The Newest Addition to the Hair Care Family: L’Oréal Paris Hair Expertise

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I’m not going to take another picture of my bath, because A) it is manky, and I can’t be bothered wiping it down for the internet, and B) I think there may be even more product in there? Let’s just say I could wash the hair of South County Dublin with the shampoo and conditioner I’ve got in there, and also give at least half the people intensive hair masks.

L’Oréal Paris Hair Expertise combines many of my favourite things, not the least of which is Paris and Hair. Their new Ever line offers three different programmes for the different situations in which we may put our hair: EverPure for those who colour-treat; EverSleek for those whose frizz is an issue; and EverStrong for hair that is brittle and fragile.

At the L’Oréal Studio, I was prescribed the EverPure Line:

Clockwise from left: Lasting Moisture Leave-in Créme; Moisture Shampoo; Moisture Conditioner; UV Filter Protective Mist; Reinforcing Intense Mask.

So the gig here is that this is a line you can buy in a chemists or a Tesco, and it fills the gap, price-wise, between the bargain stuff that can sometimes be perfectly fine, if not totally great {L’Oréal’s own Elvive springs to mind} and the salon stuff that costs a bomb but gives you gorgeous, shiny hair. The prices range from €8.49 for the S&C up to €10.49 for the Mist, so you’re not talking ‘break the bank’ here.

Plus, the shampoo and conditioner is highly concentrated, and despite being sulphate-free {sulphates are chemical compounds and they make all that lather}, you need very little to get a good going over.

I enjoyed a shampoo and deep condition, and the scent of the stuff really sent me. All the lines make great use of botanical oils, and mine features rosemary, juniper and mint.

I got a lovely blow dry as well, so will be reporting back when I do this myself. The shine was impressive, I must say, and The Hair felt as soft as it does when I use the really pricey S&Cs I’ve got to hand. Since I’m trying to get another day out of the styling, I’ll be availing of the Mist, which isn’t something that I would normally bother with, and see if it spruces up the ‘do.

There’s a serum that hasn’t been launched yet, and the only thing I would say is, whither the styling cream?

The Spirit is Willing…

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The flesh! It is not so weak! It is more than willing to leave off the paleness and start to glow. So what’s the prob?

Maybe the flesh is weak. I have enough self-tan to keep me occupied for a couple of weeks, and I keep ‘forgetting’ to slap some on, post-shower.

I have spent some time looking at these videos, produced by Garnier; I am sure that this is some form of denial. There’s one about how to spray tan yourself correctly, which surprised me: apparently, you are not supposed to approach it as though you were tagging the wall outside a Centra. Who knew! I will give this go — someday — even though I dislike getting tan all over the bath. Or maybe it won’t go all over the bath now that I know how to apply it correctly.

Meanwhile, here’s a link to an excellent dance mix, a generously free download by DJ Nick Bike if you are as into that sort of thing as I am. Maybe I will dance myself into the bath and … nah.

Write & Beautyfull!

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I have to say, I highly recommend this blogging lark. I love writing about beautyfull things, and I’ve found that a post or two a day keeps the writer’s block away. I’ve been working steadily on B&B!, revising two novels {one really, really old one, like, nine years old, so don’t get in a swivet} and what I like to call my ‘horsey-divorcey’ memoire.

This is not a humble-brag: all these projects have taken years to get down on paper, but it’s worth it in the end, because I get a buzz out of doing what I tell myself I’ll do.

So I’m taking a moment out of beauty-time to inform dear readers in Ireland that I and two colleagues are giving a one-day intensive writing workshop in Dun Laoghaire.

Pages I have covered with words

If you have been telling yourself for years that you want to write, then this workshop is a great kickstart. We’ll be writing throughout the day — okay, for almost the entire day. Scared? Don’t be: there will be tea breaks. And you can take lunch, too.

We’ll teach you exercises that wake up the writer within and get him or her to get the words out and down and flowing. We also represent the expertise of a number of different writing disciplines, so if you want to know about playwrighting, screenwriting, novel-writing, blogging, criticism, or journalism, we can answer your questions.

The full brief is below; message me in the comments to book, and for location details.

The Write Way
One-Day Intensive Creative Writing Workshop
Susan Conley, with Ciara O Dowd and JJ Harrington

Always wanted to write but don’t know how to start?
Have you started but stalled?
Do you write in fits and starts but find it hard to finish anything?

Writing is a craft, and as with any craft, there are tools at your disposal.

It is possible to learn how to break through writing blocks and to create good work habits.

In The Write Way, you will:
>Learn how to override your censor — the voice in your head that says ‘this idea is terrible, no one would speak like that, who do you think you are, this is a waste of time’ — and get your ideas flowing.
>Experiment with a variety of forms: Fancy yourself a screenwriter, playwright, novelist, blogger? Now you can discover what mode suits you best.
>Become familiar with tools that will serve you as a creative writer, for years to come.

