Structure Transform Spray Clay

I have something of a soft spot for hair products from the Structure range, in fact, one of the first I reviewed here on the blog was a sample of Structure Paste Flexible Adhesive which, to be blunt was the bomb so when I was asked if I wanted to try Structure Transform Spray Clay I jumped at the chance.

This is what the company say about themselves here:

'Structure is a salon professional hair care brand, featuring a range of styling products for men and women alike. With edgy packaging, high performance formulas and a full product range, Structure is a must-have for anyone who's passionate about their hair and style! If you want style, you want edge and you want your dreams to be realised; you need Structure.'

With a hold level of three out of five I wasn't expecting a solid and crispy hold, and on further investigation this is recommended for short styles. I have to say, at £9.50 for a 150 ml tube it actually is quite cheap in the great scheme of things when you consider that only a few squirts will have your hair rock solid for hour after hour.

Seriously, three sprays onto slightly damp short hair, a quick run through with the palm of your hand and whack, the spikes are there - and it dries stupidly quickly which means no messing in the mirror holding them in place for ages until you have to leave the house (which is good in my case as I'm always running late).

Even with as I let my hair grow longer about a month ago this was a godsend and after styling into a cross between curtains and a quiff it kept my hair in place, even after a bit of rain and some pretty strong wind (the weather kind, not the type after a night on the curry). 

For me hold is important, how long it lasts and whether it leaves any residue as it starts to wear off. With spray clay it has a vice like hold (despite only being mid-range in their hold ratings), lasts for a good eight hours (even if I run my hands through - which I do a lot) and there are no hints of the dreaded white flakes. In the words of Alan Partridge - "back of the net".

This came as a PR sample some three months ago (they probably think I forgot about them) and I admit, I use it probably three times a week and still now I have over half of the bottle left. I had considered attempting to do a written Peter Kay impression (Clay.......in a spray? It'll never catch on) but hey, this stuff is the bees knees and if you are looking for an easy to apply hair styling product them this is for you. Affordable, great hold and no flakes. Get some, you won't be disappointed! 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Six of my top hairstyling picks for 2014

As I mentioned in my last post about hair products (Osmo Grooming Gift Set 2014), in my first year of blogging my hair has taken a pounding with new products as I search out the best fit for my hair and my limited styling abilities.

Today I will be counting down my five favourites from 2014 based upon the five criteria below:

• HOLD
• EASE OF APPLICATION
• STYLING 
• FRAGRANCE
• LACK OF RESIDUE

Over the months I’ve posted about fifteen different hair styling products, the first being one of my first ever posts - Fishshape Hair but alas this beauty doesn’t manage to hit the top six and the competition if you’ll pardon the pun has been stiff, in fact it’s been tricky to select my favourites from the year so ranking them was impossible. 

While Fish Soho have become a massive favourite of mine, over the last month or so I have tested and fallen for a few newbies to my collection.

SuperFish Fishpaste Hardcore Hold Matte Effect Putty

How could I leave out the first product that I took with me as part of my #hairontour trip to Amsterdam? I was drowned by torrential rain, blown about like a rag doll in the wind and still it kept my long (much longer than usual) spikes up. In addition, once wet it didn’t run off down my face, which was a massive bonus at the time as I styled the drowned rat look.

Easy to style with, no residue at all and cracking hold. You can do a lot worse than this.

Structure Paste Flexible Adhesive

Now this has the hold, look and texture of cement. I’ve never used a product that could, if left, probably hold a style for well over five days! It is tremendous in terms of hold but it was like applying a thick clay to my hair.

Styling took longer but boy, it did the business for me. The only flaw was actually washing it out - it is that strong it clings to the hair shaft. 

SuperFish Stiffish Cream

I didn’t write about this one until recently, and I don’t know why. Why the hold isn’t solid the cream is so pliable it makes styling of short to medium lengths so easy it literally takes me two minutes in the morning. The cream isn’t that thick meaning that fingertips can be used to style rather than palms.

While it isn’t a solid hold this works wonders for holding my spikes in place for hour after hour.

Closed on Monday  Deluxe Pomade

 

The first pomade I have ever tried. I had low expectations and was blown away by the level of hold, how little was needed to spike my hair and the lack of residue. The hold was so strong it lasted for well over a day in the end. Top notch stuff

Osmo Matte Clay Extreme

If you had said to me three months ago that I would be including any clay into a top five list I would have called for the men in white coats. It has always been a natural enemy of my hair and I have always found styling with it a nightmare. With excellent hold, a beautiful fragrance and styling ability that is a breeze this is now a firm favourite. 

