Hair Inspiration

Ot oh, it's got to that point where I'm craving lopping off my hair again.

At the moment I'm especially loving this blunt cut shoulder length style as seen on the beautiful Mira Duma and Sabrina Meijer.

Do I?

Primark Haul March 2013

I've done a little bit of shopping in Primark recently and thought I'd share with you a little post showing what I picked up.

I've not been into Primark for ages to properly look around, but after seeing a few recent Primark Hauls on youtube, I decided it was time to go and have a goosey.

I saw every one of these items on various youtube videos so went in with specific intentions on what I wanted to find.

First off I picked up these tshirts which I will definitely be going back to purchase more of. They are simple, baggy tshirts with the roll up sleeve detail. Very similar to those being sold in Topshop for around £12, but these babies were only £3.50 each. I bought one in black and one in white. I got one in a size 8 and one in a size 10 because I wasn't too sure which would fit better and I didn't have time to try anything on (dinner hour shopping ;)) They both fit nicely, however, when I go back I'm going to pick up a couple more size 10s as they are a little bit slouchier. They are also available in a bright blue and coral colour in my store. I wish they did grey...

Next I found this lace crop top which I plan on wearing with either my American Apparel disco pants or Easy Jeans. I haven't tried it together yet, but I don't want to be showing too much muffin and this top is relatively short. The nice thing about it is that it is fully lace on the back, but has a modesty layer in the front so your boobies aren't out all over the place. Again, similar tops being sold in Topshop for around £15, this one cost £4. I picked up a size 8 which fits nicely around the waist. It is also available in cream.

I then bagged these little polkadot beauties. They seemed to be in an odd section, with the tshirts and basic tops, next to some socks. I would've thought they would either be with the holiday or pyjama sections, but have a good look around your store because they have some really nice prints. I bought these for either hot summer days, holiday or lounging around the house in and I think they're awesome. They cost £4 which I thought was a bit pricey, but since they didn't have any other of the nice prints in my size and I didn't have the issue of choosing between designs, I thought I'd treat myself to a pair. I'd say they're true to size.

Next for some essentials.

I grabbed myself some more 100 Denier Opaque tights because they're a must have. They cost £2.50 per pair and last for ages. 

I also picked up a couple of packs of socks. I needed some black ones for work...but all of my black socks seem to go missing (I'm looking at you, Mum!) so I needed to be able to distinguish who's socks are who's when they come out of the washing machine. I saw these 5 packs for £2.50 each which have little frills and bows on so I'll know if my mum or dad have been nicking them from now on!!

A couple of random buys were these two hair accessory packs. I picked up a black hair turban for when I get out of the shower and don't fancy walking round with a massive towel on my head. It was £1.50 and you just put it over your hair, twist and secure the elastic loop around the awful dimante at the nape of your neck. 

I also grabbed a pack of hair clips at the till for £1 because I use these daily when blow drying/straightening my hair or applying makeup. They always seem to be eaten up by my bed monster or something because I had about twelve and now I have about 2.

For a pound you can't go wrong really. Don't wear them out of the house though because that's just not cool. ;)

Thennnnn, on my second trip back to Primark I got my hands on these beauties. I'd seen the clutch version on my previous shopping trip but wasn't all that enthused with it, but saw these two makeup bags near the tills and grabbed them. At £4 and £3 I thought I'd treat myself to a new set of makeup bags because they've got skulls on and are dead cool :)

As I mentioned, they also have a clutch version and also a couple of travel bags in this print also, but they looked a bit meh to me.

Loook at his little skully head!

And that's it! Hope you liked what I got. Have any of you done a Primark Haul recently? Any more goodies in there that I've missed?

Let me know :)

xxx

How to: DIY at home hair dye!

Hi guys, 

So I've been umming and aahing about getting my hair re ombre-d in the hairdressers for the past few months, but today I just decided that, a) it was too expensive and b) I'll probably just change my mind about it once I've had it done.

