My Hair Care Routine

So today's post is going to be my current hair care routine. Occasionally I like to shake up my routine but these are the products and steps that really work well for me at the moment.

FYI- Now before I begin telling you what works for me, I'll tell you a little about my hair! To be honest my hair is a complete nightmare... Naturally it's incredibly frizzy and wavy and an added bonus is that it is very thick. Therefore most of the products I use aim to control and smooth.

So when I wash my hair I start by brushing it through using my Tangle Teezer. I'm sure you've heard of these saviours before but if you haven't they make brushing thick, unruly hair a breeze! Then I use the TRESemmé Salon Silk shampoo and conditioner. Like I said before this combo claims to control frizz and smooth's hair, which it does to a certain extent. On hair that is slightly calmer than mine I'm sure it'd do the trick perfectly but it really is a challenge with my hair!

What I especially love about the Salon Silk is that it actually has silk proteins and argon oil in it. The silk proteins improve the hair structure and restores your hairs natural bounce and shine. Argon Oil does a very similar job. It is proven that it makes hair shinier, silkier, softer, it can treat split ends and of course my favourite...it tames frizz! I've really noticed a difference in my hair since TRESemmé included the argon oil and silk proteins. I've found my hair is much softer if I leave the conditioner on for a few minutes and brush it through before I wash it out.

Once my hair is squeaky clean I apply different styling products to it. I first apply the Paul Mitchell Original The Conditioner. This is just a leave in conditioner. Personally I think it smells really good, but I can't tell what it reminds me of! It's a mint blue colour and I apply a small amount to the bottom two thirds of my hair.

Recently I've been using the TRESemmé 7 Days Straight. I use about 9 pumps of this and rub it in avoiding my roots. To be perfectly honest I don't find this does much, my hair struggles to stay straight. This could be down to the damp air in the mornings on my walk to school, but considering it claims to keep hair straight for up to 4 washes I was pretty disappointed. An alternative that I love and will be going back to ASAP is the John Frieda Frizz-Ease Original Serum. It works perfectly for me.

 

Next I blow dry my hair. I use this Vidal Sassoon hair dryer and it does the job! As soon as my hair's completely dry I section it off. I like to split my hair in half and then section one half at a time.

I straighten my hair using my GHD IV Straighteners. Although GHDs are expensive I think they're worth the money as many cheaper straighteners just don't get hot enough to work with my hair. So I just straighten small sections of hair at a time and go over each section a couple of times.

Once I'm happy with my hair a apply a tiny amount of the Proclaim Glossing Polish. My hairdresser recommended this to me a couple of years ago and it is amazing! It's literally just a finishing oil that adds extra shine and makes your hair feel super soft! The only issue with this is that the product comes out quite quickly and you really don't want to use too much or your hair just looks greasy again. Then you've ruined your hard work!!

So that is my current hair care routine! Let me know in the comments if there's any products/treatments you think I'd like.

Thanks for reading xxx

Back To School Haul

Unfortunately it's that time of year again! Yes we've all returned to school :'( However one positive thing comes around about now, and that is of course stationary shopping!!! I'm one of those sad people that get far to excited about popping into WHSmith's to stock up of pens, pencils, folders etc. so I thought I'd share what I bought this year.

Now most schools went back a couple of weeks ago so chances are you've already purchased the contents of your pencil case, but I thought I'd share anyway!!

Probably my favourite purchase was these weekday magnets. They are really cute and as I'm trying to be super organised this year they are actually really useful. I've been using them to hold homework and divide up my whiteboard. That way I can decide what homework I need to do on what day so I stay on track of everything really easily.

Another fun item is the little post-it notes! they say 'ON TEST', 'STUDY' and 'TO DO'. I've been placing these in my folders on sheets I want to draw my attention to later on. I have a feeling as the year goes on I may forget to use them, but oh well! Either way I'm sure they come in hand for revision!

Obviously I had to stock up on the basics as well as the 'exciting' bits and bobs. I think the first thing I picked up was a packet of 9 HB pencils, they're just WHSmith's own brand and were really cheap. Who needs to invest in pencils- unless you are studying art ;)

I also bought some pink scissors (am I the only person who loses scissors really easily?), a pink sharpener and rubber combined and a folding 30cm ruler.

These BIC pens came in a packet of ten, with 4 blue, 2 black, 2 green and 2 red. I tend to write in blue pen so this was perfect for me!

Because I'll be doing most of my work in folders my mum insisted I get some hole re-inforcers. I'd actually never heard of these before and I'm not convinced I'm really going to end up using them, but I'll do anything to keep the mother happy ;)

The weekly planner notepad is already being put to good use. You may wonder why I need this and the day magnets but I feel like I can write everything going on in my life on here, not just homework (everything includes when I'm going to write blog posts!)

And to complete my pencil case I bought a packet of 5 mini highlighters as I always find myself highlighting key words and whole sections of work!

