Aesop Sage & Cedar Scalp Treatment

    In order for me to tell this review fully, I need to give you some backstory as to why I ended up purchasing it. Some of you may know from some of my original posts, that I've previously bleached my hair numerous times and applied a variety of colours. And as you probably guessed my hair became pretty damaged as a result, I haven't bleached my full head of hair since July 2013 so its not had time to be restored. From last year I dyed my hair back to a dark brown which is my natural colour and used various hair masks and expensive shampoos/conditioners to treat the damage. My hair started in its own self destructive method against me and started rejecting different brands of shampoo, causing my scalp to go into overdrive with dandruff (yuck).

     After suffering this for a few weeks, I decided to start researching products that could reduce if not clear up my scalp dryness and this is when I came across Aesop's scalp treatment. I've always been really interested with the brand but as many of you will already know, it costs a bomb! At this stage however I was willing to pay how ever much to sort out my scalp, the reviews on this product were absolutely outstanding! People who were diagnosed with severe scalp problems were seeing progress from this product, so I paid the hefty (but so worth it) £23 and waited for its arrival. I want to slightly digress and talk about the package I received for this product; not only did I get the scalp treatment but I got a handwritten note, free drawstring makeup bag, three face care samples and a swatch of one of their scents!! I like to think all those little contributions make up for the price tag.

    After using this treatment twice, my dry scalp has completely cleared up, I tend to use this fortnightly as I do get some dandruff returning but a fraction of what I did originally. When you open the bottle you get hit with scents of rosemary, almond, cedarwood and sage which are so complimenting of each other. The recommendation for application is five drops across your scalp, but I just tend to put how ever much is sucked up by the applicator, so to ensure everything is covered. Once you've done that, you need to allow for it to soak for 15 minutes during this time I usually start running a bath and maybe watch a youtube video too. Then you simply wet your hair and go straight in with your regular shampoo to wash any access away, and then you're free from a horrible dry scalp. I'm hoping to purchase something else from Aesop in the future, and luckily I'll be equally as impressed!

Battle Of High Street Products || Dry Shampoo (Garnier vs. Lee Stafford)

    After hearing a lot of hoopla about Garnier's latest 7-in-1 dry shampoo I decided to put it up against the test with another new product, by a well loved hair brand Lee Stafford. To cut the battle between both of these high street products short I'm going to talk about them both individually, with their strengths and weaknesses.

Garnier Ultimate Blends 7-in-1 Dry Shampoo:
    When Garnier launched this product I never heard the end of it all over Youtube and on various blogs. I happened to be in Tesco around the launch and it was on offer so I thought I'd give it a go. From the get go, I wasn't impressed with this product compared to a lot of people who were very pro Garnier. Personally I believe the sole purpose of a dry shampoo, is to substitute washing your hair for a day or two, covering up an extra grease and grime. In fact the whole idea behind this dry shampoo, is it performs 7 actions (cleansing,absorbing grease, lightweightness, suppleness, detangling, fragrance all with no residue). Out of all the actions, the fragrance is the most prominent, its a rather sickly vanilla scent which isn't pleasant but I can handle it for a few minutes. The only positives I found was that on freshly washed hair, it does add some body but on greasy hair it has no effect and just leaves your hair feeling even worse.  

Lee Stafford Dark For Oily Roots Dry Shampoo:
    Now onto a dry shampoo product that I highly recommend and it's the brilliant Lee Stafford. I only very recently picked up this product, compared to the Garnier thats been sitting in my room for a few months now, and I've instantly fell head over heels for it. In the past, whenever I've tried Lee Stafford products I've never been disappointed, and I'd honestly put this dry shampoo above the traditional Batiste range. For a dry shampoo, it's a little pricey at £5.99 but I think it's worth the extra bit of money. A huge difference I found was as the one I chose was specifically for dark hair, it doesn't leave dark pigments on your skin, which was a huge problem with the dark brown Batiste dry shampoo. It does however have the annoying white residue instead, but luckily it rubs/brushes in very evenly and doesn't leave little bits attached to your hair which is a plus! Whatever condition your hair is in, whether it be freshly washed or greasy it takes away all the unnecessary bits and adds in texture and volume, and just looks overall really impressive.

