The Battle of the Dry Shampoos

Being as lazy as I am and having a bathroom as cold as I do, I rarely like to wash my hair. In fact, I try to leave it around 3-5 days (normal to some, gross to others). With this laziness comes a need to use dry shampoo - and a good one at that. A brief overview of the ones I have tried and tested:

Garnier Fructis Pure Volume Dry Shampoo - The cheapest of the bunch but also one of my least favourites. It wasn't so bad, but I just found that my hair would look greasy again just a couple hours after using it.

Batiste Dry Shampoo - Similar to the Garnier, this just didn't last long enough in my hair. However, I would be happy to use this as a back up if needed. I'm also a fan of the different scents they have!

Toni&Guy Cleanse Dry Shampoo -  For a brand that specialises in hair products, this is the one that I found the most disappointing. It didn't do great things for my oily hair and I also felt like it left a weird kind of residue and made my hair feel even dirtier. I would find that after using this for a day, or even half a day, I couldn't wait to just get back home and scrub my hair.

And now, for the announcement of my holy grail dry shampoo *drum roll*...

Klorane Gentle Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk - This product is amazing! I can spray this in the morning and find that I won't need to respray until the following afternoon/evening. It soaks up any oils like a dream, and doesn't make my hair feel gritty or dirty. As will most other dry shampoos, you do have to be careful and make sure you rub it in properly as it does have quite a powerful spray and when not careful, can lead to giant white patches in your hair. The Klorane also gives me the perfect amount of volume when my hair's feeling a bit flat. Basically, it's an all round winner.

The Surprise Birthday Plan

So it was my boyfriends birthday almost two weeks ago and I'm so bad at choosing presents that I still hadn't gotten him a gift - up until 2 hours ago. Bad girlfriend award.. I know. To make up for it, I've bought him TWO gifts (yes, yes I know it's not about the quantity but I feel terrible) and have decided to take him out for a whole day to just spend time with each other (lucky him.. right?).

I've decided to make a great event out of it: I'm going to pick him up in the morning and take him to a grassy hill beside the lake for a lunchtime picnic - it's currently Spring where I live so the days are stunning and just warm enough to lie in the sun without getting burnt to a crisp. I'm going to prepare some banana nut muffins (see above: hopefully they turn out the same), peppermint slice (his favourite) and some tuna pasta that we used to eat ALL the time when we first started dating. Where I live there's a flower show every Spring with tons of activities so I'm going to take him there and just wonder around.

The gifts won't arrive until a couple weeks time, but hopefully he'll enjoy this and the gifts will seem like an extra bonus! Ha.. tactics, you see!

The Dry Skin Saviours

The last two weeks of my holiday were spent in Hong Kong. This meant that the weather was unbelievably hot, humid and sweaty, but it also meant that my skin was always feeling pretty moisturised (unless I spent the entire day in a shopping mall blasting with AC). So after the 9 hour flight and arriving home where the air is super, super dry and it's still kinda cold, my skin has been having a bit of a freak out. My lips were incredibly dry and I was getting flaky dry patches all around my face, mostly around my nose and mouth. My moisturiser didn't seem to be doing much and within a few hours of applying in the morning the flakes would reappear under my makeup.

So this is a post dedicated to the three products that have saved my dry skin woes!

Clinique Moisture Surge Intense Cream - I'd used this cream previously and just found that it didn't do much for my skin, but this time it has worked absolute wonders! It has quite a chemically smell to it which scared me at first but it always leaves my skin feeling so smooth and supple. It also keeps my dry patches at bay for the entire day - hooray!

Nuxe Reve De Miel Lip Balm - A cult favourite and I can absolutely see why. It's quite thick in texture and when it's been sitting in cold weather it's a bit thick and weird to apply, but once it's warmed up a bit it turns into a delightful moisturising balm that lasts on my lips for ages! The lovely citrus-y smell is a bonus too. I apply this every night before bed (and throughout the day) and find that my lips are as smooth as can be in the morning.

Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado - This is another product that's been talked about quite a bit on the youtube/blogging world. It's exactly what the name suggests.. it's a beautiful, creamy eye treatment. The only downside about this product is the strange watery consistency it turns when I have some left over moisture/water on my face from cleansing. It kind of just slides all over my eye area rather than sinking in (gross) but as long as I've patted my face dry and maybe even let it air dry for a couple minutes I'm good to go!

In addition to these products and drinking lots of water, I've also been keeping up with my usual skincare routine (post on that coming soon!) and slowly but surely, my skin is getting back to 'normal' - whatever that is.. 

The Fitness Boost

Now, it can't just be me that has noticed the recent trend/fad/obsession? about being fit and eating clean. And I won't deny that I am one of these obsessors. Instagram, facebook, youtube - you name it and I guarantee I'm already following someone that's in perfect shape with a vegan, gluten-free diet.

But for the longest while I have simply been an observer, scrolling for what feels like hours on Instagram at the beautiful bodies and delicious meals. And every day I vow that I will go for a run or start eating healthy tomorrow. There it is, the poisonous word - tomorrow. The procrastinator in me strikes again! Mind you, prior to going overseas I did manage to go to the gym for three months, working out around 2-4 times a week. But now I'm back from holidays, it's still slightly cold here and well, let's face it - I'm still feeling a little lazy (that doesn't stop me from whinging about feeling unfit.. I know, I know I'm that annoying person).

SO with all that said, I wanted to make a post signifying my commitment to getting 'fit'. Not necessarily with a six pack and a Kardashian butt, but my own version of fit.

A version where I am genuinely happy with my body, bumps and all.

The One with the New Blog

I'm sitting here on my bed, with yet another Friends episode playing on the computer (The One with the Yeti) and contemplating all of the things on my 'To Do' list that I'm avoiding.

Ever since coming home from my three month trip a mere week ago, I feel like the days are shorter and I constantly have a never-ending list of tasks to do. And so this website is born. Out of procrastination and fear of what else will be added to 'the list' the second I leave my bedroom, I have created this - my secret place.

A space where I will write whenever, wherever and whatever I feel.