John's gonna help me go blonder

Or at least, so he says...

Hi everyone!

I recently took a little trip to my local drugstore to pick up some products that would help me get lighter hair for the summer. My natural hair is blonde, but the kind that will look kind of red-ish when paired with certain lighting or clothing. It's not that I don't like my hair colour, I just saw fun in changing it up a little bit for this year's summer. :)

Online I searched to find what product would help me best, and many people recommended John Frieda's Go Blonder product line. There are several products for this: A shampoo, a conditioner, a mask-conditioner (correct me if I'm wrong) and a spray. As I was on a budget, I thought it to be best to just to start out with the spray and see how things would go from there.

However, walking into the store I was greeted by a lovely sign stating that the second John Frieda product would get 50% off! Plus, a free cute totebag. You understand, I couldn't just leave it at one spray then.. ;)

So, I ended up getting the spray and the shampoo, so that I can still use the conditioner that helps enhance my curls. 

A short description for each of the products (as written on the package)

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Shampoo:

"Gradually lightens your hair up to 2 shades (when using all the products in the line). For all blondes." It is a formula with citrus and chamomile, which visibly lightens for a shimmery, sun-kissed blonde. The look I was searching for. :) It renews the hair's healthy look and feel. It does not contain ammonia or peroxide.

Directions: "Apply shampoo to wet hair, lather, rinse well." And then it says some things that are mainly focussed on marketing and on getting you to buy more products ;)

The product also has a lovely smell to it, which I really liked. It's a thick shampoo, and you don't need to use lots for one wash. I love that! With other shampoos, I need to use sooo much product to get enough for my long hair. This, I think, is concentrated, as it becomes a lot 'more' once rubbed into your hair with water. 

John Frieda Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Controlled Lightening Spray:

"Permanently lightens blonde hair. For blondes only." So, we have quite a different product here. Although it says, 'permanently', I don't think that should frighten you so much. It's not an intensive bleach. However, you should pay attention to how to use this product, as its contents are quite different compared to those of the product above. It is an exclusive peroxide lightening formula, with citrus and chamomile, and it will work best when combined with heating tools. It will lighten and brighten your hair, up to one and a half shades. Gradually lightens in 3-5 uses. The package claims that the maximum lightening occurs after no more than 10 uses. This product also contains thermo-protectant, which is really useful as it works best when paired with a hairdryer, straighteners or curling tongs. It clarifies that you should not use this product on natural brown or darker shades of hair, intensively bleached hair or platinum or white shades of blonde hair. 

Directions: "For best results, after conditioning, spray thoroughly on towel-dried hair, then style as desired. For optimal lightening, use a hair straightener or curling tong after blow-drying. Only use once between hair washings. Use only on clean, wet hair. Use no more than ten times between colourings. There are actually several ways you can use this product. Namely if you want an allover lightening, like me, or just root-blending or highlights. The package explains all you have to do to achieve these goals, so if you're looking to get anything for these purposes, there you go! 

I will update you all on what the results are for me, as I've only used the products twice. Personally, I see a little difference already. My friends say they don't, so the difference is probably minimal as of now. I'm excited to see how much lighter it will get still. 

I hope you liked reading a post like this, it's a little different from what I usually write about. Nothing wrong with changing things up a little ;)

Love you lots!

Eva

The Fault In Our Stars

Hi everybody!

How is everyone doing this Saturday? I had a bit of a rough time the past few days, for personal reasons, but I'm feeling much better today :) Good enough, at least, to update my Instagram Alphabet!

Some days ago I posted F on my Instagram and it got quite a lot of likes, so here is the blog post provided! F is for The Fault in our Stars, Friendship Bracelet, Feather, Flower and Frizz-Ease.

Let's start with the Friendship Bracelet, shall we? It is a bracelet I bought together with my Spanish exchange student Ana when she stayed with me in the Netherlands. Before we met we had no idea that we would become such great friends. We had completely different interests and barely understood one another when speaking over Whatsapp. But during the two weeks we spent together, both in Spain and in Holland, we had so much fun that we shred tears when we had to say goodbye to one another. I couldn't have wished for a better exchange experience with her and I still miss her to this day. (It's been almost a year since we last saw each other) We may not ever meet again, but I hold the memories very dearly.

The Fault in our Stars by John Green... Let me flash back to last summer when I opened this book for the first time after having it stand on my bookshelf for weeks: I opened it and couldn't stop reading. I love, love, love the book so much for its light ambiance. Although it is quite a sad book, the characters are very light-minded and funny. It completely changes the way you look at the world, which, for me, makes it a worthwhile read. The minute I finished the book I couldn't stop talking about it and nearly forced my best friend to read it as well. She did, and she, too, loved it to bits.

What is there to say about a Feather other than it is, well, a feather? My sister collects feathers and they stand in a little glass jar on her nightstand. It's quite pretty to look at and it suits the other objects standing next to it. (Old books, dried roses, little bird skulls, and pretty stones) It gives me the feeling of magic, and I'm not entirely sure why. This feather I randomly picked, by the way. It is in no way the prettiest she has ;)

Now this is where I can start getting really excited over little things again :) Flowers! I absolutely love everything that has to do with spring and summer (except maybe wasps and mosquitoes) and thus also flowers. ✿ You have no idea how happy it makes me when the birds start chirping again and the sun starts rising earlier in the morning and the flowers pop up out of the soil. It's just the way little flowers dance in the wind, or the way my cat plays with them in the garden and the way bees work their asses off to pollinate them. When I'm older I wish to have a beautiful garden full of flowers of all sorts, a bit like my grandpa's. He is constantly busy planting and taking care of the flowers in his garden, and the results I and my family get to enjoy during the warmer seasons. It's been that way ever since I can remember, and I love how some things simply never change.

I am a girl with long, curly hair, and sometimes (more than I'd like to admit) that hair needs taming. A product I love to use for this is Frizz-Ease by John Frieda. From what I understand there are several products of his sharing this name, and the one I have is called Secret Agent Perfecting Crème. To quote what is written on the tube: "It tames frizz and smoothes dry ends." This product can be used for both straight or curly hairstyles, and it smells delicious. :)

Just to get back to the flowers one last time, I would like to add this lovely song (also starting with the F) by the Lumineers. The first time I heard it was in an episode of Reign and I fell in love with both the song and the scene. It's called Flowers In Your Hair, and the scene is absolutely adorable. For those of you who watch Reign, it's the scene where little prince Charles says "She even smells nice." about Mary in the carriage. Francis replies to this with a sigh and a lovesick "I know." It is so light-hearted, just hearing the song can make your day at least 10% better.

And on that note I'd like to wish you all a great weekend!

With love,
Eva