Wavy Hair

THX Total Hair Experts Define Style Deep Barrel Waver* - £35 at Tesco

I'd been wanting to try a waver for quite some time, so was pleased when this one landed on my doorstep. My sister recently bought the Babyliss Boutique Deep Waves Hair Styler, which gives beautiful results, and I was intrigued to see how this compared. There's not much difference at all. Both heat up incredibly fast, and both give the same results. These results last throughout the day, gradually falling as time goes on. In the photo above, I've just grabbed random chunks of hair, and this took me about 10-15 minutes to do. If you want a neater style, you can simply section your hair off. Also, in the photo above, the waves have dropped a little, but you can make them more defined, if you wish, and then set them with hairspray.

Quick, easy, and I love the results. I wish I'd tried this type of hair styler sooner! Are you a fan of wavers?

Superdrug Colour Effects Conditioning Colours

I tried my first Superdrug Colour Effects Wash In, Wash Out Conditioning Colour back in 2010, and even wrote a review on it here. If you look beyond the terrible photos (!), you'll see that I was pleased with the effects Rich Red had on my hair. 

They're now £1.29 instead of 99p, but I think they're worth the 30p increase. They're also currently 'buy one get one half price', and with student discount, I managed to get the four above for just £3.48. I do love a bargain! 

As I said in my review a few years ago (and in a couple favourites and empties posts), these are not dyes. They're not going to make a drastic change to your hair, but add, for the most part*, warm or red tones (*apart from the blonde shades). 

I used to work them into damp hair and leave for 20-30 minutes, just like any other dye. Now, I put them on while in the shower and leave for 10 minutes. I do this every couple of days until I finish the bottle to build the colour up, and then they last for a couple weeks (or a week if you only apply it once for 30-40 minutes). The packaging used to say to leave in for 5-20 minutes, but it's now changed to just 5 minutes. I wouldn't recommend this because it's not going to make a difference! For me, they last for 3-4 uses, and like I said, I'll do all of these uses over a week in the shower, finish the bottle, and then leave the colour to fade away. Or you could just leave it on for longer and not use it as often. 

In terms of the shades, there's a couple suited towards blondes, and the rest are all very warm or red toned. Even the brunette shades, which I've been using this week, give me a lot of redish tones and leave my hair vibrant (I have auburn hair). The Mahogany shade will give you red tones, like Rich Red, but they'll be much darker. Rich Red is an orange red, whereas Mahogany is a dark red, and these tones are really prominent in the sun. My hair actually looks red in direct sunlight when I use this. True Chestnut is a mix of brown and red, and I didn't think it did anything at first, but you can definitely see a difference in the sun. This is my 'my hair but better' shade. The brown shades, Warm Chocolate Brown and Rich Warm Brown, don't add true red tones to my hair, but they're still very warm and coppery, making my hair a vibrant version of itself. I don't know if they'll have the same effect on brunette hair, but they're the effects the shades have on my auburn hair. 

As for the conditioning factor, I don't think they condition all that much. I don't see this as a problem, though, because you wouldn't buy these as conditioning treatments. You'd buy them as colourants. I really like them, and think they're a cheap way to change your hair colour up a little!

Have you tried any of the Colour Effects Conditioning Colours?

My Weekend - Hairdressers, Food Markets, Charity Shops, Car Boot Sales and More

I've done a lot more than I usually do this weekend, so thought I'd document it!

On Friday, at 9am, I had my hair cut. I had 5 inches taken off, and it feels so short and soft now! I love that feeling.

Afterwards, we looked around the charity shops, and I came across this Cath Kidston mug in Woodside for just 50p. I'm currently using it as a plant pot because I have far too many mugs in the cupboard as it is!

Then, around 11am on Friday, my sister and I went into town so I could take photos of the Continental Food Market for one of my uni modules. I was nervous and embarrassed at first, but once I started taking photos, I was fine!

After I took the photos, we went shopping. I only bought one thing, and that was the throw. It was from Primark and was down to just £3. I already own it, and love it, so thought I'd get another. My sister bought a Soul Cal jumper from Republic for £16, and 3 Sinful Colour nail polishes from Boots for £3.98 (they're £1.99 each, and were on 3 for 2). The colours she chose are Timbleberry, Rise & Shine, and Nail Junkie.

