TEXTURE SPRAYS | HIGH END VS HIGH STREET

The longer my hair gets, the more effort it takes if I want to style it.  I'm happy that it's finally started growing again after what feels like a lifetime of waiting, but I have to admit that I miss having short layers which made creating texture a dream!  I'm now always on the lookout for new styling products to try and give my hair a bit of extra oomph or those pesky beachy waves that everyone else seems to do better than me!

At the moment I'm using two texturising products, both at opposite ends of the price scale but both of which I quite like.  

First there is Fudge Urban Crisp Pear & Sweet Vanilla Texture Spray, £6.99, which can be found in Boots and Superdrug.  I picked this up because I have a couple of other products by Fudge and they smell a m a z i n g!  It's so lovely to use hair sprays that smell of something pleasant rather than that cheap, chemical smell that often comes with cheaper brands, and this texture spray is no different.  It smells just like it says on the can, so it gets top marks for that.  It claims to be a 'back comb in a can', which I also agree with.  I spray this in my hair, rough it up a bit and it makes it 100% easier to style.  The spray gives it a rough, mattified feel that has at least 30% more volume and it stays in place for hours (as long as there's no gale force wind outside!).  I think this is a bargain styling product that really gives the higher end versions a run for their money, I use it daily when I want to style my hair and it gives it that lived in, effortless look.  

Bumble and Bumble Cityswept Finish Spray, £22, claims to give a lived in look with 'separation and sheen' - basically a toned down texturiser.  I use this usually if I've straightened/waved my hair and want to add some natural looking movement to it.  The result is not as dramatic as the Fudge spray, but it isn't there to do the same job.  It's a lot more expensive too, however I've had this can since summer last year, and I've still got around half left - so I think I can say that I'm getting my money's worth out of it!  If I'm going to be out a lot when wearing this in my hair, I do find that I need some hairspray to help it out and keep it in place, so this is where the Fudge spray has the advantage.

I really like both of these sprays, however I think that the Fudge Texture Spray has the edge on the Bumble and Bumble one, because it is such a bargain and it has brilliant hold.  The smell is also gorgeous, I'd go as far as to say you should invest in it for this reason alone!

Do you have either of these sprays?  Which is your favourite?xx 

The One Where I Got The Chop.

So, I took advantage of my mum being around and asked her nicely if she would mind taking a photo of my haircut for my blog.  Which is all fine and dandy until I realise that she doesn't understand 1. my resting bitchface problem, and 2. cheesy grins are just not acceptable in blog photos!  So after much 'why aren't you smiling?  SMILE!' we ended up with a selection of photos, including the one above, of me half smiling-half looking constipated.  You're welcome!  

This is my new shorter hair, the shortest I have ever had since around 2005.  I was fed up of seeing damaged ends every day, so thought the best thing to do would be to have it all cut off and try again.  After a little telling off from my hairdresser (@ Gatsby & Miller in Harpenden - totally recommend it if you live anywhere near!)  about using straighteners with heat protecter spray that doesn't protect from that much heat, I learned that I need to treat my hair better and always read the back of products before buying them.  For example, I use GHDs to straighten my hair, which have 230 degree heat; so when buying heat protecter spray/cream I need to check the labels to see if it actually protects against that level of heat - if it doesn't specify a temperature at all then step away! 

I'm still getting used to having much shorter hair, but I love that I can try out a whole load of different styles now - beachy waves are holding much better, when my hair is long they just drop out after an hour or so!  

What is your current favourite hair style?  If you have any styles for me to try out on my new shoulder length hair then please let me know! xx

WAVY HAIR, DON'T CARE!

I get really fed up with my hair sometimes; it is quite long and having layers in it means that many styles I attempt, for example a braid, end up falling out and generally looking a right mess!  Therefore, lately my go-to style which is low maintenance and easy to do on an early morning is loose waves, which I do with my GHDs.  

