My Current Hair Care Routine

Hi Lovely Ladies! I'm really sorry I've been neglecting my blog lately. I haven't picked up any new products recently which have screamed 'Wow!' at me, and I've had (in the words of Carrie Bradshaw herself) a bit of writers block. But here I am, snuggled under my duvet with a hot chocolate (woops, diet!) on a rainy Friday afternoon putting together a new blog post. Apologies in advance, this post will be rather very long and on the picture heavy side!

I absolutely adore trying hair care products. My usual routine changes from time to time if I find something which makes my hair look and feel a little better than usual. I can honestly say I've tried everything from Poundland bargains to salon bought goodies and everything in between. I often get asked how I style and look after my hair, so I thought I'd tell you all at once exactly what I use and do. Since having my hair coloured from burgundy to brunette, the constant colour refreshing has become a little bit less of a nightmare. I went on the hunt to my local Boots to find a shampoo and conditioner specifically for brunette hair, as it adds subtle colour and brings out the undertones of brunette hair while adding a huge amount of gloss. 

Washing ♥

John Freida Brilliant Brunette Shampoo RRP £5.65 ♥

I came across John Frieda's 'Beautiful Brunette' range which a few of my friends have recommended in the past. The packaging makes it look and feel like you're using a product from the salon, but for only £5.65 each, only at a fraction of the price. The shampoo has a bit of a marble effect when you use it, which I seem to love the idea of. It smells absolutely gorgeous too, sort of sweet and floral. A little really does go a long way with it too, and a small palm full lathered up well enough to cover my entire head. My hair felt squeaky clean once I'd removed the product too.









John Freida Brilliant Brunette Conditioner RRP £5.65 ♥

Acts as the sister to the 'Brilliant Brunette' shampoo. There isn't a marble effect with this conditioner, but more of a thick brown cream effect. I cannot begin to tell you how amazing it smells too, very similar to the scent of the shampoo although definitely stronger. As with all conditioners, its essential you don't apply too much product, particularly to the roots of your hair, as your hair will look as though it hasn't been washed in a week. This restores shine and manageability, and realistically transforms the look of the mid-lengths and ends of your hair.









Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment RRP £7.99 ♥

This product is a definite must of mine. It's one of those products where you think 'does it really work?' 'is it a waste of money?' or 'it's too expensive'. But honestly, I don't know what I done without it! You apply the treatment inbetween shampoo and conditioner from root to tip and leave it to work its magic for 4 to 5 minutes. If you suffer with the whole booby length situation where it stops growing altogether, this is a product for you. After using it for two months or so, my hair has grown just under two inches. Hoorah! Two inches closer to not needing hair extensions. I have a full review of this product which you can read by clicking here. 

Clairol Colour Seal Conditioning Gloss RRP 99p ♥

These are the little tubes of conditioner you get when you buy a box dye, but they are now sold seperately in Superdrug, Boots and supermarkets. I personally don't use box dye to colour my hair anymore as my best friend is a hairdresser, but these little beauties are amazing. Once every two weeks I treat myself to a hair mask or an intensive conditioner to repair the look and feel of my hair. These tubes are the bees knees, and also come in shades suitable for blonde and red hair. They smell identical to John Freida's range, but the formula is alot thicker which means a lot less is needed. It adds a massive amount of shine, and there is a real difference in the look and feel of the hair.

Drying ♥

After washing my hair, I love a good old bouncy blow dry. It took me years of practice to be able to dry the back of my hair nicely, but I got there in the end. I think a fresh blow dry is key in getting a great finished result, and if you use the right products, can make you hair look even better than normal. 

Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum RRP £5.99 ♥
Schwarzkopf Gliss Hair Repair Leave In Conditioner RRP £3.49 ♥
Trevor Sorbie Beautifully Straightened Heat Defence Spary RRP £5.99 ♥

I have previously written about the above products on my blog and have raved about how great they are after washing your hair. I spray both the leave in conditioner along with the heat defence spray through my hair and use a wide toothed comb to remove any tangles and spread the product through my hair. It's important not to comb the coconut milk through your hair as you'll end up with very greasy hair, you only need it through the ends of your hair. To read a full review of the Organix Coconut Milk, click here, to read a full review of the Schwarzkopf Leave-In Conditioner click here, and to read a full review of the Trevor Sorbie heat defence spray, click here. 









Core Essentials Blow Dry Brush No. 109042 RRP £19.99 ♥
This brush works absolute wonders in getting that big, volumised finished blow dry. The barrel itself is so big, which in turn makes for bigger hair. It has air flow technology, which means the air is able to get through the brush, resulting in hair being dried quicker. The bristles grip the hair and there are no wispy bits lying around (TIP: the bristles are very prickly so be careful not to grip them to much. They will hurt). I section my hair 4 times, but that's only personal preference, so may not be the look you want to achieve yourself. 

