Silver hair.

After having silver hair for around 3 weeks now, I thought I'd do a post explaining the process and how it's lasted etc, as I've had a few questions about it on social media. 

I went silver on the 18th December, and I had it done at a local salon. My hair was a very brassy blonde before, and my hairdresser had to put extra toner & dye mixture onto my hair as it wasn't covering evenly as my hair had a lot of bleach in it. Because of this, my hair came out a lot darker than I originally wanted, but I still really loved it. (The second picture and the picture of just my lips and hair is after I'd had it done, before I'd washed it myself)

My hairdresser expected the blue tones to fade quickly, but for some reason on my hair, they didn't. My hair started to look less gray and more blue. I work at a school, so have been washing my hair a lot to try and get rid of the blue tones as it looked completely blue in some lights. I personally liked the colour, but wouldn't be allowed it at work. 

The first picture is taken as my hair is now (after 3 weeks). As you can see, the majority is still grey, but I have some greenish blue tones that just don't seem to budge! I think the green tones are because of how brassy my hair originally was (if you mix yellow and blue it makes green). 

I'm currently using no heat on my hair, and loads of conditioning products to try and get my hair back in good condition. I was hoping that the silver would fade and leave me with an ash blonde that I could easily grow out into an ombre with my natural colour. At the moment, my hair is in a lot better condition, and is growing again, but I think it will probably keep fading to a blueish green. I'm hoping to not have to dye it again as I'm trying to get my hair back to my natural colour, and in better condition. 

At the moment, I'm still happy with my hair despite the blue/green tones. I think I hated the yellow and orange so much before that I'm just glad it's not that colour! 

Would I recommend going silver/gray? Yes! I really liked mine, I'm not sure it's something I'll keep for a long time, but I really do love it! I think it's a good idea to go to a salon though, as there's a lot of different shades, and your hairdresser can pick one that will work for your hair and skin tone. Just keep in mind that if your hair doesn't take the dye well (like mine didn't) you may end up having to go darker, which may fade to blue/green like mine did. 

Does it damage your hair? Not a lot. I already had very damaged bleached hair (I've had it bleached on and off for years) and my dye was conditioning and mixed with a very low level peroxide. On my roots (which are naturally blonde) the dye took really well and gave me the colour that I wanted all over, it's the bleached parts which have gone a blue/green. I'd recommend going to the salon and asking professional advice. If you're naturally blonde, I wouldn't bleach your hair first (unless it's already bleached), but if you're darker, it'll probably be necessary. 

Will I suit it? Silver is a very cool colour. If you suit cool toned hair colours (ash blonde for example) then you'll probably suit it. If you suit more warm tones (red, brown, ginger) then you probably won't suit it. I've used directions conditioning dye in silver before (semi permanent) which washes out completely, which you could use first before getting it done properly to see if you like the colour. 

How much did it cost? Mine cost £40, but hairdressers vary significantly in price depending where you go. I used to go to Toni & Guy for example, which is around £100 for colours. I luckily found a local hairdresser who is really good and a lot cheaper. 

How to care for it? My hairdresser recommended I use a lot of conditioning masks and no heat (partly because my hair was already damaged) which I have been doing. I'd also recommend using purple shampoo to maintain ash tones, and using lots of hair oils and leave in conditioner. If you struggle to use no heat there's loads of lovely hair tutorials on youtube (Alex centomo has a lot) without using heat. I personally wash my hair at night, sleep with it wet, and usually leave it natural the first day, then experiment with buns, braids and ponytails. 

How to wash it out? Head and shoulders shampoo and/or Bleach london washing out liquid. Always follow with a really strong conditioner such as Bleach reincarnation mask. 

I hope this post answers some of your questions about my hair, and that hopefully you found it helpful if you're considering silver hair yourself! 

Weekly Roundup #9 & Primark Haul

I haven't done one of these posts in weeks, but I thought I'd do one of this week & last week's events and happenings! 

Florence + The Machine 

I went to see Florence live at the Manchester Arena last week, FATM are currently on their How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful tour and it was absolutely amazing. I don't mention music much on here, so if you didn't know, Florence + The Machine are my absolute favourites and if I had a bucket list  seeing them live would have been on it. I'd really recommend seeing them live if you're a big fan like me, it was probably the best thing I've ever been to! I was literally so sad when it was over! I did buy something from the merchandise too, which I'll show in a haul video going up tomorrow! 

