Christmas Eve Eve! Aka, Prep Night!

Hey everybody!

I hope you are all ok and not too sick of all the Mulled Wine and Quality Streets yet. Well tonight, is Christmas Eve Eve, the 23rd of December, one of my favourite nights of the year. Prep, pamper, prep, pamper, prep I go for Christttttmaaaasssss is almost here. Yay!!!!

I'm quite excited this year. Working in the community means I've seen my normal 'Boringsville' get Christmassy and Christmassy and yep, if we ignore the sheets of rain and battle through the demon winds, there is some kind of magic in how 'Boringsville' has almost morphed in to a winter wonderland with all those lights and carols playing in the distance. Not to mention, the smiles. Yep, get this, people are actually smiling. Ninety year old people smiling as much as their great-grand children, isn't Christmas wonderful?!!

Anyway here is my Christmas Prep plan for tonight...

1/ Ooh and aah at all the Christmas trees lights as I drive home, all those flashing Santa's and wobbling snowmen. My favourite is those large trees endorsed with twinkling light blue lights, they are subtle but always a dead cert to give me that Christmas shiver.

2/ Get in and turn the heating on. It is all right trying to save money (and we all know how good I am at that, ha!) but I work hard for my money and I'm not going to freeze besides I need some Coconut Oil to melt for step 4.

3/ Switch on computer, check Bloglovin' updates and You Tube with the Yankee Christmas Cookie Candle burning silently but oh so fragrantly beside me.

4/ Check Coconut Oil. Oops, I was only meant to soften it, it is almost liquid. Scoop what I can out and distribute through my hair staying back from the roots. See this post on using Coconut Oil as a hair treatment.

5/ Finish blog post and watch one or two more vlogs then planned before cleansing face with one of my favourite products, the Una Brennan Cleansing Oil followed by the Rose creamy cleanser and then apply the Microdermabrasion Polish from Botanics starting in cute little circles before losing my patience and dolloping on. Try to slow down and wash off with a flannel (so much more comforting in the winter then those muslin cloths) before applying The Sanctuary Thermal Charcoal Face Mask and starting to run bath as the Snowflake Cookie, another lovely Christmas candle from Yankee flickers away over the sink.

6/ Half a Honeybee Lush bath bomb later and I dip my toe in, ouch, that's friggin' hot. Jump back and almost slip on floor retreating quickly. The last thing I want for Christmas is a scold. As cold water cools the bath, I'll rinse the Charcoal Face Mask off the face and find that little salt scrub sachet from The Sanctuary that I brought in Boots. On locating it, I dither, this is the scrub that has given me a rash before. However, so many people rave about this scrub just how bad can it be? Besides, the rash thing was ages ago. I decide to take the risk (Note: I do NOT think YOU should do the same if you have reacted to a product before, it is very much a case of 'Do as I say and not as I do')

7/ Hop in bath as agile as I can manage, ie. sort of stumble my way in and plop down with a big splash. Enjoy the warmth of the water before lathering up with my favourite shower gel (this post!) from Imperial Leather, Spellbound and rinsing away. I do this once again leaving the lather on my skin as I wash my hair with firstly the Deep cleansing/Detox shampoo from Boots brand (themselves) then the Bumble and Bumble Thickening Shampoo. I have never used this Bumble and Bumble line before, but I used to be so impressed when I used the Quench conditioning masque, that I'm very hopeful, this line will indeed give me a little volume. I apply the conditioner mid-length and down before rinsing off shower gel and applying scrub in circular motions occasionally ie. when I am concentrating on what I'm doing. Rinse off conditioner with shower head, stand up and rinse off scrub. Apply scrub to dry areas again if I'm not reacting and my skin will tolerate it before rinsing off and drying.

8/ Then moisturise with the Garnier Moisturiser. I like this stuff a lot and apply Thickening spray from Bumble and Bumble to hair then heat protector from Schwarzkopf . Let it dry a little and read a little bit of 'I Heart Christmas'. Use hairdryer to rough dry then apply some Schwarzkopf oil as recommended by my hairdressers and continue to rough dry. Brushing through to make sure my extensions aren't matting (too much).

9/ Then, the straighteners are coming out to straighten hair loosely, trying to keep some volume at the roots. I'm hoping the Charles Worthington, Texturising Spray will help with this, apparently it is a dupe for the infamous but very expensive Oribe. Tie back hair in ponytail and hope it's bouffant, glossy state lasts until morning and maybe even Christmas Day. Fingers crossed!

10/ Check blog post for comments, hint hint, after dressing in a random old tee shirt and trackies, THE Combo of the century for kicking back and relaxing this time of year. Apply a little Tea Tree toner from Lush to my face then Hydraluron and if I can be bothered the Una Brennan eye cream (I'm soo slack with eye creams) before plastering The Sanctuary Moisture Mask all over my face for the night.


Phew, here's hoping when I wake up in the morning, I am glowing and all polished for the Christmas celebrations. I'm very excited now. Are you ready for Christmas? For once I think I am, although I am a little tempted to pop in to town tomorrow and grab a pair of these red flats from Primark for the big day. 

