Review: Burt's Bees Citrus Facial Scrub

I was very reluctant to use this, I can't think why..it's not like I had a million scrubs to get through first..I finally manned up and decided to use it..that was a few weeks ago.

The packaging (as per usual) deserves a mention.  This is the first facial scrub I've used which comes in a glass tub..which I think is a double edged sword.  The glass is not good for butterfingers like me but the tub is brilliant because you get to use every last grain.

The scrub itself is in a solid form.  Scooping it out is not a problem, it's quite soft and it doesn't really stick under your nails.  You just scoop out "one fingers worth" ( whatever comes out on the tip of one finger).  It doesn't say how much you need so there is a bit of guesswork involved but it takes about two or three turns to figure out how much is right for your skin.

I can't put my finger on what it smells like but I know I've smelt it before.  It's like spicy warm oranges with an earthy goodnes..but definitely not soily.  It's a very comforting smell, not synthetic at all.

It mixes very easily with water in your palm and the scrubby grains start rolling out so you can feel them.  They don't feel very harsh at all, they're like little round pods with a slight edge..

It's easy to transfer them over to your face and have a good clean.  The scrubbies are quite large so you can see and feel them rolling over your skin, the scrub isn't harsh at all.  Talking of that, I think I've come to a realisation..harsh scrubs don't work for me anymore.  I've noticed that the more gentle ones do leave my skin clean and they leave some moisture behind and that is what you want. 

This scrub left me with clean, soft skin and I think it would work well for most people with the same skin type as mine.  I'd go as far as to say that this actually left my skin glowing..which is something that is hard to achieve with combination skin without looking like you're actually oilier than when you started out.  

Retail price varies, mine was £3.50, I don't think it still costs the same but you can buy it from here.

The Swatch Files: Stila Noire palette

This is another palette that I tend to use a fair bit.  Stila isn't available "in the flesh" in the UK anymore but you can buy it from many discount makeup stores online.  Just Google Stila and they will come up.

The colours are pigmented and they're easy to blend.  I know the swatches do not show a great deal of pigment but they come up very nicely on my eyelids and can be worn for about three hours sans primer.

They're not chalky and they're not crumbly either.

The packaging is what I like about this, it's very travel friendly.  There is a magnet in the cover which makes sure that when you close it, it stays closed.  I just chuck it into my makeup bag and I'm off.

Review: Origins Clear Improvement Mask

I have never found the one mud/clay mask that I like.  I used to like Superdrug's own one but after a while that made me itch like mad.  I had the Liz Earle one and that didn't really do anything.  It didn't cause me any adverse reaction but it didn't do me any good, either.

I bought this when I reeling from the pain of John Lewis not having my ice cream maker in stock.

I told the SA's that I wanted a mud mask that dried properly on my skin so that I felt it had some benefit.  They assured me it would.

I asked whether it would peel and they told me it wouldn't, but that it would come off without you having to put more water on.  That is my major gripe with some mud masks, they don't dry properly and you have to put water on the get them off.  They should just flake off with a face brush..

Anyway, I traipsed off home deciding that I would use it in the evening.

I didn't..mainly because X Factor was on and I left my bag downstairs and couldn't be bothered to go back down and get it.

I have used it about 5 times since I've had it and without any bias towards the brand at all, I can wholeheartedly say that this is the mask I wanted.

It dries rock solid..I use it when I'm wearing my lens and it stays on me for about 30 minutes or so.  You can leave it on for less time but 30 minutes works best for me.

The colour changes as it dries so can look in the mirror and know when you can start removing it.  When I remove it, it comes away easily with the aid of a face brush.

This photograph was taken when I'd used it a few times and it still looks pretty full.  I use a thin layer and that works really well.

When it's off, it leaves my skin physically looking radiant and very clean.  I never expected a mask like this would do that.  My skin feels soft and I don't feel the need to use a toner to get rid of any residue as there isn't any.

Some mud masks smell a bit funny but this has no tangible smell to it..I also find that the Superdrug one can be a bit watery..this is not like that. 

It retails for £17.00 and can be bought from here.

Which mud/clay masks do you swear by? Are there any decent High Street ones out there?

Mel B on a beauty blog?

Yes, this is a post about Mel B, but not as you know her..

