Aussie Colour Mate Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi there! Today’s post is about Aussie’s Colour Mate Shampoo & Conditioner with wild peach extract. These two hair products for “vibrant, coloured hair that refuses to be dull” promise a gentle cleanse to make sure colour is retained and hair is extra shiny.

I think the shampoo is decent. I’m satisfied it cleanses my hair and my scalp well. It doesn’t feel drying and the fragrance is alright (nice enough, generic, forgettable). In summary, this is an average shampoo.

The conditioner is below average. It helps detangle my hair in the shower, but it doesn’t make my hair feel soft or silky. I’ve never had dry hair, but thanks to this conditioner I think I’m halfway there!

In addition to the dryness, I’ve also noticed that my hair hasn’t been as glossy as usual. So based on my experience I’d say that these 2 products don’t deliver on their promise at all, and I won’t be buying them again. If you think these products are good, I recommend you try other products. Cheap brands like Alberto Balsam do much better products!

Aussie Colour Mate Shampoo (300ml) & Conditioner (250ml) are available for £4.19 each. I paid £1.95 each (special offer).

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

My Holy Grail Of Hair Care Part 2 – Herbal Essences Shimmering Colour & Sensuously Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner

Hi there! If you read the original Holy Grail Of Hair Care post, you know I love the classic Herbal Essences products. The newer Herbal Essences products (in the curvy bottles) don’t do anything for me – I tried three different shampoo and conditioner combos but I really didn’t like them at all. (And neither did my husband.) So I’ll stick to my original Herbal Essences favourites! 🙂

OK, let’s look at the shampoos first. 🙂 The Herbal Essences Shimmering Colour and Sensuously Smooth shampoos are amazing. They smell of tropical flowers (this line was once called Rainforest Flowers) and they make my scalp and my hair feel incredibly clean. But these shampoos are very gentle at the same time. They’re perfect!

The conditioners are better than what I could dream up if it was my mission in life to dream up the perfect conditioner. Nothing detangles hair the way Herbal Essences’ Classics conditioners do. And nothing else makes could make hair feel silkier or look shinier. These conditioners offer tons of moisture without weighing hair down. Why other manufacturers of hair care products don’t copy these conditioners is something I’ll never understand…

Now let me say a few more words about the two product lines. The Shimmering Colour shampoo and conditioner really work for freshly coloured hair. Normally my hair colour bleeds quite a bit for a few days after I’ve dyed my hair, but this shampoo and conditioner combo seems to make the colour hold on to my hair. Brilliant! These two products are even better than L’Oréal’s Colour Protect offerings!

The Herbal Essences Sensuously Smooth products really do what they’re supposed to. You may remember my last hair post about Pantene’s Colour Protect & Smooth products. OK, you don’t remember. But that’s OK. 🙂 I said that Pantene’s products really make my hair feel smooth. Now, a few weeks ago I emptied the Pantene conditioner, and I went on to use these Herbal Essences products. And guess what – my hair is so smooooooth, it’s insane! Verdict? Herbal Essences Sensuously Smooth mops the floor with Pantene!

I think, along with Herbal Essences Classics Moisture Balance and Silk N’ Shine, Herbal Essences (Rainforest Flowers) Shimmering Colour and Sensuouly Smooth are the best hair products out there. Unfortunately they were relaunched as a limited edition, and they have now disappeared from the shelves – but I’ve stocked up when I noticed them disappearing, so I’ll be OK for a while. However, I still hope that Herbal Essences will relaunch them again. Fingers crossed!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

Empties – May 2016

Hi there! Last month’s empties post was really fun, so I collected this month’s empty stuff too. Now here’s what I used up in May 2016.

1 (no photo) 3 Superdrug Dead Sea Purifying Clay Masks & 3 Superdrug Fruit Sorbet Antioxidant Peel-Off Masks – I really love these face masks and I’ll repurchase them again. Sorry, there’s no photo but I didn’t want to keep the empty (and sticky) sachets.

2 Herbal Essences Shimmering Colour Conditioner – this stuff is amazing! I rejoiced when Herbal Essences reintroduced two of their Rainforest Flowers shampoo and conditioner combos in 2013. Unfortunately these products were discontinued again. 😦 I don’t know why – the products are excellent! I have a few more back-up bottles and I’ll do a proper review soon. 🙂 In the meantime, check out my post about the Herbal Essences Classics products – if you’ve never tried them, you really should do it now because they’re the best shampoos and conditioners out there!

