Beauty. Fashion. Lifestyle.
Archive for October, 2014
Old Wives Tail Jojoba & Clove Organic Oil Hair Treatment
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4 years
by Naomi in Hair
Over the last few months I’ve been trialling a hair treatment from a small hair care company called Old Wives Tail. Old Wives Tail specialise in luxury organic hair treatments, all of which are handmade, vegetarian and vegan, and free of gluten, parabens and sulfates. They’re also animal friendly and aim to eradicate animal testing in the beauty industry, so 10% of their profits go to charities which save animals from being tested on.
The treatment I’ve been using is the Jojoba and Clove Organic Oil Treatment, which retails for £13.99 for a 100ml jar. The treatment is described as a ‘hydrating, natural and balancing hair treatment for dull, thinning, brittle or broken hair’. My hair is quite unusual in that, though it can get quite oily at the roots, the ends get very dry and split easily, especially during colder months, and the overall look is very limp, lifeless and damaged. I opted for this particular treatment as, according to the Old Wives Tail website, ‘jojoba oil gets to work at penetrating every hair follicle to add strength, volume and texture to weak, lifeless hair’, which is just what I want.
The treatment has a very strong aroma of cloves, which hits you as soon as you open the jar, but it isn’t too overpowering as it is offset with a slight sweetness. It’s also quite a dense treatment, with a slightly waxy texture, but as it warms in your fingers it melts into a smooth oil that glides through damp hair incredibly easily.
The directions for use say to massage the product into your scalp, and to leave it on for one hour before washing out with shampoo and water, and conditioning the ends of your hair. As a ‘wash and go’ kinda girl, an hour is quite a long time to wait, so this isn’t a treatment I would use on a daily or weekly basis, but it’s great for a fortnightly or monthly pamper session at the weekend. Especially as it gives quite an intense treatment.
I’ve used the treatment a few times now and the results are brilliant. A little goes quite a long way, so though the jar is small, it will last a good while. The product massages in nicely and feels lovely and soothing on the scalp. When I first used it I was slightly worried that, being an oil, it would leave my hair feeling greasy, but it washes out well with shampoo, although I find it takes a little while to wash out completely. After blow drying and straightening my hair, the difference is really noticeable. It leaves my hair looking silkier and fuller, and the result is also long-lasting.
Unfortunately, as I’ve had an incredibly hectic couple of months, I haven’t yet managed to get any before and after photos of my hair, but I will be updating this post within the next week or two, so check back soon.
All Old Wives Tail products are available online here, and they cater for all hair types. They offer free worldwide delivery on any order too!
Naomi x
*This Jojoba & Clove Organic Oil Hair Treatment was sent to me by Old Wives Tail for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
Introducing Heather and Mabel
0A couple of weeks ago I had to say goodbye to my beautiful heart rat Mog. She’d been suffering with a pituitary tumour for a little while, and though we tried every treatment available, it unfortunately got too much for her and she had to be put to sleep. I was absolutely heartbroken and I still miss her like mad, as does her sister Miggley, who was left alone.
Rats are very sociable animals and aren’t supposed to live singly, which left us with no choice but to get her some cagemates! After contacting many breeders all over the Midlands, I eventually managed to find two young females from Destiny Rats. After a week of waiting, last weekend we finally got to collect our new babies, and here they are…
Heather is a Russian Blue Berkshire, and Mabel is a Buff Berkshire, and they are both now nine weeks old, and so, so soft and cute! As they were handled from a very young age by the breeder and her family, they are both incredibly friendly and loving, and we get mobbed every time we go up to their cage.
We have only just started the introduction process with the two girls and Miggley, so they haven’t met properly yet, but they are very curious about each other from afar. They will gradually be introduced over the next couple of weeks, and eventually they will all be living together in one big cage. Hopefully they’ll all get along fine!
I plan on blogging about how the introduction goes, so check back soon for an update.
Naomi x
P.S. Miggley says “kmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm8ppppppppppppo[pyu”
NOTD: Barry M Glitterati ‘Fashion Icon’
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4 years
When it comes to nail products, Barry M are one of my favourite brands, so when they announced a flurry of new shades for Autumn/Winter 2014, I was incredibly excited! As well as adding new colours to their Gelly, Silk, Classic and Aquarium ranges, and releasing some gorgeous Christmas glitters, Barry M have also launched the new Glitterati collection. Glitterati features six ‘blinging’ glitter paints, and they really caught my eye when I first saw them on Instagram.
So far I’ve only picked up three shades from the new selection – Rockstar and Fashion Icon from Glitterati, and the new Aquarium Glitter, Atlantis. I’ll be posting about each shade individually over the coming weeks, plus any more that I end up buying, but today’s NOTD is Fashion Icon.
Blue and purple are two of my favourite and most worn colours, so I was immediately drawn to this beautiful shade. Fashion Icon has a purple base with a blue duochrome effect, and is packed full of micro glitter, some of which is holographic. I find this shade so mesmerizing as it looks different every time I look at it. It goes from electric blue to grape purple to bright violet in one movement, whilst all the time remaining strikingly sparkly.
All of my swatches show three thin coats, with no base coat or top coat, which I think looks great, but I bet it’d look just as gorgeous layered over a deep purple shade.
I’ve also found Fashion Icon to be impressively hard-wearing. Despite spending the whole day cleaning, unpacking boxes and generally being busy, my nails look just as good as they did when I first painted them.
I can really see this wonderful shade becoming one of my all time favourite glitters, and I can’t wait to swatch Rockstar to see if it’s as stunning as this one.
Barry M’s Glitterati nail paints cost £3.99 each, and are available in store and online from Superdrug and Boots, and online from Barry M.
Naomi x
Moving House
1This weekend is a big weekend for Charles and I, as we are moving into our first home together! As soon as we both started our new jobs, we started looking for a house to rent, and luckily we found the ideal one really quickly. It’s a gorgeous three bedroom terrace, with a lovely little yard, and it’s nice and bright inside which I love. It also has a brand spanking new kitchen which I’m incredibly pleased about.
The only downside of moving house is the packing. As I’m sure you all know, it is VERY time consuming, hence my lack of posting over the last couple of weeks. I’ve already moved so much stuff out of my room, but it looks worse than it did before… What’s that all about?!
One thing that has made packing easier, though, is the help I’ve been given from Eco Movers! They kindly donated one of their packing materials kits for me to use during the move, containing eight medium boxes, ten large boxes, a roll of tape, and one hundred sheets of white packing paper. They also included a sheet of moving tips, which has also been useful! The boxes are a good size, and I’ve mostly been using them for shoes, bags and ornaments so far. They can also be used over and over again if you open them carefully, which saves a lot of money in the long run.
We got a lot done today, and we’re hoping to have everything in the house and organised by next weekend. Exciting times! Check back soon for more house related updates.
Naomi x
*This packing materials kit was sent to me by Eco Movers for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*
