THE DAZED YOUTH: August 2014

Saturday 30 August 2014

August Birchbox

Birchbox is a beauty / lifestyle subscription service that sends samples of high-end products picked to suit you every month. I decided to subscribe as soon as I found out about Birchbox, as I love trying new products and finding things I love. Each box also includes a fold-out card full of DIY beauty tips and things relating to the month's theme.

My Birchbox arrived today and I was really excited to open it. I'd already seen samples of the August Birchbox on various blogs and on the Birchbox website, but September's box will be a complete surprise to open. The box is a lovely sturdy cardboard one that you can use again for various things!

Here are all the products from my Birchbox. I think everyone receives something slightly different each time - here is what you could receive in August's Birchbox (you can still order one now).

It included;

Travel cosmetics bag

Big enough to fit all of this month's products yet small enough to easily fit in your hand luggage! The colour scheme is also really lovely and summery. (This month's theme was 'Away We Go!' so everything is perfect to use while on holiday.)

Miracle Skin Transformer

This is a mineral-infused exfoliator that is safe for sensitive skin. It smells slightly like fresh lemons and after using, you can actually feel the difference it makes on your skin - a lot softer and with a cleansed feeling.

The first chapter from The Proposal by Tasmina Perry

This romantic novel is set between mid-50s London and modern New York, following two girls in a story of love, betrayal and adventure.

Number 4 Prep & Protect spray

You can feel how conditioning this spray is just by rubbing some into your hands! It detangles, strengthens, repairs and tames damaged hair, leaving a soft and healthy feeling, as well as being 100% vegan!

Supergoop Daily Correct CC Cream

I used some of this Supergoop cream and was amazed with the coverage it gave. It's SPF 35 so helps keep skin looking youthful and flawless, and works as both a primer and foundation. I received the light - medium colour and the cream self-adjusts to your shade! It uses 100% natural ingredients and minerals to smooth the appearance of pores and soften the skin.

Whish Three Wishes Lavender Body Butter

This body butter smells so gorgeous and leaves skin feeling super moisturised and soft. I used it on my hands and unlike most hand creams even, this stuff is non-greasy so that I can actually do things after using it!

Wild About Beauty Multi Purpose Tint

This is my favourite thing out of this month's Birchbox. It's really versatile cream-based product as it can be used as an eyeshadow, bronzer and a lip tint! It gives you a great golden glow and is the full-sized version so will last a while.

In the above photos I am wearing the CC cream as foundation and the Multi-Purpose cream on my lips. I love it!

Pastel Hair

I'm one of those people that can't get an idea out of my head without doing it.
So when I spontaneously decided I wanted lilac hair instead of my boring dark brown, I went through the process and achieved the colour I wanted, all within a day!

Here's what I did:

Bleaching

My hair was quite a darkish brown colour, so it needed bleaching (multiple times, it turned out) to achieve the platinum blonde needed for a pastel colour to work. I went into town and found three different highly recommended bleaches - I do not recommend this all in one day! Many hair stylists will advise you to bleach your hair maybe once a month. But my hair had not been dyed and barely styled with heat products for about three years, so I just went ahead with it - Schwarzkopf Live XXL Absolute Platinum was first. I made the mistake of applying to the roots at the same time as the rest of my hair though, so I ended up with platinum blonde roots and ginger tips. You're meant to apply to the tips of your hair first and gradually work your way up.

Then I use the L'Oreal Preference Extreme Platinum dye, and that lifted my shade even more to a blondey gingery colour, still with platinum roots.

After that I used Garnier Nutrisse Creme in Ice Blond. This made my hair an overall lighter shade that I could get away with, though the roots were still a bit lighter.

Lilac...

It still had a brassy tint to it so I used a lot of Pro:Voke Touch of Silver products to get an ashy blonde colour, before using L'Oreal Feria Lavender toning conditioner to turn it slightly lilac (your hair needs to be pretty much white for this stuff to work, so it didn't work too well on mine). I so recommend the Pro:Voke range if you're wanting to keep your hair a lovely blonde/platinum shade! It has immediate effect and I swear by it now. Some people complain that if you leave it on too long, you are left with a lilac tint to your hair - but that was perfect for me as it was the colour I was trying to achieve! Yay! I even left it on overnight a few times once I'd dyed my hair lilac, and it brought out the colour even more.

These are all the Pro:Voke products I own, and I aim to buy more because they're so fab. I recommend using the 'once weekly' range if you want to maintain a lilac colour, but use the daily stuff if you want to stay blonde.

Shade of the weekly maintenance shampoo compared to the rest of the products. The more purple the product, the more it tones your hair, so I use the weekly shampoo a lot. The conditioner is also lovely to leave on overnight (wrap your head in a towel) to achieve a toned but not completely lilac look. It also conditions your hair so well.

I went to Turkey shortly after dying my hair lilac and it ended up turning a lovely blonde colour instead, which I didn't mind, but I wanted to go back lilac anyway.

Pink...

Yesterday I went into town hoping to buy some of the lilac Bleach London dye, but it was out of stock. :(
I spotted the Rose colour and bought that instead. I went home and used Directions white toner to get rid of any brassiness after my holiday, and it worked really well.

The instructions recommend that you leave the product on for 15 minutes - but when I used the lilac Directions dye, I left mine on for about an hour and it still didn't work completely well (again, your hair has to be snow white in order for it to take full effect). So I left this white toner on for 30 minutes and it worked great! My hair turned out a lovely blonde / white colour.

