Olay Regenerist Face Brush Review

This blog post has taken a long time to come to life. That is because it is about skincare and I wanted to give it a good go before I decided what I though about it. If you've ever heard of the clarisonic, then you'll know what I'm talking about when I talk about facial cleansing brushes. This one is practically a dupe for the clarisonic, although it doesn't work quite the same. The facial brush I am reviewing today is the Olay Regenerist Face Brush. It is also called the Olay ProX Brush I think.

This is what it looks like:

I'm also going to chuck in a before and after. These photos are about 6 months apart, maybe a bit longer.

This is my before. I had quite bad acne and heaps of scarring. My cheeks were also quite red because of this.

Here is my after. My acne has improved dramatically, and my scarring has shrunken. My skin isn't really red anymore either. I hardly get and proper pimples anymore, except when its that time of the month.

This brush has two speed settings, and an on/off button. It's super simple to use. It also says it's water resistant only, but mine lives in the shower and is still fine. Although in saying that, I don't keep it submerged in water. I have dropped it in the shower before and the battery compartment came flying out and I thought I'd ruined the batteries, but all as well.

In the box, you get the actual hand held device, one brush head and a sample of an Olay face wash from the same range. I didn't use the sample given, but that's mainly due to the fact I already have like 100 face washes on the go. The brush head should be changed out every 3 months. They are sold separately in two packs.

This entire system only cost like $35, I think. In my opinion this is  a much nicer price to pay than the $200+ that the clarisonic is. I do still want to buy the clarisonic, but this is definitely a much more affordable stepping stone for me.

I have found this brush to be a godsend. My skin has never been so clean and clear before, and I do largely amount it to this. I recommend you go grab one of these cleansing brushes, whether it's this one or any other brand.

You can buy these from Farmers and the Warehouse.

I hope this was helpful, and if you've used anything similar I'd love to hear your experiences!

Shannen xx

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _shannenlorraine

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Blog: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz

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How I Clean My Makeup Brushes

Before I get started, there is about a 75% chance that I'm also going to film a video of how I clean my makeup brushes. I'm not entirely sure how well I explain in this post, so it might be easier explained if I film it too. Let me know what you think in the comments below!

So, first up, you are going to need olive oil, washing up liquid, a plate and all your brushes that you are cleaning. The olive oil is to keep your brushes soft, the washing up liquid is to disinfect and clean, and the plate is to mix it all together.

Grab your first brush and swirl it around for about 30 seconds on the plate, mixing the oil and washing up liquid together. You should see the product coming off the brush. Eventually the liquid on the plate will turn an ugly brown colour. As I was also cleaning a lip brush and eyeliner brush in this lot, mine went reddish. Red from the lipstick, and slightly darker because of the black from the eyeliner. 

Repeat this till all the brushes are saturated in oil and washing up liquid. Once you have done this, plate the plate in the sink, lined up so when the tap is turned on, the water hits the middle of the plate.  With warm water running, you're basically going to copy the same process above, except with water. Swirl the brushes around the plate until the water runs clear. This can take a while with some brushes, like my bronzer brushes I was swirling for a few minutes. 

Again, repeat this until all the brushes are done. I always squeeze any excess water out of the brushes and then lay them on the sides, so the bristles are hanging in the sink. Mainly because they drain into the sink, but also this keeps the handles safe from getting too wet and being destroyed.

I also have a beauty blender to clean when i do all my other brushes, so I'm going to quickly explain how I do this.

Firstly, I soak my beauty blender. Once fully soaked in warm water, I rub a bar of soap all over it, massaging the soap in and lathering it up. I then rinse it out and repeat. I do this about 3 or four times, making sure I lather up heaps and rub it in and around and rinse thoroughly. 

I leave them out drying overnight, so always do this the night before you want to use them.

