On a day like this.

A couple of worthy mentions i have stumbled upon that i thought i would share..

My beautiful best friend Sarah has only been bloody shortlisted in the top twenty Look magazine blogging competition! Cue major fangirl screaming, i'm so freaking excited, let alone her! I'm sure any bff would say so, but Sarah really does deserve this opportunity, not only does she know more about the fashion and style world that i ever will, she's a banging writer (she spell-checked my entire dissertation!) and she's one of my personal style inspirations. Her blog covers everything stylish, from the latest high-fashion editorials to her weekly Monday Musts, she also posts amazing theatre reviews and photographs her own scrummy cupcakes. You have to check Sarah's blimin' brilliant entry that bagged her the final 20 spot, her poem (or as i like to think rap) was really creative and sums up her crazy talent for writing. Fingers crossed!

Last week when i arrived to work, my manager and i had near meltdown when she informed me that she had received an email from Liz Earle, stating within a small print that there were going to price increases across all LE products. I swiftly emailed Liz Earle's wonderful customer service team, to which they replied that from September the 1st 2011 they will be increasing prices ever so slightly, to fall inline with inflation and VAT increases of which most high-street retailers put in place earlier in the year. This doesn't surprise me - however i'm glad that Liz Earle were keen to answer my question in a polite helpful manner, even suggesting me to stock up!

So i hastily added two shampoos and conditioners to my basket.

This weeks Grazia magazine offers readers a 20% voucher at New Look, perfect timing with all the lovely a/w ranges appearing in store! Its dated from the 23rd-29th August, and the offer can be used online with the code: 20GRAZ at the checkout between the 26th-28th. I eagerly snapped one up yesterday and frogmarched straight in-store to pick up some pieces (watch this space), i then went to Tescos and spotted the pull out voucher lying on the floor, ahem, so no doubt i'll be going back in again!

With September fast approaching, that can only mean Vogues Fashions Night Out is upon us again! As the excitement builds and plans are being put in place for the mammoth shopping extravaganza and fashion celebration, i am currently compiling a must-have-go-to guide for this year which takes place on 8th, where the celebs/designers will be and not forgetting the goodie bags! Watch this space, again.

Will you be bulk ordering Liz Earle or attending FNO, let me know! 

You've got the love.

Precisely three months ago i decided to embark on a journey of hair growth, strictly the hair on my head of course. After my lovely hair dresser announced that my shoulder length hair was simply just 'done' growing, i set out to prove her (and my stubborn locks) wrong. I decided the way forward was solving the problem deep down, completing changing my routine to conditioning it back to health, in order to stimulate growth. 

I'm rather well behaved when it comes to my hair, i religiously have it trimmed every nine weeks at my local Rush salon and it's never met a bottle of bleach either. I was however, intrigued to try a more natural approach rather than slathering my hair in chemicals - i'm looking at you Lee Stafford Hair Growth - by using products that are sulphate and paraben free.

  Let me break it down, sulphates and parabens are chemicals used within the cosmetic industry, whilst deemed 'safe' for usage, by cutting out these extra chemicals it is a more gentle, 'organic' way of washing one's hair. I'm not going to pretend that i know all the in's and out's of this chemical talk, but i gave it a whirl and had some amazing results.

My hair is definitely more healthy in appearance, in terms of shininess and being more sleek and manageable. I've also noticed a distinct lack of split-ends, something my rather thin hair battles when a hair dressers appointment is creeping up. And most importantly, the ultimate aim from this routine, my stubborn mop has grown - hurrah! Rather quite quickly, may i add.

Here are the products i bow down to:  

Liz Earle Botanical Shine Shampoo and Conditioner (bought here £7.50 each)

These two products have certainly been raved about constantly on blogs, so i decided to see what all the fuss was about and ordered myself a pair. Without the jargon of most shampoos and conditioners promising shine like no other, i was pleasantly surprised to actually see real results. It took a few weeks to kick in, but these bad boys have certainly had an astonishing impact on my hair. It wasn't until a work colleague commented on how shiny and healthy my hair looked did i realise how amazing they are.  

Being sulphate free i was worried how well they would lather, i found this not to be a problem in the slightest. Although the conditioner doesn't exactly feel moisturising in the shower, my hair is definitely soft and sleek for sure! I have gone on to purchase these products again and probably will do for the time being.

Cherry Almond Leave in Conditioner - TIGI (bought here for £5.70)

After searching high and low for a natural leave-in conditioner i finally came across the Love Planet Peace range from Tigi. I snapped it up in minutes when i saw the scent was cherry almond, its smells so yummy, i find my self having to stop myself from eating it. I'm a stickler for leave in conditioners, they add an extra surge of moisture for my ends, especially as my hair is so fine, it really needs that extra love and condition from heated styling.

