Paul Mitchell Ultimate Wave

I'm on something of a roll this week after a bit of a hiatus. The weather has kept me outside away from the laptop and work is keeping me exceedingly busy. I've also had the most humungous outbreak of spots known to man, so I've not wanted to experiment with anything new on my face (more on that on the blog later as I think I know the cause).

But the temperature is dropping and I'm getting a handle on the work thing so I'm back to bore you about how this beauty virgin is popping her cherry. Could probably have done with a better metaphor there.

I'm a wavy haired girl who mostly straightens the heck out of it if I need to look presentable. The rest of the time it dries in a ponytail or a bun and that's that. I've never done anything to boost the curls and I really wouldn't know what to do if I was asked to. I have a vague recollection of a 70s sci-fi ray gun lookalike for a diffuser but that's about it.

I got a little sample of this beach wave inducing cream in my first glossybox and as the heat is making hair dry in an instant without the use of a hair dryer or ray gun, I thought I'd give it a shot today. I'm not really good at following instructions so I'm not sure if I did the right thing in just combing a small splodge through with my finger tips but that's what I did.

Packaging: A trial sample so it just came in a wee tube

Smell: Clean and fresh but not long-lasting once the hair is dry.

Feel: It really is a thick gel so I was conscious of the amount I used as I didn't want it to look lank or greasy. I used 3 pea sized amounts and I have just past my shoulder hair. I think I may use slightly more next time as the right side of my head - where I used a little bit more - seemed to go better than the other sides. Once the hair's dry you can't feel it on at all.

Look: My hair dries naturally into what you'd probably term 'beach waves' anyway, but the top layer  is usually so frizzy that you can't see them. This has made the curls neater without being proper curls and the frizz layer is greatly reduced. I wouldn't be embarrassed about this being my hair for the day, whereas I rarely keep my hair down when it's au naturel. This has made it natural, but better!

Available: £11.95 for the full sized version (150ml), available in hair salons country wide.

Love or Bin: Love!

Toni & Guy Prep Heat Protection Mist

The extent of my hair styling is the occasional drying of it. If I'm feeling adventurous I straighten it too. More often than not I leave it to dry into a massive triangular bush of ridiculousness and put it into a ponytail if I need to leave the house. Despite this, I seem to have amassed a large collection of stuff to put in my hair.

I thought I'd try out a (hopefully) easy to use protection spray during my first foray into hair care. I reckon even I couldn't mess up if it's not something that's going to stickify or solidify my hair so I picked the Heat Protection Mist for no other reason than it was the tallest in the row of bottles. It's supposed to protect your hair during heat styling so you use it before the dryer and again before straightening if that's your thang.

Packaging: Run of the mill spray canister. Having stylised vertical writing made reading the directions a bit awkward because I had to turn the bottle over but that's about the extent of how much notice I gave it.

Smell: Pleasant and not too overpowering either when I used it or on my hair afterwards.

Feel: Went on as a fine mist for good coverage. Didn't feel sticky like some leave in products can in your hair although I noticed the hairbrush pulled a little during drying. That may have been my daughter's hair band that got caught n the bristles, though.

Look: My husband says my hair is less 'big' now. After some prompting. I'm not sure it's made any noticeable difference at the pre-straighten stage but it does feel sort of healthier. Somehow.

Available: Boots have it for £6.39 and they currently have an offer on for buy one, get the second half price.

Love or Bin: Meh. I'll keep using it to see if it builds up to loveliness.