How To Care For Your Hair

Although I seem to go on and on about makeup and skincare, haircare was actually my first love when I was a young teen, I used to straighten my hair for school before I realised that super thin straight hair doesn't actually look that great on me. Regrets - don't we all have them. Luckily for me, I got used to caring for my hair when I started to damage it, so I've learned a few tricks that I really wanted to share with you all.

1) Reducing Heat

I bet if you are a girl, you are used to damaging your hair in all sorts of different ways, from hairdryers to curlers and everything in between. Using heat protection is always needed, but what really does help me and my spilt ends is reducing the amount of heat I use. I hardly ever touch my hair with straighteners anymore, I actually straighten my hair with my hairdryer using a brush to distribute the heat evenly. This has really helped my hair, it still gets straightened, however it's a lot thicker and my ends look healthy because they aren't getting burned by two ceramic plates. 

Another way to reduce heat is to not wash your hair as often - dry shampoo is my best friend (Batiste is my favourite brand) and I think preplanning your hair look is the way to go, so that you aren't stuck in the morning with semi-greasy hair wondering what you should do!

2) Conditioning

No matter if your hair is dry or if it is oily, everyone needs to condition their hair to protect it. My favourite quick way to condition my hair is to apply hair oils overnight and then wash it out the next morning, so I don't have to spend more time in the shower applying a hair mask. Loads of brands sell these kinds of oils, I usually prefer to use Argan Oil because I think it is more nourishing.
Make your own deep conditioning night spray: by mixing your conditioner with some water and pouring the solution into a clear spray bottle!

3) Shampoo

With all these tips, your hair will probably be full of nice things, from heat protection to oils and so removing it effectively is also necessary as a build up of these products can cause the hair to become greasier faster. I would recommend using a cleansing shampoo once a week to fully cleanse your hair. Lush do a great one called I Love Juicy  (£5.50/100g) and although it costs quite a bit, if you use it once a week it does last a fair while. A cheaper alternative is to use a really cheap shampoo, like ASDA's own brand, as they are generally very cleansing and will make your hair squeaky clean. 

Changing up your shampoo is also something I would recommend doing as your hair gets used to using the same shampoo. I usually own three shampoos at one given time, which seems excessive but I have one for cleansing, one that's more nourishing (for days where I have to forego the conditioner), and a standard one for normal days.

What I like about hair maintenance is that it really doesn't take that long to do if you incorporate it into a routine.
Do you have any other tips on haircare? I would love to find out!
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Shows That I Am Obsessed With

So this month is honestly the laziest month I have had in the past two years, and that's no exaggeration, between finishing my second year at university and waiting for my internship to start I have acquired some a lot of free time. I'm not that much of a TV person, I usually choose to watch one off comedy shows rather than a series that I have to stick to week by week. So, using my new found freedom I thought I would watch some series all the way through! Here is a few that I have been loving!

1) Orange Is the New Black

I know, I know, I'm so late to the game on this one! I was surprised that I liked this at first, since it's a prison drama but I'm a curious person and I love to know everyones back stories - plus it makes me seriously not want to go to prison! I've finished season two now, and I'm starting to watch season three! 

2) The Mindy Project

I love this show so much! It's half an hour long - so it's small and sweet and just hilarious, it's about an OB/GYN called Mindy and it follows her life story. I love the characters so much and it honestly has me in stitches. If you want a show that is not crazily serious, then this is the one for you! I have almost finished season three and I don't ever get tired of watching Mindy's crazy life!

3) Jane the Virgin

During exam season, I saw all the adverts for this and ignored it cause I didn't think it was going to be all that interesting. Fast forward until last Wednesday when I saw my sister watching episode 13 and from that episode I knew I had to start watching this program too. Jane the Virgin is a full on drama - full of craziness and murders and just all round entertainment! I have caught up now on what I had missed and now I am half way through this season! If you like all genre's and love dramatic scenes, then this is for you - plus the narrator is amazing!

4) Lie to Me
I was watching Lie to Me in Easter and it is phenomenal so I thought I should include it! Seriously, everyone needs to watch at least one episode. If you want to know how a person lies then this show can give you all the answers! As a psychology student, I'm impressed with the amount of research that they include in this show! It's like a psychological CSI, but honestly so much more cooler! I love all the characters, and I'm so sad that it ended in 2011 because I am seriously hooked.

These four shows have been so awesome to watch, I kinda can't believe it's took me this long to get into them! If you have any more recommendations, I would love to know :)
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My Eyeliner Experience

It feels weird to say that around two years ago I didn't wear eyeliner at all, and I was thinking about how the transformation occurred - from wearing no eyeliner at all to wearing a bold liquid liner. So I thought I would talk you through the 'stages' that I went through to having enough confidence to rock a liquid eyeliner. If any of you guys are stuck in-between stages, perhaps this can give you some guidance on how to progress. Going through stages 1, 2, 4 and 5, I think, is the the quickest route to wearing liquid liner on a daily basis. 