3 Classics Nail Polish Remover – I’ve been buying this nail polish remover for years. It’s effective. It doesn’t dry out my nails. It’s cheap (£1 for 400ml). It’s simply great! And this product is made by a UK-based company and it’s not tested on animals. Repurchase? Absolutely!

4 Superdrug Cocoa Butter & Vanilla Body Lotion – a really nice body lotion that smells lovely and moisturises my skin nicely. Good quality, good price. Repurchase? Yes!

5 Olay Total Effects Radiance Enhancing Cream Wash – an amazing face wash! It exfoliates gently – but at the same time it’s creamy. It’s brilliant for dry skin! Too bad this product has been dicontinued.

6 L’Oréal Elvive Colour Protect Conditioner – one of the best conditioners out there, second only to Herbal Essences’ Classics conditioners. Repurchase? Yes! (In case you’re wondering what happened to the shampoo – as soon as I’ve used up a conditioner, my husband will finish the matching shampoo.)

7 Palmolive Oriental Beauty Sophisticated – a really nice shower gel, refreshing and not too harsh on dry skin. And it smells like a mix of tea and flowers. Nice! The product has been discontinued, so I can’t repurchase it. If it were still available, I’d buy it again.

8 L’Eau Par Kenzo Ice Pour Femme (50ml) – a fresh summer fragrance (which I’ll review properly in a few days). This one was a limited edition from a few years ago. But I wouldn’t repurchase it if it were still available – because it no longer tickles my fancy.

9 Kirstie Allsopp Lansdowne Rose Shower Gel – a gentle and pleasant rose-scented shower gel. Perfect in combination with Flower Pharm’s Wild Rose body butter. If it weren’t discontinued, I’d probably buy it again.

10 Yung Haircare Deep Conditioner – this one’s a cheap product from a German drugstore. I bought it years ago (!) but left it untouched until a few months ago. It’s an okayish deep conditioner, nothing special. I wouldn’t repurchase it.

11 Black eyeliner pencil – not sure which brand this is, but I liked this eyeliner pencil. Good quality. Comparable to Essence.

12 Superdrug Animal Mad Lip Balm – I used up one of these last month – and I’ve now used up another one. This lip balm was part of a limited edition set from last autumn so I can’t repurchase it.

13 Thierry Mugler Alien EDP sample – I love Thierry Mugler’s Alien. I’ve got a full size Alien EDP, but whenever there’s an Alien sample in a glossy mag, I’ll use it! Awesome stuff!

14 Boots No 7 Protect & Perfect Intense Beauty Serum – I have no idea how old the bottle was when I finally opened it. I used this serum a few years ago when it was introduced. But I never opened the second bottle – until a few months ago. I’ve now been using this serum on and off – and I actually still like it a lot. I’ll give the current version of the product a try and then I’ll report back. 🙂

15 Naturtint Shampoo & Naturtint Nutrideep Multiplier Protective Cream samples – I didn’t like these products. I’d probably use the shampoo if nothing else was available. But I wouldn’t use the protective cream again if you paid me. My last post explains it all…

16 NSPA Raspberry Body Butter – a rich body butter with the pleasant scent of juicy raspberries. I think this body butter smells a lot more natural than some of the considerably more expensive raspberry-scented body butters out there. And it’s only £3. Repurchase? Most likely – as soon as I crave raspberries again.

So this is what I emptied / used up in May 2016. I really enjoyed writing this post – so I’ll definitely make monthly empties a permanent feature. 🙂 Oh, and I’m really proud of myself for using up an eyeliner pencil before losing it. 🙂

Thanks for stopping by! I hope June 2016 will be an awesome month for all of us.

Mrs Strawberry Blonde

L’Oréal Elvital Color-Vive Deep Conditioner

Hi there! Today’s post is about the L’Oréal Elvital Color Vive Deep Conditioner I found at Family Bargains a while ago.

I love trying products from other countries. But I always check which country a product is from. This deep conditioner is from Denmark. As Denmark adheres to the same regulations for health and beauty products as the other EU countries, I was happy to try this product.

So, how’s the product? I think this is an amazing deep conditioner. It detangles my hair easily without weighing it down. And it makes my hair feel incredibly soft and silky. Love it!

Here’s the best thing: This deep conditioner is meant to be left on for 1 minute only before it has to be rinsed out. I leave it on for 3 to 4 minutes while I brush my teeth. But it’s good you don’t have to leave it on for half an hour or so.

I would definitely recommend L’Oréal’s Elvital Color Vive Deep Conditioner – not just because I paid 99p only – but because it’s a great product!

Mrs Strawberry Blonde