Yet Another New Shampoo Love - Denise McAdam Haircare

My name is Louise and I am a shampoo whore! Try as I might I just can't stick to the same brand of shampoo, I've tried honest, I've repurchased shampoo, but the minute a new one comes on the scene the old one is relegated to the back of the cupboard. So I bet you can guess what I'm going to say next, yes welcome to another shampoo review!

Knowing  my passion for haircare products I was recently given the opportunity to try out some products by celebrity hairdresser Denise McAdam. Famous for doing Sarah Ferguson's hair on her wedding day to Prince Andrew, you would expect McAdam's products to have a price tag and a stockist to match her prestige, but you'd be very wrong. Denise McAdam has produced a range of 18 hair products exclusively for supermarket giant Tesco, and guess what ? the prices range from just £3.50-£3.80, meaning you really can get designer quality products on a budget.

The line contains a range of products focusing on different hair types, including products for creating volume, and fighting the frizz, as well as products specifically for both blonde and brunette hair colours. The products I was sent came from the Moisture Master and the Fight The Frizz Lines

Denise McAdam Moisture Master Shampoo

Packaged in a cylindrical purple bottle, Moisture Master shampoo and the name suggest is designed especially for dry and damaged. It contains a moisture complex which includes Black Oat Extract, Lecithin, and perhaps the ingredient of the moment - Argan Oil.

The shampoo itself dispenses easily from the flip top cap. It is pearlised white in appearance and has quite a liquidy texture. It has a really pleasant fresh smell, I haven't got a clue how to describe it but to me it smells quite similar to the fragrance in the Aveda colour enhancing shampoos, which is described as Cherry Almond. Don't think this smells of marzipan it doesn't it's just a pleasant almost fruity and spicy fragrance, which I actually really liked.

You really didn't need a lot of shampoo to produce a lovely fine lather - It does contain SLS so this isn't really surprising. Given that the lather was so fine it rinsed out really easily and the hair was left feeling nice and clean but not dry or stripped.

I have to say my experience of this shampoo was a good one, the smell was lovely, and my hair was lovely and clean and soft. It's a really gentle shampoo that you could probably use everyday with no problems. If your hair is really damaged though you would need to use some form or conditioner with it, speaking of which...

Denise McAdam Moisture Master Conditioner

As well as the shampoo I was also lucky enough to receive the corresponding Moisture Master Conditioner. In the same packaging as the shampoo, this nourishing conditioner, contains Panthenol for extra moisturising properties, as well as the Black Oat Extract and Argan Oil that are also key ingredients in the shampoo.

The conditioner has a lovely creamy but a the same time quite a light feel, and it has exactly the same smell as the shampoo :)

The light and creamy texture ensures easy application and easy rinsing. My hair was left tangle free and feeling super soft. Again I have to say I really liked this product, it was moisturising but at the same time it wasn't heavy and it didn't weigh the hair down. If your hair is super damaged and dry this on it own, in my opinion probably wouldn't be enough, but Denise McAdam recommends that you use both of these products alongside her once a week Intensive Repair Masque, which is also available in the Tesco line.

Denise McAdam Fight The Frizz Extra Strength Serum

The final product I was sent came from the Fight The Frizz range. My hair is relatively straight, and although it's thin I have a lot of it so it can look a bit unruly and flyaway, if I leave it au natural. It doesn't matter what time of year it is it frizzes in the heat and it frizzes in cold and the damp I can't win! For that reason I'm always on the look for more serums, waxes, and sprays to combat the flyaways.

I guess the things I use most often though are serums, so I was really interested to receive the Fight The Frizz Extra Strength Serum. Boxed and packaged in a pump action dispenser, the product has the same aroma as the shampoo and conditioner, and a clear liquid appearance.

Designed to coat each strand of hair, with shine, conditioning and uv protection, it has an almost oily, silicone feel. You can use it in one of two ways, first of all you can use it on the mid lengths and ends of towel dried hair almost as a conditioning and styling treatment, and you can also use it on dry hair to tame down any static or flyaway strands. I've used it both ways and again I have to this is a pretty decent product. Despite being a silicone based product I didn't find that it caused any build up or that it made my hair oily or sticky. Did the frizz completely disappear? well no not completely but to be honest I'm yet to find a single product that takes away every single flyaway, so for the price I have to say that this did a decent job.

