Wedding Destressers

Yes I haven't posted in nearly 2 months and no I am not proud of it.
My days and nights have been spent preparing for the wedding....which is now in less than a month!
Throughout this whole engagement, I have had  a lot of fun planning and organizing, shopping and getting pampered, but I have also been a big ball of stress. No matter how well you plan for something, you can never really be at ease because anything can go wrong and all your hardwork and efforts gone down the drain. I will try not to be a pesimmist here, but when it is your day, you get pretty nervous!

Over the past few months I have been preparing my body, hair and skin for the big day! Below are my personal tips for making sure you are photo ready for your big day!

1) Skin Analysis
You want your skin to be glowing and radiant in your pictures, and makeup can help with that, but I highly reccommend getting your skin assessed at a skin clinic or by a dermatologist. If you are like me, I had very bad acne bumps under my skin that would not go away. I was tired of trying different cleansers so I finally decided to make the trip to a professional and have my face assessed and treated. With a series of chemical peels, my face has shed off the dead layers of skin and have allowed my congested skin to brethe again.

2) Laser Hair Removal
Since being engaged, I started getting laser hair removal for my underarms. Since it takes about 10 months (1 session a month), I decided to get started early and be ready to rock in my strapless dress.
I can not tell you how amazing it is NOT to have to shave every day. Razor burn and bumps no more! Hello smooth and hairless armpits. I highly reccommend this service for anyone...not just brides. Definately worth the investment.

3) Hair Colouring
If you are like me and change your hair colour as often as your socks, you may have some trouble selecting your hair colour for your wedding day. Throughout my 10 month engagement, I have been a red head, a brunette, a dirty blonde, and a platinum blonde. If you want to be a blonde for your wedding, and you are naturally dark, I reccommend starting to go lighter at least 3 months before the big day. It takes time to lighten and depending how light you want to be, it could take months. If you are looking for long luscious locks for your day, I also reccommend clip in hair extensions that can add not only length but lots of volume which always looks luscious and amzing.

4) Massages
Has anyone ever told you planning a wedding is stressful? Full body massages from a registered massage therapist are great for tension and stress relief. Going for a massage once a month has helped me destress and relax.

5) Exercise

Want to look fit and fab in your dress? Of course working out is the only way to do that. And eating properly! |And bonus: exercise also helps to reduce that stress. It can be tough to stick to a routine, but I find even if I don't feel like doing a full blown workout, I try and do a small one...even if it's only 5-10 minutes in my bedroom. And no need for fancy equipment either...I have found tons of YouTube videos of amazing home workouts.
This is one of my faves. Perfect for anyone wearing a strapless dress to the wedding!

And those are just my pre-wedding tips!! Again, these are my own personal experiences and reccommendations.
What are some of your routines/tips?

Shampoo and Conditioner Review: Blonda by Unite

It's almost summer, and that means time for light hair, tanned skin and lots of patio drinks :)
As most of my friends know, I have a love affair with being a blonde. It all started at a young age. I think I just wanted to be like Barbie, but unfortunately my mother would not let me dye my chestnut locks until I was at least 14.
So since my teen years, I have been going back and forth between blonde and brunette. Usually for the winter months I stay dark, but once April/May rolls around, I got right back to blonde :)

A few weeks ago I had my hair dresser cut my hair into an angled bob to get rid of all the red still in my hair (sidenote, never dye your hair red because it is a nightmare to get out). Anyways, in an effort to get me more blonde, we decided to cut off the bottom of my hair which was predominately reddish/ brown and highlight the rest of my hair a lighter blonde.

He did a fabulous job and my hair feels so much healthier. The colour is nice and vibrant, but I think I want to go even lighter, to more of a champagne blonde. It's a process I tell ya, but lots of fun.
In order to keep my blonde bright, I needed to purchase some blonde shampoo. I used to always use Pureology Antifade purple shampoo, but it was very expensive. Last year, I used John Freida blonde shampoo but found it dried out my hair.
Joey (my hair dresser) suggested I try Blonda by Unite, which is what they sell at Studio Five Salon. At $25 a bottle, I was hesitant, but convinced myself that I needed it. Beauty is pain on the wallet, am I right ladies? And I couldn't just buy the shampoo without the conditioner, so there was another $25 for that. A grand total of $50 for blonde maintenance. (Another sidenote, being blonde is rather expensive!)

