Review - Kerastase Nectar Thermique

One of my personal resolutions was to sort my hair out, get it cut and coloured in a way that I love, and then learn to style it and look after it. With that in mind, I've stocked up on a couple of bits to help.

One product that I love is the Nectar Thermique from Kerastase. My hairdresser uses this every time I have it cut to protect my hair before blow drying, so I picked up a little bottle for myself. A heat styling product, this smells amazing thanks to the royal jelly in it.

I work a 50p sized blob through the ends and mid lengths of my hair before blow drying. I find that it prevents my hair splitting longer before my next cut. It doesn't help with straightness; however it does help keep my hair feeling soft all day.

I can't recommend this enough; it really is a good product, well worth the price tag. I picked mine up from feelunique.com in the sale, but they sell the bigger bottles for £16.60, well worth it for protecting my hair, I will be getting some other bits from Kerastase - any recommendations?

Now I just need to decide how to have my hair cut. What do you use to protect your hair? xx

Review - TRESemme Texture Style Velvet Creme

Like a lot of people, I'm always in search for the perfect bed head hairstyle, that I just rolled out of bed, Serena Van Der Woodsen style hair. One thing I love it messy, beachy waves. I'm lucky in that my hair has a natural curl when its allowed to dry naturally. One thing it lacks is volume

So, on my quest for my Gossip Girl hair, I picked up the Velvet Creme from Tresemme. I'm a devotee of the Divine Definition Spray for messing up my hair, so I was keen to try this creme. Velvet Creme is a styling cream that aims to get a messy, textured finish to hair. The cream is similar to the Bumble & Bumble Bb texture (un)dressing cream, but at £21.50, its a tad pricey for a big tube so this is a much better choice!

I tend to use a small blob of this cream on the ends of my hair, rubbing between my hands before concentrating it on the ends of my hair. It did give me a lot more texture and volume throughout the lengths which was great, plus it lasted really well.

You do have to be careful with how much you use in your hair, but a little does go a long way. If I want more messiness then I just repeat the process, and then blast my hair upside down with my hairdryer to speed up the drying. Team this with the Definition spray and you've got dream hair, now all I need is to look like Blake Lively!

What do you think, how do you like to style your hair? xx

Advent Door 18 - Review GHD Straight & Tame Cream

3 days today, today we have Xmas dinner at school; it’s always a highlight of the festive season! 

So I always seem to have an  on-going battle with my hair, its naturally very wavy, as my kids describe it, it’s a bit like mermaid hair when its curly, so when I straighten it, the battle of the curl is an ever present threat - a single drop of moisture and I represent Monica from Friends on Holiday in Barbados! However I think I have found something that helps!

ghd Style Straight & Tame Cream calms and smoothes frizz prone hair, helping you to bring curly and unmanageable hair under control. As well as taming your locks, this luxurious cream also offers protection against heat styling.

I tried it out last week for my work Xmas do, which was on a typical, rainy night, so straight hair was a massive risk for me. I put the recommended 5 pumps into my hands and then worked it through damp hair before blow drying. This resulted in massive hair, but it was all fairly straight. As this has heat protection within it, I then brushed through and used my straighteners, and I had straight hair.

I put this to the test that night, and even the rain didn't affect it! My hair didn't get tangly or start to curl, plus it didn't feel weighed down with product! It lasted really well, 3 days later; I still had straight hair, with no new damage which was great! 

I think this will become a new, firm favourite, I think straight hair will be happening a lot more during the week for work! 

You can pick this up from www.hqhair.com for the grand sum of £14.95, I can't fault it really - what do you think? What do you use to keep your hair tamed but protected? Xx

Review - L'Oreal Wild Ombres

I know its been done, I know every girl & her cat has ombre hair but I still really love it! I first had it done last September in a salon, but paying nearly £60 for what isn't even a full head of highlights I thought I would do it again myself. I've since re-ombre my own hair 3 times, but wanted it brighter for summer so went over it again with a lighter kit.

The L'Oreal Wild Ombre kits are so easy to use, really there is no real skill needed to get the right results. A week before I planned, I made sure my ends were in the best possible condition with lots of heavy duty conditioning and hair oils to give it the best chance as it is a bleach your putting on. 

You mix all the ingredients, wear the stylish plastic gloves and split your hair into two bunches. Now when I had mine done the first time at the hairdressers I talked with her about how to get the most natural look, she showed me how to apply it in different places, not on all the hair. So to get a natural finish, without the straight line that comes from using the brush, take a section and spread on the dye, then, using your fingers either brush the dye up a bit to blend the line. Leave some bits out and start at different parts.

