Happy Hair Days

Three months after giving birth, my hair started falling out faster than you can say “hair loss”. I guess the hair Elliot’s scalp has been sprouting recently has had to come from somewhere 🙂

Previously I’d been using the Redken Extreme shampoo & conditioner in the hope that it’d work wonders on my hair. Well, it hasn’t. In fact I think it’s pretty crap, as I’ve spent every morning after the shower, desperately combing through my wet hair trying to detangle it before Elliot got bored of sitting in his bouncy chair.

So now I felt like treating my quickly receding hair line as gently and naturally as possible – no need to nuke the last remaining strands with parabens.

What I needed was a powerful de-frizzing shampoo and conditioner and when I spotted the Happy Hair Days products during my online shopping spree at Sainsburys I was intrigued. I love the quirky bottle designs and the fact that the products don’t contain parabens, SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate) or SLES (Sodium Laureth Sulfate).

And the price, oooh the price is just fine: £3.99 per bottle. I chose the Blueberry & Pear smoothing shampoo & conditioner and it smells great. But there are many other cool combinations, like the Marshmallow & Coconut one for coloured hair, or the Rosemary & Mint thickening one.

I couldn’t find a website for the Happy Hair Days brand, but you can find them in Sainsbury’s and Boots.

Favourite product: Naked orange blossom shower gel

I was browsing the shelves at Boots yesterday, looking for a new and less expensive shower gel that could replace my now empty Weleda Wild Rose Shower Cream.

Boots don’t stock too many skin & eco-friendly natural products, but I already knew where I was heading: to the shelf with Naked body care products. All their products are 97% natural and free from parabens, SLS and  petrochemicals. And they’re very affordable.

I was just about to grab their Love Me Naked rose body wash, but then I smelled this one for sensitive skin called Take Care and had to buy it.

It’s scented with orange blossoms and the delicate smell instantly took me back in time to ages ago when I was working as an au-pair in Paris. When I prepared strawberries or crêpes or for the kids I would always sprinkle them with l’eau de fleur d’oranger – orange blossom water. Pure nostalgia. Price £3.99.

Naked make loads of other products (unfortunately most Boots only stock a small selection). So far I’ve only tried their shampoo + conditioner for coloured hair, which I didn’t exactly love. But the shower gels are great. The next thing I’m going to try out is their witch hazel toner.

Click here to check out Naked’s whole product range (they do free UK delivery on orders over £20.

My favourite toner: Neal’s Yard Rose Water

Let me introduce you to my favourite toner: this one from Neal’s Yard Remedies.

The British company, known for their lovely blue bottles, specialises in organic, herb-based products for face, hair, body, baby etc. They don’t believe in animal testing, synthetic colours, parabens etc. and their products are still quite affordable. They have shops all over London and you can find them here.

I use the rose water in the morning after the shower and in the evening after removing make-up. It also comes in a lavender version.

Neal’s Yard Rose water, £9.75. Buy it online here.

Organic Surge – beautifully cheap skincare with a conscience and without any nasties

I’ve been filling my shopping basket with award-winning Scottish brand Organic Surge’s facial creams the last two times I’ve been to Boots as they’ve had a very generous  2 for £8 offer going on. Normally the creams cost an also reasonable £8 each.

I love everything about this brand: from the very low prices and aesthetically pleasing packaging to the gentle ingredients that are mainly organic and natural and free from parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulphate, synthetic perfume and other nasties.

What I also like is that they don’t test on animals and support charities. Every time you buy a product you contribute to support a vulnerable child in Africa.

Apart from the facial creams, which are really really good (and rose-scented), I also love their shower gels (£3.99). And they also do a range of shampoos and conditioners that I want to try out.

In the UK you can find Organic surge in Boots and in shops like Whole Foods, Waitrose and Fresh & Wild. And if you’re in Denmark you need to head for your nearest Matas, Coop or Helsam.

www.organicsurge.com

Favourite product: Wigo Europe hair dryer

Nu vi er ved hårliret, så må jeg lige skamrose min Wigo hårtørrer. Jeg købte den for en 4-5 år siden efter at have læst et tip i et dameblad.

