Tigi’s Mini Bed Head Manipulator

A funky gunk that rocks! - that is what Tigi’s Bed Head Manipulator cries out as soon as you remove the lid, but is it funky, is it gunky and will it actually manage to keep my hair in place in the face of gale force winds on a trip to the South Bank in the name of cultural enlightenment.

At £3.74 for a 30g tub it looks tiny, but hey, good things come in small packages (sometimes). This does seem incredibly cheap for a hair styling product that claims to do all sorts of things! This came in a beauty box some months ago and the missus ignored it like an elderly relative in a care home so I stole it and gave it a try. 

This is what they say about it over at the Tigi website here:

‘Be a Master Manipulator. Get whacked-out hair – spike, twist dreads or go punky. More mainstream? Get body and texture.

Support factor: 3
Texture factor: 5
Separated & textured with a matte finish
Pliable, supportive & long-lasting
Good for any hair length or texture
Separates & smoothes fly-aways.’

First of all, being whacked out means something completely different to me! It usually involves heavy nights out and waking up under a trampoline, falling down stairs or just simply forgetting which city I’m in (I kid you not). As for being a master manipulator, well, I don’t need any help with that thanks Tigi. Anyhow, once again I digress! 

This has a lovely aroma to it, I say it has the smell of fresh apples, whereas my other half suggested it had a tropical hint to the notes. Either way, I think it smells delightful and doesn’t have any hint of chemical undertones to it, so no chance of being accused of smelling plastic. 

Once you’ve stuck your fingers in you get that gunky feeling (just take a look at the picture below), it’s like a thick pliable goo on your fingertips, but actually, once spread across the palms and applied to hair it soaks in really well, absorbed into each and every strand it comes close to. Great stuff.

Now, the big thing - can you style with something that it so gooey and gunky? Well yes, actually I think it’s a breeze. On short styles it is fantastic and makes hair so pliable you can style anything, and I mean anything. At Halloween I styles a pair of devil horns (which I thought looked great) but as I was going out for a serious dinner with colleagues from work had to take out (booooo). On longer styles it doesn’t lose any of its appeal at all, and I like this when going for my ‘cable thief’ style (it looks like I’ve been electrocuted when trying to steal some copper cable). 

I’ve added in a photograph of my hair styled using this to help you get an idea of what it is capable of - and to save me having to describe it to the Nth degree (lazy, yes I know). 

Me, being a bit of a tool in Perth on Halloween.....

It dries quickly, sets firm, but hair retains the ability to be restyled. As I’ve said, I styled horns but didn’t have to go and wash it out and start again. I simply used my palm to flatten my hair and then whoosh, with a flick across the top the spikes were back. Brilliant. 

Fiddly as f*** to apply, but the results are simply too good to cast this aside and say “sod it”. I like the fragrance, it’s so refreshing first thing in the morning. It also appeals to the inner (many would say outer) child in me as it is gunky but by far and away the best thing, thankfully (otherwise it would be getting panned) is the hold. It isn’t going to hold massive spikes in place but on shorter styles it looks as though it has a wet finish for a few hours and then actually develops a matte look finish and for me, that makes it look as though my hair is staying in place naturally - excellent (said in a Mr Burns voice). 

Yes, yes it is a funky gunk that rocks - and a product I will be keeping for when I need to style some extreme spikes.

RECOMMENDED

If you want to pick this up cheap, I would suggest you head over to ASOS here where it is currently available for the price above. 

Like what you see? You can keep up to date and follow Beautykinguk.co.uk using the various social media below:

Instagram

Pinterest

Google+

Bloglovin

Facebook

View Post

Perfect Pumpkin Carving Tutorial

I'm a simple man who finds the simple things in life the most fun and over the last three years I have been attempting to perfect the ultimate pumpkin carving. As Halloween approaches I thought I'd give you my easy ten step cheaters guide to carving pumpkins that will leave people dazzled, amazed and basically accusing you of cheating.

If you are particularly artistic you can substitute the drawings below with your own. Personally the best two that I have carved have come from my own drawings copied from books with my own unique twist on them - the two below took over three hours each to carve so before you start think how much time you have spare.

Step One - Pick your pumpkin

Think this through before you pick up the largest on the shelf - how big is your picture? Choose a pumpkin that is too big and the carving will get lost, but pick one that is too small and you'll be making that long slog back to the supermarket.

Personally I look for one that has about 10cm either side of the image - so if the image is 30cm across then you need a pumpkin that is at least 50cm across. I also look for one that has one large flat side where it has rested on the ground - trust me, it makes carving easier.

Step Two - Clean your tools

It is essential that you have the right tools for the job. It is best to invest in a cheap set from the supermarket but you can make do. I've put what I would use as a substitute in brackets. 

You'll need a fairly long and sharp knife to cut through the top, a scoop (tablespoon) that has a sharp edge, a prodder to mark the outline (a sharp pencil or thin knitting needle) and finally a small saw (a saw from a pen knife).

Step Three - Try not to cut your fingers off

First of all you have to get into the pumpkin. For me this is by far the worst bit as I invariably nearly cut my fingers, hand and sometimes leg off while trying to cut out a lid. BE CAREFUL...

Mark out with the prodder where you want the lid to be and then push the knife directly down into the pumpkin. Repeat all the way around the outline and then push. The top should break away and then you can get some purchase under the lid to flick it out.







Step Four - Hollow out the pumpkin

Once you can get your hand inside take the scooper and erm......scoop. You'll need a big bag with no holes in (a mistake I made the first year) and away you go. 



Now you can either save the flesh to use in a recipe - if that's what you are expecting here - jog on lol.

How much the pumpkin will glow depends on how much of the interior you remove. Personally I remove as much as possible so that not only do you get the stunning image lit up but you also have a pumpkin that gives off a weird ghostly glow.

Step Five - Choose your design

As the title says, choose your design. Cut out as much as possible and move onto the next step.

Step Six - Attach image

Get some pretty strong tape and tape your image into position. You won't be able to get it completely flat but close.



Step Seven - Stab, stab, stab away

Take your prodder and simply press down onto the outline of the image at spaces of about 1 cm. Once you have done this on every edge in the image remove the paper and wait for ten minutes.

What you'll find is that where the exterior flesh has been punctured it becomes darker. 

You should at this point be able to see the outline of your image.


Step Eight - Saw like there is no tomorrow

Take the saw and push it into the outline of the image and as the title says, saw like there is no tomorrow.

Personally I saw away small sections at a time. It is far more manageable and you can keep track on steady progress.

Continue to do this until all of the sections that need to be cut away have been done so.

As a final once over I insert the prodder into smaller sections to make sure that the holes are big enough and that light can shine outwards. If there is a blockage it will look rubbish.

Step Nine - Insert candles

Light and drop some candles into your bad boy and pop the lid on.

Step Ten - Gloat

Stand back, take some photos, share on social media and gloat. Text friends and point out that "I knocked this out in half an hour" while secretly wishing you hadn't developed carpal tunnel syndrome it has taken so long.

Now I know you are dying to see the final product - well here it is.....Total time taken to carve = 1.5 hours.

Do you like the cheaters guide to carving pumpkins? What are you doing this Halloween?

View Post