Holiday Hair for Shorties: Teeny-Tiny Bouffant

I'm back with my second of three holiday hair tutorials for short hair! I mentioned yesterday that I have been receiving a lot of requests for hairstyle tutorials lately, and because I love to get fancied up for holiday parties, I used those requests as an excuse to try out a few different looks for fun. Now I'm sharing my favorites here with you! Lucky you. I'm super excited about this one in particular, though, because it is something I've been wanting to try on myself for quite awhile but just for some reason never got around to trying it. I'm really happy with how it turned out and how it looks on me.

For this next tutorial, I styled my hair into a tiny little bouffant. I finished off the look by pulling everything sleekly back behind my ears. I think this look is super sophisticated, but in a very understated way. I love that it's a bit of a faux pixie, and I really love that it feels a tad retro. See how I easily created this look below.



Teeny-Tiny Bouffant Hair Tutorial

1. Start by sectioning off the front portion of your hair, everything from your ears forward. 
2. This back section will be used to create the bouffant, so leave the front alone for now. You can pin it forward and down, if you like.
3. Use a styling putty or mouse on the back section of hair. Run a good amount of it through with your fingers
4. Backcomb the back section of your hair, starting from the bottom and working your way up to the top of your head. Spray sections with hair spray as you go along. Go for maximum volume here. Your hair will likely look a bit ridiculous when done with this stage.
5. Now that you've gotten a good amount of volume, begin smoothing the top layer of hair starting in the middle and moving to each side.
6. If you've pinned the front, unpin it now. Make sure that the entire top layer of hair is smooth and looks seamless. 
7. To create that perfect bouffant look, let the front hang forward and grab the back section of hair (that you backcombed), pushing it up and forward a bit. Smooth everything one last time using a comb. Pin the bouffant in place at the back of your head with bobby pins.
8. Using a straightener or a curling iron, create some simple waves to the hair that is left out of the bouffant. You can leave the hair like this, if you fancy.
9. For a sleeker look, and for a bit of a faux pixie, comb all of the hair back behind the ears.
10. Use a bit of styling putting, to insure all the hair will stay in place, and pin the hair at the base of your head in the back.

I'm excited to wear this look a few times this holiday season. I think it will look perfect finished with a thin gold headband. And maybe, perhaps, it will keep me from wanting to chop to a pixie for a little while longer (because I've been feeling rather inclined to do that lately).

Stop by again tomorrow for another retro inspired look.

xx Emorie

Holiday Hair for Shorties: Braided Band

I've been receiving a lot of requests for short hair tutorials lately and because I love to please, I'll be sharing three different styles for you to try out just in time for the holidays. Holiday parties are my favorite, and a big part of that is definitely because I love getting all fancied up. I was really excited to put together a few tutorials for short hair that are a bit on the fancy side. Just from a quick search, I could tell that the internet is really lacking in ideas for us shorties. I know short hair can be a bit intimidating, especially after the big chop, and it may seem like there are far fewer options style wise. Don't buy into that myth; short hair can be just as fun and interchangeable! It is all about learning what your short hair can do through embracing your hair's natural state, keeping things simple, and becoming best friends with accessories.

I hope that after seeing the tutorial I share today, and the ones to follow in the next few days, a few of you shorter haired gals will feel inspired and have the confidence to try out a new style! After all, hair should be fun, and short hair is definitely not an exception!

For this first tutorial, I styled my hair with a little french braided band across my head. Then I tucked and smoothed everything down for a simple but elegant look. See how I easily created it below.



Braided Band Hair Tutorial

1. Start with your hair in it's natural air-dried state. My hair is naturally wavy, so it has quite a bit of texture on its own. If you have fine hair and would like a bit more texture, comb in a bit of dry shampoo or styling putty.
2. On the side of your head where your part is, section off the front portion of hair. 
3. Pull the portioned hair forward and pin the rest of the hair back and out of the way.
4. You are going to braid this section across to the other side of your head. Pull it straight up and comb it in that direction so all hair is now laying flat.
5. Beginning by your ear, french braid the section up toward the top of your head.
6. Continue braiding and adding hair until you reach the other side of your head. Once the braid lays flat on top of your head, finish the braid (no longer grabbing more hair with each strand). Secure with an elastic. You can leave the braid loose like this, if you fancy.
7. Pull the braid back behind your ear and secure it flat against your head with bobby pins. 
8. Smooth the rest of your hair out using a hair straightener. Swoop your bangs (if you left them out of the braid) to the side, and tuck the hair (on the side where the braid started) behind your ear.  

