Orofluido Shine Spray Review

Since I received a beautiful bottle of Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Hair Mist for my birthday last year, I have been slightly obsessed with the very idea of hair fragrance. Perfume? For my hair? Amazing!

I very recently went for the big chop and had a lot of my hair cut off, but before I did, I spied the Orofluido Shine Spray on Feel Unique and was very quickly convinced by the reviews gushing about the luscious scent. Truth be told, I didn't really care about the 'shine' part, it was more the promise of delicious amber and vanilla scented hair that had me sold.

I've had the shine spray for about two weeks now and rarely walk past it without having a cheeky spritz. I tell no lie - this stuff is scrumptious.

On the box they say: Beauty shine spray for all hair types that gives your hair an incredible luminosity of pure gold, extraordinary silkiness and control. A radiant and immediate sensual finish. Its light texture allows for a rapid absorption without weighing down your hair. Its delicious amber fragrance with a vanilla foundation will transport you into a fascinating world of oriental perfume.

Ok, while I don't feel that the fragrance transports me into a fascinating world of oriental perfume (that would be kind of terrifying) this product does smell 100% delectable. If, like me, you're a fan of foodie scents, you will love it.

In terms of its central function - adding shine - it certainly does that too and it is quickly absorbed and nothing like spraying on that old school leave in conditioner that saturates your hair. It's more like a fine mist that you can chuck in your handbag (though the bottle is glass) and freshen up your hair any time you like without feeling like you're overloading it with product. It doesn't seem to have magnificent staying power but does keep my hair smelling edible for a good few hours.

This is my first product from Orofluido; though if the rest of the line smells like the Shine Spray, I doubt it will be my last. I got it from Feel Unique where it retails for £11.90, though it was on sale when I ordered it so it was a bit cheaper ;)

Glossy Hair Treatment at Martyn Maxey Hairdressing

Martyn Maxey is a pretty big deal. Having opened his salon way back in 1991 and tending to the tresses of A-Listers such as Elle Macpherson, Nigella Lawson, Robbie Williams and Naomi Campbell (to name a few), Mr Maxey has earned a reputation as one of the best hairdressers around.

The salon has recently relocated to Wigmore Street (just behind Selfridges) and I went along on the weekend to check out the new space and experience a treatment designed to add gloss and shine to the hair.
The best way I can describe the Martyn Maxey salon is this; Upmarket and classy without the pretentious factor. In fact, the salon has a lovely, warm atmosphere and the staff are professional, friendly and accommodating.
They even serve pots of tea and coffee instead of cups, which I thought was a nice touch.

Before the Treatment

I'm not going to lie and say that my hair looked completely awful before the gloss treatment, but it was definitely dry, my ends were frizzing and things were looking a tad dull.

After a consultation with Martyn, we decided the best way to achieve a healthy, glossy look was with clear Sebastian Cellophane treatment customised with a little veg colour to add a bit of pigment. The Sebastian Cellophane gloss treatment is kind of like 'gel nails for the hair' - it's your hair, just better! The treatment works by infusing each strand with botanical-rich goodness that makes it glossy and gorgeous for up to 6 weeks- sort of like a supercharged semi-permanent hair colour.

The Treatment

 I headed over to the basin where my hair was cleansed twice with Sebastian shampoo and conditioner.

After a towel dry, it was time to apply the treatment. My hair was divided into sections and the treatment was painted on.

My head was then wrapped in a stunning plastic cap.

And heat was applied to help the treatment along. This took about 20 minutes.

Once the heaters had worked their magic, the treatment was rinsed out and I was ready for a (much needed) trim and style from Martyn.

I wanted to keep the length, so Martyn trimmed my ends and added some layers for extra body and movement.
My hair was then blow-dried with a round brush and a curling iron was used to create some loose curls.

The Result

Shiny, glossy, bouncy and lightweight hair. I think the pictures speak for themselves really.

 Look at the glossy goodness!

The whole experience began at 3pm and I was done just after 5pm - not bad for a wash, treatment, cut and blowdry! My Martyn Maxey Hairdressing trip was definitely among my favourite salon experiences to date - not only were the results amazing, but Martyn himself is a genuinely lovely person and this obviously has a positive effect on the staff at his salon.

Want to get glossy? The treatment I had is £36 - this includes consultation, advice and cellophane plus colour application, processing, rinsing and conditioning.

The blowdry is from £34.50 - £74

and cuts start from £52.50

You can find Martyn Maxey Hairdressing at 104 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 3RN.

