Redken Real Control Overnight Treat

Nighttime is the perfect opportunity to feed your skin with everything its in need of. So what about your hair? Some people do hair masks or cover their hair in coconut oil but both of these options can be messy and frankly, too much effort. Something I've recently added to my nighttime pampering routine is Redken's Overnight Treat. This is another bargain I picked up in TK Maxx as it was reduced from it's RRP of £27.50 to £12.99. I've always been a fan of Redken products, especially their Blonde Glam & Extreme ranges, so I figured it'd be good to try it out.

Overnight Treat is a thick white cream that aims to renew and repair severely damaged hair while you sleep. I simply apply one pump of product to the ends of my hair, rubbing it in to all the strands, and when I wake up my hair feels really soft and looks less frizzy & damaged. When you first apply the cream it will make your hair look and feel a bit clumpy as it dries but that totally disappears by morning and you're left with lovely looking & feeling hair. It doesn't make your hair feel greasy at all and doesn't make a mess on your pillow. I just brush it out in the morning but you can wash it out and it will still help your hair. You can also apply it to damp hair but I can't stand sleeping with wet hair so I just use it when my hair is dry. As a bleach blonde, my hair needs all the help it can get. If I apply hair oils during the day I find that the ends of my hair can look greasy and overloaded with product. I now stick to just using oils when my hair is wet and use Overnight Treat to make my hair look nice when I wake up. I really like this product and its made such a difference to my dry, desperately in need of a cut, ends. Its definitely one to check out if you have dry or damaged hair.

September Favourites

Lierac Diopti Calm Eye Contour Balm & Mask
I only just reviewed this eye cream last week but it really is a good'un. Never have I found an eye cream thats more cooling and refreshing than this one. I thought that Origins GinZing eye cream was good but this one is even better. Its even cheaper too if you can find it in TK Maxx like I did.

Percy & Reed Finishing Polish
I got this free with an old issue of Glamour magazine and its been shoved in the back of my hair product drawer for months. Last month I went searching through my drawers for something that would tame my frizzy locks after getting caught in some light rain and came across this again. I just ran a tiny pea sized amount through my hair and it immediately looked tame & like I'd just stepped out of the salon. Its amazing because it doesn't make your hair greasy or weigh it down whatsoever, it just gives it perfect hold. Can't believe I ignored this fab product for so many months!

Beauté Weightless Lip Creme in Girlina
I think these Weightless Lip Cremes must be my favourite formula of any lip product ever. They're almost a cross between a lipstick and a lip gloss. I love these because they're highly pigmented, long lasting, comfortable to wear and aren't sticky at all. Girlina is a bubblegum pink shade and I've been wearing this all the time recently. I think it looks gorgeous combined with NARS Deep Throat blush on the cheeks. If you're wanting to splash out on a lip product I would always recommend these over anything else. At £19 each they're not cheap but they sure are worth it!

MAC In The Gallery Eye Shadow Quad
Purple is always a great eye shadow colour to go for because it compliments any eye colour & skin tone. It looks especially nice on people with green or hazel eyes. This is one of my favourite eye shadow palettes because the colours & shadow finishes are spot on. It contains a satin, a frost and two mattes. The shadows aren't very pigmented in comparison to many MAC eye shadows but they do build very nicely which makes them perfect for day or night makeup looks. This was a limited edition palette that came out in 2009 but I've been using it constantly throughout September. These lovely purple shades really do bring out the green in my eyes too.

Sure Women Maximum Protection Deodorant
I read about this deodorant on quite a few blogs and decided to try it out for myself. I used to use a Nivea Pearl aerosol deodorant but my mum was forever telling me it'd give me breast cancer so I'd been on the lookout for a different formula for while. I never liked creams or liquids because they always made my underarms feel sticky. Then I tried this one and it feels like my underarms are dry right after application. Its quite moisturising and I feel like it does actually keep my arms dry for a good 48 hours. Excessive sweating has never been a problem for me but I still really like this deodorant. I might try one of the Dove Maximum Protection ones next though because the only thing I don't really like about this one is the scent. It just gets up my nose a bit even though it is really fresh & clean smelling.