Picture from Google Image Search here.

How cute are those bows and they sparkle and they are just £4. . !!!

I'm not sure if I'm going to have time to post tomorrow so just in case, Happy Christmas everybody. Have a lovely time and a fabulous Christmas! I hope it is your best one yet!!!

See this post for more information about skincare products!

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All about volume: John Frieda, Brilliant Brunette!!!

I'm always a big kid when it comes to trying out different hair products. FACT!

Where as my skincare routine is pretty stable, with the same products cropping up in the mix again and again (though I've just given in to the Hydraluron hype), it would be fair to say that my haircare routine is pretty random (though I prefer to see it as "evolving") with different products been thrown in and out of the mix constantly.

Lately, I have invested in quite a few higher end products that promise to repair all my hair wrongs and deliver the long, long, lustrous locks I dream of but, though a little longer, I don't have the barnet of Rapunzel yet and occasionally, I actually find myself quite disappointed with what the higher end products leave me with and feel almost robbed of my hard-earnt pennies. Consequently, I'm trying to bring my hair spending down a little (though I'm so interested to give this Phylia de M Connect product a go, apparently it kind of fertilises your scalp so that your barnet can grow and fully blossom!!) so when the lovely Rhian, a PR, offered to send me some John Frieda products to try, I thought, why not?!

Rhian sent me the Brilliant Brunette Multi-tone Revealing Moisturising shampoo and conditioners from John Frieda. As I awaited the products, I began to convince myself that maybe these were the ones for me. John Frieda claim that these products have a 'moisturising formula with crushed pearls and sweet almond oil {which} softens as it brings out rich, multi-dimensional brunette tones and adds shine.'

Oooh, sounds just what my hair needs. After all, brunette hair can look fab. See . . .

From Pinterest

Love the length, cut and colour.

 

 

From Pinterest

Love how this style shows off the different tones in her hair. I will master this updo for Christmas.

However, sometimes, my growing (albeit, veerrrry slowly but still growing) hair looks a little dull and in need of a cut and colour. Yet, I'm reluctant to do either until my hair has reached a length where I do not shiver at the thought of losing a centimetre or two. I was hoping that maybe these John Frieda products, would deliver a barnet so beautiful and radiant that all my other hair woes would go unnoticed.

Well . . .

I did, indeed, quite enjoy using the John Frieda products.

For a start, they smelt bloody delicious, like toffee or a naughty dessert (this probably shouldn't be my top pro in a hair product review but we all know how a good scent can swing me). The shampoo also lathered very easily and I really felt as if I could work it in to my hair and wash it well with minimal effort. My resulting barnet, once dried was incredibly soft, and polished. There was some shine but not enough to dazzle and I certainly wouldn't say each hair was shimmering like satin, as John Frieda suggested it would. However, my overall colour didn't seem as patchy and any red tones, even after one wash, seemed a little muted deepening my brunette.

So far, OK.

The Brilliant Brunette products did indeed make me feel a little happier with the colour of my hair, it looked quite definite and glossy. However, what impressed me the most in using these two products , was the added volume my blow dried barnet finished up with. My hair looked thicker and healthier when I washed with these. You see, usually my hair lies flat at the roots (boo) and if any volume can be conjured, it is usually in a bit of a puffy mess at the sides (double boo). Voluminous maybe but not particularly attractive. Huh!

However. . .

after using the Brilliant Brunette products, my hair looked thicker but without frizz (for me, volume and frizz usually come hand in hand) and my long ends looked much less scraggly. The overall look was so much better and my hair looked long (yay) and healthy. It also felt good to touch, I've already mentioned how soft these products seem to make my hair. The Brilliant Brunette conditioner is supposed to replenish dry hair for a satin (yes, satin, again) feel, it seems to have delivered on that level.

So yes, I'd definitely consider buying these products myself especially, if I was attempting big hair. Although, I should say that as luxurious as the shampoo feels to lather, my wet hair did tangle easily and unless I made a conscious effort to really rinse the conditioner out well, I was left with a little sticky residue in my hair. However, these little glitches can be overcome. A few seconds extra under the shower combing the conditioner through and rinsing it out well is certainly worth the final 'big, healthy hair' look in my opinion.

You can find out more about John Frieda here and in particular, the Brilliant Brunette products here. John Frieda do have product lines for blondes and redheads too. I wonder if these offer as much volume. Also, I've just taken a peek, at their You Tube channel and I never realised just how many videos John Frieda had up. There seems to be some fab tutorials which would keep hair looking glam over the upcoming party season. You might want to check it out.

Have you tried any John Freida products? What haircare products are you using right now?

 

X

*These products were sent to me for review but this has not affected or influenced my thoughts. I have used these Brilliant Brunette products several times to wash my hair and they really did deliver me big hair!!

Styling In The Heat!

So who in the summer wants to spend hours in the heat trying to style their hair?!


Not me!

However, rotten luck means that styling my barnet normally equals straighteners which in the summer equals a very ‘hot and bothered’ me by the time I get out the door.

