Suzi-soo and her blogettes...back in business?!

Blogettes.. I once again am posting to apologise :( I absolutely adore blogging but it seems setting up and establishing 2 business is actually much more time consuming and difficult than perhaps I first expected. Well, actually that's a bit of a lie, I knew it would be difficult but thought my insomnia-cal tendencies would allow me a few extra hours each day to keep on top of everything. Thats where I went wrong... right now I reckon that even if I was awake 24hrs a day I still wouldnt have enough time to do everything!!

This absolute mania coupled with my love of the finer detail has meant that while I have continued to purchase and review products I have not had the time to type up hugely detailed blogs or in many cases to do the "sciencey" research.

So, I found myself questioning the future of this particular blog at this point in time. I toyed with closing it down but can't bring myself to do it - I love doing my reviews and heck I need an excuse for some bathroom relaxation time now more than ever! So if you guys are all ok with it I'm back! I'm going to do more regular yet smaller blogs which are not quite as time consuming and will aim to do a full Sooz Review every 4-6 weeks!

There will be plenty of sparkle, glitter and festive fun in the coming weeks - Yeay!

I hope all is forgiven and you will follow me once more...

Sooz xx

Good things to come...

Well to my very dear blogettes - I am so very sorry that I have been so absent for so long. I have had a frantic couple of months with very little time off (currently on day 5 of a 12 day straight work stint pulling back to back shifts too and getting about 4hrs sleep a night) sob sob!! However, ye will be pleased to hear that while I haven't been blogging I have been testing my little heart out... yes yes nothing aids assignment procrastination like a stash of beauty goodies!

So I figured perhaps I should give you, my loyal and patient followers, a preview of some of my reviews to come. These are all already tested, blogs started and awaiting publishing VERY SOON! 

Watch this space ladies and lads...

ooo so sparkly and pretty!!

So I finally got my hands on some swarovski crystals in an array of sizes (ss5, ss10 and ss20) and decided to give myself a serious accent nail on my ring finger to test them. I cured them on with clear UV gel and then used 3 week mani, Bio Sculpture Gel, in Ivory Beige on the other fingers to really highlight the blingyness. The polish bottle in the pic below is the same shade as the gel fyi!

Here's an image of the result... let me know what ye think.. 

I'm loving it and while I can understand it looking amazing on all 10 fingers it would cost a fortune to do, take AGES and be wopper bling so perhaps not suitable for returning to work on Tuesday. I am seriously tempted to do it on my 2 big toes too though and maybe a silver mirror minx on the rest of them..?? Oh god let's be honest I've started a new obsession!!

Swooning my self silly over OPI's New York City Ballet Collection

I've always had a particular fondness for OPI polishes and I'm not sure where this started but suspect its something to do with Executive VP & Artistic Director, Suzi Weiss-Fischmann and the regular polishes named after her. For those of you now giggling at my sadness and impressionability tell me you don't think names such as "Suzi Skies in the Pyrenees", "Crepes Suzi-ette" and "It's a Doozie says Suzi" are incredibly cute?! Anyway I digress. Fellow fans will know that OPI regularly collaborate with  brands, celebrities and film studios with limited edition issues. Their latest has literally blown me away... it's a collaboration with the New York City Ballet and I am smitten!

The Details:

Well the range has six shades and I can honestly say I love them all equally (an expensive and daunting prospect!).  They are up there with my regular favourites in terms of colours - beautiful classical soft pastels. They are quite sheer however so to get a nice opaque finish you will have to layer them up. OPI polish generally is quite liquid and almost watery compared to other polishes so will take a bit of getting used to for newbies to the brand. They are however brilliant and pretty chip resistant so stick with it!

OPI comes in at the pricier end of the scale but it is a pro polish so you get pro results. Bottles usually come in at €12.99+ for 15mls of product. Stockists include McCabes Pharmacies, many salons and also a little mobile beautician known as Nail Candi by Suzi (shameless plug I'm afraid!).

The Images:

From left to right:

My Pointe Exactly - a beautiful sheer dove grey

Care to Danse - a bang on trend soft lilac

You Callin' me a Lyre? -  the palest of sheer pinks (much lighter in reality than image depicts)

Barre my Soul - a sheer nude colour

Don't Touch my Tutu! - a wispy white

Pirouette my Whistle - an OPI glitter classic with small and large silver glitter particles in clear polish

The Sceincey Bit:

I'm sure I've covered this in my previous party polish blog at Christmas last year but in 2007 OPI succumbed to public pressure and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and became 3 Free. That is they no longer use DBP (Dibutyl Phytate), Formaldehyde and Toulene. Basically for us as consumers its a healthier polish to use now!

The Conclusion:

Well what can I say - this is probably my favourite item of the many I've blogged about to date. I am a total ballet fanatic anyway so in fairness the names alone were enough to reel me in. Add in the imagery of NYC Ballerinas, and the colours that are so graceful, balletic and fashionable and I was sold. They are absolutely beautiful and I believe your real struggle will be deciding which ones not to buy!

Re-Gen Oil - Another Great Aldi Dupe!

Well as my regular followers probably know I'm a big fan of quality bargain products and Aldi has regularly come good in this area. It's latest beauty offering is called Re-Gen Oil and one look at the packaging and you can guess  what better known brand it's duping - Bio-Oil of course! Bio-Oil hit the global market in 2002 as a specialist skincare oil improving the appearance of stretch marks, scars, uneven skin tone and signs of aging. It is also ideal for dehydrated skin.

The Detail:

Well this came in the form of a "special buy" which means it's a one off special, while stocks last only. It was due to hit the stores on Thursday 10th May but I couldn't find it in my local Aldi yet today there was a reasonable sized pile of products so either they landed late across the board, or my local got it's stock late and the other stores I checked had sold out (my previous assumption when unable to find it). I realise it sounds a bit mad to assume something new to the shelves in Aldi would sell out but believe me their beauty goods do... in minutes! I was very fortunate to grab a solitary bottle of their Miracle Oil, a MoroccanOil Dupe (which I'm loving by the way) after visiting 3 stores in search for it by 11am on the day it was launched. Anyhow, I digress... my point there was to create a sense of urgency if you are interested... GO...NOW!! There was two options to choose from the subject of the review, Re-Gen Oil, 125mls for €4.99 and secondly the Re-Gen Cream, 125mls also for €4.99. That's a whole lot of product for relatively small spend. Comparatively Bio-Oil comes in at about €10.99 for a measly 60mls!

