Nanogen root boost hair thickening spray

So I've discussed with you guys on many occasions and you may have noticed previously, I love my hair products. Amongst trying to battle fine hair, finding the perfect product to boost my locks is always on my radar. So when Nanogen who previously introduced me to their thickening shampoo & conditioner (which is ah-mazing), introduced me to their newly launched root boost thickening spray (£9.95), I was pretty keen to give the product a try. 

For me many of the root boost sprays always come with the same problem, they make my hair sticky! When your after thicker fuller bouncier, Cheryl (what's her new surname?), just came shimmering out the salon hair, the last thing you want is feeling like your hair is been ripped out when you try and style it. Plus don't me started on those powdery volume dusting thinggys, which only cause a heap of product build up and well I just can't stand them. 

Luckily I was pleasantly surprised when the Nanogen thickening spray came with non of the above problems. I'm fact I rather liked it. 

After towel drying my hair and using a hair oil (I have quite a few I routinely use, but my favourite is Show Beauty hair oil), I applied a few sprays in-between the layers of my hair (no fancy sectioning just lifting sections of my hair). Then blow dried as normal. 

The product defiantly gave my hair a little extra volume and the product wasn't "noticeable" no sticky, greasy, extra product texture. Now it unfortunately didn't transform me into Chezza, but it defiantly added a little extra bounce. I'd say I personally liked this the most for not having that hair-spray feel. I'm sure most of you will of tried those thickening sprays which promise volume and feel like hair spray in disguise. 

SAMMIE

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Demeter Fragrance Library | review

Your eyes are not deceiving you. These really are perfumes in the scents, condensed milk, vanilla cake batter and my personal favourite Play-doh.

I picked these up recently in the states at a Duane reeds for $15 each, although the range of Demetre fragrances is available also in the UK. I shall first mention Duane Reeds are fascinating places and rather dangerous for midnight shopping...not in the sense someone might kill you, but a combination of all the US make up and lucky charms is a lethal combination for my purse strings. Quite obviously none of the below are well, practical buys but c'mon who wouldn't want to smell like vanilla cake batter? 

So I know what are you all thinking, are these fragrances wearable? smelling like play-doh is fine when your 5 years old and cake batter smells nice in the kitchen but would you really want to go to work or turn up for a date with a spritz of condensed milk on your neck. attractive? maybe not. 

Condensed milk The most wearable of the three and in fact actually a nice scent. Been a little unsure about what condensed milk actually smells like the smell was sweet and musky but not too heavy. I would defiantly say this is actually wearable and would make a cheap option for a day time fragrance. I'm sure unless you tell people the actual name of the scent, in which case you have a brilliant conversation starter. It's actually pleasant and no one would ever guess.   

Vanilla cake batter One of the more foodie scents in the range, with others including cotton candy and chocolate chip cookie, vanilla cake batter is a sweet fragrance and takes me back to the days of wearing Britney Spears fantasy perfume. My god you could smell that sickly fragrance a mile of. Luckily vanilla cake batter is a little lighter with notes of vanilla but still a sweet fragrance. The fragrance is far too sweet for my personal fragrance taste but again the scent is wearable. 

Play-doh The best till last. Yes this does actually smell like play-doh but not the extent you may think. If were all honest play-doh smell nothing more than salt and childhood memories and I'll be honest my favourite of the three. It has a vanilla note and unless your on the look out for the "play-doh" hint it's actually pretty nice. If any ones ever tried the furze perfume from lush, it's very similar. Defiantly vanilla meets childhood memories. I'm tempted to wear this to wear and see if anyone points out they can actually smell play-doh. In which case I'll act confused and say it's not me. 

I wasn't ever expecting any fragrance to be up there with my all time favourite Dior Addict, but for a cheap and cheerful and "fun" scent these would make a perfect quirky gift. I've been eyeing up the gin and tonic fragrance to add to the collection.  

Have you tried any of the Demeter Fragrance Library range?

Sammie

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Organic Surge moisturiser and mask

I first came across Organic Surge when a little pot of the super intensive daily moisturiser* landed in a goodie bag from a blogger meet up. Despite owning draws full of make up and all kinds of skincare goodies, moisturiser is never something I've quite liked or enjoyed using. Yet the simple moisturise is something I'm sure most of us has as a beauty staple. For me it's been a battle of finding a product which combats my combination skin, doesn't break me out or makes me feel like I've worked a shift down the local chippy. I've been using the Organic Surge super intensive daily moisturiser for a few months now and I'm quite in love with it. So much so I've added the blissful daily moisturiser and first class mask to my ever growing beauty collection.

Organic Surge super intensive daily moisturiser 50ml* £10.95

I adore this product for my combination skin. As you might be able to tell by the worn looking jar, I've used this everyday for a few months now and dare I say enjoyed using a moisturiser for once. I'd say I'm about a quarter into the jar so far so I expect the product to last a while. The product is thick and creamy which at first I was a little scared about, for a daily moisturiser I was expecting something a little lighter but it sinks into the skin quickly and feels rather luxurious. There's a light fragrant scent of rose to the product which I'm not typically a fan of but it's nothing too overpowering and I've grown to quite like this. It leave my skin feeling soft and hydrated and is great for those with sensitive skin like myself. 

