Dehydration And Headaches

DISCLAIMER: This is a health blog post borderline medical. I am not a medical professional so if you are experiencing anything of what I am going to mention in this blog post then please go and see your GP or health professional. Also, refrain from doing online self-diagnosis', this is very dangerous and could cause you a lot of worry over something very minor. I am aware that this post contains sources from the internet but I have visited my GP and will continue to do so if the symptoms persist. This blog post is firstly; a way of me recording how I feel and what I've done to try and remedy the pain and secondly; offer advice to anyone who may be experiencing the same pain and has the same habits as I. With that being said, I hope you find this blog post interesting and helpful. 

As I am writing this, I have a pain in the back and front of my head. 

Recently, I have been experiencing this pain every day. I did wonder if this could be due to my contraceptive pill as this is a common side effect (said pill should cease to be taken if this occurs). However, I am on my pill-free week and I am still experiencing this pain. I also thought it could be down to me not wearing my glasses enough. Again however, I have been wearing them every time I use my laptop and the pain is still there. 

I was told 2 weeks ago by the nurse at my doctors surgery that I was dehydrated. This wasn't a great surprise to me. 

For as long as I can remember, I have been awful with drinking water regularly and I got into a habit of going a whole day without drinking a thing. I do not advise this type of behaviour, it's very dangerous. I do not have this habit anymore but I am still not drinking as much as I should be. 

Anyway, back to the headaches. I was researching the causes of headaches and couldn't really decipher what was going on until I typed in 'Dehydration and headaches' into Google. I found this article here and quite a lot of it made sense to me. I feel pain in my head when I bend over to pick up something (almost like I am going to fall over) I also felt pain in my head when I was at the gym a week ago and I had to stop my exercise. This could be down to what the article mentions as lost electrolytes that haven't been replenished after heavy sweat loss. I went to the gym last night and felt fine afterwards despite sweating a lot and drinking about a pint and a half of water during and after my workout. This may not be enough and I need to up my fluid intake. Another tip the article gives you is to take electrolytes in your water after every workout. These are small dissolvable tablets that you pop into your water and they are packed with sodium, magnesium, potassium and calcium. All of the ium's. 

Here is a link to where you can buy these tablets from Holland & Barrett (they come in all different flavours) :http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/shop/product/high5-zero-citrus-60098125

Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/High-5-High5-Zero-Citrus/dp/B003AIMQ38/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1403698347&sr=8-2&keywords=high5+zero+electrolyte+tablets

Also, this morning I slept in and I read elsewhere that oversleeping has the potential to cause headaches. Your body functions just as it should on 8 hours of sleep so I need to get into the habit of going to bed and waking up at a sensible time with 8 hours in the bank. This also means that you have more time and can be more productive. 

It has also been very hot where I live right now which does contribute to headaches, whether dehydration caused or otherwise. Maybe I should buy a hat.

As I have mentioned, I am awful at remembering when to drink water. In the digital age, technology has been created to help curb this habit. I have found a useful app on the App Store (I am unsure if it is available on other platforms- have a look!) called 'Waterlogged'. This app gives you the ability to record a measurement of fluid intake be it 500ml, 1 litre or more. You can also set reminders to ensure you are drinking regularly as drinking large volumes of water in one go is actually not very hydrating at all. Every time you log water intake, the bottle (or snowflake in my case!) will fill up. I really like this feature as I can visually see what I've achieved and what I have left to achieve in my day. 

Here is a link to the iTunes Store website where you can read up about this App and pictures of what it looks like: 

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/waterlogged-drink-more-water/id352199775?mt=8

Now I have come to the end of writing this blog post, my headache has subsided after drinking about 750ml of water. I am going to walk down to Holland & Barrett now to pick up some electrolyte tablets and have a chat with the staff about other things I can do to help. I will check back with an update in about 2 weeks or so. 

UPDATE: I am drinking my water now with one of the electrolyte tablets I just picked up from H&B. They didn't have any of the ones I featured in this post in stock so I went for the EXTREME ones. Added to 500ml of water, it tastes like watery palmer violets sweets.

I know this hasn't been my typical blog post but if you have found it interesting or you have any tips for me, please comment below :)

Thank you for reading!

