Batiste Dry Shampoo

I can't believe I took this long to try out dry shampoo. Why did I deprive myself all this time??!

I wash and blow dry my hair almost every day even when I'm running late. I just don't feel clean if my hair isn't washed. I think because its quite thick so tends to pick up London's pollutants more than most people's hair throughout the day. I am aware of all the problems associated with blow drying hair every day (especially when I don't really use heat protector products because I feel they weigh down my hair) etc etc. But I just feel yucky throughout the day without a freshly washed mane.

I was always skeptical to use dry shampoo as I thought they surely would leave gunk in my hair and make it worse by the end of the day. But I thought I'd try one as they weren't too expensive. I went to Boots and picked up this Batiste one.

'Blush' smells like baby powder and room fragrance flowers, so if you like the smell of that, you'll like this. Personally, the smell gives me a headache but luckily it doesn't linger on for too long. I think it was under £3.50 for a 150ml spray can. Anyway, onto the product itself.

Directions: You gotta shake the can vigorously in between spraying the product onto the hair. I tend to do short bursts, holding it about 30cm away from my hair. I spray and use my fingers to scrunch it into my roots to give it a bit of volume. The directions on the can says to brush the product out of the hair afterwards.

Does it work? Yes. You honestly can not feel the product on the hair, doesn't leave a gunky residue, is extremely lightweight so it doesn't weigh my hair down (a huge bonus for me), and makes your hair feel clean. The only problem for me aside from the smell, is that it lasts about half a day before my hair starts feeling a bit greasy. But not too much of a problem, I just chuck this into my huge ever growing handbag on the days I use the Batiste. I have also found that if I wash my hair on alternate days, the texture is better and looks healthier.

So overall, a thumbs up. I will definitely continue to use this, probably get it in a different smell though.

You can find Batiste's entire range of products in their website.

Montagne Jeuness: 3. Spa facial tonic

This one is part of their face tonic range.

Dead Sea Anti-stress Face Tonic with Dead Sea Minerals "Calming Dead Sea Anti-stress Five minute miracle Face mask bursting with Dead Sea Minerals. Too busy to take time out? Need to feel pampered and rejuvenated? Dive in! Real Dead Sea nutrients and minerals submerge tired, stressed out skin in moisture leaving it smooth and re-hydrated, toned and visibly younger looking. Promotes a deep sensation of calm as mineral rich ingredients nourish body and soul - mmmm! Montagne Jeunesse 5 minute miracle Face Tonic is the quick and easy way to see a real difference whenever you feel the need."  I have this on right now and thought I'd quickly jot down my initial experience. I have to say at the moment, I'm really disliking it. it stinks. It stinks bad. I deep cleansed my face with the Nutrogena wave. Then unrolled out the mask and put it on my face. The mask is stinging my face, especially the forehead and cheeks. I'm going to try and bear it for a little longer but I'm really not liking the experience. It feels very chemically on my face, the smell is horrid and my spots feel really uncomfortable under this mask.  I've had it on for 5 minutes. Five more minutes and its off.  Later.... I took the mask off and rinsed my face with tepid water. I then followed with my usual night time stuff. Surprisingly it made my skin softer and after rinsing my face with water, the stinging stopped immediately. There was no scarring and seems to have refreshed my face. Definitely not as bad as I thought it was initially. But don't know if I can go through the pain again. It didn't make me feel relaxed when I had it on, in fact I was anxious the entire time that my face was burning off. So, from the three Montagne Jeuness masks I've tried, my favourite has to be the passion peel off mask which I'll be getting again. Then the Spa facial, and lastly the cucumber one. Overall, this brand isn't too bad, and for under a pound per sachet, its a bit of a bargain.

Mini Liz Earle haul

I was so excited seeing my Liz Earle package waiting for me when I got home after work. So excited in fact that I accidently placed the products on a recently cleaned, but still wet table surface.