Stage 1) Brown Eyeliner

I didn't think eyeliner suited me at all when I was younger, however I still wanted to wear it, so when I saw my friend and roommate in my first year at university continuously rock a brown liner, I thought I would give it a go too. I think it's a good way to get used to adding something to your eyes without having them look too ostentatious to the casual observer. I started using the Rimmel London Soft Khol Kajal Eye Pencil (£2.99/1.2g) in Sable Brown before upgrading to my Lancôme Le Crayon Khôl Eyeliner (£17.00/1.8g) in 028 Brun. I love them both although I no longer own the former. 

Stage 2) Tight-lining 

Whenever there was a special occasion, I didn't feel like brown eyeliner would do the trick, especially if I was using colours as the brown didn't show up as much. I purchased the much raved about Scandal Eyes Waterproof Khol Liner (£3.99/1.2g) by Rimmel London to tightline my upper eye, so that my lashes looked thicker and more defined. I found that this is a fool proof way to wear eyeliner as you can't mess up as much and you don't have to worry about making any lines even, it's just a simple colouring in job. 

Stage 3) Coloured Eyeliner

This is a weird stage, but it's actually what happened last summer, I love coloured eyeliner because it adds definintion in a different and unique way, my favourite colour to wear is green and blue and I think they look nice with a simple wash of colour on the eye - like gold or light brown. Wearing it on my top lid got me used to applying a liner without having to worry about making a mistake that I couldn't remove easily. My  favourite colours is the Bourjois Contour Clubbing Eyeliner (£4.99/1.2g) in 05 Loving Green and the Laura Mercier Longwear Eye Pencil (£18.00/1.2g) in Violet because it lasts all day and is really simple to wear!

Stage 4) Grey Eyeliner

This is what got me used to wearing eyeliner in my day to day life, I brought the Essence Gel Eye Pencil (£2.30/0.57g) in the shade 05 Gunmetal in Milan and I loved it. It's grey so it's easier to get away with some mistakes because you can fake it and make it slightly smokey, and because this is a gel formula in a pencil it's super super easy to apply - I just run it through my lash line, making it slightly thicker towards the end of my eye and voila, defined eyes in under a minute. You can buy Essence in Wilkinsons!

Stage 5) Black Liquid Eyeliner

I did a beauty swap with Sakura and she gave me a few eyeliners from Japan and that's actually what got me into using a black liquid eyeliner, the Ettusais Liquid Eyeliner WP ($25.00/0.5ml) she gave was amazing, really pigmented and easy to apply because it was a felt tip eyeliner. Using a black liquid liner is more time consuming in the beginning because it's so precise, you can't really smoke it out because it's just a line and so if you make a mistake you can try to correct it or just remove it. However you will find that the more you practice, the easier it gets. For beginners, I would recommend going as close to the lash line as possible, I think the biggest problem that arises with liquid liner is making both eyes equal and so starting small is the key. Also as you can see in the picture above, the hairs get frayed from simply putting the lid back on, however it still works nicely and I think a liquid liner really suits both a statement and simple eye look.

 What I am currently using

I am back to using my Scandal Eyes! I like to smoke out my top liner by drawing a rough line and using a angled brush to smoke it out and make the line more even. I have been loving doing this recently because it adds definition without being so precise? It's the same kind of effect that the grey eyeliner gives but darker and smokier. Recently I have been adding eyeliner to my waterline too, because I'm so used to my top lid being done, it's less shocking for me to have it on. So I use Scandal Eyes to line my eyes on the top and bottom. 

It seems like I have so many eyeliners but they have been purchased slowly one by one. It's crazy that I went through this massive journey just to wear something that I think suits me now. It was a slow progression and that's what I think makes me feel normal in it now, if I just jumped to wearing liquid liner I would feel too weird to wear it every day.
What's your eyeliner experience? Did you just jump the gun or did you go in stages like me?? I would love to know!
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Review: Superfacialist Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil

It's no secret that I love using an oil based cleanser to remove my makeup, they just get the job done without  stripping the skin of moisture. I've repurchased The Body Shop's Silky Camomile Cleansing Oil many times and it's one of my firm favourites, however when seeing Vivianna Does Makeup rave continuously about the Superfacialist By Una Brennan Vitamin C+ Brighten Skin Renew Cleansing Oil (£10.99/200ml) I really wanted to see what this one was like.

I actually really love this cleanser, it gets the job done nicely, I apply this to a dry face and massage it in and it gets to work by breaking down the makeup, I add a bit of water to my face to make a milky lather and then massage some more before rinsing all the makeup off and voila, no more makeup! I then follow through with my La Roche-Posay cleanser to clean my face now that my makeup have been removed. Although this can take off eye makeup, I usually like to use my Nivea Daily Essential Double Effect Eye Makeup Remover to remove my eyeliner and mascara since I don't like to rub my eyes too much.