I hope this helps, and I explained it clearly. Don't be afraid to leave any questions or comments!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCjNKymrFCLKvcEZ4rqupZQw

Instagram: _kaleidoscopecolours

Twitter: _kaleidocolours

Blog: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kaleidocoloursx

For business inquiries: xkaleidoscopecolours@gmail.com 

Top Buys of 2014

2014 was full of shopping and new things for me, so I am bringing to you a post about my top 3 makeup, skincare, hair care and fashion buys. I'll include links where I can. If you've tried any of these, let me know how you liked them in the comments below (:

Top 3 Makeup Purchases:

1. MAC Mineralise Foundation in NW15

This foundation is amazing. It's light, it's the perfect amount of coverage and it's he perfect I between matte and dewy.  I've found this foundation has been the best for my skin. I have somewhat sensitive skin, as in I have to be careful what I put on it as I can break out really easily and this foundation has kept my skin smooth and somewhat blemish free. I highly recommend it if you like a light coverage. It is kind of pricey, especially if you live in New Zealand, but I think it's worth it.

2. ELF Precision Liquid Eyeliner in Black 

This eyeliner is my holy grail of all liquid eyeliners I have tried. I have hooded eyes, so I need quite thin lines when I do my eyeliner. This brush on this eyeliner is so thin, and super precise. I can get right into my lash line with this eyeliner and create the smoothest lines. It's also really easy to create winged eyeliner with as the brush is flexible. ELF is an amazing brand that is super cheap but super high quality. I recommend this if you have hooded eyes, like myself, or just like thin, precise eyeliner. 

3. QVS Beauty Blender dupe

If you can't afford the true Beauty Blender, I recommend grabbing this from Farmers or a pharmacy that stocks QVS. Ever since I bought my first beauty blender type sponge, I've found a huge improvement in the appearance of my makeup, as well as an improvement in time it takes to do my makeup. I've tried 3 different types. The first was the traditional egg shape, I'm unsure what brand it was but I got it from a cosmetics shop in Lower Hutt. The second one was a slightly different shape but still wide and flat at the bottom and pointed at e top. This was a Manicare one. The one I've loved the most is my QVS one.  It's the softest sponge, it's easy to clean and it really expands when you dampen it.  I'll have a blog post coming up in the next few weeks with a full review on all three. 

Top 3 Skincare Purchases

1. Herbalism by LUSH

If you have issues with acne or any kind of blemish then you really need to pick this up. In the few short weeks I've been using it, I've noticed a huge improvement in the appearance of my skin. It's smoothed out my skin and I also get less pimples. Here's a little bit of TMI but I also used it on my back as I could get a bit acne-y there too, and it's also helped clear that right up too. The small tub it comes in is going to last me ages. I've only had it about 2-3 weeks and I've only just dented the top. And that's with doing my face and back. 

2. Bio Oil

All of these skincare things are going to be about acne because that's been my biggest skin issue. But this covers anyone with scars, stretch marks and such. Because of my acne, I have a lot of scarring left over. I apply this as a moisturiser as well, because you can use it like that. So   put this on every morning before I apply my makeup and at night after my shower. My skin is a lot less bumpy than it used to be so this helps when I put makeup on. It also helps with my self esteem too because it's clearing up, and clearing up fast. 

3. Powerhouse Tattoo Balm

Not only is this amazing for healing tattoos but you can also put it on itchy bites and pimples. It contains lavender so it's super soothing. I use it mostly as a spot treatment and I notice an improvement by morning. It smells great too.

Top 3 Haircare Purchases

1. Coconut Oil

This has been my saviour. If you haven't read the post on how I went from red to blonde, you can read it here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/ch-ch-changes.html. The coconut oil has restored my hair from dry and snapping to soft and manageable. I also have a post on how I do my coconut oil treatment. You can read this here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/diy-coconut-oil-hair-treatment.html. It's a somewhat cheap treatment for damaged and dry hair.

2. Keratin Treatment

Now I've only just got this 2 weeks ago, but I've already noticed a HUGE change. My hair doesn't knot up like crazy anymore, I can just run my fingers through my hair every time. It's not frizzy anymore. I straightened it once this week and it's stayed straight. I'm in love with this stuff. And the best part, it's only $4 from Kmart. I'm going to do a more in depth review ins couple of weeks. 

