My Hair Story - Present

Hi guys, so currently I am transforming my hair... pretty drastically may I add.

My hair is naturally light brown, well strawberry blonde, and I dye my hair dark brown. I have done ever since I was about 12, because I was teased in school the usual "ginger" taunts. This is something I deeply regret doing, as my hair when it grows through at the roots is not the same colour it used to be, but hey our hair changes with age. My hair used to be naturally curly, tight curls which then dropped with the amount of times I used heat tools on my hair, and now it has a very loose wave in the ends.

So my family and friends, know me as a person whose a fan of the dark brown hair dye bottle.
I have made some crazy decisions regarding my hair in the past couple of years and I am going to show you some of them.

So in 2010 I decided to chop my hair off completely. Those who know me, know that I am not a fan of the hairdresser's scissors because of a this bad hair mistake I made a couple of years ago, when I decided I wanted my hair chopping to my ears!! Cringe

May 2010

Skipping forward to 2013..Last year, I then decided to dip dye my hair when the trend was in, So it was dark at the roots and a golden brown on the ends, this was something I quickly regretted because of the state and condition it left my hair in.

Here is a photo of my dip dyed locks...

After the dip dye completely ruined my hair, I decided to go back to the dark brown and had the chop. Yes a couple of inches to remove most of the dip dye from my hair.
Back to the aftermath of the dip dye, I then decided Last July (2013) that I wanted a couple of highlights put through my hair to lighten it for the summer... These highlights were more light brown and caramel toned. Something which in time lightened my hair through the sunshine, and put my hair back into good condition.

Marbella - August 2013

Although, come the end of November (2013) I then decided I wanted to go back dark! I change my hair more than I change my underwear... No i am joking. But I do like to switch it up quite a bit. So I did quite well in all I lasted Dark brown until March 2014... that is long for me I mean 5 months and only a couple of root touch ups, Dare I say I praised myself.

Christmas 2013

But wait for it, Yes after watching the process of Khloe Kardashian and her sisters, Kylie and Kim change their hair repeatedly from dark to blonde, I decided I wanted a slice of the Kardashian lifestyle and changed my hair.
I do not recommend this transformation to be done yourself at home, as you will witness photos of how my hair went. Because I literally decided one Saturday that I wanted to lighten my extremely dark brown hair to a more golden toned blonde, I took myself off to Boots and bought some box dyes. I purchased the 2 L'oreal Ombre Kits numbers 1 and number 2 mixed them both and took to attacking my hair. Trying to create the whole dark roots and golden locks I brushed it from mid quarter of my roots... and let me tell you this is what I would of called a disaster.

I would never recommend trying to recreate this hairstyle from home, unless you are a trained hairdresser!


So anyway, after the whole ginger situation which looked like this...

I then decided to bite the bullet and contact my hairdresser to sort out my mess! What a joy when she told me she could fit me in the following day. Because my hair was so badly damaged through the 2 box dyes, and it was a golden orange colour she could not get my hair as light as I wanted. But instead put through a dark matte brown shade on my roots, and extra blonde toner through parts of the length to create the dark to light contrast.

This is how my hair looks at the moment; darker on top and lighter towards the ends.

However, I am booked to go back to the hairdressers in 4 weeks time to have the white blonde put through the ends, and therefore will have achieved my desired hair.. fingers crossed. I will keep you updated with my hair progress soon.

Mini Haul

Hey guys im back with another haul! I know ive been gone for a while, but there will be a post explaining why by the end of this week. I just thought i would come back with a beauty haul first.

If you follow me on twitter and instagram then you will know that I have just got back from a holiday in Egypt and treated myself to a few beauty goodies at duty free (who can't resist duty free shopping?)

I thought I would be quite restrained because recently I have told myself not to buy anymore makeup because I simply have too much and hardly use the products I own. So in my eyes 3 products was not that bad...