When I first got this eyeshadow, I couldn't see why the SA had chosen it for me.  It practically blended right into my lid and I could see no difference.

I chucked it into the back of my makeup drawer and there it rested for a long long time..

It only came out a few months ago as I was doing a massive makeup sort-out..I used it a few times and then realised it was my MEL B shade, the "my eye lid (but) better" shade.

My lids are not the same colour as the skin around my eyes, they have always been darker and this has always been a source of frustration for me.  I always wanted to do a neat eyeliner flick on a flawless eye but it never worked as I didn't realise that most of the models sporting this look were wearing an eyeshadow.

It photographed with a hint of shimmer because my I'd used my Natural High eye cream beforehand.

This photograph does the colour no justice as in real life, it blends in seamlessly.  I've used it practically non-stop since coming to that realisation and there is now a massive dip and I'm sure I will be hitting pan very soon.  It's surprisingly pigmented for a No7 shadow, very nice and smooth and applies like butter.

It is pretty similar in colour and consistency to Illegal by Urban Decay, the only difference being that Illegal is a bit pinker but I still make it work.

I know that Boots have stopped making this shade as I can't find it and this pains me but Urban Decay thankfully show no signs of d/c'ing it.

The Swatch Files: 17 Solo Eyeshadows

Pigmented, smooth and to top it all off..they don't cost the earth.

The swatches for Mardi Gras and Walnut Pearl look like I've overdone the flash but this is how they came out when I took them by a window with no flash.

Superstar and Socialite are glitter eyeshadows but I'm pleased to say that the glitter isn't chunky and itchy, it's apparent but not too in your face.

I find that Walnut Pearl makes a great everyday eyeshadow for those with a darker skintone.

They're currently on 3 for 2 at Boots.

How to get perfect curls

ETA: My hair is naturally curly and this is how I get my curls looking perfect.  If you have straight hair and are looking to curl it, I can't help, sorry!

This is my own tried and tested method and it has never failed me, regardless of however many different shampoos I use.

When I go on my massive bouts of "no straightener use", I do this procedure about once a week.  When I do straighten my hair, I do it about once a month.

Here's what you do:

Make sure your hair is dry and in need of a wash.

Whack on some clothes that you don't mind getting dirty..my current attire is a Dangermouse t-shirt.

Pick up a few hair clips (I use a mixture of these and these, which by the way, are really good.  They don't pull at your hair or anything..and they last ages, I've had mine for about 3 years now).

The mixture is a result of trial and error.  It has worked for me for the past three years.  Quarter a tub of Tresemme Moisture Rich Treatment and three quarters a tub of Boots Ingredients Camomile and Lemon Balm Intensive Hair Mask..  I have done some experimentations with this and you can substitute the Tresemme deep conditioner for any other in their range but the Boots conditioner I use works best.  It's best if the mixture is more yellow than white.

Get a glob in your hand and smooth it through your hair.  Comb your hair with your fingers and then with a comb.  As I'm a hard nut, I go straight to the finer toothed part of the comb.  The first few times I did this, I did use the thicker part first and then the thinner part to get rid of any leftover knots.  You can feel the mixture smoothing your hair as you go.

Your hand will hurt a bit. That fleshy part of the palm always starts to wimp out but I keep it together.

I find that the knots are worse on the ends and at the nape of the neck so I pin up what I've already sorted through and then add more conditioner there and work through it.  This is why you need the clips.  It is messy work!

Do this to both sides.

Pin up all your hair, you will look stupid so it's best to do it at a time when nobody will call.  What this time is, I don't know because I've always been interrupted whilst looking this sexy:

Leave it on for as long as you wish, I find that 20 minutes is enough but when I want to give my hair a real treat, I leave it on for a lot longer (it's been 2 hours today).  There's no funky smell or anything and you can go about your (at home) business as you please.

Then comes the washing off part.  Now, you've had a deep conditioner on your head for the best part of either 20 minutes or a lot longer.  A normal shampoo won't cut it.  You need a good clarifying shampoo, I tend to use this:

This is quite hard to find sometimes so I do also use this one by Pantene.  

Wash your hair using the clarifying shampoo.

You need no other shampoo.

Let your hair dry naturally and this is what you will have:

This photo has only been edited to add my text, my curls are as smooth as they look in the pic when I follow this method.

They stay this way until you wash them again..