Since my dye job almost 2 weeks ago, I have washed my hair about 4 times with the Blonda shampoo and conditioner set. The bottles I purchased were 236mL which is not that big considering the price. They claim to keep yellow tones out  and maintain your colour bright. What I love most about it is that it smells like grape koolaid. Yummy! I compared the ingredients of this shampoo with that of the John Frieda purple blonde shampoo I have and noticed that the John Frieda shampoo did have a lot more alcohols in it compared to Unite's Blonda, however, most of the main ingredients were pretty much identical.

While I think the shampoo and conditioner have done a good job with the colour so far, whenever I use them, I feel like I need to use a lot of it in order to get that "squeaky clean" feeling. The shampoo does not lather that well so I need to use a lot more than I thought when washing. Maybe that was their plan so that you are forced to buy more!! As I said, being blonde is not cheap! Especially when you are not a natural blonde.

So at the end of the day, is this brand worth the price? Yes and no. Yes if you can afford it, but no if you are on more of a budget. I think there are plenty of other products on the market that work just as well for a fraction of the price. Just look for any shampoo that contains violet in the ingredients list. And don't forget to use a good deep conditioner at least once a week to keep hair from damaging.

Happy Blonding!!

Fusion Follow Up!

It’s been 3 weeks or so since my fusion hair extensions were put in and I thought I needed to give a follow up review about them.

Let’s just say, you get what you pay for. Lesson learned.

While the extensions were fine when they were installed, that was the only day they were good. The next morning they were not straight but more so wavy. I figured that was just because of the way I slept on them, so I left it waved for the day.

As the week went on, I noticed the hair getting knotted and tangled constantly. After my showers, the hair would automatically start to curl (not what I thought Remy hair was supposed to do). I would put it in a ponytail and hope to wake up with nice soft hair, but only to find more tangles and impossible knots. It was unbearable. Even at work, when I would be sitting down, the hair would just knot itself up. At first I thought I was doing something wrong and not maintaining it properly, I even got it trimmed and thinned out at the salon, bought leave in conditioner, and brushed it every day but still no luck.

This is when I realized  this hair could not possibly be real human hair. I wore my “hair” in ponytails almost every day because I could not deal with the knots anymore. I felt like a dirt squirrel with my long shaggy knotted hair. It was a nightmare.

This was the week I was supposed to have my engagement pictures, but I had to postpone them because I could not handle the hair (amongst a few other reasons).

So last night I went to a hair salon in Newmarket called Studio Five where I met the nicest group of stylists who took me in right away to have these extensions removed. My stylist was Joey and he was a laugh and a half. He made the process and quick and easy as possible and gave me some great advice on my hair and colour. Conveniently he is a blonde expert, so he is going to help get my hair back to a nice blonde for the spring time.

So the moral of the story is: make sure you research where your hair is coming from when getting extensions. Due to my bad experience, I probably would not get extensions again. Clip-ins  work just fine for me.

Fusion Hair Extensions!

As promised, here is the review for my new fusion hair extesnsions that I just got put in this weekend by Amy from HotHair.ca.

 

I always wanted to try fusion hair extensions, but just never had a good enough reason to do it. I have been pretty content with my clip-ins all these years, but sometimes they are just plain annoying! Especially when they fall out or stick out of your head and just the fact that they are not permanent! I decided to get my extensions put in now so I could have time to get used to them before my engagement photos, and to see how I liked them. Amy was very flexible as to when to book my appointment as she is a mobile stylist so she comes to your house at an agreed upon time and date (so convenient!) I have been pretty busy this week with wedding venue visits and work, so I was happy that Amy was able to come on a Sunday evening.

