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Alina Avery

A Beauty and Lifestyle Blog

Month: November 2017

Blonde Ambition

November 20, 2017 by Alina Avery Leave a Comment

A few years ago, I got the worst highlights of my life. It was a “deal” that I got sucked into, ombre was at peak trend levels, and this junior stylist talked me into “ombre blonde highlights” which was basically orange streaks that started halfway down the length of my hair. It was the worst hair experience of my life, despite having been experimenting with various bangs for over a decade! I hated those highlights so much that one night, post happy hour drinks with my coworkers, I popped into Duane Reade, bought a box of hair dye, and drunk dyed my hair “cool espresso brown” which I thought was my natural color but was actually much darker. I actually kind of loved it.

It was a bit of an adventure, but on the bright side, I wasn’t afraid to color my hair anymore after that because how much worse could it get? So after a few repeated box dye browns (I’d touch it up every time those god damn terrible highlights seemed to be breaking through), I decided to start seeing a real colorist and making a big change.

Nine times out of ten, my hair inspiration comes from Kim Kardashian. I don’t even really know why, but she’s so glam and takes such big risks.

Remember, ombre was still kind of a thing in 2014! I went to Arrojo NYC for a few iterations of balayage and some traditional foils and ended up blonde for sure, but it didn’t really feel quite right, so another change and boom, I was a redhead.

My hair takes to red easily. I guess my hair undertones are bronze-y, if that’s a thing, so I didn’t have much trouble sticking that shade for a few years. I kind of oscillated between darker and lighter reds and browns. When I moved to Boston, I started seeing a new colorist on Newbury street and she did a great job maintaining my color, but I literally felt like my hair looked the same going into the salon as coming out. It didn’t feel like I was really getting my moneys worth (and if you’ve been to a salon on Newbury, you know how much money that can be!)

So a coworker recommended her salon in Cambridge and I booked in with a new colorist and brought a brand new Kim K inspiration photo.

This icy white Targaryen blonde is so bold and so clean. It feels fresh and makes her skin glow and I’m obsessed. I need it.

Anyone who has gone significantly lighter with their hair will tell you that you can’t get there all at once, so it’s going to take a couple of sessions to get to the shade you want. The plan my colorist, Miranda, and I decided on would be that I’d do a heavy highlight as light as possible to start, another heavy highlight 6 weeks later, and then should be close enough that we could melt in a root and transition to maintenance. Here are before and after photos from Miranda’s instagram!

Before: A warm, red toned balayage over my natural chocolate brown

After: ash blonde heavy highlight realness

It’s already a great deal lighter and cooler. I feel incredibly badass and edgy and so happy for a change. I always notice that a big hair change can make my clothes and makeup all feel new as well, and suddenly I’m reaching for things that felt unexciting before. For example, I can’t wait to rock a smokey eye with this new hair, despite not having been excited about eyeshadow for months. And a red lip was bold before, but now I feel like it will really pop.

I’m really looking forward to our next blonde-ing session in December, so stay tuned. It’s looking like it’ll be a white-blonde Christmas!

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Posted in: Beauty, Hair Tagged: before and after, blonde, colorist, hair, hair color, hair transformation, kardashian, kim k

Fertility Update — Blood tests, Ultrasound, HSG

November 8, 2017 by Alina Avery Leave a Comment

I left off our fertility story after we made our first appointment for a visit to a Reproductive Endocrinologist to figure out why we weren’t having any luck trying to conceive and what our possible options are moving forward.

We chose Boston IVF/IVF New England, which used to be two separate organizations, but have merged into one. It’s honestly a bit confusing since there are so many office across Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, etc. and they all have different names. We chose our doctor, Dr. Wright, based on the recommendation of a friend of Matt’s sister. Her office is a bit farther away, but honestly there were an overwhelming number of options so it was nice to have a little guidance. And to me, feeling confident and comfortable with our doctor is worth the longer drive. When we were making the initial appointment I also made sure that we could change to a different office or a different doctor if we felt things weren’t working out, since our first appointment would also be our first conversation with our doctor.

Luckily, Dr. Wright was great and answered all of our questions. We didn’t feel rushed or belittled or judged and she took our history, listened to our concerns, gave us more information on our options, both short and long term. She was also knowledgable about our insurance and what would or would not be covered. I appreciated that, since a lot of times it seems like doctors don’t concern themselves with insurance and let the billing office handle it, which can lead to a disconnect between what treatment you can afford and what you are given. Especially since fertility treatments can be so expensive, it’s nice to know that everyone is aware and conscious of cost. We spent about 45 minutes discussing our case and then met with an admin to go over the suite of tests that Dr. Wright had ordered and how and when to schedule them.

For me, I was told to call the office on the first day of my next period to schedule blood tests and an ultrasound for day 3 of my period. Then sometime between day 5 and day 12 of my cycle, I’d go back in for an HSG or a “dye test”, where they’d inject a contrast dye into my uterine cavity and then use an x-ray machine to make sure my tubes were open. For Matt, he’d do a second semen analysis and also a blood test. My period wasn’t due for another 3 weeks, so it was back to waiting. I don’t think I’ve ever been so excited to get my period and probably never will be again.

