Category Archives: Hair

Sampling Sundays: L’occitane Shampoo for Sensitive or Irritated Scalp

Howdy folks! Ever used samples of a product that prompted you to purchase the full-sized item? This is something I have done and I thought I’d compile these mini-reviews and create a little column for them! =D I do not think this is column is going to be a weekly feature on the blog but I love samples and would love to share them with you.

In order for samples to make their way into this column, I must get at least 5 uses out of them (my blog, my rules. Hehe) as to get a proper feel of the product I’m using. 5 uses is more than enough for my sensitive skin to reveal its angry side so I hope everyone finds this helpful. =)

Kicking off this column with some shampoo – L’occitane’s Shampoo for Sensitive or Irritated Scalp to be exact:

I love L’occitane. Love their packaging, love their scents and above all, love their hair conditioners. I swear by them and have been using their hair conditioners for over 10 years now. Sometimes I stray due to the price but I always come back to them as soon as some other hair conditioner turns my hair into straw.

On the other hand, I haven’t had much luck with L’occitane’s shampoos as they seem to weigh my hair down and create a lot of product build up (read: dandruff)! I even got head pimples when using one of their shampoos (I think it was the dry/damaged hair version) so I naturally stay clear of them.

Recently, I was at one of their stores where the SA tried to coax me into purchasing their shampoos. I informed her of my predicament and she whipped out sachets of this for me to try. Each sachet houses 8ml of product which gives me about one and a half uses and I received 4 sachets of this.

Let me tell you a little more about my hair routine. A daily wash is a must. Should I be deprived of a squeaky clean scalp? Greasy, flat hair and an awful temper will greet you. So I shampoo and condition my hair everyday and hair masks / treatments are done at home on a weekly basis.

This product is clear and has a slight lavender scent which I love and lathers up gently. I describe the lather as gentle because it’s not the kind of SLS-infused lather you get with drugstore shampoos eg. Herbal Essences and the like. Instead of looking like a bubble-head, you look just like yourself with a bit of froth on your head.

Now that I re-read the previous sentence I do not know what’s worse: looking like a bubble-head or froth-head.

Anyhoo, my scalp feels so comfortable after using this shampoo. It feels clean but not stripped and I did not get any product build up when using this for over a week!

In this case, trying this out made me want to run to my nearest L’occitane outlet to purchase a full-sized bottle but I am holding back for now as I am waiting for their Christmas gift sets to land on our shores. =D

I promised I’d keep this short so here you go, a quick (yet long-winded) review! Did you enjoy it? What are the most recent samples you got your hands on?

Kerastase Elixir Ultime saved my hair from turning into straw!

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Yep, that’s right! An unfortunate encounter with a conditioner that didn’t quite agree with my hair left me with a head of straw. Out of desperation, I purchased L’oreal’s Mythic Milk mist by accident (was going to purchase Mythic Oil) but that’s a story for another day!

As the Mythic Milk mist did not work for me it was between the famed Moroccan Oil or this. I chose this as I read many a review where Moroccan Oil proved to be a little too heavy for fine hair lasses (or lads) like yours truly. =)

Priced at around £34 for 125ml of product, this isn’t cheap but it is worth every single penny and I’ll tell you why in a bit!

Yes, like most hair serums or should I say, hair care products in the market this contains silicone. However, the Elixir Ultime also contains the Oleo-Complexe Technology whereby a combination of four oils: Pracaxi, Argan, Maize and Cameillia beautify one’s hair.

This can be used as a pre-shampoo or pre-blowdry treatment to nourish the hair, or even used as a post-blowdry treatment to voluminise the hair. For me, I incorporate this into my daily routine by applying a pump to damp hair. I have over shoulder-length hair and I find using one pump of this elixir does more than wonders for me. Within 3 days my hair returned to its normal state!

Scent-wise, this smells of coconuts. Granted, I’m not a fan but it dissipates quickly enough when applied to damp hair. The texture of this product is light and doesn’t weigh my fine hair down which is an added plus. I already suffer from limp, straight hair and this just makes my hair glossy and easy to manage!