Hair 

I'm blonde again! Last Saturday I was feeling pretty bored, and my hair needed washing and toning, and I've been thinking about re-dying it for a while now as it was looking very orangey. Everyone keeps telling me that my hair is better blonde, and somehow I didn't feel 'myself' with darker hair so I decided to go back blonde! I did it myself at home instead of going to the salon, as it's a lot cheaper, and I find colouring and highlighting hair pretty easy (If you've not done it a lot though, I'd recommend going to a salon!). I'm going to film a video about the products I used and the different stages and things, so if you're interested, keep an eye out for that video. 

Other News 

There aren't any other 'exciting' things to report, but my new job is going very well and I'm managing so far to keep up with my blog and youtube schedule, which I'm pleased about. 

If you haven't seen it, here is my latest video - It's another Primark haul! (obviously filmed before I dyed my hair back blonde!) 

I hope you've all had a great week, and for those of you starting/going back to school, college, uni, or work, I hope it's going well for you! :)

New hair.

It was time for a change. My roots were getting very noticeable, and I'd got a little bored of being bright blonde. I've thought about going back to my natural colour for a long time, but after a bit of a tough time recently, I thought 'sod it, time for a change'. I've been backwards and forwards between brown and blonde over the last few years, so I didn't want to go back fully brown as I'm paranoid about getting those dreaded orange tones again! I went back to the same hairdresser as last time (Beth at Toni&Guy Mosley st, Manchester) who is amazing, and is easily the best hairdresser I've ever been to. I had a chat with her about what I wanted, showed her about 20 pictures of Alexa Chung, and we decided on a balayage colour with a dark blonde very similar to my own shade. My hair was pre-coloured to prevent any orange fading, and then was coloured using a mixture of dark blonde and an ashy light brown.
I'm really pleased with my new hair, and it's such a big change (it looks more brown in real life), and hopefully I'll be able to get my hair in better condition now that there isn't as much bleach in it! I'm also really happy that it looks a lot more natural.
My cut is pretty simple, it's all one length as my hair is naturally curly/wavy so layers just don't work for me, and then I have some shaping around the front, with two 'fringe bits' to cover my baby hairs that annoy me!
So I'm back to the dark side (well, darker side of blonde).

Current Favourite Hairstyling products.

Today I'm talking hair styling. If you've followed me for a while, you'll already know that I have difficult to style, dry, frizzy, thick & coarse hair. I've rounded up my favourite styling products to tackle these issues, so I hope if you're struggling with any of them, this will help!

Ojon Revitalising Mist 
I've used this one for years, and am now on my third bootle. It's a leave-in detangler that can be used on wet or dry hair. It helps to keep my hair knot-free and also leaves it looking and feeling soft, manageable and healthy. You can also use this on 2-3 day old hair that's looking dry and frizzy at the ends, and it helps to give the hair a little refresh between washes. It's an expensive one, but I always go back to this.

Bumble and Bumble Hairdressers invisible oil primer
This is a hair primer, heat protecter and detangler all in one. I use this on wet hair before drying (or leaving to dry naturally). It helps to prevent the hair from going frizzy, and also protects the hair from any heat styling including blow drying. This is also a primer, which works like a face primer - it helps your other products to work better, and your finished style to last for longer. It's a bit of unusual product, but I really like this one.

Philip Kinglsey Daily Damage Defense 
Another detangling, leave-in conditioning product. (they're all different I promise!). This is a great one to use on wet hair and helps to keep hair healthy. I prefer the ojon to use on dry hair, but this one is nourishing, and leaves my hair soft and manageable. My favourite thing about this one is that it's anti breakage, so helps prevent against split ends too.

I'll usually use either 1 or 2 leave in detangling products, but sometimes I use all three together, which works really well without weighing my hair down or leaving it sticky.

Bumble and Bumble Hairdressers invisible oil 
This is an oil for the ends of the hair. It's similar to other oils but is very nourishing and gets rid of a lot of frizz. Again you can use this on wet or dry hair, but be careful on dry hair, as this can look a little greasy if you use too much. I usually find applying this on the first day after washing, or on wet hair works best.

Percy & Reed Volumising no oil Oil
Another oil. This one is very lightweight, and I use this daily to keep frizz at bay. It doesn't leave your hair looking greasy at all, but helps the hair to stay soft and frizz-free. It's an odd texture, and feels very watery, but I love that it never looks greasy. I usually use this on finished hairstyles - curly or straight as a finishing product. It's a versatile one, and would probably work wonders on fine hair too.

Bumble and Bumble Surf spray 
The iconic salt spray. I love this for making my hair look messy and beachy. It's great on my natural (slightly wavy) hair, and also good for straight hair. My only complaint with this one is that it does leave your hair a bit sticky, so I usually reach for this on 2nd/3rd day hair. It's a great product though, and is the best salt spray I've used.

