Hair Lightening Experience: Part 2 (+ How I Prevent my Lightened Hair from Breaking)

Hi Shine and Sparkle Report Readers!

This post is a little earlier than my normal Wednesday post since I'm going to be traveling for a lot of tomorrow and want to make sure you get your weekly dose of the S+SR.  As you may know from my Instragram, Facebook, or Twitter, I have been in the process of making my naturally black hair blonde-ish.

If you want more info on the first process, click here for Part 1!

Hair Lightening Experience Part 2- 
In the original post I went from a base dark chocolate color to a warm lighter brown by getting a partial set of highlights.  Then about a month later I did a full highlight without documenting it for you all *gasp*.  Then it was on to this current session where I badly needed my roots done and did a partial highlight again.  This is the result compared to the last time I posted about my hair color:

Cool beans right?  Anyway, I'm looking at getting another set of full highlights next, but obviously (based on wanting to maintain the integrity of my hair) it's going to be a while before anyone thinks I'm a fully light brown-ish blonde.  Just like baking a turkey, low and slow is best when using bleach to lighten dark hair.  For example, If you were to cook a turkey fully on a high temperature, it would be edible, but the inside would be really dry and the outside really damaged/burnt.  The same thing when you make hair lighter using a strong bleach and go really light all at once.  I'm also enjoying watching my hair go through a bunch of subtle transformations.  Again, Krystin at Groove Salon* in San Francisco is the miracle worker behind this whole thing.

Can you DIY this?  Can you do this process at home with a low volume developer (think 5 volume, not even 10. Forget 20+ volume developer or you will be a sad burnt turkey), bleach powder, and a toner? It is possible. But honestly, I would really suggest going to a professional if you are interested in going lighter.  Let me tell you, doing highlights on your own head will end in DISASTER! You will look like a 90's bleached zebra, end up with patches not highlights, or be a lovely shade of neon orange that reminds you of a certain powdered drink made for astronauts.  I know it's more expensive, but I have been shocked how great my hair condition is compared to when I DIY-ished myself lighter in my teenage years.  Also, a good hair colorist will make sure you are satisfied with your color and give you realistic expectations for each visit.  P.S.  If the information in this paragraph sounded like I was speaking Elvish or Klingon (aka a foreign language for you non-geeks) then you should 100% have this done by a professional. Ok? Ok.  Mini-Tip: If you are on a very tight budget, my suggestion is look into getting it done at your local beauty school.  The students are overseen by professional instructors so you can get professional quality services cheaper than at a salon. Though it is slightly higher risk, I'd pick this over trying to bleach your hair yourself.  If you are cool with nuking your hair, then by all means, slap on high volume developer and a powder bleach.  Your hair will be lighter and you also may be mistaken for a poodle.

Handing Breakage-
As anyone who has chemically treated their hair through coloring, perming, or relaxing knows, it weakens each individual strand of hair.  This makes the hair much more prone to breaking and snapping.  Here are a few of my main tips and tricks for keeping this to a minimum so you can have chemically treated hair and keep it healthy and long!