TreSemme Salon AC Dryer RRP £21.99 ♥
I've mentioned in the past that I really like TreSemme products, although some hairdressers do say to stay away from it. The hairdryer is great, and does nothing more or less that your standard Argos one. It comes boxed with a removable diffuser and air flow attachable too which I would recommend using when blow drying hair. It aims the air flow from the dryer itself in the direction you want. I'vegone through countless hair dryers in my time, and have had this for well over one year now, so far there have been so sparks, no sizzling sounds and no burning smells. Winning. 

Styling ♥

This is by far my favourite part of my haircare routine. I love being able to mix up my hairstyle to my mood, whether it's long and straight, big bouncy curls or up in a bouncy ponytail. From day to day, I tend to wear my hair down and straight with a bit of backcombing at the crown but if it's a special occasion or I fancy a bit of a change, I go all out.

Foxy Locks Hair Extensions RRP £74.00 ♥
I cannot rate these hair extensions highly enough. I use the Deluxe range, which means the hair is extremely thick, soft and double wefted. I much prefer clip in hair extension to bonded ones. Yes, they are a pain to put in and take out everyday, but your hair will thank you for it. My only slight criticism is the fact that they are only stocked in 20" which isn't great if you want very long hair. They come down to about 4 inches from the waist, and providing you look after them properly, will last you ages. I'm going to write an updated blog post where I will go into more detail on these so look out for that!

GHD Classic IV Styler RRP £109.99 ♥
Babyliss Pro Large Barrel Tong RRP £19.99 ♥
I've been using GHD hair straighteners for years now, and I've never looked back. They really are a godsend and I adore them. I've had my second pair for three years now and although they have a six year guarantee I'm looking to replace them at Christmas. They heat up within seconds up to 230 degrees (so be careful. I can't count how many times I've clamped my fingers inbetween them!) so straightening or curling your hair takes no time at all.  I picked up the Babyliss curling wand a few months ago as I felt I wanted bigger bouncier curls than what you get when using a straightening iron. Again, it does get extremely hot so please don't touch that barrel!

Schwarzkopf Silhouette Hairspray RRP £4.99 ♥
By far the best hairspray I've come across. It holds my style all day and it doesn't leave that dreaded crispy feel on parts of your hair. It also contains shine technology so by this point, your hair looks extremely glossy and rich. If I'm backcombing my hair then a little spritz of this stuff at the roots is a godsend. It keeps wispy bits at bay, and most importantly keeps my fringe in place.

Denman D3 Classic Styler Brush RRP £4.99 ♥
Finally. I have to stress that this brush is the most amazing hair product I've ever come across. Denman have some great products, and this brush is by far the best. The brush makes backcombing effortless, and it grips onto the hair with ease. It does have a tendancy to pick up hair it it's track, but hey what brush doesn't? If I could have one product to last me forever it would without a doubt be this. 

Marbella 2012

Hello Everyone, hope you're all well. The weather has taken a turn for the worse and it's all of a sudden got cold, dreary and grey. Well, what else can you expect from English westher?! I arrived back from Marbella a few days back, and had the time of my life. It was a last minute holiday, and after being sick and tired of visiting Ibiza every Summer, we decided to try somewhere new. I have family that live over in Marbella too, although we didn't get the chance to go and see any of them. If you'd have watched The Only Way Is Marbs a few months back, then you'll know just how much of a party resort it really is. Everyone is glamorous and champagne is flowing from 10.00am. This post is very picture heavy, so apologies!

 

 

Tag: Blogging Love

Hi Girls! I haven't blogged in forever, I hope you're all well! I had the most amazing time on holiday in Marbella and have been non-stop busy up until now where I can just sit in bed with a large cuppa and get stuck back in! I found this tag from the lovely Kayleigh at www.x-couturegirl-x.blogspot.com so thought I'd join what I'd been missing out on!

 

Something I Love ♥

 

♥ I've always been completely obsessed with make-up and beauty, even stealing my older cousins make-up case as an 8 year old and spreading neon blue eyeshadow with no clue what I was doing, which makes beauty blogging the perfect hobby for me.

 

♥ I've met some people who share the same interests as me, and I have somewhere on the world wide web where I can completely be myself and have the occasional moan!

 

♥ I can pick up great tips, inspiration and ideas from other bloggers, and see what everone is ranting and raving over and have the chance to try out certain products by myself.