Then I used the Rose colour.

I used about half the bottle and it seemed to cover my slightly below shoulder-length hair, but I think I should have used the full bottle as there's still a blonde tint.

It turned my sink and hands this lovely shade of pink with a slight lilac colour!

Overall, I'm really pleased with my colour now, and although I'll have to top it up regularly as it's only semi-permanent, the Bleach product worked really well. I'll probably end up trying some of their other colours too, like 'Washed up Mermaid' and the 'Violet Skies' I had originally been hoping to find. They also sell temporary colour chalks if you're not willing to commit to something so daunting! I'll probably even try some of their actual bleach products when I top up my roots.

Friday 29 August 2014

Jouetie

I recently came across a photo of a greyish-green haired model sporting an embellished pink tutu, frilly white socks and a black collar on Pinterest and instantly wondered who she was modelling for. After lots of research, I was led to Japanese brand Jouetie. I don't know any Japanese, so it is particularly hard for me to gather any information about the brand, but here's what I know:

the two girls that run the label are called Ami and Aya and they are unbelievably cute and look like twin sisters. (I just found out they are identical twins...)Their blog is called AMIAYA.
their inspiration comes from a mixture of vintage styles, the punk movement and quirky new ideas.
"Jouetie is the ally of the girl who won't stop in front of a challenge."
collections are adorned with cute badges, fun motifs and lots of colour!

Their latest collection is 'Rainbow Punk,' a funky combination of schoolgirl style, sports luxe and chunky shoes.

Their SS13 collection, 'Plastic Love' is another one to admire. This one looks like it has been inspired by an all-American Californian summer, complete with palm trees and a swimming pool in the back garden.

And finally, 'Bright UK,' the collection from which the fab looking girl I originally found was taken.

(Here she is below.) This collection is made up of tulle skirts, band tees, colourful hair and ...obscenities...

It's slightly harder to navigate than Topshop or River Island, but you can buy some Jouetie stuff here.

Today's Purchases

Today I went into town with my Mum and Nan for some school stuff and ended up buying a few of other things I don't actually need (as usual). But there's no point in me having money and not spending it... ;)

I bought this lilac Barry M lipstick from Superdrug. I love Barry M lipsticks as they come in cool colours that I usually can't find anywhere else, and they are also really good quality. The first (and favourite) one I ever owned is this very matte pale pink one.

I got this eyeshadow palette as well as it reminds me of the Urban Decay Naked ones, minus all the blue shades I'd never wear, and this set was £30 cheaper. The colours look so easy to wear and it even comes with gorgeous pink blush. I never usually wear blush but might have to try this one. I'll probably post more on these products later!

Here is the set of school stuff I got. I love stationery so I love when it comes to this time of year and I actually have an excuse to buy it. I am still lacking a pencil case (any recommendations of pretty ones would be much appreciated) but I'm quite happy with what I bought today. I didn't include the ton of biros / lined paper / folders that I also have because they are super boring. These four things are from WHSmiths.

The Chinese lantern diary was the cutest one in the shop (I'm sick of seeing owl-printed stuff) and it's colourful too. I definitely need a diary as when I don't have one I turn into an unorganised mess and basically forget what homework is.

I thought the fox notepad would be perfect for making revision notes (as well as the set of revision cards, but they are pastel so they are cool too...) in a way that will actually make me want to do so. It's really chunky as well so you can fit loads in!

I also got these magnetic memo pegs (I can't find them on the website) for £1.49 because they look cool on my fairy lights and will be helpful when it comes to remembering stuff.

I bought these amazing shoes from New Look for just £30 (I can't find them online but here are some similar ones)! I tried them on multiple times to check that I could walk fine and decided I must have them, much against my Mum and Nan's advice... But they're really comfy for shoes so high and they look fab. I also spotted a pair of nude heels that I loved, and just found that they do a lilac pair too! I'm way too tempted to order them now.

ASOS Orders

When we got home I found that my ASOS orders have arrived!

I fell in love with this Lazy Oaf Kitty backpack as soon as I saw it. It's super soft and cute and completely worth the £45! I don't imagine that it will be much good in the rain (and it rains all the time here), but I had to have it! It's actually really big so will fit all your school stuff in as well.

I have wanted a pair of flatform trainer type shoes for ages, but never found any I liked enough. These ones are a velvet-ish fabric and look really cool, and for only £22! I do recommend ordering a size larger than your usual size though, as I ordered a size five like I usually wear and these are a bit too small. I reckon they'll stretch though because the fabric is soft.

The rest of the stuff I ordered was really cheap so order now it if you like them!

Black cutout dress - £5

Stretchy fabric. They actually sent me a size too big in this one, so I'll have to shrink it in the wash. :(

AMAZED at the price of this bodycon dress! £3.50! It's not rubbishy fabric either, it's quite thick and fits well. Available in pink (wearing above), orange, magenta and teal.

This ostrich waist belt is lovely and was only £2.50.

This boyfriend vest was only £4 and is my favourite colour. I ordered it quite big and it fits kind of like a dress!

I genuinely love ASOS for its cheap sales yet perfect clothes. I can never go on their website and leave without ordering something, unless I have literally no money. Internet shopping is the reason I can't save my money...

Thursday 28 August 2014

Wishlist: Topshop

Topshop's 'adorkable' collection is super preppy and perfect for back to school buys. From witty notebooks to T-bar shoes, these cute items will have you getting dressed for school with no struggle whatsoever, and their student discount will help too!