Review of Colour B4

Okay, so today I am going to be reviewing Colour B4.

As you're well aware, I dyed my hair at the end of March taking it from brown to purple. I did really like the colour but soon realised that it wasn't incredibly practical with having a baby on the way. From what I'm told, its better to have an easy to maintain cut and colour when you're a new mum as it makes life so much easier.

So, what did I do? First of all, I did plenty of research. I checked around online for reviews of Colour B4 to see what experiences others have had. The one I used was the extra strength and this was supposed to work for heavy build up and darker colours. However, nowhere could I find a review of someone who had purple hair and had attempted to strip that colour out! Argh!! Things I did read were that it smelt very bad, and that it is very runny. They weren't wrong. I bought mine from Bodycare for a bargain price of £6.99, it retails at about £12 in other shops like Superdrug or Boots, so I would advise shopping around.

So, here is a picture of my hair before starting. As you can see, its rather dark and incredibly purple. Thankfully, the colour I used picked up on colour difference and kind of highlighted my hair with different shades of purple.                        

It is advised before starting, to wash hair thoroughly with a "clarifying" shampoo. I used my husbands 2 in 1 anti dandruff. I'm not sure why this step is necessary but I guess it helped the overall process because the end result was brilliant!
As mentioned above, the Colour B4 smelled rather awful and was rather runny. I didn't take pictures of this stage because I did it at my mums and had to wear a bin liner to stop it from staining my clothes. The instructions say to wrap hair in cling film and to sit somewhere warm and to leave for one hour. I did this, in front of my mums telly, carrier bag on my head (I forgot my cling film). After an hour, hopped into the shower and rinsed it out. The rinsing process is rather laborious I'll be honest and takes 12, yes 12 minutes! But as far as I'm concerned, so worth it.                                  

As you can see from the pictures, it worked! It was a total success! I was so impressed. The colour was incredibly warm, but from what I'm told this is to be expected. After what I had read of the instructions, it does say that the colour pigments in your hair are lightened because all hair dyes contain peroxide which acts to lighten the hair. I was literally staggered with the results. Of course, I did need to dry it for the colour to show properly - it did look very dark when wet. 

Things to bear in mind when undergoing this process:

1. The mix is really really runny. A towel won't give your clothing maximum protection. Grab a bin liner, rip some arm holes and a head hole and you're good to go.
2. Leave it for the full time given. It won't work any more if you leave it longer and the result won't be as good if you rinse before.
3. Hair is left in very good condition after completion. It does say that hair can be coloured again immediately  although hair could be left a little porous when done and dried. On this note I'd say be very cautious.
4. The resulting colour will be very warm hued. 

I was incredibly pleased with the result, and for £6.99 I think this was definitely the best thing for me. 

Tomorrow, I shall review the next stages of my hair "transformation".

A prelude to a style/outfit post

Well, it was a lovely long weekend. Thank you Easter weekend, meant we got a gorgeous 4 day weekend. As you already know, on Saturday I coloured my hair. The colour is holding well and looking amazing. 

On Tuesday, I bought myself a new nail colour. Green Tea by L.A Colors. This is a sort of ... Pearlescent pale green.I tried to get a picture of the colour here. It is an incredibly pale shade, and this is with 3 coats of polish. However, I found that its quite nice for spring time. I normally have either quite dark polish or very light nude colours, so this makes a nice change for me.  

 


Along with this, I have made a few more purchases in the way of maternity wear. Here are the pictures from the catalogue.

Both pieces are from Bon Prix, and cost £12.99 (before a 20% discount was applied).

On the left is a nice jersey maternity bolero and below is a maternity shawl. I have ordered them in the colours shown in the images.

My reasons for purchase? I figured with winter out of the way, and summer fast approaching they would be good to throw on over the top of simple outfits. As well as being good for layering when breast feeding.

The poncho here, buttons down the side and does double up as a breastfeeding shawl.

When they arrive, I'll be sure to upload pictures of outfits I have put together with them.


Other things to add for the week? Well, later today my mum and I will be picking up a cot from a lovely freecycler. Which is absolutely brilliant. The one we have at present isn't really in the best of states. Its quite old and had been used mostly as a bed by the previous owners children. As you can imagine, it was full of scratches and bite marks. Was desperately in need of sanding down and repainting. Of course, this pine one that we're picking up will need painting. Though the less that needs doing the better.

As I mentioned above, when my new buys arrive, I'll be putting together a few outfits and doing another post on maternity outfits.

