Author Archives: vivienneastar

Hair colour for sensitive scalps and coconut oil

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Hi guys, Vivienne again.
I added a post a while back about using olive oil to repair frizzy hair. I still use this for chlorinated hair, but now also use a coconut oil mask every other month. I just put a rounded tablespoon of coconut oil into my palm and rub my hands together until it melts. This is one of my favourite overnight treatments.

coconutoil

I concentrate on the ends to start with, then rub my hands though my hair until the oil has vanished from my hands. I sleep on a towel, and in the morning all the oil is absorbed by my hair and it looks amazing. The effect last several days. Highly recommended.

I am a great fan of coconut oil. Its is economical and smells delicious! it’s great rubbed into my nails after I have removed the varnish and I also use it to soften dry skin on my feet. (Sorry if that was a little gross!)

olia_20_soft_black_front_v1

Back to hair,  I have recently changed my hair colourant as I have been getting more dry patches on my scalp. Switching to Garnier Olio  has eradicated the problem. This is claimed to be the first oil powered and ammonia free permanent home hair colour. When I apply it it smells lovely and does not irritate my scalp. It lathers up well and is much easier to rinse than other products I have tried.

The shade I currently use is Soft black as it is really a dark brown colour, more than black, and that blends with my natural colouring. Since using this I have had no issues with dry ecsma type patches on my scalp and my hair looks glossy and natural.

Incidentally when I first purchased it came with a weird tear drop shape bottle that must have been designed my a man with large hands. You may see on other reviews that it was far too big to hold and it toppled over unless wedged in the box. They have now switched to a regular applicator bottle which is easy to use.

How to repair your hair!

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Hello this is Vivienne, I haven’t blogged for a while but need to share this tip with you as it has taken me by surprise and I am amazed with the results.

I have been colouring my hair for a while as I have the odd grey hair. Okay, I know that was a bit of a shock to read, but I am coping… My hair is naturally wavy, straight at the top falling into ringlets. Recently it has become straighter, dry and frizzy at the ends and I was really putting it down to my age! So, to make matters worse I started to use tongs to curl it, bought heated rollers and always blow dried it. Yes, you guessed it, the dratted ends got even frizzier.

oil Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered reading that Jerry Hall used to treat her hair by putting olive oil on it over night.

I was a bit skeptical, but after trying umpteen frizz ease products I was willing to give anything a try. I put a drop of extra virgin olive oil on my hand and rubbed my palms together before running them through the ends of my hair. A little goes a very very long way and I didn’t want to end up with greasy hair.

I slept on an old towel and washed it out in the morning. There was an immediate improvement. 4 more nights of doing this and the frizz had completely gone and I had my ringlets back. I know it sounds unbelievable but for the cost of a few pence for olive oil I banished my frizz.

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The problem wasn’t the dye but my hair drying out due to swimming regularly in a chlorinated pool and then drying it with a hot dryer. Now I can just treat my hair with a little olive oil as soon as it loses its bounce. Just to fill you in, I use L’Oreal Excellence Cream in natural darkest brown as it matches my natural hair colour perfectly. I just use a brush to colour the grey then put the rest all over for the last 5 mins to make sure that it blends in. The colour comes with a protecting lotion for the ends of your hair and also a special conditioner. Its a really good product if you are looking for a natural looking permanent colour.

Hope you find this olive oil hair repair tip useful too.

loreal

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Chanel long lasting concealer

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Hello its Vivienne this time. I needed to share this fabulous concealer with you.

Chanel Correcteur perfection long lasting concealercorrecteur-perfection-long-lasting-concealer-10-beige-clair-7_5g.3145891706109.jpg.

I had a small bruise on my chin that I wanted to cover in a hurry. The friendly beauty consultant at Chanel recommended this concealer.

The concealer is a liquid that is applied with a sponge tip applicator, just like a lip gloss. It is light, dries quickly, and completely covered the unsightly blue black bruise. I used it without foundation and it was undetectable.  I just Dotted it over the area, blending it in with my flat foundation brush very easily.

This is one product that will be a staple in my make-up bag from now on. Although I bought it to cover the bruise I have also found it really great at making the small red veins around my nose vanish and make the slightly dark circles under my eyes disappear.

