When All Else Fails, Talk About The Hair

/ brightandbeautyfull / Leave a comment

…which should have its own Twitter persona at this stage.

This past bank holiday was a blissful, glorious indulgence of Olympics, and olympian Game of Thrones S2 watching {entire season in one day}.

I also cleaned the bath, which doesn’t get any messier than a normal bath, but down to the excessive amount of product, well, it’s a pain in the arse to do. It was worth it, though, because I realised I hadn’t used up all my H’Suan Wen Hua from Lush, which you can go back and read about here. There is also a picture, and the results were exactly the same this time: shockin’ shine, pumped up highlights, but a terrible pong.

It still looks good, these several days later. I’ve also womanned up and have started using the Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream like I mean it, meaning I put it on hair that I’ve dried and ironed. It absolutely does not weigh it down — it makes it look shiny and smooth. Sweartagod. I knew that already? But when you use as much stuff as I do, you tend to forget. Here’s the original post to remind us all.

Along those lines, that five sense thing is a good idea, must remember to to do that again. And a haiku never goes amiss.

Sorry, have to go back to being a top Tweeter in the #equestrian thread.

***

H’Suan Wen Hua from Lush: €11.50/£8.50/$19.95

Moroccanoil Hydrating Styling Cream: €28.45/£22.85/$31

Inexplicable Marilyn Moments: Or Are They?

/ brightandbeautyfull / 2 Comments

I was going through some bits and pieces I had torn out of magazines, fodder for future collages and vision boards, and there was Marilyn, big as life.

I would not be a … I was going to say huge fan, and I wouldn’t be, but I think by that I also mean an obsessed fan of her persona. You know, because I don’t get ever get obsessed about anything. Ha, ha.

Or by that I think I may mean that I absolutely recognise that she was talented — and funny! — but I don’t know that she was any more tragic than many women walking around out there, living lives that are markedly less glamorous, sure, but with their own brand of pressures.

But, lordee, that woman could rock the red lipstick. Continue reading →

A Scent is Worth A Thousand Words: Nuxe Crème Fraîche de Beauté

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / 3 Comments

Sometimes, my approach to testing products is less than scientific. When my long-suffering postman handed over a package of the new Crème Fraîche de Beauté collection from Nuxe {he’s got to be dying to ask me what is up with all these parcels}, I opened it, had a quick look, and put it to the side. It had to join the queue, and to be honest, some of the packaging out of France is way overdone. Why all these words, French package designers?

Exhibit A. This is the inside of the box. The inside of the box! Plus there’s the usual foldy-uppy-multi-lingual palaver wrapped around the container. The outside of the box is pure carnage. And ultimately? There is nothing to tell me why this stuff smells so gorgeously fantastic. Because it does, it smells like the freshest, most invigorating line of beauty products I have ever smelled.

Back to my less-than-laboratory environment. I was sitting here the other day, stumped for a word or phrase, so I reached into the Nuxe package and came up with the Masque Crème Fraîche de Beauté. Ah, sure, thought I, let’s just lash some of this on, why not? Why not, indeed. Might be a good idea, oh, I don’t know, to cleanse and/or tone before applying a mask {or masque.} I tend to think, well, if it’s gonna work, it best be workin’ on skin that is in rag order, right? So, I liberated the tube from its tomb of text, peeled off the annoying but sanitary little foil protective thingie, slapped some on —

And was immediately transported into a sunlit meadow, its grasses freshly cut. The scent of flora is everywhere: not just flowers, but trees as well, and I swear I can smell the cool water of a bubbling brook. All I wanted to do was to lie down and breathe and breathe and breathe —

Cut to me lying on the floor of my sitting room. Nah, just kidding! But I felt inspired to forgive the brand its unnecessary packaging verbiage — well, almost. What is in this?!!? Not that I reckon I can reproduce this myself. I tried to do that once! With a base cream from Atlantic Aromatics! I gathered together my lime, basil, and mandarin essential oils, keen to make up my own Jo Malone scent, except it came out smelling like broccoli.

I’ve learned my lesson there. I’m only curious, is all. I looked it up, of course, and came up with Lupin, Pea, Green Tea, Acacia, Almond, Coconut, Oat, and non GM Soya. Yeah, no. What is acacia, even? {A flowering shrub/tree.} So maybe acacia and lupin are the cornerstones of this evocative fragrance. Soya? Please.

