A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

I’m not going to wrap this up in my usual 4348390 words incase I somehow lose the point of this post.  Let me simply tell you that I experienced a miracle this morning (yesterday morning by the time you’re reading this!).

I worked a blob of the new Pantene Colour Seal Concentrate through my hair last night after doing the usual shampoo/conditioner routine, left it on for 2/3 minutes and rinsed it out.  I went to bed with wet hair, fully expecting to regret my laziness the next morning and instead woke up to the softest, smoothest hair I can remember having.

The coarseness had completely disappeared and I was able to gather my hair into a smooth ponytail with ends so sleek that I couldn’t stop stroking them.

It’s now 13 hours later and my hair is sadly starting to feel a little more like it’s usual rough self so I’m not sold on Pantene’s claims of long-term effectiveness… still, even a full day of glossy locks has brightened my mood.  Yes, I’m as shallow as that last statment makes me appear.  I don’t care how it works (probably silicones, smoke and mirrors), I just care that it makes my hair (temporarily) very happy.

Pantene Colour Seal Concentrate should be available in your usual Pantene stockists now as part of the Pro-V Colour Protect range, it’s priced at £3.99 and I really recommend that you stop whatever it is you’re doing to go and buy some.

Last week, I was invited to the Savoy hotel in London to meet Pantene ambassador Cat Deeley and to learn a little more about the new Pantene range for coloured hair.

Before heading up to London, I was asked if I had any questions I wanted to put to Cat.  Without hesitation I wanted to ask who her ‘Tonight Matthew, I’m going to be….” would be?  Then I remembered that I write a beauty blog, not a StarsInYourEyes fan blog.  So more on what I actually did ask her later…

I’ve talked before about the new Pantene Colour Protect range and you can read this post for further details on the products that are currently available in the UK… but tonight, we focused on meeting the brand’s ambassador and seeing the differences between virgin hair (uncoloured), coloured hair and coloured hair once treated with the new Pantene Colour Seal Concentrate (not released yet).

The results were surprisingly tangible.  We watched a demonstration of hair porosity…. and as someone who has (many times) in the past coloured her hair without giving any thought as to what long term affects this might have, perhaps a little sobering aswell.

The hair in the bowl on the left is virgin (uncoloured) hair, whilst the bowl nearest to the camera contains a sample of coloured hair.  Can you see how the virgin hair retains it’s waterproofing abilities that allows it to float whilst the coloured hair has literally swelled with the water and is no longer resting on the surface?

Well who cares right?  Well, me… because hair porosity is important to how hair looks and feels.  Frequent colouring can encourage the hair cuticle layers to stay raised… allowing more moisture in and ultimately letting more out, which leaves your hair feeling dry, brittle and pretty rubbish.  The rougher the cuticle, the less shiny your hair will appear and if you want silky, smooth locks?  Forget it.  You’re only getting those with a nice smooth hair cuticle.

The new Pantene Colour Seal Concentrate creates an artificial protective layer over our hair’s natural cuticle that mimics how our hair should be if we didn’t mistreat it.  I felt the difference between untreated and treated coloured hair and one was considerably smoother in texture.  The other good thing about the Pantene Colour Seal Concentrate is that you only need to use this about once a week as it’s effects will last a few washes before you need to reapply.

I haven’t tried this on my own hair as it’s not released until next month but I’m all for quick fixes and this seems like it could be just the ticket.  If it’s good enough for Cat Deeley (who happened to let slip that from the entire range, it was the Colour Seal Concentrate that was her favourite – shh), it’s good enough for me.

Once Cat had said her hellos and kicked off her beautiful (but killer) Louboutins, she got straight to answering some questions that we’d posed.  Here’s a few highlights from the Q&A:

Finally, Cat answered my question “Who has more fun, blondes or brunettes?”