Before - Old Ombre dark blonde with gingery brown

I prefer to focus on the front being brighter than the back, and starting higher up on the bottom layers so it looks ok even when my hair is tied up. Once you have used all of the bleach, played about with it, rubbed it in, I went over the very longest bits of my fringe so it all blends in a bit more. After that I wrapped the sections in tin foil and wrapped in a towel for 45mins - the instructions say 25-45 mins but I prefer to leave it up to 45mins as I want it quite blonde.

After - New Ombre

I rinsed the dye out, used the shampoo thats in the box and let it dry naturally. Once dry, I blasted  it with my hair dryer on cool and it looked awesome. My hair was a lot lighter, it doesn't feel dried out and I was pleased with it. For £6.99 this is awesome, I've never had any problem with it, plus its so easy to use - next step...purple!

What do you think, do you still like ombre? Have you had a go with these kits?

Lee Stafford Breaking Hair Treatment - Review

Ever since I ombred my hair, I've been on a mission to protect my hair, especially the ends. So when I accidentally picked up a pot of this treatment I thought I would give it a try.

Now, I love the Lee Stafford hair growth treatment - and always stock up when it's on offer,so I had high hopes for this little pot of loveliness and I was not let down

'Lee Stafford Breaking Hair Treatment for damaged, over – processed hair caused by styling and colouring! A super strength saviour to get deep down into the cortex to help build, repair and rehydrate breaking hair. ' it does all of this without a doubt.

I've used it in two ways - first as an in shower or bath treatment, washing my hair first and then slapping a dollop on the ends and leaving for 5-10mins. This give good results as the ends feel silly smooth after and do look better. The second way I use this is by damning the end of my hair, putting an eg sized blob through the ends and then putting up in a bun over night before shampooing out in the morning - this leaves me with easy to style locks in the morning that don't look so frazzled!

I adore this more then I did the Phillip Kingsley elasticizer and the price tag is much more friendly! For £10.99 you get 200ml of product that last ages of you only use this twice a week. Currently Boots have it on offer on a 3 for 2 along with the rest of the breaking hair range, which I might need to pick up.

Any recommendations for hair treatments? Have you tried anything from the Breaking Hair range? Xx

GHD Air Hairdryer - Review

Hi I'm Sarah and I'm a recovering hair abuser.

There, I finally admit it, I have abused my poor locks for a number of years, through bleaching, dying, stripping and everything in between. For years I would wear my naturally curly hair straightened to within an inch of its life - never drying it properly first, jut whacking up the heat to get it straight.

It's taken years for me to embrace my natural curl, but that doesn't mean I've turned my back on my love of getting rid of the kink.

With my old hair dryer starting to fade, I asked Santa for a new one, and Santa did his research and under the Xmas tree at my parents house I found the GHD Air Hairdryer. Now I'm sure everyone and their mums either owns, or have used the GHD straightener and as a member of the Club, I adore mine, no other straighteners have worked as well as these, so I had high hopes for the dryer.

GHD Air comes is this gorgeous box which is now its new home. Inside you get two concentrator nozzles (love that word!) which I haven't yet used, but are handy to have. The cable is similar to that of the straighteners, it's nice and long so I could move about without tripping myself up - I guess it's ideal for professional use.

Considering the amount of features crammed it, the dryer is surprisingly light weight, no arm ache for me! It comes with 3 heat settings, two speeds and a cool air blast function - all are so easy to use whilst drying my hair.

Now the question - does it really live up to the hype? In a word...Yes!! With my fossil of a Hairdryer it could take up to 40mins just to get dry but not smooth, yet 9mins in I realised that not only was my hair fully dry but not the usual birds nest - a quick whizz through with the straighteners and I'm good to rock and roll.

For me this is a real investment item, I adore it having been let down by cheaper items in the past so for me it's well worth the £99 price tag. If you want it then you can it it up from over at Feelunique and get free delivery as well!!

Yes, I know its expensive but it's well worth the investment.

Have you tired this? If you have any questions, or tips for using the nozzles (hehehe!) then let me know? What products do you use with it? Xx

Advent Door 11 - VO5 Smoothly Does It

Evening again,

I'm not normally the type to go for super strait hair, I have a long face and so look awful without any texture to my hair! But I was surprised when I reached for this as I wanted strait hair for a day to curl it the next.

I've used products from VO5 before, and when this was Free with last months Cosmo, I knew I would try it at some point.
Smoothly Does It is part of the Gloss Me Smooth range, which is a Shampoo, Conditioner, Creme and Spray. I liked this one as it has heat defence, which I know I really need more of in my life (poor hair!)

I use about 10p sized blob and run this through the mid lengths and ends of my hair before blow drying to help smooth out any kinks and curls that fight back. Using this means I need to use my hair straighteners less, protecting my ombre ends more and helping keep my hair in better condition.

