Garnier Nutrisse Hair Dye in Fiery Red 6.60 Review

As most of you know I have had Ombre hair for a while but I was really missing red hair, it’s what suits me best, I’m fiery and passionate and red hair just seems to work well with that.

I don’t have the sort of money to go to the hairdressers other than for trims so I always colour my hair at home, I’ve had my fair share of disasters but home kits do seem to be getting better and better. I picked this one up yesterday and done my patch test immediately so I’d be ready to colour this morning.

I was up bright and early to get it done. I selected Garnier Nutrisse in 6.60 (Fiery red) as I’ve used it before and the colours on the box indicated that both the blonde and the brown in my hair should come out the same sort of shade… in theory. I hoped for the best and it paid off.

The instructions are really easy to understand and the gloves are a better quality than most. I found the dye really easy to use on my own hair, I started with the roots and gradually went through the lengths of my hair. I massaged it in well and left it to develop for 35 minutes which is the maximum suggested time.

Being red, it took ages to rinse it all out but I got there in the end. The conditioner smells really good, quite sweet and left my hair feeling really soft. In fact my hair feels softer and shinier than it has in a while. I also got the John Frieda Colour shampoo for red hair to try to help keep the colour longer, I’ll let you know how that goes.

I was really pleased with the results, it did indeed come out even despite my risky move of dying straight over ombre hair. It sounds silly but I feel more ‘me’ with red hair. It’s like I become a superhero when I’m a red-head! Here’s the results! Sorry for the posy photo and sorry that most of you saw a similar one earlier in the day!

It was also really well priced, at around £6 from Superdrug. That saved me a fair bit than if I’d gone to the hairdressers instead. Really hoping it doesn’t fade out too quickly. I’ve been advised recently that sulphate-free shampoos are best to lock-in colour but seeing as I splashed out on the John Frieda I’ll use that this time and do a comparison when I next dye my hair!

If you have any other tips for keeping the colour longer please do let me know!

Fudge Urban Texturising Sea Salt Spray Review

Recently I reviewed Alterna Haircare – Bamboo Style Boho Waves Tousled Texture Mist and I mentioned in the post that it was quite expensive and I’d see if I could find a cheaper version. Since then I’ve been on a mission to just that and I’m pleased to say it’s MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Fudge Urban provides salon standard hair products on the high street, they do everything from matte hair max to volumnising powders, and all in fun, brightly coloured packaging.

I normally spend ages in the morning styling my hair but this provides a huge relief in that routine. This morning, I washed my hair, sprayed this in from mid-length to the ends and scrunched up. I left my hair to dry naturally. It battled well with the frizz and left me with beach-cool hair.

It also smells amazing, it has a delicious coconut scent that just reminds me of holidays. Every time the wind blows I get a whiff of my hair and it transports me back to sunny days even though I’m currently sat in the office with storms raging outside my window.

My hair feels light and it hasn’t caused a huge product build up in my hair like some products do. It can also be used to plump up your hair but applying it before blow-drying. I think I’ll stick to using it in wet hair as it’s so quick and I’m really happy with the result. This is definitely one to take to V Festival with me!

I was originally looking for a cheap alternative but instead I’ve found a new favourite! I’m so over dead straight hair and I’m happy to have a product that allows me to embrace my naturally wavy hair.

On the more technical side of things the unusual nozzle makes it really easy to apply accurately. After all you don’t want huge clumps and sections with nothing in. You also do not need a lot to create the look so I think it’ll probably last a while.

Try it: £6.99, www,superdrug.com (Currently on offer for £3.49)

Schwarzkopf – got2b Guardian Angel Heat Protection Spray

Reviewed by Tams

This product is one of my beauty heroes. I was forever being scolded at the hairdressers for damaging my hair via heat styling all the time. I have frizzy hair, I have no choice but to do something with it every day. Either that or I walk around looking like Cave Girl. That is the options. I’ve never found that heat protection sprays have been all that good and I’ve tried A LOT of them before finding this little friend.

It protects up to 200 degrees and is suitable for blow drying, straightening and curling. It also smells amazing. I’ve been using it for nearly 3 months now, in fact I’m almost all out and the condition of my hair has considerably improved. It also helps to hold my hair straight for longer, meaning I don’t have to do it so often.