The Images: 

The packaging & product:

A press shot of Bio-Oil, the muse for Aldi's above Re-Gen Oil:

The Sciencey Bit:

Right well as I mentioned above I've only just picked up this product so haven't used it much at all so my real review is an ingredients based comparative one. Bio-Oil lists 30 ingredients whereas Re-Gen Oil has a lot less at only 17. I've listed below the different types of ingredients and comparisons:

1. Oils (Base/carrier oils)

Re-Gen Oil has 4 oils in total here, all found in Bio Oil also and mainly synthetic. None are desperately alarming but purists would probably not be happy with some of them (mineral oil aka Parafinnium Liquidium for example). Bio-Oil has 3 further natural oils and a chemical anti-oxidant also. In my opinion, (limited cosmetic ingredients knowledge allowing) only one of these additional ingredients is of any huge consequence and this is Bisabolol which is a naturally occurring anti-inflammatory. 

2. Botanicals (essential oils)

Both products contain the same 4 essential oils - Lavander, Rosemary, Chamomile and Calendula. 

3. Vitamins

Both products contain the same vitamin ingredients - Vitamin A great for regeneration and Vitamin E a powerful anti-oxidant.

4. Colour

Both products include a red colouring and Bio-Oil contains a further Violet colouring also.

5. Fragrance

This is where the two products really differ. Bio Oil has a total of 12 fragrance ingredients, 4 of which occur in Re-Gen Oil also and a whopping 7 of which are synthesized scents. Re-Gen Oil has 6 fragrance ingredients, the 2 which don't appear in Bio-Oil are, rather disappointingly, synthetic. 

The Conclusion:

As usual I find the ingredient lists of the products so intriguing. The key ingredients - botanicals and vitamins are identical and ironically these are the best bits about the products. Colours and Fragrances annoy me in products as in all honesty we'd probably be happier with less of each for a healthier and safer product. Bio Oil wins out in terms of carrier oils and this may be important as they may aid the absorption of the essential oils or botanicals as I have headed them above. In reality this may make it a better product, I am unsure and would need an aromatherapists opinion on this. However of the additional ingredients found in Bio-Oil 5 need to be listed ingredients due to their potential allergen affect. This worries me slightly in a product marketed with strong natural connotations.

As ever, I believe money doesn't always buy better products or ingredients. Bio-Oil is a world renowned, award winning product and I am not in any way knocking it. Some of it's ingredients raised my eyebrows sure, but then that happens when you analyze most product ingredients lists. I reckon Re-Gen Oil is a great cheap alternative. My plan is to pop a few drops in my bath as a skin conditioner, to use it as an intense treatment weekly and finally I am hopeful it will be a great solution to my recent bout of, as of yet, unexplained blemishes. Are you going to buy this? If so let me know your thoughts and plans for it....

*If using either oil during pregnancy I would recommend getting your doctor's approval first*

Lee Stafford - my hair "go to guy"

Now this title is somewhat misleading in that Lee and I, unfortunately, are not besties! In fact if he passed me on the street he wouldn't bat an eyelid unless I wasn't acting anywhere near as cool as I should do when meeting a sleb! Anyway, what I mean to say is that Lee Stafford's hair care range has long being a favourite of mine. So much so that I never even thought to blog about them because they have always just been there and are not a new product or indeed new range. However as I run low and need to head to Boots (Lee Stafford products are sold exclusively through Boots in the UK and Ireland.) to re-stock I realised that up to now this was my little secret and for the sake of hair everywhere I suppose I should share it!!

The Details:

One of the many things I love about Lee Stafford is he is a real business man, making it to the top through hard work and slog. He got his big break in 1997 when he won British Men's Hairdresser of the year and he's gone from strength to strength since. In 2001 he launched his hair care range, now called ThE PiNK RaNge (yes spelled all funny like that), and I remember getting my grubby little hands on some soon after for my 19th Birthday. My first and longest love was his Poker Straight Glistening Balm which was a pot of silver speckled hair smoothing balm which tamed my frizz and gave super sparkle...god bless me I went through pots of the stuff and when it was discontinued  I nearly lost all reason! However, today I am thankful for this as he replaced it with an entire Poker Straight range and the Shine Serum is clearly a better, more mature product than the glittery balm guise of it's predecessor! I also adore from this range his Poker Straight Treatment which comes (pictured below) in a giant tub, well 200mls, which lives perennially in my shower. I whack it on between shampooing and conditioning and when your hair dries (either naturally or by hairdrier) it hardly needs a straightener as its so sleek and shiny after this treatment. This comes in at apx €10 and I reckon is a bargain for the wonders it works.

Another staple in my bathroom is his Dry Shampoo and again I have been using this for years, long before people even knew about dry shampoos much less the market leading brand Batiste. I will admit I bought a batiste mini once to compare but unsurprisingly there was no comparison. I have continued to use Mr Stafford's ever since and with much delight last year they brought out shades also for mid brunette and dark hair. For anyone who has never used dry shampoo shame on you!! GO, grab a bottle now. It is amazing... you spray it on and its all grey & powdery (unless you use a coloured one) you rub it in with fingers or my preference, a dry towel and hey presto you have non greasy lovely locks for one more day. I use this to get an extra day from my salon blow dry, used it to train my hair out of ever other day shampoos, use it to shade greys when I'm overdue a colour touch up and finally i ALWAYS use it when styling my hair into an upstyle to give it extra hold and volume. As you are probably beginning to gather - it's entirely multifunctional and great! Coming in at apx €8 for 150mls.

The Images:

Poker Straight Treatment packaging (a little worn from living in my shower!):

Poker Straight Treatment - the actual product:

Dry Shampoo Dark:

The Sciencey Bit:

The poker straight treatment includes panthenol which is a provitamin of B5 and basically acts as a moisturizer. It frequently appears in shampoos and conditioners as it seals the hair by coating it and lubricating it making strands appear shiny. This treatment also contains hydrolysed silk extracts to prevent breakage and split ends. Finally it contains P2FiFTY COMPLEX which apparently contains vitamin E, a thermal protecting polymer and living desert extracts of olive leaf and cactus flower for extreme heat protection.

