La Riche - Directions

I have not been satisfied with my hair for a few years.  I used to be happy with it simply brown with blonde highlights, quite long.  Then I got rid of the blonde and was just dark brown.  I was happy with that for a year or 2 then I got bored, so I went red.  I liked the red but it faded so quickly.  Earlier this year I went purple.  A nice dark purple which really suited me.  I do love the purple, but it fades even quicker than the red!  I have had the purple done at the hairdressers 2 or 3 times but within 2 weeks my hair has faded to a crappy red colour.  I can't go to the hairdressers every couple of weeks (not at their prices!) so I investigated home colour again for the first time in years.  I'd previously given up on home colour after some disasters.  So Superdrug have 3 nice purple dyes.  I picked one up and it turned out lovely, but again, faded within a couple of weeks to that red colour that I don't like.  Not sure it is a great idea to dye your hair every 2 weeks even if you can afford it? :-/ 

Whilst perusing Twitter I came across the blog of a girl who has lovely long, bright red hair, and she had a post all about how she keeps it vibrant.  She had the same fading issues as I have with the purple.  She dyed her hair with a permanent red dye every 4-6 weeks, but inbetween times, to keep it looking fresh she used a semi-permanent colour called Poppy Red, from a range called Directions by La Riche http://www.lariche.co.uk/ 

This sounded like a good idea to me so I investigated this La Riche.  They have one called Plum which is a lovely purple shade so I bought this.  The girl from the blog had said it was so easy to apply, simple as peas.  Now, it may be easy to actually put on your hair, but no one told me that it goes EVERYWHERE.  And when I say EVERYWHERE, I mean EVERYWHERE.  I am no novice to home colouring, I know you have to wear gloves, protect your skin and surfaces, use an old towel....... Directions by La Riche are something else!

During colouring I got a little on my skin and the sink but wasn't too worried at the time.  After leaving the colour on my hair for the alloted time, I got back in the shower to rinse.  O.  M.  G.  EVERYTHING went purple.  My hands, the bottom of the shower, the shower head, the shower itself, the tiles, the glass, my chest, my back.  Literally everything purple.  My face. Have you ever seen that bit in the original Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, where that girl turns purple and they have to take her away?  That's what it was like.  No exaggeration.  Of course I was wondering how I would get it off my skin but the main thing I worried about how was how mad my friend & boyfriend were going to go.  I live with my boyfriend in a flat we rent from a friend.  And I had just turned her whole shower area purple from white.

For the time being I concentrated on my hair and followed the instructions.  I wasn't confident coz the water wouldn't stop running purple.  I got out of the shower after a long time and tied my hair up in a towel.  Then got to work on cleaning the shower!  It took about half an hour but with the help of some bleach the bathroom looked good as new again.

I started to dry my hair but it didn't feel right.  Purple dye was covering the brush.  I jumped back in the shower and shampooed my hair 3 more times, then another with conditioner.  That seemed to do the trick.  

After drying, I can confirm that my hair is indeed a nice dark purple shade, however I would not use this again.  I just don't think all the mess is worth it.  I have also read reviews which say that the colour rubs off on clothes etc for a while even after you've washed it a few times so I will need to look out for that, coz that would be an inconvenience.

I have one more box of purple Superdrug dye which I will use when I need to, but after that I am thinking of going back to brown, which is much easier to maintain.  I may go for blonde highlights again as well.  We shall see :)

This post would be great with a photo of my hair, but I am still suffering and look like death, so maybe another day (hopefully soon) when I am feeling better :) 

Favourites & new stuff

Hello there.  I was going to add "update" to the title of this post but it's not really an update, coz I don't post enough for that!

Here are some favourite products that I've been using recently...

Garnier Soothing Gel-Cream for dry/sensitive skin in Peach.  I believe this is also available in Grape.  I picked this up in Boots in Westfield Stratford while I was in London for a few days a while ago.  I love the scent and the texture.  As it is a gel it feels cool against the skin and sinks in quickly, leaving the skin nice and soft.  I would use this if I had a shower in the morning before I went out, and I don't wait to wait around for my moisturiser to dry before I could get dressed, but still want my skin to be well hydrated.

