Above is the result of my battle with the bleach back in 2011 (full post here) I want to say when ombre hair was 'cool' but I actually have no idea if it ever went out of style, maybe overdone yeah but it's stuck around for much longer than I thought it would!
Anyway over the last few months a combination of keeping up with those bloody Kardashians and seeing Khloe's nailed on perfect ombre aswell as looking back (possibly with rose tinted specs on!) at these old pictures has given me the ombre itch so to speak.
The other day I decided to scratch the itch....
Before- "Off to pick up ma bleach"...
After- "Well umm!?"...
I picked up the L'oreal wild ombre kit in 01 for medium to dark brown hair which I had really high hopes would get me all Khloe-fied but as you can see after using it my hair has only lightened up ever so slightly.
I don't know much about the science of hair colour in fact I know nothing but I don't think that it's a fault with the product, I'm guessing it might have something to do with dyeing my hair black a few months ago, (which I didn't take into consideration beforehand) as I've seen reviews of this kit giving great results on other girls with my hair colour.
So what I was wondering was, if you guys could help me decide...should I pop out and pick up a bleach (There is a Jerome Russell one for dark hair that looks good!) been as I am kind of halfway through the process Or just forget the whole thing? Has Ombre had its day? Also any hairdressers that are reading this if you have any tips for me that would be really appreciated! xxx
Who's off to a fireworks display tonight? I'm not thank goodness, I wish I could hack it but it's way too cold and I am more than happy to be sat wrapped up in my new Primark cozies tonight....(in a position with the radiator that could be classed as intimate!) Ahem anyway I shopped yesterday, I instagrammed also...
I recently picked up the Dove refresh and care dry shampoo on a night time dash around Sainsburys, mainly because I have been doing the 30 day shred for the past few weeks and had been in the market for a dry shampoo to refresh my sweaty fringe after a workout...gross I know!
I really can't compare this to other dry shampoo's as I have only ever briefly dabbled with the likes of batiste and tresemme and never enough to form much of an opinion. The Dove one is fab though, the first thing that I was pleased to find is that it doesn't leave any white residue behind or feel sticky/heavy in my hair. It has a really fresh smell and leaves my hair feeling like it has actually been washed even on days where the whole hair washing palaver has been well overdue!
As well as absorbing oil and refreshing hair between washes it also claims to give volume, and while my fine normal/oily hair takes a lot of persuading to volumise I have found that using it on just washed damp hair at the roots while blow drying it, gives me a noticeable amount of volume and body.
Another thing to mention is that I've noticed when I spray it through the mid lengths and ends it also adds texture to my hair so its basically a multi tasking bottle of fabulousness!!
Dove refresh and care dry shampoo is currently on offer in Sainsburys at £2.30. Normal price £4.59
OK so my laptop appears to have miraculously cured itself and 24 hours has gone by without it overheating once so I am feeling confident enough now to sit and write up my October favourites without flapping that it's going to blow up in my face.Yay! Anyway enough of the "woe is me, my laptop broke" snoozefest, I promise there will be no more! It's all make-up and beauty from here on in girls and boys...Good times :)
On to the good stuff...
Make-up
Vivo cosmetics lipstick shade 8 'barely there'
This has been my go to nude lipstick throughout October. It reminds me of one of my favourite ever nudes which is Hue from MAC but at £1.99 is a lot more purse friendly.It has a gorgeous creamy finish with a slight glossy sheen, feels really moisturising on the lips, and the smell! Oh my Gawwd! If you love creamy vanilla/coconut smells then you need this lipstick in your life.
17 Supreme shine lipstick in Pink Posey
I picked this lipstick up before a shoot that I did last week (I know I'm cheating the favourites system here ;)), the photographer wanted natural make-up with a bright lip and none of the lipsticks I owned were what I had in mind for the look. I wanted a dramatic bright purple but this was the closest thing I could get from my local (miniature) Boots...Anyhoo...I wasn't expecting too much from pink posy in the way of lasting power as 'supreme shine' to me suggests that it would be one of those lipsticks that slides off the lips within 20 minutes but no, I was proved wrong when it stayed put throughout the shoot and beyond, which all in all was about 2 and a half hours, so even though it is technically a November fave I really wanted to share it as I'm so impressed and I'm loving the colour for Autumn/Winter.
