Jack & Hill: A Beauty Blog - make-up, cosmetics, perfume, and the substance of style

Bumble and Bumble Hair Powder

While I'm giving love to Bumble and Bumble...

I'd been hearing about Bumble and Bumble's Hair Powder for years. I believe they recently re-formulated the product, and gave it new packaging to boot. I finally decided to try it after my friend (and Jack & Hill tester) Kelly told me about her experience with it. She actually ended up taking hers back to the salon for a refund, because the product was just way too messy for her, as she runs her fingers through her hair all day. Because this powder will turn your fingers and hands brown with the merest touch, that is for sure. "HI, here's $37. Please muck me up." (No, it's not cheap.)

For me, the mess is not such a big deal - I only spray the product on my roots (and shake off any excess after it has dried), and if I touch my hair, it's usually to brush it out of my face. Rest assured, though: You will need to wash your hair before you go to bed, or you'll end up with brown stains on your pillowcases. (Or just use old pillowcases.)

So it's expensive and potentially very messy. That said, I love it. I usually need to wash my hair every day if I don't want to look like a big greaseball, but this stuff lets me go one more day without assaulting my hair with shampoo and heat styling. (I find this particularly worthwhile after I've paid to have my hair professionally blow-dried and styled.) It just absorbs every jot of oil and infuses hair with amazing volume. The important things to remember are not to use too much, unless you want people to notice the powder, and to let the product dry before you try styling your hair. Oh, and put your makeup on after you've used the hair powder - that way, you can brush away any brown 'dust' or smudges before your makeup goes on.

Bumble and Bumble Extra Strength Holding Spray

Nadine has an intriguing post about a test of firm hold hairsprays that she and the This Morning crew did yesterday on ITV, which involved a speedboat on the Thames. Yep, that's a pretty rigorous test. What's more, the cheapest product tested - Silvikrin Maximum Hold Hairspray - came out on top.

My favourite hairspray at the moment is Bumble and Bumble Extra Strength Holding Spray. Like Nadine, I like a spray that combs out very easily and which is not visible to the naked, un-examining eye. As she notes, this means compromising a bit on hold, but I find the Bumble and Bumble to do just fine. Then again, I sadly do not find myself on many speedboats these days.

Surf Spray redux

I'm on the road with my new job this week, living out of a suitcase and careening from hotel room to hotel room. To avoid dragging all my smooth hair implements with me (big round brush, sack full of big rollers, large barrel curling iron), I decided to have a curly hair week.

But due to my love of sleep and very early morning starts, letting my hair dry naturally after a spritz of Surf Spray was not an option. And - who knew? - Surf Spray gives an incredible amount of volume when used in combination with a hair drier. Some products give volume for the first five minutes after blow-drying, but Surf Spray gave me big hair all day and brought out all the spring in my wavy-but-not-quite-curly hair.

For this, I hereby elevate Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray to the Products We Love category - and only three months behind every other media entity. Such is the price of being a cynical beauty reader and customer...

Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray

When I needed change from a £50 note to buy a bus ticket after my ChocoTherapy facial at Re-aqua in Kensington yesterday, I took it as a sign from God that there's an outlet of Space NK Apothecary (WARNING: Horribly user unfriendly Flash site) a few feet from the bus stop. (Actually, I took it as a sign from my very wide selfish streak.) So in I popped, looking for something inexpensive to buy.

I've been reading in all the magazines this spring that Bumble & Bumble's Surf Spray (£12, or $25.99 in the US) was the hottest hair product going. A favourite of Sienna Miller and other boho types, Surf Spray is a salt-based, summery-smelling spritz that gives hair that day-at-the-beach look and feel.

I was skeptical about whether it would work, but it totally did. (Rad! Awesome! Etc, etc.) I just sprayed it on damp, freshly washed hair and combed it through, then scrunched the hair a bit to encourage body and let it air dry. (You can also use a diffuser-equipped blowdrier if you're in a hurry, or spray it on dry hair.) Unlike spray gels and mousses which can give hair a hard, very '80s texture, Surf Spray just leaves it looking piece-y and pretty, yet still touchable. And at £12 a go, I don't think I'd classify it as overpriced. After all, it works.

(Note: That is my hair at right, all Surf Sprayed, but my hair is not actually red. Trick of the light, I guess.)

Recommended look: Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray + Haphazard Heidi braids = The ultimate in I-don't-give-a-scheisse-and-I-still-look-great beauty

UPDATE: Okay, this is definitely a keeper. I had dinner with my boyfriend and his parents last night, and didn't say anything to anyone about my Surf Spray experiment. "Your hair looks very good," my boyfriend's mother said to me. Boyfriend agreed. I was all, "I know, it does, doesn't it?" but did reveal the secret behind it. Yay for Surf Spray.