One Girl’s Trash… | Bedhead’s ‘Dumb Blonde’ Review

Have you ever read terrible reviews of an item that you’ve then ended up loving? Or recommended a brilliant product to a friend, only for her to absolutely hate it (and leave you feeling really guilty for her spending £20 on a moisturiser)? The fact is that we’re all different, and what works for you won’t necessarily work for someone else. In our new series of posts, ‘One Girls Trash…’, we provide two reviews for the same product to see whether a product with a bad rep really deserves to live in the metaphorical beauty doghouse, or whether it’s just a simple case of ‘you say tomato, I say this is frickin’ awful’.

We start with a review of Bedhead’s ‘Dumb Blonde’ shampoo and conditioner. My friend recently contacted me, furious that she had spent so much on hair products that definitely haven’t lived up to the hype. I’m going to try this same range later in the week to see how I find it, but for now have a read of Beth’s review. You can find Beth on Twitter at @xbethsharpe.

 Bedhead ‘Dumb Blonde’

 

Bedhead 3

After months of nagging by my hairdresser to purchase a better shampoo for my newly bleached locks, I finally gave in and decided to try Bed Head’s Dumb Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner. Specifically designed for Highlighted and Bleached Hair. This was purchased from FeelUnique.com, where I paid £9.30 for the shampoo and £17.00 for the conditioner in the hope of achieving strong, healthy and vibrant blonde hair.

On the website it boasts of a product that is a perfect, protecting blend of nourishing elements balance bleached & multi-processed hair for an amazing, healthy look & TIGI’s Colour LockDown Technology helps safeguard against fading so colour tone stays pure & perky. Throw on 3-5 minutes for a full-on mask or massage into ends daily for high maintenance hair.

– Helps repair surface damage and strengthen hair.
– Adds shine and maintains colour vibrancy.
– Can be used as a hair mask.
– Protects from UV and thermal damage.

(Source: Feel Unique)

I was really hoping that this product would be my new favourite product in my bathroom cabinet, after all, the hefty price tag would definitely be justified to have the amazing hair it promises, right?

Bedhead Review Picture 1

Wrong! I couldn’t be more disappointed.

The shampoo wasn’t that best, it was really thick and difficult to lather and I found it sticking to my hair as I tried to wash it out. It was a nice pearly pink colour and smelled of strawberries though!

The conditioner I found was absolutely awful. Thick, yellow goo that well and truly glued itself to your head. In fact you had to wash it out with shampoo to make it disappear, which made the whole thing even worse. When finally washed, my hair just felt like a heavy mess, sticking to my neck. Not what I was expecting at all…

When the time came after that horrific experience to blow dry and style, I was hoping that the problem would vanish. However, after spending double the time blow drying than normal, I was left with a greasy, waxy mess which was difficult the brush. It looked like I’d washed my hair in chip fat, I might as well not have washed my hair at all! As for the styling, well, it was like straightening straw dipped in maple syrup, so I gave up and hopped back in the shower, this time with my trusty Dove Daily Care shampoo.

Never again would I go out of my way to buy expensive shampoos and conditioners, when the cheaper everyday brands do a much better job! Avoid this product like the plague!

Have you tried the Dumb Blonde range from Bedhead? What did you think – will I be more successful when I give it a go later in the week? 

Barry M Confetti Nail Varnish: Review

Barry M Nails 2

I’ve been a huge fan of Barry M nail varnishes for years now, and I think over the last year or two they have really established themselves as the ultimate high street brand for innovative nail products. It seems that whatever new formulas and effects high-end brands release, Barry M are never too far behind, providing the same products for us mere mortals who don’t want to spend upwards of a tenner on nail polish. As such, whenever they launch a new range I get pretty giddy with excitement and want to try it.

One of their newest offerings is the ‘Confetti Nail Effects’ range. These polishes are a dead ringer for the Nails Inc Feather Effect polishes that I first saw reviewed on ETC LLYMLRS (don’t most of our first-glimpses come from that girl? Thank you, Lily!). They’re clear polishes that contain little strands of various colours to create a textured look and feel.

I chose to buy the ‘Bubblegum’ shade for my first one, as I’ve been loving blue nails a lot recently. Bubblegum is mainly a bright blue, with flecks of white.

 

Barry M Nails 4

At first I planned to be an extremely dedicated blogger and aim to get a fully opaque effect with the polish. But after doing a quick coat and seeing how thinly it applied, I realised I would still be sitting there by the time my 5-year-old niece turned 18, so decided to go for a base coat first. I chose the Barry M nail paint in ‘Blue Moon’, which is a nice pale blue shade, if a bit too milky for my taste.

 

Barry M Nails 6

 

Barry M Nails 1With flash/without flash

I soon realised I’d been a little quick to judge the application of the confetti polish; once I started applying it over the base coat I found that you actually could get quite good coverage from just one dip in the pot. You just need to go over the nail quite a few times to get all of the bits off and onto the surface. After two applications, I was pleased with the finished effect. It’s a bit like I’ve dipped my fingers in hundreds and thousands, which I personally think is quite a charming look. The colour is bright and summery, and the texture is nowhere near as ‘bitty’ (I still can’t write that word without squirming thanks to Little Britain) and rough as I expected it to be.

The light blue works nicely under the confetti polish, but I’m excited to see how it looks on other base coats too, especially a white or even lemon-y coloured one.

My final thoughts, then, are this is an impressive little range that nicely mimics higher end brands. I haven’t tried the Nails Inc polishes yet, but the main difference to me so far appears to be that the Barry M pots are much cheaper than their £11 counterparts, at only £3.99. For such an interesting effect and easy application, I think I’ll definitely be buying more from the collection. The black and peach look particularly tempting!

 

Barry M Nails Collection

Have any of you tried the confetti effects range – if so, what do you think of them?

Nivea In-Shower Body Moisturiser Review

IMG_1211

Moisturiser is something that I have a massive love-hate relationship with. On the one hand, my skin resembles a St Moriz drenched freckled lizard that is permanently dry and in need of a boost. Because of this, I am constantly on the search for the perfect moisturiser (much like Claire and her mascara quest). I’ve never quite found one that leaves my skin feeling soft for longer than a few hours and this is why I secretly throw tantrums when a new moisturiser doesn’t do what it promises. I’ve tried everything from Chanel to E45 and nothing has impressed me overly much. View Full Post