Bolo Ties
Now I don't know about you but Colonel Sanders is deffo one of my style icons. The Olsen Twins & Alexa Chung have got nothing on him! I already have his white blonde hair, next on the list was a bolo tie or two. I think they're the perfect addition to any collared shirt and are a damn sight easier to put on than collar tips. You might have already seen me wearing this buffalo skull one from Galibardy but I spotted this pretty gold one in Topshop the other day & knew it had to be mine. It was only £8.50 and looks so nice on. Is it just me that has to have a gold & a silver version of everything? It makes my jewellery collection a bit samey but I need that colour option haha!

Craisins
I'm always trying out new healthy snacks, anything to stop me from gorging on chocolate all day long. I really enjoyed watching Onna's video about some of the healthy food she eats and she mentioned these Craisins. I bought some soon after that and I've been hooked ever since. I normally just grab a handful as a snack or sprinkle them on top of salads/quinoa. They taste really nice and don't have that sharpness that you get from fresh cranberries. I definitely prefer these to normal raisins. Plus they're full of fibre & antioxidants.

A Less Than Glowing Review For GlamGlow

One of the things I enjoy most about my Sunday pampering routine is clearing out my skin with a good face mask. I noticed yesterday that Cult Beauty had 25% off everything (& will do until midnight tonight!). Considering GlamGlow is one of the many products they sell I figured this would be an ideal time to purchase the full size 50ml pot after hearing so many wonderful things about it. But I first needed to try out my sample tube I received at the Leeds Blogger Meetup. I've wanted to try this mud mask ever since I read Ruth's review. In fact I actually squeed out loud when I saw the display boards being put up at the meetup. I was overjoyed I was finally going to get to try this wonder mask without splashing out 50 quid beforehand. Fast forward to today and I'm really rather glad I decided to save my pennies.

GlamGlow is marketed as an instant facial in a tub. It contains volcanic rock, French sea clay and green tea leaf extracts that supposedly brighten, clear and tighten your skin after just 15 minutes. It is also supposed to leave your skin glowing for up to three days after application. Theres quite a few celebrities that have proclaimed their love for this mask which only added to my high expectations of this product. I eagerly applied this dark green mask in a thin layer all over my face. As I smoothed it over my face I could already feel some exfoliation occurring due to the bits of green tea leaves it contains. The green tea smell is really nice. It feels extremely tingly, almost uncomfortably so. I think it might be too much for someone with sensitive skin. It dries to a hard finish like most traditional clay masks so its quite fun trying to talk with it on.

After 15 minutes I removed the mask with a muslin cloth. Combined with the green tea leaves it gave my skin a good exfoliation and the congested areas on my nose & chin looked clear & felt smooth. Sadly thats where the benefits ended. My skin did not look particularly radiant or glowing. Certainly no more than when I simply wash my face in the morning with my REN cleanser and a flannel. And to my horror a small crop of spots had appeared on my forehead! I'm not saying that the spots are purely down to GlamGlow but it definitely brought them to the surface. That might not be a bad thing in the long run but this mask is supposed to make your skin look instantly better, not put all the crappy bits of your skin on display for the world to see. I'd be very disappointed if I were using this before a night out and I suddenly looked spottier than ever.

I really wanted to love GlamGlow but this product is just ridiculously overpriced and overhyped. I feel like if it were sold for about £20 as a regular clay mask then it wouldn't be such a bad skincare product. But considering the £50 price tag (thats £1 per ml!) and its claims of instant skin improvement & a three day glow, it just isn't worth it. It might have worked for others but even if it did work on my skin, it'd have to be pretty miraculous in order for the price to be justifiable to me. Try Liquid Gold instead.