Review: Clairol eXtreme n easy Vivid Violet (5RV)

Today, I thought I would review the Clairol eXtreme n easy - Vivid Violet hair dye.

When dying my hair bright and interesting colours, I do normally use Schwarzkopf Live Colour. However, I found this dye for an absolute bargain of £1.47. I was a little apprehensive to try it, as I had originally wanted to go to blonde. However, being pregnant (and totally broke) I had to take a cheaper option.

I bought on Thursday night, and decided to colour on the Saturday.

Standard image of the box. I was looking for a colour indicator chart, but I can't seem to find one. Judging by the colours listed, I was a bit nervous as to how it would look. I expected that it would be very dark and possibly even dull.

Okay, so from the beginning. Obviously, having dyed my hair many a time before, I instantly discarded the instructions and began mixing. Tube of colour labelled number '2' into bottle marked '1', shake vigorously until completely mixed. I did notice, that the colour in the tube wasn't a flat colour. It was sort of a pink-ish colour with different tones running through it, these were a sort of metallic cream colour and a little bit gold as well. These different tones were more evident on applying.

The box states that this dye, has a "non-drip" formula (there again, don't they all these days?). As I'm sure you can imagine, I was sceptical of this claim. Having had these supposed "non-drip" dyes in the past, and still managing to find dye all over my shirt, the floor, the sink - everywhere. To my surprise, this one didn't. True to its claim, it went on and stayed put. As I piled the dye thickly onto my head, it remained where I had placed it. So, a big thumbs up on that front from me!

Standard process with hair dye, leave for 30 - 40 minutes and rinse. I decided to fill this time taking a bath. I figured its a good way to kill half an hour and when I'm done my hair will be nice and purple. The conditioner, a blue tube labelled '3', contains 3 applications. It smelled quite nice, was a nice consistency and I felt left my hair lovely and soft afterwards.

Afterwards, I dryed and straightened my hair and arranged it into its normal style.

Before and After

Above is a before and after picture of the colour. As you can see, my hair was a medium brown sort of shade before starting and had quite a lot of root re-growth in the top. As you can imagine, I was very pleasantly surprised! The colour chart had given me the impression that this would end up quite dark and dull, on the contrary! My hair is now a beautiful bright purple. Not only this, but thanks to its "Colour Blend" technology my hair isn't all one flat colour. You can see in the before picture that my hair was multi-shaded, with hints of blonde and varying shades of brown and I was happy to see these lighter and darker sections through my hair after the dye as well.

Overall, I must say I am impressed. The price I paid was definitely a bonus, but I also believe that this is worth paying £6 for. I would definitely use this again. Thus far, I've had many compliments on the colour and I'm loving it!

I know most people post a little disclaimer at the bottom of these saying that their opinions are there own and they haven't been paid. Well, I am the same. These are my own views of this product and I imagine that some people will have different experiences to me.

Maternity outfits

Okay, so here's a bit of a fashion/maternity post.

First of all, I'll start by saying that I am a size 18 normally. I was quite a comfortable size 18 and here is my post about maternity wear.

Lets agree, that when you find out you're pregnant everyone wonders about maternity wear. Should you buy? Do you buy bigger or smaller? Where do you go to buy them? Do you invest or buy cheap? So many questions that plague us in early stages of pregnancy.

I didn't find out I was pregnant until I was nearly 10 weeks gone, up until then, I had been wearing clothes that were comfy. Jeans, leggings and long tops, dresses, cardi's etc. It wasn't until I was about 15 weeks, right before my honeymoon, that I started to look at maternity things. My first items were given to me from a freebies group on Facebook. Over bump jeans, a shirt and two summer dresses. These were size 16 and fit fine in the early stages. Then my mum was kind enough to buy me some under bump straight leg jeans from Mothercare - these were on sale and proved to be invaluable in those early days! As well as a pretty floral dress, also in the sale at Mothercare, and a swimming costume. I apologise that I don't have pictures of these things from the early days. I had them on my phone but it broke and I can't get them back.

Now I have more in the way of maternity wear. My findings will be different to others simply because of what I found to be comfortable. At Christmas I bought a pack of 2 belly bands, and a pack of 2 nursing bra's, both from Bon Prix. The belly bands have proven to be a fabulous buy, as they helped to keep the growing bump under wraps when wearing jeans/leggings even when wearing dresses and tights! Safe to say that they have been wonderful. The bra's, again great investment piece, and I'm glad I bought them cheaper than the ones from Mothercare or the like. I got them when I was 22 weeks, now at 34 weeks they are getting tight and small. Still, they are far more comfortable than normal ones.

