clothing fashion

Sunday, November 24, 2013

REVIEWS: Lee Stafford Breaking Hair Leave iN Treatment

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 HiHiHi!

Leave In Conditioners. They promise the earth, and deliver nothing. At least, that's my experience of them anyway and my experience is quite considerable, having tried pretty much every one going. It reached the point where I began to disregard them completely, they quite literally did nothing for my locks.

So I gave up on them. That is, until Boots ran another of their ludicrously tempting 3 for 2 offers, begging me to part with my hard earned cash once more.

Lee Stafford's Breaking Hear Leave iN Treatment was part of the offer and in spite of the 'Leave iN' part of its name, it actually appealed to me. I think what really caught my attention was the marketing aimed at breaking hair, something I've had to be very conscious of since dying my hair Turquoise. It may look fun and great having this colour hair (and it is!) but it's not all glory, a lot of hard work goes in to keeping the hair in good condition.

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A little background is probably needed then, I had to bleach it not once but twice to achieve the pale yellowy-white stage of the hair required to achieve the true turquoise I was looking for. If the dye is applied to hair that's too yellow, my hair would would have quite literally turned green.

As a result of the harsh bleaching process, my hair was severely parched. I couldn't even get a garden rake through my hair without the aid of a detangling spray, though I was tempted to try at one point! But seriously, without the detangling spray my hair was extremely susceptible to some nasty breakage.

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So naturally, any help on offer was gratefully received and Lee Stafford was promising  product designed specifically to help girls (or guys) who found themselves in this kind of situation. I began using this on a regular basis after shampooing and conditioning my hair, then detangle using Johnson's No More Tears Detangling Spray, before finally applying a dollop of Lee Stafford on to my midlengths and ends.

My naivety had got the better of me once more though. I should have known better. Nothing else has worked before, so why should this? Hindsight is a beautiful thing, but this stuff did nothing for my hair. It felt as dry as it had before and just as rough. Another product consigned to the 'Useless Box' in the corner of my room.

But then my beloved detangling spray ran out, and I desperately needed something to help me get a comb through my mane. How on earth was I going to do that? There was no alternative but to rummage through the 'Useless Box' and hope upon hope there was something in there that might offer a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. That light was pink. Shocking pink.

I took out the pink tube and applied a big dollop to the hair, bigger than I'd applied previously, massaged it into my hair and got detangling. I was shocked how this actually detangled my hair nicely, there was no tugging action at all. In fact it was a breeze, just as easy as when using the detangling spray.

But that isn't where the shocks ended. Once the hair was detangled I blowdried my hair and that's when I noticed something very surprising.

My hair felt a bit more resilient! It looked smoother, sleeker and shinier! As for breakage? Nothing! It worked even better than the detangling spray ever did, like it's two products in one: detangler and leave in treatment. I've been using Johnson's for almost a year now, and it was a godsend when I first re-discovered it now, but now I'm contemplating giving it up for my Pink light at the end of the tunnel instead.

Those of you who have used Lee Stafford's products in the past will be quite familiar with the scent, a very strong, sweet floral fragrance with an underlying musky scent that tones down the sickly sweetness. 

The scent attaches itself to my hair and stays there all day, every time I give my hair a nice 'SWISH!' I can pick up on the scent. It really is a beautiful scent, so much so I'm considering purchasing the actual fragrance that Lee Stafford launched years ago. I'm sure they're going for about £4 on eBay, get in!

Back to the Leave iN Treatment though, and I have to say I'm quite happy with the results, well done Lee!

Lee Stafford's Breaking Hair Leave iN Treatment can be purchased in Boots, priced at £7.99 for 75mls.

 Halima
You have read this article Bleached Hair / Hair Care / Lee Stafford / Reviews with the title . You can bookmark this page URL https://clothingfashion2012.blogspot.com/2013/11/reviews-lee-stafford-breaking-hair.html. Thanks!
Sunday, November 17, 2013

OUTFITS: Velvet and Fur - What Dreams are Made of

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I know I've said this before, but it really is becoming increasingly difficult to find the time to shoot OOTDs now that winter has descended upon us. The lack of daylight hours mean it's a bit of a race against time to squeeze some photos in. One of many things I detest about winter, I crave day light!

Regardless, I'm still compensating for that by making the odd extravagant purchase here or there. I think it's only fair, my debit card seems to disagree though! But I just have to drape myself in Velvet and Faux fur during the winter, how else is a girl supposed to keep warm?