(1) Mac Mineralize Blush - Dainty £20 I unintentionally bought this product, I was after a darker pink shade a little bit dark and less shimmery than my Nars Orgasm, but the woman showed me this on my skin and i instantly fell in love and knew I needed this for summer. The light pink shimmery blush i thought would wash me out, because of my pale skin but actually did the complete opposite and put some colour into my cheeks. This retails for £20 buying direct from Mac and I think I paid £17 at the airport.

(2) Benefit - They're Real Mascara £19.50 This mascara was on my list, I previously owned this and didn't think very highly of it, those of you who regularly read my blog will know my opinion. However, My sister convinced me to give this another go, I mean if the whole of the nation voted it the number 1 mascara then how come I don't get on with it? The thing that annoyed me last time was that I found it hard to remove, but now that I have changed up my makeup remover I actually find it quite easier. I bought this for £16.50 and by the rate of things this is now becoming one of my fave mascaras, I don't quite think anything will beat my Rimmel lash accelerator mascara though!

(3) YSL Rouge Volupte Shine - shade 11 £24 Ok so this is now my second YSL lipstick and I am slowly but surely falling in love and find myself wanting to own every single shade. I went for shade 11 because I have been after a brown shimmer toned nude, pink nudes wash me out too much (perks of pale skin). But this brown tone really suits my lips, its subtle and a great summer day time shade. I don't often wear nudes but I have really been loving it at the moment, especially with the sun shining, it has an aqua glistening finish which is something i really like about this lipstick. Thumbs up to YSL for this shade, i shall be making a new purchase very soon.

Hope you enjoyed, if you have any questions or comments then feel free to leave them below!
Love ya

Motivational Weight Loss

Hi guys, so lately my blogs been changing and evolving along with me. I started slimming world a couple of months ago, and have been posting a couple of recipes. A few months back I did a post about finding the real me, and how insecure I felt about myself. This time im doing a positive post and looking back on the start of my journey and how far I have come.

So I started the gym, and slimming world, changing my eating habits and working out has helped my body to change.

The photo on the left was taken almost 12 months ago, 8 months before I started my journey. I was really insecure about the way I looked and hated photos. The image on the right was taken just over 2 months ago (new years eve) and I am proud and more confident in the way I look, and don't mind being in photos.

For me it wasn't so much about losing weight because I was 'overweight' it was about helping myself to gain more confidence in my body, and losing weight is just one of the ways I can achieve my confidence boost.

I know that I have a long way to go to reach my 'target' weight at slimming world but I hope with my families support and the motivation from myself I can achieve my target, as well as achieving confidence within my body.

I hope you guys don't mind if I keep you updated with a couple posts throughout my journey. If anybody has any questions then feel free to message me regarding slimming world or anything in general.

If any of you have any questions regarding my current gym routine, or simply find yourself needing some motivation to stay on the wagon then feel free to contact me on here or by email at smansell94@gmail.com

Many thanks, Love

Mac Palette

Hi Guys, there hasn't been a beauty post in a while but with it being a new year, I've decided to come back to the Blogging world, and my first beauty post back will be my Mac Palette.

Over Christmas I received the 15 eye shadow palette, along with a couple of eye shadows I have accumulated on my way. This post will do a run through of the shadows which are currently in my Mac Palette. It's not full yet but it is getting there.

Lost the stickers of the left bottom 2 shades, didn't apply when depotting. Guessed the shadows to my best knowledge :)

So my palette is a large pro palette with the 15 shadow inserts; the large palette retails for £14 and the shadow inserts retail for £6.50. The eye shadows depending on what form retail from £10 (if you buy them in pan) or £12.50 if you buy them in the pot. You can depot the shadows yourself, or its better to buy them in pan with the magnets already applied and then just pop it in the palette.