In the past few weeks, my mum has helped me out immensely. Her and her fiance, have bought me a few pieces to help tide me over til the end of my pregnancy as well as be useful for the weeks after the birth.

Here are some pictures:

This outfit, the black tunic dress and the OTK boots, was an outfit I put together when I was assisting with a Burlesque show as acting Compere. I know its recommended that pregnant women don't wear heels but plenty of sitting and I was fine.

Simply Be Maternity Tunic dress

 This one, the black on black and the raspberry cardigan. Was for a shopping expedition with my husband. The jeans were incredibly long, so I am wearing a pair of heels with these as well. The cardigan and the vest are not maternity. The cardi is an oversize slouchy item and the vest is very stretchy so was very comfortable.

Over Bump Jeans by South @ Very

Cream Shirt from Maternity at New Look

Cream Shirt with rest of outfit

Left: Black under bump Jeans @ 26 weeks. Right: 34 weeks

The next one, with the cream blouse below, was for a midwives appointment. This is a beautiful shirt that is well cut (and cost a bargain £6 in the sale). I teamed this a non maternity boyfriend blazer and scarf and felt incredibly smart and well put together.

Here in this double picture, I've tried to highlight the difference in size of bump between 26 weeks and 34. I don't think I've done a very good job of capturing it in this one. The 26 week picture I'm wearing the under bump maternity jeans and a black belly band to stop any flesh being shown if the vest started to ride up. 

Left: Bump @ 22 weeks, Right: 33 weeks

From today

I think I managed to capture the size difference more here. The picture on the right, I'm wearing another bargain item from the New Look Maternity sale. This jumper was £5 and I feel looks lovely with just about everything. I'm wearing it there with over bump maternity leggings from Simply Be. Again, incredibly comfortable. 

I've also recently been given a gorgeous navy blue polka dot maternity dress. This again, is from Mothercare, and looks amazing on. Its so beautiful and so flattering. I've also bought a maxi dress from ebay. I'll uplaod pictures of both of these another day. 

These are just some of the outfits I've been putting together in the last few weeks of pregnancy. 

The best advice I can give would be 

1. Belly bands are a fabulous buy in the early days of pregnancy as they help keep your pants up when you're feeling bloated and uncomfortable. 

2. When it comes to jeans, you will need to find some that are comfortable as you will want to wear them a lot (as I did). I found over bump to be so much better as they really do keep the bump under wraps. 

3. Dresses are fabulous! I have found that a nice jersey dress is great for when you want to throw something on and still look stylish. 

4. Maternity leggings will be much more comfortable than regular ones and much less likely dig into the belly as it grows. 

5. Shoes ... When you get into about week 24/25 you will want to make sure you have some comfy ballet flats. I managed to pick up some red patent pumps in the Boxing Day sale for £7.50 and then slipped in some memory foam insoles. These have been my life saver. Mostly because there is no bending over to get them on, slip on and go! Wonderful. 

I hope I've helped any mummies to be in maternity wear! 

Thank you for reading x

Wedding Post!

Okay, so I know I should really split these posts up over a few days but I really don't want too. I'm going to post on a couple of pictures from my wedding.

If I do say so myself, it was a truly wonderful day. I was trying to achieve a vintage 1950's sort of style for myself on the day. I think I succeeded, and I can honestly say, it was the most beautiful I have ever felt.

 Above is me, just arriving. I wasn't nervous at this point!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Lord-of-Rings-Elvish-Anyword-Groom-Bride-Wedding-Engagement-Titanium-Rings-Set-/250930397501?pt=UK_Jewellery_Watches_FineJewellery_CA&var=550058398050&hash=item3a6c9e013d

Here, we have our wedding rings. They look incredibly dark, and that's because they are. They are made of Black Titanium.

 My beautiful husband, James. Alongside is us together before saying the vows. I remember he said his vows so clearly and beautifully. Me? I was quiet as a mouse! My voice was waivering and I was so worried about crying and ruining my make up.

Us leaving together

In the car ready to head off to the reception. Married, and feeling wonderful!

This was the most amazing day of my life, I really wanted to just share some of the photo's with anyone who wants to see them. 

Photography courtesy of: http://www.facebook.com/OddPoseUk?fref=ts 

Thanks xx

A year from my last post ... Whats changed?