 

When she arrived, Felix and I greeted her at the door. We liked her right away when she told us she was a cat person and had a few of her own.

We decided to set up and do the install in my spare room (aka my Barbie room) so that there was lots of room to lay out all the hair and tools.

 

Amy was super friendly and very professional. We went over the colours of hair she brought. You will see that my hair is brown dyed red. Amy suggested using 2 tones of brown in my hair that had the same tone as the red dye. This way, when I dye my hair red again, the extensions will be able to pick up the colour very easily. She reccommended I buy the colour depositing conidioner from the line "Ice Cream" which is available at the drugstore. I plan to pick up a bottle this week.

 

I have never had fusion hair extensions before so this was an exciting appointment for me. Amy showed me the ends of the hair where the bonds are attached to the ends of my hair using a keratin based adhesive. She had a special heating tool that allowed her to bond the hairs together. This was a totally painless procedure that I would reccommend to anyone looking for luscious long locks! The hair is 100% Remy Human Hair. Remy hair is the highest quality of human hair you can buy since it has the least amount of chemincal processing done to it.

 

Once Amy made her way around my whole head with the bonds, it was time for shaping! Amy did a nice trim around the ends of my hair to give it some movement and shape. She even did the face framing layers so the hair looked nice and natural. I was thoroughly impressed with all the work that transpired in the Barbie room over the course of 2 hours. I really do feel like a Barbie now with all this hair! And what girl doesn't love long hair? This just makes me feel so glamorous and fun.

I was thinking of adding in some blonde peekaboo highlights. Amy offered to stop by anytime if I ever wanted to add a few in. I think I might add some more in as we move closer to the Spring. We were discussing how blondes do have more fun! But for now, the brown and red are working for me.

 

If you are looking into getting some amazing, quality and professional fusion extensions, I would reccommend Amy for the job! Let her know I sent you!

Smart Style Salon Review

So I haven’t dyed my hair blonde in a while (I think since April), and have been adding more browns and reds back to my hair throughout the past 6 months. My hair is naturally dark brown, so any colour added onto my roots did not really turn out, while the bottoms where my blonde was absorbed the colours perfectly. My hair had am “ombre” look to it, which is still in style, but I am not too fond of it.
Ombre – when you dye your hair to make the roots darker than your tips for a “natural” and “grown out” look.

I wanted to add more red to my hair, but knew that if I used a box, the same thing would happen and my roots wouldn’t pick up any of the colour! And I didn’t want to go to a big fancy salon either just to dye my hair one colour. Where was I to go? In Bradford, where I live, most salons close at around 6pm so there weren’t many options for an after-work visit. Then one day as I was leaving Wal-Mart, I noticed they had a hair salon called “Smart Style”. I have walked by it countless times, but never really paid attention to it…until now. I stopped by and had a chat with two of the stylists working about dying my hair red.

I explained to them that I didn’t want to bleach my whole head just to get some colour, and that I wanted a deep, dark red as opposed to a bright, orange red. They were really nice and helpful and explained that in order for my roots to lighten up and pick up the colour they would have to add a “cocktail shampoo”. Now, I have never heard of a cocktail shampoo before, but it is basically a shampoo that helps take the colour out of your hair. It has some bleach in it, but nowhere near the amount used if I were getting my hair stripped. They said they would apply the cocktail shampoo in prior to adding my dye, and the shampoo process would only be $17. I was impressed with the price and relieved that I didn’t need to have my whole head bleached. Excited, I made an appointment for the following week!

When I arrived at my appointment, I wasn’t waiting (like when I go to some big fancy salons) and they took me at 6:30pm (they are open until 9pm during the week!) They did the cocktail shampoo process first which took maybe 20 minutes, then applied my red dye for half an hour. After the dye was washed out, she trimmed off my split ends and blow dried and flat ironed my coif. When everything was done, it looked amazing! My roots had totally lightened up so the dye was able to absorb properly and my hair was now all one colour. The colour was exactly what I wanted, a dark burgundy red.

