Charles Worthington's Salon at Home range

Hi guys,

Last night I was invited for a sneak peek at Charles Worthington's Salon at Home range. The range is launching with it's "straight and smooth" product: a hair straightening kit you can use at home!

The product works by resetting the bonds in your hair and effectively reprogramming your hairs 'memory' (I know it sounds far fetched but stay with me!) leaving you hair straight rather than frizzy. We were introduced to one of the 400 consumer testers of the product, and I have to say, her hair looked fabulous!

I can't wait to try this product, and if it works, it could revolutionize my mornings! The products keeps hair straight for up to 40 days, meaning no more early morning hair straightening: I can't wait to give it a try this weekend!

The kit comes with everything you need: including the gloves and even the comb to comb it through your hair! Apparently the smell is pretty awful, but I always think if something smells potent it's a good sign it's going to work!

This is just the first product in the Salon at Home range. Coming soon there are also products to add shine, and strengthen and repair the hair. The products can be used in conjunction with each other, so I intend to straighten, strengthen and shine up my hair, all at the same time!

All of the products are priced at £19.99.

The range goes on sale exclusively in Boots stores on 26th September.

Oh, and did you know Charles Worthington has an MBE for services to hairdressing?! I didn't even know you could get an MBE for that!

Love Tor xx

The fabfrocks guide to...doing a top knot

Hey guys,

So it's the "must have" hair 'do of the season, and everywhere I turned during London Fashion Week I saw one: yup, i'm talking about the top knot!

So as you can see, I have been giving it a go myself, although I think it would look better if my hair were slightly longer and I didn't have my fringe. But it does look super-stylish, and is one of the easiest updo's i've ever attempted (bar the simple ponytail, of course!) So here's how I did it in 3 simple steps:

1. So the first step is to get your hair into a really high pony tail. I find the easiest way to do this is to turn your head upside down and comb it through and into a high pony tail whilst your head is still upside down. I also put a salt spray through my hair before I start, as it makes it more textured and even thicker (I use a bumble and bumble one that is really good)

2. I then back-comb the ponytail a bit to make it thick and a bit frizzy (because I like my knot to look quite undone)

3. The final step is to wrap the hair around the bobble to create a bun, securing with pins as I go (I usually use four pins around the bun, and then another to tuck my fringe underneath the bun) I then pull some whips out of the bun and sides to make the 'do look more tussled, and cover it in hairspray for longevity: i'm currently using an Aussie one, because it makes my hair smell like peaches!

It's that easy: I'm loving this style, and it's perfect for those lazy days when you can't be bothered to wash and straighten your hair. What's your go-to lazy day style? And do you have any more tips to add on how to create the perfect topknot?

Love, Tor xx

When two tribes go to war...

Part one of the Aussie Angels experience came to an end last month, and all the angels were asked if they wanted to take part in part two: I love being an Angel, so it was clear to me the answer was yes! For part two we have been asked to divide ourselves into tribes depending on our hair type: obviously it was the colour mate tribe for me: i've been colouring my hair all the colours under the sun since I was a teenager!! My first adventure with my tribe happens at the beginning of August but yesterday a lovely goody bag arrived containing everything I need to keep my hair in tip top condition: coloured shampoo, conditioner, and three minute miracle especially for coloured hair (I didn't even know they made this!) There was also a comb (for detangling) mirror, tribe badges and a yummy square of chocolate (immediately eaten)

Of course I couldn't wait to try my goodies out so I jumped straight in the shower. The arrival of the pack couldn't have come at a better time, as I recoloured my hair last week! My hair now smells amazing; I know this is an integral part of the Aussie experience but it smells especially good! The coloured products come with peach extract (apparently the oils are good for dry hair) so I smell like a yummy cocktail: peach schnapps is my favourite drink!! My sister noticed my new shampoo immediately and said I smelt "really sweet" which I like, but if you don't like sweet fruity smells it might not be for you. My hair also feels incredibly soft: because of all the bleach I put on it my hair generally feels really porous but today it feels soft and sleek. I was really impressed! Also, aren't the new bottle designs nice? They were inspired by Australian designers and are much prettier than the usual, fairly functional, packaging.

Speaking of tribes, we went to the Belmont animal farm yesterday to play with the animals (we couldn't find any children to take, so we went by ourselves!) It was a very fun hour out, and they have more animals than your average farm: as well as the aminals you would expect there are also llamas, kangaroos, ostriches, and birds of prey. My favourites will always be the humble goats though, who have such lovely little faces and are so comical when they're fighting for the food! Our trip was followed by some pub grub and an afternoon in the beer garden enjoying the sunshine: heavenly!!

I hope you guys have had good weekends too!

Love, Tor xx

I'm an Angel once more!

Hi guys,

Saturday was the second in a trilogy of Aussie Angel events (I wrote about the first one last month) and it was a really good one! Myself and two guests (I took my two younger sisters Amie and Lucy) were invited, along with a group of other Angels and their guests to have our hair washed and blowdried at Adee Phelan's very fancy salon in Covent Garden, all with yummy sugar-smelling Aussie hair products, of course! Adee was the best hairdresser from The Salon; did anyone else love watching that show (it was on channel 4!)? Anyway, back to the event. We truly were pampered, and had our hair washed and massaged (that was the best bit) then blow styled however we wanted it to. I looked bloated and rather pasty (the result of not being able to exercise or leave the house) but my sisters looked gorgeous:


Lucy had a high volume Rachel-from-friends 'do and Amie looked sleek and glam with her rock-chick headband.