There was a few differences that I noticed about this cleanser, firstly it was slightly more oilier than I am used to, which is good because you can use less. Next, this bottle is quite compact and travel friendly, it has a lid that closes and filter that stops you from applying the entire bottle on your face. Lastly, the smell is amazing, it's like oranges - really nice and citrusy, it makes you enjoy the process of cleansing your skin. 

What I really like about this product is that it brightens my skin too, it's nice to have the additional feature of Vitamin C+ that actively works while I am cleansing my face and that's what makes it unique to me as opposed to others that I have used. 

I'm also going to India next month and because of how travel friendly this item is, I will definitely take it with me because I know it won't leak in my luggage! I would rate this the same as The Body Shop in terms of result however because of the additional features such as the brightening and the packaging, this one is definitely my new favourite!

What do you use to take your makeup off? I would love to know! :)
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Weightless Base for Summer ft. bareMinerals

I'm a full coverage kind of girl when it comes to my base make-up, however I don't like to slap on a lot of make-up on days when I am not doing much, simply because there is no need for it. Now that summer is officially here, I find that I am always reaching for the same two base products for me to achieve a look that allows me to go about my day with confidence. My trick is to use a light-medium coverage foundation but to target areas that need it with a concealer. This way I don't feel like I am wearing a layer of make-up on my skin and my skin can just breathe whilst also looking put together.

I  use the Revlon ColourStay Concealer (£6.99/6.2ml)  which is my go-to concealer as it blends nicely and quickly (which is something we all want) and can be used anywhere that needs concealing. I love that it firstly has my shade (which is 06 Deep Fonce), but it also has a doe foot applicator making the application process even more speedier. I have repurchased this concealer twice in the last two years which tells you guys how much I really love this. I either pat this into place with my ring finger or I use the setting brush from Real Techniques to pat and blend it in.

For my foundation, I have been reaching for the bareMinerals Matte SPF 15 Foundation (£26.00/6g) in the shade Golden Tan, I absolutely love bareMinerals I just feel like they celebrate beauty in terms of embracing the skin you have and just enhancing your features rather than making it into something that it isn't. This foundation gives you a light to medium coverage which feels so weightless that you feel comfortable wearing this foundation all day without feeling cakey. Also it's fuss free, swirl a bit of product into the lid with a brush (I use the full flawless application face brush) and then apply in circular motions - you can't really go overboard with this. Since I have the matte version I use this as my powder throughout the day too and this is excellent at absorbing excess oil while also giving me a top up on the coverage side of things- so this foundation is really a two in one. The inbuilt SPF makes it a great choice for summer too! 

What is your go-to base for summer? I would love to know!

Blog Recommendations #1

I read a lot of blogs and I have a lot of favourites, both well known and not as well known which are all inspiring, fluent and fun to read. So here are three of my favourite bloggers at the moment!

1) Beauty and The Brunette by Becki

So I have been reading Becki's blog for the past year and I've watched it grow exponentially. I love the way that Becki describes the products that she uses and her experiences, it makes me feel like I am talking to a friend which is something that I want out of a blog. I think it's very easy to tell when Becki likes something because she becomes quite passionate about it, she dabbles into everything too - from beauty to fashion and even reviews about local companies. If you want to read a blog that makes you feel like you are having a pamper night with your besties then be sure to check out her blog (link here)! We also did a collab a few weeks back which you can check out here!

2) Fox On The Hunt by Georgina

Georgina's blog is a new one that I have been enjoying, I can honestly say that what drew me in was the name of her blog - how apt of a description is it! I love it. I love how her blog itself is visually, you can tell that she puts a lot of work into it and that makes me want to read her blog. In terms of her writing style she is concise and to the point, which I like when reading reviews of products because then you know exactly if you should purchase it or not without reading an entire diary entry. I like how she switches up her posts, from fashion to jewelry to reviews, to me that's what keeps me interested in her blog. If you like diversity - give Fox On The Hunt a go (link here). 

3) Cocochic by Stephanie 

If you are a blogger and you need advice or are having some problems then you should go to this lady, she's probably written a post all about it. I love how helpful her posts are about how to maintain your blog but also about life. Stephanie writes paragraphs upon paragraphs sometimes and yet you actually read it all because what she is saying is so interesting and helpful that you don't want to miss another word that she is saying. Her photography really inspires me, it's got that monochrome vibe which I love. If you aren't crazily interested in beauty and have more of an affinity to fashion and lifestyle then Cocochic will be your next greatest love (link here!)

What I love about all of these bloggers is that they interact a lot with their readers and to me, that's what makes a good bloggers someone who genuinely wants to give advice to people, not only in blogs but also on other social platforms!

Do you have any favourites? Be sure to share them with me! I'm always on the lookout for awesome blogs!