In further bad practice, I’ve just now slathered on some of the Crème Fraîche de Beauté Enrichie, which is for Dry to Very Dry Sensitive Skin {see what I did there, French copypersons?} on skin that has not been properly prepared to receive it. I don’t care. It feels good, cooling and soothing — just like it says there on the label.

As to the 24 hour thing: these products are meant to continually moisturize for a full day/night cycle. I’m not completely certain how that works, and will ask around. I don’t know that I believe it, frankly. I do believe that the brand continue to do what they say they will, in a lovely and uncharacteristically simple portmanteau-ish way: Nature and Luxe = Nuxe. I can certainly vouch for that working well — sure, it’s as plain as the nose on my face.

***

Nuxe’s Crème Fraîche de Beauté collection ranges from €20 to €32, and is available in chemists nationwide.

Ha! I Said a Thing About Milk, Just Kidding, Like, And Look!

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / 2 Comments

Sure, I was only messing the other day when I wrote this, after having talked about Mythic Oil Milk from L’Oréal Professionel:

Hmmm, any other milk-ish products I can cobble together? Call me crazy and cover me in milk???

And then I was tweetling around, and came across this from @Nature7_ie:

As I said: Ha! The link goes here, and seems rather optimistic re: sunburn, but I am feeling so zeitgeist-y right now, I don’t care.

{Insert reference to Cleopatra here.}

I haven’t tried the milk yet, but I did use the Mythic Oil Colour Glow yesterday, since it was on my mind. It’s good! I used a little too much, and remembered struggling with the dispensation learning curve with the straight-up Mythic Oil sample I had last year. Nevertheless, The Hair looked very salon-quality; second day was a bit oily at the roots, but the ends still looked fab.

***

Nature 7 can be found on nature7.ie, and is a clearinghouse for all things 100% natural, from beauty brands to food products.

I Can See Clearly Now: Vichy Pureté Thermale Waterproof Eye Make- Up Remover

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / Leave a comment

{But the rain’s not gone, I can feel it, lurking up there, just waiting for me to go out to do me messages.}

I called in some more of Vichy’s concoction because I am in full trying-and-testing eye make up mode, and some of it is very, very black, and some of the mascara is very, very thick. I have no problem with either of those things, but I do hate to be wastin’ cotton pads, because I have to use so many, because the removal agent, in a word, sucks.

This is completely the opposite of the former term. This is basically perfect. I’ve used it before, and used it up, and wanted to rave it about it all over again.

It’s billed for those with sensitive eyes, and mine must be more sensitive than I thought: just last night I used another oil-based remover that I had to hand, and I was squinting away for about half an hour before my vision came completely clear again. I’ve got my bookworm nerdy pants on, but: how am I supposed to catch up on my Henning Mankell if I am blinking?

^I had been in the middle of The Fifth Woman and went and watched the first season of the BBC’s Wallander, and now I’m not going to read any of those books, and will miss out on what, at least half the series? Somebody please tell me there will be more Wallander books? Also: the TV show is incredibly creative, really really good, totally captures the tone, IMO. Although I think that Ann-Britt is not at all completely realised properly. She’s a hot shot young wan, and all she does in the show is look at Kenneth Branagh with concern.

Up until discovering this product, I’d had an aversion to oil-based make up removers but this is oily to the correct degree. By that I mean it cuts right through the make up, but doesn’t leave me with the blinkiness. Since I am all about the oil this week, this couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Gestalt!

Seriously, take it from someone who uses a lot of stuff on her face: this is the business.

***

€13.75/£10.50/$16.50

Dr Lewinn’s Renunail Update: Magic Isn’t Magic

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But results can be magical.

‘Kay, here’s the thing: even though I’ve got the bottles of Nail Strengthener and Nourishing Oil right there, on my desk, to the left of my computer, I got a little lazy with my Dr Lewinn regimen.

Frankly, once you pile them on, the layers of Strengthener start to look pretty cruddy. I’m also having another healing crisis on my right hand: the cuticles look like I’ve got some sort rare skin disease that I contracted in the depths of the primeval forest.

So, counter-intuitively, I stop using the product. I know! Where is the sense in that?

See the thing is, magic isn’t magic. You can’t just wave a wand — or a brush — and say a magic word {me, I’d be partial to avada kedavra for my loathsome cuticles} and then it all goes away. Sad to say, this is news to me.

Only joking. Sort of. My fingernails need to be tended, and they are so terribly manky that I need to keep this up, or keep them cut down to the very nub.

