2014 has been confirmed by the catwalks to be the year of the raw undone beauty, in both the make up and hair department, so heres my quick lazy girlies guide to leaving hair to dry the natural way!
Now these following steps definitely work better if you have slightly grown out, and undone hair, that does hold a particular style. First things first I towel dry my hair (surprise, surprise) but I spend a good two or so minutes doing this, really trying to make sure I get most of the water out, doing this properly really makes a big difference so spend as much time doing it as you can afford. Don't be too rigours as this can make the hair knotty and frizzy, just go for patting down the hair or scrunching as this will give more body. I then like to lightly comb through any bits that have got a bit knotty, but i never go in with a big paddle brush and this just gets rid of all the natural texture, and leaves hair flat!
If your like me and have fine and flat hair, I like to add a little oil into the ends of the hair to keep them looking nourished and healthy I either go for Moroccan Oil or the Aussie colour protect Serum. I tend to avoid heavy products as this can weigh down the hair.
Once nearly dry I then play around with the style a bit more often using sea salt spray and scrunching the hair with my fingers and twisting bits round with my fingers, to add to that messy undone look sometimes even backcombing at the roots, the key is to to mess around with the style to early on as this can ruin the natural textures. Im wearing this style all the time at the moment especially when I'm going to work at just cannot be bothered with styling in the mornings!
Will you dare to stop the heat styling?
Caitlin B x
We all know the good old trick of sleeping with your hair in damp plaits to give your hair a nice natural wave in the morning. But what if your hair doesn't need washing that evening or you are just not one for planning hair styles ahead? Then I have the solution for you, you can create an almost identical look using your straighteners!
Take your hair in sections about an inch wide and clamp the tongs around it and twist in one direction slightly as if you were going to curl it, hold this is place as shown above, this will create a small kink in your hair. Drag the straighteners down the length of the hair a little and repeat in the opposite direction. Continue for the whole strip of hair and then the rest of your head.
I finished the look off with a good spritz of the Bamboo Style Boho Waves tousled texture mist. If you scrunch you hair a little with this in you should be left with nice beachy textured waves.
Hope this is helpful to some of you!
Caitlin A
x
Obviously I got lots of inspiration from my hair envy Blake Lively, I love her messy and undone up do's which is something I will try and achieve with lots of sea salt spray and messy braids!
Pool side I will definitely be pulling out the old fishtail braid or a high messy bun as they're really quick and simple and keeps the hair off your face!
I hope this post gives you some inspiration for holiday hair styles if your going on holiday, or just fancy wearing some this summer!
Caitlin B x
I am a total sucker for advertising. Just show me Blake Lively's hair looking all gorgeous and shiny in an advert and I'm sold! Which is the exact reason I went out the very next day especially to trial L'oreal's new Fibrology range, that claims to thicken the appearance of your hair. Being someone with quite fine hair I was all over this concept and couldn't wait to give it a go. I begun using the products in the usual way shampooing, washing out, conditioning leaving for a few minutes then rising out, and although I was skeptical and thought it may be a gimmick, after a couple of washes I did feel like my hair felt slightly thicker! Result you would think! However, I did feel like my hair was heavier and weighed down, therefore harder to create volume. I then decided to trial it out using a volumizing mousse after washing my hair and used The TRESemme 24 Hour Body Amplifying Mousse, and this I felt was a winning combo! Thicker, and more voluminous hair. I would so recommend giving this a go!
So after reading Glamour UK, news edit of 'Reverse Shampooing', and countless posts on the latest trend, I decided to trial it out for myself. The concept is simple; you use the conditioner first and then the shampoo. The theory being that you won't be left with that nightmare of 'is my hair just this smooth or have I just not washed the conditioner out' in the shower- 21st century girl problems ay? Meaning that when you don't quite wash the conditioner out you are left with residue that weighs down your hair making it flat and harder to create volume. The reverse wash therefore aims to eliminate this problem.
I tried this out half way through trialling the Fibrology, hoping to create nice bouncy hair without it being weighed down! However I was not convinced, I felt it made my hair more tangled than usual, my hair is naturally on the dryer side so if you have hair that is heavier and gets greasy easily this might be worth giving a go, but I was not sold! Massive thumbs down right here, Ive been reaching for the hair mask to try and get it back to norm. Very disappointing.
Let me know if you've tried this method, or if you've tried the Fibrology range!
Caitlin B x
After getting a lil bit of insp' from this months Glamour Magazine, I decided to venture back into an old favourite territory of mine, tousled messy waves, a look I'd like to think is totally 'Cali Girl Chic' look right? Heres to hoping anyway. I love a good old messy do, because its so casual and gives any girl the opportunity to have that cute bed head look, that looks so effortlessly cool (but we know its not usually that easy- no bey I don't 'wake up like this' springs to mind).
For this look I used my Babyliss waving wand again, however this time rather than split my hair into even sections I just selected random stands of hair and held them around the want for around 8 seconds each, alternating between large and small sections also alternating the directions of the wave.
I once I was happy with the amount of curls I tipped my head upside down and gave the hair a lil shake off, running my fingers through it and roughening it up to create a more messy look.
The secret weapon to this look however, was the the Loreal MATT&MESSY Sea salt spray, which i sprayed into the lengths of my hair, creating more texture and volume.
I really really love this product, I've tried and tested a few different salt sprays over the years and this is by far my favourite, its totally none greasy and shine free so it literally just does make your hair naturally look more wild and voluminous.
