Showing posts with label haircare. Show all posts
Showing posts with label haircare. Show all posts

Sunday, 15 March 2015

New Hair Products!


Hello all and welcome back! Today my post is going to be about some new hair products which I've bought recently and have been trying out.

I have used all of these 3/4 times so this is a first impressions type post which I hope is useful to some of you!


Working from left to right, the first product I have been trying out is the Colab dry shampoo in the scent London- I have done a haul which talked more about the product which you can read here. This scent is a really nice mix of more floral tones with a musk background which means that it's not too overpowering to use on your hair but gives a nice scent for while you're styling your hair. I like to use this when my hair is straight to add volume at the roots and make my hair less flat, a bonus of doing this with a dry shampoo is that of course it removes any signs of grease or build up too! This is the best dry shampoo I've used and is a really great price too.

The next product I've been using is the Garnier Fructis Style my curl perfecting mousse, the one I picked up is ultra strong and is 4/6 when it comes to hold. I've never used a mousse before on my hair but the more I started wearing my hair curly the more I learnt about styling curly hair and all the blogs I read said that a mousse was the way to go. This one I picked up from Superdrug not long ago and it's already made me into a mousse convert! I scrunch this into damp hair while my head is upside down which adds loads of volume at the roots where my hair is usually flat. After that I usually leave it to air dry or use a diffuser if I want it dry quickly. The only issue I have with this is the high amount of hold can make my hair feel slightly crunchy, so next time I would get a softer hold, but apart from that, it defines my curls and keeps them in shape for longer!

The third product is one which I've been wanting to try for ages and that's a cleansing conditioner! This one is Palmer's Olive Oil formula cleansing conditioner and is enriched with vitamin E and doesn't have the sulphates or parabens which are usually in shampoo and conditioner. The idea of a cleansing conditioner is that it cleans your hair without stripping it of natural oils and drying it out. This is an ideal way of washing your hair if it's naturally curly or gets dry easily. So far I'm really pleased with the results of using this product, my hair feels as clean as when I do both shampoo and conditioner but it takes less time and leaves my hair feeling softer and less dehydrated.

The final hair product I've been testing out is the L'Oreal Paris studio line salt spray, this has a rating of 4/10 in terms of how textured it will make your hair look which is perfect to add a tousled vibe to my hair when I want it to be a bit more gritty. I also like braiding sections of my hair and find that this is great to make the hair less clean and therefore makes the braids look better than when it's freshly washed. This was a really inexpensive product and is similar in some ways to the VO5 give me texture spray I used to swear by. The only difference being is that this is definitely more of a wet spray than the VO5 which was more like a mist. However, the little bottle it comes in barely takes up and room and could be put in your handbag easily if you like to add more texture throughout the day.

I hope you've enjoyed my mini reviews of the new hair products I've been trying out throughout the month of February and I hope you have found them useful! I hope you have a good week and stay golden!

Gracie xo 

Sunday, 15 February 2015

How I style my hair... curly and straight!


Hello all, welcome back!

This week I wanted to share with you the two ways in which I style my hair; curly and straight. I had previously done a blog about my hair in October, however I wanted to replace that one with this, to add more detail and information on my styling routine. 

My hair is long, thick, frizzy, naturally curly and also stubborn! It dries out easily and therefore I always use products to protect it when I'm using heat, as well as using a curly cream/spray and a straightening spray to help keep the frizz and natural madness at bay!

80p each, ASDA

To start off I wash my hair every 3/4 days (curly hair tends to get greasier slower, usually mine can last a day longer). My hair doesn't get greasy very quickly at all, when I do wash it I vary on my shampoo/conditioner brands. At the moment I am using the Alberto Balsam mandarin shampoo and conditioner. These are great all round and leave your hair clean, moisturised and smelling great!

L-R: Boots, £6.99 // unknown
Curly hair first!
After washing my hair I brush it to remove any knots and apply argan oil to the ends. After doing this I do 5-8 sprays of the John Frieda Frizz Ease Go Curlier 48 hour curls throughout my hair and run my fingers through to spread the product. If I am going to let my hair air dry then I leave it here, if I'm using my hair dryer I'll apply a heat defence spray too. I diffuse my hair on a low setting so I don't use a lot of heat defence but I apply it to the ends to protect them from splitting and drying out. 


Hair dryer: Argos, £17.99




The brush I use is just a regular hair brush from my local chemist. The hair dryer is the Babyliss Curl and Dry 2100W. This is a great hair dryer and has speed and heat settings so you can control all aspects of your hair styling.

L-R: TRESemme, Tesco, £3.50// 3 day straight, Boots, £6.99// unknown







To straighten my hair I wash it in the same way and then apply argan oil throughout. Next I use the John Frieda Frizz Ease 3 day straight and spray liberally throughout my hair making sure it's distributed evenly.
Finally I use the TRESemme Heat Defence styling spray to protect my hair, concentrating on the ends.
Top-bottom: GHD's, £125, GHD.com// Haird dryer, Argos, £17.99// comb, poundland//
round brush, Boots, £9.99 






To straighten my hair and get it as smooth as possible I first use a widetooth comb to make sure there are no knots left in. After this, I rough dry my hair with no nozzle attached to get it to being damp. I now attach the nozzle and - starting at the front - use my Remington Keratin therapy round brush to blow dry it smooth. I am no expert at this and practice definitely makes perfect! After getting it thoroughly dried out and as smooth as I can I switch my hair dryer to its cold setting and blow my hair in a downward motion, this helps it keep its straightness. After this I use my GHD V gold max stylers to straighten it out, again in sections and starting at the front as this is where I have stubborn flicks and frizzy sections!

This is my final hair routine! It can take a long time to do, especially the straightening, however I love both finished looks. If I want to give my hair a break or just can't be bothered with using lots of product and heat, then I usually use a hair mask to deep condition it and then let my hair air dry or sleep with it in plaits/ a bun so that in the morning I wake up with curly hair without the fuss!

I hope this has given you some ideas! Hope your week is going great, stay golden
Gracie xo

P.S. all products are bought by me and the prices were right according to the store/store website at time of me writing this blog.