The Hair Post | The Dark Side

The majority of the time I've had this blog my hair has definitely been on the lighter side. While it stayed natural for a while to give it a break I then got back into highlights when I went and chopped my hair into a bob nearly two years ago. Since then it's been regular visits to top up the blonde. However, I felt like it was time for a change.

If you read this post you'll know I've had a lot happening this year. especially in the past couple of months and it felt like a whole new chapter of my life was starting and I think I wanted something to really signify this. To start with I played a little and got a bit of red colour put into the blonde, it was okay but if I'm honest I wasn't 100% happy with it. So last time I went I decided to just go for it and went full on dark. I've been light for so long it was a bit of a shock when it dried and if I'm hoenst, it was darker than I was hoping for. However now it's had time to settle and fade a little from washes I couldn't be happier with it. I'd asked for some lighter bits to be put through the front which I love and I think I'll be asking for some more to be put in next time as well as it really helps to lift it.

What about blondes having more fun? Sure, probably! However I have huge responsibilities now and it was time to grow up, and this colour - as silly as it may sound to some - was my way of signifying this and drawing a line between who I was before, and who I am now. Who knew a hair change could signify so much?!

Do you think such an artificial change can signify something much bigger?

The Review | La Roche Posay Effaclar 3-Step Anti-Blemish System

La Roche Posay Effaclar 3-Step Anti-Blemish System*

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remind me how lucky I am. La Roche Posay is a brand that has always worked for me and when my skin starts looking bad I know I can always turn to them. So when I was offered the chance to try their new 3-step anti-blemish system (which includes their infamous effaclar duo+) I jumped at the chance.

First up we have Effaclar Purifying Gel Cleanser which is designed to reduce excess sebum and leaves skin feeling clean and fresh. I've said on here before I'm a fan of gel cleansers - even though most people hate them - and this is no exception for me. It's very fresh, it's not tight at all and my face felt really hydrated. My advice would be to lather it on already wet hands and apply on a wet face otherwise I felt it didn't quite foam as nicely.

Next up is the Effaclar Clarifying Toner. As someone with oily skin the best advice I can give you is to use a toner and this one is a beaut. It has a very light fragrance which doesn't linger and isn't too tight. I've found since using it my face looks a lot brighter.

Lastly we have the Effaclar Duo+. I've done a full review on this here so I won't bore you again with it but just note: it's my absolute holy grail.

Overall I think this is such great value for money. Usually with these "kits" the sizes are reduced however you get full sizes with these which are lasting really well. It also comes with information and a leaflet about how each product works so you can get the best out of them. I had become really lazy with my skin over the past few months and it was definitely showing so this was a god send! If you're thinking of a skin care-esq christmas gift, this is what you want.

Have you tried this set? What were your results?

The Home | Christmas Prep

 

So this is the first Christmas in our new home, which means hello new decorations! Was such a nice feeling to put it all together and I wanted to share a few pieces with you. We were quite adamant we wanted to choose the pieces together, however a few bits were gifts and others I picked out on the sly.

I'm so excited for Christmas this year as it's the first one we're spending together all day, and also we're having both our families here so it'll be great. I imagine we'll accumulate more Christmas stuff over the next few years and I can't wait to show you more pieces in the future and pictures from Christmas itself! If I was honest I'd love more candle bits dotted around - however I have a feeling lit candles + exploring kittens may not be the way to go...

Items:

Robin - Next

Reindeer - Boofle (Clintons)

Gold tree - Homebase

Stockings - Homemade

Red and gold bauble - Homebase

Mice - passed down through family

White tree - Homebase

Cats - all real

Gingerbread Man - Accessorize

Christmoose Sign - Next

How will you be spending Christmas?

The Life Post | Comeback

Who am I? Yup, you're probably wondering that and I wouldn't blame you in the slightest. I've been a bit MIA but unfortunately life got in the way of my little sector of online life. Having been away from blogging for so long it did leave me to wonder if I really did want to get back into it, if I've missed it. Well, yes, I missed blogging and I missed having this to do - something to look forward to writing. I thought I'd let you in on why I've been so MIA lately and after that we can get back on track....

1. New Job
In May I started a new job. I know it shouldn't make that much of a difference, but I went from working in retail to an office job in marketing. This means I spend at least 8 hours of my day doing online marketing - which is basically what a blog is. So when I come home I'm not always in the mood to pop back onto a computer. Not only that, but the job is in London and I live just outside of Portsmouth - commuting takes up about 4 hours a day - which means less time at home, which has become precious.

2. New House
After I got my new job I was consumed with finding a house for me and my partner. We put an offer on one in July and moved in at the end of October. It was the most stressful process I've ever been through in my life, probably made worse by various different factors throughout the entire thing. What should have been a quick and easy sale soon turned into the slowest and most painful sale in what is probably our estate agents history - they even gave us wine when we closed - which no one else I've met has ever heard of happening before. So then it was moving in, unpacking, sorting things out etc....

3. November
This is literally the busiest month of the year for us. It's my birthday, my mums birthday, my partners birthday and our anniversary. This year we added first month in our new house, holiday and the arrival of two little kittens to this month. Busy doesn't even feel like it covers it. So after all the madness it was nice to just calm down for a few days - even though we were actually still doing house stuff. Hmm.

Anyway, I'm hoping that now everything has calmed down (with the exception of Christmas) I'm going to be available to blog a lot more. I have missed it an awful lot and I've REALLY missed being able to say "I'm a blogger!". As life is so busy at the moment I have a feeling this blog may start swaying more towards lifestyle then beauty but we will see. I will keep doing my reviews etc but it'll probably be nice for you guys to get to know me a bit better as well.

What do you think? What posts would you like to see from me in 2015?