How To Successfully Wear Black In The Summer

    I've got to a point in my teenage years, where I've essentially stopped wearing all forms of colour. Staring at my clothes rail it currently has only five items which contain some colour; a red air hostess fancy dress costume, faded red and blue shirt, lilac adidas trainers, a grey skirt with pink roses and a dark navy dress. Everything else, is either black, white or grey which has its ups and downs. With summer approaching and considering I don't have the money to splash out, (neither do I wish to buy a brighter summer wardrobe) I thought I'd give some tips on what to wear in summer without fainting from the extra absorbed heat. 

©Asos Photography - Leather Look Shorts

SHORTS:
    Obviously with summer and the heat comes shorts. I thought I'd use the most difficult pair of black shorts and its the 'leather look' shorts. Not only have these types of shorts been very popular over the past couple of years, but they're also a key/ staple piece for the summer in anybody wardrobe (particularly those of a black only wardrobe enthusiast). As you can see from the photo you can pair these up with absolutely anything and thats the beauty of having black items to work with. As the UK isn't sweltering hot throughout the duration of summer, you could pair these with a white shirt (shown above), or pair with a lightweight crop top to counteract the heat. 

©Asos Photography - Tshirt Dress

DRESSES:
    My ultimate black items in my wardrobe are dresses, every time. You can wear them in all weather climates because all you have to do is add a pair of tights in the winter and cardigan and you're sorted, or take them off in the summer. This dress strikes me as a perfect transitional piece, as the sheer material along the shoulders and chest/back create an edgy look. The sheer material at the top and bottom, give the dress some breathing space from the solid black piece in the middle, while keeping in with the whole black trend.

©Asos Photography - Cage Back Playsuit

PLAYSUITS:
    This is by far my favourite piece in the post, this playsuit is perfect for the summer time because it can be worn casual or dressed up for a night out. The exposed cage back gives the playsuit an elegant look , while keeping you cool when the sun gets too much. The material is also a sheer, delicate chiffon which makes it a very light piece of clothing that can be layered nicely for all weather temperatures. I think this would be a nice piece to take away to any upcoming festivals this summer as well, as you don't have to worry about your dress blowing up and I feel playsuits can be moved about in easily.

© Asos Photography - Cold Shoulder Cami

T-SHIRTS:
    Lastly, a more common wardrobe piece is the common t-shirt. I originally was just going to get a plain black v-neck for this part of the post until I come across this beauty. Following the 'cold shoulder' effect that was deemed very popular last year, this piece goes across that line to make something really beautiful. Like some of the previously pieces, this t-shirt is made up of sheer material for the same reasons mentioned before. I think this is just a very simple piece that you can pair up with something fitted, that's heavily patterned to avoid looking too oversized.

REVIEWED || The Fault In Our Stars Movie

 ©strawburry17.com

   
    Firstly I'd like to say that yes I have read John Green's 'The Fault In Our Stars' and the film performed so well and closely to the novel, that I've had to give myself a few days from watching it in order to write about it correctly. If you've not read the book or heard about the film, where have you been the last couple of months! TFIOS follows two teenagers, Hazel Grace who is suffering from stage 4 thyroid cancer with metastasis and Augustus Waters who's currently in remission for osteosarcoma. The two meet in a support group, which is literally the heart of Jesus (nice reference for any fans) and Hazel also meets Augustus's best friend Isaac who suffers from eye cancer.

    I went into the cinema viewing of this with a handful of tissue, ready for the expectant tears as I cried in moments of the book but I did not expect to cry as much as I did. For myself and thousands of others, this book really struck a cord and even though I've personally never dealt with cancer or known anybody with it, my emotional investment in these characters was off the charts. The acting was absolutely outstanding, Shailene Woodley embodied Hazel Grace so well and Ansel Elgot blew me away as Augustus. Like most people who're fans of a book before it turned into a film, I was really sceptical how it was going to turn out, but the key moments were played out with every detail intended and nothing major was left out. 

    One scene that stuck out to me the most, was towards the end (spoiler alert!) when Augustus attempts to buy himself some cigarettes in the middle of the night but ends up vomiting over himself, and has to call Hazel. That scene has always stayed with me after reading, and Ansel covered the realness of what was happening extremely well, perfect infact. It was raw and gritty and a little bit gross because of the amount of snot and vomit, but that's what made it feel so real and gave that brilliant connection to the audience. If you go watching this film I will warn you, there will be many tears! I went watching this with two girls who were fans of the book, and one other girl who didn't have a clue what was going to happen, and they all cried just as much. From the Amsterdam scene onwards I practically didn't stop crying till the very end, in fact once the film ended nobody in the cinema left for a good 5 minutes because everybody was so emotionally exhausted.

