hair styling

evo end doctor smoothing treatment

Hi everyone. 🙂

Phew this week has been a busy and tiring one so far. Have had a really bad bug (cold but possibly flu) which hasn’t helped! I hope that you are all having a much better week than me!

I also hope that you enjoy this review. 🙂

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Discovered this product by chance – at my Mum’s house of all places! 🙂 (A lil secret of mine – the brown part of my hair I dye at home – my mum helps! Thanks Mum. ;))

Last weekend, after colouring my hair, Mum encouraged me to give evo‘s end doctor smoothing treatment a try. She’s been using it for a while and stated that she thinks it’s pretty good.

I just had to laugh (in a good way!) when reading the packaging for this product; you’ll see what I mean!

(the comb is not part of the product; it was just sitting there as I'd used it!)

Price: $25.95 AUD

Where can I get it? exclusive to salons which stock evo or online at their site: evohair.com .

As you can read on the packaging shots above, this product is designed to do a few things – smooth unruly ends, provide heat protection, and also provide SPF protection (which would reduce rate of fading of colours due to sun exposure). On the latest version of the product packaging on evo‘s site, it makes specific reference to making curly wavy hair look good. This is ok as my hair type is wavy, however I do straighten my hair due to the cut I have!

I used the amount of product that my Mum stated she’d been advised to use – pea size (her hair’s about the same length as mine). It has a nice and mild fragrance and was easily absorbed by my damp hair.

This product didn’t leave my hair greasy, which is great, but it didn’t leave it looking any better than it usually does! I still had flyaways and the bits that tend to kick out really kicked out despite me using proper blowdrying techniques. So much for “taming” the hair! (In case anyone is wondering if the colouring of my hair before hand was a factor, I find that the colour I use tends to leave my hair shiny, smooth and healthy looking.)

As I’ve only tried this product once, do take my opinion with a pinch of salt, but I give it ~

Beautiful rating: quality 3/5, value 3/5. I love the packaging but it seems to be pretty average, given the price. (Sorry Mum – we’ll have to agree to disagree! ;-))

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Does anyone else also like the use of quirky blurbs on products that they buy? Bed Head’s blurbs are my favourite! 🙂

Empties (January… a tad late!)

Howdy! 🙂

Well, it’s been a busy week! I would’ve like to have blog more than I did but I guess that couldn’t be helped. 😦 At the moment I am also in the process of moving my blog from wordpress.com (wordpress hosted) to wordpress.org (hosted on a non-wordpress server) which has taken a lot of time to research. When I do make the move I will be sure to let you all know; in any case the blog will always be accessible via http://abeautifulstory.net 🙂 (Advantages to having the site hosted elsewhere include that I can have a lot more freedom with how I run it and I have free reign with design, customisation, etc.)

When the new site is up and running I will be hosting another giveaway! 🙂

Do any of you run a wordpress.org site? If so I’m keen to hear any tips/tricks; I’m not the best at IT to something that may take some people 10 minutes could take me 30 LOL (technically challenged huh?!)!

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As promised, *mini drumroll*, this post is all about my January empties! There’s another product that I should’ve included in the photos, my usual perfume which is Estee Lauder’s “Beauty”. Lovely fresh fragrance but can’t seem to get it anywhere locally these days… and I used to be able to get it for a good price!

So as you can see it’s a pretty small Empties collection! 🙂 My thoughts on these products, from L – R, top to bottom:

Dove Heat Defence Therapy Heat Activated Protect & Shine Mist

Price: I got it for $4 AUD on sale but the usual retail price is around $8-9 AUD.

Where can I get it? Supermarkets and some chemists.

This one is a beauty. Smells good, leaves my hair feeling good, and it has a medium spraying range, meaning that you don’t drench your hair or get it on your face when only aiming it at a small section of hair! (Which has been an issue with the ones I’m currently using, reviews to come!) I didn’t realise how good this one was till I tried some others.

These days it’s in a white coloured bottle but otherwise seems to be the same product.

Beautiful rating: quality 5/5, value 5/5

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Johnson’s face care daily essentials fragrance free facial cleansing wipes

Price: approx. $6 AUD for a pack of 25.

Where can I get it? most supermarkets and some chemists.

