Up until a couple of days ago I had three different wigs. All of them are Estetica Designs Wigs, simply because for the first one I visited a wig shop and with my larger than average head, that brand fit the best and since my last couple were ordered online I've continued to use that brand as I know they will fit. The first one which was ordered via the wig shop was the "Michelle" model in color R14/8H - Golden Brown with Dark Blond Highlights - wig model shown HERE (please note, the links to all of these are via the E-Wigs.com website as Estetica's own site is horribly slow for some reason, and the color in the pictures may or may not be the color I'm talking about). When I first got it, I was happy with it, but I think that was mostly because the only wigs I had tried prior to that were the cheap Halloween costum-ish ones and this one was a "real wig" in my mind - albeit a synthetic one. However after wearing it a few times two things became apparent. The first was that I really wanted something a bit longer - long enough I could pull it back and/or put a hair piece in and the second was that it was a bit dark for my complexion.
So I chose to order another wig - this time online as it's cheaper - and settled on E-Wigs.com (which I have been very happy with their service over the last year or two). I went with another Estetica wig for the above mentioned reason and settled on the Stella model in color RH268 - Golden Brown with Copper Highlights - wig model shown HERE. Again it was a regular synthetic wig, but I was much happier with the color - you wouldn't think that Dark Blond vs Copper highlights would be a big different, but it really seemed to be. The second issue - being able to tie it back - well I could, but not as well as I wanted. It was long enough to - but not as long as I would have liked, but the bigger issue was that it was curly enough it didn't cooperate well for me when I tried that and I just felt it never looked right pulled back. Still I used it for several months.
Finally about a year ago give or take I decided that perhaps a shorter wig would be better for me. By now I was going out on my own at times and I wanted to be able to "do my own hair easily" and a shorter wig would be easier on me. So I yet again ordered a wig from E-Wigs.com - this time the Sienna model, again in color RH268 - wig model shown HERE. Since I had been happy with the color of the last one I went with the same color and truth be told I really do like this wig. It was also a step up from the two prior ones - it is still synthetic hair, but this one had a "lace front", which turned out both good and bad for me. The good was that it was easier to work with due to the lace front. The bad was that if I wasn't careful the lace front would show as is evident in the picture below (which other than the lace front showing is still one of my favorite photos).
Now, in that small version of the photo you may not be able to see it, but if you can/do blow the picture up some (such as monitor wallpaper size) you can see the lace front peeking out where my hair is parted and that has frustrated me for a long time. Beyond that, to this day I still think this is the best any of my wigs ever looked on me and it's a look that I, nor J or M has been able to reproduce for whatever reason(s). After seeing this picture blown up and noticing the "lace front", I went back to some prior pictures and could see it there as well. Now perhaps I was over-reacting as it isn't exactly easy to see in this particular photo unless you blow it up, so perhaps unless people were really close (and looking for it) they might not have seen it either, but *I* knew it was there and it bugged me. So it became a point of emphasis every time I wore the wig the last several months (that photo was from 9/18/2013). It was enough of a thing to me that I'm sure I drove J and M nuts over it, but it would always be on my mind when getting ready or if I were out and about and the wind was blowing hard enough to shift my hair. I started referring to the lace front as "The Triangle" as when it showed it looked like an off colored triangle at my hair line. I knew something had to give as I was so worried about a little bit of the lace front showing that I wasn't able to just forget about it and enjoy whatever I was doing.
So, I had been looking at wigs off and on the last few months and couldn't really settle on anything. I saw a few non-Estetica ones I really liked, but I wasn't sure if they would fit and I wasn't sure I wanted to drag myself back to the wig shop where I got the first one to see if they would. So I focused on Estetica and I found a couple I really liked; one was Jamison (HERE), which is what I almost ordered in place of the Sienna, and the other was the Monika (HERE), but they were short like the Sienna one and "lace front" as well, so I didn't see them as upgrades to what I had; plus the consensus with J and M was that the Jamison one would make me look like a B*tch, which I tended to agree with from the photo of it.
The longer I thought about it, I really wanted a longer wig this time - partially so I could tie it back as I mentioned above; but now more because I have a large head. It's large for a cis-male, much less a cis-female, and I thought that a longer wig - at least the *right* longer wig would help "frame" my face better. I finally took a good look at the Jewel model - shown HERE. It was long enough that I should be able to tie it back if I wanted, and from the photo it looked like it would frame my face better. On the down side the photo showed it covering part of my face which is something I struggle with since I like to be able to see, but by now I thought I could deal with that. The other and bigger downside was that it was a "Monofilament" wig and as such was more expensive than I was used to. However, upon doing my research it seemed like it would be a better option since the monofilament design would allow the hair to be better styled for me and make "The Triangle" no longer an issue for me. So after running it by J and M for their feedback we agreed that provided I could live with the hair covering part of my face - that it appeared to be a good match for me and it came in my preferred color (the RH268). So I ordered it last Monday morning (6/30/14).
Well, I should have known it wouldn't be easy - on Tuesday afternoon I got an email from E-Wigs that the Jewel wig in RH268 was discontinued and I could either choose a different color or cancel my order. I gave it some thought and decided I really wanted it so I quickly chose another color that seemed close and they ordered it. I was a bit agitated as due to the holiday on Friday (July 4th) and the delay in them ordering it, it would not arrive until Monday (7/7), but whatever.
As it was I had taken a long weekend from work and was off Friday 7/4, then the weekend and then Monday/Tuesday (7/7 and 7/8) so I (and J) happened to be home when it arrived on Monday. When I un-boxed it, the first thing I noticed was that it was darker than I expected. I brought it upstairs and looked at the prior three and it was closer to the color of the first wig and that concerned me. I knew I had the original receipt for the first one on my desk and upon pulling it out I found that I had ordered the *same color* as the first one and my heart sank a bit as the color on the first one was an issue with me looking to pale. I contemplated a RMA on it right then and there, but I had been so excited about getting this one I thought I'd try it out and see how it worked.
That occurred on Tuesday (yesterday 7/8) as we were going to run to Ulta and then to get lunch. It turned out to be a mixed bag for me. On the plus side "The Triangle" is not a concern due to the way the monofilament is done so that made me very happy. On the not so plus side was that it didn't frame my face as well as I thought it would. Now I had M help me with it as it's longer than I'm used to, and I don't think I conveyed well enough what I wanted so I think perhaps a little different styling with it might help that, I'll have to see. The biggest issue is as I thought, the color. It made me look very pale, not a good look at all. In fact the pictures came out so bad I've elected to delete them instead of posting them to Facebook and/or here like I normally do. Talking to J and M over lunch, they both maintain that perhaps some bronzer would make things better and I hope so; but I'm not sure. I really want to keep the wig as I do think I'll really like it - *IF* I can get past this color issue - but as of now that's a big if and it's really frustrating to spend the amount of money I did on the wig and to not be as happy as I was with the cheaper Sienna model I had been wearing. M and I talked about it, and tomorrow (Thursday), I'm going to do my makeup and we're going to try again, but if it isn't any better then I'll have to see if I can still send it back or if I'm stuck with it and if so I'll have to make a decision as to whether or not to keep wearing it or go back to the Sienna. Hopefully the bronzer will help enough to make the decision moot, but as of now I'm not holding my breath.
I guess this probably comes off as a "first world trans-woman problem", but it is frustrating as if they had simply had the RH268 available I think I would have been so much happier with it.
- M
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