TIGI Urban Antidotes 2

Urban Antidotes is a new range brought out by TIGI and it aims to help those who dye their hair and use heat on it.  It comes in three types:

• Type 1 is for those who don't dye their hair and don't really use any heat on it.
• Type 2 is for those who dye their hair and use a little bit of heat.
• Type 3 is for those who dye and beat their hair with heat.

I don't dye my hair.  I used to, but now I don't.

However, I still batter it with the heat implements so I knew this shampoo could do something for me.

These are not SLS free.  TIGI do have ranges which are SLS free (the Love, Peace and the Planet range) so they do cater to those who are looking for an SLS free alternative.

I tried my best to capture the colour of these tubes in the photo but I failed, they're like an electric turquoise colour.  They both smell really nice too, I knew straight away what the smell was, Opal Fruits!

I had to use the shampoo in the same way that I use an SLS free shampoo (make sure my hands and hair were really wet as otherwise it applied quite dry) but it did clean my hair.  My hair felt nice and bouncy after using it.  The conditioner was used in the standard conditioner way (whack it on, wait a bit, wash it off).

Both products lead me to have the kind of curls I have always dreamt of from a shampoo.  Bouncy, full of life and NO FRIZZ.  NO.FRIZZ!!

I finally have a simple haircare routine that gave me effortless curls.  I slept with my hair out like I usually do, woke up and my hair was still not frizzy! I didn't have to put a serum on or anything.

You can buy them from here.

EOTD: I got love for you if you were born in the 80's..

I've always read that blue eyeshadow belongs in the 80's and that you have to work very hard with pink eyeshadow to ensure that you don't look like you've been crying or have conjunctivitis.

I was convinced that this wouldn't happen to me when I tried this look.  I wanted to see if I could make pink and blue eyeshadow work with my minimal skills and on my skintone..and I think I did OK.

This duo is my blogger profile pic.  It was one of the first pics I ever took when I was learning how to use my camera and figure out depth of field.  My mum had it way before I was born (1984) and I'm both pleased and a bit shocked that it still works now, more than 26 years on.  The colours are smooth and not at all chalky.

I used to love the Stila shimmer as a highlight back when I was uneducated on what a proper highlight should do, now I can't think why I ever loved it.  It's chalky and a nightmare to blend.

Now that I think I've understood how to blend, I'm going to start being more adventurous and start using more than two colours.

I've also learnt that because my eyelids are semi hooded, I don't need to take the crease colour onto the lid, I just blend it along the crease and it works best that way. As this look took a bit more "prep" that the others I've recently done, I'll tell you how I did it.

• Get a MAC 239 brush and cover the brush in the pink eyeshadow.  My brush looked like the hairs were pink, not white.
• Take the Stila highlight and apply it under the arch of your brow and blend with fingers or a brush.
• Pad the pink colour all over the lid but concentrate colour towards the inner corner and middle lid.
• Blend it out with a standard blender.
• Get a crease brush (Models Own works best for my lids) and apply the blue in the crease and towards the inner eye.
• Carry on blending that in until there are no harsh lines.
• Clean the standard blender brush on a tissue and then blend the outer corner shades together so the blue is mixed with the pink and gives you a purpley colour.
• Take another contour brush (I find Revlon's one works well for this) and dab it into the highlighter.  Dab this on the inner corner of your eye and blend upwards and around your eye shape with your finger.
• Take a pencil brush and move the colour around under your lower lashline.
• Apply a black eyeliner pencil to the lower waterline.
• Apply mascara.
• DONE!

The quest for a matte black eyeshadow

I've recently started using a black shadow in my crease because I've noticed how flat just using one shadow to work makes my eyes look.

I add a bit of black just on the edge of the crease and it gives my eye a shape which I am more than happy with.

However, I need a matte shadow to do this with.  I have been using one shadow (which isn't matte) so much that it has now hit pan and I have a reason (not an excuse!) to buy a matte shadow.  I thought that this shadow was matte, it looks matte in the pan but when you swatch it, you.see.glitter.

I have another shadow by Stila which is also black but even in the pan, you can see massive glittery bits in it.  That's fine for times when I want to vamp it but not even I can go to work looking like I've channelled my inner Kim Kardashian.

