L'Oréal Professional - Mythic Oil

As someone with long & very thick hair, I am constantly on the look out for a new product to help tame my locks. So when my hairdresser recently recommended the L'Oréal Professional Mythic Oil, I jumped at the potential thought of finally having the smooth, glossy hair of my dreams.

Created with a blend of avocado & grape seed oil, Mythic Oil is a leave-in treatment that claims to add shine & nourishment to damaged hair. The L'Oréal Professionals recommend to dispense one or two pumps of the light weight formulae onto the palms of your hands before running it through the ends/mid-lengths of towel dried or freshly styled hair.

As someone with long, thick hair with slightly dry ends (thanks bleach!) I find two pumps perfect for adding an extra boost of life to my hair without leaving behind an annoying "greasy" residue. Plus the gorgeous scent instantly reminds me of being pampered at my local hair salon.

Currently retailing at around £16.00 for 100ml, this treatment is slightly on the pricey side.. However in my opinion for smooth, glossy hair this product is worth the extra pennies.

 L'Oréal's Mythic Oil it is available either online or from participating salons.

Have you ever tried this product?

What are your favourite hair oils?

xxx

Autumnal Style Changes*

If you've read any of my recent posts, you'll know how excited I am for Autumn this year. So whilst thinking of content for my usual mid-week blog post - I realised the perfect way to celebrate this was to write about my favourite style changes for the autumn/winter months. 

Not style related - but what's more autumnal than a cute Starbucks cup?! 

It seemed only right to start this post with documenting my most recent change. As we're approaching the chillier months, I decided to opt for darker roots & an overall soft ombre look. Whilst nothing to drastic - my hair is definitely still blonde - this seemed like the perfect subtle change for autumn/winter. 

Next on my list is autumn/winter favourite amongst beauty bloggers - the beloved dark lipstick. Now don't get me wrong, I love bright red, pink & choral shades.. but there's just something about a dark lip that screams "autumn's here"! Plus - in my opinion - a dark lip is a quick & simple way to add a little glamour to any outfit. 

Last but not least is something I have been obsessing over recently - the colour burgundy. Whether it be a new dress, shade of nail varnish or lipstick, burgundy seems to be everywhere on the high-street this season. In my opinion this is a perfect autumn shade & is therefore something I simply can't seem to resist (much to my bank accounts dismay.. oops!).

If you're looking to change up your style for the autumn months, be sure to check out the Hair Colour Quiz set up by Madison Reed*. For those of you who don't know, Madison Reed is a company that specialises in offering high performance hair colour at home. The quiz consists of 8 simple questions to suggest which shades would work best for your hair. Perfect if want to make a change but need a little extra helping help making a decision. 

 How do you change your style for the autumn months?

I'm always on the look out for new ideas! 

xxx

Candy-floss Hair

As much as I love my blonde hair, I have to admit that it can become a little boring at times. I often find myself browsing photos on Instagram & Tumblr of gorgeous multi-coloured mermaid hair & various dip-dye styles whilst longing for my own hair to look even remotely similar.

During my care-free time at university I happily dabbled in a bright pink dip dye (& loved it).. however now that I'm (supposed to be) a responsible office-working adult, weird & wonderful hair colours just aren't something I'm able to pull off an a day-day basis.. *sigh*.

However - after spotting an offer on Bleach London's dyes this week - I decided to bite the bullet & finally re-live my dream of exciting hair. One of the things I love about Bleach London is they offer hair dye on a semi-permanent basis. Perfect for someone who - like me - isn't 100% sure on whether they can make a full-time commitment to pink/purple/blue hair.

After spending a lot of time in front of Bleach London counter I finally decided on a gorgeous light pink dye called rosé which - as the post title suggests - is a gorgeous candy floss shade. 

Before                                                                                                                     After

The only difference to usual dyes is that Bleach London products are applied to pre-washed, damp hair. So after washing & conditioning my hair as usual, I applied a generous amount of dye to the ends of my hair & proceeded to wait. After the waiting, rinsing and blow-drying my hair I was left with the light pink shade you see in the "after" photo above.

