Easter Pastels

Springtime is by far my favourite time of the year (did you guess it already?!) and Easter is my favourite holiday second only to Christmas and no doubts a huge part of the deal is due to the amount of beautiful flowers you can spot everywhere while walking along a street, the amazing view of trees covered in pink blossoms, the huge amount of bunny and Easter themed cards and objects you can spot in stores around this time of the year, all of which makes for the perfect excuse to wear, buy and cover myself in pastel coloured things, clothes, foods and nail varnishes! No real need to wonder if pastels really do bring you in a happy, relaxed, inspired, calm, content and joyful mood!

I've been buying a few too many pastel objects recently, but some are actually been dusted off from the previous years, and there hasn't been a thing that made me in a happier mood than finding and falling back in love with pink hair bows, lipsticks and measuring cups and blue washi tape, paper straws and tea scented erasers! I couldn't help but display them all in a cute flat lay and snapping away with the help of some Lindt Gold Bunnies (old Easter favourites of all time indeed - I can remember being a child and getting overly excited about my milk chocolate Gold Bunny at this time of the year every years!). Hope these shots can bring a bit of colour and happiness to your mornings (or evenings!) too!

{ Links }

Gold Bunnies & all the chocolate ℅ Lindt

Paper Straws - Similar

Washi Tape - Tiger

Tea Scented Erasers - Kikkerland

Spot Triangle Bra - ASOS (Similar)

Pink Hair Bow - Similar

Lipstick - Pret-A-Porter by Paul and Joe

Measuring Cups - Tiger

Shampoo Bar - Lush
Ceramic Bowl - Similar

Lip Balm ℅ Sweet Cecily's

Shine!

I bet I'm not the only one who envy some healthy (and not-gross) shine on normal not oily hair! The thing with having a oily scalp is that you have to try and eliminate as much oil as you can to avoid to feel the need of washing your hair twice a day, this means using targeted products that aim to get rid of the excess oil but that also sometimes leave your hair a bit dull and too matte. This is not my thing, I like my hair to be as voluminous and texturized as healthy and shiny looking!

As with my oily skin, I've always been afraid to put on my hair any kind of oils as I've always thought it would have just made it worst. But just like with introducing natural oils in my skincare recently and being that my skin seems to (actually!) quite enjoy them, I thought maybe I should do the same with my haircare... and I wasn't wrong!

Sahar Morocco Argan Oil  ℅ Hairtrade

Of course I'll always stay away from anything too heavily oily, but I've found out oils are not always that bad onto a oily scalp. This Morocco Argan Oil* is perfect for lightly moisturize and add some healthy shine to my hair: I love the fact that is made out of natural ingredients and that aims to rebuild and repair damaged hair; even though it's targeted at dry damaged hair, I think it can be a great addition to any normal-to-oily haircare routine too.

I apply a very small amount (just a few pumps) of the oil right after the shower directly onto my damp hair, concentrating it on the ends and going up towards the scalp with the remaining product, this way my scalp doesn't get too much excess oil - that is the worst nightmare of any oily girl! Then I simply dry it and in the end I'm always left with softer, shiny, moisturized, healthy looking hair. And it isn't more greasy than usual in the slightest, not even when dealing with second day hair!

So far so good, I'm definitely not going back to a skin/hair care without oils! How does your hair get on with oil-based products? x

Back to Basics.

My skin was being very itchy and nasty lately over my whole body. It was going on since a long while, months, years, and it seems something chronicle and I couldn't really see an end to it any time soon. So now I'm making the switch to all natural basic skincare (and haircare too) to see how it goes! I can't deny the definitive push was given to me while reading this post by Freya; I started thinking: "why am I still thinking oils can only be bad for oily skins?" and decided to finally give the whole coconut-oil-only thing a whirl. I'm doing it since only a few days, but so far so good and my skin is reacting wonderfully, not even near to my most positive expectations! Now every time I take a shower, I firstly wash my hair with my favourite shampoo from Lush, then I wash my body with nothing more than natural shower gels or, even better, castile soap (any harsh bath sponge is strictly forbidden) and then I cleanse my face with pure virgin organic coconut oil and nothing else! If I feel like I need a bit of exfoliation I only commit myself to my beloved Let The Good Times Roll (cleanser + exfoliator in one means I can really keep my skincare stash to the minimal!). A bit extreme? I know, but so far I've seen the best results I was hoping to see since a while!

