Argan Secret's Argan Oil | Product Review

As a girl who knows all too well of the not-so-fabulous results caused by too much hair-drying, straightening, curling and impatient rough-brushing of hair, I have recently began to focus my efforts on treating my tousled tresses with the respect they deserve. This has meant scouring through various products with similar promises of "anti-frizz", "split-end repair" and "added shine" - most of which were no match for my (back then) very long, thick and partially dry hair. That was until a few weeks ago when I had my hair trimmed and the hairdresser pulled out this bad boy.

What initially attracted me to this product was it's lovely smell (now I'm not an expert in the description of scents but I would say it has a very soft, subtle and almost vanilla fragrance) which lasted most of the day. What I then loved about the product was just how soft and feathery it made my hair feel - it was a struggle to resist stroking it all day - and also the added shine it gave my hair.

I have since purchased my own bottle and I have been using it after every wash (adding just less than a full pump to my finger tips and working it through the ends of towel-dried hair) and I am still just as thrilled with the results. In fact, after using the product for a few weeks, I have even noticed a substantial reduction in my split ends. Fab!

I now look forward to trying out some of the other products in their line.

Have you any experiences with this product line? What are some of your favourite hair treatments? 

Short & Sweet

So, not only have I given my wee blog a bit of an image change but I have given myself one too!

After a few years of having long/medium hair, I decided that I would go for something a bit different and get it much much shorter. There were several reasons: my hair was getting too long and thick to effectively manage and style, my ends were splitting due to the constant brushing as my hair would often tangle, it's been very warm recently and my hair was just too too warm and finally, I just felt like a change. 

There are going to be many changes happening in my life in the coming weeks as I head off to university, live on my own for the first time, meet new people, go to new places, learn new things etc. and so I thought, why not change my hair too?

Isn't it funny what a new haircut can do for your confidence and perspective? The cliche, "It's like a new me" is one that I am unashamedly embracing at the moment.

Change isn't so bad I guess - especially when it means you can save on a bucket load of shampoo.

Bursting At The Seems

Hello everyone.

So as promised, here is a post on everything I packed for my trip to Rome. I know it's a day later than planned however after waking up at 3:30 in the morning, flying for 2 and a half hours, and catching a bus/walking in rain when we got here, I was pretty tired and not in the best of sorts for blogging! However, despite being completely shattered, me and my dad did manage to look around Rome a little before it began to bounce down with rain again. I must say though, I don't feel like we've yet seen the true beauty of Rome due to the rain however the sun is shining today so hopefully we will view it in a 'better light' later today once my dad has finished working.

Another positive of the warm weather is that I can begin to make the most of the more summery clothing of which I have mostly (only) packed! Speaking of which, here is everything I managed to pack in under 10kg of luggage...

A selection of shoes - all Primark.

4 light-weight tops from Wallis, charity shop and Primark.

A summery floral dress from New Look.

Light-weight, long cardi from Hooch.

 My PJs

 Skirt and jeans from Primark. Shorts from Newlook.

 Swimsuit from a local shop.

 A girl can't be without her makeup.

Pearl + floral headband and necklace from Claire's,earings were gift,belt from charity shop and purse from Spain.

Some bits and bobs.

So that's everything I packed. Can you believe that I managed to fit all of this plus my camera and laptop into a rucksack? It's safe to say it was bulging at the seems so it should be interesting trying to fit all of this back in again when we leave. I just thought it would be fun to share what I packed because I know I like reading blogs/watching youtube videos of what people have packed for holiday. I hope you enjoyed! Have a lovely day and I'll speak to you soon,

Mollie♥

What are your holiday essentials? Have you ever had a challenging packing experience?

New Hair. New Beginning.

Hello everyone.

So this is kind of a strange time. Things are changing, people are growing up and it's all a bit weird to be honest. For the past two weeks, there have been pictures of packed cars and nervous/excited statuses popping up on my Facebook feed from friends who are heading off to university or college. My best friend Kirsty (chummy) has already began her college course and I'm glad to say she is really enjoying it and this time next week, my other bestfriend called Kirsty will be leaving for university. And here's little old me with my whole free year ahead of me and I can't help but feel a little overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, I still feel that holding off university this year is a good decision and I'm excited about my year and what it has instore, but at the same time I'm going to miss my friends whilst they're away and I'm a little nervous about making sure it's not a wasted year.

Anyway, since there are so many changes happening and it's a new beginning for me with my gap year, I decided I'd embrace change a little more by dying my hair after it being red for over 2 years now.

                       Before

                                                                                                            After

What do you think? It's a lot darker than intended and it's a big adjustment from what I'm used to but I think I like it. I've been wavering with the idea of dying my hair brown for almost a year now but always chickened out and stuck to red because it was what I'd grown to know. My red hair was almost my identity, it was what my nicknames were based on from my friends and to be honest it had become a sort of comfort blanket. Whenever I was meeting new people or feeling particularly anxious I'd just hide behind my bold red hair and hope that  that alone would make me stand out. This is one of the reasons I decided to dye it. I want this to be a year where I begin to think outside the box a little and push myself out of my comfort zone so that I can really grow and mature. I want to embrace the unknown and make bold choices that will help get me to where I'd like to be and become the person I want to be. This all may seem quite dreamy and optimistic for something as simple as changing my hair colour but it's all about frame of mind and dying my hair has began the process for me. This brunette is on a mission.
Until next time,


Mollie ♥

7 Things I Love About Summer

Hello everyone.

