FOLLICLES

Could I Be Happier? Horses and Haircare

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

So, here’s me as of 11ish this morning:

Typos ahoy! I wish I could touch type. Ah, well. This post is only going to take forever.

I knew I had a back up laptop for a reason.

Yay! — Oh, no. Saw the green jacket and though it was Ireland. It’s Brazil.

I generally grab the Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream when I can’t be bothered blowing The Hair dry. This time round, I forget to add the Treatment oil, so when my hair dried, it was crrrrrispy. I then doused it with —

Okay! Ireland! Mark Kyle! Ah, bollix. Knocked one. What’s that extra 2 pens?

I then doused The Hair with the Hydrating Styling Cream. Oh, how I love the scent of this stuff! It helped soften it a bit, but the overall feeling was very crunchy and tangly.

Yay, Tiana Coudray USA! I am cheering for everyone! No idea who she’s on, because the eejits — ah, knocked one, dammit. Another! Crap. So they don’t put the name of the horse up on the screen. Stupid. Lovely dapple grey — g’wan! Ah, well.

When I combed it out, it was masssssive, but it felt really dry. I ought to have put the oil on, but there was already so much stuff on — and anyway, I forgot all about the oil, to be honest.

I tried to resist posting this pic, because the Narcissism Police Department* are going to be knocking on my door, but here’s an impression of the hair, plus the lip gloss I want to talk about.

I am quite happy using any auld gloss as long as it looks nice. By this I mean, I am not a dope about brands. I don’t care if it’s fancy, as long as it does the job.

But when it is fancy and it does the job? Wowee.

Has Zara Phillips gone? Holy wow, the crowd is going to go batty.

OMG I AM TOTALLY PSYCHIC HERE SHE IS. I SWEAR IT’S TRUE, IT IS 11.38 RIGHT NOW. OKAY

AH NO. I think this horse is very young, she had to retire Toytown, I think, who was a star — ah, well done her. The extra pens are for time.

What? Oh. Giorgio Armani Gloss D’Armani Lip Gloss in 512, above. I was dubious because of the darkness of the pigment, but it is —

Oh, no! Where’s everybody going? Okay, third team rider, fourth coming up. This is like the seventh inning stretch, yeah?

The pigment is dark, but it goes on like a gloss, easily and cleanly, and it feels light, too. I did reapply often, but I think it was because I wanted to, more than that I needed to.

Also: The Hair is wavy but also a bit straggly. Which may just mean I need a cut.

Also also: those sunnies are the best thing that’s happened to me all year.

Oh, crap, they are going away? No, just hanging around with no commentary. This feed is totally weird. Okay, maybe I’ll go do a real post now.

***

Gloss D’Armani €25/£23.50/$28

*NPD, ha ha ha ha — that’s for you, cookie.

Various Updates on Stuff That Has Been Featured

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / Leave a comment

*John Frieda Precision Foam Colour
I was just thinking, I really ought to email ‘Audrey’ and see how she’s getting on,’ and this morning, lo and behold, in the inbox!

Thought I’d let you know: dropped in home last night, shook my hair out of ponytail and the mammy said: Wow! Your colour is great, is that still the John Frieda stuff?

No photo was attached, but you can have a look at the result here.

Also: ‘Audrey’ says her hair is amazingly soft. I am now glancing over at my box of light ash blonde…

———

*Avon ANEW Clinical Resurfacing Expert Smoothing Fluid
Commenters keep asking me how I got on with this, and I guess I really haven’t given a definitive answer. I have not been consistent, and I’m not gonna lie, so I can’t really hand down a judgment yet. Too many other treatments to review, and I didn’t want to try to tan and use this at the same time? Is that dumb? Because this maybe giving me an even clearer, cleaner canvas upon which to paint my bronzey goddessness? Shoot.

I did have these thoughts, if you’re interested.

———

*The Oily Stuff from Yesterday
 I’ll have to get back to you on that in more depth, but the REN Bio-Retinoid Anti-Ageing Concentrate is, I must say, pretty darn brilliant. I almost did do the thing where I forgot to close the cap, but caught myself in time. I really don’t want this all over the floor — I want it all over my face!

———

*Appropos of… Not Much, Except Maybe in Honour of Wella
Except I clearly cannot go a whole week without posting a picture of my face.

Wella Professionals took a bunch of us out to dinner last night in Thorntons, which is a Michelin Star restaurant, and I am not a foodie — it was, in fact, my first foam — but that was one terrific meal. The food, the service, the wine… the wine, which was a Sauvignon Blanc, which I generally dislike, but this one! Clos du Porteau ‘Les Chaffines’ Touraine 2010, completely gorgeous, and not so pricey according to Monsieur Le Google!

Oh, and the event was an introduction to Illumina Color, a new range of natural looking hair colours that increases the level of light reflection and shine when the hair is dyed. We saw several representative treatments — blonde, red, brunette — and they were very, very Wow.