I always start by brushing my hair through, and of course spritzing it with plenty of heat protection spray.  I then take small to medium sections of my hair and run the GHDs through it from top to bottom, while gently folding them over and then under, so the hair gets soft kinks going down it.  I do this all through, and then mess it all up by running my hands through it and giving it a good shake!  I set it all with some texture spray: at the moment I'm loving the Bumble and Bumble Cityswept Finish spray, which gives it a lived in look with some extra body.  

What do you think of this look?  Let me know what styles you've been going for lately! xx 

HAIR HERO | THE DENMAN TANGLE TAMER ULTRA

Having long hair has as many downs as it does its ups for me, and a big nuisance for me is how to keep it smooth without doing too much damage.  This is where I have to try and pick good conditioners and also good hairbrushes, which is where the Denman Tangle Tamer Ultra* steps in.  

As you can guess from the name, it is a clear rival for the Tangle Teezer (which I also own) and the first obvious difference between the two is that this one has a handle.  For me, this is immediately a big selling point as it makes it so much easier so brush it through long hair.  I should probably say that I have pretty long hair, and the large paddle style of this brush makes it perfect for getting out any tangles and it leaves it looking and feeling silky soft.  This is probably down to the nylon bristles, which are really soft and help to prevent any damage being caused.  

I also really love the bright yellow colour!  The Tangle Tamer comes in a selection of bright shades, which stand out against the black cushion and bristles.  If you like your brushes to be soft and not tug at you hair, and prefer them to have a handle then I would definitely recommend giving this one a go.  They are £11.50 and can be bought from denmanbrush.com.

What do you think of the Tangle Tamer? xx

*The Tangle Tamer Ultra was kindly sent to me for consideration by Denman.  

SUPER QUICK AND SIMPLE EVERYDAY HAIR STYLES

Very recently, I treated myself to my very first set of GHDs - I know, why it took me so long to get some is beyond me!  I've noticed the difference in quality from my cheap straighteners already, and even though I'm only using them every so often so as to try and not damage my hair too much, I'm really loving them and love trying different styles with them.  I thought I'd do a post on some quick styles I've been doing with my hair every day lately, they're ideal for when you're in a hurry (I start work most days at 7am and try to get ready in THE shortest time possible!).  I might do another post at some point which has more 'styled' styles like a fishtail braid, messy bun etc. 

First up are some loose waves that I create quickly and easily using the straighteners.  Taking fairly big sections of hair, I wrap it around the GHDs and gently twist it through them - leaving these loose, minimum effort curls.  This takes me no longer than 10 minutes and can be worn quite sleek and smooth like I am below, or can be messed up and made into beachy waves but running your fingers through them and spritzing with a little salt or volume spray. 

Next up, there is the classic ponytail - and you can't get a quicker style than this!  For mine I tip my head upside down, backcomb the middle a little for some extra body, and scoop it all up quite high and secure in place.  I then take a small amount of hair from the back of the ponytail, wrap it around the hair tie and secure in place with a bobby pin.  This is just a quick way to make it look a little neater and adds an extra nice touch!  I spray some hairspray all over and smooth down any flyaway, and that's it.  

This last style is for when I'm at my laziest or when I really am running late.  On my hair this looks best when my hair has previously been straightened, but it looks good with waves too.  All I do is take the front two sections of my hair and pin them back under the rest of my hair with bobby pins.  I then mess my hair up a bit and set with some hairspray - and that's literaly all there is to it.  I like this style because it's the quickest, and my hair is still loose but the front is kept out of my face - especially useful on a windy day!  

I hope these were useful and made sense - it's obviously easier to watch a tutorial but 1) I hope these were simple enough not to need one and 2) the idea of filming a video still brings me out in a cold sweat!  

Would love to know if these were of any use or inspiration to you!  What are your go-to quick hairstyles for everyday? xx

REVIEW | FUDGE URBAN DRY SHAMPOO 'CRISP PEAR & SWEET VANILLA'

If there's one thing that I always rely on to help style my hair, it's dry shampoo.  My hair is naturally quite greasy unfortunately and washing it every day only does more harm, so I use dry shampoo to both prolong the time between washes and to add volume.  I've tried quite a few different ones before, and among my favourites was always Batiste Tropical - the smell was much better than the regular scent!  