REVIEW: Charles Worthington Volume and Bounce Range

A year or so ago, I used the Charles Worthington Salon at Home Melting Balm which was an intensive hair mask and I absolutely loved it. However afterwards, I didn't continue to test out the other products Charles Worthington had to offer. Until now. 

I'd heard great things about the Volume and Bounce range, specifically the Texturising Spray. As some of you will know, I wrote a blog post here about a Vo5 Texturising Spray that I didn't love so I thought I'd give this one a go.

Eventually I had accumulated the entire range except for the Thick & Full 3D Boosting Créme. So I thought I'd give you an honest and in-depth review of each product with what I thought and liked (as well as disliked). 

First up, the shampoo and conditioner. It promises volume from root to tip and thicker appearance thanks to the Collagen enriched formula. It also claims to have 'Heat Protecting Conditioning Complex'. All very hefty promises to it's customers, but was I convinced it did anything for my hair?

I love the smell of them both, very luxurious and alike to being in a hairdressers. The shampoo is very light (as specified) but essentially this means that a typical amount used doesn't lather up a great deal. I wasn't really keen on this and found myself adding a bit extra so that it did lather up, not a great sign as it means it doesn't last me as long!

The conditioner is just lovely. Very creamy and very softening. I always made sure I really slathered it onto the ends of my hair and left it to really penetrate the strands for a good few minutes. 

Would I say this combo helped with adding volume and bounce to my hair? I didn't see a drastically noticeable change in my hair that really wowed me. 

However, I was wowed by the styling products in this range. As I mentioned, I was interested to try the texturising spray as I had heard it was a dupe for the Oribe Dry Texturising Spray which is an eye-watering £39 (!!!) I was not disappointed by this product by Charles Worthington. It is fabulous. It's great to spray onto the root with a quick 'jouge' for volume and hold. I also like to spray it like a hairspray, boosting my hair as I go and setting any pesky pieces of hair that just won't stay. I would really recommend this product!

I was equally impressed by the 'Body Booster Mousse'. I am a fairly recent convert to putting mousse on my roots to add some longer-lasting body. This mousse did give my hair noticeable body and lift at the roots and through the strands also. The texture when applying is not too wet or sticky, just the perfect smooth consistency. When blow-drying, my hair didn't feel crispy at the roots at all. Both this mousse and the texturing spray smelt wonderful. Think of that salon finish smell and fresh berries, YUM!

Overall, I would recommend taking a look at this range next time you need to buy shampoo and conditioner. If you're like me and generally disloyal to a particular shampoo and conditioner then give this a whirl and see what you think. As for the styling products, I would thoroughly recommend both of them if you are looking for extra volume, body and most importantly long lasting hold. 

If you have tried this range or other ranges by Charles Worthington, what did you think?

Here is a link to the Charles Worthington website where you can read about each product:

The shampoo and conditioner are available for 

Thank you for reading :)

Summer Fashion Haul | New YouTube Video!

Summer is OFFICIALLY here! Celebrate by watching my new YouTube video where I show you some of my favourite summer-staple pieces that I have bought in the last few weeks!

Click this picture to go straight to the video!

Or click here

Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to my channel (it's free and I'd really really appreciate it!)

Tell me what your summer finds have been this year!

Thank you for reading!

REVIEW: Tanya Burr Lipgloss in ‘Afternoon Tea’

I’ve been a loyal subscriber and follower to Tanya Burr for around 2 years now. I really enjoy her make-up tutorials especially and when I heard she was releasing a lipgloss and nail polish collection, I was very excited. Now I know that these came out a few months ago but I wanted to hear some feedback from other bloggers and also have a good think about what I’d like to try. I decided that my first purchase from the Tanya Burr collection would be the lipgloss in ‘Afternoon Tea’. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how big the actual product is. For some reason, I had it in my mind that they would be tiny with very little actual gloss in them. The packaging is cute with Tanya’s signature logo on with sturdy twist lid. The applicator is something I’m not too familiar with. It’s not a brush nor a doe foot applicator. It’s ever so slightly wider on the end and flatter. I wasn’t sure at first but turned out to really like it.