Based on this experience of the Denise McAdam line for Tesco, it's clear to me that you don't need to spend a fortune on hair care, the packaging my be simple but for the price the products are first class. Denise McAdam Moisture Master Shampoo and Conditioner retail at £3.50 each for 250ml, and the Denise McAdam Fight The Frizz Extra Strength Serum retails at £3.80 for 30ml. The Denise McAdam Haircare range is available in selected Tesco stores - unfortunately neither of the little ones near me stock the range so I think I'll need to head to Durham x Any questions please let me know x

(All Products In This Post Were Provided By PR For Review Purposes)

Nails Of The Day - My First Attempt At Magnetic Nails With 17

OK I know your probably getting sick of posts on the newest nail craze to hit the blogosphere but I think its something worth posting about :). I finally managed to get my grubby little hands on a bottle of the 17 Magnetized Polish a few weeks ago. Although I had a little try on one nail to show someone how it worked I hadn't had time to do a full manicure with it until now.

This is Green, which is much more of a teal shade than a classic green. It's a little bit more times consuming and fiddly than I expected it to be but the effect is amazing. Lots of people have described it as tiger stripes, but it reminds me of tie dye, the way the colours seem to run into each other and blend together

I have to say I love this much, much more than the crackle effect, this actually looks much more expensive and almost as if it's been airbrushed. I can't wait to try the Nails Inc colours that I may be getting from Santa, but in the meantime I'm definitely going to try and track down the blue in the 17 range. What do you think of magnetic nails?

RIP A True Toon Legend

Today is a sad day for football, today we lost one of the true gentleman of football, Gary Speed. He had a long illustrious career as a player for Leeds, Everton, Bolton, and of course for my beloved Newcastle, and more recently as a manager with Wales his future looked as bright as ever. That's what makes his death so sad, it only goes to show that appearances can be deceptive. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family. Thanks for the memories Gary and may you rest in peace x

More Collective Haulage - Top Shop, Superdrug, BooHoo and More x

Another week and guess what some more haulage - this little lot is from shopping trips and parcels over the last fortnight :)

First up a few bits from a web store that I found purely by chance, I sometimes type random terms into google to try and find yet more online shops to browse, well this time I found a store Everything 5 Pounds , yes a lot of the stuff is a bit chavvy and the postage is pretty steep but they do have some fairly decent things in, including a lot of Cath Kidston inspired bags. I am a huge lover of Cath Kidston's Shabby Chic style but not her prices. No holding out much hope I ordered a few bags for pressies thoroughly expecting to send them back, but no I have to say wow, I am so impressed for the price

I have a turquoise and cream spotted Cath Kidston book bag which is nearly exactly the same construction wise as this baby, it has a Velcro fastening, and an internal zipped pocket - great for the price as are the other two that I bought in different styles. If you like this style of bag though you may want to keep checking back I may have one to giveaway in my Christmas Giveaway ;)
With my bag order I decided to try out a clothing item so I bought a pair of harem pants, described as Warm Ali Baba Pants, they are basically just a jersey harem, with an elasticated waist, and elasticated cuffs, I went for the coffee, a gorgeous very dark brown. These again are really good for the price, I bought some for £12 in New Look and these are actually better quality.

Talking of my Christmas giveaway, you can also expect to see one of these babies on the prize list

Yes, The MUA Professional Immaculate Collection Eyeshadow Palette, when I saw this on the Superdrug website I knew it had to be mine, and I picked one up for you guys too x

No swatches at the moment, but I will be doing a full review of this palette in a Budget Beauty Series special on the run up to Christmas x

Next up a little Top Shop order, the main purpose of the order was to get some new leggings, I love Top Shop leggings, but I'm sure you've all seen leggings before so I'm not showing you them here, instead I'll show you the other bits that happened to fall in my basket - first up a little bracelet

In the friendship bracelet style, this is a black cord, with copper tone sections and clear crystals, I love wearing a few of these type of bracelet all at once :)

Finally from Toppers, some make up or more precisely some lipsticks

On the left we have the much talked about Pillow Talk from the Smoke and Mirrors collection, and on the right Innocent from the core range

These two colours are actually a very similar pale, baby pink colour, Innocent is a little bit darker so I can justify purchasing both :) Oh and despite the size difference between the bullets they both contain 3.5g of product x

Next up a cardigan, I already have this bat wing cardigan in a navy blue, but I thought I'd get another one this time in a very pale almost nude pink, with gold sparkle - this came from Studio Cards and Gifts catalogue of all places, and it was less than tenner - result especially when Top Shop are selling something similar for almost triple that !