I've tweeted about this and have had suggestions which vary from NYX to Beverley Knight..I'm a bit iffy about these as I want to be able to swatch the shadow first and NYX don't sell openly here and BK..well, I'm not too sure what is going on with that brand.


This is where you guys come in, which black matte shadows do you swear by?  What are your experiences with black matte shadows? Are they usually pigmented or should I just settle for a shadow with a little shimmer because a good matte black shadow doesn't exist? 

Help me!!!!!

Barry M Instant Nail Effects

Here's something I bet you haven't come across on any other blog before (!)

I'm not usually the kind of person who gives into blogging hype, you didn't see me rushing out to order the Urban Decay Alice in Wonderland palette, you didn't see me rushing out to buy Chanel's Paradoxal and you sure are hell didn't see me rushing out to find myself a bottle of Chanel's Jade nail polish.

But then something comes along that not even I, a girl who bites her nails, can resist.

This is the product in question:

Yes, the Barry M Instant Nail Effects nail polish.  A polish which has taken the blogging world by storm.  I found out about this little marvel either early last week or late the week before.

I didn't want it as soon as I saw it..then I saw Yinka post about, then I saw a million and one other people do the same.

The lust for it grew..and grew.

Normally, the more I see something saturated on blogs, the less I want it.  The opposite happened to me this time.

So, I scoured all the Superdrugs and Boots near me and couldn't find it..

Then I took a trip to Primark in Hounslow. There is also a Primark in Watford which is nearer to where my parents live but my mum prefers the Hounslow one because she knows she can get me to take her to Rockys afterwards.  If you're not from West London, you won't know what Rockys is.  If you are from West London and you don't know what Rockys is, (like my man B.I. says) get to know.

Anyway, there is a Boots near this Primark and it is a little gem of a store.  Whenever something LE comes out and can't be found anywhere, you can bet your bollocks to a barn dance (can you tell I've been watching Snatch?) they'll have it.  They had the Coke nail polishes long after they were released with Coke, they had copious amounts of Barry M's mushroom polish and yesterday, they had about five of these left.

I practically ran into the shop and grasped it as fast as I could.  My mum couldn't understand why I was so enamoured with the bottle, especially when I can't stop biting my nails.

You may also have noticed that I was asking on Twitter about matte black eyeshadows. Well, my plan was to buy the polish, swatch for shadows.  In my excitement to buy the damn thing, I totally forgot about shadow swatching.

I was itching to try it last night but I couldn't because certain people have sensitive noses and complain about "fumes".  So, I rushed home from work today and whacked it on my nail..

Two coats of George @ ASDA Ultra violet and then the Instant Nail Effects gives me what you see above.  The nail in question is currently being grown, hence it's less than stately stature.

When you first apply INE, it turns matte.  After a few hours it has a shine to it and it really comes to life.  Also, in the video on the Barry M site (click here to see it) the polish applies as a full coat of black and then starts to change.  Mine started to change before I'd finished the nail.  That's not a big point in itself but it just shows that you don't have to wait around for ages and wait for it to dry.

Review: A Perfect World for Eyes by Origins

I went to John Lewis a few weeks ago on a mission to buy an ice cream maker, a mission that went horribly wrong as they were out of stock (boo!)

Instead, I picked up some pegs and a clay mask by Origins.  Origins currently have a GWP (gift with purchase) offer on whereby you buy any skincare product and you get three sample sized items for free.  Whilst we are on the GWP issue, I don't understand why most brands make you buy two products before you get the free gifts, that always grinds my gears for some reason because I feel that the SA's always try and push extra products on you because they know women can't resist "free" makeup.

I have been using the mask sporadically (a review is to follow) but one thing I've been using since I obtained the mask is this eye cream: A Perfect World for Eyes.

I am in love with this baby.

This is a very generous sized sample which is obviously a good thing, don't you hate it when people give you samples of products and there's not enough in there for you to use and determine whether or not it will work? This happened to me at LUSH, the guy gave me a sample of the 9-5 cleanser which would make Ebenezer Scrooge look like William H Gates.  Seriously, I wasn't asking for the world, just an amount of cleanser which would actually be able to be used for more than a day.  And I did buy something, I didn't go in there trying to score some free LUSH.