 Benefit Bad Gal Lash mascara in black.  I am a mascara fiend and usually have a few on the go.  I am also a Benefit fiend and owned a full size version of this in black along with the blue version (not even sure if they still do that) but then I fell out of love with Benefit's mascaras and just kept on with their other make up which was still great.  As I bet you are aware, Glamour magazine are giving away Benefit products again this month and this is one of them, along with The Porefessional and That Gal.  Anyway, back to the point..... I decided to give this another go and I love it again!  It makes my lashes big & full & long! :)

I am really lucky with my skin.  I hardly eeeeeeeeeever get spots, and it always looks lovely and soft.  But!  Recently I had been having a few problems with it.  The skin on my forehead was getting very dry and even flaky, and I had absolutely no idea what to do because this never happens.  I always use moisturiser but my usual stuff just wasn't cutting it.  These 2 saved the day!  They're both available in Boots.  I use the Nivea during the day and Johnson's at night and my skin is back to it's former glory :) it's nice and soft again and these moisturisers are amazing without being heavy at all.

Palmers Cocoa Butter.  I know this is a firm favourite with lots of people.  I'd rather use this at night before going to bed, rather than in the morning, as it is quite heavy.  Lovely smell and very moisturising.

Snow Fairy!  Another favourite of a lot of people, I know.  Snow Fairy is from Lush but only available from October to January.  I bought this in January, and it's still going strong in June!  Not too much left though, as you can see.  This shower gel has the best smell in the world.  And it's lovely and girly and pink and glittery!! :)

My shampoo.  It's took me a while to find a good shampoo!  My hair is coloured and is currently a dark purple.  Before that it was red.  Both these colours fade very quickly and even normal shampoo for coloured hair doesn't help.  I always thought it wasn't worth buying the expensive shampoo and no matter how hard my hairdresser tried I wouldn't shell out and kept buying Pantene or Herbal Essences that you can get in Boots or Superdrug.  I finally caved when I realised my hair wasn't looking as good as it used to and bought Matrix shampoo & conditioner for coloured hair from my hairdresser.  BIG MISTAKE!  Cost me a fortune and left my hair looking crap.  It was lank and greasy looking straight after I washed it and no amount of dry shampoo would help.  I binned it after a week and headed to Trade Secret to ask for their advice, and came away with this.  This wasn't cheap either, cost me a tenner, but is working amazingly and my hair is looking great after maybe 3 weeks use :)

I'm always painting my nails and I've got far too many bottles of nail polish.  I'm loving the fact that everyone is painting their nails all different colours.  I do this a lot and just now my favourite thing to do is pastel colours.  I love to do a mix of these Barry M colours, as they look great together.  Continuing with nails...

Rainbow by GOSH is an amazing nail polish to layer over any colour.  It's full of glitter which does exactly what is says on the tin - shines all different colours in the light, like a Rainbow.

Here it is layered over my pastel coloured nails :)

I also picked up another couple of items today to try out soon :)

Palmer's Natural Bronze and Boots 17 Juicy nail polish.  Can't wait to give these a go :)

Bonjour

Hello :)


I'm back and I'm here with a nail polish post.  I am ADDICTED to buying nail polishes.  It's not even funny.  I've got a big box of them in a cupboard and I still can't help buying loads more.  I'm just attracted to them like a magpie is to a sparkle!


I'm good at just doing a basic nail but I'm not too skilled at some of the more amazing, complicated, intricate designs that I see on a lot of blogs.  I love them though and hopefully I will learn!

This is a recent look I made using Disco Mix & Indian Ocean, both by Models Own.  I really liked this one. Indian Ocean is from their Beetlejuice collection, and Disco Mix is from the Hed Kandi collection.  I do love a glitter polish and Disco Mix is one of my new favourites!  You can't see it too clearly here but Indian Ocean is a beautiful light blue with a pink and gold sheen to it.  I used 3 coats of each here.

This is one is using Fantasy Fire by Max Factor & Disco Heaven by Models Own.  Disco Heaven is another from the Hed Kandi collection.  I did this in a rush so it looks a bit messy but I think the colours go well together.

