FLYING SAUCER

Me Time!

I am in a zone of calm and zen like no other! I have not truly, extravagantly pampered myself in months, maybe even years; no activity has been purely about relaxing and just feeling great. I've done the whole hair wash/buff/tan routine a million times but tonight I took my time and felt like that lady of leisure I wish I was!

I know a lot of bloggers use a pic-n-mix of products but I have a few fail-safe favourites and don't buy more than those. I can't really afford to try products in case I don't like them, but I needed a new conditioner and splashed out on the Lee Stafford conditioner with argan oil. I have a hair mask below already and I prefer serum to oil, so the oil already in with the conditioner seemed a bonus and Lee Stafford was at the Motel Christmas party so I am fond of the brand! His fiancee is the incredibly hot lady from The Real Hustle and I found myself talking to her and wondering how I knew her... I love a celeb spot! 

I went to Boots at lunch today with Lora, my fellow beauty junkie at Motel HQ, and fabulous intern Holly who is always a ray of sunshine in the office. The 3-for-2 deals called us all and the recent VO5 adverts make me seriously want the promised smooth hair, so I got this conditioner in with the deal. Got2b have repackaged their hairspray too and this has been my favourite for years! It smells like raspberries!

The Botanics Hot Cloth Cleansing Balm is a repurchase after I used every scrap of the first pot I bought. I was about to buy The Sanctuary HC Cleanser again but I saw Lily review this and it sounded even better. It feels very heavy and thick and I wondered if a parade of spots was on the horizon, but my skin is just as blemish-free as with The Sanctuary cleanser and this gives your skin a serious moisture boost. I don't scrub my face dry with the cloth, I leave a little of the balm on and let it sink in for plump, healthy skin. Your foundation goes on a dream! My skin was calling for this during the colder months so I'm not sure how it will fare if we ever get any sun! Hopefully hydrating my skin with this will mean less oil, not more when the weather gets hotter.

Once a week, if I know I am going to wash my hair that night, I will slather on a generous amount of the Charles Worthington Intense Rescue Melting Balm from root to tip as soon as I get home (I don't get oily hair so the roots are fine). By the time I come to wash my hair, it has soaked in and you barely need conditioner. It works! My hair is definitely much softer and more hydrated, and I haven't had a trim since October and my hair still looks fine!

If I'm feeling fancy but want ultimate calm, I love this Seascape body butter that absolutely radiates the most natural lavender smell, like your are rubbing yourself with the real thing. It is rich but spreads evenly and lightly and I like just how white it is, adding to the fresh, clean vibes. If I am tanning, I'll just use this on my ankles, elbows, knees and wrists. Lush!

As I am doing some serious eBaying at the moment, I impulsed one night on the cult Crest White Strips and can confirm they really do work! They are just little stickers covered in a thin layer of gel and you put them over your top and bottom teeth, then whip them off 30 minutes later! Your teeth instantly look smooth and bright, and a few uses make a noticeable difference.

A bath is the ultimate luxury for me as I never have any time and I find the water has to be just the right temperature so you don't feel freezing when you get out! Sometimes I get too hot in baths and it's not fun anymore, just humid! I had The Enchanter bath bomb from Lush sitting pretty for a while on my shelf and today was the day to bust it out in all its citrus glory. The pink centre is the nicest surprise!

All of this pampering was not in vain as one of my bezzies is coming to visit tomorrow and I wanted to kick off the weekend with a girly night of treats. Now I feel a hundred bucks!

A rather fancy weekend

Motel Rocks Deborah Dress, River Island flatforms, New Look leopard socks

Hi guys! It now seems like years ago but I visited home on the weekend and always have a lovely time. I don't go very often as it's so expensive so I try to fit in seeing as many people as possible! On the Friday night I visited my Mom's newish house in a small, pretty town and my sister over came that night too when I dyed her hair. I had two rather exciting things to try/wear on the Saturday as it was my oldest/longest friend's birthday and I was taking her for dinner and then getting a limo for a pub crawl with everyone! The limo was a surprise and it took all my willpower not to mention it while we were eating and shopping!