Her eyes twinkled as she took in the words, and she grinned… aware that she could potentially offend half the room in one fell swoop!  Her answer was clear though… “Blondes!”  Cat followed up by explaining that you can only have fun when you feel comfortable in your own skin (or hair colour!) and that for her, that was her tried and tested honey blonde.  Nice save!

I spent a few minutes appreciating the newly refurbished Royal Suite at the Savoy… check out the view from pretty much every room.

I wouldn’t grumble about having to clean those windows.  Well… actually, I probably still would.

After this, I headed straight for hair stylist, James McMahon to pump him for extra tips on the perfect blow dry that we’re all so desperate to recreate.  James was straight to the point, reiterating how hard it was to achieve by yourself simply because the angles are all wrong!  I was happy to let him demonstrate on me what a perfect blow dry should look like.  I know, I’m too good to you… SELF-LESS.

Look at me, taking one for the team… I hope you’re grateful.

So, with my blow-dry questions exhausted, James talked a little about coloured hair.  I asked him if he felt it was really necessary to use specialist shampoos and conditioners for coloured hair?  He told me that nothing damages your hair more than the thing that you do ‘most’ to it.  In the majority of cases… that would be washing our hair and that if our hair is already fragile from over-processing then we should ensure that we’re using a shampoo and conditioner designed to care for our coloured hair.

I then asked James if you could pick and choose from a set range.  I explained that my scalp is ridiculously sensitive and that I generally prefer to stick to tried and tested shampoos that I know won’t aggravate my picky scalp.  He said that there would be nothing wrong with just choosing to use the treatments from a range or intensive conditioners if you didn’t want to change over your entire haircare regime.

With those wise words ringing in my ears, I’m swapping out my usual conditioner for Pantene’s 2 Minute Damage Rescue Treatment and after feeling the difference between the hair samples demonstrated earlier in the evening… I’m impatient for the Pantene Colour Seal Concentrate to become available too!

I’mma gonna get those bloody hair cuticles flat if it kills me!  I want Cat hair!  That’s it.  The gloves are off… only I’m fighting in the brunette corner.

‘Cos brunettes have more fun.  Innit!

I’ve been dying my hair since the age of 14… first pillar box reds and harsh blacks – anything to be different which was ironic really, considering I used to simultaneously do anything I could to fade into the background.

At the age of 17, I discovered my first grey hair… and since then, they’ve been coming in thick and fast.  I now dye my hair (roots) every 8 weeks or so to keep on top of it.

I attended a masterclass at the Schwarzkopf Academy back in October.  It was focused on their Palette range of home hair colourants and aimed to demonstrate the very best way to achieve great results at home.

Let me show you a video from the afternoon (if you spot me, please ignore the horrendously unflattering camera angle… it’s not my seven chins, it’s the bloody angle alright?)

I’ve found the Schwarzkopf Palette dye gives a beautifully natural and glossy result.  It’s not particularly different to anything else I’ve tried in terms of application although I found that it was a tough cookie in terms of staining… definitely a little harder to remove than my normal product.  It was also a lot less ammonia-stinky than my normal Superdrug hair dye… a welcome discovery!

My favourite thing about the Schwarzkopf Palette formula though is that I don’t get the “Lego Hair” thing that I usually notice with home hair dyes.  Are we all familiar with “Lego Hair”?  That horribly obvious single block of colour that screams “I’ve just given myself a cheap home hair-dye job!”.  The Schwarzkopf Palette range appears to melt into my own natural highlights and lowlights instead of overwriting the lot.

Freshly coloured hair, what a lovely feeling!

Some tips I learned from the day:

– Wash your hair if it’s greasy or full of oil-based product (hairspray/mousse is ok)
– Apply your hair dye to the point of saturation (one of the biggest mistakes people make is not using enough product)
– Custom mix your colours – it’s far easier than I imagined to create a personalised shade!
– You can’t lighten pre-coloured dark hair
– Grey hair needs extra processing time
– Use moisturiser to protect the skin or vaseline, but don’t get any vaseline on your hair or the colour won’t take.
– There’s no need to shampoo after dying unless you want to.
– To protect your clothes, use a bin liner with a hole cut in it for your head!
– Section off your roots and concentrate the colour there.  You can smoosh the ends in to ensure they get even coverage later.

