My Hair Care Routine

Not everyone has nice things to say about my hair, especially when they see thats its dyed a few shades. But what you might not notice is that there are hardly any split ends and if you feel it, its silky. (I have gotten many a 'oohhh!' when people touch it. Its so satisfying to hear that!) I don't do lots with my hair, I'll admit it. Apart from dying it and washing it daily, I never really bother to style it unless I'm really jazzed about an event. After a few questions of what I use and how I keep my hair in such good condition considering its dyed, I though that I'd do a post on it. Sure why not!

Firstly I am actually a natural blonde and in the summer months when my natural shade is on show, it will turn a strawberry blonde with light highlights from the sun. However this will be the first summer in about 4 that I've had my natural shade on show. I'm letting my hair grow out (although the itch to dye it is crazy!) so I'm not harming my roots with bleach which is a plus. But the ends of my hair are dyed purple every second or third week, depending on how faded its gotten. So if your into changing your hair colour, I'd suggest just the ends. Not as harmful and you can chop it off if you get really sick of it and don't want to take the colour out or redye it!

I like a few brands of shampoo and conditioner, one being Aussie. But I will use basically anything on my hair, I'm not fussy. The only thing that I stay away from is Head and Shoulders as it strips colour very quickly with any colour. Right now I'm really loving Aussies volume shampoo and their wonderful 3 minute conditioner mask. I have limp hair that is continuously knotty - and with the harsh water we have in the house, it doesn't help. But these two, especially the conditioner, always helps to keep my hair less knotty. Next on the list of things to try out is the Ziaja natural olive collection. I hope it works on my hair just as well! If my hair is really sleek and flat after these products, I will sometimes use a Lush hair/face product mid week that contains salt to give it some texture. It always works a treat.

After a bit of a hair cut, done by yours truly (you can see I'm not too bothered about messing up the hair, as it always grows back!) I made sure that my split ends didn't come back with the help of some hair oils. The one I'm using at the moment is a Tresemme one and one pump does perfectly. I use it daily and have noticed a massive difference in my hair, so I'd highly recommend picking up one. It can be hard finding an oil to suit your hair, so you could be on the hunt for a little while. (But for the most part, the ones you pick up in Boots are all under €10, so its not too bad.)

I've also started using a vo5 heat protect spray as I like to blast my hair with the hair dryer in the morning. If you have long hair you'll understand the need for this, or suffer the horrible wet clothes and back for half the day. I really like this and although I've only been using it about a month, I think it might be helping. Less static and frizz after brushing it out anyway!

And for my dye, I love and always highly recommend the Live XXL in purple. I have gone through easily 20 or 30 boxes of this stuff and it has the best colour pay off of all the alternative shades and brands out there. Because I only dye the ends of my hair, I tend to leave this in for a few hours or even overnight for an intense colour. Don't worry, my hair has never been worse for wear, changed shades, gone green or fallen off! Although I wouldn't recommend using it for that length of time if your doing your roots and close to the scalp. 

Lastly if I'm having a shower but want to give my hair the day off, I'll use a dry shampoo and a little Aussie leave in conditioner spray. Right now I'm loving the Herbal Essences dry shampoo, but I do switch it up a lot. This is about my 5th bottle of this particular one. And as everyone is a little obsessed at the moment over hair brushes, I have been a long time lover of my Denman brush. It seems to get out my knots the best and is dead handy to clean. You can pull off the head and out of the teeth by the row to clean them all.

Thats all there is really, just lots of oils, conditioners and protectors! Have you any favourite hair products or maybe something you could suggest for me to try out? I love new hair things!

My 2014 Favourties

Yeah so the first month of 2015 has nearly come to an end and I'm only getting around to doing this now. Honest to got, some things never change. Just to note, I'd like to say sorry as the photos are all a little off colour. Theres nothing worse then the winter light not letting up and the three times that I retook these photos, they have all been far too dark. But sure, the show must go on. This is a feckin massive list of my all time favourite things of 2014. Some things immediately came to mind and then some things I had to narrow down, it wasn't easy!

