Hair like Silk - Neal and Wolf Super Shine Spray Review

I feel as if I'm constantly apologising to you guys at the moment for my absence of posts, but I do promise, that once my laptop is up and running as normal, I WILL be back to posting on a regular basis, and spamming your feeds with endless wittiness (just kiddin'. Orrrrrrr, am I?) Anyway, tonight's post is a quick one too, my iPad battery is about to run out, and the Winchesters are on my TV.

Gloss, elegance and silk are the three words which come to mind when I think of this product. I had to share it with you, just because I'm falling more and more in love with this brand...

Neal and wolf are a brand which seems to be quickly gaining in popularity, and their prices sit in the mid-range of hair products, coming at around £10 a product (roughly, though... Don't hold me to it!) Their products are easy to buy, given they are pretty much a capsule collection, having just the products you REALLY need, no hair dust or any of that silly stuff.

Like the heat protection spray, which is my holy grail for protection, the shine spray is another holy grail of mine, and in all honesty, does boast some similarities to the heat protection, like the way it feels weightless on the hair, and is dispensed as a fine mist, which covers all your hair lightly and evenly. It also has that incredible scent which the heat spray has, which can only be described as luxurious. Having caramel blonde coloured hair, I do occasionally need an extra bit of help with shine, but a lot of products don't actually do anything (I'm looking at you, Oribe, I feel like I want my £30+ back!) this, does make your locks glossier, without looking unnatural and helps to tame frizz and flyaways. This can be used in numerous ways too, which aren't listed on the bottle, including, spraying it on your hands and using to moisturise the ends, mixing in with shampoo, and even mixing in with curl cream to keep curls defined but glossy.

So my lovely followers, I hope you have a fantastic weekend, I'm home alone so I'm unsure just how lazy I want to be. People keep asking me to go out, or offering to come round to mine, but isn't it just SO much more fun watching cheesy telly, and wearing either silly onesies or nothing at all? (Sorry for that bad picture, maybe it's time to go?...)

Birthday Gifts and Lots of Pretty Things

There's quite a few pictures in this post, for no other reason than, I got, well, a little camera happy! I thought I'd share with you my birthday gifts, a lot of which were from me, to me. Any excuse!

Oh, and just to clarify, before anyone goes off on one... I'm not bragging in anyway. Some of these are gifts, and some of them I bought for myself. I just love shopping...

One of my favourite jewellery pieces ever, comes from this beautiful, elegant, gold open heart ring by  the Irish jewellery designer, Chupi. My Nan and Grandad bought me this so it means more than it would have if I'd bought it for myself.


The beautiful Chupi ring in action, and with a vintage, ornate rose ring my Aunty got for me. I won't wear these together all the time - just thought I'd save a picture and put them together (I'm so helpful, right?!)

My Aunty bought me this beautiful coffee table book which is currently on display on my shelf, its Audrey Hepburn in Hats, and showcases a beautiful collection of images like the one above. (Isn't she just the epitome of elegance?)

The DVD collection is actually a gift to myself. I've already worked my way through all of these, and love them all so much. I'm currently becoming very much addicted to Audrey, and if you follow me on Instagram, you'll probably already have been bombarded by Audrey related pictures already...

I mentioned in my previous wishlist post I'd like to read The Notebook and my beautiful Aunty bought it for me, alongside Safe Haven, which I haven't seen the movie of yet, so I'll be holding off until I've read the book.

It's not as excessive as it seems- I promise! A lot of these are freebies which I got with various orders, but I decided, after buying my first Chanel polish that I'm very much in love with them and need more. I bought Frenzy in Southport on my actual birthday, and Blue Satin when Debenhams had a sneaky 10% off. I bought my MAC lipsticks at the same time (because of course I needed more...) And as a self-confessed Dior addict, I decided to pick up this gorgeous nude lip colour because I had £10 in points on my Beautyclub card.

They're beautiful, right?
Mac's Pure Zen and Plumful, and Dior Incognito.

(Left to right: Dior Incognito, MAC Pure Zen and Plumful)

Another treat for myself thanks to sales. This beauty was 1/3 off in Argos, and only cost me £20! It comes with a heat proof mat, full glove, and a carry bag to store it all in, not to mention how brilliant it is. I'll be reviewing this soon.

I can't say I usually shop in The Body Shop, but when I heard about the beautifying oils which had come out, I decided to go and pick one up, I use it mainly for my cuticles every evening, but it's a bugger to apply from this bottle! I also picked up a foot cream with the "Buy one get one half price" offer... GLAM.