Schwarzkopf Palette comes in a range of 12 shades from a light natural blonde right through to black.  It’s available instore at Boots, Superdrug and some supermarkets priced at around £3.49 – bargain!

Earlier in the week, I whined about my inability to recreate a salon blowdry in the comfort of my own home and many of you shared my woes.

We all agreed that this seemingly simple styling step made a HUGE difference to how our hair looks and feels and a couple of you were kind enough to share some ah-mazing tips that I’ll be sure to follow up in my own retarded way.

I wanted to share with you the highlights from our blow dry discussion but if you haven’t read it… I urge you to go check out the full post.  Some of those tips are fabulous and I can’t do them justice here.  Go on, you might learn something!

You lot are brilliant.  Have a great weekend! xx

Have you seen the new Mark Hill hairstyling tools?  Take a walk on the wild side with me to check ’em out!

RAWR!

The striking animal-print inspired range goes by the name RAW and includes three hairstyling tools that wouldn’t look out of place in our Christmas stockings this year.  We need bigger stockings don’t we?

The real reason I’m showing you this range is because a little birdy told me that for one week only… the limited edition Mark Hill RAW Zebra Power Hairdryer is gonna be selling at LESS THAN HALF it’s usual retail price!

Usually priced at £59.99, from the 12th – 18th November, Boots will be selling this online and instore for a very tempting £24.99!  If you’re after a new hairdryer… I’d be all over this like a zebra-printed rash!

But don’t be thinking that it’s style over substance… read on for the hairdryer’s impressive specs…

[stextbox id=”custom” bcolor=”b0c4de” bgcolor=”e6e6fa”]

Mark Hill Raw Zebra Power Hairdryer Technology:

~ Ion technology
~ Shine technology
~ 2000W

Get the Look:

~ Smooth
~ Reduce frizz

[/stextbox]

After your helpful tips on achieving the perfect blow dry the other day, I’m eyeing up that particularly narrow nozzle attachment thingy with a new found A-HA!

Tempted?

Pantene are introducing a new range to the UK market next week called Pantene Colour Protect.  It will come in two variants:  Pantene Colour Protect & Smooth and Pantene Colour Protect & Volume.

Designed to protect coloured hair from premature fading, it claims to achieve this by reducing hair porosity which over time can facilitate faster colour fade.  Coloured hair (by it’s very nature) is particularly vulnerable to damage from environmental factors and anyone who colours their hair should be looking to provide it with some extra protection from the rigours of styling.

Pantene Colour Protect & Smooth (priced from £2.19) is designed for coloured hair that is prone to frizzing… great for thicker hair types that want to protect their colour without compromising on the ability to perfect a sleek style.

Pantene Colour Protect & Volume (priced from £2.19) is designed for coloured hair that lacks volume.  That would be me (although, show me a rain cloud and I can frizz up with the best of them too!), ideal for finer hair that needs a lightweight formulation that will rinse quickly and cleanly.

The shampoo ingredients can be seen below (I know you savvy lot love to see a list!):

And the conditioner:

Alongside the shampoo/conditioners, Pantene will also be introducing 3 treatment products to the range:

~ Pantene Pro-V Colour Protect Colour Seal Concentrate (£3.99/58ml)
~ Pantene Pro-V Colour Protect 2 Minute Damage Rescue Treatment (£3.99/200ml)
~ Pantene Pro-V Colour Protect Instant Nourishing Shine Spray (£3.99/150ml)

I’m most interested by the Colour Seal Concentrate and Shine Spray… I love the idea of treatments that offer a boost to complement my current routine (which rather unglamourously is designed to protect my flakey scalp more than my colour).  Being able to mix and match in this way is like having the best of both worlds!

