If you’ve read my blog for a while (*cough* and if not then why not, hey?) then you might have heard me rave about ghd before – in fact, more than once. I’ve been a long time advocate of the brand and, while I know other electrical brands have upped their game over the last couple of years, for me ghd are still the ONE. Clearly plenty of other people agree, as this ghd are celebrating 16 years of giving all of us those good hair days – and to mark their birthday, they’ve released one of their bestselling stylers, the IV, in a limited edition Purple finish. View Full Post
Looking After Your Hair Extensions | Effin Hair Products Review
Now, I hate to ruin the illusion for those of who thought my mane was natural, but if you’ve read this blog for a while then you’ll know I’ve had a weave for around five years (soz). I always thought this made me pretty experienced when it came to the hair extension game, but one thing I now know that I was totally lacking in knowledge of was how to take care of my hair extensions properly. I recently changed my usual hairdresser and paid a visit to Effin Hair for one of her Instagram-famous weaves, and – as well as a BEAUTIFUL head of hair – I left with a handful of products and a wealth of knowledge about how to look after my new extensions. So if you’ve ever experienced the emotional agony of watching your beautiful, silky extensions turn to dry rat-tails before your very eyes, this post is for you. View Full Post
NKD SKN Pre-Shower Tan (& Other Shower Essentials)
I don’t know if I’m alone in this (don’t you dare let me down and say I am), but I kind of hate having to shower. Taking my clothes off and being all cold and then getting in the shower and being all hot, and then getting out and being all cold again while waiting to get warm… it’s just straight-up HASSLE. And don’t get me started on how red and blotchy I go after a shower, because I genuinely thought that might ruin my relationship when me and the BF went away together for the first time (who wants to go out with a blotchy tomato?). View Full Post
Huge Summer Beauty Haul | July 2016
I don’t know if it’s the increase of fake tan or the fruity scents that make me think of poolside cocktails – mmmm pina colada – but I love the little beauty switch-up we tend to make in the summer. I’ve picked up quite a few new products lately that have helped give my beauty drawer a summer revamp, so though I’d talk y’all through them. While they’re not all summery products per se (I mean, live your life, but I’d recommend using toothpaste all year round personally FYI), they’ve injected some much needed variety into my routine.
Jerome Russell BBlonde Silver Toner | Review
Beauty Haul | MAC, Soap & Glory and More
5 Essential Summer Beauty Tips
This Month I’ve Been Buying | April Haul
The Best Products for Silver/Platinum/White Blonde Hair
Regular readers of this crap our great blog will know that I’ve been on a mission to get my bleached hair silver/grey for quite a few months now. While toners and dyes are obviously the main way to achieve this, maintaining the colour is just as important as getting it in the first place.
A lot of blondes swear by silver shampoos – which are usually actually lilac or purple in colour – to eliminate the brassy yellow tones from their hair. This is because yellow and purple are opposite each other on the colour wheel, meaning that when put together they neutralise one another. So to get rid of yellow tones, you need to add some purple.
I’ve tried a fair few brands of silver shampoo in my time, ranging from the super-cheap Poundland favourite Bristow’s to the more mid-range Osmo from Sally’s. I can now safely say with confidence though that my favourite is the Touch of Silver range from Pro:voke.
I got all of these from my local Bodycare for only a couple of quid each, so this whole range only cost around a tenner. Can I get a whoop whoop?! No, please don’t whoop whoop. Anyway, according to the Touch of Silver website there’s also an Intensive Treatment Conditioner and a Dry Conditioner so I’ll obviously be keeping my beady eyes open for those on my next trip.
Featured above are:
Ultra Firm Hairspray
This has all the perks of a normal hairspray – ie stops us looking like cavewomen when we get caught in a bracing wind – but also apparently has UV Absorber to help protect the colour of silver hair. It also allegedly has Silk Proteins (whatever they are).