Dry shampoo is a powdered shampoo which acts without water. The powder absorbs excess sebum (hairs natural oil) and is then brushed out. Regular shampoo removes sebum, scalp particles, styling products, and dirt from the hair and is then washed away. Therefore dry shampoo, while not as effective at removing everything it does improve hair's look and feel between washes.

The Conclusion:

By the way I've raved about Lee and his lovely products so far I reckon you can guess what my conclusion is but humour me....

Lee Stafford products have long been a favourite and for good reason too. Since their launch 11 years ago he has modified and expanded the range bit by bit with each new addition being as high quality or even better than the rest. My favourite bit about ThE PiNK RaNge? well it has to be the smell... these products smell good enough to eat which makes slathering them all over your head very enjoyable indeed!  I could have blogged on so many more of his products but for brevity had to show restrain! Hold Tight Hair Spray, colour love shampoo & Conditioners the list goes on and on - I've yet to try one of his products I don't love.

Rarely Boots do a 3 for 2 on these but when they do get buying ladies... they are well worth it. In the meantime if you fancy dipping your toes in the water without splurging grab some of his mini's to see what works for you. More recently Lee has brought to market a new range called AgranOil from MoRocco which I have yet to try so if you go for any of these let me know what you think!!

 Finally while I researched for my blog I learned that only today Lee launched his range in America via Duane Reades in NYC... so now my blog seems all the more timely!

Ombré nails - love or hate them?!

Well the ombré trend is only growing stronger and stronger with more celebs donning ombré hair (which personally I'm loving). So while I am a fan of all things beautifully co-ordinated I struggle a little with the thoughts of multiple colours on my fingers...but in the name of research and for you my lovely readers I figured I should give it a try!

The Details:

Well the word ombré comes from french meaning shaded or shading. It's been borrowed by the fashion world to describe extreme bayalaged hair (with dark roots graduating lighter down the length of the hair), garments, lips (which are immense and every time I sport this look i get tonnes of compliments on them) and finally the seemingly least popular ombré trend - nails. So there are two ways to achieve the ombré trend on your fingertips and that's either with the graduation of colour on the individual nail or across all 5 fingers. The first option is the harder to achieve in my opinion so I went for the latter for all you at home diy-ers. (besides it just helps justify my every growing collection of polishes with varying shades of the same colour!!). I first tried it when I couldn't decide what colour top to wear on a night out but had to get my nails done hours earlier. I was toying with yellows and oranges for my outfit so figures if i did both on my nails I was free to choose either top! The second one was because I'm still undecided so thought something bolder may work..its really strange for me as I hardly ever wear blue polishes opting for the turquoise and pastel blue/green options but unsurprisingly I found many a blue in my polish collection so there you go!!

The Images:

The yellow/orange attempt:

Polishes Used from L-R (Pinkie to thumb!): Leighton Denny Brick Road, Catrice Bye, Bye Birdie!, Leighton Denny Bon Bon, Essence Marble Mania Peaches, Barry M Peach Melba.

The blue/green attempt:

Polishes Used from L-R (Pinkie to thumb!): Glo Baby Glo! (discontinued Penneys Brand) Electric Blue,  MUA Shade 9, Glo Baby Glo! Cyan, Bio Sculpture Turquoise Teacup, Catrice Am I blue or green?

The Sciencey Bit:

Well apparently there is quite a bit of psychology behind ombré. If you look at the beautiful animals designers take their inspiration from, cheetahs, leopards, zebras and peacocks for example, you will notice that all of these have shading and markings that draw our eyes to them. There is research that shows sexual selection is linked to these adornments in the animal kingdom so humans now are replicating these adornments in a contrived manner!!

The Conclusion:

Honestly?? I'm not convinced! I think they definitely achieve their goal of being eye catching and have a very definite pro of justifying my array of polishes in varieties of one shade. In reality however I reckon most normal, non obsessed people probably would not have 5 bottles of gradients of one polish shade and therefore can be costly to achieve. I'd recommend either buying some Catrice or Essence polishes to achieve the look without breaking the bank or some brands are now bringing out ombré packs so you don't have to do the work of shade matching. This would also help avoid another negative I found while wearing a multitude of polish brands - different nails had different wear/chip resistance with one poor brand ruining the entire look far to quickly.

Both sets above got lots of comments when I wore them but often it was someone telling me they liked one particular colour. I did however get an awful lot of compliments with people really loving the look. Personally I reckon nails look much prettier when they are all of uniform length and colour. Ombré is just too haphazard for me in this regard! I reckon the gradient on one nail only may be more to my liking... that way I'd still have 10 matching fingers! I would however LOVE to do the ombré hair look in brown to blonde... think its fab!

Getting your lines blurred?? Maybelline Gel Liner 24H reviewed...

When I was a teen I used to love those columns asking celebs the contents of their make-up bags and their one "could not live without" make-up product. For many many years mine was Dior's Waterproof Trinidad Black pencil eyeliner. However as I dipped my toes into the world of liquid and gel liners I now find my kohl is simply just not intense enough and am always on the hunt for the perfect gel liner...

The Detail:

The catwalks went crazy with gel eyeliner in A/W12 and so far S/S12 is showing no signs of it disappearing. This lead to every brand and her granny releasing their own version of gel liners and the good news for us is that this includes the more affordable high street brands. Maybelline's offering with a ridiculously long name, Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner 24H, comes in at a well priced €8.65 for a small pot (size not listed anywhere on the packaging as far as I can see but I reckon its about 3g). A bonus for some would be the inclusion of a brush for application but as ever with these freebie brushes I tend not to like them and opted to use one from my ever growing collection of make-up brushes! The jar itself reminds me a lot of Bobbi Brown's Ink which indicated a positive start!

The Images:

The packaging and product alongside it

The gel in jar and a swatch

An unwilling model - me with newly applied liner prior to any alcohol and dancing!!

... a few drinks and 8 hours later the liner is still looking well!

The Sciencey Bit:

Eyeliner is worn primarily to enhance the eye's natural shape and size or in many cases to change the apparent shape of the eye. The more intense the colour the greater the effect. Eyeliner actually originated in ancient Egypt where wearers used makeup to protect their skin from the sun. Eyeliner was believed to do this and also to protect eyes from a multitude of potential eye ailments. Wikipedia tells me that research also showed eyeliner, in particular, was worn to protect the wearer from the Evil Eye!! Technically speaking "kohl" is liner made in ancient times using ground lead sulphide. We continue to use this word in the modern day to describe black pencil liner but obviously lead is no longer an ingredient.

