Not Just Other Peoples Hair

Being lucky enough to practice my favourite hobby and make it a business is amazing, and this weekend was a prime example of taking people's ideas and inspiration and creating a lovely hairstyle for their special occasion.

It does make me realise how many possibilities there are, and how versatile hair is. I did two gorgeous styles on Saturday that were new and exciting for my clients, something they never would have worn before and felt was special for their big night out. This prompted the thought that I really aught to try more styles myself and venture away from the usual top knot or donut.

So my aim this week is to try a different hairstyle every day and blog about it. I'll be taking inspiration from here there and everywhere and seeing what I like, what suits and well, what doesn't!

Wish me luck!

Not Just a Wedding Guest

It sounds ridiculously vain but I have to say, I have a bloody good looking family. All 34 of them (it's somewhere in that region, we have newbies joining on a monthly basis). It came to my attention most prevalently at my cousin Grace's wedding in June. She married the lovely Nick, who is my new 'cousin-in-law' (he LOVES when I call him my cousin) and I was not only lucky enough to be a guest, but I also styled four of the bridesmaids hair.

The two gorgeous youngsters you can see in the last picture actually had their hair done by the Hairdresser who styled Grace's locks. But they're part of the good looking Fletcher Family. You can tell right?

I did a trial on Grace's thick locks to work out how the bridesmaids would have their hair, and we came up with a simple, low bun. It complimented the girls dresses and worked nicely with the coral accessory they had to tie in with the colour scheme.

It was a beautiful Saturday in July, and I think the hottest of the year. It was a challenge in terms of humidity and perspiration to say the least. Sam's blow dry was tested to it's limits but it survived the heat and her cutting SERIOUS shapes on the dance floor.

It was so nice to be involved in the whole day. I got to see Grace's stunning transformation throughout the morning and also get to experience the buzz and excitement of the whole family. It was calm, fun and a pleasure to be involved all the way through.

Congratulations to my friends and cousins Grace and Nick on a lovely wedding day and a happy little life ahead xx

Not the Usual Wedding Guest Photo

This is a moment in time that I just love. God knows what we were laughing at (it's usually me laughing AT Alex and him having no idea), but it's so far removed from the usual posed wedding guest photos that I really like it. One for a frame perhaps.

Not Full After Dinner?

It had been some time since we saw our faves Ryan and Bev, so we wanted to go for a lovely lunch with good food and great chats. So we headed to Westfield (Shepherds Bush) as there is so much choice. After perusing the menu at a couple of places  we hadn't tried before we ended up settling on Wagamamas. Not that it's a bad thing, we all absolutely love Wagamamas but I was a little worried we might be a little rushed. It's not exactly a fine dining experience.

However, we were quite tactical and ordered drinks, then ordered starters, we ate the starters and then ordered mains so it was perfect for having a really good catch up. As ever, the food was lovely and we were all suitably fed and watered when we left.

That said, Alex had been craving a coffee all day so I suggested we pop down the way to Le Pain Quotidien to sort him out. They do a mean coffee and the atmosphere is nice and chilled, with consistently good service no matter what branch you happen to be in. After browsing the menu we happened across the Desserts. Uh Oh. It had to be done. I went wild and ordered up the Chocolate Brownie, whilst Alex, Bev and Ryan (sharing) had the Warm Belgian Waffle which came with berries. We inquired about what sauces we could have and after a chat with the waitress we were bought syrup, honey, white and milk chocolate spread, chocolate sauce, and god knows what else. They were set.

My Brownie was ridiculously good. I ate every single crumb. If you never have another Brownie again you need to try this one. Mmmmm, it's making me hungry even writing about it.

I think I might swap a few breakfast meetings for a afternoon coffee and cake?!

Not Going Out in This Weather

Today has definitely felt like the beginning of Winter. It's been consistently drizzling since this morning and is quite frankly already getting on my tits. I hate the way it messes up your hair, the way it makes your feet soggy and the fact you have to hold an umbrella whilst trying to text/instagram/facebook.

So when I finally got to my desk after a morning long meeting I was loathe to go back outside. I couldn't bare the idea of the 5 minute walk around the square to Marks and Spencers. Not laziness, just a very strong objection to getting wet. So I googled "food delivery Kensington" to no avail. And then I had a true light bulb moment. I remember Potage. I don't know where I even found out about it, but I'd had the homepage bookmarked on my computer for months.

Homemade food, delivered to your desk for £6.50. What's not to love. The Evening Standard got it right when it descirbed Potage as "the real hearty deal". I couldn't agree more. My All American Mac and Cheese with Bacon was filling, tasty and sizable. Enough to fill me up for lunch and make me think a light dinner will suffice this evening. Admittedly I didn't go for the healthiest option on the menu, if I was being good I would have gone for the Raw Autumn Veg Pot, don't judge me.

The Menu changes daily, and this weeks selection includes Chilli Con Carne, Irish Stew and Thai Green Curry to name a few. Not realistic to spend £6.50 a day on lunch for me, but singles looking for a nice homemade dinner for one will be delighted with this.

The lovely Georgia hand delivered my Pot within about 20 minutes of ordering, and even let me off the £2.50 delivery charge that comes with orders under £15.00 (first time order!).  A nice touch that endhered me to the whole idea even more. I know that I'll be ordering again, and hopefully my colleagues will have a go to. There will be inevitable late nights in this office over the coming winter months and I know I'd rather have a Potage than a microwave meal from M&S.

Not Smooth. Not Flat

If, like me, you suffer from quite flat hair after a good wash (see "before" picture above), then the good news is that there are products out there to help give you some lift and texture with very little effort involved.

This Urban Styling Powder by Fudge* is a great product that has various uses.

For textured ends just sprinkle onto your hands and scrunch through the ends of your hair. You can be quite specific on how much texture you want, so start with a small amount and build up as required.

For a more lived in look as seen in the "after" photos you can sprinkle the powder directly onto your roots and ends. Just massage in and mess up as much as you want! Once you feel it calm down a bit you can mess it up again with your fingers or just leave it as it is. It'll keep you going all night.

I'd also use this powder if I was trying to achieve a beehive look. It will mean your style will stay 'high' without half as much backcombing. Backcomb then sprinkle the powder and massage in. That beehive wont be going anywhere.

Be warned, your hair wont feel so clean any more but it will definitely give you a more casual and edgy look. When I say won't feel clean, this product doesn't make you locks greasy or dirty, it's just a tacky texture.

I highly recommend this product to people with shorter and mid length hair, as it gives good volume and texture. For longer and thicker hair it's worth a try around the roots, but may require some backcombing too to get a real lift.

*£6.99 Available at Superdrug - in-store and Online

Not the Simplest Braid

When you have a beautifully simple dress, you can let your hairstyle be your best accessory. This was the case for my lovely friend Zoe when she attending a wedding this weekend.

It was the first time I'd been asked to do a Dutch Crown Braid, but I was confident that I could deliver, so I factored in enough time for a trial run and then plaited and pulled my way around Zoe's head to achieve this lovely final product.

It's a braid that looks at its best, slightly relaxed and not too "Done". You want to stay away from looking like a complete Milk Maid. 

You can achieve this look with any hair really, even if you're hair is thin there are ways to make it look fuller. Hair that comes to your shoulder or just above is long enough to achieve the entire braid. Zoe has fine hair but loads of it.

It's key that the hair isn't too silky and smooth, so day old hair is better than freshly washed.

I am so keen to try this braid again so if you have an occasion coming up and want to book in, just let me know.