3. Organic Care Shampoo and Conditioner

I'm going to put the condition of my hair down to all three of these products. But the organic care  brand is amazing. It's definitely contributing to the lightness of my hair. As it contains no yuck stuff, my hair is easy to manage. They smell amazing. They aren't ridiculously expensive like most paraben free products and they don't test on animals. They have three types of shampoo and conditioner. Colour shield, moisture and an everyday one. They also have two different ones for kids too. Here's a review on the Colour Shield range: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/organic-care-colour-shield-shampoo.html

Top 3 Fashion Purchases

1. Kardashion Kollection Bag

Since buying this handbag in March, I've not used any other. I can fit all my stuff in there easy as. Everyday I carry a book, a couple of different perfumes, tons of lipsticks and even more rubbish. There's always more room for stuff too. They are great quality bags that come in all shapes and sizes as well as different prints.

2. Daisy Vans 

For my birthday this year, Blake got me a pair of high top vans in a daisy print. They are literally the most comfortable shoes I own. Standing all day on a concrete floor kills my feet, but I can wear these all day without feeling the wrath of concrete. Vans in general are the most comfortable shoes. Their soles are super thick and bouncy so it's great to work all day in them.

3. High Waisted Ankle Biters

These jeans are amazing. Ankle biters are great for me as I am very short, so the length is perfect. And then there is the high waisted part. They have three buttons and a zip, so they hold everything in perfectly while still being super comfortable. I've had these in both the black and blue they come in, as well as the short lived bleach, although they weren't as nice as the other two.

Thanks for a great year and here's to a new one !

Shannen xx

Links that I could find: 

http://www.maccosmetics.com/product/shaded/158/24923/Products/Face/Foundation/Mineralize-Moisture-SPF15-Foundation/index.tmpl

http://www.eyeslipsface.com/studio/eyes/eyeliner/precision_liquid_eyeliner

http://www.qualityvaluestyle.com/products/cosmetic-nail/sponges-puffs#deluxe-egg-sponge

https://www.lushnz.com/shop/product/product/path/1021_159/id/94/face-cleansers-herbalism-cleanser

http://www.tattoos.co.nz/store,shop,2,1,TBalm.html

Organic Care Colour Shield Shampoo & Conditioner Review

Any dyed red-heads or brunettes out there? Struggling to find a shampoo that doesn't fade your colour? Well look no further. I have found the best shampoo and conditioner for you!

You would've been told that shampoos that are sulfate free are best for your hair because that's what strips colour out. You also would have realised how hard that is, even when you've looked at shampoos that say they are for 'colour-treated' hair. If there are any sulfates listed at the top of the ingredients list, then put that bottle down. Sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate,  and ammonium lauryl or laureth sulfate should either be at the very bottom of the ingredients list, or completely absent. If they are at the top then that shampoo will fade your colour faster than you can say 'sassy'.

If you are like me and don't like spending heaps of money on salon brand shampoos and conditioners that are "made" for colour treated hair, and supposedly don't fade the colour, then you need to go into a supermarket and buy Organic Care's Colour Shield. It is a more pricier super market brand, but it's still a lot cheaper than what you will buy at the salon. When I bought it, it was about $5 for the shampoo, then $5 again for the conditioner. Normally I go for the 2 for $5 deals because I'm quite cheap. But then I decided to go red and I know that it is a really hard colour to up keep, especially when you don't have the proper products for it.

After the first wash, I noticed no difference from the colour it was before, and when I used it for the first time, it was the first time I had washed my hair since dying it red. I thought that if it was going to fade my hair, it would've done most damage then.

Left: first wash, Middle: second wash, Right: third wash. 

I give this product 4.5 out of 5 stars. Not completely 5 stars because I'm not completely sold on the scent. It's nice but not amazing. 

Shannen xx

Photo of the shampoo taken from Google Images. 

Photos of myself taken on my iPhone and edited on the fotor app for smartphones. 

