Showing posts with label Moroccanoil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moroccanoil. Show all posts

Empties #9

I must say that I completely get why Batiste is so popular and it has fast become one of my favourite formula of dry shampoos. It's not white (except if you apply it on one spot too close), it really refreshes the hair well and it doesn't leave too much of the powdery residue. I had the massive 400 ml can of Tropical version, which smells like coconut bread or coconut pastry and personally I'd prefer something more Rafaello like, but it's all right.
Repurchase: Batiste dry shampoos in general - yes (currently I have the Wild version). Tropical version: Maybe.

I've often sang praises about this hair hero and for good reason. It has come to a point where the mere though of being without for a single wash is almost unbearable. I am being dramatic or what? But in all seriousness, I find it a brilliant product that nourishes my hair, keeps it hydrated longer, reduces frizz and it has made my hair a lot more healthy since I started using it - a fact even my hairdresser noticed. I should also note that it's extremely light-weight, so I would recommend this to pretty much all hair types. I've been using it after every wash without fail on damp hair and one bottle lasted me about a year - at about 12 € per bottle (on Beauty Bay) I consider this a bargain.
Repurchase: Already did.

Now this is what every shampoo should be like. It's the one shampoo that I consider as being exceptional and well worth the price. My hair is dry, as I've often complained, and this is like a shampoo plus conditioner in one in a sense that it leaves my hair clean, yet nourished, untangled and smooth. The scent does become a bit annoying with frequent use because it is one of those that has a sharp, potentially headache-inducing note in it, but it's worth putting up with it. I currently have Elixir Ultime version and Oléo-Relax is much better for my hair type.
Repurchase: Without a doubt.

As I've said in my Hair Oil series, I find there is very little difference between this one, Macadamia oil and Orofluido. All three are seriously good and I believe the main difference is just in the scent as well as the price. This one has my least favourite scent out of the three because it's sort of a generic fabric softener type of scent and I much prefer the rich, oriental version of Orofluido (which is also cheaper). 
Repurchase: Maybe, but I prefer Orofluido.

A nice, simple and affordable shower gel that smells very lovely tropically fresh (I described it before as similar to a grapefruit scent, but sweeter). Out of all summer LE by Balea this one is my favourite so far. 
Repurchase: It is a LE and I have enough of shower gels at the moment, so I suspect not.

I love these Alverde oils and I use them for so many things. This is my second or third bottle of this scent, which is a coconut muffin type of smell and it's ok, but I've grown a bit tired of it. One of the best features of this oil is the packaging, which is just perfect due to the brilliant pump.
Repurchase: Already did, but a different version.

I'm quite sad I've used this up. This is my favourite cleanser so far because it just suits my skin so well and it looks its best when I use it. It's a balm with scrubby particles and it cleans well, removes makeup and leaves the skin moisturised, so the dry patches are the thing of the past. It smells wonderful, the texture is nice and I love that it comes in a tube, which makes it very hygienic. The only bad side is that it's expensive. I have three other cleansers at the moment and none live up to it.
Repurchase: Yes.

I actually liked this one. It worked ok for a spray deodorant and it smells pleasantly generically fresh, but I've used up this little 50 ml bottle in about a week or two. Currently I have the Pearl & Beauty version.
Purchase: Maybe.

I'm a huge fan of tropical scents, with Escada's yearly LE's being my favourites, but this YR version was the one I never truly loved. It's a very simple, fresh, yet sweet scent that doesn't last particularly long and it does smell like a tropical drink with a prominent note of mango, while the passion fruit is more subdued. Both mango as well as passion fruit are my favourite scents in products, but in this combination it just didn't really work for me. 
Repurchase: No and I believe it's not available any more.

This was a blind buy for me because it was 50 % off at the time of the purchase. It was never my favourite scent, but it's still a lovely, everyday fragrance. It's a mix of fresh bamboo, juicy apple and floral notes (gardenia, freesia) with subtle sweeter notes of coconut and vanilla that get more prominent with time. I think the bottle is adorable and I'll keep it as decoration.
Repurchase: No.

Since 2007 there hasn't been a day when I was without this shower oil. I keep repurchasing it and I buy these eco-refills with 500 ml (that's two regular bottles) with which fill my old bottle. It's a fantastic shower oil and it provides a true pampering experience in the shower due to a super luxurious oil texture that transforms into a thick, creamy foam when water is added, not to mention that it smells bloody fantastic. It is a great product for those with dry skin as I find I never need to use a moisturiser afterwards. You should try it at least once in your life.  
Repurchase: Yes.

This is just a simple, super thick ointment with panthenol (B5) for treating any type of damages on the skin from cuts, grazes and wounds. It was fine, nothing more to say about it.
Repurchase: I found something cheaper, so probably not.

