How To: Style Short Hair

 HI THERE ! Want to know how to recreate this messy mop? Read on! 

Last week I went to the hair dresser and got more than a couple of inches cut off, I wasn't exactly Rapunzel or anything, my hair was just below the shoulder but to us girls even an inch of hair from the "split ends" can be traumatic (why is it so hard to part with it?). I know I definitely leave that trip to the hair dressers to the very last minute, when my hair just takes the form of a monster on my head and no hair straightener, serum, brush, clips and bits can rule the beast. Okay I think I might by slightly over doing it here, but when my hair gets that unruly and stubborn, I do tend to talk about it as if another creature stuck to my head. The day before I went to the hair dresser I started to slightly panic as I didn't know what I wanted. I started looking for photos to bring with me, as my francais isn't exactly fluent, I wasn't taking any risks! Here's what I found and thought, to hell with it, chop the beast off!

I brought this photo in with me to the hairdresser from the latest edition of Glamour magazine, love the super cute heart dress too, unfortunately it doesn't come with the hair cut *sigh*. Although the model in this photo is stunningly beautiful, I think this hair cut would suit a lot of people. If your hair has a natural kink and you're looking for something easy to maintain, then I think this could be for you too. I love how this hair cut is just to the jawline as it really shows of the neck in a pretty, feminine way. I also love how long earrings get showed off a little more too with this cut. It's a win win situation.

More onto the point though, how to style this look? well it's super easy! If your into big hair with lots of volume then look no further.

At the moment my hair routine consists of the Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly shampoo and conditioner and after the shower I put in a large pump of the L'oreal Kérastase Elixir Ultime serum (that's a mouthful!) that my sister gave me to try out (it smells beautiful and leaves hair soft but not weighed down, thanks Anna!). And then I only half blow dry my hair, leaving it a little to dry naturally.

I then use my Remington hair straighteners to put a loose curl in my hair, they are so old now but they get the job done, so I can't complain! I work my way from the very back to the front pieces of hair throughout each layer.

I always curl my hair in layers, it's a lot easier to do as I always miss pieces of hair in the back if I don't. I lightly spray my hair with the Toni & Guy Firm Hold hairspray as I do each layer, making sure the curl doesn't drop too much along the way. 

When I'm finished curling all of my hair I gently pull my fingers through, teasing the curls apart to give a more natural wave. Finally I rub the roots of my hair with my fingers to give extra volume and give a final spritz of hairspray.

I normally would just leave my hair like this, leaving those wavy curls bouncy and wild, but for more of a sophisticated look I like to twist a little piece of my hair from the front, on the side where my fringe doesn't fall and pin it back with a clip, like the flower one below.

I don' know why I'm stretching my neck out like a giraffe, but I told you guys I can't pose!

Gotta love a blurry photo! never know what the iphone shots are gonna give ya.

And there we go, that's my how to style short hair! Let me know if you guys find this helpful in anyway or if you have any suggestions for me on how you style your short hair, I love reading all your lovely comments :) Also if you have any hair products you think I should try out, please tell me! I'm always up for new things to try.

See you soon beauties! 

Frizzy Hair? Don't Dispair! John Frieda has the answer

Hello there Madames et Monsieurs!

I'm kicking my bum back into gear today and jumping onto the frizzy hair bandwagon. Say hello to Frizz-Ease Extra Strength Formula by the man himself, John Frieda. 

Before I go on about this little beaut of product I'll tell you a little about my hair type and you can see if this is for you. I have thiiick hair, and a lot of it, it's just to my shoulders but it's not easy to manage. I have naturally very curly/frizzy short hair around my hairline and the nape of my neck, which never grows more than a few inches (genetics ey!). This is something every hair dresser I've been to likes to point out "you have very short hair here don't you!?" Mhmm, lady I know. So these are the main parts which I have to tackle after a shampoo and condition.

John Friedas Extra Strength Hair Serum has helped me on my mission to fight the frizz for a loooong time now (as in years), so it deserves an honourable mention on my blog. This is a go to hair product for me and dare I say, Holy Grail? This serum is said to block frizz, instantly replenish coarse, wiry frizzy hair into more polished and shiny locks. It contains a UV filter and is a blend of silicones infused with Algar extract and Silk protein to leave dry hair soft and healthy so it's more easy to manage. Amen to that! 