Are you planning to go natural with your skincare products any time soon? Let me know if you have some natural gems one with oily skin and bad dry patches needs to know about! x

New year, old hair.

It doesn't seem so but it's been a while since my last hair update! I usually do them when I chop my hair, but this is a different one because I'm keeping my hair this not too annoying mid-length a bit longer and, and I'd never thought I would have ever said this, I'm trying to embrace my natural hair texture. What? I know, I've always complained about my hair looking flat and plain, but I'm finding that adapting my hair care routine slightly and using the right products, I can wear my natural hair (without involving any iron as well) on a daily basis!

Like any other hair update, the usefulness of these words might be highly dubious, but maybe some of you have very flat boring hair as much as I do and live a complex relationship with their locks, then maybe this post can inspire someone to start this new year with a different approach to their hair!

Lush Shampoo Bar | Fudge Salt Spray ℅ Hairtrade | H&M Hair Ties

Coming to an age of 22 of having very oily hair, I've never jumped on the leave-in conditioners bandwagon, as I've always thought anything you pile on your hair after washing it will make the oiliness appear faster. This is also why I go from being over excited to try a new volumizing spray or any other leave-in hair product, to just stop loving them after one use. Most of times trying to achieve a more voluminous style is not worth the hassle to me, but this was before I tried anything salt infused! I'm using the Fudge Salt Spray lately and I'm reckoning that salt acts at drying up my hair scalp a tiny little bit - which is actually a sort of miracle for one with oily hair! - and this means I can spray a leave-in product that actually helps at volumizing and texturizing my locks without worrying about how horrifying my second day hair would look, as it would look fine! Pretty awesome, right?

From here to say my hair will ever look like I have natural soft beach waves, there's a huge insurmountable gap, but with said salt spray I feel like it has more grip and stays into place more easily, so here is what I do:

1 :: I wash my hair with miraculous Jumping Juniper shampoo bar by Lush (an ode of which can be found over here) and no conditioner at all!
2 :: I spray a modest amount of Fudge Salt Spray around the root area and a bit more also on the ends - beside from smelling amazingly coconutty, it not only adds a bit of texture, but also offers UV protection and conditions your locks in the meanwhile!
3 :: I use the hair drier on low until my hair is 90% dry.
4 :: I braid it up into a loose and messy french braid and keep it there as long as I can - but even half an hour is fine most of the times! It gives my hair a bit of texture and added volume.
5 :: I spray the Fudge Salt Spray on a second day hair too if I feel it needs more body!

This might be the most obvious hair care routine ever, but it's being a game changer to me and I highly suggest trying it if you have oily, flat, plane hair too! That's it from me for now, but if you have other revolutionary advices, I'm all ears! x

One for oily hair

jumping juniper ;

During my annual tradition of a Lush trip as soon as the Christmas and Halloween collections are out, I thought it was time to invest in a new natural and organic shampoo and since I'm such a fan of Lush and their products and love to try out new things from their line, I thought instead of giving Jason And The Argan Oil another go, I'd try a new shampoo bar, and I couldn't be happier of the choise, which was totally random if you ask since there was no description near the product, no price, and the Lush girls were too busy that day...

Jumping Juniper turned out to be such a good pick. As you probably already know from my previous hair updates, I have oily hair and scalp and am always on the hunt for an astrictive shampoo that can help at keeping the oiliness at bay while giving my hair a nice texture and a healthy look. Also I've totally been into natural and organic products for my hair for a year now, and it's strange I only tried one Lush shampoo bar before and not all of them! Jumping Juniper ticks all the boxes, featuring juniper berries and antibacterical rosemary to tone the scalp and slow down the sebum production, lime and lemon oils to purify and give shine, and lavender to relax and soothe. I'm such a fan of the scent, so full of hues, fruity, citrus and yet floral and relaxing.

