August 25, 2014

HAIR HEROES



Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you: My Hair Heroes. They always save my hair on a very bad hair day. And I just need them in my life. I love them. I admire them. And I just can´t imagine life without them. Hahaha. 

If you were also wondering what is the best hairspray to get from a drugstore, seek no more. Elnett hairsprays are the very best ones, especially one particular hairspray. I mean, we all want the same thing. Something that can keep our hair tidy all day long, without any little flyaways, but without the feeling of heavy sticky hair as well. Something that can dissapear after brushing your hair. Yep. It´s a list. I tried many. And I mean many hairsprays. But none left me satisfied (haha), usually the hold was nothing special and as soon as I left my house, the precious hours of doing my blowdry were all lost (yes, it takes me quite a whille to do my blowdry). Or, the feeling. The glue like feeling in my hair. And the texture. Like a stone. Yes, some of the hairsprays just turned my hair into a stone. Or helmet. Not good. You don´t want that. You want a perfext hairspray that can keep your hair in order and yet still feel natural. 



L'Oréal Paris Elnett Satin Hairspray Lumière Supreme Hold 
What a name! And what a size! Looks almos like a trophy between the other hairstyle products on my shelf. Seriously, this is my favorite hairspray. Sometimes I try a different one just for the sake of trying a new thing, but always running back to this one. In case you are just about to start a hair products base and need one piece of everything, give this hairspray a go.

Another savior, a piece you need in your base as well: dry shampoo. It´s a thing you just must have in your house/ handbag/ pocket/ anywhere. Just for the case. You know the plans - today I am defnitely gonna wash my hair. And then you end up falling asleep on the couch in the living room at 9pm and in the morning wondering what was the last thing you wanted to do before going to bed. Or another scenerio, planning to do your hair in the morning before going to work/ school? And suddenly wondering how come it´s already 8.15am and yet you are still in your PJs with half of the cup of coffee. And your hair looks like you can fry some fish´n´chips up there. Well, for these occasions (rare occasions) you should just have one dry shampoo at home. 


Batiste Dry Shampoo XXL Volume - Big & Bouncy 
I opted for Batiste one XXL Volume. When doing this quick saving my roots thing, why not to add some extra texture, some extra volume and just make it look a bit more done, hm? I say yes. You can have one with nice smell, one for brunettes (thinking about this one!) but I think this is two birds one stone - saving a bad hair day and greasy looking roots and adding some fluffy texture and volume. Again, thinking about building a hair ensamble? In need for a dry shampoo? Give it a go.

Has anyone tried the Aussie dry shampoo? Curious what they are like!!!

HAIR GROWTH BOOST MIRACLE


One day, I will tell you my hair story. It is very long, annoying story about how I bleached my hair, completely damaged every bit of it, could not find any suitable hair dye that would last longer than two washes, and most of all, two traumatising hairdresser visits. I bet everyone went through this horrific experience when a lovely looking hairdresser, chatting and smiling cut the hair a bit more than one inch. Maybe more like two inches. Or three. Or five. Or ten. One day, I will tell you my hair story and I will probably make me cry again (my boyfriend doesn´t understand why I cry everytime there is something wrong with my hair). But not today. Today I want to mention two products I started to use after the hairdresser (not my hairdresser, just a random one) chopped my hair a little bit way too much and left me in tears. I was always proud of my long lucious locks and I wanted them back asap.



After hours spent on the internet, googling every possible treatment and method how to help your hair grow a bit faster (including scalp massage, not washing your hair for like a week and keeping it in fishtail all day long, vitamins, tablets, drops,...), I found many girls recommended Lee Strafford mask witth a very remarkable name: "For Hair that never Grows past a certain Length". Well, did not put many hopes in that one, but desperate to try anything I gave it a go, thinking something like "How can possibly a hair mask help to boost my hair growth?!".

Guys, it can. It actually does an amazing job. Not that I had 15 inches of my hair back over night, but the difference after couple of weeks was there. My hair grew faster. Really. Now I am using this mask every week, at least once (because I had a terrible hairdresser experience last month again). This time I also picked up the little spray with the same effect.



Lee Stafford products smell amazing. They smell absolutely incredible and I love it. The mask is not too thick, but not too liquidy either. Haven´t noticed any difference in the quality of my hair, mostly because I usually use it mainly on my roots (that´s where the hair grows from, right?) and leave it sit for let´s say 15-20 minutes, sometimes even longer. The spray is supposed to be used on the roots area as well, on the wet hair. No, none of these products make my hair greasy or oily. They both leave my hair smelling incredbly, ahhhh!
Honestly, I love this stuff. I pick up at least one mask everytime after "hairdresser accident". But really, I will tell you more soon. About my hair. My poor poor hair. 