I think I will use this quite a lot over December, it helped to hold my hair straightish so the next day I could curl it really well and left me with semi-messy curls.

I think when this runs out I will pick up another, especially as its less then £4! I'm still on the search for other hair styling products, any other recommendations?
Xx

Bumble & Bumble B.b Texture (un)Dressing Creme

For the last few months, my Pinterest has literally exploded with textured, beachy hair - images of Blake Lively, Khloe Kardashian, Cara Delevingne, and I know the A/W 12 was meant to be about smooth hair, but that looks awful on me so I need messy hair!

Every picture that I've pinned always come with a link to products from Bumble & Bumble, especially their Surf Spray, but living in a small town makes it more challenging to get hold of so I've made do without. That was until August when Bumble & Bumble launched in  Boots!

So after much research, and in my quest for beachy, textured hair I headed off to Boots. After a full hair makeover from the instore stylist, I left with big beachy waves and a small tube of Bumble & Bumble Texture Undressing Creme.

Bumble and Bumble B.b Texture Un Dressing creme is basically a sort of terxturing paste. I use it to try and add a bit of texture to my hair because it's so soft after I've washed it, which  makes it incredibly hard to style. The cream has a sticky glue like consistency, but it doesn't feel sticky when worked through the hair. 

 After a bit of trial and error I  use about a 5p-10p sort of size and then rub my hands together so the product can be evenly scrunched throughout the hair. I personally focus the product on the ends of my hair and up to the mid lengths and then put whatever is left on the roots. I suggest trying to use less  and then slowly add more. If you add too much it can leave your hair crispy and dry and you'll more than likely have to wash it again! I then dry it and then sometimes run my GHDs over it, just to straighten out any unruly bits and I'm left with beachy, textured hair, with volume at the roots, however it doesn't weigh my hair down.

I bought the travel size 60ml for £9.50, and I use so little of this that this will last me ages, however I will pick up the larger size when I run out!

Have you tried this or any other bits from the Bumble and Bumble range? What should I pick up next?!

Tresemme Keratin Smooth Deep Treatment Masque - Review

Evening lovelies,


A while a go, I mentioned that I was planning to get an ombre effect on my hair - well this happened about 6 weeks ago now, and I'm now on a mission to heal and prevent any further damage, with lots of hair masks. So when I heard about the new Keratin range, I knew I would have to investigate if it would work on my curly, damaged hair.

Keratin is a protein substance that is the key building block in our hair and nails. It helps create strength in hair, and strong hair is shiny and healthy. My hair is naturally curly, if a tad frizzy, especially in the current rain, so I was dubious if it would help restore any smoothness to my hair.

The product is quite a thin mixture, that means it makes a right mess getting it out of the pot. It spreads quite well through wet hair, I tend to use it through the mid-lengths of my hair and the ends to really treat them.

Did it make a difference? Well it does make my hair easier to style after I use it - the ends are smoother and stay smooth for the day. However I do find it can leave a very tricky residue which builds up and leaves it greasy after a day, I can't work out if I need to rinse it for longer, or comb it through better!

The next day, I do need to wash my hair again after using this which is frustrating but the overall condition of my hair has improved really. You do get a massive 300ml pot for £5.50, but I don't think I will buy this again, just because its not really that special.

How have your experiences been with this? Are there any other masques I should try?

Goodbye Red, its been fun...Colour B4 Extra

Afternoon everyone - hows this week going for you? As ever, school is out of control, we are rapidly rushing towards SATS week and the halfway point of this half term.


So for the past few weeks I've been craving change - I haven't been feeling comfortable in my own skin for a while, I don't dress or look how I want. I've spent that last couple of weeks researching ways of changing my hair colour, especially stripping out the red dye.


I've read lots of posts on Colour B4 and decided that I needed to give this a go, however I've been dying my hair red for the past 2years and so knew I would have a lot of colour build up and would need the Extra version of Colour B4. I finally picked up a box at the weekend, and so nervously on Monday decided to use it.


The product claims to strip hair colour back to its lightest colour. A little bit of hair history for you, I have had my hair blonde, brown, red, black and natural - I can't even tell you the last time I saw my natural colour! 

In the box you get the 3 parts, instructions and the naffest gloves ever!

You mix A and B together and apply it all over your hair. With the extra strength you need to leave it on for an hour, especially as I have long, thick hair but if your hair is shorter then you don't need it to be an hour. The instructions advise you to wrap your hair in clingfilm, or my alternative was an Asda carrier bag, and then a towel over the top - this helps the product work as it keeps it warm - do not use this in a cold or draughty place.

After that you need to rinse it for 10 - 15mins to get all the product out of your hair, this is the most boring part of the process, I literally wanted to cry with boredom.