On Saturday, we went to a load of big charity shops and homeware/DIY stores. In one charity shop, St Luke's Hospice, the books were just 20p! I restrained myself and settled for 5. I don't know if they're going to be any good, but I recognised some of the authors, so grabbed them. The Kiss & Die one sounds good. It's about a serial killer who tortures and decapitates people. Sounds cheery, doesn't it? ;)

We also went to B&Q and bought a load of paint and painting supplies because we're giving our house a much needed makeover. While there, I couldn't resist these Kalanchoes for £1.50 each. We also bought some pre-made hanging baskets for the front of our house for £5 each.

We also went to Buyology on Saturday, where I finally found some plant pot saucers, which were 79p for 5. They're turquoise, the perfect size, and are 100% natural. This means they'll only last 2-3 years, but I don't mind that at all. These plant pot saucers were the finishing touch for my windowsill makeover. Now it's all bright and happy. For more information and photos, see the post below this. I also bought a few dog toys because they were a great price. Now the dogs are spoilt for choice!

On Saturday evening, I played around with my blog header and colour theme. I must have changed it over 20 times! I'm still not sure about it, but it'll do for now.

I didn't take any photos today, but I'll just write about what we did. This morning, we went to a car boot sale, but it was rubbish. We'll be going to a different one next time! Then we had breakfast at a little cafe, and it was delicious. Cafe sausages always taste better to me. Then we went to a bed store and my dad bought my sister a cabin bed. She's had the same bed for nearly her whole life, so she needed a new one. She also has the smallest room, so she wanted a cabin bed to make the most of the space. I've also decided that I need a new bed frame, so will be buying one next week. Even though my bed isn't that old, I want to get rid of the base because it doesn't have any room underneath it, and it's such a waste of space. This week, I'm planning on getting a simple metal frame, and a load of storage boxes to go underneath. I'll be keeping my mattress because it's not that old (and mattresses are expensive!)

Phew! If you managed to get through this, I applaud you!

Remington Pearl Curling Wand

Price: £25.49 from Boots

I've had this curling wand for over a year and a half, so thought it was about time I reviewed it!

I absolutely love it. I love the packaging, the digital display, the temperature it heats up to, the amount of time it takes for it to heat up, the auto shut off, the pouch and glove that come with it, the curls it produces and the length of time the curls stay in for.

It produces the most amazing curls. They look much more natural than the curls you get with a normal barrel curling tong, and that is because of the decreasing size of the wand. The curls really are long lasting. After 24 hours, they are still in tact.

My hair tends to slip towards the end of the curling wand, which is annoying, but I think it's just the way I curl my hair.

You can curl different sized sections of hair to create an effortless look, you can curl large sections of hair to create a natural look, or you can curl the same amount of hair each time to create a neat, structured look (I did this on my sister's hair for her prom last year).

Here is the result of quickly curling different sized sections of hair:

And here is what it looked like 24 hours after curling. The curls have dropped, but are still in shape:

I love this curling wand and would definitely recommend it!

Hair Of The Day

I normally wear my hair straight but decided to do something different today. My natural hair was looking rather nice so I just added a few loose curls. I don't like leaving the house with natural hair because I feel scruffy so felt the need to tweak my hair with the curling tongs. I was also going to do a FOTD but the photos were awful!

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Dainty Roses

Dainty Roses is a little shop which supplies handmade hair accessories and, of recently, jewellery. The pieces are handmade by the very lovely and talented Lisa.

The Rosey Bows are a very popular choice. They're hair bands which you can shape to any shape you wish as they have a wire within the fabric.

The design I ordered is called Penelope and was £4. Most of the designs are the same price; a few are cheaper.

P&P is £1.50.

My order came packaged beautifully, with wrapping paper and a bow. Unfortunately I haven't got a photo of it because I was eager to get to the Rosey Bow!

The only thing is, I'm not sure if it suits me. My hair (Particularly my fringe) has been playing up recently you see.

I love handmade pieces. I love the effort that goes into making them and wrapping them. Thank you Lisa!

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Wavy Hair

I used to wear my hair wavy quite a lot but then I had it cut and couldn't achieve the same look. My hair is now long again so I can. I plait it at night in 4-6 sections and then take it out in the morning. With this hair style, I can do my hair in 20 seconds, saving a lot of time!

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TRESemmé No Frizz Smoothing Serum

Price: £4.29 or currently on offer 2 for £6 at Superdrug.