I’ll keep this short and sweet and just say that this works for me and I have been using this for nearly two months now, which is saying a lot as I never used a hair serum for longer than a week and stuck with it so it’s definitely a keeper! =D

Here’s the ingredient list:

Have you tried this? Or do you have a favourite hair oil / serum? Do share!

Review: Phyto Phytocitrus Restructuring Hair Mask for Colour-Treated Hair

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Who doesn’t suffer from the occasional bad hair day? Recently, my hair was in a tangly, frizzy mess as I decided to abandon my favourite L’occitane conditioner in favour of Kiehl’s Amino Acid Conditioner. Funnily enough, my hair adores Kiehl’s Amino Acid shampoo (really breaks down all the grease on your scalp and leaves it comfortably soft and nourished!) but it just decided to go all frizzy when I started using their conditioner!

As the saying ‘mothers know best’ goes, Mum magically dropped this product on the table when I bemoaned the condition of my hair and said ‘yeah I was about to say your hair looks really dry.’

+____+

#telepathy at work?

Here’s a quick description on what the product does for you:

Phytocitrus provides the energy and radiance necessary to restore the beauty of hair weakened by colouring or bleaching products.

This rich and creamy mask is enriched with plant butters of illipe and shea, to deeply nourish and regenerate hair. Naturally acidic, grapefruit extract smoothes the hair scales in order to set the colour, while castor plant oil imparts ultimate shine.

The restructuring properties of sweet almond protein leaves hair silky soft and incomparably supple, even after one application.

I have heard of Phyto while in the UK as a housemate of mine uses their hair thinning treatment which she swears by! Her hair started falling / thinning after a homemade bleaching session went terribly wrong so she’s tried so many treatments out there but only this one seemed to work for her!

By the way, I am pleasantly surprised that this brand is available in Malaysia as Phyto hair products are quite difficult to come by in Kent and I have no idea on where to get them in London! My housemate normally purchases them online so I never thought of giving their products a go. (of course, the slightly steep price tag doesn’t help.

Before I get on with the review, I thought I’d share how I use hair masks / treatments at home. =)

1. Shampoo and rinse hair. (no conditioning)

2. Apply half a palmful of product to the ends and lengths of towel-dried hair.

3. Gently rub and comb (with hands) product through hair.

4. Tie hair into a loose bun and wear a shower cap over hair.

5. Leave for 30 minutes before rinsing out.

I do this with all hair masks, regardless of the instructions on the box!

I expected the Phytocitrus Restructuring Hair Mask to smell citrusy due to the term ‘Phytocitrus’ but the product took on quite a strong shea butter scent (think L’occitane shea butter hand cream scent) with a certain almond-y sweetness to it. All very pleasant and not overly cloying, I promise!

Texture’s thick – something I appreciate when it comes to hair masks as the last thing you want is having excess hair mask dripping down your neck while you’ve got it on your hair!

Thankfully, my tangled hair did not put up a vicious fight with the Restructuring Hair Mask as I managed to conquer the tanglies (a made up word, no need to look it up)!

Not many products live up to their much-exaggerated claims…. But this one does! Rinsing the product out of my hair was a breeze and I did not suffer from having the leftover-treatment-in-hair symptom which is fab!

Shiny hair? check.

Silky soft and incomparably supple hair? *looks at the boyfriend’s dry, scratchy hair* CHECK.

I have highlights in my hair but I cannot vouch that this product has helped me preserve my hair colour but if soft, shiny, manageable hair is what you’re after, this hair treatment works. Beautifully.

Having used this over a month, paired with my favourite L’occitane conditioner - Stephanie has reviewed it here my hair’s condition has improved drastically!

Am extremely thankful and happy this came into my life… Thanks Mum!

Here’s the ingredient list:

Bottoms Up! Mostly hair care and some body products!

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I haven’t posted a post like this in quite a while as I’ve been throwing out the empties one by one as they finish as they do take up quite a bit of space in the bathroom and I didn’t want the housemates to think I’m a hoarder of some sort >.<

Anyway here’s what I managed to use up within the last 2 months!

