Mascara: So you will probably know by now that I LOVE mascara, so this is the hardest choice for me to make, but one really stands out and that is Maybelline’s Lash Stiletto.  I am in love with this product, it doesn’t totally give me the thickness that I want and it smells a bit funky, but the amount of length that it gives is amazing! That coupled with the fact that it doesn’t clump or give you spider eyes makes this my favourite mascara of all time! (Too see full review please go to the mascara section of prettyhead).

Foundation: I didn’t know how to choose between No 7 Stay Perfect foundation and Maybelline’s Dream Satin Liquid, but after a long hard think I am going to go with the Dream Satin. This provides amazing coverage and the reason that it is my favourite is because of the price, £7.00 in the shops (and a lot cheaper on eBay), means that you are getting a great quality product for an affordable price, which in this economic climate is very important! It provides great coverage, is quite moisturising and lasts for a long time, everything that a foundation should be!

Eyeliner:  Ok so my winner in this category hasn’t been reviewed yet on prettyhead but it will be soon, I think Elizabeth Arden’s eyeliner pot (half blue half black), is amazing. It comes in a little tub, rather like lip balm, and you use the eyeliner brush provided in the set to apply. I paid £6.50 for it on eBay and it costs about £14 new, but I believe that it is worth every penny!

Lips: I would not be without Rimmel’s Shock Gloss, it hasn’t yet been reviewed on here, but it is awesome! It comes in 5 shades but clear is the best and it is super shiny, makes your lips look amazing! I love the applicator as well, instead of a little sponge on the end of the stick, it is a brush, which feels really nice against your lips as you apply. At only £3.99 in Superdrug Rimmel’s shock gloss is a bargin!

Skin: As far a skin care goes there is a clear winner, No 7 protect and perfect beauty serum! It is quite pricey but hey if it works (and scientists say it does!) then I would pay anything!

Hair care: Now this is where I have to cheat and pick 2, anyone that has read my hair care reviews will know that I swear by Pantene conditioner for dry and damaged hair, however a few months ago I discovered a little miracle. Dove’s heat defence therapy spray, designed to protect hair during heat styling, however it made my normally curly/wavy hair rather straight with just hair drying alone! This meant that I had to spend less time straightening and therefore managed to save my hair a little from the damaging effects of straightners. Also my hair held its style all day and all night and then the next day too! I am a huge fan now and have been converted from TRESemme!

So there you have it, those are the products that I love and couldn’t live without, there are loads more, including Barry M dazzle dust, but with so many colours I wouldn’t be able to pick just one! If you have a list of fav products you would like to share, feel free to email me at Faye@prettyhead.co.uk and I will do my best to put yours up here asap!

So after shampooing and conditioning with my regular (Pantene) products, I applied a big dollop of the treatment onto my hair and left it for about 5 mins – well I thought I had better give it a load of time to work as I have such thick hair. The treatment is white and has a thickish consistency somewhere in between that of shampoo and conditioner, not a liquid but not totally thick. One thing that I was disappointed in at this stage was the smell; after trying a few Aussie products I have fallen in love with the fruity almost bubble gum like smell given off by them, however this treatment smelt a bit funny, not totally unpleasant, but not the nicest either. After leaving it on for about 5mins I rinsed off with warm water and awaited the results!

To be honest I can’t say that I was totally amazed by the results, my hair did feel soft and didn’t look as dry as usual, however it wasn’t shiny and I don’t think that the results would have been noticeable to anyone but me. However after doing this once a week for 2 months, I would say that there was a marked improvement in the dryness, however there still wasn’t a shine! I wouldn’t buy this product again as I prefer the Avon hair mask (previously reviewed on this site), however I don’t feel like I have wasted my money as it did have a positive effect on my hair. As previously stated you can get a 20ml sample size for 99p, however I only got positive results with repeated use, so a one off try it isn’t really an accurate reflection of the treatment’s effects.

Pros: It helps with dry ends

Cons: It doesn’t really make a huge difference and £4.45 is a lot of money to pay in this economic climate for a product that only half works. Also it doesn’t smell too nice.