So I went for the safe option and dyed it dark again. I hadn't dyed my hair for around 6 months and it had gone back to a mousey brown colour which was not the nicest.

I've never been to a salon to dye my hair, I've done it myself for the past 10 ish years, so I thought I'd film a little video showing you how I do it incase you were a bit sceptical about DIY at home dye kits!

It's super easy.

I used Garnier Nutrisse Creme in the shade 4 "Dark Brown" which isn't a million miles away from my natural colour, just a tiny bit darker - but I like the glossiness it gives my hair.

:)

Hope you enjoy. Do you have any tips on at home hair dying? 

x

What's in my bathroom?

Hi guys, 

I need some product suggestions from you all! I was taking a big bubble bath the other day and wanted to show you what I currently keep in my bathroom. I came to realise that only half of the products I actually like...I thought I'd show you what I have and then I'm hoping you lovely people can suggest some bathroom goodies that you use, which I can try out for myself.

Here goes...

Tangle Teaser - Boots

This is my most recent addition to my bathroom. I've seen Tangle Teaser hair brushes all over the place but never picked one up until I had some vouchers to use in Boots - they're pretty expensive. (You can get them loads of places.) I have to say I'm very impressed and to be honest, I didn't think I would be. The brush is small and suitable for keeping in your handbag. It even has a bristle protector for travel purposes. The brush detangles your hair perfectly with very little tugging or pulling. The main reason I've included it in here is because I use it to brush through my hair when it's wet. So much better than a regular hair brush, no lie. And it's pink.

Rating: 4/5

Snow Fairy Shower Gel - Lush

I purchased the iconic Snow Fairy from Lush at Christmas time because I'd been wanting to try it since last year. To be honest, I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about because this product is raved about so much. I absolutely love it. I didn't love the smell at first when I poofed it in the shop, but when you use it in the shower....oh my god. It smells like pear drops and fruity yum and sweets and candy floss and ugh, it's just lovely. The smell lasts for a long time on your skin, it lathers lovely and it's pink! The only poo-poo about it is that it's a limited edition product that only comes out at Christmas. Thank god I got the biggest bottle. I will definitely be stocking up next year.

Rating: 4/5

Liz Earle Hot Cloth Cleanser - John Lewis

If you read my blog, you'll already know my feelings on Liz Earle's Hot Cloth Cleanser. Just to recap for those that are new here....YOU NEED IT! This product is absolutely amazing. I use this pretty  much daily to cleanse my skin from makeup (if I'm not using this one, I use my Superdrug's own version which is just as good and a quarter of the price - see my review HERE) There's not much more I can say about this product except that it does exactly what it's supposed to and it's amazing. I got mine from John Lewis but if you google shop, you can get it from loads of different retailers. I'd buy it again if it were a special occasion such as birthday or Christmas, but at the moment I'm quite happy re purchasing my Superdrug version.

Rating: 4/5

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Oil Free Facial Wash - Boots

I got this product to use with my Clarisonic initially, and to use as a facial wash after using my Liz Earle C&P. I don't like it. For one, I don't like the colour orange, but I suppose that has nothing to do with it really. The product is oil free but feels oily on the skin. It leaves a residue after rinsing with water and I find myself rinsing again and again and even using soap and water to cleanse my face AFTER using this product. It doesn't really smell of anything/doesn't particularly smell nice, hasn't improved my skin and overall it's just a bit poo. I'm sure you can get this other places than Boots if you really wanted to, but to be honest I wouldn't even bother.

Rating: 1/5

Dove Daily Care Shampoo - Boots

Now, shampoos are the thing that irritate me the most. Every company claim to be the best and offer the shiniest results and care for your hair but I've never EVER found  a shampoo that does anything special or different from any other bottle on the shelf. I've tried countless brands and just find myself buying the ones on offer more than anything else. If you have any suggestions on amazing shampoos/conditioners, please let me know. I really want to be wowed by one but I really just think that all the claims are false on these products! What I really want is a shampoo that allows me to go two days without washing my hair. At the moment I was it once a day if I want to wear it down, otherwise I just go a couple of days but have to wear my hair up in between. I don't really have an opinion on this product. It washes my hair, it's okay! I wouldn't buy it again.

