My haircare routine

So this post is going to be to do with haircare and in particular my personal haircare routine that I feel works best for me. I have recently had my hair cut but for a long time a had long hair (past my shoulders) that was often coloured around 4-5 times a year. I am a natural blonde, however as I got older my hair got darker and when I reached about 13/14 I decided that I wanted to start getting highlights or ‘streaks’ as they where known back then ( oh that makes me feel really old haha). It was around this time that I also discovered Ghds and so my hair started to go through the process of drying out, snapping and just generally looking a mess. Once I started getting blonde highlights I became addicted and would always ask for more and more each time I went to the hairdressers. One day my hairdresser told me that my hair was going too weak and that I should stop being bleaching it as it would snap and I wouldn’t get the long hair I always wanted. This absolutely scared me so I decided to go all out and completely dye my hair dark brown (picture below). After about a year though I missed my blonde too much and started the long process of going lighter again. Today I am happy with the colour I am and I stick to just getting the same colour highlights and lowlights every 2-3 months and following the routine below. 

I used to swear by the old herbal essence shampoo and conditioner but a few years back they changed the look and the formula and I just didn’t really seem to get on with the new version. Since then I have tried and tested many different brands and types of shampoo and conditioner and I have to say that my favourite to date has to be the Loreal Elvive in the pink bottles. I think it is called 'Nutri-Gloss shine’ range. It aimed at mid to long dull hair and promises to provide mirror shine and cashmere touch. After using this shampoo and conditioner I can definitely feel a difference to my hair. It is much more manageable, less knotty and a lot softer than it is when I use any other brand/range. My hair feels a lot lighter and as I like some volume to my hair I think this suits me perfectly as it doesn’t feel like my hair is weighed down. I like to change my shampoo and conditioner from time to time as I have heard that your hair can get used to one range and so it stops reeping the benefits. I personally have found this to be true in my case and so I like to mix it up however I seem to follow a pattern of switching from no more than 3 brands. I have tried the more expensive brands such as Aussie and Charles Worthington , however I personally don’t think these live up to their reputation and they don’t do anything for my hair. Another great thing about the Elvive range is that they are normally always on some kind of offer at boots such as ‘3 for 2’.

Aside from shampoo and conditioner I like to use the ‘Unite 7 seconds’ leave in detangled after I have washed my hair. Now i know this is quite expensive at around £16.90 (before delivery) for a 236ml bottle from Urban Retreat, but I have to say this is the one most AMAZING hair product i have EVER discovered in all my life and I could not live without it!! Seriously, I could sit here and sing its praises all day long but until you try it, you just can’t know how amazing it is. I only need a few sprays all over my damp towel dried hair and then I brush it through and it is like a dream. Do you know that feeling when you finally get all your tats out and your brush just glides through your hair? well that is how it feel when I use this. It has definitely saved me much pain and time in my routine and had saved me ragging a load of knots out with a comb.

Finally, before I blow dry and style my hair I always use a heat protector. I have tried so many over the years from the GHD ones to the ones from the pound shop. Most recently I have been using the Schwarzkopf ‘got 2 b guardian angel’ spray and have to say this is my favourite. This is the only heat protector that I have ever re-purchased and will continue to do so. My hair just feels so much more protected with this spray compared to others I have used and I have noticed less split ends which is a positive sign. 

So as i mentioned before, I recently got my hair cut and a lot more layers put in and I am so happy with the result. My hair feels so much more healthy and easier to manage, I think continuing with this routine will help me to prolong this and avoid it from looking dull and boring.  I will put a picture of my new hair below, let me know what you think and let me know of any tips or products you go by or use :))

Laura mericer Creme Brûlée Honey Bath

I first smelt this out of curiosity last year when i was walking past it in Selfridges. Im not particularly  a fan of creme brluee scented products so I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. Its very rich  and sweet but not too sickly. However when I seen the price tag of £33 I forced myself to walk away as I knew it was going to be hard to resist but I just couldn't justify the price. I kept this product in the back of my mind and after 2 months I was still craving the scent. Then I sat down and tried to find a reason as to why it wouldn't be so ridicules for me to spend that much on one bath product. I figured that I  don’t really give that much thought into buying lush products for my bath, and bearing in mind that I use a whole bomb or melt in one bath, at 3-4 pounds each that means i could get about 10 baths for £33. Now when i compare that to the honey bath (300g), I figure that I can get just as much if not more baths for that price. I have used it about 4 times so far and you can hardly tell, a little goes a long way.

