The Gift Of Perfect Hair From Paul Mitchell This Christmas

Everyone loves to have good hair and these Fashionable Trios Christmas Gift Sets from Paul Mitchell costing £27 are simply the best. The generously sized products come in a delightful reusable gift bag each with a gorgeous hand drawn fashion print decorated by Australian fashion illustrator Sarah Hankinson, I have to say I adore the packaging and think these would make a fabulous gift that will last for ages. (I am already using my wipe clean bag to home my makeup brushes!)

The Art of Blonde

Contains

Forever Blonde Shampoo 250ml
Forever Blonde Conditioner 200ml
Forever Blonde Dramatic Repair 25ml

The Art of Volume 

Contains

Extra-Body Daily Shampoo 300ml
Extra-Body Daily Rinse 300ml
Extra-Body Daily Boost 250ml

The Art of Curls 

Contains

Spring Loaded Frizz-Fighting Shampoo 250ml
Full Circle Leave-In Treatment 200ml
Ultimate Wave 150ml

Also available are 'Classic and Style' gift sets. 

The Art of Sleek

I have been using 'The Art of Sleek' set and have been really impressed with the super sleek, frizz free hair that it gives me. The products also cut down drying time which is an absolute godsend for me.

Contains

Super Skinny Daily Shampoo 300ml
Super Skinny Daily Treatment 300ml
Super Skinny Serum 150ml

Art of Style Gift Sets are available to purchase from Salons stocking Paul Mitchell products.

My Hair Loves-Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Shampoo and Daily Treatment

Styling my hair is the bane of my life, I love the end result but getting there seems like a mammoth task. The reason for this is that I have med/long thick, porous hair that stays wet for what feels like an eternity. By the time it has dried I have long given up wanting to do anything with it. Even when using a hairdryer it can take anything up to 30 minutes to get completely dry.

So, imagine my delight in finding products that claims to reduce drying and styling time that really work!

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Shampoo and Daily Treatment - Smoothing Collection

Claims 

Daily Shampoo

Cleanses and smoothes hair. Makes rebellious locks softer and more manageable. Helps reduce drying time and speed up styling.Our exclusive Super Skinny® Complex displaces water and helps to constrict the hair for a smoother surface. Mild surfactants cleanse without stripping or plumping hair. Colour-safe formula.

Daily Treatment 

Helps to smooth and soften strands. Helps repair and prevent damage. Speeds up drying and styling to get you out the door faster. Our exclusive Super Skinny® Complex smoothes and softens hair and provides easy slip and wet combing. Heat-activated conditioners and thermal protectants help repair and prevent surface damage.

My thoughts

I love the fresh smell of both the shampoo and treatment, like apples. This combination has done wonders for my hair, smooths and softens it. I find it so easy to brush my hair through, I rarely have knots now. Where before drying my hair could take up to 30 mins, now it takes just 10 mins. Perfect products for soft, smooth, manageable hair. I am hugely impressed and my hair looks healthier.

As the gift pack also included the Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum I have been using this alongside the shampoo and treatment, applying it before styling. It has a great smell and leaves hair feeling lovely and soft, shiny and not at all greasy looking.

I am a fan of the Super Skinny Range.

This smoothing set cost £25 for 2 x 300ml bottles and the 25ml serum which was all part of a Christmas Gift Set.

Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Shampoo - £10.75 (300ml)
Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Daily Treatment - £13.25 (300ml)
Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum - £17.25 (150ml)

Purchase a limited edition Bonus Bag (selected salons only) and get the Shampoo and Treatment for just £19.95 plus 5% of the RRP will be donated to charity - for more details click here 

*PR Sample

Art Deco Afternoon Tea With Paul Mitchell At The Park Lane Hotel

Last week I had the pleasure of attending a Deco-Dent Afternoon Tea with Paul Mitchell Hair Care at The Park Lane Hotel in Mayfair to showcase their Christmas Gift Selection.

The setting for Afternoon Tea is the hotel's Palm Court, an art deco designed lounge which is a throwback to a bygone era - delightful, elegant and sophisticated. The room is large and features comfortable sofas to enjoy and indulge in an exquisite afternoon tea. The lighting is subdued and the live piano music is relaxing and classical, creating the ideal setting and being unobtrusive to allow being able to chat freely.

We were treated to the Champagne Afternoon Tea and drank English Breakfast Tea

The menu 

Tasty finger sandwiches of

Coronation smoked chicken and watercress on raisin bread

Roast beef, wasabi mayonnaise and rocket on white bread
Roasted and smoked salmon on pesto bread
Grated egg, crème fraiche and cress on carrot and herbs bread
White and brown crab meat with cucumber on brown bread

My favourites were the chicken, beef and smoked salmon, but this is a nice and varied selection.

Warm light scones

A choice of plain and raisin scones with 3 different preserves and clotted cream - Strawberry, Gooseberry and Lemon Curd.

Fine pastries

A strawberry panna cotta, chocolate mousse roulande, fresh fruit flan with custard.

