Tuesday 17 December 2013

Haircare Haul

Charles Worthington Intesne Rescue Melting Balm - £16.99
Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes Shampoo -  £6.49
Lee Stafford Nourishing Miracle Treatment - £14.99

Does anyone else always have a little haircare splurge after visiting the hairdressers? I do. Boots current 3 for 2 haircare offer certainly didn't help matters, and after much deliberation, I decided on these three beauties to help care for my new locks.  First up is Lee Stafford's 'Purple' Shampoo.  I know I'm late to the party here, but on this visit to the salon, I had my hair ombre'd.  After doing a bit of research, I found that these sorts of shampoos are great for removing brassy tones from bleached hair, and this one in particular had some good reviews.  In hindsight though, perhaps I didn't really need this as my ombre is quite subtle; although my stylist used bleach, it was very diluted and the end result was more of a caramel kind of tone, as opposed to a full on bleach blonde.  It may just be that I use this very occasionally, perhaps mixed in with my regular shampoo.  If anyone has an thoughts on this, please let me know! I also picked up two hair masks as the ends of my hair were inevitably feeling a touch dry.  I'm a big fan of Lee Stafford's, Miracle Argan Oil (review here) so I decided to give the Deep Nourishing Treatment from the same range a go.  This one is designed to be used after shampooing, and is then followed with your usual conditioner.  Lastly I picked up the Charles Worthington Intense Rescue Melting Balm.  I'm sure you'll have heard about this one; I wanted it for the longest time, but couldn't get hold of it.  I'd actually forgotten all about it until I saw it the other day. This one is a solid balm, similar to a cleansing balm, that transforms to an oil when warm.  It's applied to dry hair 20-30 minutes before washing, and then you just wash your hair as normal.  Two masks may seem a bit excessive to some I guess, but I quite like how they apply differently and I'll probably alternate between the two.

Have you used any of these products? Is there anything similar out there that's better? Let me know your thoughts!
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Thursday 12 December 2013

Scotch Pop Up Tape Dispenser.

As I began my wrapping mission last night, I tweeted a picture of what has proved to be a life-saving product for me, and had quite a few questions about it so I thought I little blog post was in order.  If you've ever had trouble wrapping presents; locating the sticky tape that always rolls under the table, cutting a piece of said sticky tape, all whilst holding the gift wrap in place, then this is the product for you.  I picked up my Scotch Pop-up Tape Dispenser a few Christmases ago, and I would not be without it now.

This nifty little device simply attaches to the back of your hand with an elastic strap, meaning you can hold down the gift wrap with that hand, and pull out a strip of tape with the other.  You get one refill included with the dispenser and additional refills are available in packs of three. Prices vary from £2-3 for both the dispenser and the refills depending on where you buy, but are often on some sort of offer such as 3 for 2.  That said, it does still work out more expensive than buying a regular roll of sticky tape; so if you have a lot of presents to wrap, it could turn out to be quite costly.  However for how much easier it makes wrapping, and how much time it saves, I'd say it's just about worth it. If you have lots of large presents to wrap, I'd say use the strips sparingly, just to secure the paper in place, then go over with regular tape if, like me, you like your presents to be difficult to open/peek at.

While it may not be great value for money, the Pop-up Tape Dispenser is something I'd still highly recommend.  The tape is nice quality, and is virtually invisible once stuck down, helping to give a seamless look to your wrapped gifts.  It definitely saves a hell of a lot of time when wrapping your presents, and at the busiest time of the year, I'd say it's definitely worth it.

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Monday 9 December 2013

Review: Trevor Sorbie Curl Creator

I'm loving curling my hair at the moment, and am always looking at ways to help my curls last longer.  I picked this up during a recent trip to Manchester, and I'm so pleased I did.  Previously known as the Curl Constructor, this along with the rest of the Trevor Sorbie brand has recently been revamped to include some new products as well as giving the bestsellers a new look. I really like the packaging, it's fresh and modern, and looks great on my dressing table. To use, just lightly spray each section before using your curling appliance of choice, making sure the section is dry before doing so.   It dries in seconds, and also the spray contains heat protectant so it adds virtually no time at all to curling your hair.  I used this for the first time on a recent night out and my curls stayed in place, and hardly dropped all night long. The next morning after brushing my hair, I misted some more of the spray all over my hair and gently scrunched it to tidy and add a bit of definition to the remaining waves and I was good to go.  I'm not sure this product would work as well on naturally curly hair, but if your hair is straight, or slightly

wavy like mine, then I'd definitely recommend giving it a try.


Trevor Sorbie Curl Creator is available from Boots and is part of the current 3 for 2 haircare offer.
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Friday 6 December 2013

Most Wanted: Cosy Christmas

 1. Floral Duck Egg Pyjamas: Next 
2. Aztec Print Robe: Topshop 
3. Spot Poncho: Dorothy Perkins 
4. Rabbit Jumper: Next 
5. Reindeer Jumper: New Look 
6. Onesie: Next

There's nothing I love more than getting home, taking off my make up and changing into some nice comfortable clothes. My lazy outfits of choice usually consist of leggings or PJ bottoms and, in this weather, a hoodie.  The shops are full of gorgeous, cosy lounge wear/nightwear at the moment, and I absolutely love these PJ's from Next.  I've actually bought them for my Mam for Christmas and would have bought them myself if they had my size left! As much as I love the robe from Topshop, I often find them constantly coming undone, which is why I think a poncho like this from Dorothy Perkins would be ideal.  I'm planning on wearing a bright, tacky Christmas jumper on the big day itself, but I think something like this pink one from New Look is something I'd get more wear out of over the rest of season; I think a bright red Santa jumper might look a bit odd come Boxing day! Lastly, I still do not own a onesie.  At just over 5ft tall, most onesie's would totally drown me.  Next have a fantastic petites range and this is one of a couple I'm going to stick on my Christmas list.
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