If you aren't familiar with Lush shampoo bars, to use them you need to wet them and then rub them into your wet hair to allow them to create a good foam. And believe it or not, most of them release a lot of foam which is what I like. Jumping Juniper leaves my hair feeling so clean, super soft, shiny and healthy. When you have oily hair, there's no better feeling of having lightweight and flowy locks, which I partially achieved with chopping my hair recently, but this shampoo totally and visibly helps in giving life, texture, volume and softness to my hair! Not to mention it will last a lot, around 80 washes! I can't really suggest it enough to any oily hair girl/boy/lady/gentleman out there, especially who is into natural and organic hair care - this is one of the best deep clean organic shampoo I've ever tried so far!

What's your favourite Lush shampoo?

Chopped... again

new haircut ;

You might have noticed from my latest update that my hair is shorter. Yes, I had it chopped... again! I had it chopped back in June and then again last month always the same midi length, but recently I was itching for something different, something new, an even shorter hair style for wintertime when updos are not my main priority. So I've had it chopped again last week right above my shoulders and I'm so happy with the new haircut: my hair feels lighter and airy, plus the new cut gives me a lot more character and it's so easy to style!

I've already said I'm quite the fan of short hair, but I'm sure having way too many nights in watching Masters of Sex (I love that show and all the 50s 'dos, so beautiful) by my own influenced a lot the need of a new haircut & style. I've been rocking my new short hair usually straight and only slightly curled towards the face on the ends (everything for that vintage-y look) and I'm rediscovering a few products to keep my hair always fresh & on point: a few must-haves are being the O'right Golden Rose Color Care Shampoo* which leaves my hair so flowy and lightweight, the Percy & Reed Wonder Balm applied right after the shower on my damp hair to prep them to any hair style, but also the Batiste Dry Shampoo to refresh on the second day hair when needed.

You might remember from my latest hair update that I love vintage hair clips - as I spotted this pink ASOS Big Bow Hair Clip I knew I had to have it. It's probably the biggest hair clip I own, but I always feel a bit like the Little Mermaid when I wear it!

My Short Hair Haircare

As much as I love long hair, huge infinite braids and beautiful long curls, I can't see long hair on me. I've already addressed this topic in the past, but as soon as my hair starts to grow a little bit too much over my shoulders I start feeling the need of chopping it all off, so after many many years of trying to grow my hair out, I've finally accepted to be a short hair kinda-girl. I can't see myself in longer hair, and as soon as it starts to grow I totally lose my motivation to keep it nice and style it a bit more, while short hair is lighter, airy, easier to manage and look way better on me!

My haircare routine has always been pretty poor and this is the main reason why I've never shared it in the past, but recently I've finally found some good products to fill a few gaps in my routine and being that I've recently had a new haircut (again... my hair grows so fast! I need to chop it every two months or less!), I can say I'm pretty satisfied with my hair at the moment, so, why not write about how I style and treat my short hair? These products work amazingly with every hair lenght really, but I'm pretty impressed by the amount of volume I can achieve with some of them and my hair being shorter and lighter makes it a lot easier for sure!

WASH, VOLUME & TEXTURE

I've been on the quest for good organic hair products for a long while now and I was pretty happy with some Lavera picks, but as soon as I tried the O'right Golden Rose Color Care Shampoo* and Conditioner* I felt like I've found the ones. First of all I love the packaging of these, so beautiful plus the shampoo bottle is 100% biodegradable which is so ingenious, but the products themselves are super nice. I sometimes still need a shampoo specifically thought for oily hair, but these are pretty neutral and don't build up the oil in the slightest, plus they leave my hair super soft and airy which is all what I can ask! They are thought for coloured hair but are pretty good on my natural hair as well and I love how they give a natural volume and structure to it.