The Conclusion:

Well as mentioned above I started out as a kohl/pencil liner girl. My brief foray with liquid liner in my teens was pretty disastrous and while I have finally mastered the use of it now I still find the smallest tremor in your hand can lead to an absolute make up disaster. Liquid liner requires one smooth swoop to look its best where as gel can be built up and I reckon it is perfect for beginners and those with shaky hands looking for that more intense effect than pencil can provide. It's also great for achieving more dramatic liner looks.

So is Maybelline's Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Liner 24H worth trying if you fit any of the above catagories?? In my opinion most definitly! It's consistency is great - super creamy and not too wet like some of the other budget brands offerings. This means it goes on really smoothly and also dries in seconds becoming smudge proof and also preventing the need to keep your eyes closed for AGES after application in the hopes of avoiding murky brow bone smudges. Another major eyeliner issue I have is it slowly sliding it's way off my eyes and down my face as the night progresses!! As you can see from the above pictures while my powder clearly needed topping up my liner was still in place 8 hours later... I was incredibly impressed with this and for me it's sealed the deal! The final pro was it slid off easily with my cleanser not leaving me with my usual panda eye look the following morning.

Prior to trying Maybelline, I found all the good gel liners were over €25. While that may not seem like the highest price point the problem is you get a relatively small pot of product and even worse it dries out much before you get to the end of the jar (and believe me NO amount of Inglot's Duraline fully restores  BB's Ink or MAC's Black Track). I'm really impressed and reckon its the best dupe out there for BB's Long Wear Gel Liner shade Ink. My only disappointment is that Intense Black is currently the only shade Maybelline have on sale here. In the states they have an Aubergine one so fingers crossed they will extend this range in the coming months.  For me I reckon this one's a keeper cheap as chips and super long lasting!

Sod the rain... I brought some summer to my fingertips!!

Right well it's the 1st of May and everything feels just a bit dull and I'd almost go so far as to say grim!! The weather out there is like a wet November evening but there is no santa coming with sacks of presents in under 8 weeks time. Sadtimes.  This being the case I decided my nude coloured top with neon pink trim teamed with tailored trousers would brighten things up while conforming with "office attire". My nails were sporting a lovely nude colour anyway and I also have a great pair of slipper like quilted satin nude ballet pumps which suited my craving for comfort this morning.

HOWEVER... the bleak weather outside and a reasonably stressful morning resulted in my mind wandering to all things beauty and particularly nails (very common occurrence for me!) I decided I needed to funk them up a bit as the neutral nude talons were boring me rigid... So hunting in my makeup bag at lunchtime I found my neon pink polish I threw in the other day and gave my nails some french tips!! After quite a bit of nail doodling I decided to do an accent nail also on my ring finger - with hindsight  possibly killing the original "low key" bright and office smart aim of the project. Sod it... I liked the results and got a little grin from them with every email I typed for the rest of the day!!

The Details:

I used 2 polishes for this look, one from Essence and one from a brand I only stumbled upon last week called Flormar. 

1. Essence

Range: Nude Glam

Shade: 07 Café Olé

Size: 5mls

Cost: €1.29

Stores: Penneys, Dunnes Stores, McCabes Pharmacies and many other good pharmacies.

2. Flormar

Range: Super Neon Colors

Shade: N008

Size: 11mls

Cost: €2.49

Stores: Grabbed this at the till of an A|ware store in Dun Laoghaire last week. Further investigations show it to be a big brand on in Europe, www.flormar.com , having been founded in Milan in 1970.

The Images:

The 2 bottles of polish:

The result of my lunchtime mani efforts:

The Conclusion:

I've got to say I LOVE it. It's a little cheeky but I reckon without the accent nail that it is completely passable in most offices, granted maybe not for some customer facing companies. I love matching polishes to my outfits and really like how close the two colours are to my top. In fairness unless I can find another clean neutral outfit in my wardrobe it's probably coming off this evening but definitely added a bit of cheer to an otherwise dull day!

As a result you have probably gathered I'm not really reviewing the lasting power of these products or indeed even looking into any "science" behind the products. Just a bit of frivolous fun to enjoy. Let me know what you think ladies... would you get away with this? Would you even try? Love or Hate I want to hear it...

Pulling your hair out?? Check out this Tangle Teezer Review...

Well as my recent blog Homemade "fix my broken hair" Hair Mask highlighted my poor hair is dry, weak, knotty and generally in bad shape following years of colouring, straightening and blow drying. Now while I have steadily been improving it with hot oil treatments, deep conditioning and ahem, homemade masks I did invest in a Tangle Teezer a long time ago following a recommendation. I have been meaning to blog about it for ages so here you go!!

The Details:

Well it's taken the hairdressing world by storm and there has been an awful lot of people raving about it so despite my reservations about it's (in my opinion) ridiculous price tag I figured my increasingly knotty hair lended itself to a product review! Tangle Teezer is the brain child of British hairdresser, Shaun Pulfrey. He came to public attention via Dragon's Den where his presentation was greeted with a less than enthusiastic reception. He looked for £80k for 15% of the business but walked away with nothing after a grilling.  He pushed on however, bankrolling it himself, launching it at Salon International in October 2007 and the company has gone from strength to strength since.

The idea came to Shaun while working as a colourist and realising that there was a need for a better detangling tool. Four years in the making and the Tangle Teezer was born. They now come in a variety of colours and designs all which can be viewed on the company website. I opted for the original in bubblegum pink for this review.

This usually retails at €9.99+ (depending on where you are purchasing - Hair Salons seem to charge more!). I picked mine up in the ever wonderful McCabes Pharmacy as part of a promo paying only €5.99, reduced from €9.99. I checked out Boots to see what they are charging  -  in their OMNI Park branch it is €14.53 but even worse it's €15.24 in their Dundrum branch. My advise on this one - shop around if you are keen.

