GHD Review

Just before Christmas my old hair straighteners decided it was time to quit on me... Which resulted in a quick spree of online shopping and investing in some new ones.

At the recommendation of my friend I decided to check out some GhDs, she had some and was always raving about how good they were. So I decided it was time to invest in some, and I must say I am really impressed. 

The design 

When you first get the straighteners they come in a neatly packed box which is quite good for storing them. 

The straighteners themselves are really thin is design which makes them easier to hold and really easy to store. 

The product 

One little feature of them that I actually really like and find useful is the fact that when you plug them in and turn them on they beep when they are hot and ready for you to use. 

They also heat up really quickly, which is a really good thing for straighteners because we don't want to be spending forever waiting for them to heat up so you could use them. 

The result 

          Before                                      After                   

My hair in its natural state can be a horrific mess, as I have really long, thick, and wavy. So it's just awful and to tame it a good pair of straighteners is needed 

Normally when I straighten my hair I have a major issue of static and turns into a giant frizz ball; it also usually takes hours to do. 

However because they heat up so quickly and have a really smooth finish to the flat irons it doesn't put any static in my hair, and leaves my hair feeling smooth and thin. 

Price 

Depending on what particular hair straighteners you go for and where you get them from the price varies. I got mine from the GhD website during the Black Friday sales, so I got them for £80 they should have been about £100 I believe. So compared to a lot of straighteners that are out there they are quiet pricey but in my opinion they are worth the price because of the quality.   

So overall I would highly recommend that if you have the chance I would invest in some as they are really good, and are by far my favourite pair of hair straighteners.  

10 Quick and Easy Hairstyles For Long Hair

As I have really long hair there aren`t that many hairstyles out there that really work for my hair, either because my hairs too long and it just doesn`t work, or because the weight of my hair means it wont hold. These are some of the styles that I find work with long hair......


Plait-

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. Gather all your hair into a loose clear elastic band (you don't have to do this step I just sometimes find it helps) 
3. Separate your hair into 3 equal pieces  
4. To plait the hair take the left section of hair and wrap it over the middle section, the take the right section of hair and wrap it over the middle piece of hair. Keep doing this until you reach nearly the end of your hair  
5. Secure the end with a hair bobble  

High Ponytail-

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. Back comb the top of the hair to give it a little more volume 
3. Gather all of your hair at your desired height, and secure it tightly with a hair bobble
4. Take a thin strand of hair only a couple of cm thick, then wrap it around the hair bobble and secure it by either tucking it in the bobble or using a small grip.
5. Depending on how you want it to look, you could straighten it, or curl it, or just leave it natural. 

Fishtail Plait-

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. I find that this style tends to work better with straight hair, so I tend to quickly run the straighteners through my hair just to tame it.
3. Gather your hair into a clear elastic band near the bottom of your head. (Don`t have to do this step, I just find that it makes it easier to braid.)
4. Separate your hair into two equal pieces, take a strand of hair from the outside of the left piece and bring it over to back of the right section  ensuring that you pull it tightly. The take a piece from the right side and bring it over to the left side.
5.  Repeat this process until braid is complete. Once finished secure end with a hair bobble and remove the clear plastic one if you have used on.

Knot Bun-

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. Gather your hair in a bobble
3. Tightly twist the ponytail ensure that you`ve got all of your hair in it
4. Wrap the twist around the bobble at the top of your head.
5. Secure it with either a bobble or grips 

I`ve done  a full post on this one in a little more detail a while back which I shall leave the link to here 

Half Up/Half Down-

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. Gather the top layer of your hair in your hand separating it from the rest. 
3. I usually back comb this slightly to add a little volume 
4. There are three ways I usually wear this look, I either secure the hair back in a simple ponytail, or a bun, or sometimes just a small little clip to hold it in place.
5. Style the rest of your hair, I either curl, straighten or just leave it in its natural mess. 

Twisted Fringe Pin Back

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. Gather your fringe at the front, separate from the rest of your hair
3. Separate your fringe into two equal parts
4. Take the left piece of hair and twist is tightly, then wrap it around the left side of your head and grip it at the back. Then twist the right piece of hair, then wrap it around the right side of your head and secure it with a grip. 
5. Spray a little hairspray just to secure everything in place

Fan Bun

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. Pull your hair into a high ponytail, on the last twist of the hair bobble pull out the hair slightly to create a loop at the top
3. Twist the end of your pony tail and then bring it all together at the top of your head where you have created the loop
4. Using your other hand pull your hair through the loop you created and then fan your hair over it to hide the rest of your hair.
5. Secure the ends of fan with a couple of grips, then either use some of your hair or other accessories to cover the hair bobble.

