marta izabella

How to grow your hair quickly & effectively

I have always had fine hair. And with that comes a multitude of products I tried over the years. from supplements, diets to various shampoos and conditioners. Nothing ever really worked well. So lately I have come up with a conclusion that its got be an all incompassing change, to really change the name of the game here. So here is what I have done:

Diet. I started eating healthy again. A well-balanced diet can absolutely change not only your body weight but your skin, hair and even your mood! The diet I follow, which is not really a diet, its a food programme – a lifestyle its called Metabolic Balance. There will be a separate post on that. Back to the topic, I started again being healthy and nourishing my body from within.
Hair supplements. Believe me, I tried so many over the years. The one I have taken lately is Viviscal, both the usual version that you can find at boots as well as the professional one I took there for about 6 months. click here

3. Hair serum. This I believe has done miracles to my scalp, but you have to us use it consistently. I have been very regimented with it. Every day before going to bed I would put a couple of drops onto my scalp and massage it in and leave it overnight. Some reviews said it’s making the hair greasy but for me, it has been the opposite, and I haven’t noticed any oiliness!

4. Hair shampoo & condition (and the hair mask!). I decided to give up products that contain parabens and SLS’s. And used these Italian shampoos and conditioner

5. Hair oil. Every week after my usual workout I created this routine where I would just put a couple of pumps of hair oil onto my hair and go to the sauna. It is my little aromatherapy session each Saturday as this oil smells divine! The hair feels amazing afterwards, very sleek and so nourished!

6. Microfibre hair towel. This has been absolute game-changer. It’s on the pricey side, however, it really does make your hair dry quicker, therefore reducing the amount of drying needed. I could never go back to the standard hair towel! I bought the following one from Aquis They offer many different types of hair towels & turbans, however, I opted in for the one for fine hair in standard dimensions and it serves me perfectly.

7. Bonus! And my latest investment 🙂 Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer. I am sure most f you would have heard about this dryer due to its extremely high price point, but probably also because of all the things that it promises to do. And let me tell you, it does! It’s a fantastic piece of equipment that allows you to dry your hair quickly and with less potential damage. Apparently, it also alters the drying temperature 20 times a second, how is that even possible?! 🙂 Mr Dyson has done an amazing job here! I didn’t even think that this dryer will make so much difference to the condition of my hair.

These 7 items will conclude my list, and please note it’s hard to pinpoint which one of these steps had the biggest impact, I do believe its the all-encompassing approach and changes that I made that has truly worked. My hairdresser noticed the difference lately asking me what have done, and now that many of friends asked me I hope this will be helpful to some.

November beauty and the best

I cannot believe that Christmas is only couple of days away, where does the time go?

With a bit of delay here are my top products from past month.

Kiehl’s Powerful–Strength Line Reducing Eye–Brightening Concentrate

The name is a bit of a mouthful, I agree 🙂 Anyway, this is the best eye cream that I have ever used. It has a light, a little jelly texture which totally absorbs into the eye area in few seconds leaving the skin moist and fresh looking within a blink of an eye. I actually noticed that my dark circles got a little bit brighter too (come on do not expect a miracle from an eye cream, you need to sleep too!) but it does work. It is a bit pricey but definitely worth it.

2. Chanel Mat Lumiere Luminous Matte Powder Makeup

This is my winter discovery. Not to mention that I do admire Chanel packaging, for its simplicity and elegance. The powder comes in a pretty velvety pouch which helps if you don’t always carry a make up bag with you. It is quite large in comparison to other pressed powders but I am sure every women would appreciate a large mirror, which comes really handy sometimes! Ok, now how it works? It is beautifully mattifying leaving the skin evenly toned and fresh looking. I got in in shade 40 Sable, which would be suitable for olive and yellow skin tones. Try it you will not regret buying this Chanel pressed powder. £40 is quite a lot, but this should last me good couple of months.

3. Tropical Wholefoods Sun Dried Banana Chewy Chips

My this month’s favourite snack (suitable for vegans and vegetarians). Be careful, once opened it is hard to control yourself from eating them all. This is such a sweet, chewy and heathy snack. I found it in Holland & Barrett the other day and since then I do buy a pack a week and have it usually after the meal as a dessert. Tropical Wholefoods is a company started by a couple in Uganda which truly believes in fair-trading. These chips are made from the small sweet bananas; the types of Ndizi or Ladies Fingers bananas. Unlike most dried bananas they contain no added sugars and are 100% sulphur free and you would be surprised by their texture which is nothing like other bananas that you ever tried, I promise!

4. Pukka Three Ginger & Cleanse teas

With the long, dark and gloomy winter weather I really enjoy a good cup of tea in the evenings. The above are my two recent favourites. Pukka Three ginger is such a warming and refreshing tea with an amazing gingerly taste, which isn’t too overwhelming but surprisingly subtle and delicate. The Pukka Cleanse tea has a slightly sweet taste I find, but I do like that. It contains some nettle, fennel and peppermint which are really friendly to the stomach. Another thing is that I adore their vibrant packaging and all tea bags are individually packed so I sometimes take them with me when travelling. Well done marketing team at Pukka teas. I haven’t yet tried other Pukka food products which are featured on their website, they do look tempting indeed. Pukka tea is my lifetime favourite, and I bet once you try and find the one that you like it will be your too 🙂 (they do produce so many different flavours!). Although quite expensive (usually around £2) they worth paying the price. Note, Holland & Barrett has ‘buy one get one half price’ offer at the moment 🙂

Coconut beetroot soup

This has been my recent favourite supper! It is perfect for the long and cold autumn evenings. The combination of beetroot and coconut would give you an explosion of flavours, and the colour… just look at it!

