Hey all!

I am trying to break away from constant makeup posts as I feel I am stuck in a bit of a rut recently and I want to spruce things up. Recently, I lightened my hair from a dark reddish-purple (it pretty much looked black). It is now a "ginger" shade, and I really like it, although I am hoping to eventually go blonde.

I feel so much better with lighter hair, but of course, using harsh chemicals is very damaging. A couple of years ago, I bleached my hair and damaged it so much, it fell out and snapped off. (If you're interested in my hair journey, here's a post from 2014.) So I didn't touch bleach for 2 years, I didn't even touch permanent hair colours for a year, and I was petrified when I lightened my hair, but I think I did okay, and it's all down to the products I use in my hair. I thought I would share them as I highly recommend them all, although it is a pretty high maintenance routine with quite a few products. I hope you enjoy :)

Coconut Oil

Before I bleached my hair, I used coconut oil in my hair. I left it in for about two hours, and then didn't wash it out before the lightening. Now I put it in my hair overnight before I wash my hair in the morning and it works so well. I have to shampoo twice to make sure it is all out, but it's genuinely a miracle product. I got this tub for £8.99 from Superdrug, and I'm pretty sure it's going to last me a long time because you don't need that much product.

Get it here.

Inecto Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner

I also wash my hair with coconut shampoo and conditioner that I got from Savers. These are pretty cheap, I think they were around £2 each and they work really well. My hair feels absolutely amazing after, as well as smelling really nice.

Have a look on the Inecto website, or check out your local Savers store.

OGX Argan Oil of Morocco

After towel drying my hair to damp, I put argan oil in my hair. This is the first "extra" product I used in my hair, so I guess you can say this is what started my obsession with hair care. This is the only argan oil I've tried, but I don't even feel the need to try another because I love this one so much. It leaves my hair super shiny, although you have to be careful not to put too much in as it can leave your hair greasy. You only need a drop!

You can grab it here.

Herbal Essences Bee Strong Leave In Conditioner

Last spring, I went on a bit of a hype about this stuff, but the leave in conditioner is the one thing I continued to buy. The entire range is incredible and really works wonders for you hair.

With an easy pump spray, I usually use about 5 pumps tops and rub the product in my palms before running it through the ends of my hair.

You can get this on Amazon but I'm pretty sure I bought it from Wilkos.

Schwarzkopf Gliss Spray

This product. It's actually amazing. If there's one thing on this entire list that I would recommend, it would be this. It smells absolutely gorgeous for a start, but since I've been using this I've noticed a major change in my hair. I just spray it onto the ends of my hair, and I've been getting fewer split ends since.

Get it on eBay here.

Schwarzkopf Got2b Sexy Big Volume Mousse

I have such thin hair, so I have layers cut in, but this also helps to give my hair an extra bit of life and volume. It's a spray mousse, and I tend to spray about a palm sized amount (I'm not sure how much you're actually meant to use) and run it through my hair.

Get it from Boots.

IQ Intelligent Styling Heat Shield Protector Spray

Finally, if I am going to be using heat on my hair (which is not often recently as my straighteners blew up on me) I swear by this. I got it from my hairdresser originally, and I think I've been using it for about 3 years now. It smells amazing and works really well protecting my hair.

The spray reminds me of a cleaning bottle, but it has a catch so you can lock it when you're not using it. If you enjoy this, I also recommend their gel hairspray if you want a super hold spray.

Get it here.

Bonus: Dry shampoo is a great way to maintain your hair between washes, as washing it everyday can do more damage than good! Checkout this guide to pick the best dry shampoo for you! https://www.reviews.com/dry-shampoo/

I hope this was of help to you, and that you have some ideas for your own hair care. I really do recommend all of these as I'm incredibly picky with my hair, and I will never use anything that I don't think is good enough. (an almost snobby opinion)

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!

Layla x

Hello!

Today I thought I would share a quick post with you all about a fantastic brush cleaner that I have found. Forget spending £10+ on brush cleaners that are basically glorified water, and instead spend a mere £3.73 on some carbolic soap. Carbolic soap is a mild disinfectant and works brilliantly at getting the built up makeup out of your brushes.

Firstly, here is my (very) dirty beauty blender (not a real one, you can pick them up for £1.50 in Primark and they're actually great).

The carbolic soap is a (not so) lovely pink shade, and smells incredibly medical. Which is what your brushes and hands will smell like once you're done.

Run the soap under warm water, and take your brush/sponge and rub the soap onto them. Keep doing this until the lather of the soap turns from the dirty colour of the built up product to a white.

I found warm water best for breaking down the product.

And that's literally it. Leave your brushes to dry, or if you're like me, hairdryer them.

Here is my newly cleaned sponge, as good as new. And not only have you gotten rid of the colour build up but you've also disinfected your brushes/sponges as well.

Hope this helps, you should definitely give it a try!

See you next time,

Layla x

Hey hey hey!

Today I have a light smokey eye look that I'm actually a little bit in love with. I hope you enjoy!

After priming my eye and putting the tape in place, I ran Break Me Up from the Makeup Revolution Death By Chocolate palette along my crease.

To deepen this, I added Devour Me from the same palette, keeping it a little lower than the first shade.

Then I put Kiko Cream Crush eyeshadow in 04 all across my lid. I the blended it out with a little of the Devour Me shade. It's important to work relatively quickly with this cream as it does dry pretty quick.

On my outer corner, I put Bistre from the Makeup Revolution Beyond Flawless palette, making sure the colour was deeper along the line of the tape.

After adding eyeliner, I took the cream eyeshadow on a pencil brush and ran it along my lower lashline, and followed with the Devour Me shade as well, just lightly sweeping it across.

Add mascara and lashes if you do so please and there you are :)

I like this look because I enjoy a smokey eye, but a dark one is not always wearable in the day, and it's always fun to mix colours up.

I hope you enjoyed, and have a lovely day!

Layla x

Hello!

Today I have this look that I came up with yesterday, so I decided that I would recreate it and share it. I used sellotape with this to create a sharp line, something that I've never tried before, but I don't think that this second attempt is too bad! I hope you enjoy :)

For my transition shade,I used Substitute For Love from the Zoeva Cocoa Blends Palette (this entire look is using this) and ran it through my crease, bringing it up slightly as it reaches the tape.

Next I deepened this with Freshly Toasted to make the colours look a bit warmer.

Then I applied Beans Are White to the outer corner, focusing on making the colour deeper along the tape line. Make sure that the colour blends softly into the center of the eye.

I then put Pure Ganache across the rest of my lid, blending it with Beans Are White.

While the tape was still on, I did my eyeliner so I could follow the line better.

After applying my face makeup, I ran a mix of Substiture For Love and Beans Are White along my lower lash line.

Then a applied mascara and my Ardell Demi Wispies and there ya are! (Excuse my wonky eyebrows, I FINALLY got them done and the woman messed them up. Yay)

On my lips, I used my new favourite lip crayon from Primark. It's their PS Velvet Matte Lipstick Crayon but it doesn't have a name I don't think, just the number 11? I seriously think this beats Birthday Suit by Sleek as my go to lip colour.

Thank you for reading,

Layla x