 I've used all brands from the disappointing bog standard L'Oreal, to impressive yet expensive Kerastace, so i was interested to see TIGI would match up. It did so surprising well, each night i slathered a 10 pence piece amount on my ends and left to air dry naturally. In the morning my hair felt softer and tame, and three months on my split ends are no where to be seen. And that, ladies is the biggest test of all. 

Wen Intensive Hair Treatment - (bought here for £18.95)

Lastly was a hair mask by the brand Wen, of which i received as a press sample. This cucumber fresh smelling mask comes in at a rather pricey £18, but with only a selected number of brands producing natural products its clear to see why it holds a high price. 

Its important to add that I'm not fussy when it comes to hair masks, i've used all types of brands and been  fairly impressed with all results. I usually keep them for Sunday pamper nights, so every week i moisturised the thick cream in to my hair and left to sink in for 5-10 minutes. After washing out and styling, my hair was left amazingly blow-dry-esk perfect. Eat your heart out Cheryl. For such a thick mask, my hair was soft, light and bouncy. So much so, i found myself using this product every other night as it made styling a dream. Until i realised that i was quickly running out, so it was resigned to special occasion washes. Thinking back i seem to always go through this process with hair treatments, slathering it on like its going out of fashion.

Sadly my pot is no more, and however much i fell for this product, the rather high price is a complete no-no. Not when i can pick up a sachet of good old trusty Aussie for 99p, and still have similar results.

My rather long ramble on hair yet again. What products do you swear by? 

I'm trailing a styling product at the moment, so watch this space.

Sunday Skincare

A couple of months ago i finally came to the conclusion that my 'teenage skin' had disappeared. Of course, with a combination skin i definitely do still get the odd few pimples, but not on the scale i had when i was fourteen. It seems to have (thankfully!) just grown-up, being much brighter and more clearer, and less oily overall.

But over the last few weeks, as like many who are doing exams/essays galore, my skin has been feeling the stress too. So whipping out my trusty Liz Earle book - which i really think makes a fabulous present - i planned on giving my self a 'facial'. No fancy products were used, literally samples i had building up in my beauty box, i'm a stickler for stashing all the sachets away, especially for that one blasted day your shampoo runs out!

St Helens Mint Julep Mask - Amazon / Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish / Clinique 7 Day Scrub / Clinique Moisture Surge / Liz Earle Muslin Cloth / Lush Toner Tab in Tea Tree / Burt's Bees Radiance Cream 

Liz Earle states how to give yourself a gorgeous facial at home - the full salon treatment without any expense by going through this running order:

cleanse - exfoliate - steam - mask - moisturise

I literally used sample products that i had lying around basically to use them up and to switch up/add a little excitement to my cleansing routine. 

I firstly used Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish which i received for free alongside another order. Although, i'm not strictly converted as using this as my main every-day cleanser i still think this is a fabulous cult product. This light cream is massaged onto dry skin, to cleanse away any grime or dirt to provide a clean base. If you are wearing make-up, its best to complete this step twice. 

In order to remove the cream, i used the Liz Earle Muslin Cloth, of which is a definite staple in my skin care routine. Like a flannel, the damp cloth gently exfoliates and cleans away the excess cleanser and grime. These are definitely well worth a purchase, for £3.55 for two and being machine washable, i really do think these are a simple yet amazing item that rapidly enhances your complexion! They can be used with any cleanser or face wash, as well as being a great tool for removing stubborn clay face masks.

  

Liz Earle is a pretty hard to come by brand, if you don't live near any of their stores or a large John Lewis or dislike ordering online (i personally detest paying P&P) and if you do want to give these a trail run No7 do their own version for 3 for £4.49 - which is basically free if you hang around for their £5 voucher offers!

Next i used the Clinique 7 Day Scrub to exfoliate my skin, and do a more intense scrub to clear dead skin cells. Soap and Glory 'Scrub Your Nose In It' and St Ives Apricot Scrub are also honourable products to mention, as they too are great exfoliators i've come across.

Then i steamed my face with hot water and stream to open my pores, simply by boiling a kettle and using (nearly!) boiled water in a bowl and covering my head/shoulders with a towel. I also popped in a Lush Toner Tab in Tea Tree which are a bloomin' good accomplice. For a bargainous 99p, simply pop one into the bowl and they will fizz away to release tea tree straight into your pores for a good clean and detox! I bought a packet of five well over a year ago, and i use one of the odd occasion if my skins feeling pretty gruesome, this does an excellent job of fighting off spots. Once the water has cooled, it can then be doubled up as a toner - perfect! 