But even though magic isn’t magic, the results I’ve gotten from this regimen are magical. Once I started over, the whites on the tips of my nails got brighter and cleaner, they were once again strong enough to file, and even though it’s going to take as much time as it takes, that nail that split is slowly growing out — but with a difference. It’s growing out with the support of the Strengthener.

This is a life long project, if you will. I spend a lot of time contemplating my fingers, as I sit here, hands at rest on the keyboard, wondering what I’m going to write next. If nothing else, I can’t bear them to be all gross and splitty and peeling, for my own peace of mind. And I really cannot wait to paint them up nice — so I won’t! Grotty cuticles notwithstanding!

My bank holiday project will be to give myself an amazing manicure.

I know, my life, it is much excite.

***

Ha ha ha – google Dr Lewinn’s Nail, and my fingers are the top images! I’m faaaaamous!

Covered in Oil, Crazy: Reporting Back

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I put all this stuff on myself the other day.

I also used the Hairwonder Anti-hairloss Lotion, which didn’t make it into the family portrait due to low reziness.

The lotion went on first, massaged into the roots of me follicles and rubbed around the scalp. This is the sort of thing that the efficacy of which will only tell with time. Howevs, if you are worried about having greasy roots, don’t be. It didn’t feel like much either way, which is grand if you’re worried about your hair getting weighed down, perhaps not so great if you’re looking for some kind of tingle on your scalp. Me, I do like a bit of tingle, makes me think that something is working.

Then… ah. Bio-Retinoid Anti-Ageing Concentrate from REN. I do love a good serum, and this is one of the best I’ve tried yet. It smells organic without smelling too organic, if ya know what I mean, and even though it is a serum and therefore oily-ish, it doesn’t feel slippery or slimy. If your are a morning-rush person, you’ll want to give this plenty of time to sink in, or maybe just use it at night: it does take a longer than most to sink in. I didn’t feel the absolute need to follow this up with a moisturiser, which I think may be good news for people who have oily skin and don’t want to add to it.

The thing with using oil on oily skin: The face needs a protective barrier of oil to fend for itself against the environment. I reckon, then, if your skin is oily, it is fighting the good fight, but way too hard. A helpful, judicious amount of applied oil helps the skin in its daily battle, and because it doesn’t have to work so hard, it doesn’t break out as a reaction. ??? That sounds plausible to me.

My favourite kind of oil is oil for the bod, and it was with great delight that I popped the top of Lanolips Herbal Treatment Body Oil. It smells lovely… but the bottle is made of hard plastic, making it increasingly difficult to dispense, as one’s hands get quite slippery. I also found that it absorbed too quickly, meaning the coverage wasn’t great, meaning I had to try to squeeze out some more… I might save this for exposed limbs only, and the ever-popular décolletage — it seems too much trouble otherwise.

Last but not least: Mythic Oil from L’Oréal Professionel: Colour Glow For Colour Treated Hair. I will have to back to you on this, because I used it and then forgot about it. Which is, I think, probably in its favour? I wasn’t like, Oh my God, what is wrong with The Hair today?!?! But I can’t remember if is was exceptionally special, either. I’ve also got a sample of Mythic Oil Milk, which can be used at any stage, either as a detangler, a blow drying product, or a finishing spray. As it is milk, it didn’t make it into this category.

Hmmm, any other milk-ish products I can cobble together? Call me crazy and cover me in milk???

***

See here for prices.

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.

FitFlops: A Personal History

/ brightandbeautyfull / 1 Comment

THE FLOPS, DO THEY FIT? In 2010, I completely banjaxed* my left leg from about mid-calf to the arch. It was a combination of having torn a muscle practicing for a dressage test, and jumping up during an apparent scored goal by Team USA during the World Cup.

Yeah, it doesn’t get any better after two years of telling. Anyway, one missed test and one supposedly offside goal later, I was limping around town like… like a famous limper from fiction or the movies. I can’t think of a character right now, but he or she was me, and it was awful. I went from horseriding four times a week to sitting on my couch, and when I did have to get up to get somewhere, I couldn’t go more than fifty yards without wanting to cry. I became quite expert in the Dublin Bus infrastructure, and also in RICE {rest, Ice, compression, elevation.}

The only thing that got me through, and got me around, due to the clever construction of their wobble-board sole, were my FitFlops. Continue reading →

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?