DIY Scrubs for Face and Body!

One weekend Blake and I went out, bought a load of stuff and made things with said stuff. I thought I would document the experiment and give a recipe for all my lovely readers to follow. 

This recipe is just for a simple body scrub. You can change it how you please, add or remove or swap around the different ingredients.

The ingredients you will need (in a basic sense) is coconut oil (or any other kinda oil ya like), brown sugar, sea salt, tea tree (if you have acne prone skin) and any essential oils that you like (we used lavender) 

First, chuck some sea salt in a bowl. This amount depends on how much you wanna make.  

Next you wanna put the sugar in the bowl with the salt. You only need about half of how much salt  you put in. so like a 1:0.5 ratio, or something like that. 

 Now blob tonnes of coconut oil (or whatever oil you used) into the bowl. And when I say tonnes I mean like 3 or 4 tablespoons. Measurements don't really matter, you just gotta play it by ear.

 Oh I forgot! You need honey and bicarb soda. The honey is good for skin, and I can't remember why the soda is in there, but I think it helps with exfoliating. Refer to Pinterest for that one. 

 This is where you put your oils in. You only need a few drops of each. Especially if you are using tea tree oil as it can be harsh on the skin if you use way too much.

Now mush it all together! You want a kind of solid, but not much, but kinda pliable mixture. It needs to be solid enough to not slop of your body when you're rubbing it around but you need it soft enough to smoosh it in and exfoliate that beautiful body.

 And voila! Into a pretty container it goes for storage, until the next time!

I hope you guys enjoyed this! We had heaps of fun making these. 

We also made a coffee scrub which is almost the same recipe except you don't use honey or bicarb soda or essential oils and instead you use instant coffee.

Let me know if you gave it a go!

Shannen xx

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Battle of the Cruelty Free Eyebrow Products

As a strong lover of all things makeup, I am trying to build my collection in a cruelty free way. This can be quite difficult as there is limited products to choose from in New Zealand. It's also quite difficult to know who is actually cruelty free, because some sites are not very reliable. So here I am bringing you a post that will help you bring a decent cruelty free brand.

First topic of this maybe ongoing series is eyebrow products. Now we all know that eyebrows are important, they frame the face. So we need good products that will do that, and last.

The first product is a well known brand called E.L.F. I picked mine up from K-mart for $10 and it's in the colour Ash Blonde. This will also be well known as Shaaanxo uses it a lot in her videos. E.L.F. is a famous cruelty free brand, as well as being super affordable.

The second product is Australis Eyebrow pencil. This was about $12 I think, and is also from K-mart. Mine is in Blonde. This is much warmer than the E.L.F. product, but is really nice and easy for me to use if I'm in a rush.

The last product is W7 Brow Twister in Hazel Blonde. I got this from a makeup sale and I technically paid $5 for it. It was part of a 2 for $10 deal. This is my most recent purchase and is also the darkest out of the 3. I wasn't too sure about the status of cruelty free -ness on this brand. I had to do extensive research to find it out, and thankfully it is. It's also a UK brand, which I've been told has very strict rules and regulations on animal testing making it very difficult to actually test on animals.

At the moment, my W7 brow pencil is my favourite. Its not as quick and easy as my Australis pencil, but it doesn't take as long to do my brows if I used E.L.F. and a brush. I use E.L.F. when I have heaps of time to focus on really stencilling my brows on. E.L.F is definitely the perfect match for my brows, but I'm really enjoying the darkness of W7 right now. It might have something to do with me growing my hair out so my natural hair colour appears darker in comparison to the bleach, but I'm not really sure. Australis is too warm for my hair colour in general, but just to chuck it on lightly in a rush does the job, so I'm not going to complain.

If you have any of these products, let me know how you like them. Or if you buy one of them after reading this, let time know how they work for you.

Don't forget to check out my links listed below. If you have any idea how I can get all my links and social media to match my Instagram username, let me know. I've been trying to get them all to match for ages!

Shannen xx

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Ankle Boots: Flattering ways to wear them

 With ankle boots, there is basically two standard, universally flattering ways to wear them. 

The first way is to wear them with anything that sits above the knee. This is because the ankle boot tends to cut you off at the skinniest part of your ankle. To counter act this, you need to show the other skinniest part of your leg which is your knee. This lengthens the leg, and doesn't cut you off, making you look short. 

