Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Mask and A Return to Blogging!

*Dusts away cobwebs*

Hello anyone who may still be out there, thank you for stopping by my poor, neglected blog, judging from my blogging habits it appears that I am mainly an Autumn/Winter blogger. With October well underway I have once again been bitten by the blogging bug and tonight I felt a strong urge to whip up a post, so here goes:

Excuse the boring stock image, it's rather late at night and this post is quite spontaneous!

A combination of air conditioning, holiday sunshine, chlorine, infrequent haircuts and most recently - central heating has left my hair a complete disaster zone. Taking a quick assessment of my locks, it seems that even my split ends are sporting split ends these days. My hair is dull, lifeless and not too dissimilar in appearance to straw. Being a long haired girl I am a bit funny about hair cuts (it takes me a while to work up the courage to ask for my standard 2 inches off the ends), to tide me over until I book that appointment I grabbed a tub of the Herbal Essences Hello Hydration mask when I saw it on offer in Boots.

Containing orchid and coconut extracts (two of my most favourite things!) and costing somewhere in the region of £2 - £3 I slapped a load of this on the ends of my hair and the results were great - shiny, smooth and great smelling hair! Sadly nothing will fix split ends until you chop them off, but this product does a great job at making my damaged hair look presentable and at such a low price it has made me one happy bunny.

VO5 Miracle Concentrate

VO5 Miracle Concentrate Elixir with Argan Oil, £4.99

Ok, so I'm a bit late on the bandwagon with this one! I have pretty fine, limp hair with oily roots which means I'm not someone who is in dire need of a hair oil, nevertheless I decided I wanted to try one to see what all the hype was about. After scoping out a couple of the most popular (and blogged about) oils I decided to try the VO5 Miracle Concentrate Elixir as it has a very low price point (no point shelling out a fortune on Morrocan Oil when in all honesty I don't really need a hair oil) and can often be found on offer at Boots/Superdrug, I can't remember exactly how much I paid for this but it wasn't full price. 

I mainly use this oil on damp hair, to apply I use the dropper dispenser to pop a few drops between my palms and rub on the ends and mid section of my hair, I have on a couple of frizzy occasions used this product on dry hair, the tiniest amount helps tame flyaways and gives hair a sleeker appearance. The oil is pretty light in consistency and not overly greasy but I wouldn't advise applying a hair oil anywhere near your roots!

The smell is lovely and the product contains Argan oil and Vitamin E designed to deeply nourish and condition your hair. I have been using this product for the last few weeks, I can't say I notice a whole lot of difference but then my hair is naturally pretty sleek and straight anyway, instead I like to think by using this oil I'm going someway to keeping my ends hydrated and my hair looking in good condition. One thing I would say is that I think it reduces the drying time of my hair, which is a bit of a godsend when I'm running late for work!

For me this isn't a wonder product and I could very easily live without it, my hair type just doesn't need a hair oil, however I can see it working very well for people with coarse or frizzy hair. It is priced very well and the 50ml bottle will last you a long time. On a side note, I have tried using this oil on rough, dry skin such as my elbows and knees and it does a great job of softening and moisturising the skin! 

Hair

I have pretty long, fine hair which is split end central in dire need of a cut, but before I head to the hairdressers I have been scouting out photographs of styles I like and thought I'd post a few of my favourites here:

Well who doesn't want Kate Middleton's hair? So glossy, thick and beautiful! The lucky lady has the help of Richard Ward who keeps her hair looking fabulous.

I love Katy's thick, heavy fringe here. I'm debating whether or not to get a fringe put in my hair, I think I would have to cut in quite a thick fringe as dark hair tends to show up grease easily and I don't fancy walking around with a greasy, wispy fringe! Blergh!

Lauren Conrad gives me major hair envy, her blonde waves are just so beautiful and well looked after. She has recently dyed the tips of her hair peach which really suits her.

I can never keep track of Nicole Richie's hairstyles, she definitely likes to mix it up going from long to short, light to dark, fringe or no fringe. Nevertheless, her hair always look amazing and I especially love her fringe in this pic.

All pics from Google

I'm very envious of Reese's blonde hair, it always looks in fantastic condition! I like her fringe in this picture however I think it would be too much on the wispy side for me.

Would love to hear who everyones hair idol is or what hairstyle is your favourite from the above pictures. Leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

P.s This is my 100th post (yay!) a massive thank you to all my followers both on here and Twitter, your support means so much, thank you! x

What's in My Holiday Bag? Part 1

I am off on holiday this week and ever since I booked my tickets I have become obsessed with What's in my Holiday Bag videos on You Tube. I don't want to presume anyone has any interest in what I'm taking on holiday but I couldn't resist doing a post on the products I'm taking before I go, In the hope that maybe someone out there - at some point in the future - might find this useful. I haven't included every single product I'm taking (otherwise we'd be here forever!) to save you all from complete boredom I have omitted all the boring products, I'm pretty sure no one wants to see my bug spray, deodorant or toothbrush! :)

L to R: Garnier Body Intensive Hydrating Lotion 400ml £2.99, Superdrug,
Nivea Sun DNAge Face Sun Cream SPF 50 50ml £7.69, Superdrug,
Hawaiian Tropic Sun Lotion SPF 30 200ml £12.25 Superdrug.

First up is Sun cream. Being such a pale thing I don't fair particularly well in the sunshine, I do tan but it takes a long time and I'm prone to burning. I can't stand being sunburnt, not only is it painful but it's also very bad for your skin so I tend to wear a high factor. The suncream I have chosen to take on holiday is Hawaiian Tropic Sun Lotion in Factor 30, I have never used this before but it was recommended to me by a fellow pale skinned girl who just got back from two weeks in Mexico so it should be fine on my skin. Whilst I love the smell of all sun cream (mmm coconut scents!) this one smells particularly lovely! It doesn't feel sticky or greasy (v. important!), absorbs into the skin quickly and best of all is water resistant and has UVA and UVB protection which is a must with all sun cream!