I chose ‘Afternoon Tea’ because I wanted to get a colour that I could wear everyday and wouldn’t clash with any intense eye make-up as I usually like to make a big deal out of my eyes. It’s a really nice pink-nude colour and what I found with this gloss is that it goes on paler than what you can see in the tube. However, after a little while the gloss just melts into the lips, adapting to your natural lip colour and gives them a really beautiful colour. 

The colour pay off is pretty impressive too! Some glosses can be a little to sheer and just add a shine to the lips. This gloss is quite opaque but still has that shine. It isn’t sticky or gloopy either which is a bonus. I’ve always steered clear of glosses for many a year in fear they make my lips so shiny that they look less pouty or big. I’m a full lip kinda gal ;)

Selfie time! Told you I like a pout ;)

The smell of this lipgloss too is incredible. It smells just like sweeties! It was honestly so tempting to just lick it off!

Overall I am really impressed by this lipgloss and will definitely want to try more in the future. I will probably end up purchasing the rest of the pink/nude ones as they are the colours I wear on a day to day basis. 

For £6.99 each, they’re definitely worth a try! If like me, you wear a lot of neutral tones on the lips then go for this gloss or similar colours. However, when the autumn time comes I will definitely be exploring the darker shades. 

Have you tried any of Tanya’s lipgloss or nail polish collection? What did you think of them? Comment below :)

Tanya Burr’s lipgloss and nail polish collection is available at selected Superdrug stores or online at Superdrug, FeelUnique for £6.99 and £8.99 respectively.

Thanks for reading!

REVIEW: V05 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray

I'm always on the lookout for products that give my hair a boost in volume and texture. I have quite thick long hair but it still can look a little flat on top. Browsing the blogging world and YouTube, I found a few people had tried out the V05 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray and I thought I'd give it a go!

First of all, I love the bright pink packaging. This was part of V05's re-branding move and I think it's a winner! 

Ok, onto the product itself. I found that it put body into my hair initially but lacked holding power hours after. This could be down to the aerosol being slightly too fine in dispersing enough texture into the hair. The texture did remind me a lot of a dry shampoo, particularly the Batiste ones, but without the white residue. I think a product that has more grit to its formula will work a lot better in creating lasting body. One thing I did notice is that my hair went back to how it was after about 20 minutes of walking to university when it was slightly blustery outside. Not great.

Would I repurchase this? No, I don't feel like it did very much for my hair other than just a quick fix that only lasted an hour or so. 

Would I recommend it? No, I think there are others on the market which are better value for money. 

The V05 Give Me Texture Dry Texturising Spray is available from Boots for £3.79 here and from Superdrug for the same price here.

Have you tried this product? What did you think of it?

What is your favourite product for texturising and putting body into your hair?

Thank you for reading! 

Current Skincare Favourites!

My skincare routine is really starting to build now and most importantly, clearing my skin! As with pretty much every product I use, I put a lot of research into what to use on my skin. I stopped using face wipes to remove my make-up after a few beauty bloggers and skincare experts comment on how little make-up is actually removed from your skin. Make-up left on the skin will simply sink into the pores, clogging them up and producing lovely red spots for you. I still get the occasional few hormonal spots but nothing like what I had before.

So, here is a run down of the products I use day to day to keep my skin clear and smooth and why I love them!

The Body Shop Camomile Silky Cleansing Oil

A year ago, I would never have dreamed putting oil onto my oily/combination skin. No way, José. However, a lot has been written and spoken about this product for a few months now particularly by those who have a similar skin type/skin problems as me. I'm so glad I decided to pick this up. I have been using it every night time to remove my make-up or even just to deep cleanse my skin on no make-up days. I tend to not use this in the morning as I use another product (spoken later on in this post) that is a little lighter on the skin that just helps to get rid of any dirt whilst I've been sleeping. This oil does a fantastic job of removing make-up and I cannot tell you how good it feels to take a hot flannel and just wipe the product and all the make-up away. Thanks to the camomile, it doesn't irritate the skin which makes it great for sensitive skin. I have definitely noticed a difference in my skin and have had far less breakouts (hurray!)