    Without a doubt, I recommend everybody to go watch this film. It's not all soppy romance, there are some scenes that're funny and lighten the mood, which for a film surrounded by cancer is a pretty hard thing to achieve. And some of the scenes presented are beautiful and really helps take you along on Hazel and Augustus' journey.

Update || College, University, Leaving Home, Blogging etc

    For those of you who follow me on Instagram and Twitter or watch my Youtube videos (click the words for direct links) then you'll know in the past month and a half I've been worked off my feet revising for my A-Level exams. And I'm glad to say that I sat my final exam on June 16th, therefore I'm now a free agent for three and a half months! I'm possibly going to be going down London for two weeks of work experience but it's still in the consideration process, but besides that I have a completely free summer which I'm hoping to dedicate to blogging more regularly. I'm really happy about this, and to show my excitement here's a picture of me with loads of pigeons in Manchester hah!

    So like I said before, I've completed my two years at college studying English Language, Sociology and English Literature (if you was interested) and now the next step for me in getting into University. Results day in the UK is around mid-end of August, which is something silly like 180 days away so until then I won't know whether or not I've got into my firm and insurance University (fingers crossed!). But until then I'd like to make a conscious effort of blogging more regularly because I really take pride in my writing, and it'll just get me into the swing of things again in time for University considering I'm studying Journalism.

    Even though it's a couple of months away, I'm considering doing either a mini Youtube series or just blogging about it (or maybe even both if you're lucky) regarding leaving home and going to University, because for everybody it's a new experience and I think it'd be quite interesting to watch. If you're interested in something similar like that in the future, then just let me know in the comment section, or just tweet me! But yeah, I hope that little update has covered all the bases for you all, I'm going watching The Fault In Our Stars tomorrow (Thursday) so I'll have a little review up of that on Friday.

Topshop || Must Have Accessories This Summer

Photo Credit: Topshop || Editing: FagansFinds

1. Stingray Handled Holdall: Never shying away from neutral tones in my wardrobe this latest holdall brings so many new elements to the table, it'll be hard not to resist myself from splurging on it! There are so many aspects of this bag I adore, the stingray effect patterning is beautiful. It beats your average faux snake skin, alligator and crocodile effect which makes it stand out so well. The structuring is wonderful as well, it gives an edge to a regular holdall that usually has no shape.

2. Big Felt Floppy Hat: I've actually purchased this item a few weekends ago and it's one of my favourite pieces in my wardrobe for summer. I've always been a fan of hats and if you have then this will be at the top of your list, the shapelessness of the brim gives a careful feel to any outfit. The dark grey shade is a great alternative to plain black, as it lifts up your outfit that would usually be pretty dark (most hats are black after all), especially mine as I practically live in black.

3. Small Square Sunglasses: I've been on the hunt recently for  new pair of sunglasses, I already own a trusty pair of Ray Bans from a couple of years back but their lilac shade contrasts hugely with my regular colour scheme of black, white and grey. The frame on these sunglasses is slightly larger than usual, so if you have a bigger face (like me) or larger eyes then this shape should compliment you well. They also have dark lenses which switches it up a little bit in comparison to your light lenses that are usually clear. 

4. Rose And Lily Garland: It wouldn't be summer without some form of floral piece worming its way into the list and this is perfect. I'm usually very anti-floral pieces as they're mostly light shades of pastel pinks, reds and lilacs but these darker florals with the contrast of the more lighter shades are a balance. I happened to try this particular garland on while I was out in Topshop the previous week and I felt very Lana Del Rey esque while wearing it because the flowers are so huge. I'm attending a Hawaiian themed get together soon, so I'm very tempted to go out and treat myself to this for the event and for the summer.

INTERVIEWED || Luna Webster on her new EP 'The Vanity'

    It's been some time since I've done an interview, in particular, it's been some time since I interviewed the lovely Luna Webster. If you're new to Fagan's Finds, then you won't know that I've previously done two interviews with Luna covering her previous EP 'Hollywood May Be Dead But Let's Dance On The Gravestones' in 2013 and a more general interview all the way back in 2012 (click here for it). As a follower of Luna's music and overtime also a friend of hers, I've always appreciated the hard work that she puts into her lyrics, as well as admiring watching her find her own sound and two feet in the industry. Because of this, I've always felt obliged to share her talent to as many people as possible in hope that'll one day she'll be a badass singer who's known throughout Europe (and maybe one day the world, go Luna!), so without anymore delay here's a wonderful little interview I did with Luna to promote her latest EP which is out now, entitled 'The Vanity.'