 

♥ I love when a post I've prepared comes together and I like the look of it, Yes, it sounds odd, but I feel a small sense of achievement when I see one of you lovely lot has commented on something I've reviewed and written about.

 

Blogging Aim ♥

My aim is to not only inspire people, but to be more involved with the beauty blogging community. I want to be able to say I've attended a beauty blogging event sooner or later, and the only ticket to that is if I continue to blog about something I love!

 

Blogging Tip ♥

I'm no blogging expert, and the fact I have a very small following shows that I'm nobody to give out tips on how to blog. But if I had to choose one, it would be to interact with other bloggers! There's no chance of a stable blog following if you don't get the message out there about what your blog is about!

 

A blogger who has inspired me ♥

One blogger who has inspired me is Zoe from Zoella, I absolutely love her posts and her blog, and the fact she is completely honest when she reviews a product. She's great!

 

Sleep Rollers - Goodbye Sleepless Nights, Hello Great Hair

Hi Girls! So this post is way overdue, as I've been using the infamous Sleep Rollers for quite some time now. If like me you are a massive fan of big bouncy Cheryl Cole-esque hair which looks fresh from the salon then these answer all of your problems, and wait for the best bit; while you sleep! I first saw and heard about the Sleep In Rollers when I was watching Desperate Scousewives on E4 just before Christmas. I had a huge hair crush on Amanda Harrington and Debbie O'Toole who's hair was just to die for. It had length, volume and the perfect amount of bounce which were achieved using just basic velcro rollers. I'd also seen so many celebrities rocking the same type of rollers including Amy Childs, Tamara Ecclestone (who I have a big girl crush on) and Alex Curran. I took to Twitter to ask around about which brand they all used and it turned out they used Sleep Rollers, a company based in Liverpool which sell the ultimate range of hair accessories. They stock absolutely massive bun rings (I think around 10cm wide which is amazing), bun plaits, rollers, and they've just bought out rollers which have glitter inside the actual roller. I am in hair heaven! I'll be reviewing these quite thoroughly as I don't find that many people do so get comfy!

 

Source: Google

I done my research before I bought these little beauties as I wanted to see what other girls just like me thought about them. It turned out that these (obviously by the name, duh) that they were rollers which done their job while you slept. What an amazing idea! I remember the days I used to be a slave to hard velcro rollers and sleep in them, wondering why I had a sore head and neck the morning after. Sleep Rollers are designed with a small sponge in the centre of the velcro roller, which flatten as you head is on the pillow. They are designed to be comfortable and stay in place all night. I was slightly apprehensive about this but make my order and waited eagerly for them to arrive. I paid £16.50 and bought them from the online retailer (buy them here). I believe they were on offer at the time I purchased them so I'm not quite sure of the price now, I think they're roughly £20.00.  While I was on the site I also made a cheeky purchase of the XL bun ring and a bun plait too (ooh ow naughty of me). I received my rollers in 4 days which was pretty standard for any type of delivery. 

The packaging is so sweet and pretty, everything is pink which is massive bonus if you are a girly girl like myself. It came in a medium sized pink drawstring bag which is made of quite sturdy material and has rose detailing around the top of the bag. They are the original sleep rollers as so many companies have copped onto the idea of them (cough cough Lauren Goodger I'm looking at you!) and so have the company logo on the bag with the usual "Goodbye Sleepless Nights Hello Great Hair!!!" slogan slapped across the front. I opened the bag and squealed with delight. The rollers are the brightest pink colour ever and I just love that you can still look great even when you have them in. 2 packs were inside each containing 10 rollers each (you do the maths) which would be enough to cover my whole head. If you have extra long or thick hair, you may need to invest in an extra pack of 10, they sell them on the website for £8.99 and it saves so much hassle trying to squeeze just 20 into your hair. 

When it came to about 8pm I decided to start my venture into the world of Sleep Rollers. I had a programme to watch at 9 so I'd have enough time to get the hang of things. So I washed and blow dried my hair as normal (read my review on my shampoo and conditioner here) and opened my packets of rollers with my kirby grips at the ready. As I'm quite experienced in the hair roller field I found them so easy to put in. I would suggest that practice definitely makes perfect as they take a while to get the hang of. I secured them with kirby grips in places I needed to. I quite like the natural body look so I left a few out, my hair was still warm from the blow dry which meant the rollers would set more nicely. After putting my head of rollers in which took no more than 15 minutes, I settled in to bed to watch my programme and was a bit apprehensive to sleep on them.

