Regularly bleached, coloured and heat styled to within an inch of its life - it's fair to say that I put my hair through its paces. So when it comes to caring for it, it's of the utmost importance that I choose good quality products that will nourish and protect it as much as possible. I'm always looking for shampoos and conditioners that will put much needed moisture back into my hair without weighing it down, and when I discovered the L'Oreal Botanicals Fresh Care range, it sounded like exactly what I was looking for.
If I'm honest, it was the packaging that first attracted me to this range. I would never have guessed it was L'Oreal, or indeed any drugstore brand, based on the way it looks. It really is quite sleek and beautiful - much more like a high end salon brand than something you can pick up in your local Boots. I was even more intrigued when I learned that the whole range is vegan, created from natural botanical ingredients and essential oils, and free from silicones, parabens and colourants.
There are several variations within the range: Lavender, for fine and fragile hair, Safflower, for dry hair, Camelina, for unruly hair... as my tresses could be described as any of the above, and since all the different shampoos and conditioners look and smell so delicious, it was hard to know which to choose! I started off with the Lavender masque - a lightweight yet nourishing deep conditioning treatment that I loved so much it found its way into my 2018 Beauty Favourites. However, I was keen to find something that would prolong the radiance of my freshly coloured hair between appointments, and perhaps add some shine back, so as much as I adore the scent of lavender, I decided to move on to the Geranium products.
Formulated from a blend of Geranium essential oil, Soya and Coconut oil, the Geranium Radiance Remedy products are specifically targeted to coloured hair, to hydrate, detangle and reveal shine. They are wonderful to use - the products feel creamy and yet light at the same time, and the floral fragrance that fills the shower when I wash my hair is simply glorious. When I've finished conditioning, my hair feels like silk and my Tangle Teezer glides through it effortlessly.
I have seen some very mixed reviews of these products, and my feeling is that the range is perhaps more suited to people who, like me, have fine hair. I love that it's left feeling soft, yet still has bounce and body to it. Anything richer might leave my hair weighed down and looking lank and lifeless, but perhaps if you have thicker hair, these products might not quite deliver the results you need.
Speaking for myself, I love how they make my hair look and feel. Anything that can breathe new life into my hair when it's overdue to be cut and coloured is a definite keeper in my book! I even think they have helped to restore a little shine, although my bleach treated hair is never going to excel in that department. All in all, I'm a huge fan, and will definitely be repurchasing the Geranium products as well as trying others in the range.
Have you tried the L'Oreal Botanicals Fresh Care range? What hair care products are you loving right now?
Kate x
18 comments
We all love a good pamper night, and with the cooler months on the horizon now, I for one am looking forward to having a few more of them soon! There's nothing nicer than lighting a scented candle or two and running a hot bath after a cold and miserable day, and with that in mind, I thought that now would be the perfect time to share a few of my pamper night essentials with you.
Bath And Body
For me, the highlight of any pamper night is a hot bath. I love to set up my laptop to play YouTube videos while I sink into the water and feel the stresses of the day start to melt away. Bubbles are an absolute must, and for this, my favourite products are without doubt the Lush Bubble Bars, in particular, The Comforter. It creates a huge amount of bubbles, so one bar will last you a minimum of four baths, it smells like fruit sweets, and it turns the bathwater pink. If that's not perfection, I don't know what is.
In addition to the bubbles, I also like to add a few drops of a really luxurious bath oil to help soften my skin. I'm a huge fan of Jo Malone Bath Oils, but at the moment I'm using this beautiful Restorative Bath Oil from Espa. I've had it in my stash for a while - I believe the packaging has changed now - so I thought it was high time I used it up! It contains a soothing blend of sweet orange, rose geranium and lavender to calm the senses, as well as palmarosa and sweet almond oil to tone and moisturise the skin. I also have the matching body oil, which I love to apply after I get out of the bath to make my skin extra supple. The added bonus with this is that you will get into bed smelling wonderful!