I have thick flat hair and my main priority is always volume, though I've given up the hope of having visibly full voluminous hair because it is not going to happen. However I'm being able to enhance my natural hair volume with some hair primers like the Percy & Reed Wonderbalm Hair Treatment, which not only prime your hair but also adds shine, smoothness and moisture - I use it on the ends up to right under my ears -, and the Redken Pillow Proof Blow Dry Express Primer*, which helps a lot with volume, and being so lightweight, I don't have any issue really at applying it on my oily roots! The latter acts also at protecting my hair from heat and avoid big damages from it. I simply spray it all over my head before blow drying very casually my hair upside down to achieve more volume as possible. This creates a lot of visible volume at the ends but not that much at my roots which are always so difficult to manage, so I also apply the John Frieda Luxurious Volume Fine to Full Blow Out Styling Spray around my scalp to achieve a little bit more volume, but I'm not super sure about how much it actually does and most of the times I quit this step for avoiding to layer too many products...

Texture, you say?! My hair doesn't really like it and would stay naturally perfectly straight if I only allowed it to, but I love texture as much as volume and a friend of mine this past years has been the Bumble and bumble Bb Texture, a gel/cream I like to apply in very small tiny amounts on my whole hair length right before blow drying it all. It enhances the soft texture my hair could have if it wanted to, and makes it look a tiny bit more alive than usual, which I really appreciate!

FINISH, REFRESH & STYLE

I've been a fan of the L'Oreal Paris Hair Expertise Ever Riche Absolute Oil Spray for a long while now but it's probably only mainly because of its jasmine scent which is one of my favourite thing ever and I would spray it on my hair on a hourly basis just to be able to always smell it. Plus it gives a very nice natural shine to my hair while softening it as well - I can't quite complain! I finish it all off with some Alterna Bamboo Beach Sunshine Protect and Shine Spray* that protects my hair from the sun and keep it shiny throughout the day. It smells like candies and I quite love it!

I wash my hair every other day and I try to avoid dry shampoos as I always feel uncomfortable with them, however the Batiste dry shampoos are so lovely, inexpensive but good, that I always have a little stock just in case I've not time or can't be bothered to wash my hair before going out (which happens very rarely, usually when I'm sick, but you know...) and I love their little travel size to keep in my bag for when I have to stay out for two days in a row and I feel my hair is looking way too gross or when I just need some added volume.

Styling short hair can be tricky but sometimes all I do is to give it some shape using a straightener to just slightly curl the ends towards my face, because if you want to look like Keira Knightley you should al least try... and fail. A few hairstyles I love are the followings which are pretty simple but this is how I like it, and involve some vintage hair clips (which were actually stolen by a-younger-version-of-my-mum's stash), some cool metal hair accessories and big and tiny hair elastics...

The Shower

I've never been a bath kind of girl and even though last winter I started enjoying a relaxing bath now and again, I definitely prefer showers especially in summertime, which are a lot quicker but can be super relaxing as well. Needless to say that I've built quite the collection of in-shower products, but these are the ones I'm going to recently when I feel the need of a relaxing pampering shower experience...

Hair - I wasn't a Lavera hair products fan at first but since I bought quite the stock at the beginning of the year, I'm inevitably using them on a daily basis in order to finish them. I have to admit I quite like the Basis Sensitive range (especially the scent), in particular the Lavera Basis Sensitive Mild Care Shampoo (£5.45) and the Lavera Basis Sensitive Hair Conditioner (£5.95) which create a great combo together. They have the same subtle almond-y scent, which is absolutely delicious and super relaxing, and whilst the shampoo really goes deep down and gently clean my oily scalp (even though I always feel I need a bit too much product to feel satisfied), the conditioner does a good job in lightly hydrate my hair without weighing it down - however I wouldn't suggest it if you have hair prone to tangles. Something I'm applying between the two is the Argan Dew Restorative Hair Treatment*, of which I only have some little samples and which I'm only recently testing, but which has already left me pretty satisfied. It's an Argan oil, Jojoba oil and Shea Butter based hair mask which aims to deeply hydrate, repair, protect and re-energize your hair in only 5 minutes. The scent is subtle but relaxing which makes this mask perfect for any pampering shower. I also apply the Argan Dew Miraculous Oil* on damp hair right after the shower, which should be lovely on dry hair, however having oily hair I'm not sure I'm a fan.