Next, using half of part C, this is a buffer which helps neutralise the product - leave this for 1 min and then rinse it out for 5 minutes, cue more boredom! 

After all of this, use the rest of Part C like a normal shampoo, rinse out and dry. You will be left with lighter hair. 

The process is fairly easy to do, the product stank of something very nasty, but after a while you don't notice it.

I was never daft enough to think it would take me back to my natural, boring brown. I also knew that there was a strong possibilty of it being slighty coppery...I was not prepared for what I got.

Before

After

Look how bright it is! I was not expecting it to come out this ginger. I have never seen anything like this, and looks ridiculous on me. My natural roots show through at the top, and all my baby hair are white!

Cue mad dash to Asda to pick up a brown to cover it - I picked a semi-permanent as I'm aware of not killing my hair with all these different treatments, as well as a hair treatment for use next time I washed it.

And here is what I've been left with now:

This is a bit darker then I wanted but I can live with this. I know I'm going to have to look after it, and the colour will fade but I can keep on top of it more now, slowly I hope I can go back to my natural - non ginger - colour at some point.


So I've spent a grand total of £15 on two boxes to come to this colour and I'm quite pleased really. A strip and recolour would have set me back a lot more at a salon. The Colour B4 did what it said it would do, and I would use it again if I needed to.


So what do you think? Have you tried it before, or thinking of trying it?


xx

Burts Bees Colour Keeper Shampoo and Conditioner

Afternoon lovelies, hope your enjoying your weekend. I've spent the last couple of days at my parents house and now I'm at my nephews 4th birthday party, we're having a Scooby Doo themed party.


I've had my hair dyed different colours for as long as I can remember, but the biggest problem I have is how dry and damaged it gets, so I try to treat it well whenever possible.


To help, I use a lot of shampoos which are aimed at coloured hair, and I was recently sent a shampoo and conditioner by Burts Bees.

Burts Bees Colour Keeper Green Tea & Fennel Seed Shampoo and Conditioner is a natural shampoo and conditioner which are sulphate free that help to neutralise elements that can damage the hair, as well as improving the vibrancy of coloured hair.


Considering its sulphate free the shampoo does foam up quite well, but I find that I get quite a lot of product build up after a few days and so I need to use a different shampoo to get rid of that. Also the consistency is very thin so I find myself using more then I should.


The smell is quite underwhelming so its not one that will linger over the course of the day which I quite like.

The contitioner is quite thick so it nourishes my hair well, but does take a lot of work to get washed out and its easy to not get it all out.


Overall I do like these, my hair has never been quite so lovely, and it leaves it very glossy which is nice.


You can get Burts Bees products from http://www.burtsbees.co.uk and http://www.feelunique.com where its priced between £8.50 - £9.99.


Have you ever tried any Burts Bees hair care?


Thanks for reading xx

Fringespriation

Evening lovelies, hope your well and enjoying your day. 


So next Saturday I'm going to have my hair cut and I'm looking for a change as I get bored of my hair quickly. I'm always looking for inspiration and since the gorgeous Zooey Deschanel appears to be everywhere I've started craving a full fringe. I have a long face so have had a fringe all my life to break up the length and so I'm tempted with this!  


Here are some gorgeous ladies with full fringes that I'm loving at the moment! 

Weheartit

I've got a week to decide, so watch this space, there might be a hair surprise next week!


Thanks for reading xx

Lee Stafford - I Hate My hair the day it's Washed

Afternoon all, hope your well. Now I'm back at work, I'm trying to get into a routine of blogging again as I have less time but lots of things to blog about!


I hate my hair the day it's washed, it's frizzy and full of static that will straighten for all of 20mins but as soon as I leave the house, I can feel the frizz starting again and I might as well have not bothered!


In desperation to find something that would allow me to do what I wanted with my hair the day I was it I went hunting around Boots. I was actually going to buy something else but saw this and picked it up and thought I would give it a try!

It comes in Lee Staffords signature punk bottles and also contains the signature scent which I totally love! Your advised to spray this onto damp hair, brush it through and then blow dry. Straight away I noticed that my hair was less static as I was drying it, and even started to fall as I wanted. When I straightened it, there was no need for me to go back over it a thousand times and it just looked and felt more manageable!


Now it's not going to keep your hair dead straight if like me you have a natural curl, but it does give you a more lived in look! Drying and styling time is reduced and if you do curl your hair, it does help hold the curls for longer!


For the price of £6.19 you get 200ml which is quite good but I go through it quite quickly so I try to use less then is needed. As with most Lee Stafford products, I really like this, and think it's the only product I have found of it's kinds that really does help! Currently Boots have it on offer for 3 products for £12, instore and online! 


What do you think, do you hate your hair the day it's washed?


Thanks for reading xx










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