Next up is the Nivea DNAge Face Sun Cream SPF50. I always use a really high factor on my face as I develop freckles easily and I'm hoping to avoid looking like a leather handbag by the time I'm 40. Nivea is a brand I trust and I use Nivea lotion every single day, so it was natural to buy my face sun cream from them. This will be slapped on my face, hands and decollete, I also pop higher factors over my moles - I have no idea whether this makes any difference but I like to be cautious and cover them in a high factor. The cream feels light and not too heavy or greasy for the face area...no one likes it when sun cream causes break outs! 

The price of After Sun is ridiculous so rather than spend £10 on a bottle of 'official' After Sun I opted to spend £2.99 on this bottle of Garnier Body Intensive Hydrating Lotion with Aloe Vera. It smells lovely and fresh and will hopefully feel cooling on my skin after a day in the sun.

L to R: The Pink Cow Vanilla Biscuit Bath and Shower Gel 500ml £2.99, Boots,
Alberto Balsam Coconut and Lychee Shampoo and Conditioner 400ml
£1 each, Poundland

Whilst the size is a little excessive I chose to take The Pink Cow's Vanilla Biscuit Shower gel as the boyfriend and I agreed to share it - I'm sure he'd kill me if he knew I'd revealed his love of girly fragranced shower gels on my blog! The product smells great, sweet and vanillary and best of all it doubles up as a bath foam and shower gel. I was not going to bother taking any body products but I'd rather take my own than rely on the hotel's toiletries, plus it is cheap enough to chuck out at the end of the holiday.

It's become a bit of a holiday tradition to purchase the very cheap Alberto Balsam shampoos and conditioner for my holidays. I tend to buy a different scent for each holiday and as a result certain fragrances remind me of particular places - the freesia one will always remind me of our family apartment in Florida and Sunkissed Raspberry (my favourite) makes me think of a friend's hen do in Malaga. For this holiday I chose coconut which I was delighted to come across (in Poundland no less!) as I have never seen this fragrance before and I am a total coconut fiend! These shampoos are very basic and gentle, they don't do anything fancy other than clean your hair and are perfect for holidays when you are constantly dipping in and out of the water.

Stay tuned for part two of this series which details my holiday make up :)

Lush American Cream Conditioner

'Sweet, fruity shake. The scent of honey, vanilla, strawberries and oranges is so sexy and sweet that dates can't stay away.'

I received a bottle of this Lush conditioner for Christmas, which is rather handy as it verges on the more expensive side of haircare with a 250g bottle costing £7.99. First thing to note with this conditioner is the smell, I generally expect all Lush products to smell fabulous - I can't quite place exactly what this smells of, my take is that it's a real musky, perfumey (I think I just made that word up), vanillary (and again) smell with hints of citrus and strawberry. Initially I wasn't that sure about the scent but I have really grown to like it, and best of all after using this conditioner the smell lingers on your hair for ages....it's so nice to get unexpected wafts of your fabulous smelling hair throughout the day.

The consistency of the conditioner is pretty average, it's not thick but it still feels moisturising when poured into your hand. I have fine, quite limp hair, I find that this conditioner is pretty moisturising on me and leaves my hair feeling coated.....despite thoroughly rinsing. Having said that I don't think it weighs my hair down too much and I tend to reach for this when I feel like my hair needs a more intense conditioning, for me this is not an everyday conditioner. 

Overall I find this product distinctly average, the smell is nice but the product does not seem to be that suited to my hair type. I will definitely make my way through the bottle, however I would not repurchase this conditioner as the results are not good enough to justify the price.

Tangled

Tangle Teezer - £10.20 Boots.com

I'm sure you've come across this weird pink pebble before. It is of course a Tangle Teezer, designed to un-knot tangled hair.

What they say: Using the Tangle Teezer will ensure your hair will appear more lustrous by minimising cuticle damage which in turn will help colour last and reduce the risk of fading. The hair shaft is also better prepared for the onslaught of damaging heat from styling tools. That’s why we like to call it first aid for hair.

I was pretty jubious about the Tangle Teezer when I first saw it, it looks similar to the brush that came with a My Little Pony toy - how exactly was this going to help detangle my hair?

At first I was pretty horrified by the ripping sound it made when brushing my wet hair, the horror turned into delight when I inspected the tangle teezer post-brush, to find barely any of my hair left in it - a massive departure from the huge mattes of hair I used to pick out of my wide tooth comb!

The Tangle Teezer glides easily through knotted hair without the need for pulling. You do have to work in sections as the bristles are not very deep and seem to only brush the top layer of the hair, this might have something to do with the fact that the bristles are made of flexible plastic and designed to smooth cuticles and protect hair from damage. Weirdly, the website recommends that you brush firmly, I can't see how this helps protect your hair but it does get the job done quicker!

What I like most about the Tangle Teezer is how easy it makes brushing my hair, using a wide tooth comb on my knots used to be painful but the tangle teezer causes minimal pain and detangles my hair much quicker than any brush I've ever used. One gripe is the shape, the pebble shape is moulded to the hand, however it is not particularly easy to hold onto and I will drop it on the floor without fail during every use.

I can't fault this product too much, it really has become an everyday staple for me, I never reach for anything else to brush my hair with. It makes brushing easier and less painful without the need for pulling, it also reduces hair breakage and helps make hair healthier. If you have long, knotty hair I can't recommend this product enough. For more information on Tangle Teezer, visit the website here.