However, I recently came across Fudge Urban Dry Shampoo in Boots and when I saw that the smell was 'Crisp Pear & Sweet Vanilla' I threw it straight into my basket!  It was probably the wrong thing to do since it should be bought for its purpose and not solely because it smells good, but I had run out of my trusty Batiste and thought why not give it a go!  

Luckily, it serves its purpose very well and I am really impressed with the volume and general oomph it gives my hair.  I spray it into my roots and some mid lengths, and then run my fingers through it before styling how I want.  My hair is quite long so it falls flat fairly quickly usually no matter what products I use, but this product acted as a good texturiser and helped it maintain a good amount of volume for a few hours, which to me is impressive.  As you can see in the above photo, there is a fair amount of body there and all I needed was a little hairspray to hold it all in place and it then stayed this way.  I would even go as far as to say that I am converted - Batiste is good but the bonus with this Fudge Urban Dry Shampoo is that it actually mattifies my hair more effectively; it looks greasy after day one and nothing usually truly hides this, but since using this product I have been getting an extra day where my hair looks as fresh as it did on the first day.  I don't know how it manages this but it does!  

Obviously I have to give the smell another mention: It is hard to describe a scent in writing, but it does have a fruity, vanilla whiff that is sweet yet not over powering.  I love it so much, and there is none of the powdery smell that sometimes you get with dry shampoos.  

In my opinion this is a winner and I can honestly say that I would repurchase this again.  It does the job really well and it smells great too - perfect! 

Have you tried this dry shampoo?  What do you think of it? xx

Review | Schwarzkopf Oil-licious Styling Oil

Boots, £4.20

Hey :)  I hope you are having a lovely weekend, after the drama of the Royal Baby last week!  I had to mention it, it’s a hard subject to avoid right now, especially since the future king has been named as George Alexander Louis.  I am a fan of the name, though I must admit that 1)I was convinced the baby would be a girl and 2)when he was born a boy I was convinced he would be called James.  So from this I would say that I have no sixth sense whatsoever, and that it is clearly a good thing that I didn’t place any bets this week. 

Moving swiftly on, I am very excited to talk about this new addition to my hair care routine.  This was a random purchase from Boots, I wasn’t really looking for it but I saw it on the shelf and my curiosity got the better of me.  I am really glad that it did though, because this little bottle has been a little miracle worker for me and I especially relied on it during this hot and humid weather. 

The heat doesn’t affect me at all, but sadly my hair suffers by becoming more frizzy than usual.  I have to admit that my little bottle of Moroccan Oil has helped a lot but I style find that I need help when styling my hair, like putting it into a fishtail plait for work etc.  I put a little of this oil on my dry hair and then brush it through (with my new Tangle Teaser  FYI), and then style it as normal.  The difference using this makes is dramatic; it makes my styles sleek and much neater, any stray hairs are gone and my hair looks glossy and not like it has masses of damage to the ends! 

Another great thing about this product is that it doesn’t leave my hair feeling greasy, as you may expect when putting oil on dry hair.  You only need very little of this for it to work, which is great as means that it will last me a long time and at only £4.20 it makes for a good value for money product. 

This product has been a life saver for me lately, I have been getting up at 6am to get ready for work, and frizzy hair is the sort of thing that can reduce me to tears of stress at that time of the morning, so using this has meant a lot less upset for me and I now get to arrive at work without out my hair at least not looking like I have been electrocuted. 