But, yeah, the wine: it’s the way it gets poured? The fancy way, where you take a sip and the waitress refills, and then you take another sip, and the waitress refills — so you have no idea how much you are drinking, and if you’re me and not drinking all that much lately, things go a bit pear-shaped. And then self-portrait high-jinks ensue in the taxi home, because the clever women repping Wella gifted us all with Rayban Aviators — so that when we get our hair coloured with Illumina, we won’t be blinded by the glow.

I was a little afraid of the shades, but I think they will work just fine.

***

Very cool image, look at the reflection of me taking the picture of me! Hmm, am I still drunk?

Call Me Crazy and Cover Me in Oil

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

Oh, wait, this is not that sort of website! Apologies to all search engineers who have happened upon Bright & Beautyfull! expecting… something else.

The last thing in the world I wanted when I was a teen was shiny, shiny skin. For some reason, I must still think I am a teenager, because the notion of putting anything oil-based on my face makes go all no waaaaaaay.

But of course, now I am aging, shine = youth, and holy wow, I’ma just put oil on everything I can reach.

Now, we already know of my deep and abiding love for Clarins Huile Prodigieuse, so the oil-as-body-treatment isn’t really all that strange. In fact! Here’s a lovely little homey hint: I used to put a few drops of an essential oil of my choice into a bottle of Johnson’s Baby Oil, apply on wet skin post-shower, and let it half dry. Soft scented skin, and very, very economical. {I favoured ylang ylang — sexxxxy.}

I’ve got a couple of new things to try all over, so I am going to slather myself up with the following, from left:

I find the brand name Lanolips a bit odd as it is applied to their Herbal Treatment Body Oil (€12.90), but upon initial sniff, it smells good, like fresh cut grass.

REN presents us with the Bio-Retinoid Anti-Ageing Concentrate (€50). I have come round to a serum-y approach to facial care, since I’ve gotten over my adolescent fears. I must be well over that teen POV, because I have many a senior moment when it comes to dropper applicators: I forget to close the cap afterwards, in which case the stuf gets all contaminated, or else I knock it over and it ends up all over the floor.

This is new to the Mythic Oil family, from L’Oréal Professionel: Colour Glow For Colour Treated Hair (€19). I found the original version of the oil of myth to be a steep learning curve. I think half a pump does my hair good, and a half of a drop more makes it too greasy. We’ll give this go.

This didn’t look like much of an embarrassment of oil, so I added this into the mix: Hairwonder Anti-hairloss Lotion (€19) — I know, I know, it says it is a lotion, but it really isn’t! It is a serum-y oily thing. now, I know: I have a lot of hair, and so far, knock wood, not losing any of it, so this is more in the line of an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of hair.

Oh! And since the split fingernail scare, I have been assiduous in my application of Dr Lewinn’s Nourishing Oil.

I’m going to be so shiny, you could see me from space.

***

Sleep-In Rollers: Later That Day…

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Now, in fairness:

I didn’t even so much as comb this hair, and even if it is not big and bouncy, it still does look as though I have at least flat ironed it. This is significant because my hair is this half-arsed wavy affair and it never does ‘flat’ by itself.

Still not convinced it was worth the discomfort. There are some great recs in the comments from yesterday’s post, go and have a look. Cherry Sue, who blogs here, thinks that sporting the Sleep-In Rollers during the day might do the trick; Portia blogs at Australian Perfume Junkies {awesome!} and has a brilliant idea re: minimizing the pain and still getting the benefit of the whole rolling-up thing.

Also considering that The Hair had been washed the day before, taken out to dinner, and then rolled up and slept on… I don’t know, I think that needs to be taken into account.

Also: documenting The Hair provided endless amusement to commuters who were waiting for the LUAS at Ballyogan. Who’s yer wan? She keeps taking pictures of herself!

Here at Bright & Beautyfull! we do what we can to lift everyone’s spirits, on and off t’internet.

The Curly Hair Nightmare: The Morning After

/ brightandbeautyfull / 5 Comments

Well, it wasn’t like laying my head in the lap of an angel: the Sleep-In Rollers, vaunted for being painless, weren’t the most comfortable things I’ve ever slept in, in my life. Less horrible than those clippy, foam-y yokes from childhood, and undoubtedly less tortuous than pincurls, there was still interference between the big, pink, slightly spiky curlers on my head and the pillow.

Now, I tend to fall asleep like a tiny little baby, with my hands around my head. This is a Reiki thing {more about this anon!}, meaning I am giving myself healing as I head into slumber. This posture helped me manage the foreign objects on my head: I smashed them sort of parabolically, and they were less annoying. It wasn’t like they caused pain — so that claim is true! — but come on, they are feckin’ awkward.

I had crazzzzzzzzzzzzy dreams: at one stage I was hanging out poolside with Lindsay Lohan, whom I called ‘Linds’, and her hair wasn’t very nice, but I didn’t think to recommend the rollers. There was some older dude who kept applying mascara, to his own eyes, not the eyes of Linds, and I borrowed it {?!?!?} and it was clear, which was completely weird and even in the weird dream, I knew it was weird. But I used it anyway!

I was expecting all sorts of carnage in the morning, but everything was really well in place.