NARS Sheer glow foundation
I have had my fickle pants on this month when it comes to foundations but for the last couple of weeks I have been religiously using an old (once hailed Holy Grail) favourite.NARS Sheer glow. The shade that I have is Deauville which is my perfect match when I have absolutely no colour/fake tan which at the moment I don't (think Morticia Addams or Fester :o) I have been applying this with a damp beauty blender sponge and loving the beautiful airbrushed looking finish that this gives so much more than when I apply with my MAC 190 foundation brush.
Laura Mercier universal invisible loose setting powder
I love this powder!
I'm not really a powder girl, as my skin leans to the dry side it's a step that I often forget in my make-up routine.This month though I have used this powder to set my foundation most days.I love how it just does what it say's on the tin, it set's the foundation, and is invisible, simple :)
Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer
I have been loving using this concealer in two shades this month firstly I like to used medium 3 (which is a peachy tone) underneath my eyes to correct any dark shadows and light 2 to brighten the area and give me a much needed hand to look more awake and alert.
I picked up this eye kohl when there was a 3 for 2 on Collection 2000 eye products in Boots about a week or so ago, along with one of the above mentioned concealers and the new Pump up the volume mascara . I didn't really expect to love it as much as I do but I have been seriously impressed! It is a really soft well pigmented kohl which stays put in the waterline all day long, even on my eyes which have a tendency to run like a tap, especially at this time of the year.Big thumbs up to Collection 2000 this month!!
Hair Products
L-R-Head and shoulders citrus fresh shampoo John Frieda Frizz ease 3 days straight VO5 Gloss me smoothly conditioner
Front-Amargan hair therapy oil
This month I have been making a much bigger effort than I normally do to get my hair in good condition. I have a lot of fine hair with a natural wave to it and find that within about half an hour of being out of the house, it feels tangly and develops annoying kinks.All I want is for it to look sleek, shiny and bouncy, and to be able to run my fingers through it without giving myself whiplash.
So this month I took a little inspiration from the beautiful Anna and Barbara's haircare video's and picked up the Head and shoulders citrus fresh shampoo and the V05 Gloss me smoothly conditioner (for frizzy hair) and I have really noticed the difference in my hair since I have been using them, the Head and shoulders really makes my hair feel ultra clean and my hair feels really silky soft as soon as I rinse the V05 conditioner out in the shower.My hair has definitely been alot sleeker and shinier thanks to these products.
The other hair products that I have been loving are the Amargan hair therapy oil which I picked up at a beauty supplies store. It is some sort of Argan oil (?) You just apply a small amount through damp hair and it cuts the hair drying process by up to 50% I was massively sceptical about this at first but it really works. Without this my hair takes around 15 minutes to blow dry but with it, it literally takes 5 minutes, I do love a time saving product!
And lastly in my quest for super sleek hair I have been using the John Frieda frizz ease 3 days straight. I originally bought this to use in place of my GHD's which broke a little while ago...but I didn't read the instructions which clearly state that this is a product that is supposed to work along side hair straighteners DUH! Anyway it has helped my hair's kinky tendancies and does keep it straight for around 24hours which is fair enough. I'm sure it would work really well when used correctly ;)
Book of the month
The secret by Rhonda Byrne
I always love when other bloggers include their favourite books in monthly favourites posts so I thought I would include mine as its a real cracker! It's kind of tricky to describe and I don't want to ruin it with some ditzy explanation, but if you enjoy philosophy books and you haven't read the secret I totally recommend checking it out as it is such a fascinating read and one that always makes me feel super positive and motivated.
Phew Im sure that has been my longest list of favourites to date! If you got to the end congrats!
Lately it seems that at the beginning of every month I get something new, love it, then have to wait a whole month to add it into my favourites. It is now November the 7th and I already have things that are potentially faves for the end of the month (Origins Vitazing moisturiser, Oh M Gee I got it two days ago and it's already <3 )
October Favourites video
I hope everyone is having a lovely night, Im off too put the heating on because my toes feel like icicles right now brrrrr! :)
Pretty gosh darn Ginger eh? After the 3rd bleaching session (my ends HATE me)
So I finally took the plunge and (after lengthy twitter conversations with Yu and Lisa) went for the DIY approach to Ombre'ing (?) my Dark brown hair...
