Hair : The Correct Way To Blow dry Maltese Hair

 By: Unknown    00:18  No comments

In Malta, we are blessed with many beautiful things but one thing we definitely aren't blessed with is weather-friendly hair and easily manageable hair (although the latter one does apply for a lucky few) The weather in Malta tends to be very humid, enabling our already rather coarse and frizzy hair to guess what ? Frizz.

So how do we beat the frizz and get long-lasting smooth and sleek hair? I sat down with Gordon Mayo, CEO and director of Toni and Guy Malta and asked him a few questions.

Q&A with Gordon Mayo - The Correct Way To Blow dry Maltese Hair

My first question is a bit of a story. Over the years, I've had many disastrous blow outs. There has been many a time when I have had to watch my hair frizz into a puff ball, merely an hour or two after leaving the salon. However, on occasion, irrespective of ongoing humidity, I have also seen my blow dry withstand the climate and perform a miracle - remain sleek and smooth for a few days. This leads me to believe that there must be different techniques in existence for blow drying hair. Am I right?

Gordon - Yes, there are two different ways to use heat styling - Cohesive Setting or Heating Set. The latter method is the one that should be used on frizz-prone hair - it basically involves drying out all the moisture using a heating element set on the highest setting. The bonds of the hair will be stretched and moulded into a new shape. The first method does not use as much heat and is generally used on less frizz-prone hair to simply shape it.

My next question is of course about the damage all this heat must be doing to our hair. 

Gordon -  Luckily enough, our frizzy hair tends to have more cuticles protecting the hair shaft and can withstand more heat. However, heat protecting products should always be used - no blow dry should be performed without the use of heat protection. Many of these products are actually heat activated and will give off a smoke signal when the hair is readily straightened which means - stop.

Next, I want to know what happens in severe humidity / dew?

Gordon - The heating set technique the hair is no longer an absorbent so it will reject the moisture in the air and remain straight. 

But what about steam?

Gordon - Steam is dangerous - if steam or hot water makes contact with hair that has been set using heat se.t then the bonds will be broken and the hair will frizz.

Any other tricks?

Gordon - An important trick is to always finish off a blow dry using the cold setting on the dryer. The cold air closes the head pores sweat glands in the hair that all the heat has just opened and turns the hair back into its negative state i.e 'fixes it'.

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Outfit Post : A Dress with a BOW

 By: Unknown    05:23  No comments

Last Saturday I attended the launch of Karen Millen in Malta. Here's my OOTD lowdown on what I wore to the event. The outfit planning revolved around a little black dress from MAX&Co.  that's just so well fitting and pretty (that bow!). I added an orange-red bag, a sparkly pair of earrings and a pair of statement shoes you might recall seeing here. My hair was fashioned into a very casual updo by the great Svetlana De Bono at Toni and Guy Hilton Malta.

Outfit Details : Dress : MAX&Co. / Shoes : Irregular Choice / Earrings : Clothes ShowLive (forgot name) / Bag : Miu Miu / Leather Cuff : Coccinelle.

P.S Remember to enter my COMPETITION

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Events Post : LFW : Backstage at GYO YUNI KIMCHOE

 By: Unknown    14:16  No comments

I was invited backstage at the London Fashion Week Fashion Scout Merit Award Show by Toni&Guy, the merit award winner is GYOYUNI KIMCHOE. I've been backstage at many fashion shows over the years, I've worked backstage most of the time I've been backstage, at London Fashion Week the great thing is that I got to go backstage, both for this publication and for Noctis Magazine a few times, simply as a writer. My only purpose was to watch..it's actually really interesting..watching the designer working with the stylist and watching the makeup team work hand in hand with the hair team.



You also pick up a few pointers, like how the Toni&Guy LABELM team (lead by Celia) were using a hair net to set the hair so as to avoid it puffing up.



The hair look mirrored the strong design element in the collection with strong, angular styling. To get the look visit their step-by-step guide.





I also got to speak to the designer about the inspiration behind his collection and he explained how his collection revolves around the good gardener, the gardener who doesn't kill weeds as typical gardeners would do, instead as a soldier in war would help his enemies, this gardner grows weeds. His collection is a symbol and hope for peace . The colours across the collection are earthy, lots of neutrals and khaki shades, and lots of green of course. There are details such as military buttons, large pockets with trimmings. The image is touch, androgynous but with a tough of femininity in some details such as the frills and florals.