Organic Surge first class mask 50ml (currently sold out)

This product is defiantly sold out for a reason. The first thing I noticed was the product smells like lemon cheesecake! Amazeballs right. Don't be fooled it does not taste the same, yep that's right I had a little lick of my face. Just couldn't resist. I was expecting a gel based mask, not sure why but it is in fact a cream based face mask which dries more like a clay mask. I'm sat with this on as we speak, well as you read, and yes I am now pulling weird faces to feel the mask crack. Surely you all do this. The mask gives a deep clean to the skin for those of us prone to blemishes it restores rebalances the skin. Unlike other clay based masks it's also pretty easy to wash of the skin. 

Organic Surge blissful daily moisturiser 50ml £9.50

A little lighter than the super intensive moisturiser but still just as luxurious and hydrating. It's a better option for a daily moisturiser than the super intensive one as it's a little lighter so a better all year round product for when the weathers not as harsh on dry/combination skin. For now I'm still using the super intensive as I need that additional boost, however when the weather heats up (which will be never here in Yorkshire) this will most likely be my go to for a slightly lighter option. 

Have you tried any products from the Organic Surge range? Let me know your views in a comment below, any products you recommend from the range?

Sammie

Lush Christmas shower gel range 2014

Snow Fairy is back! Therefore It's officially ok for me to mention christmasy things...again! Plus round 2 of me talking about Lush. You may have noticed I like doing this by now. Since I'm one of the millions of poor gal's in UK who lives in a shower only household (fact may not be accurate) then for me Lush isn't about the bath bombs and bubble bars, it's finding those extra treats suitable for myself. 

Now I do still love a good bath, I had one a few weeks ago, although after burning my big toe on the hot tap, for now I'm going to stick with showers. Wasn't that the most awkward sentence ever....I had a bath a few weeks ago. Great line in a blog there. 

This year Lush have launched a few new additions to their Christmas "non bath" so i'm going to give you a little insight. 

New Hot Toddy Shower Gel 100g £3.95

A new addition this year is the Hot Toddy Shower Gel. Inspired by the drink it's self and designed to whisk you away to sitting in front of a log fire with a good book is a welcomed addition to the range this year. With its gold glimmer and scent of ginger, cinnamon and zesty orange it's defiantly a warming scent perfect for warming up the cold evenings. 

Rose Jam Shower Gel 100g £4.75

Defiantly a favourite of mine last year and this still reminds me of Turkish delight. With a rose scent and conditioning argan oil it's I find this perfect for those pre bedtime showers. 

Snow Fairy Shower Gel 100g £3.75

I don't think much needs to be said on this product. Candy scented, sweet and a great morning product. I'd go as far as saying knowing I can have a snow fairy shower gets me out of bed that little bit earlier. 

New So White Shower Gel 100g £4.50

A new product! Eeek. This is the new apple infused shower gel, inspired by the same scent as the So White bath bomb and the poison apple of the pantomime classic snow white. With a little glitter in the product adding a little sparkle and a crisp apple scent is something im sure will appeal to a lot of people, however I would say this is my least favourite of the range, for me the scent doesn't quite seem "lush" enough. 

New First Snow Dusting Powder 30g £4.75

I love the lush dusting powders, they in a sense make talcum power cool again. The shimmer in the first snow product isn't really practical but I find this great for adding a shimmer to my skin before a night out. 

Sammie

@LilBlondeLife

Blanx white shock review

Hands up who wants whiter teeth? Yoohoooo, yes please. When I saw the new Blanx White Shock range it defiantly appealed to me. As an avid tea drinker, diet coke fiend and yes the occasional cigarette (naughty naughty), keeping my tooshie pegs pearly white can be a struggle. Therefore any product which offered to keep my whites whiter (is that the Daz advert?) I'm pretty much sold. I've got a few friends with incredibility white teeth and whilst I've quizzed them on more than one occasion what's there secret they all tell me there isn't one and brushing regularly and using a good toothpaste is there trick. Whilst I can't help feel disappointed there's no magical answer, it's a pretty obvious one. 

The blanx's White shock range includes the Blanx White Shock tooth paste with LED accelerator, Blanx White Shock mouth wash and the Blanx White shock gel pen. 

 Blanx White Shock tooth paste with LED accelerator

Firstly I'm 100% aware of how much of a gimmick this appears. 

