Aqua Light

I'm a huge fan of great hair care that doesn't cost the earth and I'm probably not alone, right? The problem is that there is so much choice - do you go silicone free, sulfate free - do you have dry, oily or normal hair. There in lies my continuous problem which usually leads to countless Google searches of reviews and ingredients lists - sometimes coming away triumphantly, other times not so much.

I found my perfect routine, with the L'Oreal Ever Pure range - it seriously is a great combination - especially for my coloured hair but I also found that the Dove Colour Radiance range is also brilliant (and even cheaper than L'Oreal,) for my hair - but on a recent trip to Tesco (these things always start out with 'and on a pop in Tesco/Morrisons...) I picked up some Pantene Aqua Light products - just because my hair had become so heavy and blargh. I needed some lightness to switch it up every now and again...

Enter this Aqua Light range; and I have noticed how light my hair feels once dry - it also passes the test of not making my hair uber greasy after the first wash (so frustrating) and it just feels great that my hair falls back into it's natural waves because it's not weighed down with various products. 

These aren't sulfate free - which is a shame for my coloured hair, but the shampoo is silicone free (which can dry out the hair,) and also free from parabens and dyes. Oddly enough, the conditioner does have silicones in, but it doesn't advertise as being silicone free - I kind of suspect it might have slightly less silicones though, to be part of the lightweight range although that is just my speculation.

My hair is odd, it is fine but there is lots of it, the roots tend to get greasy whilst the ends can get dry and of course it's also coloured. I find that whilst my hair loves moisture, sometimes it can be weighed down by ultra-rich products (Tresemme - it makes me look like I've dumped oil over myself, nice.) 

It's a really great all-rounder range I think, for an excellent price point and although I'm currently on a strict budget (the woes of being off work,) I am of the firm belief if you want nice hair and skin - it has to start from the inside and then the best products you can afford. 

Have you tried this range before?

Peace!

Google Nexus 7 | The Tablet

Something a little different for you all today, instead of the standard beauty review I thought I'd share with you my tablet, and no - it's not an iPad/iPad Mini. 

So grab a cup of coffee, a notebook and a pen; it's going to be a lengthy one!

The Google Nexus 7 (Asus) came to UK shores at the end of October 2012 and I got mine (a Christmas present, thank you Josh!) obviously, in December. Joshua had his upon it's release though and I thought it was about high time I'd share my thoughts.

If you want tech specs - I suggest this for reading as it compares the iPad Mini/Nexus 7/Samsung Galaxy Note thoroughly - but I will say the Nexus 7 comes in slightly weightier and a tad smaller than the iPad (easier for me to hold,) but the Nexus does have a larger RAM and better screen resolution - pretty perfect for watching your favourite YouTube bloggers on the go, right?

I find the navigation through the Nexus is a lot simpler to learn than my sisters iPad - but I am of course always late to bandwagons so I have never owned an iPhone/pad - although I rely strictly on my iPod for music - so navigating the iOS tablet was daunting and confusing for my mostly techno-phobic ways. I'm not slating the iPad - it's all a case of personal preference and it was just handy that my sister does have an iPad so I could thoroughly test it before I made my decision. 

Josh also had a lot to play in this because he is the ultimate researcher when it comes to his tech purchases (his GH1,his iMac and of course, his Nexus 7) - so I trust his opinion completely in terms of what's best for me.

 

Screenshots from my Nexus...

The pros then; 

• It has plenty of battery life (eight hours worth of HD playback, 10 hours of web browsing/reading and 300 hours of standby time.) Watching YouTube in HD is so much easier on my tablet than on my laptop - which has always had WiFi issues. Perfect for when you're waiting for your nails to dry from a fresh manicure!
• The fact I can never lose anything, ever. With Google Cloud all of our devices are synced - and backed up. Perfect. Those pictures? Safe. 
• Easy to navigate - the menu is easy-peasy to navigate, you can create folders (let's say a social folder - so twitter, facebook, etc,) for your main home screen to keep it all neatly together. 
• 700,000+ apps readily available. My favourite is the Bloglovin' (Beta) App and the new Blogger App too. Not to mention Angry Birds...
• Google Hangouts - if Josh and I are trying to get hold of each other, we just use this. It saves money on using up texts and picture messaging. It saves your conversation too so you can scroll back and chuckle at something you completely forgot about - that's always nice. 
• Google Now - constantly being updated, it's far superior than Siri. Don't believe me, then check out this hilarious video.
• Customization is easy as pie on the Nexus. I like to be jazz up my make up from time to time, so why shouldn't I be able to customize my tablet? Best app? Pattrn. Thousands of free backgrounds to choose from and the Minimalistic Text app is sweet too (notice on the screenshot that my time is actually words...)

The Cons;

• It only has a camera on the front - but that is only a slight niggle for me, I'll be getting a new phone soon (a Nexus 4, haha!) and I'd rather use that or the GH1 for taking photos anyway. 
• A Beautiful Mess App - It isn't on Android yet! Gah! - So in other words? It can be sometimes be frustrating waiting for apps to come to Android - because it is expensive to make apps - but maybe that's my own impatience?

You can buy a Nexus 7 16GB+WiFi for £159 - 32GB+WiFi (I have this one) for £199 - and a 32GB+Wifi+3G for £239 ... However there probably will be a new Nexus 7 out after summer, there's nothing official yet, but keep your eyes peeled... 

Still cheaper than an iPad and a lot more bang for your buck anyway and if you're like Josh and have a iMac/Macbook - they work perfectly fine together so there isn't even the issue of 'Oh but it won't work with my...' 

The main thing to remember is that Google is forever innovating their tech - so there will constantly be cool updates (like recently, Hangouts, it was previously just Messenger which was good, but Hangouts is amazing,) and it's not hard to get to grips with at all. Even my mum can navigate this tablet, and she can't even turn on a computer. I'm not even exaggerating that part either...

Do you have a tablet? Or are you not fussed by the whole tech?

Peace!

Disclaimer; This is not a sponsored post, this is a review that I've wanted to do for a long time - and although the Nexus 7 was free, it was from my boyfriend for a Christmas present, but I was going to be buying it anyway.