Hair
Washing my hair can feel like a chore at times, but if I'm having a really full on pamper night, I'll do that first, then slather on a nourishing hair mask and wrap my hair up in a towel while I have my bath. The heat really helps the mask to sink into your hair and I always think you get the maximum benefits from it by doing it that way. At the moment I'm using the Garnier Ultimate Blends Sleek Restorer, which contains coconut oil and cocoa butter. It smells incredible and is very rich and moisturising - perfect for my bleached hair. One word of caution though - if you have fine hair like me, this isn't a mask you're going to want to apply to your roots. My bleached ends love it, but it's too rich for the roots and makes them look greasy, leaving me needing to wash my hair again. If you have thick and/or super dry hair, however, you will probably love this as an all over treat.
Skincare
Pamper night is the perfect time for a little multi-masking action. I tend to start with a clay or charcoal mask to draw impurities out of my oily t-zone, and the Origins Clear Improvement mask is a tried and trusted favourite for this. Then, I like a hydrating or plumping mask, to help put that youthful look back into my complexion! I love these sheet masks from Indeed Labs, but there's something about the scent of roses that instantly makes me feel like a princess, so it's no surprise that the British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask from The Body Shop is one of my all time favourites. A refreshing, soft gel texture, this is infused with real rose petals and smells absolutely incredible - even now, when as you can see, I've almost finished the jar. It feels soothing to apply, and leaves my skin smooth, soft and looking brighter. This really is one of my most loved products and will definitely be repurchased as soon as it is finished.
Another little touch of luxury for my skin, also rose scented, is the Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist. Hydrating, soothing and refreshing, this is such a pleasure to spritz on at the end of a cleansing routine (before moisturising). I actually don't save this one for pamper night at all - I use it every day!
Eye Masks
I'm obsessed with eye masks at the moment! In fact, I talked about a couple of my favourite kinds in this post, if you fancy checking that out. At the moment, I'm using these Pro-5 Collagen Hydrogel Eye Pads* from skinChemists. Designed to brighten, smooth, hydrate and firm the under eye area, they come in a box of five and are recommended for weekly use. You need to lie down while you wear these, because they'll fall off your face otherwise (or at least that's what I find), but that's not necessarily a bad thing - especially on a relaxing pamper night! SkinChemists recommend that you wear these for ten to fifteen minutes, but I've noticed my under eye area looking brighter and more refreshed after just five.
What are some of your pamper night essentials?
Kate x
*Gifted product. Some links may be affiliate links. All opinions, as always, are my own.
I'm sitting down to write my July favourites with a blanket tucked over my knees and the rain pounding down outside my window - I keep reminding myself that there's still a month of summer left, even though it doesn't really feel that way right now! I've picked out my usual top five items of the month, though you could be forgiven for thinking there's only three. What can I say - when I find something I like, I tend to roll with it!
1&2. Backless loafers from River Island and TK Maxx* - I talked about the plain pair of blush pink loafers in my TK Maxx post and have been loving pairing them with jeans and pretty tops this month. I definitely didn't need another pair, but I've been lusting after the embroidered kind for a while now (damn you Instagram!) and just couldn't resist when I saw these beauties in River Island the other day. To my surprise I've actually been getting loads of wear out of both pairs - it turns out that you can't have too many pink loafers. Who knew?!
3. Mark Hill MiracOILous Nourishing Heat Protection - The name of this product doesn't exactly trip off the tongue, but it's such a lovely heat protectant. Not only does it protect hair against heated appliances up to 220 degrees celsius, it's also infused with Moroccan Argan Oil to help condition and nourish every time you style your hair. I use both a hairdryer and straighteners on a regular basis so this is a life changing product for me - my hair definitely feels softer since using it. It's also a lovely lightweight spray with no grease to it whatsoever, so I can spritz it quite liberally without worrying about it weighing down my fine hair. Top marks for this one.
4&5. Rosie For Autograph Cream Eyeshadow Sticks in Almond Eyes and Movie Star Crush - These are my first ever eyeshadow sticks and they definitely won't be my last. I love how quick and easy they are to swipe on and these in particular have a beautiful creamy formula and shimmery finish. Almond Eyes is the pale gold colour and Movie Star Crush a beautiful mauve. Both are very wearable for day to day. There are two other colours in the range, one a deep copper and the other a cooler toned silvery shade. All four are equally beautiful and I am really tempted to buy the other two, although at £12.50 each I am holding out a little longer!