1. Handle with care.  Don't roughly do anything to your hair.  It is already weakened by chemical processing.  It is even weaker when it is wet (so washing less using dry shampoo is great!).  Whenever you wash, style, brush, comb, or even just fiddle with your hair, do it very gently.  Would you roughly tug a piece of wet toilet paper when you want to use it to make a great mummy costume?  No! Same with your hair.  Brush/comb it in small sections starting from the bottom up.  Gently squeeze your hair dry (don't rough it up, tug, ring, or aggressively twist).  Hair=delicate fabric, not a doggie tug-o-war toy.  Honestly, if you can avoid touching your hair during the day, do that too.  The skin of your hands will strip moisture from your hair along with add necessary physical stress to your hair.   
2. Condition with the right stuff.  This is one of those things you have to get to know your own hair for, but generally if you are experiencing a lot of breakage you need either a protein or "repairing" conditioner or a moisturizing conditioner.  Is suggest having one of each depending on your hair mood at the time.  As I have mentioned in my regular conditioner post, if you take a wet piece of your hair, pull it from either end, and it keeps stretching like a rubber band, then you need a protein rich or "repairing" conditioner at the moment.  If it just snaps and breaks, you need a moisturizing one. This might be a good time to mention if you use too much protein on your hair, it can actually make it brittle and more prone to breaking.
3. Deep Condition.  If the regular conditioners above aren't cutting it, once or twice a week try using a deep conditioning treatment (protein or moisturizing again, depending on why your hair is breaking...see test in #2 above--or just read this whole report from beginning to end like you are supposed to Mr. Speedreader...) Deep conditioners have more concentrated active ingredients and are made to be left in your hair for longer to allow time for all the goodness to absorb into your hair and help heal it.  Good stuff right?  You can make it work even better by applying generous amounts of deep conditioner to your hair, the putting on a shower cap and leaving it in for longer (be careful doing this with protein shampoos for the reasons you should have read in #2 above *wink*).  If you are even more ambitious you can apply heat to the shower capped hair with a blow drier to open up the hair cuticle and encourage the conditioning process.
4. Silicone.  Keep in mind my report on silicone in hair products.  I'll leave it at that.
5. Oil Hair Treatment.  Oiling your hair has many benefits since it is your body's natural way of keeping your hair healthy and shiny.  If a moisturizing/protein conditioner isn't working, try oiling!  My favorite way is to use coconut oil because it it has the smallest oil particles and really absorbs well into your hair.  I discuss how I do it in my coconut oil post in section #5.  You can also try this with olive oil, caster oil, avocado oil, or almond oil.  You may find one works better for you than others.  Luckily, these oils are all pretty cheap! Hooray!

I hope you enjoyed this report on my hair color and anti-hair breaking tips! 

As Always,

Shine and Sparkle!

*I am not paid or sponsored by any of the products or entities mentioned in this post.  All were payed for with my own money.  These are my personal thoughts/opinions and recounting of events.

Product Empties #1: Mini Reviews of my Beauty Trash

Hi Shine and Sparkle Readers!

If you have never heard of an Empty Product Review*, you apparently don't spend hours watching beauty gurus on YouTube like I do.  It's basically where people show you their trash.  Who doesn't love trash?  Well I've been addicted to seeing what people thought after they used an entire product, so I wanted to do a blog version!

I like this because it gives people a quick look into how many things I end up trying and not liking enough to really recommend them to you with a full post.  You also get to see what I keep going back to over and over because I love them so much.

Empties Reviews Include:
1) What I thought about the product;
2) If I would purchase that product again.

The reviews are pretty quick but for sake of this new series of posts on my blog, I'm going to limit each post to under 10-ish products.  Without further explanation, lets get started!

Empties reviewed from left to right.

Walgreens Radiant White Toothpaste
1) Thoughts: It it weird to review toothpaste? Anyway, bought this because it was on major sale for $1.99. It was toothpaste.  It was minty.  I didn't see any drastic whitening effects greater than my normal whitening toothpaste.
2) Repurchase:  Probably not.  The key with this purchase was price.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in "Wild" Scent 
1) Thoughts: We all know how much I love Batiste Dry Shampoo from my Dry Shampoo Post right?  As far as this scent goes, it is somewhat musky.  I think this is better if you are dry shampooing your hair in the evening.  I prefer the floral or cleaner scents for the day time.  Not that the scent lingers that much.
2)  Repurchase:  YES!  I have a stockpile of these because I buy them on sale and go through a can almost every month.

Neutrogena Naturals-Acne Cream Cleanser
1)  Thoughts: The ingredients list is pretty good for a reasonably priced drug store face cleaner.  The consistency is pretty thick.  It does make your face feel cool and tingly.  There is no lather to this product.  I think its main purpose is to apply some salicylic acid to your cleansing routine.  It took quite a few washes for my skin to adjust to using this product since the salicylic acid is quite strong and initially caused some redness and irritation in conjunction with my benzyl peroxide.
2) Repurchase: No, if your skin responds well to salicylic acid, I think you should give it a try.  For me, I didn't see a lot of acne improvement and it initially was irritating to my skin.

Josie Maran Cosmetics--100% Pure Argan Oil
1) Thoughts: I love adding a few drops of pure argan oil to my face moisturizer and hair serums.  A full dropper heals cracked heels and adds umph to body lotion.  However, this is pretty expensive ($16 for 0.5oz, $48 for 1.7oz).  It also contains some fragrance.
2) Repurchase: No.  Not because I don't love it, but I have found 100% pure organic argan oil without fragrance and cheaper at Marshall's and Amazon.  I'll let you know when I finish those, but so far, I think the cheaper ones are just as effective.

