The Hair Life

Just before Christmas last year I was in London and, on an unidentifiable whim, bought a pair of hair straighteners. They were the Nicky Clarke Hair Therapy Ceramic hair straighteners and for a few months I loved them. Then one of the plates stopped working (the plate basically decided not to heat up anymore). So I exchanged them for a second pair in early April.

Two days ago, the second pair practically exploded as I was doing my hair. I assumed they must have overheated internally. Now, I am usually a calm person and I like to give second chances, but, considering that the guarantee for these hair straighteners is 1 year and both died after just a few months, I had had enough.

In a panic, I researched different products and eventually decided to buy the ghd IV Styler, which arrived on next day delivery today. Although I have only used them a few times (my hair dresser uses them and I borrowed the same pair of a friend for a while), I can honestly say that the difference is astonishing. My hair is a lot shinier and I don't have to do anything to it for at least two - three days, which saves me so much time.


While I was reading up about different hair straighteners however, I realised that a lot of you don't really seem to know what products are best for your hair to minimise heat damage. So I thought I would let you take a little look inside my beauty-cupboard:

1 -  I honestly don't think that enough emphasis is put on how important the right shampoo is. We damage our hair most if we just use the shampoo that's closest to our shower on the shelf... and trust me - we've all done it. Personally, I prefer the L'Oreal Elvive Triple Resist because it contains protein, which is essential when growing hair out.

2 - Conditioner is almost as important as shampoo. In fact, I would say that you should use conditioner with every wash. Again, I prefer L'Oreal for this and because my hair is pretty prone to frizz and is hard to smooth I use the L'Oreal Smooth-Intense Anti-Frizz Conditioner.

3 - Because my hair is dyed and I straighten it fairly regularly, it can get a bit tired looking and lacks moisture. The best deep treatment mask I have found for this is the Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor. Not only does it smell amazing, it also does exactly what it says on the tin. PLUS, even though it costs £5, compared to other products it doesn't break the bank.

4 - Straightening and any kind of heat really can be very bad for your hair. So I always make sure to use a heat protection spray before blow-drying or straightening my hair. I really like the L'Oreal Studio Line Silk & Gloss Hot Straight Spray, which protects the hair up to 230 degrees.

5 - Although I have stayed true to the L'Oreal Studio heat protection spray for quite a while now, I have recently fallen in love with the GHD Heat Protect Spray, which also happens to smell
amaaazing.

6 - Without exception, I like to finish my hair care routine by applying the L'Oreal Smooth-Intense Anti-Frizz Serum. This product is fantastic as it does exactly what it promises to do. It's not too intense either, so you don't feel like you've got product in your hair, but it leaves the hair feeling and looking smooth and glossy.


Comment to let me know what your favourite hair products are...

S.

My Top 10 Best Workout Songs

In an ideal world I would have a number of excuses to account for my recent absence from this blog: "my computer died on me," (perhaps the most unconvincing of the lot) "preparing for exams meant I had no time for anything else" or even "I was going through a period of emotional crises."

Photo courtesy of techlicious.com

But let's face reality (because at the end of the day you can't escape the truth) - if there is any reason, it is that my brain was having a weird kind of time-out from everything. A sort of "stressy period" (and we've all experienced those before...) So eventually I had to sit myself down and sort it out.

However, it is not just in life we need a bit of motivation; when it comes to doing exercise we all require a kick in the butt. The way I see it is that with a good beat in the ears, you can achieve anything.

So, after extensive research, I have put together this playlist for you:

1. I usually like to base my main exercise around running. It is the perfect way to get fresh air, enjoy the outdoors and get fit at the same time. The first thing I do is start with a 5 minute warm-up: in my experience, dynamic warm-ups are the most effective, which is why I keep static warm-ups to a minimum (but hey - I'm no expert!).
Recently, I have really started to enjoy listening to Touch by Shift K3Y for my warm-up.

2. No matter how much you might enjoy exercise, starting the workout is the hardest part. Therefore, DJ Khaled's All I Do Is Win is the perfect song to get in the mood.