What are your favourite hairstyling products?

May Birchbox

You know I love Birchbox, but this month's box is probably the best one I've had! It's a special box, which you can colour in (with the free pencil crayons) to de-stress - something I need to do! It was also a 'choose your sample' month - for which I chose a Wah London nail polish and got this gorgeous pale blue colour called Private Plane. I've tried this already and its a gorgeous shade. It was fully opaque in two coats, dried quickly and is lasting really well so far!

I also received the Jelly pong pong Caribbean Sun bronzer duo. It's a lovely little bronzer and blush but is quite fiddly as it's so small. It would be perfect for travelling though! I love getting makeup samples in my box so was pleased to see a matte lip stain in here! This one is from mirenesse which is a brand I've never heard of. This shade is called Syndney and although I haven't tried it yet, it looks a lovely colour, smells nice and the packaging is lovely! (I'll report back on my thoughts)

I also got a couple of hair product samples - the No.4 Reconstructing masque and the Parlor moisturising sea salt spray. I love trying new hair products, especially when they're things I actually use a lot. I love hair masks as I have dry hair, and other products I've tried from No. 4 have been really good. I've not heard of the Parlor by Jeff Chastain brand before but I love trying out salt sprays so am excited to give this one a go!

Last but not least is a whish body butter in almond - again travel size, but also a subtle reminder that I need to start prepping for the fake tan season!!

As I said, I'm so impressed with this month's box, especially as it arrived after I'd had a pretty terrible day last week. It really cheered me up!

April Birchbox.

You all know I love getting my Birchbox every month, and this month's box is a special box in honour of the Royal Baby! It was also a 'choose your sample' month with 3 Laura Mercier options. I went for the primer, as I thought it would be good to try it and compare it to the oil-free version I'm currently using.

The nail polish from Lola Barcelona is really pretty, I posted an instagram picture of it when I first tried it - it's such a pretty summery shade. Also in the box is a Percy & Reed no oil oil, which I'm excited to try on my shorter hair as it's supposed to be very weightless. I also got the Korres bergamot pear body milk, Befine warming clay mask, and the Bliss Fabulous foaming face wash. I'm always wary of trying new cleansers/face washes as I'm so loyal to my Liz Earle, but this one sounds good so I'll give it a go! I've had a few Korres products before and really liked them, and seeing as I'll have to start prepping for the fake tan again, I'll be needing some body moisturiser!

I'm always impressed with my Birchboxes, and this month hasn't disappointed me. Birch box doesn't always have full-size or large samples, but the products are always things I actually use, which is why  I'm a loyal subscriber!

Have you got the April Birchbox?

*Not a sponsored post.

New hair.

I should have probably used the cliche title: Short hair. Don't care. But the thing is, I do care about my hair, a lot.

I've been debating going shorter on and off for over a year now, and I keep chickening out and keeping it long. I loved my long hair, but I found it so difficult to style as my hair is very thick, course and is hard to style generally. This is the shortest I've had my hair in a long time, I had a bob when I was a lot younger, but I wanted more of a long bob that still gave me plenty of styling options, including a messy bun for those days when I just haven't got time.

I went to a new hairdressers after much thinking and reading reviews I went to Toni&Guy on Mosley street (Manchester). My hairdresser was Beth and she was brilliant, she did both my colour and cut and I couldn't be more pleased with it. I'd taken loads of pictures of cuts, colours and styles and she did exactly what I asked for. I normally come out of a salon thinking 'It's okay' but not this time, I was really pleased with my hair, and didn't feel like I needed to re-do it, or anything like I usually do. If you're in Manchester, I'd highly recommend Beth and the Mosley st salon.

I've curled it a little bit in these photos as it had dropped a little overnight. I used my Lee Stafford wave wand just to create some messy waves.

My cut is all one length, but the ends have been chopped in a little so that the ends aren't too blunt. My colour is all over highlights done with a bleach, and a natural blonde shade (very similar to my natural colour). The highlights are very fine, and I have them all over. I've also had a toner on it to give it that ashy look, that I've wanted for so long!

I couldn't be more pleased with my hair, which is definitely a first for me!

What do you think of my new hair? x

Hairspiration.

 

 

 

(all pictures from pinterest) 

Firstly, apologies that there isn't a video today. Some of you might know already but I've been ill with laryngitis, which basically means I haven't been able to speak for just under a week. I managed to get a video up on Sunday, but haven't been well enough to film one for today. I am on the mend now and will be filming again at the weekend, so be rest assured that this is a one-off thing.

