PRO:VOKE® Liquid Blonde

When you have blonde hair, keeping it in good condition is paramount, it can quickly look boring, dull and lifeless. I have naturally dark blonde hair which I have highlighted a few times a year and when I was introduced to Pro:Voke Liquid Blonde Range, I couldn't wait to give it a try.

PRO:VOKE® Liquid Blonde is an expertly created range specifically designed for highlighted, sun-kissed and warm blonde hair. The range tones and enhances blonde shades using Golden Blonde Pigments to refresh colour, whilst also nourishing and adding intense gloss and shine.

With four products in the range - Shampoo, Conditioner,  Colour Activating Treatment Shampoo and Intense Shine Conditioner.  I am usually nervous when it comes to using colour care products because I don't want to over do it and end up orange or green but equally I don't want my colour to fade too quickly, despite my love of sitting for hours in a salon chair and any excuse to visit new places.

PRO:VOKE® Liquid Blonde Colour Care Shampoo is a really gentle cleansing shampoo which helps to protect against environmental pollution to safeguard your colour, making it perfect for multitoned, highlighted hair. Using light-reflecting particles and Tamanu Oil this shampoo is great for hair which feels dry and dehydrated but is lightweight as to not weigh the hair down.  

PRO:VOKE® Liquid Blonde Colour Care Conditioner has quite a creamy formula and you only need a small amount.  I am one of those people who doesn't use a conditioner everytime I shampoo because I have combination hair (Greasy Roots and Dry Ends) but I do like this conditioner. Designed to help repair damaged hair by infusing extra moisture for an improved smooth and silky texture. As with the shampoo, it has light-reflecting particles and Tamanu Oil which instantly boosts shine and keeps hair colour rich. By helping to protect from environmental damage and preventing colour from dulling, this conditioner brings out and brightens a range of blonde tones and highlights.

PRO:VOKE® Liquid Blonde Colour Activating Treatment Shampoo - This shampoo contains Golden Blonde Pigments to instantly boost multi-toned, highlighted blonde shades. It also works to instantly enhance the warmth and depth of blonde hair which further help to prolong salon visits and keep hair colour fresh, with visible results after just one wash.  What I found with this shampoo is that I only needed to use it once a week, similar to how I use any other hair treatment, so swapping to this shampoo from the other to give my hair a boost.  The formula is slightly thicker but is really easy to wash out.

PRO:VOKE® Liquid Blonde Intense Shine Conditioner - Again I swap this once a week with the conditioner above and it is designed to give a high gloss finish in just one treatment, enhancing the lustre and depth of multi-tonal blonde hair. Containing Tamanu Oil, known for repairing and improving shine.  Again, this conditioner is slightly thicker in texture than the other option and it has a really dark colour to it, but where it differs hugely for me, is how my hair feels after using it - instantly soft, nourished and moisturised, almost salon shiny and an absolute delight to style.

Having used these products for the last few months, I have found that my colour has lasted a lot longer than it would usually do, the roots haven't come through as quick and whilst now I can see the highlights have faded and need a touch up, I am really impressed they have lasted this long, especially as my hair has been highlighted 3 weeks before I got these products.  

Now for the best part!  With starting prices from £3.99 you can find them in places such as Boots, which often means a 3 for 2 option and if I am honest, they are more than worth their price.

Liz Earle New Botanical Essence No.9 Eau de Parfum

There are some fantastic now launches coming from Liz Earle, especially the Christmas collection, but today I have two to share with you.  Now whenever I am gifted, given or sent a product, I like to try it out before it appears on the blog, it is rare that I will just post about something. Why? Because I like to think people want to know what I thought of something when I tried it as opposed to the regurgitation of a press release.

You can never ever have too many perfumes in my humble opinion and in my lifetime I have only ever, until now, tried one from Liz Earle and that was Botanical Essence No.20 which I absolutely adored.  Now Botanical Essence No.9 has arrived and I simply adore it.  It started off that I quite liked the fragrance and now I cannot get enough of it and the description is equally divine:

"Capturing the unique energy that you feel moments after a rainstorm, as the clouds part and the sun begins to warm the forest floor. New Botanical Essence No.9 Eau de Parfum takes the wearer on a mysterious olfactive journey right to the fragrant heart of a lush and verdant lanscape, laden with the scent of ripened berries".

What I love about this scent is that it is a beautiful mixture of fresh citrus, woodiness and floral notes all come together to make what is a scent that is an all year round amazing fragrance. As soon as you spritz the fragrance you instantly get a hit of fruity zesty notes and as it settles the floral and fruity notes come to life before finally settling on the skin for the woody warm finish. The fragrance is broken down into Top, Heart and Base notes as follows:

• Top notes: blackcurrant bud, bergamot and red ginger  which give a fresh, fruity, juicy, crisp and zesty result
• Heart: Osmanthus, Damask rose and patchouli which bring to life the spicy, floral, fruity, and sensual fragrance
• Base notes: Haitian vetiver and oakmoss absolute vanilla finally settle to give a smoky, woody, warm, and rich finish

I also love that this fragrance has lastability. It is one that you can spray in a morning before leaving for work and one you can still smell on your way home. For me, the heart notes make this an amazing scent, the Damask Rose working alongside Patchouli are the scents I can detect the most.