Starting from the top row L-R:

1st Row:
All that glitters;
Mystery; Satin Finish
Naked Lunch; Frost Finish
Satin Taupe; Frost finish
Woodwinked; Veluxe Pearl Finish

2nd Row:
Star Violet; Veluxe Pearl Finish
Mylar; Satin Finish
Texture; Velvet Finish
Black Tied; Velvet Finish

3rd Row:
Steamy; Frost Finish
Electra; Frost Finish
Aquadisiac; Lustre Finish

Tom Ford: Extreme Mascara Review

Hi guys and dolls, I thought that I would do a review on one of my new mascara finds for 2014. This mascara was from Selfridges and is by Tom Ford it retails for £34 and I thought I would share with you my thoughts on the mascara...

Atfirst glance the packaging is rather swanky, and one which I like. The detailing of the TF on the top of the mascara is something which I love within Tom Ford products. The brown marble effect packaging with the gold detailing again is something which is astetically pleasing to the eye, packaging thumbs up.

Opening the mascara, the wand is something which I consider to be make or break. The wand is a full bristle brush, and is my favourite type of wand for creating volume, length and drama. The mascara itself is of a wet consistency not too dry but not to wet that it leaves marks when you blink. All in all I love the formula of this mascara and the dark blackest black shade that really makes my lashes black! I love this mascara, and it was definitely a good find of mine.

The only thing that puts me off repurchasing this mascara once it is used up is the price, coming in at £34 is a little bit steep for mascara, especially when there are so many others on the market that I want to try and are considerably little cheaper.

Thanks Tom Ford for your wonderful mascara, but no so much a thank you for the price!! Ouch!!

All I all this mascara receives a score of...

Spaghetti Bolognese

Hi guys, its that time of the week for another healthy recipe, again if you follow slimming world then this recipe is SYN FREE! Eat as much of this as you want without feeling guilty...



You Will Need:
- 400g Extra Lean Mince Beef
- 1 Large Onion
- Passata (or chopped tomatoes)
- 2 Beef Stock Cubes
- Pasta
- Fry Light

This one is so simple and your meal can be made within minutes..

Method:
1) In a pan spray a couple squirts of fry light and add the minced beef.
2) Chop the onions and once the meat has browned add the onion and continue to stir until the onions turn golden.
3) Add the stock cubes sprinkled over the contents of the pan, and stir.
4) Add the passata or the chopped tomatoes, leave to simmer for 10-15 minutes until the sauce has thickened.
5) Make your pasta, sit down and enjoy.

You can freeze this meal for upto 1 month if there are any leftover.

Slimming World Syn Free Chilli Recipe

Hi Guys, Welcome to 2014! I hope this year is a good one, and im kick starting the new year with a complete health kick. Each week I will be posting a recipe which I will have made during the week, something which is relatively simple to rustle up and freeze for easy meals during the week.

This week it is the slimming world Chilli Con Carne with an added twist, for those of you who are familiar with slimming world or are even members yourself this chilli is SYN FREE, and therefore means you can eat as much as you want without feeling guilty.



You will need:
- Frylight
- 400g Extra Lean Minced Beef
- 400g can of chopped tomatoes
- 1 large onion
- Tomato Puree
- 200g red kidney beans (Drained)
- 250ml Beef stock
- Chilli Powder
- Paprika
- Salt & Pepper (if you wish)

Method:
1) First of all chop your onions and place them into a pa which has been sprayed with frylight, leave them till they are soft and turning golden brown. Then add 1tsp of paprika, and 1 tsp of chilli powder, stir them together and start to input the minced beef.

2) Stir the minced beef until it starts to brown, then add your 250ml beef stock (i use 2 beef stock cubes and water), add the chopped tomatoes and 1tbsp of tomato puree and stir until binded together. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes until the remaining water has been binded and the chilli is quite thick.

3) Then drain the kidney beans, and wash lightly. Add the kidney beans to the mixture and stir for 5 minutes. Add any salt and pepper and extra spices until the chilli is to your liking. Personally mine tastes fine with the spices added which have been mentioned in the recipe and has a little kick.

You can then eat your chilli till your heart is content, and freeze the rest once it has chilled. This chilli can be freezed for upto 1 month.