REVIEW: Garnier Olia Permanent Hair Colour - Best in Beauty 2015

I first tried Garnier Olia Permanent Hair Colour when it was released in 2013, and loved it - with no ammonia, no stinky smell, and a high oil content, this was the home dyeing kit I'd been waiting for. My penchant for fire engine red hair got the better of me though, and with only one clear red in the range that was too dark for me, I switched back to my usual brand. But then a box of Olia Very Light Blonde(!) arrived in my beautyheaven Best in Beauty 2015 prize pack, and it started me thinking...

...time for a change - how about a new lighter colour? And as fate would have it, another part of the BIB prize got me there quite by chance (you can read about it here), and in the space of one afternoon, I became a copper babe. Well it just so happens that there's a stunning copper in the Olia range (7.40 Intense Copper), and that's one of the products I'm using to keep my new tresses looking fresh and vital...

I used the copper to dye my white roots, and then experimented with mixing the Very Light Blonde with what was left of the copper concotion, and applied it all over for 10 minutes - turned out to be just the ticket to prevent the ends turning out too dark or orangey, and both roots and lengths were blended with no tide mark - woo hoo! I've done this combo twice now, and it's perfect ♥ Who new?

Anyways I'm thrilled to be back in Olia land, and I bet my scalp is breathing a sigh of relief. This really is a gentle yet effective option for home dyers - everything you need is in the kit, it's super easy to apply (with no drips), it smells fresh and florally, and leaves my hair even softer and more manageable than before...

Here's the blurb from the box, front and back...

The instructions are a snap to follow, and the whole process takes me 45 minutes max.  There's also a perforated circle on the back of the pack which you punch out, and it holds the mixer bottle steady while you're dispensing the developer cream and the colourant - clever. You can bet I'll be stocking up whenever I see this range on special, which seem to be fairly often at Coles ♥

Do you colour your hair at home, and if so, have you tried Garnier Olia?

Take care of you,
kats xxx

P.S. I've linked this post to Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party ♥

REVIEW: Goldwell Kerasilk Keratin Treatment - Best in Beauty 2015...

Saturday 30th January 2016 will forever be a significant day in my diary - it was the day I had a Goldwell Kerasilk Keratin Treatment done on my hair, one of the prizes from my beautyheaven Best in Beauty 2015 win. I'll be honest, I hadn't read anything about it beforehand - actually thought it was a deep conditioning thingy, and oh yeah, nice one, my hair could sure do with that. Well it turns out that this unbelievably fantastic process is primarily a de-frizzer, and the result for me was nothing short of jaw-dropping...

My hair kinks and frizzes at the first hint of moisture in the air, and while I've been able to keep it relatively under control with my new ghd Air Professional and the REF products I use, as Sydney's humidity skyrocketed throughout January (as it does every year), I was rapidly losing the battle. The above left pic was taken on the 22nd - while I'd started the shift to a lighter more coppery hair colour, I had heaps of dark red colourant to get rid of, plus I was struggling to straighten and style my new pixie-ish cut, which has a (much cooler) wispy fringe, and it was taking a good 15 minutes workout (and several products) to get it looking like this. The pic on the right was taken this week without ANY styling or straightening - I just bent over and blew hot air through it for four and a half minutes. Needless to say I am totally BLISSING OUT!

So here's how it all began - the lovely Peieta from Goldwell had kindly booked me into Ruffles Hair Design just down the road, and advised I needed to allow 3 hours for the process. With my short length, it took just under 2 hours - a delightfully pampering experience, with absolutely no discomfort, yucky smells or scalp irritation. Phase 1 was a quick wash and partial blow dry, followed by the application of a solution which smelled fruity and delicious - my hair was sectioned and the liquid painted on, pretty much all over. The timer was set for 15 minutes, and then my hair was rinsed. The very experienced Justine then began Phase 2 - blow drying my hair with a standard dryer and brush, and that's when the major magic happened. Not only did each strand become totally tamed as the solution was activated, a whole heap of the red dye up and vanished as she worked the brush and heat through my hair! She told me that this major fade ONLY happens if the hair is coloured with home dyeing products (my natural hair is white). Given that I was working towards going copper anyway, I was ecstatic as it meant I wouldn't have to bleach or strip my hair with harsh chemicals. Now that was an unexpected bonus!

After the blow drying transformation, my hair was looking pretty sleek and slick, but Justine then switched to a straightening iron, and worked it through sections until it was even more smooth. You can probably imagine that by this stage I was tripping at the sight of my previous red fuzzball having been converted into a frizzless strawberry blonde do! Then it was back to the basin for Phase 3 - a final rinse and the application of a leave-in solution, followed by one last blow dry...