The ladies recommended I purchase some colour protection shampoo and conditioner, so I bought both for $25. (Brand is Matrix). I have been using it and it works pretty well. I am trying to only wash my hair every 2 days now in hopes that the dye will last longer. Red can be a hard colour to maintain, but at least now that my roots are done, I can just start touching up with boxed dye.
All in all the appointment was 1.5 hours and I left feeling very happy. The price came to $89 (that was with my $3 coupon) plus tip.

Another bonus found at this salon - -they were selling CHI flat irons for $80! Normally they are at least $150 at other salons/stores. They didn’t have any at my location, and they were sold out at almost all the Walmart Smart Style’s I called, but thankfully I found one by my work and was able to pick that up. Now I will have smooth straight hair for the holidays.

So if you are looking for an affordable and convenient place to get your hair done, I would highly recommend your local WalMart Smart Style salon. I was impressed with the knowledge, service and work provided on my visit, and I am sure to be back again.

Dye My Locks Please

It's Sunday night. I just dyed my hair out of a box because I am tired of making trips to the salon every month just because my colour is fading. Boy is it hard to find the right colour! I think the colour is a bit too dark, thankfully it is only a 28 wash one so it can fade a little. I love dying my own hair, it makes me feel refreshed, renewed and confident! It's truly amazing how much a hair colour can really change the way you feel and the way others perceive you.

I have dyed my hair blonde countless times and I always feel more fun and outgoing when I do. I also find I get a lot more attention and I feel like people treat me more delicately (like a teenager or little girl). When my hair is dark however, I feel like I look older and I instantly feel more mature and serious. Whether or not it is all in my head or not, I do feel like hair colour says a lot about you and your personality.

I admit that I will only ever use a boxed dye if I am doing a dark colour. Dying my own hair blonde would be a huge mistake since I do not have the right tools for toning. The thing I love most about dying my own hair at home is the conditionders that come in the box for after use. I don't know what magical ingredients they put in those things but they always makes my hair feel wonderful, bouncy and soft. My hair always looks so shiny and glossy after using it the week after my dye job. I am now on a mission to find out where I can buy these conditioners in full sized bottles. If you have any insider tips on this, please help a sister out!

Before I used to always use permanent dye when dying my own hair, but from now on I am only using the demi-permanent/28 day wash out ones. I have come up with my own list of reasons to use non-permanent dye as opposed to permanent:

USE PERMANENT IF:

• You have used the colour before
• You have stubborn grey hairs that won't stop coming back
• You know you will keep the colour for a while

USE NON-PERMANENT IF:

• You are indeceisive about which colour you want
• You want to experiment
• You want a quick, short change
• You want to freshen up the look of your hair

Dark!!

Have you ever dyed your own hair? How did it turn out?

Great Clips: Salon Review

Summer is almost over, so I thought it would be a nice time to get a little hair cut. I received these coupons in the mail the other week for this new salon across the street called "Great Clips". I googled them online, and they are an American franchise that sells itself on affordable hair care (like a First Choice Haircutters type of deal).

Anyways, I figured I would check it out since I only needed a little trim and wanted to see what my coupon for a $6.99 cut would get me. (Regular price is $14 by the way).

So I get to the salon within the first 15 minutes of opening time and it is dead. Perfect! Two ladies appear from the back room and welcome me to the salon and ask what I would like. I check their "menu" and notice that haircut, shampooing and conditioning are all seperate services. I thought this weird as most salons will have cut and style as a package deal (which always includes a wash). So I assumed the cut would come with all the above and told the lady I just wanted a cut.

She directs me to a chair and puts on my beauty cape (A.K.A the smock) and I show her a picture of the type of cut I want. She has a look at the picture on my phone and confirms that she will only be taking about an inch off.

Then, like a scene straight out of my childhood, she brings out a SPRAY BOTTLE and starts spraying my messy, dirty hair. (This was at 9am in the morning, so I did not do my hair before going to the salon). "What is this?" I wonder to myself. Since when do salons spray people's hair who are over the age of 5? So I assumed this meant no wash was included in the cut. Rats! I should have asked to make sure it was because she continued to cut away with her spray bottle and scissors.