Doughnut Bun

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. Pull your hair into a pony tail
3. Pull the ponytail through the hole in your doughnut
4. Spread your hair out to cover the doughnut, then secure it in place using a hair bobble.
5. Take the rest of your hair and wrap it around the base of the doughnut to hide all of the bobbles and neaten it up, use grips to secure everything in place and spray with hairspray. 

Hair Band Wrap

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. Take a headband and place it on top of your hair 
3. Take a 1" thick strand of hair from the left side of your hair and roll it up into the headband, Pulling it tight and letting the ends stick out
4. Combine the ends of the previous piece of hair with another strand of hair and repeat
5. Once everything is tucked in spray with hairspray to help secure it in place 

Twisted Ponytail

1. Comb through the hair to remove any knots and tangles
2. Gather your hair in a pony tail at the back of your head (this style works better with a low ponytail)
3. Pull the hair bobble back from your head creating a gap between your head and the bobble.
4. Twist the pony tail through the gap ensuring you pull it all the way through
5. Use hair grips to secure it in place

So those are some of them, if you have any more please leave a comment below and let me know, I realised some of the photos are actually kind of crappy which makes it difficult for you to see some of the styles (sorry). If you liked this weeks post let me know, do you want to see more of these posts? what things would you like to see posts about?

Stupid Colds!

At the minute everyone in my house is full of colds and thanks to my crappy immune system it eventually all caught up with me. Beginning the most annoying week so far. 

I hate having colds, they are so annoying,  just make you feel crappy, and just forget the concept of looking attractive as there're nothing attractive in a runny nose and a stupid cough. 

As I don't really have the time to be ill with so much going on I decided to take to the Internet and asked people that I knew how to get rid of a cold, these are some of the things I found. 

so I decided to hibernate through
this one

1. Rest Up 

This is just one of the simple things that you are going to have to do, so go grab a massive jumper and wrap yourself in a blanket and just hibernate until it's over. 

2. Hot Shower/Bath 

The heat from the water will help you relax and stop your muscles from aching. Also the steam from the water will help to unblock your nose and help you breathe a little better. Just the act of getting clean will help you feel less icky as well.  

3. Vicks VapoRub 

This stuff to me is a God sent when I have a cold because everything becomes blocked and it gets hard to breathe. So just run a little on your chest, or if it's really bad just mix a teaspoon into hot water and just inhale and let the steam work its magic. 

4. Tissues, Tissues and More Tissues

Probably going to need a lot of this because you are likely to through a lot of them, because by the time the colds in full swing sneezing is a definite. I also have a weird thing were I don't just sneeze once, I sneeze like 5 times in a row every time. 

5. Cold Medicine 

Literally everyone you can buy, I particularly use Buttercup cough syrup which tastes absolutely disgusting but it works. Also if it gets really bad I go for Night Nurse the calpol one because I can't deal with tablets and this stuff works like a dream. 

So those are some of the little things that I have tried to get rid of my cold and they are working! I'd love to hear some of the things you guys do to get rid of colds because I don't have the time to deal with them so any suggestions you have I am open to them.... Please help... 

Casual Makeup

To go with last week`s post about casual formal wear I decided to write one about my casual everyday make up that I wear when I'm at work, or any other setting that's is somewhat formal without being over the top. This is a rather simple and straightforward look that I've created with mainly drugstore makeup brands. 

Cleansing wipe- Before I start anything I use a cleansing wipe and just clean my face, the reason I do this is just to make sure that I have nothing left on my face before, because sometimes you can get stubborn little bits of make up that are somehow still there. 

Moistures/ primer- I do this before beginning any makeup just to prepare my face before adding everything to it. It also helps give a better base for the make up and helps with the staying power of it. 

Face 

 Foundation- at the minute I am currently using the Revlon colour stay foundation in the shade light, I really like this foundation it gives a good coverage and helps to tone down the redness of my cheeks. Also I love the lightweight feel when you apply. 

Concealer- I like to add a bit more coverage in certain areas so I add some concealer on the top. I use the Maybelline eye roller for underneath my eyes, I have it in the shade light to try and brighten up my eyes more and make me look awake. Then I use the Rimmel Wake Me Up to just cover any stubborn blemishes that haven't been covered by the foundation. 

Powder- to set the foundation and concealer I give it a quick sweep over with Collections pressed powder in the shade translucent, mainly focusing on my T-zone where my skin gets oily and underneath my eyes to set my concealer a little better. I use my revolution F104 Brush to apply the powder.