How to repair very damaged hair

If you guys read my post about my big hair change then you might be wondering why my hair isn't damaged at all. If you haven't, you can read it here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/09/ch-ch-changes.html . Or if any of you have damaged hair from heat or colouring it then hopefully this post can help you.

Whenever I colour or bleach my hair, I always use the little conditioner it comes with. In my opinion, the Napro Pallette one is the best because it contains 7 different oils that are good for restoring the strength and shine to your hair. An added bonus is that it smells amazing because of the apricot oils it contains. I've had a few of these lying around recently, so every second or third day I've put these in my hair for about 5 minutes. 

Every other day that  I don't use those, I use a hair mask. I have been using the Schwarzkopf Kertain one for very damaged hair. I leave this on for about 5 minutes, even though the instructions say to only leave it on for about a minute. 

About once every two weeks, I use my purple shampoo. Now this is for a number of reasons. Mainly it's to tone my hair and remove any yellowness from my hair. But Fudge's Violet Toning Shampoo also helps to cleanse, restore strength and moisture as well as shine to your hair, so it does a number of things in order to restore it to it's healthier state. I leave this on generally for my whole shower as I like my hair very ashy, bordering on silver.

I always rinse out conditioners with cold water. It seals the cuticle and keeps the moisture in. You will also end up with shinier locks once your hair is dry!

When I get out the shower, if I've wet my hair, I will apply a few drops of macadamia oil to my hair. I'll also apply a pump of anti-frizz serum to my hair, because when my hair is dry it gets really frizzy at the ends. Sometime, if I don't use the anti-frizz serum, I'll spray some of this Schwarskopf spray into my hair. It's from the same line as the hair mask. I normally shower at night so my hair has all night to soak in the beautiful smelling oils and moisture from the products I use.

Something to keep in mind if your hair is damaged is to wash it up to 2 times a week. If you are normally a 'wash my hair everyday' type of person, you can train your hair into only needing to be washed once or twice. I used to wash my hair every second day, but even that is bad so I trained my hair into only needing to be washed once a week. I've saved heaps of money doing this because I don't go through shampoo and conditioner as fast. After one to two days after washing my hair I sometimes use dry shampoo. My favourite brand is Batiste and you can get this from Farmers.

Another thing to avoid when you have damaged hair is heat tools. I have a post on one way to do no heat curls, with more coming. But the simplest way to do it is to put your hair into braids and sleep on it. When you wake up you'll have beachy waves. If you must use heat tools, always use a heat protectant. Once i've styled my hair, I use Lush's Shine So Bright split end balm. It helps seal the split ends so they don't travel further up your hair. Split ends take about 3-4 months to form so this is when you should aim to have your trims, not every 4-6 weeks. Unless you aren't bothered about your hair growing that is. 

Once you've got those split ends though, the best thing to do is just cut them off before it gets worse, which is what I did. I'm quite lucky and have hair that grows fast though, so it won't be long before my hair is back to the length it was before I got a cute bob.

I hope this helps with your damaged hair problems. If you have any questions or feedback, hit me up and I'll get back to you!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

DIY: Vitamin C Hair Stripper Treatment Thing?

Remember when I had red hair? Remember how I stripped it? Remember how I tried to lighten it a little bit more and it went mauve? This is how I lifted the ugly mauve colour to bleach it platinum.

After I lightened it (FAIL), I did some searching on Pinterest. I didn't want to bleach it straight away in case my hair went even darker. I found a few different methods that said they could lighten a few shades. I found one that seems really promising so I youtubed tutorials and reviews and whatnot. The vitamin c method seemed to be the best bet.

The vitamin c method had a few different variances on the ingredients aside from the vitamin c. You could use clarifying shampoo, baby shampoo or dish soap. I used clarifying shampoo because I'd had a good experience with it when I was trying to get green out of my hair.

