Lush Ultimate Shine Shampoo Bar Review

It had been a while since I’d bought anything from Lush and in my little shopping trip last week I decided that I would go in and have a look.  I’d bought they’re Ultimate Shine Shampoo Bar before (quite a while ago) and decided to pick one up so that I could feature it on here and share my thoughts on it with you all 🙂

Ultimate Shine shampoo bar aims to leave hair feeling super clean and shiny.  Like all Lush’s products it’s not tested on animals and this product is also vegan. It’s really simple to use; I like to rub it in my hands to get a lather and then use this on hair.  It does suggest that you rub the shampoo bar onto hair but I like the way that I do it better as I feel that rubbing it onto hair may cause breakages.

I find that this leaves hair looking super shiny and so soft.  I usually wash my hair every second day (I hate the look/feel of even a little greasyness – yuck) but I find with this that it can look and feel lovely for about three days.  I do find that I need to use a conditioner with this because if I don’t my hair can be quite tuggy (it’s always like this if I don’t use conditioner).  I can’t remember how long they last as it’s been a while since I bought one but I know that they last a lot longer than a bottle of shampoo usually does.  According to the Lush website the Shampoo Bars can last as long as 2-3 bottles of 200ml shampoo.  So 1 Shampoo Bar = 400-600mls of regular shampoo.

I think it’s probably best if you invest in one of the Shampoo Bar Tins or use a small tub to keep the product in as it will stop the product from sticking to surfaces after you’ve used it.  I definitely think that the shampoo bars would be perfect for going traveling; as they’re solid it means that you can put it in your carry on luggage.  I’ll definitely be buying another for when I go on holiday.

Have you tried any of Lush’s Shampoo Bars?  Do you have any favorite Lush products; let me know what you’d recommend 🙂

Superdrug Colour Vibrance Hair Dye in Cosmic Purple (3.66)

I decided that after having my hair a similar colour for almost 2 years I decided to go back to purple!  I had tried to dye it purple about 6 months or so ago (with Garnier Olia) but the colour barely took it and it didn’t even dye some parts despite being completely saturated in dye and faded quickly.

I was in Superdrug and decided I wanted something different and having tried one of their dyes before (which  worked really well) I decided to try Cosmic Purple.  When I had purple hair before I got it done at the hairdressers, specially mixed up for me and no box dyes ever seemed to compete with the look that it gave.  Superdrugs hair dyes are also not tested on animals.

I forgot to take a before picture but  I would describe it as being an auburn colour and I wasn’t sure how the dye would take as my hair has been dyed a similar colour for two/three years and has a lot of red build up/staining.

In the box you get the usual, gloves, instructions, developer, colourant and a conditioner.  You mix the colourant with the developer and then apply.  It has a creamy formula and applies really easily and doesn’t drip.  If you slightly messy when applying dye, like myself, you will be glad to know that it wipes of things easily however this is best done before it dries.  I don’t feel that this dye smells to badly especially when compared to others.

After 30 minutes rinse it of and apply the conditioner, which smells really nice.  Its also a good size meaning that it can be used again when ever you need it.  The instructions recommend using it as a weekly treatment.

I was really impressed with this colour it has went quite a bright purple at the roots, which were a light brown colour and has left the rest of the hair a purple/red colour.   There are a few bits that the dye hasn’t really managed to colour (these are small and look a little like hi-lights) but like I said my hair has a lot of red staining on it, but I think that putting another box of Cosmic Purple will help make these bits more purple.  I think if your hair doesn’t have a lot of previous dye on it then it will most likely go a bright purple.

I think this will be my new favourite hair dye for a while and it is definitely the best permanent purple hair dye that you can buy in the shops.  I have washed it a few times since dyeing it and it hasn’t faded at all.  At the moment the Superdrug Vibrance Colours are 2 for £6 so it’s definitely a good buy.  I have quite think hair and need just one box however if your hair is any longer than mine I would recommend that you use 2 boxes.  As you can see this hair dye leaves hair super shiny and healthy looking.

Have you ever tried any of the Superdrug hair dyes?  What did you think of them?  Or do you have another favourite hair dye brand? 🙂

Girlz Only Dry Shampoo Review*

This is one of the products that I received at the Fabb Glasgow event and I have to admit that I really wanted to try it.  I have only ever used another, very well known brand.  I bought it, it worked well I continued to buy it and didn’t look at any others out there.  But then I was told at the event that this one was better and I decided that I really had to see if it measured up to the expectations of my favourite dry shampoo.

I scent that I got is Party Nights which has a floral fragrance.  There are 2 others fragrances, also one for blondes, one for brunettes and a volumising one.  Party Nights comes in a lovely pink tin(I really love the pattern on it) which is 150ml, which is slightly smaller than the one that I usually buy but not buy too much.

I find that when I spray this onto hair it doesn’t come out look white and powdery like the other, in fact you can’t really see it at all.  But I soon realised that this was a huge plus point as it means you just have to give hair a quick rub rather than rubbing and brushing and then checking to make sure there is no white bits left in your hair.  I also feel that this gives hair a little bit of volume if hair is looking a little flat.

Overall I think I may have finally been converted to use a different dry shampoo.  I will definitely be buying this when it runs out.  You can buy Girlz Only Dry Shampoo from Tesco with prices starting at £1.50.

Have you tried any of the dry shampoos from the Girlz Only range?  Let me know what you thought 🙂

#SBBC DIY Beauty – Salt Spray

I posted this a while back but it’s the only DIY beauty that I know so in case you missed out previously; here’s how to make your own salt spray.  This is for you if you like the beach waves look but like me don’t live near the sea.