Shiseido--Ultra Black Wash (a Japanese Facial Cleanser)
1) Thoughts: Affordable on Amazon and a must for problem skin.  It has a deep cleaning tingle.  Activated charcoal draws out imputes. A tiny dime sized amount creates a rich luxurious lather but does not dry out my skin. I'm absolutely in love with it.
2) Repurchase: Already have!  I attribute a large part of how clear my skin is these days to this cleanser.  It is also very economic since you need to little of it.

Nourish Organic--Body Lotion (Coconut & Argan)
1) Thoughts: Got this as a sample size.  I hated it.  It somehow left my hands somewhat chalky feeling and drier than before a put it on.  Chalky.  Yes chalky. It's weird and actively unpleasant.  The smell was ok, but not amazing.
2) Repurchase: Egad! No!  I think this might be a Target Only brand, this is the only place you have to worry about spending your money on this swill. 

Victoria's Secret-Passion Struck Body Wash
1) Thoughts: Got a travel size as a gift from a good friend for my birthday.  It smells AMAZING.  "sultry blend of Fuji apple and vanilla orchid" is so good. Did I say so good?!  It does has sulfates but is still moisturizing and very nice.
2) Repurchase: Yes, I will definitely be getting more "Passion Struck" in the future (haha...sounds funny to say it that way). Ehem, the fragrance is a bit less sophisticated (but equally as potent) as my splurge body wash by Jo Malone.  So when I run out of Jo Malone, I might go back to this for my heavily fragrance body wash until I can stomach $50 for Jo Malone again.  

The Balm--En Root "Moisturize My Hair" Shampoo
1) Thoughts: As I talked about in my "Updated Asian Hair Care Routine" post, this is my go-to sulfate free shampoo.  Moisturizing, good lather, and smells like gummy bears. Win win win.
2) Repurchase: Of course!  Healthy + Gummy Bears.  How can you go wrong?

Healdsburg Bath & Body-Black Berry Sage Body Scrub
1) Thoughts: Whole post on how much I love Healdsburg Bath & Body. Especially this scrub.  Empty products=love.
2) Repurchase:  Yes.  I have one in reserve at all times these days.

SheaMoisture--Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque
1) Thoughts: Whole post on SheaMoisture Raw Shea Butter Deep Treatment Masque too.  See, I do really go through the things I say I love!
2) Repurchase: Yes! Though if it's not on sale, I tend to get adventurous and will try something else.

Benefit-Total Moisture Facial Cream
1) Thoughts: Last but not least, I had a sample of this in Benefit's "Love Me B.Right" Gift Set I reviewed around Christmas time.  Simply said, not good for my sensitive skin. Despite the hefty full sized price of $42, this cream irritated my skin and while it was moisturizing and nice smelling, I had to use this tick cream on my hands and feet to avoid all kinds of unpleasantness. 
2) Repurchase: $24 for 1.7oz of product I will waste on my hands and feet? I think not.

And thus ends my first empites series post!  Let me know if you like it. I'll keep doing them because...well, I like them!  I feel like I get more out of using up my products this way.  Hopefully there will be some more make-up items coming in the next one.  But honestly, I go through make-up much slower than skin care or hair care.


Shine & Sparkle!


*I am not paid or contacted by any of the companies mentioned in this post.  These are my honest feelings and opinions.

"Save My Feet Blister Elixir" by Peaches and Boo Boo Product Review

Hi Shine and Sparkle Report Readers,

This is a quick review of a product a co-worker recommended to me years ago.  It has been worth its weight in gold since then.  The "Save My Feet Blister Elixir" by Peaches and Boo Boo* has a name as mysterious as its creators.  The magic behind it is equally as baffling.

That being said, it's a slippery lotion that you put on your feet where/around where blisters happen.  It keeps most of them from ever happening by reducing the friction between your foot and your shoe.  I know, I know, I was skeptical at first.  But since my co-worker swore by it, I had to try it.  Years later, I still have not finished a bottle and it continues to keep me from getting those "new shoe" blisters.

The manufacturers say "Save My Feet is designed for the woman who owns a variety of shoes and wants to have comfort from blisters and irritations. This product works on flats, pumps, sneakers, and even between toes for flip flops. Greaseless, stainless, non-mediated. Nice fresh scent.
A little goes a long way so you can use it every day."  I say, it's good for anyone who wears shoes.