The Legends London Maximum Hold Hair Gel

Last but not least we have this offering from The Legends London and wow, it is quite possibly the best gel ever to grace my hair. Both unique in the fact that you can apply to wet and dry hair for different finishes, if the style droops in any way a dab of water and its ready to style again. Get in!

The luminous pink gel is really strong, and sticky. Styling is easy to damp hair and it is perfect for medium to longer lengths as once set this holds hair brilliantly although hair becomes concrete like in texture.

With an amazing hold, really affordable price and the fact that you can just wet and go in the morning means this finishes off my list for 2014.

All of the above get my seal of approval. 

Have you made any hair styling discoveries in 2014?

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Osmo Grooming Gift Pack 2014

Like Structure Paste Flexible Adhesive I have no recollection where the Osmo Grooming Gift Pack 2014 came from (until I was reminded it was posted to me months ago - sorry @lauzzenger), it seemed to just appear one day, was placed into the bathroom where it sat until I couldn’t find my usual hair styling product as I rushed out of the door (probably late for something or another).

Having spent my 20s using solely Wella products the last year has been a bit of a rollercoaster for my hair, and it has been spoilt (look out for my 2014 top five hair styling products coming soon) in the most part with some excellent gels, pastes, creams but it has also been battered by some dross. 

Bearing the above in mind and having never, ever heard of Osmo I expected the latter, dross, especially as the gift set included a large tube of clay, my hairs natural enemy.

So what do you get in the grooming gift set? Well, for £14.95 (available from the Feel Unique website here) you get:

- Osmo Matte Clay Extreme 100ml

A clay that claims to provide extreme hold using a texture wax for natural expression. With a matte finish it should take only a small amount to style and shape styles.

- Osmo Shaper Maker 100ml

A versatile cream shaper, for moulding, styling, texturising whilst adding shine and control.

- Osmo Effects Detoxify 250ml

A deep clarifying cleanser designed to effectively strip away the build up of other products on your hair removing impurities whilst retaining the hair's natural moisture which should in theory mean heavy and shiny finish.

On the Osmo website here they talk the gift set us as:

‘One For The Boys!

‘A slick, stylish and seriously cool range designed to deliver the ultimate in originality, texture and look definition.

SUITABLE FOR:

All you smooth, slick operators who crave staying power!’

Well, all of the products smell amazing - the clay and cream give off a very fragrant fresh fruity aroma - a blend of watermelon and apple while the shampoo has a blend of eucalyptus and tea tree which is really refreshing and cleansing.

The shampoo, while lathering up well, this comes from chemical agents that have been added.

As I said earlier, I first used the Osmo Shaper Maker in a rush, but the cream was really easy to scoop out, spread through my hair and style my usual spiky look. Boom, done, but the residue on my hands was sticky and needed me to abort quick exit to wash my hands properly. The hold was magnificent - it kept my spikes up for well over ten hours before it started to lag a bit. Bearing in mind that this has an Osmo Hold Factor that is mid range. 

There were no flakes on my clothes and the residue in the morning was minimal. In terms of finish to my hair it did look shiny, like I had applied a gel in fact. Top marks for me on this one.

Finally, with a bit of time to test and style my hair using the clay. I’m not a fan of clay, I actively hate it. I’ve never found one that is easy to apply and style with. I have now. The clay becomes really pliable really quickly when rubbed between the palms. Only a tiny amount the size of a fingertip is needed and applying to hair is simple.

With such a tiny amount I expected little hold but it styled into a fantastic matte look that held again for in excess of sixteen hours. My style actual held as I slept and was ready to go again in the morning. It has the top Osmo Hold Factor and boy, it holds.

Each product has the potential to last for ages as very little is needed to wash or style with which means this isn’t a set that will be in with the empties within a month. I would expect the hair products to last for months on end, even if used on a daily basis.

Taking the £14.95 price tag into consideration this gift set represents excellent value for money and would make a great gift. I’m not a fan of the shampoo, but for the hairstyling products alone and the hold they achieve I would recommend this either as a gift or for someone looking to try a different solution to their hair styling issues.

RECOMMENDED

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StoneFish Medium Hold Matt Texturising Clay

This is one of those blog posts I really hate doing - the slating review. 

