Get Pampered at Gallo Hair

Gallo Hair, East Sydney (image source)

It has been about 18 months since I last had a haircut. Way. Too. Long. Though, it has been pretty cool having long hair, for once, as I usually keep it quite short. When I was a povo student I used to get my hair cut once or twice a year. I would grow it and grow it then one day snap and get it all chopped off. Once I started working full time, I decided it was time to get regular haircuts and actually maintain a hair style. The look that I was going for was the curly pob (below is my favourite photo of this haircut as well as a cute pic of The Crazy Kid at 3 weeks of age). For three years I got my hair cut every 8-10 weeks and it was in the best condition ever. And then I had kids...

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After The Crazy Kid came along I dropped back to twice yearly haircuts, then when Kiki joined our family I gave up getting my haircut.

Just before Christmas, I was invited to experience a treatment and blow dry and treatment at Gallo Hair in East Sydney and I snapped up the opportunity. Gallo Hair is situated in a renovated town house on the trendy Crown Street in East Sydney. I nearly missed it walking past. Once you are inside, it is such a stunning and classy looking salon. Unlike one that I have been in before. It is ultra modern with plenty of glass and mirrors and they had gorgeous touch of vases of fresh flowers everywhere. Unfortunately I was too shy to take any photos once I was inside. There were other clients there and I just felt weir taking happy snaps so I have lifted a couple from the internet so that you can see what I am talking about.

Gallo Hair from the outside. Apologies for the dodgy photo - it was bright and I
got some serious reflection.

The ultra modern interior Image source

Upon arrival, I was offered a glass of bubbly but Kiki was still on the boob so I declined and went with water instead.

Before my treatment and blow dry 

My hair was washed and then I discussed with my hair dresser which treatment would be best for my hair. I confessed that it had been well over a year since I last got my haircut so she suggested a protein treatment to repair damage. My hair was washed then the treatment applied and whilst it was on I had the most heavenly 10 minute head massage ever. I'm pretty sure that I lost consciousness there for a moment!

After the treatment it was time for the blow dry. I was dying to find out just how long my hair was. Having curly hair, you loose about 1/3 of the length to curl and bounce. Another thing I was looking forward to was having swishy hair. Curly hair doesn't swish so it is such a novelty having straight hair that you can swish!

I was stoked with the results. My hair looked fantastic. It looked so healthy, even though it hadn't been cut in so long. The effects of the treatment lasted for a good few weeks. I noticed my curls were neater and more well defined, and my hair felt soft and had lost the dryness it had prior to the treatment. I had a wedding later that day and the bride actually commented to me how good my hair looked (she had never seen me with straight hair so it was a big change!).

Gallo Hair has been around for 10 years and is highly respected both in Sydney and Australia wide. The salon has created looks for Channel 7 News and A Current Affairs shows for the likes of Samantha Armytage, Chris Bath, Monique Wright & Talitha Cummins plus many more at 7. Other celebrity clients include Jacki Weaver, Catherine Martin & Baz Lurhman.

Gallo Hair is located at 132 Crown St East Sydney.

Do you get regular haircuts or can years pass between snips? How good are head massages! Are they your favourite part of the hairdresser experience?


All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post. This service was provided for consideration.

Kérastase Paris and the new Cristalliste available online for the first time

In Australia, Kérastase Paris has previously been unavailable online - you have had to go into salons to stock up. For a limited time, that is about to change. Adore Beauty is hosting a pop up online store stocking the Cristalliste range as it is launched in Australia. 

The Cristalliste Collection:

Cristalliste Bain Cristal Fins - Luminous Perfecting Shampoo - Fine Hair - $38

Cristalliste Bain Cristal Epais - Luminous Perfecting Shampoo - Thick Hair - $38

Cristalliste Lait Cristal - Luminous Perfecting Conditioner - $44.50

Cristalliste Lumiére Liquide - Luminous Perfecting Essence - $44 

From the 1st of March you will be able to buy the entire Cristalliste Collection online at Adore Beauty. The Cristalliste Collection is perfect for long hair as it leaves it smooth and shiny without weighing it down. Have a look here for more detailed information on the range


Do you use Kerastase products? Do you prefer to buy your hair products in a salon or online (or at the supermarket)?

Schwarzkopf Ultimate Colour Home Hair Colouring Launch

This week I attended the launch of Schwarzkopf's Ultimate Colour Home Hair Coluring. I haven't attended many product launches since Kiki was born. I just found it too hard organising baby sitters for her and the Crazy Kid. I have to confess that I went to this launch for the wrong reasons. As soon as I soon as I saw on the invitation that menu being served at the launch had been prepared by two hatted chef Christine Mansfield I accepted immediately. It may have been the wrong reason for going to a launch but thank God that I did because I actually walked away from the launch more excited about the new product that I had just leant about, rather than the food eaten (and the food was bloody fantastic so that says a lot about the product!).

Ultimate Colour is a world first innovation in home hair colour. It is a foam colour that is re-usable. With every other home hair colour on the market, you have to mix the colourant with the developer before applying the dye. This means that if there is any left over it cannot be saved and reused. The difference with Ultimate Colour is that the developer and colourant are housed in different compartments within the bottle and when you press to release the colouring foam, an equal amount of both the colourant and developer squirt out leaving you with a pile of white developer foam and coloured foam on your hand. You can then mix the two together on your hand, or if you are particularly lazy, apply it straight to your hair and mix it on your head. Any left over dye can then be saved for up to 3 years for the next application. If you have longer hair it will be enough for a root touch up but if you have short hair (as in a typical man's length hair) you can potentially get 3 or more applications out of a bottle.

Back in my DINK days (double income no kids), I would always pay someone to colour my hair. Once the Crazy Kid, and then his sister came along I had neither the time nor the disposable cash to get my hair regularly coloured at a hairdresser. So, I returned to my stingy student days and resumed colouring my own hair at home. I had thought that the best thing to happen to home hair colouring was the introduction of the foam dyes. I absolutely love them and find that the results really are salon worthy. I make no mess when I use them, have no drips and never end up with missed patches in my hair. My favourite, to date, has been the John Frieda Precision Foam Colour and I have returned to this one about 4 or 5 times. But the one thing the really annoyed me was that I would always have a third of a bottle of the dye left that I would end up having to chuck. Then, a couple of months down the track, the colour would still be looking rich; however, my bloody grey hairs would be rearing their ugly heads again meaning that I would have to buy a new packet of dye just to hide the handful of greys that were annoying the crap out of me! (I did try plucking them for a while but unfortunately am loosing that battle and, if you have ever wondered whether the rumour is true that if you pull a grey hair out then seven grow back, it isn't - see here).