The second way is more for winter time, or for people who prefer to wear jeans. The same idea applies, so as the boot cuts you off at your skinniest, you need to show a bit of flesh above the boot to give the illusion of a lengthened leg. To do this, all you need to do is roll your jeans up, leaving no more than an inch between the top of your boot and the bottom of the roll.  This achieves the same goal as counter balancing. It lengthens the leg and we avoid looking like we have short legs. 

With boots, never pull your jeans over the top unless they are flared or a boot cut. If you wear skinny jeans with boots, roll them, or bunch them up so they are sitting just on top of the boot. We are giving the illusion of a lengthened leg.

I've included photos of five different types of boots to give an idea of how they can be worn. I have included a pair of heeled boots, two different style of ankle boots with a cut out, a short riding boot style and a pair of combat/military boots.

Heeled Boots

Tassle Boots with Cut-out

JC Coltrane style Boots

Short Riding Style Boots

Doc Martens

Of course with any style, your personal style works best. This is just simply a guideline. A lot of these boots can still look great all bunched up and grunge-y looking. or really neat and tidy rolls. It really doesn't matter as long as you are happy with how it looks. 

I hope you enjoyed this post!

Let me know what you think in the comments below!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

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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

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First Impression: SugarBaby Natural Self Tan Cream

On my recent trip to Wellington I purchased some SugarBaby. I've always been as pale as a vampire and I wanted to try some tanning stuff. I got mine from a shop in Queensgate. I forget what it's called, Cosmetic Plus or something. They were having a closing down sale so I got this at 40% off. I payed $18 for it I think. 

I spent about 10 minutes trying to decide which one I wanted because they have a massive line of fake tan. Because I am a beginner at all things golden and glowing, I picked the cream because all you had to do was apply it like a moisturiser. It only takes 3 hours to develop so I would know quite quickly if it went too dark for my liking or what not. This specific product only last 3 days before you need to reapply which is another reason I grabbed it, in case I didn't like it. 

Before I go into how I feel about the products, I'm going to chick in some before and after photos. 

The very first thing I have to say about SugarBaby is that they do not test on animals. This is a super thumbs up for me. The second thing is that this stuff smells like hot cross buns. And it's awesome. 

I love this stuff. It's the perfect darkness for my naturally pale ass skin. It's not too orange, not too yellow. It's perfect. It actually looks like I've been sitting on a beach on holiday somewhere when in reality I stood in front of my mirror and spread lotion all over my body. I am currently on the second day(?). I applied it yesterday morning. So one shower later, it's still nice and tan, albeit a little bit lighter. 

I highly recommend this stuff if you want to get into self tanning, but you're unsure about how dark you wanna be or how to do it. This is super easy to apply, and super hard to stuff up. 

Definitely has a 10/10 from me. I'll keep you guys updated on how long it lasts on my body. 

Shannen xx

Photos edited on fotor.com

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How To: Depot Jumbo Eye Pencils

I had a Collection eyeshadow pencil laying around that needed sharpening but I don't own a jumbo pencil sharpener. So, in order to remedy this, I did some research on how to depot jumbo eyeshadow pencils. This method works for any eyeshadow pencil, be it NYX, Collection or whatever. All you need is a small pot to depot it into, a mug, a microwave and the eyeshadow(s) you are depotting.

I used an empty ELF undereye Setting Powder pot. This turned out to be the perfect size. So you just need something about that size. They are 1.2grams or .04oz.

With the Collection pencils specifically, you need to remove both the cap and the end of the pencil, in this case its the black bit at the end of the pencil. This opens the pencil up making it easier to melt down. 

Once you've done that, the next step is to break the point off in the chosen container and then stand the pencil up using the broken shadow as stand. 

You then put the whole thing into a mug. This just protects the microwave from any spatter as well as helps keeps the pencil standing up. It also helps because you can just grab the mug and pull it out instead of grappling a small container.

Once you've got it in the mug, put it in the microwave and cook (melt) it for 1 minute intervals, checking each time, until it's completely melted into a liquid. At this point you can take it out of the microwave. I recommend pulling the pencil out, but leaving the container in the mug as the mug will be very hot.  I left my container in the mug until it had pretty much cooled down completely. It was still slightly warm to the touch, but nothing to worry about.

