Toni & Guy Nourish Reconstruction Mask

You know when you impulse buy a product on a whim, well this was one of those. Naturally, I had ran out of my usual leave-in conditioner and needed a new one to replace it. I'm not quite sure what made me pick up this one, but it was a pretty good choice. 

I really don't get on with Toni & Guy shampoos and conditioners but they're styling products are pretty spot on, plus they're affordable too (and cheaper than some other haircare products that are no where near as impressive). The Nourish Reconstruction Mask, however, was really pleasant to use. Made with a deep conditioning formula, it provides advanced repair and replenishment for distressed hair, and after years of colour and heat damage, my hair needs all the help it can get. 

The Toni & Guy Nourish Reconstruction Mask is applied to freshly shampooed, damp hair and left for between 3-5 minutes before rinsing out. By leaving it in for longer than your average conditioner, it deeply penetrates the hair follicles to repair and replenish any lost moisture. I have been using it for the last couple of weeks and have definitely noticed a difference. 

Apart from its conditioning properties, the one thing that really sells this product to me is the smell. You know that smell that you only get from visiting the hairdressers? Well this hair mask has that.

If you're looking for a hair repair mask that intensely nourishes, then I would certainly recommend this one. It's affordable, at £6.29/200ml, and will last a considerable amount of time too. 

The Toni & Guy Nourish Reconstruction Mask is available from most drug stores, but you can also purchase from www.toniandguy.com. 

Dear eighteen-year-old me

So, A Level results haven’t long been announced which led me to think about what might have been going through my mind at the tender age of eighteen (most probably boys, fashion and partying – oh what a hard life I lived) and after reading Lauren Conrad’s letter, it spurred me on to write my own…

Never have any fear

There’s no doubt about it that being a teenager is tough but always try and remember to never have any fear, especially when it comes to starting university. University is a daunting process – you will leave family and friends behind – but cherish the time, the memories and the friendships that you make – these will last a lifetime. Make time to travel too as the world has so much to offer and there is so much to see outside of that small town you live in. But one of the biggest things of all – never worry about what people think of you. Those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter.

Parents know best

Despite thinking that dad knows nothing, trust me when I tell you that he knows everything and more. A problem shared is a problem halved and dad is pretty darn good at halving them. But don’t listen to him when he tells you that your hand will fall off if you wear a hair bobble around your wrist. Eight years later and both hands are still intact!

Always remove your make up before bedtime

Rolling in at 4am should never be an excuse not to remove your make up, despite how drunk or tired you are. Do it religiously now and you will reap the rewards later on. Stick with cleansing, toning and moisturising just like you did at sixteen – but don’t forget to exfoliate too. The same goes for SPF. As much as you think that using a low factor sun cream will give you a glowing tan, it won’t protect your fair English skin. Take time to look after it, you only get one chance.

So there goes, what advice would you give to your eighteen-year-old self if you had the opportunity? Leave your links below!

Four years blogging: My top ten

(Image credit)

I can't believe that I have been blogging for nearly four years!

I first started this blog back in 2010. It was my way of expressing how I felt about beauty products aimed at women my own age. At the time I was writing for a national magazine aimed at women over sixty and although I had access to the latest beauty products, I never had the opportunity to write about them and express my own personal opinion, that was until I set up this blog.

You may be thinking, four years is a long time and you don’t have many followers, well I never started this blog to have ‘followers’. I enjoyed writing for me and although it was great to see that my posts were being read, I never actively promoted it.

So as a celebration of four years, I decided to give you a run down of my favourite top ten posts that I have written over the years:

1: Bare Minerals Prime Time Brightening Primer

Reading back over my early blog posts, I often wrote in non-biased way – I tried not to give too much of an opinion, which as a blogger is key. But I put this down to my journalistic background. However, I have chosen this post because this is where my love for Bare Minerals began and I was totally won over by their fantastic products that I still use them today.

2: Bad beauty habits

I chose to put this in my top ten because it was a really different blog post for me. I often don’t like to write about myself but I actually really enjoyed it in the end. It was interesting to see that I had quite a few bad beauty habits and I loved being able to share them with you all.

3: Garnier 2-in-1 Pure Active Spot Roll-On

The Garnier 2-in-1 Pure Active Spot Roll-On is an odd blog post for me to pick. When I look back over the post, I really dislike it. The images are dreadful and I don’t really delve into too much detail. However, this is my second most read post on my blog so I felt that it deserved a place in my top ten.

4: Bare Minerals Skincare

Again, my love for Bare Minerals grows and they really smashed it out of the park with their first skincare range. I absolutely loved reviewing these products and I actually went on to re-purchase the Pure Transformation Night Treatment.

5: What’s in my handbag

My very first ‘what’s in my...’ and still one of my favourite type of posts to write. I love looking at what other bloggers store in their handbags – it makes me realise that I’m not the only person who carries a lot of crap around with them!

6: My holiday saviour

This post was named ‘My holiday saviour’ because it actually was! I’m quite fair-skinned and can burn quite easily, especially on delicate areas like my nose and ears, so this product came in super handy on a previous trip to Egypt. I still have this product and won’t go anywhere in summer without it.

7: Nail decals

This was a really exciting blog post to write because it was a slight challenge getting the decals to work. If I remember right, it took me quite a few goes to finally get them spot on, and I was so impressed with the outcome. In fact, it has spurred me on to try them again!

8: The Mascara Monologues: An introduction

The Mascara Monologues was an idea that stemmed back when I was writing for living. After speaking to the girls I was working with at the time, we all agreed that we had never come across a mascara that we truly loved. So as a sub-section to the blog, The Mascara Monologues was born.

9: No More White Bits

This is an odd choice to place in my top ten, but the reason is because is that it is actually my most read post to date. Every month I get hit upon hit and I’m never sure why. Maybe a lot of people Google ‘no more white bits’, who knows, but this one is actually about a fake tan brand.

10: The best beauty products for blemishes

I chose to include this post in my top ten because it is includes one of my favourite images that I have ever taken. My lovely boyfriend bought me a new camera for Christmas and I couldn’t wait to give it go and show off the new images on my blog!

I would love to see your top ten posts, leave your links below!

Grey is the new black

Firstly I want to apologise for using the stock image – I had the worst time trying to photograph this product. In fact, I didn’t even get as far as photographing it because I managed to smash it all over my kitchen floor, sending grey paint flying everywhere. I did, however, manage to get a sneaky shot of my nails after I had painted them. Apologies again for the lighting, it was taken just before bedtime and I wasn’t planning on using this photo at all.

Despite my mishap I still wanted to share this product with you because I absolutely adore the colour grey. I love how versatile it is and how it allows you to tone it down for daytime chic as well as mixing it up for night time glam. Either way the colour grey is hot and looks even hotter on nails too.

Maybelline’s Colour Show nail polish in Cool Touch is fantastic for wearing day and night. It has a slight blue-grey tone to it, neither looking too dark or light and will suit any skin tone too. After two coats it is fully opaque and it has a pretty good shelf life. It is safe to say that this colour has certainly made its way onto my list of summer shades, despite now having to repurchase again because of my clumsiness!

I bought Maybelline Colour Show nail polish in Cool Touch for £2.99/7ml from Boots.

Can you recommend any other grey colours that I should add to my collection? Leave your comments below!