Update: My Ombre Hair

As I posted a few months ago, I got my hair ombred (Is that the grammatically correct word?) and I did promise to follow up with a blog post - whoops! Well here it finally is. 

I went to the hairdressers with no idea what to expect as I had never dyed my hair before, let alone bleached it. I was wanting my hair to be bleached so it was gradually getting lighter in a gradient until the ends were blonde. My hairdresser suggested that an idea to make my style less hassle would be to dye the underneath of my hair blonde to the roots so that I wouldn't have to have the bleaching perfectly symmetrical. As I wear my hair straight most of the time it would look silly if the ombre started at different points on each side of my hair. I agreed and decided that dying the underneath of my hair would be the best option. The underneath of my hair from the top of my ears and below is bleached blonde.

Not good lighting so looks greeny - I promise it isn't.

I use the Lee Stafford Bleach Blondes shampoo and conditioner once a week to stop the blonde going brassy, it works by washing a purple tone through the hair to counteract any yellowness- but be careful leaving it on too long as it can stain. The shampoo and conditioner cost £6.39 and are available here [x]

I love the effect and I am planning on getting my hair bleached again just before summer to brighten it up again. 

I have found my Holy Grail Foundation - (and it isn't even foundation) Dr Jart Regenerating BB cream (Silver)

I am now going to talk about another chance encounter that has become my make-up bag staple. I was in boots a few months ago wandering the aisles when I stumbled across the Dr Jart stand, I have only ever tried one BB cream and I was not impressed- it didn't match my skin tone to start with! I had been suffering with a terrible break out and was at my wits end trying different foundations and concealers to cover up my blemishes, I was desperate as my skin type had also been thrown off with me getting some unsightly dry patches too. So when I read the blurb of the Dr Jart Regenerating BB cream I was easily bowled over and it was £7 off so I trotted off to the till with my purchase.

The cream claims to be an alcohol free moisturiser with sunscreen (SPF 30) that promotes cell regeneration and covers redness and spots. Boots says 'This Dr Jart+ BB Cream provides strong coverage for redness and spots which won't rub off as easily as traditional cosmetics. Skin will look brighter, whilst still suitable for problem and sensitive skin.' 

The formula is very thick so you do not need much, however when blended skin shows through and a natural finish is obtained. Redness is neutralised and imperfections appear blurred rather than covered which reminds me of the saying 'less is more' spots look much worse caked in make-up as you just draw attention to them. I feel like my skin can breathe and that the BB cream is actually doing some good for my skin instead of just clogging pores to cover blemishes (a vicious circle). I have noticed a huge improvement in my skins appearance and have for the first time in my life received compliments for my skin!

The only downsides to this product I can think of is the shade range which is limited to one colour that is pale enough for my lighter than most foundations skin (The product was designed for the Korean market originally) and the price which is £21 normally from boots.  

As I write this post the price on the Boots website is down to £14 (£7 off) so excuse me whilst I go and stock up!! Buy it here [x]

My Kitty, Soxie (Photo heavy post)

You may or may not be interested - and if cats are not your thing this is not the post for you but I thought I would share with you some pictures of my cutie Soxie. She is 7 years old and I have had her since she was about 2 months. I chose her from a litter of new kittens at my uncles farm as she reminded me of my old cat.

When she was little she was very timid and used to hid behind the cupboards and come out in the dead of night for food when the coast was clear but slowly she has become the most outgoing member of our family. She is still timid with strangers but has not once to this day scratched or bitten anyone. 

You can see her eye here

Posing

Can see her eye here too

Christmas!

Revising with me

In her short life she has already had a few calamities, at our old house she was unfortunately run over. Her back leg was crushed and she now has no feeling in it also her hip was dislocated, the vet said that looking at her injuries she was dragged along by the car as her claws were worn down and she had shattered her jaw from knocking it on the ground! When she was born her ball and joint sockets were not deep enough so after this accident she had to have an operation to prevent her from easily dislocating her hips again.

She has also somehow managed to pierce her eyeball - either through fighting or catching it on a branch. She had to have another operation and had two buttons sewn above her eye to keep her third eyelid sewn over whilst it healed. Thankfully she can still see sufficiently with the eye although the pupil is distorted.

She means so much to me, she always seems to know when I am feeling low and need some company and she seems to understand (I am not mental okay!!) Anyway I just wanted to make this post to share how much she means to me and for my own memories!

Urban Decay - All nighter setting spray review.

Now I have never really been sold on the idea of using a spray to set your make-up, all that hard work blending etc. just to spray water (with impressive promises) onto your face. 
Surely it just makes your make-up melt? and then claiming it does the total polar opposite and sets my make-up for up to 16 hours! I have got to see this...

A few weeks ago I made a beauty purchase from Debenhams online and when it arrived I was surprised to find a 15ml tester of the Urban Decay All nighter setting spray. I had done a bit of research on the spray before the tester arrived after stumbling across the spray and had decided that £19.50 for some glorified water was too extreme (even for me). 

BUUTTT...

I have since used this everyday after applying my base make-up (Not using primer) and I am sold. It really does leave my make-up looking the same as it did when I left for school in the morning until I get home after a hard day - I know that isn't the full 16 hours but still very impressive considering I lean on my hands trying to not fall asleep all day (usually rubbing my make-up off in the process). Another impressive feature is that when the spray dries your skin feels exactly the same, no tightness or residue.

I will definitely be repurchasing this as I cannot even begin to think of anything that sets my make-up half as well with so little effort.