If your already have quite textured hair or layered (unlike my dead straight no movement hair) I'd suggest maybe not even curling the hair and just using the spray and alone it does achieve a tousled look but spraying it in and crumpling your hair with your hands while spraying, or alternatively defining sections of hair by twist them round your fingers.
Another bonus to this product is that it does brush out! I was able to put my hair in a fish tail braid the next day without getting the comb stuck in my hair, which is a regular occurrence with some products.
Hope you enjoy this post, and try out this beachy look ready for summer!
Caitlin B
x
Is it just me or is this the most beautiful, hollywood glam inspired hair style ever?! Now we all know Blake Lively is famous for the most beautiful golden locks in show biz, but the thing I really admire is her ability to literally pull of any hair style going. Im still watching old series of gossip girl and wondering how the hell she pulls off a ponytail plait without looking 12!
Now although we can't attempt to pull off all her amazing hair do's, heres one I think is actually really achievable with the right tools, so heres how I achieve my Blake Lively inspired waves.
I started by washing my hair with the Loreal Elvive Fibrology Thickening shampoo and conditioner, mainly because Blake Lively is the spokes girl for the product but secondly because it does give my limp and fine hair slightly more body which is definitely desired with this look, should be doing a review on these soon so let me know if you want to see that!
I then go on to spray in some Aussie Miracle Colour Insurance leave in conditioner, as I have highlighted hair, I use this every time I wash my hair, firstly to stop my colour from fading but also because it makes my hair much softer, and easy to brush, as I have very knotty hair! I then used Loreal Elnett Satin Heat protection spray, something I always use before applying heat to my hair.
Finally I spray Charles Worthington 'Turn Up the volume blow dry spray' into the roots just to add extra body and hold to my hair when blow drying.
When blow drying I start by tipping my head upside down and just giving it a good old blast, this gives a bit of volume, and the hair is easier to work with the barrel brush when its not sopping wet! I then use my barrel brush to give volume to the roots, working the brush from the root then slightly twisting my hand as i bring the brush to the ends to give my hair a slight bounce.
I then take the left upper front section of my hair and give it a little backcomb with a paddle brush to create volume and hold similar to Blakes in the pictures from the Met Ball 2014. I give it a slight twist before pinning it in to make a softer prettier look.
The key ingredient to achieve this look however is the Babyliss Waving Wand, it gives beautiful soft vintage style waves, which can be worn in a glamorous precise curl or can be messed up to create beachey surfer girl ready waves.
I then section off my hair and wrap each section around the wand holding it for 12 seconds.
Once I've taken the curl out of the wand I like to hold it for a few seconds to let it cool off before letting it drop, as this can cause the curl to drop.
Once ive curled the whole head and let the curls cool down I very gently brush the curls out with a paddle brush, as I feel this gives a softer prettier look.
I then like to use the Aussie Colour protection serum, to give my hair extra shine. I just pump a pea size amount onto the palm of my hair rub it between my fingers, then run it through the ends of my hair, to add extra shine and a glossy finish.
I then spray a small amount of Mark Hill's Style Secrets hairspray (the best hairspray I've ever used!) to hold the look throughout the day.
I really love this look and feel is could work as a pretty day time look or can be glammed up with beautiful makeup, accessories and a killer dress!
I styled my hair in the morning and it literally stayed in all day, which is rarely happens when I curl my hair with any other product, as I have such poker straight hair! So I love using this wand as I know it won't let me down and fall out as soon as the british weather hits me!
I hope this has been helpful! Let me know if you like posts like this and want to see more of them!
Caitlin B
x
So myself and Caitlin B were on one of our many trips to Boots when I realised that professional hair care was on offer; 3 for the price of 2! Well I just could not resist. My hair has been feeling really dry recently and was definitely in need of a pick me up! 2 of the purchases were made on recommendations from some of my favourite beauty gurus and one was on a whim! All of the products I chose were from the Charles Worthington Salon At Home range.
The Charles Worthington Moisture Seal Mineral Rescue Masque is a really easy to use hair mask (especially with its handy flip lid that's so easy for use in the shower!) This definitely does add moisture to your hair and helped with my dryness. I use it once or twice a week and my hair is always grateful for it! It's definitely worth a try, however, I do think there are better choices out there that can give your a hair a smoother touch and a glossy look better than this one does!
The Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Thick and Full 3D Boosting Crème is a styling cream that offers to give your hair both fullness and texture. I haven't ever used a product like this before, but I have very thin hair so anything that can give me me extra thickness has got to be a winner. You apply the product to damp hair and blow dry as normal. I do agree that the product gives me a little extra thickness and bounce than my ordinary limp hair, however, not a great deal of it. I liked this product, and I would recommend you give this a go if you have similar hair to mine, but it's nothing revolutionary!
And last but not least, a product that has had a heck a lot of praise here on the internet; the Charles Worthington Volume and Bounce Texturising Spray. Again, this isn't a type of product I have ever tried before and was really excited to try it after all the great reviews. However, I was left disappointed. Admittedly, it does do exactly what it says on the tin. Gives you really texturised hair with a lot of volume and hold and it's very impressive in that sense. But when it came to the end of the day or the next day when I tried to brush it out of my hair, the brush could hardly budge! It felt like I'd sprayed an entire can of hairspray in my hair and left it for days, even though I thought I had used the product sparingly! My hair felt dry and brittle and I hated it, I felt like I needed to wash it right away; forget a no wash day! This may not be the case for every hair type, but I'm scared of using this anymore!
Sorry for the negative thoughts, I promise I'm on the hunt for the perfect hair care to recommend!
Caitlin A
x
