Bobbyglam Hair Extensions | Review

Bobbyglam Triple Wefted Hair Extensions in 'St Tropez' | 20-22" (180g) £89.99-£104.99* | 

A few weeks back, I was contacted by the lovely team over at Bobblyglam asking if I would like to try one of their triple wefted sets of hair extensions. Just recently, my hair has been behaving quite badly to say the least; it's shedding quite a bit due to being on and off medication, so clip-in hair extensions are something that I really could do with and I jumped at the chance to try a triple wefted set.  If you know me, you'll know I'm a massive fan of big, bouncy hair and lots of volume, so the fact that these hair extensions are super thick makes them perfect for me and what I would use them for.  This post will be quite lengthy (pardon the pun ;)) so I apologise in advance, but if you're new to extensions or fancy reading up on what Bobbyglam has to offer then grab a cuppa, get comfy and have a read.

| Colour & Choice |

After a great deal of umming and arring, I settled on the shade 'St Tropez'.  You will see from the photos in the tutorial section of this post that my hair is a multitude of shades and is light on the top sections, but quite mousey and dark underneath.  It is very much a backwards ombre... And the ends are darker than the very top of my hair.  This makes choosing colours rather difficult for me, as my hair is naturally blonde and I don't have any bleach in it - so getting a colour that's light enough without looking bleached often proves difficult.  St Tropez is the perfect shade, as it matches the lengths of my hair (which is where the extensions will sit and blend), yet also doesn't look mismatched compared to the top section. For reference, my hair is very similar to Lauren Pope's hair colour from The Only Way Is Essex - it's blonde, but with brown/toffee and caramel colours running through it and it looks almost brown underneath. 

Bobbyglam were very helpful helping with shade selection, and you can send a photo of your hair to them to be matched up by their team of experts.  I found the shade range available very good - for blondes or highlighted hair I know it can be a pain to get extensions to match, but they offer a good range of mixed shades and multi-tonal blondes so there should be something there for everyone. If I can find my perfect shade, then trust me, it will be a doddle for you! There is also a choice of length. I opted for the 20-22" simply because my hair is already quite long, but there is also the option of 16-18" for those of you with mid-length, shorter hair.

| Packaging |

The packaging really impressed me with this product.  If you're familiar with extensions then you will know the bog-standard way of packaging them.  Once opened, you're pretty much stuck with them even if they don't match your hair. I have definitely been there and got the 'gutted' tshirt when it comes to opening a shade that doesn't match - being stuck with a pack of hair you can't use and a purse that's one hell of a lot lighter in the process!  Bobbyglam have been very clever here and eliminated the problem.  The set comes with test weft - which is just as carefully packaged as the rest of the hair, but is separately contained in a little box so that you don't have to break into the pack and void any chance of return.  This is so useful - you can actually clip the hair weft into your hair and see very clearly whether or not they will match - something that proves quite difficult with other extensions I've had in the past. 

| Hair Quality & Wefts |

I've had my fair share of extensions so I know the difference between remy-hair and standard 'market' hair.  The hair is very delicately packaged in little hair nets, so there's no snagging or breakage when you remove them from the packet.   It's very soft and smooth, and the ends are as thick as the top of the wefts.  The amount of hair you get is also fabulous - the triple wefted sets provide you with 180g of hair - well above the weight of a lot of companies 'deluxe' weights, meaning you get one heck of a lot of hair for your money and with less clips.  I love the way the triple wefted sets are bonded together - making them only slightly thicker than a standard singular weft.  I really don't like thick wefts with a passion  I wear my hair pulled to the front, so big thick bands of hair running around the back of my head just look awful on me and other people seeing you're wearing extensions pretty much defeats the object for me.  Bobbyglam cleverly bond their wefts together (as shown in the photograph) so that they sit flat to your scalp.  In my pack, I received one 4 clip weft (middle of the head), two 3 clip wefts (back of the head, nape of the neck area) and four 2 clips wefts (sides of the head). This makes up the full set and it is completely up to you how many you wear at one time.  You can also choose between double wefted, triple wefted or QUAD wefted pieces (cripes, now that's volume for you!) amongst other hair-related goodies. It's also worth mentioning that Bobbyglam hair is ethically sourced.

As you can see, the triple wefts add so much body and volume to what is usually flat, straight hair.  I couldn't believe how seamlessly they blended despite my cruddy-hair colour and dodgy multitones - you can also see from the back view that they are virtually undetectable.  The texture matches my hair perfectly, and they don't look overly shiny or false. The ends also look very full as they are cut slightly blunt - no rats tails over here! Yippee!  The triple wefts do feel heavier than your average extensions set, I can't sit here and tell you that they feel weightless - they don't.  But they don't feel uncomfortable at all.  As I've previously explained, I would wear the full set for a night out or special occasion, but on a day to day basis I would probably use half the amount of hair, meaning the weight is virtually no different to any other hair extensions - and the fact that there are less clips means there's less chance of you giving the game away. It also makes application very speedy.

Overall, I'm really impressed with Bobbyglam. I'm planning on curling them soon so that they blend in with my everyday hairstyle (you can view my tutorial for my curly hair here if you're interested) - I will try and post some sort of photograph or FOTD post once I've made them work for my waves.  To say they provide this much volume when straight leaves me to think that they will simply blow me away with the volume when I curl them! Cheryl Cole.. eat yer heart out ;)

Have you tried Bobbyglam extensions?
You can have a nosey at their website here.

