Hey Blondie

Yes, I'm a brunette, but I've always had a thing for blondes! I imagine it is, in truth, more fun to be a blonde - in a hair sense anyway because you can endlessly tweak it. And tweak it. And tweak it... (my one tone black leaves a lot less room for change). I love the idea that you can change your tone seasonally or be more trend focussed and adapt yourself according to what struts down the runways.

Fun it may be, but of course you have to be able to get it right. A hair colour disaster is not at all desirable. I have a dear friend who loves to experiment with home colours and she has had lots of hits but definitely a few misses so what's important when it comes to choosing a home colour for blondes? (or indeed a salon one)

Well, I think you must look at your skin tone first. If you choose the wrong shade you will see that it doesn't make the most of your natural tone. It must complement or go! I love cool, ashy blondes for a high fashion look. It can be played up to great effect with dark smoky eyes or nude eyes and a blood red lip...but it works best on a slightly more sallow skin I think. Conversely, those paler skin tones can rock the ice queen look and go for platinum shades like the one above.

The most popular tones are the warmer, honey, gold tones as they look pretty and beachy and they are ultimately more wearable. They don't make a strong statement, they just work! I love the look of multi-tone hair which is harder to achieve yourself but if you feel creative and capable, you can get busy with some different shades and do a DIY Ombre effect with a darker blonde at the roots and paler tips. Go easy though... disasters are always lurking in the wings!

So here's to all the blondes, be they warm toned honeys, cool Nordic ice queens or platinum princesses.
Have fun with your hair, this brunette is slightly envious!
Have a look at this video from Garnier...it's a good roadmap on how to choose what products can help you find your best blonde.

*this is a sponsored post*

The Friday Freebie

I'm a bit low maintenance when it come to my hair, perhaps when I shouldn't be. I fear it's a bizarre hair styling laziness that I suffer from. I know, however, that I need to take more care in order for my locks to look good and less parched from all the blowdrying and central heating. So I enlisted the help of this Take The Heat leave in cream from Aussie. It's a light cream that you massage into damp hair before you blow dry. You may be familiar with these type of creams and I have tried (and abandoned) a few over the years myself, but I liked this one. It's texture is light, so you know it won't weigh your hair down. It protects hair from heat, tames frizz and genuinely gives a smoother, more glossy sheen. I have added it to my non-existent hair styling regime. Who knows what I may use next. Mousse, gel, sprays...a whole new hair world awaits!

I have one of these wonder creams to give away to one of you lucky lovelies. So leave me a comment below and lustrous locks could be yours...

Happy Weekend my dears!

*pssst.....just found out that there is 20% off in Space NK at Harvey Nichols this weekend! See you there!*

Swisssh!

Oh Cat Deeley, you have such pretty hair, and a pretty smile and a shiny happy attitude. I've always liked her and when I met her at a party a few year ago she was nice then too. So it's not an act... refreshing!

Anyway, back to that hair. It's super glossy and super lovely so when she became the brand ambassador for the new Pantene Aqua Light range my interest was piqued...

I had to try it...good old marketing eh?! I have used Pantene several times over the years when I've been looking for a budget shampoo but haven't been overly-enamoured with it. Sometimes I just can't justify those expensive salon brand shampoos and this is one of those times! Pennies are tight but I still want nice hair, can't be too much to ask/demand/wish for, right?

I have relatively normal hair but it can lack shine and I don't tend to use too much conditioner because I've found that it weighs it down and feels lank so Pantene's claims of light swishability sounded good.

Well, I love it! Without getting too technical it contains much less silicone that before ( it is no longer the second ingredient after water) and it rinses clean in no time, and I mean no time!

I tried the conditioner too which is great. Almost mousse- like in texture and rinses away so easily too.

After blowdrying, my hair feels light, looks glossy and conditioned and doesn't have that horrible feeling of residue.

I'm loving this range...it performs like an expensive brand but at low level prices.

Now, back to that shiny happy attitude....Swissshh!

Anyone tried it yet?