I came across this hugely attractive silver crushed velvet skirt in Topshop, which I'm sure my girl Sheenie feels as much love for as I do! It's quite different to anything I own, I can't recall having ever seen silver velvet before yet when I saw it for the first time I had visions of it being one of those incredibly versatile pieces that seem to go with practically everything.

For this outfit, I paired it with a sequinned fluffy jumper also from Topshop. I know it may seem unimaginative but Topshop never fail with their A/W lines, to the point I just want to buy everything! I find myself entering into a trance-like state everytime I walk by Topshop, trying to regain control of my legs and stop myself from wandering in.
 
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The fur coat feels like pure luxury on my shoulders, it's not the kind that makes you feel a bit itchy, it's just so, *so* soft! In recent years I've found myself buying a new winter coat every year, I blame it on the high street. Each year there seem to be one or two stunning winter coats that demand my attention. How am I supposed to resist?
 Halima
You have read this article Fur Coats / Jewellery / Jumpers / Miss Selfridge / OOTD / Outfits / Skater Skirts / Tatty Devine / Topshop / WIWT with the title . You can bookmark this page URL https://clothingfashion2012.blogspot.com/2013/11/outfits-velvet-and-fur-what-dreams-are.html. Thanks!
Sunday, November 10, 2013

REVIEWS: Bourjois Paris Intense Extrait Eyeshadow - 11

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 For the past couple of years, my 'go to' every day eyeshadow has always been MACs creamy beige Brule. Everyone loves Brule, its light neutral tone matches up perfectly with my skin making it great for my everyday eyeshadow look. Thing is, I hit pan on Brule recently and as much as I love it, I also love to mix things up. This was the perfect opportunity for change.

I wandered into the Boots in Manchester City Centre on the hunt for something new, something different to replace my beloved Brule. I was more than a little confused though as they'd changed the layout seemingly overnight, so I didn't really know where everything was. Then, out of nothing I spotted a sparkly little pot of lilac goodness just begging to be bought. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing Bourjois Paris' Intense Eyeshadow No.11!

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While the colours may be different, Intense Extrait is on a similar level to Brule in that the colour isn't too bright or bold yet still manages to brighten up the eye area, giving that wide-eyed appearance. 

Intense Extrait is from the Bourjois Intense range, which they claim to be highly concentrated and will last up to 16 hours. No. 11 is a pale lilac colour with streaks of silver running through it. In the pan it looks so, so pretty!

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Let's take a moment to drown in the gorgeousness of this!

For the application I swirled my brush around the lilac moon-like surface and found that whilst it may be tightly packed into the pan, the powder loosened easily and clung to the brush. Then it's just a case of giving your lids a liberal sprinkling!
 
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Swatch! 

Upon application, I realised just how intense the pigment really is! I do have to confess that I was a little sceptical before trying it as I've used other Bourjois shadows in the past that have left me less than impressed, to the point where I've had to apply them wet to get the desired intensity. None of that business here!

The glitter contained within is finely milled, which is a big bonus. I don't really like having big clunky, heavy chunks of the stuff on my eyelids! What impressed me most though was the fall-out. We've all been there with glittery shadows, most of it ends up on your cheeks by the end of the day, but the glitter within Intense Extrait stays exactly where you want it. On the lids. YES!

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How intense does this look? It's pretty opaque and you can see that the glitter has stayed put and not gone walkabout all over my cheeks. I HEART that this doubles up as an inner corner highlighter! 
 
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I can't 100% verify Bourjois' claim that this stuff lasts 16 hours, the longest I've gone with it on was 12 hours. I do have to say though that it really does stick around, so 16 hours isn't outside the realms of possibility.

I'm incredibly impressed by this little number from Bourjois. As pretty as their shop displays usually are, I have tended to find myself skipping over it out of ignorance. Intense Extrait has opened my eyes though so I will definitely be giving Bourjois the time of day once more. Not only that, but Intense Extrait has also opened my 'Everyday lids' to the possibility of shades other than beige!

 Halima
You have read this article Bourjois / EOTD / Eye shadows / Lilac Eye Shadow / Reviews with the title . You can bookmark this page URL https://clothingfashion2012.blogspot.com/2013/11/reviews-bourjois-paris-intense-extrait.html. Thanks!