Saturday 23 March 2013

My Day to Day Hair Care Routine!!!

 
 
My day to day Hair Care routine products!
 
So this blog post offers a little insight into my day to day hair care routine and as you will see its plain, simple and super easy!!!
 
My hair is naturally fair but for the last 10 years or so, (oh god that makes me feel old) I have been having blonde highlights to brighten and lighten my hair whilst keeping it looking natural. With regards to my hair type I have fine hair but lots of it, and it can be a tad prone to greasiness. To avoid too much product build up I do try to wash my hair every 2-3 days...maybe even 4 days if I can get away with it and have a good dry shampoo on stand by!
 
Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner from the Sheer Blonde collection by John Frieda
 
 I have been using the same brand of shampoo and conditioner now for about 6 months, and that is the Moisturising Shampoo and Conditioner from the Sheer Blonde Collection by John Frieda. Everyone knows it's important to look after and protect coloured hair, and these products have been great at keeping my blonde hair nice and bright as well as moisturised...what more could you want??
 
Conditioning Treatment from the Sheer Blonde collection by John Frieda
 
Once a week I like to use a more intensive conditioning treatment and have been using the Sheer Blonde Collection conditioning treatment for years. I tend to use this at the weekend when I am having a full on pamper session, and like to leave the conditioning mask on for a good 15 - 20 minutes so it can work its magic. It leaves my hair gorgeously soft and shiny and feels like a real treat for my hair... I love it!
 
Pro Voke Touch Of Silver Purple Shampoo
 
Coloured blonde hair does have a tendency to go brassy if its not well looked after and to avoid this I use a purple shampoo once a week to keep my colour looking bright. At the moment I have been trying out the Pro Voke Touch of Silver shampoo that I picked up on offer in Boots a couple of months ago. The smell of this product isn't the nicest but it really does neutralise any brassiness and leaves my blonde locks bright and shiny. This product should only be used once or twice a week (in my case once) and shouldn't be left in any longer than 4  - 5 minutes as it can leave a purpley/blue tinge to the hair if left on for too long.
 
Organix Moroccan Argan Oil
 
Now once my hair is all washed and conditioned I like to apply a couple of drops of my Organix Moroccan Argan Oil onto towel dried hair. This gives my hair a strengthening boost and also helps ease any nasty tangles.
 
Tresemme Heat Protecting Styling Spray
 
Finally I like to spray the Tresemme Heat Defence Styling Spray all over my hair before drying. With all of the heated styling products we use nowadays it's important to remember this step.
 
I do tend to add additional products depending on what I am doing with my hair. As I have fine hair I often like to use volumising products and would add these before or after my heat protecting spray.
 
What are your day to day hair routines? What hair care products would you recommend?
 
xxMillieMagpiexx

Sunday 17 March 2013

February BirchBox Review!





I have tried quite a few different monthly subscription beauty boxes over the last year or so but never stuck it out for longer than a couple of months. I decided to buck this trend for 2013 and after a fantastic recommendation from a very good friend I decided to subscribe to the BirchBox. I bought a 3 month subscription which saves you a couple of pounds and gives you a good idea of what to expect in the quality of the products.

For those of you that don’t know about the Birch Box, it offers you 4 -5 luxury samples from a range of beauty brands….some you will no doubt of heard of and some yet to be discovered. Boxes are   £10 a month + postage and packaging however you do get a couple of pounds deduction on the longer subscription you sign up for.


This pink pouch and pretty boxes are fantastic for storing your beauty bits and bobs in
Now I love any type of post but when this beautiful bright pink box arrived for me at work in mid-February I literally could not wait to get it open. I decided to give myself a good couple of weeks to try out the different products so I could tell all of you what goodies I had and what I thought.

The Birch Box has the CUTEST packaging I have ever seen from a monthly beauty box subscription and will be keeping the boxes and handy pink pouches to store make up and my collection of random bits. Not only was the packaging amazing the products inside really impressed.

Now the first thing I received was the Vichy Thermal Spa Water. This is described as a mineral-rich spritz that you can use to refresh and tone your skin or just use to perk up your complexion. Now I have to admit I was a bit dubious about this product when I first saw it however over the last couple of weeks I have constantly reached for this product for a mid-afternoon refresh or when my skin is in need of a moisture surge. It really leaves the skin refreshed and cooled and this would be heavenly when travelling or on holiday.