So once you've got those 2 ingredients, what you do is, get a bunch of vitamin c pills and smash them up into a powder. Again the recipes varied. Some only used a couple while others used a whole jar. I suppose it depends on how much hair you have. I used 10 pills. I also got Blake to smash up the pills for me because they were tough little buggers. Once you've smashed all the pills ups, mix it with your choice of lather. Like I said, I used clarifying shampoo. You want to use enough to make a paste with the powder. Then once its all mixed, you smoosh it into your hair, covering everywhere that needs to be covered. Once its all lathered in, chuck a shower cap on and leave in for an hour. Or longer if you want, that also varied on the instructions. After an hour, I got in the shower and rinsed it out with my clarifying shampoo. 

The outcome of this was  so much more better than what I was expecting. Once my hair dried, it was a light peach colour, similar to what I had when I bleached Manic Panic's Shocking Blue. I kept it like that for a couple of days before I bleached it properly blonde. 

I definitely recommend this method if you just want to get rid of a semi permanent dye if you don't want to bleach your hair. I think it will work amazing. It won't lift all the colour out, but it will probably get most of it out. 

I do recommend conditioning afterwards, as it does dry the hair out a tiny bit. 

Let me know how you go if you try this!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on my iPhone and Canon 600D

Edited on fotor.com

Review: JoBaz Hair Colour Remover

Do you ever dye your hair and hate the outcome? Or maybe you wish you could get rid of the colour buildup in your hair to start all over again, nice and fresh? Hate bleach, but want to go from dark to light?

I've found the product for you!

JoBaz Hair Colour Remover is a miracle sent straight from heaven itself. As you all might know, I had bright red hair. I even had some buildup from dying over the red with more red. 

When I was thinking about going back blonde, I did a lot of research on this product. I read reviews, i watched youtube videos. I did everything I could. I bought it from Countdown. It's a pricey product, I got it for $35 on sale. Normally it's $40. I haven't seen this product anywhere else, just at Countdown.  They also have a chemical straightener type product by the same brand. 

There wasn't too much reviews on people who had used this on red hair, so I wasn't completely sure if it would work as red is a stubborn colour to remove, and my hair being so porous, it could have stained. So I bought it. And I followed the instructions to the t. I didn't want anything to go wrong with this at all. I needed this to work. 

The great thing about this product is that it doesn't damage your hair like bleach. It dries your hair out a bit, but nothing that leaving your conditioner on for an extra couple of minutes won't fix. 

I was completely blown away by the outcome of this product.

It left my hair a orange blonde, where I only needed to lift it a few more shades to get it to yellow so I could tone it to an ash blonde. It removed all of the red, except for one tiny strip that I missed. It was all gone. All of it. And I was pretty much a blonde again in one easy step.

I highly recommend this product. For anyone. But do follow the instructions or you might not get the outcome that you desire.

By the way, this stuff stinks, so do it in a ventilated room.

Five out of five stars from me!

Let me know how you went with it if you've tried it.

Shannen xx

Photos of myself taken on either my iPhone or Canon 600D

Edited on fotor.com

Photo of the JoBaz product taken from Google

DIY: Almond Oil Hair Treatment

This treatment is very similar to the Coconut Oil treatment I talked about a little while ago (you can read about it here: http://kaleidocolours.blogspot.co.nz/2014/08/diy-coconut-oil-hair-treatment.html?m=1). You follow all the same steps, except melting it. It comes in a liquid form already, which makes using it so much easier.

Almond oil has many, many uses. One being for hair, obviously, and others being skin and food. Almond oil helps seal split ends, so they don't split any further. It also substitutes for other leave in products. It can treat dandruff as well as makes your hair soft and shiny. If you want to know about not uses of almond oil, go here: http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/benefits-of-almond-oil-for-skin-hair-and-health/?ref=grk1

I was recommended almond oil by my friends Jo and Sherie. Jo actually gave me some to try, which I did last night. 

I saturated the lengths of my hair, where most damage has been done, especially the ends. I then wrapped my hair up in a towel and went to bed. I went to bed about 10pm and washed it out the next morning at about 8. 

