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Showing posts with label Bumble and bumble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bumble and bumble. Show all posts

Saturday, 12 April 2014

Something Beginning With... B: Bumble and bumble.

After getting super excited at my newly created SBW concept, I've definitely dropped the ball a little. But here I am on this lovely Saturday morning with the long overdue 'Something Beginning With: B' post. Now, I'm something of a Bumble and bumble fiend, so it only makes sense that they should be the focus of todays ramblings. The majority of my haircare routine comprises of their coveted offerings, so here is a collection of Bb. product that I would be lost without.


I'd had this knocking around for a while, but didn't really have an inkling of when I'd get use out of it. But having recently taken the plunge and cut my hair short, I think I'd go as far as to say that it's my new holy grail for hair styling. A soft pomade, I just rub the tiniest amount onto my fingers and run them through my freshly styled tresses. Say hello to tamed flyways, managed frizz, and an altogether glossier barnet. This little styling beauty was the only hair product I thought worth mentioning in my March Favourites and, as I plan to keep my hair short for a while now, I'm sure my beloved semisumo will remain pride of place in my haircare collection for a long time yet.


My hair is a little on the fine side, so it often looks a bit flat - droopy, if you will. For that reason, I've long been a fan of the Bb. thickening range for adding that much needed oomph. Sadly, I've run out of the shampoo and conditioner, and have made a promise to myself that I'm only allowed more when I have enough Boots points. You cannot even fathom the immense willpower this is taking. However, I'm still enamoured with the Bb. thickening hairspray. I just spritz it into towel dried roots and blow-dry, and it makes such a massive difference that I'm not too sure how I ever got by without it. It does have a tendency to go a little crispy if ever I get too trigger happy, but as I have to use it so sparingly, the bottle lasts me for ages, which can only be a great thing, really. 


I'm not a huge fan of hair powders. I find that they only ever dull my vibrant hair colour. However, another Bb. gem is their sough after pret-a-powder. Translucent and extra fine, I love this for adding a little texture to my hair and, again, have been getting much more use out of it since I went for the chop. I don't find that I have the same issue of dullness that I do with brands like Batiste, making it the perfect product for second (ahem, third) day hair styling. Another one of those great volumising products, I originally thought that the bottle would be awkward to use and wouldn't last very long, but it's fared surprisingly well in my clumsy, accident prone hands. 


Having fine hair, oils can often be an absolute disaster for me - like brushing lard through freshly washed locks. However, I've found a friend for life in the Bb. hairdresser's invisible oil. I used this a lot more when I had longer hair, running the tiniest amount through the ends. The result was silky soft, super shiny, frizz free tresses. It is also said to have strengthening qualities, but I lopped my ends off before I could testify - sorry about that! Now, I only really use it when my hair's feeling particularly dry, but I love it all the same! 


This thickening gem has developed something of a cult following amongst Bb. fans, and I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm one of the masses that launched themselves onto the dryspun bandwagon. As well as offering volume by the bucket load, I particularly like using this product straight after drying my hair.  Although I love the feeling of freshly washed hair, I'm not an avid fan of the fluffiness, always opting for a more 'lived in' style. And dryspun finish is exactly that in a can. Volume and strategic mess in one. It's everything I want in a hairspray.

I hope you enjoyed this little round-up of my Bb. babies. What are your favourite Bumble and bumble products? What haircare brand could you not live without? Let me know!

S.

Monday, 7 April 2014

March Favourites

Another month has been and gone in the blink of an eye, and with it, another collection of products that I've been coveting. I find it hard to believe that we're already in the fourth month of the year, but with the clocks going forward, and sunnier evenings back in my life, I'm getting more and more excited for summer. And I think it's safe to say that this months product picks reflect my sunny mood. So, without further ado, here are my March Favourites.

NARS Duo Eyeshadow//Isolde

This has been in my collection for about a year now, and is one of my favourite eyeshadow duos of all time. I pushed it aside over the winter, favouring more autumnal, less metallic shades, but March saw me fall back in love with it, and I pretty much wore it everyday. A lighter antique gold, and a chocolatey bronze, these two shades pair together for the perfect spring/summer look. I usually use both together, sweeping the lighter of the two all over the lid and blending the bronze through the crease. However, for a sultry night out look, I go all out, using the bronze as a darker, more intense wash of colour which I adore! And these colour make my eyes look so blue! Never do I get as many compliments as I do when I'm wearing this delicious duo. It's a wonder I ever take it off at all!

