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Friday 11 October 2013

The Perfect Blow-Dry? | Ego Professional & Schwarzkopf OSIS+


When it comes to my hair, styling starts right from the shampoo and conditioner I use.  I am most definitely not your 'wash and go' type. Oh no. I'm much more fussy and like to get everything 'just so'.  If I haven't got time to blow-dry my hair properly, then heaven forbid - it's going to be a bad day to say the least.  Blow-drying my hair is a delicate operation - I have a certain 'routine' and technique I use every single time without fail and I like to experiment often with new products in order to get the best possible barnet.


Ego Professional Hair Alter Ego* | Link
As hairdryers go, this one is pretty swish.  It's superly duperly lightweight - which makes it the perfect companion for those of you who take time blow-drying your hair like me - my hair takes an age to try so I like to avoid 'dead arm' whenever I can.  The design is also really satisfying (waheyy the design student in me is coming out...) - it's really smooth to the touch, easy to grip, buttons are easy to access and the 'nozzle' (not pictured) is very easy to whip on and off.   I also love the whole 'red to black' thing it's got going on.  Visuals aside, the actual performance is really good.  It has 8 speed and heat settings which is fabulous for a fussy little urchin like me, and also has the much needed 'cool' shot for setting in the style.  The best aspect for me, and what sets it apart from a lot of dryers on the market, is the 'HW2' technology - making your hair feel softer and smoother to the touch and generally increasing hair manageability and quality afterwards.  I can honestly say that my hair felt so smooth after using the dryer - even when I blow-dryed my hair upside-down (i do this to get volume in the roots).  I found that I had to use less hair serum the next day to tame frizz, and my GHD's glided through like a dream. I did find I had to read the manual a couple of times to get the best out of it - at first I found it didn't dry my hair as quick as I'd have liked but a quick gen up on the controls and I found it pretty speedy.

The downside? It's by no means a cheap addition to your hair tool collection.  At £109 it really is the crem de la crem of the hairdrying world and if you're a 'blow and go' kind of girl (scrap your filthy minds....) then this won't be for you.  If you're like me and are absolutely hair-care bonkers then it's worth a look if you're in the market for a new dryer - but it's worth shopping around.  You can find it on BeautyBay currently at full price, but a couple of weeks back I found it on Amazon for a great deal less.


Schwarzkopf OSIS+ 'Blow & Go' Volumising Blow Dry Spray* |  Link
Those of you who read my hair-related posts are probably well aware of my love affair with hair mousse. I flippin' love the stuff. If I blow-dry my hair without a dollop or two then I certainly know about it.  After trying a few volumising sprays in the past, I've always converted back to my trusty bottle of the whipped stuff. I often find sprays leave my hair crispy, or looking dull, and often don't provide as much volume as a mousse.   This little offering by Schwarzkopf has probably been the most successful in swaying me in the 'spray' direction so far.  I actually use this for my fringe.  I either like my fringe pushed back slightly, or sweeping across my forehead - and I always like it to look like it has volume. There's nothing I hate more than a flat, gappy fringe (fellow fringe fans will know what I mean here! Jeez, how many more times do I want to say 'fringe' in this paragraph? >>FRINGE!<<) I simply lift the section of hair up, and spray at the root a couple of times from a bit of distance and then blow-dry for a few seconds in the opposite direction, before drying and setting it into the position I like.  I find that it always looks much more glossy afterwards, and doesn't have any crispy bits that the mousse can tend to leave - the 'Blow & Go' doesn't leave any sticky residue whatsoever and leaves your hair looking polished and feeling light as air.  It also helps my fringe to stay pretty 'swoopy' all day.  Result. I can totally see why this little spray is a bestseller... At just under a tenner at £9.75 (you can find it for around £7 on eBay) it's well worth a try if you're struggling to inject a bit of volume into your barnet but don't want to pay a fortune.