In this case it is even harder as I’m a huge fan of Fish Soho hair products having taken #hairontour with SuperFish putty and Fishshape cream. 

Using the putty and cream firmly converted me but my faith was tested more than Abraham in Genesis* (sorry for an obscure Bible reference).

The product claims: 

‘Fish StoneFish Medium hold Styling Clay is great for short and choppy styles, Stonefish gives the ultimate textured look with a cool matt finish.’

When I first started trying this my hair was about an inch in length and I consider this to be short - correct me if I’m wrong, but my experiences are based on trying it while my hair grew from one to two inches. 

The clay is beige in colour, but looks off white due to the blue plastic packaging. It has a very subtle fruity whiff to it but nothing that could ever be considered to be over the top or likely to overshadow any other grooming products you might choose to add.

While writing this and considering the fragrance I had one of those childhood flashbacks that come on when my brain starts to access memories attached to smells. In this flashback it reminded me of the smell of groundbait - the bread based stuff we would use when fishing as kids. Weird! 

Anyhow, I digress as usual and will come back on topic!

Trying to extract the clay is a nightmare - I scraped and scraped away at it and it took five minutes to remove enough to spread across my fingertips and start to apply.

The clay does soak into the fingertips as they warm really quickly so no hanging around with styling.

At an inch in length I found that I had to massage the clay into the strands of hair and then re-apply more - it does have a fantastic matt effect but the hold wasn’t up to much for me. While taking into consideration that I have quite heavy hair, there are other products in the Fish Soho range that offer more substantial hold.

After about 3 hours the clay had come out as I touched my hair throughout the morning (this usually comprises of me with both hands on top of my head shouting obscenities at work over a minor matter). My hair started to feel fluffy and the style came out completely leaving me feeling quite self-conscious. That’s not a feeling I like at all.

Sorry Fish Soho but StoneFish just doesn’t offer the hold and at £5.99 for 70 ml pot this isn’t something I can recommend. I did try with it - I used it for weeks but it continually let me down and when I don‘t feel comfortable the poor souls who have to spend time with me feel the brunt.

In the interests of harmony at home and work I just won’t be using this again.

NOT RECOMMENDED

As I’ve mentioned above, if you are looking for seriously good hold you can do a lot worse than SuperFish Fishpaste Hardcore Hold Matt Effect Putty or if you have a longer style, you are better off looking at Structure Paste Flexible Adhesive.

Obscure Bible reference:

*In Genesis Abraham was tested by God 12 times. Known as the 12 tests of Abraham, the last of which was to offer his son up as a sacrifice.  

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The Monday Montage

The last seven days have seen weird things happening with my blog - not only have I had the urge to write lots more but the traffic coming to my little corner of the Internet has gone wild.

My review of Dirty Burger from earlier in the month received over 1,500 page views in a day, Lush I Should Coco from March over 300 and my tattoo article over 200.  

So what has BKUK offered to people stumbling across my pages over the last week?

Tigi Bedhead Supercharge Duo Giveaway

After being open for a month on Saturday I drew the winner of the gift set. 

Congratulations again to John Wharff, owner of one of the coolest male beauty blogs around ‘Mr Wharff’.

Dirty Works Coconut Caress Body Scrub

Arty outside photographs were the order of the day again on Saturday when I likened Dirty Works Coconut Caress Body Scrub to sandpaper - it is a cheap and cheerful product that won’t break the bank but will strip away layers of dead or dying skin.

Structure Paste Flexible Adhesive

The surge in traffic aside, on Thursday I wrote up my thoughts on Structure Paste Flexible Adhesive. Personally I think this is one of the most bizarre posts I’ve ever done as I managed to fuse The Happy Mondays, glue sniffing and references to colleagues at work into what was originally an attempt at a serious review of a product I really was shocked by - for all the right reasons. 

Erasmic Lather Shave Cream and Brush

'Erasmic is orgasmic' was the punt I took when thinking of something funny to say but after my first experience of using a shaving brush instead of being lazy and using gel or foam resulted in some surprising results.

Coming up....

So what does the coming week hold? Well, I attended my first ever blogger event a few weeks ago with the lovely people from Ilumi to sample their new Chinese and Modern Asian range of gluten free meals. 

The night had so much to write about it has actually taken me days to write it up where I'm happy that I haven't missed too much out and where I think I do the products and evening justice.