While it was cooling down, I grabbed some nail polish remover and wiped the label off the lid so it was just all black. I made a label on the bottom so I don't forget the brand or colour of the eye shadow.

I find it's much easier to use this way, as well as more pigmented. I'll probably do this for every shadow pencil I buy as long as I have an empty container to depot them into. And then I also don't waste product when I sharpen the pencil.

There is an alternative method to this. Instead of using a microwave, just melt it down with a hair dryer. Point the hair dryer down the pencil, so the heat is blowing into the shaft of the pencil. This method does take longer, but it might be less dangerous as the only hot thing you'll be holding is the hair dryer.

I used Collection's eyeshadow pencil in Vanilla Sky.

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used 

How To Get Curls That Stay: A Modern Interpretation of Pin Curls

Left: Curls pinned and cooling, Middle: Curls out and brushed, Right: Back view of curls

If you guys have hair that struggles to curl, or hold its curl then this tutorial is for you. This can also helps girls with shorter hair too.
When my hair was longer, it held curls amazingly. So well in fact, I didn't need hairspray and they held for a couple of days. Now that my hair is almost shoulder length, they don't stay if I curl my hair like I used to.

I have seen this method a lot on The Cherry Dollface's YouTube account, as it's a curling method she uses a lot called "pin-curls". Named so because once you curl the hair, you pin it with a bobby pin to retain the shape until the hair has completely cooled down.

I think this style of curl looks great on shorter hair. I also know it looks amazing on longer hair too.

There are two methods you can use when curling your hair in this fashion. One is with a clipless curling wand and the other is with a curling wand that has a clip.

In this tutorial I'm using a curling wand with a clip, but I'm not using the clip. If you want to see how it's done with a clip, let me know and I will film another tutorial to go along with this one.

Now to do this, you need a curling wand, heat protectant, a brush, hair spray, and tons of bobby pins.

I find leaving the pins in as long as possible helps the curls last longer, so I recommend doing this first, before doing your makeup, but do get dressed first in case you accidentally pull the pins out while trying to get a top on.

Curl the piece of hair as you normally would, then drop the curl in your hand.

Pin the curl in place so it retains its shape.

Repeat this all over your head, hair spraying every couple of curls.

Once you've finished, hair spray lightly all over your head.

Continue on your routine, taking the pins out just before you leave, and then run your fingers through the curls to break them apart.

Here's the video I filmed to go along with this, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WosgLQvO1BQ&spfreload=10 , hopefully this helps explain it a bit better.

Talk to you guys later xx
Shannen
Photos taken on a Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Photos edited on fotor.com

Toning Platinum Blonde Hair

When I tone my hair, I mix a little bit of toner, I use Fudge's Clean Blonde Purple Shampoo, with a conditioner, preferably a white one. I make a pale purple mixture and apply it to dry hair. If I have some on hand, I will add a dollop of pink hair dye to warm up the mixture a bit. I leave this on for like 15 minutes, enough to just take away any brassy tones.

Today I used a pre made purple mixture of Manic Panic's Cotton Candy Pink, Manic Panic Shocking Blue and conditioner (Organic Care's Colour Shield). I put that all over my hair, but I ran out halfway through doing my hair, so I super DIYed it and mixed my toner with my conditioner to make a similar version of the pre made mix. I smooshed this into my hair, blending it as much as possible so the two colours don't turn out too different. I then leave this mixture on for about 45 minutes. I'm aiming for a lilac look so I don't have to tone my hair for a while.

To maintain the toned look,  I use Fudge's Clean Blonde Purple Shampoo once a week, in the shower. I wet my hair, and then use a little bit and smother it over my hair. I wash my face then rinse it out. I always do it in between washing my hair and conditioning. I don't know why I do it in this order, it's just the way it's always been.

That's basically all there is to how I maintain white blonde hair. To make it easier I do all my hair care/maintenance the same day. So on Tuesday night, I soak my hair in coconut oil (sleep on it) then wash it out the next morning. I then tone and condition and carry on with my day.

