Products for Breaking Hair

 Hi all!

So today I thought I'd share with you my favourite products for damaged hair.

I bleached my hair for about 5 or 6 years, and over that time accumulated a lot of damage. Since about October last year that damage has been getting more and more obvious, so I've been spending some serious time lately trying to find a routine that helps smooth, nourish and protect my hair.

To help my hair grow, I take a 10,000mcg tablet of Biotin every day, and a Selenium supplement as well. I've found the Biotin in particular really helps my nails to grow stronger and longer than usual. My hair has grown much thicker than usual, and although I can't really tell for sure, I think it's been growing a little more quickly.

My natural hair is currently at a rather awkward length, with quite a few layers. The longest parts just about hit my armpit area, whereas the shortest lengths are just passing my earlobes. I currently wear extensions to hide my (unwanted!) mullet-like haircut I was given in February.

 

The first product I have here is Lee Stafford's Leave in Treatment for Breaking Hair. This stuff is awesome! I find that this makes my hair feel just so much more normal. As in, it works to smooth frizz and keeps my hair feeling sleek.

I put this on when my hair is still wet from the shower, though I will also dab a little on to dry, frizzy parts if I feel like I need a little touch up.

The smell is quite mild, I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but it's quite distinctive and overall pleasant. The smell doesn't last once it's in your hair which I quite like.

I only got this a few days ago and I'm already absolutely raving about it. This is Urban Fudge's Miracle Ends Treatment. When I first got hold of it I put it on dry hair, but I soon realised that wasn't how it works.

To get this to work to it's full potential, this needs to be applied to your hair just as you come out of the shower. I applied about a hazelnut sized amount and spread it through the midsection and ends of my hair, rubbing whatever was left over on to my scalp and roots.

After I had blow dried my hair the results were astonishing: my hair was soft, silky and there was no sign of damage whatsoever. This stuff really is a miracle worker! And as I picked it up on sale at Superdug I only paid £2.70 for it! If you're near a Superdrug I highly reccomend popping by and grabbing this at that price while you can.

My only drawback is the smell. It's nice, but reminds me of the scented makeup I had as a kid. It just isn't a very sophistocated kind of smell, however it doesn't last long after application.

Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge: Review and Final Thoughts

Let me start this review by saying just how much I love Real Techniques products, and my opinion on this one product has not in any way affected my views on their other products.

But let me just say.... This sponge was incredibly disappointing!

Yes, it applies makeup beautifully. But there are so many cons that I really see no point in purchasing it again. Yeah, that's right: again.

After about 3 weeks, my sponge went mouldy!

There were little black spots of mould appearing on the surface, which obviously cannot be good for your skin. I cleaned the mould out, only to find it reappeared again after a few days. I emailed Real Techniques to complain about my obviously faulty product, and my reply was that this was normal, and the sponge needs to be replaced every month or so.

That's fair enough, I guess, although it does not display this information anywhere on the packaging (unless I am mistaken) and I really have to wonder - how long had the mould been embedded in the centre of the sponge, where I couldn't see it, before it appeared on the surface?! In my opinion I don't think anything like that should go anywhere near your skin.

If you're looking for a good product that applies foundation beautifully, I'd be far more inclined to suggest the Real Techniques Expert Face Brush - or if you're looking for a complete set of fantastic brushes, go for the Core Collection.



You cannot go wrong with their brushes, I'd just give the sponge a miss.

A 60's Vibe

Hello all!

So I've been pretty busy lately, and I figured what better way to catch up than to do a quick post about all the stuff I've picked up!

I spent the last week in Manchester with my boyfriend and his family, and although the weather wasn't great it was still a really nice trip. We visited the Trafford Centre a couple of times and to my surprise, they had a Forever 21! I love Forever 21 but living down in the South West means that there isn't one within my vicinity and I've only ever been in their stores in London and New York.

They had a really awesome sale on - everything in the store was buy one get one free, so I took full advantage of that! I bought 3 plain bodycon dresses, one in black, one grey and one red. And as I had an extra product free I asked my boyfriend to pick something for me.

As I always wear black he was determined to find me something that was a different colour, so in order to 'ease' me in to colour (ha!) he found me this white blouse. It's long and floaty, and the concealed buttons are a nice touch. I think it's got a bit of a minimal, 60's vibe which is perfect for this season. I think it's also smart enough to wear to job interviews which will definitely come in handy!

I also found that my hair curlers broke last month. That was pretty annoying as I really liked the ones I had (for the record, they were Remington. It was some kind of clipless model).

This meant that I had to invest in a new model, so I decided to go for a Babyliss one, as I've always had good experiences with their products (I have their Deep Waver, it's fantastic) and they are fairly inexpensive. I spent £17.99 on this one from Amazon.