Anyway, onto the actual post!

It's almost time for me to get my hair done again. I last had it done just before Christmas, and my roots are starting to show again, and it's getting knotty again. I've been considering going shorter for a while now, but I'm not sure if I should actually do it.

I was browsing pinterest and found these pictures, I've been thinking of going for a long bob/mid length cut that's a more natural blonde, but then think do I want to grow my hair long? My hair is currently at what I call a weird length. It's not long (to me) but isn't short either. I've had this debate for the last about 4 haircuts now and don't know whether I should be brave and go for it, or whether to just stick with my longer hair!

The other thing is my hair is really thick and is difficult to style, and it's got to the length now that it gives me headaches if I wear it up too much, but I'm wondering if a shorter 'do would be hard to style.

Are any of you considering the chop too? x

Pink hair.

So, I toned my hair pink again! I did this first at Christmas, but decided to do it again for half term. Now the title says pink hair, but technically mine is more of a pink-toned blonde.

I initially used Washed Up Mermaid from Bleach London, which is a turquoise shade, but it made my hair look very green and I really didn't like it. So I washed it out with the Bleach Washing out liquid and some head and shoulders and it didn't all come out. The Bleach London Rose shampoo and conditioner claimed to banish 'unwanted green tones' so I used them, and along with some Rose colour, it did the trick and I'm now pink instead of green. Much better.

To get my hair this colour, (if you're not getting rid of green) I just apply some of the Bleach London Rose colour after I've washed my hair as normal, leave it for about 10-15 minutes and wash off. As I was getting rid of green, I also used the Rose shampoo and conditioner, which worked really well to give a much more subtle look.

The pink completely washes out after a few washes, and doesn't leave behind any staining or weird tones. However, I really wouldn't recommend the turquoise green unless you're gonna go the whole hog and be Zoe London, which I haven't got the guts (or the right job) for.

The shampoo and conditioner are really good at maintaining the pink tones, and are an alternative to using purple shampoo for blondes. I really like them, and I'll probably re-purchase them.

I'm really loving my pink hair, and will definitely be doing it again the next time I'm on holiday! It's a fun way to get pink hair and I love the results. I also haven't had any damage to my hair from them. My hair is naturally blonde and I have bleached highlights, so the colour works well on my hair, although it works better on the bleached sections.

If you're thinking of experimenting with pink hair, or are just curious, I hope this post helped! x

January Birchbox

As January is the month of new year's resolutions, with the majority of them being health and fitness relate, Birchbox this month have teamed up with Women's health magazine, and this month's box is all health themes!

Of course, if you've been here for a while, you'll already know I love Birchbox. But if you're new (hey! so pleased to have you!) you might not already know this. This month has a great selection of products, including a Stila lip glaze, which is a product I already love, but thankfully didn't already have this particular shade! It also contains a Heal Gel, which is a fantastic little healing balm. I had a really sore abscess on my face over the weekend (tmi I know), but this gel really helped to soothe and heal it, so I'm already really impressed with that. It also contains Caudalie Vinoperfect serum, which I've tried before and really liked, Philip Kingsley Body building conditioner, which I'm excited to try, Activbod cooling finish body lotion, which I think I'll be using in summer, when hopefully I'll have time to get back to the gym, and a sample of matcha powder, which I've always wanted to try. I really want to get into eating a bit healthier, so am going to look for some smoothie recipes or something to use this in.

The box also came with a pilates band, which is useful for at home workouts, which I will probably test out when I'm not either working, blogging or exhausted!

Overall, I'm really impressed with this month's box, and it's a great theme for January, so well done Birchbox, another great month.

You can get the products here, or click the banner below.

In other good news, my wifi is back, which means that my blogging schedule is unaffected! yayy! :) x  

*This post is not sponsored but may contain Affiliate links.

Essentiel Elements Spa Treatment Collection

Essentiel Elements Spa Treatment Collection Travel Set*

I always love trying new products, and these Essentiel Elements Spa Treatment products are from Gilchrist & Soames. I've tried a few of their other products before in Birchboxes and have always really enjoyed them. Gilchrist & Soames are a bath, body and spa company with lots of different ranges and collections. I've recently been trying out this collection, and have been really impressed with the products.