I’ve always been (weirdly) totally fine with needles, so the blood draw was the easiest part. They did an STI panel, tested my hormone levels, and sent some off for genetic testing. The genetic testing is to determine if Matt and I are both recessive carriers for certain genetic mutations or diseases, so if we end up doing IVF, they’ll be able to screen the embryos to make sure they aren’t affected. In my opinion, it was a little early to be concerned about that, especially since we don’t have a family history of any of the issues they’re screening for, but if they’re taking blood anyway might as well tack that on.

The ultrasound was slightly less comfortable. It’s an internal test, so they have a wand they use to measure your organs and count antral follicles, which is a way of measuring ovarian reserve or the number of eggs you’ve got left. They also make sure there aren’t any ovarian or uterine cysts and that the lining of the uterus looks appropriate for where you are in your cycle.

Finally, the HSG a week later was definitely the least comfortable, and definitely the weirdest. I told Matt after that it was kind of bizarre to see an x-ray of my pelvic bone. I mean, I know I have a skeleton, it was just strange to see it projected on a monitor! The whole procedure only took about 60 seconds, but a very uncomfortable 60 seconds.

For Matt, it was very straight forward, all he had to do was go into a special room to “produce” into a cup. . We scheduled our visits so we could go in at the same time. I thought that the HSG would take longer and Matt’s specimen production would be relatively quick and he’d end up waiting for me, but my test was actually super speedy and we had to wait a while for a room to open up for Matt.

The initial results are mostly posted on our patient portal, and from my compulsive and incessant Googling, all the numbers seem normal, and both my tubes are free and clear. The genetic testing takes longer, and we don’t have Matt’s results yet, but from his first test back in 2015, we know at least roughly what we can expect. Our next step is to schedule a follow up visit with the doctor, but the next availability isn’t for a few weeks, so we’ll have to be patient. The waiting is definitely the worst part, especially since we’ve made the decision to go ahead and seek intervention. I wish I’d known that sooner so I could have prepared myself for the timeline. It seems obvious now, but I thought that it would be relatively quick between our first appointment and starting treatment, even if the treatment itself took a while. It’s a special kind of torture. When I brought this up to Matt he was surprised that I was surprised at how spread out everything is. He (rightly) expected a much more drawn out timeline.

So I guess the next post will be any news from the follow up and what our course of action will be. I also might do a quick update on the cost we’ve incurred so far, since I know that’s a factor for a lot of people. Luckily we have excellent insurance, but I’m still bracing myself for a bill.

 

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Posted in: Family Tagged: family, fertility, infertility, ivf, personal

Power Lip – The Best Long-wearing Lip Colors

November 8, 2017 by Alina Avery Leave a Comment

My makeup routine lately has been pretty simple and straightforward. Base, brows, lashes, lips and I’m out the door. I’ll do a bit more bronzing, concealing, or contouring here and there, but overall it’s a streamlined process. Since I’m using fewer products however, I am a bit more focused on getting the most out of them. When it comes to lip color, I like to put it on in the morning and forget about it until maybe after lunch, so a long-wearing lip is a must and these three formulas have been my go-to. They’re all kiss proof, highly pigmented, and quick and easy to apply.

 

 

  1. NARS Powermatte Lip Pigment in Slow Ride — The formula here is super thin, so it’s easy to apply a thin layer and it feels like you aren’t wearing anything. It doesn’t dry out lips and the applicator is perfect for a precise lip line. The shade is a terracotta brownish pink, which is very on trend at the moment and perfect for Fall/Winter. It’s warm toned and bold but still neutral.
  2. YSL Tatouage Couture Liquid Matte Lip Stain in 8 – Black Red Code — This is a more dramatic color and formula. It’s matte but it almost dries metallic. I find this one the most drying on my lips, but it’s still comfortable to wear all day. The shade is a deep red and I wore it to a seafood dinner and it didn’t budge ONE BIT. It also has an angled applicator which makes it easy to both line and fill in the lips.
  3. NUDESTIX Magnetic Matte Lip Color in Blossom — This one is a bit heavier and stickier and it feels the most like you have a lip product on, but it’s 100% transfer proof. Seriously, kiss away without any worries. I don’t usually opt for lighter pinks or nudes since they tend to wash me out, but this shade is perfect for a dramatically pale nude lip. It’s like a Kim K nude on my skin tone and looks great with a heavier eye and contour. This is the easiest to apply since it’s a pencil and I’m pretty obsessed.

Swatches, left to right: NARS Powermatte in Slow Ride, YSL Tatouage in 8, NUDESTIX Magnetic Matte in Blossom:

 

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Posted in: Beauty, Lips, Makeup Tagged: lip color, lipstick, makeup, nars, NUDESTIX, product review, YSL
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