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My Current Haircare Routine*

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!
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How To Be Fabulously Efficient: A Lazy Girl's Guide

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?
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Blogger's Christmas Beauty Brawl Day 8: Foundation

Today I'll be sharing my current go-to foundation - Bourjois' City Radiance. I have been using this foundation for a couple of weeks now but like moisturisers, I think it's best to try a foundation for a while before sharing my thoughts with you. It's hard to tell whether you like it or not just from its first application.

PRODUCT QUALITY: This foundation is a liquid foundation (the only texture I use nowadays really) and gives a light to medium dewy coverage in my opinion. I tend to mix it in with a small squirt of Freedom's Pro Studio Strobe Cream which gives a more natural, glowy finish. I apply the foundation with my Real Techniques buffing brush and dab over it with a beauty blender. I really like the coverage, texture and application of this foundations. My only negatives would be that I think the colouring is slightly off (I have the lightest shade and I still find it a bit dark) and its longevity isn't that great. However, I love that it has an SPF in it and I'd prioritise that over the negatives anyway.

PRICE: This foundation retails for £9.99. As with all Bourjois foundations, I'd say it's probably on the pricier end of high-street foundations. However, it's very affordable compared to the luxury foundations from the likes of Dior and Estee Lauder. 
PACKAGING: The packaging is very simple. The tube is flat which means it's easy to pack if you're travelling with it. However, I do prefer a glass foundation bottle with a pump, but I think that's something down to personal preference. I think for the price, a glass bottle would have made it look more expensive.

SCORES (/100)
Product quality: 80
Price: 75
Packaging: 79

OVERALL VERDICT: I am a fan of this foundation, but having used Bourjois' Healthy Mix foundation in the past, I think I'll be going back to that one after I've finished City Radiance. I found Healthy Mix lasts longer and is more buildable in terms of coverage. I'd recommend this foundation if you want to wear something light on your skin.

SHARING THE BEAUTY BRAWL LOVE: If you want to see what Kimberley thought of her blusher, head over to her page http://happiness-is-madness.blogspot.co.uk/
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Blogger's Christmas Beauty Brawl Day 7: Lipstick

Slight cheat with today's product review as I'll actually be reviewing a lip lacquer rather than a lipstick. This one is from MUA's Luxe range which I've heard great things about from other bloggers. Not only is MUA a great, affordable brand, I love a lot of their products already, particularly their eyeshadow palettes.



PRODUCT QUALITY: The velvet lip lacquer claims to have a matte finish and this I can vouch for. It also describes itself as long-lasting which I'm sure it is as well. However, on putting this product on my lips I found it so uncomfortable to wear from the get go! As the product dries, it's very sticky on your lips. It dries fully in about 30 seconds and you KNOW it's there. It also didn't look great on as it sucked any moisture there was out of my lips. After 5 minutes I had to take it off and put a lip balm over the top. I persevered and tried it again after exfoliating and using a lip balm which did make it look better, but it was still really uncomfortable to wear. It's a shame because the colour (Tranquillity) is so nice! 

PRICE: As always with MUA, the price of this is really affordable. It cost me £3, which is in their higher price bracket as it's in their Luxe range. For a liquid lipstick, it's definitely one of the cheapest I've seen.

PACKAGING: I think the packaging also makes its look more expensive than it actually is - the frosted effect on the tube and gold lid are simple but elegant.

SCORES (/100)
Product quality: 55
Price: 90
Packaging: 85

OVERALL VERDICT: Although the price and packaging are really great, I just didn't get on with the formula of the lip lacquer. Some people may be able to persevere with it and make it look great but unfortunately it just wasn't for me. I'd much rather spend slightly more on a NYX soft matte lip cream which is much more moisturising and feels a lot more comfortable.

SHARING THE BEAUTY BRAWL LOVE: If you want to see what Kimberley thought of her blusher, head over to her page http://happiness-is-madness.blogspot.co.uk/
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Blogger's Christmas Beauty Brawl Day 6: Brows

I thought I'd deviate from the norm slightly with this one as I recently reviewed a brow pencil on my blog (you can read it here). So for today's post, instead of reviewing a product that fills brows in, I'll be reviewing Makeup by HD Brows Browbeater. This product is a clear brow gel which you can use to hold your brows in place all day.I love filling in my eyebrows but I do find that if I don't use a gel over the top of them, they tend to lose their shape throughout the day. I received the HD Brows Browbeater at a blogging event last year but haven't had the chance to discuss it on my blog yet, so here goes!

PRODUCT QUALITY: One of the things that stands out to me about this gel formula is that it's not sticky like some brow gels can be. It's still quite a wet formula so I would suggest that you don't need to use much of the product each time. The gel applies very smoothly and the wand is great for brushing your eyebrows into place. 

PRICE: The HD Brows Browbeater retails for £14.99 which is slightly more than I tend to spend on a makeup product, but I think that the price reflects its quality. It's pretty much in between high street and high-end in terms of price.

PACKAGING: The packaging is simple but I think that's the beauty of it. It looks very classy and the box that it comes in also looks pretty special. If you know someone who loves to look after their brows, I think this would make a really nice gift.

SCORES (/100)
Product quality: 92
Price: 80
Packaging: 88

OVERALL VERDICT: This is a great brow gel and if you're in the market for a good quality gel I'd definitely recommend this one. It's a great mid-range buy for any brow lover!



SHARING THE BEAUTY BRAWL LOVE: If you want to see what Kimberley thought of her blusher, head over to her page http://happiness-is-madness.blogspot.co.uk/
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