Salon Success Jingle Mingle at Malmaison, Manchester

Hey,

I recently had a wonderful time with the guys at Salon Success - a distribution company who represent some of the best names in haircare; I'm talking, Paul Mitchell, Olaplex and Hair Angel.

We met up at the fabulous Malmaison, in a private dining room in the Chez Mal Brasserie. Food, good company and great hair products - what could be better?!

This event really kicked off my festive feelings. The room was beautifully decorated and the meal, complete with cute mini crackers, was wonderfully warming on a cold November day.

We were served a hearty celeriac veloute which is not something I'd ever choose myself from a menu but my god, it was good!

This was followed by a delicious pork belly, served with creamy mashed potato and seasonal vegetables.

Finished off with a decadent chocolate brownie with cream and a rich sauce, the meal was the perfect base for chatting about hair, Christmas and everything in between!

I'm already a big fan of Paul Mitchell products and that was a big draw in attending. I've dipped in and out of using their products for years and it's great to see that after all this time, they've maintained their brand ethos of high quality product and formulas, minimal branding and ethical values.

We got a firsthand look at PM's Christmas gift sets, which all have a 'love is...' theme. I got to take away a 'love is sleek' set containing a shampoo, conditioner and a serum.

As well as old favourite, Paul Mitchell, I was introduced to some new (to me) and exciting brands too.

First up is Kenra - which has been around for decades in the USA but is new to the UK thanks to Salon Success! The Artformation hairspray had actually been recently recommended to me by a stylist so I was over the moon to receive a can to try for myself! It's everything I hoped and more and has become my go-to. I'll definitely be purchasing this one.

I also received the brand's Revive shampoo and conditioner for repair and strengthening, plus a heat protection spray which is something I'm hugely guilty of neglecting during my styling routine.

Next up, an essential styling tool - the classic hairbrush. The Classic Dressing Brush we received by Marula Oil is created with boar-like dual-level vegan bristles and a beechwood handle. This is the most gorgeous hairbrush I've owned and feels completely luxurious to use.

Lastly and perhaps my favourite haircare discovery was a brand called Celeb Luxury. Experts in colour, I loved hearing about their innovative products - especially the one we were given to take away, 'Gem Lites'.

The Gem Lites 'Colorwash' series are shampoo-like formulas with 'Colorposit' - a technology to add tones of colour whilst shampooing! These come in various shades and can be used each hair wash to build up colour or used alternately to maintain your tone. The colour chosen for me was perfect - Tahitian Pearl; a deep tone to maintain brown hair and counteract brassy tones.

My hair is naturally dark but has quite a lot of warmth to it (which wasn't fun to discover when I went through younger phases of trying to bleach sections of my hair to a cool platinum and coming out with brassy yellow). I prefer my hair to be a cooler brown and had it coloured my perfect tone before my wedding in July and while the regrowth isn't really visible, the warmth is definitely coming back through. I've been using this shampoo intermittently and it's really made a difference - hello deeper, richer, ashy brown hair!

Are some of these brands new discoveries for you too? Let me know!

Review: barn//it Hair & Beauty Super Salon, Manchester

Hey,

I'm always game for trying new hair and beauty treatments in Manchester, which is great as there's always new salons popping up the city.

However a new kid on the block really caught my eye recently with their interesting 'super salon' concept.

barn//it* isn't your usual run-of-the-mill hair salon offering a few beauty treatments on the side, oh no. barn//it is touted as a real 'destination'; catering for pretty much all imaginable hair and beauty services under one roof - and with no less than five floors.

Fronted by celebrity hair stylist, Andrew Trott-Barn (putting the Barn into barn//it) and housed in a listed building on centrally located John Dalton Street, barn//it seems like the perfect addition to Manchester, cutting through the noise of 'samey' chain salons.

I popped down to try out one of their beauty services.

For a salon boasting five floors, barn//it actually feels really personal and perfectly formed. Each floor feels like its own tranquil (and especially stylish) oasis.

Having toured all the floors, the jewel in the salon's crown is undoubtedly the nail room. Kitted out with a full length bar serving specially created cocktails with your manicure, it's a brilliant way to spend a girly afternoon.

The fantastic, Lucy performed my treatment of choice: semi-permanent eyelashes, which I wanted to try out in advance of my wedding in July.

She totally put me at ease and I was so impressed with her level of knowledge of eyelash treatments - I truly felt that I was in the hands of an eyelash guru.

I had no idea what to expect with the treatment but Lucy explained every stage to me. I am normally a nightmare with anything around my eyes as they are ridiculously sensitive (to light, pressure, touching, pain!) but I was surprised at how comfortable I was during the treatment - especially as gluing the individual lashes to my own takes almost an hour.

I write this just as the very last of my semi-permanent lashes are hanging on. I looked after them as best I could following Lucy's advice and I'd say they still looked great after two and a half weeks. Take a look at the results below!