I haven't had the opportunity to trial Ultimate Colour just yet as the stock had just arrived in the country at the time of the launch, but hope to do so in the coming weeks. At the moment they have 9 colours in the range, which you can see below. The colours that I plan on testing are 465 Dark Chocolate Brown and possibly 668 Hazelnut (though I am not sure whether my naturally dark brown hair would be too dark for this shade) and then, come winter, I like to put a red shade through my hair so will take 388 Dark Red Brown for a test drive.

At this stage I am not sure of an exact release date or price for the Schwarzkopf Ultimate Colour but will have that information on hand when I review the product so will update then.

What are your thoughts? Are you excited? Which colour in the range would you go for? 

Want a funky new haircut? Why not donate your ponytail to create real hair wigs

It is common knowledge that one of the major side effects of using chemotherapy to treat cancer is that ones hair will often fall out. For many women, this can be as traumatic as having cancer itself. Sure, there are wigs out there but often these are so fake and tacky that women will prefer to wear scarves. Unfortunately, real hair wigs are extremely expensive and, what with all of the other expenses associated with cancer, a luxuary many women cannot afford. However, now there is a way that we all can help by donating our ponytails. Here is some information on how to do it:

Beautiful Lengths is a program by Pantene in partnership with charity Look Good…Feel Better, designed to encourage women to cut, grow and donate 20cm of their hair to create real hair wigs for women who have lost their hair to cancer treatment. Since 2006, Beautiful Lengths in North America has received an incredible 303,998 ponytails. With enough hair to create 24,000 real wigs, Pantene has helped to transform the lives of thousands of women across the US. Now the program is being launched in Australia and New Zealand.

Monday 12^th November will mark the launch of the inaugural Beautiful Lengths National Donate Your Hair Week in Australia kicking off with a hair donation event at Martin Place in Sydney CBD with Pantene ambassadors leading hairstylist, Barney Martin, and beauty expert, Zoe Foster.

The first 100 women to donate their ponytails will receive a free haircut from Barney Martin and his team of top hairstylists. A gift bag full of products will be presented to every woman who donates their ponytail as well.

In order to participate in the National Donate Your Hair Week event, hair donors must be able to travel to Martin Place for 8am on 12^th November and have at least 20cm of hair to donate.

To take part, please visit https://rougemag.com.au/pantenendyhw and complete the registration form.

The website for Beautiful Lengths is www.beautifullengths.com.au.

Basically your pony tail must be at least 20cm long for it to be donated otherwise the hair will be too short for the wig weavers to use and it can't be dyed, bleached or too grey. Other than those restrictions you are free to donate. Also, remember that if you are going to post your ponytail in then make sure you put a whole heap of hair elastics around it so that it stays as a ponytail - if it falls out of the elastic then they can't use it.

I am actually desperate to cut my hair all off. I usually keep it quite short but having The Crazy Kid and Kiki has made it quite hard for me to make it to the hairdresser. I actually worked out that my last haircut was on 25th November 2011...nearly a full year! I measured my ponytail and it is currently 15cm so I am not going to make the 12th Nov to donate but I think that I will keep growing it anyway as you can donate it at any time.


Are you planning on donating you ponytail or have you done so in the past?

Hotel toiletries that are actually worth stealing

I don't know about you but every time that I stay in a hotel I am compelled to take all of the toiletries that they provide. I then get home, unpack my wash bag and have a look at my new haul of toiletries only to decide that they are crap and I doubt I'll ever use them, so I end up binning them.

A few years ago something strange happened - the toiletries in hotel I was staying at were actually quite amazing! We were on our first family holiday with The Crazy Kid, who was only 3 months old at the time, and in the mad rush of trying to pack absolutely every baby item we owned I completely forgot to pack any hair or shower products for myself. As I was also travelling with my mother-in-law I just figured that I would borrow her products (or let her buy me some new stuff hehehe - she has three sons so it is my duty to let her buy me beauty products!!). We didn't have time to buy anything on the first day so I had to use the supplied products - some brand called Romy that I hadn't heard of - then the plan was to do a shop the next morning. Well, was I in for a surprise. These products were stunning. The hotel supplied a shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and lotion all fragranced with Eucalyptus and Lemongrass. That combination of essential oils was so uplifting and intoxicating. It was truly stunning. But that wasn't all. The shampoo and conditioner actually left my hair in really good condition. It was soft, manageable and really healthy. Upon returning home I tried to google the brand but couldn't really find anything so kind of forgot about them, until the other day when I saw an article on BeautyDirectory titled From hotels to the home. It was here that I learnt that Romy was expanding from being a line of toiletries found in hotels to one that individuals could also purchase. I was about to be reunited with my beloved Eucalyptus and Lemongrass shampoo and conditioner!

About Romy: Romy is a body care range from the Northern Beaches of Sydney. The products are plant-derived and enriched with aromatherapy oils and natural Australian bush fruit extracts. Romy contains the highest quality ingredients that are good for people and the environment. In addition to the Eucalyptus and Lemongrass range there are also Cinnamon & Cocoa Butter and Lavender & Fir Needle ranges. In each of these ranges are a shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, body scrub, lotion, body butter and hand cream. Romy also have a facial skincare range - Kosmetik which has a cleanser, exfoliant, toner, day & night cream and eye serum,.

I now have a whole bevy of Romy products that I will be reviewing over the coming months. I will review the Eucalyptus and Lemongrass shampoo in more detail to see whether it lives up to the wonderful memories I have of it. So far, I have just sniffed the products and they are exactly as I remembered so fingers crossed they are as equally beautiful to use.

Romy can be purchased online from their website.

Have you also discovered any hotel toiletries that are actually any good? Do you compulsively steal hotel toiletries and then never use them?

All opinions stated in this blog are my own. I have no affiliation with Romy and received no remuneration for my comments.

