Finding the Right Balance with L'Oreal Extraordinary Clay Shampoo

I'll put my hands up and admit it, I was well and truly enticed into buying L'Oreal's new Extraordinary Clay Shampoo purely because of the adverts on TV. Who on earth could resist the promise of combating two pesky issues all at once? Having oily roots and dry ends is an absolute pain. It's so difficult to cleanse the hair thoroughly and keep the grease at bay without stripping away all of the moisture from my poor dry and brittle ends.

To get straight to the point, L'Oreal's Extraordinary Clay Shampoo isn't absolutely life changing but it is a lovely shampoo, especially for only £3.99 for 400ml. Instead of washing my hair every other day, or pile half a can on dry shampoo onto my scalp to make third day hair look slightly acceptable, I can now happily wash my hair twice a week, adding just a touch of dry shampoo on the third and fourth days to top it up. When I first used this I noticed that my scalp felt incredibly cleansed but vitally it wasn't stripped of moisture. My dry ends seemed to feel stronger, silkier and look smoother and my hair overall appeared thicker and a little bit healthier. By the fourth day my hair was definitely leaning towards the greasier side but in comparison to what it would have been using a different shampoo it's still pretty impressive.

The Re-Balancing technology in the new Elvive range is apparently down to 3 redefined clays which help release you from the vicious over-washing cycle. I can't really find an exact scientific analysis of why and how the three clays work to achieve this but the apparent absorption of oil and added hydration seems to be working quite well with my hair. If you suffer from oily roots and dry ends I definitely suggest giving this go to see if your hair responds. It lathers well, smells lovely and it's also silicone free! However, it does still contain sulphates which I'm personally not bothered by but it is something to be aware of incase you're against SLS.

Until I find something even better I think I'll be sticking with the Extraordinary Clay range. The lazy girl in me rejoices whenever I reach for this. Who wouldn't enjoy saying so long to every-other-day hair?

Have you tried anything from the Extraordinary Clay range? 

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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A Little LUSH Haul!

After purchasing the newly formulated Rose Jam Bubbleroon a month ago (which is now rose shaped and bright pink with gorgeous pink glitter *swoon*) I've developed a little bit of a Lush obsession and it seems like the rest of the blogging world has too - Lush is literally all over my Instagram feed lately! I remember back in my pre-University days when Lush bath bombs were my kryptonite and I simply couldn't walk past the shop without picking one up but after moving to University Lush just slipped out of my mind... I couldn't exactly enjoy a relaxing bath in my tiny shower room! Now that I've graduated and moved back home Lush is constantly on my mind and I'm eager to explore their products properly this time instead of just beelining straight towards the bath bombs! I headed to Lush in Newcastle last week and picked up a few products from my wishlist and I'm actually planning on reviewing each product individually so expect lots of Lush reviews in the near future!

Jason and the Argan Oil Shampoo Bar - £5.75 
On the top of my list was one of Lush's Solid Shampoo Bars, a product that baffles me just as much as it excites me... the concept of using anything but a liquid to clean my hair feels a little bit strange but as I'm constantly travelling to and from Tynemouth I thought it would be perfect to travel with. Originally I was planning on picking up Honey I Washed My Hair but after I sniffed Jason and the Argan Oil I immediately knew it had to come home with me. It smells exactly like the Rose Jam Bubbleroon and Ro's Argan Body Conditioner (my all-time favourite Lush scent!) so it was really a no-brainer and I actually let out a little squeak of excitement in the shop when I realised I could finally have Rose Jam scented hair like I'd always dreamed of. Apart from inhaling the scent of this a lot more than I care to admit I haven't actually used Jason and the Argan Oil yet but I'm planning on testing it out tonight. I'm so excited to see how it lathers up and if it lives up to its promise of delivering stronger, shinier and softer hair!

