L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Clay Re-Balancing Collection

As soon as I heard about this new range of products I knew that I wanted to try them out. I do suffer with oily roots and dry ends which is exactly what this range is aimed at. Boots were doing these three products which are; the shampoo, conditioner and mask, all for £10. I thought this was a great introductory offer however I'm not sure if Boots are still doing it. I've been using these three products together now for a few weeks so feel I can tell you all about my results using them.

So first things first you apply the mask onto dry roots and massage it in. At first I was a bit like what? But I guess it's to prep and get rid of as much oil from those roots as possible. It states to apply this relatively heavily so I do that all round my head and down my main parting. I then go round and massage it all in, you then have to leave it for 5 minutes. The first thing I noticed, and you will notice if you have used or are going to use this mask, is that it stains your fingers blue! Yes it's such a pain and it doesn't come off if you wash them straight after applying the mask. When I've been using these products it's when I've been in the bath and when I get out, my fingers have returned to normal colour, so I think they just need a good old soak.

You then go on to use the shampoo and conditioner as normal, after washing the mask out of course, and you have to make sure you thoroughly remove all traces of the mask from your hair. The shampoo and conditioner are pretty standard, they smell fresh and do the job. My hair does feel particularly soft after using this three step routine and I have really been enjoying doing so.

Onto the real deal, do it make my hair last longer in between washes? The answer is yes, I do get another day out of my hair when using these products. I can guarantee that I will have to use dry shampoo on the third day but that's no biggy as I would normally have to do that on the second day if I hadn't used these products. The only other downside to getting blue fingers is the slightly longer time period you need to do this. Obviously it's only 5 minutes but if you plan on doing this in the shower in the morning before work then you'll have to get in a bit earlier. I know it's not a huge difference but it's something to consider.

Overall I'm really impressed with these products and love that they do actually work in prolonging my hair washes. I've tried a couple of other products which claim to do this but they haven't worked so I'm glad these do. I would definitely recommend these products if you're hair type is like mine, I know hair types are different and these might not work for everyone but I can say they really do work for me. I'd love to hear your reviews if you've tried these products, let me know in the comments.

Direct Cosmetics Haul

It feels like I haven't done a haul in such a long time this seemed like the perfect time to fit one in and show you guys what I've gathered recently. I was recently contacted by Direct Cosmetics who are an online cosmetics company selling top brands at discounted prices. They sent me these few bits in the post to try out and give a whirl. I was super excited to first be contacted and then to try out the products I had chosen.

Firstly it was no surprise that I picked up L'Oreal Volume Million Lashes, this is one of my all time favourite mascaras which I actually featured in my top 3 mascaras which you can read here. This is such a great mascara and I literally love everything about it. I'm glad to have it back in my make up stash again as it had been missing for quite some time now. Even though I absolutely love this mascara, I still go hunting for other newbies that have come out onto the high street. This one separates, volumises and thickens all in one go, it really is an amazing mascara. Definitely worth trying out if you haven't before.

Next was a new product that I'd never heard of or seen before but recently my hair has been pretty dry on the ends so I've been looking for new products to help that. This conditioning balm from Matrix sounded right up my street. It's a super quick and easy conditioning balm which you can use in the shower as you don't have to stand there for a few minutes waiting for it to work it's magic. It leaves my hair feeling super duper soft. I love that this is a small tube which would be perfecting for travelling.

Next is a Nicole by OPI nail varnish in the shade 'Pink Seriously'. This stood out to me on the Direct Cosmetics website due to the brightness of the pink shade. I thought this would be perfect for Spring/Summer and I believe I don't have anything like this is my current nail varnish collection. I've previously tried these OPI nail varnishes and I love the formula of them. They glide on effortlessly and the lasting power is great. I cannot wait to wear this shade when the weather starts to get a little bit warmer here in the UK.

Finally I picked up this Elizabeth Arden Lift and Firm Night Cream firstly because at the minute I actually don't have a night cream which is slightly naughty. Secondly because I'm a big fan of the Elizabeth Arden skin care range which I've tried a few products from before. This is a decent sized tub and I love the gold packaging. The cream itself is a thick consistency which sinks into the skin beautifully and preps my skin overnight. I love this night cream, I've been using it every night since it arrived at my door step. It works wonders on my dry patches but also works really well with my oily t zone too.

Overall I'm impressed with all of these products I received from Direct Cosmetics and they arrived super fast in the post. I cannot wait to carry on using these products and incorporating them into my skin, beauty and hair care routines. You can buy any of these items mentioned, and many more, over on the Direct Cosmetics website here: http://www.directcosmetics.com/. I hope you enjoyed this haul and are looking forward to the bank holiday weekend :-)

Macadamia Natural Oil Hair Care Travel Set

Another brand that I've always heard a lot about but had never tried myself until I spotted this set in TK Maxx. It's a great travel set full with 6 mini products and at a really affordable price. I'm always on the hunt to try and find products that will help minimize the dead ends on my hair. I thought this set would be a perfect way to try a new brand and also try and tame my hair slightly.

