New Hair, Rhubarb Crumble and Accessorize Makeup

New Hair -Colour This Time

You may have seen my new haircut post, but today I went back to get the colour sorted out.

I had a flatter brown colour all over, so it is still warm but not as warm as before and I had a few subtle highlights on the longer layers.  I didn't want that hideous stripy effect and this worked perfectly so just a flash of colour shows when the light hits it or you swish your hair, it gives more texture and breaks up the colour.  I <3 it!

 With flash

They are more subtle in regular lighting

As usual I went to Toni & Guy in Covent Garden and Lynsey was my colour technician. She has white blonde hair with a couple of pale pink highlights around the hairline, it suits her perfectly and kind of reminds me of a Mr Whippy ice cream!

ACCESSORIZE

 

I was unable to attend the event showcasing this range as I was at work but wanted to show you as I love Acessorize.  Acessorize has announced the launch of its debut cosmetics range consisting of five unique themes: 

The Rock Star collection - priced from £3.00 to £5.00;  

Exotic Brights - priced from £3.00 to £4.00; 

With Love - priced from £3.00 to £9.00; 

Illusion - prices ranging from £4.00 to £6.00; 

Je t’aime - prices ranging from £4.00 to £8.00.

Accessorize new make-up range will be available from the end of September from Accessorize stores, www.accessorize.com and Superdrug. 

Mac Pro Longwear Foundation

I am still on the fence about this foundation.  I think mixing it 2:1 with strobe cream does give a fantastic finish that lasts all day and looks nice in photos, however I am not sure if it is breaking me out or if I am just dehydrated (chugs water) I will have to continue the test.

It certainly blends nicely and gives a nice finish, it looks good (in my opinion) in photos such as above, and someone complimented me on my skin today which was nice.  Have you tried it? What did you think?

More Tidying

After Matt very kindly put up my new shelf storage at the weekend I have already made it look like a tornado has been across it so I decided it was high time for a blog sale so I can actually move in my spare room without falling over a nail varnish so watch out for that.

Rhubarb Crumble

One of my favourite things about this weather changing is the food.  I really don't enjoy cold food like chicken and salad and fruit unless the weather is nice and warm, and since this is England, and I don't tend to eat dinner on a sunbed, that hasn't happened.  My favourite foods are stews, soups, warming hot chocolates and stuff like that.  I sometimes partake in the odd crumble of a weekend too and I had seen that the rhubarb was in season so I grabbed a big pack when I was in Sainsbury.  You know that the rhubarb is good when it is bright bright puce pink, don't buy it when it's green = eew, bad crumble.

 

Recipe is from Nigella Lawson's Feast Book

Ingredients

For the filling:
about 750g of rhubarb, cut into 1cm pieces
50g caster sugar
15g butter
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 Tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)

For the crumble topping:
150g all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
110g unsalted butter, cold and diced
3 Tbsp ordinary sugar
3 Tbsp Demerara sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Combine the filling ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is melted and the sugar is well dissolved. Stick that in a small oven-proof dish (the rhubarb must cover the bottom of the dish).  You could add fresh or powdered ginger or cinnamon if you like at this point I put a handful of blueberries in.

For the crumble

Combine the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add the butter (I chop mine up and leave it in the freezer for an hour before making the crumble) and rub into the flour mixture with your fingertips until you achieve a coarse texture like breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugars with a fork.

Cover the rhubarb filling evenly with the crumble. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until bubbly and well-browned. You're supposed to let it cool and serve it with cream or custard.  Muff that! I say eat it while its yummy and hot and serve it with ice cream..hello surely ice cream with crumble is the law. Even custard AND ice cream would be better than cream (sick face) that is just minging.

John Frieda Sheer Blonde and Brilliant Brunette

As I changed up my hair colour I decided that I now fit into both the sheer blonde AND the brilliant brunette categories wohoo! More stuff to buy!

John Frieda Brilliant Brunette Shine Shock 

This is a product that looks pretty much like a clear glitter filled gel which you smooth onto wet hair before blow drying to enhance the shine.  I love how this leaves my hair and how shiny it looks, you still need to use a mousse if you have fine hair but it really compliments the mousse well and doesn't leave your hair sticky.  My only issue is I don't think it will last very long so I will be using it for special occasions only.

John Freida Sheer Blonde Gleam Cream

This really is a fabulous product to style dry hair, you rub a tiny bit between your hands and smooth over your hair to get rid of fuzzy frizz bits or you can just pick out bits to define and give the hair texture. It doesn't make your hair feel stick or greasy and the tube is easy to dispense just a tiny amount.

Do you use any of the Brilliant Brunette or Sheer Blond products? What do you think of the hair colour?