What's your favourite item from my list, and what have you been loving throughout July?
Kate x
*Gifted item. All opinions, as always, are my own.
This month, I've been loving nourishing hair and nail care, clarifying skincare, a beautiful scented candle and a cute cross body bag from Topshop. Wanna see? Well, keep reading!
As far as I'm concerned, this range can hold its own against any high end shampoos and conditioners out there. Beautifully nourishing, it's exactly what my dry, damaged hair needs - regular readers will know all about the overly bleached areas I'm currently growing out! My hair is also quite fine, so while the temptation is to slather it with moisturising products, I also have to be careful not to weigh it down too much. This range is perfect for keeping that balance. My hair feels soft after washing and conditioning, while the treatment oil adds shine. My one gripe is that the intensive hair mask that used to be part of the range seems to have disappeared from the drugstore shelves. Please Dove, bring it back!
I've had this mask for ages, but I've discovered a new appreciation for it this month. Why? Because I started to get lazy about using it, and noticed a deterioration in my skin as a result. I can get breakouts on my chin and forehead if I'm not rigorous with my skincare routine, and I know now that using this twice a week really helps to keep those pesky spots at bay. Needless to say I'm going to make more of an effort to keep using it from now on!
If I've been lazy with skincare lately, one area where I've been making more effort is nail care. This moisturising oil really makes a difference to my nails and cuticles, and helps to keep them looking neater and more polished. I massage it into my fingertips whenever I give myself a manicure, and also a few evenings a week before bed.
OK, I'll admit, I haven't had this candle all month. In fact, I only received it about a week ago. But I knew as soon as I laid eyes on it that I was going to love it. First of all, just look at how pretty the jar is! When the candle's finished, it will make a lovely makeup brush holder. And then, of course, there's the candle itself. The fragrance - tea, fresh green fig and spicy white pepper - is delicate and absolutely beautiful. Both relaxing and luxurious, it has a hint of the exotic, whisking you away to a far away land as you close your eyes and breathe it in. I do love a scented candle and this is a really, really good one.
An absolute bargain at £19.00, I've been taking this cute little bag everywhere with me this month. It goes with everything, fits all your essentials without too many problems and totally looks designer. There is also a light pink version with silver hardware, which I probably need. Rude not to at these kind of prices, no?!
What have you been loving this month?
What have you been loving this month?
Kate x
*Gifted item. All opinions, as always, are my own.
If you've been following my blog for a while, you'll probably know that I'm allergic to hair dye, or more specifically, to PPD, the active ingredient in hair dye. I don't want to waffle on and on about the ins and outs of hair dye allergy in this post (although if you're interested in that, I waffled on and on about it here!) Instead, I want to share a recent experience with you - one that could be helpful to anyone who's looking to disguise grey hairs, especially if you happen to be allergic to dye, like me.
So what do you do when you have grey hairs but can't colour over them? Well, as a matter of fact, for anyone with greys, it's always going to be more effective to get highlights rather than trying to dye them. As a hairdresser once explained to me, grey hairs are funny little buggers, completely different in texture to pigmented hair, and even strong, permanent dyes have a tendency to wash out of them within just a few weeks. Of course you can keep re-dyeing them if you want to, but it's high maintenance.
Highlights, on the other hand, create depth and dimension within the hair, and as soon as you get that mix of shades, the greys just seem to blend away. With nothing to wash out of them, you're basically sorted until the roots grow through. You can lighten hair with bleach - a completely different chemical process to dyeing and one which I am happily not allergic to. So for a good few years now, I've used bleach only highlights to disguise my grey hairs.
At first, this was fine, but there were always a few little niggles at the back of my mind. For one thing, most people who have highlights don't have them with just bleach, and there are very good reasons for that. Bleach will lift your natural colour, but not usually to a shade you want to be. With "normal" non-allergic clients, hairdressers use toners or dyes over the top of bleach to achieve the desired shade, and some won't even want to touch your hair if they have to work with bleach alone. I was very fortunate that I found a talented and experienced colourist who would, and that bleach - at least in his expert hands - seemed to lift my hair to quite a nice shade without the help of toners or other colourants. However, not having any sort of choice over your own hair colour is still not ideal.