I was genuinely so so pleased with them. I completely boycotted false lashes for nights out a long time ago as I discovered that applying them was just not my forte... Because of this, I was a little scared of them looking too 'fake', especially as I was trying them out for a wedding day-through-to-honeymoon look, so asked Lucy to make them really natural.

There was no fakeness whatsoever - my lashes simply looked full, thick, dark and voluminous, with no need for mascara.

I'll certainly be back for these again and might even be bold enough to go slightly longer!

Have you ever tried semi-permanent lashes?

Review: Hair Makeover at RCNQ Manchester

Hey,

Today I'm reviewing* a new salon - not new to Manchester, as this creative space has been occupying the Northern Quarter for three years BUT even though I'm a bit of a hairdresser-hopper, I was yet to try RCNQ.

RCNQ is a small, friendly and innovative salon on Hilton Street in the heart of Manchester's Northern Quarter.

I booked in for a cut and colour and it couldn't come soon enough. I haven't had my hair professionally coloured for well over a year; in which time I've DIY'ed green dip dye, box dye brown, box dye purple, home bleach lightening and box dye red! The result? A patchy, brassy, faded mess! See below...

I discussed my options with the lovely, Helena - RCNQ's resident Colour Director, so I felt in safe hands!

After all the experimentation, I decided that I should go back to basics. I knew that by July next year (when I get married!), I just want to have a natural shade so I decided to opt for a nice all-over brown base colour. With Helena's help, I chose a gorgeous cool dark chocolate shade.

The lovely staff at RCNQ kept me refreshed with endless cups of tea whilst my dye developed.

Another thing I loved about the salon was the products used (which is really important to me). RCNQ use Bumble and Bumble hair products which I was really pleased about. I'm already a fan of the Thickening Spray so I was excited to try some of their other products.

Cut-wise, I decided to go a little shorter. I went for a bob with my usual side parting, sloping into a slightly longer shape at the front.

Are you ready for the before and after?

I'm so pleased with it! I can't believe how even the colour is, considering the mess that exists underneath. It came out very dark initially, but after a couple of washes, it's mellowed out to the perfect dark ashy brown above.

Rob (owner) and his team should be very proud of this salon, it's actually unlike any I've visited in Manchester. It's not a faceless chain, everything feels carefully curated - right down to all the people who work there, who all have individual style and seem to get on more than just coincidental colleagues. There's no boring small talk about the weather and holidays here either, just genuine and interesting conversation from people who care.

If you're looking for a new salon in Manchester, I'd highly recommend RCNQ and better still, they run a 25% off discount for all first visits!

Have you been to RCNQ before?

White Hot and Shredded Denim

Hey,

Where has the summer gone?

I took these shots a couple of weeks back when the weather was (a little) nicer.

Boohoo recently got in touch to see if I wanted to style up some items. I was actually going to wear my choices to one of the nights at Manchester International Festival though in the end I couldn't make it, *sad face*. Thankfully it was for good reason - Chris' band got into the final of the Midlands heat for a slot to play at a festival, beating 18 other bands so I had to be there for the big night! Sadly they didn't win in the end but they did amazingly well to say they've only been occasionally playing together around a year and a half, with the final in the competition being just their sixth gig!

I wore this for to go for a few alfresco drinks.

Coloured choker - eBay

White shirt - Warehouse

Ripped denim dungarees - Boohoo*

White cleated sole platform sandals - Boohoo*

I've worn these dungarees so much since I got them; the knees are probably a bit more busted open than when I got them! They fit like a dream, are comfy and such great quality for high street denim. I love the vintage wash and shredding to the lower legs.

I wanted to add some white to my outfit to complement the badass cleated platform shoes. My Warehouse white shirt is classic and has become a bit of a go-to if I'm short of something to wear when my brain is frazzled and my room has become a chaotic floordrobe.

Just peeking out is a cheeky sale purchase from Agent Provocateur. The set was a bit of a treat to myself that I couldn't resist with their sale being so good. The Liza bra has such gorgeous strappy detailing, it's difficult not to want to show it off. Writing this post, I've seen it's gone down in price again since I got it - always the way!

P.S. I got my purple hued ombre (which hasn't picked up so well on camera) at new Manchester salon, Red Angel Hair; highly recommend these guys.

A Day With Chiara Fashion

Hello!

Wow, this post is so overdue! I lost the photos on my SD card from my day with Chiara Fashion last year, but luckily I've managed to recover them.

Chiara Fashion invited me and a handful of other bloggers to their HQ in Leeds for a day of pampering, clothes and a photoshoot.

We took it in turns to have our makeup done by the fantastic, Marta. In between having our hair and makeup done we were running around trying to get our five chosen outfits together - which was an ever-changing challenge as we all kept discovering new pieces we loved!