First I want to talk about hair. Its one of the things that is a part of my personality and I'm always trying new things in it. Surprisingly, shampoos get me excited the same way a new eye shadow palette would, or a cake. Aussie 3 minute miracle is one of my most loved conditioner, theres nothing as quick or effective to make my hair feel amazingly soft. It smells really lovely as well. I've gone through countless bottles of this goodness. Not pictured, but something that I had to add in is the Garnier ultimate blends shampoo and conditioners. They are so lovely and when they are on offer I love to stock up.

Herbal Essences dry shampoo is my top dry shampoo of the year. I go through loads of this stuff and love it. It doesn't have the white residue that some dry shampoos leave in your hair and it really helps reduce the grease in my hair. Lastly is my favourite purple hair dye, Live XXL. I think I keep these lads in business, I've bought so much of these tubes this year! It lasts such a long time in your hair, even with my daily washing it.  

Next is skincare and the first thing that came to mind when I thought of this catagory was my Vaseline spry and go moisturiser. Theres no waiting around for it to dry in or taking too much of the product in one go. You just spray it on quickly, give it a little rub and boom, your ready to go - well put on clothes first, of course. To help keep my face from falling to bits I love to use Green Angel seaweed daily face cream. It smells lovely, is so moistursing and you only need the tiniest amount to do your full face, so this will last ages. Himself is a big fan of it too, so I'd say the men in your life might appreciate this if your looking for a unisex gift that you might be able to 'borrow' a little now and again. You can read the full review of it over here.

Two Lush things that have to get a mention, keeping all my face uglies at bay are Grease Lightening and of course my much loved Mask of Magnaminty. Both of these help to keep my spots under control when used regularly. Theres nothing negative I can think to say about either of these, they are just perfect! Natural stuff that doesn't smell awful or hurt my fussy skin. 

Lastly is my all time favourtie perfume, the Body Shop White Musk Smoky Rose. When I first got this to try out I wasn't sure about it, it was nice but not something I'd use everyday. But now I've grown to love it and I have to have it in my handbag, just in case. I'm coming close to the end of this bottle and hope to get a new one asap. Running out just isn't an option!

I've read a lot of books and comics in 2014 and although I have so many new favourites, the two that stand out the most have to be Sex Criminals - that I did a full post on over here. And then The Good Girl that I did a review of over here. I'd blab on about them non stop, but I think this is a really long blog post without adding to it! 

Sleek has been one of my most loved make up brands in 2014. I've just started to use their blushers, (instead loving my Benefit one, full post over here)but the eyeshadow palettes and my overused but much loved contor kit has been my go to all year. I did a full blog post on it here, but I think since then I've fallen even more in love with it!

Another go to for the year has been my Wet'n'Wild Comfort Zone palette. Its cheap as chips and has so many highly pigmented colours in it, I just love how handy it is to throw in my bag, without having to worry if it gets a bit bashed. I a full post with swatches over here.

You would want to have been blind not to notice my new found love for Emmas Soy Candles this year. There are so many to choose from, they don't effect my asthma and they are an Irish brand. They just tick all the right boxes. Family and friends got these as Christmas presents, with much happy camper feedback!

Three nail varnishes that I've used non stop were by Paese - review here. Its the perfect red. My lovely mustard Barry M review here and my favourite from the entire new collection by Max Factor - review here.

Out of all my toys, this year Doxy has stolen my heart. I did a full review on it over here, but I'll save you the hassle of reading it - just go order it right now!

I've never fully understood people going on about products that would be desert island things to take with them. That was until I tried Ziaja Rose Butter, This is something I found about half way through the year after finding the brand stocked in a chemist on Talbot St. I picked it up as I was looking for something new to try and I'm so glad I did. Theres nothing as nice as the feeling of really clean, fresh and soft skin. Not only does it work total wonders, it smells pretty good too. I thought it would be too harsh when I felt the sand like texture, but it hasn't once hurt my sensitive skin. Ziaja is one of those brands you need to buy if you see.

Nimue rejuvenating mask is one of my favourite high end masks of 2014. But something that is much more budget friendly and works just as well is the Simple one. I've nothing to say about these, other then every time I have a bath or a bad day, then one of these gets slapped on my face and I feel so much better.

