Hask Argan Oil Healing Shine Hair Treatment Review

Ever since I received a sample of Osmo Berber Hair Oil in my May's Glossybox, I've loved the idea of them but I've never really felt like I could justify the cost of some of the ones on the market.

Back in November I stumbled across some small bottles of Argan Oil in Primark, of all places. Not one to shy away from what Primark has to offer in the beauty world I decided to add it to my basket. I did wonder whether it would be cheap nasty stuff but after putting it to the test I'm fairly impressed.

Of a morning I don't always have time to use conditioner (sleep is sometimes more appealing) when washing my hair which usually leads to knotted and static hair, which is something that is really irritating especially when driving - I don't know why but it is. I've found with this that it really helps to compensate for lack of conditioner and also leaves my hair fairly soft for the day, not to mention a definite reduction in static.

I definitely agree that hair oils can reduce drying time and this is no exception, another reason why I like it. Hair drying is such a chore to me, I really hate it so anything that will reduce the time I have to spend doing this laborious task is a winner in my eyes.

This oil itself is a burnt orange colour when poured out, and only a small blob is required. It also has a slightly odd yet inoffensive scent. One of these bottles lasts approximately 2-3 weeks depending on how generous you are when pouring into your hand.

Admittedly you can get a branded bottle from a Supermarket/Drugstore for about £10 such as L'Oreal Elvive's Extraordinary Oil but I've never quite wanted to hand my money over for it.

One day I'd love to try Ojon's Rare Blend Hair Oil but with a price tag pushing £30 I'm not so sure I can really justify it while trying to save money! I also think these would make great travel tubes especially if you do have one of the bigger glass bottles, that can definitely be a pain when flying - weight limit etc.

This 18ml bottle of Argan Oil is £2.50 and can be found in Primark at the till points (though they may also be elsewhere but not that I've personally seen). 

Kate x

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Clinique Chubby Stick in Mighty Mimosa

When I first found out about Clinique Chubby Sticks I became quite obsessed. Super Strawberry was my first purchase back in June (review here) and back in December I acquired a new one! This time in the shade Mighty Mimosa which was one of the shades I'd wanted to try from the beginning (the other was Curvy Candy). It is a sheer peachy pink and is a brilliant everyday colour - especially perfect for summer. Because it's so subtle I will often use this instead instead of lip balm at work.

This certainly isn't an intense colour, it's a nice subtle wash of colour, which given the fact it is a balm rather than a lipstick is to be expected. Colour is build-able with this, the photo above is with a fairly generous application. I would definitely say if you're buying a Chubby stick don't expect a bold lip - unless perhaps you've bought the Intense range (personally I've not tried it).

I really love Chubby Sticks, I've recently received a mini one in my Clinique Bonus Time kit (love Bonus Time!) which I'm looking forward to trying. I know Revlon do a very affordable dupe which I have tried but unfortunately for my purse I prefer the 'real' thing so to speak. I find it to be far more moisturising and I also prefer the scent. I've even gotten my Mum onto them. 

Clinique's Chubby Sticks retail for £16.00 and can be purchased online or at a Clinique counter nationwide.

Kate x

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A night spent in London

From time to time Danny and I like to treat ourselves to a nice hotel room in London for the night, the first time we did this was last February and we stayed in The Cumberland just next to Marble Arch, it was a great experience and the breakfast was ah-maze-ing. 

Back in July I booked tickets for us to go see Bloc Party at Earls Court on 22nd February, which I was quite looking forward to but dreading the potential crush there could be at an arena gig. I just assumed we'd get the train home afterwards, until Danny suggested we stay overnight. After scouring lastminute.com for a reasonably priced, but nice hotel I stumbled across this beauty. This is The Grosvenor Hotel in Victoria. It is a really nice hotel, in keeping with the area and we were utterly in awe of the building - they had to give us a map, yes a map, to find our way to our room as they have two wings of the hotel. 

The room was amazing, the bathroom was lovely too - although it had a magnifying mirror which I definitely wasn't prepared for. I don't need to see in magnification how large my pores are thank you very much.

I thoroughly enjoyed Bloc Party, it wasn't anywhere near as busy as I thought it would be. I was expecting to be squashed and be thoroughly miserable as is normal when my height in a large crowd of people. This meant there was space to breath, unfortunately there were some guys acting like total idiots to my left which was pretty irritating.

This was the second time I'd seen Bloc Party in my life, however I was fortunate enough to see Kele in a small gig in Berlin, I was standing about two people away from him the entire time. Quite a stark difference to be standing on the opposite side of an arena.

I leave you with a video compiled of lots of peoples footage from that night on their phones of their latest single "Truth". I still love them as much as I did when someone first told me to listen to Helicopter back in 2003 or so.

Kate x

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Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Super Volume Mascara

I've never really thought of makeup when browsing what Soap & Glory have to offer, I've always considering them to be purely a skincare brand, however, after buying Soap & Glory's christmas bundles (Best of All and Big Splendour) I have come to acquire a couple of their makeup products.

Having run out of my world favourite Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara just before pay day I turned to Soap & Glory's Thick & Fast Super Volume Mascara in my hour of need. Admittedly, I may have gone into this with a slightly negative mind of "it's not MY mascara"

The first time I applied this, I was impressed with the size of the brush - it's nice and big, which I've always associated with volume but it's not something I'm used to so I struggled a little with my inner lashes. I didn't find this mascara to be clumpy or cause spider lashes which is always a positive. 

I found this to add very little volume and I struggled to build this up. By the end of the day this had also run quite substantially.

Overall, I wasn't overly impressed with this Soap & Glory offering and after asking what others thought on Twitter, I found that nobody really had overly positive feedback - it was fairly neutral verging on negative.

I continued to use this and looked ahead to payday. I then remembered that I used to wear mascara primer on a daily basis so I decided to give that a go in an attempt to give this mascara a second chance. 

Has it made a difference? Yes, it has. Application has been a lot easier although running has still been an issue, but less so. My main pet peeve is the fact that this mascara won't hold a curl. I love having a curl in my lashes, and I absolutely cannot be without my eyelash curlers. The inability to hold a curl is what lets it down the most in my eyes.

Unfortunately this product hasn't given me any reason to think that I would repurchase and given the price I would much rather try another brand. 

Soap & Glory Thick & Fast Super Volume Mascara retails for £10 and can be bought online or in Boots stores nationwide.  

Kate x

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