New hair, Garnier Color and Shine in Chocolate

Hello!

I hope you are well.  I dyed my hair again last weekend after a long period of leaving it to grow naturally.  I hadn't dyed it for so long because of a really bad episode of eczema that had affected a few parts of my body including my scalp so any potential irritants were off the menu big time!
My skin has been calm again for a few months now and I was feeling really dowdy with my natural hair colour (quite a pale sort of mousy brown).  I decided it was time to use another semi permanent dye to give my hair some vibrancy again.
I chose the shade Chocolate 5.35 from the Garnier Color and Shine range.  I've used this range before and really liked the results but never used this particular shade.

I did an allergy test as you always should 48 hours before and all was fine so I went ahead and let my personal colourist (fiancé) do the dyeing.
The result was quite a bit lighter than I had expected.  I wanted a warm brown but it was a bit more warm red brown.  I usually go for quite a red colour dye so didn't mind the red in the colour and feel that it warms up my face.

 These photos were taken almost immediately after my hair was dried and I hadn't even properly brushed it yet.  I'm very pleased with the results.  The difference is actually quite natural and subtle but I can really notice it when I look in the mirror and I feel like I look much fresher.  I like semi permanent dye as I don't feel like it's as damaging as long as I don't do it too often and I still feel that my hair retains some of the colour for quite a while.

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Hair tales

Hi there!

How are you?  I've been busy performing and resting the past few days so I haven't been blogging much.  When I last posted about what I had been using on my hair it was all about hair repair.  I'd been investing in masks and oils to try to help my over long straggly hair which was always breaking like crazy.
Just before Christmas I got my hair cut and told the hairdresser to cut off as much as she felt it needed to be healthy.  A lot was cut.  The difference though was amazing!  My hair felt so much healthier, soft and strong.  Since then I haven't even been feeling like I needed to use any products other than shampoo and conditioner.
Before it was cut I bought the Macadamia Natural Oil No Tangle Styler Brush.  I've been wanting to try one of these Tangle teaser style brushes for ages and this one came with a few Macadamia product samples which I also really wanted to test out.  I only used it a couple of times before I got my hair cut but I definitely felt it was better for my distressed hair than my normal brush.

One of the samples that came with it was this Healing Oil Treatment which I don't really feel my hair needs now but I've used a couple of times after washing anyway.  It smells nice and my hair feels soft.  I'd have to test it out when my hair is feeling more damaged though to know how effective it really is as a healing treatment!  I also received the deep repair hair mask as a sample but haven't tried it out yet.

It's got really really cold here, minus 24 degrees celcius this morning! Brrrr.  My neck has begun to seize up accordingly.  Right now I've got a wheat pack around it which one of my dancing partners recommended I should try to do more often even when it's not stiff.  I've only ever used it before as a treatment, not as a preventative measure but it seems like a really good idea.  I've got it on before my neck gets really bad and it seems to be helping!
Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Hair repair products for a grey autumn day of rest

Hello

How has your weekend been?  I've been resting resting resting.   Trying so hard to feel healthy again.  I started my morning off with a probiotic drink and some tea.  Actually I started off my morning with a lie-in which already made me feel much better.  Then after some tea I stared at my computer for a while before I decided that a hot bath would be the next thing to do to make me feel rested.

I snuck some Body Shop Shea Butter bubble bath in to the water and decided it was time to take care of my hair.  I've been getting really irritated with my knotted hair which seems to be falling out all over the place and generally not in the best condition.  I decided to use all my hair products which I've purchased recently especially with hair repair in mind.

I bought the L'oreal extraordinary hair oil a while ago and just haven't really got into using it yet.  Actually I was a bit put off by the mixed online reviews I read that said it could be drying if used too often and that it has alcohol in it which is drying?  I decided to give it a go today to find out for myself and put a couple of drops in my hair before shampooing and left it on for ten minutes or so.  I quite like the feel and smell of this product but I think next time I might try a more expensive hair oil with purer ingredients?

Then I shampooed my hair with the Schwarzkopf Gliss Kur shampoo which I bought because it was on offer and didn't have any parabens in it.  I was also attracted to the fact it had keratin in it.  It's not my favourite formula to use as I'm not keen on the smell but it cleans my hair just fine.  Normally I go for the Garnier colour protect shampoo which feels very moisturising but as this one was cheaper I thought I would give it a go.

Then I used the Garnier Fructis Goodbye Damage hair mask which you only need to leave on for 3 minutes which is nice as I get impatient if I have to leave anything on for longer than 5!  I bought the shampoo version of this not long ago and was impressed with it and how my hair felt afterwards.  It says it's for 'very damaged, lifeless hair' which is exactly what mine feels like. I also bought this because it seemed like good value for money and I had run out of a more expensive hair mask I had but money is a bit tight lately!

Once I had washed it all out and towel dried my hair I squirted lots of the Garnier fructis nutri repair 3 oils leave in conditioner and rubbed it in a bit with my hands.

I let my hair dry naturally for as long as possible until we were going to go out (for coffee and sushi!) and then I used my hair dryer from as far away from my hair as possible to avoid heat damage.

Overall my hair does feel in better condition and I'm not sure which product exactly has made the difference.  Maybe it was the l'oreal hair oil as that is one that I really haven't been using recently.  Normally I use just one conditioning product at a time so maybe I need to do a hair pampering session where I use everything more frequently.  My hair doesn't feel amazing yet but hopefully it will get there as there is definitely a difference.  It actually smells really nice too.

I will let you know how I get on in the future with these hair products!

I was also inspired take photos of my eye make up today.  I used the gold shadow from my Too Faced palette so you can see what it looks like on .  It's quite an autumnal shade.

A very easy to wear shade of gold I think.  These pictures were taken a few hours after application so I think the shadow held up pretty well!  I hadn't used any primer so it really was the shadow all on it's own.  I also used my Maybelline Gel eyeliner and my Bourjous Beauty Full Volume mascara which I reviewed ages ago and since then has become my favourite.  Other than that I went pretty natural except for some Clinique blusher which I think had worn off by the time I took these photos!  Oh and I had also used some Art Deco Perfect Teint Concealer for under my eyes and the inner corner.  I bought this very recently and am liking it quite a lot.

I hope you're having a nice autumn day.  I'm thinking of baking some banana bread (again!) and maybe this time I'll go crazy and add some cinnamon or something, ooooo!  If you enjoyed this post please subscribe to my blog using one of the links in the right side bar of my blog.  I'd love to hear from you too if you have any tips for repairing stressed out hair!

Till next time :)  Stay rested and warm

Twirlybirdie x