Pantene Pro-V 12 Night Therapy

You will probably remember from my previous posts, the amount of ranting I did concerning the dryness of my hair! Well, this product claims to be 'night therapy' for such lifeless tresses.

So, what are you meant to do with it? I had read online about pricey products that should be  used on your hair while you sleep. Twelve hour night treatments are not uncommon on shop floors at the moment, especially with electronic styling devices being all the rage for the past ten or fifteen years. It's inevitable that much hair would be damanged from excessive styling, colouring ... or lack of conditioning and regular trims.

I saw this little bargain in my local pound shop. At the time, I was glamorously looking for mildew remover for beneath the window in my flat. I had been reading about night treatments the previous night, and I hadn't seen them anywhere i.e. Superdrug or Boots. Pantene is a well-known brand in England, so I thought I'd give it a go - it's only a pound after all.

The results haven't been amazing. I use it sometimes, as I wash my hair every other day now. It's full of silicone-based ingredients, which don't produce long-lasting results on hair, but instead provide a 'quick fix'. More quality products are meant to replenish the oils in your hair, by making it more moist during the night so that you can wash out the vitamin goodness first thing in the morning.

Still, I'm glad I tried it. I love looking after my hair, and now that I'm taking care of it properly, it feels more smooth and healthy than ever. Nothing replaces a good shampoo, dry shampoo and regular cuts I'm afraid.

What it is good for, though, are those nights when I'm really tired either from a day at work or lengthy seminars at university. I can come back home, use up one of my face packs from Superdrug and use this on my hair. Run a bath and throw in a Lush bath bomb. Wear some dangly earrings, watch some New Girl or Sex and the City - you'll be feeling divine!

Beauty Review: Kerastase Nutritive Bain Satin 2 and Nectar Thermique

Christmas has been kind to me this year. I received some sample sized Kerastase products, and thought I'd write about them! I have very dry hair, and never believed that there would be a product out there that would turn my rebellious tresses into luscious locks. However, I was proven wrong. My hair is naturally thick and straight, but since I've been studying at university, I have experienced an increase of greys (yes, grey hair, at twenty-one years old) and the general texture of my hair has become limp over the course of time. My friend said this was most likely due to stress. After being forced to cut my hair short last year, I choose to not dye my hair because dying it makes it die (apologies for the pun). This Christmas, though, my hair has been restored to its former appearance. I was always told that the shampoo didn't matter, and that it was the conditioner which was vital. My experience has told me otherwise!

Image: Kerastase

Pictured above is 'Bain Satin 2' which is part of the Kerastase Nutritive collection. The shampoo not only forms a luxurious lather, but makes your hair feel amazing afterwards. Its only flaw is the smell, as it resembles the inside of an old lady's unused teapot. Fortunately, the leave-in treatment does smell much nicer. I like that the company have not added lots of useless chemicals to the solution in order to make it smell nice. I always find with shampoos such as Herbal Essences that, even though they smell gorgeous, they don't actually improve the condition of my hair. The sample size of the product has given me just over a week of usage, so I imagine that the full-sized bottle is an economical purchase. It might seem a bit steep to the bank balance as it costs roughly £15.00 in various salons. If you purchase the shampoo from http://www.rush.co.uk you can use the 'new customer' offer, which entitles customers to an extra ten percent off, and they'll still be entitled to the twenty percent off the RRP. I managed to order myself a bottle for ten pounds, with free delivery! Yay.

Image: Kerastase

Nectar Thermique, as pictured above, is a nourishing cream that you massage into your hair after towel drying. The cream protects your hair from heat damage, and also contains royal jelly, which is an ingredient renowned for its conditioning and protecting qualities. After using Alberto Balsam's VO5 Smoothing Creme, which I had free with Cosmopolitan magazine (yes, very studenty, I know) I obviously needed something to condition my hair after washing it, but it was still incredibly dry! With this product, however, my hair has experienced some kind of metamorphosis! In combination with the shampoo, this product has transformed my hair. My hair now not only appears thick and full of vitality, but also very healthy. To me, appearing clean and healthy is my main priority in terms of my personal appearance. I never straighten, curl or dye my hair. I eat vegetables and fruit, drink plenty of water and do not smoke. My hair is just dry. This product just 'helps' the problems I've been experiencing, and I'll definitely be using them in the future.