First of all, the hair products. Now as you may already know, I hate washing my hair as it's so knotty and difficult to manage. I'm also not used to natural products, as they don't make much of a lather. When I used the shampoo and conditioner together my hair felt so clean and soft, and actually looked healthier. The scent is rosemary and peppermint and is really refreshing, although it's subtle (great for those of you who don't like heavy scents. The 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner is great if you want that '2nd day hair' straight away, or if you're short on time or feeling lazy! For me, as I have thick, knotty, bleached hair, I did still need to use a conditioner but I find that with all shampoos and 2-in-1 products. If my hair is feeling really dry, a 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner is gentler than a shampoo too.

The body products are of the same scent, but I found them to be more intense. The shower gel was really lovely and didn't leave my sensitive skin feeling dry or irritated. The body lotion was also really nice, and wasn't too rich so was perfect for daytime use. For my dryer areas I'd still use a body butter or shea butter formula but as a general body-lotion I really liked this.

There are also two bars of shea butter soap. I normally hate soap as I find it so drying, but these shea butter ones are really nice. If you're travelling they'd be great as they're lovely to use and they're big enough to last quite a while.

If you're going on a trip anywhere, this set would be great as it has everything you'd need for hair and body, and all the products are TSA approved, so it's perfect for travel. I also think this set would make a great little stocking filler, and the subtle scent would appeal to pretty much anyone. It's also a really affordable way to try out the products before committing to the full-sized versions, as the set is only £10. (It would also make a great secret santa gift)

Hope you enjoyed this post, I do have a beauty haul video coming up as soon as it finishes processing, which includes this set and some other beauty bits, so make sure you're subscribed to my Youtube channel so you don't miss it! (I'm currently having laptop problems that's causing the upload delay!)

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! xx

*This set was sent to me for review, however I am not paid to give a good review and the link is not an affiliate link.

September Birchbox

I'm a little late with this month's Birchbox, although I'm doing better than last month! As usual I'm really impressed with the box- I honestly haven't been disappointed with any of my boxes! The theme for September is Happy Days which is nice as September seems to be the month of new starts as most of us are back to uni/work school and it kind of feels like a second January sometimes!

All subscribers received the ModelCo Lip Laquer, but Birchbox gave us the option to choose the shade. If you're subscribed to Birchbox, keep your eye on their instagram account, as that's usually where these kinds of things are announced. I chose the shade 'Viva' which is a nice pale nude-ish pink colour (the kind of shade I usually go for!). It has a gorgeous sweet scent (very similar to the Tanya Burr lip glosses), and is a very cute sample size!

I also received the Agave Healing Oil Treatment which will come in super handy as I've just gone lighter so have quite a bit of bleach in my hair now, which makes it quite dry. I love a good hair oil as I do struggle with frizz, but I end up using them on a daily basis as I have thick hair which can be quite difficult to manage. I haven't tried this one yet, but I'm excited to do!

Two skincare products in my box this month are the Benefit It's Potent Eye Cream and the Premae Mild Dermabrasion Face & Body Scrub. I do love my skincare as you probably all know, so I'm always happy to see skincare in my Birchbox, especially from some of my favourite brands. I haven't tried these two products yet, but I've tried other skincare from Premae and Benefit, which I've been really impressed with, so hopefully I'll love these products too!

I also received the Korres Citrus Showergel. I've tried the matching body lotion before as it was in a previous box, which I really liked, so I'm happy to have received the matching shower gel. Citrus scents I find are great for in the mornings as they really wake me up, which I definitely need, especially for my 6:30 starts that are way too early for me! (I'm definitely not a morning person!)

Last but not least are two lifestyle extras. I love these little extras that Birchbox add in, it's a bit like getting free gifts! The little photo clip is super cute, and I'll definitely make use of it! (there's also a full set available from the Birchbox shop)The Strawberry Urban Fruit looks good, and I'm back on my strict diet, so it'll be a better lunchbox choice than a biscuit!

I'm really impressed with the box this month, and there's nothing in there that I won't make use of, which I find to be really consistent in Birchbox!

Hope you're all having a lovely week so far! Happy October too, it's officially Fall/ Autumn! x

Blonde vs. Brunette

So I'm off to the hairdressers on Saturday with the hopes of ridding my hair of the dreaded orange tones that seem to be so permanent in my hair at the moment! (Hopefully for the last time) 
I've experimented with different colours over the years and have been various shades of blonde, brunette and pink ombre. I came across this cool info graphic and I thought I'd share it with you. It's something to think about if you're considering a change of colour. I never knew that blondes on average earn more money! Let's hope that's true! 
I'll show you all my new hair when it's done, as I'm hoping I'll finally be happy with it (fingers crossed)! 

Hope you're all having a great week. I've been super busy this week with my PGCE placement and uni work, so I'm sorry that the blog has been a bit lacking! xx