Review: Fudge Urban Sea Salt Texturising Spray

Salt sprays are a product I never really got the point of. Laid-back, beachy waves? When my hair gets in contact with sand and sea water it turns into an uncontrollable, frizzy mess, so why would I ever want to buy a product that will make my hair go berserk? After I tried the Fudge Urban Sea Salt spray, however, I changed my tune and now it's got a firm place in my hair styling routine.

I find it works best on second day hair, when my hair begins to naturally curl and wave a little bit. Rather than cause frizz as I feared it would, it does a perfect job of defining my natural wave and adding some volume and a bit of oomph. Instead of making my hair look how it looks when I go to the beach, it makes look how I always wanted it to look when going to the beach.

Seriously, this stuff is amazing. I never really thought hair could be sexy, but after using this, if I could have sex with my hair then I would. It leaves no sticky residue and the smell alone is simply divine - think a tropical, coconut based fruity cocktail!

At £6.99 a pop, I consider this a must have for gorgeous summer hair.

Love Me Beauty Box April 14

I gotta admit I wasn't too keen on this month's Love Me Beauty Box when I first saw the options. Two repeat brands and products I'll use but wasn't overly excited about meant that for the first time I seriously considered just skipping the month altogether. But after opening it and having a proper look at all the products I can honestly say I'm glad I didn't. Let's crack on, shall we?

1) Betty Hula | Secret Wonder Oil Roller Ball

Full size: £6.25

At first I thought I wouldn't have any use for this rollerball. It's recommended for stretch marks and scarring and I don't have any stretch marks and all the various little scars all over my body (what can I say, I'm clumsy) have already faded. I couldn't really think of any dry skin areas either other than my legs and I could imagine it being a right pain trying to apply oil in a rollerball to such a large area. 

After doing a bit of research I found out that you can also use this on the face, so I might try it in place of my overnight serum or moisturiser. If that doesn't work, it's also meant to be really good for sunburn, so I might try that if I spend a little too much time in the sunshine.

2) Models Own | Nail Art Pen in Pastel Pink

Full size: £6

Models Own is a repeat brand for Love Me Beauty and you could choose from either another nail polish or this nail art pen. In all honesty it was mainly this product that drew me towards this particular menu. I've never really tried my hand at nail art as I didn't expect to be any good at it, but it's about time I at least gave it a go.

Sadly I managed to break off all but three of my nails last week, so it's going to be a little while until I can try this out properly.

3) Neal & Wolf | Glow Super Shine Spray

Full size: £9.50

Neal & Wolf is another repeat brand, but while I've tried quite a lot of their products almost every single one was a hit, so I don't mind getting another one. At first I thought this was a sample size, as it is more on the smaller side, but it's actually a full sized product. I've not had a shine spray for years - it's one of those things I always considered buying but never got round to it, so I'm happy to finally have one in my stash. And who knows, a little might go a long way.

4) Redken | Colour Extend Conditioner

Full size: £9.99 for 250ml / Sample value: £1.20

I'm not overly sure what to think of this product just yet. I much prefer to use the same brand shampoo and conditioner and as a matter of fact I don't even use normal conditioner, as I tend to alternate between purple shampoo/conditioner combo and a deep repair hair mask. I'm sure I'll find a way to use it anyway and on my long hair the sample size should be enough for about two washes.

5) Various Bonus Items

Value: £30.72

This month Love Me Beauty included a few items in their box that weren't on the menu listings or on the card that accompanied the box. I actually received the Melvita Extraordinary Water in last month's box and I still have about a quarter of the bottle left, but I'm actually really happy that I got another one, as I love it to pieces and was looking at getting a full sized one.

The Hello Fresh voucher also got me very, very excited. I've been thinking about trying this food delivery service (they deliver fresh ingredients and recipe cards and then you get to cook the food from scratch) for a while, but I've been put off by the price. Now I've got the perfect excuse to give it a go!

The two sachets of the Weleda Stretch Mark Massage oil weren't such a great hit. As I've already explained above I don't have any stretch marks or any scarring that could be helped, so I tried to use it on my dry legs. Not only did the oil in a sachet make a huge mess, but it also left me feeling very sticky and made it almost impossible to put on some leggings.

Total value: £53.67

Even though I originally thought there would only be four items in this box I ended up with a total of six (seven if you want to count the gift card which will most definitely be used) and the value is among the highest that I've seen in these boxes. None of the items are hugely exciting, but I'll find a way of using everything, so it's another hit from Love Me Beauty!