So far, I haven't been able to get that familiar with it but I like the multi heat setting and the rotating cord. My only real bummer about it is that the clip itself gets really hot too, and it's pretty easy for your finger to slip from the safe black plastic bit onto the scalding hot ceramic - ouch!

I also needed some new heat protectant and hairspray, so I picked these up in Boots for a 2 for £4 deal. The deal was great, as it was almost a 50% saving and they're working really well for me. The hairspray is fantastic, it holds well and I love the matt finish. It's perfect for second day hair as the mattifying effect gives an anti-greasy illusion.

Finally, today I picked up these babies from - can you believe - Sainsburys! I've been on the hunt for a pair of patent, 60's inspired boots for ages and these fit the bill just perfectly. Originally I was looking at knee high gogo boots but these are way more casual.

They remind me of the YSL boots I love so much, and they were only a fraction of the price at £25.

I had to picture them with my Rubix cube (given to me by the boyfriend's grandad) just to emphasise that 60's feel!




Have you been shopping lately? Picked up anything good? Let me know in the comments!

 - Alice x x x

PS: If you fancy checking out a new project of mine, I'm starting to do some t-shirt designs on Teespring - if you wanna take a look, maybe even purchase one, click here to see my first design!

Palma Nova - Mallorca Holiday!

Hi guys!

As I said in my last post, I went to Palma Nova, Mallorca a couple weeks ago, and it was awesome! We went to the beach, visited Palma aquarium (which, for the record, was the best aquarium I've ever been to) and even went on a glass bottom boat trip. We also came home with some little holiday souvenirs....

Palma Aquarium's friendly turtle

A drop in the ocean during our Glass Bottom Boat trip

Obligatory sea selfie

Cocktails on the last night!

A little holiday memento... Not henna

I hope you like my holiday photos!

Have any of you been on holiday? How was it? I bet you didn't lose your tan as quickly as I did (ha!)

 - Alice x x x

Holiday Packing!

Hey all!

So I'm off to Mallorca on Saturday, and I figured I'd share with you some of the stuff that's going in my suitcase. I'll be there for 7 days so I would imagine I'll add a few more essentials before I go, but these are the main items I will be needing. Hopefully this can inspire anyone who's also going on holiday soon!

So first off I pack my absolute essentials. I always like to start with the things I can't live without so that I know I'm not going to forget anything important.

Most importantly: my passport! I freak out at even the thought of forgetting my passport, so it was the first thing I laid out on my bed ready to pack. Mine has an 'A' drawn on it in biro, so my dad could tell mine and my brother's apart more quickly when we were younger (fun fact!)

The second most important things are suncream and sunglasses so that my skin and my eyes are protected. I'm extremely pale so I know that I'll burn really easily. I watched a Pixiwoo video a few days ago where Nic said that you should use 2 tablespoons per application - useful to know!
I also find that my eyes get sunburnt. Yes, my eyes. They feel dry and scratchy and go red in the whites, I'm not kidding. I've had these sunglasses for ages and I think I got them from New Look.

I also added in my swimming costumes, a cute top I got from the H&M Coachella collection and some hair ties. I always seem to forget hair ties and they're one of the most important things!

Next I got together my kimonos. I love kimonos, and they're just perfect for summer. You may remember the green one from my shopping haul the other day, and the grey one I've had for awhile now. I wear the grey one on nights out all the time and it's probably my favourite item of clothing. It fits in my little nightclub bag perfectly, which saves me on cloakroom fees!

Ok, apologies. I don't really iron my cotton clothes. The wrinkles come out when I wear them so I've never bothered, but now I realise how bad they look in this picture - ha!

These are just a couple of black essentials. A black t-shirt and a plain black dress. These are both super old but I consider them to be my core pieces in my wardrobe.

Last for clothing items was my shorts. I wear these Nike shorts a lot when I hang around the house. I did buy them for the gym but they're super super short and ride up my butt when I walk around a lot so I don't think they're all that practical for exercise. They're really comfy though and I think I'll use them as pyjama shorts when I'm away. The floral shorts were also from my summer haul.

I got the sparkly shorts from the kids section of TK Maxx. I think they're age 15 or something, but because they're quite stretchy they fit me just fine. These will be nice if I fancy a change from wearing black all day.

Lastly I got together my shoes. I bought the plimsoles and sandals only the other day because I don't really own summer shoes. I wore the heels on a night out last weekend and they were super comfortable. Like, surprisingly so.  You can see where my toes have shaped the sole a little, which shows just how pillowy they are.
I'm going to bring my Nike Air Force sneakers because they're the comfiest shoes I own and they'll be great for walking around all day sightseeing. They're also a bit of a statement, and they'll probably sparkle loads in the sun!


Are any of you going on holiday this year? Let me know in the comments!

 - Alice x x x