Foto: Mette Bassett

Her var nemlig et personligt råd fra en hårstylist, som mente, at alle burde investere i en professionel hårtørrer. Jeg købte min hos Stuhr i Købmagergade for omkring 950 kr., men der er tit gode tilbud online. Og jeg knuselsker den. Så meget at en af knapperne er knækket af (burde ikke ske til den pris). Det tager kun 5 minutter at tørre håret og det bliver lækkert luftigt og fyldigt. Jeg kommer aldrig til at gå tilbage til billige hårtørrere.

English: I just wanted to tip you about the one hair product that I can’t live without. 4-5 years ago I read about the Wigo Europe professional hair dryer in a women’s magazine. This personal tip from a hair professional caught my eye and I decided to go for it.

The Wigo hair dryer cost around 100 pounds and I bought it from a salon (you can also find realy good online deals). And I just love it, so much in fact that one of the buttons broke (that really shouldn’t happen at this price). But it still works and I use it every day. It only takes 5 minutes to dry my hair and leaves it feeling very voluminous.

Favourite Product: DuWop Cheek Venom

Foto: Mette Bassett

Det lyder giftigt, men amerikanske DuWop’s Cheek Venom er, lige som deres legendariske Lip Venom, fri for skadelige tilsætningsstoffer og ikke testet på dyr. Jeg foretrækker creme-blushere, da de holder hele dagen og i selv den værste sommervarme, og da jeg også er fan af koral-farven (bl.a. i form af den fantastiske MAC lip conditioner) røg denne Lip Venom i farven “Diamondback” straks i kurven.

Jeg elsker den fine, lidt glimtende farve, og cremen dufter dejligt spearmint-agtigt, kildrer og køler lidt på kinderne, og skulle efter sigende både pleje og pifte dem op. Og så varer den simpelthen for evigt. Den fås også i farven Sidewinder, der er lidt mørkere og mere nude. Pris 24 dollars. Kan købes på nettet her eller på ASOS. Og sådan ser den ud “in action”:

English: I prefer cream blushers as they stay on the whole day, even in the worst humid summer heat. My absolute favourite is American Duwop’s Cheek Venom in the coral pink “Diamondback” (looking for a great coral colour for the lips to go with it? try this). DuWop are famous for their legendary lipglosses and plumpers called Lip Venoms. The products are, despite the dangerous name, free from any nasty additives and not tested on animals.

Last but not least, this product simply lasts forever – I bet you’ll have to throw it away not because it’s empty but because it’s getting to old. The blusher also comes in the colour “Sidewinder”, described as a “gorgeous nude flush”. Costs around 24 dollars. Buy it online here. Here’s how it looks on the skin:

Foto: Mette Bassett

Yndlingsprodukt: MAC lip conditioner

Foto: Mette Bassett

Det har taget mig over et år at nå ned til bunden på min første bøtte MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner i farven ‘Gentle Coral’. Jeg har allerede købt en ny, der står klar i kulissen, så god er den.

Jeg er ikke den store fan af læbestift, da jeg i forvejen har ret farvede løber.  De fleste lipgloss synes jeg er for klistrede og skinnende, så for mig er denne farvede læbebalsam den perfekte middelvej. Den gør læberne dejligt bløde og beskytter mod udtørring, selv i vintervejr, har solfaktor 15 og dejlig let duft og smag. Og så pifter den ansigtet op med lidt kulør uden at overdøve. Fås i 6 forskellige nuancer. Pris 10.50 pund. Køb den her.

In English: I’m just about to finish my little pot of MAC Tinted Lip Conditioner  in the ‘gentle coral’ colour. It has taking me more than a year to get to the bottom of it and I’ve already bought a replacement, that’s how much I luv it.

I’m not really a lipstick person as my lips are already quite dark and too much colour doesn’t really suit me, neither does yucky sticky shiny lip gloss. So this is the perfect alternative. It soothes and moisturizes your lips and protects them from the sun (spf 15), smells and feels lovely and leaves just the perfect amount of colours on my lips.

I comes in 6 different colours and costs 10.50 pounds.  Buy it here.