In this set you get 6 mini products which are; Rejuvenating Shampoo, Moisturising Rinse, Nourishing Leave In Cream, Healing Oil Treatment, Repair Masque and a wide tooth comb. This set really includes everything you would need to give your hair a complete pamper. Every product in this set has worked amazingly with my hair. Whenever I used even just one of these product I could tell the different. The shampoo and conditioner worked super well together and really left my hair feeling soft and sleek. The Nourishing leave in cream which was just applied to the ends of my hair left the ends of my hair soft and with added moisture, not leaving them dry like normal. The healing oil is simply amazing too. Again just applied to the ends of my hair but you can really tell the difference. It softens everything out, not leaving my dead ends all spiky and out of control. I must add as well all of these products smell so good!

It's great that all of these products work so well together, you could literally use all 6 of these products in one pamper session and it would leave your hair in heaven. The comb is great for my long hair which gets super duper knotty after washing it, so I'm not constantly tugging at my hair and pulling it out. I am now definitely a fan of Macadamia hair and will be on the look out for more, different products from them to try out!

This is an amazing set and I would definitely recommend it to those who were like me and hadn't tried anything from the brand before. As I've said I purchased this from TK Maxx so it's unlikely that they still have it in stock. Instead I'll leave a link straight to the Macadamia website so you can have a little browse at all their products they have to offer: here. I'd love to know your thoughts on this brand if you've tried it before :-)

The Body Shop Rainforest Balance Conditioner for Oily Hair

I don't think I've actually tried any of The Body Shop's hair care items before this one and I was really excited to try this. I tend to get oily hair pretty quickly and have to wash it every other day in aid to stop this. So I was after a conditioner that may help prolong this process. I spotted this one in The Body Shop and thought I would give it a go to see what results it would give me.

The first thing I noticed about this conditioner is that it has a rather thick consistency but once rubbed in your hands and applied to your hair it turns into a soft cream. It smells really fresh, like a rainforest I guess, which I really like. I love that this range of hair care contains no silicones, parabens or sulphates which is clearly great for your hair. After using this product it leaves my hair feeling relatively smooth and smelling great. I do find however that I have to use quite a lot of product to achieve this. It doesn't come that easily out of the bottle but I find myself really covering my hair in order to get it to cover and treat my hair. I have really knotty hair so like to apply more conditioner in the areas I get more knots to aid pulling my hair when brushing it out after washing. However when using a lot of product I do get the smooth results I am looking for, it just means using more product than I would wish too.

I have found whilst using this that it hasn't actually made much difference to the oiliness of my hair. I am still washing it every other day. I don't know whether this is because there is also a shampoo in the same range and whether using them both would see a change in my hair. I may try purchasing the shampoo to see but at the moment the conditioner isn't doing much for my hair. It's not the cheapest of conditioners priced at £4.50 but I do find that The Body Shop do offer a lot of deals and offers regularly.

Overall the conditioner alone hasn't done much for my hair in particular but I would love to try both the shampoo and conditioner together and see the results from that. You can buy this conditioner from The Body Shop here. I'd love to know if you've tried anything from this hair range :-)

The Body Shop haul

So a couple of weeks back now me and my mum headed to Bury St. Edmunds to meet up with my god mum and do a little bit of shopping. It was a horrible rainy day weather wise but in general I had such a lovely day after not seeing my god mum for many years. Shopping was always going to happen when 3 girls are close to shops but I did restrain myself and basically only purchased these bits from The Body Shop. I don't normally shop in The Body Shop although some of their products are firm old time favourites of mine. But this time there were a couple of new bits that I wanted to get my hands on and try.

First a story.. whilst in The Body Shop I was looking on my phone for a voucher code as I know they normally have one on their, which they did for 40% off which was amazing. So I went to the till with my items and discount, the lady said she wasn't sure if discount would come off the flawless finish set due to it already being on offer but she would try. In the end she said the total was around £7... I was like really? you're joking? And she said no that's the only way she could see to take it off. Sooooo yeah I got all the above for £7 which is absolutely crazy but great for me I guess!

So  anyway firstly I picked up the set called 'Flawless finish collection' which includes their Instablur primer and bb cream. I got this in the shade 02 and the colour actually adapts to the colour of your skin tone. I'd seen a few people talk about both of these products (mainly gabby from velvetgh0st) and I was persuaded. I was actually in need of a new primer so this was a great way to get a new one and try both new products out together. As these came in a pack together they were slightly cheaper and came out at £20 for both but due to my discount I obviously got them cheaper.

Next I got the Rainforest Balance conditioner for oily hair. I already have a shampoo for oily hair so wanted to also grab a conditioner and see how the two worked together (although from different brands). This conditioner doesn't include anything nasty and is just aimed to keep your hair free from oil for longer. My hair can get quite oily at the roots quite quickly so any products that help keep the oil at bay are a winner for me. So I'm excited to try this to see if it helps at all. I believe this retails for around £4.50 normally.

Finally I picked up a cute travel Seaweed Clarifying toner. This is for combination/oily skin which is what I have and I actually found this in the sale section and only for 75p!! Bargain, so I obviously couldn't leave it, I actually wish I had picked up more and saved them for holidays etc. This simply aims to help remove dirt, impurities and excess oil from your face. It's got a lovely fresh scent to it which is really nice when applying and so far I've really been enjoying using it.

And that wraps it up, everything I purchased from The Body Shop. They have some amazing products in store at the moment which are definitely worth checking out! And download a voucher code app onto your phone as I'm pretty sure they always have some kind of offer on which is brilliant for us beauty shoppers. I hope you enjoyed this haul and I'd love to know if you've tried any of the products I purchased :-)