My hair is also more manageable when I use this, which is every day now. I don’t think I’ll be trying any more for a while. Cheers to my new BFF.

Try it: £4.05, www.superdrug.com

Deep Action Anti-Blemish Gel

Recently I’ve been having more break-out’s than normal, I’m pretty sure it hormone related and there’s not a thing I can stop it happening. They just keep appearing out of nowhere. This anti-blemish gel from Superdrug has however been a little life-saver.

 

It’s anti-bacterial so it cleans the area around the blemish and drys it out so that it heals quicker. It boasts a 4-hour reduction in redness, perfect for when a dastardly spot appears the morning of a night out. It also contains known acne-fighting-ingredient,  salicylic acid. It totally catches that spot unawares and ninja’s it into submission.

 

It can be used under or over makeup and forms a layer around the affected area to stop it spreading or getting infected. I like a product that not only provides a solution but limits the damage too!

 

It’s also really affordable in comparison to similar products at just £2.59!

 

Signed, Concealed, Delivered

Reviewed by Tams

MUA Hide & Conceal Review

Last week I had an emergency situation whilst in town, yup you got it I had a volcano appear on my face and it looked horrendous!

I dashed into the chemist and picked up a 4-hour spot zapping gel but that wasn’t quick enough, I needed something that would hide it and cheap. There was no way I was doing the school run with this on my face… yes I can be a little dramatic when it comes to these things, but seriously it was bad!

I let out a huge sigh of relief when I spotted MUA’s latest offering.. Hide & Conceal concealer and it was only £1 too.. cheaper than chocolate! After making my purchase I nipped to the ladies room in costa to cover the volcano which had attached itself to my forehead. I was pleasantly surprised that it covered and blended easily and I walked out much more confidently than I went in.

This concealer also lasted really well, even through my repeated application of the spot gel, which by the way was amazing and I’ll review that tomorrow.  This product has been in my handbag ever since, never again will I have an SOS like that!

Try it: £1, www.muastore.co.uk

Find Naked Beauty on Facebook .. There is also a giveaway worth £33.50 over there at the moment!

B.Flawless Foundation Review

Reviewed by Tams

After seeing this foundation had won awards in a couple of magazines I had to try it for myself. I had never heard of B. before so had no idea what to expect.

After trying a few shades I selected Rose Ivory 020 as it seemed to be my best match. I was impressed with the range of shades available and they also had different foundations for every purpose, it was hard to think of a single person who wouldn’t find their perfect match among these lovelies!

It says to apply using fingers on the bottle but I always use a foundation brush so I just continued use as I normally would. It matched my skin perfectly and blended in for a flawless finish. It felt really light on my skin but had amazing coverage. It covered all my blemishes and dry spots without a problem.

This foundation also left me with a healthy glow without being shiny. It claims to last 16hours but I have never actually come across a foundation that lasts that long in this heat on me. It has managed a good 10 hours the last couple of days and on cooler days I’m sure it would reach 16 hours easily.

Even though it has a really good coverage my skin still looks like my skin which I love. This has easily become my new favourite foundation, I don’t even need to use a primer under it. It is also really reasonably priced at £9.99 from Superdrug.

This foundation would suit all skin-types and I highly recommend it. In fact at Naked Beauty we are now giving the Naked Beauty Seal of Approval to outstanding products, there are loads of our favourites that we have already reviewed but this will start from today.

Top 5 Thursday: Mascara

Mascara is probably my favourite, can’t-be-seen-without product. It is my secret addiction and so it makes sense that not only have I tried hundreds but I also have plenty barely used, sitting in my drawer. These 5 lovelies however, have been used, used and used again.

It can be so difficult standing in Superdrug trying to decide which new mascara to choose, they all boast fantastic abilities and very few live up to expectation. Rarely can you try them out before your shell out and so you only have advertising to go by, leading to let down and a second trip to town. This is why I’ve put together a list of my top 5, these ones will not let you down. Arm yourself with my easy list before making your trip and you’ll waste less time on wonga on mascaras that just don’t cut the mustard.

1 – Benefit – They’re Real

This is my top mascara at the moment, it is hard-working and looks amazing. It also stays on far ages, actually it’s quite a job to get off at the end of the day, perfect for the working girl! It also doesn’t melt and run in the heat! See my full review of this here.