Any good tips for hair growth? Anything at all? I will be gratefull for anything, haha.

WARMING MINERAL MASK




I was on the lookout for a good facial mask. I do not say perfect, I say a good one. That is because I wanted something not too pricey, but yet still quite effective. And let´s be honest, there ain´t many of masks like these. Either they are usually quite expensive (oh, like the Origins ones on my wishlist) or you don´t see a difference after using. Or worse, your skin feels even worse after the treatmant. And no one wants that, right? 

So I have dacided to pick up my one in The Body Shop. First thing you should now - I really do love TBS. So much. Half of my skincare is TBS. And no, I am not sponsored by TBS, haha. I just love the products, they all smell so good and my skin feel so good after using any product. No bad experience - so far. But back to the masks. I browsed the website in pursuit of my good facial mask. My skin is bit dry, sometimes you can find a spot (or two), sometimes it´s bit oily, there are few scars, not too many wrinkles.... Just was not sure what I am actually looking for. 



And then I found it, the proper spa treatment. The Warming Mineral Mask. Yes, guys, it´s really warming and by warming I mean it´s hot during the application (but not way too hot). You can feel the heat on your fingers and on your skin also. It is very pleasant, good and it feels like it is really working. The consistency is thick, white and bit sticky. The smell is very nice, not very intensive though, more neutral. I usually leave on for around  15 - 20 minutes. The mask does not dry out on your face, so there is no exact moment when you should wash it out. It is a cleansing mask and it is for all skin types, and I really think after trying that is OK for everyone. I usually use twice a week or more when I am feeling like my skin needs an extra cleansing or extra treat (20 minutes spa session, haha).







My opinion? I am very happy with the results. I feel like my skin is more clean everytime, more radiant, more fresh and more happy. I would definetely recommend in case you are looking for a good cleansing mask. I will keep using this one as the price is very friendly - 10 pounds (but check the website - there is some cool deal everytime!), one 100 ml "bottle" lasts quite long and I can really see the results - clean and fresh skin.


August 10, 2014

THE SERUMS

I think about a serum as a secret fighter. They are usually applied underneath the moisturizer for the special "something". And by something I means hydration, protection, healing, brightening etc. The truth is serums are huge now. Everybody is talking about them and it seems like everyone is using one. Or two. Or even more. To be honest, I am not that sure about if we really do need them so "desperately", but I rather picked up two (just so I don' t regret later, when I am old with super-wrinkled face and neck).I will share my opinions about the two serums I picked. 


I use Hydraluron from Indeed Labs in the morning and The Body Shop Serum Vitamin E in the evening. I always apply them one step before my moisturizer. I picked up Hydraluron, because all over the internet every beauty blogger proudly owns one and praise that product as a Holy grail of the Beauty World. I have been using my Hydraluron for one month now and just started to see the results recently. To decsribe the product a bit: It´s see throug-gel like-sticky cream. Almost like a glue. You need just tiny bit to cover your face. After the application, it seems a bit sticky on your skin. And then, you defo need to apply the moisturizer (Hydraluron never replaces moisturizer). The purpose of this serum is to keep your face skin hydrated for longer ("moisture boost" they say). Not sure how it really works, but basically there is this (natural) hyaluronic acid that holds all the water in your skin. I think. I think last two weeks I have noticed that my skin is really nourished, hydrated and feels so good when I touch it (not so often, I promise). But guys first two weeks I had so many spots and acne all over my face. To be honest, not sure if it's from Hydraluron or not, but my skin had been excellent last few months without any spots, so. And Hydraluron was the only change in my skincare routine, so. But after surviving these two weeks of absolut desperation and spotty face, it started to improve the condition (and I hope it will be better and better!).
But it's a good stuff and bit pricey as well - you can pick one in Boots for 24,90 (Currently 16,66 pounds!).



The other miracle is from The Body Shop, costs something about 11,99 pounds and it is overnight serum. I use this one in the evening after my toner and before my moisturizer. I chose this one as it claims to vanish all the scars (and I have many of them from my teenage not so clever spot squeezing, bad me!). I have been using this serum for couple of weeks as well, and I actually like it very much. I think it really helps my skin, makes it feel more soft, pamepered and nourished. Not sure so far about the scars, but I think this issue needs more time. But so far, I have really good feeling about this. It' s very liquidy, clear and smells nice/purely and it' s full of vitamin E (another quite hyped beauty term). After first application, I was bit concerned about this very liquidy consistency, but I got used to it. Overall, I think we will be very good friends with Vitamin E serum. 




Anyone else experienced breakage after first days of Hydraluron? (or is my skin absolutely mad?)
What serums do YOU use? (come one, very curious here:)

Caitriona