Happy Hair Days Rosemary and Mint - An Ojon full detox dupe?

So a couple of days ago I bought some "Happy Hair Days" shampoo and conditioner from Sainsbury's as they were on offer for £2 for 300ml and I have been eyeing them up for quite a while now! (Haven't really found any online presence of "Happy Hair Days" - don't seem to have a website.)

I chose the rosemary and mint thickening shampoo and conditioner, because it claims to add body and I have very fine hair which can end up looking really flat. I wash my hair every day because I have very oily roots which do not look presentable to the world even using dry shampoo. I envy the girls who can roll out of bed with sexy tousled bed head hair, mine just looks - well, like I forgot to shower. (As a bit of a pre empting for people saying I need to go for a few months without washing everyday to see the difference - I have. My hair is just very fine and oily which always looks lank on the second day.)

So back to the review - This claims to be free of nasties. I love the Naked haircare range, which is 97% natural and I think my good experience with the Naked range is what caught my attention with Happy Hair Days when I first saw them on the shelves. I had an obligatory sniff whilst in the haircare isle whilst watching out for shop assistants because I know you're not supposed to! The entire range smells absolutely delicious, I had a hard time picking between the rosemary and mint and the lemon and basil version which was for shine. There is also a pomegranate and ginger duo (for moisture) blueberry and pear (for smoothing) and marshmallow and coconut (for colour care).

So when I first started lathering this into my hair, my mind instantly jumped to the Ojon full detox shampoo. The Ojon is a cleansing bi-monthly shampoo you should use to remove product build up. I really enjoy using it as is (surprisingly) leaves my hair really soft. I thought it was going to be a really stripping shampoo but it isn't at all. Both shampoos smell gorgeously minty and herbal. The Happy Hair Days slightly more minty, the Ojon slightly more herbal.

Reading the ingredients list of both - I can see that the oils Ojon contains (in order from ingredients list) are macadamia, sunflower seed, jasmine, castor seed, lemon peel, nutmeg kernel, coriander fruit, spearmint leaf, bergamot fruit and clary. That's a lot of oils! The oils the rosemary and mint shampoo contains are (again in order) rosemary, peppermint, spearmint, armoise, lemon, petigrain and patchouli. The conditioner also contains sweet almond oil, which is higher up the ingredients list than the others. I think the ratio of oils explains why the Ojon smells more herbal and the rosemary and mint more minty! Mint! Get it? ;)

Aside from smells - one of the problems of sulfate free shampoos is the lack of lather, but as both use a much less harsh foaming agent - ammonium lauryl sulfate which solves the problem and gives a lovely foam. Upon rinsing neither leave my hair feeling "squeaky" clean as a really stripping shampoo would, which is what I expected from both of them! My hair definitely feels clean - but just not squeaky! Really like it. I have always gone for more moisturising conditioners, and although this is definitely a lighter formula as it is designed for fine hair I found it did a really good job. I can always tell when rinsing a conditioner off whether it's gonna be good or bad! Can anybody else?!

I styled my hair (as usual) by applying the Loreal studio heat protection cream stuff (the one in the pink bottle) as this is what I always use and I didn't want to have a biased review by not using it! I blowdry upside down to get some va va voom and then when it's pretty much dry use my Goody straighten it out plastic and boar bristle ceramic brush (try saying that 10 times fast) to smooth out any frizz and straighten whilst giving body at the same time! Hair felt lovely and smooth and shiny with lift at the roots! Yippee!

I took the dog out for a walk around Chatsworth today and it was super windy and I didn't find that my hair was totally knotted and unbrushable when I got home! Which was surprising! My hair still has a faint whiff of the herbal minty goodness left in it which I loove!

I would go as far to say that they are very, very similar products, and not just because of the smell. If I could, I would use the Ojon everyday but the hefty price tag - £20 for 250ml and the fact it's designed only to be used once every two weeks (or 24 times a year!!) certainly puts me off! But I think now I have found the perfect alternative which was completely unexpected as I hadn't even thought about the Ojon when purchasing! And it's actually affordable! I am going to keep using to see if the shampoo builds up or not and update, but I am very very impressed! I always love getting ready in the mornings and when I wake up tomorrow, as sad as it sounds, I am really really excited about washing my hair!

 You can see the shine it gives me and how there is still lift at the roots even though I took this in the evening :)

First thoughts on O.P.I Nail Envy and Avoplex Cuticle Oil!

So firstly, a little bit of a background on my nails! I actually have really strong, hard, and thick nails. You're probably thinking "so stop bragging about it", and "so why do you need it?" but I do have reason for purchasing this duo. (Honest!) (To skip ahead to what I actually think about the products, read underneath the pictures!)