Lastly is my favourite make up. Reds were big for me this year, especially my Wet'n'Wild balm stain and my Inglot lipstick. I did a full review of some Inglot lip products over here. When theres a strong lip, there has to be some strong black eyelashes and flicks! Benefit They're Real and a bargain Collection extreme felt tip eyeliner for €3.99 are, dare I say my all time favourites. 

Everyone and their mammy needs to know about the Hero Brush. I only found it in October but its not left my side since. Its one of my most read posts in 2014 too I'm glad to say. Its an Irish make up artists brand and I honestly need to buy more of them. In love, have a look at the full review here. - Not to mention seeing photos of it clean, sorry!

And whats the point of having an amazing foundation brush if you don't have a lovely foundation to use with it! Seventeens Stay Time is my all time favourite foundation this year. Its full coverage, in a light shade that actually matches my skin tone and lasts a surprisingly long time. I think this is about my 4th or 5th bottle and nothing else that I've tried has compared to it. Seventeen are on fire with their new products that came out in 2014! Can't wait to see what they have in store for the rest of the year.

Empties #7

I think I'm getting better at doing these empties more often, thing aren't piling up so much! I only did one of these last month but since then I've had loads more odds and ends that I've been using up. Some of them I'm very sorry to see go and will be on the list must buys again soon, once all the Christmas presents have been bought!

First is my lovely Body Shop chamomile cleanser that was an utter dream to use on my skin. It took off all my make up and didn't irritate even my eyes. It was pricey at €15 and not something I will be picking up soon, but is on my wishlist of lovely things to get when I have a spare few bob floating about. You can read my full review of it over here.

Seventeen is the love of my make up life, we all know that by now. So when they brought this new foundation out a few months ago I couldn't have been happier. I'm now on to my third bottle of the stuff and use it daily. Its the perfect tone for my pale completion and can build up to have a totally flawless - slightly thick, but full coverage. Theres not much else in the make up section that could make me change my mind. This is just over €8 but all the make up in Boots tends to be on 3 for 2 so you can pick it up on the cheap. I need to get a back up of my back up for this one!

My Garnier micellar water is finally finished. When the internet went mad for those waters I naturally jumped on the bandwagon and bought a million different ones. This one is by far the best, purely based on the price. Its one of the biggest bottles at 400ml instead of the usual 200ml. So when I next run out of all my water, I'll pick this on up again.

Ziaja is amazing, theres not one product that I've tried of theres that I've not loved - which is a big thing for me to say. The Ziaja rose butter micro peeling face scrub has been my go to scrub for months now and I'm sad thats its come to an end. I'll be keeping an eye out for this again and buying a back up when I do find them. I used this about 3 times a week and it kept my skin soft while not being too harsh or stripping it. This was about €6 if I remember right and is worth every penny. 

My fall down with these posts are the crazy amounts of hair things in them. So I'll keep this one really short. We all know I love Dove and I buy this conditioner for coloured hair religiously. Big thumbs up. Next is a let down of a Dealz find, some random shampoo and conditioner that wasn't very good. I wont be getting it again.

Onto the hair dyes now. My Bleach London dye needs a full ranting, so heres the blog post for it. I just hate it so much! The other is XXL Live and that is the other end of the scale entirely. I use this all the time and love it so much. I lasts ages and gives such gorgeous colours once its washed out. You can pick this one up on offer in Boots all the time for about €5 which is perfect for me.

Two bottles of dry shampoo that I now use all the time. Batiste is an old favourite that I used a lot of especially around Halloween as it gives great texture and the white powder it leaves behind looks great too. But a new favourite is the Herbal Essence range and I have about 3 as back ups! They were on special offer in Tesco so I really stocked up. Best dry shampoo ever!

Few deodorants I really like is the Nivea no stains one and the roll on energy fresh one. Mostly the bigger bottle is about €5 in Boots but I always buy the roll on one in Dealz for €1.49 which is great for just before bed if you don't fancy having a stuffy room of spray left or if you have asthma and find that sprays irritate it. 

Next are two body scrubs, one is a mini from Soap&Glory. Sugar crush is by far my favourite scent along with the new orange one thats out. Nom nom nom, they smell so good! I'm asking santa for one of those sets for Christmas and in the mean time I might just accidentally buy one! The other is the raspberry body scrub from the Body Shop that loads of bloggers raved about. When I was in one day they had it on special offer so I picked it up but I wont be getting it again. It just didn't do anything for me and left my skin, unscrubed?

