March empties

Can you believe it's time for empties again? What ever happens to the days I wonder, and I'm convinced that the bad economy and inflation these past few years even has impacted time - an hour is somehow shorter than it used to be. Again I have tried my hardest this month to finish up as many products as possible and in the end I'm quite pleased with the results - 8 products that can go in the bin, which equals the right to buy 8 new products, that's the rule isn't it?

Let's start with some skin care products. Ever since I finished my beloved Gatineau Floracil (£29.50), a strong contender for the world champion title of eye makeup removers, I've been using the L'Oréal Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micellar Solution (£4.99), the well known dupe for the original micellar solution - Bioderma. It's a great, effective and gentle all-in-one product, removing both face and eye makeup without stinging your eyes, and it also acts as a toner. The only thing I seriously dislike about it is the packaging, or more specifically the fact that there is no effective dispenser at the top of the bottle - just a big hole. This means that if you drop the bottle, or you're not careful with closing the top, the solution goes everywhere. That should be easy enough to fix and hopefully L'Oréal will do something about it eventually. Even though I prefer to use micellar solutions from other brands as part of my morning routine, I still like to use the L'Oréal 3 in 1 solution as an eye makeup remover, and at such an affordable price it's super value for money.

On to the St. Grape Aqua Bliss Natural Face and Body Scrub (£12) which is an amazing luxurious bath scrub containing natural mineral sea salt, essential oils and vitamin e. The formula is light, fluffy and creamy and the salt grains are so fine that they start to melt immediately when you scoop it out of the jar. The scrub is so delicate and gentle on the skin, leaving it smooth and supple with a gorgeous and quite strong scent of delicate jasmine. You can use this both on your body and face, but since I'm cautious of using strongly perfumed products on my face I stick to using it as a body scrub. It's a fantastic indulgent product, perfect for a pampering evening and I will get another one as soon as I've finished some of my other body scrubs.

We've come to the section of hair products for this month starting with the Avon Naturals Apricot and Shea Leave-in Treatment (£2.50). It's a lovely light cream, almost of the same consistency as a conditioner, that you apply to towel dried hair and it makes your hair very silky and so much easier to detangle. But the best thing about it is the incredible scent of sun-kissed juicy apricots and luxurious shea butter that stays on your hair and if you apply it in the evening, you'll still smell it in the morning when you wake up. This is one of the few Avon hair products that really works on my hair, and the smell of  a creamy fresh apricot smoothie is just irresistible.

Of course we have a dry shampoo as well - the TRESemme Instant Refresh Radiance Dry Shampoo Translucent Formula (£5.25). It's a slightly revamped version of the original TRESemme dry shampoo that doesn't leave that white powdery residue on your hair that some dry shampoos can do which is great, and it has that lovely recognizable fresh TRESemme scent that lingers on your hair. It's a decent dry shampoo however personally I don't find it quite as effective at oil control as some of the others I've used from Batiste or Dove, and I can't say that I've noticed that it adds any radiance as it promises either. Since it is a bit more expensive than other brands, but it doesn't have the same effect on my hair I won't be repurchasing this.

If you've followed my posts on Operation Rapunzel, you'll know that I have been using the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment (£7.99) faithfully since October last year to help my hair to grow. The treatment is a protein enriched masque that you use after shampoo but before conditioner, and it helps to nourish the scalp and follicles for healthy hair. It's a gorgeous creamy formula with a delicious nutty scent that reminds me of the Macadamia range, and it makes the hair feel extremely soft and nourished. After more than 3 months of use, my hair had grown almost 6 cms, and although it might not be down only to this lovely treatment, it's certainly helped to keep my hair sleek and glossy. I can't recommend this wonderful masque enough, and in fact I would say - buy two at the same time to make sure you don't run out.

