Sunday 26 April 2015

Hair Care: Styling

 
I have a bit of a weakness for hair styling products. I could spend hours in Boots looking at different serums, hair sprays and all other lotions and potions they have to offer. Here's what I'm currently  reaching for most often.

Bumble and bumble invisible oil:  After washing my hair and giving it a quick towel dry,I apply a pump or two of this and work it through the mid-legnths and ends of my hair, then lightly going over the top section with the remainder. I'll go back and do the same thing once my hair is dry and styling is complete.

Bumble and bumble invisible oil primer. I raved about this recently on the blog so you can read that here. After using the original oil, I spray this miracle worker liberally through  my hair and work It through using my fingers. If I'm leaving my hair to dry naturally I'll leave it here and won't do anything else til my hair is dry. I try to let my hair dry naturally at least once a week to give it a break from the heat and have found my hair really has benefited from doing so.

Bumble and bumble blow dry:  This is a relatively recent addition. Although the invisible oil range does protect against heat, i wanted to incorporate more of a cream formulation as i feel these penetrate the hair more. This also aids styling, and I've found that using this helps keep my hair smooth whilst blow drying.

Charles Worthington texturisng spray: I'm a huge fan of adding texture to my hair and this is definitely one of my favourites to use. I actually prefer it to the more expensive bumble and bumble dry spun finish. It also smells much nicer! After using a curling wand or my ghds to add some waves to my hair, I'll spray this and sort of ruffle my hair, scrunch it, basically just play around with it til I'm happy with how it looks.

Fudge Iced Raspberry and Vanilla:  If I'm totally honest, I pretty much bought this because I thought it'd smell nice.  It does, and it also does the job it's intended to, but I'm not loving it.  I've never really found a hairspray I love, so will definitely be buying a different one when this has ran out.

What are your favourite styling products?

Sarah x
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Wednesday 22 April 2015

Essie: Grey Nails With a Twist

L-R Maxamillian Strasse Her, Parker Perfect, Cocktail Bling, Petal Pushers.
You may have seen Anna and Lily raving about Essie's rather oddly named Maxamillian Strasse on their blogs in the past. And rightly so, it's a gorgeous colour; a sort of greyish green, with a slight duck egg blue mixed in.  It's certainly one of those colours that looks different depending on the light. I've had this colour in my collection for some time, (read my review here) and reach for it quite often.  It's easily one of my favourite colours and is what kick- started my obsession with muted, pastely, greyish colours, a colour that Essie do brilliantly.  Since my love affair with Maxamillian Strasse Her began, I've added a few more Essie shades to my collection, all with a similar greyish twist going on.

Maxamillian Strasse Her is, like I said, the colour that started it all off.  A gorgeous muted mint green with a greyish tinge.  This colour would go with pretty much any outfit, in any season. 

Cocktail Bling is perhaps the most similar to Maxamillian Strasse Her; I like to think of it as it's more Blueish sister.  Again it looks different depending on the light; sometimes it looks more blue, other times more grey, all with a little hint of lilac thrown in for good measure.

Parka Perfect is somewhere between the two.  It seems to have the blue-ness of Cocktail Bling, with the green-ness of Maxamillian Strasse Her.  Again it's a cream finish, but with a very subtle silver sparkle. Not enough to class is as a true glitter polish, just enough to give it a hint of something on the nails.

Petal Pushers is a more recent addition and forms part of their spring 2015 collection. Essie describe it as a slate grey, with subtle red and blue undertones.  I'm not quite sure where the red undertones are, but there's definitely a purpley-blue hint to this and it looks really nice on the nails.


Top to Bottom: Petal Pushers, Parker Perfect, Cocktail Bling, Maxamillian Strasse Her.

I got all of these colours in either Boots or Superdrug, meaning they're part of the diffusion line with the wider brush making application a total dream.  They're all pretty opaque after one coat, but I always do two just to tidy things up a little.  The darker shades are perhaps not the most summery of colours, and I'd personally prefer to wear them for more of an occasion than just regular day to day wear.  I think they'd all make great transitional colours too; both going into spring, then again into the cooler months.

Are you a fan of these sorts of shades? Any more you recommend I try? Let me know!

Sarah x
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Wednesday 15 April 2015

Hair Care: Washing




I switch up my hair care routine quite a bit; I'm always tweaking it in the search of products that really work for me. Although I am quite happy with what I'm using at the moment so I thought I'd do a little hair care series, starting with what I use when washing my hair.


I probably wash my hair 2-3 times a week; it all depends what hours I'm working, what I'm doing on my days off and, if I'm honest, how lazy I'm feeling! I've been using Sulphate free shampoo and conditioner for almost three years now, ever since i had my hair dyed red and asked my hair dresser what i should use to help maintain it. Even though my hair is a more natural colour these days, I've just never really switched back to a regular shampoo. They're a little trickier to find, but most high street shops do have a small selection; and three from L'Oreal are one of my favourites. The packaging is sleek, they smell lovely (very spa-like. I'd think they were from a more high end brand if it wasn't for the bottle!) but most importantly they leave my hair soft, shiny and manageable. These particular ones also give my hair a bit more volume; most volumising shampoos are a no-no for coloured hair so sulphate free, volumising products for coloured hair are a bit of a rarity so thumbs up to L'Oreal for making them much more accessible!