Anyway, back to this eye cream.  It is quite thick compared to all the eye creams I have used in the past (read reviews here, here and here).  I think the thickness might be key in what makes it work faster.  I have never seen results this quickly before.  I use it in the morning and in the evening but I have done that with every other eye cream I've had and none has delivered results this quickly.

It is meant to be a firming eye cream but I feel it goes beyond firming.  My under eye area feels firmer, smoother and I am sure it has lightened the area up too as I find myself using less concealer.  I must point out that I thankfully don't have dark under eye circles like a lot of Indian people have.  The area is a tiiiny bit darker but you can't tell..the only way I found out was by staring at my face in pictures.  I can go without concealer, I only wear it because it peps up the shape of my eye.

The cream is very easy to blend in and doesn't settle into the lines under my eye.  That's another thing actually, I feel that it has made some of the lines appear not as deep as they were before which is always to be welcomed.  One thing I forgot to mention before, you only need to use a tiny bit at a time.  If you use too much, it will blend in nicely but towards the end of the day it will start to peel off and you don't want that.  Just use a tiny (less than pea sized) amount and you're good to go.

I've nearly finished the sample and when I do, I'm going to buy the full sized version of this.

If you want to buy the full sized version or want to buy something else and get a sample, you can check out the range of products online here.

EOTD: Quality Street

I was adamant to get the best pigmentation from this look so I took a belt and braces approach by doing the following:

This is what I used to creat the look:

This is the final look:

I love how vibrant the purple and green came out, I was spoilt for choice re. which colours to use as they are all really nice but this colour combo was my favourite.  I've only really seen EOTD's where people use a dark colour in the crease and a lighter/brighter colour on the lid..I wanted to try it the other way and I think it went ok.

For those of you don't know why I called this look what I did, this is why.

The Swatch Files: Stila Kajal Eyeliner in Amethyst

On my waterline, it comes out lilacy but when I put it on my lids, it comes out as a darker purple.

Sorry for the crappy photo of the pencil, I had a better photo which Picasa has conveniently lost.

To get a darker colour on you waterline, I suggest warming the pencil up by rubbing it on the back of your hand.

Re. how long the pencil lasts, I've noticed the following:

• It lasts all day on the waterline, it is creamy when you apply it but it sticks around for ages, doesn't smudge or anything.
• If you have brown eyes, it's a really good work-safe colour to use as from a distance, it looks brown but it accentuates your eyes
• I have been using this on a weekly basis for more than a year and I've only had to sharpen it very recently

The New Skincare Routine

Did anyone see The Inbetweeners this week when they went to "Waterside?"

Well that place is actuallly called The Chimes and it was built when I started sixth form and I had my first "proper" retail job in there; good old H&M..which has just recently been refurbished and looks TERRIBLE.  It was nice and bright in there before but now they've brought the ceiling right down and it's really cramped.

All three products here were also bought from that very shopping centre.

The Boots (which was featured behind Will and Simon discussing their cinema plans) is the place where me and the Skin Tonic first started our fleeting romance *sob sob*.

I'm more than convinced that it has been discontinued now because when I went to check the two shelf places where it usually is, there were other products there.

My mixture toner stopped working for me so I decided to buy a new one as I use a toner to get rid of the City grime that builds up on my face during the day.

I've worked it into my skincare routine and I'm quite pleased with how well these three products work together.

I find that the toner removes the grime but leaves my skin feeling moisturised.  I prefer it to this toner as it makes my skin feel plumped up and tingly clean.  I apply the toner both in the morning and the evening.  In the mornings I follow it with the Garnier eye roll on and then the Mattifying Lotion.  I find it easier to use the eye roll on first as otherwise you get a milky deposit around your eyes and you have to remove it with a tissue.

The roll on has finished and I'm testing out a cream at the moment but the roll on is idiot proof (hence the love) and you can moisturise on up without tugging at the skin.

In other news, it's recently turned a lot colder so I've taken to camouflaging myself whilst in bed so that I can score an extra few minutes, do you think it's working?

What's your current skincare regime? Any tips for us combo ladies? Do you try and camouflage in bed during the winter in the vain hope that you will get an extra five minutes?

The Swatch Files: Little Glow Cheek

I avoid Primark's own brand makeup like the plague, especially after the lipgloss caused my lips to combust and the body brush shredded worse than a snake.