1. The Body Shop’s Passion Fruit Body Butter

I bought this during the Spring Sale where it cost £18 for 4 tubs of Body Butters, bringing them to only £4.50 each! I’ve given one to a friend as a birthday present (shh, she doesn’t need to know I bought it on sale) and another to the bf’s brother who has dry skin. The fragrance can be a bit overwhelming but otherwise an okay body butter. Doesn’t do anything for my KP though. The woes of having KP.

2. Garnier Cocoa Butter Intensive Body Lotion

Nice, reasonably priced body lotion that works surprisingly well and does help with the KP. Funny how sometimes drugstore brands work better than the more expensive brands!

3. Naked Detox Balancing Shampoo

I’ve been on a roll with Naked’s products as I adore their Hydrating Conditioner (far right). I don’t use this everyday as it can be overly drying for my scalp so I alternate between this and their Naked Hydrating Shampoo and an Aveda shampoo. My scalp’s extremely temperamental so I can’t stick to using the same shampoo all the time or you will see ‘snowflakes’ in my hair. =D

Now, for the Conditioners I’ve used up in the last 2 months or so. I did mention I drink my conditioners in the shower, didn’t I? =p

4. Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special Conditioner

I love this conditioner. But I don’t love the price. I bought this with the Tea Tree Shampoo (which my scalp cannot tolerate at all… Has since been ‘gifted’ or in my words ‘NICKED’ by the boyfriend) for £19.95. I’m not sure how much this conditioner costs by itself. I do not have very difficult hair to begin with but this does such an amazing job at conditioning my hair and leaving it soft and shiny! I will repurchase… Only after I’ve finished my very last bottle of my favourite L’occitane conditioner (which I have been saving up since I don’t go to Bicester Village anymore) =(

5. Charles Worthington Full Volume Conditioner

My hair’s lifeless and limp. This conditioner didn’t give the full volume it promised. Enough said.

6. Naked Shine Hydrating Conditioner

Since my last post regarding this conditioner, I have finished another 2 of them (one in London, one in Canterbury). I love this because it’s relatively cheap as opposed to my high-end conditioners (£4.99 but you can always, always get them at 3for2 OR buy one get one free at Boots) and it works well for my hair!

Bottoms Up and Mini Reviews! May 2011

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It’s that time of the month again where I will gather the stuff that I’ve used up and provide you, my lovely readers with a little review of the products!

Hair care wise, I’ve used up a bottle of Shampoo and a tube of conditioner:

Charles Worthington Brilliant Shine Shampoo:

I bought this when Boots was doing a 3 for £10 offer (got the Brilliant shine conditioner and the Full Volume conditioner as well as this one) on a whim as I ran out of my now discontinued The Body Shop’s Nettle shampoo and had to get a replacement! How did I make my choice? This bottle was the last one on the shelves so I assumed it must be popular with the masses lol!

So did I like it? YES! Some shampoos hate me. In fact, most drugstore brands e.g. Pantene gives me dandruff and gives me head pimples (you know those bumps you get on your head?) which really annoys me as it does hurt! I was pleasantly surprised with this shampoo as it did not leave me with a greasy scalp but it does a great job detangling my hair which is incredibly rare for a shampoo!

Shine wise, I do not think it made my hair any shinier but my hair feels so much softer and more manageable since I started using this! The area I live in has really hard water and it does mess with my hair but this has been great for me *touches wood*!

I have since gotten myself a second bottle where it currently resides at the boyfriend’s crib in Camden hehe!

Rating: 4/5

Naked Shine Hydrating Conditioner

This conditioner has been the best surprise (hair wise) I’ve had for over 5 years!!! This tube costs £4.07 on the high street and Boots constantly does the BOGOF offer on Naked products and I got this on their BOGOF offer together with their Balancing Shampoo (which I will review later) Bargain!! I only paid £2 for this conditioner!

I tried this as soon as my Wellazid conditioner ran out as I had only one bottle of L’occitane conditioner left and I didn’t want to use it all up =( I was more than surprised as I did not expect my hair to love this product so much!