  

I got up at about 8am because I was really excited to get ready for a night/day out as the day before I was ecstatic to receive the Cherry Blossom GHD styler! The cherry pink makeover supports Breakthough Breast Cancer so I donated the £10 too as these were given to me as a gift to show you guys. The styler is set to create any hair for any occasion but of course my favourite is the party hair as I am all for big, bouncy curls with height!

Whenever I go to the hair dressers, they blow dry my hair straight and then curl it with straighteners, so the curls simply drop out after an hour. On Saturday I styled my hair normally where I dry sections around a round brush so they have waves, like in the left picture. I was dubious as to whether the styler would add weight to my hair or cause curls to drop out, but it set and smoothed the curls, removing any frizz! There are lots of YouTube videos of how to curl your hair using straighteners, basically twisting them around and then pulling through at an even pace. I can safely say the curls lasted all day too and have a much sleeker, more shiny finish than using my usual conical wand. I'm a convert, I've never had expensive hair tools!

The styler itself is of course divine, with hot pink plates and polka dots, and instead of the mini red light, the 'on' button is a lit up pink ghd logo! They make you feel glamorous just holding them; my first 'grown up' straighteners. They have a handy bag too with a heat protecting department so you can throw them in while the straighteners are still hot - great when I then have to throw on my dress and dash off!

As for my outfit, I didn't want to share this over the weekend as the dress sold out straight away! It's the Deborah Dress from Motel Rocks and the black and red flew off the website so they were restocked quickly - get yours now before they sell out again! I think it's the perfecttt dress to be subtle and 'covered' but flash an understated bit of shoulder and leg for a sexy hint. I was meeting my friend in the afternoon so I teamed the dress with River Island flatforms and leopard socks! I would have worn creepers but I ordered a new River Island pair and they hadn't arrived yet, sob! The dress is so flattering as long sleeved, bodycon fits always are, and now Motel dresses are a little longer too, woo! I also wore the new Kate Moss red lipstick in 111 - loving red lips right now with red hair! x

L'Oreal Wild Ombré Dip Hair Dye No 3

Hi guys! I am in the mist of a very stretched week as I move out of my house into a new one and tackle a very serious drama involving an exploding smoothie. Yes, somehow my bedroom walls and ceiling are covered in strawberry smoothie, rather similar to a bloodbath shooting, and I am trying to scrub if off to get my deposit back, eeek!

Drama aside (if I don't laugh, I'll cry), I had a lovely weekend visiting home, dashing around friends and family in order to see everyone. The train home itself is £33 so I can't go as often as I would like sadly! My Mom lives outside of central Birmingham now so my sister visited her on the same night as me and I helped dye her hair. This is almost like a self-narrated guest post and it was her hair, but I thought some of you might be interested in the new L'Oreal Ombré hair dye kits! My sister Chloe works in Superdrug so she bought this before it hit the shelves, probably within the next week or so.

The kit is essentially bleach with a comb, coming in three shades to achieve blonde if you have dark blonde - dark brown hair. Chloe already had blonde ends but wanted to take it up a few inches as her hair has grown. I know nothing of bleaching or hair dying but it was a doddle! You simply squeeze the creme onto the brush and comb it onto the very ends; then comb it lightly on the bits you want to fade. To get an even line, I would get someone else to do it so you aren't reaching around the back of your head, and make sure you lightly brush the underneath too. Chloe's went fine apart from a more obvious brown - blonde line at the back underneath which I must not have brushed properly! I would also tie up the top section of your hair if you have layers so you can spend some dedicated time making them perfect, as that layer will be shown the most!

