New Year, New Hair

Going blonder

You may remember that I went blonde in October. About 6 weeks ago, I went blonder!

Fudge Whiter Shade of Pale

Hair saviours

How does the saying go? "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone". Okay, it might be a little shallow to apply to hair care but it's true! I took for granted the good that certain products did for my hair and learnt the hard way when I didn't repurchase and used cheaper alternatives. As most people do around the festive season, I scrimped on my hair products to have some extra pennies for all things Christmassy. By the end of January after replacing the L'Oreal Hair Expertise collection with Tresemme and running out of the Organix Coconut Milk Serum, my hair was a frizzy, frazzled mess. As I needed to get my roots done anyway, I thought it would be the perfect time to get the split ends chopped off and rekindle my love affair with the products that had treated my hair so well before.

Beauty Christmas gifts

Christmas party makeup

In my last post I showed you the dress I would be wearing this party season. Seeing as tonight will be it's second festive outing, I thought I'd show you the make up I pair it with.

Eyes

Going blonde

#awksbathroomselfies

Products I can't live without

  

Kérastase Nectar Thermique - £15.12 (delivery inc), Garnier BB Miracle Skin Perfector Cream - £6.66

Dove Nourishing Oil Care range

Nourishing Oil shampoo £2.49, Nourishing Oil express treatment conditioner £3.39 & Nourising Oil leaving-in conditioning spray £3.39, all on offer 3 for 2 at Boots at the moment!

Dove PR event

A couple of Thursdays ago, Katie was invited to a free PR event for Dove's latest product ranges (perks of working for OK! magazine!) and asked if I wanted to come along. Champagne, canapes and free Dove goodies? She didn't need to ask twice! 

The event was tucked away in a gorgeous townhouse on Fitzroy Square. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised! I was expected to be overwhelmed by a huge room filled with flashing lights and tonnes of press. Instead we found ourselves in a small, intimate room with a heavy emphasis on pampering.

Product Rave: Aussie 'Take The Heat' shampoo and conditioner

Hello everyone!

I wanted to dedicate this post to the Aussie 'Take The Heat' range. Since my hair ended up in a dire state after my summer holiday last year, I have been on a mission to get it back into good health. Before I begin raving about these products I should add as a sidenote that I have stopped using my hairdryer. Initially this wasn't by choice- my little travel hairdryer decided to pack in a few months ago. But what a blessing in disguise that was! Within a week I began to notice an improvement in my hair's condition and texture. Now I know you may be thinking *no sh*t sherlock!* but hair-drying can be addictive-especially as I had been doing so for years.

Now onto the products:

Products I'm currently using #1

I fully intended to get on with some uni work but found this post and couldn't resist posting one myself. Hopefully you're all as nosy as I am and find it interesting!

Shampoo: VO5 Give Me Moisture Shampoo
Conditioner: Organix Renewing Morrocan Argan Oil Conditioner
Hair Mask: Herbal Essences Ignite My Colour Deep Intensive Mask/ Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Mask 
Styling Products: Organix Coconut Milk Hair Serum, Batiste Blush Dry Shampoo, Olive Oil Heat Protection Serum
Shower Gel: Dove Green Tea & Cucumber Shower cream
Body Moisturiser: Soap & Glory The Righteous Body Butter/ Body Shop Brazil Nut Body Butter
Face Mask: Mudd Deep Cleansing Clay Mask
Moisturiser: Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream/ Superdrug Vitamin E Intense Moisture Cream 
Cleanser: Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel
Foundation: Rimmel True Match Foundation in 001 Ivory
Powder:  Collection 2000 Sheer Loose Powder
Concealer: None
Blush: Body Shop Baked-To-Last Blush in 01 Petal
Bronzer: None
Highlighter: None
Eyeshadows: Maybelline 24hr Color Tatto in On & On Bronze/ L'Oreal Color Appeal Chrome Shine in 171 Dazzling Khaki
Eye Primer: MUA Professional Eye Primer
Eyeliner: Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl
Mascara: Maybelline Colossal Cat Eyes Mascara/ Avon Great Lengths Mascara 
Lashes: None
Lipstick: None
Lipgloss: None but I constantly use Vaseline or whatever lip balm I can get my hands on- I'm addicted!
Perfume: None at the moment but my favourite scents are DKNY Be Delicious, Marc Jacobs Lola and Jimmy Choo. I also use Body Shop Vanilla Spray or the Boots Natural Collections Vanilla Spray for a budget buy!
Nail Colour: Last couple of days it's been Rimmel French Manicure in Cafe Au Lait

