Aussie Miracle Hair Insurance Leave In Conditioner

I posted earlier in the week about how my hair has needed a little extra help lately as its been all sad and dry. I've desperately been trying to bombard it with moisture and its starting to look a little bit happier.  This is in part due to Aussie's Miracle Hair Insurance.

I bought it on a whim, as the 3rd item in a 3 for £10 offer. My 3rd purchases seem to fare better than my actual planned purchases so maybe I should buy on a whim more often!  It's Priced at £4.49 but it's quite often on 3 for 2.

I've never been overly enamoured with leave in conditioners as they made my hair feel weird; gloopy and almost sticky.

This is completely different. It doesn't leave any residue and once the hair is dry its undetectable apart from it's scent. It smells amazing. After washing my hair previously it was really tangled and difficult to brush, but once I've used this I can actually get a brush through my hair without pulling at it - it just glides through! Yippee!

I can leave my hair to dry of its own accord on my way to work too, without ending up with a head full of frizz! [Aussie Leave in conditioner =10 extra minutes in bed]

I still shampoo and condition as normal as this isn't a super heavy conditioner. It doesn't make my hair greasy at all - it's a liquid spray rather than a creamy conditioner so it doesn't weigh the hair down.

I'm not far from the end of the bottle now and ill definitely be purchasing it again. For £4.49 it's definitely worth it to drag a brush through my unruly hair with ease!

Do you use a leave-in conditioner?

Suzy

Xx

Superdrug Naturals Shampoo & Conditioner

Lately my hair has been looking a little dull so I've been willing to try pretty much anything to get some sparkle back into it!

This week I saw Jess from Lovely Jubbly Blog's Boots and Superdrug haul which mentioned she'd bought Superdrug Naturals shampoo and conditioner for only £1.48 for both so I was intrigued.  I decided to buy it with the logic that if I hate it my fiancé will use it up cos he's not fussy with hair stuff!

I went with the Coconut and Sweet Almond version purely because I love the smell of coconut. And it described itself as moisturising.

 I've used it a couple of times now and I really like it! My hair feels a lot softer and has a good shine to it - which is difficult to get on blonde hair! It also smells yummy and the coconut scent stays on my hair for the rest of the day, which is a bonus. The packaging is quite sleek and looks nice in my bathroom. 

My one teeny complaint is that the shampoo doesn't have a pump like the conditioner. I like the pump and it's much easier to coordinate in the shower. The shampoo has a fiddly screw lid that makes me slightly mad. How am I meant to screw a lid back on when I've just poured shampoo into my palm!?! 

I know a lot of beauty bloggers try to avoid haircare that contains silicones and sulphates, and this shampoo does contain those things. For a while I only used silicone and sulfate free hair care products to try and improve it's condition but my hair just didn't feel clean enough and I don't have the time or the patience to have to wash my hair 3 times in a morning!

I've since gone back to the evil sulfates and silicones. I can hear you...judging me :)

My logic is this:

1) Hair is dead. It can't really be repaired; the issues can only be masked.

2) I've been using SLS and silicone based shampoo since childhood and have lived to tell the tale. With a full head of hair.

I think a lot of it is marketing bumpf

I know this shampoo and conditioner won't be doing anything amazing for my hair but as long as it makes my hair look pretty then I'm happy. Vain? Yes.

So far I'd recommend this shampoo and conditioner set, especially if you have dry hair. I like to rotate my hair care so as not to get build up and this will certainly be staying in my rotation.

Thanks to Jess at Lovely Jubbly blog  for alerting me to this bargain offer & go check out her blog; she's the brainbox who came up with #blogyoursocksoffseptember so there's lots of really interesting posts on there :)

Superdrug Naturals Coconut and Sweet Almond Shampoo and Conditioner are available here priced £0.99 and are currently on offer - buy one get one half price.

Have you tried superdrug haircare?

How bothered are you about you haircare being free of nasties?

Suzy

Xx

MUA Review Series #2: Matte Perfect Loose Powder

This week there was a clear candidate for review: the MUA Product I use the most.

Sadly with skin that is oilier than is convenient, I'm never going to be able to slap on some foundation and float off to work for the day looking dewy and ethereal, it's always going to be so-shiny-you-can-almost-see-your-face-in-it come lunchtime.  I've had to powder since about the age of 13 and now aged 25 I think I'm justified in feeling a little short-changed with the skin I have acquired.
I've gone through numerous different powders in search of the best option to keep my make up in place and limit the dreaded shine.  I concluded several years ago that pressed powders are not for me; they don't last long enough before reaching the bottom and cracking (packaging, not face), and I've never liked any I've tried - most notably Rimmel Stay Matte and No7 pressed powder which is that bad it deserves it's own post.