I find these to be very handy in removing my makeup, before cleansing at night time. Decent sized sheets, moist enough to remove your  makeup, and the skin is not left irritated or dry.

Remember that such wipes are not sufficient on their own as cleansers; you really should follow it up with a cleanser and toner. I made this mistake once and I paid for it – broke out! 😦

The only gripe I have with these is that they are quite expensive. I’m wondering if unscented baby wipes would do just as good a job!?

Beautiful rating: quality 5/5, value 3/5

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Neutrogena Alcohol-Free Toner

Price: approx $10 AUD

Where can I get it? Most supermarkets and some chemists.

Since switching to an alcohol free toner my skin has felt much happier and less dry on my non t-zone areas. This toner does its job well and leaves my skin feeling refreshed. I’m now onto my 2nd bottle of this product and don’t see a need to switch brands in the future (no not even to a Thalgo toner! 😉 Now that is saying something! :)).

Beautiful rating: quality 5/5, value 5/5.

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I hope that you’ve enjoyed this post. 🙂 For those of you in Adelaide, enjoy the awesome Adelaide Fringe festival which is now ON! – I was lucky to receive a free pass to a cabaret show last night which was excellent and the Garden of Unearthly Delights was packed and buzzing. I will be posting a review of the show on the blog soon. 🙂

For those of you who are thinking “what?” the Adelaide Fringe is an international arts, comedy, and performance type festival. Like the Edinburgh Fringe. It is the best time of year to visit Adelaide as for approximately a month the city comes alive with a, hmm, I would say “classy carnival” atmosphere. (It only used to be held once every 2 years, but it became so popular it is now a yearly event, yaaaaay! :)) Events are held all around the CBD but also in some of Adelaide’s park lands which are converted to what they call the “Garden of Unearthly Delights” (or just the “Garden” if you’re a local ;)). There you can eat and drink to your hearts’ content, check out impromptu acts as well as buy tickets to cabaret, comedy, magic and other shows being held in tents (but classy tents! :)) within the Garden. There are also carnival rides… OK the more I try and describe this the stranger it sounds, check out the official site if you are interested to hear more 🙂 over here: http://www.adelaidefringe.com.au/

beauty apps on the ‘droid

How has everyone’s weekend been going so far? Good I hope!

We’ve been lucky to have some nice weather lately in Adelaide but unfortunately the yucky (rainy) weather has returned just in time for the weekend… d’oh! It’s also too bad for many in Australia wanting to fly anywhere as one of our biggest airlines, Qantas, is shutting down for an indefinite period due to union related issues!!!!!! You can read more and watch news clips on this via this link –> http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8367129/qantas-will-lock-out-employees

😦 😦 😦

On a happier note, you may have noticed the new tab near the top of the blog’s page – Articles. As you can read there I have been writing some articles for MIKA Music & Lifestyle Magazine, which is available for *FREE* online (visit http://world.mikamagazine.com/). The contributors to the magazine are from all over the world and articles are on a wide variety of topics.

In the latest issue (3 – October – to be released soon) I’ve reviewed five free beauty apps available for Android (I have an HTC Desire and ❤ it!). In this blog entry I’ll only talk about two – one that I thought was the best, and one that I thought was the funniest! 🙂

(Sorry to iPhone users! If you are miffed about me not including iPhone apps, take comfort in the fact that currently O.P.I.’s app is only available for iPhone! ;-))

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The best app that I found when writing my article was My Beauty Adviser.

This app has been designed by Procter and Gamble, a US based cosmetics brand that owns Cover Girl, Pantene and more. It is a very professional looking app with a sleek design, and has 4 different sections you can explore – Mag, Beauty Bag, Explore and Profile. Of these my favourite was Mag, which is a magazine within the app updated approximately monthly. I liked this a lot as this part contained interesting beauty articles as well as video tutorials.

Beauty Bag is a section in which you can drag and drop different Procter and Gamble owned products that you have to make note of things such as their expiry date (it calculates this for you) – so you can later be reminded to buy more when needed! The Explore section gives you the opportunity to browse and gain more information on products by name, by scanning the barcode of a product you already have (or are looking at if shopping), or by voice. The Profile section appears to allow you to write reviews on products and undertake “consultations” which are basically quizzes about different aspects of beauty – at the end of the quiz particular products are recommended to you based on your needs.