Visit the website Here 

*My Martyn Maxey Experience was gifted to me for consideration 

Area H20 Shampoo & Conditioner for Hard Water Review

Area H20 Shampoos and Conditioners are actually rather revolutionary as they have been developed by bioscientists (yes, bioscientists) to counteract the effect that different water types have on our hair.

With three ranges developed specifically for use with hard water, medium water and soft water, the products contain special ingredients that are supposed to get rid of the nasties lurking in our water pipes.
Here's a little blurb from the H20 website that explains this process in an undoubtedly more concise way than I can.

Metal ions, present in all types of water, react with shampoo to form mineral deposits that cling to your hair. AreaH20 shampoo is designed to act as a magnet, attracting mineral ions and allowing you to wash them away far more easily.

 As a result of these metal bits leaving the hair strands, the hair is supposed to in turn become noticeably cleaner, smoother and more lovely in general. These are some pretty tall claims so I've been left with no choice but to try out the shampoo and conditioner for myself to see if there was anything to get excited about. The Area H20 website features a nifty little map that helps you to determine what kind of water you're showering in, no matter where you are in the world. Of course, London is a distinct 'Hard Water' area, so I've been trying out the shampoo and conditioner for coloured hair and hard water.

The first thing I noticed about the shampoo was the scent - the best way I can describe is 'unisex'. It just smells quite clean and fresh, but not particularly chemically, which is a bonus. The labelling on the bottle states that the shampoo is 'very concentrated' so only a small amount is required, once again, big tick for this as obviously using a product sparingly means it will last longer. Duh. The shampoo lathered up easily and rinsed out well, preparing my hair for the conditioner.

I've gotta say, I don't think I've seen a conditioner of this consistency before. It's very opaque and very creamy. Sort of looks like a delightfully rich vanilla icing, yet I wasn't game to lick it. The conditioner had that clean, unisex scent going on too, though maybe smelled a tiny bit more feminine than the shampoo. I found that it washed out easily as well and didn't really leave any slimy residue like so many conditioners do.

I've used the Area H20 Shampoo and Conditioner for Hard Water three times now so I think I'm in a position to give some decent feedback. I found the products to be very clarifying for my hair and definitely made it shinier in general. My three flatmates have all given it a go too (including 2 boys) and they had nothing negative to say about Area H20 - just that their hair felt "very clean". While I don't completely understand the science behind how this shampoo and conditioner works, I do know how it makes my hair feel - clean and refreshed with a healthy sheen to it!

You can find the Area H20 range at Debenhams on Oxford Street in London and online at Look Fantastic with prices starting from £6.99.
If you want to know more about Area H20 you can visit them here.

*The Area H20 products were kindly sent to me for consideration

Bespoke Halloween Hair at BLEACH London

Everyone's gone a bit mad for BLEACH London since they launched their range in Boots recently and now they've gone and unveiled some more brilliance in the form of a special Halloween hair and beauty service.
Pop down to Topshop Oxford Circus for bespoke Halloween hair from the BLEACH London team where you can choose from a variety of fun, spooky hair stencils and get your nails did with ghoulish nail art by WAH Nails.

The Halloween offer runs from the 27th of October to the 2nd of November and prices for the looks start from £20. 

Pop in for some Halloween tomfoolery at BLEACH Topshop

Topshop Basement, Oxford Street, W1D 1LA

Share your BLEACH Halloween looks on Instagram or Twitter tagging @bleachlondon #WAHBLEACHHALLOWEEN for a chance to be on the BLEACH Blog.

I Heart Moroccanoil!

I'm very late to the party with this one. To be honest, I sort of ignored the Moroccanoil hype when it rolled around a few years ago, partly because it was notoriously expensive and partly because...it was notoriously expensive.
This all changed when I attended the Handpicked Media LFW bloggers suite last weekend and had the chance to get my hair did by the uber talented, extremely lovely Errol Douglas using Moroccanoil products.
Errol was on hand to give attendees hair advice before giving us styles to rival the models stomping the catwalks.
Errol showed me a quick and easy way to get big hair using curling tongs, fingers, a light application of Moroccanoil hair oil and Moroccanoil hairspray. The result was big, glam hair reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver's character in Ghostbusters. May not be everyone's cup of tea, but I loved it!

pic taken by @NataliJaconelli

Since the event, I've been using Moroccanoil shampoo and conditioner as well as the oil and hairspray and I've gotta say I'm hooked. Everything about this stuff rocks - the feeling of my hair after I've washed it, the hold of the hairspray and the scent of Moroccanoil in general is just beautiful.