  

MAY FASHION BLOGGER CHALLENGE DAY 30

 

    30th. Pretty hair

I haven't had a haircut in a long time and now it seems like another expense that I didn't plan in for this month. You know when you plan on spending nothing on anything yet things creep up and you do anyway? Well I'm trying to eliminate any unnecessary purchase as I still will end up going out at night and eating out etc, and I think I'll wait just a little longer for a haircut. My hair is finally, officially long in my eyes, as my hair always feels much shorter than it is in reality and I've always had it loooong! This Leo definitely needs a mane to swish around and if my hair looks bad, I feel bad! Nothing worse than frizzy bits at the front or a kink at the root. 

Last night I was craving a brighter red and by 8pm tonight, I had dyed it just that!! I used Garnier Nutrisse 6.60 Fiery Red, which seemed the most conditioning/kind permanent colour that was a true red, without any purple tones. I bought two boxes as they were two for £8 and went with the brighter one, thinking I could always dye over it if it really did feel too bright! As my hair is already ginger, I will always have copper tones showing through so reds never really fade on me. The dye I had at the salon in October is still there! I can't tell the true colour until the morning and it felt like a lot of my hair was falling out in the shower but so far, so good. YOLO!

As for pretty hair, I love long hair when it's curled and every time I've been out at night recently, I've done mine very curly. I spent the past few years trying to get volume in my hair at the roots, but realised recently that to get movement and lift at your head, you might as well curl your hair at the top there, which automatically creates texture and life! Now it seems so silly that I tried to lift the straight bits at the top of my hair, as something straight is never really going to see that volumised. Girls I urge you to try curling from the root and step back to admire your thick, full looking hair from root to tip! I use a Remmington conical wand which does the job fine. Here is curls galore from my Tumblr:

   

MAY FASHION BLOGGER CHALLENGE DAY 27

    27th. Inspired by your style icon

This post had put me in a reeeally drastic mood guys! Drastic like I need to do something totally new as I am very bored of my hair and general life! I don't really have a style icon as I just love browsing blog and tumblrs, but two girls who I would totally trade bodies with at the moment are Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato, mostly for hair envy!! When I dyed my hair a bright red a while ago at the salon, it wasn't very long, and now my hair is as long as I want it but the dye has faded. It's still tinted but it's not bright and fiery and pow! I do have my whole life to have the same hair colour so I don't mind dying it sometimes now, and I think I might pick up a bright red dye tomorrow... hmmm! I would only go semi permanent though so if you know any good dyes that I can get in Boots or Superdrug, please let me know! Not Manic Panic/Directions types as I found they didn't last very long at all.

I love Ariana's hair because it sometimes looks quite pink, and sadly that colour wouldn't really suit me as I need a more orange-red.

However I reeeally want Demi Lovato's hair colour! I love her entire look at the moment and really want her curls and side swept parting. And a hat! Have you seen any hats like this anywhere; a wide boater style?

I will be taking these pics to the hairdressers ASAP as I haven't had a trim since February!!

 

Nails Done, Hair Done

I'm going on holiday to Madrid in two days ahhhhh!!!! I am so excited but also quite stressed as there seem to be a million little things to do and I have to go from Birmingham, so I have to do everything in advance. Hmmm. My solution recently though is to pack lightly on purpose, as if you try to pack a 'normal' amount, it will always feel like you have forgot something. At least if you pack lightly, you know you will only be dealing with a little load! I have eight dresses for 3 and a half nights though, oops.

So in prep, I got my favourite EVER polish put on, which could well be the last time I have gel nails for a while. My nails are so weak and thin underneath, they definitely need a break finally! I might get my gels off for a few weeks and obsessively apply coats of strengthening polish and oils. The polish is W7 Fluorescent Pink 2 (the 2 is very important) and it's a half fluro coral, half hot pink which is impossible to photograph! This is almost the right colour.

Then I've been curling my hair lots recently as I had a silly brain wave when I was fed up of my hair being flat on the top. No amount of backcombing would solve the problem but then I realised why don't I make sure the top section has curl to it so it naturally doesn't lie flat anyway... duh! Also curls seem to make your hair look longer too!