If you want the opportunity to get your hands on the new range before anyone else, be sure to follow PanteneUK on Twitter as they’ll be giving away 10 sets of the new range on Tuesday.

…and she really, really does.

I rarely get really excited about haircare – it’s happened 3 times so far this year.  First, with Pantene’s new Aqualight which I’d still be using now if my sensitive scalp hadn’t kicked up a fuss about it.  Secondly with my mysterious high street deep conditioner (don’t get too excited, it’s only mysterious ‘cos I haven’t written the review yet) and thirdly, with this fabulous offering from Liz Earle.

If you’re a regular beauty blog reader, I know that you will have read at least 10 other reviews on these products seeing as they’ve done the ‘blog rounds’ in recent months and I wish I could bring something new and exciting to the table.  But really, all I can do is offer up another rave on how lovely these products are.

Whilst I may not be sold on the powers of the original Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish (I prefer my Cleansing Oil routines), I have always been impressed with the philosophy behind it of finding a gentle but effective product to suit all skintones.  The same philosophy has been applied to the Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo (only for hairtypes) and for mine?  It works like a dream.

On a completely superficial level, I adore the scent.  I think it’s easy to underestimate just how big an influence scent plays in our bathing products.  In my bathroom, it’s right up there with performance… my haircare needs to smell divine, or I’m just not interested.  This smells… divine.  It’s understated, fruity and most importantly… clean-smelling and non-artificial.  It leaves my locks delicately scented without being overpowering.

The texture of the shampoo is almost slightly gel-like and the quantity shown above is about the amount I use to wash my hair.  Adding just a small amount of water, I lather the mixture up between my hands before applying to the roots of my hair.  Considering this is a SLS/SLES shampoo, I’m impressed with the amount of lather I can achieve.  My hair rinses clean in under a minute and actually feels clean (though not squeaky).  I only need one wash… none of that rinse and repeat stuff.  It cleanses my hair effectively and leaves my scalp happy and calm.

I was also sent the conditioner for dry or damaged hair (one of the three varieties available) and it’s a very thick, almost masque-like opaque cream.  Rich with shea butter and yangu oil (known for it’s inherent uv protection), the conditioner offers a deeply moisturising experience.  I tend to keep this away from my roots and concentrate instead on the ends and main hair shaft.  It lacks the tell-tale silicone slip that if I’m honest… I still miss but does prevent my hair from taking on a straw-like appearance once dry.

The scent of the conditioner is heavier than the shampoo and to my nose, I smell licorice which I’m putting down to the Rose-Scented Geranium essential oil… a scent that has always reminded me more of anise and licorice than roses!  Love it.

Both shampoo and conditioner come in two sizes (50ml and 200ml) and are priced at £4/£7.50 respectively.  Despite a full month’s use… I’ve only used half a bottle of the shampoo and will absolutely be repurchasing.  The conditioner tube is nearly empty and I’m not quite in love with it enough to repurchase.

Liz Earle’s new haircare ranges can be purchased online.  I’m not sure if they’re available from John Lewis, which would be my preferred source (I know the candles/bath oils aren’t) – I’ll check and get back to you on that one.

My hair is pretty dry at the best of times but now the outside temperature is beginning to drop and we’re cranking up the central heating in response, it’s time to start paying close attention to maintaining our moisture levels.  And I’m not talking about the amount of vodka in our blood-streams.

Guy Kremer‘s salon in Winchester (my nearest town – I wish that made me posh by association) is a rather lovely place.  I once had the pleasure of visiting when they miraculously managed to transform my Aunt’s rather horrible NHS cancer wig into something that actually resembled natural hair.  I’ve been a fan ever since.

Here’s some tips from the celebrity stylist himself on how to combat dull, dry, limp and lifeless Winter hair.