When I first got the L'Oréal False Lash Flutter Mascara (£10.99) I had some mixed feelings about it, that you may remember from a separate review I did in November (see here). Although the formula starts off quite thin, it does add a wonderful length, and as the formula thickens it also adds quite a lot of volume to the lashes. Another plus point is the fabulous fanned butterfly wing effect on the lashes that the very scary looking brush creates and the mascara also wears great throughout the day. What I found most difficult to get used to is the brush - it's big, sturdy, heavy in the hand and the shape makes it difficult to reach the inner lashes and to get a nice even coverage of the lower lashes, at least until you get used to is and you find a way to use it that works for you. Despite my initial struggles with the brush I absolutely love the dramatic lash effect this mascara creates, and truth be told I have already bought another one, and can't wait to start using it again.

This month I've finished another fragrance, Flora by Gucci - Glamorous Magnolia EdT (£48.50) one of the amazing scents from Gucci's Floral Garden range. I'm a massive fan of the original Flora scent, but the Floral Garden range is far from your garden variety of perfumes and Glamorous Magnolia is a fabulous, fresh, soft and sensual modern scent. It blends delicate white flowers with lots of character like magnolia and freesia with warm peony, invigorating citrus fruits and warm, earthy musk and wood. It's such a cool, crisp and glamorous scent and it's perfect for warm, sweltering summer days. Glamorous Magnolia - you will be sorely missed... at least until I get bottle of you, and this time I'm going large!

Last but not least is a candle that I bought just before Christmas, and I know what you're thinking - what, that's months ago? But the reason for not showing it sooner is that it burns up to 170 hrs, so it's lasted me aaaages. I had never tried this brand before but the Village Candle in Mulled Cider (£17.25) smelt so delicious of warm, sweet fruity and slightly spicy cider that I just had to have it. It came with two wicks and burnt really well from side to side, deep into the glass jar, with next to nothing left of it. The Village Candles look and smell so similar to the Yankee Candles that you can easily mistake them for each other, although the Village Candles might be slightly lower priced. With 170 hrs burn time, these candles are excellent value for money and I would definitely try this brand again. If you have tried both Yankee and Village Candles I'd love to hear if you think there's a difference between them and which you prefer?

Rapunzel, let your hair down!

In October last year I set out on a mission - Operation Rapunzel, to try and grow my hair a bit longer, but also to better look after my hair in general. As part of that, I've tried to limit how often I wash my hair every week (my current allowance is max 3 times), I'm usually good with conditioners but I've also really focused on using hair masks and other treatments, oils for a little pre-wash moisture boost and to help detangle my hair (using the amazing tangle teezer) and of course the all important heat protectants when I've styled my hair. All in all, I think I've done fairly well and the quality of my hair seems to have improved - I have fewer broken, crazy hairs and haven't lost much hair this winter either. So far so good, but did I manage to grow my hair?

 

To encourage my hair to grow I got the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment which is a protein based complex that you use after shampoo but before conditioner, that moisturizes the scalp and helps to keep the follicles healthy so they can produce long luscious healthy locks. The formula is very rich and it feels quite heavy on the hair, but it's still easy to wash out and it doesn't leave any residue or film on the hair. When I've used it, I've applied quite a lot because I have a lot of hair, and then I've scooped up my hair in a shower cap to let it do its magic for about 15 mins before rinsing. It's made my hair feel so nourished and smooth, and my hair has also behaved much when I've heat styled it.

Since hair grows about 1.5 cm every month by now my hair should have grown more than 4.5 cms, so it should be about a bit below my elbows, if not longer so let's look at the evidence:

 Exhibit A: Photo Oct 13 2013

Exhibit B: Photo Jan 18

Just looking at my hair, and not actually measuring it has grown about 5-6 cms, and it now reaches below my elbow, which is great and seems to be a bit more than I would have expected based on avg growth/month. I can't of course say that it's all down to the Lee Stafford treatment, there can be other factors that have impacted as well e.g. diet etc, but what I can say for sure is that this is a wonderful creamy treatment, with a nice nutty scent that feels lovely and soothing on the scalp and it leaves your hair nourished, soft, sleek and glossy. I will definitely continue to use this treatment weekly, in fact I have already bought my third pot of it, and if my hair continues to grow even more over Spring and Summer (which it should with the change in weather), I'll live happily smooth, sleek and detangled ever after!

December empties

I can barely believe that there's only one week to go before Christmas! I've spent the last few weeks bringing home so much stuff for Christmas that the cupboards are filled to the brim of food and hidden away presents. Well, good thing then that I've also tried to make some space by finishing up a few products.

