.serious hair tools.

sedu is a new brand exclusive to space nk, who are currently stocking the dryer (above) and their standard size straighteners (below).  they both cost £125 each. 

the straighteners; setting you back the same amount as a pair of ghd's, the sedu's are a wiser investment in my opinion.  the main comparisons being that the sedu ceramic plates are solid ceramic all the way through rather than ceramic coated, which means you will never experience them pulling on the hair as the ceramic wears away or them chipping if accidentally dropped.  the ceramic plates themselves are infused with a mineral called tourmaline that helps to smooth the folicles whilst not damaging the hair as much and reducing static and frizz (i tested them out on a lady with very thick hair, with tiny, tight curls and it straightened seriously quickly and left the hair really silky, in mine and her opinion, better than the ghd's would have done).  whats also great is the heat dial that will suit your specific hair type, so for people like me who have chemically damaged hair (sometimes mine frazzles with ghd's) its essential and for the thicker, curlier, more stubborn hair types it gives you the option to turn the heat up, even to slightly hotter than ghd's.

the dryer; i got given one in my training (yey!) so tried it out this morning and i have to say im so excited i own one of these! the prospect of spending £125 on a hair dryer, to me, is a lot scarier than spending that on straighteners, so i was very intrigued by this one and wanted to know immediately what made it so 'special'.  it claims to dry your hair in double the time as it is powered inside by a ceramic and tourmaline (same as the straighteners, tourmaline giving the healthier, smoother shine) heater which dries each hair strand from the inside out, creating less damage to the outside cuticle, also helping to leave the hair shinier and smoother.  also for people with really course, frizzy or curly hair that normally need to blow dry their hair with a brush, then go over it with straighteners should apparently be fine with just the blow dry and wont need to use straighteners at all.  

sooooo, anyway i used the dryer this morn (which is the first time ive applied heat to my hair in about 2 months, due to it all snapping off from the bleach that is now growing out underneath the brown, thank god) and i was very impressed!  it did dry my hair in half the time which was great, and by the way, the way i dry my hair is seriously lazy,  i comb my fringe forward and dry that, then tip my head upside down and dry the rest and thats it, i found that the 'cool' button went so cool, so quickly that when i flicked my head back up, the amount of volume in my hair was unbelievable!  so i was very happy to say the least (my hair is the finest, limpest hair possible) but also i didnt believe it would still have the same volume by the time i'd got to work, but, to my surprise and delight, my hair was still full of volume (i used no products apart from a leave in conditioner on the ends) and it was definately shinier than usual! gold star sedu!

both come with a 2 year guarantee and have 9 ft chords that have an anti-tangle mechanism (thats possibly only interesting for pro use).  oh, and also the hair dryer is smaller than most dryers making it great for having in a kit, or for travelling, but also for me it makes me less cack handed when styling my own hair!

(p.s i use very little correct grammar or punctuation here through choice, apologies if it offends anyone!)

xxx

.emma hardie skincare review.

right, i have finally finished my emma hardie skincare starter kit...well, i finished a couple weeks ago but i've only just had time to write my review, here y'are...  

i define 'finishing' by, getting to the end of my moisturiser, nearly getting to the end of my cleansing balm and still having a whole pot of rose hip scrubbing beads left!  oh and i still have a couple uses of the eye cream (!!) which is amazing as it was only a sample size and i've been using it morning and night for weeks!  i'm stretching it out as far as i can manage because surprisingly, to me anyway, it was my favourite of the lot!  i have noticed that the fine lines i was getting underneath the outer corner of my lower lash line have pretty much gone (very pleasing, i was worried i was severely ageing prematurely) and the fact that you can take it right up to the lash line pleases me too.  when using an average eye cream that you have to apply no further in than the orbital bone it concerns me that parts of my eye area wont be getting suitably hydrated (things like that bring out the worrier in me).  so the eye cream a BIG winner.  

the cleanser and moisturiser were nice, but not life changing... for me.  they made my skin feel lovely to touch, but didn't do anything crazily special for my breakouts or tightness.  i admit i had high expectations and unfortunately they weren't met but it is, so far, an impossible task with my skin as i have just about every problem under the sun!  if you have a dull or dry skin type but not overly dry then i think you will love it because your skin does feel amazing afterwards and it does give you a healthy glow, its just not enough for my troublesome complexion.

the rosehip beads were fine, but i realised its actually really annoying having to use a dollop of cleanser to apply the scrub, plus with the cleansing cloth provided i didn't really need the extra exfoliation and actually that in its self was very impressive to me.  i would say the cloth is by far the best one i have tried, the muslin side is just as good as any muslin cloth but the micro fibre side is great and leaves your skin feeling seriously clean and soft!

i hope this is helpful for anyone who's interested in the range, but it is important to remember that what does or doesn't work for me may not be the same for you.

if you want to view my video introduction to the emma hardie range then visit my youtube channel and if you scroll down my videos you will see it there -

www.youtube.com/lucyduckett1

let me know if you have tried it and what you think of it!

xxx

.new things at space nk.

as most of you know by now i work in space nk along side my freelance work, but i have hardly been there recently so when i went in yesterday there were sooooo many new products! i spent most of my day going 'oooh whats that?' and ahhh that looks nice!'  anyway i thought i would share my discoveries with you!

.nars nail colours.

the dark green is my fave but im not sure about the brushes on nars polishes, they dont allow for the most accurate of application and it takes aaaaages to dry, having said that once it is dry it will not chip!

.laura mercier creme smooth foundation.

this is a new foundation by laura, i've only had a play on the back of my hand and i'm very interested to see what its like on as it looks very highly pigmented like all the laura mercier foundations but also very thin at the same time.  seems like it could be a really good coverage without having to wear too much product on your skin!  sounds good to me, i'll try it and let you know what i think.  its £40 so i have high expectations!

.nude advanced cellular renewal serum.

an overnight treatment made with probiotics to repair cellular damage and stimulate cellular renewal (basically anti-ageing), peptides to stimulate collagen production and it has a special system that restores and protects the hyaluronic acid in the skin.  i am keen to try this!  plus i love the packaging. 

.diptique eau duelle.

gorgeous winter fragrance with  notes of juniper berry, frankincense and vanilla.  yum.

there were about a million more things but theres a taster for you!

xxx

.the michael ball show.

when i step outside my makeup room this is what i see, everybody had gone to lunch at this point but us hard working makeup artists were just about to face our first rush of the day! there does appear to be a man kneeling on the stage but i'm afraid i don't know what on earth he is doing, i wasn't even aware of his presence when i took this photo.....spooky! perhaps it is a bbc ghost! (its not, i recognise him from venturing out of the makeup room to powder a shiny nose or 're-do' a lip)

anyway this week being the last week of michael ball has made me realise how quickly the summer has flown by, where has it gone i ask you? ...i have sad memory of it never arriving :(

we are now officially in autumn, and i for one plan to have a great one... reasons; i appreciate the fact that we have to wear more clothes (its a better look for me), i can stop feeling the need to pile on fake tan (as much as i hate to admit it, i'm too lazy for such time consuming activities) and, my fave, i can spend the evenings making the house all cosy and warm by lighting far too many candles (diptique by preference but anything will do) and covering the front room in fairy lights!

my makeup bag has had an autumn makeover too, my new earthy additions include -

shu uemura painting liner in brown (it looks black in the pic but is dark brown)

mac paint pot in ground work

mac blush in harmony

mac lip conditioner in soothing beige

i love all of them and wearing this much beige/brown takes me back to the 90's (in a good way)

x happy autumn x