I just got a new Denman brush in the epic Boots 3 for 2 deals on right now so that should spruce up my blow dry as I've had my usual two brushes for years now, even though I do clean them (just wash them in a bowl of soapy water!). Then I really want the ghd air hairdryer and Peacock Collection styler with the purple plates -  I love Katy Perry!! Anything mermaid related and I'm in. In fact anything celebrity related and I'm in; I still haven't had the guts to wear Viva Glam Nicki!

This is the colour of my hair right now as I'm still topping up with the £1.29 (previously 99p!?!) Superdrug dyes that are only meant to last for a few washes, so I use a small bit with most washes. I thought for a time they were being discontinued (oh the horror!) but they've just improved the packaging and er, upped the price. No worries though, these babies are my saviour!

Now I must go and write more lists and most likely forget everything ahh! Now where is my passport...

Aussie Hair Care Giveaway WINNERS!!

Hello! My short and sweet Aussie Giveaway is now over and the winners have been picked! I will be emailing and tweeting you for your addresses and chosen products for your Summer Party packs, yay! Thank you to everyone who entered, I was worried no one would!

In the end I could not pick out seven winners as there was so many funny and delightful reasons why you guys are celebrating right now! So I did pick 6 at random, and one special winner is Sarah of Sweet Potato Sarah because without her internet suggestion (I've been using BT Openzone for the past week!), I would not have been able to run this giveaway or blog at all for ages, or would have spent £££ on a dongle or at internet cafes! Yay! Here are the winners and a snap shot of their excuses to party:

Sarah: I'm celebrating having a second interview for a potential job this week! I've been looking for months and I'm so happy to finally have a chance to earn some cash :D

Lauren: I'm celebrating my little sister getting engaged! 

Rebecca: Well, in roughly a month's time I'll be celebrating re-freshers back at uni - does that count?? For now, it's just being at home, and trying to get free drinks in every bar in my home town by bullying my friends into doing gigs, aha!

Seonaid: I'm celebrating my 21st birthday this Sunday! I'm so excited - for some reason I feel like this is the age when I will officially be 'a grown up'. Haha! 

Helen F: I'm celebrating the fact that it's 3 weeks today until my trip to Barcelona :D 

Shannon: I'm celebrating my first ever trip to Paris! I am an Aussie, and I've been living in London for the past 9 months but I still haven't made it to Paris yet. So this weekend I'm biting the bullet and taking myself off to the city of lights all by myself. Sooo excited! 

Lucy D: This week I am celebrating leaving my incredibly boring and unfulfilling day job and going off to be ultra broke pursuing my dream of becoming a radio producer. Friday is my last day, and I can't wait to not be stuck behind a desk any more.

Congratulations ladies! I wish there was a prize for everyone xx

Aussie Hair Care Giveaway!

Hi all! I have a very special and out of the ordinary post today as I have a giveaway! Stop if you think 'ah I never win anything' because times are changing as I have seven prizes oooo.

If you read lots of blogs, you may see people going off to Aussie Hair Care parties and adventures and I always though, I wish I was invited! Well it seems you can actually apply to be an 'Angel' and I did just in time for this theme - Any excuse to party! As it's 110 years since Australia became a country (literally any excuse to party right!), they are having a huge bonanza in London this October and are celebrating with limited edition packaging covered in fireworks. I received a Summer Party pack after much hunting and waiting for the postman, and seven of you will receive a Summer Party Pack too!

They will include an Aussie product of your choice in the limited edition packaging, from the Take the Heat, Miracle Moist and Luscious Long collections. Then one winner across all the Aussie blog giveaways will win TEN tickets for them and their mates to a huge Aussie party in October in London with all the Aussie Angel bloggers! If you are a blogger, this will be an event not to be missed.