My "to-read" list is getting ridiculous, but I still had a little stroll into Waterstones and came out with these...

And I had to add this little fella to the end of this post. If you don't follow me on Facebook, or Twitter, you won't know that I'm planning on bringing some nail-art tutorials onto my little corner of the web, so keep an eye out, and no doubt you'll find out how to make this little guy yourself.

And another reminder, my giveaway closes tomorrow, so don't forget to enter! I can't wait to draw the winner, and I'll be letting you know via Twitter, and email!

Hope you've enjoyed this post, and I promise I'll be back with more substantial posts soon, I've been a little bit of a let-down during the summer months.

Favourite Things #4

I'm trying my absolute best to not make a comment about how quick the past month seems to have gone, but in the past sentence I have done nothing but say just how quick the past month has gone. So... I should probably get onto my favourites...

Beauty Favourites-
There's a lot of products reappearing this month, so it should be quite a quick one today, which is quite handy as I'm currently feeling very hungry and in the need of food!

Neal and Wolf Super Shine Spray- As with my other holy grail hair product, the Neal and Wolf Guard heat protectant, I feel sucked in to buy something everytime I go to my hair salon. Laura, my hairdresser used this on my straight hair, and I've never seen it look so glossy and healthy, as it did with this product. Like all of their products, the scent is incredible, the product sprays in an even mist, and doesn't leave hair feeling greasy or heavy. I'll be reviewing this very soon, as I think I've finally found my favourite shine spray of all time! (Insert cheesy Cheshire cat grin here.)

Miss Dior Eau De Parfum- The most beautiful, feminine, elegant and luxurious scent (and bottle- don't lie to yourself, it makes a difference!) I've ever owned. I was bought this last year, and it's definitely one of my favourites in my collection. Thanks to it having been my birthday, I've reached for this one the most, because it makes me feel absolutely amazing.

Xen-Tan Moroccan Tan- One from the last months favourites post too, I'm still loving this tan, and will definitely be applying it later tonight so I can wake up looking a little less deathly than Edward Scissorhands.

Revlon Lip Butter in Wild Watermelon- As with all Revlon lip butters, it has an amazing, soft and buildable texture, with a lovely natural/glossy finish to it. Wild Watermelon is a gorgeous cherry-red colour, and I like to wear it blotted out to look more like a stain in the summer months when our makeup bags get a summer overhaul.

MAC Quad with Nylon, Naked Lunch, All That Glitters and Mystery- A quad I made for myself, and the colours all go together so beautifully, can look natural or dramatic, and are ideal for day/night. I genuinely couldn't pick a favourite shade from this palette as all four are very, very beautiful!

Dior Iconic Overcurl Mascara- I'm sure you're all sick of hearing me waffle on about this, so I'll link in the original review for anyone who hasn't seen it just yet.

Essie Nail Polish (Ballet Slippers)- My nails have been in great condition recently, so I've been using my first ever, and all-time favourite polish, more than normal. It's so versatile thanks to how buildable/sheer it is, and like all Essie polishes, has that amazing thick, curved brush which makes application a dream.






Origins GinZing Moisturiser- Another one well-raved about by myself, and I've just repurchased (first moisturiser I've ever repurchased-wahoo!) so I'm truly loving it this month. Original review is here.

Avene Thermal Water Spray- And another with it's own review already... I promise this is a coincidence. This seems like my laziest favourites post yet.

Non-Beauty Favourites 

Chupi "My heart is open" Ring- Ignore my pale hands in the picture above, I'm scrubbing all of my fake tan off to start with a clean canvas, so to speak. My Nan and Grandad bought me this ring for my birthday, and I've never took such care of a piece of jewellery in my life. We're currently inseparable...

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Complete Collection- Season 4 is my favourite, and I've been getting through episodes of this like a crazy person. And confession time... My crush on Spike is starting again. Cor, I'm so embarrassing...

Vampire Diaries Books- In my impatient state of waiting for the fifth season of TVD I've been reading the novels on my Kindle for iPad. They're actually quite different to the TV show, which is definitely my preferred out of the two, but these are quite a good easy read for the summer-time, and perfect books for reading whilst on the go.

Hope you've enjoyed this post! And remember you don't have long left to enter my giveaway, to win Soap and Glory, Bumble and Bumble, Millie's Lashes and Maybelline Baby Lips goodies!