Stila Stay All Day Eyeliner//Dark Brown

Another product I've had for a while, it never really fell out of favour with me. I just went through a bit of a phase of using a more intense black to line my peepers. However, old habits die hard, and gone back to using a softer, more subtle brown for a slightly more natural effect. This product  is, hands down, my favourite brown eyeliner. Perfectly pigmented, and super easy to use, the ultra fine felt nib gives me precision and control, and is great for those mornings when you need to do your make up in a hurry (every morning in my case - damn snooze button), and just don't have the time to faf about. It's like eyeliner for dummies really, and I love it so.

Sleek Blush by 3//Lace

I've never been one for powder blush, always picking creamier alternatives. I just think they give a more natural finish, and, contrary to popular opinion, I find them easier to work with. But in Superdrug a few months back, a friend of mine recommended Sleek blushes, and at £9.99 for three generously sized pans, I had nothing to lose. Admittedly, it has taken me a few months to end my exclusive relationship with cream blushes, but needless to say, I have now embarked on a glorious love affair with powders. All three products in this palette are beautifully pigmented and blend to perfection. Although my picture seems to portray a slightly pinky hue, the blushes are all in the orange family, my favourite of all the makeup colour families. I'm particularly enjoying Guipure, the middle shade of the trio which, when I bought it, I thought would be the dud of the collection that I never got any use out of. Boy oh boy, how wrong I was! A warm golden orange, shot through with flecks of rosy shimmer, I think it adds the perfect amount of glow to a flushed and dewy cheek. 

Benefit Gimme Brow//Light/Medium

Before I begin, I feel I should tell you that Brooke Shields is my brow idol. Like her, my brows have never been particularly arched, and, unlike her, they have never been all that thick either. I mean, they're not sparse, but I love the look of fuller brows, and I'm constantly searching for products that will help me on my way to Delevingne-dom. In March, I finally found it - my new holy grail eyebrow product. Benefit's Gimme Brow. I went for the shade light/medium, as that's what the woman at the Benefit counter recommended. Annoyingly, it's a little too light to wear over MACs Charcoal Brown, my everyday brow boost, with copious blending needed for a natural look. However, it's the perfect colour for those days when I can't really be bothered, or, more realistically, I'm running late, and I just comb it through solo for some extra eyebrow volume. It's amazing, I now have the brows of Lily Collins, and I'm never looking back.

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm//Audacious

Everyone and their gran seems to have this product, in this colour, and for good reason! I love matte lips, but struggle to find the products that don't make my own pout look dry and flaky. The Revlon products, although not particularly moisturising, don't flake at all on me, which is a huge selling point! The tangerine hued Audacious looks almost neon on my pale complexion, and, for me, it's  perfect for rocking the orange lip trend.

Bumble and bumble.//semisumo

Since cutting my hair shorter, I've really been loving wearing it curly. The curls hold for longer without the extra weight, and it just looks so bouncy, voluminous and healthy. What I'm not loving, however, is the fluff and frizz that appear after drying. To combat this, I've discovered semisumo - a product that I've had knocking around for a while, but not really had a clue how to use. Now, I just rub a little bit of the pomade onto my fingers, and run it through my curls. The result is tamed flyways and a huge boost of shine. I'm so pleased this product finally got to see the light of day in March, because it really is a gem!


This nifty little moisturiser is actually designed to calm shaving burn, but I've now adopted it as my daily facial moisturiser. After having a skin consultation at Lush Oxford, the lovely Kym assured me that it's not just for boys, and I went home with a sample of it. Let me just say it. Life. Changed. I've recently had a bit of a lifestyle upheaval, commuting to London daily, and my skin type has really shifted. My previously dry visage has become a little too combination for any of the products I have in my arsenal; my newly irritating oily T-zone is a particular pain. But this product fully balances out the oils in my skin, and even after using a little sample, I've noticed a huge reduction in redness to the point where I barely need foundation any more. As well as all this wonderment, it smells so good I want to grab a spoon. Needless to say, I'll be shooting in to the next Lush store I pass to pick up a full sized pot of this magic cream! 

So there you have it. Another month, another product round up. Have you tried any of the products I've been loving? What are your March favourites? Let me know!

S.

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