This app is user friendly, packed with features, and well designed. However, the downside is that it only features Procter and Gamble owned brands, which is a bit limiting. I wouldn’t mind using the product expiry reminder feature for all of my makeup (of many different brands)!

Another beauty app that I found very fun to use (and could while away quite a bit of time with – hahahaha!)  was Hair Change.

This Korean app – which has the main menu items in English so non Korean speakers won’t get stuck – is a lot of fun. It is designed to help you find the right hairstyle for you, in a similar way to popular hair websites such as thehairstyler.com, and has a section for both women and men. You first take your picture on your phone via the app and then can choose from many different hair styles (short, medium and long), change the colours, and even play around with your outfit! Once you are done you can save the picture (e.g. to show your hairdresser) or share it online with friends.

All of the help information is in Korean, but you shouldn’t need it. This app is well designed and user friendly.

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What are some of your favourite beauty apps, for Android or iPhone? More broadly, what is your favourite app of all????

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Thanks to all of those reading my blog and Raia from MIKA Magazine – I appreciate your support! xxx

tigi bed head

I’ve been a busy bee peeps! Time to review some more hair products, despite my ❤ for Thalgo!!! 😉

TIGI’s Bed Head is a hair wax which has been around for a long time… I used to use it when I had really short hair in high school (hmm, that’s a while ago now!) and I loved it! You can get it at places like Price Attack and Hairhouse Warehouse, not just at hairdressing salons here in Australia. Here I’m getting my boyfriend’s thoughts on the product which he has been using for some time (along with the KEVIN.MURPHY reviewed earlier this month).

S) What led you to buy this product?
R) My hairdresser recommended it to me in the beginning, but then I went on to buy it at least 4 times as I really like it.

S) How much was it and where can you get it?
R) $32.95 (AUD), from hairdressing salons. (S – readers please see my comments above – it’s likely to be cheaper if you don’t get it from the hairdresser!)

S) What do you like about it?
R) It’s in a stick form so it’s easy to apply to your hair and you get less of the product stuck on your hands later, compared to other waxes and styling products.

S) What don’t you like about it?
R) As it is a stick, when you get towards the end it is tricky to apply it to your hair.

S) Would you buy it again?
R) Sure, as I said earlier I’ve bought it several times!

S) Any other comments on this one?
R) It lasts a long time, it takes several months to use it all up.

S) What would you rate the product out of 5 for quality, and for value for money?
R) Quality I’d give a 4/5, and value 4/5.

kevin.murphy sticky.business

Hi everyone…. It’s Thursday, only 1 sleep till the weekend is about to start!  🙂

Interesting post title, huh? 😉

Well I promised there’d be reviews about products for men, too, and here we go… I realise that there are also products that both guys and girls use, and so I could review those myself,  but I thought it would also be good to get a bloke’s perspective on products too.

So, I’ve enlisted my boyfriend as an assistant reviewer, and his reviews are done in an interview format – me (S) interviewing him (R). Any feedback on how you find this as a reader is very welcome – please comment! 🙂

KEVIN.MURPHY STICKY.BUSINESS is a hair wax described as a “matte texturiser” with “firm hold” by the manufacturer, as you can see here:

S) What led you to buy this product?
R) My hairdresser recommended it to me.

S) How much was it and where can you get it?
R) $35.95 (AUD), from hairdressing salons.

S) What do you like about it?
R) The fragrance is good it smells like lemons. Also the product is firm hold so my hair stays in place all day, and it is soft which makes it easy to apply.

S) What don’t you like about it?
R) Nothing really.

S) Would you buy it again?
R) No I’d probably try another product, as I like to try different ones.

S) Any other comments on this one?
R) It does seem to be suited to really short hair (1-2 inches) only so I’d only recommend it to those with hair that is really short.

S) What would you rate the product out of 5 for quality, and for value for money?
R) Quality I’d give a 4/5, and value 3/5.

Thought I’d also include another pic of this product so you can get an idea of what the wax actually looks like:

Have a great Friday all! 🙂