Review: Neal & Wolf Silk Smoothing Blow-dry Balm

I'm not entirely sure how this happened, but over the course of the last year or so I've gone from owning about three hair products (shampoo, conditioner and hair mask) to a whole big drawer full of them. Today I'm talking you through my thoughts on the Neal & Wolf Silk Smoothing Blow-dry Balm.

I can't say I ever thought of getting myself a balm for blow drying my hair before. I'd use heat protectant spray from time to time, just because of the damaging effects heat styling has on hair, but even that hasn't ever made a noticeable difference.

This is different. The balm actually has a light, creamy texture and I'd say about a grape-sized amount is enough for all of my shoulder-length hair.

While I wouldn't class this as an absolute necessity, it does make a difference to the condition of my hair which is visible to the naked eye. Hair is just a touch softer, smoother and there are fewer fly-aways after blow drying. I don't always remember to use it, but if I'm trying to really look after my hair, this is an extra step I'm happy to take.

The Neal & Wolf Silk Smoothing Blow-dry Balm retails at £12.50.

Monthly Favourites: February 2014

1) Fudge Urban Sea Salt Spray

It never occurred to me to get a salt spray for my hair. When I'm on a beach holiday the salt doesn't make my hair look good in any way - it tends to resemble a tangled up pile of seaweed! I was gifted this to try and I've been in love since the first application. To start off with it's got an amazing coconut scent that smells good enough to eat. It doesn't really do that much to your hair, but it adds just that little bit of texture, a touch of volume and encourages my hair to go into its natural wavy state without getting all tangled up. It's just a perfect little boost for second day hair.

2) Marc Jacobs Honey Perfume

This perfume was a late Christmas gift and I've shamelessly been wearing it almost every day. It's a wonderfully uplifting and happy scent that's not too overpowering. I won't waffle on about it too much as I've done a full review on it just a few days ago. You can find it here.

3) Seventeen Phwoarr Paint

This is a typical case of "the blogger made me buy it". After seeing this on loads of my favourite beauty blogs I nipped into my local Boots and got myself a pot of Phwoarr Paint and I'm so glad I did! This is the concealer I've been waiting for all my life. It's thick enough to seamlessly cover even stubborn blemishes and my serious dark circles, but doesn't crease or cake at all. And it's from the highstreet and a complete bargain! What's not to love?

4) Pro:Voke Touch of Silver Shampoo

As my hair is bleached I have to treat it with purple shampoo and conditioner every other wash to prevent it from going brassy. I've been on the hunt for the perfect one for ages and certainly didn't think I'd finally find it in this £2 bottle from a brand I'd never heard of. But not only does it have the perfect strength to get rid of any yellow or orange undertones but without causing any dodgy purple patches where my hair is a bit lighter. Most of all, it leaves my hair really healthy, smooth and soft. This is definitely a repurchase!

Review: Percy & Reed Finishing Polish

I think it's been about a year and a half since I got a tube of this with a copy of Glamour magazine and it's verging on scandalous that I've only sat down now to dedicate an entire blog post to a product I could barely imagine living without.

Put quite simply, this is one of the best hair products I've ever come across. My hair is thick, dry and wavy. Not sexy California beach girl wavy, but crumpled up ball of yarn wavy. So for years and years my routine would look like this: Shampoo to get my hair clean, condition or deep condition to get it soft, then blow dry it and straighten it to get rid of those unruly curls. Only problem being that my hair dryer and my straightening irons undid most of the hard work I put into making my hair soft and manageable with all that deep conditioner and instead left me with a frizzy mess. A straight frizzy mess, but a frizzy mess nonetheless (rhyme was completely unintentional).

Then along comes this and with a tiny amount rubbed into the tips of my hair and any random flyaways, my hair suddenly looks just how I wanted it to look after spending hours washing and nurturing and styling it.

The thing is, it doesn't really do that much. It's certainly not sticky or slimy or crispy in any way, but all it does is just put hair in it's place. It doesn't even add any shine to my hair, but by smoothing out broken off strands it lets my hair's natural shine come through.

And you literally only need the tiniest amount. I use about a pea-sized blob each time and it's enough for my entire head, but as I said before I only use it on the tips and on random flyaways - but that's all it takes! Using such small amounts makes it weightless in my hair and also means that even after a year of continuous use I've barely made a dent in my tube. I swear I'm not even halfway through.

When (IF?) this ever runs out I'm going to be incredibly sad and rushing out to get a new tube as soon as I can. It's not often that I say this, but this product, ladies and gentlemen, is truly a game changer.