The second problem, which is potentially a lot worse, is what happens if things start getting a bit too blond? Most people can just add some lowlights or even dye the whole lot back to their natural colour, but if you have a PPD allergy, you can't do this. My first colourist, Shane, understood this issue, and was always careful to give me just enough highlights to disguise my greys. This is what my hair used to look like when he was in charge of my colour, and I was always very happy with it.
Then Shane left. Left the salon, left town, left the bloody country. Walked out of my life and abandoned me to deal with my hair issues on my own.
Damn you Shane!
My next colourist, unfortunately, was not in the same league. She freaked out about not being able to use toners on me, and decided that the only way to keep my hair from being brassy (a common complaint when you lift with bleach alone) was to make it as light as possible. She did this by leaving the bleach on a lot longer than Shane had done, and was also not very careful about only doing my roots. I, stupidly perhaps, did nothing to stop her, and I ended up looking like this.
Now I'm aware that a lot of people might actually prefer this colour. It's cooler toned than what I had before, which is always infinitely more fashionable. I, however, hated it. I felt it looked harsh on me, and I really missed my warm, caramel tones. It was also a lot more damaging to my hair, impossible to manage, and the worst thing was it got blonder and more damaged with every appointment, because she just wasn't careful enough with where she was putting the bleach. Also, just look at those roots!
I was now in my nightmare situation, with hair that was too light, and unable to do anything about it.
But then, I heard about Goldwell Elumen. (Just to be clear, I heard about it from my own research and paid for my appointment with my own money - this is not a sponsored post.) Elumen is a kind of dye that colours hair physically instead of chemically (don't ask me how this works, but it does! If you're interested, you can read all about Goldwell Elumen and the science behind it here.) Because it uses different technology, there's no nasty active PPD contained within it, and as a patch test confirmed, I'm not allergic to it! Yay!
Image Source
Goldwell Elumen is usually used to create rainbow colours, so if you're into mermaid/unicorn hair, it's well worth checking out. However, they also have a range of regular shades, including warm honey blondes. I found a salon near me that worked with it, and explained my situation to my new colourist, Lauren. She chose two shades - one to act as a low light to break up the excessive lightness throughout my hair, and the other slightly lighter to use as a toner on the rest. The finished result looked like this, and I couldn't be happier with it.
While Goldwell Elumen is apparently not the best at covering greys, it holds on to bleached hair beautifully, so it's perfect for me to use as a toner. A completely unexpected bonus is that my hair is also a lot softer and shinier after using this, and it seems to be lasting really well too.
I'm definitely going to keep on using Goldwell Elumen, and would recommend that anyone who's allergic to PPD or is just looking for a gentler hair colourant gives it a try.
Do you colour your hair? What's your preferred brand?
Kate x
If you follow me on Snapchat, you might have seen that I recently took a trip to the hairdresser's "just to get my roots done", and ended up with hair blonde enough to give Daenerys Targaryen a run for her money. Well, perhaps not quite that blonde, but there was a lot of bleach involved. A lot. I've actually got used to the colour now. Turns out my hairdresser was right - I'd left it too long between appointments (mostly because I hate spending hours getting my colour done - anyone else?) and the underneath sections were starting to look pretty tarnished. It's definitely more even now, but boy did it feel dry and damaged once it was done!
So if ever there was a good time to put a new haircare range through its paces, it was in the wake of this appointment. I was very interested when I was offered the chance to try this Argan Oil range from Natural World - a London based haircare brand that creates ranges from natural ingredients from around the globe. Argan oil is widely known to be very moisturizing, and that was definitely what I needed at this point! The range is also free from a lot of nasties such as parabens, phosphates and phthalates, is gluten free and contains 95% natural ingredients including certified organic argan oil.
I was sent a shampoo and conditioner to try, along with a hair mask and two different sizes of treatment oil. Looking the products up online, I was pretty impressed with the generous sizes compared to the price. For example, I received 500 ml bottles of shampoo and conditioner, which retail for £4.99 each. That's a lot of bang for your buck. The packaging isn't the most luxurious out there but the bright blue colour is fairly appealing and for the most part it's practical enough, although I have to say I hate the packaging of the smaller treatment oil. It's a narrow tube with a screw top and just pours out into your hand, so it's impossible to avoid wastage and mess. The larger treatment oil comes with a press down lid allowing you to dispense a controlled amount of product, which is much better.