Each product comes individually wrapped with lovely tissue paper. I picked up a Brightening Treatment Mask:

It came with a muslin cloth, all placed in a cute bag which is ideal to keep toiletries for overnight stays. It costs £12.75 for 50ml, and all you need is a couple of pumps each time according to the Liz Earle website. I have yet to use it, and will  put my two cents worth of opinion of it once I've tried it out a couple of times. What compelled me to get it is that its a quick fix, I can put in on my face in the shower and leave it on for 30s - 2min whilst I'm exfoliating etc. Its meant to soften, brighten and give tired skin a bit of life. I'm not expecting it to be a miracle cure and always am suspicious of products that claim to solve all problems. Bit I am hoping that it gives my skin a bit of a kick on mornings after the night before. Its not recommended for sensitive skin tones either, but I bought it anyway - I figure that its all natural ingredients, how much harm can it do? We'll see.

I also picked up, which I have purchased before, is  their full size  Eyebright Soothing Lotion for £9.50.

this eye treatment has many benefits:

• soothes and cools irritated eyes (especially for contact lens wearers)
• calms tired, puffy eyes in the mornings
• chuck it in the fridge for a few minutes, and the soak them on cotton pads before placing them over the eyes for 10 minutes so that it works at an eye mask.

However what I use it mainly for is those days when I'm too lazy to use eyemake up remover and my usual cleanser hasn't taken off all the gunk. So I use this to get rid of the ruminants of eye make up. Its quick a nice feeling on my usually sore contact lens wearing eyes at the end of the night as well.

The last thing I got was a sample of their Skin Repair Light Moisturiser for combination/oily skin.

So I'm really looking forward to using these products. Standard P&P is £3, however I think you can buy them in John Lewis stores as well now.

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'The Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex

My latest purchase in my quest for even skin led me to this universally well known serum 'The Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair Synchronized Recovery Complex'.

The lady at the store said it will help get rid of the acne scarring, even out skin tone and help the skin gain natural suppleness. She also said that it will help with the pesky brown spots. We'll see.

I bought this a couple of weeks ago, and I have to admit that I've noticed one of the scars already almost disappeared. Also, my brown spots seem to have faded a little. No effect on the uneven skin though (my problem area is around the mouth and sides of nose. I'm looking forward to finishing this up to see any results. But I am already excited at trying out one more serum before I decide on which one to stick to.

Umberto Giannini Glam Hair shampoo and conditioner

I think I have found my HG drug store shampoo. Ever since I turned 14, I've dyed my naturally black hair. Its been every colour, blue, red, purple, dark green, TONNES of highlights and peroxide. I have been very fortunate to have thick hair and has not been damaged too much... until a couple of years ago. I had my hair dyed light brown with blond highlights. Yes, Indian me with blond highlights. To be honest, it looked fine in the winter as my skin was a lighter but in the summer, I looked like a crazy haired banshee. Plus my hair started breaking which was a first for me.

About three months ago, I decided to take the plunge and dye my hair jet black. I cut my waist length hair to just below my shoulder and picked up a temporary dye packet from Superdrugs and just did it myself. One of the reasons why I did this was because I wanted to recondition my hair, and also it was like a part of a 'cleansing ritual' after the awfulness of last year.

I do like my hair dark at the moment, and I think I it makes me look younger (I actually got id'd at a bar last week). My hair now looks thicker and healthier now as well but it wasn't making my hair easier to manage, i.e still tangled like hell - in the past, I didn't even need to use a comb it was so silky.

I had run out of my usual shampoo and conditioner and went to my trusty Boots to buy some more. That was when I came across this:

Retails for just over £5, this stuff works so well. I can't use hair products too much because my hair is naturally thick and any extra product weighs it down. This stuff really clears away the gunk of hair creams, serums or daily pollution. The product is clear with delicious glitter in it.

The glitter does not show up it the hair but it must be a factor in making my hair feel and look so healthy again. It claims to volumise and repair - and I honestly think it does do that. The smell? Molton Brown's 'Blissful Templetree' is one of my favorite smells in the world and this shampoo is the closest I have come across to anything smelling similar. The bonus is that the smell lingers in the hair for hours after and it just makes me feel clean and refreshed.

I also picked up the conditioner from this line a week or so later also:

Just a standard conditioner, does nothing outstanding, although the tangling is less these days. Smells great as well though.