Have you tried any of these products? Are you a blow-dry obsessive like me?! If so, recommend me some stuff!! :)



19 comments:

  1. The hair dryer sounds amaze, I'm actually testing one out ATM. I do love a good hair dryer! I've never used mousse to blow dry my hair.., I feel I'm missing out here?!
    Liza | Glambeautys | YouTube

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  2. oo which one are you testing beaut?! Waaaaaaaaaaat!?! Oh my goodness YES you're missing out :P What do you use? I use the spray for my fringe and Mark Hill's 'Va Va Voom' mousse for the rest of my hair. Best one i've found so far and it doesn't cost the earth :) x x

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    1. I'm bit of a loser and don't use many products although I have been using the blow and go smoothing spray here and there. I kinda have to rush with my hair because of the little Vin-meister! I'm gonna get that mousse, do u let you hair dry a little first? I worry that if i use mousse ect my hair will get sticky and heavy if you know what i mean and not last as long.I'm using the new Vidal Sassoon hair dryer it's fabulous! X

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    2. Vin-meister - awww haha. Yes I towel dry it to get most of the main moisture out, then pop it through the roots and mid-lengths and blow dry. It's easy to use too much! I've gone 'crispy' a couple of times but I've used it for about 3 years now and I got used to how much I personally need quite quickly. It's a really good little mousse and no other comes close (that I've tried so far...) You can even get travel versions for holidays and stuff so it's a good one to try :)

      Maybe start with a little bit and see how your hair gets on with it? OO i cant wait to have a read about it. I'm such a hair product addict!

      Sorry about the essay back hun :P x x

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    3. Totally gonna buy it and give it a go, always looking for the perfect product/technique so ill give it a try thanks babes! X

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  3. Ooohh I do love a good blow dry - I've got quite unmanageable hair so I think I might be adding this baby to my Christmas wishlist! xx

    Kittyhearts.blogspot.co.uk

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    1. oo it's perfect for a Christmas treat! I often add a hair styling product/tool to mine :) It tames my frizz really well - always feels smooth after I've used it x x

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  4. This looks great :D - This is deffo a Christmas wish list must have haha !

    Recent Posts over at The Jewel Beauty

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    The Jewel Beauty Blog - A friendly beauty and lifestyle blog!

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  5. They both look great, might invest in the spray as always after a bit of volume for my fine hair!

    alittlepopofcoral.blogot.co.uk

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  6. I am a fan of any product that will add volume to hair! I shall be giving this spray a try for definite. I've recently discovered and reviewed a mousse call FAT Hair 0 calorie Amplifying mousse by Samy which was really good value for money and didn't leave hair feeling crispy or dull (I'm a hairdresser so its not only important for a product to impress me but also to impress my clients and they all agreed it worked). I've heard great things about the Mark Hill va va voom mousse and bumble and bumble's thickening range is nice too... although a little more pricey.

    I use a Parlux hairdryer... they are quite weighty but are nice and powerful which is a good thing if you want to achieve a good blow dry :)

    Thank you for a great read!xx

    http://stylewithgracehairdesign.blogspot.co.uk/

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  7. I really need a new hairdryer... Might have to look into this one!

    Katie | and-katie.com

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  8. I get the best blow dry look from the Babyliss Big hair - it's amazing and makes it sooo much easier to achieve :o). Xx

    http://makeupbycandlelight.blogspot.co.uk

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  9. I always leave it until my hair dryer breaks before getting a new one but this one sounds good , can i justify the money though ?

    http://leannezoee.blogspot.com

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  10. Need a new blow dryer as well! xo

    theglamaddict.blogspot.co.uk

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  11. babyliss hairdryer with the brush is amazing!

    http://thisgirlloveschic.blogspot.co.uk/


    xx

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  12. I try to give myself a nice blow dry but after a while my arms just ache! I have the remmington spin curl hair dryer.... Ive NEVER used the spin curl attachment so god knows why I actually bought it! It works fine though. I did used to have a corioliss one which dried my hair so quickly, that was my best hairdryer to date!

    Leanne @ Leanne-Marie | Beauty, fashion & lifestyle. x x

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  13. I was going to tweet you to ask you how you got your hair so big! However now I know! Gorgeous xxx

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I always read all of my lovely comments. Make sure you check back as i often reply but if you do have a specific question and want a quicker response then please do email me over at birds.words@yahoo.co.uk or tweet me (@Beth_BirdsWords). Thank you for all your support! x