I used the Loreal perfect blonde highlighting kit which cost me around £5 in Savers (this is also the preferred ombre bleach for LLYMLRS,Zoella, and the Persian babe who all have amazing hair!)
After the first attempt with the bleach which I left on for about 40 minutes which really was too long tbh! I was actually pretty impressed with how well my hair colour had lifted, but it wasn't exactly how I wanted it and had a definite copper hint that I thought would probably be removed with another 20 minute stint of bleaching, after washing and drying my hair for the second time I was pretty happy with the results but as it was about 11pm I was yet to see the full effect in natural daylight...and I did get a shock this morning as I woke up with the sun beaming on my (orange) hair which was highlighted to it's fullest by the white pillowcase background!!
Anyway to cut a long story short*, I sent a picture to my hairdresser friend who advised that I pick up an ash blonde colour which would take out the brassiness.(I got the Loreal recital lightest ash blonde)
So after the FOURTH dye job on my hair it finally looks like this...
S'cuse the picture overload I wanted to show how it looks in different lights and angles etc.
So although there is still a bit of a ginger tinge I am finally pretty happy with the finished results which is lucky because my hair definitely cant take anymore today!
I would love to know what you think, more blonde??
Oooh its been a long time since I clicked on that "new post" button!! Without putting you all to sleep I will explain why, I have been without a laptop charger since my last post (over a month ago) which at first wasn't too much of an issue and I kind of enjoyed being free from my computer screen and living a kind of caveman-esque lifestyle but this past week I have missed my little blog so much that I forked out a friggin ridiculous amount on a new charger this afternoon so that I could be reunited with it *hugs blog*
Well as it's the end of July a favourites post seemed fitting to get me back into the swing of things so here we go.
MAC Mineralize skinfinish natural-Medium plus
I am generally not a powder girl, as my skin type is normal/dry I really love my face to have a dewy finish.When the sunshine graces the UK with its presence however I do feel the need to add powder on top of my foundation to keep it in place that bit longer. I love this powder as it manges to set foundation into place without over mattifying and keeps my skin looking really natural.
Chanel Vitalumiere aqua I am trying to wean myself off Chanel Pro lumiere in case the rumours are true and it is going to be discontinued later on this year *sobs* So a few weeks ago I popped to the Chanel counter and got samples of all of the foundations to see which one could replace my beloved.Luckily I have fallen for this foundation completely! It is gorgeously light-weight but gives alot more coverage than I expected and a gorgeous flawless finish.Expect a full review soon.
Lee Stafford Sea salt spray
I seriously cant tell you how much I love this spray!!! I've used it so much just lately to create the beachy style hair that I can usually only get from being at an actual beach! There are 2 ways that you can use this, either spray on towel dried hair and then blow dry which I have found makes my hair feel sticky and gross afterwards for some reason, or spraying on towel dried hair and leaving to dry naturally which really works it leaves my hair soft and with the most perfect beachy waves which stay put all day! The smell is also uh-ma-zing its love!
VO5 miracle concentrate elixir with argan oil
I have wanted to jump on the argan oil bandwagon for a while now but have been too much of a cheapskate to part with the cash and pay for a higher end brand. So when I spotted this in superdrug reduced to £2.99 (I think the rrp is £4.99) I chucked it in my basket and hoped for the best. Turns out this is actually bloody amazing stuff! I thought that this would make my hair feel greasy and weighed down but it really doesn't even when I go a bit crazy with application! It's fantastic to use on wet hair as a leave in treatment or as a serum which is how I use it after I use the sea salt spray to get the ends of my hair (which actually need chopping off!) looking nice and smooth.
Urban Decay Naked palette
I don't think I need to explain why this became a favourite from the second I opened the lid and set eyes on those beautiful colours!! I picked this up about 6 weeks ago and have used it every day since as the combinations are endless.Definitely worth the £30 splurge! My favourite colours are Sin, Naked, Half baked, Toasted and Hustle.
OPI nail lacquer- Skull and glossbones
This is one of the 4 colours from the Pirates of the carribean miniature set which I bought a couple of weeks ago. I really only picked it up because the packaging was so cute (sucker!!) and tbh wasn't expecting much from this colour, however it is now my new favourite polish, it's a lovely pale creamy grey which in certain lights leans towards an eggshell blue shade. I am definitely going to try and get my hands on the full size bottle as I can see me running out of this one fast.