So to win one of seven Aussie-versary Summer Party Pack prizes and be in with the chance of attending the big party, just comment here telling me something you are celebrating! This giveaway is quite well timed as I am going to celebrate loads on the weekend as my friend is visiting who just actually spent months away in Australia, yay! So what do you have to celebrate? It can be big or small; maybe you've over the moon with your A Level results, maybe you got a bargain in the reduced supermarket section, maybe you got a text from that guy! Everything counts! I will draw out of a hat I think as I am terrible at making a decision, let alone seven.

I don't usually run giveaways as this blog is more like a diary and I don't really 'push' it out there, it's just happy in its own little internet corner! However Aussie do incredible things for their campaigns, they're really impressive and I haven't used their products in years; I did when I used to straighten my hair as a fresher four years ago! That smell of the Frizz 3 Minute Miracle haunts me from then but I am trying out the Take the Heat products now, yum.

So what are you celebrating right now? Check out the Aussie collections to name your favourite product in your comment too and don't forget to leave your email address or Twitter so I can contact you if you win! You only have 24hrs so this giveaway will end at 10pm on Tuesday 23rd August! I'm sorry, this is only open to UK mainland residents, Aussie's rules! Good luck! 

P.S. OMG on the Aussie site I just spotted they have a weather forecast you can download which warns you of frizzy hair weather! I check the weather every day without fail to dictate my outfits and apparently tomorrow has 46% humidity so I'd better overload on serum tonight! I just washed my hair as I went to the gym and holey moley am I going to hurt tomorrow! I thought their 'legs, bums n tums' would be more of a classic church hall-type class but it was so hardcore and I can barely walk!!

My Favourite Hair Products

Hi all! You may or may not know that a couple of months ago, I took part in a John Frieda live web programme where I straightened my hair on webcam! Haha that sounds very random but it was to try the 3 Day Straight Spray. You can see an edit of the whole show at the end of this post which was FULL of hair tips, like how you could start from the top rather than the bottom to dry your hair so your top layer looks the nicest. I always go from the bottom and end up not being bothered when I finally get to the top layer of my hair! I made YouTube videos on how I dry and style my hair a few months ago too but here are the products that I'm using right now. Some are LOVES, some are strange and some are damn necessary, a lot like air. If you have any recommendations for me, I'd lovelovelove to hear! P.S. Bought all ths myself, no sponsor or anything (or ever!), just felt like talking about hair!

I have two sets of products, one for frizz taming and drying and one for pumping up the volume and sorting out a third day 'do!

John Frieda Frizz Ease Straight Fixation Light Weight Creme: Anyone with frizzy or dry hair will know a cream is an essential as sometimes you want to tame and soften if everything's gone a bit like straw. This cream goes a little sticky too which helps mould my curls and define them.

John Frieda Frizz Ease Serum Extra Strength Formula: NOTHING is like this! I've said a million times that when I lived in Sweden, I actually spent £12 on this per bottle, and the millimetre of product at the end of the bottle really does last weeks as I used to use mine up 110%! When I section off my hair for blow drying, I'll put a pump through each part (about eight sections in total) so the serum is then almost dried into the hair so it really penetrates it and drys smooth. Then I'll rub some between my fingers and run it over each curl a few hours later to define them so they hold for longer. Sometimes I'll rub a pump lightly through my hair maybe on the 2nd day to keep it sleek. No other serum is as thick as this so it goes a long way.

Kerastase Elixir Ultime: I haven't had a JF Serum in months because I was trying to use this up, but it lasts forever and ever! It's the same thing as Moroccan oil as it's got argan oil in it, and a bunch of others, but it's just too thin for my hair. It makes it soft but I prefer my hair to have hold, so I have defined curls rather than loose waves.

 

The main thing in my volumising routine is my Denman Dressing Out backcombing brush but I must have left it at home, damn! It's really thin so you can get right to the roots of your hair. I always backcomb my roots a bit just under my top layer of hair or else my hair hangs flat when I have just washed it. And then on a night out, I love BIG hair!