Surprisingly these products are not marketed as for coloured or dyed hair. But I remember being told by a professional hair stylist that as long as a shampoo and conditioner is nourishing and helps hydrate, it will do the job. I think this is true because when I went into work the second time I used it, a few of my colleagues commented on my hair and thought I had re-dyed it again, which means the shampoo (or glitter parts in it) gave my colour another boost.

At the moment, Boots have everything in this range for a third off. I didn't realise they had dry shampoo as well or else I would have bought it. But I've only just recently purchased the Batiste one, which I plan on reviewing soon.

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Ben and Jerry's sundae at the common 2010

I was at the Ben and Jerry's music festival yesterday, at Clapham Common.

It was a nice little thing. Weather was good, and it was just a very relaxing atmosphere. I have to give a special mention to the portaloos. I have never been to anything like this where the portaloos were so clean and fresh - those that have been to festivals will know how grim they can become. So a massive well done to the organisers for that!

There were loads of activities which were usually free - which included rides, candy floss, races, thumb war(!) and competitions. All the ice cream was free and you can eat as much as you like. So we went to every stand and devoured as much as we possible could. It was all good value for money considering the tickets cost less that £18 including P&P.

I didn't recognise most of the bands playing except for Scouting for Girls, and Idlewild. To be honest, the only reason I went was for Idlewild. I had paid twice to see them previously but for one thing or another, couldn't go. So when I heard they were playing here, I jumped at the chance. And they didn't disappoint. 

Here's a small clip of them playing the song 'American Dream'

Another band I paid to see, but didn't get to see in the end was the Kings of Leon (they cancelled). These guys were doing air guitar to 'Sex is on fire'. They were hilarious, and made a great substitute for the real band. 

Check out my You Tube account for more of these videos (I figured how to upload for the first time - yee-ha!)

On another note, I've lost my camera so have been taking pictures and the videos with my iphone. Its really annoying because the camera has such sentimental value (so don't actually want to buy a new one even though its on its last legs), and can't always find my iphone adapter to transfer the files onto my macbook.

x

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Things I'm loving this month

MAC 'flirt and tease'

Without flash

With Flash

I think this is a pro product. Correct me if I'm wrong. It is a Deep purple with silver pearl (Sheertone Shimmer). I've had this for ages and not been a big fan of it. However, in this heat, with all the tanning I'm loving it at the moment. I decided to pull this out in the morning  a couple of weeks ago to see what it looked like on my skin. Since then, it goes everywhere with me in my handbag. I'm really liking it. Teamed with an elf complexion brush, it gives a subtle lift to my cheeks. It does look a scary colour in the pan, but I find I have to apply it several times before it goes on very dramatically. Don't let the shimmer scare you, its really not that bad in the sun and at night, its great.

The Body shop 'Vitamnin E Face Mist'

This has been a life saver in this horrid heat. Sets my make up in the morning and refreshes my skin throughout the day. You know sometimes the foundation looks a bit 'cakey'/'powdery', when the concealer gathers around as the day wears on? Well, this sets the powder to a natural finish and gives foundation an extra boost. LOVE this stuff.


Boots 17 Lipstick in 'Peace'

Without flash

I use it like a lip balm to be honest. Under a fiver, it doesn't show up dramatically on my pigmented lips, but keeps the lips hydrated and now has a position on my work desk with the rest of my trinkets and potions (as my boss describes it)


Bare Minerals All Over Face Color in 'warmth'

I've had this for a long time but didn't like it much as it looked like a weird terracotta colour on me. But recently, I use it over my foundation, under a finishing powder (finishing up a Lily Lilo foundation sample at the moment) and it gives me a healthy summer glow, with subtle defined cheekbones. 


Lush 'Tea Tree Water'

The best thing I have discovered in a long time. I had a habit of getting a lot of small spots under my neck. One sweep of this, overnight they disappeared and have kept my spots at bay. This simple thing is a miracle life saver for me. I reckon this will be my staple toner for all time now. The bottle lasts for ages, is so gentle and makes my feel really clean without the drying effect when I use it. I can see this being ideal for the teenage skin and wish I had known about it in my 'youth'.