Lounge is located in Brown Street, Newtown…just a hop, skip and jump from the main drag of King Street, at the corner of Wilson Street. Even from the outside, you can tell that this is no ordinary hair salon.
I’ve loved the deathrock look for some years now (not to mention deathrock music and clubs!) Well, on Wednesday I went to the fabulous “Leopard Lounge” vintage hair salon in Newtown, and got it done. Well, one side anyways.
The last time I shaved the side of my head I didn’t like it much…but that was because my hair is fine and the loss of hair left it looking flat. But with the fullness of hair extensions (still in from Singapore), it looks just great! I got a smallish area near the ear shaved down to a number 2, and left a little trigger area just in front of the ear.
Yes, I got long wavy hair extensions installed when I was in Singapore. Getting exte’s is a common thing for gyaru’s, but I’m not really “gal”. The one time I had it done previously was in Australia, and for a LOT more. So, extes in Singapore. I think it’s a rite of passage or something, like getting your hair braided in Bali (but hopefully more tasteful looking).
I researched and found that the main names coming up were Angel Xin, Vain, Milly’s, and H & C Carnival. In the end, I just trotted off to the Far East Plaza near Orchard Road, and took my chances. On the 3rd floor there are various beauty salons, and I kept wandering past a few of them, eventually heading in to Vain Hair & Beauty. The main shop is seen below:
…and the one I went into was just opposite, at shop 140
200 extensions would be $100, or 400 for $200. I ended up getting 400 (or so they told me). Although I still have a lot of blue hair, my roots and a good 6-8 inches are my natural dark brown, and so they matched the extes more or less to that. (I think they could’ve gone a little darker actually, but it’s ok). Here are the halfway and completed shots.
And from the front? I tried a few self-camera shots back in the hotel room:
I ended up trimming one of the sides that was hanging down longer at the front, but overall I’m pretty pleased with them. I think they look quite natural, being wavy, and now “I can haz mermaid hair”! I feel very girly swishing the wavy wisps over my shoulder. So waddya reckon, eh?
Yeah…not bad!
I can see this will work very well when I wear gothic fashion or gyaru fashion…and definitely saves me time by not having to straighten my own hair. It looks better the wavier it is, blending in more with the wavy extensions. Even in humid weather as in KL, it looks good. I’m sold! If you’re ever in Singapore, go ye to the 3rd floor of the Far East Plaza and check it out:
Vain Beauty
Far East Plaza
No. 14 Scotts Rd
#03-113 or #03-140
Singapore 228213
+6597115290
What about you? Have you ever had long hair extensions installed, either at home, or overseas? Were you pleased with the results?
A few weeks ago I celebrated my 48th birthday (I know – how absolutely horrifying!)
My friends and I headed to the dark alternative club downstairs at the Imperial, called the Foundry – you may remember I wore a gothic curly updo to the Foundry launch night in November last year. Back then I used a curly hairpiece I bought in Tokyo at the Shinjuku Marui One store. This time I stuck with my own hair, but teased it up into a faux deathrock hawk – my theory is, the higher the hair, the slimmer the face looks 😉
This time around I moved away from cyber goth influences – no corset or PVC skirt here. I wore a combo I often do – many pieces from Japan (gothic and gal) mixed with aussie staples.
The outfit:
The club was not quite as well attended as the previous few, but still a good night was had by all, and we’ll certainly be attending the next one.
The first few pics are from the beginning of the night, but from our personal camera. The last few are by the club’s photographer for the night , Christian McGuinness, and so are more professional, but we were drunker and siller!
For those interested in my beau’s groovy pinstripe shirt with the vinyl straps and silver snaps, it’s from US goth brand Lip Service, but purchased from Newtown’s Furr Hair. Go thee and get some cool gear!
That’s it really. Just wanted to throw an outfit post in amongst all of my recent travel posts. Have you dressed up recently for a birthday, dinner or club? What did you wear?
Ok, have let the blog slide again (even missing my 48th birthday last week!), but this is the week of getting back into it. Having seen the fabulous “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” on the weekend, I’m inspired to share my Rajasthani adventures, including Jaipur and Udaipur as seen in the movie.
Today, I thought I’d show how it’s possible to wear Indian gear back at home, depending on the occasion. I wore one of my fave salwar kameez tops with a skirt underneath instead of the pants, to Black Cherry club last month. The photos also show off my exotic new metallic teal wallpaper, more of which will be seen in an upcoming interiors style post. Take a look.
Feather jacket: Sly
Skirt: Topshop
Platform shoes: RMK shoes
Wallpaper: Harlequin, design Oriana.
As for my hair, I did a massive quiff-updo by using one of those hair donuts, which I bought in Japan. Here are some close-ups:
I simply backcombed my hair and sprayed it a bit to get some stiffness, then wrapped around the donut. At the back of my head I used another donut, put my hair in a ponytail and likewise wrapped the hair around it (although normally you’d pull the ponytail through it first). OK, so it wasn’t perfect in execution, as seen below from the back (and EEK! that elastic!), but it looked good from the side. Neat and simple.
The actual product used was called an “Odango Cushion” which you can buy at Tokyu Hands, Okadaya and various beauty and chemist shops. In Australia, try Priceline for similar.
Have you used one of these hair donuts to build a style? If your hair is fine, they’re great. Have you worn clothing from another culture back at home – maybe an Ao Dai from Vietnam, or something tribal perhaps, in line with current trends?
I love to explore alternative subcultures and scenes, in Australia and around the world.
I love bright coloured hair, big circle lenses, fake lashes and Japanese gothic and rock gyaru fashion. Stay a while if you love these things too! [More …]
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