If you are a fan of Liz Earle Eau de Parfum then you will know that they are perfect for layering and again, this is something I do all of the time.  For me No.9 works incredibly well with No.20 and they work because so many natural notes are used.  For anyone who has never tried layering perfumes, then definitely do, there is nothing quite like finding your own signature scent and who wants to smell like everyone else anyway?

Liz Earle New Botanical Essence No.9 Eau de Parfum is available nationwide from the flagship stores, Boots and John Lewis from September but if you really want to try it now, then QVC might just have it in stock!

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

Sleek Makeup

I am a huge fan of Sleek and they appear on my blog because they are such a great brand and amazing value for money.  One thing Sleek do very very well is their palettes, blushes and lipsticks and if you have never tried them, run to Superdrug and buy everything!

Today I am sharing with you 4 new products that I got to see a while ago and I am sure like me, you will love them.

Sleek blushers are amazing and I adore both Rose Gold and Suede but Pink Peony is something new altogether because it is a creme to powder blush.  It is a lovely bright pink shade, much more pink than I would usually opt for, but once blended that bright Barbie pink settles down to give a really lovely finish. 

It is available in 5 other shades and costs just £5.99 which is such good value for money and it is comes encased inside an incredibly durable black, sleek case which is great for transporting.

i-Divine palettes are always the steal of the show with Sleek and the two I have - A New Day and All Night Long are just incredible and I have constantly used them since I got them. A New Day is suitable for all skin tones and has every shade that you need for daytime eyes. It features 12 fantastic shades which include soft nudes, subtle golds and warm peach shades all of which can be used along or together and they blend really easily.

The swatches (right to left) I have shown for this palette show Brightside, Don't Worry, Silver Lining and H-A-P-P-Y.

All Night long again features 12 shades which are all cocktail themed when it comes to their names. A mixture of rich smokey nudes, sultry beiges, eye-catching golds and shimmering bronzes this is again an amazing palette.

The swatches (right to left) I have shown for this palette are Martini, Prosecco, Spritz and Manhatten. For just £8.99 I think these palettes are just amazing value for money.

The final item is just stunning and I featured it on my Instagram and it is the Solstice Highlighting Palette. Recongisable for its gold packaging it features 4 stunning shades - Ecliptic, Hemisphere, Subsolar and Equinox of two are baked powders, one luxurious cream formula and one silky shimmer powder.  

Highly pigmented, these shades need just the smallest amount and blend with my fingertips. Ideal for use on the inner corners of the eyes, across the browbone and along the tops of cheekbones. At just £10 this palette is such great value for money and I just love how pigmented it is.

So there you have my current most used products from Sleek and I think everything is such amazing value for money.

*this post contains PR samples unless indicated otherwise

Keeping fit at your desk #OfficeYoga

It often comes as a surprise to people when they learn that blogging is not my full time job and it is infact a hobby.  Outside of the Blogger bubble, I actually have a full time role, not your average 9-5 job but a job that that is demanding, can be long odd hours but gives me the flexibility to come and go as I need to.

I work in an actual office Monday to Friday and like many office workers, I am tied to my desk for most of that day replying to emails, dealing with queries and questions and dealing with people face to face.  Recently in the news, there has been a lot of noise about office workers needing to exercise for an hour a day to avoid an early death and sitting still for 8-9 hours a day is never going to be good for you anyway.  So my colleagues and I have taken on board some of the points made from these reports and as we get a whole hour (and a bit more) for lunch, we decided to go out and explore our local surroundings for that one hour, whether that is to the local park, walking further afield for lunch or, sad as it sounds, going out catching Pokemon.  The fresh air (as fresh as it can be in London anyway) does me a world of good anyway, I always feel much better when I have been outside, especially if it is sunny.

If getting out and about during the working day is something you find hard to do because of work pressures or other issues there are still things you can do.  #OfficeYoga is a term I have heard of more than once over the last few months, a friend of mine recently started up her own business going into offices and going 20 minute slots of yoga with office workers to show them how much a difference it can make to their lives.  Whilst she hasn't yet made it across to my office because we are undergoing a few renovations, she has insisted I have a better office chair than the one I currently have which severely lacks lumber support, so ive noted that point along with remembering to get up and move about.  Feeling good on the outside is just as important as feeling good on the inside and I do try and set myself a goal of getting to the end of a piece of work and then moving around, but if I am alone in the office, which for a few days of the working week I am, then Yoga at my desk, for me, is idea and this is how easy it is:

So if you find you offer suffer with a stiff neck, sore lower back, aching legs and feet, tight hips, sore shoulders and headaches, getting it, shaking it about, moving around and stretching will help minimise the discomfort and help with stress and tension which is a viscous circle of the aches and pains. I know if I am under stress along comes a headache and then the pain radiates down, if I can stop it happening then I am in.

Please do keep a look out for @Furniture_Work's #OfficeYoga campaign video 

coming soon!

*this post is a collaboration but all words are my own.