Perfume for your Hair?! - Dior J'Adore Hair Perfume Review

Listed on Escentual's website as a "Hair mist" it's easy to say that this is one of the most peculiar things I've ever owned - a hair perfume! It's easy to say I'm quite the sucker for things that are different, I love owning things no one else has (such a drama queen, aren't I?!) so when I read about this in a magazine, and with me being a self-confessed Dior addict, I knew I had to get my hands on one.

This is a 30ml bottle and is priced at £26.35 (at time of posting) on Escentual here in the UK. So, in my opinion is quite good value for money, given that Dior perfumes are a lot higher on the price scale...

The product itself is cased in a perfume shaped bottle, and comes out in a perfectly fine mist, so your hair doesn't get drenched with product, nor does it distribute unevenly in those dreadful little spits that hair sprays often do. I use about three sprays, for the sides and back of my hair, which tends to last from when applied in a morning, to when I scrape my hair up into my Invisibobble at night-time. But this product isn't only for making your hair smell like heaven, it is enriched with Ylang-Ylang oils, providing shine and nourishment to your locks.

The scent, is the same as the J'Adore perfumes, and is a beautiful floral, and feminine scent, with top notes of Ylang-Ylang, heart notes of Damask Rose, and base notes of Sambac Jasmine.

The packaging of this is completely beautiful, elegant, and looks nothing short of amazing lined up with my Miss Dior, Jo Malone and Diptyque on my dressing table. As with most Dior products, it has the little Christian Dior logo etched into the top of the bottle, a nice little touch don't you think?

On the less glamorous side, I feel like my hair smells amazing after washing anyway, so I wouldn't dream of unnecessarily product, so this does only see use when my hair is already dirty. While I like using quite natural dry shampoos, I find they don't disguise any (cue, upcoming TMI) unpleasant scents, so when the scalp is getting oilier, and the ends drier, this comes in more than handy for freshening up your "I really should have washed it last night" hair...

Overall, I love this product, if it runs out I'll definitely repurchase, as luxurious as it is, it really does perk me up, and make me feel so special when I go out. And much unlike the Velvotan Self Tan for the back applicator I reviewed last week, this is a novelty which works, and I thoroughly recommend to anyone who, like me, feels the urge to squirt their perfume all over their hair, too.

More Crownbrush Love - Duo fiber Face Brushes Review

As mentioned in one of my previous posts, I was lucky enough to win the beautiful duo-fiber face collection of brushes from my faves, Crownbrush UK. As always, they came with immaculate packaging, and super-speedy delivery just a couple days after I had passed my address onto them. I used three of these brushes on my birthday, and everyone commented on how lovely my skin looked, as well as the complete adoration of my flawless face make-up myself. (That sounded completely big-headed, and it was the only way to get my point across, I apologise, but it was totally unintentional!)

The brushes from left to right are; Bronzer C442, Face Powder C406, Liquid Foundation C404, Blush C436.


Despite that this is stated as a bronzer brush, I found this brush worked best at buffing in my foundation. With it being my birthday, and having a little more time to spend on make-up, I applied two shades Laura Mercier's silk creme, to lightly contour, and my foundation was left twice as flawless as it usually would be with a Real Techniques Buffing brush, or my triple-the-price Urban Decay Optical Blurring brush.

I have used this brush for applying both cream blush products, and cream highlighters, and have loved the finish created with both. It is a similar size to the liquid foundation brush, but thanks to the shorter length of the bristles, this brush is a little more dense, and I find moves the product around less, which is ideal for getting a more precise application either on the apples of the cheeks, or the tops of cheekbones, depending on what it's used for. I hadn't realised that I already had the liquid foundation brush, and have already reviewed it in my previous Crownbrush post (here) but I've chosen to use this brush for applying my radiance primers, as I found the application with a brush makes the product work into my skin easier, and I can use less product than I would normally.




This face powder brush probably hasn't seen as much action as the others, as I tend to favor a natural finish to matte. But whilst we had the horribly sticky and warm weather, I applied my powder with this, and applied a little MAC Fix+ afterwards, and I have to say, it left a much nicer finish than without the powder. My makeup stayed put, even after a long country walk and a few wine and sodas.

I'm completely thrilled with these brushes, and once again Crownbrush has knocked every other brush company off my radar thanks to their incredible customer service, speedy delivery and more than perfect professional quality brushes.

If there was an angel and devil sitting on each shoulder, even the angel would be telling you to treat yourself on the Crownbrush site. I promise you won't be disappointed, go, go, go! I currently have a 10% code off for all my followers too, which is FINJA13, and my link in the sidebar will take you straight to their site.

Thanks so much Crownbrush. You have once again, completely revolutionised my make-up routine!!