Posts you may have missed: It's all about the hair

I saw on Sara-May's blog, Makeup Utopia, that she does a recap each Sunday of posts you may have missed during the week. I thought that this was a brilliant idea so have decided to steal incorporate this idea for my blog. However, rather than recapping posts that I have done in the last week I will try to group together posts of a similar theme. This is because there will be some weeks where I only manage to achieve one post and that will look a little pathetic sitting there all on its own!

So, for my first 'Posts you may have missed' I have decided to go with a haircare theme.

Now that I have two kids to deal with (one being a newborn), finding the time to go to the hair dresser is near impossible. However, my kids are seriously sending me grey and it is driving me crazy! So I set myself a challenge - could I successfully dye my hair at home and cover my greys using the John Frieda Precision Foam Colour whilst my babies napped. Click here to see if I was successful!

Speaking of grey hair, have you always wondered whether it is true that if you pull out a grey hair, seven will grow back in it's place? Find out here whether it is true or yet another old wives tale.

I am not the only one who is struggling to find the time to go to the hairdresser. My husband has the same issues with time; however, he has the thickest, fullest head of hair you have ever seen so he needs to get it cut every four weeks otherwise it becomes one big boof. We test drove the Remington Powerhouse Clippers to see whether they were good enough to tame his steel wool like locks and if I could add hairdresser to my resume!

Does your head itch? It shouldn't. Give the QV Gentle shampoo and conditioner a trial and the itch should go. It did for me.

When my scalp is behaving and not being all itchy I use the Herbal Essences Tousle Me Softly range to keep my curls looking awesome.

Finally, a bit of fun. I bet you have always wondered whether bull semen would make a great hair mask. Well, would it?


Do you have a great hair tip you wish to share?

Do you have any great hair posts? If so, I'd love to read them so please post a link in the comments.

Remington Powerhouse Clipper: powerful enough to cut through steel wool

My husband has been blessed or cursed with a head full of the thickest hair you can imagine - think hair as thick as Ray Martin's with the consistency of steel wool! Right now it feels like his hair is a curse as he has to get it cut every four weeks to keep it looking respectable; however, I am sure that when he is 80 and he still has a full head of thick hair he will realise just what a blessing it is.

After years of haircuts every four weeks he finally cracked and said that we needed to get a pair of clippers so that I could cut his hair at home. He gave me very strict instructions on what I was to get - I wasn't to get any cheap, crappy clippers; he has tried them before and they don't work on his hair. They needed to be salon quality.  So we decided to take the Remington Powerhouse Clipper for a test drive to see whether they had what it takes to tame his wild locks!

Image courtesy of beautydirectory

What they say: For the man that wants total control over the stubble on his head – not just his face – Remington introduces the new Powerhouse Hair Clipper. With an all-new Pro Power Motor, it is Remington’s fastest and best performing clipper yet. Providing the power to cut significantly more hair with every stroke, it delivers outstanding performance on all hair types and textures. The blades are coated in titanium and are self-sharpening to provide superior cutting performance. Other features include three interchangeable comb attachments for adjustable lengths ranging from 1mm to 42mm and Micro USB charging technology add up to make this the home-groomer’s clipper of choice. The clipper can run for up to 40 minutes when fully charged.

What we thought: Our first test drive of the clippers was not a good one, and we may have ended up having a little marital tiff over them! We did not find the instructions that easy to follow; however, it may have been that we were approaching the process with an assumption that we already knew what we were doing. Hubby works in the corporate sector so he has to have a sensible haircut - he didn't want it too short. In the past he has gone for a number 3 so that is what he wanted with this cut. The comb attachments have numbers on the side for the different cutting lengths. I set it to 30 assuming this would be the equivalent to a number 3, but when I started clipping no hair was being cut. Hubby was getting annoyed with me and was telling me that I was doing it wrong (I may have responded with 'fine, do it yourself then' before calming down and having a second attempt). I eventually worked out that the numbers referred to the length in millimetres that the hair would be cut so I was attempting to cut his hair 3cm long, which was longer than it actually was. Once we had made this realisation I switched attachments and tried again, and immediately cut a bald patch into his hair. This initial hairdressing session was conducted on Christmas Eve - he had 2.5 weeks off work so figured if I messed it up it would have just about grown back by the time he had to go back to work - good move! I then experimented with different lengths until we came across the one that was most suitable - 18.

Comb attachments

Once we had worked out which attachment we set the clippers to, cutting was a breeze. It takes me about 10 minutes to do his whole head, and that is mostly because I am being a perfectionist. I will go over it about 3 times until I can no longer hear the buzz sound of hair being cut so that I know it is all even. I then remove the comb attachment and shave the hair at the nape of the neck with the blade so that it is even. This is my favourite part - it makes me feel like a real hairdresser!

One thing we have noticed is that the clippers perform better when plugged into a power point rather than running on battery. It may be that we hadn't fully charged them but they definitely buzz louder and cut easier when plugged into power than when running on battery.

The clippers are not too loud to use which is excellent as I usually conduct our hair dressing session in the evenings after the kids have gone to bed.
As well as hubby's hair, I also tried cutting The Crazy Kid's hair with these clippers but that was a fail. Just before his second birthday his hair was still very fine and, apart for one tuft on the top of his head, it really wasn't much more than peach fuzz. I know in some Asian cultures they shave their babies head to encourage thick hair to grow to grow back. I decided to adopt this philosophy for Crazy. I was too scared to use a razor on a wriggly 2 year old so though that these would be the perfect alternative. Unfortunately his hair was just to fine and kept sliding straight through the clippers - it was like attempting to cut animal hair. It might actually have been a blessing for Crazy that the clippers didn't work as I was planning on shaving a Christmas tree into the back of his head (I do tend to get rather festive)! Since this initial attempt his hair has thickened up. I attempted to clip it on one other occasion but unfortunately he now has a fear of loud noises. Although the clippers aren't particularly loud, the constant buzzing terrified Crazy so they have joined the list, along with vacuum cleaners, blenders and jackhammers, of appliances we can't use around him!

Since getting the clippers in December, I have cut hubby's hair each month and, apart from our early issues, we have not had any problems with them. Actually I lie, I have had a problem - I keep getting hair splinters when I cut his hair. I had a really tender foot and when I checked it I found a hair growing out of it. This scared the crap out of me as the skin on the sole of your foot cannot grow hair so I immediately thought the worst. When I googled it I came across 'hair splinters' - an affliction that commonly affects hairdressers. I pulled on the hair in my foot and it slid straight out - I had a damn hair splinter and not some scary disease! I got another one in my lip after the last session. But, other than hair splinters, we have no complaints at all about the clippers and would recommend them to anyone who wants to cut their own hair and requires salon quality equipment.

