Sunday Samples #3

I am currently typing up multiple posts to be scheduled on my cousin's laptop to find out that it doesn't even have a hashtag. At least I have nice hair.

Mainly because this week's sample is a hair sample! Bet ya didn't see that one coming. L'Oreal Paris Elvive Extraordinary Oil was sent as a sample by Cara Pharmacy with my Dainty Doll products. I'm a fiend for trying to tame my hair, especially the ends which have seen more splits than -insert any celebrity here-. I've lost my tube of Hask Argan Oil from Penneys (serious love for it) so was more than willing to let Loreal ravish my locks. (That may be the weirdest sentence I've ever written.)

 It's actually easy to open which is something I overlook, but yay!

The packaging of the samples in one of those little foil sachets, which isn't too bad because it's an oil, so it's not extremely difficult to squeeze out. Particularly as you don't need a whole lot. The normal packaging is a heavy glass bottle, which doesn't look too shabby. Like any other oil/serums, you can use it on dry hair that's a bit frizzy, or wet hair before styling. I tend to use stuff like this on dry hair, particularly the morning after sleeping on it. 

Top two are before, bottom two are after. 

& yes, bottom right is with flash, just coz it looked nice.

Aaaaaaaaaaand I like it. I believe I have tried this last summer, when I had straightened my hair but it was still 'fluffy'. A bit of this on the ends & it returned to its sleek glory. This time, I used it on my natural hair after sleeping on it (a bit wavy, a bit curly, & one side is a bit straight too. Don't ask.) My hair doesn't normally look like this, because usually when I sleep on it when it's tied in a bun, I keep it up, or style it properly. But the oil made it less kinky (the hair type of kinky. Not the bondage type) & also made me think of how fab-u-lous my hair will be after styling. Whenever I decide to do that again. 

So, I'm thinking about buying this to have at home, & keeping my Penneys oils in college. This oil costs around €14.99 but it's one of those things you'll probably find on offer in Tesco/Boots/Superdrug/somewhere else, because I have also seen it for €8.99 & currently for €7.19 here. It's available for coloured hair, or just the regular one, & you get 100ml for your money. It also contains silicones.

Have you tried this, or do you prefer another hair oil? 
Chloe x

Tresemme Split Remedy Leave In Treatment

Let's face it, years of dying my hair hasn't been too kind to it. While my hair is actually in pretty decent condition, I cannot get rid of split ends - I'm the girl who sits there breaking her hair off. I can't really remember why I picked this up though, I think hair care was on 3 for 2 so I decided to try something new!

Honestly, I wasn't too impressed at first. Despite applying two pumps to the ends of my damp hair every time I washed it, I could still see damaged ends. Tresemme claim that it will protect your hair from breakage, frizz & dryness but I wasn't feeling it.

But.. One weekend, I didn't bother with it when I went home. Sweet Lord, my hair felt drier than something that's incredibly dry. Honestly, it just looked like a tangled, damaged mess. While on one hand, this clearly shows that the treatment wasn't working long-term, it also meant that it was actually doing something for my hair.

So basically, it's not going to smooth your split ends into a glossy mane. But it is decent at controlling your mess of a head and smoothing the ends temporarily. I probably won't repurchase this straight away, because I like trying out new products but I do want to pick up the accompanying Masque, to see how they work together. In fairness, it has lasted over three months with use every second day, for the low sum of €7.39, so it works out nicely.

Have you tried any products that didn't seem great, until you stopped using it?
Chloe x

My Hair Story!

Hello girls :)

As much as I love changing my make up to match my mood, nothing changes your look as much as your hair. I've been stuck highlighting/ dying my hair since I was about 13 & I've been A LOT of colours. Everyone is usually quite interested to see how different colours suit a person, or want to know how I changed my hair without too much damage, so I decided to share a range of my hair styles with you!

15 - Until now, I'd had my hair highlighted blonde in my natural red, but getting it dyed dark brown with pink flashes was pretty drastic!






16 - It was pretty hard keeping the pink in my hair. It started to fade a lot, & my roots were very obvious, so I just took to dying it different shades of black, with tints.




16 - DISASTER. As I said, the colour kept fading, because the pink flashes had originally been bleached. Because of the different shades in my hair, it ended up black, dark brown, red, orange and blonde. I was literally the girl with 5 colours in her hair.




17 - After the above disaster, I continued to dye my hair black for a while but then  I took the plunge, and got my hair stripped. Afterwards, my hairdresser put in brown & red highlights, to keep regrowth from looking too obvious.




18 - And finally, my hair was back to its natural colour! (Ignore the face paint. That's not so natural.) I was able to grow it past my shoulders for the first time in a while, & it was pretty healthy.




18 - But as usual, I got bored, and decided to try out balayage. I still wanted my natural colour, but with something more interesting. My posts on ombre in ginger hair are still some of the most popular on my blog!





19 - What can I say? I got bored again. My friend is training as a hairdresser, so we spent many hours highlighting my hair. After a few weeks, she highlighted the rest of it, so I became a golden-red-blonde!