Foto: Mette Bassett

 

Favoritprodukt: Never A Dull Moment fra Origins

Foto via origins.co.uk

Når det gælder morgen- & aftenrutinen med at rense ansigtet, så har jeg de sidste mange, mange år sværget til Origins “Never A Dull Moment” geléen. Den dufter dejligt, skummer lige så dejligt og så udtørrer  den ikke huden, men efterlader den frisk og uden spor af makeup.

Og den svider ikke i øjnene, så er man løbet tør for øjenmake-up-fjerner, kan den også bruges dér i en snæver vending. Plus den er super drøj.

In English: My favourite facial cleanser is without a doubt Origins “Never a Dull Moment”. I smells wonderful, produces a light foam when mixed with water, and it removes all dirt and make-up without drying out my skin. Plus it lasts forever.

And it doesn’t even hurt if you accidentally put it in your eyes.

Volume, volume, volume

Foto from http://www.aveda.com

Mit hår er er fra naturens hånd både glat og tyndt. Det bliver lidt kedeligt i længden, så de sidste mange år har jeg eksperimenteret med diverse hårprodukter, der alle lover volumen af den vilde slags.

Jeg bryder mig ikke om mousse, da det gør mit hår klistret, så  jeg har i stedet testet alverdens surfspray/saltvandssprays/hair thickening/root lifting-genren fra Bumble & Bumble, Wella, Sebastian, Kiehl’s, H&M etc. etc…

Foto: Mette Bassett

Min absolutte favorit er for længst fundet: det er “Pure Abundance Volumizing Hair Spray” from Aveda. Jeg bruger den i rødderne efter føntørring . Sprayen har først en ret klæbrig konsistens, men det forsvinder, når den tørrer.  Og så dufter den fantastisk urteagtigt. Her er et forsøg på at vise resultatet:

Da jeg farver mit hår, og det i det hele taget får en temmelig hår(d) behandling hver dag, har jeg brug for en god balsam. Her har favoritten det sidste lange stykke tid været “Redken Body Full Conditioner”,  som redder mit hår fra at klaske.

Foto from http://www.redken.com

English summary: My hair often lacks volume. For the last many years I’ve been testing all the beach hair/volume/surf-sprays I could get my hands on. My absolute favourite is “Pure Abundance Volumizing Hair Spray” from Aveda. I use it in dry hair and spray it on at the roots and under the hair.

 

I blow dry my hair every day + I colour it so I also need a good conditioner and one that doesn’t make my hair collapse.

 

Once again I’ve found a favourite that works wonders for my hair:  “Redken Body Full Conditioner”.

Nødhjælp til kolde kinder

Foto via http://www.drorganic.co.uk

Minusgrader og vintervejr udtørrer huden, så jeg var på udkig efter en ny, rig dagcreme, der kunne hamle op med kulden. Efter at have læste en anbefaling på classy Liberty London Girl’s blog (hun er en tidligere fashion editor, nu freelance journalist, som seriøst ved, hvad hun snakker om) smuttede jeg en tur i Holland and Barrett’s og hev Dr. Organics rescue cream med Manuka honning ned fra hylden (7.99 pund).  Og smed også deres body lotion i kurven, nu jeg var i gang (6.99).

Begge produkter er fantastiske og bedre end nogle  af de meget dyre cremer, jeg tidligere har prøvet. De er nærende nok til at modstå vind og vejr, men ikke for fedtede, og bliver hurtigt absorberet.

Ekstra bonus: Produkterne er fri for parabener, allergi-testede og proppet med naturlige ingredienser. Duften er meget sød og honningagtig.

Læs mere om Dr. Organic og deres andre produkter her.

In English:

Foto via http://www.drorganic.co.uk

I’ve been looking for at new face cream to combat the cold weather that makes my skin dry out. After having read a review of Dr. Organics rescue cream with Manuka Honey (7.99 pounds) on the amazing and very reliable fashion professional, Liberty London Girls’s blog. I decided to give it a try.

The cream is simply wonderful and so is the body lotion (6.99). Rich, but not too greasy, no parabens, hypoallergenic and filled with natural goodnes. The smell is sweet like honey and the price is very, very reasonable.

In fact, this cream is better than any of the much more expensive face creams I’ve tried in my life.

Read more about Dr. Organic and their range here

Buy the stuff online at Holland and Barrett’s