blogmas #4: A Gift Guide for Guys

Buying gifts for the men in your life, be they boyfriends, dads, friends or brothers, is always a struggle. To help with this issue I've compiled a few ideas for what I'll be buying them this Christmas.

1) Jack Wills Duo (£12 - Boots) - This set includes a body wash and a deodorant, and is great for teenage boys that you don't know what to buy. It is a fairly universal gift so is suitable for people you don't know so well.

2) 'Evil Plans and Stuff' Notebook (£6 - Amazon) - This is the perfect gift for an older men as it is funny but also useful. Any funny notebook is a winner, but this is the best one I could find online. I would suggest looking in the department stores if you're looking for any smaller joke presents.

3) Topman Body Spray Trio (£10 - Boots) - A good value set here as you get three well sized ddeodorants. This is great for younger teenagers who are just getting into using products like this, and the brand makes is more attractive to boys just getting into Topman.

4) Whisky Selection Pack (£12 - Boots) - The perfect present for a dad or grandad here, and a great way for them to try out some new brands of alcohol. This is a very sophisticated gift that is reasonably priced too.

5) Remote Control Range Rover (£30 - Debenhams) - What guy doesn't love a nice new toy to play with at Christmas? No matter what their age, the males in your life will still love to receive a remote control car. It doesn't have to be this one, but the fact that it's a Range Rover makes it even better in my opinion.

6) No7 Hydrating Shave Kit (£18 - Boots) - Another good one for teenage boys here as many of them are just starting to shave regularly. This set includes everything they need to ease into this process and the high end packaging will make them feel very grown up too!

7) Blue Woolen Scarf - I love a scarf on a guy, and if you to do, this is the perfect gift for a partner. This particular one is very pricey at £42 but there are much more affordable versions available on the highstreet. I really like giving people clothing as I find that it's much more personal than other presents.

I hope this post helped if you were stuck for ideas, and I'll see you again tomorrow for blogmas #5.

emma x

Dealing With Fine Hair: Tips, Tricks & Products

I've had fine hair since the day I was born, I still do and I probably always will. Not only is my hair limp and lifeless, it is also overly soft and slippery, making it a real pain to style, and almost impossible for updos. However, over the years I have used lots of different techniques to deal with this, some worked, some didn't, and today I'm going to share with you what I find to be the best ways of making your unstyleable hair styleable.

The first thing I would recommend is doing the reverse wash. If you haven't heard of this before, it's where you use conditioner and then shampoo. I like to focus the conditioner on the ends of my hair, and the shampoo on the roots and the hair just above my neck. Doing this gives my hair a bit more grip, whilst still keeping it in good condition.

My next tip is to always blow dry your hair upside down. This gives it more volume and body, making it easier to style. Try not to go to bed with damp hair, because if you lie on it, it will dry very flat and lifeless.

Don't skimp on the texturising products. Salt spray, volume spray, backcomb powder and dry shampoo are all going to be your best friend. On a day to day basis I usually just go for my L'oreal Volume Spray, with the addition of sea salt spray if I'm going for wavy hair, however if I want to wear my hair up, I will go all out on the hair products in order to keep the style in place.

If you want to wear your hair straight, straighten it. Don't think that straightening your hair will make it even limper. If you straighten your hair, it will make people trick people into thinking that it's meant to be dead straight, rather than that your hair is lifeless. Also, it can make you look more put together.

Don't go overboard on the eyebrows. If your hair's thin, chances are your eyebrows are going to be too. Therefore if you fill them is too bushily, it will look unatural, so try to shape and define your brows, without making them too bold.

My final tip is a bit controversial, but something I like to do is lightly bleach my hair. I use the L'oreal Sun Kiss Jelly, which is a very weak bleach that gradually lightens your hair after 5 or so uses. I use this once every two weeks, just to dry out my hair a tiny bit to make it less soft. I don't use it often enough to actually damage my hair, and it is only a  very weak bleach (as you can see, my hair hasn't exactly gone bleach blonde), but it just helps to make my hair a bit more managable. I also enjoy experimenting with where I apply it. At the moment I've gone for a slight ombre, with more lighter bits at the front to help frame my face. As I said, controversial, but it works for me.

Lastly, I just want to say that whatever your hair type, enjoy and embrace it. I hope you enjoyed this post, and saw something that you want to try out.

emma x