[stextbox id=”custom” bcolor=”b0c4de” bgcolor=”e6e6fa”]

1. Book an appointment for a trim to get rid of those split ends and prevent further damage to your hair.

2. Take quick remedial action by using a deeply penetrating hair repair treatment, which will deliver a dramatic improvement in condition and shine.  After shampooing and rinsing hair thoroughly, blot dry with a towel and work conditioner into your hair, distributing evenly.  Massage gently, using circular movements of the fingers then leave for 3-5 minutes so the nourishing ingredients can penetrate the hair shaft infusing it with moisture and nutrients.  Comb through using a wide toothcomb before rinsing and styling as normal.

3. Blot dry with a towel, do not rub or you will ruffle the cuticle, which depletes shine. Smooth and nourish hair with a styling product, for straight hair using Straightening Balm for curly, Curl Cream. After drying smooth on a few drops of serum which coats each hair with a fine film of silicone that smoothes the cuticle, eliminates frizz, creates texture and adds shine. It also stops hair absorbing moisture from the atmosphere which can make your style drop.

4. Help restore the natural moisture balance in your hair by using specialist shampoos and conditioners for dry, frizzy hair.  These help restore natural vitality that has been lost by the damaging UV rays.  Tinted hair will be suffering from fade caused by the sun.  Refresh colour by asking your hairdresser for a semi-permanent in the same shade as normal.  It will add instant lustre and enrich the colour.

5. Bleached or highlighted hair will have soaked up minerals and chemicals from swimming pools and may well be showing signs of a green tinge.  Use a deep cleansing shampoo to strip away deposits and restore natural lustre.

6. Natural curls or permed tresses could be suffering from damaged or lifted cuticles which, makes hair look dull and be prone to tangle.  Boost curls using an energising spray which will add life.  Follow by warming a few drops of serum in palms and work through outer layers of hair to give instant shine and suppleness.

[/stextbox]

In other news, I’ve just discovered a (new-to-me) high street MIRACLE that’s proving to be more than worth it’s weight in gold this Autumn…. more to come on that soon…

What are your winter hair tips?

Considering that it’s something I’ve been doing since the age of 15, I’m a bit embarrassed to come to the realisation that I know practically nothing about the actual process of hair colouring.

I started going grey when I was 17 and I’ve now reached the point where unless I’m happy to embrace a more natural look (I’m not), I need to dye my hair every 6-8 weeks.

Thankfully, home hair dye technology has reached a stage where it’s pretty darn fantastic.  We can all go to our local chemist and pick up Salon quality products to take home with us at a fraction of the price.

Tints of Nature, based in the New Forest are a local brand to me.  Well, compared to many brands, they’re local to all of us as their products are manufactured within the UK.  Their niche is in the natural hair market where they provide colourants, shampoos and treatments designed to be as gentle on your hair as possible.

The colourants contain no ammonia, sulfates or resorcinol and are paraben free.

Divided into two clear groups: The Natural Colours & The Fashion Colours, both offer permanent coverage.  Sadly, only the Natural Colours are recommended for covering grey hair which for someone like me, rules out the more adventurous shades as I cannot compromise on complete coverage.

I was sent a pack of the Natural Colour permanent dye in shade 2N Natural Darkest Brown for review consideration and I was curious to see how well it would blend with the colour already present once my roots got to that “Oh my god, you ARE NOT leaving the house looking like that” stage.

Perhaps not the most stylish or eye-catching packaging design, what the product lacks in kerb appeal it makes up for in eco-credentials as all components are recycled and recyclable.

You apply as you would any other dye, so it thankfully wasn’t too much for my puny brain to cope with on a Monday evening.

The results were good, natural and all grey was covered well as promised.  I’m not the neatest home hair-dyer in the world and one thing this product excelled at was the oh-so-important “will it come off your ear lobes” test!  It was also  less fumey than my usual Superdrug dye.

At £8.99 a pack, it’s also heading towards being twice the price of my regular product.  I think it’s something I would make the effort to pick up whenever I felt that my hair needed a break from the harsher products on the market.  Do you ever get hair dyers guilt?  When you know that your ends are feeling a bit frazzled but you HAVE to fix those roots?  This is when I’d call on the Tints of Nature range to help me out of a jam.