This one is a favourite!  This is Mint Green by Barry M & Carnival by Technic.  Carnival is the famous cheap dupe for OPI's Rainbow Connection.  I absolutely love it and I think it goes so well with Mint Green :)

This is what I'm currently wearing on my nails.  The teal colour is Exquisite by Boots 17, the silver is Your Majesty by Rimmel and I have put Silver Glitter by Barry M over the top of them :)


Now, what next?! :)

Hola!!!

You may have noticed it has been a while since I last posted.

I moved flats in January and since then have been without internet access at home :( boooo. We are still waiting and have no idea when it will be available, so I am just jumping on people's wifi when I can. I am currently on a train home from London and so am using the free wifi on the train :)

London was amazing as always and I bought a lot of bits & pieces at the shops & markets (as always) which I hope to be able to write about soon. In the meantime here are my current favourite 3 bracelets...

The silver skull one is from a market on the Portobello Road in London which cost me £5.

The sparkly one in the middle (which I think is meant to be an eye) is from River Island and was also a fiver.

The last one with the gold hand is from New Look and was only £3.

I love them all individually but I think they look great together.

I took the photo using Instgram. I'm so glad it's available on Android now! Up until I downloaded it last week I'd been using "Camera FX" to take photos which was ok but most of the time made all my photos green! So I think posts with photos will look a lot nicer from now on.

Hope to be able to write again soon and thanks to anyone who has stumbled upon this and spared the time to read :) xx

Christmas money haul

Well since the last time I wrote, Christmas has passed! I hope you all had an amazing time :)

I did, and among other things I got some Christmas money, which I spent wisely yesterday. Here are some of the things I got...

Gorgeous little dress with bunnies on it(!)and a tie at the waist from H&M

GOLD by Giles tights from New Look. Sure these are the ones Cheryl Cole wore on X Factor last year?

Leopard print stretchy belt

from Primark

London(?) print top from Primark

Little lace top from Primark, this is lovely on, and has a low back. I plan to wear it on New Year's Day :)

Again from Primark, this little peachy/coraly/orangey skirt with little black bows on it :) another NYD possibility!

From River Island, this purple top with a panther on it. I wore this today with pale blue denim skinny jeans, the scarf below and black faux fur bomber jacket.

Another one from...... Primark! Alexander McQueen style skulls scarf

and the last one from Primark, a little blue top with white birds on it!

I love me some animal print. Whether it be animal print as in leopard/tiger/whatever fur print, or actual little animals! I'm really glad that both seem to be in right now. Tomorrow I'm hitting the shops again in search of a skirt I seen in H&M earlier today (they didn't have my size). It's black with a zip up the front, and red lipstick lips all over it. Very cute. I need it..... ha ha..... only kind of joking!

I'm at my mum & dad's in Glasgow again for the rest of the holidays, and I have brought all of this stuff with me, to wear while I'm here. The main things I have planned so far are a few drinks/night out tomorrow, after lunch with my mum, Hogmany day out with bf and that night, new years days dinner, and lastly, my birthday celebrations with family, whatever they may be :)

I realise now that I should taken these photos normally, rather than using special effects but oh well, I'll remember for next time!

♥

Turn it around...

Here's another OOTD.

Top - H&M

Skirt - Primark

Boots - Uggs

Necklace - Topshop

Rings - Boots & a gift

Pink Bracelet - H&M

Silver Bracelet - a gift

The earrings were a gift from my mum. Maybe slightly too much for a daytime trip to lunch & the cinema, but hey, why not :)

♥

I hear you say...

I thought I would try an OOTD. It's probably crap but it's my first one! So here is a little rubbish photo...

green jumper with gold sequin shoulders - Primark

denim skirt - can't remember, maybe Primark?

black suede fake fur lined wedge boots - Tesco

gold chain with bird pendant - a gift

So there it is! This is what I wore yesterday. Bit of a bargain OOTD with most of it from Primark or Tesco and not costing too much at all :)

I love my little necklace. It was a gift when I left my last job :) at the same time I was also given a lovely purple scarf which I also love. I'm sure it'll feature in a future OOTD if I keep doing them.

♥