The Images:

The Tangle Teezer in it's new packaging:

 

The new hair care guide that comes with it

 Out of it's packaging:

A side view so you can see the teeth:
 

Not pleasant I know but a direct comparison of hair pulled out by Tangle Teezer versus my paddle brush over a similar period of use (you actually can't see the base of my paddle brush for all the hair - ick!!):

The Sciencey Bit:

The brush is completely made of plastic with specifically spaced out teeth of 2 different lengths. These teeth flex through knots and tangles without locking or pulling. It's claimed that this process also helps smooth the hair's cuticle which in turn protects the inner cortex from damage. Reduced cuticle damage can result in reduced colour fade and indeed more lustrous locks.

The Conclusion:

Well in all honesty I'm not convinced. It definitely has less of my hair on the teeth after brushing than any other brush I use but it doesn't exactly glide through my wet hair as I had hoped and expected it to. Instead it remains a battle with me having to slowly work through my hair section by section from the ends all the way up to the roots. It's lack of a handle does not help whilst doing this. However, on my dry hair it is great, really great! It glides through my hair and detangles quickly and painlessly. 

I have heard many people rave about this product which piqued my interest originally. Especially influencing for me was the review of a mum of a little beauty with a head full of curls - she said prior to the Tangle Teezer brushing hair was a total nightmare with tears and tantrums guaranteed with each and every attempt.

While I can see that it does work I'm still not convinced re. the price versus payoff. More often than not I reach for my super large Head Jog paddle brush to sort out my wet hair if in a hurry and yes it takes out more of my hair and probably does more damage but its faster! Where it wins brownie points for me is its size and design lend itself beautifully to be a perfect handbag brush. Furthermore its rather unpleasant and almost garish plastic design is a bonus in this regard as it is easily washed and dries quickly. Personally I find handbag brushes seem to get clogged up with all sorts of crap so this is a big bonus in my opinion.

All in all I'm undecided, it disappointed in the very area I was hopeful yet provided other benefits I wasn't expecting. Do any of you have them? If so, let me know your thoughts...

I am a woman posessed I tell ye!

OMG I just have to post to vent because in my sheer stupidity yesterday I popped into Boots to see if anything new was happening. Obviously it was - there is always something new in that magical place to tempt me. I was very good though and tested loads of stuff but bought nothing. However, the Bourjois Sweet Paris Spring collection did catch my eye. Within this range are 2 new shades of their  10 Days, No Chips polish bang on trend being soft and lovely pastels:  #25 a pastel coral & #26 a pastel lilac. 

Now I LOVE my pastel nails and have been sporting a ridiculous amount of Barry M's Peach Melba so far this spring but this coral... oh my! It's much bolder than normal pastels but not quite a pink or red... just a delightful cosmopolitan coloured coral. I swatched some of the tester on my thumb nail and despite its loveliness walked away thinking my nail polish collection is full to the brim and that I have a lot of peaches, soft pinks and corals. When I got home however not one of my polishes came close (and that's a challenge!!).

So now I'm a woman possessed - I have to have this - all I have thought about today is this amazing coral colour and despite it's high pricetag of €8.12 I need it!! I've been on the road all day today and am again tomorrow. The earliest I can get to a Boots is if I do a quick lunchtime dash on Monday.... Think it just has to be though. I'll make sure to take a picture of my beautifully polished nails when I finally get my hands on this.

Have you ever abstained from an impulse purchase only to regret it later?? Let me know below if you have but only stories with happy endings please.... until i get my desperate little mitts on #25 anyway! 

Budget Benefit dupes courtesy of W7

Right well my regular subscribers and readers will know I'm a big fan of a bargain. BIG FAN. However, for some reason, and I'm not really sure why but I'm a total blush and bronzer snob. It may be because I used to be terrified of blusher and bronzers and only started wearing them in recent years or maybe its something to do with that memory of clown like red/pink cheeks on pale pale skin from multiple ballet performances that has left me scarred! Anyway, I digress, regardless of the reason why it's a fact that my blush bronzer collection has always been full of MAC, Estée Lauder, and Benefit goodies. That was until I stumbled upon W7's Africa...

The Detail:

Definitely not a high end brand but the products come in Benefit style boxes with a similar brush enclosed also (fyi the brush is equally as rubbish as the Benefit one and gets binned just a quickly!). I originally picked up the Africa Bronzer over a year ago and was so impressed with it that I went hunting for the others in the range and grabbed them all as soon as I found them!! Now my W7 goodies are usually fruits of my Northern Ireland make up hauls and I have rarely found the brand here. It is the type of brand that pops up in discount stores, New Look occasionally and also TK Maxx so keep an eye out if you are keen. Ebay has buckets of them available also. My stash all came from NI costing between £1.99 and £3.95 each so worth a try if nothing else..

I'm reviewing all 4 here:

1 Africa Multi Bronzing Face Powder 8g (more recently discovered in New Look Blanch and Omni for €4.99)

2 Double Act Bronzer & Highlighter Powder 8g (possible dupe for Benefit's 10 7g)

3 Honolulu Bronzing Powder 6g (possible dupe for Benefit's Hoola 8g)

4 Candy Floss Brightening Face Powder 6g (possible dupe for Benefit's Dandelion 7g)

The Images:

All 4 Lined up:

An individual box so you can see it's shape properly:

Swatches:

The Sciencey Bit:

Right well there isn't a huge amount of science to it really. However, as ever, I spent quite a bit of time comparing ingredients between these products and the products they mimic and without boring you with too much detail here's what I found:

1 Africa

8 ingredients, 2 of which are parabens. It also contains a list of 8 "may contain" ingredients, 6 of which are colours. While I am a little concerned about the uncertainty of their presence I'm hoping it may be like the "may contain nuts" you get on products produced in the same factories as nut products... if you get me?

[Parabens are chemical preservatives used regularly in cosmetics and beauty products. While officially they are considered "safe" there are a number of concerns surrounding potential carcinogenic and estrogenic effects associated with their use. Many people with sensitive skin also have paraben allergies which may result in rosacea or dermatitis when in contact with parabens. Finally, Methylparaben applied on the skin has been found to potentially react with UVB rays causing increased skin aging and DNA damage] 

2 W7's Double Act v Benefit's 10

Double Act has few ingredients listed with 8 in total, 2 of which are parabens. It also has a note stating it may contain a further 7 ingredients 5 of which are colours.

10 contains 28 ingredients, 5 of which are parabens.

3 W7's Honolulu v Benefit's Hoola

Honolulu  has 13 ingredients with 2 parabens. It also has a note saying may contain a further 3 ingredients all of which are colours.

