beauty blogger Archives - Page 4 of 4

saharasplash3 August, 2016

Testing out Aviela Hair Butter

On the blog today I’m testing out Aviela Hair Butter. What is hair butter you ask? Well let me tell you! It’s a bit messy but super fun and you only need to try it once and you will love it. The brand is Aviela, and they are a great company founded by Patricia in 2007. She has a wonderful story to tell about why shea butter is so important. It has amazing properties if unrefined and it helped Patricia’s baby daughter (who couldn’t walk at 2 years of age) to regain the strength in her ankles by helping the cartilage to become less stiff. Shea butter is used in all Aviela products and is the heart and soul of the brand. Another thing is that all Aviela products are BUAV approved, none of it is tested on animals. Here’s what I tested out for myself:

Aviela Healthy Hair Butter

This fine product smells like citrus and coconut, I couldn’t wait to put it on my hair! The consistency is quite hard, like a wax, but as you scoop it out with your hands it gently melts and is easily workable into your hair strands.

The instructions say to leave on your hair for 30 mins before showering and shampooing off, so guess what I did to pass the time?!

I had such fun with that last shot 🙂

So it feels very greasy, naturally, so I would avoid laying down on any pillows while this stuff is in, of course you can remove it sooner than 30 mins too if you just can’t wait. After 30 mins I then took a bath to wash it all out, I continued with my normal shampoo and conditioner routine, and once towel dry I used my favourite Envy Professional Serum before blowdrying. Here is the result:

Fabulously smooth and totally nourished!

The Aviela Healthy Hair Butter retails at just £16 and you can get plenty of uses from just one tub. The range doesn’t sop there, Aviela has products from bath, body and skincare as well so you are bound to find the perfect product or gift online here.

I’ll leave you with one more fact about Aviela- it’s a word from Northern Ghana meaning ‘it’s beautiful’ and I certainly agree when it comes to testing out Aviela Hair Butter!

Saharasplash X

I received this product for free for my honest opinion and review

saharasplash21 June, 2016

how to do a ‘girl’s night in’

Last week was my final week at my job. I have now left the office for the life of a full-time blogger, and I simply cannot wait to get started! I am hugely excited about this, and so I wanted to throw a little get together with the ladies to celebrate my new beginning. This blog post is all about how to do a ‘girl’s night in’ with style and I have some amazing companies that are a definite must for anyone planning on throwing the perfect party.

First up, you need to think about a theme. A theme is a great way to get everyone excited and will also help your guests to decide on a dress code too. My theme was carnival, so lots of bright colours, frozen cocktails and pineapples! I found an amazing company who helped me with the event, and they are Talking Tables. Talking Tables are an online retailer who specialize in party accessories and decorations. They have so many ranges for any occasion- birthdays, weddings, tea parties and of course an array of excellent goodies for a girl’s night in. I decorated the flat with fiesta fan garlands around the doors and sofa in wonderful bright colours, and we had a few parrots adorning the tables and chairs!

For the main table, we had the most amazing pineapple accessories, from pineapple picks for the giant cocktail glasses to pineapple sunglasses! We also had some flamingo ones too for some epic selfies. You can’t go wrong with some silly props to get everyone having some fun!

Talking Tables really do have such great quality items, even the patterned plates and wooden spoons helped to tie the whole carnival theme together.

For food, I went for something really easy and simple that you can’t go wrong with- chilli. I made a meat as well as a veggie chilli for everyone in less than 30 mins. You don’t want to keep your guests waiting ages for food, and getting a takeaway for large groups is pretty expensive. The ingredients for the chilli (mince, tomatoes, kidney and baked beans) plus rice will have you and your guests covered for under £15 which is a great budget, especially if drinks are happening!

Onto the drinks, I went for frozen cocktails. You can get these at all the major superstores and they are the perfect thing for a carnival theme! Fruity drinks are always going to be popular in the summer months, and it’s a great way to keep everyone happy without spending a fortune on spirits and taking up your time by making cocktails on the night. I want to thank Talking Tables for providing such a fantastic array of party accessories which made the night, the giant cocktail glasses were just perfect for our cocktails to share!

When planning how to do a ‘girl’s night in’ the right way, I wanted to organise something fun for us to enjoy as well as the selfies, drinks and food. This is where my second guest comes in- My Showcase.

Founded by 2 great women, My Showcase is an online store for luxury beauty products, but they also host parties so you can have a My Showcase expert come in with their products to talk you through them. This was such a nice surprise for my guests who didn’t know what to expect, and we had a wonderful time trying on makeup and spraying ourselves with wonderful scents! A few stand out brands of the night were Connock London, New CID and Aurelia.

To get more info and to host your own My Showcase party, click here. A massive thanks to our Stylist Katie for bringing her My Showcase selection for us! Plus a huge thanks to all my ladies who helped to make the party so great!

So there you have it, my how to do a ‘girl’s night in’. I would say to sum up, a mixture of the right theme, good home-cooked food plus a surprise for your girls will make your perfect night in!

Saharasplash x

For more lifestyle, check out what’s on my wach list right now!

PR Samples included

saharasplash20 March, 2016

Blonde Hair Pale Skin – an incredible night!

I really have had an incredible few weeks recently with blogging. I have been to so many wonderful events and also had some fabulous experiences too. This post is all about blonde hair and pale skin as I visit RUSH hair and beauty salon and attend Em Ford’s fan event at YouTube headquarters all in one night.

BLONDE HAIR PALE SKIN FEATURE IMAGE SAHARASPLASH

I recently went to RUSH on Piccadilly Circus to have my hair done and after the incredible results I really wanted to do something with them again. RUSH have opened a brand new salon in West Hampstead and so I was invited along to their opening week to get my hair done. I tied this in with a very exciting event hosted by Em Ford of My Pale Skin Blog.

After work I headed to the new RUSH salon, it’s a 5 minute walk from West Hampstead station so really easy to get to. The salon is brand new and so classy. It is fresh and open with plenty of space. I was greeted by the staff who took my coat and we discussed what style and treatment I was going to have. We decided on loose waves to go with my glam dress.

The hair wash and treatment using the Kerastase products was divine. The treatment was massaged gently into my scalp, such a relaxing feeling! After this my hair was curled using the roll and pin technique. This gives the hair extra volume and bounce.

I had a lovely green tea, sadly no chocolate as it’s not gluten free, but RUSH really do go above and beyond when it comes to your appointment.

Fluffed, prepped and dried I was ready to hit the city just in time for Em Ford’s fan event!

I was so thrilled to get an invitation to this event, I love Em and My Pale Skin Blog so this was turning into a very special night.

I arrived at YouTube space London just in time to get to Em’s Q and A where she answered all our questions about her blog and her skin progress. It was great to see her and how far she has come from such hard work. She is a real inspiration to the blogging I want to do and so I am looking to get stuck in and start doing some makeup and beauty videos on my YouTube channel very soon!