MAC lipstick-Hue
I lost this lipstick a while ago and my boyfriend found it under my car seat, I think he thought I was a little bit mental when I grabbed it off him shouting "Yay, you found Hue" he thought I had named it Hugh haha! Anyway Just lately my daily make-up has mostly been bronzed skin and a smoky gold eye so I love to wear a simple nude lip. This is definitely my favourite nude in my collection as it is so easy to wear, I love the glaze formula for being the happy medium between a lipstick and a gloss which leaves my lips feeling moisturised and non sticky.
So those are the products I've loved over the past month
Is anyone loving any of the same products? let me know my lovely's :)
Lately I have been toying with the idea of lightening my dark brown/black hair to a light brown shade for the Summer months, so the other day I picked up the Colour B4 hair colour remover in the hopes that it would simply remove the deeper tones of dye that have built up in my hair over the years, take me back to my natural shade which is a medium/dark brown and that I would subsequently have a great natural colour ready for a trip to the salon!
What Colour B4 claims to do
Remove Permanent and semi-permanent hair colour
Use to remove any unwanted hair colour
Remove colour build up
Can be used before salon treatment
How it works
Colour B4 shrinks the artificial dye molecules in the hair, enabling you to simply rinse them away.Colour B4 does not touch your natural hair pigment so you are left with the colour which lay beneath your natural shade
Included are three bottles (A,B,and C) which work much like most home hair colouring kits. You simply mix bottles A & B, apply all over the hair, wait for an hour (I knooow!!) then rinse and apply bottle C which is a buffer that removes any trace of colour and makes sure the hair is left ready for any future colouring treatments.
The box states that some colouring products contain high levels of peroxide which can lighten the natural hair colour and (in some cases) cause a warm shade to be revealed once Colour B4 has removed the dark artificial pigment.
Hmmm...WARM SHADE? I think Orange is the term they were looking for!
I was mortified to wash off the solution after an hour of waiting, and the recommended 20 minutes worth of rinsing! My actual hair colour is now the same as before but I also have these rather fetching patchy orange streaks on the top of my head.
My son even asked why I had dyed my hair orange, and my Dad thinks it's funny to call me Cilla Black hmmpphh!
I wouldn't have thought that my dark hair dye's contained a high level of peroxide so continued with the treatment but obviously the fact that the box states this means they are covered against any backlash from angry orange headed customers!
So as you can probably tell I am very unimpressed and I thought I should just post this as a warning to anyone who is thinking of using colour B4 as I am now really wishing that I had put the £11.99 towards a trip to the salon. *goes to find a hat*
I am the biggest blog stalker, I love buying new products based on recommendations from the bloggers that I trust the opinion of! Today I noticed a market stall in a town nearby my house selling Matrix hair products super cheap! I read Yu's review on the Matrix Biolage fortetherapie strengthening conditioner a couple of weeks ago and remembered that she was really impressed with it, so when I saw the deal that was on I could hardly resist!
For £20 the package included
2x 250ml fortifying shampoo
2x250ml fortifying conditioner
1x 1L (salon sized) Fortifying leave in strengthening treatment
Altogether I worked out that we saved around £60 as the shampoo and conditioners sell in salons at roughly £9 each and the leave in treatment around £12.50 but thats for a 250ml bottle not the salon sized one we got
Me and Mum paid £10 each and split the package up, we are going to decant the giant leave in treatment into spray bottles as the lady selling the products said that it works really well as in spray form.
The great thing about all of this is that the ladies will send the products through the mail charging only what it costs them to post, I asked for the number to call so you guys could grab this fab bargain aswell (im nice like that ;)) just give them a call and they will send them asap or if you are in the Sheffield/Chesterfield area then you can also arrange collection from them. Call Natalie on: 07715989253
I really cant wait to use these new products, I have got high expectations!! Obviously as Ive just purchased them I cant review them, but check Yu's Blog for her review. I will pop up my review in about a week or 2 and let you know how I find them.
And also on a totally random note, Im off to the zoo tomorrow with my son and boyfriend and sooo I picked up this skirt from H&M to wear...
Leopard print skirt £9.99 H&M
I think its zoo-tastic (lame, I knooow!) What do you think?
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