Body - As for my body I was all about the & Other Stories body wash however I finished my last one, so at the moment I'm enjoying the super inexpensive Petit Marseillais Gel Douche Lait de Vanille (£3.10) not because it aims to be something particularly good for your skin, but simply because I'm a vanilla lover and I adore the scent which makes every shower so relaxing and nice. I'm a scrubs lover and I just love testing new formulas even though I just the #1 fan of the & Other Stories offerings once again, but I'm enjoying the Soap & Glory Flake Away Body Scrub (£8) which has the classic Soap & Glory scent (nice) and it's quite good at scrubbing away any dry skin, though I just can't still say it's equal to the & Other Stories offerings. When it comes to hydrate my body I'm the lazier girl and I just feel like all those in-shower body conditioner were thought for lazy girls like me. Not that I always remember to apply the Nivea In shower Body Moisturiser Dry (£3.56) but it's nice to have a quicker in-shower option at your fingertips - this one you just apply it on your body and then rinse it off like a hair conditioner but for your body. I'm quite the fan of the concept and I'm quite keen about trying the Lush offerings but they maybe are a bit too expensive.

Face - When in the shower I like to wash and cleanse my face with a gel formula and I find when you're having a hot shower it's the best time to deeply clean those pores of yours. I'm loving the Mario Badescu Enzyme Cleansing Gel (£12.31) which containing papaya extracts which are natural AHAs, not only deeply cleanses your skin, but lightly and gently exfoliates it too. It prepares my skin to a good after-shower face mask session, and recently I'm loving the Lush Cupcake Fresh Mask (£6.25) of which I've already talked recently here; this is a lovely multi-purposes face mask which is definitely amazing on skins on the oily side, but never leaves my skin dry or itchy, whilst creating a nice matte texture. It also contains some bigger grains which act like a scrub when you remove the mask after the 10 to 15 minutes are passed, making the whole experience even better. My skin always feels oh so soft after this quick but effective routine, it's just the best Sunday pamper treat for your face.

What are you using in your shower recently?

The summer chop

I didn't plan to grow my hair this spring but it was actually pretty long at the beginning of summer this year, which was ok with me until the hot weather hit us a few weeks ago and I just couldn't stand it. I have thick oily hair which takes ages to dry and is also very heavy and the only positive side of having long hair I could find was being able to style it in a lot of different ways - but considering that I only place them in a ponytail or a bun, I had no excuses. Also I chop my hair quite often and I'm pretty used to shorter hair length which is totally fine with me, however I can't remember the last time I chopped it this short.

As you can see and imagine I've chopped my hair recently, around 5 inches fell on the floor, but I was super ready to say them goodbye. I love how shorter hair looks, it is a lot more lightweight and fresh for summertime and my plain hair can actually look a bit more alive and messy without all the weight that made it so flat and not voluminous at all. Not that now it looks amazing on its own, but it's a lot better and I can style it a lot more easily and it dries quicker too which is always a plus in summertime. But what is not an understatement is that I always chop it myself (with my mum's precious help) and being that I have no big expectations and I just want my hair to have the same length all around, it's pretty easy. The trick is to get some good hair scissors like these and forgetting about using some classic all purposes scissors which won't give a precise cut, simply decide the lenght and cut the first piece, then follow the line you just cutted for the rest of your hair. I ask my mum to help with the back which is a bit more tricky, but for the rest is just as simple as that and I just prefer cutting my hair myself on a regular basis instead of talking to an hairdresser, which not only is too expensive, but sometimes won't get what you really desire and I always end up being dissatisfied about something.

Are you thinking of chopping your hair for summertime?

In May I've Loved...

May was a long long month, a bit boring and not that exciting, passed working from home and which reserved me a few unlucky surprises. Now it's finally over, and even if in April I decided to skip my monthly beauty favourites post, I thought I could make it come back this month as I do have some beauty products I'm loving right now to talk about this time.

Makeup-wise on the rare occasions I went out this month I only wore one between the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua (£32) and the Perfection Lumiere Velvet (£33). Both of them are only little samples which are actually lasting me a very long time and I still have a few applications left until I'll have to make a decision between the two. Unfortunately (for my wallet) I'm in love with both of them and I really can't decide which one I love the most. The Vitalumiere Aqua is a lighter and luminous, perfect for summertime, while the Perfection Lumiere Velvet is very matte and impalpable on the skin, such a wonderful foundation for any bad skin days. I think they both have a decent coverage and my sensitive skin doesn't react badly to them. I'm completely sold and can't really decide between the two!