They also do Toner Tabs fully charged with Vitamin C and E to boost radiance and overall complexion too, if your one of the lucky few who aren't spot prone. 

After steaming my face for a few minutes, i pat my face and apply the St Helenes Mint Julep mask all over. This stuff is actually amazing! I swear by it, as you can see from my abused bottle. It the US this is a somewhat cult product, it does an amazing job of extracting impurities (most notably stubborn blackheads) and can also be used as a spot treatment to fight off unwanted blemishes. And i'm not joking when i says this actually works, i have tried countless clay masks that feel relaxing and all that good stuff, but don't perform in the slightest. 

I hunted mine down on Amazon for under a fiver, and despite the fact its slightly smells of weed, this is a very impressive product and lasts forever in that giant-size tube.

 After leaving the mask to dry completely for 20 minutes, i washed it off with the help of my muslin cloth and patted my skin dry. I then applied Burt's Bees Radiance Day Cream just because it makes my skin look very refreshed and i felt guilty for not using it from my tin gift set that i received for Christmas. Then i slathered and massaged a layer of Clinique Moisture Surge that i got as a freebie from bulk buying last months copy of Glamour magazine. I have actually previously bought a full-size tub, and it ain't worth the hype. It is seriously tacky to touch and it's a horrid gel like formula. Albeit slightly useable on top of another lightweight moisturiser. 

I would love to say i do this routine every Sunday, but being honest it's when i have the time. I wish i could though - who doesn't love being pampered? 

For those of you that are students and are cramming for exams and completing dissertations and coursework, i feel your pain - and so does my dissertation course supervisor who i keep having bursts crying fits to. ;) 

Her name is Rio and she dances on the sand.

First of all i must apologise for the abundance of hair posts, clearly 2011 is the year of the hair do's/don'ts. Since purchasing the Lee Stafford Hair Growth product mentioned here, i can honestly say that unless i bought this in the truckload, i don't think i would ever notice a difference. Of which firstly i can't afford and secondly, i don't think my local Boots would appreciate me rolling up in a white van really to raid their stockroom. Continuing my search for long tresses, and despite ignoring the fact that my hair dressers announced in a matter of factly way that my hair may just be done growing, i'm holding on to the thought with tightly gripped hands that if i nourish my hair and keep it in tiptop condition, it will bound to grow long. Heres hoping.

So heres the plan, let me introduce you the brand spankin' new hair routine, products that are paraben and sulphate free. Let me break it down in simple terms, sulphates and parabens are chemicals used within the cosmetic industry, whilst deemed 'safe' for usage, by cutting out these extra chemicals it is a more gentle, 'organic' way of washing one's hair. I'm not going to pretend that i know all the in's and out's of this chemical talk, you only have to look at my science GCSE certificates to know that i'm no expert.. trust me.

Botanical Shine Shampoo and Conditioner - Liz Earle (£7.50 each)

These two products have certainly been raved about constantly on blogs and in magazines, but alas i bought these with my own pennies. After receiving a sample from a dedicated Liz Earle friend, i was instantly smitten. Without the jargon of most shampoos and conditioners promising shine like no other, i was pleasantly surprised to actually see real results. However, being sulphate free these babies do no lather like your average shampoo, so i'll be interested to see how much of a squirt i have to use to give my hair a good scrub.

Intensive Hair Treatment - Wen (£18.95)

Next up is a hair mask by the brand Wen, of which i received as a press sample. This cucumber fresh smelling mask comes in at a rather pricey £18, but with only a selected number of brands producing natural products its clear to see why it holds a high price. The thick cream will definitely be a must have to use on my Sunday evening routine, i'm interested to see if it can measure up to my trusty Aussie Three Miracle.

Let It Be Leave in Conditioner - Tigi (£5.70)

After searching high and low for a natural leave-in conditioner i finally came across the Love Planet Peace range from Tigi. I snapped it up in minutes when i saw the scent was cherry almond, its smells so yummy, i find my self having to stop myself from eating it. I find a leave in conditioner is vital for my ends, especially as my hair is so fine, it really needs that extra love and condition from heated styling.

I plan to give these products a full month trial before i present my verdict, some products are pretty pricey to go au natural (such as Aveda and Wen) but the products from the Tigi line are cheap as chips online. I bought mine from Active Beauty, which has free delivery and sells good quality brands such as Burts Bees and Kerastace at very, very good prices. 

Have you used any natural products?