Gorgeous, bite sized desserts completed a wonderful afternoon tea. I would definitely return to The Park Lane Hotel.

Champagne Afternoon Tea costs £39

For more details click here 

Paul Mitchell Hair Care Christmas Gifts 

The theme this Christmas is Deco Fabulous and Paul Mitchell have created 8 different art deco designed gift sets each containing products to suit a variety of hair types.

The Color Care £17.50
Moisture £17.50
Strength £25
Smoothing £25
Extra-Body £25
Fab Favorites £25
Best Tressed £25
Kids £15.75

I opted for the Smoothing Gift Set which I will be reviewing shortly. Also pictured is an art deco style 1920's inspired clutch evening bag (worth £20) which can be yours free with a purchase of 3 Paul Mitchell products OR with the purchase of any 2 Paul Mitchell products you will receive a pretty Plans and Thoughts Pair Stationery set.

For more details and even more fabulous Gift Sets in the Christmas range visit www.paul-mitchell.co.uk. 

*PR samples

Holiday Skincare - What I Packed In My Travel Bag

I have just returned from a week's holiday in Ibiza. I wanted to travel light so tried to keep my skincare and make up items to the minimum but included a few pampering items as I didn't want to miss out!

This post is about the skincare items I popped in my travel bag..

Facial Care 

Garnier Skin Naturals Fresh Essentials Vitamin Enriched Cleansing Wipes (25) -

I picked these up for £2 from Tesco. Contains grape extract, suitable for normal/combination skin and even removes waterproof make-up. I loved using these, the scent is gorgeous and it was effective at cleansing, left my skin very soft after and didn't irritate my skin. Whilst I would not use this as an everyday cleanser, for the holidays these wipes were ideal.

REN Trio  - These super minis came free with my Red Magazine so I saved them to take on holiday.

REN Hydra-Calm Global Protection Day Cream

I used this in the evenings before applying my make-up. I wasn't overly keen on the scent so I wouldn't purchase a full size version but it did leave my skin feeling lovely and soft and feeling hydrated. The lotion was light and absorbed quickly. It is suitable for sensitive skin and is paraben free.

REN Active 7 Radiant Eye Gel

I was looking forward to using this as it claims to be a light gel with cooling properties to revive and brighten the eye area, unfortunately when I applied it, I felt a slight stinging sensation so I removed it and didn't use it again.

REN Vetiver v7 Hand & Body Cream

I used this as a hand cream and really loved it, although it had a similar scent to the face cream I didn't mind it so much on my hands. My hands felt soft and velvety smooth. The cream was not sticky and absorbed instantly.

Oral-b Pro Expert Toothpaste

My favourite toothpaste, this came free when I bought a toothbrush. Handy travel size.

Bath & Hair Care

Aussie Miracle Moist Shampoo and Conditioner Travel Minis

Asda were doing 3 minis for a £3 which I thought was a fab bargain - so I bought these delicious smelling products from Aussie. Miracle Moist left my hair soft, shiny and manageable. Winners.

Elemis Frangipani Monoi Shower Cream

Taking this shower cream was a bit of an indulgence on my part. I never like the free shower gels that come in hotel bathrooms as they feel too drying. This is an exquisitely floral scented shower cream (infused with Tahitian monoi and frangipani flower ) that leaves skin soft and delicately scented. The bottle came in a Christmas Gift Set.

Suncare

Piz Buin Tan & Protect Tan Accelerating Oil Spray SPF30

I have already reviewed this which you can read by clicking on the title.

Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Moisture Mist® Hydrating Spray

Not an essential but a welcome cooling spray for when I felt too hot. You could find me spritzing this all over my hair, face and body as it smelt so nice! This came in one of the Glossyboxes.

Garnier Ambre Solaire Aftersun Refreshing Hydrating Spray 200ml 

Another winner for me, this was a bargain again from Asda, at half price. This spray was mist like, turning into a cloudy liquid when it touched the skin. It dried almost instantly leaving no sticky residue just cool, soft and moisturised skin. The scent just oozes holiday, great product.

Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Texturizing Sea Spray

Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Texturizing Sea Spray has to be my favourite spray to achieve sexy 'beach waves'. It is made using juice from the Awapuhi Ginger Plant that Hawaiian natives have been using for centuries to moisturise their skin and hair.

The first thing that struck me about this spray is its delicious scent, it smells like cola bottle sweets with a refreshing twist. All the products in the Awapuhi range have this scent, which is so different to anything I have ever smelt in a hair care product.

This does exactly what it says on the bottle, creates a tousled beachy style. It is incredibly easy to use - I have spritzed it on damp hair, scrunched with my fingers and then let it dry naturally, I have also used it when my hair has been dry to vamp it up a little, defining my waves.

I have quite a lot of natural volume already so I am happy that it doesn't give oodles of volume just fab beach hair. It smells great and doesn't harden or become crunchy so that I able to run my fingers through my hair.

All in all a fab summer product.

Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Texturizing Sea Spray is available from Paul Mitchell participating hair salons and retails at around £17.95.


*PR Sample