That's it. Super sleek, simple, and sexy. Enjoy!
I'll be back with my other holiday hair ideas over the next few days.

Hope your week is being lovely,
xx Emorie

Braided Crown 3 Ways: The Bohemian Wrap

It is here at last, part 3 of my first ever hair tutorial, a Braided Crown 3 Ways. I am calling it The Bohemian
Wrap. This look sure has quite a bit more personality and funk than the other two crowns I have shown you, which is why I love it. I've been an avid wearer of a forehead braid for quite some time; for as long as my hair has been long enough to allow it, actually. Up until recently I had only been braiding a forehead braid to just past my ear and wearing it with my hair down. Or around the back and into a side ponytail. I thought, why not take it a step further? I love the spin a forehead braid puts on a braided crown, so I had to share.

This may be the most difficult of the braids I have shown you. It is tricky to get the end of your braid to lay right. And it may be tricky for you to braid your bangs. It will be more difficult if you have bangs that are shorter than to your ears, but you can definitely still try (be prepared to be tucking lots of ends in with bobby pins)!

1. Begin by combing through your hair to remove any tangles. Run a tiny bit of coconut oil through your hair with your finger tips, if you'd like. Doing so will help with frizz and create a nice smooth braid. Create a very deep side part and comb your hair flat over to the opposite side.
2. Select three strands of hair about an inch back along the side part and begin french braiding towards your forehead.
3. Once the braid has reached your forehead, continue to french braid but only gather new hair from one side. Gather from the side towards the back of your head, creating nice loops on your forehead.
4. Continue in the fashion all the way across your forehead, sloping downward towards the opposite ear.
5. Bring the braid over the top of the ear a bit, and continue it toward the bottom back of your head.
6. Once the braid has reached the back of your head, begin a normal french braid again, gather hair from both sides as you braid.
7. Braid all along the back and then slowly braid up again, towards your other ear, until you have all of your hair in the braid. If your hair is not long enough to braid all the way around, consider ending the braid near your first ear and wearing it with your hair down or bringing it to the opposite side into a side ponytail or starting another braid on the opposite side and meeting them in the back of your head (covering up the ends with a bow or clip if needed).
8. Finish the braid and bring it back over the top of your head, being careful that the hair around the ear lays flat when you do so.
9. Meet the end of the braid with the beginning of it as best you can and pin in place.

Be sure to also check out part 1 and 2:
The Criss-Cross Applesauce
The Upside Down and Around



P.s. I'm sad looking at this pictures because I lost one of those little white square earrings when I was camping and I am a baby.

Braided Crown 3 Ways: The Upside Down and Around

Here you have it, lovelies, part 2 of my first ever hair tutorial, a Braided Crown 3 Ways. I like calling this one The Upside Down and Around, because of the way you have to comb all your hair forward and hang upside down for a bit to achieve it. This is a more traditional way of achieving the gorgeous braided crown style than The Criss-Cross Applesauce and also a step or two up in difficulty. But don't let that discourage you, practice it a few times, and I'm sure you can get it down. At first I had difficulty getting the braid to lay right when I brought it around front to the top of my head and had to do it a few times every time to get it looking right. I can now get it in one go! Marvelous.

In my opinion, The Upside Down and Around is not quite as playful as The Criss-Cross Applesauce. Rather, I think the style of this one is super elegant and classy. But still the kind of classy you can pair with jeans and a t-shirt if you fancy. Try giving it a go!