This product is as good as both the Wellazid AND my conditioner where the latter costs like £12.50 for a 250ml bottle! This works out to be so much cheaper and works just as well, if not better! The boyfriend stocked this up for me during one of the Groupon offers where you pay £8 for a £20 Naked voucher so yay for that too! =) =) L’occitane Do give this a go if you have Naked in your country as I have to say this product is so very good and it does not weigh your hair down at all!

Psst, Boots is currently doing a 3 for 2 offer on hair care

Rating: 5/5 (love, love love!!!)

Moving on to skin care:

Juju Aquamoist Foam Cleanser:

As you all know, I have to get up at the most unearthly hours (5am Monday-Wednesday for the uninitiated) and the bleary-eyed me just cannot be bothered to work my facial cleaner up into a ‘rich lather’ before applying it over my face. Thank goodness for Foaming cleansers like this one!! It’s lasted me a surprisingly long time – I used this once a day for about 6 months before I used every single drop up, which is fabulous! I haven’t used many foam cleansers but I was really surprise at how the pump managed to get every single drop out of the bottle!

I bought this from Adam Beauty somewhere in November as I thought I’d give foam cleansers a go and I am so glad I did because this is a very nice product which does not dry my skin but makes it soft and comfortable! It’s fragrance-free too which is an added plus!

Rating: 5/5

SK-II Facial Treatment Clear Lotion:

I’ve finally used this up after over 8 months (yes it does go a very, very, very long way)! I have been using SK-II products for about 2 years before a friend’s mother indicated it isn’t very suitable for teenagers as it strips your skin’s layers, thus making your skin thin! I suppose their products act as a chemical peel? I am not sure how far this is true but I’ve heard from people who have used SK-II’s products and stopped using them only to realise their skin’s gotten addicted to it! I have to say this is somewhat true as my skin started breaking out the moment I stopped using the full SK-II range.

Anyway, I personally feel Clinique’s Clarifying Lotions work as well as this clear lotion as the SK-II clear lotion acts as an exfoliator of some sort where it removes dead skin cells from the surface of the skin. Clinique’s Clarifying Lotions act as exfoliators as well! Just some food for thought.

Rating: 3/5

SK-II Facial Treatment Essence:

If you look closely enough, you will notice I have not used this product up yet =p I just thought it would be nice to review both the lotion and the essence together so here it is!

SK-II’s essence is the most popular product in the SK-II range as it claims to have the miraculous Pitera in it which regenerates skin cells and makes you glow from within. Hmmm…. I have to admit this is a rather good product… For shrinking pimples! I usually pour 3-4 drops of essence onto a HALVED cotton pad (because I’m cheap) and once I’ve patted the essence all over my face, I will always place the cotton pad onto any blemishes and you definitely notice a difference the next day! I quite like this product but I will be taking my friend’s mum’s advice seriously (as she is a doctor) and I feel I am too young for chemical peels, even though it’s not very abrasive… or is it?

Mum’s been using SK-II for quite some time now and I’ve noticed her skin IS a lot brighter and she does look younger (love you Mum!) but she herself isn’t sure if it’s due to all the facials she’s been doing or it merely is SK-II doing its job.

Rating: 4/5 (I really like it but am worried about the ‘peeling’ effect)

Finally, body lotions / creams! I’ve used up quite a few bottles / tubes of lotions/creams this month as my skin hasn’t been behaving itself =( My skin’s been really dry and scaly so I’ve been taking extra care by slapping on moisturizers every day! I sometimes skip this step as I am quite lazy and I do not really like the aftermath of applying creams – THE STICKINESS.

Garnier Body Intensive 7 Days Replenishing Lotion with Nutritive Mango Oil (Dry Skin):

This normally retails at £2.99 for a 250ml bottle but I got this on offer (3 for 2) at Boots (I told you it’s my favourite place in the world… almost) when Garnier first launched their Intensive 7 days range.