Shannen xx
Photos of products: stock images off google.com
Other photos taken on Canon 600D
18-55mm lens used
Edited on fotor.com

Easy Eyes (Eyeliner Tricks)

If you aren't an expert at winged eyeliner, or can only do it with liquid or gel. but not both, then I've got a couple of tricks and tips for you. If you're anything like me, gel is easy to get symmetrical wings thanks to the angled brush, but liquid or pen liners can be a-whole-nother story.

The first tip I have for you is super easy and doesn't need any pictures to demonstrate because all you need to do is grab two strips of sellotape about an inch long. You needs to line them up from the outer corner of your eye to the end of your eyebrow. Before sticking them to your face after you've put your foundation and stuff on, stick the tape to the back of your hands a few times to remove the adhesive. This will make taking of the tape less damaging to your foundation. Now draw your wing right next to the tape, using it as a guide. This should help give you more symmetrical wings than doing it free hand. 

The second trick I have is a lot more difficult and I will have a couple of pictures helping to demonstrate how to do it. All you need is your eyeliner and a teaspoon. The teaspoon acts as a guide to get the perfect cat eye. 

Using the handle of the spoon, line it up as you would with the tape, then draw the line using the handle as a guide. Make sure the spoon is pressed against your face so that the eyeliner doesn't get underneath the spoon. This gives you a nice straight line to start your wing off. 

Now to get a nice even curve at the top of the wing, to connect it to your eyelid, you use the curve of the actual spoon. Line it up so it connects the tip of your wing to your lash line. This gives a nice curve and helps prevent you from having a super thick line that you can get from attempting this free hand. Again you need to make sure the spoon is pressed against your face so no leakages happen.

After using these two tips and tricks you should end up with pretty symmetrical wings, and in my honest opinion, it speeds up the process heaps! After tonnes of practice you'll be able to do it wonderfully without using the spoon or tape. Practice makes perfect! You should end up with something like this:

But remember, it may not look exactly like this because everyone has different eye shapes!

Let me know how you get on with either the tape method or the spoon method!

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

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

Ch-ch-changes

Ch-ch-changes

Just gonna have to be a different man

Time may change me

But I can't trace time

Yes, hello. I am blonde. Yes, yes. I also cut all my hair off. 

Now I don't know if you guys know this, but I get really bored with my hair colour. Very quickly.

Also, I have always wanted to cut it into a longish bob thing. SO I DID. 

I stripped my hair using JoBaz's Hair Colour Remover, review coming soon. Then the next day I used an ultra light ash blonde. Then the next day I used a Vitamin C treatment, DIY coming soon. Then I bleached my hair, twice (not very good of me at all). This is why I chose now to cut all my hair off. My ends were quite damaged as you would expect. 

I'll let you all know now. DO NOT TRY THIS IS AT HOME. If you have red hair and want to remove it, go to a professional. Red is the hardest colour to remove, and I could have done it in a less damaging manner, but I am way to impatient for my own good. In saying that, it did give me the best excuse to cut all my hair off. 

I love my new haircut, thanks Harmony! It's something completely different and I'm glad I did it. Also, I'm always much happier with lighter hair, why did I ever go red? Brunette is not my thing. 

Since bleaching my hair, to restore it I have been alternating between a keratin hair mask, coconut oil and almond oil. All have helped wonders. Now that my hair is all cut off, I am only using coconut oil. Mainly because I don't have either almond oil or a hair mask to use at them moment, but coconut oil is enough for the time being. 

I will post a 'how to' on short hair in the next few days if anyone is interested! Although, do keep in mind I am still learning myself, so any tips and tricks will be much appreciated!

Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

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

Something near and dear to me...

Today I am going to write about something I've struggled with for years, basically ever since puberty hit. And that issue is acne. More specifically makeup that doesn't aggravate or cause breakouts. I hope that this post will be useful to my readers of all ages. It doesn't just cover acne prone skin, but also skin that's sensitive.

I've got three products that I find brilliant for my skin, and I have very acne prone skin. Those three products are CoverGirl Clean Sensitive powder, CoverGirl Clean Senstive liquid foundation and ELF's Acne Fighting powder. I'm going to write a quick, mini review about each product. How they felt, lasted and treated my skin. 