Hoola has less ingredients at 12 with the same 2 parabens as Honolulu.

4 W7's Candy Floss v Benefit's Dandelion

Candy floss has a total of 8 ingredients of which 2 are parabens with a further note saying it may contain up to 7 more ingredients, 4 of which are colours.

Dandelion has a whopping total of 38 ingredients (many the same as Candy Floss) with a total of 5 parabens

The Conclusion:

Well I really am a convert - I love these products. The consistency is great they blend well and the pigment is great. Africa was the product that started my love affair with W7 and it remains a strong favourite. Ironically when I wear it it tends to get a lot of compliments more so than any of my pricier counterparts. Likewise one of my friends grabbed these bargains too and every time she has Africa on I ask her what bronzer it is!! It reminds me quite a bit of the Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess limited edition Exotic blush from a few summers back..it was a light tan with pink zebra stripes running through it. This W7 bronzer though has more depth and gives a pleasingly darker glow.

I use Double Act least of the four. The bronze half of this is quite glittery with not so subtle gold glitter particles which are just too large for my liking. I probably wouldn't buy this one again truth be told. I do like the pinky colour quite a bit though.

I like Honolulu but its incredibly dark so you need to use it carefully or you just end up looking dirty. As it's matt I use it more often as a contour powder rather than bronzer but only if I am looking for a very strong contoured look. If you are contemplating it as a dupe beware it is definitely darker than it's Benefit counterpart, Hoola.

Candy floss is lovely and probably the best dupe of the lot. The peachy pink colour is light and sheer and provides a lovely brightness on application. The pigmentation is great also.

To round up I'd have to say they are some really decent products and for the cheap as chips price you'd be mad not to give them a go if you stumble upon them. They have great pigmentation and the colour payoff is great! Once again I've found that the cheaper products don't always mean poorer quality with 2 of the Benefit equivalents containing over double the parabens and 2 containing far more ingredients also :O

My current fav shower gels...

Picked one of these up in Tesco's about a month ago and loved it so much that when I found them in ASDA for £1 a pop I grabbed both.... limited edition so if you see them grab them!

Kept meaning to post about them and realised this morning they were disappearing fast so figured I'd post while there was still some left!!

Salt Therapy at Lemons Beauty Salon

Well I've heard lots about salt therapy but never tried it before last week. One of my favourite beauty spots when I fancy a treat is Lemons Beauty Salon in Clontarf and while they added a Salt Therapy room in September I haven't gotten around to trying it until last Friday.

The Details:

A bit of background info?? ok then...Salt therapy came about almost by accident when in 1843 a notable improvement was recorded in the breathing of miners of salt mines by a physician at the mine. Then, during WWII Dr. Karl Hermann Spannagel noticed improved health in his patients who hid in the Kluterthöhle karst (a salt cave) in Germany to escape bombing. Spa's replicating this atmosphere were set up and so salt therapy was born!

In I went to Lemons feeling a little stressed to say the least (Friday rush hour traffic not the best time to book a treatment with hindsight) but the lady who greeted me, Tina, was lovely and got me sorted and in quick-fast so there was no delay or loss of time for any of us. I had to fill out a consultation form (so they can make sure there are no contraindications before receiving the treatment) which always gives me confidence in a service provision! Then I was given shoe covers to wear over my shoes and shown into the therapy room. It is a low lit room covered in salt... its piled up on the floor like sand and its crystallized on all of the walls. Lemon's have lovely blue strip lighting around the skirting and twinkly LED lights in the ceiling (and ye probably all know by now, I'm a sucker for a ceiling of LED lights!!) so it looks like a bit of a winter wonderland and is incredibly welcoming. 

There was 5 leather reclining chairs with footstools and fleece blankets each also. I picked a seat and wrapped up in the nice fleecy blanket and tried to settle down as the gentle hum of the halogenerator began. However, like many treatments before I found it hard to relax with my mind absolutely racing (this is how I feel most nights when I get into bed also). Eventually though, about ten minutes in the peace in the room drowned out my worries and stresses and I started to just chill out... I felt all lovely and dreamy lying there all snug with a sea breeze taste of salt on my lips. My nose also started to feel a bit funny - kind of tingly inside is the best way to describe it with it neither being uncomfortable nor pleasant. I obviously dozed off at some stage as when the 45 minutes were up, a bright light came on in the middle of the room and I was jolted awake from what felt like a very deep slumber!

The sessions cost €35 for 45 minutes but right now Lemon's are doing a very special offer of 3 sessions for €49. You can call them on 01 4446385 to discuss.

The Images:

The treatment room when the lights go down...

Here it is again but with the lights on as when you start/finish treatment just so you get a clearer idea of what it looks like (the snow like blurry bits in this photo are actually tiny salt particles)....

The Sciencey Bit:

Salt therapy and treatment rooms were set up to replicate the micro-climate within salt mines/caves The atmosphere of the salt mines/caves include stable air temperature, humidity and an absence of pollutants. Lemon's treatment room was designed to simulate the Ukrainian Allergologic Hospital (UAH) which is located in the foothills of the Ukrainian Carpathian mountains. Lemon's micro-climate is formed naturally through the convective diffusion from the salt walls combined with the controlled temperature and humidity to simulate that of the cave which creates a hypo-bacterial and allergen-free air environment. 

The salt micro-particles pumped into the room via the allergen filtered air are so small (1-5 micrometers) that they are easily inhaled. The particles reach the upper and lower respiratory tract with smaller particles reaching right down to alveoli (air sacs found in the lungs).  As the salt is inhaled it travels through the sinuses and respiratory tract absorbing moisture, cleansing, clearing mucus and killing bacteria.The salt has anti-inflammatory and anti- bacterial properties so it breaks up mucus easing congestion and relieving inflammation. The salt is also an natural anti-histamine so this treatment is a great natural way to ease the symptoms of hayfever.

The Conclusion:

Well  I have to say I really found this super relaxing as a treatment (like I actually fell asleep!!). Not one to suffer from respiratory problems I was worried I wouldn't be able to offer true feedback. However....one woman who was in the room with us was coughing loads as we left and it was basically all her mucus (lovely I know) clearing!! I couldn't believe it. I did feel really clear headed after, if that makes sense. By far the biggest result for me though, and this is the clincher, was that I slept like a baby that night. I conked out and had one of the best nights sleep I have had in a long long time. I'm told that my snoring stopped too so everyone is happy ;)

I really enjoyed it - I found it so relaxing and cannot believe the effect it had on my usually terrible sleeping patterns. I'm incredibly tempted to take up the 3 sessions deal running at the minute as I know it has a cumulative effect and while one session was great its not enough to improve my insomnia significantly. I have been raving about it all week and this is getting a serious thumbs up!