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Beauty Post : Cornrows at ToniandGuy(UK) at LFW

 By: Unknown    17:48  No comments

Since Toni&Guy are one of the main LFW sponsors they get to work even harder and at Somerset House they've got an onsite salon where you can get your hair cut and styled for free - super huh ? I made my appointment from Malta for last Sunday afternoon. I wasn't sure what the options were but I knew I wanted something with cornrows seeing as it's one of the major hair trends this season. They also cut my hair and explained to me which LABELM products are best for my hair type...I had the loveliest stylist Sarah who actually has curly hair herself so knows exactly how to handle it. Check out the result and pics below:

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Competition Post : Win Giles Deacon Sunglasses and Hair Products with LABELM

 By: Unknown    03:00  No comments

You may or not be familiar with the wonderful hair care brand LABELM, which is actually the brainchild of the family behind Toni&Guy.They make absolutely brilliant hair products and they're also the official sponsors of London Fashion Week (which this September I'm attending !!!). They work with some of the best and biggest fashion designers and as a result every year they collaborate with different designers who design fashion products specifically for the brand. 

Soooo do you like & want the sunglasses I'm wearing in the picture above ??

Giles Deacon is one such designer and his latest collaboration with the brand is these fantastic sunglasses pictured above which are actually a spin off from his summer collection (a puckered pink lip-print, also inspired by The Rolling Stones’ ‘mouth motif’, and Georgia May Jagger) - great right ? To get your hands on one of these beautiful sunglasses you can either buy two LabelM products orrrr you can simply enter my competition below, 6 people will get a pair and one special person will also receive a LABELM shampoo and conditioner of their choice.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Outfit Post : Gold and Colour Blocks at a Wedding

 By: Unknown    04:07  No comments

A few weeks ago two good friends of mine tied the knot and celebrated with a lovely and original reception at Popeye's Village. I decided to wear a new dress by JOVONNA that I find very original, it's a mixture of pattern overlay and pleats with leather side buckles. Photos by Kurt Paris

Do you recall the ALDO X OSTWALD HELGASON shoes I told you I bought in this post - here they are :D

It was a hot day so I decided my hair should go up - as usual no one beats Svetlana at Toni and Guy Hilton Malta. And a big thanks to my mummy for his beautiful necklace she just gifted me.

Outfit Details Dress : JOVONNA  London / Bag, Shoes : Aldo

P.S. My Collaboration with ALDO Malta is still ongoing - you can get 30% off my top picks

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Simshar : Outfit Post : What the Style Blogger (Yes Me) Wore to the Red Carpet Premiere

 By: Unknown    12:57  No comments

Without further ado here's the lowdown on what I decided to wear to Simshar's Red Carpet Event. A little insight into my planning - first off my role as the style blogger for the evening on the red carpet meant I wanted to somehow look cool, stylish and edgy...I didn't really take comfort into the equation which explains why I froze my ass of in the chilly wind and could no longer walk by the end of the evening after 6 hrs of standing - 10 points Caroline. 

Anyway, after musing this over, I decided I wanted to wear a Maltese designer to an event that was all about celebrating and embracing local talent so I chose to wear a dress that I had fallen in love with at the Charles and Ron Fashion Show last year, at Malta Fashion Week 2013, it's a beautiful dress that is a perfect mixture of prettiness, intricate elaborate craftsmanship and style. 

I then decided to offset the cuteness with a punk hair updo that I must thank Svetlana at Toni and Guy Hilton for, a new pair of Christian Louboutin shoes that although beautiful, reminded me of torture contraptions by midway through the evening, a gold Coccinelle bag to hold my camera and mobile (necessary style scouting tools), lightly patterned gold tights, a pair of padlock Michael Kors earrings and green mascara (yes I did just write green mascara - coloured mascara has become my thing... more about this in future posts).

So here are some more photos by Kurt Paris....let me know what you think of my choice :)

Dress : Charles and Ron

Shoes : Christian Louboutin

Earrings : Michael Kors

Bag : Coccinelle

Tights : Chantelle Thomas

Hair : Toni and Guy Hilton

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Simshar : The Day is Here - Let's have a little PEEK

 By: Unknown    01:52  No comments

The downside to living in Malta is that of course there isn't as much opportunity to get really dressed up as say someone who lives in a metropolitan city...and for people like me, who love experimental fashion that can be a bit of a downer..but then something comes along like the first ever fully fledged red carpet movie premiere and my excitement is set to an all time high, bouncing off the walls kind of thing. 

This event is going to be a mega interesting one...there's going to be more than one host for starters - first off we've got all the girls from Ilsien in-Nisa hosting and filming the red carpet - so make sure you tune in to their program next Thursday to watch it from their perspective and for all red carpet walkers make sure you stop by and speak to them!

Then on the other side of the fence we've got Peter Carbonaro also hosting at the other end of the carpet AND we've got yours truly (yes ME I'm on the red carpet too), asking questions, style blogging and scouting the best looks and just general talking to you all and we've got Kurt Paris photographing you away - so again red carpet walkers come near us too!