The price of this item is $20USD for 4oz, but I'm serious that a little goes a long way and will last you years.  It is really such a life saving product. It claims it lasts 8 hours, but if you have very new shoes, I suggest bringing it along and re-applying if you start to feel friction (aka the start of a blister).  Mini Tip: It doesn't do jack if you already have blisters.  It's really just preventative.

There is not much to say about this other than I'm ecstatic that it works!


Shine & Sparkle!


*I am not paid or contacted by any of the companies mentioned in this post.  These are my honest feelings and opinions. Also, like all my images, I'll gladly give someone credit for their image or take it down if someone throws a hissy fit.

Ms. Sparkle's Best Conditioners For Your Hair

Back to regularly scheduled beauty blogging Shine and Sparkle Report readers!

Today, I wanted to let you know my top conditioners for different hair types.  My amazing friend Kethry asked about.  I've been meaning to do a conditioner post for a while but there is a surprising amount of work that goes into it.  I had to really think about the scope of this post to avoid writing a novel or not being an informed blogger. These conditioners are my favorite examples of conditioners that might work for your hair.  It also can serve as a bit of a guide when you go out looking for a new conditioner.  That being said, everyone's hair is different and you might have to experiment a little to find out what works best for your hair.

Scope Of This Sparkle Report:
I limited my suggestions to just what I consider to be "regular" conditioners (or products that perform like regular conditioners) rather than "deep" conditioners/masks to that are used 1-2 times a week.  I pretty much stuck with types of Healthy Hair and Dry/Damaged/Color Treated Hair as the two discussed hair types.  There is a little in there about hair texture, but lets face it, I have the most experience with my own hair texture which has been all of the textures discussed in this post at one time or another.  However, not having much experience with super curly or kinky textures, I think I'm best qualified to give advice within the stated boundaries.  I also know I only touched on the whole "moisture vs. protein" issue and I'm kind of high up there with the pricing.  That being said, in order to get anything written, I just had to go with it.  Since this is a full on report, I tried to keep this intro as short as possible.  Feel free to ask any questions or your suggestions in the comments!

Healthy Hair:
You are very lucky! You do not have damage or increased dryness.  Your hair is the same as it was when it first popped out of your scalp.  Congratulations.  The internet says that currently 75% of American women report having dyed their hair at some point.  So having completely healthy or "virgin" hair puts you  in a position of maintaining the health of your hair.  This also means that conditioners that are very heavy might weigh your hair down because your hair is not absorbing all the extra ingredients that are used to make unhealthy hair look healthy.  Thus, most conditioners will work well for you.  I'd pick either a volumizing, light moisturizing, or smoothing/sleek conditioner depending on how you like to style your hair.  If you like "big hair" pick a volumizing conditioner.  It will weigh your hair down the least.  If like it a bit more sleek, pick a light moisturizing conditioner.  If you have very frizzy hair naturally and you want it very smooth and need the extra weight, go with a smoothing conditioner which has heavier ingredients.  Below are my top picks:

• Volume = Tea-Tree Lemon Sage Thickening Conditioner by Paul Mitchell*.  This smells great and is a very light conditioner that will still leave your hair feeling nourished. If you have seen my shower make over post or my healthy hair post, you will know I've been in love with this line forever!

•  Light Moisture= En Root Moisturize My Hair Conditioner by The Balm.  This is my go-to conditioner no matter what your hair type, but I think it works outstandingly on healthy hair that needs a bit of moisture.  I suggest checking it out even if you have damaged hair that needs to be quenched with moisture.

•  Smoothing/Sleek= Sleek.Look Smoothing Conditioner by Matrix.  If you have frizzy or curly hair that you are dying to tame, this is my solution.  You can go full hog and get the 3 step system.  I think it's only really necessary to nab the conditioner.  You get the same results if you use any shampoo before it and a smoothing product/serum afterwards.
  