Being the brave blogger that I am, below are the (grossly unflattering) before and after selfies taken at the salon. The end colour was quite a mixed bag of blonde, copper and red, and really needed some evening out. While I've since read other bloggers reviews that say "don't colour for 2 weeks" after the treatment, my stylist advised that waiting 24 hours would be ok, which I did. As you can see from the "after" photo at the top of the page, there was absolutely zero ill effect after re-colouring so soon - no loss of shine, condition or smoothness whatsoever...

Because my hair is so short, the treatment will probably only last for around 3 months, but I'm not in the least bit fussed as that will take me into Autumn, and beyond the steamy season. For now, here it is a week later, and I'm basking in the previously never experienced joy of having silky soft, straight, glossy and 100% frizz-free tresses. I've been severely windblown and even rained on since my defrizzing, and it makes not the slightest bit of difference - all I have to do is run my fingers through my hair to put it back in place. OMG - I am in hair heaven! 

This process costs $350, and I'm declaring right now that I'm having it done every Summer, without fail. I figured if I put aside $29 a month (or $6.73 a week), I'll be ready for the next treatment in January 2017...

Beautyheaven and Goldwell, I can't thank you enough for this life-changing experience - I am thrilled beyond my wildest dreams ♥

Take care of you,

kats xxx

P.S. Ingrid's Monday Makeup Madness Link Up Party is a great site to visit if you're looking for beaut blog reads ♥

REVIEW: Schwarzkopf Extra Care 6 Miracles Oil Essence...

Another of my spoils from the beautyheaven Beauty Degustation Event back in June - Schwarzkopf Extra Care 6 Miracles Oil Essence, and I'm not telling porkers when I say this is the best hair oil I've tried to date ♥ Containing Argan, Monoi, Pequii & Marula Oils, this unassuming little bottle of tortured tress treatment will have your dry and/or damaged locks back in tip-top condition in seconds...

I'm always a bit nervous with new hair oils, so I started with one cautious pump, but it's so light I'm now up to two squirts of this mane miracle - this may seem like a lot for short hair, but mine soaks it up like a sponge. Stroked through before blow drying, my locks are protected from heating horror stories, the frizzies are under control, and I'm left with silky strands, and a mirror shine. Despite the weightlessness of the formula, it still gives my hair a delicately fragranced dose of hefty nourishment, without the slightest bit of greasiness. I have oily roots and damaged ends, but even after three days, my hair still has bounce, body and shine...

The bottle is made from sturdy plastic, and being a smaller size than others on the market (75mls), there's no chance of it thickening or turning gloopy before I reach the bottom, plus the compact size takes up far less room in my weekender bag. It smells fantastic too - like nutty nougat, but not overly sweet, and after blasting away with my dryer on maxi heat, my hair just smells fresh and clean.

As I often do with my reviews, I've saved the best till last - it only costs $10.99 at the supermarket! I gave it 5 very well deserved stars in my bh review ♥

Are you still looking for your HG hair oil?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

REVIEW: Schwarzkopf Brilliance Intense Permanent Hair Colour...

Well the next few months will be a bit of a Schwarzkopf-fest here on kats colourings :-) Sure I've scored a whole swag of freebies from their range lately (thanks to beautyheaven ♥), but I've actually been a fan (and regular user) of their hair colourants for many moons, and it's time to reveal what I use to maintain my flaming red tresses. My hair is actually snow white - has been for around a decade, and it's both a blessing and a curse. On the positive side, whatever home dye shade I choose invariably turns out exactly how it looks on the box (something that never happened in my youth while my mane still had some pigment of its own). The downside is that I have stark white regrowth that needs to be touched up every two weeks - boo!...

Some gals might think this high frequency application is a tad obsessive, but it's a commitment I made to myself when I went red, and I'm sticking to the plan for as long as I have the energy. I don't have an obvious part, so when I'm due for a touch-up, it's not like there's a distinct visible line anywhere on my head. But when the wind blows, or anyone towers over me (which is easy as I'm petite) my secret is a secret no more. And yes gals, it's true that dyeing your hair red automatically means "high maintenance" - but in my particular case, ANY colour (other than white blonde) is high maintenance because of the regrowth contrast. In my opinion, white roots have a tendency to make us older gals look like our hair is thinning even if it isn't because the white blends in with our scalps - not a good look! By the way, I'm under no illusion that one day I'll simply throw in the towel and cease this fortnightly chore, but being so incredibly passionate about COLOUR, I reckon that day is a long long way off in the future. So until then, here's what I have in my arsenal to maintain my vibrant redhead status...

I use two glorious shades from the Schwarzkopf Brilliance range - #37 Hypnotic Red, and #43 Red Passion. Why two? Well the bright Hypnotic Red is simply too light for my "natural" roots - for this blanched region, I need a deeper shade with some brown in it because the rest of my hair has been absorbing colour for months, and the result on the new growth is a fire engine red stripe which looks plain silly. Red Passion however is deep enough to match the white bits to everything else. But...if I use Red Passion on my whole head, it turns out way too dark, so I have to fiddle a bit...