As you can see in the "before" photo, my hair was already a pretty light blonde which I do believe helped the colour take so well. Unfortunately I'm not sure how well the lighter colours (such as rosé) would take to darker hair. However there are colours available for those who have dark hair & still want to experiment (think dark reds or blues...).

The Bleach London semi-permanent dyes gradually fade over the course of 2 - 10 washes, which is perfect for anyone whose office/school is strict on "non-natural" hair colour or if perhaps you're just testing out a new colour.

Personally, I couldn't be happier with the end result & I'll definitley be looking topping up the rosé dye once it begins to fade.. I'm also a little tempted by the Violet Skies & Sea Punk shades.. Hurray for fun hair colours! 

Have you ever tried the Bleach London products?
What are your thoughts?
xxx

Tips For Healthy Hair...

For as long as I can remember my hair has always been a sort of comfort to me & to this day I often find myself either twisting sections of my hair when nervous or absent mindedly styling it whilst day-dreaming.

I'm pretty happy with my current hair style/length, however as you can see from the photos below.. September 2014 was not a good hair time for me. Two weeks prior to my graduation my hair was a good 3 inches longer than shown. I skipped off to a local hairdressers for a trim ready for the big day & left a few hours later with some sort of disaster cut & ready to burst into tears - which I did as soon as I got home. (I promise it looked a lot worse than in the photo below).

Skip forward to the present day & I am happy to say that it has pretty much grown back to it's full length again.. yay!

Left: September 2014 .. Right June 2015

So.. as the title of this post suggests, I thought I'd put together a few of my favourite haircare tips.

1) Heat - We all know that heat isn't good for our hair.. it can cause both damage and dryness. Personally I only tend to use heat on my hair if I want to make a little more effort with my look - think nights out or special meals. 

2) Heat protection - If you do chose to use heat styling tools, a good heat protection spray is essential to avoid as much damage as possible. 

3) Moisture - Condition, condition, condition! This is especially important if - like me - you colour your hair. I find that the ends of my hair can get pretty dry (thanks a lot bleach!) so as well as my usual conditioner I also use a deep conditioning mask roughly once a week. 

4) Water - Admittedly I don't know the ins & outs of nutrition and haircare/growth.. however drinking plenty of water seems like a logical step in hair care.. (how can you expect to have luscious, healthy locks without keeping your body hydrated?).

5) Regular hair cuts - As much as cutting your hair goes against every instinct when growing it out, the only real way to remove split ends is to cut them off. I personally try & visit the hair dressers every 8 weeks just to tidy up the ends to keep it healthy. 

These are the steps I tend to follow to encourage my hair to grow & to generally keep it healthy. I'll admit that - although unhealthy - there are a few bad habits that I do follow.. for example I do bleach my hair & sometimes I'll forget to book regular hair appointments *looks guiltily over at my calendar*.

However hopefully at some of these tips may help anyone looking to take better care of/grow out their hair. 

What are your favourite haircare tips?

xxx

*Disclaimer: I feel I should point out that I am in no way a hair expert - these are things that I've found work for me personally.. (Just in case any of those Moaning Myrtles take a read of my post).*

New Hair - Soft Ombré

I've been dying my hair the same golden blonde colour for almost as long as I can remember.  With the exception of dip dying my hair light pink last year & a brief period of time when I was about 15 & decided to go for a chocolate brown with red streaks (yes really) I've never made any drastic changes to my hair colour. 

So I finally decided to bite the bullet & make an appointment at my hair salon to try something a little different... admittedly nothing overly different or crazy, but just enough to wave goodbye to those pesky brassy tones & say hello to the cool blonde tones I've been craving for so long.

Before & After 

As you can see in the before photo my hair was quite golden in colour and full of brassy tones.. but after a few hours in the salon chair.. the brassy/golden colour has gone and my hair now has a soft ombré effect - fading from dark blonde to light.

This look was created with a mixture of dark blonde hair dye, light blonde hair dye and bleach. The darker tones were added to my roots and top few inches of hair & then alternations of bleach and light blonde dyes were used to the mid sections and ends.

For someone that usually follows a routine of home hair colouring, I'll happily admit that hearing the word "bleach" did fill me with a little feeling of dread. Images of frazzled, dry hair sprung to mind & I started to ask myself if the golden blonde was really all that bad.. But after the usual shampoo/condition routine the hairdresser used a deep conditioning treatment which really helped inject extra moisture & all my worries vanished.