All the products feel lovely to use, rich without being heavy, and with a beautiful fragrance. As well as argan oil, the range is also infused with a blend of cedarwood, rosemary, lemongrass and ylang ylang, and this is certainly evident in the scent - especially the orange. As most people know by now, argan oil - particularly nourishing in Vitamin E and anti-oxidants - is a popular choice when it comes to moisturising ingredients in haircare, and the blend of essential oils contained within this range is designed to gently cleanse hair whilst adding moisture and shine.
For my first hair wash post Daenerys-gate, I decided to use the shampoo and the hair mask, for an extra hit of much-needed nourishment. As directed, I left the hair mask on for twenty minutes, wrapped in a towel. When I came to rinse it out, my hair felt soft and manageable. I wouldn't go so far as to say it felt like silk, but to be fair, I don't think there's a product in the world that could make that happen, given how much bleach it's been subjected to.
Hair Mask
For hair washes after that, I've been using the shampoo and regular conditioner, switching the latter up for the hair mask once a week or so, and I'm pleased to report that my hair remains soft and relatively easy to comb through before styling, which is impressive considering the aforementioned bleach. It also seems to work very well at not weighing down my fine hair or causing it to become greasy, which is great as it means I can leave it a few days between washes - a desirable thing if you want to avoid subjecting your hair to too much heat styling, as I do.
Left - Shampoo, Right - Conditioner
As for shine, this has always been an elusive quality as far as my hair is concerned, and even more so since I became a bottle blonde. I don't find that the shampoo, conditioner and hair mask add shine to my hair, although someone with a different/less abused hair type might well find differently. I do however think that the treatment oil, when used on dry hair, adds a little. I really like the treatment oil. You can use it on both wet and dry hair, and it's so light that even if you make a mistake and end up being a bit too heavy handed with it, you can still work with it. Combined with the other products, it definitely makes my hair feel softer and smoother. Can you see the added shine in the "after" picture below? I'll admit, it's minuscule, but I do think there's something of a difference!
All in all I think this is a lovely range - effective, natural, pleasant to use and great value for money. If you're interested in trying any of the products, you can pick them up at ridiculously low prices here.
What haircare products are you using at the moment? Any recommendations?
Kate x
All the products feel lovely to use, rich without being heavy, and with a beautiful fragrance. As well as argan oil, the range is also infused with a blend of cedarwood, rosemary, lemongrass and ylang ylang, and this is certainly evident in the scent - especially the orange. As most people know by now, argan oil - particularly nourishing in Vitamin E and anti-oxidants - is a popular choice when it comes to moisturising ingredients in haircare, and the blend of essential oils contained within this range is designed to gently cleanse hair whilst adding moisture and shine.
For my first hair wash post Daenerys-gate, I decided to use the shampoo and the hair mask, for an extra hit of much-needed nourishment. As directed, I left the hair mask on for twenty minutes, wrapped in a towel. When I came to rinse it out, my hair felt soft and manageable. I wouldn't go so far as to say it felt like silk, but to be fair, I don't think there's a product in the world that could make that happen, given how much bleach it's been subjected to.
Hair Mask
For hair washes after that, I've been using the shampoo and regular conditioner, switching the latter up for the hair mask once a week or so, and I'm pleased to report that my hair remains soft and relatively easy to comb through before styling, which is impressive considering the aforementioned bleach. It also seems to work very well at not weighing down my fine hair or causing it to become greasy, which is great as it means I can leave it a few days between washes - a desirable thing if you want to avoid subjecting your hair to too much heat styling, as I do.
Left - Shampoo, Right - Conditioner
All in all I think this is a lovely range - effective, natural, pleasant to use and great value for money. If you're interested in trying any of the products, you can pick them up at ridiculously low prices here.
What haircare products are you using at the moment? Any recommendations?
Kate x
*Products sent to me for review. All opinions, as always, are my own
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)