{How cool is that photo?}

I see there’s something of a gap, and I probably should have used less hair per roll, but I get so bored so fast.

Not bad, though, I mean, you’re going to get stray hairs straggling out, so no big deal. I am, in fact quite impressed.

Roll on the rollout! This was a bit tricky, because the reasons that the rollers held so well is because they are prickly; as a result, they don’t unwind without some yanking. This is not so good for the curls. Inevitably, some hair got re-wrapped on the roller as I worked its way out my hair.

The first few locks were not looking impressive, but by the time I was done…

This is just finger-combed out. Not bad! Not curly, but definitely wavy, and maybe a 4.5 on the Big Hair Scale.

Hmmm. You know what, this result is only okay, and after all the rolling and the tossing and turning and running around in the dreamtime with Lindsay Lohan, I would have liked to look like I’d just woken up in the pages of Grazia.

My hair is very thin, and I can’t see this making it through a whole day of going out into windy, wet weather. I am also too afraid to comb it out because I think it will just flop.

Also: how is a male bed partner not going to laugh himself sick at the head on you? Unless he has a grá for one of the TOWIE‘s. And… yeah, let’s not go there.

Verdict: Eh. I mean, my hair has flippiness inherent in it, due to the cut. There is more body to it, which is cool, but I really am not convinced that this was worth it…

The Curly Hair Nightmare: All Rolled Up

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

I said I was gonna do it, so I’m doin’ it. All Sleep-In Rollered up and ready to go.

I am seriously challenged in this area, and I have to say, these rolled up like a dream. And in the instances in which I wanted to like, try to roll half my head of hair onto one roller — which is why I am challenged in this area — the roller wouldn’t let me? In that it became immediately apparent that it wasn’t going to work, so I let a lock {or two, or three} fall away.

Got some bobby pins at the €2 store and jabbed them in without too much trouble.

I look exactly like one of those ladies on google! Or in TOWIE!

They feel light, but then, I have yet to lay my head down upon my pillow…

See you on the flipside.

The Curly Hair Nightmare: Will Sleep-In Rollers Give Me Sweet Dreams?

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

The big thing in hair in the last few weeks have been things that you put in your hair and then go to sleep.

Sleep-In Rollers are meant to be a super fantastic way to limit one’s GHD use, meaning: protect the hair from getting all fried, without giving up that big, bouncy, curly, big hair look. So, a potentially big leap forward for big hair.

Look! Very pink:

If you google sleep in rollers {or even sllep in rollers, like I did} you can see a bunch of pictures of people with the rollers in their hair, and not too many of them with big, bouncy curls.

CherrySue Doin the Do has tried them and will be posting her results — just keep checking in and give her a million hits.

I am going to give these a try tonight, but I feel like I am maybe experiencing PTSD, because I am feeling all sorts of feelings. Feelings of dread, to be precise. I had a childhood of sleep riven with stabby pains in the head from those old-fashioned foamy things with the pink clips. Remember those?

Which, OMG, you can buy on Amazon right now?!?! Oh, also! Pin curls! Holy God, what a nightmare: hanks of hair twisted up and secured with a crisscross of bobby pins stabbed through the scalp!

I may need to seek professional help.

Well, look, we’ll hope for the best. Good thing I read the packaging, as my memories called up damp hair twisted around those follicular torture chambers — these specify clean, dry hair.*

Okay! See you tomorrow with whatever kind of hair I end up with!

***

*Although I am thinking that second day hair with some dry shampoo at the roots might work better…? That’s an experiment for another day.

***

Sleep-In Rollers are available on http://www.cloud10beauty.com for €20.45

Who Says There’s No Good News?

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

Back in April {April? Holy God, anyone remember April? Not me} I met with Paul Drumgoole to avail of the services of Zeba Hairdressing and to chat with him about the fundraising event he and wife/co-owner Angie were running in aid of Temple Street Children’s University Hospital.

Take a look at that big, fat cheque!

Pictured at the presentation of the cheque to Mr. Michael Earley of Temple Street Children’s Hospital is Zeba Hairdressing co-owners Paul and Angie Dromgoole with their sons Christian and Dean. Zeba Hairdressing raised over €8,600 through its recent ‘Treat Yourself and Help the Children’ fundraising event. All proceeds raised are being put towards the Cleft Lip & Palate Unit at Temple Street Children’s Hospital where Paul and Angie’s son Christian, who has a cleft palate, has received ongoing treatment and support.

That’s just great. Well done to everyone who participated. And My hair is still looking pretty fab. Oh, crap, mid-April, that was like six or seven weeks ago. No wonder the roots are starting to show…

Scenes from a Library

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

I don’t know why I keep taking pictures of myself in Deansgrange Public Library.

I think I am still a little squicked by my revolting cuticles, so here’s a picture of The Hair, which received a dollop of Morocanoil’s Curl Defining Cream and an air dry.

I’ve just approved a comment from a reader about how much she loves this stuff too, and since I actually had some in The Hair, and here I am working away with full access to photographic capabilities, it just seemed like kismet.