I get a lot of compliments on my hair, and I guess it does have a lot of qualities that others strive for - my hair is naturally blonde and thick in texture. Having only ever dyed/highlighted it a few times, my hair is also in pretty good condition. However, there are also a few products I use to keep my hair feeling soft and full of life which I'm going to share with you! This post is written in collaboration with the fab new Panosonic hair dryer which I'll be telling you more about later on.
Step 1. Wash & Condition
I wash my hair every 2-3 days to ensure I'm not stripping it of all the natural oils too often, which can actually make it greasier in the long run. My current favourite shampoo and conditioner are ones that I mentioned in a previous post which you can read about here. I've been loving L'oreal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Clay shampoo and conditioner for a few reasons: I love the scent as it's very fresh and exactly the kind of scent I like in my hair. It also leaves my hair feeling really clean, light and soft. On the topic of shampoo, my most popular blog post is about the ingredients you can find in a lot of high street shampoos and conditioners, so if you're interested in learning a little more about that, head over and have a read here!
Step 2. Deep Condition
This is a step I only do once or twice a fortnight when I feel my hair is lacking and needs some extra hydration. The Osmo Intensive Deep Repair Mask is so affordable and feels really luxurious on my hair. It's a super thick texture and has a unique scent that's really hard to describe - it's a good scent though! I use this mainly from mid to the ends of my hair but I like to scrape the excess through the roots which I think works well and doesn't make it greasy like some masks can do!
Step 3. Protect and Blow-dry
If I've got time, I'll blow-dry my hair (upside down for extra volume). However, I always make sure I use a good heat protector as well to keep my hair in a good condition. I love this VO5 hair protecting cream as it's super silky and smells amazing. But back to blow-drying: if you're in the market for a great hairdryer, I'd urge you to check out the Panasonic EH-NA65 hairdryer, which uses nano technology to keep your hair smooth and silky while still maintaining performance. You can read more about it and purchase this Panasonic hair dryer here.
Step 4. Restore & Style
Once my hair is dry, I like to keep it smooth with either an oil or this Noir Caviar restorative styling creme from Revolution Hair Concepts. You only need a tiny amount of this product so one bottle has lasted me ages! I just comb it mainly through the ends of my hair and gently through the roots which stops it from becoming frizzy.
That's it! I really think these products make a difference to the condition and style of my hair, and I'm loving this current routine. Let me know in the comments what your favourite hair products are - I'm always looking for more recommendations!
January is notoriously a lazy month, when getting stuff done just doesn't sound appealing in any way. In fact, 16th January - the day that this is being posted - is known as Blue Monday, aka the most depressing day of the year. So how can we be a little more efficient in what we do during this cold, miserable period of the year? Being efficient means being productive without wasting lots of time or energy - so if you're like me and you enjoy an extra 10 minutes in bed every morning, this can be extremely beneficial. In this post, I'm going to share with you a few beauty tips that will make your life that little bit more efficient - no extra effort required!
1. All-in-one products: nothing is more efficient than having all of your essentials in one place and luckily for us, there are many products that can do this for us now. I'm loving the Joan Collins Timeless Beauty Paparazzi Compact, which encompasses a lipstick, a powder, powder applicator and a mirror. This product is handbag-friendly so you can use it to touch up your make-up during the day, or if you're running late in the morning you can use it to apply the finishing touches to your face on the commute to work/brunch/wherever you may be going. I also think the packaging is absolutely gorgeous and would make a great gift for someone! You can find the Paparazzi Compact on the Joan Collins website here and all her other products on the QVC or M&S websites.
2. Do it the night before!: Obviously I'm not suggesting you apply make-up the night before because your skin would absolutely hate you for it. However, if you know you won't have time to wash your hair in the morning because you have other things to do (i.e. sleep) then dry shampooing your hair before you go to bed can be a godsend. Not only will it save you messing around with it in the morning, it can also look much more natural as it's had time to soak up the oils in your hair, making it look less greasy. I love Batiste's range of dry shampoos but at the moment I've really been enjoying this COLab Rio Tropical dry shampoo created by fellow blogger (and model and YouTuber) Ruth Crilly. You can buy it here.
3. Invest in an LED lamp for gel nails: Perhaps not the most budget-friendly advice (unless you regularly pay to have your nails done professionally), but gel nails are a great way to cut down on spending time on painting your nails. I usually have to repaint my nails every three days if I use a normal nail polish. However, I'm now a gel nail convert having recently received the Sensationail gel starter kit with an LED lamp for Christmas! Although it took me about 30 minutes to complete the whole process, my nail polish goes unchipped for two weeks - meaning I don't have to worry about my nails for ages. It's just a small step that frees up some more time for whatever I'd prefer to be doing on an evening in!
That's all boys and girls, I hope you make the most of this January despite the weather, despite the lack of money post-Christmas and despite these so-called January blues. Do you have any tips for upping your efficiency this month?