Simply put, I split the cream colourant and developer solution into half and half quantities, and colour the roots with #43 for around 30 minutes, and then slather #37 on the rest for another 5 minutes just to freshen it up. It's actually easier than it sounds - I keep an empty developer bottle, and pour half the liquid into it, along with roughly 50% of the tube. That way the two packs last me 4 weeks (two applications). As you can see in the pic below (taken just after I coloured on Saturday), I end up with a shade somewhere in between the two you can see on the boxes...

Sadly there aren't that many really bright red hair colourants available at the supermarket, but of the brands I've tried, these Schwarzkopf shades are the most flattering for my skin tone. Everything you need is in the pack - each box comes with a capsule of Diamond Gloss Serum that you crack open and squeeze into the mix to help maintain the shine, a tube of conditioner, and a pair of disposable gloves. I can guarantee you the formula gives 100% grey (white!) coverage, and the standard ammonia smell is only a bit whiffy when you first apply it... 

Combined with several other products from the Schwarzkopf hair care range (which I'll be reviewing in the months ahead), my hair stays shiny and manageable, look and feels healthy, and there's very little colour fade till the next treatment. Incidentally, Schwarzkopf is German, and literally translates as "Black Head", but in my case, it's very definitely red ♥

While I'm content with the current condition of my mop, I'm not so enthused about the quantity of  chemicals my hair and scalp are bathed in on a regular basis - oh how I wish companies that make less damaging dye products would bring out some vibrant reds. I've noticed a couple of overseas brands entering the market recently, but so far their potent rouges aren't available in Australia - hopefully that will change soon :-)

What home hair colourant do you use?

Take care of you,

kats xxx

REVIEW: Schwarzkopf essence ULTIME Omega Repair...

I realised the other day that after almost a year of blogging, this will be my first hair care post! Hard to believe, but somehow I haven't gotten around to sharing some of the brilliant products I use to keep my red tresses in the best condition possible - and given I colour it every two weeks, believe me my mane needs all the help it can get. In the last few months I've been blessed with scoring a massive collection of Schwarzkopf products from those outrageously generous gals over at beautyheaven, and it's time to start the rave. It all began when I won this fabulous pack of goodies in a bh comp in June - my stars must have been aligned in the (beauty)heavens on that particular day, because here's what arrived...

Combined with a swag of loot from the recent Beauty Degustation Event, I have such a huge stash of Schwarkopf gems, I reckon I'll be posting hair product reviews every week until Christmas! Anyways enough about how lucky (and spoilt) I've been - I'd better get cracking and kick things off with these two heavenly hair healers...

Schwarzkopf essence ULTIME Omega Repair Shampoo...

Thank goodness someone out there is thinking of us gals who's shower shelves are fully loaded - due to my body wash addiction, I have literally only centimetres of space, but I sure can squeeze in these thoughtfully designed slimline bottles ♥ There's only 250ml of product, but trust me it's amazingly concentrated, and lasts the same time as the giant economy size of anything else. It has quite a striking scent - verging on "chemical" but has enough freshness to make the whole shampooing thingy a pleasure. I'm struggling to describe it - best to have a sniff for  yourself in the supermarket, but I guess it's kind of florally. Thick and pearly white, it lathers like a dream and leaves my hair feeling soft as silk, and with a mirror shine - quite a mean feat as my tresses have been recently highlighted, and the area around the crown was more like straw by the time I finished with it. This shampoo is on a par with products I've paid $30 for in hair salon, but it's only half that, and last week it was on special at Coles "2 for $20", so I stocked up. If you have dry damaged locks, then you won't be disappointed with the value, or how your hair looks and feels after only a few washes. My 5-star bh review is here. 

Schwarzkopf essence ULTIME Omega Repair Conditioner...

So onto the conditioner, which was an even bigger surprise. As I pointed out in my beautyheaven review, I haven't actually bought a bottle of conditioner for years, at least five. I always thought that the conditioner that came in home colouring kits was specifically formulated to work with the dye, and therefore my best bet. While I've been more than happy with the results (no doubt because I use Schwarzkopf Brilliance, but more on that another day), I'm delighted to report that this Ultime moisturiser takes my hair condition up another notch. I only leave it in for a minute (early morning timing is critical!) and my mane feels like I've done a deep nourishing treatment. Score! It has the same fragrance as the shampoo, and once again seems to be extra concentrated, so I only have to use a minimal amount. No lank greasies after a few days either, and because it counteracts the damage and dryness, I'm finding the colour isn't fading as fast. Love it!

And just because this is a hair post, here's a pic of my fringe - I'm pretty happy about this level of shine (no flash)...

Loving this range, and will continue to purchase it over and over again ♥ Have you tried it yet?

Take care of you,

kats xxx