These clippers retail for $73.95. Considering my husband was paying $25 per haircut it makes them excellent value as they have paid for themselves after 3 months.


Do you cut your own, or your family member's hair at home?

Does anyone have a tip for avoiding hair splinters?!


All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post. These clippers were provided for consideration.

The John Frieda Precision Foam Colour challenge: to dye my hair whilst the babies napped

What with my newborn, Kiki and a 2.5yr old crazy toddler, aka The Crazy Kid, finding time to get my hair colored at the hairdresser just isn't possible at the moment. In fact, it had been over 7 months since I had last been to the hair dresser. I have been finding more and more greys in my hair, which drive me mental. I am not sure whether other people can see them but to me they stand out like neon lights and I am way to young to go grey! I used to pluck all of my grey hairs; however, I am rapidly losing the battle and if I don't stop this habit I will soon end up bald! That meant that I was in the market for a great quality dye that would cover the greys that I could easily do myself at home. The John Frieda Precision Foam proved to be such saviour! I had about 2 hours in the afternoon where both of the kids' naps overlapped so my challenge was whether I could dye my hair in that time!

Before shot - hair is pretty dull

The instructions were very simple to follow and preparation was minimal. They dye had to be applied to dry hair so I washed it as usual in the morning but did not apply conditioner. To prepare the dye all I had to do was add the colourant in bottle 1 to the developer in bottle 2, which also served to be the foaming bottle. When the 2 chemicals were added, the solution had to be inverted 5 times to mix then I was ready to go.

What's in the kit

The mixed foam

I applied the dye to my roots first as covering greys was a priority for me. I would squirt a handful of foam then section my hair and work it into the roots. Once the roots seemed covered I applied handful after handful of dye until my hair was saturated and I literally couldn't apply any more. I have shoulder length hair and I could not get through the whole bottle. There was probably still another 20mls or so left so one box would be plenty even for long hair.

I applied as much foam as my hair could hold!

Once the foam was in I had to leave it for 25 minutes. In that time Kiki woke up, of course, so I had to go in and feed her. Even with all the bending and walking around the house I did not spill one drip of foam anywhere, not even on the baby (I think I would have gotten in trouble if Kiki ended up with a big dye stain across her face!). I also usually make a terrible mess in the bathroom when I dye my hair but not this time!

After the time was up I had to rinse my hair until the water ran clear then apply the condition supplied for 5 minutes and then rinse again. This entire process took me approximately 45 minutes.

I have naturally dark brown hair and the colour I trialled was 4BG - dark chocolate brown. The colour was perfect for me. Very close to my natural colour just warmer and shinier. I was super happy with the colour and if I want to stick with a natural colour this will be the perfect shade for me (though next time I might try one of the red shades for a different winter look). Once my hair was dry the first thing I did was to search through my roots to find a grey hair. I couldn't. They were completely covered. Having dark hair means that greys really stand out in contrast but there wasn't one in sight.

The afternoon after dyeing my hair it was very fluffy however I think this must have been because I hadn't completely rinsed all the product out. When I washed it the next day it dried as normal into my defined curls. So the dye left it in great condition - really shiny and healthy looking with complete coverage of greys.

Shiny new hair. You can't tell from this pic but
I can assure you there are no greys!

So, was I successful in my challenge to dye my own hair whilst the babies slept? Nearly...when I got out of the shower after rinsing the conditioner out I found out both kids were screaming the house down. I think Kiki woke up wanting her milky friends and she then woke Crazy, who thought Kiki was getting extra mummy time without him so he wanted in on the action. It took me about 15 minutes to calm them both down, then we were all friends again, although I was disappointed that neither of them commented how pretty mummy's new hair looked!

I will definitely buy this dye again. In fact I have already bought 5R - medium red brown - to try out next!. It was so easy to do at home that I was (just about!) able to complete it whilst my kids napped. There is no way I could get my hair dyed at the hairdresser in even a quarter that time so it is perfect for my needs!! Highly recommended for anyone who wants high quality hair colour but doesn't have the time or funds to go to the hairdresser.

Have you tried the John Frieda Precision Foam Colour. What colour did you go for and what did you think of it? What is your go to home hair colour?

Just a reminder that I am giving away two haircare packs, worth over $60 each, that contain the entire Tousle Me Softly range. Click here to enter.



All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post. These products were provided to me by Beauty Heaven as part of their trial team.

Get Tousled with Herbal EssencesTousle Me Softly

I have quite curly hair so when I was given the option of trialling the range I thought that it would be perfect for me. Most days I want as minimal maintenance as possible - I want to wash my hair and be done though I don't mind styling when I am going out.


Tousle Me Softly Shampoo and Conditioner $5.95 each 300ml

The first thing I noticed about the shampoo and conditioner was the scent. It is described on the packet as being a violet scent but to me its more of a fruity floral scent but it is absolutely gorgeous - one that I would like to wear as a perfume.

I have naturally curly hair and don't really need to do anything to get defined curls. My hair is also a bit oily. I found the shampoo cleaned it really well, although I did need to wash it every day (though this is the case with every shampoo). It left it beautifully fragranced and soft, and it did not appear to strip my colour at all.The conditioner also left my hair beautifully fragranced and soft and completely tangle free, and really shiny. It did help to define my curls, but left them a little bit fluffy if I didn't put any product in.

All in all I was very happy with this shampoo and condition. I especially loved the fragrance which really lingered in my hair - much longer than other shampoo/condition fragrances. I loved how it left my hair really soft, clean and completely de-tangled. The only thing that I wasn't 100% satisfied with was that it did leave my curls a little fluffy - this wasn't a problem if I used product in my hair, but some days I just want to wash my hair and race out the door and when i did this my curls weren't as defined as I would have liked them to be.
This is ideal for people with wavy hair as it will really accentuate your gorgeous waves. It can still be used by those of us with curly hair, though I'd recommend also using a styling product to get your curls really defined and not fluffy looking.

