Review: Kerastase Masquintense

I'm sure many of us have been there where we've purchased an expensive product with high expectations only to feel disappointment and frustration.

For a very long time, I've been eager to try out Kerastase products and been eyeing on the Kerastase Nutritive Irisome Masquintense. This is a hair mask designed to nourish and deep condition your hair.

Although I try not to wash my hair everyday, sometimes I find it inevitable because I'll go to the gym or been out on a night out so I'll have to wash it. Washing it frequently obviously strips the natural oils from your hair increasing the fragility of it.

My hair is quite thick and can feel quite dry sometimes so this hair mask really did what it claims to do. I apply an almond sized amount onto towel dried hair and leave it for 20 minutes before washing it out. The scent smells great and you really don't need to use much for it to work. The texture is like cream, it's not sticky at all and you won't feel it in your hair at all. 

It's priced at £18.60 for 200ml. I purchased mine at www.lookfantastic.com (a great website with free shipping). It came in a nice package and took me less than a week before it arrived in my mailbox. There are two types of masks, one is from thin and fine hair (Kerastase Nutritive Irisome Masquintense Cheveux FINS) and the other is more thick hair  (Kerastase Nutritive Irisome Masquintense Cheveux EPAIS). If you don't know French make sure you get this right! The first time I had no idea and bought the fins one by accident so had to repurchase the one for thick hair.

Again, this product is expensive but you do not need much per treatment. I've received many compliments from friends saying how healthy and smooth my hair looks, so you'll definitely see the benefits of this immediately. 

Let me know if you've tried any Kerastase products and what you think about them!

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Review: MoroccanOil Treatment

Two words: Hair Envy!

I'm a big fan of silky smooth hair and will take the means to achieve the hair of a Herbal Essences advert. Sometimes I think I spend my time blowdrying my hair than my six university modules combined! Ha, I hope not but you get the drift of how obsessed I am with nice hair. 

source: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/504614333220608497/

I have used MoroccanOil Treatment for over a year now. I purchased my first bottle off www.feelunique.com where there was a promotion. The price of the 125ml bottle was sold for the price of the 100ml one. I believe this promotion is ongoing and is sold for £31.85. Now this may seem a lot for a bottle of oil but believe me, I have been using this every other day for a year and I still have not finished it. I believe they also do a 'light' version which is for people with fine or lighter hair.

This product is to be used after washed hair and claims to leave your hair with a natural and silky shine without a sticky residue. I can vouch that all this is true. I try to wash my hair every other day but sometimes fail to do so as going to the gym or a night out will result in washing my hair more often.

I apply this treatment on towel dried hair for about 5 minutes to let the hair absorb it and then I usually blow dry my hair. However this is NOT a heat protectant. You must use a heat protectant with oil (I tend to put heat protectant before putting on the oil). This treatment, it honestly does leave my hair very silky and smooth. You only need one pump (blueberry sized amount) to style medium length hair. I apply this mainly to the ends of my hair where it is the driest.

The product smells great and it does not leave a sticky residue at all. I've tried using the Macadamia Natural Oil Nourishing Leave-In Cream which does leave a sticky residue at the end and does the compare to the MoroccanOil treatment. The price of the MoroccanOil is double the price of the Macadamia one but definitely a thumbs up and I've recommended and raved about this to friends and family.

Leave a comment if you've tried this or if you want to try this and have any questions!

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Bailey's Chocolate Chip Brownies

So in light of St. Patrick's Day today I thought I'd bake something Irish related. Now I know brownies are not an Irish dessert but who said you can't add Bailey's to brownies?! There's only one thing better than normal brownies... SPIKED brownies!

150g of flour
120g of unsalted butter
250g of sugar (granulated)
80g of cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium eggs
75ml Bailey's
1 handful of chocolate chips

So simply preheat your oven to 175 degrees Celsius. You can grease a baking pan with oil or butter but I prefer just to line it with baking paper so you don't need to use oil and the pan won't be so hard to wash after baking.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium heat and combine the Baileys, cocoa powder, sugar and salt into the butter and let this cool for 5 minutes or so until the mixture is so longer hot. Once the mixture has cooled down, add two eggs and whisk until the mixture is all combined and smooth. Then pour the mixture into a medium mixing bowl with the flour and combine the liquid to the flour. Once the mixture is smooth and you can no longer see bits of flour, pour it into the baking pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on texture preference. If you like it a little gooey bake it for 15 minutes and if you like it more solid and cakey bake for 20 minutes. You can check this by putting a toothpick into the brownie. As long as you see a few crumbs are stuck onto the toothpick, the brownie will be ready to leave the oven. Cool the brownie down for 15 minutes then consume or cut to your own liking!

This is a great recipe as it does not require a lot of butter and can be made in less than a hour! Happy St. Patrick's Day!

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Review: Bare Escentuals Faux Tan

The UK is filled with sunbeds, spray tan services and oompa loompa's! Honestly, I completely understand where they are coming from and why they are in such high demand. There is minimal sun and even when it does come out it is impossible to sit outside in a bathing suit as it is simply freezing. 

After a lot of online research and comments from my mum saying how pale I looked I was determined to get out there and give the fake tanning trend a go. The most temporary option was a tanning lotion and I had purchased the Bare Escentuals Faux Tan after careful consideration and a lot of recommendations.

The price is decent for the amount you get. I purchased mine from www.feelunique.com for £17.50 (Note: A great website with free shipping). The product claims to deliver a natural looking tan, as if you've spent the day at the beach but without the harmful UV rays from the sun. 

It does give you a nice decent tan but personally the tan is just not as dark as I would like it to be and it and it fades away within three days. It does say if you want a darker tan, you can reapply more but with this in mind the tan does start to look a little orange as you build it up and can start to look quite uneven. The smell is bearable, if you like a cherry-almond like smell then definitely go ahead and try it.

Exfoliating is a MUST to prevent streaking. Also I usually apply this with a tanning kit (another must) after the shower and wear it to bed. It does stain your clothing just a little so I would recommend wearing long pants and sleeves. Also the tan develops but after your first shower, you can see the tan coming off already so it is very temporary. 

Here's my share of say on the product! Let me know what you think of it or any other self tanners that are worthy of trying! 

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