Rating: 2.5/5

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Jewel Edition - Debenhams

Here's another product I love. I'd been wanting to try Eight Hour Cream for ages and ages because I'd heard such good reviews on it, so when I saw it in TKMAXX for a bargain, I picked it up. The one I got is in the Jewel Edition packaging, which is lovely. You can still get it in Debenhams and I really think you should because it's on sale! I use this product as a lip balm at night. I normally keep it on my bedside table but wanted to include it in this post because its absolutely amazing. I apply it at night and can still feel the effects of it in the morning. I'm a lip balm fiend and couldn't live without this by my bed at night. It smells a bit odd, I have to say, so it's not one for using before you smooch, but I don't mind the smell too much. I would buy this product over and over again if I needed to, but to be honest I think this pot will last me a life time.

Rating: 4/5

Aveeno Positively Radiant Triple Boost Serum - Boots

I'm so-so on this product. I wanted to get into skincare, especially for my face and decided to try this product as it was on offer. It smells lovely and applies nicely but I'm not really seeing any major difference in my skin. I know its all probably false claims and these products are just for us to waste our money on, but I'd really like any suggestions on a good serum/moisturiser/eye cream which has really made a difference in your skin care. I wouldn't buy again.

Rating: 2.5/5

Oilatum Natural Repair Face Cream - Boots

I got this product because the Pixiwoo sisters raved about it. It moisturises nicely, sinks into the skin okay, but again it hasn't been a wow product for me. It's expensive for the amount of product you get and I don't really think it's suited to my skin type. I think I'm after a light moisturiser for my face as I'm not too dry. My skin is combination, I have a few tiny dryer patches around my nose and between my eyebrows, but not too much. I wouldn't use this product under makeup as it makes my skin appear oily throughout the duration of the day. Any suggestions on a good moisturiser, too, will be appreciated. I wouldn't buy this product again.

Rating: 3/5

How fast does hair grow? Pictures two years on!

Hi guys! I wanted to do a quick post on my hair today. I don't know about you but I know a lot of people (including myself) at one time or another has googled something like "How fast does hair grow?" or "How long will it take for my hair to grow long?" and I thought that I'd show you my experience.

It has been two years to the day since I took the plunge and chopped all my hair off into a really short style. Not quite pixie cut, but the shortest part of my hair wasn't even a centimetre in length. I thought it's as good a time as any that I showed you how fast my hair has grown - and how fast yours could grow, too.

So here I am before my hair appointment. I went to Toni and Guy for the restyle from this...

To this...!

And two years later...with three haircuts in between (all taking about one inch off) I've finally reached a point where I can say I have long hair again. This picture was taken today.

I can safely say that I'm never going to cut my hair off again. I really needed to do it and really wanted to at the time because I was getting sick of the same old straight style. However I like to wear my hair up a lot and the inconvenience of having to wash my hair daily to get it to look good in the short style was just too much for me to enjoy.

So as you can see from the picture of the haircut, my shortest lengths were at the sides, just above my ear. 

As I mentioned, the shortest length of my hair was not even a centimetre, and now it measures just over 30 centimetres. If we take into account the three hair cuts I got in the last two years, taking a couple of centimetres off per cut, the average length of hair growth per year is around 16 to18cm! Making it nearly 1.5cms of growth per month. How good is that?!

Here are some more pictures of my hair today, two years on.

Here you can see how long the sides of my hair have managed to grow in this amount of time.

I hope this was helpful to you if you're wondering how long it will take to grow out your short hairstyle. I'm really quite amazed at how little time it actually took to get from a short style to over shoulder length. I wish you all good luck if you're trying to grow your hair out, like me! I know how tedious it can be, especially at the beginning where you have to go through that awkward stage of nothing looking nice. Keep at it, you can get through it! Haha!

I'm wondering if this is the average speed of hair growth for everyone. Have you ever grown your hair out from short? Leave a comment down below telling me how long it took for yours to grow out!

