Shine A Light

Morning,

Wow, you shoppers are up early today! To celebrate, we're extending our in-store offer on Yumi clothes. Get 10% off the marked price when you buy any Yumi item in store. Those buying online, we're still donating 10% of the price to Claire Friend's Race For Life fund.

We wave a sad goodbye to the last of our Temporary:Secretary Keep Calm & Carry On necklaces which sold this morning. We have also now sold out of the Yumi Marina Dress in Navy in Large, but we still have that size available in the Black, and all the other sizes are still in stock!

I wore one of the Yumi Yaura Leopard Tunic Dresses on Saturday night, and was convincingly informed by Anya that the leopard is actually a cheetah. Anyone else got any information on this one?

On a musical note (ha!), Retro-Beat on Saturday was brilliant. Always knew we were going to get a great performance from Karl Phillips & The Midnight Ramblers, but Great Imitation were a revelation! 2 fantastic bands, a great crowd, and an absolutely mind-blowing gig. If you get the chance to check either of them out live, make sure you do. Or get yourself a copy of the Karl Phillips & The Midnight Ramblers album from us!


Pick Of The Day today are these fantastic Barry M Lip Gloss Wands, £4.49 each. We've handpicked our favourite colours for you, and currently have them in stock in Toffee, Pastel Pink, Bubblegum Pink and Tropical Tango. They smell absolutely gorgeous, are vegan-friendly, and are perfect for a high-shine finish.

Have a great week!

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: Dream Lottery - Regular Fries

Violet

Morning,

Wow, another big rush for the Karl Phillips & The Midnight Ramblers album yesterday! For those readers who are London-based, they're playing Babalou in Brixton on Friday so if you get chance, go check them out.


Pick Of The Day today are our range of Stargazer hair dyes. The Stargazer dyes are semi-permanent, which means you can change your mind as often as you like. Personally, I'm a big fan of Violet at the moment, having just switched from Rouge. The best sellers are constantly changing, but Rouge, Tropical Green, Coral Blue and Hot Red are always popular, and as I mentioned before, there's been a surge in the more ginger/auburn colours like Dawn, Copper and Coral Gold. Below are our top tips for using the Stargazer dyes, garnered from years of personal experience and chatting with our model, Tahnee (also the official Unorthodox colourist and a trained hairdresser).:

1. The colours shown on the display stand demonstrate what the dyes come out as on bleached white hair. If you're not bleaching your hair, or it tends to bleach only to orange or yellow, take that into consideration. As the Stargazer dyes don't contain bleach, you might want to consider pre-lightening for best results.

2. Don't see the exact colour you want? Stargazer dyes can be mixed to make your perfect shade.

3. Noone can really predict how long the colour will last. It depends on a lot of factors such as the base colour of your hair, how often you wash it, products you use, the condition it's in when you dye it. To help it last longer, try using dry shampoo when you can, don't use conditioner just before you dye your hair (it prevents the dye from getting a good hold) and use a leave-in spray one when you hair is coloured rather than a wash-out one, don't spend ages rinsing your hair (you're not aiming for the water to run clear like with some permanent dyes).

4. If you have pre-lightened your hair and want to put off fading, think about choosing a shade darker than you normally would. Lighter shades fade faster.

5. If you're not sure, just ask! Whether you're buying in store or online, just get in touch. We want you to be happy with your results so if we can be of any help, we're more than happy to waffle on about these dyes given the chance!

6. Not ready to take the plunge on the wilder colours? Why not try one of the Stargazer Neon Gel Colours? They wash out but might give you an idea of what you want.

Please let us know if you have any other hints or tips!

View the Stargazer Semi-Permanent Conditioning Hair Colour on our online shop.

Have a great Thursday. So close to the weekend now!

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: My Last Request - Grim

Head Music

Morning,

We now have more stock in of the very rapidly selling Karl Phillips & The Midnight Ramblers album. Yeah, sure, you could get it in HMV, but it sounds better if you buy it from here, what with the good karma and all! :)

We also have our new Foursqare window sticker up, so if you are a user make sure you check in next time you pop by!

Got the Evening Telegraph stopping in this morning to give them a bit of a tour of the shop and our lovely bits and bobs, so looking forward to that and will put the resulting piece up here when it's in the paper.

Our Pick Of The Day are these oh so cute handmade corsage headbands by Maddie. As they're handmade, each is different, and they're a practical and different way of adding a bit of boho to your do! Plus, they're only a fiver each, so you can't really go wrong!

View Maddie Corsage Headbands on our online shop.

Have a kickass Wednesday.

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: You Are Everything - Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye

Rude Boy

Morning,

Due to a variety of exciting technical difficulties, we didn't get our Pick Of The Day done yesterday, so it's rolling over to today.

Our Pick Of The Day is the debut album by Karl Phillips & The Midnight Ramblers, out on Medical Records. They're a Wellingborough based band, but this album has been getting great reviews all over the country, and they're fresh from their recent gig at Proud in Camden. Best described as a mix of hip hop, ska, indie and rock (which really doesn't give you much of an idea, so you'll just have to buy it and have a listen). The lyrics have humour and edge in equal measure, and you're bound to find something you can relate to in it.

Karl Phillips & The Midnight Ramblers album on the Unorthodox online shop.

Have a great weekend!

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: The Glory Of Success - Blind Passengers

Okey Dokey

Morning

There was a documentary on the shooting of John Lennon on last night, ahead of the anniversary tomorrow. They showed the classic picture of him in his New York City t-shirt. We still have a few of Worn Free's fully licensed version of this classic left in stock, if you're quick!

A few new things in store and going onto the online shop later. First, will be adding the pictures for the Stargazer Glitter Shakers and Neon Gel Colour to the online shop. Also, the new Max C handbags will be going on there with pictures following soon (I know some of you are eager to order!). Our final new piece is Karl Phillips & The Midnight Ramblers new album, released yesterday on Medical Records. Very excited about this one! Now available in store and going on the online shop later today.

Pick Of The Day is one of our Maddie 60s Shoppers. They're all handmade and available in a variety of retro patterns and colours. Exclusive to Unorthodox, we think they're perfect for carrying around your essentials.

Madde 60s Shopper - Orange Band on www.unorthodoxshop.com.

Have a great week!

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: Poetry And Prose - Primus

Bank Holiday Weekend Starts Here!

Morning!

Everyone all excited for the bank holiday weekend? For those in Wellingborough, I can heartily recommend Bungee at The Horseshoe tomorrow night. Karl Phillips & The Midnight Ramblers are playing, supported by Ra Ra Ryan, and DJs (possibly including me, I haven't actually checked yet!) playing indie, britpop, ska, punk, mod etc. There's also a mini-fest down there on Monday as well with live bands so bit of a good weekend planned this end! But of course, we are open today and tomorrow for you to get your bank holiday wardrobe sorted! It's worth noting that Unorthodox is shut on Bank Holiday Monday. Because every now and then I like to venture out into the world!

Despite having a bracelet as the pick of the day yesterday, I couldn't resist choosing this one for today. It's by JP Jewellery, which is a local Wellingborough designer, and came in yesterday. Each piece is handmade and they're all one-offs. The earrings have already flown out the door, but we have this gorgeous bracelet and a couple of necklaces from JP Jewellery's line still in stock (and if you like them, we will make sure we get more!). Very pretty and summery, it has leaf, flower and cross charms on it, and would look lovely glinting in the summer sunshine!

Bit of a hayfever nightmare today, so if you pop in, please forgive the sniffling. I swear it's nothing contagious! :)

Kat

Now Playing In The Shop: Stupidity Tries - Elliott Smith