The whole cut took probably 5 minutes. We chit chatted a bit about our weekend plans and the usual polite stranger-type awkward conversations. When she was done, she took a mirror to show me the back. I couldn't even see the cut because my hair was all ratty anyway. I just smiled and went straight to the cash register. I used my coupon and tipped the lady $2 for a grand total of $9.90 for the cut.

Once I got home from the salon, I quickly put some beach spray in my hair to turn my rat's nest into a wavy-do. I was shocked that the stylist didn't even ask if I wanted a wash and style with my cut, have they never heard of upselling or are they just that lazy/non chalant about hair?

It is now evening, and I just freshly washed my new cut hair. It feels nice and she did a good job on the cut. I guess this cut made me realize that when us ladies do go to the salon to get haircuts, we pay an arm and a leg for the wash and style part. And now I am wondering, why? Unless you have somewhere to be, what is the point of getting a wash and style when it lasts only for a day anyway? Food for thought!

So my verdict about Great Clips is this:
It is a great salon if you want a quick no-nonsense trim or cut without all the fancy extras. It really is a "get what you pay for" experience.
If you are looking for a more luxurious, spa like experience, do not go here! Pay the extra $20 and go to a more upscale salon.

Hello Hydration by Herbal Essences - Affordable and Amazing

Who says good shampoo and conditioner has to be expensive? I always get overwhelmed when I walk down the daunting aisles of hair care products at the drugstore, in fear that I may not pick the "right" kind for my hair. I always assume the most expensive products and salon worthy brands are the only ones that will work well, but after lots of purchases, I confess that this is not always the case. This is why I need to highlight one of my favourite shampoo and conditioner combos - Herbal Essences Hello Hydration. Not only does it smell amazing, but it is one of the only products that makes my hair feel smooth and silky afterwards.

I think the secret ingredient is the Hawaiin coconut!

I have used  Hello Hydration for a number of years, and it never fails me. For around $3.00 a bottle, you can't go wrong. In my personal experiences, sometimes buying those big expensive salon shampoos leave my scalp irritated causing dandruff flakes. Yuck!

This is definately one of my favourites for everyday wash. I can feel the moisture soaking right into my head as soon as I put it on.
I always buy the shampoo and conditioner seperately. They do sell it as a 2 in 1, but I never find those to be effective on my hair.

So if you are looking for an inexpensive way to make your hair feel amazing, I would highly reccommend Hello Hydration by Herbal Essences.

Have you ever tried this product? What do you think?

Product Review: LUSH shampoo and conditioner

I think I should just dedicate this blog to reviewing products, because it's no secret that I am a product junkie! No word of a lie there are 5 shampoos in circulation in my shower right now. So let me take the time to review just a few of some noteworthy ones!

Since I moved to good old Bradford, I have noticed the water is very harsh. I find myself washing it almost everyday, which causes it to be even more rough. I googled a few hard water shampoos, but couldn't seem to find any, except for one at Lush. So when I went to Lush a few weeks ago, I was sad to learn that they only sell the hardwater shampoo online and not in store. However, the sales lady introduced me to some similar products that she said could acheieve the same results as the hard water shampoo.

Let me start off by saying that, I had no idea Lush sold hair care products. I assumed it was all soaps and bubble baths, but was interested when I saw the variety of hair care items they did sell. What really impresses me about this store is that everything is hand made and reasonably priced. There are no harsh chemincals or weird ingredients that you can't pronounce in their products. Once I learned this, I was more intrigued.