Tints of Nature products are available to buy online and in certain stockists.  Check the website for details.

…even though you know you should.

Do you have any personal items (no, not THAT personal!) that you just can’t let go no matter how old, battered and bruised?

Here’s mine…

I am as ashamed as I am proud of it.

My beloved 27 year old Mason Pearson Nylon & Bristle hairbrush that my mother bought me when I was just 2 years old.

It’s seen better days.

I’ve dropped it hundreds upon hundreds of times over the years… it’s been submerged in water, raked through various shades of hair dye, cleaned with all kinds of horrifically damaging cleaning fluids and yet still, it soldiers on.

The nylon bristles have split in places and you can clearly see the marks from a temper tantrum I had around age 13 when I threw it against the wall and then sobbed my heart out when I realised I’d chipped the head.

It’s been sung into, used as a back-scratcher and even circum-navigated the globe with me.

Am I ready to part with it? Am I hell.

This is still the brush I reach for in the mornings to weaken the tenacity of the knots that have appeared overnight before reaching for a paddle brush to finish the job.

Leila has just started to use the one that I bought her in May for her 1st Birthday and already she loves it. It’s a little smaller than mine, easier for her tiny hands to grasp. She bashes herself over the head with it more than she manages to pull it through her locks but she loves to find both brushes and pair them together as in the above photo.

I wonder if she’ll still be brushing her hair with it in nearly 30 years time. I hope for my sake that hers won’t show the signs of quite so many teenage tantrums though.

Mason Pearson hairbrushes are available to purchase instore at Liberty or online at HQHair – price varies depending on brush size.

C’mon, give up your secrets… got any beauty related treasures that you just can’t part with?

I think it’s about time for an update to this post.

It’s been a month and I’ve been sticking to the new routine, using The Body Shop’s Rainforest Haircare.  Infact, I’ve finished the bottles that I was given at their blogger event in the Summer.

I know it’s taken me a while to review, but not only did my hair need to get used to the new products, I needed to get used to the new routine too.  It’s a big difference going from normal detergents and condtioners and it takes a while to adjust.

So, I’ve been trialling The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture variety which is aimed at dry hair types.  My hair is coloured (frequently) and as a result, a little over-processed and dry.  It needs something that isn’t stripping.

My first impressions of this weren’t positive.  Within the 3rd use, my hair felt like straw.  It was unmanageable and bushy… rough and knotty.  I tried using more conditioner, but didn’t experience any improvements.  I nearly gave up on it completely.

Instead, I tried using it in conjunction with my normal conditioner.  I was worried that by using a normal conditioner, I’d be giving the sls-free shampoo too tough a job to clear my hair of build-up… but for me?  This is working well.

The shampoo takes a little getting used to, it doesn’t lather very well on the hair.  It’s recommended to rub it between your palms to build up a small amount of lather before applying to your hair and this does make a difference.

I simply found that the condtioner didn’t do enough to smooth the hair shaft.  Whilst I’m not in love with either of these products, I would purchase the shampoo again.  It left my hair feeling clean and since getting rid of my scalp issues (thanks Nizoral!) it hasn’t caused any further irritations.

Priced at £4 for 250ml, I think the range is pretty good value for money considering the natural and eco-friendly ingredients, but I’d need to see more moisture from the conditioner before I’d purchase again.

You can buy The Body Shop’s Rainforest Haircare range online or instore.

Any of you bright-eyed sparks noticed the MASSIVE bargain you can bag in Superdrug at the moment?

In my 2 nearest stores, there’s a huge basket near the tills… full to the brim of Batiste Dry Shampoo Sprays.

Choose between: Original, Blush and Tropical (possibly Boho too – can’t remember!).  Sadly no coloured varients or I would have cleared the lot!

I wonder if they’re repackaging?  Curious!