Homemade "fix my broken hair" Hair Mask....

So after 2.5years of dying my hair a vibrant red it is starting to really suffer. It is also long overdue a chop so a combination of bleaching, dying, split ends etc has left it somewhat straw like (hence my uber excitement at Aldi's recent release of a Morrocanoil Dupe). The colour washes out from the lengths much quicker than the roots so after about 2 weeks of washing I am left with two toned hair red at the roots and coppery in the lengths and generally just urgh! I decided before adding to the mess that it is with colour perhaps I should try an intensive moisture mask to help it along a little and bring it back to life. Impetuous as I am I decided this about 40 minutes ago and in the absence of anything special in the bathroom cabinet I decided to make a mask for my hair from the contents of my kitchen.... eeek!

The Detail:

So here's my "recipe" -

1 Mashed Banana

1 Egg

4 x Tsp of Olive Oil

1 x Tsp of Miracle Oil

4 x Tsp of Honey

 I threw them all into the blender and blitzed til smooth (very important as I later realised while letting it soak in and further researching my choices that many people seem to have had problems getting bits of banana out of their hair...started to freak out a bit around about then!). I donned plastic gloves and basically slathered the stuff all over my head making sure to cover all the lengths too. While I did this I had a turban hair towel heating on the radiator to wrap it all up in. Once it was all applied I got himself involved much to his amusement I should add. I made him wrap my head in clingfilm as seen in the preview pic! Then on with the hot towel and then I let it soak in... along with a somewhat impending sense of fear!!

The Images:

My manky hair... please judge not I've been super busy working and blogging and have neglected it terribly (sadface):

 

The *ahem* lovely mask:

 My clingfilmed head (himself was weeing himself he was laughing so hard at me!!):

And as I am actually typing this blog as I let it all soak in the end result is yet to be established!!

The Sciencey Bit:

Ok so there is no real science here as its a total spur of the moment DIY job based on what I had in the kitchen but below is my logic to the inclusion of each product -

Banana - I realise this sounds ick but they are full of tryptophan an amino acid which is great for hair and skin. They are also vitamin and mineral rich, I'm particularly liking the potassium which helps softening (here's hoping!)

Egg - my mum always told me if I wanted shiny hair to crack an egg over it. I can never say I tried it but have a shed load of eggs here that need using and figured since they are full of protein they can only but help!

Olive Oil - well its great on your face, good on your cuticles so I figured in the absence of almond or jojoba oil a bit of the old olive oil would do!! Hot oil treatments are amazing for smoothing hair and removing the frizz.

Miracle Oil - this has argan oil in it which is the oil used in Moroccanoil and is the hottest treatment oil for hair at the moment, its said to reduce frizz, eliminate brittleness and increase moisture. I used this in the hope that if everything else went wrong this teaspoon of wonder stuff may help!!

Honey - erm honestly? i threw this in to help with the smell! I always use honey in my banana smoothies and thought maybe it would help as it's full of good stuff and helps moisturise your body so why not your hair?!

Ok so right about now I am seriously freaking out as I need to remove this all (1 hour later) and I'm a bit scared - ha ha. My cockiness has subsided after typing out my logic it doesn't feel as sound now as it was but I'm off to wash it out and I'll be back with a conclusion ASAP!

The Conclusion:

Holy good god. Right well I pulled off the towel and cling film and lashed on a bit of hot water and lathered it all up. It felt lovely and smooth so I was feeling positive but then I started to shampoo it and a lot of red came pouring out... now this always happens so I'm not sure if the colour loss was related to the mask or not. A wee bit worried now I continue but as I rinse everything out my hair feels really hard and erm, straw like, literally. I am seriously panicking now but sure what can I do. Lashing lots of hot water through it to make sure I get rid of all the oil I contemplated throwing in some conditioner but had previously decided not to so I could show the masks true results. With images of me wearing a beanie hat' for the rest of the weekend I towel dried it and prayed for it to feel nicer but it didn't. I then went to brush it and was amazed as for the first time in a long long time my brush glided through it unlike the normal knot battle I have. This made me feel a little more hopeful. A nice speedy hair dry later (I know argan oil is supposed to speed up drying time but had no idea so little would really make such a difference) and my hair felt lovely and smooth and was completely frizz free which is very unusual for me after a blow dry even when I use conditioner so I am well impressed with that aspect of it. My hair is still dry but in all honesty not much was going to fix it in one go. I am surprisingly pleased with this though and think I'm going to try it again a few times with Miracle Oil treatments in between and hopefully save my locks from the only other solution - the big chop!! I really thought for a few minutes there this blog would suddenly be about the woes of DIY beauty treatments but actually it turned out great!! All's well that ends well and here's an image of the end result so you can see what you think....

eeeek!! the things I do in the name of research....

found this so amusing I thought I'd give ye a sneak preview before I write the blog....

..... stay tuned to see why I look so stupid (and more importantly if it works!)

Rubbing it in -get the right SPF for your face!

So today is officially my day off and what better way than to spend at least some of it enjoying this amazing weather we have been having? However as I drove to Aldi and then another Aldi (all in hunt of the newly released Miracle Oil, an Aldi Moroccanoil dupe, for a future review) I couldn't help but notice the abundance of people walking around burnt to a crisp and figured maybe a sunscreen blog was in order. My primary focus in this blog is actually sun screen for your face as thats the one that always seems to trip us girlies up! I have noticed that when people are buying foundations now they often ask about the presence of SPF which in itself is showing our increased awareness but more often than not if there is SPF present in the product its only factor 15. I say only as while this is fine throughout the winter months and in "normal" spring weather it is not really sufficient for the current kind of heat we are experiencing. My personal belief is that you should get your SPF from a dedicated cream not your foundation. I have selected 3 reasonably priced  high street store brands to review to show that protecting yourself doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg!!

