Tuesday 20 August 2013

It's a dog's life!

These past couple of weeks a certain ball of fluff has been taking over our household, and no, for once I'm not talking about my hair.. Sunday 4th August saw a new addition to our family otherwise known as Brandy, she's a a little Australian Labradoodle and Oh my days is she cutest thing! It is almost impossible to tell her off and as those of you that follow me on Instagram will know, shes' become my new favourite subject for photo-taking. Honestly, she is the perfect little poser and at the moment can get far more 'likes'than any of my pics in an instant haha! I've popped a photo at the bottom for you all to see :)

It's safe to say she's kept me entertained the past week or so as unfortunately I've been recovering from having my tonsils out. So it was lovely to receive a dog-related gift in the post which is this fab new iPhone cover from 'Santoro'!
Santoro Hard iPhone Case - Scottie Dog Collection - £14.99 - c/o Focus PR
Available online here and at Harrods and House of Fraser!

Decorated with cute little Scottie dogs in bold and beautiful prints it's perfect for fashionista's and dog lovers! The hard shell I have featured is a great case for my iPhone and keeps it well protected! (As I've mentioned before,I can be very clumsy at the best of times!) It covers my phone right the way around with a see-through plastic on the side and it neatly trims around the buttons and camera lens! I did really want to take some outfit photos with it as I was inspired by all the print and patterns but no one wants to see pictures with how I'm feeling at the moment haha! The print is also available in an iPad case, an iPhone soft case and whole range of stationary too :) 

Little Brandy - See, what a poser! 


What do you all think of the Santoro Print? 

 

Friday 16 August 2013

Beauty Knockout: L'oreal Extraordinary Oil v.s. Moroccan Oil

Honey I'm home... Finally! and I'm happy to be back! I somehow managed to take an unplanned break from the world of blogging (blame it on the life admin always getting in the way this year) but I definitely intend be back for longer now I've got everything settled again and have lots of things to blog about! So what better way to kick off my return to the blogger-sphere than a bit of battle between hair oils?! 

Moroccan Oil - claiming to start a revolution in hair care //  25ml Bottle at £12.85 from Regis 

Let me give you a brief glimpse into my experience with hair oils, and by brief I mean very brief as it goes something like... see new oil, ignore the stacks of oils I have at home and buy new oil anyway. Honestly, I think if I collected the amount of used and different bottles I've bought I could build a small house! So it had been a long time coming when I finally took on the two hair oil giants that have been hitting the beauty scene, the 'splurge' Moroccan Oil and the 'save' L'Oreal Elvive's Extraordinary Oil. 

My thoughts; Moroccan Oil: I had heard (and seen) sooo many good reviews and results about this before I tried it via magazines, celebrity recommendations, friends and family you name it, so my expectations were high as I first cracked open the bottle and applied the oil to the ends of my hair.

 First thing I noticed (besides from the obviously lighter purse I had after paying for such a small bottle) was that the 25ml size doesn't have a little pump on it, which can make it a little tricky to get the right amount you need out. Maybe that's just me being clumsy, but I didn't want to over-grease the ends in too much product so found I had to be extra careful! However, as soon as I had the oil out I was amazed that it had such a great consistency and smooth texture to it!! In comparison to all other oils I've used, it felt like it had a certain thickness to it that reassured you it is a luxurious product and that as far as I could tell, it wasn't watered down and therefore would be absorbed like a treat! After blow drying and straightening my hair I found my hair decided to stay straighter longer and it did feel super smooth, hydrated and shiny, especially right through to the ends of my hair which is important to me as they can get fairly weak. I couldn't say if this helped my hair to grow substantially as unfortunately I got through the small bottle fairly quickly (roughly a month) as I used it after every wash. But it definitely felt healthier and stronger along the way, so I think with enough time and use it would help my hair on it's way! I also loved the fact that despite it was a heavier oil than most it didn't weigh down my hair at all! So definitely a small bottle of hair yummy-ness! 

L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil - claiming to be your daily shortcut to perfect-looking hair // 100ml at £9.99 from Boots. 

My thoughts: L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil;  After finishing Moroccan Oil I was sure to be totally disappointed, right? Well surprisingly I wasn't as at £9.99 this hair oil first off gets a tick in the 'purse friendly' box and you get a full sized bottle for that - perfect. Unfortunately though when I pumped it out the bottle, the oil had much less of a 'wow' factor , I found it was much less concentrated with a thinner texture and therefore needed a few more pumps to get the same feel and consistency through the ends of my hair that Moroccan oil gave. I guess as it is much cheaper it is therefore justifiable that you would need to use more of it! However with more pumps of oil it I can't deny it definitely tamed the ends of my hair and gave it a nice shimmer and shine and felt stronger. It didn't hold the shape after straightening quite as well as the Moroccan Oil but neither did it weigh down the ends or make it greasy. I would say that this is a 'nice' oil for your hair and can definitely improve the softness and quality of it if you do not already use a hair oil and at an affordable price to! I didn't see any dramatic changes into my hair health whilst I was using it which was a shame but it is a great everyday product!


So it will come as no surprises that my overall winner was the Moroccan Oil!! Despite weighing up the price difference I can really see why there has been so much hype about it! After all in some cases such as this you do only get what you pay for! The full size bottle has jumped straight to the top of my birthday wishlist (28th September guysss, hint hint haha) I've heard as well the bigger bottles last ages so hopefully it will be worth the extra dollar!

What do you all think of these two oils?

Hope this has helped a few of you out if your stuck between the two!