Now although loose powder is despised by my mother and boyfriend alike due to it's messy nature I am happy to overlook this for the finish it gives and the fact it lasts longer than a month before cracking and smearing it's contents over my make-up bag...yes, you again, No7 Perfect Light Pressed Powder.
For a while I had an extended dalliance with No7 Perfect Loose Powder: I like both the smooth finish and the sweet little packaging it comes in, but I do not like the price - £10.50.  Think on No7...it's essentially dust to put on your t-zone, and you aren't high end. While I'm on the subject, your mascaras are overpriced too.  There, I said it.

MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder came into my life rather suddenly and without any prior research. Living life on the edge. Naturally suspicious of anything seeming too cheap to be true, I fully expected to be palming it off onto my freeloading student sister within a week. 
The colour despite purporting to be 'transparent' looked rather too dark for me and I feared orangeface.
As it turns out it really is transparent and it gives a smooth finish as good as any more expensive powder I've used. The staying power is average on me - I first apply around 6.30am and generally need to touch up my t-zone by 11am ish. I've never had a powder that has lasted all day so I'm happy with this. It doesn't give me flatface, or sit in my pores. The main ingredient is talc, so it has the potential to irritate, but I've had no issues.

MUA's description is as follows, and I can't disagree with any of it:
"Make-up Academy’s Matte Perfect Loose Translucent Powder is an extremely lightweight sheer and silky setting powder. This finely milled loose powder fixes your foundation in place, perfect for minimising oiliness and unwanted shine. The micro fine featherweight texture means that it never looks powdery or feels heavy over foundation. It disappears on the skin brightening up your make up whilst keeping it in place throughout the day."

The reason I know it's good is that my head is so easily turned by make up, yet I haven't even looked to buy any different powders. I've used it every day since buying it and I'm now on my 3rd little pot of it. I've recommended it to my sister and friend and they both really like it too. I'd say it lasts around 2 months for me, and that's probably with 2 touch ups during the day.

However, MUA, in case you thought you were completely home and dry, I do have a few gripes; packaging.
1)Firstly, I know it is cheap, but must it look so cheap?! A horrible white lid, with childish pink writing that rubs off rather too easily, is not something I want to get out to touch up in public.
2) Having oily skin, I need my powder to accompany me throughout the day.  As there is nothing to stop the powder coming out, every time I take off the lid there is a messy pool of powder sat looking at me on top of the sifter bit.  Would it really cost that much more to put in a little extra layer to stop that happening?  My aforementioned mother and boyfriend would be most grateful..!

Actually, I thought I had more gripes than that.  2 is pretty good going. Buy it! :)

MUA Matte Perfect Loose Powder is available from Superdrug priced £2.50 and MUA's website at £2.30.

Have you tried this? What are your favourite MUA products? I'd love some more recommendations!

If you missed #1 from my MUA review series you can catch up here.  

Suzy xx

MUA Review Series #1 :Frozen Yoghurt Nail Polish

 When packing to come to my parents' house for a couple of days I noticed that i've accumulated quite the collection of MUA products over the last couple of months, some of which have wheedled their way in to my basic daily make up routine and some that were relegated to my 'urgh' drawer almost immediately upon opening.

As i've found the brand to be a little hit and miss so far so I'm going to do a review series over the next few weeks to pick out the best and worst- they're only a bargain if they actually work!

 Theirs are pretty much the cheapest make-up products available on the high street in the UK - elf are affordable too but only available online at the moment and I can't help but want to swatch everything and clutch it in my little paws before I make any commitments to purchase, so I'm happy that they're available in Superdrug.

After reading that the brush had been improved, the packaging changed and the polishes were only £1, I made a

20 mile trip to the Trafford Centre (they have the best MUA stand locally), spending more on petrol than on nail polish. Logic.

The shade 'Frozen Yoghurt' caught my eye so home with me it came! I really, really love the colour, it's just so cheerful and summery. 

Formula-wise I wasn't expecting much given that its £1, but it's actually pretty good! The brush is a good size, it paints on really smoothly and it's opaque after 2 coats. Some might want to give it an extra coat but I'm of the opinion that life's too short for that!

 Without a top coat it lasts 2 days max on me, with a top coat; 5 days. That being said, any nail varnish chips on me like you wouldn't believe, even the higher end ones, so this is about average.

I find the packaging quite amusing as its such an outrageous copy of Essie's bottles, both are cute though! 

This shade is currently sold out on the MUA website, but is probably available in Superdrug stores - their stock seems to be a bit sporadic but go early in a morning and you should be okay.

I'd definitely recommend this colour and trying the £1 polishes in general. I didn't get on so well with the shade Pistashio as I found it more runny and difficult to apply, but there are several gorgeous options and its worth a go for £1!

Suzy x