How I Contour | Feat. Chanel Bronze Universal & Swatches

Chanel | Soleil Tan De Chanel - 'Bronze Universal' - £31 | Link

It was an exciting day when I first purchased Chanel's ever so famous 'Bronze Universal' let me tell you! I took it home, placed it delicately on my bathroom counter and cherished its very existence in my makeup collection, but there was one problem - I was at a complete loss of how best to use it. I googled it, I tweeted about it, and I googled it some more - but each time I'd receive a multitude of different answers of how best to apply it. The lady at the Chanel counter suggested I used a flat foundation brush to work it into the skin for contouring - and for a while that was the method I used. Although it worked, the method just didn't float my boat - it may have been the brush I was using but I felt as if I needed to test a slightly different approach. So, I took it upon myself to test and try all kinds of different ways of working with it until I settled upon one that worked for me and one that provided me with the best results. Mission accomplished. 

As some of you may know, I'm a massive fan of contouring. I naturally have quite defined cheekbones and they're something I like to accentuate more when I can - simply because they give my face definition and shape and they're a feature I feel I need to make the best of! I've been contouring for a few years now - ever since I first learnt 'the secret' (ooo 'the secret'..) of how to make your face appear more sculpted - my makeup collection is full of all sorts of highlighters, base products and sculpting essentials. Chanel's Bronze Universal provides the most natural looking 'skin-like' finish and works very well with my skin tone. Here's my step by step for my current contouring routine I use for my cheekbones..

1. Apply your base | I use Yves Saint Laurent's 'Touche Eclat' foundation in 'B40' and buff this into the skin using my Real Techniques Buffing Brush.  This is the only brush I find works with this foundation and together they are an absolute cosmetic dream team! This stage provides a flawless looking 'blank canvas' ready for sculpting (I apply a primer beforehand too - just to make sure my makeup is being applied on a clean, smooth base).

2 & 3. Chanel Bronze Universal | If you're unsure how or where to place the line of contour, a good way to find your natural cheekbone 'shape' is to simply pull a fish face. Not at all attractive but suck in your cheeks for a second and you'll notice where your natural line is (google this method if you're unsure!) You can see where I've placed my line of contour - I always begin near my hairline and apply most of the product here, as this is where I want my contour to be strongest and where there is naturally more shadow on the face. I then take the product down near to wear my inner cheek is - making sure that the line there is slightly thinner than it is near to my hairline. 

I do this using my fingers or a flat foundation brush - but if I'm honest I find using my fingers to apply this works better than a brush - as the product is warmed up and can be moulded into the skin more (of course if you're going to do it this way then it goes without saying to make sure you're hands are squeaky clean before doing this step..)

4. Buffing using Real Techniques Buffing Brush | Buff the line you have just made into the skin using a buffing brush - making sure the movements you use are along the same 'line'. You don't want to be swirling the brush all over your cheeks as this will ruin the whole effect!

5. Mac Mineralise Skinfinsh Natural in 'Medium' | I then apply my Mac MSF using my Real Techinques powder brush. This sets the base I have just applied.  As a general rule, any 'wet' product you apply to your face should be applied before your powder - and any powder products applied afterwards. You know it makes sense... ;)

6. Optional Step - Sleek Contour Kit in 'Light' | Sometimes, the contour I created with the Chanel is enough for me. On other occasions, I want a little bit more 'oomph' (nights out for example) - this is when I apply the matte bronzing powder from this palette. I use my Real Techniques Contouring brush to do this as i find it works well with my powder products, and simply go over the line I've just created, being careful to blend it in properly. It can sometimes look a little 'muddy' if you over apply so paler skin tones - take heed! I then apply the highlighting powder across the top of my cheekbones (just underneath the eye area) and sweep this up to my hairline. 

7. Blush | I apply my blush of choice on the apples of my cheeks and take it up slightly near my hairline - this way I have the highlight, blush and contour all merged together and running the same way.  I used Benefit's Coralista blush in this example - if you're wondering!

8. Contouring complete! If you're still unsure, it helps to look at your face from different angles in a mirror and realise where light naturally hits, and where shadow naturally falls (looking up into a mirror highlights the lighter areas, and vice versa). I then usually take my contouring underneath my jawline and onto my forehead using the same method (again, google this as there's tonnes of images of where to place contour & highlight - it's generally made in a '3' shape around the side of the face)


The way you work with this product depends on what kind of look you want to go for. A flat kabuki brush will work wonders for an all over bronzing base, but when it comes to contouring, the softness of the line you use is key to creating a natural looking, flawless finish. The texture of the Bronze Universal is very blendable - almost like a hybrid of a mousse and a cream. It's also very buildable and is a product that can be used in a multitude of ways. This is just how I contour my cheekbones - you might find another way works better for you but this gets the best results for me personally! Kim Kardashian - eat yer heart out, petal!

Here's a rundown of products used in this post:

YSL Touche Eclat foundation in 'B40' (review here)

Chanel 'Bronze Universal' (first impressions post here)

Real Techniques brushes - Buffing, Contour, Powder, Blush (collection post/review here)

Mac Mineralise Skinfinish Natural in 'Medium'

Benefit Coralista blush (review here)

Sleek Contour Kit in 'Light'

Benefit 'They're Real' mascara (review here)
Sleek Eyebrow kit in 'Light'
HD Brows palette in 'Bombshell'

Mac Smolder eye kohl

Mac 'Plink!' lipstick.

I also used this method of contouring in my FOTD post here - which was used for a night out! You can see the definition and line of contour more clearly!

Have you tried Chanel's Bronze Universal? Are you a fan of contouring like me?