For anyone that is considering going for a similar colour change their are some points to consider:

• Price: This was classed as a full colour change & came in at around the £90 mark. Although a lot pricier than a usual box dye, I personally think paying the extra is worth it for a style change like this as it's something I personally think would be difficult to create from home. 
• Time: Make sure you clear your schedule for at least a few hours. Including dying, washing/condition, toners (to ensure the bleach is a cool blonde) & drying/styling.. I'd say this took around 2 and a half hours start to finish. 
• Up-keep: I've been told that at first the light blonde may fade slightly quicker than usual - however besides that (& depending on how fast hair grows) a trip every six weeks to touch up any showing of root/brighten up any faded blonde. 

Besides these points.. if you're thinking of changing your hair colour, but aren't sure whether to finally bite the bullet..I say go for it. Life's too short to be unhappy with hair!

What are your thoughts?

xxx

Argan Oil Hair Mask & Treatment Review

One of the things my definitely hair suffers from is dryness. I tend to find that instead of getting greasy between washes - my hair will let me know it's time for a shampoo/condition treatment by becoming increasingly dry & straw-like (well that's how it feels to me anyway).

I'm not sure if this is due to colouring my hair on a semi-regular basis - yes I  am a little lazy on the upkeep of my roots from time to time - but there's no bleach involved in the process. I also tend to save heated tools for special occasions/nights out... maybe I just need to accept that this is just how my hair naturally is.

At the end of 2014 I discovered Garnier's Ultimate Blends collection & to this day am still using the same brand  (click here to read a full review).  However sometimes I feel like conditioner just isn't enough to provide the silky smoothness that I crave & due to this I'm always on the look out for products to help inject some extra moisture back into my hair.

So when I stumbled across both the Argan Oil Hair Mask & Hair Treatment for only £1 each I couldn't resist popping them into my basket to try out.

Hair treatment on the left & Hair mask on the right

First up was the Argan Oil Hydrating Hair Mask which claims to be an "intensive conditioning treatment" with extracts of "Moroccan argan oil". The instructions state to towel dry hair after shampooing, apply the mask from root to tip and leave for 7-10 minutes. 

After washing out the mask I wrapped my hair up in a towel & left it to dry off for a while (anyone else's hair take forever to dry naturally?!) before using the Argan Oil Hair Treatment. The treatment makes a claims to "repair and rejuvenate, leaving hair shiny, smooth & healthy" but I very rarely believe every claim made by a beauty product. The instructions state to rub either 2-3 drops of oil (4-5 for longer hair) & then distribute throughout. As my hair is relativity long I decided to opt for the 4-5 drops *long hair problems*. 

So what did I think overall of the products?

Due to these products coming at such low prices I'll admit that I didn't have the highest of hopes for them (I know, I know - don't judge a book by its cover price?). However I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised by both treatments. Both really helped lock moisture in & left my hair feeling silky and smooth the next day... Obviously some products of a higher price may offer better results but at £2 for both of these, I'm sure they'll be making a regular appearance in my haircare routine.. *sassy hair flick*. 

I purchased both of these products in Tesco but can't seem to find them on their website... however click here to view the online range of Argan Oil products that Tesco has to offer. 

What are your favourite haircare products?

xxx

Leo Bancroft Ultimately Intense Moisture Mask - Review

Like most girls, I love treating myself to a little pamper session - especially when I have a new product to try out. I spotted a sachet the Leo Bancroft Ultimately Intense Deep Moisture Mask whilst shopping a few days for an absolute bargain of £1 (enough for one use). For such a cheap price, I decided that it really wouldn't matter if the product didn't turn out well - & then if it did.. well great!

So.. after along week at work I decided that I deserved a little pamper session & my hair deserved a little pick me up. I ran myself a hot bath and then hopped in, all excited to try out my new product (hopefully I'm not the only one who gets excited about these little things...). 

I also thought this would be the perfect excuse to write a review post.. so here goes. 

Source
I forgot to take a photo of my sachet before using it.. oops. 