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A few quick dots
feathering out
undetectable!

The Nail Bar – Chesterfield

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IMG_0769One thing I won’t shirk is decent manicure. I feel so much better when my nails are gorgeous! I am a happy regular at the Nail Bar, so please excuse this if it seems a little over the top. I have had my nails done here at what is now my nail bar of choice since 2012.

The salon is simply laid out in the New York style, and it’s a drop in. Appointments can be made, but most people don’t. One of the team gives you an idea of how long you will expect to wait, which is usually no more than 20 minutes.

Sarah and her Vietnamese team are fast, efficient, polite and very good at what they do. I have acrylic french tipped overlays on my naturally long nails with a glossy gel finish, but they offer every colour imaginable, with any length and any paint effects you can think of. You often start off with one tech preparing your nails before a more experienced tech shapes and finishes your nails. After they dry there is some mango scented hand cream next to the dryer, which is a nice touch.

My nails always last a very long time, and I’ve never had any issues with them breaking (as people often worry about with acrylics). The only reason I get them retouched as often as I do is because of how fast my nails grow, which is obviously no fault of the team.

I haven’t tried any other treatments that they offer but have seen someone get permanent eyebrow tattoos and they looked really natural. There isn’t a web site so I have added this link to their Google+ The Nail Bar so that you can find them easily.

Oh, and it’s educational – I have even learned a little about life in Vietnam and a couple of words of Vietnamese. Cam on Nail bar team! – Vivienne

nailbar

Body Firming Product Tests

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IMG_0665Over the summer I have been trying out 4 different body products. My aim was to smooth my existing skin and hopefully reduce the fine stretch marks I have – thanks Eloise! Also to prevent further stretch marks and keep my skin smooth as I continue to lose weight. I don’t want to end up thin but with a saggy pouch…

So these are my personal views about the products I tried.

Clarins Contour Body Treatment Oil 100ml £40bodyoilantieau

This was an bit of a splurge for me, bought when there was an offer on the web site.  The product smells absolutely divine. It is all natural, and contains geranium oil , broom, and Marjoram — which the website claims helps to eliminate toxins to streamline skin, plus hazelnut Oil to lock in moisture.

The oil does not sink in immediately, there is enough time to massage the area, but then it is absorbed and my skin felt very silky, not sticky and had a slightly satin sheen, which I liked. The aromatic scent lasted a long time, and had an uplifting feeling. I am not sure how well that would sit with any perfume, so it is perhaps best used in the evening. Like all of Clarins products, you can tell it is a quality item. The glass bottle is heavy and looks good in the bathroom. The oil is sumptuously thick, lovely to touch and wonderfully aromatic.

Clarins provides a little instructional video on how to apply it, which was a useful touch. I was a little disapointed that it did not last longer, I used it up in 2 weeks, but when I see another offer I would buy it again.

See more at Clarins

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Nivea Q10 Plus Firming Body Oil 200ml £6.95nivea-body-firming

I loved this product! It absorbs nice and quickly, made my skin feel as smooth as the Clarins oil for a fraction of the price and has a pleasant, slightly citrusy fragrance. it is quite a thin oil, so a little goes a long way. The only drawback to it is that you are supposed to apply it at least twice a day to get an effect and I kept forgetting. I usually only put oil on my body after my morning shower and sometimes before bed.

You are supposed to see a difference in 2 weeks. I did see a slight difference, but it was not dramatic. This might have been because I did not apply it enough. It certainly made my skin feel soft.

Unlike the Clarins oil this is not a completely natural product, although it contains avocado oil. it also contains Paraffinum, Liquidum, Isopropyl Palamite, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, and Benzyl Alcohol amongst other things.

The magic ingredient is Q10 which is the skin’s own coenzyme Not sure that applying this topically would do any good as anything that would penetrate the epidermis has to be prescribed.

See more at Nivea

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Palmers Firming Butter 315ml £4.99palmers

Like a lot of Palmer’s products, this thick, buttery cream is made of Cocoa Butter, which is a rich natural moisturiser. It also contains antioxidant Vitamin E to help improve the appearance of scars, and stretch marks; Collagen & Elastin to improve skin elasticity and firmness; Plus Shea butter for more moisturising and the ubiquitous Q10. Sounded good.