Hope you've enjoyed reading despite the lack of photos! Maybe it will be a regular monthly post? (Obv depending on how often I change my products!)

xx

Products I'm loving #2

Happy Easter everyone! Hope you've all been treating yourselves to a chocolate egg or three. As I've recently been lucky enough to get my hands on some great beauty products, I thought I would share them with you.

Spring Wishlist

From L-R: Body Shop Seaweed Mattifying Cream, Blush Professional Hot Earth 88 Palette, Maybelline Color 24hr Tattoo Eyeshadow in Bronze, Lilac Converse, Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean Cleanser, Zara Bucket Handbag with Double Strap

Review: Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel

I have always loathed the skin on my face. Which sounds like an extreme statement but it's the truth. Whilst I did not suffer from acne as a teenager, my skin was always very spotty. It settled down a lot when I got to about 16/17 but it is still extremely reactive and unpredictable. As for skin type, parts of my face seem to be either oily, dry or sensitive so I guess that would pop me into the 'combination' category. As you can imagine, this makes finding the right skincare routine very tricky. Admittedly, I used to only use face wipes to take my makeup off which isn't ideal. So in the last few months, I have made it my mission to find the perfect routine.
This is where the Clarins Daily Energizer Cleansing Gel comes in (I know, took long enough!). I have been considering purchasing the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish after reading SO many rave reviews but it is a little out of my price range. So when I read this review, I knew I had to try the Clarins cleanser instead; particularly as it is £9.45 with free postage from Feel Unique.

Smaz ♥ Soap & Glory

As you may have gathered from my first post, I am a huge fan of Soap & Glory. I have been using their body and bathing products for almost 5 years. The love affair started with their 'Sexy MotherPucker' plumping lip gloss which -aside from the irresistible name- smells like chocolate and makes your lips feel like they are buzzing, a strangely addictive sensation! The same year I was given a Soap & Glory gift set for Christmas and have made someone get me kindly received one each year since.

A few months ago, to my delight, they launched their very own makeup. Naturally I have been eager to road test as many of the cosmetics that I can get my hands on. So far my haul includes the 'Smoulder Kohl' eyeliner and the 'Thick & Fast' mascara.

Products I'm loving #1

Hello everyone, sorry it's been a little while. I have been preoccupied with (finally!) going back to uni and settling in. That and struggling to think of interesting posts! This is one that is done by a lot of bloggers and one that I like to read myself so thought I would share the products I'm loving at the moment. 
I may not have said this already but I am by no means an expert when it comes to hair, makeup and beauty. In fact I would go as far to say I am a beginner. Although I have been wearing makeup from the age of 12, I only started properly wearing foundation last year. So if you are looking for expert advice then you may want to go back to Google (assuming that's how you've found this post!). Otherwise, let's crack on!

A few recent purchases

Hello there! I know it has been a wee while but I have had a couple of things occupying me including an annoying 3000 word report. I wish I could say that I have been doing lot's of dissertation work but that would be a barefaced lie. Instead I have been taking several trips to both Westfield shopping centres which leads me on to my wee haul. I have bought quite a few things over the last couple of weeks due to the eagerly anticipated student loan finally coming through!

I will start with my Topshop purchases. Now usually I am not Topshop's biggest fan *shock horror*. I feel that it can be very overpriced and there is the risk of bumping into someone wearing the exact same thing. Obviously this is a risk with most high street stores but I hate the idea of being a Topshop clone. 
However, I was on the lookout for a real leather wallet and when I stumbled across this baby online, I HAD to have it...I was shocked that it was only £16!