In addition to this I’ve been trying StoneFish Clay by Fish Soho and trying to resist the temptation to eat Soap and Glory Sugar Crush.

I hope you have enjoyed one or two of my posts over the last week and feel the urge to return to check out my musings over the next seven days.

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Structure Paste Flexible Adhesive

First of all, if you think this is going to be about some form of glue, glue sniffing or tips on what adhesive will get you tripping the light fantastic I will ‘fess up - this is actually about hair paste, for styling your hair.

*Whoosh* and everyone moves their cursor to the back button on their browser!

For those still reading (and without a nasty red rash and spots around their mouths) I’ll continue.

I’m not sure how the two samples of Structure Paste Flexible Adhesive came into my possession. One day it was another of those brands I’d never heard of, the next, there were two 15 ml sample sachets sat by the basin in the bathroom.

Paste was a product I hadn’t thought of using before - I’ve been through mousse (no thanks Nicky Clarke), wax (a deffo no-no Mr Wella), gel, cream and clay. Hell, at one stage in my youth I used hair spray - readers, picture a better looking Shaun Ryder* with his curtain hairstyle and that was me.

Paste had passed me by - to my shame.

After losing the Madchester compulsory cut of the 1990‘s I went to short spikes and that is how it has remained for years, and years and god knows, years.….

I’m trying to grow my hair out to sample a new style but with that comes the comments such as “your mullet is out of control - (JB**, 24 April 2014)”, which means that styling is a must. Gel has been tried and failed - the hold fades after a few hours and it doesn’t hold the style, wax is pointless in hair over 4 inches in length and clay would require a team of navvies to apply.

I wanted a sort of Beckham look with my hair swept back and staying back.

Structure claim that their Paste Flexible Adhesive defines and creates texture with a firm but flexible hold and a completely matte finish. Their strap-line to this is ‘Style is about instinct, creativity, passion. We’ll provide the tools. You build the structure.’

This is the first time I’ve read that and it has brightened my mood - someone somewhere thought that sounded cool or mysterious, and they probably were sniffing glue at the time!

On opening, the paste was stuck to the side of the packet - it’s like Polyfilla (that’s for filling cracks for those not familiar) it’s so thick and gooey. Fingers were dabbed in and it was like iron to a magnet. My fingers were covered and I had to wipe some off. It all wanted out!

It doesn’t really have a smell, or so I thought. My other half suggested it had a smell like Fructis hair products, which tended to have hints of apple. Personally I couldn’t tell.

My hair had just been washed and was damp when I extracted enough to rub between my palms - it spreads really easily and as you apply it onto the hair it soaks in quickly and almost immediately makes the hair pliable. It’s awesome for styling people.

After rubbing it into the strands of hair and down the sides I brushed in the swept back style. It was instant - where the brush had been the hair stayed and it was solid. Jumping up and down didn’t move the style.

My hair however wasn’t rock hard to the touch and wasn’t shining off the lights - it does have a great matte finish and how it feels is well….weird city.

I touch my hair throughout the day, and when I touch my hair with this in it feels a bit greasy - it doesn’t look it but one brush through with the hand and you are off to the bathrooms to wash your hands. It comes off to the touch.

That aside, after 15 hours the holding power is still there and you can’t grumble with that. If you are looking for bonus points for this, well there aren’t the slightest hints of white flakes, even in the morning. So no white flakes in your hair making you look like you haven’t heard of Head & Shoulders and no embarrassing flakes on your clothes while at work or out on the town. Result!

A 75 ml tune of this can be bought for around £9. Personally I’ve never, and I mean NEVER found a product that holds like this and is so easy to wash out. The only problem I find is that first thing in the morning I wake up looking like this….

Source

Forget the morning look, Structure has a styling product here that is simply fantastic for use on longer hair. A 15 ml sachet has lasted me a week up to now and I expect about another 3/4 uses out of what is left so this actually goes a long way for the price.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

*An image of Shaun Ryder is below - he was the lead singer of popular Manchester band Happy Mondays during the 1990’s at the start the mental music scene in my beautiful home town.

Source

**Names have not been changed to protect the guilty.

Thank you for reading, before you go I would love it if you could answer the two easy questions below. Please leave your thoughts in the comments:

1 - Should I continue to grow my hair out or go back to spikes like in the picture on my homepage?

2 - Should I dye my hair again? I've been going grey for 20 years, but haven't dyed my hair since I was 28 (7 years). 

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