Tousle Me Softly Spray Gel RRP $6.50 170ml

In the past, I haven't liked using gels as they made my hair look too crispy. I would always inadvertantly apply too much and end up that stiff slicked down rock hard look which I really hated. If I ever did have to use hair gel in moments of desperation, I would always mix it with water to get it to a more manageable consistency - so, this product being a spray gel meant that it was already one step ahead of tub gels as it was already the perfect consistency for me.

I applied it after I had washed my hair with the Tousle Me Softly shampoo and conditioner. I towel dried my hair, combed it, sprayed this through my still damp hair about 5 or 6 times, then scrunched it and let it dry. It left me with really defined bouncy, beautiful curls. I was actually really impressed as I was expecting the curls to still be a bit on the hard side/crispy but they weren't at all - they were beautifully bouncy and natural looking.
The scent is the same gorgeous fruity violet scent which is the most beautiful perfume for you hair.

I would highly recommend this to anyone with thick unruly curly hair as it makes it so easy to get your curls back in control and leaves them so well defined. I will definitely buy this again.


Tousle Me Softly Hair spray $6.50 236ml

The first time I used the hair spray I put way too much in (about 20 sprays worth) and it did leave my hair looking and feeling crispy. I applied it at the end of the day on dry hair before going out to dinner in a hope to reinvigorate my hairstyle but instead it left my hair crispy and just set in my dodgy end of day hair style.

The next time I used it, I applied it after showering on my towel dried hair. I simply combed my hair, sprayed the hair spray on (about 5 of 6 squirts) then gently scrunched my hair and let it air dry. I was left with beautifully defined, soft bouncy curls that weren't at all crispy but were soft to touch and they remained defined for the whole day.



Tousle Me Softly Mousse RRP $6.50 192g

The mousse comes in a fairly big bottle and is easy to apply - a 2 second squirt gives you a mountain of mousse to work with. The instructions on the booklet attached to the product say to apply it to your roots and work it through your hair; however, my hair already has stacks of volume and I hate it when I put too much product on the roots and they look crispy. So, instead, I washed my hair (with the Tousle Me Softly shampoo and conditioner) then towel dried it then combed my hair. I then turned my head upside down and scrunched my curls with the mousse, working it through the ends of my hair. It did leave my curls very well defined and they didn't frizz up or drop at all during the day. They did feel a little bit crispier than I would normally like; however, when I looked in the mirror they didn't look crispy and were still nice and bouncy.

This product would be perfect for those with finer hair that need a bit more volume. I liked this product a lot - it did leave my curls looking beautifully defined; however, I probably wouldn't buy it again but that is only because the spray gel is better suited to my hair type - so for finer hair wanting to define curls, definitely give this a try but if your hair is more on the thicker side you might want to give the spray gel a try instead.

If you don't have naturally curly hair, the mousse can be used to create curls. Apply the mousse to your hair then twist chunks of your hair around your fingers to create curls.

Of the three styling products, I found the spray gel was most suitable for my hair type.


Win the entire Tousle Me Softly range!

If you think that this range might be suitable for you then you are in luck as I am giving away two packs, worth over $60 each, that contain the entire Tousle Me Softly range. Click here to enter.


Have you tried this range before? What was your favourite product. If not, what do you use to define your waves and curls?


All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post. These products were provided to me by Beauty Heaven as part of their trial team. The prizes for this competition were provided by Herbal Essences. All images are courtesy of Herbal Essences.

Win one of two amazing Herbal Essences prize packs

As I mentioned on Friday, I am back from procreating! And what better way to make a return to blogging than with a giveaway. The wonderful people at Herbal Essences have provided two amazing packs for my readers to win. You can wash away your winter blues with a luscious tropical paradise in the shower!

The Herbal Essences winter style prize pack is worth over $60 and contains: 

• 1x Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner from the Tousle Me Softly range
• 1x Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner for the Long Term Relationship range
• The entire Tousle Me Softly Styling range (mousse for easy tousling, flexible hold hair spray, tousling spray gel)
• 1 x treatment product
• A Supersized Set Me Up hairspray

  
These two ranges are described by Herbal Essences as:

Long Term Relationship range Do you love your thick and full head of hair? Ready to go the distance? To get long, satin-soft hair, engage every strand in a long term relationship with a fusion of red raspberry and Brazilian silk. help protect against damage and split ends when you use our shampoo and conditioner enriched with hydro-activated silkening ingredients and split-end protector. go ahead, you grow your hair as long as you dare.

Tousle Me Softly range embrace your softer side with perfectly imperfect, wavy hair. layer our products together for soft, tousled waves that beg to be touched—not that they need to beg and hey, since we work well together to create one luscious look, it’s almost mistake-proof!

How to enter

Firstly, you must follow my blog either by Google Friend Connect, email or Facebook. Then post a comment with either your best hair tip or a funny hair related story.

I will choose one winner based on the comment I like the most.

The second winner will be randomly selected using www.random.org. If you really want to enter but have no good hair tips or stories then simply write 'pleeeeeeaaaaasssse enter me!' and you will go into the random draw!

Entry is open to Australian residents only and will be drawn at 8.30pm on Sunday 17th June.

Good luck!


All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post. The prizes for this competition were provided by Herbal Essences.

Lust Have It! Revealed: What Samples to Expect in Your First Box! Updated 12/07/11!

I have just received news that there is now a fourth monthly sample box company launching - Lust Have It! and you can sign up for it here. Unlike the other sample box companies I mentioned last week, Lust Have It! are not still in the beta mode but are in fact launching in a couple of weeks. That’s right – from July you can subscribe to this company and your first box of premium samples will arrive in August.  This means that Lust Have It! will be the first sample box company to be sending out boxes in Australia.

When researching the different companies for my previous article I found it very difficult to find much information. The companies couldn’t release the list of brands that they had on board, or they told me that they were still in beta mode and would get back to me once as soon as they had more information. This is not the case with Lust Have It!. I think I spoke on the phone with Nicci, the founder of Lust Have It!, for about 30 minutes today and she answered every single one of my questions, including spilling what the contents of the first box will be! But before I get to that I’ll tell you a bit more about Nicci and Lust Have It!.

Nicci has been in the beauty industry for 20 years, working as a beauty therapist. She got the idea for Lust Have It! when she realised that there are a whole range of brilliant beauty products out there that are only available in salons and that these products really work, yet most people don’t get the opportunity to try them. So, Lust Have It! will provide samples of these salon brands, plus other high end brands, in your monthly beauty boxes. You will not receive samples of supermarket beauty products.

