Hair Update

If you've been reading here for a while, you may be aware of my self-imposed anti hair-dye challenge. What you won't know, is that I broke it...

In November I made the decision to break almost 2 years of not dyeing my hair. I toyed with the idea of a slight change, maybe a chestnut brown or mahogany...but subtle was never my thing. I love dramatic hair changes, and it took me a while to decide between going light or dark. I decided to go light, and stocked up on bleach and toner.

Several packs of dye later, I had bleach blonde hair.

My roots have since come through, so I've redyed them, now it looks like it's growing through ginger! Time to re-bleach, then I have a grey dye to go over the top - after that, who knows!

The Empties Challenge! January Edition

New year, a new month of empties! Though to be honest, I haven't got through quite as many products as I expected to...

1: Tresemme Karatin Smooth: 7 Day Smooth System Conditioner

I bought the whole set of the 7 day smooth set - the shampoo, conditioner, and the heat activated serum. I've made my way through the conditioner the quickest - no surprises there. I dont know many poeple who use shampoo faster than condtioner! I can't comment on the efectiveness of this product without mentioning the other products it was made to be used with. Using the conditioner alongside the other related products is meant to keep your hair smooth for 7 days - even if you get your hair wet in that time frame. You may be aware that I rarely straighten my hair, but when I do, I used these products. I got pretty amazing results with them, my hair looked like I had used GHD's on it - and I don't own GHDs. It was sleek, smooth, neat, and stayed that way while in humid conditions. It lasted a few days with me sleeping on it, only needing a brush and quick top-up straighten until I washed it again. I was really pleased with the results - way back when I used to straighten my hair all the time, everyday it would be a challenge to restraighten it after it curled up again or got any moisture near it! Big change from back then - I was able to do my hair in 10 minutes or less. However, there is a downside of these products - it leaves residue in your hair - like a coating of karatin. This made brushing my hair very difficult as I would have to very carfully brush through the product buildup.
I have used the shampoo and conditioner without straighteneing my hair afterwards - I was left with smooth non-frizzy hair that I left to curl naturally. I still ended up with product build up though, so my curls got a bit snaggley and tangled, especially overnight after sleeping on them. I reverted to only using one or the other, alongside a different shampoo, and this moreor less solved the issue. no product build up, and slightly smoother hair for a couple of days. Honestly, I think 7 days is pushing it, but perhaps this would work better on someone who doesn't have curly hair?

2: Sure Maximum Protection Deodorant

I bought this after it was recommended on another blog that I read (Hello TooFatToRun!). It was also on offer, and deodorant on offer is basically how I decide which one I'll be using... I haven't ever used a deodorant that you twist at the bottom to get the product out before, so this was a new experience for me. At first I found it a bit odd to smear product over my underarms, but actually I think I prefer it to roll on deodorant now. In terms of the functionality of the product, it did stop me from feeling so sweaty and smelly, even after a workout (obviously I was sweating everywhere else, but I didn't have to worry about having smelly pits!). It has a pleasant smell, and does the job it says it should do - you'll hear no complaints from me on the product itself. However, I haven't re-bought this product because the price of it is a little more than what I would usually spend on deodorant. whenever it's on offer htough, you can be sure I'll be stocking up on it! PS - let me know if you see this on offer anywhere? K, thnx.

That's it from me this month, but did you know that I'm on facebook? you can like my page for some more updates and anecdotes here

Happy February!

The Empties Challenge - November Edition

Month 2 of my empties challenge and I think we've done okay this month! (even though this is a really late post!!!!!)



1: So...? Enticing Bodyspray

I received this in a 3 pack as a Christmas gift. It's taken me a while to use it, but it is a product that I use on a semi-regular basis, especially in the summer months! I like the scent of these - even if they make me think of teenagers and tweens. As it's an aerosol, the spray is always cold and refreshing. The scent is sweet and fresh.




2: Herbal Essences Naked Volume Shampoo

I was drawn to this shampoo because of the lack of parabens and colourants in it. Plus it was new and I wanted to try it out! When using it, I loved the scent, and it foamed up nicely in my hair. I did fee like it wasn't cleaning my hair as well as a normal shampoo, but once I had become accustomed to using it I didn't have a problem with it.