ESSENCE 4 in 1 nail file
I buy these all the time. It's just regular nail file with four different textures that vary in roughness. It does its job and it does it well.
Repurchase: Already did.

I never liked this for it's original purpose as I find it not moisturising enough for my cuticles and I am not a fan of the strange herbal-lemon scent, but I did love this for my very dry soles.
Repurchase: Probably not.

BALEA Hygiene Reinigungstűcher
I bought a few packs of these before even trying them out first and I'm not a fan of them. They are nice and thick, but they have a strong hospital-disinfectant scent and Preven's don't. They do their job, but I probably won't repurchase. 
Repurchase: Probably not, I prefer Preven's ones.

 MAX FACTOR Khol Eye Liner Pencil
20 Black
I used to like this one and before the gel/khol hybrids such as Supershock by Avon came on the market, it was one of my favourite khols, but now I find it not black enough, too smudgy and not long-lasting. It has nothing on my favourite black eyeliner UD's Zero.
Repurchase: No.

Things that are discontinued:
TIGI Curls Rock Curl Booster
After years of collecting dust, I'm finally tossing this away. I never got this product. Is it a hairspray that's just super wet or is it like a replacement for mousse? I tried using it in so many different ways and it did nothing. Curls Rock Amplifier, on the other hand, I loved and I've gone through several bottles (if you'd like to define your natural curls, try it). 

BALEA Body Spray Aqua
I used this on hot days as a refreshment and it worked a treat. I also sprayed this on my face, when my foundation/powder looked cakey. I really liked how the spray did a very fine mist and it never just dripped. However, I'm still not sold on the whole water in a can fad, so I've refrained from purchasing the more expensive version from pharmacy brands.

BALEA Hawaii Deospray
I really liked this version of scent and I've owned several cans, but it's now discontinued. These Balea ones are, as described, just deodorants, so fragrance in a can, rather than actual antiperspirants such as Nivea's, but they always have some nice scents.

I loved the scent of this - it was a good peach scent, but I didn't find it moisturising enough for my legs as the skin was dry again in the morning. It was simply too light. I presume the still existing coconut version is similar.


After almost four years of blogging and more that a million views, the day has finally come and I have created a Facebook page, Instagram as well as decided to finally start using my Twitter account (which is also four years old). If you'd like to follow me on any of these social media, feel free do to so and if you decide to check them out on a later date, the links are also in the side bar. I can't promise you I'll be particularly interesting, as the tittle of my biography could be named: The Unexciting Life of the Unremarkable Woman,  but you might see new posts faster than now. Out of all social media, I still love Pinterest most and I'll probably be most active there.

Have a great day!
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Hair Oils Series: Conclusion

Time for a round-up. I want to point out that the differences between all apart from Osmo are really small.  If you checked out the pictures of my hair in individual reviews, you'll see there is little if any difference in how my hair looks. A bigger difference is in how your hair feels. Here is my ranking of the five hair treatments I tested.

Winner: Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment
2nd place: Orofluido Beauty Elixir
3rd place: Moroccanoil Original
4th place: Kérastase Elixir Ultime
5th place: Osmo Berber Oil
For me the winner is Macadamia with Orofluido not far behind. Macadamia provided the sleekest, shiniest and most moisturised results, also it is the best defrizzer. Orofluido and Moroccanoil are almost dupes in results, but differ in price and scent. Also Orofluido leaves your hair with more volume. The same applies to Elixir Ultime which made my hair feel very light, silky and bouncy, but left my ends dry. Osmo made my hair feel a bit greasy at first, but dry in a few hours. However, I still love my combination Orofluido Elixir + Sahara best and I'll stick to it.

Some general information about these treatments.

1. Please don't fall for the extravagant over-the-top advertising. These treatments are very good, but nowhere near the miraculous as they are described by the advertisers. It still baffles me why such high prices  of some these treatments. What am I actually paying for? Silicones are cheap and argan oil can't be that expensive if Alverde's Mandel Argan oil is only 3.5€. The only thing left are the fragrances. The nerve of some brands! On the bright side one bottle does last a long time. Please check the prices in online shops first before spending your money in a salon (Macadamia is around 20€ on eBay, while it's around 35€ in Simple salons).

2. These are described as treatments, I prefer to call them styling products, or better, smoothing serums. Even though they contain oils, the amount of them is small and I'm bothered by the first few ingredients: cones. You can use them as a pre-wash treatment and most brands suggest you do so, but I'd never use a product with silicones for several reasons. First, silicones coat the hair and don't nourish it, just conceal the problems. Second, too expensive. Why would I use the pricey oil and then wash it off. I don't think so. Third: pure argan oil, macadamia, coconut and even olive oil work better than these serums as pre-wash treatments. Not to mention how much cheaper they are. I just use regular oils instead. 