Ingredients

Bunch of fresh beetroots
Can of coconut milk
400ml of water
Small piece of ginger, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
Small piece of chilli pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons of lime juice
3 tablespoons of coconut oil (I use the desiccated version for cooking)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
Bunch of parsley for serving

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC Fan/400ºF/Gas Mark 6. Wash the beetroots (do not peel them) wrap them in aluminium foil and bake for 50 minutes or until the beetroots are soft.
When ready remove from the oven and leave to cool. Cut the ends, half and slice.
Heat the coconut oil in a heavy-based saucepan. Add the garlic, chilli pepper and ginger and fry for about a minute. Add the beetroots and mix well. Pour in the water and the coconut water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.
When cooled down, add the lime juice and blend in the blender (I use the Sage by Heston Blumenthal the Kinetix Control Blender for my soups – it is absolutely fantastic – I will make a separate review on it). Add salt and pepper if needed. Serve with fresh parsley leaves.

I discovered this recipe on one of the best Polish food blogs Continue reading “Coconut beetroot soup”

Lancôme La Vie Est Belle, yes life is beautiful with this scent!

I received a free sample of this perfume whilst buying another Lancôme product. A little 2ml sample lasted me a week maybe, the fragrance seemed really long lasting. Each time I used it I got a complement from someone about how nice it smells. Once, a stranger in Waitrose sniffed into me and said: “sorry, I couldn’t resist’. Gosh! I though, this fragrance must be really strong! My little sample has run out a week later but by then I knew that I will purchase the 100 ml bottle.

I was quite lucky as not long from then I was travelling to Budapest from Heathrow and I planned to purchase it at duty free. At that time the fragrance was on promotion and in the end I paid around £66 (RRP £82 for 100ml). I had a quick chat with the lady and she said that this scent in no 1 fragrance in France and no 4 best selling perfume at Heathrow (Chanel no 5 is the no 1 best seller but bear in mind that Lancôme La Vie Est Belle has been launched only in 2012!).

So what it is like on my skin? To me it is a luxurious, super feminine, every day fragrance, perfect for work wear. I tend to like sweet and woody smells, but this one isn’t sweet and woody it is just so elegant.

Top notes: Pear, black currant

Heart notes: Orange blossom, jasmine, iris

Base notes: Praline, vanilla, tonka bean, patchouli

I never had so many compliments about the fragrance I am wearing (except Versace Crystal Noir but that’s for many more of an evening fragrance).

Try it and see how it boosts your confidence!

September beauty and the best

Smythson Panama notebook – Inspirations and ideas

I received this cute notebook for my birthday this year. It is so pretty and looks super sophisticated! The leather fuchsia cover and gilt-edged pale blue paper makes it such a statement piece. And as a name suggests ‘’Inspirations and ideas’’ it is brilliant for transferring the thoughts and ‘ideas on the go’ on paper. I carry it in my handbag each day and note down all the things that inspire me. My advise on this is: Whenever you have an idea pencil it down otherwise you will forget!

Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation

I used these two foundations for the past couple of years and I still love them. The Double Wear foundation is reliable and so durable. It really lasts on your face. I have it in two shades: 2W1 Dawn for summer and 1W2 Sand for winter, in autumn and spring I mixed the two to get an ideal shade. My skin tone is yellow more olive colour actually, so these two suit me perfectly. They also have an SPF 10 which is a good benefit. If you want to purchase these I would recommend getting them directly from Estee Lauder’s website as they give free samples with each order and very often have special promotions with some great gifts.

St. Tropez gradual tan in shower lotion

This product has been recommended to me by a friend and I absolutely adore it. It is so super easy to use, the tan has a nice light fragrance (which in my opinion is very pleasant) and most importantly it gives a very natural tan. All you need to do is keep it on for 3 minutes whilst you are in the shower and then rinse it off, couldn’t have been easier… 🙂

Coconut yoghurt

My ideal breakfast recently. This diary-free yoghurt is so silky and smooth almost like an ice cream. It is also packed with antioxidants, vitamins and contains no added sugar. I recommend having it with a bit of coconut flakes and a fruit. Yummy!

Bloom Supercharge Match tea

Although quite expensive (£16.99 at Holland & Barrett) this tea is amazing. Makes you feel healthy as you drink it 🙂 It is made of 3 different ingredients which are; organic Japanese matcha, maca root and guarana and it is meant to give you an all-natural energy boost. The tea is naturally high in fibre and protein, and contains only 3 kcal. I have been drinking it each day since I bought it, and I feel amazing. It is a really good substitute for my morning coffee.

Here it is – my list for September, let me know what your favourites are!

Hello, hi and czesc!

Hi,

Welcome to my blog. I thought a while whether to make and introduction or not, but in the end I thought I will. So here I am fulfilling my dream of having a blog. What you will find here is lots of tips, fashion advices, healthy recipes, and recommendations but hopefully plenty of inspirations.

This year I celebrated my 25th birthday and I could honestly say: ‘I am happy’ so I hope I can share my recipe with you on how to be happy and how to feel fulfilled by feeling good, looking good and eating good.

Also I would like to specify that I am Polish and therefore I was wondering for a while should I write on Polish or should I stick to English? England is where I currently live. I love English and this is the language that I use on a daily basis I thought I best stick to it!

Happy reading x