Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment Reveiw

I have wanted to try Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment for ages now, but never got around to trying it. I was kindly given this 10ml Sample from Hairtrade, which can be bought from their website for £3.40 (which is great if you want to try it out before committing to a larger size).

When I first tried it, I noticed two things. One, it was really runny but a thick consistency and two; the smell. It really reminded me of something and it was bugging me for a couple of days before I remembered. It smells exactly like a product I used years ago when I was 15 - Lee Stafford Poker Straight. Hair straighteners weren't really big 10 years ago so I used to load this on my hair instead and it didn't really work that great.

Back to Macadamia, I love it. This is one product that does deserve all the hype it gets. My hair looks and feels amazing, shiny and so much more manageable. You really do need to try this and see for yourself. I use it on damp hair and then a really small amount on my ends once my hair is dry.

The only con I can think of is that it does make my hair slightly more greasy and I need to wash it sooner than I would normally, but this is definitely a price I am willing to pay for shiny manageable hair.

Gem x

Big Sexy Hair What a Tease Back Comb In A Bottle Review

To find out what I thought of Big Sexy Hair Back Comb In A Bottle read on....

Lauren Goodger Dancing on Ice Inspired Hairstyle

When I was watching Lauren in Dancing on Ice (what a shame she went out on the first week), the first thing I noticed was how amazing her hair looked. I had a thought to try and recreate the look on my blog. Then I went on twitter and noticed that Immediate PR were looking for bloggers to recreate Lauren's hairstyle using OSIS+ products, which are actually the products that were used on Lauren's hair on the night. Of course I jumped at the chance and put myself forward, and luckily I was chosen to take part!

Now what I managed to create isn't exactly the same as Laurens, but it is close. Read on to see my version of the look.

Clynol Glow Precious Oil Review

The Snake Braid

I was browsing the net for hair ideas when I came across the 'Snake Braid'. It is really easy to create and gives a nice twist to a boring normal braid. All you do is plat the hair as normal, then when you come to the end of the braid take the two outer pieces while holding on to the middle piece and pull the two outer strands until you get a squashed braid. Then pull the braid back down and you will get the 'Snake Braid'

Have you ever tried this type of braid before? What do you think?

Gem x

Clynol Repair Revive Shampoo and Leave-in Instant Keratin Filler Reveiw

I'm going to start by giving you a little background on my hair type. I have thick, highlighted, shoulder length hair. I have been highlighting my hair every 5 months or so for 10 years and my hair is in pretty good condition considering, although it is a little dry on the ends. As my hair is so thick, it does tend to get a little frizzy, nothing major though, and it is difficult to style and keep in place without a ton of products. I wash my hair every other day and always use a conditioner.

Clynol are a brand I have only recently become aware of. They are a professional hair-care brand, created and shaped by stylists and is available in salons and on-line. I received the Repair shampoo* and Leave in Keratin Treatment* to review., which are part of the new Clynol Repair Range which has been formulated for dry, damaged hair. 

The first time I used the shampoo and treatment, skipping my usual conditioner as I wanted to test out the two products on their own. For my hair, without the addition of a conditioner the two products didn't give my hair enough moisture and left it feeling a little dry. I decided to try the two products along with my normal conditioner and I must say they worked much better. My hair was left feeling smooth and tamed and my ends felt less dry. Clynol do a conditioner in this range and I think I may have saw even better results with the Recovery conditioner. 

Revive Shampoo RRP £8.90
I like this shampoo. The packaging is very sleek and professional looking, completely what you would expect from a Salon professional brand. The smell is gorgeous, sweet and floral and it is the longest lasting scent I have experienced with a shampoo. Usually I wash my hair and the scent fades pretty much as soon as my hair is dry. With the Clynol Revive shampoo the scent lasted two days until I washed my hair again. I was walking along wondering who's perfume I could smell when I realised that it was my hair. The scent alone makes this product a winner for me. The shampoo used in conjunction with a conditioner leaves my hair feeling smooth and under control. Usually my hair is a little frizzy but this controlled it a lot used along with the Leave-in treatment. 