Dry/Damaged/Color Treated Hair:
Ah, anyone who has picked up a box of hair dye at the drugstore or watched their hair turn colors in a salon chair knows that your hair is never quite "healthy" afterwards.  Having thoroughly stressed out your hair, it tends to get dry, tangled, or frizzy really easily.  It might even be breaking off and you know the split ends are on a rampage.  Trying to tame these problems is an million approximately $49 billion dollar industry and I have written quite few posts about hair products and hair care methods to keep these hair destroying symptoms at bay. However, the battle is completely and utterly lost without a good conditioner.  The following are my favorites to address the top 3 ailments that conditioners need to address for dry/damaged/color treated hair: (1) Extreme Dryness; (2) Protein Loss; (3) Color Fade.  I personally do not count these as "deep" conditioning products based on how much more of a result I see from other deep conditioners. However, I recommend them as regular conditioners for those with very dry/damaged hair leave them on for a shorter amount of time if using regularly.  The times to leave it in your hair will vary depending on your hair.

• Extreme Dryness= K-PAK Intense Hydrator by Joico.  This does some serious hydrating to your damaged locks.  You can use it as part of their Keratin recovery line (after using their protein rich shampoos and conditioners.  However, I find that this works wonders at restoring moisture no matter what you use before hand.  Mini-Tip: You know your hair needs moisture when it's super frizzy and a strand of hair snaps very quickly when wet.  A drug store equivalent for me is the Aussie 3-Minute Miracle Moist, but but if you ask me what my favorite is, this is the one.
  
  

• Protein Loss= Intensive Two Minute Keratin Reconstructor by Aphogee.  This is cheap and very effective at restoring protein to the hair. Mini-Tip: You know your hair needs protein when it's super a strand of hair keeps stretching longer and longer when wet like a rubber band. I can leave this on for longer than 2 minutes without it making my hair too brittle (and needing to use the Joico Hydrator to restore balance), but I would start with a little less time to ensure your don't put too much protein in.
  
    
• Color Fade= Color Depositing Conditioners by John Frieda .  Here are a few quick things you need to know about color fade.  1) Harsh sulfates in shampoo are the main culprits of this phenomenon. 2) Your conditioner can help deposit a bit more color or help keep color in your hair by surrounding it in silicone (see my post of silicone in hair here), but it does not really "strip" color significantly from your hair.  John Frieda has the largest easily accessible color depositing conditioners.  They have ones for red hair, brunettes, and blondes.  They also have a violet shampoo to counteract yellowness in blondes. Are there better color depositing/toning conditioners depending on what color you need? Yes.  Is that a subject for another post? Yes. 

As you can tell this wasn't the easiest report to write but I did my best!  Hope this helped and that you enjoyed the first report-style post in quite a while.  Let me know via any of a gazillion social media outlets if you have any questions or would like more in-depth information on any of the products or concepts in this post. I love to hear from you!

As always,

Shine & Sparkle!

*I am not paid or contacted by any of the companies mentioned in this post.  These are my honest feelings and opinions. Also, like all my images, I'll gladly give someone credit for their image or take it down if someone throws a hissy fit.

Follow Me On Bloglovin'

Oh, hello again Shine and Sparkle Report Readers,

Today I wanted interrupt your regularly scheduled programing with this flash announcement.  I'm now officially part of Bloglovin'.  Aren't you ecstatic?! Ok, so maybe you are not jumping up and down with excitement, but at least you can be thankful.  Oh so thankful that I chose the discrete/simple "Follow Me On Bloglovin'" button on the right hand side of my blog over this .gif monstrosity below.  Dear lord, have you had a seizure yet?  Seriously, please don't have a seizure, scroll so you aren't looking at this thing anymore.  Do it now!

So, what is Bloglovin'?  It's a really great new tool I just learned about that is "the easiest way to follow your favorite blogs and discover new ones."  I realize that their by-line tells you nothing.  Pretty much it is a place to "follow" all your favorite blogs and see them in one easy to read feed. I realize that you might already have Google or another feed site doing this for you.  But I do really suggest this third party blog reading site. 

They have done a great job making blog reading simple and easy to use.  The web design is quite elegant if you ask me.  It also really opens the doors for the discovery of new blogs to read.  I highly recommend signing up for Bloglovin'--not just so you can follow me, but because it's a really great resource for blog lovers of any topic.

There is even an Bloglovin' iPhone App!

So I would be ever so grateful if you followed me on Bloglovin'.  I hope you are having a Sparkle-rific week.


As always,
Shine & Sparkle

Re-growing Lettuce, Celery, and Green Onions DIY

Howdy Shine and Sparkle Report Readers!