Once I found the dupe in Dealz for my Bourjoir nail varnish remover, I'm not going to be picking it up again. But this did work really well and if theres no Dealz near you then I'd recommend getting this one. Its about €6.99 so its not breaking the bank.

I really love Ghost and enchanted bloom is my favourite one of the collection. I have had this still in my shelf far too long but I could bare to throw it out. But considering its less then €30 I think I'm going to ask himself for it for Christmas. Perfume is such a lovely gift and an easy one once you know what type the girl or guy likes!

Lastly is one of the best Irish candles around, Emmas so naturals. This is one of their winter limited edition ones in masala chai. I think this is one of the nicest ones of all the winter candles out there. For €9.99 I think this is going to be bought again really soon. You can see all the other scents and full reviews over here.

Do you think empty posts are good for finding new things to try?

Boots Haul: Hair and Makeup Must Haves

Its important to note that this spend was totally ok as I had gotten a Boots voucher for my birthday and it was burning a hole in my handbag. The majority of this haul are things that I had needed to repurchase or that I had been looking at for ages and just never had the extra funds to splurge on. So thank you to one of my besties for feeding my Boots habit, the doll! Boots are doing there regular savings with 3 for 2 on make up and the likes, but there also doing a 3 for 2 on all hair care - which I think ends up being a little expensive in the long run. So until they finish that offer I'm hunting around the house for some shampoo and conditioner!

I had to get more hair dye as I'm finally finished my god awful bottle of Bleach London. Now I can go back to much loved and trusted Live Colour XXL in purple. This stuff lasts such a long time and is one of the best purple dyes I have tried (and believe me, I've tried them all!) This was only €6.99 and normally its on offer for two fro €9, so look out for that if your a dye addict like myself.

I also picked up Soap&Glory Orangeasm body wash that I have wanted since it came out. I can't get enough of the scent and a friend actually took it from me because I was sniffing it too much. (opps). I can't wait to try this out in the shower and see if the scent is long lasting and what it really smells like once its applied to the skin. Not only that, but obviously if it washes well and leaves me squeaky clean! This was the cheapest out of the new line at €9, which is a bit steep, but after all it is S&G.

Another thing that I had been after for ages was the Invisi bobble that I read about on a blog and really wanted to try. This is meant to keep hair in place without catching or leaving bobbin marks in your hair. I am forever tying my hair up and letting it loose again late only to find kinks and crazy possessed big hair. I really hope this isn't a gimmiky product and it actually works. It will make a nice change from getting my hair pulled out by my bobbins too and I'm hoping it wont break as easy as the ones I'm currently using at the minute. For a pack of three this was €4.89.

I was set on getting a Sleek palette as I have never owned one and when I saw the limited edition Arabian Nights, I knew it had to be mine. What I didn't know was that Sleek had a buy one get one half price on all their stock so I came away with another much drooled over palette, Vintage Romance. Both of these make me happy just to look at and I can't wait to have a proper play and create some looks. These are €9.99 each, but I got the second one for €4.99. Over the past month I have been seriously gaining a lot of new shadows and palettes so I think these will be the last for a while as I just have too many! The last Sleek palette I really want is the Sunset one, after that the craving should be filled! (Or so I hope). I'll start doing reviews and swatches in the next while of all the these shadows and products, so keel the eyes peeled.

Lastly, some much needed repurchases. Seventeen is one of my most loved make up brands and I have bought dozens of their phwoarr paint concealers and miracle matte pressed powders. The concealer is a near dupe of Benefits boi-ing but for only €6.99, while the pressed powder was €5.09. Seventeen had an offer on of buy two products and get a free back lash mascara that is normally €8.19. It was just my luck that I was buying two things anyway! I haven't seen this mascara before, so I don't know if its new or not, although I don't pay too much attention to any mascaras out.

Lastly I picked up a reduced Bourjois record liner in black for €3, originally €10.49 as the packaging had been damaged. I couldn't have been happier as this brand is normally out of my reach with its slightly high end prices.