As you may know Operation Rapunzel to get my hair to grow even longer has been in action these last few months, so you probably won't be surprised to see that there are 4 empties today that are related to hair care. The first one is the Kérastase Elixir Ultime hair oil (£27.60). It's a wonderful light oil with a gorgeous scent of sweet and rich moringa that is great for repairing and nourishing damaged hair. Like most hair oils you can use this for some many purposes, as a conditioner, treatment, detangler or as a styling products. I only use a few tiny pumps of oil, and my hairs feels so smooth and silky and cared for. Out of the hair oils I've tried, this is one of my absolute favourites and despite the price tag I would definitely buy it again as it's a real investment in your hair.

Next up is the dry shampoos of the month and both are from Batiste in the scents Cherry (£2.99) and XXL Volume Big & Bouncy (£3.99). Batiste will always be a brand I turn to for dry shampoo because of the wide range of scents that they offer, and they keep re-inventing themselves with new and exciting releases. The cherry scent comes in a cute retro bottle and it has a sweet, fairly intense cherry scent and although it's nice it's almost a little too heavy for me since I prefer lighter scents on my hair that won't interfere with whatever perfume I'm wearing. Big & Bouncy is more of a fresh floral and it's very effective for adding texture and extra body to the hair at the same time as it refreshes and controls oil and I would definitely get it again to help create updo's that stay in place all day.

Key to my routine to encourage my hair to grow is using the Lee Stafford's Hair Growth Treatment which is a protein rich mask that you use as a treatment in between your shampoo and conditioner and you apply it not only to the ends of your hair, but to the scalp as well and a healthy scalp is important for healthy hair, after all the hair grows from the scalp - not the ends. It's a wonderful rich cream with a lovely nutty scent that makes the hair feel very soft and volumized. I've really enjoyed using this every week and I'm already working on my second tub so that I can give you an update next month on how it's worked for me - and if my hair has grown longer which I really hope.

That's the hair products out of the way, so let's look at the others starting with the Gatineau Floracil Eye Makeup Remover (£17.50). It's a non-oily very gentle but effective remover that contains camomile to sooth and refresh the eye area but that also cares for the eyelashes at the same time. In the evening I usually take two cotton pads, soak them with Floracil and put them over the eye lids for a few seconds, and it's as if all the makeup, even water resistant mascara just dissolves and gets wiped away. There's no rubbing or pulling of the delicate skin and no stinging sensation in the eyes. If like myself you spend most of your day in front of a computer screen, your eyes might get a bit tired and weary, and just relaxing with a few pads of Floracil, is a few minutes of every day luxury.  This is without a doubt the best eye makeup remover I have ever used and I will definitely get another jumbo sized one in January and since it should last me about 5 months, the current offer on Salon Skincare really is excellent value for money.

One of the nail care brands that I completely swear by is Sally Hansen and I have used the care range for years now. I must confess that I have strayed and used other brands in between that promise miraculous nail growth, but I have always come back to Sally Hansen since I find that the products actually work and one of the products I've used almost non stop the past year is the Nail Growth Serum (£6.95). The serum contains Biotin, which is famous for helping hair and nails to grow and also for improving the quality. You massage it into both the nail and the cuticle and it certainly helps your nails to grow and I also find that the nails feel stronger and more even. I do prefer the Nail Growth formula that you can use as a base case, but both products are great and if you find it difficult to grow your nails, this might be a great product to try.

Just as I had planned on wearing a lovely glamorous Hollywood look with red lips and a winged eyeliner, my Avon Glimmerstick Liqui-glide eyeliner (£2.50) gave up the ghost. Timing couldn't have been worse! The product has the consistency of a liquid eye liner, but it's in a pencil form and has great precision, which is great for me since I find that liquid liners can be quite difficult to work with. The liner lasted really well throughout the day without any smudging but it was also easy to remove in the evening. I wore the shade graphite - perfect for creating a flick but not quite as harsh as darkest black, all in all a very nice and budget friendly eye liner.