Bronzer- as I have terribly pale skin and it's winter I like to do a very light brush of bronzer all over my face just to add a touch of colour. For this part I use the Avon. Bronzing pearls, still using the same Brush. 

Contour- I then go in with the Revolution contour kit. Applying bronzer to below the cheek bone and my jaw line to add some shape to my face. I set some of the blusher on my cheeks, and a little bit of highlighter across my forehead and the front of my nose. I like to use the Real Technique contour brush for this part as it`s really fluffy and helps to blend out the makeup really well. 

Eyes

Primer- first off before I do anything to my eyes I apply a primer, there are a lot of different primers out there, I am currently using the Revolution Fix and Focus primer. It just helps with brightening up my eyes as they are really dark so the primers gives it more of a neutral base for the eye shadows to work on. Also it helps to increase the staying power for the eye shadows. 

Eye shadows- for a casual look I tend to stick more to neutral kind of colours. The eye pallet I use a lot lately is the Collections Nude Bronze Palate. The first shade I apply is Mink and using the E101 Revolution brush I apply this all over my eye lid. Then I take the shade Ivory and apply it just above this and into the fold of the eye. In the corners I like to add Ochre Which is more of a gold shade which just helps to add a little more to the look. I then take the E103 Revolution brush and blend it all in wars to the corner of my eye. I like to use the E103 Brush to blend as it`s just so much easier to use. 

Mascara- to finish off my eyes I add a thin coating of mascara, the one that I like to use at the minute is the cover girls Lash Blast Volume Mascara. I'm not really sure where I got this from, as it's an American brand and I'm not entirely sure it's available over here in the UK, at least not in any of the shops that I have been to. 

Lips: 

Lipstick- I don't really have a set lip product for this look, I usually just base it off whatever works with what I am wearing, or what I feel like wearing. At the minute I'm enjoying using the Rimmel moisturising renew in the shade vintage pink. This is one that I bought a while ago and I just really like the colour. This is also a moisturising lipstick, so it works amazing in this weather as with winter my lips always dry and get chapped, but since wearing this that has not happened yet and my lips just feel soft and hydrated with it.

Casual Formal Wear

Casual formal is something that I tend to find rather difficult to put together at times, the main reason for that being that to me casual and formal are two complete polar opposite styles. 

So I decided to spend some time trying to compose an outfit that I would be able to get away with at work as well as it being suitable to wear to a family party. As I was faced with the dilemma of having to work, then travel back to a surprise party, in order for it to be a surprise I had to make sure I was then on time, which meant that I had no time to go home and change. 

Top
To keep a formal appearance for work I went with a fashion button down shirt, which was somewhat transparent so I decided to wear a basic vest top underneath. This shirt was smart enough for me to be able to wear it to work, and dress enough for me to wear to the party. The particular shirt that I had opted to wear was one that I had picked up from Primark, I have it in a berry red colour which is edged off by white cuffs and collar. The gold buttons that it has given it a bit more of a dresser appearance. 

Jeans 
To pair with the shirt and edge more on the side of casual I picked a pair of dark grey ripped skinny jeans that I picked up from New Look. I love wearing these jeans, the fit it amazing, normally with skinny jeans I have the issue of them either fitting in the waist but not the leg or vice versa. Also the rips in the jeans help it to create more of a formal appears, while the near finish of the fit make a clean appearance and more of a formal look. 

Shoes
To finish the outfit off I just simple pairs it all with a pair of plain black pumps. You can literally pick a pair of these up in almost any shop that sells shoes for really cheap. I got mine from New Look for £5. They are just simple practical shoes that are just so comfy to wear, which is mainly what I was bothered about as I was going to be in them all day. 

Bag
I was contemplating taking a clutch bad to keep all of my essentials in, as I'm not really a fan of taking big bags out with me. But then I couldn't be bothered to carry two bags as I would need a bigger bag to carry my stuff for work in. So instead I went with a small brown handbag that I bought from River Island, as it with bigger enough to carry everything. The bag has 3 different compartments, it has two smaller sections in the front and back, then just the main part. It also has two different straps so you have the option of either carrying it with the short straps as a handbag, or you can attach the longer straps to put it on your shoulder. 

Make up 
The make up look that I wear as a casual thing, particular for things like work etc. will be part of the blog post that I will publish next Sunday! 

So that is my attempt at creating a smart causal look that is acceptable for a number of different occasions. In my opinion it went down pretty well, you can also dress something as simple as this up by wearing a different shirt and adding a few accessories to it. This is a common style choice that for me is coming up a lot, what are some of the things that you like to wear for a casual formal occasion?