Each month, if you subscribe to Lust Have It! you will receive 5 to 6 premium samples. The service costs $14.95 and this includes postage and handling. You can either pay for each month that you would like to receive the box or you can subscribe for 12 months. I asked Nicci just what a premium sample is. I mean, you don’t want to pay $14.95 to get a single sachet of product. She said that the majority of samples will be deluxe in size – think travel or GWP size. Some products in your box will even be full sized. There will be occasions where the brand included in your box only has samples available in sachets so in these cases you will be provided with multiple sachets to really get a feel for the products.

For each box you purchase, or if you get a yearly subscription, you earn points. Lust Have It! will have an online store attached to it so if you love the sample you have just trialled you can then buy the full sized product in their online store. You can redeem the points you have earned for discounts on the full sized products. You are probably busting to know exactly what brands are already on board, well keep reading. All will be revealed soon!

One final thing that I want to tell you about Lust Have It!, before I spill what you will be getting in your first box, is that there is no wait list to be invited. You don’t have to invite 500 friends to be accepted, or wait until an opening becomes available. You can subscribe when you want to, on your terms.

Now, what you have all been waiting for – the contents of the first box! I can reveal that the first box will contain a premium sample of Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant (13g), a sample of a Lancôme product so new that it has not even hit the shelves yet, plus 4 more premium samples that could come from any of the following brands: Burt’s Bees, Mirenesse, Naked Tan, Pure Fiji, Kerastase, L’Oreal, Redken, Purelogy, Essie, Thalgo or Urban Rituelle. Sorry, you didn’t think that I was going to give away all of the contents, did you? Surely you must want some surprises in your first box! That’s the beauty of these sample boxes, you just don’t know what is going to turn up on your doorstep each month! One thing that you do know is that it is going to be awesome! The value of the two samples I have mentioned is already over $20 and there are still four more samples in your first box. I honestly do not think that you will be disappointed.

UPDATE 12/7/11: I can now reveal that the first Lust Have It! sample box will also include a sample of the amazing BIOeffect EGF Serum. If you have not heard of this serum then you need to check out my blog post on it. It is honestly one of the most amazing beauty products that I have read about. This sample alone is worth $40, bringing the total of your first box to an incredible $60...and I haven't even revealed half of the samples.

In addition to the brands listed above, Lust Have It! are in negotiations with some pretty exciting brands. I have been sworn to secrecy until these negotiations are finalised but I’ll give you some hints – think of a really well known high quality make up brand and a gorgeous natural Australian skin care brand. Each month, new brands will be added!

Unfortunately, Nicci didn’t tell me what will be in any of the subsequent boxes, though she did say that the contents of the next four boxes have been finalised...and she may have let slip that in one of the boxes you will receive a full sized nail polish worth $19.95 – so you already getting more value than your $14.95 subscription fee and that is just on one product. At this stage everyone will be getting the same contents for their boxes, but there are plans to personalise the boxes in the near future. And don’t worry, in the initial boxes you will not receive products that are aimed at specific ages or skin concerns. All products provided will be suitable for any age or skin type.

The website for Lust Have It! Is due to go live any day now, and to celebrate they are giving away the ultimate beauty prize pack worth $500 to one lucky person who registers to their mailing list!

The cut off to be included for the first box mail out in August is the last week of July but just a word of warning – there are only a limited number of boxes available for the August shipment. Whilst there is no waiting list to be invited to Lust Have It!, once they have sold the allotted number of boxes for August then that’s it, I’m afraid. So, if you think you might be interested I would get your name on this list ASAP.

I mentioned in my previous post that I can’t choose which sample box company I am going to sign up for. Obviously, we won’t know until the first couple of boxes from each company have been sent out, which company is likely to be the best value, but from my research Lust Have It! are appearing to be the most professional. So far they are the only ones that have answered any of my questions and they have provided me with so much more information than the other companies.

Do you have any further questions about Lust Have It!? I drilled Nicci with every question that I could think of but if there is anything you still want to know, post it here and I will see whether I can get Nicci to answer it for you. 

All opinions stated in this blog are my own. I have no affiliation with Lust Have It! and received no remuneration for my comments.

If you pull out a grey hair do seven new grey hairs really grow back?

This is a beauty myth that I have been wanting to bust for a while as I am surprised how many people actually believe it. I am quite vain so hate having visible grey hairs. Having naturally dark brown hair means that even a single grey hair is very noticeable. From the age of about 22 or 23 I discovered that I had about five grey hairs floating about. As soon as I could see them I'd pull them out. Then, a few months later when they were rearing their ugly heads again - pluck, out they'd come again! Up until I was about 27 or 28 I only had these 5 grey hairs, well that was all I could find anyway. Then from 28 onwards they have been inviting their friends and relatives to move in and I am slowly losing the plucking battle (side note: this increase in grey hairs at 28 was also the year that I got married...I wonder if their is any correlation between getting married and going grey??).

Whenever I was having a conversation with someone about grey hairs and I'd mention that I pull mine out, they'd look at me horrified - 'you can't do that, seven more will grow back in its place' they would all warn me. Even my hairdresser was horrified that I plucked my grey hairs. One day when she was straightening my hair I could see a stray grey sticking up and it was driving me crazy. I asked her to pull it out and she refused saying that I'd end up with more if she pulled it out.

I have never believed this old wives tale, mostly because for five years I kept plucking my greys yet they didn't increase in number. Plus it made no sense to me. Why would plucking greys cause more greys to grow when the same is not true for your coloured hair. Imagine if it were true - that would mean that the cure for baldness would be to pluck out your hair as each hair you pluck causes seven more to grow in its place - doesn't really make sense, does it? Or worse, each time you waxed your legs, seven hairs replaced each pulled one - what state would your legs be in now?

Even though I conducted a scientific study on myself for five years to prove my point, I decided that it is probably not enough evidence to convince you all that this is in fact an old wives tales. In all honesty, studies with a sample size of one are rubbished in the scientific community, and most likely would not be accepted just as much in the blogging community so more research was needed to prove my point!

