SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL

Gift Guide 2015: Happy Holiday Hair

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Good hair makes the season bright.

AVEDA
A Gift Of Pure Moisture For Hair €52
AVEDA A Gift of Pure Moisture for Hair
I don’t know: have you ever bought yourself a nice brush? Now that I think about it, I don’t have a notion where any of my hair brushes have come from… which is a little weird/unsanitary. So, it follows that if you haven’t ever splurged on a quality hair grooming implement, then someone you know and love may not have either. This could suit a dude, too, and the addition of a full-sized sample of Dry Remedy Daily Moisturizing Oil makes this a clever, useful gift.

It’s a special choice in another way. Aveda have teamed up with Himalayan Bio-Trade Limited and employed people of Nepal to create the hand-crafted Lotka Bark Paper in which all the brand’s Christmas gifts are wrapped. 5,500 people have been employed to make more than 2,000,000 sheets of paper, allowing families to sustain themselves and send their children to school.

There are nine more gifts in the range with prices covering the gamut from €20-60, and all benefit those Nepalese crafts people. #LoveForNepal

SCHWARZKOPF PROFESSIONAL
BC Time Restore Gift Bag €33.50
TIME RESTORE gift
I have been acquainting myself with many of the the products in Schwarzkopf’s Professional line, and I can heartily recommend not only the BC Time Restore gift bag as shown — the Q10 Plus Treatment is especially excellent, even if not paired with the shampoo, which is also fab. There’s a gift bag for those who need a BC Moisture Kick, those who are a bit hard on their locks and could use a BC Repair Rescue and another fave combo of mine, BC Colour Freeze. This last really is super for colour treated hair, giving it a blast of shine and lifting it when it feels like it’s going a bit dull.

GHD
Deluxe Dry & Style Gift Set €245
GHD DELUXE
I’ve been using hair straighteners for ages, but I have seen the ghd light: this heats up in a finger snap, straightens the bejayziz out of my fine, sometimes-flyaway hair, and I never feel like I am overdoing it or stressing my tresses. I just love it. They are not cheap, but in combination with the air® hair dryer this is one impressive deal. I gotta say, using the air® is a professional experience even for me, who blasts her hair dry every single time. How much does a loved one want a great hair year? How much do you? This is The Big Gift for sure — but I swear, you’ll never look back.

KÉRASTASE
Elixir Ultime Serum Solide €28.95
KERASTASE elixir ultimeSmall but mighty, this is 18 grammes of beautifully scented hair goodness. A tiny amount scraped off with a fingernail and rubbed between the palms creates a fluid imbued with 15 oils that add shine and a rich, woodsy scent. You won’t smell like a pine tree, no matter how seasonally appropriate! It’s more like a floriental, and it will inspire anyone you hug to come back for more. If you use too much you’ll get a predictably heavy result — experiment to determine the correct amount. I mean, you know, counsel your giftee to do so. It’s not like you’re out shopping for yourself, right?

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I Used It All Up: Schwarzkopf Professional BlondMe Keratin Restore Blonde Mask – All Blondes

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Even as I was taking the photo, I thought, “Maybe I can get one more go out of this?”

BLONDE ME IUIAU

What I loved about this was the keratin mentioned on the label, and the keratin-esque effect it did in fact have on my hair. Now, there’s nothing like a proper keratin hair treatment, like the ones I’ve enjoyed from Queen Salon in Dublin, but this is pretty darned close. My hair felt silkier and stronger when I used this — especially when I used this because I had a non-sulfate shampoo whose conditioner was complete pants. Which is another post in the making: why is non-sulfate conditioner either non-existent or totally rubbish?

It felt like a waste to just use it a straightforward conditioner rather than as an intensive mask, but I never regretted it — who would ever regret a great hair day? {And, naturally, it is super fantastic when used for deep conditioning. I am really going to miss this one.}

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Schwarzkopf Professional BlondMe Keratin Restore Blonde Mask – All Blondes, €19.39
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Brunettes: your revenge is imminent. I’ve got a review on deck of a superb shampoo & conditioner combo that is not nice to blondes…
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FOTYesterday + The Hair

/ MANY BRAVE FOOLS / Leave a comment

FOTD 09 03Highlights — not just on The Hair — include:

> essence Long-lasting Lipstick {€2.89} in Come Naturally: really emollient, loving the dark nude, feels like a balm.

> Foundation via Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Perfectly Satin {€38}, which has not let me down in the month or so that I’ve been trialing it. It’s matte, but not so matte that you look like you should be displayed in Madame Tussaud’s — a lovely, natural glow is allowed to illuminate your skin without your face ever looking greasy.

> Sadly a function of the iPhone, the No7 eyeshadow is not showing up as well as it ought. This Mini Palette {€14.25} is fabbbbbbilis, the shadows are light in weight, but deep in pigment. It felt so light, even on the brush, that I loaded it up too much the first time out, and have since pulled back a little.

> Gave The Hair a little treat before shampooing: BC Oil Miracle Barbary Fig Oil {€27} from Schwarzkopf Professional. Soaked it into the lengths and ends and left it for… well over an hour I’m sure, since I was hard at work doing keyboardy stuff. Washed it out with the matching Fig Oil & Keratin Restorative Shampoo. Silky!

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