First thing I noticed was the almost overpowering smell of the cocoa butter. At first I didn’t mind it, but by the third day I found it sickly. The product is also quite difficult to use. You need to warm it in your hands for ages before it becomes easy enough to massage over the skin, unlike the oils, which I much preferred.

It is recommended that you use it twice a day, but I gave up due to the smell.

See more at Palmers

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Johnson’s Baby Oil 500ml £2.69JOHNSON & JOHNSON BABY OIL

Yes, good old baby oil. I have had this in the cupboard for years and it is one of my favourite products.

It smells so lovely, the oil is silky smooth, and a little poured into the hands to warm before applying to damp skin goes a very very long way. I massage it in the same way as the other oils, and I do wonder if it is the massage that does the firming more than the oils.

The only drawback is that it takes a little longer to be absorbed, but by the time I have done my face and teeth it is fully absorbed.

This is not a natural product it contains Paraffinum Liquidum, which is a highly refined mineral oil;  Isopropyl Palmitate, an emollient and thickener, and the special Johnson’s perfume

If you have enough money and want a natural product I would recommend the Clarin’s oil out of the 4 products that I tested, but if you are living on a budget then this is a fabulous oil. It also makes a great general massage oil; I put it on my toenails after I take off my nail varnish to stop them drying out; removes waterproof mascara; you can use it to remove plasters easily, and also sticky price tags from plastic – my tip!

See more at Johnsons

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Rejuvenation – Chesterfield

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Rejuvenation is a large, high profile salon in Chesterfield, with good web presence.  It has a lot of services that I was interested in, as at the time of visiting I was looking for a little help in losing some weight. I went there for Caci non surgical body treatment, and also tried one session of colonic irrigation therapy.

This salon is a little out of town and not the easiest place to park, but happily the street parking is free. Initially I had a positive response to the salon. The decor is attractive and the beauticians friendly and hard working. However, I found that some had little training other than second hand from the owner.

Treatments

With the Caci treatments, the beauticians were trying their best to position the contact points of the machine correctly, but often referred to an instruction sheet. These are lovely people, don’t get me wrong, but the owners need to invest in them and their training.

I didn’t realise that it wasn’t quite right until I had a session with one of the owners. She positioned the points correctly and the effect was far better (you would hope so as she had the training). A course of Caci is a bit of an investment, so I felt short changed and have not been back. I have found a more professional salon. Furthermore, I felt that the owners were taking my regular sessions for granted. They seemed to be treating me as though I was on a production line, instead of having a rare hour that was for me – next cheque please!

The colonic irrigation was a little different. The lady who administers the treatment is an eccentric delight! There was no time to feel nervous as she chattered about her little dog and made me feel completely comfortable. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to be doing, and I felt really good afterwards. If she works anywhere else I would certainly have some more treatments.

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Mirage – Chesterfield

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This is a tiny Tardis of a salon in a busy little shopping parade in Littlemoor. You might pass this over thinking it is all about tanning and nails – but you would be overlooking a little gem of a salon.

At the front is a single salon setup on one side and a small waiting area on
the other. As you go back through the premises, there are two K-mirageSun Sunshower tanning booths and a sunbed. These are not something I need to use but I am told are state of the art; they were extremely popular whenever I was there. Then there are the Biosculpture nail bars, and beyond that the treatment rooms.

I went there for Caci, the non-surgical beauty treatment, but they also have a good menu of other face and body treatments. I also saw some amazingly pretty and creative hairstyling, particularly prom and party looks.

The staff are very friendly and during my course of treatments I was made
to feel relaxed and unrushed. The treatment was painless, and it gave me both a fresher look and a little indulgent me time.

Mirage does not have a website, just FB, but here is the link – Mirage

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Barlborough Spa & Beauty – Chesterfield

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Okay, so first I should say that I have not used the spa facilities; I went for eye lash extensions, so can’t really comment on anything else. It’s a cozy little retreat on a working farm, some way out of town, in Barlborough.

Nicki, the owner,  welcomed me with open arms. When you arrive you enter a large room which has a huge hot tub in the centre, with a sauna and shower to the side. The treatment rooms are just off this, and are small but sassy. She told me that the hot tub can be privately rented and that they hold young girls parties there, which I have since heard are very popular with the little princesses.