3. For a warm-up I personally think that a strong beat is perfect, but when I start to actually run I always find that a smooth, calm rhythm is more important, particularly as it helps to regulate my breathing and pace. One of the best songs for this (by far) is Deepest Blue by Deepest Blue...

4. Similar to Deepest Blue is the new #1 by Mr. Probz called Waves, which I have become absolutely obsessed with.

5. When you get to that stage in your workout where your legs seem to turn to steel-rods and you feel like you can't take another step, then Turn Me On by Kevin Lyttle is absolutely perfect.

6. Every time that Christina Aguilera blares Candyman in my ear, my pace quickens and I do a little victory dance in my head. I don't know what it is about this song, but it just seems to relieve every tension in my body - maybe it's the addictive beat or the fact that I can't help thinking about the fun and flirty 40s-inspired music video...

7. Another old-time favourite of mine (although I really only started to love and listen to this song after hearing it in the Coco Chanel Mademoiselle advert with Keira Knightley), is It's a Man's Man's World by Joss Stone. The mellow rhythm of this song always helps when my breathing starts to let me down.

8. In the last few minutes of my run, I like to really push myself as I always find that I feel so much better about myself afterwards if I do. Braveheart by Neon Jungle is the ideal song to motivate me to push on.

9. Similarly, Blu Cantrell's song Breathe is great to listen to when you're getting a little bit tired and fed up...

10. FINALLY, what better song to finish your run on than Maniac by Michael Sembello from the amazing film 'Flashdance'?

Now get out there and do it like a maniac!

S.

My special kind of studying...

I don't know about you but when I'm on study leave I spend most of my time trying to avoid actually doing any kind of studying (terrible attitude -- I know). Today was another one of those days and while I probably should have been making myself very well acquainted with the ins and outs of Soviet Russia, I decided it would be more productive of me to bake a cheesecake. Sometimes I struggle to make sense of my own logic. But hey, at least now I can go on to doing my revision filled with a piece of this delicious German cake.

To do it yourself (and avoid doing any proper work like myself) you will need:
For the base
125g of butter
250g of self-raising flour
125g of sugar
1 egg yolk

For the 'cake' part (aka the top)
125g of butter
250g of sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
750ml Quark (a type of soft cheese)
5 medium size eggs
... and a round, standard cake form (about 25cm diameter)

Preheat the oven at 175 degrees. Grease the cake form.
Begin by making a crumbly mixture out of the ingredients for the base. You should do this fairly quickly otherwise it will become too sticky (try using your hands for this part).

Line the form with the mixture (3cm in depth). Prick the base several times with a fork then place in pre-heated oven and cook for about 10 minutes.

Then mix together the soft butter, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs. Add the Quark and mix until creamy.
Pour the Quark-mixture onto the base and bake the cake for another 60 minutes (if it starts to burn, cover it with aluminium foil).

And enjoy...

S.

To share or not to share?

Hello chums and chummettes,
I must first apologise for not posting anything the last couple of days but it's just been so busy. In fact, tomorrow is going to be even busier as I'm going into London. But don't get me wrong... I absolutely love London so it'll be great fun.
Anyway, earlier this evening (due to my very busy few days) I was consequently trying to relax and as so often found myself in the kitchen. I decided on baking a marble cake and god is it delicious so I thought I would share the recipe with you.

For my oh-so-yummy half-chocolate half-vanilla cake you will need:
A bundt cake form (with a diameter of about 22cm)
250g soft butter
250g sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
4 eggs
300g self-raising flour
5 tablespoons of milk
30g cocoa powder
(and a bar of chocolate for the top)

Start by greasing the form with butter and preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
Put the butter in a mixer and mix until soft and creamy. Then take 3 tablespoonfulls from the sugar and place aside in a bowl (you will need this for the chocolatey half later). Pour the sugar, vanilla extract, salt and eggs in with the butter and mix.

Add the flour and 3 spoonfuls of milk, alternating between the two (aka 100g flour, 1 spoonful milk, 100g flour another spoonful milk etc).
Put 2/3rds of the mixture into the form. Then pour the cocoa powder, the rest of the sugar and the other 2 spoonfuls of milk in with the remaining mixture.