Now because let's face it I've already watched the movie, I know it's brilliant and now I care about the clothes most of all, let's see what tidbits of fashion info have reached me through the grapevine:
First off, the fashion-related sponsors of tonight are 123, Sef Farrugia, Charles & Ron, Elixir, Pierre Camille, Gaba, PHSBA Malta - importers of Guinot, Mary Cohr, Guam, Tommy Hilfiger.

Now for some sneak peaks:

Clare Agius, the main actress is wearing Charles&Ron - sneak peek in photo below.

Pauline Agius from ilsien in-nisa is also wearing Charles &Ron - sneak peek in photo below.

Rebecca Cremona the director brainbox behind this movie is wearing Sef Farrugia and Angelique Muller, the associate producer is wearing an outfit from 1..2..3. 

Then we've got the Tommy Boys - Mark and Sander, the main actors are going to be wearing Tommy Hilfiger as is Gianluca Bezzina and Justin Haber and Ryan Gatt (who is handling all press for this event - he is wearing a v cool outfit that I styled myself :))

Left-to-right Ryan and Mark.

And what am I wearing ? I'm not saying but I will leave you a sneak peek of my hair which was done yesterday by the genius Svetlana de Bono at Toni&Guy Hilton.

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Random Post : Toni&Guy Hilton Gets an Upgrade

 By: Unknown    01:38  No comments

My regular readers should by now know that I get my hair done at Toni and Guy, Hilton...recently my heart got a bit of shock because they closed the shop for a couple of weeks for refurbishment...thank god there were no major events/need-for-perfect hair occasions during those weeks and since the keratin treatment is still working its magic ..I didn't really need to visit.

They've reopened now and it was definitely worth the shutdown, the new shop is ultra, ultra glam...we're talking about red leather chairs, zebra patterned chairs, one of my fave colour combos throughout the shop - greys and reds. I love the new look so much I decided it was worth a post and some pics snapped by yours truly.

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Beauty Post : My Keratin (Brazilian Blow Out) Treatment Experience

 By: Unknown    01:53  No comments

You may or may not be aware that at the end of November I randomly decided I wanted to change my hair, I darkened the colour do a dark brown/purple/black /red combination and I had the Keratin treatment applied, all at Toni and Guy Hilton Malta by Sarah Vella who at first raised eyebrows at the colour change. 

I think by now most of us know what the Keratin treatment does but if you don't here's the summary. Basically, keratin is actually a protein that's naturally in your hair, the keratin hair-straightening product fills up  the gaps in each hair shaft, the product is applied to the hair and then a flat iron is used to seal it in. You are told not to allow water to go next to your hair for the next 2/3 days, to avoid sulphates in shampoos and to avoid swimming in water containing salt or chlorine.

For any recent readers this is my natural hair in the pic below...very curly, lots of what you'd call tight curls, don't get me wrong ..  I love my curly hair, this wasn't a protest against my curls decision...I did this for two reasons, my hair stays best when it has been air dried, my curls hate dryers, even when using a diffuser. This is always somewhat hard to achieve in the Winter, but I also happened to have 4 trips booked for this Winter; so it got even more difficult. The second reason is that sometimes change is fun.

In the first few weeks following the treatment I had my hair professionally blow dried so I found it difficult to judge the exact effect the treatment had made...what I did notice immediately though was that my always extremely dry hair was now oilier especially at the roots; I found this to be a good thing. 

The first time I washed my hair myself, was probably about 4 weeks after the treatment, and it was with some trepidation, I washed it using a special shampoo that I bought from the salon called True Keratin and dried it using a hair dryer, not an actual blow dry using a brush ..literally just waving the dryer in front of my hair (I don't really know how to blow dry hair properly). I was AMAZED - it was straight, straight, straight.....pic below.

The next time I washed it, thought maybe it would be curlier, maybe the first was due to the blow dries of the previous weeks but no straight again and the time after and after. It is now mid-February (approx 3 months later) and my hair is still very straight, some waves are starting to make an appearance at the roots at the front but I just use hair straighteners on low heat for a few seconds to smooth this out.

Since, having the treatment, I got curious about it and researched it a bit online and also spoke to the stylists at Toni and Guy. It seems like first of all there's a ton of different products out there that all claim to do the same thing, but of course like with everything some are of inferior quality...even within the same brands there are different strengths and the hair stylist must know how to determine which one is needed. Last but not least, there is an element of kill involved in applying it, and applying it badly can cause some damage to the hair so if you decide to go for this treatment don't choose the salon based on who is the cheapest but on who is the most reliable. 

A good idea is to ask around and try and find someone who's had it done at the salon you are considering and see whether they were happy with the results. Sarah did a great job on my hair and I couldn't be happier.

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