Crafty Creatives Box 11 - Spoilers #CCBox11

It's my husbands birthday so I'm off today and he kindly opened the door to mr postie at 8.30 to get my box and his cards.

The themes this month is Glamour and the artcard is very Angelina Jolie!

Before I go any further, if you get this box and haven't opened it yet DO NOT open the tissue in the velvety pouch on your bed, near pets or where things can roll....I now have half the contents in and under my bed! 

The box contains:

CCkit hair clip - not sure about this yet but may give it a go (I still haven't done the steampunk kit so it will go in my drawer of bits to do if I look creativity)

Beaded fluffy trim - I'm thinking of cushion trim with a black velvet cushion make from the fabric in this kit.

10 Swarovski crystals beads (I have 6 pink left...rest under bed)

Photo glue from stix2 - I have loads of stix2 adhesive now (I usually use silicone glue, tape pens and collall) I found photo glue was quite good on felt as it didn't harden it like pva does

8 stardust beads - very pretty, just wish I had more to so a whole bracelet of these (simple stretch elastic type) but think I'll either do a knotted bracelet or get some black beads and mix them in.

Lace stamp - nice for the inside of cards and on envelopes - I have some flock so may try flocking the stamped image

Ink pad - I don't get on with dovecraft ink pads unfortunately and sold all mine in place of memento ink pads as these are too wet for me and my stamps weren't crisp enough.

Bag of metallic star dust - very handy, I have some which I use a lot and like to die cut stix2 double sided adhesive sheets and attach the little balls on that way.

Fat quarter of black velvet - think as I said I'll use this as a cushion cover

Red rose pendent - may use with my remaining ring blank from the gothic box

Silver plated rhinestone faceted teardrops (first think I saw in the box and I love them!)

Findings - will use these with the teardrops for some nice earrings.

Overall it's a nice box but I am beginning to get too much stix2 in my stash and starting to get duplicates of things I own most of which I've sold when I've cleared out my craft room.

I think I'll see what the next box has in store and may re-evaluate as I want to do more stamping and colouring and also with all the projects I have to sew from the Great British Sewing Bee book! 

Update on Percy & Reed Products

Two weeks ago I got the Percy & Reed products to review for Glamour Magazine and I've been using this for the last two weeks (I put my L'Oreal Shampoo and Conditioner away for a few weeks)

I do like the products but the last few applications I've been left with areas where my hair still feels soapy or gets greasy very easily. I try to wash the shampoo and conditioner out fully and even when I have, after drying my hair I still find areas of my hair feel like they have a residue on them or strands of my hair separate as if it's greasy. I think I will carry on using the Percy & Reed products but use them in conjunction with my L'Oreal Shampoo & Conditioner, swapping them every few washes as if not the Percy & Reed products seem to build up.

I think the reason for the build up is that the shampoo is so thick so it's hard to distribute and you really have to wash hard to get it out of thick hair or it won't budge.

I'm not overly impressed with the dry shampoo & conditioner either. I tried it on Wednesday morning when I needed to wash my hair but was going to do it later in the day as had a few things to do in the morning, but it didn't really do anything. I followed the instructions of spraying it onto a brush for best results but that just gave me a white hairbrush that I then had to wash as the powder wouldn't go. I then had to spray it onto my hair and rub to get the white marks away.

I like the no oil hair oil which is basically just really a serum but does help tame my hair. I tried the texturising spray but that didn't seem to do much at all but may be because my hair is so thick.

I saw that Percy & Reed were on QVC on Monday (just gone) but I forgot about it and only remembered at 6pm and it had already been on. I was hoping to watch to see how they used the products. I'll carry on using them and hopefully get better results over time.

Percy & Reed London Hair Products

Just got home to find £100's worth of Percy & Reed products by my front door for me to review for Glamour magazine!

It does make me a bit worried though...has someone been spying on me as I have really had hair today and a random bit of fringe just hanging down.

In the box I received:

• Percy & Reed Splendidly Silky Moisturising Shampoo 250ml

• Percy & Reed Splendidly Silky Moisturising Conditioner 250ml

• Percy & Reed No Fuss Fabulousness Dry Shampoo 150ml

• Percy & Reed No Fuss Flawlessness Dry Conditioner 150ml 

• Percy & Reed Frightfully Firm Session Hold Hairspray 250ml

• Percy & Reed Wonderfully Wavy Texturising Spray 150ml

• Percy & Reed Quite Frankly Flawless Finishing Polish 

• Percy & Reed Smoothed Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil Thick 60ml

 

The average retail rice of each item is around £14 which isn't bad. The packaging is really simple and classy with pictures that look similar to the images on Dainty Doll the Nicola Roberts make up range.

The smell isn't overpowering so you can still wear your favourite perfume without them clashing. 

I tried the shampoo, conditioner, oil and finishing polish (it was a toss up between sleek silky hair and texturising spray... but I'll try that out on Sunday).

I found the shampoo quite thick and needed a lot for my thick long hair (I went back for another handful) which was a bit disappointing as this pack was for thick hair and means ha I would get through this really quickly. 

The conditioner was thick but silky and spread easily through my hair. I left this on for 2 minutes as directed and my hair felt silky smooth after.

The oil feels like Frizz Ease and I had to use more than the 2 pumps suggested, but again this is due to my hair length. It didn't feel oily or sticky which was nice. My hair was silky soft once dried and had a healthy shine to it. 

My hair is very thick and after drying, if I don't straighten it, it goes a bit flyaway and a bit Kristal Tipps.

I would have straightened my hair but to be honest... I was too tired and I'll be going to sleep soon (been a long week). I did use the finishing polish however which did help the puffiness of my hair.

So far I am liking this brand and it's products, the only thing that I'm not to keep on is the amount of shampoo I need for my hair, although I may try and mix it up with a bit of water in my palms before I put it on my scalp. Another thing would be the stockists of these products as I usually buy my shampoo and conditioner from Boots or with my weekly food shopping but I do buy my styling products online as you don't need to buy them as often so I'll see how I get on with continual use and how the other products.

I do definitly like the idea of a dry conditioner to go with the shampoo. I don't use dry shampoo a lot but it is a life saver especially if I've come home from work with a migraine and gone straight to bed and really should have washed my hair, the next day I can give it a quick spray and not feel like a chip pan!