Add the chocolate half on top of the vanilla half in the form and using a fork create a marble pattern:

Place the cake on the lower shelf in the oven and bake for about 1 hour.
When it's done (check by piercing the cake with a fork - if it's still droopy/wet then leave for another 20 minutes), leave to stand for a few minutes while you melt the chocolate bar. Do this either in the microwave or by putting the chocolate into bowl over boiling water. Decorate the cake with chocolate and serve. Enjoy!

S.

The ups and downs of a green life...

I'm not going to pretend that I am the healthiest girl you'd ever meet because that is quite simply not true. I love chocolate; in fact, I love anything that isn't green (aka nothing that's healthy in some way). Food for me is not a hobby but a passion and on the not so rare occasion you will find me comfortably on the sofa with my two favourite men - Ben. And Jerry.

But anyway, a while ago, I came across some healthy recipes. With Summer around the corner and my trying to defeat the little chocolate pouch that has gradually accumulated itself in the most unflattering place, I figured it was time to kick those chocolate easter eggs in the bullocks and move on. 

The recipe I came across was for something called a 'Green Smoothie' (sounds disgusting, I know, but let me finish). It's packed with all sorts of wonderfully healthy things and actually, I thought it was quite yummy. 

So here's how to do it...

Ingredients:

1 banana

1 apple (alternatively a pear)

1 handful of kale leaves

1 handful of spinach

1 celery stalk

1/2 a cup of cold water

1/2 cup of orange juice

Basically: cut up the banana, the apple and the celery. Chop off any tough stems on the kale leaves and the spinach. Put all the ingredients into a blender. Pour in the water and the orange juice, blend it and voila!

p.s. First time round I put in 2 celery stalks but trust me, don't try it -- it was truly horrific (very bitter in my opinion). However, I personally like to put in two bananas as it tastes a little less 'green'.

S.

With a splash of red...

Last Summer I found the most amazing pair of red flats. Doesn't sound all that special, I know, but they weren't just any old pair of red shoes. They were the most vibrant, juicy red and the material was wonderful -- a sort of velvety texture. Needless to say they were my favourite pair and I wore them out quicker than you can say "Zara".

So anyway, I've been on the hunt, literally prowling through the shops, to try and find a similar pair for months but with no success. I desperately turned to any true girl's glorious world of online shopping and managed to find a few gorgeous pieces that I wanted to share with you:

1. Basic Velvet Slipper, Zara; 
2. Studded Ankle Strap Sandals, Zara; 
3. Red Slipper Shoes, New Look; 
4. TOMS Classic Slip-On Red Crochet, Office.

What do you guys think?

S.

A little bit of hope...

Good evening world,

I don't know about you but I hate Mondays. They are just one of those things that have been created to make man-kind suffer, and to be quite honest, most of the time I really just wish they'd go away. But not this week. This week is different. I really don't want Monday to leave me... because that would mean that Wednesday will be here sooner than I'd like. And along with it the glorious moment that school nerds/officials/(or just plainly) teachers like to call the 'French Oral Exam'. Never has anything sent so many shivers down my spine.

But what can be done about it, I ask? Nothing! Well nothing that I can do anyway. So to pass the time before the exam and really to keep myself from falling into an endless abyss of self-pity, I came up with an ingenious idea. If all goes to plan, I don't fail and have done lots of revision then I will reward myself with one of these babies:

1. Heather Leather Watch - Grey

2. Georgia Leather Watch - Black

3. Cecile Stainless Stell Watch

4. Stella Stainless Stell Watch - Rose and Brown; all Fossil

I'll admit that I have been admiring them for quite some time, but nothing has happened on which I 

could possibly blame the purchase and so my hopes were squashed. Until now.

And I must say I've never felt better about revision. Only problem is, which one do I go for (they are all so beautiful...)?! Luckily I still have time to consider... In the meantime, well, you know what I'll be doing.

S.