3: Herbal Essences Naked Volume Conditioner

Did someone say silky? No? Well, my hair is! I like this conditioner a lot, I have quite dry damaged hair, and this conditioner felt like it was working wonders on it. I like the scent and the way it makes me hair feel afterwards.







Voila - that' what I managed to empty in November. I won't be doing a December empties post, but I will be continuing these in the new year!

The Empties Challenge - October Edition

I realised while moving, that I have an obscene amount of toiletries that I've managed to collect. Toiletries that I am not in the habit of using, so they just pile up in boxes and drawers...which is an issue when moving from a 3 bedroom house into a 2 bedroom flat with limited storage space...

I thought it could be fun to challenge myself to try and use some of them each month to firstly, empty them and create space; and secondly to get back into the habit of looking after myself.

Through October I've been collecting my empties, and this is what I've managed to clear out:


1: Nivea Invisible roll on deodorant



I bought this roll on to use when travelling via airplane. I've actually had this for a while because I prefer sprays, so I'm glad I've finally used it all up!! I like Nivea - it's good to my skin and causes no irritation. This product is advertised as 48h deodorant which is invisible on black and white clothing. I didn't notice any marks on my clothing at all, however I wouldn't say this lasted for 48 hours...so I'd give it a solid 3.5/5.





2: I Love...Strawberries and Cream shower gel

I received this shower gel as a gift, and it was one of the deceptively biggest bottles of shower gel I have ever seen. It has taken months to finish it! However, I am finally to the end of it. I love the scent of this product - it smells sweet, but not too overpowering. It foams up nicely on my sponge, and creates a silky bubbly wash for my skin. There was nothing I disliked about this product, and it's excellent value for money! (PS - It's available from Superdrug...)




3: Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pore & Shine face scrub

I love face scrubs. I'll always go for a face scrub over a face wash - I really enjoy the clean feeling after scrubbing all of the dirt and dead skin off my face. I've never used this scrub before, and at the time there was a 3 for 2 offer so I bought a couple of them plus the pore & shine face wash. I have combination skin, so my face gets quite oily through the day and causes breakouts. This scrub actually did help. It's a mattifying scrub, so thankfully it did the job it was designed to do! I noticed my skin was much clearer when I used it regularly, however overuse made my skin dry out - as you would expect. I liked this product a lot, so I'm glad I have another one to get through!







That's it for October - barring hand wash and toothpaste. I haven't made much of a dent in my mounds of products, but I'll keep you updated for the end of November!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I hate being hairy. Yes, I am absolutely going there. When I have hairy armpits I feel like a icky man-lady. Over the years I've tried all kinds of hair removal...shaving, waxing, that stinky hair cream stuff...the only thing I haven't tried is the slightly more permanent laser hair removal (I can neither confirm nor deny that it may be next on my list of things to try...)

I thought it would be interesting to write about my experiences with each method...ENJOY

1. Shaving

The standard. Where more or less everyone starts out...

Yay

• Feels great to get the hair off quickly and pain-free! 
• Quick
• Cheap
• Easy
• Can do it at home
• Convenient

Nay

• Itchy regrowth
• Does NOT last very long. At all. 2 days max
• Accidental slips or bad angles can cause uncontrollable bleeding and scarring
• Razors quickly go blunt
• Razor burn/razor rash
• Ingrown hairs
• Red bobbly skin

Krummometer says: 

P.S. Krumm is a character from a cartoon Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. It was always on Cartoon Network in the late evenings.

The convenience of shaving pushed it up to a 3 for me, and to be fair, I shave on my legs pretty much all the time. Though in other more sensitive areas - like armpits - it does not work very well for me.

2. Hair Removal Cream

Yay

• Quick
• Can do it at home

Nay

• It smells gross
• It doesn't work as well as I would like it to
• It's gloopy

Krummometer says: 

I did not like this. at all. Gross and smelly with unsatisfactory results...Boooooo!