I found a great use for old containers (like cleaned out Bath and Bodyworks Candle Jars).  It is very simple and cuts down on the cost of feeding Squiggles his fresh veggies (or your kids. Or yourself). 

All you will need is the following:

• Lower stub (normally discarded) of romaine lettuce, Celery, or Green Onion
• Water tight vessel that allows light to pass through it
• Water
• Place to put it where it gets some light (like a window)

Steps:

1. Put lower part of plants in about 1/2 an inch of water
2. Wait
3. Change water every day or so
4. Watch plant re-grow from the center of the plant stub.

Amazing right?!  This DIY is so much fun to do.  It also makes a little green plant for minimal money and effort.  Kids (or easily amused adults) will love watching it grow.

Shine & Sparkle!

A Luxury Shower Product Make-Over!

Fancy Seeing You Again Shine and Sparkles Report Readers!

Today I have a special make-over edition post!  Maybe this will help you if you decide to do a luxury make-over of your own shower products.

This make over is of a  wonderful friend of mine--Robert.  He is smart, funny, extremely tall, and loves luxury products.  We bonded over a love of Louis Vuitton and I envy his apartment's expert interior decorating. During his Kickstarter launch party, I happened to wander into his restroom.  Not that I was being that nosy, but I politely commented that I could totally make his bathroom products and experience match his plethora of Louis Vuitton blankets and Versace pillows.  We got talking about collaborating his photography with my beauty prowess to make over his shower.  Here on the Shine and Sparkle report, I know we are used to adorable paint-drawings and guinea pigs, but this episode has some real visual class. OooohAhhhh.

 So as with any make-over story, here is the before picture:

As you can see, this is a classic "guys" shower.  Irish Spring, Head and Shoulders, and Axe.  Now, to be clear, there is nothing horrible about these products (other than some of the chemical ingredients and the flash back to teenage boy smells).  But for my posh friend RP, I envisioned so much more.  Plus, lets not get into the unwieldy loofa. I'm not even sure how one is to use such a large dried gourd.  Yes, this is a large dried gord, similar to a okra on steroids.  Again, nothing terrible about it, just...not consistent with the RP I know.  He would argue I left his restroom with a look of horror.  I'd just say I left with a mission. 

So on a lovely Monday after work, RP and I journeyed around the city of San Francisco.  Hitting Peninsula Beauty, Nordstrom, and The Body Shop.  In keeping with the make-over format, here are RP's amazing after pictures:

This picture is copyright of "RP".  Please contact me if you would like to use it.  Why? Because it's polite.

Shampoos*:
Paul Mitchell--Lavender Sage
Paul Mitchell--Tea Tree Special
Macadamia Natural Oil--Macadamia Rejuvenating Shampoo
Joico--Smooth Cure (Sulfate-Free)
(Now RP has great shampoos to combat any type of hair day!)

Body:
Jo Malone--English Pear
Jo Malone--Pomegranate Noir
Jo Malone-- Lime Basil & Mandarin
The Body Shop-Plastic Body Poof
(Jo Malone's fragrances are luxury product at it's finest.  Some of the highest quality scents available.  Picking these was so much fun.  I might have even grabbed one for myself.  If you see my tweets, I posted a picture of the box.  I will be doing a detailed review of my Jo Malone Body Wash soon!  If you read it, you will see what scent I got as well.  Also, RP's loofa from The Body Shop  is so much better than an okra.  The plastic rinses clean and doesn't breed bacteria! Huzah.)

Not Pictured:
Jo Malone Candle
GlamGlow--"Youthmud" Anti-Aging Mud Mask
The Body Shop--Tea-Tree Facial Cleanser
The Body Shop--Lip Butter
(Even though I have written a Post About The Body Shop Ionic Clay Mask as an affordable dupe for the GlamGlow, nothing says "luxury like GlamGlow!  Also, Body Shop lip butters are heavenly...mmmm.)

I'm quite proud to say, after the shopping trip, RP said that he had the most amazing shower once he upgraded.  I'm so glad he likes them!

 As always,

Shine & Sparkle!

 *I am not paid or contacted by any of the companies mentioned in this post.  These are my honest feelings and opinions.  Also the pictures are copyright of Robert.  Please contact me if you would like to use it.  Why? Because it's polite.