The second item was a “life style” product and was the EBOOST Natural Energy Booster drink. This is a bit like a posh Berocca and not being a fan of these I gave it to my rather poorly boyfriend to try…he was definitely in need of a vitamin boost last week ! Now there is only so much information I could get from my him to review this sachet but he did say it was strong in flavour, quite nice and he would have it again especially in the winter when bugs are flying round.

My third item was a bonus product from the lovely people at BirchBox and was a nice and simple eye lash curler. The product is pretty standard and does the job but was an excellent product for me as I was in need of replacing my old and worn out curlers.

The fourth item is something I literally am in love with and that is the Korres Guava Shower Gel. It smells AMAZING and would repurchase it for this alone. Although I can’t say it reminds me of a Guava (not really sure what they smell like?!?!) but it does smell of holidays. It is fresh and fragrant and really scrummy and lathers up a dream when using it in the shower. This is probably the stand out product for me from the whole box and has got me very interested in Korres as a brand.

The fifth product was again a really pleasant surprise and this is the Gerda Spillmann Bi Fond Cream Foundation. I have to admit this is not a brand that I have heard of before but the product is really nice. It is a light creamy foundation which offers fantastic coverage on application and apparently its used on all the movie sets at the moment.I have to say it had great staying power throughout the day and is a perfect size for keeping in my handbag. And as an added extra this product comes with a little mirror in the lid and a sponge applicator in the base….perfect!

The final product was the Nick Chavez Beverly Hills Plump N’ Thick leave-In Thickening Mist. Now I am constantly on the lookout for a good volumising product as I have a lot of very fine hair that needs a bit of oomph. This did give visible results but you do have to be careful with how much you apply.  On first use I did get a bit too excited and applied too much leaving my hair greasy and heavy.


Now I have to admit my second Birch box arrived today and the products are just as good! The review will be on its way soon but do you subscribe to a monthly subscription beauty box? What do you think of Birch Box?

xxMillieMagpiexx

Monday 11 March 2013

Product Review - Organix Morrocan Argan Oil Shampoo, Conditioner and Penetrating Oil

 
Hair oil is the latest must have for any beauty fanatic's hair care routine and Moroccan Oil has had rave reviews in recent months.
 
 
 
 
I am sucker for any new product and I was excited to try this out for myself. Having looked into it in a bit more detail the original Moroccan oil was a tad on the expensive side so I decided to invest in the more purse friendly Organix range from Boots (Also can be found in supermarkets and other high street beauty stores). As always Boots had a deal on so I opted to pick up the Shampoo, Conditioner and Moroccan hair oil to properly give this hair oil craze a go. The Shampoo and Conditioner were on a buy one get one free offer however they retail normally for about £6.99. The oil was £6.99 but its obvious from using this that a little goes a long way!
 
I have to say I was very excited to use the shampoo and conditioner and with promises of restored shine and softness whilst strengthening the hair I was hoping for great things. Unfortunately  that wasn't the case and these products sadly didn't live up to the hype.
 
When using the shampoo I imagined a luxurious product but this felt very harsh on my hair and felt as if it was stripping it of moisturise rather than leaving it nourished and soft. The conditioner didn't fair much better with an odd smell and consistency it wasn't a pleasant experience to use this! Not wanting to give up too quickly I carried on with the products for a good couple of weeks but I just didn't get on with these.
 
The oil however is a completely different story and is something that has become a regular feature in my haircare routine. I run one to two drops of this oil through towel dried hair and have already noticed how shiny and strong my hair looks. You do have to be careful with how much oil you use as too much can make your hair feel heavy and appear greasy...definitely not the desired effect! After a bit of trial and error I have found a couple of drops run through the bottom of my hair is perfect but this could of course differ with other hair types.
 
Its safe to say I won't be using the shampoo and conditioner again and think it will be finding a new home with friends or relatives soon.  The oil however is here to stay and I am looking forward to working my way through this cute little  bottle.
 
Have any of you used these before? If so what did you think?
 
xxMillieMagpiexx