'Helps to instantly smooth and calm frizz, leaving hair softer and healthier with great shine. Also helps protect hair before and after drying and helps prevent split ends.'

When I hear the word 'serum' I instantly think 'miracle in a bottle!' as I'm sure most of us do. With those claims ^ this certainly sounds like one.

These products are always hard to review because how do you know it protects your hair before and after drying? and helps prevent split ends? You don't, but you know it's doing something.

I pump two pumps into the palm of my hand and with the ends of my hair, I 'paint' (The ends of my hair are the brush and the serum is the paint, kapeesh?)

You expect a product like this to feel greasy, but it isn't. First of all you think it's greasy, because it's a liquid, but it leaves no greasy residue on your hands.

Instantly, my hair feels extremely soft and feels/looks healthy.

This product just works.

I don't know if it protects my hair or prevents split ends, but I know it's doing something positive and I'm going to continue using it :)

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TRESemmé Smooth Silk Shine Finishing Spray

Price: £4.29

'Revives tired hair, adding shine. Its lightweight formula tames frizz, without leaving hair feeling greasy.'

Since using the TRESemmé Smooth range, my hair has been unbelievably soft! My hair has always been soft but it's in a league of it's own now :)

You only need one distant spray of this, maybe two if you want to do the bottom of your hair as well. Too much of this, like most products, could leave your hair looking greasy.

This product leaves my hair shiny and feeling ultra soft. Because you only need a couple of sprays with each use, this product will last an extensive amount of time.

So if you would like shiny, soft hair for a reasonable price, I definitely recommend this :)

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Thank you TRESemmé!

My luck has been unbelievable recently! Some people may be annoyed? But just remember, I can't help being randomly selected!

TRESemmé have recently set up a Twitter account and to celebrate, were giving hampers away everyday for a week. The last night to win was Sunday and I won it!

I got products from the smooth range, which is the range I wanted!

Left to right: Shampoo, conditioner, straightening spray, styling spray, finishing spray, finishing cream and serum.

I'm not sure how to use a few of the products properly, like the cream for example but I can't wait to try these out!

I've never used finishing or styling sprays so it's exciting to try new products (I'm sure most beauty junkies will agree.)

I doubt TRESemmé will read this but if you are, thank you so much!

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Palmer's Hair Success Gro Treatment

I haven't seen this is UK stores but I know it's available on Amazon and eBay for around £4.

You get 100g of product which is a lot and will last you quite a while.

Palmer's say: "Palmer's Hair Success Gro prevents Dry, Breaking Hair, Allows Hair to Grow Longer

Palmer's Hair Success Gro Treatment with VITAMIN E and PROTEIN coats and protects the hair shaft, prevents breakage and allows hair to grow longer. Conditions and moisturizes dry scalp."

My thoughts: The colour is a light milky orange. The smell is disgusting! Like chemical marzipan.

I first put this all over my hair just like a deep conditioner but after rinsing it out twice, my hair was still greasy. I then realised just to put it over my scalp. This helped a little with the greasiness but my hair still felt heavy and dirty.

The thing is, because this is not used all over your hair, you can not feel a difference in the softness/condition like most conditioners do. So I cannot review the difference with 'Dry, breaking hair'.

Another thing that is hard to review is if the product 'Allows hair to grow longer'. Hair grows without products anyway and if this did make a significant difference, I'm not going to know because I don't measure my hair with a measuring tape.

So overall, I don't know if this product improves the condition of my hair or helps it grow but it does smell horrible and leaves my hair greasy.

I wish I could tell if this improves my hair, but as I can't, I'm not willing to have greasy, chemical marzipan smelling hair.

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Hair Inspiration Continued

Just a quick post to show you some more hair inspiration.. me!

These are from a year-2 years ago

Funnily enough, in all three I have my hair wavy, I liked it like that ^^

Sorry about the first two posing pictures, we've all got them!

The first and third pictures are in direct sunlight and that's the lightest my hair got but the middle picture shows you the colour it normally was like, darkish auburn.

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Hair Inspiration

I can't wait for my ginger locks to come back! The dye is pretty much gone now, and my hair is ginger toned but it just needs to be lightened up. The sun will do this!

How gorgeous are these redheads? Some natural locks and some not but all of them are beautiful. Ginger ugly? pfft just look at these:

(Not really ginger toned but she's gorgeous!)

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