From "Eh, Ombre-ish" to OBSESSED "Ombre, ole, ole!"

I have many obsessions. You'll often catch me muttering, "I'm obsessed...", and that follows with anything from food to fashion to a certain gorgeous-haired vampire (don't worry, the hubby is very aware of my immature teenage crush/obsession with the Cullen clan). These obsessions, they come and go, the same as fashions come and go. See any magazine's version of "What's in" and "What's out". Let's just say these obsessions are "in"...in my life at least ;-)

One of my biggest obsessions sprung up just as summer wound down, and has kept me obsessed since: Alexa Chung sprung up on MTV; Rachel Bilson stepped out of her "OC" preppy style and into bohemian rhapsody; Shenae Grimes turned from girl-next-door to punk chic; Drew Barrymore did...well, another sappy romantic comedy and; before Ashlee Simpson chopped those long locks into a pixie. This obsession can be summed up in one word = Ombre. Ombre is a French term (go figure, French, another obsession that we'll soon visit) that means shaded, usually a multicolored stripe with colors graduating from light to dark, or, in the hair sense, dark to light. Still confused? Then clearly you haven't glanced at a Life&Style Mag (obsessed) or watched any recent award shows. The hottest thing on the red carpet is not the red-soled Louboutins, the new sparkler on a number of the celebrity's fingers (what's with the engagement epidemic in Hollywood?), or even Robert Pattinson (I know, hard to believe)...it's the dark-rooted, light-tipped, summers gone, winters here, natural dye job (oxymoron much?) that is OMBRE!

Taking matters into my own hands, I decided to give this dark-to-light effect to my stands, yes, myself. Who has time to make it to the salon? Certainly not a part-time hair stylist ;-) (P.S. I would NOT suggest trying this at home yourself, unless you want to end up with crispy-fried ends and a seemingly bad root job.) So I set off on this Ombre journey, bleach in my bowl, brush in my hand. Not. So. Easy. Ends too light, ends too orangey, ends too dark, ends too crispy...roots too dark, roots too light, roots too highlighted, roots not right...AHHHH! After many months, and many crispy-fried ends later, I have finally achieved my obsession, the way I always pictured it in my head, as Rachel Bilson and Lily Aldridge's love child.

Who doesn't love a good before-and-after photo-op? Need I say it? Obsession :-) I'll even throw in a little "during" pic too. Why not! I've got nothing to hide (Hello, Blog)!

Before: "Eh, Ombre-ish"

Do you get the Ombre-gist? Yea, me neither.

During: For about the 4th time...4th times the charm?

 Remind me to never try dreads...

After: Ombre, ole, ole! ;-)

(P.S. Dad, that's all the eye you're going to get for now! ;-)

Side shot! (I think I just heard Tony Horton from P90x...):

So, there you have it. One of my beloved obsessions, finally achieved, and still equally as obsessed...for now ;-)