Now as my hair is really damaged, I didn't use actual shampoo to wash it out. I rinsed it out under hot water for a couple of minutes and then applied my purple shampoo. Purple shampoo cleanses as well as helps strengthen weak hair. I left this on for about 5 minutes, rinsed it out and then applied my Shwarzkopf hair treatment. After a couple of minutes I rinsed that out and got out. 

When my hair is wet, I like to braid it so it's not getting in my way or making me cold. I didn't apply any of my normal leave in products just so I could see how well the almond oil worked. 

Now my hair is dry and it now feels just as smooth and soft as it used to, when I first went red. The ends haven't frizzed as they normally do due to the split ends, and I actually like touching my hair now. 

Next, I'm going to try a combination of both almond and coconut oil and hopefully all the perks from both oils will do their magic. 

Shannen xx

Photos taken on my iPhone. 

DIY - Coconut Oil Hair Treatment

If you've coloured or bleached your hair as often as me, or if you were given dry, frizzy hair at birth then this post will help you out a lot.

Coconut oil has many uses. It can be used in cooking, hair, skin or makeup. Of course we won't be talking about cooking today. But I will give you a method on how to use it in your hair. Coconut oil makes your hair soft and shiny. This is because it is a heavy oil that actually penetrates into the hair shaft unlike lighter oils like canola or sunflower.

To use it as a hair treatment, you need about 3-5 tablespoons. This will depend on how thick or thin your hair is, or how damaged/dry it is. In the jar, it is a complete solid, so you either need to melt it down into a liquid, or rub it between your hands until it becomes a liquid. In it's liquid state it is easiest to apply to the hair. Personally, I think spooning it into a bowl and then microwaving it is the best for doing this particular hair treatment. I used about 3 heaped spoonfuls and melted it at 20 second intervals, stirring in between until it was melted completely. You don't want the oil to be hot, but it needs to be warm. Once it's melted and your hair is brushed out smooth, spoon it onto your hair, or you could use your fingers, but I found spooning it on easier. Now, you could choose to just the ends or your whole head. As my hair is ruined from years of dying and bleaching, I decided to do my whole head. You need to get all your hair saturated in the oil. Once this is done, tie it up into a bun or stick it up into a shower cap. You can leave it on for 30 minutes or for a few hours. A lot of different tutorials on Pinterest say 30 minutes to an hour before showering and washing your hair, or to leave it on for a few hours to overnight. It all depends on how much time you have. Personally, I think the longer you leave it on the better. The more time it has to penetrate the softer and shinier your hair will be. Either way, you need to rinse it out and wash your hair with shampoo. Again, the tutorials say to rinse your hair at least twice with shampoo to get rid of all the oil. You can condition as usual to make your hair even more softer, but it's not that necessary.

For extra shine, you can add a raw egg.

As an added bonus, to smooth out any frizziness on a non-hair mask day, grab a small pinch of oil and warm it up in your hands then smooth it over your hair. It'll smooth the frizz down and add some extra shine.

If you guys try this, leave me a comment on this post or comment on my facebook and let me know how it goes for you.

Also, if you would like to see a video on how to do the hair treatment to clear anything up, let me know and I'll get onto it as soon as possible.

Shannen xx
Photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Photos edited on fotor.com

Tangle Teezer Review!

PLEASE EXCUSE MY TANGLE TEEZER. I NEED TO CLEAN IT.

I have a quick tip on having great hair. And that's owning a Tangle Teezer. These small brushes are great. I almost never brushed my hair because it hurt, it pulled my hair, and sometimes it literally ripped my hair out, so I tended to avoid brushing my hair as much as possible. Then came the day I finally bought a Tangle Teezer. They're a bit pricey but in my honest opinion it's definitely worth it. My Tangle Teezer I got from Life Pharmacy and it cost about $30-$35. Like I said, pricey. It comes in a variety of colours as well as travel ones and ones made specially for water based activities. Ever since I got my Tangle Teezer I've been brushing my hair every day and I've noticed a considerable difference I my attitude towards brushing my hair.

