Stop the mess - look your best!

Winter has arrived here in the sunny Southern Africa and boy I am not a winter baby at all but alas it is inevitable… More clothing, warm drinks and snuggles under the blankets but what about our hair? Sometimes we don’t think about the affect cold weather has on our locks. I’m going to give you five tips to help keep your hair beautiful and healthy all year round.

1. Wear a hat, bad hair days happen to everyone but at least now in the winter months you’ll be able to conceal it without having to worry about it too much. Besides hiding a bad hair day, wearing a hat on a winter’s day will protect your hair from the harsh cold and dry air which can cause more damage in the long run than you realise. Do yourself a favour though, before you put your snug beanie on your head before heading out the door, wrap your hair in a “silk” scarf and then put the beanie on. You will save yourself a ‘static head’ which is no more fun than a cold head in winter.
2. Condition, Wearing a hat everyday may not be an option so your hair may get a tad dry due to the harsh cold but fear not, treat your hair once a week to a deep conditioning treatment. This will help replenish the moisture that may have been lost in your hair.
3. Keep washing to a minimum, try and keep it between 2-3 washes a week in order to retain some moisture and prevent it from drying out. It’s important to dry your hair before leaving the house, not only because you’ll freeze but because the combination of your wet hair and the cold air will cause further unwanted damage.
4. Regular trims, luckily here in South Africa we don’t experience winter for more than about 4 months so we can consider ourselves lucky in that sense. Regardless, consider getting a trim every 6-8 weeks just to help prevent dry, split ends
5. Don’t raise the temperature, I speak from experience here; there is nothing more tempting than indulging in a piping hot shower on a cold winter’s night but it can be unloving to your hair. Even if you can’t resist a shower such as that, I’d suggest a deep conditioning while you’re in there but crank down the heat when you go on to rinse it out.

Wearing about four layers of clothing may be unavoidable in winter but there’s no reason why your hair shouldn’t be as stunning as it is in the summer months, just a little extra TLC and you’re set. Snuggle up and stay warm my loves, I hope these tips are as helpful to you as they are to me.

S

Xoxo

Like, Love, Longing for...

1.      Essence gloss stick : This is the newest item in my makeup bag, I recently wrote an article on my “First Impression” of this product so if you’d like to read about it more extensively I’ll place the link down below. I like this product, I really do. There are so many shades to choose from, Glossy or Matte the world is your oyster. The gloss stick which I have is in the shade “Clear Nude”, It’s super wearable and such a beautiful winter shade which I’ve been wearing practically non-stop. I will be perfectly honest though, the only reason as to why this product didn’t cut it onto my “love” list is simply that when I made the purchase it looked to me as it was a twist gloss stick BUT it actually needs to be sharpened. It doesn’t so well in that department, Other than that I think I’ll keep using this product.

2.      L’oreal Telescopic Mascara: My mom was the one who placed this product on my desk a few weeks ago so this was totally by accident but it definitely makes it onto my ‘Like’ list. The packaging says ‘Extra-black extreme lengthening mascara’, they weren’t joking. I’ll usually use this when I’m getting ready for a night out because it makes your eyes pop. One coat and you’re ready to go, you really get extra length and volume so a little goes a long way, not to mention that it really stays on, removing it is going to take a little extra Miceller water but I do think it’s worth the purchase.

3.      Victoria’s Secret, “Total Attraction” fragrance mist: Alright so for those of you who follow my blog, you’ll know that I’m a tad bit coco for cocopops over this brand so I knew that this fragrance was going to end up being a favourite from the get go. Let me just start off by saying that the new fragrance mist packaging is to die for, It’s so classy looking and just Ah, yes I love it…Not that the previous packaging was terrible because it really wasn’t but I do think that this is a step up from what it was. The scent I got this time around is called ‘Total attraction’ and to me it smells of strawberries but upon doing abit of research it actually has tones of, Cherry orchid & Lily Blossom’s, so not far off. All in all this brand still remains affordable and a definite favourite in my books.

4.      Sally Hansen, Miracle gel top coat: I’ve worked through a number of top coats in the past ranging from good to pretty ‘blah’ but this has quickly become one that’s pretty great. My nail polish usually doesn’t last me longer than about three days as i wash cars and dishes (not very conducive too great looking nails, I know) but when I purchased this product I found my nail polish lasting between five and six days. A definite repurchase in my eyes #Like

5.      Colourpop Lippie Stick, Tootsi:  This will be my first Colourpop purchase and I am so incredibly excited about it… I’ll be making the purchase from a company called ‘MuseSA’ (I’ll place the website link below) they sell a variety of makeup brands which we cannot get our hands on yet here in South Africa. I’ve ordered my lippie stick in the shade “Tootsi”. I’ll keep you posted on the service I receive and will most likely do a “First Impressions’ article on it as well. Keep an eye out

6.      Urban Decay: If you haven’t heard yet then here it is, Urban Decay is coming to South Africa ladies and gentleman #HappyDance The stand alone store will be opening up in Sandton city, Johannesburg in Mid-May 2016. I cannot wait to see what it will look like and get my hands on some of their aweseom products!

S

Xoxo

Protein and M&M Cake Jars!

‘A moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips’, or so they say but it doesn’t have to be that way especially with this cheat treat recipe!

Ingredients

1 Large Egg

1 Large egg white

1 Scoop of Vanilla protein powder

½ Cup of unsweetened Vanilla Almond milk (or any milk substitute)

1tsp Vanilla Extract

6Tbsp Coconut flour

1/8 Cup Almond flour

½ Banana (or unsweetened apple sauce ¼ cup)

½tsp Baking Powder

1Tbsp Mini baking M&M’s

Method

1.      Pre-heat your oven to 350F / 180C

2.      Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, add the M&M’s last and mix by hand

3.      Take out two half-pint size oven proof jars, coat them with non-stick cooking spray and evenly distribute your mix into them. Don’t fill it to the top as they will rise.

4.      Top it off with a few more M&M’s and bake for 25-30 Minutes.

5.      Allow the jars to cool then screw the lid on and you’re set.

Want to guess how many calories are in this recipe? A grand total of 327, now you really can enjoy an indulgence without feeling guilty ;) Enjoy every bite!

S 
Xoxo

*Recipe taken from 'Bodybuilding.com' website