Revitalising Dry Shampoo
Everybody knows I hate washing my hair so this is of course a god-send. Again this has UV Absorber to help minimise colour fade, and I also notice that after using this my colour looks a bit more even – so I suspect it’s coloured a little bit differently to your usual dry shampoos too.
Daily Maintenance Shampoo
This is to be used as the regular daily (or every other day, depending on how often you wash your hair) shampoo. To add to the collection of pseudo-scientific ingredients that shampoos are always packed with, this also has Optical Brightener (ooh!) to ‘intensify the reflected light’ which basically just means it makes your hair dead shiny. This is actually really difficult to do with blonde hair so, mocking aside, the fact that it delivers on this promise is actually really good.
Daily Nourish Conditioner
To be used after the daily shampoo, this conditioner has all of the other junk but then also makes hair nice and soft. This is of course essential for us ladies who have abused the crap out of our hair to stop us looking like scarecrows.
Twice A Week Brightening Shampoo
And now we reach my favourite of the products. This shampoo is a much more intense violet than the daily one, hence why it’s only supposed to be used once or twice a week. After leaving this one on for a couple of minutes, it works its magic and actually tones your hair, banishing the yellow tones.
It’s important to remember that the amount of pigment used in this range – especially in the Twice A Week shampoo – actually makes it effectively a semi-permanent dye. If you’re not used to using silver shampoos then I would recommend treading carefully the first couple of times and not leaving them on your hair for longer than it advises on the bottles, or else you might end up with lilac tones in your hair (which I don’t personally mind, but hey ho I just walk on the wild side of life). The website also advises not to use these products on your hair immediately after it’s been bleached, as the porousness of the freshly coloured hair could lead to patchiness.
Have any of you tried this range? What are your favourite silver shampoos?
|| Don’t forget that you can follow us on Bloglovin’, Instagram and Twitter! ||
Batiste Dry Conditioner | Review
I have a confession to make, dear readers: I rely on dry shampoo to an extent that is almost socially unacceptable. Due to a combination of hair extensions that do better without too much heat exposure, and a lazy personality that would rather watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians marathons than do anything as tedious as washing my hair, I turn to these little cans of trickery at least a couple of times a week. When I first heard about dry conditioner then, it’s no surprise that my big masssive ears pricked up in immediate anticipation.
I think that dry conditioners have only been around for a couple of months, and of course one of the leaders in the market is every lazy girl’s favourite brand, Batiste. Dry conditioners are supposed to be different from other conditioning sprays such as leave-in conditioners, which can still leave hair feeling heavy and wet. The aerosol dry conditioner means that you get all of the benefits of a proper conditioning treatment but without any of the wetness, stickiness or weight.
This sounded like something I badly needed in my life. Although my hair looks fine on dry shampoo days it can often feel dry, and so something that can make it feel soft without adding oiliness would basically be a kind of miracle in a can.
Batiste say that their product can be used either after shampooing and conditioning your hair normally, for added smoothness and to tame frizz and flyaways; or it can be used after dry shampoo for a complete hair refresh in between washes. All you do is hold the can 30 centimetres away from your hair and then spray on the lengths and ends of the hair, avoiding the roots so you don’t end up looking like a greaseball.
After using this for the first time yesterday, I was really impressed. It instantly gave a softness to my hair that wasn’t heavy or greasy feeling, plus it actually added some noticeable shine, which is tricky to get on blonde hair at the best of times. I’ve woke up this morning and whereas my hair – particularly my ends – would normally be feeling dry, it still feels soft and manageable.
Overall I’m really pleased with the dry conditioner from Batiste, and I’m sure it’s going to be just as much of a success as their dry shampoos. I picked mine up for £3.99 from Boots and urge lazy girls and boys like me to do the same. Let’s make hair washing a thing of the past! (Okay, that might be a bit far, sorry…)
Have any of you tried dry conditioner yet? What do you think?
|| Don’t forget that you can follow us on Instagram, Bloglovin’ and Twitter! ||