Like I've already said, this year most of my work will be done in folders which I haven't had before. therefore it was necessary for me to buy a new folder for each subject. There was a 3 for 2 on folders, which is soooo frustrating seeing as I take four subjects!

To fill up my folders I've got a A4 lined refill pad in each (again on 3 for 2), some dividers and some poly pockets.

At my new school I have to wear a blazer so I needed to get a slightly bigger coat to fit over the top of this. I LOVE my new coat!! I got it from Miss Selfridge for £69, available here. I do have to thank my parents for this as it was a little gift from them <3

 



So that's everything I bought before I went back to school. I didn't really need a new bag or pencil case because mine from last year are still in fairly good condition, and to be honest I think I spent plenty on the stationary alone! I hope you're all enjoying being back at school as much as you can, ad if you're not at school I hope you liked seeing my school goodies!

 

Thanks for reading xxx



My Summer Round Up...

 

So my summer holidays officially ended this week as I returned to school. Because I sat my GCSE's this year I had an amazing three months off school and they have been three months I will never forget. For those of you wondering I couldn't be happier with my GCSE results- 10 A's and 2 B's :)

Above is a collage of pictures I've taken over the summer, most of which you would have seen in previous blog posts. The reason I started my blog at the start of the summer, was so that I could look back on all of these memories. Reflecting now, I'm so glad I took the plunge and I'm going to continue using my little space to record more special moments.

If you asked me to choose a favourite memory from the summer I would really struggle to pick! NCS definitely has to be one of them as it was just a straight three weeks of fun and meeting new friends! Another would be prom, for obvious reasons, and of course typical 7 hour summer picnics! I'll tell you something, next summer has some serious competition ;)

I've now started my new school, new A Level subjects and met even more new people. My life is about to get extremely manic, but I've got plenty of blog posts planned so there's no way Just Jen will be neglected.

I want to thank anyone reading this for sharing in even the tiniest part of my summer holidays- you've helped to make it the incredible time it's been.

To end this post I just wanted to link a few of my favourite posts that I've written so you guys can look back to:

A Trip To Box Hill
My Leavers Day and Prom!
Party Fit For A Princess!
A Week By The Sea

Thanks for reading xxx

A Week By The Sea

I spent last week with my family in Bournemouth. This summer has been jam packed so this was my first opportunity for a holiday, even though my parents went to Spain without me- not that I'm complaining ;)

My family are lucky that we have a timeshare apartment literally opposite the beach, so we've visited Bournemouth every year for as long as I can remember. It's a home away from home.

We drove down Saturday afternoon and enjoyed fish and chips for dinner. Then myself and my friend Hannah wandered down to the beach for a photography session...

Now in Bournemouth it's tradition to play at least one round of crazy golf. My family is super competitive so it's not exactly a relaxing experience! I'm not the best at crazy golf, my brother however excels at most sports and crazy golf isn't an exception. What was a nice surprise was that he came third, topped of with the fact that he was beaten by his girlfriend and Hannah!

Another tradition we love to follow is that we enjoy a drink and cake at the café opposite the golf course while the scores are being totted up! I went for the cream tea minus the tea, I opted for a Victorian Lemonade instead.

The week included a LOT of walking. What made all that walking more interesting was the new gym equipment dotted along the beach. Now I say new but I don't know how long it's actually been there, it's just new since I last visited. I gave all of it my best go however I found climbing all over it was more exciting!

For so many years now my parents have considered getting me and my brother surfing lessons but we've just never got round to it. Until this year! I'd love to say I'm the ultimate beach babe, but that would be an absolute lie. I did manage to stand up on my board for a brief second, however once again it was my brother who was most successful as you can see in the picture. I definitely plan to go surfing again because it was great fun even though I admittedly was pathetic!

The highlight of the week was the Bournemouth Air festival. Every year we are there for at least a couple of days of the festival and I adore it! Personally I don't think I can fully appreciate the actual plane displays, but the overall atmosphere is fab. The length of the beach is packed with various stalls and rides etc. In the picture below you can see how good the turn out is, and that's only a tiny section of the crowd!

The whole festival is very military focused, with a RAF, Navy and Army Village. My favourite land display was the Marines showing off their skills! My favourite air display could be controversial... The Black Cats. They are the Royal Navy Helicopter Display Team. I honestly don't know why I liked them so much but their synchronisation was spot on and I can only imagine how difficult that would be in a helicopter! A close second was of course The Red Arrows. Many of you will know The Red Arrows are the Royal Air Force Acrobatics Display Team. They are well known for their precise formations and red, white and blue smoke. Could you get anymore patriotic?!

The Red Arrows Phoenix Formation

I got up to so much other stuff during the week but here were just some of the highlights! Bournemouth is probably my favourite place ever and I love it so much! I'd recommend anyone to visit, particularly for the Air Festival. Let me know in the comments if you've ever been to
Bournemouth!

Thanks for reading xxx