So, firstly, a little bit about hair - only one hair can grow out of each hair follicle. If you pull out a single hair, no matter the colour, only one hair will ever grow back in its place. The most probable reason this old wives tale came about was that when you pull out a grey hair it takes roughly three months to grow back and then at least another three months until it has grown long enough to become visible. So, in the time since you pulled that grey hair out, you have actually aged six months, and it is a well know fact that the older you get the more grey hairs you get. Therefore, I don't think it is your hair plucking that is causing more greys to grow but in fact just old man time is once again being cruel to your body. So pluck away my friends!

How do you tackle your grey hairs? Do you pluck them like me or dye them? Or are you proud of your grey hairs?

The most fragrantly fragrant products of the bunch

Fragrance is incredibly important to me in beauty products - in fact it is almost important as efficacy. If a product doesn't smell nice I just can't seem to bring myself to use it, no matter how good it is. Then there are others, that on first sniff are nothing special, but somehow they draw me in. Either they evoke a memory that makes me feel warm and fuzzy or they smell so intriguing that I can't stop sniffing them, until suddenly I am quite obsessed.

Therefore, I thought that I would dedicate a post to my all time favourite smelling products.

Moisturiser: Lush Afterlife

I discovered this by accident when it was on the way out in Australia. Lush were running a post Christmas promotion - spend $50 in store and choose any Lush product for free. I chose this. I used it that night and loved it so much that I went back in store the next day, spent another $50 and got another Afterlife. It smells amazing - kind of a creamy vanilla and orchid flower concoction. It was quite unique on my skin as well. Whilst my skin felt quite greasy to touch, after application, it looked completely matte. And my skin really did love it - it drank it up leaving it looking so uniform in tone. I actually got a few compliments that my skin was looking glowing, when I was wearing this moisturiser. It came back to Australia again, but unfortunately its reappearance was short lived so I have to satisfy my Afterlife cravings when someone visits the UK and picks it up for me.

Cleanser: Pod Puraceuticals Liquid Detox
This is a gorgeous gel cleanser that has a fairly strong floral fragrance. The main floral note I detect is ylang ylang. It is non drying as it does not contain sulfates which can strip and dry out the skin. It lathers up well and cleanses very effectively. It is also very gentle. The company claims that it helps dramatically reduce blackheads, blemishes, hormonal bumps, and sun-damage. To be perfectly honest, I can't say that I noticed an improvement on my blackheads. I think that it would be great for keeping them at bay and preventing new ones from forming but once they are there, no cleanser I have used has been effective in removing them. Extraction is the only real option. But other than that, this cleanser is a real pleasure to use and I look forward to using it each morning.


Toner - Jurlique Rosewater Balancing Mist
This was the first Jurlique product that I ever tried and is what got me hooked on the brand. This smells exactly like a massive bunch of red roses. The smell is amazing. I honestly feel quite euphoric each time I inhale it. I find it so calming, both emotionally and to the skin. I used to work in a hospital so was stuck in air conditioning all day so I would keep a bottle of this on my desk and each time I sat down to my computer would give myself a couple of spritzes. It kept my skin feeling hydrated - it didn't look so wrinkly and tired by the end of the day. It also helped to rid my world of hospital skin, if only for a few seconds at a time!


Hair Care - OK, I couldn't narrow it down so there are 2 sets in this category!
 Moroccan Oil Shampoo and Conditioner: I have to say that I LOVE the whole Moroccan Oil range (well the oil, mask, shampoo and conditioner that I have tried!). It leaves my curls looking so healthy, well defined and shiny. I actually add about 5mls of the oil directly into the shampoo and conditioner, shake to mix it well, then use them as normal. I find that it gives extra nourishment to my hair and means that I don't have to apply the oil every day. When I use the shampoo and conditioner, that has extra oil added, I find that I don't need to add any product to my hair - the curls are naturally defined (though without product can become fluffy in unfriendly weather). Now, this is meant to be an article about fragrance, so what is so good about the Moroccan Oil fragrance? Well, its pretty hard to describe - kind of herbally maybe, but I just love it. It subtly lingers in my hair throughout the day, but it is not the type of fragrance that would clash with any other scents that you are wearing.

 The other hair care products that I just adore the scent of are Lush's Curly Wurly Shampoo (right) and American Cream Conditioner. Curly Wurly smells exactly like a vanilla/coconut custard pudding. It is absolutely delicious smelling, in fact I am drooling a little bit just thinking about it! It does leave my curly hair feeling soft and in great condition but it is a tad annoying to use. It has desiccated coconut throughout it, which I find doesn't completely rinse out. It is not until I do my final comb that I get the last bits of coconut out. American cream is another divine smelling product. It is a triple strength conditioner scented with vanilla and lavender - two fragrances that are just made to go together. On its own, American cream is a little bit too rich for my hair - it leaves it looking limp - but since I love the smell of it so much I mix it 50:50 with Lush's Coolaulin Conditioner which then becomes ideal for my hair. Coolaulin doesn't smell too bad, itself - it smells of coconuts - but it simply isn't as amazing as American Cream, hence why I had to devise a way to make American Cream work for my hair!

 
Body lotion/creme - Nivea Creme as the fragrance of this came as such a pleasant shock to me. I had actually never tried this until earlier this year when Nivea was celebrating their 100th birthday. I thought that if a creme had been around for that long I should probably give it a go, and I am glad that I did! I guess I had always imagined that it would smell like Sorbolene. Wrong. Very wrong! It smells gorgeous - like lily of the valley, very fresh and green floral. I have seen that people describe it as Grandma-ish - and they are not far off as it is a very classic scent. I adore it! It is an extremely thick cream so I only really use it at night, but I use it all over my body. If my face is feeling dehydrated, I'll use it as a night cream a it is very greasy, but I wake up with beautifully soft smooth skin. Otherwise, I'll use it as a hand cream or to banish the scales that keep growing on my legs!

 Hand cream - Jurlique Rose Hand Cream
 This is a delightful hand cream that smells exactly like roses. It absorbs instantly into my skin, leaving my hands soft and smooth. But that is not why I love it so much. This cream came close to saving my life. Sort of. I was in a lecture at uni and the guy next to me kept doing burps that smelt like noodles. It was a 9.00am lecture so that was really too early for noodle burps and they were making me feel quite nauseated. I was terrified that I'd puke in the middle of the lecture. I put my hand over my nose to cover the smell and was greeted by the most gorgeous aroma of roses. I had forgotten that I had put on my Jurlique Rose Hand Cream! I sat there for the rest of the lecture resting my head on my hand so that all I could smell was roses, and not noodle burps. See, it really did nearly save my life. Sort of!