This Charles Worthington Balm has been a staple in my collection since I first had my hair ombred. I wanted something to counteract some of the damage done by the bleach, and also from heat styling so opted for this. I love how you apply this to dry hair; you can go about your business (maybe don't leave the house though!) then just wash your hair as normal whenever you're ready. No more loitering in the shower waiting for your mask to do it's thing! I tend to use this two to three times a month, maybe a couple more times of I've been using a lot of heat on my hair. You can read my full review of this here.  I go through a lot of dry shampoo; whether its to sort out my fringe on a morning, to add a bit of volume to my hair, or on lazy days when I cant be bothered to wash my hair. Being a big fan of the regular line, I was excited to discover CoLab had added a extra volume range to their collection. So much so, I missed the fact that these ones aren't of the same invisible formula as the others... doh! It's not too big a deal, but definitely something for those with darker hair to bear in mind. I think I'll be going back to the original when this runs out.  

What are your favourite products for washing hair? I'm always looking to try new hair goodies so leave me some suggestions!
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Wednesday 8 April 2015

Festival Nails with Rimmel


Now that spring is upon us and thoughts are turning to holidays and festivals, it's time to ditch those dark nail polishes and incorporate something a bit brighter into our collections. While doing the shopping in Tesco recently, I found myself at the Rimmel stand (no idea how that happened...!) and came across these pretty, bright colours making up Rita Ora and Rimmel's latest collaboration. The 'colourfest' range consists of 12 shades perfect for the warmer months,with everything from brights to pastels to nudes, there's something for everyone! and I was so impressed with the shade range and had such a hard time choosing which to get on the 3 for 2 offer. So much so that I went to Boots the following week and bought another three! 

L-R Roll in the Grass, Go Wild-erness, Neon Fest, Peachella, Rain Rain Go Away, Glaston-Berry.
After much deliberation I opted for Glaston-berry; a bright red with a hint of orange. I'm not a fan of true-red nail polishes but the slight orange tone to this one makes it much more wearable. Neon Fest is a super bright pink which would look great on the toes  (especially with a tan if anyone wants to take me on holiday?!). Roll In the Grass is a mid toned aqua green. A bit deeper than the infamous Essie Mint Candy Apple, but still very wearable and not too in-your-face. Go Wild-erness is a lovely pale lilac colour. I've always had a bit of a thing for purple nails so this is definitely one of my favourite shades. Peachella is, as the name suggests, is a peachy shade, and finally Rain Rain Go Away is a more natural grayish brown, with a hint of purple in some lights I think. I love that the names are all to do with festivals, yet still for the most part, match the actual colour too; there's even a Port-a-Loo Blue in the collection which definitely wins the award for best name!

The design of the bottle is pretty much the same as the other 60 second super shine polishes by Rimmel except for the daisy design and Rita's signature on the lids. The centre of the daisy as well as the signature, is the same colour as each individual polish which I think is a lovely touch, and the overall design certainly gives them a springtime feel.  The brush is wider than your average nail polish brush which makes them much easier to apply, especially if your a bit clumsy and/or inpatient like I am when it comes to painting my nails! Some of the stronger colours are opaque after one coat, but I always like to do two coats to be sure of an even finish.  These polishes also claim to be a 3 in 1; incorporating both a base and topcoat in with the colour.  I'm not too sure about this; I'm sure the lighter colours you could get away without a base coat, but I only applied my polish yesterday and I already have a couple of chips.  I only wear it for a day or two at a time though (damn work!) so this isn't too much of an issue for me, but if you're wanting it to last a bit longer, I wouldn't skip your topcoat! They do dry to a lovely shiny finish which is always a good thing!


These polishes are priced at £2.99 and are currently part of Boots' 3 for  2 offer. There's definitely something for everyone in the 12 shades so grab them while you can!
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Wednesday 1 April 2015

The Netflix Tag

I've become somewhat of a Netflix fiend lately.  I'd had a subscription for a few months before I actually properly watched anything on there. I was even in two minds about whether to cancel it or not, but now I wouldn't be without it.  I still don't particularly find it great for movies, but there's so much choice of television shows, both British and American, and there's something for everyone.  I've not actually been tagged by anyone to do this, but given my love for Netflix, I thought I'd do it anyway!

1. What are your favourite series to watch on Netflix?
I was so happy when Community was added.  I used to watch it with my boyfriend online, but when the site we watched it on was shut down, we never got to finish the series.  While browsing Netflix last month, I discovered it on there, I was so pleased!

2. What are you currently watching on Netflix?
As well as Community, I've also discovered Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.  I'm sure you've heard about this by now, and if you're not yet watching it I urge you to stop reading this and go watch it! I absolutely love it, and it has the best theme song ever that's guaranteed to stick in your head all day long!

3. If you could have any series, old or new, put onto Netflix, what would it be?
I'd have to say Friends.  I know it's been added to Netflix in America and I'm so jealous! I have all the DVDs, but I'd love it if I had access to the whole series without having to change the DVD every few episodes.

4. What is your one pet peeve about Netflix?
Probably the difference in the UK and US versions.  As well as Friends, there's other series' on the US version that I'd like to watch, just as I'm sure there's shows on the UK version that those in the states would like to watch.  I'm sure there's reason for this, but I just wish the two would combine so we all had the same version with all the shows available.

5. What are your essentials for a perfect night in?
Comfortable clothes, preferably PJs! Definitely a takeaway; I don't want to waste my precious 'me time' slaving away in the kitchen! This would be followed by a massive bar of Galaxy and washed down with a glass or two of wine. Perfect!

6. Recommend one series of movie for someone else.
Definitely Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Do it!!!

I tag anyone who hasn't done this tag yet!
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