3. Don't over do it. A few drops is enough. A 100ml bottle should last you a long time. Mine lasted two years because I wash my hair once or twice a week and I only used it after washing my hair. But I do find that by using more product on wet hair before blow-drying, I get better results. My hair is then sleeker and less frizzy, specially when using Orofluido and Macadamia. I don't want to use too much silicone products, so I use Alverde Haaröl Mandel Argan which is silicone free for when my ends are dry.

4. They tend to be heavier than their silicon serum predecessors. If your hair is oily, they might be too much. However, they are marketed for all hair types, so if you want to make them work for you, the key is in the amount used and distribution. Kerastaste is the lightest and most appropriate for oilier hair. I heard L'Oreal's Extraordinary oil is quite light as well and Mythic Oil was also way to light for my hair when I tried it once at my hairdresser (all are from L'Oreal btw). The rest are quite thick and heavy. Osmo is really heavy.

5. Most have a strong fragrance. All the ones I tried have quite a heavy perfumey scent, so if you're sensitive to that, try to get a sample first or try it at your hairdresser (if they have it, of course). 

There are exceptions in the hair oils world that don't contain silicones. One of them is Alverde Mandel Argan, which actually deserves to call itself oil. Pure oils like argan, macadamia, coconut and olive are heavy and it's difficult to use them as styling products without leaving your hair greasy. I prefer to use them only as pre-wash treatments. Alverde is a great product for those who want a silicon free product for their ends. It's still an oil, but a lighter version. It won't make your hair as silky as those with silicone, but it will actually nourish your hair. I consider it an actual hair care, not just a smoothing serum like the rest. For that reason I didn't include it in this test and because it's drugstore. I use this on dry hair only, I prefer to use silicones on wet hair before blow-drying.
Ingredients: soybean oil, emollient derived from coconut oil, argan oil, walnut oil, almond oil, burdock oil, two Vitamin E variants, Vitamin C, sunflower oil, and six fragrances derived from essential oils.
Ingredients-wise this is a fantastic product. And best of all, it's cheap. It's around 3.5€ in DM's. It's not the best for oily hair, but if your ends are dry give it a go.

I hope this helped if you're on the fence of which one to get. There are so many on the market for such different prices that it's hard to choose which one is for you.  I would still suggest you go and try it at your hairdresser if they have it, or get the sample size bottle first. I'm sorry for such long posts. I try to keep them short, but I always end up writing so much. It's just that I have so much to say, especially when it comes to hair. Thanks for reading!

Links:
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Hair Oils Series: Moroccanoil Treatment Original


The original argan oil treatment, the one that started this argan craze and the most popular are just some things that describe the famous Moroccanoil Original. Some say this is ''the'' argan oil treatment and the rest are just poor replicas. I disagree. For one I find Orofluido not only similar in ingredients (both have argan and linseed oil), but also dupes in results. 

Packaging: A dark glass bottle with blue labels. Dark bottle protects the product from light exposure, but you can still see how much product is still in.

Ingredients: two silicones followed by argan oil, fragrance and linseed oil, the rest are more fragrances and colours (benzyl benzoate is also an insecticide, which would explain the "bug spray" note). Ingredients-wise it's similar to Orofluido, but minus the cypress oil.

Scent: For me a very disappointing scent. It's very boring, like a laundry detergent mixed with some bug spray. I get mostly aldehyde notes with musk. It's doesn't last on wet nor dry hair, in fact, I can only smell my conditioner.

Performance and Results: It has a thick texture and it's amber colour. I can put quite a lot of it on my wet hair and it doesn't feel greasy. It's easy to get a small amount out of the bottle because the texture isn't too runny. I put some product on wet hair before blow-drying and it left my hair shiny, soft and less frizzy. When I used it on dry hair it minimised the frizz even more, detangled and made my hair feel very silky and soft. I did the same technique of styling my hair with Moroccanoil and Orofluido. The results were about the same, the only difference is that Orofluido manages to keep more volume. My ends felt moisturised at first, however, on the second day some strands from the top layers (driest parts of my hair) did feel dry. As with Orofluido I have to use Alverde Mandel Argan oil on the second day to keep my ends moisturised.

Where to buy: I got it on eBay from this seller, because for some reason most online shops, which sell this product, don't send it to Slovenia. It is also sold in hair salons (Slovenia – Simple) and on click2chic (only for Slovene costumers, but the price is really high with shipping).
Honestly, I wasn't blown away by it, especially considering such high price tag. The result are too similar to Orofluido, which is cheaper and smells a lot better. Just like Orofluido it makes my hair shiny and less frizzy, but it doesn't manage to keep my ends moisturised that long. I can understand the hype, since it's mostly caused by people who tried only this hair treatment and perhaps never used silicone serums before (I'd be raving about it if it was the only one I tried), but it's really nothing special compared to some other serums with argan oil. Of course, it was the first on the market. I hear a lot of people are fooled by the name and believe that moroccan (argan) oil is the only ingredient. I blame the advertising and possibly also because their not-so-savvy-with-ingredients-list hairdresser told them so. It's a really good product, you'll love the results no matter your hair type (if your hair is oily try a small amount concentrating on your ends only), however, it's way over-priced considering the cheaper competition is so good.