19 - After a lot of toner, & bleaching my roots every month or so, I got quite a bit blonder. Regular hair masks & coconut oil stopped damage to my hair, & too many split ends.





19 - After watching X Factor USA, I fell in love with Demi Lovato's pink hair, and NEEDED to try it. I picked up a bottle of semi-permanent pink colour & threw it in my ends.





19 - I was getting a bit sick of the maintenance, & the pink turned out to be a bit more permanent than I thought, so my only choice was to dye it. I went for a red/brown, that pretty much matched my natural colour, but everytime I wash it, it seems to be getting lighter & I'm now a bit strawberry blonde (As much as I hate that phrase.)




So, from this, I think it's easy to tell that I am easily bored & like change! I'm trying to decide whether to stick to my natural colour, or to go for something different next..

Any opinions? How often do you change your hair?

Chloe x

Lawls at a Ball

Hey girls!

So, like last year, I wanted to do a post on the TCD Law Ball. Basically, a black-tie event that I couldn't wait to get dressed up for! I was worrying about my appearance & had to beg for help but I got my style dilemma sorted, managed to fix my hair & lasted all night!

(PS - I was wearing Cocoa Brown tan, which I've already reviewed.)

A bit of a pic heavy post coming up - Be prepared!

Make-Up

Face 

MAC Prep & Prime Skin and Benefit The Porefessional

Face 2 Foundation in Cameo Beige

MUFE Lift Concealer in 03

Louise Gray for Topshop Up In The Air Blush (the coral shade)

ELF Studio HD Powder

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Topshop Highlighter in Crescent Moon

Eyes

Benefit Stay Don't Stray

Benefit Eyecon

Elizabeth Arden palette (Pale pink shade, there's no name) on lid

Urban Decay Naked Palette - Virgin in inner corner, Darkhorse in crease

Loreal Super Liner Gel 

17 Eye Kohl

Clinique High Impact Masara

Urban Decay Buck on brows

Lips

MUFE Lipstick in L157

Hair

I did my hair myself, I pretty much just plaited bits & pinned it up!

Hairband from Pull & Bear

Dress

River Island, reduced to €24.

It was pale pink/peach, with a lace insert in the front and a split chiffon skirt.

Shoes

Topshop, reduced to €22 from €103.

 Venue

The Mansion House on Dawson St, Dublin.

 Meal

i.e. the best part.

Roasted red pepper & smoked paprika soup

Club cut sirloin of beef, horseradish pomme puree, truffled glazed asparagus, red wine jus

Chocolate profiterole, cheesecake, wild berry compote with orange cream

I decided to decorate myself a bit more. In fairness, my make up held up really well!

It was definitely a good night, and I loved the chance to dress up & try out different hair & make up ideas!

Chloe x

Hair Update - Ginger & Blonde Ombre

Hi everyone :)

Looking at my blog stats, my most popular post is the one on ombre hair. Understandable - it's a pretty popular trend. But since then, I have re-bleached my hair, and thought I would show you guys what it looks like now. You can see my hair mid-bleach in my last Life via Pictures post, I did bring the blonde a little higher up than last time.

And - I love it! Once again, I used Jerome B Blonde Hair Lightener Kit for medium to dark brown hair, available in Boots for around €6 I think? It works anyway, & is very straight forward!

Curled & Straight

And that's all folks!

Would you like a tutorial on how to get this look, or how to care for the bleached hair afterwards?

Let me know!

Chloe x

Life via Pictures #3

Some birthday presents - Strawberries & chocolate - Free Chicken Super Noodles

Re-ombred my hair - Exam make up - River Island clutch

Barry M Strawberry Ice Cream & Rimmel Disco Ball - Packing to move home - Packing my make up

Dinner with my Dad - Metal collar tips & fur collar - Stage at Strawberry Fest

Ginger/Blonde Ombre Hair

An updated version can be viewed here.

Hey guys!

So, I changed my hair this week. Nothing major at all, I just made the ends a little lighter for an ombre effect. I wanted it to be subtle, in case I hated it, but I. Am. In. Love. So, I will probably make it a little lighter at the very ends, for a bit of a more dramatic effect.

This isn't a DIY tutorial or anything, although I did do it myself. In case you're curious, I used Jerome Russell B Blonde Hair Lightener Kit for medium to dark brown hair. I have red hair, & found it almost impossible to find any clear photos of people with natural ginger hair, and lighter tips, so this is really just to show you what it looks like. The ends are more of a strawberry blonde than blonde, but you can always go lighter.

My hair naturally.

Excuse the face, I was cracking into champagne..

Immediately after bleaching.

After styling.

So, apart from posting several photos of myself posing, I hope this helps any girls who have red hair that want to try the ombre trend. I'll keep you guys updated on whether I go lighter or not - After years of dying my hair, I don't want to absolutely ruin it.

What do you think of ombre hair? Have you tried it?

Chloe x