Lots of love, 

Neeny

x

Mini Lush Haul

I thought I'd show you what I purchased from Lush the other day. (My very first Lush purchases, ever!)

I picked up Snow Fairy Shower Gel, Feeling Younger Skin Tint and No Drought Dry Shampoo.

I've been wanting to try Snow Fairy for a year or so but as it's a limited edition product, I had to wait til now to get my hands on it. It kind of smells like those little foamy banana sweets. I've only used it once so far, but it smells pretty nice.

The second product I picked up is this dry shampoo called No Drought. I've seen a couple of people with this on youtube and really wanted to try it out. It has a very lemony scent and smells nice and fresh. Again, I've only used it once so will have to try it out for longer to see what I really think of it.

The third product I picked up was this Feeling Younger Skin Tint and I absolutely love this. As soon as I swatched it in the shop, I grabbed one for myself straight away. I've been using this as a highlight on my cheekbones over makeup and also mixed in with my foundation for a nice dewey finish to the skin.

Lavly! I was hoping to bump into Danielle from A Blog From Blackpool for some recommendations on what to get but you weren't working that day, boo!

What products are your favourites from Lush?

x

Trafford Haul and OOTD ft. Coca Cola & Carhartt!

Hi everyone! It's been a while... well, a few days. I feel like I haven't stopped all week! This is literally the first time I've sat down and had time to relax by myself in what seems like ages.

I wanted to show you what I wore today, and also wanted to share a few bits and pieces that I got on my friend and I's shopping trip to the Trafford Centre yesterday. I got some awesome things and I'm so excited, eeee!

Anyway, first off, here's my outfit of the day...

My bag, as pretty much always, is the Alexander Wang Rocco.

The "Drink Coca-Cola" tshirt I'm wearing is actually one of the first things I got from the Trafford Centre, I couldn't wait to wear it. I got it from River Island in the sale section for £10. It was actually still scanning at full price (£20) at the till, but it had a sale ticket on it so the girl took it down to the price it said for me. :)

The shirt, as you've probably seen before is from Zara.

My hat is from Carhartt. I'm really loving boy beanies at the moment. I curled my hair with a mix of GHD flat iron and my Jose Eber curling iron so my hair would get a bit of volume (for once in it's life!) Grr. Any tips/products for getting light, voluminous hair would be greatly appreciated!

Skinny jeans are the "Second Skin" jeans from Cheap Monday.

Shoes are from Converse and my watch is the Michael Kors silver and gold MK5137.

So now for the exciting bit! On to the haul....

No word of a lie, this is how much we came back with. Bank account zeroed, daren't look.

I'll have to get round to taking some good pictures of the clothing items I bought. I took some to put in this post but none of the pictures do the items any justice, so I thought I'd just show you some of the makeup and bitty bobs that I got for now.

First off, we went to the Shu Uemura counter at Selfridges because my friend wanted to repurchase a foundation that she'd first got in Hong Kong. While I was there I was eyeing up the Karl Lagerfeld collection and decided to pick up a pair of eyelash curlers. I currently use Shu Uemura eyelash curlers, and have done for years. My original pair has served me well, but I accidently lost one of the refil pads and have been surviving on buying cheap-ass curlers and using their pads in my curlers instead (why does noone sell the refils!?) 

Anyway, it got to the point where my eyelashes were being bent in half rather than curled, so I thought it was time to repurchase. Cease the moment, and all that. These limited edition KL curlers are the same price as the originals but come with a cute dangly Mon Shu girl and red curling pads. SOLD.

 We then turned round and found ourselves at the MAC counter. I knew I wanted a lippy, but didn't quite know which. After reading THIS post by The Tattooed Tea Lady the other day, I fell for the colour "Chatterbox" (the pinky one on the right of my picture) so grabbed that one straight away, but then saw the amazing "Up The Amp" which is a purply colour and that decided to come with me too. Deffo my new fave.