Hello, hello, hello!

After a year of being gone, I have returned! So much has changed ... And I shall detail below exactly what and how things have changed.

First of all, my last post was regarding my weight loss. How has this been going? Well, it was doing fabulously. I lost a little under a stone in just a couple of months, sadly, things had to change when I left my job. As you may recall, I was suffering with quite bad stress and anxiety. After a while I realised that something had to give. I couldn't keep on working there and being so miserable. I finished working there in May and haven't looked back.

Second, we moved house. This was another reason for having to drop the exercise. At the time we were living in a small one bedroom flat. It had severe problems and wasn't habitable, to the point where it was breaking all sorts of health regulations. Our estate agent eventually got us a 2 bedroom house, not far from where we were living. Its a good size house, and at first all seemed perfect. Sadly it is not to be. We moved here in July, and since moving we've had no end of problems. Most recently, finding large quantities of black mould in the house. As you can imagine, this is not what we want! So, in the past few months I've been looking for a new home.

More news! I may have mentioned last year, that I was engaged. Well, its official. I'm a married lady!! On the 24th of November 2013, I married the most amazing man in the world. My husband, Mr James Newton. It was an absolutely amazing day and with our friends and family present it was beautiful. Unfortunately, I couldn't have a drink at the wedding. I spent all night drinking Britvic 55 and indulged in one glass of Champagne. Why? I hear you ask. Because, in September of last year, I found out that I am pregnant with our first child. We had a fabulous honeymoon to Cuba, where I again indulged a little in a drink but not a lot. Ate some wonderful food, and generally had the most amazing two weeks of my life with my husband.

So there has been a lot going on. A baby on the way, a wedding, possibly a new home. I have everything I've ever wanted, and I am so happy.

More to come about everything.

Mrs Krynn Newton and the Bump!

Has anyone seen my lost inches?

As the title for today's blog would suggest, I've lost some inches. 

After over two months the circumference of my hips has decreased from 52 inches to a fabulous 48"!! Now I know that to most people this doesn't seem a lot, but to me it is. I'm so proud of myself. 

So, I hear you ask. How have I done this? Have I found some pill to lose weight? Some fantastic new trick to reduce belly fat? NO! I have achieved this by good old exercise. Lets take a look at what I have previously done. 

In the past, I was one for fad diets. You know the ones, you can only eat carbs on a Thursday if you're standing on one leg and wearing a fedora. I did weight watchers, that didn't last long. I tried a veggie diet, again didn't last long. I tried cutting out chocolate, this worked - for all of 5 minutes then I soon went back to my old ways. At once point I bordered on anorexia, I didn't eat anything but drank lots of sweet tea and water, I walked everywhere. Soon I found I'd lost lots of weight. Incredibly unhealthy and as soon as I ate again it all went back on. The last year I decided to try something much healthier. As you'll remember for a few weeks I regularly posted on photo's of my lunch. A low calorie soup, followed by weight watchers crisp, bottled water and fruit. I didn't drink caffeine and I didn't really drink carbonated beverages. Again, this worked really well and I down a dress size as I was walking a little too. However, as soon as I stopped all this the pounds quickly piled back on. 

Since then I tried all sorts of tricks. Which I quickly failed at, time and time again. The same story, same sad feeling when I stepped on the scales and saw that my weight wasn't dropping in the first week. Then something great happened. I was signed off work for 2 weeks with stress and given anti - depressants. The doctor explained that stress is caused by a seratonin imbalance, and that by taking SSRI's the mood swings and general bleak feelings would go away. Fabulous! One small problem, they take about 4 weeks to take effect. What was I going to do in the meantime?

I took to Google. Looking for any ways to naturally release seratonin in the brain. 15 minutes of exercise would do the job, or carbohydrates if you're in need of a quick pick me up. Spicy foods releases the same endorphins as laughing which make you feel happier. So I decided to do more exercise and generally follow a better diet. Eating better and exercising nightly. In the first two week, I dropped for 17st 1lb, to 16st 9lb. Then every week I weighed myself and found that I was losing an average of 2lb's a week. I measured my hips just before starting was a massive 52". Today I measured again, and found I was a lovely 48". I've now upgraded my work out to include, Pilates, Zumba and a Kick Boxing Boot Camp.

All I need to do is continue in this fashion and I'll soon be "bikini ready" as they say. I shall weigh myself Sunday and see if these new routines are doing any thing for me.

For now I feel a huge sense of accomplishment in knowing that I'm doing well.