Most of all, you will write!

Playwright Ciara O’Dowd, screenwriter JJ Harrington and novelist Susan Conley, through a series of guided writing exercises, will help you learn how to use tools and techniques that inspire and excite.

If you have an idea you’d like to develop, you will do so.
If you don’t have an idea, you’ll get one — if not more than one!
If you just want to learn how to express yourself more fluidly, you will.

Sunday, 27 May
10am — 5.30pm
€125
Bring an A4 writing pad or notebook, and a ‘fast writing’ pen — a liquid ink, roller ball, like a Pilot pen.

Sensation: Dermalogica Overnight Repair Serum

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I think that there was this crazy diet going around that had something to do with losing weight in your sleep? Am I making that up? Because wouldn’t it be so fantastic to do pesky, annoying stuff in dreamland?

It seems silly… but I do think that subliminal listening programmes might have some value, the ones where they lull you to sleep, and have all these tracks that you can’t hear, but are rewiring your brain. I’ve never tried any, because I’m afraid I’ll get all tangled up in the headphones and choke myself. This would not be a good visualistion to fulfill. But I do think that overriding the conscious mind has value and what better time to try than when you are not conscious?

I guess my issue is that it would be great if things happened over night, but you do have to apply yourself in some way, regardless. Those ‘quit smoking’ tapes are not going to play themselves! And it’s all well and good to take a product like Dermalogica’s Overnight Repair Serum and look forward to enjoying the fruits of its nocturnal labours, but you do actually have to apply it.

Yes, I’m talking to you, Self.

I don’t know where to keep this bottle so that I don’t forget to put it on before I go snoozing. I’ve got it on my bedside table, which seems to make sense, so after I’ve brushed my teeth and put on some night cream — oh. Dammit. Forgot!

The thing is, I can mix this oil with that night cream. But sometimes I wander out of the loo and use the stuff I’ve got on the lower shelf of the bedside table…  is there a subliminal tape I can get so I remember that I’ve got this serum?

Because: it is awesome. Part of Dermalogica’s AGE Smart range, it is targeted to maturing skin, and I have to say, when I wake after I’ve remembered to use it, my skin feels great. It looks so glowy, and feels so moisturised, that I, the least likely to be nominated as Best Morning Person in any year — I feel pretty good about getting up and about.

The secret of its efficacy is all about oils: Argan and rose make up the base; added to this are essential oils and plant extracts — and seaweed! All combine to make this an aromatherapeutic experience, too.

You only need 3 to 5 drops to saturate your face in anti-aging goodness. Good thing, because the only issue I have with this is that it is a bit challenging to shake the stuff out of the bottle. Once out, it smells and feels like a fancy treatment you get in a spa, and the soothing scents are a lovely escort into the land of Nod, where everyone quits smoking and doesn’t gain a stone as a result. Magic!

PLUS: Dermalogica have joined with FITE {Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship}, so every time you buy a product branded with the FITE logo, Dermalogica will make a donation to an indigenous female entrepreneur. These micro-loans help women all over the world, and you get to choose where, and what kind of business you’d like to support. Go here for more info.

€64.85/£56/$60

Pictures, ‘Cos It Did Happen: Moroccanoil Curl Defining Cream

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I went through this phase a couple of years ago, when I was putting product into The Hair in order to turn its waves into curls.

Eh. The Hair is in no way curly a’tall, and the waves, they are mainly half-hearted, they don’t know whether to go for it or just give up. Also, the texture of whatever curliness I did manage to conjure, well, it was pretty cripsy. Looked nice, but ooh, do not touch because: ouch. When I got my first flat iron I was like, Okay! Flat is where it is at! and I have been very satisfied.

Then I got given Morocanoil’s Curl Defining Cream. I got a lot of Moroccanoil stuff and you may have noticed that I have been using it over the past few weeks. I had forgotten about this, because I have pretty much given up on the notion that The Hair would benefit from curl-inducing product. I decided to try it though, because how do you know anything until you try something? And, look:

I think that is pretty good! You can’t reach through the screen, but believe me when I say that if you could, you would touch soft hair. I know it looks a little crunchy, at left, but that’s only because it is still damp, and the sun, it is blinding on the highlights.

I didn’t do anything but squinch The Hair up, from time to time.

This is perfect for the times when you go away for a long weekend and simply cannot be bothered to do the whole routine. Like, you’re down the country, and there’s going to be an open fire, and you can dry your hair in front of it. Two pumps of this stuff, depending on the length of your hair, of course, and you’ll squinch the night away, and! And you will have lovely hair in the morning, if you wind it up in an elastic.

This is next-day, post-rosette, been-under-a-riding-hat hair, at right. I think that is pretty good, too! I used a wide-toothed comb to fluff it up, and that is all. I would go out into the world with that hair.

