Bleach Blonde Haircare

With bleach blonde hair, I can't afford to be sloppy when it comes to my haircare routine.  I use products both in and out of the shower that help to keep my tresses in the best condition possible after the strain I put it through with heat styling and regular bleaching.  Here's how I keep my goldilocks healthy, with a few tips and tricks thrown in for good measure.  

I wash my hair every two to three days as it's quite porous and will become dry and frazzled if I wash it everyday, plus I find that thanks to the bleach my mane doesn't get greasy too fast. Before washing, I always brush through my hair to get rid of any tangles.  I have a choice of two shampoo's depending on what my locks needs.  The first is L'Oreal's EverPure Colour Care and Moisture shampoo which helps to lock in moisture and prep my hair for conditioner.  The second is a tone correcting purple shampoo by John Freida, which helps to keep brassy yellow tones at bay.  I only use the John Frieda once a week as overuse can end up leaving a purple tinge to the hair.  I then follow up with a slathering of conditioner, which I comb through before washing out, to ensure the product is evenly distributed.  My favourite at the moment is also from the EverPure range.  Once a week I will go ahead and apply the EverPure Reinforcing Intense Mask, concentrating on my mid-lengths and most importantly, my ends.  It says to leave on for 3-5 minutes but for an intense treatment I leave it on for about an hour.  This is a great time to have a bath and read a good book.  

Fresh out of the shower I then brush through my tresses with a Tangle Teezer.  I think I would have a lot less hair if I hadn't had invested in this product.  It glides through my hair effortlessly, even without a detangling spray and it doesn't pull or snag, creating unwanted breakages.  If I'm going to blow dry my hair I will then go ahead and spritz some heat protection spray throughout, right now I'm using the EverSleek spray but I also like the TreSemme one too.  Another heat protection treatment I use is Kerastase Ciment Thermique, which actually requires heat to work.  This treatment helps reconstruct damaged hair and also acts as a heat protectant that needs to be replenished every five days.  Most times that I wash my locks, I like to leave them to dry naturally, so I will just use Moroccan Oil Light and get on with whatever I'm doing.  

Before I go to bed, I'll brush my hair and plait (braid) it, as it prevents any tangles forming through the night. Plus, if you're feeling lazy the next day, it's an easy, heat free way to get soft waves.  I hope some of you found this post helpful and picked up a few tips. My hair stylist is happy with the condition of my hair, so I must be doing something right! 

What's your holy grail haircare product or tip?

Full product reviews: L'Oreal Ever Pure Colour Care and Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner; L'Oreal Ever Pure Reinforcing Intense Mask

Beauty Round Up: 2011

Over the past year I discovered YouTube and several beauty guru's who I follow religiously, including FleurDeForce, ThePersianBabe and Pixi2woo (to name a few).  Thanks to them, 2011 was definitely a year when I went beauty crazy and began trying more and more products, as well as becoming interested in writing more beauty based posts.  I have gone through my collection of hair, make up and skin care products and compiled what I guess will be my 2011 favourites.  

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

1. Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish; £12.75 -  No surprises here, I've banged on about this product for months.  I've just passed my first anniversary with using this product and I don't think I'll ever not buy it now.  It had dramatically cleared my skin up and I can't rave enough about it.  

2.  Moroccanoil Light; £12.85 - £30.45 - After hearing so many reviews I decided to give this a go.  I bought the 25ml light version as my hair is extremely blonde at the minute.  It is honestly an extremely good product. You need only a small amount through your mid-lengths and ends which will decrease drying time as well as give it a healthy shine.  I will be re-purchasing this in full size (100ml) when I run out.

3.  MAC Prep and Prime; £18.00 - I've used this primer for years, it's always the one I come back to when trying others, as for me, it's the best.  It smoothes out any fine lines and pores I have before applying foundation and it has never caused any issues for my skin.  

4.  John Frieda Colour Renew Shampoo; £5.49 - After taking the plunge and dying my hair a serious shade of blonde, I invested in a bottle of this shampoo to counteract the brassy tones.  It has worked wonders and leaves my hair feeling soft.  

5. Chanel Nail Lacquer in Particuliere; £17.50 - I got this last Christmas and it has been one of my go to shades ever since.  I wear it a lot more during Autumn/Winter seasons and find it looks very sophisticated.  

6.  Clinique High Impact Mascara; £15.00 - Another product I have used for years.  Originally I'd only ever use the sample sizes of it when my mum, sister or auntie bought from Clinique.  This year I picked myself up a full size and I have never looked back.  I get so many compliments when I wear it, people even ask if they can have my eyelashes! I'm currently trying out Benefit's 'They're Real!' so we'll see if this still stays number 1!

7.  Barry M Nail Colour in Vivid Purple; £2.99 - A cheaper alternative to my Chanel.  This is another shade I wear all the time.  I've re-purchased a gazillion times.  I think it looks lovely on the nails, and even better with a tan! A good colour to wear on a night out.

8. Urban Decay Naked Palette; £35 - This is pretty much the only palette I ever reach for when I want to create a smokey eye or an everyday look.  For everyday I used Naked all over the lid, Buck to deepen my crease and then a liquid liner to create a winged look.  It is definitely a good investment palette and I'm already eyeing up the Naked Palette 2 out this month (anyone know what date?)  

9.  MAC Penultimate Liner; £13.50 - Speaking of liner, I have been using this pen over a year now and it is the best liquid liner I've used.  The felt tip pen application makes it incredibly easy to do even winged liner.  A great product overall!

10. Benefit PowdaWowzer; £19.50 £9.00 - Hoola Bronzer in particular.  This trio was a limited edition set that I picked up as I'd always wanted to try Benefit's boxed blushes/bronzers.  I now used Hoola everyday to contour and bronze my face.  I also use Coralista a lot too.  It is currently £9.00 in the ASOS sale (click link no. 10 above), but be quick as they will be gone!

So that is it for my 2011 favourites! What have been your favourite beauty products of 2011? If you've already done a beauty round up post, leave it below - I'd love to read about new products!