So I found the basis of this recipe on the US Glamour magazine website, however I’ve changed parts of it.

Anyway after seeing so many mixed reviews of salt sprays people had bought from shops I decided I’d try and make my own.  After all I didn’t really want to spend a lot of money on something which might not work well when I could try it for free first.

Ingredients 

• 400mls of hot water
• Sea salt (I use 2 table spoons)
• Hair oil (I use Hask Argan oil)
• Conditioner (just a little spot, the thinner it is the easier it will dissolve)

1. Boil kettle and place 400mls into a jug along with the sea salt.  I find that the salt dissolves easiest in boiling water.  I have thick hair so I use 2 table spoons, you may wish to add less if your hair is thinner.
2. I leave it to cool so it’s lukewarm then add in a spot of hair oil and just a little bit of conditioner.  If the conditioner is quite thick then it may not dissolve fully, but I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
3. Once cool enough transfer into a spray bottle. And that’s it!

I really couldn’t believe how easy this was to make and how well it works.  I find that it works best on damp hair, so just spray after washing hair then scrunch it up.  You can then lightly blow dry or let it dry naturally.

So here is the finished result using the sea salt spray, (for some reason my hair doesn’t seem as wavy in this pic as it usually does – I don’t think I scrunched it enough)

Have you tried making your own sea slat spray? And do you have any DIY beauty post?

DIY – Sea Salt Spray

So I found the basis of this recipe on the US Glamour magazine website, however I’ve changed parts of it.

Anyway after seeing so many mixed reviews of salt sprays people had bought from shops I decided I’d try and make my own.  After all I didn’t really want to spend a lot of money on something which might not work well when I could try it for free first.

Ingredients 

• 400mls of hot water
• Sea salt (I use 2 table spoons)
• Hair oil (I use Hask Argan oil)
• Conditioner (just a little spot, the thinner it is the easier it will dissolve)

1. Boil kettle and place 400mls into a jug along with the sea salt.  I find that the salt dissolves easiest in boiling water.  I have thick hair so I use 2 table spoons, you may wish to add less if your hair is thinner.
2. I leave it to cool so it’s lukewarm then add in a spot of hair oil and just a little bit of conditioner.  If the conditioner is quite thick then it may not dissolve fully, but I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
3. Once cool enough transfer into a spray bottle. And that’s it!

I really couldn’t believe how easy this was to make and how well it works.  I find that it works best on damp hair, so just spray after washing hair then scrunch it up.  You can then lightly blow dry or let it dry naturally.

So here is the finished result using the sea salt spray,

I think I should have scrunched it more as my hair doesn’t seem to be as wavy as it usually is with the salt spray.

Hope you liked my post, let me know what you think 🙂

Have you made your own salt spray before, or tried shop bought ones?

Naturigin Hair Colour Review 4.0 Brown*

The lovely people at Simply Natural gave me the opportunity to review one of their Naturigin hair dyes. I chose shade 4.0 Brown which was closet to the hair colour that I had used previously.

The Naturigin hair dyes are avaliable in 19 shades and therefore everyone could find a shade to suit them. These hair dyes are cruelty free and are Vegan friendly. They are also free of ammonia, resorcinol and parabens. Naturigin hair dyes can be used on all hair types and contain 12 natural oils and extracts.

Within the box you get the colour cream, a bottle with activator, an after colour treatment, gloves and instructions.

You mix the colour cream with the activator and apply to hair. I found this process to be really easy and the hair colour was not overly runny as I have found with some other hair dyes. As the hair colour has no ammonia, there is no unpleasant smell!  The hair dye does have a slight smell but it’s nice and not overpowering.

After leaving it on for 30 minutes it was time to rinse it off. You rinse your hair and then apply the after colour treatment. The after colour treatment, I thought this was going to be a conditioner as this is what is contained within most hair dyes, however it is more like a shampoo and the instructions say that you can use conditioner after if you wish.

I found that this hair dye coloured all of my hair really well. My hair is quite think and just below shoulder length and I used the full bottle so if you have slightly longer hair then you may have to use two boxes of hair dye. I couldn’t believe how soft and shiny my hair was after this, which I am assuming is due to the oils that it contains. My hair has had a lot of compliments with this colour and I have been told by my mum that it looks a lot more natural than the hair dye that I was using previously (People always seem to tell you their true thoughts when you change something).

A before and after picture;

The before picture isn’t a very accurate representation, it was no where near as red as it looks in the picture my camera seems to have made it look pretty red.  It was actually brown with a slight red tinge through it.

Anyway I would highly recommend the Naturigin Hair dye and it has definitely become my new hair dye brand.

Naturigin Hair colour can be purchased from the Simply Natural website for €10.95 (about £9.33).

Have you tried Naturigin hair colour, let me know what you thought 🙂

Primark HASK moroccan oil review

I’ve bought the product a few weeks ago but just haven’t had the time to review due to uni work.  Anyway, I saw the Hask Agran oil from morocco in Primark and just had to buy it, as it was only £2.50!

 

The only time that I have used Moroccan Oil is in the hair dresser, I just wasn’t sure that it’d be worth around £30.  But on doing some research it turns out that the Hask version has virtually the same ingredients!

The Hask Argan oil is 18ml, which may not seem like a lot but you only need a tiny amount for your hair.  To apply the oil, I just rub the oil between my hands then apply to my hair avoiding the roots.  You can use the oil on wet or dry hair, but for me I find it best when applied to wet hair.. The oil really does leave hair soft and shiny, and I feel that it is amazing value for money.

Have you tried Hask Argan oil from Morocco, let me know what you thought 🙂