Here is a link to the Body Shop website with information about the cleansing oil: 

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/shop-by-range/camomile/camomile-silky-cleansing-oil.aspx

The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Butter

Moving on to the product mentioned earlier, I use this balm/butter in the morning to remove anything that may have collected on my skin whilst I am asleep. It shares many of the same properties as the oil. It is really smooth in consistency, leaves my skin clean and soft and does not irritate at all. However, if this product or the oil does get into your eyes, it doesn't sting as such, your eyes just feel a bit misty and your vision is temporarily blurred. After a good rinsing with some water and a cloth, you'll be good to go!

Here is a link for more information on this product:

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/skincare/cleansers/camomile-sumptuous-cleansing-butter.aspx

The Body Shop Tea Tree Facial Toner

As I do have the occasional breakout that stick around, I like to zap it with some tea tree to get right into the pore and keep it clean. This toner again from the Body Shop (I promise this blog post is not sponsored by them!) and is quite, what's the word, zingy? It really tingles on the skin and removes any dirt you may have missed with (dare I say it) face wipes or micellar water. Because of the tingling feeling, I tend to not use this in the morning as it can make my face red especially if it is feeling particularly sensitive. I am on the look out for a more gentler toner to use in the morning, do you have any suggestions?? 

Here is a link to the Body Shop website for more information on this product:

http://www.thebodyshop.co.uk/shop-by-range/tea-tree/tea-tree-facial-toner.aspx

So there you are, my current skincare favourites that just so happen to be all from the Body Shop! :P

I am definitely looking to expand my plethora of skincare to eye creams, a gentle toner, serums and a moisturiser that doesn't break me out NOR SHED ON MY SKIN, see Monday's post here for that story. 

Thank you for reading and I hope you have found it interesting! Let me know what your skincare favourites are in the comments :)

REVIEW: Botanics Mattifying Gel-Cream | FAIL PRODUCT

Bonjour my lovelies and welcome to another skincare review!

Many many moons ago, I wrote a blog about my then skincare routine. Now I don't expect you to trail through my blog to find that post so here is a quick profile of my skin...

• My problem area for rosacea/redness and spots is my chin. I occasionally get them on my forehead but not in as much of a crowd.
• My t-zone is very oily but my nose is often dry.
• When a spot is finished with disrupting my face, it leaves a rather lovely red mark behind. 

Now, I want to point your attention to the 2nd point I made. Oily AND dry patches on my skin. I really struggle with finding a moisturiser that doesn't break me out by contributing to the oils already in my skin but also that keeps my skin hydrated, especially the dryness around my nose.

I bought the Botanics Shine Away Mattifying Gel Cream a few weeks ago to test out. I'd heard great things about the brand and was tired of rich creams that constantly broke me out. I thought the gel formula would be a good alternative.

This unfortunately, is not the blog post where I tell you that I have found my holy grail, prayer answering magic in a bottle. Alas, my quest for an amazing moisturiser that ticks all the boxes with its bells and whistles jingling is still in full motion.

Sigh.

What I would like to inform you of is how much of a FAIL this product is. This gel cream seconds after application literally shed off of my skin like a nasty sunburn. It left a tingling sensation on my skin which I wasn't too keen on as I already get that from my tea tree toner. It doesn't moisturise at all. Yes, it mattifies the skin, but no greater than a good setting powder and/or blotting papers would!

I really tried to persevere with this product, wondering if it were just my skin being off for a couple of days. Needless to say, after about 2-3 weeks of use it was clear to me that this product just did nothing for my skin.

So ultimately I was left pretty disappointed with this product. It did cost me under £5 so I can't moan too much but I think even for that small price, its still such a disappointment. 

Would I recommend this product? Absolutely not.

Have you tried any other products from Botanic's? What did you think of them?

Thank you for reading!

21st Make-Up Tutorial | New Video!

As some of you may know, I celebrated my 21st birthday last weekend. The celebrations spanned 3 days with an amazing dinner at a very fancy restaurant with my boyfriend, Dad and his girlfriend on Friday,  an amazing party with all my friends and family and then a smaller party on Sunday with my Mum and her family. Fab-u-lous!

The theme for my big party on the Saturday was the colour purple. It's my favourite colour and I wanted to incorporate this into my make-up. Here is my latest video on my channel of the make-up I wore that night.

Please LIKE and SUBSCRIBE to my channel, letting me know what you think of the look :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMf7lIza2oc

Thank you for reading!