The scent is delicious. I am totally addicted to this scent and it does linger for quite a while, which makes me happy! This lotion does not leave that dreaded STICKY effect on my skin and the boyfriend and I think this has actually cured my KP, which is a miracle as I usually need Cetaphil’s (also photographed above) to get rid of them.

Rating: 4.5/5

Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream:

I’ve used this product for years! I first got my hands on the from my dermatologist back in SJMC (I think it’s now called Sime Darby Health Care or something?) and it is perfect for rough patches on my skin / KP / even as a body cream! As I think it’s quite expensive, I try not to use too much of this and will only use it on the affected areas on my body =)

It’s a really, really good product if you have extremely sensitive skin! Again, this does not leave a sticky feeling after application!

Rating: 5/5

Clinique Deep Comfort Body Butter:

Did I mention how much I love Clinique’s Bonus Time events in the UK? They are extremely generous with their gifts (size-wise) and I got this during last year’s Bonus Time event at Fenwick! It costs £21 for 200ml (yikes) and I was very lucky to receive a 100ml tube (worth £10) for free! I really like this product as it’s extremely soothing and I know I’m repeating myself but I detest lotions that leave you with that sticky sensation! This Body Butter ticks all the right boxes for me and I was actually devastated when I finally used it up. No fear though, I am going to cut the tube up and scoop every single bit out (which is what I normally do for all of my stuff as I hate binning them knowing I can still get a bit of use out of them!) but yes, this feels luxurious on my skin!

Rating: 3/5 (two points off due to the wallet-unfriendly price) =p

E45 Cream:

This is boring stuff for those who adore fragranced lotions / creams. This, together with the sticky but effective Astral have been my saviour over the winter where my skin has chapped, flaked and scaled itself to perfection. I have used many tubs of this as it is relatively affordable and value for money as I only purchase them when they are on offer. =p This absorbs into the skin surprisingly quick for such a thick cream, thought I’d mention that because I was amazed at how quickly it absorbed when I first used it! This is a staple in my bedroom as I always have a small tub on hand just in case my skin starts getting scaly because this cures my dry skin woes overnight!

Rating: 5/5 (because I cannot live without it!)

Farewell my HG Conditioner: Wella’s Wellazid

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Anyone seen or used this before? Wellazid is a herbal conditioner made by Wella. This was my first ever conditioner and I never used anything else for my hair….. that is until Wella discontinued it (I think). I can’t find any information on this lovely conditioner anywhere! They used to be available at nearly all supermarkets in the late 1990s. According to Mum. I was too young to notice =p

Anyway, I last saw these conditioners in 2002, not in KL but in one of Kelantan’s supermarkets where they were going for RM18 for a 750ml bottle. I suspect they were getting rid of old stock as the conditioner has been discontinued but anyhow Dad and Mum quickly grabbed them all and that stock lasted me a year and a half. After that, I switched to using L’occitane’s conditioner (they are really good) and haven’t looked back since. I am surprisingly loyal to my hair care brands… If they work well for me!

Fast forward a good 8 years later. By chance, I stumbled upon this 1litre bottle at the boyfriend’s family hairdresser when I was home last sumer. Without thinking I told the hairdresser I wanted to purchase it (it was the LAST BOTTLE and was sitting on top of a cupboard, collecting dust). and she charged me a hefty RM68 for it! ACK. I then got reprimanded by the boyfriend for jumping the gun as he thinks the conditioner might have gone off by then (HE WAS RIGHT, BY THE WAY.) The conditioner smelt a little funny but I didn’t have the heart to chuck it in the bin as I carried it all the way back to Kent. No way am I gonna throw a good kilogram of my favourite conditioner in the WORLD away. Hmph. Didn’t do any damage to my hair though. Only the scent was… funky would be the appropriate word for it lol!

I was so desperate to get more bottles of this that I even asked the hairdresser if she will be getting anymore stock in. Well, the hairdresser mentioned this conditioner was still available (oh really?). I asked her where can I get it and she said

‘Europe got mah. You go back London and see lah.’

*switches to Manglish mode*

I’m now back in London but where got Wellazid? I see no Wellazid! You cheat me!

So enlighten me, someone.