It was great to spend time with my blogger buddy, Jess and also get to know some great girls I've never properly met before; Sarah of Sequin This, Laura of A Forte For Fashion and Hollie of Hollie's Closet.

My favourite outfit of the day was the grid print co-ord pictured above, worn with a black duster jacket. I also fell in love with a red tartan jacket which I took home with me and have worn so much since the day of the shoot.

Thanks to Chiara Fashion for a great day. They really looked after us - getting us Domino's Pizza for lunch sealed the deal for me!

Fashion Week in the North

Hello!

You may have noticed a new addition to my bar on the right- I'm super excited to announce that I'm an Official Manchester Fashion Week Blogger!

I'm stoked to be a part of the proceedings this year. I find Manchester such a fashionable and inspirational city with such great design talent and established companies; it's only right that we have our own fashion week!

As a perk of being a Manchester Fashion Week blogger, I will receive monthly gift boxes of treats and products to try out from some of the partner brands.

So without further ado, here are my thoughts on box number one.


Beautifully wrapped...

The contents...

The low-down...


Fashion & Beauty

Thoughts.

Lancome Hypnôse Drama Mascara: I love a good volumising mascara; for me, it's probably the most important item in my makeup bag. I'd actually never tried this one so was really pleased to receive this sample in my box. FYI, some of my past favourites are Dior's Diorshow, Max Factor's False Lash Effect, Yves Saint Laurent's (or should I say Saint Laurent?) Volume Effet Faux Cils and currently Benefit's They're Real! I've been using this for a few days now and am quite impressed! I'd say that it's main effect is thickening. It provided good volume and length but wasn't as great on separation (something I find my Benefit mascara gives well). The brush is a curious curved shape as opposed to the original Hypnôse version and I've heard there's a correct application method to get the effect right with this one so it may just require more practice.

Lancome Génifique Yeux Youth Activating Eye Concentrate: While I can't comment on the anti-ageing effects of this, I've applied it on a few mornings before putting on my make-up and found it really nice to use. It has a velvety texture but feels light on the skin. It's slightly cooling on application and made my eye area softer and appear brightened.

Redken Velvet Gelatine (07) Cushioning Blow-Dry Gel: I love my hair products and was very happy to hear that Redken were to be a partner brand for Manchester Fashion Week as I'm a big fan of their products of which I have many (almost as many as Tigi's). I've used this on several occasions in place of my usual  Tigi Bed Head Superstar Thickening Spray on wet hair before blow-drying. Though a 'gel', it feels really silky and absorbed really easily and left no residue on my hands. Even without my usual thickening spray, it left my hair volumised and bouncy with plenty of body. My hair looked shiny and healthy after blow-drying so it's a thumbs up from me!

Gift Voucher from Hair 1 UK: I received a £10 voucher from the team at Hair 1 UK. I've never been to the salon before but looking forward to going!

Inner Me Lustrous Locks Vitamin Complex: These girly vitamins contain MSM and Silica and promise to give healthier looking hair in two-weeks. The first thing I noticed about these is the packaging- it's so pretty! I love the illustration, it reminds me of a blogger profile portrait. These are marked with the days of the week to remind you when you need to take them which I found really useful (though I've still managed to miss a few). So far I can say my hair is looking good!

Multi-pearl Ring from Accessoryo: I'd heard of Accessoryo before but never really had a look at their jewellery collection. While the ring in my box probably isn't something I'd pick myself, they've got a good range of fashion jewellery on the site at reasonable prices.

Snack Time

Hotel Chocolat Milk Oblivion Sleekster Selection: Who doesn't love a nice box of choccies and they don't come much better than Hotel Chocolat. These were scoffed by Chris and I within two days (oops). My faves were the cinnamon praline and sea salted caramel chocolate.

Megaload Sweet & Salty Peanut Butter Cups: I love American sweets and chocolates but sadly hate peanut butter! That didn't stop me from having one (and a half...) of these though and they were actually really yummy!

PopChips Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips: I've heard a bit about Popchips recently having done the rounds at London Fashion Week (the new Vitamin Water??) but haven't seen them on the supermarket shelves anywhere. These are made from potatoes like regular crisps but are 'popped' like popcorn so they're healthier than fried crisps and tastier than baked ones. I would be inclined to agree and at 95 cals a bag I think I'll be buying these in the future!

Teapigs Darjeeling Earl Grey Tea: I'd heard good things about Teapigs from various tea enthusiasts but it wasn't until I went to a conference with work a couple of weeks ago that I actually tried one of their teas; I can honestly say it was the best peppermint tea I've had! After this I was pleased to receive another in my box to taste but being the uncultured northerner that I am, I think I probably spoilt it by adding a glug of milk. It probably would have been nicer without but it was really fragrant and I enjoyed it nevertheless.


I've really loved trying out everything in my box and can't wait for the next one to arrive.

Have you had the chance to try anything new recently?

Love,

Foxy x