So I gave in and treated myself to a jar as a christmas present ‘to my self” and I'm glad that I did. I order it from Space Nk and I had a £5 worth of points so it worked out a little cheaper which was a bonus. The honey bath comes with a wooden honey dipper that you dip in the ‘honey’ and then hold it under the running tap which distributes the product evenly and creates some lovely soothing bubbles. In addition I like to use this product as a body wash both in the bath and shower so it doubles up as a multipurpose product. I lather it on my skin before I get in the shower and then wash it off and it leaves my skin so silky smooth and smelling divine. The scent also lingers in my bathroom for a good while afterwards which is nice.

I will most certainly be repurchasing this again although I don't think that will be for a long time due to how long it lasts. I am also looking forward to trying the other scents such as the Ambre Vanille and the Fresh Fig.

Zoella Beauty Range

Zoella (Zoe Sugg) is a youtuber and beauty blogger that I have been following for some time now. I think Zoe gives good, honest reviews and opinions on different products and it is thanks to her (and some other of my favourite bloggers) that I have tried some beauty products that I may not have even complimented buying before. Since I have been following various beauty bloggers and you tubers my stash has grown quite substantially and I have adopted some new favourites into my routine. Therefore I was excited when i heard that Zoella was bringing her own beauty range out as I knew that i had similar tastes to her and with her personally designing the products I knew they would appeal to me, although I didn't expect to like them as much as I do. 

The range includes: Soak Opera bath soak/shower cream, Creamy Madly Deeply body lotion, Blissful Mistful (body mist), Fizz bar, Candle and 3 beauty bags with different themes that all mean something to Zoe.

I am going to talk about the fizz bar, bath soak/shower cream and the candle as these are the 3 that appealed most to me and I was lucky enough to receive them as christmas gifts. 

The fizz bar comes in a block with 8 small squares that you can break off to put in your bath. I like this idea because i can choose the amount of squares to suit my bath for example if I'm getting a long relaxing bath with a lot of water in i will put 2-3 squares in or you are just getting a shallow bath you could just use 1 (not that my baths are ever anything but nearly overflowing haha). I like to mix this with the Soak Opera bath soak/shower gel to create some bubbles. The smell from both of these is just soo nice, it fills up the bathroom without being to strong. I'm not very good when it comes to describing scents but if i had to try i would describe it as a nice fresh smell with a hint of floral. The Soak opera can also be used as a shower cream if you don't have a bath or you just prefer showers which is great as it leaves you super clean and smelling lovely. I can definitely feel the difference to my skin when using this, it’s very gentle and smoothing it just feels like my body is being wrapped in cotton wool which is nice and comforting. Finally I like to light my candle and place it on the side of the bath. This helps me to relax and sets a nice calming atmosphere. The candle gives off a fair amount of scent when used with the other products from the range just intensifies the smell. This candle was so nice that I didn't want it to finish and when I was about half way through it (it lasts a good while), I decided that I wanted to purchase a few more and place them around my bedroom. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the candles I'm not sure if they have been discontinued which would be a shame if they have. If you know where I can get my hands on any please leave a comment and let me know. 

All in all I am very impressed with what I have tried so far and can’t wait to try some of the other products from the range, Blissful Mistful is next on my list ….

Hello :-)

So its been a while since I was last on here, to say it all got a bit confusing for me would be an understatement but i think I'm starting to get to grips with everything now so hopefully i'll soon be a regular! I just got a new macbook today so it's a lot more accessible for me as before I only had an iPad and then that broke so I was left with just my iPhone which was not very convenient. I now feel a lot more equipped and positive about everything :-)

There is not set pattern or schedule set for when I will be bogging I'm just going to go with the flow and see how it goes. My life isn't always that interesting so i can't promise exciting posts all the time, sometimes I will just be rattling on about whats on my mind or my thoughts on general things (maybe  a little like a diary i suppose?) but then again I don't expect many viewers.

Well thats it for now, just thought I would check in before I consume my bodyweight in chocolate and catch up on Celebrity Big Brother. Oh and if you want to follow me on twitter by any chance you can at @_sarahey

xxx