Now, I was a little torn after using this product. I did like it - but I was trying to decide whether this was something that I was truly loved. So I've decided to put together a little Pro's & Con's list. 

Pros: 

• Price - £1 for a sachet or £4 for 150 ml bottle - very pocket friendly!
• Amount of product - for the price, I found you received a lot of product in the sachet - which is always good. There's nothing worse then feeling ripped off with a small amount of product.
• Coverage- I have a lot of hair. It's thick and pretty long - so I find that I generally need to use a fair amount of conditioner if I want to feel like my hair is getting a good amount of product. The sachet came with more than enough product to cover the mid-lengths & ends of my hair, which is great. 
• Packaging - I know, I know "never judge a book by it's cover".. but generally speaking we all know that if something looks nice - especially a beauty product - it's going to draw us in. For a product that is so affordable, I think the packaging is sleek and professional looking. If I wasn't aware of the price, I would have definitely put it up there with the pricier brands. It especially reminds me of the John Freida shampoos/conditioners. 
• Soft Hair - This product did leave my hair feeling lovely & soft. My hair doesn't tend to get greasy.. but it tends to get dry and limp the longer I leave it between washes. So after using this, I can say with confidence that my hair does feel soft again. (Yipeee - dry hair is not a good look for me).

Cons: 

• Fragrance - I'm the type of person who loves my products to smell good.. If it's going on my body, I want it too smell nice. Now I'm not saying this smelt particularly bad, but there was something about it that I wasn't too keen on.  
• Living up to my expectations - Even though this was only £1, I think I let myself get a little over-excited (okay.. a lot over excited..) and I half expected this to work some sort of miracle. Don't get me wrong, it definitely did make my hair feel soft - I could feel this even when rinsing my hair - but I think I was expecting some sort of silk effect. This could be more of a "con" on my behalf then that of the product - I suppose I should of known better then to expect miracles. 

I hope this explains a little more why I'm so torn. This is a product that is more than affordable and - despite the pocket friendly price - you aren't cheated with small amount of product. However - as I've written above - I let myself be slightly fooled by the the promise of "deep moisture". 

Now I need to be 100% honest here - the directions state that you should leave this on your hair for 15 mins. I'll hold my hands up here and admit that I only left this for 10 instead of 15.. I wanted to go the full 15, but the bath was starting to get cold and I was getting a little bored. Maybe if I'd left this that extra 5 mins then I would have seen the results I was expecting.. Who knows?

Overall - I'd say that yes, I would recommend this product. Especially if you're looking for something that won't break the bank. It's something that I'll more than likely purchase again in the future - but not to be used as a real deep moisture surge for my hair.. but perhaps instead as a weekly treatment & as a little pick me up to see away that dryness. 

Have you ever used this product?

If so what are your thoughts?

Or if not what is your go to hair mask?

I'd love to know! 

xxx

Garnier "The Marvellous Transformer" review

After coming to the end of my current shampoo and conditioner, I decided that instead of going back to the same old usual products, I'd give something new a try .... I know, I know.. I am wild! 

After walking up and down the isle at my local supermarket for a good twenty minuets, I finally decided on the Garnier Ultimate Blends "The marvellous Transformer" shampoo and conditioner. 

According to the bottles both contain argan and camellia oils and after reading rave reviews on argan oil for years and it's something I've always wanted to try but never really got round to... so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Garnier claim that these products will both nourish and add glowing shine to dry, dull hair. Now this was a claim that really stood out to me as I find that my hair - especially the ends - can get pretty dry at times. I'm not sure if this is due to using hair dye to lighten my hair or just how my hair naturally goes at times *sigh*. 

After trying both the shampoo and the conditioner out for the first time last night, I'm happy to say I wasn't disappointed. After using both products and leaving my hair to dry naturally - blow drying always seems like such an effort *lazy girl problems* -   my hair was left feeling soft and very manageable. Bonus - I also noticed how shiny the ends looked whilst out and about in the evening (admittedly it could of been due to the lights outside, but I'd like to believe it was nice and shiny). 

These are currently on offer for around the £2 mark in Tesco, so are very affordable and definitely worth it if, like me, you're a sufferer of dry or damaged hair. 

I'm very excited to try out the other products in the range - if anyone has any recommendations, let me know! 

xxx