Vidal Sassoon London Luxe Hair Dye | Review

From time to time, I receive some pretty cool products from BzzAgent for free to test out & review. This month's fun experiment was a little bit wilder than usual! I was sent the Vidal Sassoon London Luxe hair dye in the colour Merlot Vibrant Red & boy does that name say it all!

I've not really discussed my hair dye adventures much on this blog until now, but I generally do dye my hair at home from a box. Usually I use Garnier Nutrisse in 45 Dark Mahogany Brown, which on my naturally light brown hair comes out rich & dark with a hint of red shine. Vidal Sassoon is anything but a hint of red. It is just flat out red.

So the process on the VS dye was more or less exactly the same as the Garnier product. It comes with three products - a tube of permanent colour, a bottle with the developing cream in it & a conditioner for after. There was also a pair of gloves included - very important if you aren't into neon orange hands!  So step 1 is always to mix the tube of colour with the developing cream to make the concoction for dying.  Of course, right off the bat I had a mishap! The tube of colour actually punctured & the colour started coming out of the sides of the tube! What a mess! But with the help of some scissors, a butter knife & my patient husband, we managed to get enough out & into the developing bottle to actually continue the process.

Did I mention my hubby helps dye my hair? He has for years...he hates doing it, but he's awesome with the whole thing. I do my roots, then he does the back & the all-over spreading to help make sure I don't miss anything where I cannot see.

I look insane in this picture, but my processing head looks pretty darn close to the picture on the box! I'll be honest in saying that the neon orange scalp was really kind of scary to me. Usually my dye is super dark when processing...not neon! 

The time on this dye is pretty typical. You can leave it for up to 30 minutes, so I left mine for 25 (which is what I leave my usual dye on my head for). This stuff didn't smell that bad either! I have used some dye that has smelled like poison, this was pretty alright compared to that! 

I rinse my hair out by leaning over the tub under the tap, then I spread on the conditioner (which was really nice!), leave it on for the recommended 2 minutes - or longer - & hop in the shower. I find this the easiest way to make sure my head gets rinsed extra well.  Because it's at-home dye, you aren't supposed to wash it out, just rinse, so even though I'm in the shower, I just make sure to get all the leftover colour rinsed really good when rinsing the conditioner. 

Now, I'm not sure that this picture does my hair justice & I think a picture outside on a sunny day would much better reflect the true intensity that is this colour. The box claims that it will last up to 8 weeks, so we will see. I usually take good care of my colour, making sure to use appropriate shampoos & not washing my hair everyday or anything, so if it really lasts 8 weeks, I will know about it. What I do know right now is that my hair feels incredibly soft & not at all like it has been dyed. I can't stop touching it!

If it lasts reasonably well, I would definitely consider repurchasing this dye when looking to do something a little bit more fun than my average hair colour! Aside from the initial mishap, this product is very easy to use & gives great results!

Do you dye your hair? What do you use?

Cheers,
Kait

Anniversary Makeup | July 2015

Yesterday was our first wedding anniversary! To celebrate we went out for supper & for a walk by the ocean.  It was wonderful!  We don't always spend a ton of time just appreciating each other and our relationship because life gets so busy.  This past week we were both on vacation & we spent a good amount of time doing things together.  It doesn't matter what we do together - one day we went on a great adventure, another we spent in the house packing - because it's always fun!

Here's what I decided to wear concerning my makeup for our little anniversary date. Note: My hubby understands my makeup obsessions and doesn't judge no matter what my face looks like on any given day (sometimes, with some experimenting, it can get pretty crazy).

I look thrilled don't I? This is my face prior to any makeup application. Here are some of the products I used to create my base:

The primers are pretty much staples in my makeup routine. Sometimes I use only the Laura Mercier primer & don't add anything on top of it. It's so nice!  And my foundation routine consists of all drugstore right now. Almost empty drugstore products at that! The foundation probably won't be repurchased as I find it too full coverage for me now, but the concealer & powder? I love them.

Here I am with my base all done.

I used my naked palette for the eyes...cause I basically use that palette every single day. It's a combination of half-baked, smog, naked & virgin ... something a little more dramatic than usual, because why not?

Please ignore the insane hair! Here's my makeup look all done! I used some Clinique Melon Pop on my cheeks & some Mary-Lou Manizer for some extra shimmer.

It was a lovely evening...look at that view!

Cheers,
Kait

Choice Makeup | June 2015

I've been wearing less and less makeup on a daily basis the warmer the weather is becoming. I've also discovered a few lovely products that suit the sunny days wonderfully. Here are some of my choice makeup products of the month.

Clinique Cheek Pop in Melon Pop
Subtle enough to add just a faint glow of peachy goodness to the cheeks, but easily build-able for a bolder look.  It has been my go-to blush this month because it's just so pretty!