2 – MAC – Zoom Lash Mascara

This one doesn’t give so much volume as number 1 but it boy does it provide length, this is for you if you want lashes that go on and on and on. It is much easier to remove than They’re real but still stays on for a fair amount of time. Full review here.

3 – Jelly Pong Pong – Fairy Lashes Mascara

I love this mascara, it comes in a cute purple tube and a gorgeous box too. It feels really light to wear but looks beautiful on. Full review here.

4 – NO7 – Extravagant Lashes Mascara

This one is great for boosting the volume of your lashes without clumping. I haven’t reviewed many No7 products lately but this is one of my favourites.

5 – Rimmel – The Falsies Volume Effect Express Mascara – Flared

This mascara comes in different styles from rocket to flared. This is the flared one and it is fantastic for giving definition to your lashes. You use one side to lengthen and curl the lashes and the other to flare out the corners. It works really well and is a good price but perhaps doesn’t last as loon during the day as others.

I hope this has been useful and I’d love suggestions for next weeks top 5!

Tams xx

 

Out with the old…

Reviewed by Tams

I was stuck in a rut in regards to the smokey-eye, that’s all I ever did. Inspired by Kate at What Kate Did Next I decided to give neutrals a chance and picked myself up a cheap starter palette.

This is MUA Professional (Makeup Academy) Undressed Palette, it has 12 mostly neutral eyeshadows from pink to gold to blue. It was also only £4 in Superdrug, which is great for someone like me who doesn’t want to fork out before I know if I like it.

Last night for a show I attended I used the gold on the bottom left across the whole of the bottom half of my eye-lid. The one next to it for the outside corners and the top right for the top half of my lid and I blended it all in. I also used Benefit High Beam, a MAC Eye Liner and MAC Zoom Lash Mascara. It looked amazing, the photo below doesn’t do it justice.. probably wasn’t my best idea to take it next to a sunny window or in a rush.

I did find that it look a little bit of effort to get the colour to show up as much as I wanted it to but I was happy with the ovaral result in the end. It was really easy to use and it wasn’t too powdery so I didn’t end up getting more of it on my cheeks than my eyelids! It also comes with an eyeshadow brush, I didn’t find this useful it was too long to be accurate and wasn’t very good at transferring the colour to the eyelids, but it was a very cheap palette and I just used my own brushes in the end.

I also tried out another look this morning, a nice summer day look but I didn’t have time to get a photo of that. However, it did show me that the possibilities when using this palette are endless and I’m definitely going out with the old and in with the new. This is the start to me experimenting with new looks, you never know what might actually suit you unless you try!

These palettes also come in a range of other colours from brights to browns and glitters.

What I love most: The endless possibilities, perfect for going from day in the office to drinks in town.

What I like least: It takes a bit of effort to build up the colour. The brush included isn’t very good.

Try it: £4.00, www.superdrug.com

In the Summertime When the Weather is Fine….

Reviewed by Tams

With the sun finally shining in Essex I had a hankering for gorgeous summer nails, I took a trip to Superdrug and among other things (Shh don’t tell my husband) I came back with these!

I choose a bright summer colour that is very on trend right now, I also thought I’d finally have a go at Gelly nail polish. I always love the colours Barry M provide and it was sooo hard to choose today but I went for Greenberry Gelly High Shine Nail paint, I also picked up the All in One Basecoat, Topcoat and Hardener.

I have really brittle nails so it was great to have an all-in-one that contains hardener. I painted on this as a basecoat first and it dried really quickly. I then popped on the nail paint which was really easy to use, even a novice like me got a great result!

The colour is definitely as beautiful on as it is in the bottom and there was no need to use the all-in-one as a topcoat as it is so shiny all on its own. I was a bit worried when I first put it on as it looked a bit of a mess but as soon as it dried it looked way better than I expected, it also only took one coat. The only thing that I found was a problem is the brush size, it is very small and I prefer a brush that covers the whole nail in my sweep.

I’m hoping that this nail paint will last a good few days, it seems pretty good so I am hopeful. Looking forward to showing off these gorgeous summertime nail tonight.

What I love most: The colour and oooo it’s shiny..

What I liked least: The brush size

Try it: Gelly High Shine £3.99, All in One £2.99, www.barrym.com