I like to apply this straight after I get out of the shower, I pump a large pea sized amount onto the tips of my fingers, rub them together and then pull my fingers through my wet hair starting with the problem areas. I then usually blow dry my hair and when it's about half way dry I stop and leave it to finish drying naturally. I literally can't count how many bottles of this stuff I have gone through, I'm currently halfway through this one and will, as always, go to repurchase once it's run out. I seriously panic once this starts to get low or if I forget it when I'm travelling because I know how much it helps my hair. I also use it after I've styled my hair with hair straighteners or anything thats dried out my hair. I take a small blob on my hands again and run it through the dry patches and ends of my hair for extra shine. I would highly recommend this product to anybody looking for a good serum and remedy for frizzy hair.

I also think it's a great price for how long it lasts, usually around the 7-8 euro mark, you can find it online here. So there you have it, we can now all go on our frizz free journey and thank Mr. Frieda for saving the day!

Do you have any hair treatments that you find work great to fight the frizz? Have you tried out this product and liked it? I'd love to hear from you ! x

See you soon! 

January Favourites !

Happy Saturday everyone! I'm going to do a January favourites for you today (after a long ponder and many swatches). I'm trying to get into the swing of blogging but every time I have an idea, I'm always having second thoughts if it's interesting for you guys. So I'm just throwing this January fav's out there and hope for the best! Also, I love monthly favourites on youtube, its a good round-up of products without tons of info. It's a good way to not forget products you love, by the time Christmas comes around again we could have forgotten the little pleasures we had from products throughout the year. Think I'll put it in my diary too. So, let's get this January party started!

Just a little side note, there is a lot here because a lot of things were Christmas presents. In my next monthlies it might just be a couple of new products that I've tried. I really hope you'll enjoy this post and maybe you'll get an idea of new things to try, enjoy!

Perfume- Lola by Marc Jacobs

Shampoo and Condioner- Dove Hair Therapy Nourishing Oil Care

Foundation- Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum 

Hand Cream- The Body Shop Wild Rose Hand Cream

Mascara- Lancome Hypnose Doll Eyes

Eyeliner- Maybelline Gel Liner

Eyeshadow- Maybelline Eye Studio Color Tattoo 24hr Cream Gel Shadow

Nail Varnish- OPI "my very first knockwurst"

Lip Stain/Balm- Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in "Crush"

Concealer- Healthy Mix Illuminating Brush Concealer

Blusher- Maybelline Blush Touch in No.05 Berry

Moisturiser- Bioterm Blue Therapy Cream 

Top to Bottom- 24hr Tattoo, Blush Touch, Just Bitten Kissable

The 24hr Color Tattoo shadow is absolutely gorgeous, I love the bronzy colour I bought because it's so versatile and easy to wear for an everyday look. Just sweep the product across your lid with your finger and it's that easy. It's also good as a base to intensify other colours in similar tones that you can apply over this gel shadow. I think it's a great little product that I've had a lot of use from. 

The Dream Touch Blush is my favourite blusher ever I think (so far). I'm just really into creamy products so I love the formula of this product. Again it's super easy to apply, no need for brushes so you can bring it on the go with you. Dab a little with your finger to wherever you like to have your blusher, may that be apples of cheeks or cheekbones to lift the face. A little goes a long way with this product, it could be very easy to go over board with it. Gently blend over cheeks with finger and your good to go. 

Revlon have won me over with this little beauty, the Just Bitten Kissable lip balm/stain. With its soft texture and super pigments I just think it's great value for money. Smells of mint so if you don't like minty tastes this might not be for you. I like this product because even after a long time of the beautiful deep red, wine colour, it turns into a soft pink colour so your lips aren't left total bare after it wears off.  This stain could be the centre of attraction with your make-up look, with a subtle eye and bold lips, or you could go wild with both eyes and lips for a gorgeous evening look. 

These products look great worn together by the way!

Biotherm Blue Therapy Face Cream (age defying)

So I know I'm only 21 and shouldn't need anti wrinkle creams yet, but this product was a freebie from my boyfriends job so why not give it a whirl?! Although I do have laughter lines under my eyes because in general I have quite puffy eyes. So this product is perfect for that! It smells like a dream, to me it smells of fresh cucumber. Its texture is just like rubbing heaven on your face. Absorbs quickly and leave face feeling soft and pampered. I don't use it everyday because I want to prolong the experience. I use my usual light Nivea day cream in those days. This is definitely a win!

Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Liner (and brush)

Here we're onto the magical eyeliner that is by maybelline. Going to keep this one short and sweet. It's amazingly easy to use for total eyeliner novices like me. It's super black, doesn't smudge during the whole day and comes with this handy brush to apply! Et Voila, what more could you want from your eyeliner.

Lancome Hypnose Doll Lashes

I have to say I've never tried a higher end mascara before, I'm a drug store kinda-gal, but I really do love this! It gives the appearance of long, vollumised lashes without clumping. It's great at separting the lashes and gives a wide-eyed effect. The major plus for this mascara is the brush. It's just pefect for those tricky inner corners of the lashes and those fiddly bottom lashes too. The only con is that it does have some dropout under the eyes after hours of wear. But I'm still yet to find a mascara that doesnt do that. The packaging its gorgeous and I just can't say enough good thing about this one!

The Body Shop Wild Rose SPF 15

So it came to that time of year again where my hands were in desperate need of some relief. With the cold snowy weather I needed something quick, so off to the body shop I went! I found a three pack of hand creams so gave one to my grandma and one to my boyfriends maman, and kept this gorgeous rose scented one for myself. As you can see this product has quite a dent in it because I couldn't get enough of it. I'm not the moisturising type usually, I'm just far too lazy. But the smell of this hand cream just made me reach for it a lot. As the name says it's wild rose scented and it's beautiful. In those cold winter days, smelling this hand cream reminded me of spring and summer when roses start to bloom and it was just a great pick me up. Highly recommend! Looks like a cute little paint tube as well.

OPI "My very first Knockwurst"

This could possibly be my favourite OPI nail varnish ever. The colour is just my cup of tea. Subtle pink grey in colour and so flattering against the skin. I love how this nail varnish makes my hands and nails look. It's just one of those colours that make hands look so dainty and elegant (and I am not blessed with those hands naturally) so yes, it's my fav polish ever ever ever !

Lola Marc Jacobs

This perfume is just a perfect scent to me, I'm just addicted to Lola by Marc Jacobs and I think Lola is such a cute name too. I am really no good at describing scents but as the bottle would suggest it is a floral scent. But to be more specific I looked on the Marc Jacobs website to get the exact magic formula of scents that made this perfume. 

Top notes: pink peppercorn, pear, ruby red grapefruit

Mid notes: peony, rose, geranium 

Base notes: vanilla, tonka bean, musk

So if those smells tickle your fancy why not try it out ! And I've also spritzed some of Marc Jacobs other perfumes at counters before and they're amazing too.

Dove Nourishing Oil Shampoo and Conditioner

Not going to say much about this because shampoo and conditioners aren't the most exciting of things to talk about really. But I had to put it in the post because I really loved it this month. It's as it says, nourishing! I have really dry hair naturally and even more from dying it a few months back. I'm never happy with shampoos and conditioners normally, but for a drug store one this is pretty good. After one use my hair felt so much better, softer and easier to manage, must be those oils in it they're talking about! 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum 

Bourjois Healthy Mix Illuminating Concealer Brush

I love Bourjois. I love the name, products, packaging, they're formula's, I just love Bourjois. So it's no surprise I love these two products. Even though this is in the January favourites, the Foundation has been a favourite since it appeared in supermarkets and drug stores. It's so nice to wear, it just feels like you have nothing on your face but has a really nice coverage. It's a satin finish so just need to powder the centre of the face and leave those cheeks looking gorgeous and luminous. 

The healthy mix concealer its just perfect for those under eye circles, for me in doesn't completely eliminate them, but definitely makes a big difference. The amount you want to disperse is really controllable with the twisty end that pushes the product through the brush. And that brush is really practical too. Both these products have natural goodness in them, so you could say it's an "au naturel" look if people say you have a beautiful glow. Who needs to know? ;) 

Thanks for making your way through this very long post, I hope you enjoyed it. I loved reviewing these for you. If you've tried any of these I'd love to hear your feeling about them too! And I'd love some recommendations if you have any. See you again soon!

Katie xox