On a final note, I'd say that it's worth investing in two good quality products, as opposed to having tons of products that are only used for two weeks at the price of £2.50. One of the problems I've experienced as a student is that 'cheap' isn't always better. So yes, I'm very impressed with Kerastase! I'd definitely recommend Rush, too, if you're interested in purchasing just because they send samples in addition to their 30% off introductory offer!

Fashion: Zara Office City Bag

Image: Own

For Christmas, I have received the Zara Office City Bag from my generous parents. I was looking for the perfect 'Uni bag' and this had proven to be impossible during the past two years of study. I needed a bag that could not only carry my 15" Macbook Pro, but also fit in notebooks/textbooks and essays! I also wanted a little compartment to hold my personal items i.e. purse, phone and keys.

The bag itself is beautiful. It was much bigger than I thought it would be. As I'm now studying in my third year, I wanted a bag that was not only stylish but just more 'grown up' than my typical brown satchel or Cath Kidston box bag. What I love most about this bag is the shoulder protector on the strap. There's nothing worse than carrying lots on my pleasant half an hour walk to Uni and then having a sore shoulder, too! The little handles on the side mean that you can just carry it, as well, if that's more to your taste.

Image: Own

Inside the compartments (there's five altogether) there's plenty of space to neatly organise your belongings. The burgundy coloured lining inside the bag also conforms to the 'berry' colour trend this season. In the middle one, I managed to fit my Macbook in quite easily, which was a wonderful surprise! Two of the compartments do not have zips, however, so I'd advise that these are used for books, magazines or diaries. I'm definitely looking forward to using this next month when I return to lectures!

Eyeko Skinny Mascara

 

Image: Own

Finding the perfect mascara is a dilemma for most women, but it is especially difficult for an Emma! I'm not sure if it because both words rhyme, but I find most mascaras to be either flakey, prone to smudging or they simply do not make my eyelashes look any different!

I recently received an e-mail from Asos.com, stating that they were giving their newsletter subscribers a code that entitles them to a 10% discount, and free next day delivery too! I needed a new mascara, and I didn't want to just buy a Maybelline's classic Great Lash Mascara. While more cost-effective mascaras are great value, I find that (as much as I like them) I end up resembling a panda by the time I finish my seminars at Uni, or shifts at work.

The mascara I have been using for the past two months, L'oreal Double Extend Mascara, has its pros and cons. It refuses to smudge without being waterproof (I find that waterproof mascara dry my eyelashes out, I think I may actually have combination lashes!), but it is incredibly hard to remove from your eyes! I've had to wait until my morning showers, where the mascara skids off my eyes in massive clumps (it's quite terrifying, actually), just to see my natural eyes again!

But yes, I'm going to try this new Eyeko mascara. It costs £15.00 usually - so it's a bit above my budget. With free delivery and 10% discount, however, it cost me just £13.50. Bearing in mind that L'oreal mascaras range from £9.00-£12.00, I thought that it wouldn't be too much of a jump up into the luxury world of cosmetics. With its squeezy tube, it means that you can make sure that the whole mascara is used before purchasing another one. So in actual fact, this product should be more economical than the majority of other mascaras. I've experienced this many times, where I've convinced myself that there's "more inside the tube!".

Image: Own

My first impressions of the mascara are good. The packaging itself is really pretty, in my opinion. I'm slightly worried about the wand clumping, but I won't be able to tell until I've used it. The 'blue thing' is actually an eye shield, so that when you apply the mascara, it doesn't accidentally catch your eyelid too! I am tempted to use it as a plectrum for my acoustic guitar, though ... oops.

I'm going to begin wearing this tomorrow and see how it goes. I will hopefully be able to get some photographs up of how it looks on my eyes too. I'm sooooo fussy with mascara, but I've got high hopes for Eyeko!