About 2 months ago, I completely ruined my natural nails with fake nails, the ones you stick on with nail glue. I painted a set myself using a watercolour effect (tutorial linked here) and I was really impressed with how gorgeous they looked, so against all my instincts...I glued them on. After spending all day catching them on everything I touched they really began to stress me out - so much so that I ended up having strop about something that was so relevant, dramatic and distressing at the time that I can't even bring to my mind what it was about - I pulled the nails off in a rage, which left my nails screwed. in an unpleasant condition to say the least. Self inflicted, I know.

I'd pretty much fractured the nail, you could see all these lines across the whole of the nail where it had shattered underneath from the pressure from pulling at the nails to get them off. My natural nails were still covered in glue and were actually very sore from the nails pulling at the skin underneath my nail. I soaked in acetone to remove the stubborn nail glue, which wasn't successful, and if anything it worsened the situation and made my nails weaker. Oops. So I filed them right down using my Leighton Denny glass nail file (love, love, love!) Until all the "fractures" had grown out, which as they did would peel a layer off the tips of my nails :(! And as the last fractures grew out I had hoped the peeling would stop, but it hasn't. This might have something to so with the fact that I am working as a hotel cleaner during the summer whilst I'm at university, so this probably hasn't helped the situation, but I thought now was a better time than any to try out O.P.I Nail Envy!

I have heard a lot of good things about Nail Envy as a treatment, mainly from Vivianna from ViviannaDoesMakeup. I bought a mini bottle for one of my friends as part of a birthday present and ever since I've been itching to buy it for myself. I managed to find this duo for £18.50 from the Chemists in a town near where I live. I thought it was a pretty good deal as you're basically getting the Cuticle Oil for free.

So here are the two full sized, 15 ml products. The pictures below are taken with 2 coats of the Nail Envy on the first day of application. Prep wise I filed the tips of my nails and used a buffer to remove the majority of ridges and to smooth the nail, I'm always cautious with these as I don't want to make my nails too thin! (It also defeats the object of achieving thicker stronger nails, by filing them thinner!) Afterwards I applied the cuticle oil, and it smells absolutely delicious! This will be sitting on my bedside for night time hand fuss! :) I have a feeling the oil will also be fab for helping freshly painted nails stay smudge free - but I will let you all know on that front after some investigating!

On first thoughts- I think the combination of cuticle oil and the varnish have left my fingers in amazing condition. As I'm sat looking at them - my nails look pink and healthy, and I as I only applied the cuticle oil to one hand I can really compare them to see the difference it has made, and I can really see the oil is still working, despite being applied about 5 hours ago! There is no hard skin around the sides on my that nails catches on clothing/material and as a result my nails look instantly healthier.

I will continue to apply and see what a difference it makes. Expect a review coming soon - but I am expecting great things from these products!

Pretty pastel nails!

 Pastels are supposed to be a spring thing.. But I am really feeling them at the moment! Here are my favourites/the ones I could fit on my hands :)

So, we have.. L-R

Revlon Lilac Pastelle, Revlon Sunshine Sparkle, Relvon Peach Nectar, OPI Mermaid's Tears, Barry M Baby Pink. All shown with 3 coats.

Lilac Pastelle. A gorgeous, light lavender creme. It has purple micro shimmer which can be seen clearly in the bottle but which is not too obvious on the nail :( takes forever to dry. Best applied with about 5 super thin coats, letting each one fully dry in between. Lasts 5 days + without chipping.

Sunshine Sparkle. A pale, watered down lemon yellow creme polish. Also has micro shimmer in it but again, cannot be obviously seen in the nail. Same application tips as Lilac Pastelle. Also long lasting without chips! (can see the sparkle on the 1st pic)

Peach Nectar. A peach jelly. Also looks gorgeous with just one coat to make nails look natural and healthy. Chips a little more easily than the 2 above but not a lot.

Mermaid's Tears. Not really a pastel but I love it anyway! A lovely murky yet not dull green creme.

Baby Pink. Lovely. Matt pastel pink creme. As with all Barry M's I find them longwearing for 4-7 days.

Lucia Tommasi Handbag.

I got this gorgeous leather bag for my birthday this year from my step dad whilst he away in Amalfi! It is made of the softest, velvety leather and I absolutely adore the skull detailing on the front! It is very subtle though so nothing too rock chic for me! The other side doesn't have the detailing so adds a bit of variation. It has a separator in the middle which makes two compartments and lots of little zip pockets for hiding important things and goodies inside! I am definitely a tan handbag lady so this is perfect! I find that tan goes with so many outfits and is smart, classy and chic but can also be worn with casual clothes for a really put together look! It is such good quality so I think and hope that it will last me a long time! I think my step dad (as lovely as he is!!) had a helping hand picking it out from my step sister! :) Anyway! Enough jabbering, here are the pictures!

 Size wise - will fit an A4 folder in length-ways.

 Close up of the skull detailing.

 The plain leather side and a close up of the side buckle!

 How soft and beautiful does that leather look!