Schwarzkopf got2b POWDER'ful Volumizing Styling Powder: This comes in one box for girls and one for boys, LOL! I was tempted to buy the boys just because they're exactly the same product. This is basically a powder that you rub into your roots (I shake it straight onto my already backcombed roots as rubbing it into your hands first just gets rid of it) and it makes your hair matted. Matted hair sounds gross and it smells BAD but it really locks in your teased hair for days! And no one is really going to start feeling your scalp right?

Batiste Dry Shampoo XXL Volume: I have heard loads of hype on this but it isn't great! When I first got it I was impressed but realised your 'volume' doesn't last until you even step out of the house so what's the point?!

TIGI Catwalk Root Boost: I have had this for a while but recently fell back in love! It's a mousse but comes in a spray can so you don't need to squirt out a huge blob and get it all over your hands. I spray it in my teased roots for extra hold but also spray a fine layer over my curls and gently pat it in, which makes then super defined and shiny. They have hold but they aren't crispy or stiff!

Schwarzkopf got2b 2sexy Hair Spray: OMG go buy this!!! Seriously!! This is my tenth can maybe? It smells like raspberries and has hold but doesn't give your hair crunch. You won't want to stop spraying it! And Boots have it for half price at £2 right now! Or maybe it's Superdrug, I'll have to check in store. Before I buy anything, I check in Boots and Superdrug first to see which has the best deal! But the new Superdrug beauty card has 10 points per £1 while Boots is only 4/£1 I believe, so you must factor that in.

TIGI Bedhead Defrizzer, Smoother, and Instant Restyler: I was walking in Bristol town and nearly bypassed a girl promoting things when I heard 'free hair product' and was like 'Well, hellooo!' She gave out some samples and also a hair scratch card (omg scratch card from heaven!) where I won a free TIGI product from a salon. I couldn't decide between a deep conditioner or red hair shampoo but in the end I got this spray in an INSANE bottle. Really this product should be in a mini bottle as it's for touch ups a few days after you wash your hair. Sometimes when you have washed your hands, do you feel like smoothing them over your frizz while they're still damp to calm it down? However you don't because you know adding any dampness to your hair will result in more frizz later! This product seems to slightly dampen your hair at first so it's just like smoothing down your frizz but it doesn't end up frizzier. I'd love this for the end of the day if I'm going out straight from work as it really refreshes your hair, but the bottle is just too mental and huuuge.

Check out the John Frieda show here and see me with suuuper straight hair haha!

Revisiting Summer

My wardrobe isn't as big as my sister's, who accepts all my castoffs willingly, but I do have a few things that I don't take to Uni that I just sorted through. Hopefully there will be nice weather over the exam season, and then during the week after when you recuperate! If you've read for a while, you might know that I used to be a vintage fanatic and spent loads of time on eBay US hunting secondhand summer dresses. Now I don't really have time for those dedicated searches but I have a stack of dresses I've just been looking through. All the above are vintage apart from the Topshop cherry dress. I'm not sure if I'm too old for the one on the right as it's a teenage Jessica McClintock Gunne Sax dress, very pale and embroidered. Maybe if I wore it in a bit more of a boho Kate Moss way? 

I also have the floral playsuit that I wore on a blogger trip to Paris, it needs some alternations though! It seems handmade in the first place as the metal zip is a bit weak and the stitching has came away on one of the straps.

I also have this super cute romper/playsuit I got on eBay US too. The vintage clothes on there are less 80's than on the UK site. I'm quite long-waisted so this playsuit is a bit short, and also the bones have moulded into a funny shape from storage. Do you know any way to shape them back?

Haha I also got these cuuute tissues from New Look and had to show them!

If you're free this bank holiday, I made another video of a little haul and haircut you might like to see. At the hairdressers they usually dry it straight so I won't wear it like this but I went to Nicky Clarke in the Mailbox instead of Umberto Giannini in Selfridges for a change and really liked it, I would go there again! Happy Easter everyone!xx