Twilight & Intergalactic Bath Bomb - £3.35 / £3.95 

Intergalactic Bath Bomb

So it turns out I still can't step into Lush without buying a bath bomb or two but with all the new releases Lush have brought out it was difficult to resist! I walked in with my mind set on buying The Experimenter but sadly I didn't enjoy the scent. Still wanting my bath to look like an explosion of colour I picked up Intergalactic, a ridiculously glittery bath bomb. With a fresh peppermint scent this will be perfect for in the morning and I think I'm going to save this for the weekend so I can truly take my time and enjoy it! I'm so excited to watch this little guy dissolve!

I also picked up Twilight, a long time favourite of mine which I love to use in the evenings to help me unwind and sleep. This is packed with essential oils like lavender and ylang ylang and it leaves me feeling so moisturised and relaxed. I adore this and I've missed using it so much, I can't wait to light some candles and hop in my Twilight bath with a face mask and a good book! 

Love Lettuce Fresh Face Mask - £6.50

My skin has been feeling really blah lately... there really isn't another word for it. It seems to have lost its glow, it's becoming super oily and I've just been feeling a little miserable about it. To me, face masks are the ultimate form of pampering and if anything can help my skin I knew a fresh, natural face mask would do the job! I wasn't sure which mask I was going to pick up when I visited Lush but after a lot of sniffing and a lovely chat with a super friendly Lush girl (seriously, the Lush staff are so helpful!) I narrowed it down to Cupcake and Love Lettuce. I opted for Love Lettuce due to the exfoliating properties from the crushed almond shells and the soothing lavender oil and honey sounded perfect for my skin! This is actually the only product in my haul I've used so far (2 times to be exact) and so far I'm really impressed. I'll save the rest for another review but my skin and I love this and I'm truly enjoying using it. I can't wait to pick up another without exfoliant in it so I can use the masks more often.

I was also given a huge sample of Cup O' Coffee from one of the loveliest girls at Lush who helped me choose Love Lettuce. You don't have to store Cup O' Coffee in the fridge like the fresh face masks so it has a much longer shelf life and it's also an exfoliating mask like Love Lettuce. I'm intrigued to try this as I've been hearing quite a lot of praise about coffee scrubs around the blogosphere and you can use Cup O' Coffee anywhere, it's not limited to the face! I'm saving this for an early morning when I need a little pick me up as it has a super strong scent and it's guaranteed to wake me up!

Have you picked up anything from Lush lately? 

Balayage Hair for Summer!

Can you believe that in 21 years I've never let hair dye come anywhere near my head? I don't think I'll ever be one to completely change my hair colour - I'm simply too lazy to handle the maintenance that comes with it - but I've admired the ombré/balayage trend for years now. So, as a treat for finishing my degree and handing in my dissertation I decided to bite the bullet and I booked a hair appointment that was more than a regular cut and blow dry. And I have to admit I was a little bit nervous!

I've always been lucky enough to love my natural hair colour, which is a medium brown shade with a few tiny highlights, but in the summer I always think my hair is just too dark and flat. The salon I visited was called Renegade and if any of my readers live in Leeds and are looking for an amazing salon I can not recommend them enough! When I first moved to University 3 years ago I always waited until I went home to get my hair cut but after realising I wasn't happy with that salon I decided to do a bit of research and visited Renegade for the first time in November. The salon itself is really lovely and has such a cool atmosphere and all of the hairdressers have their own individual style and really know how to style hair. I've never left a hair salon completely happy until I visited Renegade and I had no doubt about where to go when I decided to colour my hair.

Initially, before I sat in the chair, I was going to ask for ombré but after speaking to my colour technician Dominique we decided that balayage was a much better look for me and what I was truly after. I'm much more into natural, sunkissed hair and I'm in love with the result. We opted for a caramel colour to avoid an artificial looking blonde and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out. As for the styling I was booked in for a cut and blow dry with Josh who neatened up my hair, adding some long layers and gave my hair some natural, bouncy curls! I've never been happier after a haircut and I love my new look! Renegade also offer a 25% Student Discount (which I soon won't be able to take advantage of *sob*) which made the experience even more amazing!

What are your thoughts on balayage?

Let me know in the comments below!