I've heard good things about this particular range which is also sold by Primark.  I think it's high end Primark makeup..if ever there was an award for oxymoron of the year, that would in the top three..

All the products from this range are puns on familiar sayings, it took my slow behind a while to figure out what Little Glow Cheek was parodying but I finally got it.  They could have gone for the jugular like Soap and Glory and just called it something in the same vein as Glowjob but nobody wants to get on the bad side of copyright law and not everyone is as filthy minded as me..

I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth and pigmented it was.  I think it's about £2 something but this was in impulse buy (near the tills) and I didn't pay full RRP for it.

Wear glasses and hate doing your eyebrows?

Get yourself a pair of these!

If I was a redhead, I'd be snapping these right up!

Products I regret buying

It's not often that I make a mistake (read: it's not often that I admit to making a mistake) but I had no choice with these products.

I've stolen this directly from Charlotte.

I've tried time and time again to make them work but they were having none of it.

I've gone for a different style or post today as I wanted to keep words to a minimum (as you can see, it's worked out well for the post so far, I've said next to nothing and already used up more than 50 words).

The following products illicit this reaction from me..

What are your makeup purchasing regrets?  Doesn't it just annoy you when products don't work? I do like to think that some effort goes into making these products but by the looks of the bunch I've written articulately about(!) it looks as if I may be wrong!

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Shahnaz Husain skincare

I was never going to even mention these on here until me and Halima started discussing them on Twitter.

Two out of the three were still in working condition, the third looked like this:

I told Simon about this and for some unfathomable reason, he didn't care.

I have used the Walnut Face and Body Scrub a fair few times and I think it's review worthy now..

It says it is a body and face scrub, I can't see it being very economical if used as a body scrub.  My body scrubs and their gargantuan tubs would laugh this tiddler all the way out of the bathroom.

I have combination skin (oily in the t zone, normal everywhere else) and getting a good facial scrub can be difficult.  You want a difference but you don't want over-stripping so your skin goes on a sebum producing frenzy.

This smells like lemons, not synthetic lemons, not lemons in a cheesecake but lemons like they squeeze on your rice in an Indian restaurant..which is something Indians never do at home.  It's a nice smell but all I have in the back of my head is "rice, rice, rice".

It fared very well on my face, I put a little bit on and smoothed it out, it spread very well over my face and allowed me to exfoliate in the way that I think is proper.  It was creamy, but not overly so.

The best thing about it was the fact that washing it off was easy.  A lot of the time I find that creamy scrubs are hard to properly wash off your face without getting a tiny bit annoyed.  This washed off brilliantly with no extra effort at all.

Every time I use it, I notice that my skin looks cleaner and my pores are clean.  It doesn't make me even oilier than when I started out and it makes my skin soft.  It also makes my hands soft which is something a facial scrub has never done before.

I don't know how much it retails for in the UK but I have seen it sold in some Tescos and it is definitely available in the Indian shops.  If you can't find one and want to try it, let me know and I'll be able to pick you one up, no trouble!

I currently only have a microdermabrasion scrub for my face so I'm going to buy the Shahnaz one and use them in conjunction, that's what I've been doing so far and my skin has really perked up.

Then we have this..

This is a Skin Nourishing Treatment.  I would only use this in the winter as when I used it during the summer, it made me oily.

I don't know how I feel about this.  It's a solidy "treatment" which has difficulty transforming into liquid when it's rubbed on your face.

I followed the directions and then decided to take it off with a muslin cloth.

It made my skin feel really soft..then ten minutes later it was really hot.  That passed and it went back to normal.

This didn't really do much for my skin so I'll give it a miss.

Thus, in conclusion..scrub - good, skin nourishing treatment - not impressed.

A Curly Haired Girl's experience with The Body Shop's SLS-free Range

My shampoo and conditioner history is somewhat chequered.

When I was younger, my mum used to just comb the curls out of my hair and use any standard shampoo on me..

Then the Pantene ads with the vitamin capsule came about and my brother decided he would re-enact the advert at home.  Whilst I was sleeping, he took a massive bunch of grapes from the kitchen and split them so the "vitamins" fell onto my hair.  My mum was not impressed.  Funnily enough, the defence of "I tried to give her hair more vitality", didn't hold much water with her.