First off is my long lasting and seemingly never ending CoverGirl powder. I wear makeup pretty much every day and this powder has lasted me months and months. My colour in this powder is buff beige, and I'm really pale. Along with my acne, I think my skin might be a little sensitive (probably caused by the acne). I found this powder was perfectly light, perfect match, and didn't aggravate any existing breakouts. If a product is to heavy on my skin my face can get quite aggravated and itchy, but I haven't found this happening with this powder. And, yes I know that this powder is reaching the end, but I'm squeezing as much as I can out of it. 

Now the liquid foundation that matches this powder is also never ending, although I do only use it as light coverage  because I didn't want my acne suffocating under makeup every day. I wear ivory in this foundation and it's perfect in winter, but slightly too light in the summer. Again, it's great for my skin. It lets my skin breathe and doesn't aggravate my skin. I would definitely repurchase these, but I'm wanting to change over completely to cruelty free makeup. Looking on both the CoverGirl and PETA website, I can't tell if they do test on animals or not, so until there is confirmation I won't repurchase these two products again. 

Now for a cruelty free option, I have ELF's acne fighting powder. This powder contains salicylic acid which is great for fighting acne. This powder helps keep your skin matte and shine free so will probably be good for oily skin as well. I'm in the lightest shade that you can get it. I can't quite recall what it is, probably light or fair. You can buy ELF either online or at kmart. 

I haven't got it, but there is also an ELF foundation that's also acne fighting and contains salicylic acid. I've seen a few reviews on this and it looks really good, so I can't wait to purchase it. I've not seen it at kmart so online will probably be your best bet. 

Shannen xx

Photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photos edited on fotor.com

Seeing Red

I've had a bit of a change. The peachy pale colour didn't stay long, but my plan the whole time was to go bright red. Which I've now done. I have to say, I think it's one of my favourite colours I've had so far. It goes with plenty more outfits than any other crazy colour and now I don't get as many people coming up to me and asking a bunch of questions about my hair. It's a much more peaceful life being a redhead. It seems to be a lot more socially accepted than blue or pink or yellow.

Now, I've actually had my hair red since about last Friday I think. But it's taking me ages to get around to blogging about it. But I have done it now, and the world can finally know I have brilliantly red hair!

There's a bit of a funny story about when I was getting it done. I don't go to any salons, it's all done at home and this time, I had the help of Chloe, who is quite possibly the best hair colourer I've met. We had almost finished my hair,  managing to get all but my fringe and a chunk of hair about an inch thick done and saturated with dye. Thanks to Chloe and Blake, we got another box (Schwarzkopf Brilliance Luminance in L43 Smouldering Red) to complete the job, and I actually preferred that colour to the original (L'Oreal Paris Feria Preference in P67 Pure Scarlet).

Before I bought the L'Oreal box, I did read some reviews on it, and a lot of people were saying it came out plum. It didn't turn out like that at all. I find it was more of an orange red than a true red. The Schwarzkopf box came out a much more richer true red. I've also found that the L'Oreal box has already faded a lot and I haven't even washed my hair yet! Although in saying that, it has been really sunny lately and that does fade hair quite fast. I will probably repurchase the Schwarzkopf red once I need to redye it as it was very vibrant, very true, and made my hair look really shiny.

That's all I really have to say about red hair at the time being, although it's probably going to stick around for a while. I love it and I know Blake does too. If any of you guys think it does too, let me know!

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

Nails of the month #2

Normally when I get my nails done, I've been planning it since the last time I saw Sherie, so normally for about a month. This time, I was still trying to figure out how I wanted my nails done as I worked. 

I went straight to Sherie's after work with an idea of what I wanted. I was gonna get three nails in solid black, one in a colour (I hadn't decided yet) and one in solid glitter. 

Now as you can see from the photo, this is not what happened. As Sherie was applying the acrylic I fell in love with the cover pink. Its super sparkly and glittery. I was then debating to leave it at that and just rock around with super sparkly plain nails. But then I had also been thinking of doing this design as it's such a great alternative  to the classic French design. 

I suppose I did still keep to what I had in mind originally with the black, colour and glitter. It just turned out a little different. And of course I ended up choosing pink again. I just love it too much to not have at least one pink nail.

I'm not sure what gel polish she used on the black nail, but I know the pink was an OPI colour. Overall the process took about an hour this time. I don't usually get acrylic, I'm a gel girl. 

Until next time!

Shannen xx

All photos taken on a Canon 600D

18-55mm lens used

Photo edited on fotor.com