Have you tried this product?  Have you got anything similar that you love? xx

FOTD | 60s inspired

Origins A Perfect World Moisturiser, L’Oreal Primer, Clinique Even Better Foundation, Benefit Sugarbomb Blusher, Mua Eyebrow Pen, Maybelline Gel Eyeliner, Maxfactor 2000 Calorie Mascara, Topshop Lipstick in Ooh La La

 

Hey!  It’s been a long time since I did a FOTD, mainly because I have been fairly busy and my make up has been pretty toned down for work etc.  However, today was lovely and sunny so I threw on some lipstick (not literally, that would have ended badly) and put my hair up into a looks-effortless-but-really-wasn’t high ponytail.  This lipstick is my new favourite, I bought it a while ago but it got put away and forgotten about for a couple of months.  It’s a lovely peachy orange that indulges my current coral obsession perfectly, and makes me feel extra summery!  Together with the slightly more exaggerated eye liner flick than usual, I think that this look has a bit of a 60s feel to it, which is fine by me since that is always what I take inspiration from when doing my eye make up!  I can see this being my go-to look over the summer if we get more of this nice weather, maybe mixing it up a bit by having a high bun in my hair if I ever find my hair donut.  How did I lose a hair donut?  They’re big brown things that cannot be mistaken for anything else really…

 

What looks are you loving this summer? xx

Review | Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray

Hey!  A few weeks ago when I was shopping in one of the larger Boots stores in my area, I noticed that they had a selection of Bumble and Bumble products on display.  Until then I thought that they could only be bought either online or in Space NK, so I was naturally tempted to have a little browse of what I could get my hands on in the comfort of Boots!  Well, all I can say is that I now understand why the prices aren’t clearly displayed in Space NK..!  I cannot believe that some of their shampoo is over £18?!  Surely nothing works that well?  I was intrigued by the brand because I’ve seen a fair few positive reviews on them lately, so I was pretty determined that I was going to try something from the range.  Luckily there were travel sized products available which were far more in my price range and just the right size to try out.  I decided on their Surf Spray, which is supposed to help give your hair the always-popular beachy waves look. 

 

I have been trying this out for a couple of weeks now; I apply the spray to my hair when damp and after I have applied some hair oil etc. and then let it dry naturally.  The result is what you can see in the above photo, and in my opinion it is nice……but not well-that-was-definitely-worth-spending-over-£5 nice!  I like the body and gentle waves that have appeared, but to be honest I am certain that a budget salt spray could have achieved this too, or even some well placed mousse or styling spray. 

 

I do like the result, it’s really effortless and takes minimal time to achieve by doing it this way.  It took a little getting used to because it does have a bit of a drying effect on the hair, so I won’t be using this after every wash for fear of causing more damage to my already beyond help mane. 

 

If you want to give this a go then I definitely recommend getting the travel size, because if you don’t like it then at least you haven’t spent much on it!  If you want a product that will give this wavey look in minimal time then this is your product, I will be using it until it is empty but not too sure if I will be repurchasing.

 

Have you tried this spray or do you have a cheaper alternative that you use? xx

Current Favourites: Hair Care

 

Hey!  Today I thought that I would share the most recent things that I have been loving for my hair, as I’ve been a bit obsessed with trying to make it healthy again.  There’s nothing particularly high end or expensive here apart from the Morroccan Oil. 

 

The Morroccan Oil is going to get it’s own review in a few days because I think it deserves it, so all I will say here is this:  I bought it in sample size because that alone is £12.95 or something from my local salon, and I didn’t want to buy the full size straight away in case I didn’t like it.  I think that it is really expensive for such a small bottle, I have started spending a little more on skincare lately because I think it is worth it and I have heard so so much hype surrounding this oil that I thought I should take the plunge.  I have not been disappointed at all, although I will say that I stupidly expected an instant miracle when using this stuff which obviously did not happen…but so far so good!  

 

The Herbal Essences Beautiful Ends serum is used on damp hair to help repair damage and split ends.  Again, this is no instant cure at all (what is?) but I do love how it leaves my hair looking smooth and keeps my ends looking neat and orderly!  It smells lovely, like all of the Herbal Essences products, and it is a cheap addition that I think gives good short term results to my poor damaged hair!

 

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Tropical…what can I say!  A staple in most people’s hair routines at some point and a gorgeous smell to go with it.  I love to use this to give my hair some much needed body before styling it up or down, and also to keep me going between washes.  I also love how it mattifies my hair too, because when it goes extra shiny between washes (I wash my hair every other day) I hate how that looks so this is a very welcome relief!