3. Epilator

Yay

• Quicker than plucking each hair out
• Cheap (once you have bought the epilator)
• Reusable

Nay

• Painful. All the pain.
• Scary - there is no way I would use this on my underarms - legs are as far as I will go with this!
• Too violent - sometimes it breaks the hairs and I'm left with stubble

Krummometer says: 

Another hair removal method I did NOT like. It's too painful and does not give very good results.... Having said that, the last time I used an epilator was several years ago soo it might be worth giving this another shot. Maybe. 

4. Strip Wax (Home kits)

Yay

• Pulls the hair out from the root
• Lighter regrowth
• You can do it privately at home without the awkwardness of stripping off in a salon

Nay

• Painful
• Takes a lot of courage to pull off the strip yourself
• Messy and sticky
• It's hard to reach all the areas you want to wax 
• Takes a lot of time

Krummometer says:

It's hard to pull the strips off - correctly - on your own. It's also soo messy and sticky...I prefer the smoothness of waxing, but I prefer the convenience of shaving over the mess of waxing myself

5. Strip Wax (Salon)

Yay

• You don't have to do anything. Just lay back and let the beautician do the work
• Lighter regrowth
• Smooth results

Nay

• Going to a salon every month can get expensive
• Painful
• Having to grow the hair out long enough to be waxed again is neither fun nor attractive...

Krummometer says:

I love the smooth, clean feeling after a wax. However, I have sensitive skin so I do sometimes come up quite red and sore in the stubborn hair areas.

6. Hot Wax

Yay

• Gentler on the skin (no wax strips - just peels off)
• Gets the shorter hairs that can be missed in a strip wax
• Smells nice
• hairless for longer
• Grows back finer

Nay

• Gets expensive going to a salon every month
• Can be painful (but less painful than strip wax)
• I haven't seen this in many places - few and far between!
• Have to regrow the hair in-between treatments

Krummometer says: 

Pling Pling Pling! We have a winner. This by far is my favorite hair removal method. I prefer it over all other methods I've tried thus far! 

What method do you prefer? 

Krumm image sourced from here: http://fc08.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/317/1/f/krumm_by_mollyketty-d6u5rsd.png

New years nails

Twas the night before New Year, and all was in chaos. All were getting ready, even the mouse.

Doesn't quite have the same magical feel to it...

Anyway, I just wanted to write about my glitterazzi new year nails. For Christmas I got some super bright nail polishes, so I decided to wear these, and glam them up with glitter polish. I'd seen a great nail idea on pinterest a little while ago where the nail tip was glitter and it looked like it had traveled up the nail and dispersed (So lots of glitter at the tip to barely any at the cuticle). I wanted to give this a go, with my own brightly coloured twist-using my Christmas nail polish, and silver glitter polish.

So I did my nails all pretty and put a dense silver on the tips, and a sparse silver on the rest of my nails. It looked pretty cool.

As it turns out, the silver nail polish had gone off, leaving me with rotten smelling fingertips. And glitter that dried all weird and lumpy. Of course, by the time I'd realised this it was too late and I was already at the NYE party...Oh well...

Bring on 2014!

With 2014 arriving, I've been thinking about how fast this year has gone. And the past 3 years since I trotted off to uni land and back. I feel that I've achieved a lot in that time frame. Going to uni, surviving a long distance relationship, graduating, and gaining full time employment. For example. On the flip side of these, I feel there are a few things that I haven't been able to achieve yet. Including my 2013 resolutions... It's with these in mind that I made my 2014 goals, and I feel determined to make all of my resolutions happen in the coming year.

1. I will lose a minimum of two stone by July. Goals that seem more achievable are more likely to actually be achieved.

2. I will pass my driving test this year. This is on track For the end of Feb. Exciting!

3. I will manage my finances more successfully-pay off debt and start to ammas some savings.  I created a 2014 financial plan to assist me in this goal.

4. I will look after my skin by moisturising and exfoliating more often.  A little self-love is always a good thing!

5. I will de-clutter my belongings. I have too much stuff.

I've made a small poster which is up on my wall so I am reminded of them, and stay on track.

I feel that 2014 will be an interesting year, I don't know what to expect from it. I am no longer in education, so the framework of knowing roughly where I'll be in 6 months time is completely gone. It's like I'm suddenly adrift in real life, and the tide could take me anywhere! That sounds really cheesy...Buuuut, I don't care. :) 

What are your resolutions?