Best of all, it most definitely falls into the affordable price range at £10 per tube over on Beautybay.

Review: L'Oreal Studio Line #TXT Range

These two products are some of the line-up from the new L'Oreal #TXT range for Studio Line, which aims to give hair a textured look with plenty of grip - a slightly edgy, messy look which is exactly what I usually go for with my hair style. As it turns out, one of the above was a total hit with me, while the other is one I'll be giving a miss. Can you guess which is which?

Let's start with the Wave Creating Spray. According to instructions you're meant to generously spray this onto damp hair, then blow dry until your hair is half dry, put it up into two or more buns, blow dry it a bit further and finish drying it by scrunching it upwards.

My hair is actually naturally wavy and I usually straighten it right after washing and then just let it naturally curl and wave as it pleases the day after. A curling spray is therefore not something I would usually look for, but nevertheless I thought I would give this a whirl.

I followed the instructions carefully with the only difference being that I put my hair into three top knots rather than two - one in the back and one either side of my head, as I felt that that would give my waves some better structure.

Sadly, what I ended up with was nothing like the girl in the picture's hair. It was more like three big sticky dreadlocks. I wouldn't say my hair was any wavier than usual, it was just messy - and not in a good way. I wonder if it's because my hair is naturally quite thick and wavy? I do find that my hair is particularly picky when it comes to styling products, but then I've read other reviews and they paint a similar picture to what's happened with my hair.

Moving on to the second one of the bunch: The Volume Supersizing Spray. Now, here's a different story altogether. For a start, a bit of volume is something I'm always happy about. I have to use a lot of heavy deep conditioners and hair masks to keep my bleached hair strong and shiny, but they can often weigh it down and make it look a bit flat.

You use this by spraying it directly onto the roots and then giving them a bit of a rub with your fingers for instant lift. You can then smooth over any rough and rebellious bits afterwards. Make sure to keep a good distance from your head with the spray, though, or otherwise your hair will feel wet and greasy (obviously what I did on first application). But aside from that, this stuff really works and it works well! Here's some cheesy before and after pictures:

Before: With freshly straightened hair. Grumpy faaaaace!

After: Va-Va-Voom to my roots!

There's your proof. The finish is a bit messy, but in a "messy on purpose" way and I can easily see myself repurchasing this spray once it's run out.

There's two more products in the #TXT line-up, which I don't have, as they're aimed more towards short hair: the Dishevelling Dry Putty and the Grooming Soft Clay.
Meanwhile, you can find the Wave Creating Spray for £3.79 here and the Volume Supersizing Spray for the same price here (or in any drugstore or big supermarket).

Have you tried anything out of the Studio Line #TXT range? What did you think?

Monthly Favourites: September 2013

1) L'Oreal SkinPerfection Serum and Moisturiser

I'm writing this post on yet another make-up free day - granted I'm not working today, but I've been out and about without feeling the slightest bit self-conscious about not wearing any foundation or bb cream. You can find my full review of these products here, so I won't be waffling on too long about these, but there's something about them that my skin just really loves. They hydrate without being sticky or greasy and just leave my skin in nice, peachy condition. I've actually got quite a bit of other skincare to try, but I'm scared of putting these away just in case my skin stops looking the way it does at the moment.

2) Percy and Reed Finishing Polish

I got this as a freebie with a magazine months ago and it's just been sitting in my drawer for ages. Now that I've started using it, however, I just can't get enough of this stuff! My hair is really dry and quite coarse, so after blow-drying and even after straightening I still get quite a bit of frizz and random strands of hair that just stick up. This stuff is perfect for smoothing my hair into a glossy mane where products like oil or wax would be too heavy. And a little goes a long way, so this tube is going to last me forever!

3) Nip+Fab Dry Leg Fix

When I received this in my last Love Me Beauty box I mentioned that I had quite a problem with stupidly dry skin just on my legs and nowhere else on the body - up to a point where the skin got itchy and flaky and I couldn't stop scratching it! I was a tad sceptical at first, but this stuff has really worked miracles on my legs. They're now back to being smooth and flake and bump free. As odd as it seems to have a special cream just for your legs, my regular oils and moisturisers have completely failed in that area, while this has given me some much needed relief.

4) Maybelline Baby Lips in Pink Punch

After these were sold out in practically every drugstore I ever went to, I finally managed to jump on the Baby Lips bandwagon! This is an absolute joy to apply, it's such a buttery soft balm that instantly softens the lips and this shade in particular leaves a gorgeous hint of pink on the lips that looks incredibly flattering. I can now see how these can get pretty addictive!