 

Lee Stafford Original Dry Shampoo is the travel size spray that I keep in my handbag.  This also has a really lovely smell, very different to Batiste, and it does and equally good job. 

 

L’Oreal Elnett Satin Hairspray is also travel size, and I use it to keep even a simple ponytail in place.  My hair has an annoying habit of going flat not matter how I style it, but this joyous little spray keeps it in place a little while longer without making it all sticky and hard. 

 

Mark Hill Turn Up The Heat defence spray.  I love this mainly because of the smell (do you see a pattern emerging?!) to be honest, although I do also love the job it does too.  I blow dry my hair and straighten it a couple of times a week (hence the disgraceful amount of damage) so heat defence spray is a must for me, and I am a big fan of this one right now. 

 

I haven’t included my shampoo etc because they kind of should get their own post, and to be honest what I’m using right now isn’t quite hitting the spot so I think some hasty evaluating is needed in that area. 

 

What are your current favourite hair products? xx

Review | Percy & Reed Finishing Polish

 

Hey!  Excuse yet another change in the layout of my blog, but I get bored very easily and I also got a little carried away playing on some free photo editers – they’re more fun and less fiddly than Photoshop, especially for blog photos.  I’ve changed the background that I use to photograph products on too, I just thought that this one is brighter and more colourful!  I like how I’ve arranged it for now, I can’t imagine wanting to change it anymore but who knows!  Please let me know what you think of it :)

 

This ‘finishing polish’ by Percy & Reed was a free gift in last month’s Glamour magazine.  I remember that it was also a free gift in the same magazine around this time last year and I used it then and absolutely loved it, I’m not actually sure why I didn’t blog about it at the time! 

 

I use this by squeezing a small pea sized blob (or more depending on hair length) onto my hands and rubbing it between my palms because warming products like this up a little always helps to get it evenly distributed through my hair.  I use it from the mid lengths down to the ends of my hair to create texture and to hold it there, a bit like wax but not as thick and sticky.  It creates a bed head, messy waves kind of look, and to set it all in place I just use a little hairspray but it really does hold well on its own. 

 

Another good reason to rub this in to your hands first is because of an unfortunate accident that involved a blob not being blended in properly, which got stuck in my hair.  I ran my hand through my hair some time later and it caught on the clump of hair that the hardened blob had tangled, and so ensued a whole world of pain that was only rectified after a lot of squeeling and peeling apart of sticky hair.

I’ve never actually bought this product alone, since both times I’ve had it it’s been as a free gift, but I really recommend it if you like a messy bed head look or just want to add some body to your hair.  Have you tried this or any of the other Percy & Reed products? xx

 

Lee Stafford Hair Oil Review | FOTD

Hey everyone :) I had to review this Lee Stafford Moroccan Argan Oil because I have been so impressed with it!  I have been using it for a week now, I wash my hair and towel dry it until it’s damp/dry and then put some oil on the ends up to the middle of my hair (put it any higher up and HEY greasy roots!), and then blow dry it.  Because I have long hair and don’t frequent the hairdressers quite as much as I should (£30 for a trim…the joys of living in the south!), I have split ends that remain there no matter what efforts I go to to keep them away, and the ends of my hair just don’t look thick or healthy.  However, since I’ve been using this oil, I’ve noticed quite a change in the look of my hair.  I don’t know if this oil is actually doing any ‘repairing’, but my hair definitely looks a lot thicker and glossier, and because of this the split ends seem to be a lot less visible!  I’m pretty sure this isn’t a miracle product, but I think I’m seeing good results because it is just the kind of thing my hair needed right now!  It’s priced at £11.99 in Boots which is a little pricey but if your hair needs some love like mine did then I would definitely recommend it and say it is worth every penny :) xx

p.s sorry for the bad photos again, they were taken on my iphone + there was bad light so I had no chance really xx

SimplySarah x