Shower gel - Lush Skinny Dip

Just to be really cruel, I am going to talk about a shower gel that is no longer available - Lush's Skinny Dip. On paper it shouldn't smell nice - white chocolate and cloves is not what I would normally go for when it comes to fragrances. And when I first sniffed it, I didn't know what all the fuss was about. This is a gel that Lush fanatics rave about and beg to be brought back whenever Lush are doing another discon round. On first sniff it is quite herbally, yet also creamy. It is intriguing. Not attractive, yet for some reason you want to smell it again and again. It's like your brain is desperately trying to work out whether it likes it or not. So you sniff and sniff and sniff, and somewhere in all that sniffing you have become hooked by this enchanting and highly unusual shower gel. It is also super creamy and really moisturising so it is an all round treat to use. In the near future I am hoping to invest in some Philosophy shower gels so hopefully I will soon be able to update this with one that is actually available!

Body Scrub - again, I couldn't narrow it down to one scrub - this time I have 3 favourites. They are all so different so it is acceptable to have 3!

Philosophy Amazing Grace Hot Salt Scrub

Wow. This is amazing! A name couldn't be more fitting! The fragrance is a gorgeous perfume fragrance. I don't know how to describe it better other than it is very very feminine, and it smells so stunningly beautiful. It makes me feel happy just to use it. The salts are quite fine so are not to harsh or abrasive and you step out of the shower with the softest feeling skin that is still beautifully fragranced.

Mor Marshmallow Body Scrub
I bought this on a whim at DJ's when it was on sale. I don't usually go for sweet fragrances - I am more of a floral girl. I am glad I made the exception/impulse buy! This is absolutely delicious. It is super sweet, yet not sickly. Its a lovely sweet musky marshmallow fragrance. It comes in a massive tub so you can grab handfuls and massage it into your skin. The fragrances lingers for ages on you skin, and even longer in your shower! I would find myself entering the bathroom, hours later, thinking how amazing it smells. It is a very effective scrub, but as it is made up of sugar, the scrub particles dissolve off easily leaving no annoying residue.

Ajana Lavender, Lemongrass and Tea Tree Body Scrub
I'll be reviewing this in more detail in the coming weeks but I just wanted to throw it into this post as it fits in perfectly! I have a real soft spot for lemongrass. I went to Thailand for my honeymoon and found that a lot of the hotels fragranced their foyers with lemongrass. It is such a clean, refreshing fragrance that is also so uplifting. This scrub doesn't disappoint. When you take the lid off the tub you are immediately hit with a blast of lemongrassy goodness but when you actually use the scrub, the lavender notes come out. It leaves your skin feeling so soft and moisturised afterwards. It is a complete luxury to use.


 Bubble bath - Molton Brown Celestial Maracuja Bathing Nectar
This bubble bath is pure luxury. The fragrance is exotic floral - I guess like the smell of an orchard. It is the consistency of honey - extremely rich and thick, and only a small amount is needed. It doesn't produce a heap of bubbles but it does intensely fragrance the water. The fragrance subtly lingers on your skin afterwards, and it leaves your skin feeling lovely and soft. A matching perfume is available, and it is one that is on my wish list as it is a very unique and sophisticated floral scent. It really made me feel happy when I bathed using this.

Soap - I could probably choose just about any lush soap to make the cut for my favourite fragrance list, but that was the problem - I couldn't narrow it down to just one. So instead I have chosen a lesser know soap, because of the special memories it evokes. The soap I am talking about is Fiesta De Mozi Fig, Cedar & Mistletoe. My sister bought it for me for Christmas as the scent reminded her of Christmas and she knows just how much I love Christmas. On first sniff it is very different - very green, like fresh cut pine trees (hence the association with Christmas). But it also has a sweetness to it. It is very intriguing. You just want to keep sniffing it over and over as it makes you feel so happy, smelling Christmas! I loved it so much I asked my sister to buy me a couple of spares to keep in my sock and undie drawers, to fragrance them as well. After a couple of weeks she hadn't mentioned anything so I assumed she had forgotten. Then I gave birth to my first baby and she brought the soaps to me in hospital. So I used this soap for my first post giving birth shower - which was the most glorious shower of my life (even if the hospital water was set to luke warm!). So each time I smell this, not only does it evoke memories of Christmas, but also of that magical time of having just welcomed my first child into the world.

Perfume - I have about 30 perfumes in my collection so narrowing it down to one was impossible! I have managed to narrow it down to two.

Penhaligon's Ellenisia The exhilarating scent of gardenia and rose combines with intoxicating creamy musk and vanilla. That is the description by the company and it is absolutely spot on. It is the most beautiful delicate creamy floral fragrance. I got a sample of this from DJ's and was instantly smitten so had to rush out and buy a bottle straight away. The scent is truly beautiful and quite unique for a floral. It last for ages. Its top notes are fresh floral and these mellow to the gorgeous creamy floral. Each time I wear this, after spraying it on I sniff it then sigh in happiness. It really does make me feel happy wearing this fragrance.

BNever Two Hearts Beating as One BNever was Lush's sister company, although I believe they have now shut down. Rather than sell natural skincare like Lush they focused on fragrances and makeup. My sister lived in the UK for 18 months and so brought me home a massive parcel of BNever goodies, including the Two Hearts Beating as One perfume. It pretty much consists of just two notes - rose and jasmine - which happen to be the two most glorious floral notes there are. It is a very strong rich perfume, very elegant and of course very floral. It is the perfume that I wore on my wedding day so now, each time that I smell it, I am reminded of the intense happiness and excitement that I felt on the day. It is a truly joyous perfume, perfectly fitting for a special occasion. I am really hoping that Lush start selling this as I can't image never smelling it again once my bottle runs out. It comes in an old fashion bottle with an atomiser, which looks gorgeous on the dresser but is actually bloody annoying to use as you need both hands to spray it - one to hold the bottle, one to press the atomiser - therefore making it difficult to spray onto your own wrists. But that is the only fault to this amazing concoction!

Well, that's my very long list of favourite smelling products. Have you tried any on this list or have you discovered any that you think that I must try?