Bedtime came around so I pulled my duvet over and tried to get comfortable. As I'm always honest when I review a product, I will tell you that these still aren't ultra comfortable. I did find them quite annoying after moving my head position roughly 20 times, but settled down on my side in the end. I didn't have a bad sleep like some people claim they do and woke up i the morning, granted the tops of my ears were a little sore. I was so surprised that they'd stayed in place all night and hadn't moved at all. I started taking them out individually although they were a little tangled and I absolutely loved the effect it had on my hair. It was big, bouncy and rather than a defined curl which I think can only be achieved with a wand or tong, there was a nice wave to it. I don't have a photograph to show the effect that first morning as I was very late for work but the one below shows them after I'd used them for about a month (sorry for the awful picture quality) and got to know them quite well. I think it looks glam, classy and so natural. You don't always need heat to make your hair look great which to me is a huge added bonus. Some girls with shorter hair may not like these as there is no length to it without the use of clip in hair extensions. Instead of putting them into my actual hair I sometimes roll my extensions flat on a table, spray them with hairspray and leave the to set overnight. Providing the extension is of good quality and have been shampooed and conditioned, the effect as just the same as what is achieved on the natural hair. You then simply unroll the extensions and clip them in.

So what's so good about them? They are made for sleeping in, so there isn't too much discomfort which hard rollers supply you with (how nice of them). They moulded nicely into the shape of my hair as I slept without taking the effect of the bounce away too as they don't have metal or plastic in them. This means heat can be applied for the rollers to take full effect, depending on the type of look you're after. They stay secure all night and don't roll out overnight. This may be down to the amount of velcro on the actual roller and the kirby grips but I find they don't budge whatsoever. They're cheap for the amount of hair tool you receive and last a lifetime. After using mine so often the quality hasn't dropped and none have been broken or damaged. The bag which comes with the rollers is so compact and ideal for slipping into your suitcase, I've taken mine on some weekends away and the drawstring bag is ideal. As they flatten there's peace of mind knowing that's exactly what they are designed to do. Last but not least, the finished result. I absolutely love the effect Sleep Rollers have on my hair. They leave a gorgeous Victoria's Secret-esque style on my hair. I don't want to blow my own trumpet but they really do make my hair look salon fresh every morning. It gave my normally straight hair volume, body and wave without using heat. 

Do you use sleep in rollers? Or do you have another type you use?

MAC 'Shy Girl' Lipstick Dupe - NYX 'Pumpkin Pie'

Hi Everyone! I haven't got round to blogging for over a week! I've been so busy getting ready for my holiday which is now only just around the corner. I took myself to Westfield in Stratford throughout the weekend and popped into MAC just to buy myself some foundation. What ended up happening was ridiculous, as I ended up coming out of the store with a bag full of goodies including the cremesheen lipstick in the shade Shy Girl. I met Amy Childs last Wednesday at her perfume launch on Oxford Street and I loved the lipstick she had on. I asked her what it was and turns out it was from none other than trusty MAC! 

Alot of people are somewhat dubious as to why you would spend £14.00 on a lipstick, but my MAC collection has never failed me. I love the cremesheen range as they add the perfect amount of gloss without becoming sticky and have a fantastic formula which means there is extra staying power and it never budges out of place. The only thing I probably dislike is the smell. It has that awful smell of chemicals which is really off putting, especially first thing in the morning. I was also looking through my make-up box a few days back (yes a box. I don't do make-up bags) when I came across a lipstick I'd forgotten I owned and hadn't even opened. To my horror, the shades were practically identical. I purchased 'Pumpkin Pie' a few months back for no more than £3.00 and although the formula doesn't quite match up to MAC's Shy Girl, it's still a lipstick I could use on the go.

I'm an absolute sucker for nudes and pale pinks, so for colour this definitely gets a 10 out of 10 from me! Pumpkin Pie is a very subtle colour, and isn't nearly as pigmented as Shy Girl as I found myself applying up to three coats to achieve a similar colour. It didn't glide on as easily as Shy Girl, but for only £3.00 it's hard to justify why I can't use my NYX more often. It contains a small amount of gloss, again not too much that it's sticky and sits awkwardly on my lips. I did find that after a few hours that the cracks in my lips were beginning to show but it was easily fixed by a quick top up. For packaging, I obviously completely prefer that of MAC's Shy Girl. All the lipsticks from MAC are so sleek looking, and I can't help but think Pumpkin Pie is a little tacky looking. It will be absolutely perfect to replace my Shy Girl lipstick when I go on holiday as I'm so clumsy and will probably end up dropping my MAC into the sea! I've bought a load of drugstore lipsticks recently for this purpose and may post a small haul showing you all what goodies I've managed to find.

Do you own any MAC Cremesheen lipsticks? Which is your favourite shade?

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