Leave-in Instant Keratin Filler RRP £10.15
This product contains liquid keratin, which is part of the basic structure of hair. It is meant to strengthen and reduce breakage by up to 95%. I cant comment on long term use of this product at the moment but from the short while I have been using it I really like it. Used in conjunction with the Shampoo and my usual conditioner this left my hair feeling really smooth. You apply this to towel dried hair after washing and on application I could feel a difference, it left my hair really soft and under control. Like the shampoo I absolutely love the smell of this product and it is very long lasting too which I like.

Overall
I really enjoyed using these two products and I could definitely feel a difference after the first use along with my usual conditioner. The scent of the product is a big plus for me as it is gorgeous and long lasting. Both products offer protection from heat and the damage caused by colouring hair, which I really need as my hair is coloured and I use heat styling tools on it often. I am going to continue to use both products to see whether long term they will give me the results. 

Gem x

Lauren Conrad Inspired Hair Using Silhouette (Competition Entry)

Imediate PR are holding a competition over on twitter, where a group of bloggers were sent three products from Schwarzkopfs new range of hair products designed for coloured hair. The range is called Sihouette and the products we were sent were the Colour Brilliance Strong Hold Hairspray, Mousse and Extreme Gloss Spray. With the products, we were challenged to recreate a celebrity hairstyle of our choice.

If I was given the choice to have any Celebrities hair, it would be Lauren Conrads. Her hair always looks amazing but still relaxed. So When I had to chose a celebrities hair to recreate, there was no doubt I would chose hers.

I chose this look in particular as it looks really glamorous with the volume at the top, but the loose curls make it look effortless. Although it does take a bit of effort, with the right tools it is quite an easy hairstyle to achieve.

Heres how I did it:

1. Before drying, use a golf ball sized amount (for thick long hair) of Silhouette Colour Brilliance Mousse. Dry then curl hair. I used  my Babyliss Curling Wand. Concentrate on the underneath of the hair as the top section will be pulled back.
2. To get a more relaxed curl, run fingers through hair, then spray with Silhouette Colour Brilliance strong Hold Hairspray.
3. Take a triangle section of hair from the back and backcomb. Spray the hair that has been backcombed with Silhouette Colour Brilliance Hairspray. Clip into place.
4. Smooth the top layer of hair over the backcombed section very gently, until you get somethibng like picture 4.Then take two sections of hair from either side and clip in place. Spray generously with Silhouette Hairspray. Then use Silhouette Colour Brilliance Extreme Gloss Spray to give a lovely finishing shine to the look.

It is really quite difficult to take pictures of your own hair. I think I may need to invest in a tripod. Here are a few more shots from different angles so you get more of an idea of the finished look: 

• Silhouette Colour Brilliance Strong Hold Hairspray - This hairspray has been especially formulated for coloured hair. It has a UV filter and helps to prevent colour fading. This is great for me as I colour my hair regularly and always find that my colour fades quite quickly. It is not at all sticky and holds the curls really well.
• Silhouette Colour Brilliance Mousse - I used this mousse after I had washed and towel dried my hair. I used a golf ball sized amount as I have very thick long hair.If you have thin shorter hair I would suggest using less than this. My hair was so much more under control after using this. I found it was much less frizzy and helped my hair curl nicely. The mousse also has a UV filter in it to help protect coloured hair.
• Silhouette Colour Brilliance Extreme Gloss Spray - No self respecting Celebrity would be seen without glossy shiny hair. My hair is not very shiny at all, so this product helped give a bit of a shine to my hair. It doesn't make it greasy at all, just gives a nice shine to the hair. 
• Babyliss Curling Wand - for the curls
• Normal Hairbrush (mines from Primark)
• Hair grips

I really love the way this hairstyle turned out. I wore it on a night out and it made me feel quite glamorous. My style lasted all night and the curls stayed put nicely, but brushed out easily at the end of the night. 

What do you think of my hairstyle? Have you entered the competition? If you have leave your link below, Id love to have a look.

Gem x