Rimmel Setting Powder in Translucent 
Inexpensive and effective. Need I say more?

Benefit Gimme-Brow in medium/deep
I've only ever used pencil brow products before this and my brow game is, frankly, lazy.  This is the ultimate lazy-girl product! Easy & quick, it leaves brows looking done, but never overdone!

Too Faced Melted Liquified Lipstick in Melted Melon 
This is not for the faint of heart!  It glows like the midday sun, but it's the perfect fun summer colour.  I keep my summer makeup pretty understated & use a dramatic product like this when I'm feeling bold.

Urban Decay Naked Palette Eyeshadow in Sin
 This eye shadow is perfect.  Shimmery, but not glittery - slightly coloured, but not too much - this brighten up the eyes without looking too done up.

These have been on my face fairly frequently this month. What have you been wearing?

Cheers,
Kait

Empties | May & June 2015

It has been a time since posting an empties write-up! I've used up a fair amount of products, still in my quest to downsize on samples, extras & general clutter in hopes of moving. Only now - I have a goal! That's right, we've bought a house! We're moving toward the end of July, thus I have fewer and fewer days left of my de-cluttering. This is also a brief explanation of why I've not posted in ages. Things have been crazy here! (Samples are marked with an asterisk <*> )

Makeup

Too Faced Primed & Poreless - This primer was alright. It took me ages to use completely & I think it's because of the texture, which was very silicone-y.  Instead of repurchasing this primer, I've purchased something different that I like much better.

Burt's Bees Lip Balm - I use this every single night before I go to sleep & I've already started in on a new tube of the stuff. It's awesome!

Urban Decay Primer Potion - This eye shadow primer is the bomb.  I could never figure out what was wrong with my eye shadows until I tried this product. Now I use it everyday & my shadows as well as my liner stays until I remove it. I've already repurchased ages ago!

Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes* - This was nice. I was NOT a fan at the beginning, but it grew on me. However the price point of this mascara is unappealing & therefore I would probably never purchase it on my own. However if another sample came my way, I would definitely use it!

Elizabeth & James Nirvana Black* - I love this so much! It's dark, spicy & right up my alley perfume-wise! I also liked the White (previous empties post), so I'm most likely going to buy the small rollerball set that comes with both!

Tom Ford Velvet Orchid* - Also delicious & spicy. I couldn't get enough of this one & am quite sad that it's gone. I would consider purchasing, but honestly I don't wear a ton of perfume so I feel like buying too many is a waste for me.

Dolce & Gabbana Dolce* -  This was just alright. It was fine while I was using it, but it didn't leave a lasting impression. I wouldn't purchase this.


Skincare

Lush Tea Tree Water - I wrote about this toner (& Angels, below) and how much I love it I a post at the very beginning of my blog (find it here). Thus when I run out I always tend to repurchase. Which I have done, even though it took a couple of months. So soothing!

Skintimate Moisturizing Cream Shave - This was a stocking stuffer, although it also happens to be my favourite shaving cream. It seems to be the only shave cream that actually kind of moisturizes my skin. & I say kind of, because it's still not fantastic, but much better than others. I will eventually buy it again!

Strawberry Yogurt Mask - This mask sample was given to me by a friend, fellow blogger & all around awesome person (find her HERE)  & I really enjoyed this! It smelled delicious & it left my skin feeling soft & moisturized. I would use this again - I actually have another package of it in my cabinet.

Live Clean Facial Towelettes - This was a part of my battle of the face wipes. & It won! That is because they smell so good, remove makeup without too much trouble & stay moist all the way to the bottom of the pack.  How can you go wrong?!

Pure Source Sea Kelp Sheet Mask - This is also a mask that the same friend from above gifted to me. It was my first sheet mask experience & it felt awesome! I loved that rather than heating up on my skin as most masks tend to do (at least a little bit), this actually kept my skin cool & happy. I am way less weirded out by sheet masks now & will totally be using them again.

Angels on Bare Skin - As with the Tea Tree Water, there is a post raving about the merits of this facial cleanser. It might be a bit strange, it might be a bit messy, but it makes my skin so happy! Although I don't currently have any to use, I will be repurchasing.

Jergens Shea Butter Lotion* - This was nice lotion. It smelled like shea butter (makes sense) & it worked as lotion should. If I was in need of lotion, I would consider buying this.


House

I don't generally keep trash relating to the house, but I loved these so much that I just wanted to write a bit about them.  These wax cubes are used in my wax warmer, which I prefer to candles when I have people over. This particular scent blew me away! It smells so fresh & spring-like that it's just so tantalizing. These also last SO long. I used them 3 cubes at a time & each time you can use them over & over & over.

What have you been using up?

Cheers,
Kait