This was how the first bottle of Pantene shampoo came into my household.  My dad was of the thinking that to prevent any more grape related hair casualties, he'd just buy the real thing and the wannabe coiffeur in the house could merrily use that..

Before Pantene, all we used was Pears..I remember getting it in my eye because I was convinced you could use it as a facewash.  What a seven year old needed a facewash for, I don't know.

Then came the day that I saw Frizz Ease in the shops.  I was about 14.  I remember buying the shampoo and being so excited because the photographs on the front showed me exactly the kind of hair I wanted.  I used it a few times and it gave me lovely curly hair.  I dried it as per usual and had my usual frizzy mop.   

It took me until I was 24 to find a shampoo which gave me effortless frizz-less hair.  And it was a Pound Shop marvel..

Then came SLS-free shampoos and conditioners.  I was never really interested in these as I had found my perfect shampoo.  Had the SLS free situation come around before I found my perfect shampoo, you beter believe that I'd be there, front of the queue buying up every SLS-free shampoo and conditioner going.

I got my first bottles of SLS-free shampoo and conditioner from The Body Shop bloggers event.  I have the variants for dry hair, I figure that if my hair washes slightly frizzy with plain water, it needs moisture as if there was enough moisture, it wouldn't frizz, right?

What have I learnt from using these?

• If you have curly hair, it will take you a while to see any improvement in your hair.  You need to use it for about four or five washes before you see a difference.

• If you want effortless curls after washing, this particular range will not satisfy you.

• Your curly hair will feel a bit dry after the first use but as time goes on, your hair feels softer and softer.  No visible shine.

• If you have curly hair and straighten it after using SLS-free shampoos and conditioners, you will see a difference straight away.  Your hair will be easier to straighten, the comb/brush will glide through and your hair will look fuller, shinier and bouncier.  It will also look healthier, my hair is in terrible state at the moment and this makes it look salon ready, even with my split ends.

• The shampoo is tricky to use.  If you apply it directly to wet hair, it applies like glue, it sticks to the roots.  The directions tell you that you need to mix it with water in your palm.  I find this can be tricky because if you add too much, the shampoo slides out of your hand and if you don't apply enough, it sticks in your hair.  I found a way to combat this, I get my hair and hands really wet, apply the shampoo to the roots and then blast them with the shower head.  Ta da!

• You need to use only a tiiiny bit of each, I used to overdo it with SLS shampoo but with these you only need a tiny bit.

• You won't see bubbles and tonnes of lather.  SLS is the lather maker and you know that old saying "where there's SLS, there's lather".  Don't keep adding more and more in the hope of seeing lather.  I only saw lather when I used way too much.  It feels a bit odd at first having a shampoo that doesn't lather, I think we're conditioned to believe that if shampoo doesn't lather, it's not working.

• The SLS-free conditioner seems to be more similar to the SLS conditioner than I thought it would be.  When I've mixed SLS-free shampoo with SLS conditioner, I've had the same results as if I use both SLS-free variants.

Do you use SLS-free shampoo and conditioner? Have you seen a difference? Let me know which ones you use as I think I'm going to make the switch now that I've used up a lot of my other shampoos and conditioners.

Product I buy again and again: Boots Essential Eye Make-up Remover Pads

I LOVE these.

They're a bit oily but I think that's better than them being too dry and you can always take the oil off with a tissue or cleansing wipe.

They cost about £1.50 and you get 40 pads in one container.

They last me about a month or so and considering the price, I would say they're more than worth it.

I don't get on with liquid removers and these pads remove everything, from pencil on my waterline to stubborn waterproof mascara.

They have never irritated me or given me any sort of adverse reaction.

I have been using them for a good few years now and although I may go to other products from time to time, I always come back to these.

In other news, you may have heard me going a bit mad on Twitter because I was unable to find the Boots No7 matte topcoat ANYWHERE. I looked in Boots of varying sizes and found it nowhere.  Then I turned to the refuge that is ebay and found that someone was selling it on there, I picked up a brand new bottle for the princely sum of £2.49.

I can't wait to try this over some glitter.  Do you think it will work over glitter? I have the sneaking suspicion that it might just go murky in the gaps between the glitter.  BUT!! I have a plan for that, I'm going to try it over Disco Mix by Models Own because that deepens as the days go on.  So, the plan is, whack on Disco Mix, wait a while and then add this topcoat and see what it does.