Argan Oil Hair Treatment

Argan Oil from Xpel Marketing Ltd.

Argan Oil Hair Treatment With Moroccan Oil

A great product for those of you that feel your hair could do with some pampering after all the straightening/curling/backcombing/blow drying/ hairspray/ dyeing/ general exposure to the outdoors........ you get the picture...

Argan Oil Hair Treatment [with Moroccan Oil extract] is a real pick me up if you find your hair's started to get that dry, brittle feel to it by the end of the week. Daily styling and scorching take their toll quickly and this product is great for keeping your locks looking luscious between trips to the hairdressers. 

The product is applied after towel drying hair, using 2-3 pumps. Unless you have hair as long as Rapunzel, I really can't advise using any more than that or it will leave your hair feeling greasy, even after drying. The oil melts onto your hair while blow drying and coats it to leave a nice shine; though it's no miracle cure for frizz, it does control it well enough that you'll see a difference after first use. 

As someone whose hair tends to fall under the 'dry and constantly being over heated' category, I've found that incorporating this into my routine has meant there's a consistently healthy look to my hair, even when I've put it through hell with the straighteners all week. While it won't mask your split ends entirely, or leave you with red carpet style sleek hair, it will give you an added level of shine and protection. And really, what more could you ask of a product that'll only set you back a few pounds? If you want more Argan Oil products, Xpel Marketing Ltd also do a Heat Spray, Shampoo and Conditioner; I have yet to try these myself but from reviews I've seen, they're worth a go.

Argan Oil Treatment can be found in shops just about anywhere from Tesco to Lidl to Poundworld. It retails at around £3.

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Jean Paul Gaultier; Classique Fragrance

Timeless, elegant and a seductive weapon from the very first spritz...

'Classique' by Jean Paul Gaultier 

Think Hollywood dressing rooms circa 1950. Think expensive jewellery and lavish evening dresses. Think scandal and seduction and the kind of glamour that can only exist on a movie screen.

Alright, so maybe I'm being biased; this is my all time favourite fragrance. But 'Classique' really is a wonderfully moody, evocative perfume. It's classy. The packaging is perhaps the best of any perfume on the market, combining raw aluminium with the iconic, delicately curved glass figure. The tin comes stamped with the brand across it in  wonderfully industrial lettering; a theme that is continued with a small ring pull on the bottle when first opened. This kind of attention to detail really does make the perfume's fairly considerable price tag worth it. Quality costs - and in this case, it delivers.

Light enough to wear day-to-day, and sexy enough to wear in copious amounts when you're out to lure a handsome stranger into your life, it's a true all rounder. There's an overall sweetness to this scent, but don't let that put you off if you're more of a floral girl, there's nothing too overpowering about any of the elements in this fragrance. A faintly talcum powder scent softens the product,  preventing if from having that sharpness many fragrances leave behind. It's ethereal;  very graceful and understated [provided you've not completely lathered yourself in it..] A musky undertone grounds the fragrance and adds a real sense of 'old world glamour'. 

A single spray on the wrists in the morning and this perfume will last for a good 2/3 of the day, but will fade towards the evening. Thankfully, it's light enough to top up just once. Perhaps a downside to the product would be that the newer variations are all so similar that choosing between them is damned near impossible. As wonderful as it is to have the choices, JPG have really milked this winning formula for all it's worth. That said, try them all, they're all lovely!

But that's enough rambling from me, here's something from the people who know what they're talking about; to quote JeanPaulGaultier.com....

"Top notes offer the tenderness of rose played up with the freshness of star anise. In the middle notes, the spicy sweetness of orange blossom is combined with the aphrodisiac notes of ginger. Base notes feature the caressing sensuality of vanilla and amber wood."

This fragrance costs anywhere between £50-£70, depending on size. It can be found at Jean Paul Gaultier, Debenhams and The Perfume Shop. 

[If you want a bargain, keep an eye on the sales in Debenhams!]

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Burt’s Bees Rejuvenating Lip balm with Acai Berry

Clear hydrating lip balm with berry scent from Burt’s Bees

Lip balm is one of my everyday beauty essentials; in summer it may well be the only makeup I wear and in the winter it is the first thing I reach for (as the cold wind takes its toll on my lips). This lip balm in particular is a favourite of mine as recently I have been edging towards more natural products with less chemicals in and this lip balm ticks that box… claiming to be 100% natural and containing the 'superfruit' Acai berry along with vitamins A, C, D and E.

What I love about this lip balm most of all though is that it thoroughly hydrates my lips and really does leave them feeling soft and smooth… and this feeling can last for at least half an hour after I have applied it.

The packaging is Burt’s Bees signature red and yellow and the lip balm is in a simple little tube with a purple lid that easily pops off but stays put when popped back on.

Overall, I love this lip balm and I cannot rave about it enough. It has a lovely berry fragrance, it makes my lips so soft and smooth and is the perfect base before a lipstick. The packaging is cute, light and perfectly sized. It has lasted me a good 3 months of everyday use now and I shall be buying it again.

This lip balm can be purchased from the Burt’s Bees website, from Debenhams or Boots for around £3.49 - £3.69.

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Ruby Hammer Nail Polish

Nail Polish from Ruby Hammer Recommends Total Colour Set 

Ruby Hammer nail polish leaves you with bold, even colour and seriously sassy nails. This shade was from one of her Total Colour Gift Sets [complete with lip gloss, eye shadow etc...]

The first thing you'll notice with this nail polish is the strange [but not necessarily unpleasant] smell of cherries and/or almonds when it's wet. It's pretty unusual but personally, I much prefer it to that same old acrid smell you get with just about every other nail polish on the market. It's almost edible...if you like that sort of thing.

This pink-red shade in particular is great, because it not only has 2 very subtle variations on the shade to give a deep colour; it has a subtle glitter element. Nothing too aggressive, just a nice added sparkle to it. It's super pretty when it catches the light and gives it that lovely freshly painted look. 

However, it chips. My god, does it chip. But then let's face it, all nail polishes do to an extent. As lovely as the colours from her nail collection are, Ruby Hammer could really have done with spending some more time working on the durability of this product. 3 coats, and a layer of clear gloss, and it stays on for the best part of a week provided you don't do anything to 'hands on' [you know - nothing more than doing up the zip on your jeans...]

If it's not gift sets you're after, then it also comes with The Ruby Hammer Nail Collection itself; 7 shades in purples, reds, pinks and a clear glittery little number that I'd advise coating whatever colour you're wearing with. While the polishes are all lovely hot shades, they're not for practical ladies or anyone who values the ability to do manual work whilst looking good. Nights out, presents for friends and experiments with new nail colours? Those are the sorts of thing that this product is best suited to. Vibrant and sexy, but alas, not the solution to chipping.

Ruby Hammer Recommends Gift Sets and Nail Collections are around £10. They can be found on Amazon, in selected Debenhams stores and quite often on eBay.

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