I don't know if you've ever heard of Buy A Powa I hadn't until recently, but I recently took advantage of one of their deals to pick up the OPI Muppets Minis. I managed to save a few pounds on retail price so I was pretty pleased - I think Buy A Powa are repeating this deal so it's well worth having a look if you want this kit x

I've also made a couple of ebay purchases over the last week or so as well as my dresses in the previous post I've also bought a few nail art things. including some snowflake and Hello Kitty nail stickers

and some striping tape - I can't wait to have a play with these, they are all in really pretty metallic shades x

I don't know about you but when I place an online order for Christmas pressies I can't resist getting something for me - Bad LouLou, I placed an order with Fragrance Direct for a few Christmas pressies and I couldn't resist adding a few things to my basket - first up more nail stickers, this time from Ciate - these features little flowers and butterflies (If you interested in nail stickers keep checking back I have a huge post planned on nail stickers which should go live in the next week or so)

Having suffered from the odd sniffle over the last few days I also bought a sachet of  Montagne Jeunesse Eucalyptus and Camphor Anti-Cold Bath, I nearly always get colds around Christmas so I'm keeping this on standby

I was also super excited to see this on the site

Similar to a MAC MSF, Revlon Colorstay Mineral Finishing Powder in 010 Brighten, is in a gorgeous shimmery pale pink shade

Finally from Fragrance Direct - I got a Colony Candles Reed Diffuser in Powder Fresh, which is a baby powder fragrance, my mum has reed diffusers everywhere, and there really great for constant fragrance, as much as I love my candles you can't burn them all the time so these are a good alternative.

Whilst on a visit to the opticians, earlier in the week I managed to have a little look into Factory Bargains, I love this shop and I've regularly sung it praises on this blog. You can always find something to buy and this visit was no exception. They had loads of Dorothy Perkins stock in, but I got this short sleeved cowl necked jumper from a brand called Mimosa

and as well as a few Christmas pressies I also got this pair of Paul Frank For Target Julius PJ Pants :) for only £7

I mentioned BooHoo in the title of the post and I did buy 1 ickle thing from BooHoo, I got another oriental pattern shrug - this one is pretty similar to the last one I got but it has more blues and turquoises in it. I'm a bit annoyed though I found two ebay sellers selling the same ones for quite a bit cheaper so I'm definitely going to get the mocha one with my paypal funds, don't forget to check out my ebay listings by the way - there are a lot of new additions this weekend including lots of new Top Shop, Next, Winter Clothes and more x

Finally River Island, as you know I love my panda hat, but I fancied a change, so I got this little guy :), and he was even in the sale :)

I also got this gorgeous daisy print scarf, very Mary Quant, my mum was originally going to get me this as part of my Christmas pressie, but when it came she didn't think it was worth the money, I have to say as much as I love the scarf I am inclined to agree with her, it was £15, and for that the fabric isn't that thick and I can't help thinking that it would only be a few pounds if it came from Primark, you win some and lose some I guess

So that was a rather large collective haul, I really am going to try and calm it down, I've spent so much money this month, and I have my annual festive shopping trip with my godmother to come next week eek. As per usual if you have any questions on anything I've bought or if you would like any reviews please leave me a comment x

Wedding Outfit and Nails Of The Day x

Hi Guys
If you follow me on twitter you'll know that yesterday I went to my cousins Suzanne's wedding. Me and my mum had a really nice day, due to my ME/CFS I don't get to go out and see some of my family as often as I would like, so it was really nice to see people and catch up a little, it's only a shame every time I do anything nice I pay for it the day after grrr. Anyways I thought you might like to see a few pics of my outfit.

I couldn't find anything I liked in the shops, so I headed to ebay I ended up buying 3 dresses from the same ebay seller, so on Thursday night I had to decide which one I wanted to wear. The two dresses above were the rejects lol instead I went for another dress in the autumnal tones of brown, mustard, orange, cream and black. Although it's the same colour as the one above it's a different style and features elastication and bow detailing on the chest, and frills on the bottom. I teamed it up with black tights, mustard shoes, this necklace I got in Cyprus, a black mac and my black leather Prada bag (which my cousin managed to throw wine all over eek I'll forgive her it survived unscathed and it was her wedding day lol ;)

What I Wore

Autumnal Colour Dress - ebay

120 Denier Black Opaque Tights - Primark

Silver, Mustard, Brown and Orange Necklace - Cyprus

Mustard Cave Heels - Office

Black Mac - South at Littlewoods

Black Leather Bag - Prada

Sorry for the pretty picture instead of my face, I looked a complete loon - that's what happens when your in a total rush lol 

I just had time to do my nails but even that was eventful - the colour I went for was Leighton Denny - Sunset Lovin - This is a funny shade to describe in natural light it has a definite bronze / orange appearance but in the pictures it looking very pink / red - I've taken some pics with and without the flash, but to be honest it's still not showing it correctly - first up with the flash

and then without

It's such a shame I can't capture the colour properly it's a really lovely burnt sunset shade, which went perfectly with the colours of my dress.

So that was yesterday - I'm going to end the post by sharing with you the songs my cousin used to go up and down the aisle to - neither of them are conventional but when you listen to the words you can really understand the meaning and the sentiment behind them.

Hope you enjoyed that bit of retro britpop - I certainly had I haven't heard that for ages moment with both of those songs, Any questions or ramblings you want to share please leave me a comment x and I'll see you tomorrow with a collective haul xx