Because I'm in a constant state of greasy hair paranoia, I was a little concerned that Moroccanoil would be too heavy for me and I'd wind up looking greasy around the roots after a matter of hours but it seems to be just the right balance of hydration for me. Win!
Just washing and conditioning alone leaves my hair super shiny and healthy looking but adding the original hair oil as well takes it to a whole new level of awesome. The hairspray definitely deserves an honourable mention too- I have the Strong hold version of the spray and not only does it do what it says on the tin, it is easily brushed out and smells absolutely incredible (though I don't recommend inhaling it on purpose..).

Moroccanoil products can be found in loads of salons around the country but if you're looking for Errol Douglas, you can find him at his salon in Knightsbridge and by clicking here.

Thanks for reading!

John Frieda Luxurious Volume Collection

To be frank, John Frieda has never been my first port of call when  treating myself to higher end haircare. I haven't a clue why I've never picked any products up before but this only added to the intrigue when I was given the opportunity to try some products from the new Luxurious Volume Collection.

I've been trialling the Touchably Full Shampoo & Conditioner and the Blow Dry Lotion Root Booster, all products that aim to make you finally love your fine hair. As I've recently chopped a good few inches off my locks, I'm all about the volume these days, so these couldn't have arrived at a better time. Here are my thoughts. Enjoy!

Touchably Full Shampoo

A clear formula, the Luxurious Volume Touchably Full Shampoo has a really fresh, clean 'shampoo-ey' scent to it, and I only needed to use a small blob to work up a decent lather (hello, sulfates). A decent shampoo all round, this left my hair feeling clean but not too stripped and ready for the conditioner.

Touchably Full Conditioner

The Luxurious Volume Touchably Full Conditioner is a semi-opaque formula that's incredibly lightweight for a conditioner. With the same fresh scent as the shampoo, I found the conditioner pretty much does what it says on the tin (tube) - detangles and builds fullness.

Blow Dry Lotion Root Booster

Firstly, I'm really proud of this action shot ^ , secondly, this stuff is pretty awesome. It just adds that extra oomph to your hair before you go mad with the hair dryer. Once again, the scent is pleasant and I really like the fact that it's a spray - much more convenient than lotions that require lots of massaging and therefore, sticky palms! To use, simply spray onto the roots of damp hair and blowdry as normal.

The Results

I've used 'thickening' and 'volumising' products before but the John Frieda collection is by far the most lightweight of the bunch and I didn't feel like my hair was covered in product.
All, in all I'm really pleased with these products and I do think they add that extra bit of volume.
If you'd like to check out the products in action, check out the official John Frieda UK YouTube channel.

Thanks for reading!

Hair Adventures: Pantene Pro-V Deep Moisture Soufflé

Since bleaching my hair (again) in preparation for the reddish/ pinkish/ completely weird colour it is now, I've needed to pay extra attention in keeping things hydrated or risk walking around looking like a crazed retired clown who's tried to break into a dairy farm but been caught up in a highly electrified fence.

In other words, frizzled, frazzled hair is not a look I wear well, so when I spotted this can of sweet, moisturising promise I knew I simply had to give it a whirl.

Whoever came up with the name for this was spot on - and very good at marketing. Who wouldn't want to smoosh something that looks like that squirty cream in a can we all (I) spray into our mouths behind the fridge door when nobody's looking, into their hair?
I know I would, in fact I have and I can report that this stuff is as delectable as the name suggests.

One quick pump of this is all you need for a palmful of delightfully light, glossy soufflé that wouldn't look out of place on a dessert tasting plate.

You can use the soufflé on damp or dry hair - I've tried both and have found that it simply sinks into the hair leaving no sticky residue, greasiness or even excess weight.
My hair just feels softer and somewhat more shiny - a godsend for fried over-processed hair like mine that could do with a bit of love and affection.
Scent wise, it smells a lot like a Pantene shampoo so you could always fool everyone and use it to freshen up your hair between washes for a faux 'just shampooed' smell.

I picked up the coloured hair formula of the Deep Moisture Soufflé but you can also find the original formula at Boots, Superdrug and other haircare stockist for £4.49

I love the idea of a moisturiser for hair and I really think Pantene have outdone themselves with this. Have you tried the Deep Moisture Soufflé or a similar product? I'd love to try some other versions of this lovely concept.

Pantene Pro-V Deep Moisture Soufflé :0 #hair #bbloggers vine.co/v/bnvv3gTApF6

— Hannah Rose (@lippyinlondon) February 6, 2013

Thanks for reading!