So I had a look at all the shampoos, and noticed a lot of them were in bar form! Not even in a bottle! I was curious as to how this would work in your hair. The lady explained that one bar (which is around 11 dollars) can last up to 3.5 months! For each wash, you just rub the bar on your scalp 3 times and then lather. She reccommended I buy the "Trichomania" shampoo bar, which contains coconut that helps put moisture back into the hair (perfect for my bleached out locks!) I was sold!
But of course you can't buy a shampoo without conditioner right? Right! So for conditoner she said one of their top sellers was "American Cream" which contains honey, lavender and oranges. It claims to make your hair more bouncy, shiny and tame. It also smells amazing so I purchased a small size bottle to test it out.

It's been about two weeks since I started using both these products and I can't say that my hair is more healthy (I blame the bleach), but it does feel fluffier! And they make my hair smell almost like baby powder.

I like using the bar shampoo, it is different and 3 strokes on the scalp is plenty for one wash. Just make sure you lather a lot, and don't forget to rinse out thoroughly.  The only downfall is if you are travelling away for a night or two, it is kind of hard to transport and pack. But not to worry, Lush sells shampoo bar holders! I don't think I would purchase one though unless I was going away for a week!

While at Lush, I also purchased one bottle of their dry shampoo, "No Drought". (In an attempt to stop washing my hair everyday!) It is a powder based formula with lemon and lime oils combined with corn flour and talc. It has a nice citrus smell and there is a lot that comes in the bottle (which is around 13 dollars). I think this product works great as a day after shampoo, but with my hair I think after 2 days, my hair really needs to be washed. Depending on how oily your hair gets, this product is good to touch up on those small oily patches that come usually 1 day of washing. All I do is shake out some powder on my hand and then scrunch it into the spots where my hair has the most oil. It works well especially on blonde hair, since it is white in colour and kind of camaflouges in.

Since I purchased so many items at Lush, the sales lady gave me a free sample of their "Rehab" shampoo (liquid shampoo) which is meant to tame unruly, abused hair. She only gave me enough for one use, and I really liked it, I think it did more for my hair than the "Trichomania" did. Just because it is meant to restore and repair as opposed to just making it feel nicer. I think when I go back, I will just get the Rehab shampoo instead of the bar, at least until I stop bleaching it.

And that is my personal review on some of the hair care products from Lush.


*Please note these are my personal opinions based on personal use. I am not a hair care professional or am not affiliated with Lush.

Product Review: The Body Shop Rainforest Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner

Lately I have been having some issues with my volatile hair. No matter what I do, it always seems to be thick and crunchy. I knew I had to buy some sort of special shampoo but didn't feel like forking over a day's worth of pay for it. I looked on the Sephora website and was overwhelmed with all the product and prices, but then I did a little research and discovered that The Body Shop is a great place for reasonably priced beauty and hair products. Who knew?! I always assumed The Body Shop was just for perfumes and body butters, but little did I know they have a whole array of products like makeup, facial cleansers and hair care products. So yesterday I went on a bit of spree there at the Upper Canada Mall, but for this blog post I will review only 2 of the products that I did buy: The Rainforest Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner!

As stated earlier, I have been having issues with my dry hair so when I came across this product I was excited to try it as it says right on the bottle that it is free of any silicones (which can make your hair feel like it has a filmy residue after you wash it out). I was excited to see something that was specifically made for dry and damaged hair. (My hair has been all colours of the rainbow and straightened daily on the highest heat setting possible). I was extra happy to also see the price of this product! $14.00 for a 400mL bottle! And it was a buy one get one half off, so of course I just had to get the conditioner as well!

I was so excited to use these products that I couldn't wait to wash my hair! I used them both this morning and fell in love. Not only did my hair feel really clean afterwards, but it felt more soft. The other shampoos and conditioners I had been using always felt so filmy and I never felt like all the product in my hair was being washed out. Both the shampoo and conditioner are light and good to use if you are the type of person who washes their hair everyday. (Guilty!!)

I never used to be a Body Shop shopper, but after yesterday's purchases, I got myself a Body Shop card with the intention of shopping there more often. I also bought a plethora of other cool products, but I will review those at a later date.

You can purchase these products online here or check them out in store.

***Please note these are my own personal opinions and reviews. I am not an endorser of The Body Shop or professional hair and beauty expert.