The last empties is one of the winter scented candles I recently bought from Lily-Flame Candle (£8.50). Winter Wood was a fresh, but woody and aromatic scent, almost like the scent of Christmas tree. In the tin it was a bit soapy but I was very positively surprised and it filled the room with a lovely homely scent. I'm usually never disappointed in the candles from Lily-Flame - the scents are great, the candles burn a long time and they usually burn really well. This time however I wasn't pleased when the candle after about 15 hrs refused to burn any longer and had turned into the shape you see in the photo. A bit disappointing, but at least the other candles that I bought haven't let me down, and are just as great as I've come to expect.

I didn't manage to finish as much as I had hoped this month, but I'm sure I can find space somewhere if Santa is kind enough to bring me some lovely beauty bits and pieces this Christmas...

Operation Rapunzel is a go!

Most of my life I have had long hair, and at one point it was just above my waiste - that's how long it was. I think it's a reaction to having had very short hair as a young child and thinking that I didn't look like the other girls who all had lovely long locks. The thing about long hair is that when it comes to the point that you can't really style it or do beautiful updo's and it just hangs there, then it's almost too long - this is of course a matter of personal taste but I actually decided to cut my hair a bit shorter about 5 years ago. Even though I still have what most people would think is fairly long hair, it was a huge decision for me at the time, but I thought it was better to have well cared for and healthy looking hair, than just mega long hair. The other thing about having long hair is that you really need to look after it, and I admit that I don't always do as well as I should on that front, which is why I today launch Operation Rapunzel!

For the next few months I am going to put my hair through a vigorous care routine all according to BBB - Beauty Blogger Basics. I will be using different treatments, serums, oils, heat protectants, volumizers and sprays and in the end we'll see if there's any noticeable difference. So you can expect to see some focus on hair products in the next few months to come. 

During Rapunzel I will also see if I can get my hair to grow a bit longer using the Lee Stafford Hair Growth Treatment.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit this - but hey noone is perfect, and perhaps some of you will recognize this too: When I have done treatments to my hair I've always focused on the ends of my hair, rather than the roots. It's silly really when you think about it considering your hair doesn't grow from the ends, it grows from the scalp so it's actually important to make sure that your scalp is cared for and healthy. The concept of the Lee Stafford treatment is that good follicle health helps your hair to grow - and to grow as long as it has the potential to do.

The formula is a protein based complex that basically moisturizes the scalp, strengthens the hair at a deep level and also helps contains anti-aging properties. This product is used between your shampoo and conditioner, so after you've used shampoo, you massage it into the hair, starting at the scalp and working your way down to the ends. The recommendation is that you use about the size of an egg, and I guess it depends on the type of egg (Ostrich? Quail? Tyrannosaurus Rex?) and how much hair you have, but I use about half the size of a Maybelline Colour Tattoo. Now that's a size concept I think we can all relate to!

After you've massaged it in, leave it for a few minutes - rinse it off and then apply your conditioner. The treatment is a thick and heavy cream that smells quite perfumed and salon like, and actually reminds me a little of pistachio. It's not unpleasant at all, just a little bit synthetic for my liking. The treatment is easy to rinse off, and makes your hair very soft, volumized and fresh feeling in general. I really enjoyed using it and even though I was worried that treating my scalp would end in unbalancing it, I haven't found it to be greasy or sticky in any way - so a big thumbs up from me!

You can either use the treatment as a cure i.e. apply it every time you wash, until you feel that the quality of your hair has improved, or you can use it as a weekly treatment to maintain your hair. I commit to using this as a weekly treatment for two months. Since I can't commit to wearing the same nail polish shade for a whole week, you can imagine what an effort this is going to take on my part! According to my research, my hair should have grown about 3 cm in that time, so let's see if at the end of it my hair has exceeded normal growth rate. This is how long my hair is at the moment, so if I don't trim the ends, it should be almost down to my elbows in two months.

In between I will still go to the salon as usual, and I'll check with them if they notice a significant improvement as well - it's always good to get a professional's view on it. Operation Rapunzel should be good fun and I look forward to keeping you updated on what's going on. If you feel inspired to join in too, please let me know since that would be so exciting and we can share what's going on!