I also picked up one of my favourite MAC products ever, the trusty eyebrow pencil in the colour "Spiked". I first used this product a couple of years ago and never repurchased as I started using powder to fill in my eyebrows, however, for days where I can't be bothered finding, cleaning and using a brush to give my eyebrows some shape, I'm going to use this little baby.

Died a little inside when I got to the counter and they told me the price. Y SO EXPENSIV? But it's okay, it's nearly my birthday....*ahem*

Speaking of nearly my birthday - how many times can I use that excuse? - I may have accidently bought something AMAZING. But obviously as it's a "surprise" I can't let the cat out of the bag, can I?

Here's a sneaky peak....whatever could it be?!

Teehee!

Anyway, that's all I'm showing you for now from the Trafford Haul. If you're interested I will show you the clothing items soon, but I just wanted to share one last bargain before I go. I went into Superdrug today to stock up on some Batiste Dry Shampoo (despise paying the price but NEED dry shampoo in my life) when I came across this ammmmmazing deal.

Buy one...get TWO free.

It's not Batiste, but for that price, who really cares? How different can dry shampoos be, anyway? It's the Superdrug's own brand dry shampoo, so I decided to buy two (at £1.99 each for 150ml) which meant I got FOUR for free. Bargs of the century, right? I just grabbed every scent - except the chocolate as I don't want to be going round smelling like a Mars bar - so I can see which ones I like.

They all smell pretty nice, to be honest. I think my favourite are the purple and green ones, which is a bummer as those are the ones I only picked up one of!

How to: DIY Ombre on short hair!

This is a quick post to show you how I ombre'd my short hair.

I used Jerome Russell Bblonde Highlighting Kit.

Mix the ingredients as per the instructions.

This is how I applied the product to my hair.

Why, oh why do they insist on making the gloves ten times too big for your hands. It ended up going everywhere so after the video was filmed I kept applying the dye but used my bare hands. Naughty naughty! I made sure to periodically wash my hands with soapy water though, to get rid of the bleach.

I tried foiling my hair once I'd applied what I thought was the first layer of dye. I didn't like the fact that I couldn't see how fast the bleach was affecting my hair so I took them out after a short while. I basically kept on adding more and more bleach over the whole time that it was developing on my hair. This meant that the bleach on the tips, where I first applied it, was able to take the colour out of my hair for longer than the bleach that I applied further up my hair, further on in the application.

So this is my hair before...

And this is it after...

I was fully expecting it to pick up a totally blorange colour as I'd previously had a red dye and a purple dye on my hair. I have a toner that I will be using some time this week to try and combat some of the brassiness, but to be honest, in natural lighting it doesn't look too bad. I kind of like the more firey tone.

We will see. It totally fried my hair by the way. As you can see in the video, I forgot to check what time I started to apply the bleach (rookie mistake!!) so instead of leaving it on for the intended 60 minutes, I left it on accidently for the full 90 minute recommended development time. 

I'm just using a lot of conditioner, deep conditioning masks and leave in conditioner at the moment to get some moisture back into it. I'll let you know how it goes.

Don't know how long I will leave my hair like this to be honest, I'll see if it grows on me but I may end up just dying it dark again, haha!

x

O.O.T.D. 13/03/12

This is what I'm wearing today for a day with the other half. Last night I ombre coloured my hair and as expected it went a bit orange, still not confident that I like it but I'll be trying a cooling toner sometime in the next week to see if I can make it less reddy.

I'm wearing top from Topshop.

Jeans by Motel and they're called the Jordan skinny jean.

Studded loafers from Topshop.

Bag from Cambridge Satchel Company.

Variety of bracelets from top to bottom:

Sam Ubhi studded bracelet from asos.

DKNY watch.

Hamsa hand bracelet from ebay.

Pandora double wrap black leather bracelet with buddha charm.

Four leaf clover bracelet from Accessorize.

Links of London Skull friendship bracelet.

And my nails are still the chevron style that I did a tutorial on the other day. See older posts on how to do it!

Hope you all have a lovely day x