Hair Adventures: feat. Creative Image Adore

I'm at my man friend's place tonight so I'm restricted to posting from the trusty iPhone.
I just wanted to write a quick update about my red hair dye adventures, the latest being a semi-permanent colour by Creative Image Adore in Crimson.
I picked two little bottles of this stuff up from a hair extensions and wigs shop on Uxbridge road for £3.45 each.
It turns out I only needed one bottle so I've now got a spare ready for when this inevitably rinses out in the next few weeks.
To use this colour, I shampooed and towel dried my hair (no conditioner!) spread the very runny formula through my hair, wrapped my head in plastic, blasted it with a hair dryer for a few minutes, vacuumed the flat, had a cup of tea then jumped in the shower to wash it out
(Development time for Creative Image Adore is 30 mins).
After successfully dying my bathtub pink, I emerged from the ordeal looking like this:
*stock photo of the Creative Image Adore range from ensleybeautysupply.com
Thanks for reading!

Hair Adventures: Dying my Hair Red at Home

You may have seen last week's post about my hair faux pas featuring Schwarzkopf Live Color XXL Luminance.
Though this particular product is designed to lighten and colour dark hair, I failed to take notice of the fact that it wasn't going to do anything to the black dye that still lingered in my lengths.
So I was left with a slightly bizarre light red on top, black through the lengths, fiery on the ends look that led my own brother to enquire as to why I looked like a 'red skunk head'. Whatever that is.

Anyway, long story short, I wasn't happy rocking the reverse-ombre look but I wasn't ready to go back to the dark side just yet. What's a girl to do?

Pop into Superdrug on her lunch break of course and pick up a packet of pre-lightener and two packs of red dye!

I finally admitted to myself that if I wanted to turn my locks red, bleach was going to be involved.
Here's what happened:

This is the result (in a variety of different lighting) after pre-bleaching with Clairol Born Blonde Lightener and two packs of Superdrug Colour Vibrance Permanent Colour in 8:45 Fire Red.
I need to mention that the pre-lightener was really effective at lifting the black dye and was probably the most pleasant bleach I've used in terms of minimal stinging/ itchiness and odour!

I did the dye job two days ago and washed my hair today and was a little surprised by the amount of dye that ran out when I washed it - the shower scene from Hitchcock's Psycho sprang to mind.
I know that red dyes fade incredibly fast so I think this time next week I'll be topping up the colour with a semi-permanent. Stay tuned :0

Superdrug Colour Vibrance dyes are currently on offer at 2 for £4.99.

Thanks for reading!

Hair Adventures: Practising Pincurls

Being a lazy vintage enthusiast can be tricky, so perfecting something as time consuming (and sometimes as difficult) as pincurls is near impossible for me.
I'm fine when it comes to curling the front of my hair into snail-like swirls but reaching around to do the back hurts my arms and my brain so I enlisted my willing flatmate Anna  to play guinea pig for me.
Luckily, Anna likes having her hair played with so she was happy to sit for half an hour while I twirled her hair into somewhat imperfect little rolls.

The Curl Commandments

• Pincurling towel-dried hair gives the best results as the curl is easier to manipulate and lasts longer than a dry curl once set. Curling wet hair is known as a 'wet set'.
• Use a setting lotion/ mousse/ some kind of flexible hold product to make the curls last
• Try not to twist the hair as you roll - twisting = frizz!
• Wait until the hair is completely dry before taking the pins out
• Use pronged curling clips or flat-edged bobby pins to hold the curl in place. Using ridged bobby pins can leave indentations in the hair.
• If sleeping with the curls in, wrap your head in a satin/ silk scarf to keep everything in place.

The Tools I Used

The Process

• Comb setting lotion or your product of choice through towel-dried hair
• Take a small section of hair (about an inch wide), comb it through, then curl it in on itself in your desired direction. The trick is to curl it like a pinwheel or snails shell - you want a smooth, tight curl rather than a twisted one. There are plenty of video tutorials demonstrating this technique.
• Once you have curled the section all the way to the scalp, lie it flat against the head and secure it with one or two pins/ clips.
• Repeat this all over the head - more advanced pincurlers do this in rows all over the head but I did mine a little more haphazardly. 
• Once all the curls are done, spritz with a little hairspray and wrap the head in a scarf ready for bed!

You can find plenty of pincurling tutorials on YouTube so I didn't bother documenting the entire process when I did the curls on Anna but here's a photo of her lovely little (faux) red head after I'd finished:

And this is what it looked like in the morning after some substantial finger combing:

Anna's hair wasn't brushed out, which is usually the next step with pincurls, but as you can see they still gave her some serious volume!

Have you tried pincurls in your hair? They're time consuming but a lot of fun and I think with a little more practice I can create some pretty cool looks!

Thanks for reading :)