The official Tangle Teezer website (www.tangleteezer.com) states that "Tangle Teezer The Original professional detangling hairbrush is loved by hairdressers and used in professional hair salons. It's a super smooth operator that works the minute hair is lathered and 

rinsed. Glides through wet, vulnerable and colour treated hair with no pulling, tugging or yanking. Hair peace at last!"

Taken from tangleteezer.com

Everything they say about this hairbrush is true. It doesn't pull, or tug or rip. It just slides through the hair as if there was no tangles or knots to brush through. Hands down, I'm never going to buy another hairbrush again. Tangle Teezers for life!

I give this product 5 stars. 

It deserves every single one and it's made my mornings and evenings much more cheerful and pain free. I definitely recommend this to everyone who can get one. They're available in most pharmacies and online. 

On a side note, for all those who already own a Tangle Teezer, here is a quick guide on how to deep cleanse you Tangle Teezer. Doing this helps removes product and oil buildup as well as clears it of hair. 

1. Remove all hair

2. Rinse well

3. Apply shampoo to the brush, then add some baking soda

4. Add a little water so the shampoo and baking soda react a little 

5. Rub it in the bristles, using a cleaning brush might help (like a toothbrush)

6. Rinse well and let it air dry for a few hours on it's back, bristles up. 

Now your brush will be like new!

Shannen xx
Photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Edited on fotor.com

Feminism and why we need it

There isn't going to be a post about cool fashion trends or makeup today. I have a really serious topic I need to discuss. A topic I feel very close to my heart and get really fired up when ever I talk about it.

Feminism.

People hear that word and automatically assume that anyone who says they're a feminist is a man hating lesbian. It's not true. Feminists are people, men or women, who want equal rights for everyone. They don't think women are better than men. Us feminists want to be on the same level as men. We want to be paid the same for the same exact job that men get paid for. We want to be treated with the same respect as men. If a woman abuses a guy, in any way, society should react the same way as if it was a guy hitting a girl. Women can hurt others too. We aren't fragile little porcelain dolls. There needs to be gender equality.

Lately there has been a bunch of shootings in the USA. The one that gets me the most is the shooter from the recent California shooting. He went out with the intention to kill people because he didn't get any attention from women. He never went up to women, he didn't make any attempt to talk to women, but he still blamed the female race for not giving him attention. He blamed girls who didn't know who he was for why he was so angry at the world. In his mind, women deserved to be killed because they didn't give him the time of day. This guy has been called a hero by some men in the USA. He is not a hero. He was a sick boy who needed help.

I have a great quote from Tupac that helps me get my point across, that feminism is needed. "And since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman and our game from a woman, I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it’s time to kill for our women, time to heal our women, be real to our women. And if we don’t we’ll have a race of babies that will hate the ladies, that make the babies. And since a man can’t make one he has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one. So will the real men get up. I know you’re fed up ladies, but keep your head up”

- Tupac Shakur

This brings me to my next point. We are taught to not be raped, instead of do not rape. We are blamed for walking down the street and a guy not being able to control his sexual urges. It's out fault this happened. This is even the culture that is being introduced into schools all over the world. Girls are being given strict dress codes, for example: no leggings, no sleeveless tops, and a limit on how short skirts and shorts can be. Boys don't get te same treatment when it comes to what they wear. Girls are being told that they need to cover every inch of skin so they for arouse boys. That boys can't control any urge they may have over seeing a shoulder or the fact that a girl wearing leggings actually has an ass. 

Another point I have to get across is the words slut, butch and friend zone. Slut is attacking a woman's right to say yes. Friend zone is attacking a woman's right to say no and bitch is attacking them for their right to call you out on it. Slut shaming should not be a thing. Good on the girl who wants to have srx every night. That's her right. Just like it's a girl's right to say no to a guy she isn't interested in.

Don't even get me started on how women are treated in the media. Men are treated like people while women are just sexual objects. Take a press interview for The Avengers. Robert Downey Jr. gets a really great philosophical question about he approached playing iron man, while Scarlett johansson gets asked about her diet to fit into the Black Widow costume. This happens again in another interview where RDJ gets a really thoughtful question and then ScarJo is asked if she could wear underwear under her costume. This is not right.

