Merry Christmas!

Wishing all my beautiful readers a wonderful Christmas!!

Taylor Taylor- My new hair

After a recent refurbishment the trendy, award winning Taylor Taylor Boutique salon has reopened and in celebration I was kindly invited to review it for you guys.

This salon is situated just off Brick Lane and has a very relaxed feel with its glamorous interior. There is even an outdoor cutting area so Summer clients can enjoy the weather while a continental breakfast is served during early morning appointments! This is definitely something I had never previously heard of!

Unfortunately, when I arrived it was snowing so I was not able to see the terrace. However, the inside is just as pretty and I was warmly welcomed by the staff with champagne and sat by a heater to thaw :). The salon was pretty empty on a cold Wednesday afternoon, which I always prefer as the last thing anyone wants is a frazzled stylist rushing through your cut or colour and running off to their next appointment half way through your blow dry to leave behind a trainee shaking with terror.

I must however confess that often I put off going to the hairdresser as I find some don't really take into account what you want, and chop off far too much hair for my liking. Equally, if you try to stand your ground and insist on having just a trim they patronise you with that look of "What do you know? I'm a professional" which makes me want to shout "It's my hair and I have to wear it... I don't want a bob!"

Perhaps I just like being in control, but after some horrendous experiences in the past, including a fringe that barely skimmed my forehead making me look like a freshly escaped mental patient and peroxide yellow highlights, I am far more cautious these days of who I let near my hair.

Fortunately, none of these fears surfaced as my stylist Claire was absolutely lovely and we discussed at length the colour and the type of highlights I was looking for (the key here being natural!), before going through the Schwarzkopf colour charts. Claire custom mixed the shades to suit my skin tone, and used a very low level bleach on the highlights to keep them subtle. As I said I wanted to even out my colour and add some dimension with highlights she decided to place them underneath my natural parting so as they grew out there would be no visible roots. I have never had this done before, and was excited to see how it would turn out!

The whole process took just under three hours. This included dying my roots, lifting the colour from the highlighted pieces, darkening up the rest of my hair and lastly toning the highlights to make them blend. I really felt that care was being taken over my hair and it was a lovely experience to feel so pampered when normally I would be worrying about what was really happening under all that foil. Although I was there for a while it didn't feel overly long as we were chatting the entire time. I had lots of questions about Claire's experience in hair and what she would recommend for use on my dry locks.

So in true makeover style here is my before shot:

 

It is hard to see as the flash makes my hair a much more vivid red, but I had visible roots, the ends were looking very brassy and my colour was very much faded and flat, especially at the back. So here is the exciting part- the after:

Once again apologies for the photo as it was very dark outside we had to use flash and it really altered the true colour. I hope you can see though that my hair is a little darker, much more shiny and has lots more dimension with the subtle highlights. I am really loving it actually, as although it is a small change I feel it has made a lot of difference, especially when I curl my hair!

 

You can really see the effect here, and it has given me the perfect lift me up for Christmas! 

Overall, I really enjoyed my experience at Taylor Taylor! The staff were absolutely lovely and friendly, the service was impeccable and the salon itself was small and comfortable whilst still being glamorous. The only thing that I can criticize is that it is on the other side of London from my house, but for me it will definitely be worth the trip in the future!

What do you guys think of the new hair? It's funny how a small change can make a big difference!

The makeup marathon?

On Friday I had to get ready in a hurry (thank you bf for short notice!) for a formal dinner. At times like this, when I know I have to look the part with minimum fuss, I go back to basics. So I thought I would share with you my little routine for knocking their socks off in under 20 minutes ;).

Before I start I make sure my skin is clean and I take 5 minutes to put my hair up in hot rollers. I usually do my eyes first as I know when I am in a hurry there will be fall out and I will just get flustered trying to clean up. First eyebrows are filled in with powder, no matter how rushed you are please don't forget about your brows! For eyes I stick to 3 shadows- lid, crease, highlight, followed by thick eyeliner and lashes. Yes, false lashes are not for those in a hurry, but they usually take me under 60 seconds flat and I figure that lashes will give your eyes extra impact so there is no need to mess around with shadows too long. (Here I used UDPP, MAC digit all over lid, violet pigment mixed with carbon in crease, vapour as highlight)

I then like to use a pretty full coverage foundation as this saves time with concealer and I know it will last the night. My top pic is Maybelline's superstay 16hr silky foundation (if you want a review please leave me a comment). I may add a little Bobbi Brown corrector under the eyes to counteract the blue, but apart from that the foundation will cover all other flaws. I then set foundation with MAC MSF natural, add a little laguna bronzer, a sweep of blusher and lipgloss and I'm done.
I have always been more of a sprint than a marathon runner ;).

So by the time the makeup is finished and I am dressed I take out the rollers, and after a quick tease and pin I am out the door, or as Calvin Harris eloquently puts it "I put on my shoes and I'm ready for the weekend" ;).

This time I decided to tease a little more at the crown, and pin back the top half as I was traveling for 2 hours and wanted everything to stay in place. As you guys know I never wear a middle parting, but I was inspired by a photo of a 60s starlet to go a little retro.

What is your routine for getting ready in a hurry? Do you have any time saving tips?
xxx

The Body Shop Savings- Pass the Parcel

Pass the Parcel this Christmas and save up to 30% at The Body Shop.

Click here to get your free voucher and pass it on to a friend for more holiday savings :).

Temtu Airbrush Foundation

This is my little review and tutorial on how to use the Temptu airbrush system. I am really impressed by how easy it is to set up and use. If anyone has tried it please let me know what you think :).