The LED attachment screws onto the tube and tuns on and off when the lid is twisted. Confused as to what the benefits of the LED addition were I think for the first time in my life I read the manual (yep toothpaste with a manual). To explain in it in well, a blondes way, the light activates the toothpaste which whitens your teeth. This also carries on working after you have brushed, as it reacts to light this means the more you smile the whiter your teeth can become. If I'm honest I can't say there's been a huge whitening effect however the concept is fantastic and one thing the toothpaste does provide is a very good clean feeling. One that did surprise me, it really gives teeth the squeaky like polished feeling which is always nice. Also the lights are harmless so you can still use the toothpaste as many times as you would like in replace of your regular toothpaste for better whitening powers. One thing I did notice after a while is the toothpaste had a slight metallic taste although this wasn't something that bothered me. 

Blanx White Shock mouth wash
I use this morning and night and the taste was pleasant. Ok obviously It's pretty hard to review mouthwash. Along side the other products the small gradual whitening effect I did notice I'm obviously going to credit the toothpaste. However since it's a mouth wash aimed at whitening it's a good addition to add into your routine if your wanting whiter teeth. 

Blanx White shock gel pen
The idea behind the whitening pen is you can whiten your teeth on the go. If I'm honest I wouldn't use this product again. When I'm out and about I've yet to have a moment where I think, "I need to whiten my teeth" although I can believe some people would. Maybe after a morning coffee perhaps. Or maybe if your willing to go the extra mile for a special occasion. Instead I used this product before bed. The whitening gel pushed up through the pen in a similar way to some lip glosses, you then brush the product onto your teeth. My concern with this was the gel is touching your gums and I thought this may have a bad effect yet the gel didn't seem that strong and I didn't have any issues with this. It was also difficult to see how much product you were applying to your teeth and where about's due to the clear formula.   

Overall I would repurchase the toothpaste for the brilliant deep clean feeling, although the whitening pen wasn't for me. 

Blanx's products available at: Blanx | Boots | superdrug

Sammie

*Product provided for review purposes, all opinions remain and my and remain unbiased*

miamoo travel kit review

miamoo travel kit - £15.00*

splashy wash 30ml – refreshing citrus shower/body wash, fresh locks 30ml – soothing shampoo for shiny bouncy locks, baba oil 30ml – heavenly oil, great for hair, body and baby massage, huggy lotion 30ml – a non greasy daily moisturiser, spritz and wipe 30ml – a refreshing citrus spritz packed with minerals that has multi uses, cheeky cream 30ml – a natural barrier cream great for adults and babies.

Since I suffer with sensitive skin I was rather happy to be introduced to the new brand Miamoo. Miamoo is a 98.5% - 100% natural skincare range designed for both mums and baby's. Now I'm not a mum and defiantly have no plans to become one any time soon but the idea of a skincare brand that is good enough for a baby's bum sounded good enough to me.  

The brand is the creation of former Apprentice candidate Saira Khan who herself suffers with sensitive skin. After 25 years of trying miracle creams and trying what must of felt like every high street brand out there she eventually created her own.  She realised a few key finds that although plenty of people suffer with sensitive skin there seems to be a new generation suffering with sensitized skin, caused by the increased pollution and general shift in lifestyle trends. One of her main aims became to eliminate key chemicals found in huge numbers of skincare products and substitute these with key natural oils. So after reading about such a well constructed product I couldn't wait to see how well all the research actually translated into the world of beauty. Here are my little thoughts:

spashy wash

The lemon oil in the product was such a lovely invigorating scent and I've found it perfect for the hazy morning "half awake" showers. A little went a long way as the shower gel foamed up well. My skin felt soft and the fragrant scent lingered on my skin all morning. 

fresh Locks

I love my hair, it's no secret. I spent lots on haircare and I'm rather scared of changing my shampoo for even one wash.  However the natural chemical free shampoo left my hair feeling soft and I did feel a little pleased I was been kinder to my hair. I often spend loads on hair treatments and styling products but often overlook any potential chemicals used in actual shampoos. 

baba oil

I had recently been trying out a new cleansing oil on my skin to remove make-up and have been pleasantly surprised. I have always been on of these who presumed adding any kind of oil to skin will make my skin greasy and cause breakouts. I was wrong. Our skin needs oils. The lavender in this product helps sooth my skin and it's perfect to use before bed so the oil can work it's magic over night. It's also useful for more dry areas such as elbows and knees.

huggy lotion

I really never thought I'd find myself using a moisturiser called huggy lotion but I have really grown to love this. It's a easily absorbent moisturiser and light enough to use on the face. Although it's a light moisturiser I have still found my skin has felt hydrated on cold winter days. 

spritz and wipe

The spritz and wipe makes a fab make up remover or cleaner although I've found I've used this more as make up remover. It's gentle on the skin and was sensitive for use on eye make up. 

cheeky cream

This cream is a lot thicker than the huggy lotion and takes a little while to absorb into the skin. I found this works better for very patches of skin to help treat little problem areas than as a typical daily use cream. I also suffer from very dry chapped hands and this makes a cute little handbag essential. I've found this like a luxury version of sudocreme. 

Overall I would recommend the miamoo travel kit, the kit contains everything you need for a full beauty routine and makes for perfect light packing for travel. The products all have a multi-purpose use what's fantastic. 

Sammie