Why is being compared to a woman an insult? Like 'you throw/punch/hit like a girl'. Why is it a sign of weakness to be compared to a girl? Women are strong. We push mini humans out of our vagina. We bleed constantly for a weak every month. Boys are down for the count when kicked in the balls, but as Betty White says, vaginas can take a pounding. Punching like a girl should be a synonym for being strong, not weak.  

I've got some statistics if you don't believe there is a fight for women. 

If that doesn't convince you then I don't know what will. Yes there are women that hate men and abuse men, but as men's activists say, not all (wo)men. This is 2014 guys. Get your fucking shit together.

BLUE HAIR DON'T CARE

I have had many hair colours since I was about 14 or so. Mostly natural colours like black, brown and an assortment of blondes up until my last year of high school. That was when I started experimenting with bright colours. Because I was still at high school, I wasn't allowed to actually dye my hair all one bright unnatural colour, but I didn't really care for the rules and did what I wanted to do anyways (I do not recommend this as it gets you in a lot of trouble). So as an introduction into the world of colourful hair, I started a simple dip dye. As I didn't know of a lot of brands that did colours like I wanted, I used Fudge Paintbox. The first colour I used was called Red Corvette. Now this sounds like it would be an amazing bright red colour but it leant more pink on my hair. After that colour faded and I bleached my hair again, I used Fudge's Green Envy. This colour was amazing and so uber bright! It lasted a very long time on my hair without much fading. I eventually got bored of this colour (I have a short attention span and need change regularly) and that was when I discovered La Riche Directions. This is one of the best brands I have ever used. This was the last time I dip dyed my hair. I used turquoise in this brand. After high school I pretty much stayed normal because of my job, but then I started studying and had to leave my job as it was too hard to work and study at the same time. So when I left I straight away brought Direction's Cerise. And for most of the year I was doing my diploma I had pink hair. Then I had lilac hair, which was just purple shampoo mixed with a tiny bit of cerise and left on for hours. Then I went yellow, which was meant to be orange, similar to Hayley Williams of Paramore. After all that dying I decided to give my hair a well deserved break and went back to my natural hair colour. After about 6 months I decided to do what I love most, which was dye my hair crazy colours. So now I am blue. This time I used Manic Panic which is like the second best brand I have ever used. My blue is Shocking Blue heavily diluted by conditioner.

For my blue hair I don't really have a recipe or whatever that I follow. I just pour a heap of conditioner into a bowl and then squirt tiny amounts of dye in at a time until I reach my desired colour. This time I used a deep conditioner as I had run out of my normal conditioner that I use when I do my hair. Once it's all mixed I do all my roots with a tint brush then I just scoop it up in my hands and rub into the lengths of my hair until its saturated and I'm pretty sure I've covered all of my hair. I then leave it on for about an hour. To make my colour last, I avoid washing my hair as much as possible as it is only a semi permanent colour. I get about 2-3 washes out of my hair before I feel like I need to do it again. As this is the second time I have dyed my hair blue, I noticed that this colour fades to a really nice lilac colour, but leaning more pink. So I don't mind letting it fade a bit longer than I normally would.

I love having crazy hair, but with it comes a lot of attention. I'm not a big fan of this attention I get. I'm very shy and uncomfortable and awkward when it comes to strangers. I'm happy that they like my hair and they think I'm brave to do what I want with it, but sometimes I just wish they would admire from afar. I know I signed up to all the attention having bright coloured hair and I am grateful for all the compliments I get.

I have a video of me colouring my hair coming up on my YouTube channel which I will link below.

https://www.youtube.com/user/shannensykess

Shannen xx
Canon 600D camera used 
18-55mm lens
Photos edited on fotor.com

Products used :
Manic Panic Shocking Blue
Schwarzkopf Ultimate Repair Anti-Damage Mask