As do all Moroccanoil products, it smells delish, and The Hair felt extremely silky. The flyaways were minimal, too.

I you are one of those betches lucky, lucky ladiez who have naturally curly hair, but hate the frizzing and the tangling, oh, how highly I recommend this. Me, I’m just happy to have the wavy option back in play, but with a degree of softness I hadn’t dared allow myself to imagine. {<The Hair, it makes me come over all melodramatic, like.}

€30 (via http://www.beautyfeatures.ie)

Snap! Judgement: Roger & Gallet Huile Embellissante in Fleur d’Osmanthus

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This is a new launch from the fragrant French firm, who are celebrating 150 years in the smelling-good biz.

Snap! The colour of the bottle is a dead giveaway. This is gonna smell orange-y.

Snap! The bottle gives good squirt, which can be an issue. It doesn’t spray all over the place {sorry, my mind just wandered there for a sec…} but you do need to cup the palm or else you won’t get the full benefit of the pump. Insert filthy giggle here.

Snap! Yup, orange-y, and kind of light-yet-smokey? Your nose may tell you something different. Let’s just say floral, which again, no surprise, it says fleur right there in the title!

Snap! It applies beautifully. I do love a dry body oil, they feel so luxurious and sexy. The skin on my right forearm felt very soft for quite a long time.

Snap! Then, I cheated and used it after my shower, and this mitigates the snappiness of the judgement, but the oil applies really well to the dry bod, and I’m going to use it on the damp bod next time. The scent is not my style, so it’s gives my a bit of a headache — I prefer darker, woodsier fragrance — but the resulting soft skin is worth it.

It also says you can use it on your hair. Hmmm…

Roger & Gallet Huile Embellissante in Fleur d’Osmanthus, 100mls €26.50

How to Make Blogettes Coo

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Bloggeresses? Bloggresses?

Or: a bunch of women who write about make up on t’internet.

You make them coo by showing them this:

It is some class of blush/highlighter, and maybe one of the gals could help me out here. I didn’t take a photo of the flipside because I was, like, mesmerised by the sparkle.

So prettttttty.

This was almost as sparkly as Clarins Head Make up Artist, Claude Defresne, whose shimmery trousers were a thing of beauty, too. When he presented this cunning little compact for our perusal , eight beauty bloggers, who really have seen it all, let out a noise that you’d expect to made with the presentation of an even perfect-er Brangelina offspring.

Just wanted to share the glimmer, because the days have been so grey, and I’ll let you know when I find out what this is.

I tried to Google Image Search this… one or two of these things is not like the other…

Make Your Own Bath Ballistic

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How much fun does this look like???

My answer: LOTS.

As a life-long fan of Lush Bath Ballistics, I am delighted to announce the some of the brand’s crack compounders, are comin’ to town to help you craft you own wee fizzy bath thing. In the olde dayes, we used to call them ‘bombs’ but I think for humanitarian reasons, they changed the name — this is nothing less than you’d expect from the all-natural brand.

You have three choices:

Blackberry Bath Bomb to lift you up with bergamot and frankincense; Think Pink with reassuring tonka and vanilla; and Space Girl, an intergalactic, glittery bath ballistic scented with grapefruit and bergamot oil and filled with popping candy that is truly out of this world.

I am definitely going to make the Blackberry one. Oh, but, I love vanilla, so Think Pink, maybe? Clearly, Space Girl suits me down to the ground…

The compounders are in residence at the Henry Street shop from 1 to 5 pm this Saturday, 5 May, and in the Grafton Street premises on Sunday, 6 May. That’s this weekend, bath enthusiasts! It is free to do this thing, to learn how to make your own ballistic and then take it home! Don’t miss out!

For more info and to book, ring the Henry Street shop on 01 873 5735 or the Grafton Street Shop on 01 677 0392.

Chase Your Dude Around the House with SPF

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Because one in eight Irish dudes will get skin cancer.

Yeah, I know, I’m looking out my window, too, and the sun seems a distant, wistful memory. And frankly, the last three {four? Five?} ‘summers’ haven’t exactly inspired any of us to even think twice about UV protection.

I am bad enough, me with all my samples and knowledge, about being ambivalent as regards the SPF, but dudes? How many dudes do you see sloping around with their shirts off, the minute the mercury creeps above anything that seems even remotely warm? And, as it says in the video created by La Roche-Posay for their Save Our Skin campaign, some Irish dudes do think that sunburn is hilarious — I’ve seen them, laughing at their poor, lobstery mates! — but the long term ill effects of a right roasting can be life threatening.

So, you know, if you want your man to take care of his pelt, it might be up to you to get the routine started. And, uh, apparently like, clothes don’t really block out the UV as much as you’d think, so if you are chasing your dude around the house with SPF, well, it could be fun. Because you can’t really apply the stuff effectively when those clothes are on? Right?

Sun protection can be sexy.