Links to other reviews in this series:
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Hair Oils Series: Introduction


Hair oils have flooded the market in the past years, particularly those containing the ''new'' wonderful argan oil. Words like elixir, miraculous and extraordinary are very freely used by brands. All promise you the ultimate hair care product that is going to transform your hair into silky heaven. Exaggerations just pour from the lips of advertisers, with such extravagant descriptions, I wouldn't be surprised if they claimed it also cures cancer. Almost every brand came out with their version, each with a more dazzling name. Just add the new marvelous argan oil and maybe mix in a few other oils to the cheap silicone based serums that have been around for years, include words like miraculous, elixir or mythic and sell it for a hefty price tag. A bit cheeky if you ask me.

Here are some of them in the 20€+ range: (from the left): Marrakesh Oil, Agadir Argan Oil, Osmo Berber Oil, Macadamia Natural Oil, Kérastase Elixir Ultime, Shu Uemura Essence Absolue, Redken All Soft Argan-6 Oil, L'Oreal Professional Mythic Oil and Orofluido Beauty Elixir.

And some cheaper drugstore versions: Lee Stafford Arganoil, Klas Argan, L'Oreal Elvive Extraordinary Oil (ingredients), Fructis Miraculous Oil (ingredients), Gliss Kur Daily Oil Elixir (ingredients), Balea Oil Repair Haaröl, Avon Advance Techniques Moroccan Argan Oil, Syoss Beauty Elixir (ingredients).

Are you  familiar with these?:

These are all silicone based hair serums that have been on the market for years. Sure they don't contain argan oil, however some of them contain other oils, like grape seed, jojoba, avocado etc. I don't recall anyone advertising them as miraculous oils.

It sounds like I all over this argan craze, but I'm not. I'm just fed up with the over-the-top advertisement. It's all about the luxurious oils and making it sound like they're the only ingredients, but they conveniently forget to include it also contains a bunch of cones, fragrances and dyes. But the truth is: Silicone serums with argan oil are brilliant. Of course, nowhere near miraculous, but really, really good (at least for my hair). I've had a lot of silicone based serums (actually all apart from two in the upper picture) and honesty, they leave much to be desired. My hair is very dry and it needs that little bit of extra help to keep it moisturised. I guess that few drops of added argan oil does the trick.

I've been using Ororfluido for two years now and I still love it. However, there is so much talk about Moroccanoil, Macadamia Natural oil, Kérastase Elixir Ultime and others that I started to wonder: Is the grass really greener over there? I ordered small bottles of the most popular brands to compare. I will do a post on each individually and then do a short recap post as a conclusion There will be seven posts in including this one and I'll post one review per day, so keep your eyes peeled. I'll have links in every review to keep it organised. I used the same hair care routine with all of them - shampoo, conditioner (drugstore one, Dove Oil Care) and heat protection- to really see the difference.
Reviews will be posted in the following order:
1. Kérastase Elixir Ultime, 2. Moroccanoil Treatment Original, 3. Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Treatment, 4. Osmo Berber Oil, 5. Orofluido Beauty Elixir.

Links:


What is the deal with argan oil? (feel free to skip this part if you dislike geography and sciency stuff)

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've heard of argan oil. If you're anything like me, you found it at least a bit curious how this argan oil craze came to be. I mean, until two years ago I've never even heard of this ''groundbreaking'' oil. It's like it just dropped out of the sky and now is added to almost every cosmetic product. Here are some benefits of using this oil on your hair:  


Argan oil penetrates into the hair pores or shafts and enhances the elasticity of hair. It restores the smoothness of hair and makes them manageable again. Vitamin E present in argan oil is very useful in restoring the natural hair and renewing and repairing the damage caused by destructive agents. It is an additional benefit of argan oil that it cures the brittle hair and increases the life of color treated hair. In this job it even surpasses in competitiveness from Jojoba oil. 

Argan tree is native to North Africa, the Atlas region to be precise. It is now an endangered species and under protection of Unesco. It grows wild in semi-arid areas, is adapted to drought conditions and has a deep root system, making it the perfect tree to protect from soil erosion and desertification (I hope you know about the problem of the advancing Sahara desert). Because argan oil's popularity is increasing, these trees became valuable and more effort is given to protecting them. Not to mention the social impact of oil production on local communities, with new jobs and a steady income. So every time you buy argan oil based product don't feel too bad. At least something good came out of trying to satisfy human vanity. 

Thanks for reading!
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