Herbal Essences 'Hello Hydration' Hair Mask // Review

You may or may not have seen the post I wrote about some hair masks I made myself and used on my hair - and while I enjoyed doing this, I do sometimes need a quick fix for my hair. Due to bleaching it quite recently and using a lot of "purple shampoo" (I'll review the one I use soon!), my hair has been quite dry lately. So while I was in ASDA I picked up the Hello Hydration hair mask by Herbal Essences.

It comes in a blue tub, and it smells of coconut which happens to be one of my favourite scents. The 200ml tub lasted me about 3 uses - which I thought was quite good due to my hair being pretty long; it reaches to my waist. The prices varies, but it can usually be found on offer and sometimes they have it in Poundland.

I slathered it all over my hair after shampooing it, and combed out all the knots. I left it on my hair for around ten minutes before rinsing it out - and the difference was incredible. The softness lasted about 2-3 days, which again I thought was pretty good, and of course my hair smelt divine.

A tip somebody told me yesterday was that hair masks work even better if you but a shower cap or plastic bag over your hair while you have the mask on, and blast it with the hair dryer. It opens your hair follicles and helps to spread the product. I'll definitely be giving that a try!

I'd definitely recommend this as a hair mask, although it can be on the pricey side I do think it works really well.

My Everyday Make Up!

I'm not claiming to be amazing at make-up, because I'm actually quite poo at make-up; but I thought it might be interesting to put a post together about my every day make-up and what I reach for on a daily basis!

BASE // I have very dry skin but I also get a lot of spots, so finding make-up that suits my skin can be a bit of a nightmare at times - plus I'm ridiculously pale. To start off with I apply Collection 2000's (or just Collection now??) Lasting Perfection Concealer which literally everyone seems to us, to any blemishes I have as well as under my eyes and along my brow bone. I tend to just blend this with my finger. I recently went to Boots with my mum and had my skin tested by the machine at the No7 counter, which matched me to the palest of their foundation colours. I explained that I wanted quite a full coverage so the woman suggested their Beautifully Matte foundation which works pretty well for me! I apply this with a foundation brush which you can see in the photo below; I don't know what the brand is and I got the set of brushes pretty cheap off Ebay - but they work fine for me. If I know I'm going to need my make-up to last, I use MUA's basic primer underneath it all, and my trusty Rimmel Stay Matter powder in Transparent over the top - *I haven't used them in this look though*

FACE // Once my base is on, I contour gently using Mac's Bronzing Powder in Matte Bronze on my cheeks, forehead and chin; as I'm pale I try not to use a lot as it can look quite muddy. Following this I use a Collection blusher in the shade 02 - Bashful, on the apples of my cheeks. This is really pigmented so a little goes a looooong way. After my blusher is blended in I take Mac's Mineralise Skin Finish Natural in Soft & Gentle as highlighter - along my cheekbones, brow bones, down my nose and on my Cupid's bow.

EYES // Next I move onto eyes; I have my eyebrows waxed and tinted, so most of the time I don't need to do much to them. When they look a little sparse as they did today, I take a little bit of Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in Blonde(21) on an angled brush and run it through. Over my lids I used the shades Naked and Sidecar from the Urban Decay Naked Palette and a tiny bit of eyeliner which is a freebie I got from 17 @ Boots - and I completely forgot to photograph it, plus the name has rubbed off and I can't find it on the Boots website. SORRY :-( On my lashes I used Benefit's They're Real Mascara which I'm actually not a fan of - it does barely anything for me.

LIPS // I completely forgot to include my lipstick in the photos below - but it's Rose Rush by Calvin Klein. I love the CK lipsticks as they're really pigmented and last ages on me.

Sorry for the awful quality of the pictures; my camera has disappeared so I'm stuck with my iPhone. Hope you enjoyed this post! 

My Essie Nail Varnish Collection

Essie is definitely my favourite brand of nail varnish, and believe me I've tried a lot. I find that most of their colours only need one shade and they dry really quickly which is always a bonus for me, being so impatient. I've compiled a list and mini-review of all my Essie polishes; sorry for the awful-quality pictures though...

L-R: Sugar Daddy, Cascade Cool, Off The Shoulder, Tour De Finance

Sugar Daddy - If I'm honest, and I hate to start out negatively, this is one I actually don't like. On me it comes out completely sheer, so I don't really see the point, although it might just be my nails. It would probably be nice with a French polish or maybe just to make your nails look a little healthier if you aren't allowed to wear nail varnish for school/work.

Cascade Cool - I love this colour, especially for Spring. It's definitely a cool-toned blue-based pink, and very Barbie-esque. Perfect for girly girls. As with all the rest of the Essie polishes I own (other than the above), the consistency and formula is gorgeous.

Off The Shoulder - This is almost a coral pink, but more pinky than orange, but it looks lovely on the nails and it's not too bright. I won't mention the formula/drying time/consistency/longevity in all of these, but as with the rest it's perfect for me, and lasts about 5-6 days without too much chipping.

Tour De Finance - Another of my favourites, this is a deeper blue-toned pink with shimmer in it, and it's sooooo bright making it perfect for Summer. I literally only need one coat of this. Love it.

L-R All Tied Up, Geranium, Capri, Orange It's Obvious, Fear & Desire

All Tied Up - I'm beginning to think I should have put this with the pinks up there... This shade is a dark-ish nude pink with gold shimmer which transfers onto the nail beautifully. I love this colour for Spring and the shimmer reflects the sunlight so nicely.

Geranium - This is a muted coral colour which looks really nice and soft - if that's an adequate way of describing a colour.Just gorgeous.

Capri - Another coral, but this is very red-toned and stands out when on your nails. Definitely a Summer to Autumn transitional shade.

Orange It's Obvious - This is brightest, most obnoxious ORANGE shade I've ever come across; that's literally the only way to describe it, it's pure orange and looks amazing on the nails against any skin tone.

Fear & Desire - This is a slightly lighter version of the above, but still very orange. I love this one.

L-R/Top to Bottom: Lilacism, Avenue Maintain, Bikini So Teeny, Mojito Madness

Lilacism - This is a very pale blue-toned lilac, which is so opaque I only need one shade. Being a pastel colour it's perfect for Spring into Summer. Definitely a fave of mine.

Avenue Maintain - This is a lot brighter than the picture shows, it's almost a cobalt blue but not quite as dark, though it really stands out on the nails. Sadly mine has gone very gloopy because I took it abroad with last year and left it in the sun. Gross. But when it was at it's full strength it was amazing.

Bikini So Teeny - I adore this shade; a baby blue with almost lilac undertones and silver shimmer that looks amazing on the nails especially against olive-toned skin.

Mojito Madness - I'm not normally one for green nails because green reminds me of things like snot and mould (sorry), but I love this shade. Again it's quite soft and muted, green without being TOO green.

Sssssexy (Repstyle Collection)

Sssssexy - This shade was part of their Repstyle Collection that comes with a magnetic cover to create snake-like patterns on the nail (I threw that away), but the colour itself is a lovely. A deep maroon with a silver sheen rather than shimmer, it's perfect for Autumn/Winter and looks really classy.

So there you have my Essie collection, although there's so many more I'm lusting after. A quick disclaimer, I didn't pay full price for all over these; most were bought off Fragrance Direct, who are definitely worth checking out (this isn't sponsored). Again I apologise for the poor quality of photos, oops.

Can't get enough!