Since when I finished my beloved & Other Stories body scrub, I'm trying the Soap&Glory Flake Away Body Scrub (£8) which is not the same but still has a nice thick texture and a lovely sweet scent which makes my showers so relaxing. Probably not my all time favourite body scrub but for sure the one I'm enjoying right now and for being so inexpensive this really is a good product. Another shower favourite this month must be the Lavera Basis Sensitive Hair Conditioner (£5.95), a natural and organic hair conditioner containing honey and almond oil which aims to leave your hair shiny and easy to comb still providing added volume. I don't think this is the best hair conditioner if you have hair that gets knotty super easly, but if your hair is standard like mine, this still makes a good job while smelling so deliciously - oh how many times I would have eaten it! It also is not like other very detangling conditioner that tend to weight your hair down, and this is the major reason why I like it, as my hair always needs a bit of added volume.

This month I've cultivated a deep love for the Antipodes Aura Manuka Honey Mask (£21.50): containing manuka honey, avocado, vanilla, mandarin oils, this all natural mask aims to moisturise, cleanse and be an anti-oxidant treatment all in one, but this is actually a lot more. It has the most delicious scent of all as you can imagine, which makes it so relaxing to be applied and left on for 10 to 15 minutes of peace, but it's also very hydrating without being oily or a bit too much so that it's great even on my combination to oily skin, and can also be used on spots and blemishes overnight to help them heal faster having anti-baterrical properties as well. Another favourite of mine will come with no surprise if you read my A Week in Skincare feature earlier this week, but it's the Polyphenol C15 Anti-Wrinkle Eye and Lip Cream* (£26) which I only use on my under eye area but not only for its anti aging properties: as a matter of fact this is super hydrating and I have the most sensitive and dry under eye area I've ever seen, so this is seriously miracolous. I don't know about its anti aging properties and if it works or not, but if you have a super dry under eye area and can't solve with anything, try this! Last skincare favourite must be the new Clarins Radiance Plus Golden Glow Booster (£15.80), a self tanning serum to be mixed with a few pumps of your usual moisturiser which gives the most natural and gradual of the colors and not only it's super easy to use, but also make a self tanner application without marks possible.

What's on your May beauty favourites list?

Not impressed

You may already know I had considered the purchase of a Tangle Teezer for a really long time and I finally went for it as soon as I saw it live for the first time ever a few months ago. My doubts were lots as I didn't really know if I'll ever need something like a good detangling brush as my hair isn't difficult or too painful to comb. I was pretty intrigued though by the reviews online and I have to admit I was pretty incouraged by the loss of too many locks of mine.

The Tangle Teezer should be a pretty innovative hair brush to help you detangle your hair painless and easier. It aims to be more gentle than every other hair brush and perfect for every hair type, suitable even for vulnerable and color treated hair. What really pushed me to buy it was that being thought to suit every hair needs as well as to be super gentle, I thought it could really make the difference in avoiding my hair loss.

So, is it worth? I don't think so. This is a very expensive hair brush in my opinion, and that's an amount of money I wasn't sure about spending on a brush, but being that everyone describes it as a phenomenal tool, I thought it could really be worth. I have really thick, oily and straight hair and rarely I have problems with tangles, and if you have a similar hair type to mine and are considering buying a Tangle Teezer yourself, I would say save your money for something better and keep using your usual hair brush (or buy a cheaper one) because on me the results are pretty much the same. Yes, you have a little cute tool to expose in your bathroom and it sometimes can avoid some painful processes (but for me it happens really rarely) - but nothing more than that really. I can't understand the hype and I wish I never changed my mind about avoiding this purchase. I can see this can be the magic answer to some hair types issue especially who has hair prone to tangle easly, but I'm really not that impressed at all. As regards the hair loss I found a good green shampoo helps a lot and gives the best results even if not paired with a similar tool.

Any other who doesn't love the Tangle Teezer out there?