I hope you've had a lovely, sunny week! I also hope you had the chance to read my first post in the Mollie'sThoughts series (if you missed it then there is a link HERE) and enjoyed it. If you don't know what this series is, it is (going to be) a collection of posts where I talk about issues that I feel very strongly towards for example yesturday's was about being your own bestfriend. If you'd like to follow these posts, look for the titles containing "Mollie'sThoughts".

Now, back to this post. 7 Things I love about Summer. There are  of course lots more than just 7 things I love about summer but I don't want to keep you here all day so here are some of my favourite things about summer- in no particular order.

1. Summer clothing - namely dresses and playsuits.

(Clockwise: George at Asda, Primark, Ebay but maker is "Influence", George at Asda...cheap and cheerful. My kinda thing.)

I love that in the warm weather, dresses and playsuits become a practical item of clothing because I just love them! They keep you cooler whilst still looking stylish. I'm always on the look-out for new summer dresses and playsuits as I think they look cute and girly and can be dressed down for daytime and glammed-up for evenings. I am particularly fond of ones with prints on mine (if you can't already tell...).

2. Summer music

 I find that in the Summer months I tend to listen to music a lot more. I think it's because my taste in music is very swingy and summer-y anyway so the songs seem to fit the surroundings better in the summer. For me, there's nothing like listening to a bit of Eliza Doolittle whilst walking down the sun-streamed beach!

My personal favourite artists/songs include:
-Eliza Doolittle (all of her songs)
-Corinne Bailey Rae (all of her songs)
-Nicki Minaj: Starships
-Caro Emerald: Riviera Life
-A Fine Frenzy: What I Wouldn't Do
-Ariana Grande: The Way
- Taio Cruz: There She Goes
...to name but a few.

3. All the beautiful colours

I love seeing the grass look greener, the sky and sea looking bluer and the flowers looking brighter. It's a beautiful sight to behold and I can't resist taking a few snaps of the beautiful views and sights around Arran. Well, I say a few, but I often see something that catches my eye and end up taking about thirty photos of it - no exaggeration. Everything's just so gorgeous!

4. Waking up and going to bed with the sun still shining

I'm not one of these people who want to block out the light in the morning when I'm trying to have a lie-in or who curse the sun's brightness when trying to get to sleep. In fact, I'm quite the opposite! I love getting up early to watch the sun rise and I will happily have my curtains wide open whilst I'm trying to sleep. You see living in Scotland, we don't always get much sun so I always make sure to make the most of it. Also, there's nothing like waking up with the warmth of the suns rays tickling your nose.

5. Bright and pastel summer nail colours

Clockwise in top photo. MUA in Bold Blue, Coral colour from a Boots "Colour Unlimited" boxset, MUA in Ameretto Crush, Rimmel Lasting Finish in Pear Drop and OPI Nail Laquer from a special Spiderman edition boxset.

There's something about having coral, powder blue, mermaid green and peachy pink nails that just makes me so happy. I love Spring/Summer because the pastels and neons come out to play and though I'm a sucker for deep reds and auburns in the Autumn/Winter months, there's nothing like having a pop of colour on your pinkies. Unfortunately for me, we are not allowed to wear nail varnish where I work and so on my days off I make the most of it by throwing on some bold beauties.
My personal favourite look from the colours above is painting my ring finger nails in the Bold Blue by MUA and painting the rest of my nails in the coral colour from the Colour Unlimited set from Boots.

6. Beach days

There's nothing like kicking of your flip-flops and walking bare foot along the beach with the sand between your toes and the sea washing over your tired, warm feet. Or building sandcastles (you're never to old for a good sandcastle) and sand sculptures and burying your feet in the warm sand just to have your toes peep out whenever you wriggle them. Bliss. It's also great fun to swim in the sea in the summer because despite the often freezing temperatures of the water, it is often a refreshing and welcomed relief from the heat. But see if that seaweed comes anywhere near me...

7. Spending time with friends

Last, but definitely not least. I don't know about you but I always seem to be much more sociable during the summer months. I'm like a hedgehog who's come out of hibernation and is ready to mingle with my prickly friends though, I'm glad to say my friends are much smoother than your average hedgehog.
Wow. That got weird fast.
Anyway, my point is, there always seems to be so much more to do in summer and with the days getting longer there's all the more time to do these things. I'm privileged to have made some really great memories already this summer and I am treasuring every moment of them. My time with my friends is all the more important to me just now because pretty soon they'll be leaving the island and going off to do their own thing whether that be uni, college, a job etc. whilst I'm staying put - or at least that's the plan just now.
I've been blessed with some truly amazing friends and I cannot express how much I love and cherish them being in my life.

***

So that's everything I love about summer in a nutshell! Well, my main favorites anyway! I'd love to hear your top 7 favourite things about summer too! Feel free to leave a comment telling me yours.
Until next week, I hope you have a great couple of days and make many happy memories.

Mollie

♥