This conditioner, like all the other shampoos and conditioners by Dove, comes in a plastic bottle shaped like a surf board. This one is red, probably chosen to fit with the whole heat defence theme. Dove claims that this “New Heat Defence Therapy System actively protects against heat damage at every step of a woman’s hair routine from washing to styling. The Advanced Protecting Serum contains millions of micro particles that protect and strengthen hair from damage caused by frequent heat styling.” I straighten my hair pretty much every day, sometimes more as it is prone to frizz, so obviously protecting it from heat damage is very important to me. Usually I just use a heat defence spray such as Dove Heat Defence Mist or TRESemme’s heat defence spray, so I thought that my hair would probably benefit from being doubly protected. So after shampooing I put a big blob of the conditioner onto my hand and spread it through my long hair and left it for about 5mins (3mins longer than is necessary apparently, but as my hair can be really dry it needs all the help that it can get). I can normally tell whether a conditioner has worked or not as soon as I rinse it off, if it hasn’t worked my hair feels like straw, however once rinsed my hair felt lovely and smooth. After drying and straightening my hair was still silky smooth and didn’t look as dull as it usually does. Obviously I would have to use this product over a long period of time to be able to assess whether it does actually protect your hair well from the damaging effects of heat styling, but for £1 I am more than happy to add this product, proven results or not, to my hair care regime. However I am pretty sure that this is a promotional price and that soon it will be going back to £2.99. If this were to happen I would be paying a lot of money every week for it as I have to use a lot of conditioner on my long hair and a 200ml bottle would only really last me 4 washes, which isn’t great value for money considering you could get double the amount of conditioner from Pantene.

Pros: Leaves dry hair feeling soft and shiny and it may help to protect hair against the damaging effects of heat styling. At the moment it is only £1 so great value for money.

Cons: Doesn’t last long if you have long hair and you can only really tell if it works when used over a long period of time.

This leave-in conditioner comes in a light weight, 150ml spray bottle and is from the boots own range. When I bought it a few days ago, it was £1.26 per bottle with a buy one get one half price offer. The bottle is plastic and recyclable as is the cap. The image is quite basic yet enticing, with lots of pure white and a picture of an open coconut and an almond on. It states that it is suitable for normal to dry hair, which means that it is suitable for most people as those with greasy hair would not be looking for an extra conditioner.  The conditioner itself is watery and white, probably designed to resemble coconut milk. Boots state that “with extracts of coconut and almond this leave in conditioner is specially formulated to moisturise and smooth, leaving hair soft and tangle free”.

The first thing I noticed when using this product was the gorgeous smell; it smells strongly of coconut, not too artificial and this smell remains on the hair for a good day after use or until the next wash! The sprayer ensures that the hair is lightly and evenly coated in the conditioner and leaves no mess. My hair is prone to dryness and this conditioner does have some moisturising effect on it, however I still need to use a wash off conditioner when I wash my hair as the leave in conditioner itself is not enough to combat my dry hair. I have long hair which I spray with the conditioner every other day and it has lasted a good few months, which for £1.26 seems great value for money.

I would recommend this conditioner for anyone who wants their hair to smell great and have an extra level of conditioning. This conditioner would be great for wedding hair as everyone who hugs you on your special day will be able to smell the lovely coconut fragrance. Even people with greasy hair would be able to reap the benefits of this spray as long as it was only used on the ends of the hair.

Pros – Smells amazing, is cheap and lasts a long time, can be used by all hair types, you get boots points, has some conditioning effect on the hair, the bottle and cap can be recycled.

Cons- For people with dry hair it could not be used as the only form of conditioner, did not detangle the hair as stated on the bottle and the spray pump cannot be recycled.

I have reasonably long hair and so I didn’t expect the hair mask to last for very long, however I use this once every other week and it took about 3 months for me to run out, so I would say it is pretty good value for money. I would recommend this product for anyone with dry and damaged hair as it really does make it feel nice and look a bit healthier and well moisturised. However I do wonder if you left any conditioner on for 10 minutes whether it would have the same effect, something I might test in the future.

Pros: Moisturises hair well, leaves hair feeling softer and lasts a long time even if you have long hair.

Cons: Does not live up to its claims of giving your hair an “incredible shine”.

I would recommend this product for anyone who uses hair straighteners, blow driers and curling tongs, even just now and then. As I said before you wouldn’t let 200 degree heat near any other part of your body without some sort of protection, so don’t subject your hair to that! Also on an economic level, you get a lot of spray for your money, especially when compared to other brands such as Dove, so I would recommend this for anyone on a budget and with long hair that will require a lot of the spray with each application. On that note it takes a good few months to get through all the spray, one of the reasons it is popular with hairdressers!

Pros: Seems to protect the hair, very good value for money, lasts a long time, smells nice.

Cons: Doesn’t give you shiny and very soft hair as promised, hard to know if it really protects the hair.