testing, testing... smashbox try it kit...

Testing, testing.... Having your eyebrows waxed by the Benebabes...

So yesterday I went for my eyebrows waxed by the lovely girls at Benefit in Boots Leeds Trinity. I don't usually pay for treatments like this (eg. eyebrows, tanning, nails etc.) but after being convinced to buy a couple of the very few items I don't have from the range I was gifted a free brow wax! First of all the lady serving me (I can't remember her name or even if she told me it actually), sat me down and 'mapped' my brows which basically meant she showed me with a stick what she would do, although I must say she said mine were in pretty good shape (proud moment, woo!). Next she heated up a pot of wax and applied it around my eyebrows before pulling off, ouch! Boy did it hurt, especially underneath the brow so close to my eyelid. It only hurt for a second, but afterwards I felt like my eyebrows were absolutely huge, and they were very, very, very red! I had refused a tint which they tried to sell me as I'd already spent a considerable amount on products and I usually do it myself with one of those eyelure boxes. Also, you have to sign a release form saying you can't sue Benefit if something goes wrong, which is slightly worrying, but don't worry, nothing went wrong with me.

The results are fab! Once the redness had died down you could really see the shape of them being much more defined - no pesky small hairs or random ones shooting off in different directions. And still thick-ish lovely brows, yay! Apologies for no before and after photos, I completely forgot, but just have a nosy at my brows on instagram to see the results...

I must say if I was to have my brows waxed again, I'd probably go to one of the other Benefit services in Leeds as with it being in Boots (a drugstore), it just wasn't the calm and luxury experience I wanted it to be, with hundreds of shoppers weaving in and out past us all the time. Plus, it would be a bit steep if it wasn't free, another thing to keep in mind. Maybe I'll take waxing up occasionally, but I certainly couldn't afford a wax and tint for £18.00 every 4 weeks as was suggested!

All in all, I'd really recommend eyebrow waxing (or any other facial waxing) as the results are fab and I didn't think I had enough brows to wax! You could try Benefit, or if you try another service, particularly in Leeds, please do let me know! Here's a pic of the price list in case you were wondering, as it doesn't seem available online, but just be warned I don't know if this list is Benefit-wide or just for the Leeds store.

Have a fab weekend beauties,

Testing, testing.... #1 Phillip Kingsley Elasticiser

This is a product I've been waiting and waiting to tell you about for a while now, but as will be explained, this is a product that works over time and after one use I just didn't feel I had tested it enough to write a proper, fair review! I kept a sort of diary-type-thing when the first few times I used this, but rather than show you it all as that would be a big bore, I've sort of rounded it up here.

The Philip Kingsley Elastisicer is a hair treatment like no other I've heard of before in that it is applied before shampooing rather than after. The science behind this is that unruly dry and damaged hair breaks while shampooing, so to treat it before shampooing prevents this and lets the hair grow, become less damaged and look all round more healthy. You wet your hair, massage in the mask all over and keep it on for 20 minutes before washing hair as per normal. Here's my experience...

Putting it on:  I found I needed to use a lot more product than expected to get a thick coating which is a little disheartning considering the price, the texture is thicker than a conditioner or traditional hair mask but feels similar in that it doesn't lather. What surprised me was there was no real smell or texture on the hair other than a bit slippy, but if it works I can get past the fact I missed my usual fruity smelling hair products! I massaged it in well and left it for about half an hour (they say the longer the better).

Keeping it on: Pretty straight forward, no tingling or anything, just like a normal hair mask.

Rinsing off: There was no problem rinsing off, it felt just the same as a normal conditioner, although I felt before I shampooed there was a slight feeling of product, but this dissapeared once washed. Once I had finished washing and towel drying my hair felt really tangle free (which I'm guessing prevents further damage and breaking) but not really very soft as you usually feel with a hair mask. I'm starting to think this is more a proper scientific hair treatment rather than a luxury pamperous (pamperous?) treat.

Drying: I applied Argan Oil to the ends of my hair before drying as per usual, and while it felt quite normal my hair was slightly producty in the ends, something I don't usually experience, so maybe the moisturising effect of Elasticiser doesn't need to be coupled with any other products! I must say, once dried, my hair looked so so much thicker! I have really thick hair anyway so this wasn't essential for me, but I can imagine if you have fine or flat hair this could work wonders! In terms of the condition however, I didn't notice much difference.

Straightening: This is where I had a sligth problem. Heating the heat seemed to make it feel a bit sticky in the way that my hair stuck together slightly, although I must admit a quick brush through soon separated the strands again. Again I'm thinking this would work better with just a blow dry rather than straighteners which seemed to bring out the oils it had left on my hair.

Wear: My hair seems to go back curly a lot quicker when using this product than usual, which I think indicates healthier hair but isn't really what I want if I'm out for the day. One thing I have noticed is my ends look super healthy, so anyone struggling with split ends out there should give it a try!

(It does look pretty healthy and very very full! Thumbs up for volume!)

(My ends look really healthy to actually, which is a slight improvement after two weeks)

So that was my little hair diary. I've used this for about two weeks now, and it is recommended that you use for months to see a proper difference, so this could be the reason I haven't seen any remarkable results. This might seem like quite a negative review, but I honestly think that while this hasn't done much for me, I have thick and relatively healthy hair - those of you with fine or damaged hair could see a big difference, I did in thickness at least!

I got my Elasticiser as a free sample in this months In Style Magazine, which costs £3.90, and will probably last me another week or two if used twice a week as recommended. If you don't get your hands on a sample the smallest bottle will set you back £15 for 75ml which is quite pricey for a product that if you're like me won't make a lot of visible change (the free sample is 40ml). If it was cheaper I would be willing to give this a better go but for the little results I have seen so far this isn't something I would repurchase, sorry Philip! Saying that I would advise you to try it if you have damaged hair or fine hair if you can find a sample on the shelves (I've seen lots still hanging around). Plus if you do like it, there's a 20% off voucher inside if you want to repurchase.

I wanted to love this product, I really did, and some of you I imagine will (there's got to be a reason its a cult product for so many), but I just couldn't! I was impressed with is body building skills though, I might save this for nights out if I'm planning a super-volumised look!

Lots of love beauties,

PS. If you do like this, it's often on QVC for a good price too!