Sneaking a glass of champagne on top of my tablets wasn't smart or clever. I just couldn't say no.
After the blowdrys and champagne and nibbles, the rest of the angels went on for cocktails and gossip and fun. But I had exhausted myself so much with getting to the salon, avoiding being bumped into on route and generally leaving the house that my sisters took me straight home. Still, definitely not a bad way to spend my first afternoon out of the house since my operation. And its always nice to meet the other Angels and their guests; Kristabel brought her lovely mum; don't they look alike?!


Everyone's hair looked great, and more importantly (for me at least!) smelled truly fantastic and it was a great evening - thanks Aussie!

Love, Tor xx



PS -Here is a gratuitous pic of the hairdresser that did Amie's hair. He certainly wasn't hard on the eye, and I believe my sister was seriously contemplating asking him to marry her! An added bonus of the evening!

Follow me....i know the way to a great competition!!

I love running competitions on the blog; not only is it fun, it's also great to share some of the lovely samples and freebies i'm sometimes given with you guys. After all, I wouldn't be given them at all if you didn't keep reading!

Sooo...this giveaway is for a bumper pack of little freebies trinkets: mostly make up and jewellery and suprises! Which I will happily ship anywhere, so you can all get involved!

I'm not going to show you what's in the pack because it is going to be a massive super-cool suprise, but it will be wrapped with love and will also include a personalised poem about why I like your hair in it; i'm sure you have great hair!

All you have to do to win these great prizes is be a fabfrocks follower (if you aren't you can sign up using that little box to your right!) and leave me a little comment. Say absolutely anything you like (it can just be hi!!) but I am a big fan of jokes (innapropriate or otherwise!) and being told how lovely my hair is. I jest!

So get involved. The winner will be selected randomly from a comedy hat on the 4th October. You have until then....

Good luck!

Tor xx

PS - I'm hoping this has that 12 year old excitement of receiving a package from a penpal; I might even sprinkle glitter and sequins into the envelope!

I'm an Aussie Angel....

...we're like Charlies angels, but much more obsessed with our hair!

It started with an email; an intriguing email from a lady called Lauren asking if I wanted to take part in a secret project. As the email was filtered to my junk mail I thought it was spam, but my curiosity got the better of me and I replied; i'm glad I did. Although the next email from Lauren left me as confused as before, I was officially an Aussie Angel and looking forward to a wonderful girly adventure!
. My first mission was to go on a treasue hunt for an amazing Aussie gift pack. On Friday I was sent a key and a clue (see above!) and worked out that on Saturday morning I would have to go to the Kensington Farmers market on Sydney street; once there all I had to do was unlock the stilo and claim my reward!
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A stilo by the way, is a big box full of goodies (see below!)

Aussie were more than generous with their goodie box; it contained a topshop gift card, a voucher for spa treatments and lots of yummy smelling aussie hair products for me to share with my family and friends. And because I was the first to uncover the treasure (the other angels must've all been at home washing their hair!) I was also given a pair of Wella Professional straight shine hair straighteners! How lucky was I?

You can find out more about Project Angel at the Uncover Aussie microsite; create especially for the project! And obviously a huge thank you (thank you thank you thank you!!) to Aussie for asking me to get involved.

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Glossy hair but no face - it's too early for make up!

I've heard great things about Aussie products, and they smell good enough to eat, but because of my bleach blonde hairs desire for colouring enchancing product, i've never tried them: this is the perfect opportunity to give it a go, and I will report back letting you know how I get on!
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Keep checking back for the next installment of my Aussie adventure!!

Love, Tor x

FabFrocks reviews: Mark Hill refresh your blonde!

There's vanity, there's uber vanity, and then there's the way I feel about my hair! No matter how fat or thin i'm feeling, or how awful my skin is, I can always manipulate my hair into looking perfect!

It's not easy having bleach treated locks; they dry out quickly, break easily, and turn to looking brassy almost within the blink of an eye. It's a constant battle, but I fight it because although my hair has been every colour under the sun, I just love the way I look when i'm blonde!

I have been using the Tony and Guy lightening shampoo and conditioner, which contains colourant to keep hair constantly lightened. It makes my colour look great but it's so harsh that even when conditioned twice my hair still feels brittle and is a nightmare to comb through. So when I was asked to try the new Mark Hill refresh your blonde anti yellow shampoo and conditioner, I thought what have I got to lose!!

The first thing I noticed was how great they smell; normal blonde shampoos have a subtle chemical smell but this one smelt yummy! It formed a really thick creamy lather even without using a full handful (my usual shampoo amount!) Initially the conditoner was a minor shock; it was a lot thinner than the conditioners i'm used to using, which I thought would be a bad thing. But actually it meant that a small amount went further and evenly covered my whole hair. And once I had rinsed, it was lovely to still be able to smell the products I had used (as i've mentioned it twice you can see that the scent was a major selling point!)

The biggest suprise though was that I could pull a brush through my hair without crying; and given that usually I have to have my boyfriend help my comb the back because it is too rough and knotted to do myself, this is a major discovery! And once blow dried my hair feels like silk; and looks the colour of milk, even without the harsh lightening power i'm used to!

I'm sold, and relieved from his daily battle with the frizz ball that is my mane, I suspect the boyfriend will be running to the shop to stock up on enough of this stuff that he never has to approach me with a brush and a steely look in his eyes ever again!

Love Tor xx