As I had worn extensions before I thought I knew what I was in for but this was a completely different experience. Nicki carefully applied each extension to one of my individual natural lashes, choosing the exact length and size to get the desired effect. This took two hours! The reason is so that, as your natural lashes shed, you only lose one, not a clump that is attached to one. Makes sense, if time consuming. They don’t stick together, and I was impressed both with how natural they looked, and Nicki’s patience.

I have since stopped using eyelash extensions, which I will blog about later, but if you want long natural looking lashes for a special event I would certainly recommend this place – here is the link Barlborough Spa.

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Hellaby Hall Hotel & Spa – Rotherham

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Another bargain break, with breakfast, dinner and use of the spa. We were a little worried on the way there as you drive through an industrial estate to get to the hotel. The hotel itself is one third 17th century Hall and two thirds modern extension. The actual hall is lovely, but you enter through the modern side. Here is their link – Hellaby Hall

We stayed two nights on a weekend break. The room was comfortable and spacious, although it could have done with  a refurb.

Food and drink

We went for dinner as 2 courses were included in the deal, which was delicious, with little wait. Not surprising as apart from us there were only two other tables dining in a rather large restaurant.

That evening we sat in the bar in the Hall, which was nice, even though the hotel is also used as a wedding venue and that can make you feel like an unwanted guest!

Breakfast was included with  a pleasantly surprising selection and again friendly staff.

Spa

Use of the large 20 metre pool, sauna, steam room and gym is free for guests and towels are provided. The pool has an adult only section, which is great as it is open to the public with membership. There are beauty treatments, but it’s not really a spa, more a pool with extras.

Summary

We didn’t get the spa feel we were after, but I think it is a case of “you get what you pay for”, and we made the most with our own face packs and the mini break.

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Daresbury Park Hotel & Spa – Warrington

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I went here for a Spa weekend in January. The hotel has had some rough reviews, but I think it depends where you are in the building as some of it needs refurbishing. Our room was in the newer part of the hotel and just a hop and a skip from the “Spa”. I use the term loosely.

Our twin bedded room was reasonably well appointed, with lots of room, 2 easy chairs and a table, plus a reasonable sized bathroom. Mainly the hotel seems to have 2 main sources of clientelle, wedding parties and refugees, neither of which caused us any issues. We also met some other ladies that had taken up the same weekend Spa offer that had enticed us.

The Spa

This is Spindles Health club, which is also open to the public with a membership fee.There is a 15 metre swimming pool, so we chatted to the attendants and found the times when it was likely to be empty. Such luxury! At other times it is over run by rather boisterous hens and/or stags. There is a jacuzzi which is rather odd, as the step into it is so far down you could almost think it is a plunge pool. My friend adores the bubbles, but only attempted it once. Ridiculous shape. Then there is a fabulously designed Turkish bath. It is fairly small but covered in mosaic and the black ceiling has twinkling lights. Incredibly relaxing and I want one… Other than that there is a shower that changes lights and patterns, hmmm.

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We didn’t have any spa treatments included in our stay, but were very  lucky to find an available space, although it had to be straight away.  Otherwise they are booked up with bridal parties, very busy. If you want  to go, booking in advance is a must.

I was impressed with the full body salt scrub that I had, and my friend  enjoyed her massage which we had simultaneously. Fun to chat a little as  we were worked on, and the beauticians were excellent.

Food and Drink

We had breakfast and an evening meals in our package. This is in a large and rather rowdy room rather like a cafeteria. We both found something to eat but I was not very impressed. This is catering en mass for a limited budget, and I felt they were trying to do their best with poor ingredients. On the second morning I asked for a poached egg, and the chef seemed very happy to do this, and she made a good job of it too, bless her.

There is also a bar just outside the restaurant, and we did spend a pleasant evening with a group of like minded people, although the bar prices are a tad on the expensive side.

Summary

If you find a bargain deal on this hotel, take your own beauty treatments and champagne, as we did, ask for something you want for breakfast, and make the most of the limited facilities. It’s not bad, it’s clean, and we had fun!

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