So normally around this time of the year, I’m ready for anything that helps me cut down the heat and despite the Moroccan miracle, this year is no exception. ONE day I WILL use NO heat on my hair.

Over the last two or three summers, I have used this to move a step closer to my dream.

Boots Expert Straighten

It is kind of like a home perm but in reverse, it relaxes my hair. The product was designed to give you straight hair for £14.99. Whenever I use this product, I’m not left with poker straight hair but it certainly takes the fluffiness away. What is more kinks and fluff are banished from the treated hair forever as the bonds in your hair have been manipulated. In theory, you should only ever need to use this product once on each individual hair. Repeated treatments are needed but Boots say that the product should only be applied on Virgin hair, the regrowth at the roots. When I used this product, I found it very impressive and had good managable hair for about four months and then I normally reapply to roots etc. I probably use the product two or three times a year because in the winter, I don’t worry quite so much about kinks and things. I can just iron them out, not so much of an effort when the weather is cold and the nights are darker with less to do.

However a few days ago, I was stupidly misled and thought that summer had arrived so took my annual pilgrimage to Boots but oh no, I can not find my little friend in my local Boots and I can not find it online either.:(

What was I to do?

Well, I have turned to good old fashioned rollers instead as suggested by Gemma in a recent You Tube video http://www.youtube.com/user/gemsmaquillage?blend=1&ob=4#p/u/9/JDWaodQtAJs. She said that they are a great way to style your hair WITHOUT heat.

As I watched Gemma’s video, I thought well I have tried rollers before and I remember a lot of flaffing around but Gemma made it all sound so good and like she said, it is quite cheap.

I got my rollers in Superdrug. One packet of extra large rollers(6) was only two pounds something. Bargain! And then on top of that, I brought two packets (along with a humoungous brush) as part of a 3 for 2 offer.

If you want a go at this, you might want some some hair grips too. Most rollers say that they are self gripping but nothing seems to self grip in my hair. Also your hair will be a lot smoother, the tighter the hair is wrapped around the rollers.

So I got myself organised. Rollers set out next to Moroccan Oil and Leave in Conditioner with comb and big brush in front of my mirror with hair grips and then I washed my hair as usual. Combed it through. Again, it may not be ideal to comb or brush wet hair but that is what I do. The products were then applied to my barnet and then distributed through. Then, I put the rollers in. I usually use four or six and leave them in for a couple of hours or so (although I left them in overnight once but there is little difference in the results).

Then when it comes to removal, I spray my head lightly with heat protector before carefully taking the rollers out and blowdrying any residue moisture away using the humoungous brush mentioned earlier. Literally, I only use about five minutes of heat on my whole head of hair.

Result!

I am left with very soft hair that falls in to a natural, relaxed style. Even my extensions seem to fall in a very natural, blended manner. Yay.

So Girls, rollers are in!

How is your summer hair? What do you do to keep your barnet managable?

X

POST REWIND: Moroccan Miracle?!

I went to the hairdressers yesterday. Ooh, is this where I insert a picture of new and improved style?! Ok but from a distance. I have pretty much the same style and colour as ever. I'm not very daring with hair. I've had a few disasters in the past. Sometimes I think that it would be nice to have a change but I get over it by the time, I hit the hairdressers chair. This style is just me, I guess and I can't imagine being me if I changed it. I can't picture me going about my life with different hair and as much work as long hair is, I love the verstaility. I think there is a bit of a safety net in the number of things that you can do with it when you have a bad hair day and I get a few of those! Anyway back to the subject of the post which actually is Moroccan Oil which was the salons latest rave yesterday. Now I never need much convincing to add a product to my purchase at the end of my visit (although once home, I'm rarely overwhelmed by them) but my hairdresser did not have to do much work to sell me this Moroccan Oil. 1/ Apparently, it is a 'magic' product. 2/ My salon claimed it can cut your hair drying time by up to one half. 3/ It is natural and I'm trying to do more natural this year. My hairdresser used the conditioning treatment version of this product on my hair after my colour and then the actual oil before blowdrying and my hair was so, so soft. I had my purse out before my silly hair bib thing had been whipped off. However, at £29 for the full size product. I had to make do with this incy teeny jar for £4.95. It is better then nothing and will let me make a more informed decision before I purchase the biggest version. This should last a while as it is to be used on damp hair after washing hair which I'm trying to do only 2-3 times a week and you literally need only a couple of pea size dollops which you take through all your hair. I'm hoping this jar will last me about a month. Have you heard about Morrocan Oil? Have you used it? Apparently it is great for moisture and reduces frizz without making the hair flat. I'm sure the name is familar but I can not remember what I have read or heard. I has a quick look on Beauty Brains and they seem a bit dismissive of the product. I need to have a proper look at the Moroccan Oil website http://www.moroccanoil.com/en/our-products.html   I would be interested to hear about any of your experiences if you have used the oil. If you haven't used Morrocan Oil, do you believe in magical products? If so, what is yours? X