1. Begin by combing any tangles out of your hair and then comb it all completely forward.
2. Select three strands of hair from the bottom center, near your neck.
3. Using these three strands, begin braiding a french braid in an inside out fashion. To do this, when you go to cross the strands of hair, bring the strand under the previous one instead of over, collecting more hair with each strand also. Braid upwards at an angle, sort of towards your ear. This is where I had trouble for the longest time. You do not want to braid straight upwards to the top of your head, rather bring it around the side a bit. Think of a halo or a crown sitting on your head and creating that roundness.
4. Once the braid has reached the top of your head, flip right side up again. Continue braiding in the inside out style, gathering the hair from the top of your head, including your bangs if you've got 'em (you can totally leave them out, if you want, don't let me tell you what to do).
5. Braid all the way across you head, eventually bringing the braid back down and back a bit. Gather any remaining hair from the nape of you neck, if any, and finish the braid.
6. Take the end of your braid and loop it around the back of your head following the pattern already there from the start of the braid. You will pin it back into itself.
7. Using a generous amount of bobby pins, secure the end of the braid in place, as well as flattening any bumps and tightening flyways. If your hair is not long enough for the end of your braid to reach all the way back around, you can secure the end into a bun, or hide the end of the braid with a cute lace bow.
8. Once pinned in place, loosen some of the loops of your braid up a bit, for a more romantic look.

There you have it. Have you worn your hair this way before?

Don't forget:
- you can see The Criss-Cross Applesauce here
- and The Bohemian Wrap is now here

Braided Crown 3 Ways: The Criss-Cross Applesauce

I am so excited to share my first hair tutorial with you guys! And because it is my first tutorial, I wanted to do something extra special. But also something that I actually do wear myself regularly. I of course immediately thought sharing a braided crown would be perfect. I soon also realized I wear a braided crown an assortment of ways. So, lucky you, I am actually doing three tutorials. That means it will be coming to you in three parts.

Braided crowns are a go-to of mine these days. I remember when the style was first becoming popular in my neck of the woods and wanting desperately to join in, but my hair was still a little to short at the time. But I kept trying; I'd put little bow were the braid ended or gather the end in a bun instead of wrapping it all the way around. When my hair was finally long enough to wrap my whole head braided, I may have jumped for joy a bit! And by that time I had plenty of practice and had the braided crown look down a number of ways. This has come in handy lately as the weather here has sure gotten unbearably hot fast and I have a whole lot of hair that I'm still not sure what to do with. I've probably mentioned it before, but this is the longest my hair has ever been (and I have to convince myself everyday to not take scissors to it). I am happy that it now seems to be long enough to allow me to do any kind of style I can think of (except cute, short ones of course). So I've been getting it off my neck and getting creative with it to.

This braided crown, which I love to call The Criss-Cross Applesauce, is most likely the easiest of the three braided crowns I will show you. As such, it is the one I wear the most. It takes a matter of minutes, two normal braids, and some bobby pins to pull it off. It is, in my opinion, a perfect combination of sophistication and casual. You are bound to get compliments on this hair-do. I'll leave it at your discretion as to whether or not you want to share how easy the look is to achieve :) Plus, you may be able to pull this off with shoulder-length hair, so long as you don't have a ton of layers.

1. Begin by combing any tangles out of your hair and then gathering your hair into two sections.
2. Apply a tiny bit of coconut oil with the tips of you fingers to each gather section. Braid one section and secure it with a small rubber-band (the closer to your hair color, the better). Do this to the other section as well. I like to hold my hair outward as I am braiding it, versus braiding downward,  allowing the base of the braid to be a little looser. This will help your braids sit better around your ears as you pull them up.
3. Take one of the braids and cross it over the top of your head. Adjust as needed, to get the braid to lay flat around the ear. Using bobby pins, pin the braid in place on the top of your head, paying extra attention to the end of the braid and making it lay flat. I like to imagine placing it where a headband would rest. Once pinned, loosen the braid up a bit carefully with your fingers to make it look more natural.
4. Do the same with the other braid. Cross it over the top of your head and the braid already pinned in place, tucking the end of it into to the other braid. Pin in place. Add as many bobby pins as needed for the braids to feel secure.
5. Tuck in any unwanted flyways and tuck your bangs back if preferred.

See, super simple. It just looks like you spent a lot of time on it. Plus, braided crowns are perfect for dirty, summer hair. And a HUGE thank you to my sister, Bee, for taking all the pictures for me. And for not thinking I was weird when I asked you to come over and take pictures of me doing my hair :)

Update:
- you can see The Upside Down and Around here
- and The Bohemian Wrap is here now too!