The Detail:

So for years now I have used two brands of sun cream consistently (one for Ireland and one for abroad!) and they are Cien Sun from Lidl which I usually purchase when the weather starts to improve and keep in my handbag and kitbag all summer long for use on those rare days of sun we get here at home! The  other brand I use is Piz Buin Sensitive which is amazing if you suffer from prickly heat and is definitly worth the extra few euros but I tend to save this for my sun holidays and trips abroad as it's a bit pricey for everyday wear in Dublin so I'm not reviewing it here. Instead I reviewed my Cien Lidl cream along with 2 other high street brands...

1. Cien Sun, SPF 20,  Lidl. Prices start from €2.99 for 100mls 

Product reviewed here is Cien Sun SPF 20 100mls which comes in at the price above as well as the SPF 10. There is a 100ml SPF 25 which is a sport one and also a standard 100ml SPF 30 both of which are €3.99. Finally for those looking for uber protection there is a "kids" factor 50 also in 100mls for €3.99 too. It is important to point out that Cien Sun range does do standard 500ml bottles but I like the 100mls for my face and "on the go" as I can simply throw it into my make-up bag or handbag. I usually use their SPF 30 on my face in the spring/summer time. This cream is not too rich but is still slightly greasy as you will see from the swatch below - it does leave a slight shine after blending so not totally ideal for oily skinned peeps like myself. I still like it and use it though and I reckon it would be perfect for any dry and combination skin types.

2. Lacura Suncare, Anti-Skin Ageing SPF 30, Aldi €4.99 for 75mls

This product is a newbie I found on the shelves today and for a fiver thought it was worth a go, besides I couldn't get my hands on my usual SPF 30 in Lidl so needed a higher factor for my face anyway. It was available in both SPF 30 and 50. This is described as non-greasy on the packaging which really grabbed my interest. It also claims to have additional Anti-Aging properties via its "DNA-SOLAR-COMPLEX"which supposedly reduces cell skin damage.. more on that later perhaps.

3. Soliel Beauty, Face Defence Matte Fluid SPF 30 & 50, Tesco €5.52 for 50mls

Again, one I hadn't come across before so I spent quite a bit of time checking it out. I is a tinted cream which put me off a little and had quite a strong cocoa type smell to it. I was keen as it was a specifically designed face fluid and also was labelled as being matte. Unfortunately I found this not to be the case however with it feeling sticky, heavy and greasy on my skin!

The Images: 

Cien Sun Packaging:

 

Cien Sun Swatch in natural daylight (blob on left and blended in on right):

Lacura Suncare Packaging:

Lacura Suncare swatch in natural daylight (blob on left and blended in on right):

Soleil Beauty Packaging:

 Soleil beauty Swatch:

Soleil Beauty blended in natural daylight:

The Sciencey Bit:

Well most of us are well aware of the dangers of the sun to some degree and also familiar  with the terms UVA and UVB. However, I'll bet most of us don't know the difference between each and why it is essential that our suncream protects against both. UVA and UVB rays both damage collagen with UVB damaging it at a much slower rate than UVA rays. This can cause premature aging of the skin (and hence why I recommend a nice high factor on your face daily once the weather turns nice). Again both kinds of rays also destroy vitamin A in the skin which prevents wrinkles. UVB rays can cause direct DNA damage potentially causing cancer while UVA rays do not directly cause DNA damage.

SPF:

SPF is an indication of how well the cream blocks UVB rays. The higher the rating the longer you can stay in the sun before burning dependant of course on your skin complexion. SPF however does not offer protection against UVA rays and as a result many many sun creams neglect this aspect completely and therefore are not wholly effective. SPF ratings go from 10 - 50+ (50+ usually indicating a factor of 60) in the UK and Ireland and from 10 - 30+ in Australia.

UVA Star Rating:

This was created by/for Boots in 1992 as an indicator of protection against UVA rays, Boots therefore own the rights to this and allow other brands to use it for a nominal fee. The rating is a simple 1-5 stars measure with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest level of protection. In 2004 this rating became the standard method used in UK and Ireland. Last Summer however Boots dramatically decided to ban low price competitor brands from carrying this rating making it hard to know if they do provide UVA protection at all. Boots still allow a number of higher end more expensive brands carry this rating.

The Conclusion:

1. Cien Sun, SPF 20,  Lidl. 

Well this has been a long running favourite of mine. As I mentioned above it may perhaps be a wee bit heavy for your face depending on skin type. This SPF 20 seems lighter than the SPF 30 I had last year however so I am unsure if they have changed the consistency or if its richer in higher SPF creams.... Either way for €2.99 & €3.99 its works a charm and if not for your face is grand and handy for the handbag for arms and legs etc. It has a pleasant summery sun cream smell without being overpowering or irritating on the skin. It has a note on top saying "Balanced UVA/UVB protection" which to me indicates it probably has a decent star rating that it's not allowed show!!

 

2. Lacura Suncare, Anti-Skin Ageing SPF 30, Aldi 

I'm really impressed with the consistency of this product and as you can see (or not as is the case) it has blended down well on my hand leaving no shine at all. It feels nice and light on the skin again with no heavy fragrance beyond the normal suncream scent. The "Anti-Ageing" claim kind of winds me up as effectively any UVB and UVA block is anti-ageing so I feel this is a wee bit cheeky! I cannot find any additional information online or on the product about the "DNA-SOLAR-COMPLEX" the packaging mentions however. This surprisingly carries the UVA Star rating and its a full 5 stars so all in all a great product for your face and neck. My only issue is the ridiculously oversized and clunky packaging. If I could put this product in the Lidl Cien style tube I'd be delighted. I dislike pumps anyway but this one is particularly large and clunky. I'm probably going to decant some into a travel sized pot for my make up bag.

3. Soliel Beauty, Face Defence Matte Fluid SPF 30 & 50, Tesco 

Another tube which I love so despite the slightly cheap looking design I was tempted to investigate further. I was a bit surprised when I noticed it was a tinted cream which I wasn't too keen on but tried it none the less. It looks really light but actually felt really greasy and slimy on my skin. It was the least matte of the 3 despite its mattifying claims. This put me off as it appeared very shiny and also looked a bit orange on my skin. It does carry a high SPF though and also says "UVA high protection"  so again one is left wondering at the actual protection due to Boots competitive tactics.  Unfortunately though regardless of the level of protection this one is not a runner at all for me - I dislike it completely!