Chop, chop.

I hadn't, up to now, decided if I liked going to the hairdresser or not. Usually, I just get a trim and a box colour applied and it costs no more than a tenner, but now I've moved out into a university town, things are different. I had a little trim at one of the salon's on the high street and while the experience wasn't awful, it wasn't great either - five toddlers running around screaming while mums chatted was excruciating - if you know me, you know I hate children. I paid £14 for a basic trim and while that's not extortionate, I'm used to paying £5 for a 'proper' haircut and about £1 for a fringe trim or having one cut in, so it was a little painful.

My friend recommended me a new salon, though, and told me about the offer they were running - a wash, cut and blow dry for £17. I'd been really itching to change my hair for the longest time, so I jumped at the chance and had a fantastic experience! I was in and out in under half an hour, had a lovely woman do my hair and had quite a nice cup of coffee.

So I thought I'd pop up a picture along with some old ones of my hair through the years.

Half blonde and half bright red for my prom. I was about sixteen.

Seventeen. Still red. (Sorry it's sideways!)

Sideways again...sixteen, trying to lift the red out. I quite liked this.

A medium brown - still not covered all the red! About seventeen.

Shortly after falling into a vat of bleach...Eighteen.

It was supposed to be an ombre brown/blonde affair...still eighteen. (Room at uni)

Playing with a wig for Halloween and a lot of makeup. Still eighteen.

Nineteen! I learned to use my curling iron and added purple underneath!

A few weeks later, a dark brown. 

Aaaaaand my current hair. I'm working my way to an Uma Thurman Pulp Fiction look. Probably. 

Has your hair changed a lot over the years?

Date Night

Here's my beauty regime for when I have a hot date! This is usually a very rushed, toast-in-mouth kind of affair, because time-keeping and I are having a bit of a fall-out at the moment.

Showering is my favourite way to chill out. Boiling under water and scrubbing myself clean is like a therapy for me and it's a wonderful way to calm down and relax if I've had a hard or long day. If I have time, I'll do the sugar scrub that I talked about recently, and then I'll decide what I want to do with my hair. My hair is naturally very straight and very fine, but there's a lot of it, so it decides what it wants to do and won't listen to me. It takes strategic planning and an ambush mission. This time, I covered my hair root-to-tip in V05's Gloss Me Smoothly conditioner and shoved it up into a bun while I scrubbed my entire body with sugar and oil. It's an odd picture, but go with me!

Once out of the shower I used Soap and Glory's The Righteous Butter over my skin and waited until my hair was about 80% dry before getting out my blowdryer and finishing the job. (Perfect opportunity to eat and catch up on Dexter!) I decided on full-on crazy ringlet curls, so the conditioner would help make them softer and glossier - it's hard to get good shine on blonde hair. Because my hair was such a mad statement, I went for very natural makeup with a nude lipstick from Revlon dabbed on five seconds before leaving the flat.

Here's a rough picture of what I looked like - I look so moody but I assure you I had a great time and my hair went down really well.

A Little Update

Hi! 

This is sort of a haul/things I did over the past few months...

I might have too many shoes! There are more in my wardrobe, but these are the prettiest. Various flats, two pairs of Converse, winter boots, Jeffrey Campbells and some Lita lookalikes.

New Zara bag (a loose Prada lookalike, I think) and Office flats. £10 in the sale online - way cheaper than the £28 I was looking at spending on similar leopard studded flats in Topshop.

I got dressed up all fancy and my flatmates got dressed up as hobos. Then we went to a bar.

I punched someone and broke my finger.

My university did a Harry Potter themed feast, complete with owl! 

It's a cape and I needed it. 

I turned 19!

SUGARY SWEET!

Hi!

Long time, no speak – I know. I’m sorry! University has been killing me. A little bit literally. So after finishing a short story, a commentary and a sociolinguistics portfolio, I finally returned to tumblr and stumbled upon a recipe for ‘silky summer legs’. I ummed and aahed for a bit then finally decided that I’d do it and have a bit of a pamper before a date night. I’ve just done it for the second time and I feel so sexy and can’t stop touching my legs! It’s not a well-known beauty tip, so I love it even more. It seems like every blog post about beauty tips is the same old conceal around your brows, layer lipstick and liner, line your upper waterline boredom. So here’s mine!

You’ll need:

• Any oil (about half a mugful). You can use olive oil (I did) or baby oil, coconut oil, almond oil…
• A handful or so of sugar
• A zesty fruit – lemon, lime or orange. I prefer orange because it doesn’t sting if you cut yourself shaving, but it’s up to you.
• 1 or 2 razors.

Here’s the guide:

·         Pour the oil into a bowl and add the sugar.
·         Cut the fruit in half and squeeze the juice in while mixing.
·         Jump in the shower. Shampoo and wash as normal.
·         Soak your legs for a while. Now might be a good time to coat your hair in conditioner.
·         Shave your legs – I used one razor per leg.
·         Rub some of the mixture onto your legs.
·         Rinse off and shave again! This is fab because I always miss a bit when shaving.
·         Rub again!
·         Use a mild soap (I use a Dove bar) to get all the excess oil off.
·         Use a light moisturiser and feel like a goddess.

This is safe to use everywhere you shave – your legs, your underarms, your forearms (if you do!). I would be very, very careful if you insist on using it anywhere else and not at all if you have sensitive skin.

I had a lot left over (I threw caution to the wind and didn’t measure the amounts) so I went a little overboard and sugared absolutely everywhere – even my feet!

I love this tip so much. It makes your skin softer, you smell good and it’s cheap, which is key when you’re on a student budget. I even borrowed some olive oil from my friend, so that was free! If you’re in the mood to pamper, you could paint your finger and toenails, too.

Let me know how you get on with this one! 

Jas x